FF: The Reluctant President (3/?)
You had questions. This chapter has answers! Well, at least some of them.
Title: The Reluctant President (3/?)
Author: caitrin
Rating: Let's say PG for this one.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine.
Genre: AU, romance, drama, mystery
Feedback: Much appreciated.
Timeline: About a year into the Santos administration.
General Note: In this world, things went AU in season six when Donna quit. This will seem confusing at first, but it's supposed to. Keep reading and all will be revealed. :) If you're REALLY confused, ask and I'll answer unless it will spoil something that's supposed to be revealed later.
Sylvia Lyman tried to focus on her driving and stop glancing over at her cell phone every five seconds. She knew her son would call when he could. She knew he certainly had a million things to worry about right now. She knew someone had probably taken away his phone, anyway. And yet she couldn't help but worry that the fact that she hadn't heard from him meant something else was going on, something that they'd managed to keep off the news.
She shook her head and turned up the volume on the radio as an NPR host and analyst launched into a summary of the day's events:
"If you're just joining us, we have breaking news from Houston. Earlier today, at an event celebrating the first anniversary of his inauguration, President Matthew Santos was critically wounded in an assassination attempt. Robert Harrison, his chief of staff, was standing next to him at the time and was shot and killed. President Santos's condition is still unstable, and even if he survives, his doctors say that his chances of making a full recovery and being able to resume his duties are minimal at best. Therefore, in accordance with section four of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, an hour ago Vice President Joshua Lyman was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States. Now, Ken, what can you tell us about our new president?"
"Well, Joshua Lyman is a man who has spent his life in politics but never sought out public office himself, so he remains a virtual unknown to much of the country. He worked in the Bartlet White House before running Matt Santos's presidential campaign and then becoming chief of staff."
"Ken, if he never sought public office for himself, how did he become vice president?"
"You'll remember that Santos's original running mate, Leo McGarry, passed away on election night. The Democratic Party then chose Senator Marcus Preston and had him quickly confirmed by Congress - and I should mention that Lyman objected to the Preston selection from the start."
"And then, of course, only a few months into his term, Vice President Preston became the center of a massive scandal involving corruption, drugs, and prostitutes, and was forced to resign."
"Right, Michele. In the wake of that scandal, both the Democratic Party and Congress were thrown into chaos. As chief of staff, Lyman took charge of talking to each and every senator and representative to find out which Democrat was most trusted by Congress as a whole and, therefore, had the best chance of confirmation. I think he was pretty surprised to find out that the answer was him."
"But Ken, in both the Bartlet and Santos administrations, didn't Lyman have a reputation for being pretty antagonistic toward Congress at times? Why did they want him?"
"He did. This is, after all, the man once known as 'Bartlet's bulldog.' But as one senator said to me at the time, 'We may not all like the guy, but he doesn't lie and we know what we're getting into with him.' He was also widely seen as incorruptible, which, as you can imagine, was a major benefit in the wake of the Preston scandal."
"And why was that?"
Ken chuckled. "Well, for one thing, he's one of the richest men in Washington already, and he has the best connections, so there's very little in the way of power or access that anyone can use to tempt him. Despite his wealth, he lives simply. He's a workaholic who hasn't been on a date in years. He's known to have a beer with his friends on occasion, but there have never been any rumors of alcohol or drug abuse. But most importantly, even his political enemies say that he's an honest, trustworthy man who may be ruthless but who is always fair."
"Well, that's high praise. But you make it sound like our new president lives like a monk. I take it he's not married?"
"No, he's never been married."
"That's something different. When's the last time we had a single president, Ken?"
"1915. Woodrow Wilson's first wife died while he was in the White House, and he married his second wife a year and a half later."
"And has there ever been a president who remained a bachelor?"
"There was James Buchanon, so Lyman isn't the first there."
"Of course, we shouldn't assume that President Lyman won't marry."
"I suppose, although presidents don't exactly have a lot of time to date, and he doesn't seem to be interested in dating anyway. We should mention that while he isn't the first bachelor president, he IS the first Jewish president."
"And President Santos was the first Hispanic president - do we know whether this attack was perpetrated by white supremacists? If so, could Lyman also be in danger?"
"There's no word from the Secret Service on that, but we have to assume that it's a possibility."
