Work Text:
"Don't Mess with Texas"* another 'Thousand Dreams' fic, by Rielle
* with many thanx to Janie for the title :)
Disclaimers: If you've seen them onscreen, they don't belong to me
but to Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Productions, Warner Brothers and NBC.
If you haven't they are my thought-children, so pls give me a headsup
if you want them to come and play in your backyard :) In either case
no profit taking or copywright damage is intended in this work of
fiction.
VP John Michael Hoynes' office: Eisenhower Exective Office Building,
a Tuesday night in November, approx. time: 10:42 EST
"Ghu! I loathe waiting!" Kay Hamilton quietly announced to no one in particular.
The longest night in every four years somehow seemed even longer, this time. The whole crew was worn to a nub from eleventh hour stumping. Some of them were still scattered to their various offices in the OEOB clicking off their check lists as each and every humanly imaginable exit poll was reported, again, and again, and again.
Some of them were stalking the dark, underground halls because they simply
couldn't stand still with so much hanging in the balance. And some were sitting in very small, very silent groups, their vocal chords for all intents and purposes shot from last week, last day, last hour, last minute delivery of sound bytes demanded by a Press Corps as hungry as a flock of baby wrens, waiting for mama wren to return with the stuff they lived off of, news.
"Betcha money they aren't this uptight across the street." Communications Director Kay Hamilton whispered tautly as news pics of everyone from the likely new Majority Leader in the House to the likely new Minority Whip in the Virginia legislature flitted across the screen in front of her.
"They don't have to be, Scoop." the dark haired man in a dark red leather Windsor chair with his long legs stretched out over a dark red leather ottoman, answered without looking down from his deep study of the ceiling.
"They're done." Vice President John Hoynes was almost as hoarse as Kay, the only difference seeming to come from the cup of tea he'd sipped at, all day and all evening long.
"Well, they still have a victory speech to give. I'd be willing to bet it isn't finished ...not yet ... " Sara Jacobi half grinned as she sauntered into the room, looking polished and calm as always, except for the sideways glances she gave to one of the sets, the one that showed only numbers in differing arrangements, each minute.
"Why don't you relax and go bother Sam about that for awhile? I'm sure he'd appreciate it, especially with the other matter hanging over his head right now. It will be three hours before real California returns start coming in ... "
"Which is exactly why I'm soo not bothering him." Kay croaked at her friend and colleague. "Besides, that race is in ferkin Orange County!Whoever steps up to the plate to please Kay Wilde is going to be trashed in the follow up. Sam knows that."
"You need some of JohnM's honeyn'lemonn'tea, over here, Kay." Dale Tracy interjected. "Unless Nick is going to do the talking for us, later ..."
"CJ is going to do the talking for all of us, later." Kay answered her aide, silently thanking him for the concern and the cup of tea he handed her.
"No, Ms. Hamilton, she is not." John Michael Hoynes responded, lifting his head and letting his tired gaze focus narrowly on her face.
"Ms. Cregg is *not* the voice of *this* office, and neither are Toby Ziegler or Sam Seaborn. And neither is Nick Schaefers, especially not with his voice as totally shot as it was a few hours ago. *You* are my voice, Kay. The helm is on its way back to us, people. We can't afford to let it out of our hands for an instant."
"Yes,sir. And my speech *is* finished, sir." the Comm Direct replied, immediately falling into the required patterns of protocol.
"Besides which, it isn't California returns we're waiting on just now." SaraJ added, grinning fiercely as she led Kay's glance from the VP to the screens on his right. Each one was shifting from displays of eastern and midwest exit polls to maps of the southern states. No great amount of independent voters were registered there, although the region was famous for demanding its independence, so only a few,
very small regions were illustrated in green.
The 200+ year distinctions of Republican and Democrat held sway in the 'modern
south' meaning something different in almost every general election since the southern states came into the union. Florida, as had been expected for over a year, was Republican red, Governor Rob Ritchie was still expected to take his home state, without question. The televised pundits and pollsters though couldn't seem to make up their minds about the 'deep south', or the 'border states'. Democrat blue openly warred with Republican red in the whole region ... flickering back and forth.
"If this was a hundred and fifty some years ago, Sam Grant might be on the run ... away from Vicksburg ..." Hoynes joked, without much trace of humor in his weary voice.
"And crazy Bill Sherman would have been stopped at Pittsburg Landing.'' Kay added, almost smiling at his theme. "Atlanta would never have fallen."
"And Nathan Bedford Forrest would have taken 1600!" Dale Tracy crowed, a little too enthusiastically, but getting a genuine laugh from the room for his trouble.
"I doubt it, Mr. Tracy." Hoynes suggested. "Bedford Forrest was even crazier than Tecumseh Sherman ... according to some historians. I can't help noting they were all northern-born, though." Suddenly the Vice President stood up and held out his hand for the small white board Nick Schaefers held out as he entered the office. "It seems the word we're all waiting for may be in, at last. Is that it, Mr. Schaefers?"
Nick nodded his weary blond head and walked towards Hoynes, who stopped him with one hand.
"Give it to SaraJ, and then to your boss." the Vice President directed, tautly. "Read it out loud, Kay, I want to make sure I hear this with my own two."
"Yes, sir." Kay took the board from Sara, who was clearly swallowing the response she started to give. "Exit polls have our ticket taking the popular and electoral votes in Mississippi, but not Alabama. We have Louisiana, but not,just as we expected, most of Florida. We are taking a surprisingly large part of central Florida and the panhandle, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee, and ... " Kay found
herself batting back a reaction somewhere between amazed shock and prideful joy as she read off her home state's name and went on.
"And? And what, Ms Hamilton!" John Hoynes came as close as his voice
was able to a shout.
"We ... our ticket is winning and is projected to win heavily, in Texas, Mr. Vice President, sir. We took back Texas." Kay answered and handed the small board to him with both hands. Never in her life could Kay recall giving something she wanted to give more than this. Never before or after could she recall Hoynes' face lighting in a wider or happier smile.
"Now," John Hoynes whispered,to no one in particular, except for those who knew exactly to whom he was whispering. "Now we *will* go on."
A new beginning.
"