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Hillary was finally able to travel again after having Henry, she had been working lightly and making the best use of her time at her office in the White House. But now she really needed to get out on the road and talk with the people about their health care concerns. She missed working to solve problems but she didn't want to leave Henry for any longer than she had too.
"Sweetheart it will be fine, he and I will get much needed father and son bonding time. Plus, Chelsea will be here to help." Bill trying to calm her worries about leaving their son for a few days. Hillary was holding Henry while sitting on one of the couches in the Oval Office while Bill was at his desk looking over papers. This had become a daily routine now since Henry was born.
"I know Bill, I'm just concerned about leaving him that long." Hillary said.
Looking over at his beautiful wife holding their 2 month old son, his glasses on the end of his nose. "Hillary, if you don't want to go on the road trip then you don't have to. We can do the research here and..."
Hillary put her hand up to interrupt him. "No Bill, you know I need to get out there and actually visit the hospitals and talk to the people to get the research right. It's how I did it in Arkansas, that's the only way to get the data accurate." Hillary stood up with Henry and walked over to Bill. He gestured for them to sit on his lap. Once Hillary was seated he reached his long arms around her and cuddled her while gently putting his hand on Henry's head.
"Baby girl, I promise nothing will happen to him while you're gone. I know it's difficult to leave him." He knew exactly why Hillary was trepidatious about leaving, she didn't need to say it out loud. Henry was their second miracle and she felt a deeper need to protect him.
"Okay, I will make the trip then but I will call every day to check up on my two men." She learned her head against Bill's shoulder, with a smile on both their faces. "We wouldn't have it any other way, would we little man?" Bill rubbed his son's cheek as he kissed the top of Hillary's head.
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Hillary was all packed and her assistant had taken her bags to the car awaiting her at the North portico, Bill was walking with her his hand in hers and Henry propped up on his right shoulder with his other hand holding him.
"I wrote down all his feeding times in case you forget and remember to call me for bath time so I can talk to him." Hillary was reminding Bill as they entered the foyer. Bill smiled and squeezed her hand, they stopped just before the door.
"The bottles of the breast milk are on the second shelf on the right in the refrigerator. I pumped enough hopefully for the couple of days I'll be gone, if you run out the organic formula is in the cabinet to the right of the sink." Hillary had already told Bill this three times and even wrote it down but Bill knew she needed to give the instructions again to calm her nerves. "Of course my darlin' and remember you wrote it down for me so I have it on the fridge to make sure I remember." She smiled at Bill.
"Now listen you need to get going, we will be fine and call as soon as you get settled into the hotel." Bill said trying to nudge her along, knowing all to well how difficult these next few minutes would be for her. "You sure you have the instructions on the refrigerator Bill?" She was always the 'Worrier in Chief'.
"Yes sweetheart now (In a baby voice.) let's say goodbye to mommy and give her big kisses." Bill turned Henry toward his mother and Hillary gave him a big kiss on the cheek and Henry smiled and Bill learned down to give her a kiss. "I love you honey, and we will talk to you tonight when you get to the hotel."
"I love you too, my handsome men." She gave Bill another kiss as well as Henry. She turned and out the doors she went, when she reached the car she turned back and looked at Bill and her son. Bill took Henry's little arm and waved it at her, she smiled blew them a kiss and entered the car. As the car pulled away she kept her eyes on them for as long as she could still see them then sat back on the seat and sighed.
Bill turned Henry in his arms and raised him up above his head. "You and daddy are gonna be alright, aren't we son?" Henry just smiled.
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When Hillary's plane touched down in St. Louis there was a huge crowd there waiting to cheer and greet her, she was so glad to see so many people but she honestly couldn't wait to get to the hotel to call Bill. She had a few stops to make before the hotel though, the most important was the Children's Hospital.
Meanwhile back at the White House, Bill and Henry were standing outside the Oval Office watching on the TV as Hillary's plane landed and taxied. As soon as Hillary stepped out of the plane, Bill said to Henry. "Look there's mommy."
The ladies in the office were all smiling at how adorable Bill was showing Henry his mom on the television.
Bill and Henry spent the afternoon in the Oval Office going over important things, the most important was reading 'The Little Engine That Could' just before Henry's nap. In preparation of Hillary's trip Bill had a bassinet constructed in his private study off the Oval. He wanted to make sure he had Henry close by while he was working and if he had to go to a meeting or into the Situation Room for any reason someone would be there with Henry. He wanted to be totally hands on and not push his responsibility off at all. So every minute Henry was awake he was helping daddy at work.
