Roger woke up first and he gave Susan a kiss on her cheek before he got out of bed. She stirred but he said, "Not yet, honey. We haven't been married for so long that I've forgotten about romance and I would like to make you some breakfast."
Without really waking, Susan smiled and quickly fell all the way back to sleep. Roger made his way out to the kitchen but turned on the television along the way. Without paying much attention to it, he went on to the kitchen and started frying some eggs. He smiled as he cooked and thought how he loved that woman. Friends had their dalliances on business trips and the like but he never did. He smiled again as he remembered he was still married and they were not. Even when they thought they got away with it, the marriages still fell apart. Wives always know.
Putting the food onto a tray, Roger wished he had a flower to add to it but he didn't waste time getting wistful and letting the food get cold. The sound of the door closing when he went back into their room woke Susan and she stretched in pleasure when she saw him.
"What about yours, love," she asked.
"Mine can wait. I wanted to be sure this was waiting for you," he replied thinking she was more beautiful now than she ever was.
He sat down on the bed beside her while she busied herself with her eggs and there was no reason to talk for the moment. Both knew this day would likely be just as big as the last but the peace before they got started with it was a beautiful thing and neither was in a hurry to let it go.
Harrison was the next to awaken and he was tempted to wake Caroline with him but he knew she didn't like that much attention in the morning so he just kept lying there, happy to feel her next to him. She must have felt him moving as she woke up quickly and started getting out of bed. He knew better than to argue with her and instead rose with her.
"Are you ready for the news or do you think we should forage for some food," asked Caroline.
"I'm curious but I'm also hungry so I leave it to you. Events of the last day have left me in need of sustenance," replied Harrison and he smiled wickedly at her.
Laughing, she said, "OK, let's get some food and eat it while we catch up on the news."
"That works," he said. "Let's move."
Goldberg and Margolis got to the television before anyone else sat down and were a bit surprised to see it already running but there wasn't much to see. Malcolm and Frederick, both looking fairly tired, but were not talking with each other and seemed to only be waiting.
There was no sign as yet of the President but Justice Winston came into the room while they watched. He greeted Malcolm and Frederick but that was followed by an uncomfortable silence. All seemed satisfied, perhaps in their tiredness, to leave it that way.
The rest of the students drifted into the common room and slowly filled it. There was some light conversation as they had all known each other for quite a while. Some woke slowly and the others knew that it was best not to be too enthusiastic about anything before others had their coffee. There's nothing that annoys coffee drinkers more than cheerfulness in the morning.
All felt the strangeness of the calm in the face of all that was happening in Washington but they were perfectly accepting of giving it time to unfold. There was a procession through the kitchen as coffee was percolated, eggs were fried and they attended to the business of the early morning.
The President took a phone call in his quarters and was thankful it had not awakened his wife who was sleeping on a sofa. He noticed her blanket had slipped and pulled it up around her without waking her before he said anything.
He heard in the receiver, "Mister President, this is Stiller. Are you ready for a report?"
Before acknowledging, the President walked away from his wife as he really did not want to awaken her after their last exchange from the previous evening.
"Tell me, Stiller," said the President.
"Sir, we have identified Malcolm and Frederick and have full dossiers on each of them. We have not located the people from Congress but we have no evidence they have been harmed. We are sure they have not been gathered anywhere and strongly suspect they have been released in one of the national parks near here."
"Why would they do that, Stiller," asked the President.
"It rids them of a, erm, nuisance. It keeps them out of the way of things, sir."
"How confident are you of this analysis, Stiller?"
"Very high confidence, sir. We have located the buses we believe were used to transport them but have not yet intercepted them. From the traffic cameras we can see they are empty."
"Thank you, Stiller. Good work. Do you have anything else to tell me. It will be difficult to communicate once I return to the Oval Office."
"No, sir. We will continue trying to locate Congress."
"Thank you."
Masterson awoke sharply. After his years of military service he had learned to work well with very little sleep and he didn't waste time doing anything else before calling the Pentagon.
"General Forsythe. Status, please," said Masterson.
"All is in readiness, sir. All we need is the order to proceed."
