The Phoenix

Plenty Of Time

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," said the blonde girl who had approached her. Zimmer Haynes. "I'm Zimmer, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Lucy said nervously. Everything made her nervous.

"I'm sorry about the thing with Leo. I saw that TMZ exclusive on you, and personally, I love your hair. If my parents would actually let me do anything with it, I would want it to look like yours."

"Aw, thanks. I like your hair, though."

She quickly realized how Zimmer look so much older than she actually was. She looked almost as old as her.

"So, how does it feel dating the president's son?" she asked, nudging her with her elbow.

"Well, we aren't really dating."

"But you like him, don't you?"

Lucy scanned the crowd of people around them and spotted Leo about 10 yards away, talking to someone. She had to make sure that he wasn't within earshot of their conversation.

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone. Promise?"

"Promise." Zimmer beamed, holding up her pinky so that they could swear on it.

"I guess I'll be seeing you a lot now since your mom is the Vice President."

"Yep."

"Good. I need someone to keep me company now that I sit out of press conferences."

"I thought that was his job."

"Eh, he can get annoying sometimes." she joked.

"He is a boy after all."

"So, what about you? Have anyone special?"

"I have one, but he's back in North Carolina, so I'll probably never see him again. We weren't dating, I just had a huge crush on him for the longest time."

"That sucks. Hey, I'm sure you'll find someone here."

"I'm not sure if I want to. See, politics are all about connections. Think of it like a monarchy. The President and the Cabinet are like England, with the President being the King and the Vice President being the prince or princess. If a duke or duchess can get connections to the King in some way, they're going to go after it. I am the daughter of the metaphorical princess, which means dating me gives someone automatic connections to the King. Why wouldn't a senator send their son after me in order to gain power? I'm just scared that people would only want to date me for political reasons." Zimmer explained just as Hail to the Chief played, announcing the President's arrival.

Their conversation ceased as Zimmer left to join her mother, Macie, who was going to be holding the Bible, so Lucy turned her attention to Leo. They didn't say anything, but his presence next to her did help soothe her anxiety. In order to avoid a full-blown panic attack, she took her thoughts off how many people were probably staring at her and directed them towards what dress she would be wearing to the Inaugural Ball. It would have to be something floor length, even though she preferred short dresses. Maybe Zimmer would be up for some shopping later.

When the time came for everyone to stand, Lucy was too zoned out to notice, so Leo had to pull her up with him. That was incredibly embarrassing. She stayed in her zone for the rest of the ceremony, and the only thing that got her out of it was Zimmer walking back over.

"I didn't look weird up there, right?" she asked anxiously.

"No, you did fine." Lucy lied. Zimmer had this natural charm to her, so she must have looked fine.

"Thank God," she sighed. "So, the Inaugural Ball is tomorrow night. What are you wearing?"

"I actually have no idea, so I was wondering if you wanted to go dress shopping with me?"

"Obviously! I don't have anything picked out yet either."

"Alright then. Sounds like a plan."

Emily, Aaron, Hannah, Seth, President Kirkman, and the new Vice President Haynes all sat in the Oval Office. The inauguration was less than three hours ago and they were already discussing the pardon and the MacLeish investigation.

"Agent Wells, where are we in the operation?" Kirkman asked.

"All 100 of MacLeish's hosts have been brought into custody and no suspicion has been raised. We should have him within the next 72 hours, sir."

"Very good. Seth, I don't want anything about the pardon getting out until we have him. If he catches wind that we're onto him, he'll flee the country and we'll have lost him forever."

"Yes, sir."

"Emily, Aaron, what about my cabinet nominees?"

"I spoke with President pro tempore Annesley at the inauguration and she said she thought there shouldn't be any problems getting them through," Emily explained.

"Macie has a lot of friends on the Committee for Education so that shouldn't be an issue either," Haynes said.

"Alright. I have a meeting to get to. Agent Wells, please let me know as soon as they find Catalan."

"Of course, sir."

As soon as Emily walked out of the Cabinet Room, someone called her name. She turned around to see Leo Kirkman of all people standing there.

"Hey, Leo, what's up?"

"Do you know what kind of flowers Lucy likes?"

"Uh, yeah, English roses. Why?"

"Thanks." he said, walking away and leaving her question unanswered.

"Okay, then."

"What was that about?" Aaron asked once she had caught back up with him.

"He asked me what my sister's favorite flowers were. I'm betting that he's asking her to the Inaugural Ball, which I completely forgot is tomorrow night. Wow, I'm horrible at remembering things."

"Well, you do have a million other things to remember instead."

"That's true."
"So what was her reaction yesterday morning?"

"She was sitting on the couch waiting for me to get home. We should do that more," she said as they walked into his office.

Feeling spontaneous, she kissed him, catching him off guard.

This kiss felt even better than usual for reasons neither of them could explain. It just did. The kiss went on for a while until Aaron pulled away.

"As much as I agree with what you said, this may not be the best time." he laughed.

"Our next meeting isn't for another 45 minutes, I'd say that's plenty of time."

"Alright."

A/N: I'm trying to stay on schedule, love you guys!