Just after nap time Bill and Henry took a walk around the South Lawn while Socks followed on his leash. Then back to the Oval for a meeting on the budget with his staff. The whole time during the meeting Henry was in his father's arms.
Around 6pm, Bill and Henry made their way up to the residence to greet Chelsea as she got home after ballet class.
Bill, Chelsea and Henry sat at the kitchen table eating dinner. Hillary on the other hand was visiting with mother's and father's of sick children. Her heart broke at each story but she was also extremely encouraged by their strength and resilience, she was also overwhelmed by the hospital staff that helped take care of these children while their parents had to work. The first day of a 3 day trip and she was already learning so much not just about these individual families but also learning from the nurses and doctors about what they see the issues are facing the country's healthcare system.
Bill helped Chelsea finish her homework and then they went into the solarium to watch Wheel of Fortune before Hillary called.
"Dad, you always get the puzzles wrong." Chelsea laughed as Bill got yet another one wrong. "Chels, these people need to buy the vowels sooner and I'm positive I would solve these faster." Chelsea just laughed as Henry was sitting in her lap.
"How long before we get to the hotel?" Hillary asked Caprica. "Ma'am we should be there any minute, we called ahead to have your dinner brought up. After you call the President we will meet to go over your itinerary for tomorrow when we arrive in Kansas City."
"Thank you Caprica, I don't know what I'd do without you." They both smiled.
Hillary was due to call any minute and Bill, Chelsea and Henry were all sitting on the couch watching a British comedy show from the 70's about employees of a department store when the phone rang. "Henry! Mommy is calling!"
Bill picked up the phone as the White House operator told the President to hold for the First Lady. "Hello my darlin', how was the flight?"
When she heard his voice she felt so relaxed. "It was fine honey, a little turbulence but not much."
"Well Henry and I got to watch you get off the plane, he was very proud to see mommy greeting all the people at the airport." She smiled so big at the image of Bill and Henry watching her on TV. "Hold on a minute love, Chelsea wants to talk to you." Bill handed Chelsea the phone and Bill picked up Henry.
"Hi mom!"
"Hello sweetheart, how was ballet class today?" Always a mother first, there was nothing more important than her children.
"Oh my god mom it was great, we are really getting the routine down for The Nutcracker, and I'm trying really hard to hopefully get the lead. Although Kerry is really good and she might get it." Chelsea loved to talk to her mother about her ballet classes.
"Well sweetie I am sure you will do the best you can, how was school today?"
"Great! Got an A on my math test!"
Bill winked and nodded proudly at his daughter, she truly is an amazing young lady and he is so extremely proud that she is his daughter.
"That is excellent Chels! I knew you'd ace that test, I don't know why you were worried."
"Mom, they might want to also move me into honors English but the teacher wanted to speak with you and dad first."
"As soon as I get home on Thursday I'll give the school a call and dad and I will set up a time to meet with your teacher and the Dean, okay sweetheart?"
"Awesome thanks mom, okay here's dad, I'm going to my room to call Julie we might want to go to the mall this weekend."
"Okay baby, we will work it out with the Secret Service. I love you! I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks mom! I love you too, here's dad."
Chelsea handed the phone back to her father and got up from the couch. She kissed her father before she went off to her room.
"Hi beautiful." Bill said.
"Hi, I miss you."
"I miss you too darlin'. (Henry had his hand wrapped around Bill's index finger.) Henry is missing mommy too."
"Oh Bill, I miss him like crazy. Especially today when I was meeting these families and just wanting so much to hold him close. Bill the courage and hope in their faces, but the sadness behind their eyes was too much." She begins to sniffle lightly , they sit silent for just a bit when Henry breaks it with a cooing sound to get daddy's attention. Hillary hears him and her heart warm and the emotional stress of the day melts away. "How is my handsome boy doing?"
"He is great babe, today we did many important Presidential things in the Oval Office. We helped our big sister with her homework, we took our naps and he even let daddy feed him without fussing this time." Bill smiled at his boy while he sat him on his knee.