Sylvia debated whether to turn off the radio. This was her little boy they were talking about. Was it better to know or not know?
Just then, her phone finally rang. She hit the radio's power button and then pushed the button on her phone to make it connect through her hands-free headset.
"Hello?"
"Mom?"
"Joshua!"
"Mom."
"Are you okay?"
"I guess."
"You're the President," she said in wonder.
"I guess. It doesn't seem real," he confessed.
"Give it time."
"You sound weird. Where are you?"
"I'm on the headset thing. I'm driving. I think I'm in South Carolina."
"South Carolina? Why are you in South Carolina?"
"It's between Florida and Washington. The President should really know where all the states are, Joshua," she teased.
"I know where - Washington? You're going to Washington?" He sounded relieved.
"I thought you might need me. If you don't, I can - "
"No, no, I do. That's a long drive, though. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine. I can always find a hotel if I have to."
"Hold on a second."
Sylvia heard muffled conversation on the other end of the line.
"Ma'am? This is Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield."
Sylvia's heart jumped into her throat. "Uh - hello. Is everything okay?"
"Ma'am, I want to get a detail on you as soon as possible."
"You think I'm in danger?"
"You might be. Are you driving up 95?"
"Yes. I think I'm in South Carolina," she repeated.
"Keep driving. I'm going to send one of my most trusted agents and his team to meet you. Until you're under our protection, I don't want you stopping anywhere longer than ten minutes. Don't stop at all unless you really need to."
"Okay. How will the agents find me?"
"We're going to track your cell phone. I'll call you when they get close."
"How will I know it's really them?"
"The lead agent's name is James Yang. Before you get out of the car, make him show you ID. Don't go with anyone else, even if they seem to be Secret Service. You should also give me a code word that I will have him repeat back to you."
"Uh - Pomperaug." She said the first weird word that came to mind.
"Can you repeat that, ma'am?"
"Pomperaug. It's a river in Connecticut."
"Fine. Would you spell that for me, just to be sure?"
"P-O-M-P-E-R-A-U-G."
"Thank you. When Agent Yang finds you, he'll drive you the rest of the way in his car. Another agent will drive your car."
"All right."
"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am. I'm going to put the President back on the phone now."
There was some more muffled noise, and then -
"Mom?"
"I'm here."
"I'm sorry about all that. We just don't want to take any chances. I told him not to scare you."
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about you."
"I'm - I don't know."
"Is Sam there with you?"
"Yeah, he's here. Danny, too. He hired Danny. Isn't that nuts?"
"Can I talk to Sam?"
"Yeah, someone else needs to talk to me, anyway. I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Joshua. I'll see you soon."
"Hello?" Sylvia heard Sam's familiar voice come on the line.
"Sam. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."
"Of course, Mrs. Lyman," he said, polite as always.
"How are you holding up, the both of you? Tell me the truth, Sam."
"I think we're all in shock. We're just doing what needs to be done right now."
"I heard the Oath of Office on the radio."
"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, but we just couldn't wait - "
"Thank you, Sam, but that's not why I brought it up. I heard what he said afterward, too."
"God. You could hear it on the radio? I guess there's no chance of keeping it quiet, then."
"I don't know. He was mumbling. I've been working on understanding his mumbling for over forty years. I don't think everyone will understand it."
"We can only hope."
"Sam, he needs you and me both, but he needs her more."
"That's why I'm headed to Wisconsin tonight."
"Good." Sylvia suddenly felt relieved. "Danny's staying with him, then?"
"Yes. Listen, try to get some sleep in the car after they pick you up. They're going to bring you right to the White House and get you settled in a guest room, but the next few days are going to be busy. I'm going to get someone to take you shopping in the morning."
"Shopping?" she asked, baffled.
"He's addressing the nation on live TV tomorrow night, and there's at least one state funeral coming up. Probably some other events. If you don't mind, I'd like to make you pretty visible. We need to humanize him, and in the absence of a First Lady . . ."
"NPR is practically calling him a monk."
Sam groaned. "Where NPR is saying 'monk,' the tabloids are going to say 'gay,' and Fox News is going to pick it up, and then we're going to spend a year dealing with that instead of getting anything done."
"I guess that means you'd better go find Donna, and pray like hell that she feels the way we hope she does."
