Chapter Text
Presidential
Chapter 1
Vote of Confidence
Presidential, (adj.) -having a bearing or demeanor befitting a president; dignified and confident.
“Ally, hey, what's up?”
Allison closed her eyes as Carter arrived earlier than she hoped meaning she was not able to brief him on the current situation threatening the existence of Eureka. He also bound up to her like an excited puppy with that smile that said that she could be the center of his universe if she would allow it. One glance to the man beside her told her that he didn't miss any of it. This, was not going to go well. She was going to have to ask Fargo what part of “Escort Carter directly to my office when he gets here” did he not understand? “Sheriff Carter, I wanted to introduce you to our guest.”
Jack looked at the tall,dark and glaring dude beside Allison and felt the hostility radiating off him like heat waves off a vehicle in the L.A. summer sun. Which was a shame because, much like the sweltering heat of summer, the guy was smoking hot. “Oh, new scientist?”
“Not quite.” Allison said and heard that little hum of Nathan's that told her he was powering up to say something scathing. “This is Senator Nathan Stark, he's head of the Senate committee that oversees Eureka's budget.”
“Oh.” Jack said and held out his hand. “Welcome to Eureka.”
Nathan gave a tight grin and looked over the new Sheriff and was about to offer his hand to shake when the man seemed to have a seizure.
“Oh! Nathan Stark?" Jack said and snapped his fingers as the name jarred a memory. "I know that name!”
Nathan's ego allowed him to ease up a bit on the hostility. He raised his eyebrow in anticipation of being fawned over like Dr. Fargo had done prior to him telling him to get him some coffee from Cafe Diem instead of the sludge they brewed here at GD. He stood up tall and smiled, one never did get tired of hearing praise. Eureka was a breath of fresh air in that respect.
“You're the guy the hallway is named after?” Jack said and his face lit up as he placed the name before being told who this dignitary was. Take that Eureka!
“Yes.” Nathan drawled and rolled his eyes as he let his hand fall back to his side as he allowed that bitterness returned. “The hallway that leads to the entire wing of Global Dynamics dedicated to furthering artificial intelligence based upon my Nobel Prize winning work.”
“I never considered Artificial Intelligence to be a token of peace, but watching those goldfish swim around in the fountain has brought me peace, on occasion.” Carter said and looked over at Allison as she made some inhuman noise and made him break eye contact with Stark. The guy was downright pissed now, but he was no ass-kisser. He was no Walmart greeter either so the question was, why was he here?
Nathan wanted to laugh. Instead he cocked his head and said, “Ally, he's adorable, where did you find him?”
Jack didn't mind playing along. The guy was clearly an asshole, not much of a surprise for a politician, and he sure as hell wasn't going to get his vote. So, to catch the guy off guard, he looked back over at him with an appraising look and replied with a grin. “You're not so bad yourself.”
“Dr. Stark!” Fargo screamed as he ran up with a Vinpresso and then remembered he was addressing a United States Senator. He bowed and held up the cup. “Senator Stark, sir.”
“Ally, I'll wait for you in your office.” Nathan said and took the coffee as he gave Carter a wink to say he wasn't retreating because of his comment. He left Ally to deal with her lost puppy by herself. That was who Sheriff Cobb chose as a replacement? No wonder Lupo was pissed. No wonder Eureka was a dumpster fire. Still, he kinda liked that he hadn't backed down and had taken the opportunity to try and make him feel insecure. Maybe he wasn't a total loss.
“Fargo.” Allison contained her anger as it wasn't exactly all his fault. She knew he looked upon Nathan as an idol, she should have known not to trust him. “Hold my calls, I'll be giving the Senator a tour of the facility and afterwards we'll be discussing the budget. I expect to not be disturbed.”
“Yes, Dr. Blake.” Fargo said with wiggling eyebrows and an exaggerated innuendo tone, while giving two thumbs up before scampering off.
“Wow, maybe Stark should set up a gift shop with autographed pictures in his hallway.” Jack said with a chuckle. “Maybe some blow up dolls for Fargo.”