"Well, it sounds like my men had a busy day." She smiled and pulled out a picture she made sure was in her purse before she left, it is of the four of them from the photo shoot they had when they brought Henry home.
Henry let out a rather large yawn and his eyes looked heavy.
"Baby girl I need to find the cordless phone, he yawned and he looks ready for bed and I want to put him down." Bill started looking around the room.
"If your looking for the one in the solarium it's on the table behind my chair." Still looking at her picture.
"Alright I'm going to put the phone down and look for the other one, don't go away honey." Bill said while putting Henry down on the couch for a moment believing he would need to hands for this mission. He laid the phone receiver down next to Henry, not really thinking while he went on his search. Henry grabbed the new object in front of him and immediately put it in his mouth and began to coo. It took a few seconds for it to register to Hillary that Henry was now "on" the phone.
"Hello there mommy's handsome boy. Are you being a good boy for daddy?" Henry's eyes went big as he heard that familiar voice and he began to kick his feet and coo more. Hillary giggled. "Is that so Henry James Clinton? Well, you be sure to be extra good for daddy until mommy gets home. I miss you my sweet boy, yes I do, and I can't wait to be home to tell you all about my adventures."
Bill finally found the cordless phone, right where Hillary said it was. "Ha! Got it!" Turning it on and proclaiming his victory and he heard his boy cooing in the phone to his mother and turned around to hang up the other phone. "Henry are you talking to mommy?"
"Yes he was, we had a nice little chat." Hillary said with a big smile as Bill placed the other phone on the hook and balanced the cordless one on his shoulder to his ear. "Well darlin' how about we put him down for the night?" Bill picks up Henry and starts walking to the nursery. "Yes, he needs his rest after his busy day with daddy."
As Bill walked with Henry resting on his chest and Hillary on the phone to the nursery she told him about her day and what she is planning for the next two on her trip. Bill put the phone's speaker phone on so he could put the phone down next to Henry's head while he changed him and got him ready for bed. Hillary spoke softly to him through the phone while daddy got him ready. This is something they would perfect both ways as their years in the White House went along with Henry, they couldn't always take him with them but they would always make sure they were both somehow as close as possible to him even far away.
Once Bill finished getting him ready for bed he picked up his son and laid him in his crib, turning the mobile on and putting the phone with Hillary next to him so he could drift away into dreamland as his mother read him a story through the phone. It didn't take long for him to close his eyes and fall asleep. Bill picked up the phone and whispered. "He's asleep baby girl."
He left the room turned out the light and left the door open a crack just after Socks went in to sleep on the nursing chair and keep watch over his little brother.
Walking down the hall back to their bedroom.
"Baby, what else do you have to do tonight?" Bill said with wonder.
"Caprica and I still have to go over the itinerary for tomorrow in Kansas City and I want to write down some notes from what I saw and learned today." Hillary stood up and started to unbutton her suit jacket. "Have you eaten?" Bill always asked that of her especially when she was working on an important matter, she tends to get so caught up in the important work and can sometimes forget to take care of herself. While she was on the Nixon impeachment staff she would work herself so ragged and forget to eat and when Bill came up to visit her during a break in his Congressional campaign he was stunned at how skinny she had become.
"Yes, my love. Caprica had them send up dinner for me and I was just about to eat it but I couldn't wait another second to talk to you and the kids." She smiled at the sound of that phrase. She continued. "I miss you."
Bill smiled as he walked out onto the Truman Balcony, one of his wife's favorite places. "I miss you too my darlin' and it won't be long now before your home and in my arms."
After a few more minutes together on the phone they both reluctantly hung up, Hillary began to eat her dinner while she jotted down her notes and Bill took the baby monitor into his study to finish up some work from the day.
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"Caprica I'm so glad we were able to leave earlier, I can't wait to get back home." Hillary sitting on her plane just before they land back at Andrews Air Force base. "Bill doesn't know right?"
"No ma'am, apparently he's been in an intense budget meeting all morning and according to Maggie who's been in the meeting most of the day for us says Henry's been in there as well. Seems the President wanted cuteness power in the room." Caprica started to laugh and Hillary followed.
"Well if Henry can sway the Republicans, Bill will bring him to every meeting with them from now on." Hillary laughed.