"It is so ordered, General. Thank you," replied Masterson curtly. He had reservations about this approach as any good general will have but he saw this as the only way to preserve the integrity of the Presidency and the country.
After this call, Masterson called the President and then readied himself to go to the Oval Office. When he entered the room people were surprised to see him not looking at all tired but there was no comment. The silence prevailed until the President arrived.
"Good morning, gentlemen. And so we preside over history," said the President.
There was no reply but the President really wasn't expecting one and he moved to take a seat.
Rachel Hawkins also looked fresh when the camera cut to her in the CNN headquarters. Abrams had been perfect in the clothes he had selected for her and she was happy that his choices were better than she might have made. She wasn't one to be overly-concerned with her clothes but she was pleased and smiled as she thought she might have to help her again sometime.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are watching another day of American history and we have some surprising news from world financial markets. The exchange rate for the United States dollar had been falling dramatically but what has been observed overnight is that the dollar has not only stopped falling but has actually started regaining some of its value. We will have a report from our financial team later this morning as to what this can mean to world economies."
She paused to check the desk monitor before continuing as she was slipping very comfortably into the lead role in covering the events. It was surprising her that she felt alright about the millions of people around the world who were watching her and following the coverage. If she had thought about it too much it might have rattled her but she was growing quickly and was much better able to keep her focus than she had been in the past. It had all been taking place in a matter of hours but it had given her a tremendous education.
"We will now cut back to the video feed from the Oval Office and will break away to give you further updates so long as that does not interrupt whatever is taking place there. We are anticipating the swearing-in ceremony but there has been no mention of it as yet. Thank you for choosing CNN."
When the red light switched off on the camera, she smiled to herself as she realised the viewers really had no choice as CNN had the primary video feed and all other networks were sharing it.
Abrams called out, "Pepsi?"
"Um, yes. Please," she replied, smiling that he anticipated what she would need.
"These clothes ...", she started.
"You like?"
"I'm really impressed. Very stylish. Thank you so much!"
"I would make a good wife," said Abrams and laughed. Hawkins laughed with him and she was as happy with the new friendship as she was with her new role as lead newscaster even if she really had no idea what the future would bring.
Continued
Without really waking, Susan smiled and quickly fell all the way back to sleep. Roger made his way out to the kitchen but turned on the television along the way. Without paying much attention to it, he went on to the kitchen and started frying some eggs. He smiled as he cooked and thought how he loved that woman. Friends had their dalliances on business trips and the like but he never did. He smiled again as he remembered he was still married and they were not. Even when they thought they got away with it, the marriages still fell apart. Wives always know.
Putting the food onto a tray, Roger wished he had a flower to add to it but he didn't waste time getting wistful and letting the food get cold. The sound of the door closing when he went back into their room woke Susan and she stretched in pleasure when she saw him.
"What about yours, love," she asked.
"Mine can wait. I wanted to be sure this was waiting for you," he replied thinking she was more beautiful now than she ever was.
He sat down on the bed beside her while she busied herself with her eggs and there was no reason to talk for the moment. Both knew this day would likely be just as big as the last but the peace before they got started with it was a beautiful thing and neither was in a hurry to let it go.
Harrison was the next to awaken and he was tempted to wake Caroline with him but he knew she didn't like that much attention in the morning so he just kept lying there, happy to feel her next to him. She must have felt him moving as she woke up quickly and started getting out of bed. He knew better than to argue with her and instead rose with her.
"Are you ready for the news or do you think we should forage for some food," asked Caroline.
"I'm curious but I'm also hungry so I leave it to you. Events of the last day have left me in need of sustenance," replied Harrison and he smiled wickedly at her.
Laughing, she said, "OK, let's get some food and eat it while we catch up on the news."
"That works," he said. "Let's move."
Goldberg and Margolis got to the television before anyone else sat down and were a bit surprised to see it already running but there wasn't much to see. Malcolm and Frederick, both looking fairly tired, but were not talking with each other and seemed to only be waiting.
There was no sign as yet of the President but Justice Winston came into the room while they watched. He greeted Malcolm and Frederick but that was followed by an uncomfortable silence. All seemed satisfied, perhaps in their tiredness, to leave it that way.