“Carter...”
“So you and Stark know each other?” Jack asked, curious if this put a damper on their coffee date this afternoon that he spent over a month trying to set up.
“Yes.” She said and Jack looked at her curiously. It would no him no good to keep the information secret now. “He's my husband.”
“Your what?”
“He took a job in D.C. last year.” She said and tried to not make eye contact with Carter. He looked hurt but he recovered quickly. He was now studying her with the eyes of a seasoned cop and she felt a little like she was under the microscope.
“As in....a job in the Senate.” Jack said and let that information sink in. A Nobel prize winning doctor who had a whole section of the most advanced scientific facility in the world named after him, who was also married to the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on who was also super intelligent and running that facility. Oh and the guy was also a US Senator. Well, so much for that coffee date.
“Yes. He used to be the Director of Global but chose to go into politics to help support this facility and it's work instead of fighting against Congress to keep it funded.” She said.
“Right.” Jack nodded. “So, what did you need me for?”
“I need you to make sure things don't get out of hand while he's here.” Allison plead. “Please, he's already critical enough of how GD's being run now that he's not running it. Dr. King's breach of security of Section 5 projects has brought Eureka into the light with several of his colleagues. Considering Nathan is somewhat of the golden boy in his party right now, they're targeting a Eureka to compromise him since it's been something he's trying to protect.”
He could see Nathan being the center of any party, especially in a tux, although he understood she was speaking strictly about politics. “Ok. I'll do my best.”
In Eureka, his best was never good enough especially when it was movie night at Spencer's place. In addition to Henry's assistant hijacking a satellite to beam unreleased movies into his home theater, Spencer beamed paranoia overload straight into the moviegoers heads. So, as if it wasn't bad enough that the test chimps didn't show Stark the military project he needed to prove Eureka was essential to the United States, he ended up kidnapped for being an alien. Having his own Deputy be part of that just was icing on the cake.
Jack really couldn't blame them, he had his own doubts about Stark being real. Thankfully his shitty personality gave him a major character flaw, but he was having a hard time coming to grips with how damned great he was at everything. Physically he was out of this world, mentally the guy could easily outmaneuver everyone and sadly he kinda enjoyed the insulting sarcasm that flowed off his tongue like a bitter fruit juice you couldn't get enough of. Yeah, if he was Allison he would probably forget about the idiot town Sheriff too and embrace this smug, overachieving pain in the ass.
However it had been his ass to save and as Stark lay on a slab in Taggart's lab, with a bunch of trigger happy military types ready to kick in the door, Jack couldn't help but notice his own skills impressed Senator Nobel High IQ GQ. He also could help but notice a tickle of something that he shouldn't when he went to untie Stark from the table. That didn't fade as they got outside and Nathan assumed command, and not just by being outspoken and throwing his rank around, he literally set foot on the ground and took charge. Ok, so maybe there was something about the guy that was impressive and he could see how he won his campaign by a landslide.
He could also see why Allison stayed in Eureka when he went to the other side of the country.
“Ally this place is out of control.” Nathan said. “I'm assuming command of it until we can get things back in order.”
“Nathan!”
Jack stood back and watched Allison lose control of her own facility without an ounce of tact from the guy who should have known better. Maybe he really did have a chance with her after all. It however, was not his mess, and he went back to ensuring Fargo, Lupo, Taggart and Spenser were taken care of accordingly instead of being used as test subjects.
“Ally.” Nathan said as soon as they were in his SUV. She glared at him from the door, refusing to get in even though it was clear he expected her to travel with him. “Do you want to be the one signing off on redactions or do you want to blame me? We're in danger of Eureka being shut down because of Warren King's stunt, just be thankful it was me kidnapped and not someone else. I need this place running smoothly when I leave so I can give the committee assurances that will be delivered on.”
“You sound like a politician.” Ally replied coldly, still not getting in the car despite him leaving a space on the seat beside him implying he was expecting her to.