Bill holding Henry left the meeting for a break, he was getting frustrated with how as he felt very little progress was made. His main priority right now was kick starting the economy again, American's are suffering and they need to do something soon. He and Henry walk into the Oval Office. "Sally, Henry and I need a little time to rest. Can you make sure we are not disturbed?" His executive secretary nods.
"Of course Mr. President, would you like me to have Henry's bottle and your lunch prepared?"
"Yes thank you Sally, he's definitely going to be getting hungry in a few minutes." Bill said as he placed Henry down on the couch to remove his jacket and sling it over the sitting chair.
Standing up right in front of Henry in his onesie that Bill had special made with the Presidential seal on them. "What do you think son? Will the Republicans get it together and meet us in the middle on this budget idea?" Henry simply kicked his feet and Bill laughed. "Me either son, me either."
A few moments later there was a knock on the door and Sally entered with Bill'a lunch and Henry's bottle. "Here you are Mr. President, I'll place it on the desk and make sure you both are not disturbed."
Bill picks Henry up off the couch to make there way over to the desk. "Thank you Sally."
Bill sits down behind the desk with Henry in his arms and eats his lunch while looking over some papers then picks up Henry's bottle and starts to feed his son. It's quite and peaceful, just the two of them bonding and Henry puts one of his little hands on his own bottle. "Well look at you son, your starting to get the hang of this." Bill beams with pride.
After Henry finishes his bottle Bill reaches into his drawer and gets a burping towel, places it on his shoulder and lightly taps on Henry's back. After a few minutes and a few as Bill would say manly burps he removes the towel and places Henry on his chest. They both quickly drift off to sleep.
Hillary walks through the doors at the North portico and is greeted by Maggie and a few other members of her staff.
"Welcome back ma'am, how was your trip?"
"Informative, I have tons of notes I want to go over with everyone. Where are Bill and Henry?"
"The President and Henry left the meeting and went into the Oval Office to have lunch, Sally asked us not to disturb them."
Hillary smiled. "Thank you Maggie. I'll be over at the office soon but I want to see Bill and Henry first."
"Of course ma'am."
Hillary makes her way to the outer office and is greeted by Sally.
"Welcome back ma'am. How was your trip?"
"Excellent but exhausting. Are my handsome men still in there?"
"Yes ma'am, I brought the President his lunch and Henry his bottle around 20 minutes ago. Go ahead on in."
"Thank you Sally."
Hillary turns the knob and slowly opens the door and peaks her head in to see her husband sleeping in his chair with their son fast asleep on his father's chest. She closes the door softly as to not wake them. Her heart is filled with warmth at the sight before her, she softly walks around the desk and gently touches Bill's cheek and kisses his lips. His eyes flutter open and he sees her but he is almost certain he is dreaming.
She whispers to him. "Hello handsome."
"Baby, am I dreaming?"
"No, I came back early because I couldn't take another second of being away from you."
"We missed you too. He had his bottle a little bit ago and I thought a manly nap was in order."
She smiles lovingly at her husband. She bends down to kiss him again.
"Do you want me to take him up to the nursery honey?"
"There is no need my love, for your husband had a bassinet put in my study for just this occasion." He winked at her and slowly got up from the chair to not wake Henry.
They both walked into the study and Bill gently placed him down, Hillary put her arm around Bill's waist. Both looking at Henry with joy.
He turned to her. "Now let me properly welcome home the love of my life."
They kiss deeply and well to be honest if they could have they would have ripped each other's clothes off right then and there. Breaking from their deep passionate kiss, Hillary looks into his eyes.
"Maybe later tonight you can give me an even more proper homecoming." Her voice low and sultry and Bill feels electricity shoot through his body.
"Mmm, naughty First Lady."
"Well honey it's been over 3 months since we last made love and well to be perfectly honest... I need my husband badly."
Shivers went up Bill's spine, his goddess always knows exactly what to say to make him weak.
"Well my darlin' when you put it like that how can I deny you?"
Hillary starts walking out of his study, leaving him there to watch her hips sway as she walks away. She knows exactly the effect she has on him and she loves it.
"You can't. (She flashes a sexy grin at him.) I'm going to meet with my staff for a bit then I'll be back to get you and Henry. Rest up my love... you're going to need it."
She winks at him and walks down the small hallway connecting the study to the Oval Office and through the office and he never takes his eyes off her. When she disappeared from view he whispered to Henry sleeping.
"Son, we are truly lucky men to have that woman in our lives."