Out of the Way

Chapter One – Words Remembered

"Get out of your mother's way."

Her father's words might as well have been written on her ceiling for all the good staring at it was doing toward helping her forget them. Stevie rolled over onto her side and pulled her blankets tighter around her. She just couldn't get the words out of her head, and the worst part was her father was actually right. Why couldn't she just get out of her mom's way for once? Ever since her mom had become Secretary of State, her biggest domestic problems had come from Stevie. First the protest, then dropping out of school, arguing about her mom's past, dating her boss, and now dating Harrison and the drug mess that had brought with it. She'd just caused problem after problem for her mom.

Stevie sighed. What was she supposed to do? It wasn't like she meant to cause her mom problems. She just couldn't seem to do anything right recently.

Well, if that was the case maybe she should take her father's advice and get out of her mom's way. Literally. The problem was she didn't exactly have anywhere to go. She didn't have the money to go anywhere either. That was why she was living at home after all. Stevie couldn't help gritting her teeth in frustration. There had to be some way. Some way to stop screwing up and get this to work.

Maybe there was…

Excited, she nearly launched herself out of bed. After dropping down at her desk she booted up her computer. The best way to do as her dad asked was to get as far away as possible. With a little bit of research and some luck she might actually be able to pull it off.

O . o . O . o . O

Alison stood frozen outside her sister's bedroom. None of them had seen Stevie much lately. Ever since the day their mom had been made temporary president Stevie had seemed to be staying away from them. She left earlier than their mother in the morning and often times returned later than her. Occasionally she would eat dinner with them, but more often than not she'd claim she wasn't hungry or had already eaten and retreat up to her room. It didn't make any sense, and now here Stevie was, packing. Was her sister moving out again? Her father and Stevie had argued sure, but Alison didn't think that was a reason to send Stevie running. At least Alison hoped not. She would miss her sister terribly if Stevie left. Having her sister there to talk to was always reassuring. Stevie was the one Alison always felt comfortable talking to, both about her life in general and about the challenges their mother's job brought to their lives. She couldn't just leave!

"Where are you going?"

The question came out more strained than Alison intended, but she didn't really care.

Stevie's head shot up at the sound of her sister's voice. She hadn't known Alison was even home. Nobody was supposed to be home. The house being empty was the exact reason why she was packing at that moment. She was scheduled to leave for a mission trip to Africa tomorrow. Not only would she be helping in one of the villages, she was going as an advisor for the microloan program. Hopefully with her help the villagers would be better prepared and more self-sufficient in the future. She had a passport, and her travel would be covered by the company in charge. The timing was perfect. The trip would solve her problem with getting out of the way, and she might actually be able to do some good too. She hadn't told anyone about her plans, and she had no intention of doing so. But now Ali…

"I just… have to get away for a little while."

Alison's face creased, and she took a step into the room. She looked like she would start crying at any second.

"You weren't going to tell any of us, were you? You were just going to leave without saying anything."

"Ali…"

"You were! You were just going to slip away!"

The absolute horror on Alison's face nearly destroyed Stevie, but she knew she had to make her sister understand. If she didn't Alison might say something to their parents, which was definitely not what Stevie wanted. She'd caused enough problems for her parents lately. They didn't need to know about this. She would handle it by herself and prevent making more problems. Stevie grabbed Alison's wrist and tugged her toward her bed, hoping she could calm her sister down.

"Ali, Mom and Dad have enough going on right now. I'm just trying to make things easier for them."

Alison scanned Stevie's face, trying to read everything there.

"This is because of your argument with Dad, isn't it?"

She didn't really need an answer to that question. She knew she was right.

"Ali this has nothing…"

"Yes it does! I don't have any idea what Dad said that's pushed you to this, but don't you think you're overreacting? He didn't mean anything he might have said! He was angry and worried about Mom, and we were all locked in that basement safe house. Of course he wasn't thinking straight! Just talk to him! You'll see."

"I don't need to talk to him, Alison. He was right. I have to try and make up for everything that I've done."

She brushed back Alison's hair and offered her the best smile she could manage. It wasn't much and it didn't look like it reassured Alison at all.

"But…"

"Please understand, Ali. This really is what's best."

Alison had to trust that her sister was right about that, but she still wasn't totally sure she believed it. No matter what she believed she knew there was no way she'd be able to change her sister's mind. Stubbornness was one trait that definitely ran through the entire family.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Alison asked.

"A few weeks," Stevie answered, purposefully making it sound like a short period of time.

"What about school? You're not dropping out again, are you?"

Stevie couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"No. I've already talked to my professors. I've got it covered. This isn't going to cause any problems with my semester."

At least not any problems that would show up on her transcripts. She might have to take an incomplete if she couldn't catch up, but that was relatively unlikely. Her professors knew what she was doing and most of them were willing to work with her since her trip was for a good cause and sort of related to her job. It wasn't like she was currently taking that many classes anyway.

"Oh. Good," Ali said. Then a wry, conspiratorial smile flashed across her face. "You don't want me to tell Mom and Dad about this, do you?"

A smile split Stevie's face as well. Everything was back on track now that Alison was on board. She could count on her sister to keep her mouth shut about this.

"Not if they don't ask about it. They don't need to know."

She wasn't going to ask Alison to outright lie to their parents. Even Stevie knew she wouldn't truly be able to do that. A little bit of deception by omission would do the trick for long enough though.

"You don't think they'll approve," Alison threw back.

"I think they'll try to convince me to stay, and I'm leaving for a little while for their sake."

"Oookay," Alison replied, drawing the word out longer than necessary. "Want me to help you pack?"

Stevie almost let out a sigh of relief that Alison had let the topic of the trip go. While she didn't want to lie to her sister, she couldn't tell her where she was going. If she did, Alison would be able to tell their parents, and despite what she'd said Stevie didn't really believe her parents would totally approve of her trip. But they wanted her out of the way. Since she couldn't simply get out of the way by being a normal kid – who could when you were the child of a huge public figure? – physically getting out was the next best option.

"Don't worry about it. I'm almost done."

"Okay."

Alison stood and wrapped her sister in a tight hug. She was definitely going to miss Stevie.

"Come back soon, okay?"

"You bet," Stevie promised.

Alison took one last glance back at Stevie before she left the room. Once she was gone Stevie breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't time to relax though. Alison had already caught her packing, and Stevie couldn't let that happen with anyone else. She had to finish up fast and get her suitcase put away before the rest of the family got home. Tomorrow, after everyone left for school and work, Stevie would take off. Maybe while she was gone she would figure out how to live with the constant media presence that came with her mother's job. If she could figure that out she could actually do what her father wanted while still staying nearby. Her mother had enough problems. Stevie didn't want to be one of them, but she still had to live her own life. This was the right choice.

Author's Note: This story is based off Henry's line from the Season 2 premiere. After I heard it I couldn't help coming up with something like this because it just stuck with me. I know this chapter isn't too excited, and it was rather hard to write too, but I promise the story picks up rather quickly in the next two chapters. This story just took on a life of its own after I managed to get through this whole set up bit.