The rest of the students drifted into the common room and slowly filled it. There was some light conversation as they had all known each other for quite a while. Some woke slowly and the others knew that it was best not to be too enthusiastic about anything before others had their coffee. There's nothing that annoys coffee drinkers more than cheerfulness in the morning.
All felt the strangeness of the calm in the face of all that was happening in Washington but they were perfectly accepting of giving it time to unfold. There was a procession through the kitchen as coffee was percolated, eggs were fried and they attended to the business of the early morning.
The President took a phone call in his quarters and was thankful it had not awakened his wife who was sleeping on a sofa. He noticed her blanket had slipped and pulled it up around her without waking her before he said anything.
He heard in the receiver, "Mister President, this is Stiller. Are you ready for a report?"
Before acknowledging, the President walked away from his wife as he really did not want to awaken her after their last exchange from the previous evening.
"Tell me, Stiller," said the President.
"Sir, we have identified Malcolm and Frederick and have full dossiers on each of them. We have not located the people from Congress but we have no evidence they have been harmed. We are sure they have not been gathered anywhere and strongly suspect they have been released in one of the national parks near here."
"Why would they do that, Stiller," asked the President.
"It rids them of a, erm, nuisance. It keeps them out of the way of things, sir."
"How confident are you of this analysis, Stiller?"
"Very high confidence, sir. We have located the buses we believe were used to transport them but have not yet intercepted them. From the traffic cameras we can see they are empty."
"Thank you, Stiller. Good work. Do you have anything else to tell me. It will be difficult to communicate once I return to the Oval Office."
"No, sir. We will continue trying to locate Congress."
"Thank you."
Masterson awoke sharply. After his years of military service he had learned to work well with very little sleep and he didn't waste time doing anything else before calling the Pentagon.
"General Forsythe. Status, please," said Masterson.
"All is in readiness, sir. All we need is the order to proceed."
"It is so ordered, General. Thank you," replied Masterson curtly. He had reservations about this approach as any good general will have but he saw this as the only way to preserve the integrity of the Presidency and the country.
After this call, Masterson called the President and then readied himself to go to the Oval Office. When he entered the room people were surprised to see him not looking at all tired but there was no comment. The silence prevailed until the President arrived.
"Good morning, gentlemen. And so we preside over history," said the President.
There was no reply but the President really wasn't expecting one and he moved to take a seat.
Rachel Hawkins also looked fresh when the camera cut to her in the CNN headquarters. Abrams had been perfect in the clothes he had selected for her and she was happy that his choices were better than she might have made. She wasn't one to be overly-concerned with her clothes but she was pleased and smiled as she thought she might have to help her again sometime.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are watching another day of American history and we have some surprising news from world financial markets. The exchange rate for the United States dollar had been falling dramatically but what has been observed overnight is that the dollar has not only stopped falling but has actually started regaining some of its value. We will have a report from our financial team later this morning as to what this can mean to world economies."
She paused to check the desk monitor before continuing as she was slipping very comfortably into the lead role in covering the events. It was surprising her that she felt alright about the millions of people around the world who were watching her and following the coverage. If she had thought about it too much it might have rattled her but she was growing quickly and was much better able to keep her focus than she had been in the past. It had all been taking place in a matter of hours but it had given her a tremendous education.
"We will now cut back to the video feed from the Oval Office and will break away to give you further updates so long as that does not interrupt whatever is taking place there. We are anticipating the swearing-in ceremony but there has been no mention of it as yet. Thank you for choosing CNN."
When the red light switched off on the camera, she smiled to herself as she realised the viewers really had no choice as CNN had the primary video feed and all other networks were sharing it.
Abrams called out, "Pepsi?"
"Um, yes. Please," she replied, smiling that he anticipated what she would need.
"These clothes ...", she started.
"You like?"
"I'm really impressed. Very stylish. Thank you so much!"
"I would make a good wife," said Abrams and laughed. Hawkins laughed with him and she was as happy with the new friendship as she was with her new role as lead newscaster even if she really had no idea what the future would bring.
Continued
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