An author's please - please read: I've only recently started watching this show but devoured the first 2 seasons in a week. I love the pairing of Elizabeth and Henry - such a great couple! I've come up with, what I think, is a great plot for a 15-20 chapter series and I'm looking for someone to collaborate with. I don't feel I have the writing skills to do it justice so I've put this chapter out there to see if anyone is interested in picking it up and collaborating with me. It will be -rated for smut but it will deal with Elizabeth coping with a pregnancy later in life and being Secretary of State - I think there's potential for this to be a good series if it's done properly. Please PM me if you're interested - I'd love to hear from you! Thanks. Em xx

For the Greater Good

Elizabeth McCord lay in bed listening to the sound of good-natured arguing drifting up from the kitchen where her family was eating breakfast. She'd been in the situation room with the President until 2am and now, at 7.30 am her head was still fuzzy from days of too much information and too little sleep. Still, if she didn't get up soon she'd be late for her morning briefing and miss out on seeing her kids at all before they headed to their respective schools for the day.

Making her way downstairs, she stopped on the last step to survey the scene before her. Stevie was cooking eggs on the stove, her vegan beliefs once again being put to one side in favour of her favourite breakfast dish. Alison and Jason were at the kitchen table, both engrossed in their phones as they devoured the waffles their father had made for them. And the man himself, Dr Henry McCord, had his back to her as he poured himself a coffee.

"Good morning, family," she said, receiving a chorus of 'morning's in reply. Henry turned as she wrapped her arm around his waist. "Morning," she said, kissing him quickly.

"Morning, yourself. What time did you get in last night?" he asked, his brow furrowed with concern at the string of late nights his wife had been pulling.

"Late," she replied. "Coffee?"

"Here, take mine. I'll make another." Henry said, offering her his full mug of hot coffee which she accepted gratefully. As the steam from the drink reached her nostrils, her stomach lurched and she slammed the coffee down on the counter as she raced back up the stairs to the bathroom.

A few minutes later she heard Henry enter the bathroom behind her and switch on the faucet. She felt him sit down behind her, gathering her hair to one side as he placed a cool washcloth on the back of her neck. She settled back against him, her stomach now empty, her head pounding.

"You okay?" he asked, nuzzling her hair.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "I guess I've caught a bug."

"A bug with two arms and two legs?" Henry asked, surprised at the speed at which she turned in his arms to face him. "Babe, you mainline coffee and the last time I saw you have such an extreme reaction to the smell of it was when you were pregnant with Jase."

The colour drained even further from Elizabeth's face as she tried to comprehend what Henry was saying. "But, I can't be. I mean, I'm 44, Henry. 44! People don't have babies at 44."

"Women have babies as long as they're physically capable to, honey," he reasoned.

"And I'm the Secretary of State! I'm the 44-year old Secretary of State - I'm pretty sure I can't be pregnant."

"There's only one way to find out," Henry said, reaching out to take her hand in his. "You okay to stand up?"

She nodded and let him help her to her feet, clinging just a little tighter to him as she steadied herself, both physically and mentally.

"Can you grab my cell from the bedside table?" she asked as she squeezed toothpaste on to her toothbrush. She brushed hard to rid her mouth of the acidic taste and to focus on something other than the millions of thoughts that were racing through her head.

"Here," Henry handed her the phone.

"Thanks. Listen, can you...?"

"I'll go make sure the kids got off to school okay," he said, leaving her alone in the bathroom.

Spitting into the sink, she hit speed dial on her cell, rinsing her mouth with water as she waited to hear someone speak at the other end.

"Good morning, Madam Secretary,"

"Blake, I need you to do me a favour."

I hope that someone feels like this is the start of something and that, together, we can put together a great story about a great couple! Em x