Work Text:
January 20 2017, Washington DC
They were standing in the halls of the Capitol waiting until it was their turn to walk outside. She took a deep breath steeling herself for what was to come. This was not the way she had imagined this day to be but it was what it was, she had been trying to come to terms with everything these past two months and so far it was going well. Yes, she was still hurting a lot, for her and for her country, but she as able to relax and spend time with Bill, Chelsea, their grandchildren, and her friends. It was not as she had imagined this period to be but it counted for a lot. Now she only had to get through this day and she could begin the rest of her life, even if she wasn't sure yet what exactly that life was going to entail. One thing she was sure of though, she wasn't going to let him get away with everything he was planning to and she'd do anything that was in her power to fight this new president.
Her head held up high, she looked straight ahead, and when it was time for them to walk down the hallway, she quickly switched her purse to her other hand so it was free for her husband to take it. Which he automatically did as they started walking, giving it a small squeeze letting her know he was right there with her. She wasn't alone and she'd never have to be. He knew exactly how she felt and he wished he could take away all her pain but the only thing he could do was be there for her. He didn't want to be at this inauguration either and even though it was protocol for former presidents to attend, he would have followed suit had she decided to not to go. He would have stood with his wife no matter which backlash it would have caused. They were here now though and they were going to get through it. And after that they'd get to work, they were not going to idly stand by and watch him destroy everything.
January 20 2017, En route Washington DC – Chappaqua
After having chatted a bit with the couple of aides that came with them, they retreated to the private cabin of the plane, needing some time by themselves. It had been a tiring day and they had gone over their schedules for the next days, keeping it light, so they simply wanted to be alone now. Even though these were the people closest to them, they needed time alone to process everything. Sitting down on the small couch together, she leaned into him as his arm immediately snaked around her shoulders. She let out a little sigh and that was it, she couldn't keep it together anymore and tears rolled down her face as her whole body shook while she cried. He just held her in his arms and stroked her head wishing he could do more for her, wishing this horrible reality was not real. She had cried before, the days after the election were especially hard on her, and on him too, it hurt him so much to see his wife feeling so devastated. Especially considering who her opponent had been and everything that had happened. She had been doing okay again, she had started to heal, but they both knew this day was still looming over their heads and that it would be hard.
January 20 2017, Chappaqua
Hoping they wouldn't encounter anybody on their walk because this really wasn't the day, they ventured out into the woods for about an hour and as luck had it, they were indeed all alone. It was refreshing and needed, just the two of them and Maisie and Tally in the crispy cold air. They had become so used to their secret service detail they didn't even notice they were there trailing behind them. When they were together it was just them and nobody else. The fresh air did wonders for their mood and because the woods were deserted they really felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders, for a while they were living in another reality.
Back home, they decided to order in some Thai food for dinner as neither felt like going out for dinner, tonight was not the night to socialize with anybody and they knew that especially on this day people would want to offer their sympathy and while Hillary appreciated it more than anybody would ever know, she was not ready for it yet. After dinner they settled on the couch with a bottle of wine, making it a point to not turn on any channel where they could encounter news about the rest of the day. They'd hear about it tomorrow, tonight it was just them, a bottle of red, and a long Netflix queue. He put his arm around her and she settled into him as he used his other hand to flick to their queue trying to figure out which show to catch up on.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for her to close her eyes. Usually it was him who would fall asleep but understandably this day had been more exhausting for her, and at times he still wondered if she was catching up on the lack of sleep she had endured but most likely a lot of it was related to the hurt over her loss still. He knew how it felt to lose, but knowing how much significance and importance was related to his particular election, he could only begin to imagine how she must have felt. After he had finished the episode they had started, he kissed the top of her head softly and whispered into her ear trying to wake her up gently so they could go to bed. She mumbled incoherently and snuggled against him a little tighter. Giving her a hug and another kiss, he slowly removed himself from her and put a pillow in place, so he could put away their glasses and bottle of wine and turn the lights off before they'd move to the bedroom. She woke up slowly realizing that albeit softer, the pillow was definitely not her husband. Pushing her glasses up on her nose she looked around and heard him in the kitchen. She stretched and let out a little yawn before getting up right when he walked into the living room. He smiled at the sight of her, hair disheveled, glasses on, sweat pants, this was the Hillary nobody else usually got to see and he loved every single piece of her.
“Ready to go to bed honey?” She nodded and got up as she took his hand, he squeezed it slightly as they made their way up to the bedroom.
They got ready for bed and settled in for the night, he grabbed a book as usual and read until she'd join him in bed. She walked out of the bathroom and smiled at the sight of her husband in his usual spot, reading glasses perched on his nose, and a thick book in his hands. Even though they had been living this domestic life for a while now, it still made her happy to know they'd be sleeping in the same bed basically all the time now that it was all over. She joined him and snuggled up to his side as he automatically wrapped his arm around her.
“Night honey. And thank you.” She looked up at him with a soft smile as he put away his book.
“Thanks for what?”
“For being you. For being here. For loving me always.”
He kissed her head, pulled her tighter against him and lowered the both of them so he was spooning her. He wanted to hold her all night long and hopefully take away some of the burden of this day, he knew there wasn't much he could do but he wanted to try and do whatever he could to make her feel at least a little better. Tomorrow was a new day, the healing would begin anew and soon they'd start fighting again. He softly whispered into the night as she drifted into sleep:
“It should have been you.”