Madam President

Chapter Eight

The address went off without a hitch.

Freen watched it all from the curtains that hid her just off the edge of the stage where Rebecca delivered each and every word perfectly. Confidently.

And there wasn't much she could do about the overwhelming feeling of pride that built within her until she almost couldn't take it anymore.

Thankfully, by the time Freen's emotions were threatening to outweigh her better judgment, everything was over.

But it wasn't long until Freen was escorting Rebecca through the wings and towards the hallways that would take them back out of the chamber of the House towards more familiar territory.

Rebecca had been quiet until now. Freen had no doubt she'd talked herself hoarse up there, and that the cup of tea she was already holding in one hand wasn't even close to taking the edge off.

So Freen walked her to her rooms in silence, because that's what she thought Rebecca needed.

The idea that she'd been wrong about that didn't even occur to her until Rebecca hesitated in her open doorway and looked down at her tea.

"Do you need anything for the night?" Freen asked with a little furrow between her brows. "Did I do alright?" Rebecca suddenly asked, lifting her eyes to level a beseeching gaze at Freen.

And Freen suddenly felt...well. A little stupid. 

She should've said something. Anything. Rebecca hadn't had anyone there. No family. No friends. All acquaintances. Nobody to congratulate her afterward. Nobody to be proud of her.

Well...that wasn't entirely true.

"You did," Freen responded, offering Rebecca a soft, apologetic smile.

"I...I don't think I've been this proud since Mind got her doctorate. I don't know if that's out of line, and if it is, I'm sorry. But you were just..." Freen sighed and shook her head as she lifted a hand to rest on the frame of Rebecca's door. "I'm not very good at this."

"That was pretty good, actually." Rebecca countered with a faintly amused smile playing at the corners of her lips. "But I'm sure I'll notice a hundred mistakes tomorrow when I watch the playback."

"You didn't make any," Freen responded maybe a little too quickly, yet she didn't shy away from Rebecca's searching gaze this time. "You were..."

Freen trailed off, then, and turned her head like she'd heard something. Something that Rebecca hadn't heard.

Before Rebecca could even blink, Freen had shouldered her into her room rather forcefully lowered her, one-handed, onto the floor on her back as she unholstered her sidearm. It was such a quick, fluid movement that Rebecca almost wondered how she'd accomplished it...

She was just too busy trying to listen. Too busy being utterly terrified that Freen was currently standing between her and whatever danger she had perceived. Perhaps not for the reasons she should have been.

Her fear had little to do with herself and her own safety and more to do with Freen's. But she knew what she was supposed to do. She knew she was supposed to stay completely still right where she landed.

It was just unfortunate that she'd landed in a way that only left her with a partial view of Freen's back.

"Agent! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Freen's voice. Thank God, Freen's voice.

Rebecca might've collapsed from sheer relief if she hadn't already been on the floor.

Freen was a little busy, she gathered, so she managed to get herself up off the floor without any assistance.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I was only--"

"What?" Freen demanded as she holstered her gun and straightened her jacket with a sharp, audible snap.

"Checking your clip? Yes. I know. I heard you. Mind telling me why you're doing that on the President's Wing instead of in the locker room where you're supposed to? After not calling your location on the comm on top of that?"

"I just...I...it's habit. I apologize."

Rebecca took a single step out into the hallway, then, and realized just how young the man who was currently standing in the middle of the corridor was. That didn't seem to matter much to Freen.

"I'm not here to listen to your apologies. You're lucky you're alive right now. You're relieved from your post for the evening, agent. Be in my office at shift change in the morning. Lack of experience is no excuse for stupidity. It's too late in the game for that. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The man excused himself quickly, and as soon as he was out of sight, Freen was turning to reach for Rebecca. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay? Rebecca, I know we didn't practice that, but there are some situations--"

"Hey, I'm okay. I'm okay." Rebecca reached for Freen's hands to stop them worrying over her, and her gaze fell towards them. "Freen, you're shaking..."

Rebecca wasn't sure why that came as such a shock to her. Perhaps because Freen had most definitely not been shaking a moment ago when she was an image of protection, and then afterward when she was delivering one of the firmest dressings-down Rebecca had ever witnessed.

"Yeah," Freen whispered, flexing her hands and releasing a breath that trembled on its way out. "Yeah, I am. Don't worry about me, just go try to unwind. I'll take his post tonight."

"No." Rebecca protested quietly, reaching to grip Freen's upper arms gently through the sleeves of her jacket.

"No, come inside and I'll make you some tea. You can call someone else in."

"I don't usually...I'm usually more..."

Freen was stammering as she followed Rebecca inside. So much so that she didn't see the hug coming until Rebecca's arms were already buried beneath her jacket around her lower back.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Rebecca's voice was so soft. With just the slightest hint of rasp to it. Whether that was from emotion or the address, Freen couldn't be sure.

But she could wrap her arms around Rebecca in return and hold her just as tightly as she was being held, if not more.

She could also let out a soft breath when Rebecca didn't pull back quite enough to separate them. When Rebecca's cheek brushed her own just before their foreheads came to rest together.

"I'm glad you're okay, too," Freen responded, her voice barely a whisper as her hand slid higher up Rebecca's back.

There was so much heaviness settling over them in that moment. Between the tension and fear and relief and how close they were to each other, it was all almost too much to bear.

Rebecca's hands shifted towards Freen's sides, and her inner wrist was met with the harsh, cold reality of the gun that was nestled there. She pulled her hands away like she'd been burned, and Freen stepped back just as quickly.

"The tea," Rebecca whispered, lifting her hands to run through her own hair as she turned away quickly. "I'll put the tea on."

Freen could really only nod in response. She didn't trust herself to say anything right then. Well. She didn't trust herself to say anything intelligent right then, at least.

Anything that wouldn't turn this into something that it absolutely wasn't.

And just like that, the moment had passed.

The moment passed and changed into something easier to deal with. For both of them. Something familiar.

A shared pot of tea between them. Poured rather gracefully, all things considered, by Rebecca.

"Is it too late for me to save the evening?"

-

Disclaimer: Story is not mine, I only adapted it to FreenBecky Fanfic because I love this piece and I love FB. I want to see them portray the characters in this story.