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Elizabeth didn’t push her to make a decision. She’d clearly meant what she said when she assured Alex that she wasn’t going anywhere. Alex didn’t like making Elizabeth wait for her, though. She wanted to give her an answer, one way or the other.
She really needed advice, but the only person she could really go to for advice was James, and while he was awake now, he was still high on painkillers and not in a position to give relationship advice especially not about his sister and his boss.
Everything changed about a week after Elizabeth and Alex had slept together. They were visiting James, who was sitting up and talking.
Then he suddenly collapsed back onto the bed and his monitors went wild.
Nurses shooed Alex and Elizabeth away as doctors descended on James. Alex heard them talking about blood clots and some other terms she wasn’t familiar with.
“James! James, please don’t leave me!” She automatically tried to get closer to him, but firm arms were holding her back.
Before Alex could think to fight the contact, Elizabeth spoke in her ear. “Let the doctors do their job, Alex. I promise, they’re doing everything they can to help him. Come on, step back. Give them some space.”
Alex reluctantly allowed Elizabeth to draw her to the other side of the room, trying to see through the wall of doctors and nurses surrounding James’ bed.
“Breathe, Alex. James is strong. You know he is.”
Elizabeth didn’t tell her that James would pull through, Alex noticed. Unlike many politicians, Elizabeth didn’t lie. She’d dance on the line of the truth sometimes, but she would never lie outright.
Alex lost track of time as they waited. She realized she was clutching Elizabeth’s hand in a death grip, but Elizabeth didn’t complain.
After a small eternity, the beeping around James’ bed stabilized. A harried-looking doctor approached them. “I think he’s past the worst. There was a blood clot, but we managed to dissolve it with emergency blood thinners. We’ll have to keep him under close observation, but the crisis has passed.”
Alex let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Thank you.” She clasped the doctor’s hand in both of hers. She didn’t even know his name, but he had saved her brother’s life. “Can I stay with him?”
“Yes, of course, but he won’t be waking up for a while. We had to sedate him, as he was stressing himself too much when he was awake.”
As they came up to James’ bedside and Alex caught a glimpse of his pale face, she made her decision.
“Yes.”
“What?”
She turned to look at Elizabeth. “Yes, I’ll date you.”
“Are you sure? You’ve just had a big shock. Maybe you should take a few days to think about it some more.”
“I’ve taken plenty of days to think about it. Nothing in life is guaranteed, right? We could die at any moment. We could get shot or have a blood clot and die in the hospital. Any day could be our last, and if today is going to be my last day, I want to live it with no regrets. I want to be with you, Lizzy, if you’ll still have me.”
Elizabeth smiled warmly at Alex and squeezed her hand. “I would love that, Alex. I would kiss you right now, but…” She glanced around at the nurses in the room, her expression apologetic.
“I understand. I know that discretion is part of the deal.”
“And you’re okay with that? If we stay together, it’ll mean many years of hiding.”
Alex shrugged. “It won’t be that bad. We already have a perfect excuse to live together. Your policies are bound to keep attracting trouble. It won’t be a stretch for anyone to see why you need a permanent bodyguard. I don’t need you to be affectionate to me in public; I just need you.”
“But if you had your choice, you would be open about it, wouldn’t you?” Elizabeth pressed.
“I would, I live very openly, I always have,” Alex admitted, “but this is part of the choice I’m making. Don’t worry about me, Lizzy. I promise, if it becomes too much of a burden to keep hiding, I’ll say something. We can figure it out together.”
“Together,” Elizabeth agreed, squeezing Alex’s hand again. “You should know that I appear in public with men to keep up appearances. Now that we’re together, I’ll make sure that nothing at all physical happens with any of them, ( I never have sex with them anyway.) but I may need to go on a few dates here and there.”
Alex didn’t like the sound of that, but she supposed that if nothing physical happened, she didn’t really have grounds to object. Politics was a game she had never really understood, but she was grateful for all that Elizabeth fought for and how she made the country a better place. She suspected she would be hideously jealous of anyone who went on a date in public with Elizabeth when she couldn’t, but that was an issue for her to deal with when it came up.
“I’ll deal with that when it happens. Whatever happens, we can get through it. I believe in you, Lizzy. I believe in us.”
“I believe in us, too.” Elizabeth leaned closer, speaking quietly to Alex. “Now, let me take you home? I want to show you just how happy I am that you’ve accepted my proposal. I may not be able to show you how much I care for you in public, but behind closed doors… well, that’s another story.”