"Yes, ma'am."
Title: The Reluctant President (3/?)
Author: caitrin
Rating: Let's say PG for this one.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine.
Genre: AU, romance, drama, mystery
Feedback: Much appreciated.
Timeline: About a year into the Santos administration.
General Note: In this world, things went AU in season six when Donna quit. This will seem confusing at first, but it's supposed to. Keep reading and all will be revealed. :) If you're REALLY confused, ask and I'll answer unless it will spoil something that's supposed to be revealed later.
Sylvia Lyman tried to focus on her driving and stop glancing over at her cell phone every five seconds. She knew her son would call when he could. She knew he certainly had a million things to worry about right now. She knew someone had probably taken away his phone, anyway. And yet she couldn't help but worry that the fact that she hadn't heard from him meant something else was going on, something that they'd managed to keep off the news.
She shook her head and turned up the volume on the radio as an NPR host and analyst launched into a summary of the day's events:
"If you're just joining us, we have breaking news from Houston. Earlier today, at an event celebrating the first anniversary of his inauguration, President Matthew Santos was critically wounded in an assassination attempt. Robert Harrison, his chief of staff, was standing next to him at the time and was shot and killed. President Santos's condition is still unstable, and even if he survives, his doctors say that his chances of making a full recovery and being able to resume his duties are minimal at best. Therefore, in accordance with section four of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, an hour ago Vice President Joshua Lyman was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States. Now, Ken, what can you tell us about our new president?"
"Well, Joshua Lyman is a man who has spent his life in politics but never sought out public office himself, so he remains a virtual unknown to much of the country. He worked in the Bartlet White House before running Matt Santos's presidential campaign and then becoming chief of staff."
"Ken, if he never sought public office for himself, how did he become vice president?"
"You'll remember that Santos's original running mate, Leo McGarry, passed away on election night. The Democratic Party then chose Senator Marcus Preston and had him quickly confirmed by Congress - and I should mention that Lyman objected to the Preston selection from the start."
"And then, of course, only a few months into his term, Vice President Preston became the center of a massive scandal involving corruption, drugs, and prostitutes, and was forced to resign."
"Right, Michele. In the wake of that scandal, both the Democratic Party and Congress were thrown into chaos. As chief of staff, Lyman took charge of talking to each and every senator and representative to find out which Democrat was most trusted by Congress as a whole and, therefore, had the best chance of confirmation. I think he was pretty surprised to find out that the answer was him."
"But Ken, in both the Bartlet and Santos administrations, didn't Lyman have a reputation for being pretty antagonistic toward Congress at times? Why did they want him?"
"He did. This is, after all, the man once known as 'Bartlet's bulldog.' But as one senator said to me at the time, 'We may not all like the guy, but he doesn't lie and we know what we're getting into with him.' He was also widely seen as incorruptible, which, as you can imagine, was a major benefit in the wake of the Preston scandal."
"And why was that?"
Ken chuckled. "Well, for one thing, he's one of the richest men in Washington already, and he has the best connections, so there's very little in the way of power or access that anyone can use to tempt him. Despite his wealth, he lives simply. He's a workaholic who hasn't been on a date in years. He's known to have a beer with his friends on occasion, but there have never been any rumors of alcohol or drug abuse. But most importantly, even his political enemies say that he's an honest, trustworthy man who may be ruthless but who is always fair."
"Well, that's high praise. But you make it sound like our new president lives like a monk. I take it he's not married?"
"No, he's never been married."
"That's something different. When's the last time we had a single president, Ken?"
"1915. Woodrow Wilson's first wife died while he was in the White House, and he married his second wife a year and a half later."
"And has there ever been a president who remained a bachelor?"
"There was James Buchanon, so Lyman isn't the first there."
"Of course, we shouldn't assume that President Lyman won't marry."
"I suppose, although presidents don't exactly have a lot of time to date, and he doesn't seem to be interested in dating anyway. We should mention that while he isn't the first bachelor president, he IS the first Jewish president."
"And President Santos was the first Hispanic president - do we know whether this attack was perpetrated by white supremacists? If so, could Lyman also be in danger?"
"There's no word from the Secret Service on that, but we have to assume that it's a possibility."
