Author: Regency
Title: Win,
Lose, or Also-Ran
Pairing: HRC/WJC,
HRC/Evan Bayh
Summary: History
was not going to remember the one who came close, but the people would.
~~
The
air was more than cool on January 20, 2009. The smell was crisp with the new
fallen snow. There was a thrill of pure victory in the air and it was overcoming
the city. Washington, D.C. had been immersed in corrupt smog for so long that fresh air almost choked those that had lived
there longest. They’d be all right though, in time, they’d breathe
freely again.
Just
like the American people.
Nearly
two months ago Hillary Rodham Clinton had been carried to electoral victory not only by the Democrats, but by the Republicans. By and large, many conservatives had chosen the voice of a true centrist over the
impressions of an unconvincing right-wing moderate. Women had carried the day
more than ever seen in an election year. The American people had elected her
the first female president in history and with a mandate.
Few
would ever forget the soothsaying news organizations that sat with grim faces, ready to declare her presidential campaign
a failure and dead on arrival. But more than that, none would ever forget the moment that brought the nation to its knees
when Bill Clinton suffered cardiac arrhythmia and was rushed to George Washington Memorial Hospital. As the cameras that stalked the candidate for president panned across her face, there was no room left
to doubt how much she loved him—and always would.
That
night, the election returns rolled in fast and furious, but no one who mattered was watching.
They were anxiously switching from one channel to the next, wondering, waiting and praying for the best.
The
candidate, and they would soon find, the president-elect, was parked in a hard chair next a hospital bed whispering to the
one great love of her life. He was pale and he could hardly speak.
“All that North Carolina barbecue,” he laughed a little, “I guess it just caught up with me.”
She smiled at him again and brushed her fingers through that wavy white hair—she’d never thought he could
be more handsome than when she’d caught him watching her through the stacks in the Yale law library, but she’d
been so wrong. He’d only gotten more handsome with time. But maybe that
was just the love talking.
“I don’t regret a single day,” she rasped. “Not one.”
“Not even the bad ones?” He almost didn’t believe her.
Too much had gone wrong.
“Not even the very worst.” All the ugliness flashed through
her mind for an instant just to pour away to nothing. That’s all it was
now anyway. Just white noise.
“Then, I did something right.” And he smiled.
Her heart squeezed and she nodded, beyond the ability to speak.
Chelsea stood at the door, clutching her sleeves like she did when she twelve on her first day going to Sidwell Friends. She had been so scared then; scared they wouldn’t like her, that she’d
be all alone. Standing in that wide open doorway, she looked like the child she
had been then. And the emotion in her eyes did nothing to dissuade the image.
“Darlin.’” He lifted an arm for her. She slipped under it and laid her head on his chest, the electrodes
be damned. They weren’t doing him any good anyhow.
“You were wonderful. Through this whole thing, this pointless pissing contest the DNC put us through. You were
terrific every step of the way.”
He gave a little half-smile. “I was half the problem. Without me
there--”
“Without you there, I wouldn’t have won. I may be qualified but you’ve been here and done this. They
trusted you when their trust in me failed.” She finally said the thing
she’d been dreading saying, but more so dreading never having the chance to say.
“I will and have loved you everyday of my life, Bill Clinton. I
don’t regret that at all.”
His hand was still as warm as mid-morning coffee when she fell asleep with it pressed against her cheek.
He was the greatest man she ever knew; not the least flawed man, but the one she would always love. And the cool Washington breeze, though refreshing, would never feel quite as soft against her skin.
When she raised her right hand to take her Oath, the light of the sun caught the diamond in her wedding ring and flashed
in her eyes. And for a second, she thought she could see that smile again—just
for a second.
~~
Next Part