“Good.” He said. “Because my next proposal is very political and very much a proposal.”
She glared at him and was surprised to see a softness to his eyes. She got in the car and closed the door, knowing this was personal.
“Come back with me. Come to D.C. I don't want to give up on our marriage.”
“That didn't stop you from leaving.” She said and turned in her seat to face him and push herself away from his sprawling body. “Let's not mince words. You want to fix your image not your marriage.”
“Our marriage.” He said sternly. “We look good together and we want the same thing. You used the image of us to get what you wanted and now I need you to return the favor.”
“I got my job on my own merits, Nathan.”
“You came to Eureka with me as my wife. You took the job as DoD liaison because you have just as much ambition as I do otherwise you would have been happy with some medical researcher role here . So why not work together? You're interim director here, the DoD has no intention of making that permanent. Then what? YOu go back to Washington? Maybe back to medicine?”
“And what do I do with you in Washington?”
“Elections are coming up and I have it on good authority I will be selected as a running mate for the party's presidential candidate.” Nathan said as he folded his hands and looked out the window. He was the only choice in a pool of lackluster career politicians, he didn't doubt the rumors at all.
“Excuse me?” She finally let down her guard and relaxed. Nathan was....going to be running for Vice President? She didn't doubt him, she never doubted his ability, she just doubted he was going to get what he wanted. It sounded like he was just being used.
“Don't look surprised, you know how appealing my resume is to flaunt. Like I said, it's about image. It's a good position to be in to put this country back on the path it needs to be on.”
“So you want a pretty wife and a son to be by you for the pictures and then what? Why do I give up GD for your ambitions?”
“Because no matter what I do, Eureka's days are numbered. At least from where I am sitting. I need to climb higher.” Nathan replied. "I also need you because I don't want to do this alone. I need you to keep me grounded, I need you to keep me afloat."
“That's all you want? You 're going to run for Vice President so you can save one little town in Oregon?” She asked, ignoring his plea to be his partner in all this. She knew he meant well, but she knew he would inevitably get so hyper-focused on his prize that he would never let her in on his thoughts or strategies. That would be a repeat of their marriage all over again, so was it worth it?
“Not one town, one country. The world, actually. We've lost focus on what matters and without that focus there is not much future for us. That's personally speaking as well as an outlook for humanity. Ally, what world do you want Kevin to live in?” He asked and saw her hold her breath. “Come home with me, I promise when I get things back on track that I'll respect your wishes if you genuinely don't want to be with me anymore.”
“Nathan, do you honestly think we can provide the picture of the perfect family when we're in the spotlight when we couldn't even make it work in Eureka?” She asked as the car started moving and she looked out to see Jack standing in the middle of the resolved situation by himself, watching them pull away. She watched him fade away into the distance, symbolic of what their relationship seemed destined to be. She looked back at her husband, his wasn't being dishonest about his intentions but she knew it would be a rough road for them and questioned if she wanted to make those sacrifices.
“Let's talk about it over dinner.” He said and gave her a smile, receiving a scowl in return. It was going to take more than apologies and a family dinner to make up for the stunt he just pulled. He debated on whether or not he wanted to read her in on the Artifact and decided against it. "Please."
"We'll talk, but don't think it excuses what you have done." She said, folded her arms and sat back in the plush seat of the car and thought about what he had said. It was hard to concentrate over the sting of being pushed aside as temporary director of GD. She knew him, she knew this was why he came back to Eureka and it was infuriating he didn't tell her this from the get-go.
"You believe me, don't you?" He asked.
"I don't know if I believe you Nathan, sometimes I wonder if you truly see your actions for what they are instead of a means to an end." She looked out the window and closed her eyes. A pang of guilt made her add, "I believe in you, I always have."
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence." He said softly. He knew once he saw Henry again that his confidence would be shaken, his old mentor would not be kind with his words and would make him question everything. He just wanted one person on his side and he hoped it would be his wife. He'd done a bang up job of winning her over, he hoped dinner would go better.