Sylvia debated whether to turn off the radio. This was her little boy they were talking about. Was it better to know or not know?
Just then, her phone finally rang. She hit the radio's power button and then pushed the button on her phone to make it connect through her hands-free headset.
"Hello?"
"Mom?"
"Joshua!"
"Mom."
"Are you okay?"
"I guess."
"You're the President," she said in wonder.
"I guess. It doesn't seem real," he confessed.
"Give it time."
"You sound weird. Where are you?"
"I'm on the headset thing. I'm driving. I think I'm in South Carolina."
"South Carolina? Why are you in South Carolina?"
"It's between Florida and Washington. The President should really know where all the states are, Joshua," she teased.
"I know where - Washington? You're going to Washington?" He sounded relieved.
"I thought you might need me. If you don't, I can - "
"No, no, I do. That's a long drive, though. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine. I can always find a hotel if I have to."
"Hold on a second."
Sylvia heard muffled conversation on the other end of the line.
"Ma'am? This is Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield."
Sylvia's heart jumped into her throat. "Uh - hello. Is everything okay?"
"Ma'am, I want to get a detail on you as soon as possible."
"You think I'm in danger?"
"You might be. Are you driving up 95?"
"Yes. I think I'm in South Carolina," she repeated.
"Keep driving. I'm going to send one of my most trusted agents and his team to meet you. Until you're under our protection, I don't want you stopping anywhere longer than ten minutes. Don't stop at all unless you really need to."
"Okay. How will the agents find me?"
"We're going to track your cell phone. I'll call you when they get close."
"How will I know it's really them?"
"The lead agent's name is James Yang. Before you get out of the car, make him show you ID. Don't go with anyone else, even if they seem to be Secret Service. You should also give me a code word that I will have him repeat back to you."
"Uh - Pomperaug." She said the first weird word that came to mind.
"Can you repeat that, ma'am?"
"Pomperaug. It's a river in Connecticut."
"Fine. Would you spell that for me, just to be sure?"
"P-O-M-P-E-R-A-U-G."
"Thank you. When Agent Yang finds you, he'll drive you the rest of the way in his car. Another agent will drive your car."
"All right."
"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am. I'm going to put the President back on the phone now."
There was some more muffled noise, and then -
"Mom?"
"I'm here."
"I'm sorry about all that. We just don't want to take any chances. I told him not to scare you."
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about you."
"I'm - I don't know."
"Is Sam there with you?"
"Yeah, he's here. Danny, too. He hired Danny. Isn't that nuts?"
"Can I talk to Sam?"
"Yeah, someone else needs to talk to me, anyway. I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Joshua. I'll see you soon."
"Hello?" Sylvia heard Sam's familiar voice come on the line.
"Sam. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."
"Of course, Mrs. Lyman," he said, polite as always.
"How are you holding up, the both of you? Tell me the truth, Sam."
"I think we're all in shock. We're just doing what needs to be done right now."
"I heard the Oath of Office on the radio."
"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, but we just couldn't wait - "
"Thank you, Sam, but that's not why I brought it up. I heard what he said afterward, too."
"God. You could hear it on the radio? I guess there's no chance of keeping it quiet, then."
"I don't know. He was mumbling. I've been working on understanding his mumbling for over forty years. I don't think everyone will understand it."
"We can only hope."
"Sam, he needs you and me both, but he needs her more."
"That's why I'm headed to Wisconsin tonight."
"Good." Sylvia suddenly felt relieved. "Danny's staying with him, then?"
"Yes. Listen, try to get some sleep in the car after they pick you up. They're going to bring you right to the White House and get you settled in a guest room, but the next few days are going to be busy. I'm going to get someone to take you shopping in the morning."
"Shopping?" she asked, baffled.
"He's addressing the nation on live TV tomorrow night, and there's at least one state funeral coming up. Probably some other events. If you don't mind, I'd like to make you pretty visible. We need to humanize him, and in the absence of a First Lady . . ."
"NPR is practically calling him a monk."
Sam groaned. "Where NPR is saying 'monk,' the tabloids are going to say 'gay,' and Fox News is going to pick it up, and then we're going to spend a year dealing with that instead of getting anything done."
"I guess that means you'd better go find Donna, and pray like hell that she feels the way we hope she does."
"Yes, ma'am."