Chapter Text
Early on in Russell's retirement--the real one--Georgetown's Political Science department contacted him and asked if he would teach a class in the spring semester. He had turned down offers to guest lecture at multiple universities, so teaching his own class was out of the question. He finally had peace and quiet with the love of his life. He was good to go.
But it was Carol who encouraged him to accept the position. "It's only for a semester, Russ," she had said to him. If she were being honest, she was thrilled at the prospect of Russell expanding the audience of his long winded policy rants beyond their kitchen table. She loved her husband's extensive knowledge and passion, but there was only so much through which she could smile and nod.
So Russell accepted the position. When he told Bess, she had been shocked. "They're letting you interact with undergrads?"
"Well, if I remember correctly, I mentored your daughter when she was that age," he retorted. Bess did have a point, though. While age and more time with Carol had softened him a bit, he still retained his short temper and stubbornness. He was a little concerned that he would make one of those Gen x snowflakes cry in a lecture. Everyone was so sensitive these days!
When the dean emailed the syllabus template to all professors a few weeks before the semester started, Russell called Stevie. Stevie had just unpeeled the lid of a yogurt, hoping to steal a few minutes at her desk to eat lunch, but she had been meaning to check in with Russell. "What are pronouns?" he asked. "I mean I know what they are but why do I need to talk about them in my class?"
Stevie sighed. “First of all, hello Russell. Second, aren't you following the McCord Administration's work on this?"
"Yes, but I still don't really get it. Just explain what I'm supposed to put down for this damn syllabus."
"Ok, but Russell? I really encourage you to educate yourself more about issues facing the LGBTQ community. Especially if you're going to be working with young adults."
"Fine.” Russell had learned that any other answer would result in weeks of arguing.
“Good. So first things first: What are your pronouns, Russell?" Stevie asked.
“I am male," Russell replied impatiently.
"See, that doesn't tell me your pronouns," Stevie explained.
"Sure it does. I am a man. Obviously I use he and him."
Stevie took a deep breath. "We can't assume someone's gender from the way they look. And if we assume incorrectly and use the wrong pronoun, we are misgendering them."
"Misgendering?" Russell was lost.
Stevie stirred her plastic spoon around her yogurt. This was a larger conversation than she had the time for. "Russell. Do you want students to feel respected in your class?"
"Well, yes."
"Great. So put your pronouns on your syllabus. However you have students introduce themselves, ask them to include their pronouns."
Russell scribbled this down in his notebook. "Ok, ok. I say Russell Jackson, I use he and him. And then those kids tell me theirs."
"Exactly!" Stevie responded with relief. She thought for a moment. "And one more thing. Some people don't identify as male or female, so they might use they/them/theirs for their pronouns."
"That rings a bell," Russell said. "That PSA Bess did with all those celebrities."
"Yes!"
"Right." He jotted down "they pronouns-not about grammar" in the book as well. "Thanks, Stevie."
"I'm glad I could help," and replied.
"You always do. And Stevie? I know you know I think a lot of social justice campaigns are a load of new age crap. But the pronoun thing? That I get. If I make some dumb college kid cry in my class, I want it to be because I accuse them of lazy thinking, not because I disrespected their identity."
Stevie's heart swelled. Or maybe it was the bile rising in her throat. Her morning sickness hadn't fully gone away. She had been considering sharing the news with Russell when he called, but she decided to focus on helping him. There would be plenty of future opportunities to tell him he'd be an honorary grandpa in a few months.
"I know," she responded. "Gotta go!”
At dinner that night, Russell told Carol about how Stevie had saved him from “royally screwing up the semester.” Carol loved Stevie for continuing the mentor-mentee relationship they had developed. Stevie didn't only save Russell's life the day she performed CPR; her quiet faith in Russell and willingness to learn as an intern had given him a new purpose. Russell never thought he needed someone to look up to him, but Carol had known better. In the beginning, Carol's friend at the hospital asked her if she was bothered by the fact her husband spent long days at work with his "hot young intern". And maybe it would have, if the intern were not Stevie.
The course ended up going better than Russell expected, and there had been some pretty significant experiences along the way. Nadine, Jay, and Conrad had all agreed to give guest lectures via Zoom. It also turned out that the Political Science department was a little lax about pronouns, and some of his jackass colleagues had either never asked their students, or worse, never bothered to learn. One of Russell's most talented students was a junior political science major who identified as nonbinary. They told Russell one day during office hours that his was the first class in the department where their identity was respected. "I didn't expect some old cis white guy to be my most affirming professor," they said. Russell was surprised by this as well. He threatened his colleagues at a faculty meeting to start taking pronouns seriously. They all knew what he was capable of.
Now, instead of listening to long winded rants about tax policy and foreign relations over dinner, Carol heard stories about Russell's students and what the college experience was like today. It was so different from when they had gone to school, and she found herself fascinated by Russell's descriptions. If she were surprised by Russell's quest to become a stronger ally to the LGBTQ community, she didn't show it. She knew the man contained multitudes.
Toward the end of the semester, the dean approached Russell about teaching a summer course. Russell decided to decline the offer. After all, he wanted to spend another relaxing summer with Carol to make up for all the summers he should have been by her side but instead spent in the Oval Office or chasing after legislators and lobbyists. More importantly, he and Carol were becoming honorary grandparents very soon. While the actual grandparents, Elizabeth and Henry, would ideally be a constant presence, their roles as POTUS and FGOTUS made babysitting difficult to guarantee. And with Ali living in New York and Jason abroad, Dmitri and Stevie had asked if Russell and Carol could step in when Elizabeth and Henry couldn't. Russell and Carol were moved by the request.
One day, Russell and Carol came over while Dmitri was at work. Baby Maddy was asleep upstairs, and a very sleep deprived Stevie sat in a daze on the couch. Carol went to the kitchen to make tea, and Russell sat on the couch next to Stevie, glancing at the baby monitor. "Russell, I hope you don't regret turning down teaching because of me."
"Well that's a little presumptuous." He pointed to the monitor. "I turned down teaching because of her.” As if on cue, Maddy began shrieking. Stevie stood up. "I'll get her," Russell said, rising from the couch. "Drink some tea with Carol and talk about that stupid show you both like.”