I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria)

Subject: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:46 pm

The rest of Jackson's vacation following his girlfriend's announcement had been decidedly more strained on the wizard, not that he was at a liberty to show it. No, Jackson Blake may not know a lot of things but he knew for certain that a pregnancy was never, ever a woman's fault. Having grown up with Merida, he not only understood the courage and force of will it took to raise a child on your own but he was also well aware of the scumbags who judged you for it. The mother of his child would never see such hardship. Despite the fact that Tessa and his mother were worlds apart, he still felt it was his sole responsibility to ensure his girlfriend knew every moment that she was supported.

In a decision they had not made, and one he was certainly not okay with right now.

It had been easier back in Green Lake, in a sense. Forgetting his own reaction and instinctive response, the man had busied himself tending to Tessa's needs. Making sure she had enough rest, making sure she didn't have to move unnecessarily, picking up after her and generally treating her as if her feet didn't belong on the ground. It had been time consuming and exhausting and good. He managed to fall asleep each night holding the Californian witch close without having to think much. It was only after he had flown back to LA with her and gotten her settled into her mansion, promising to return that weekend when the thoughts had hit. they had hit hard in the car on the way back to the airport and they had hit harder still on the plane where the air hostess was moving around serving alcohol to his fellow first class passengers.

It had taken all his energies not to press the discrete switch for alcohol, knowing that even if he were to lose it completely, he couldn't do it in front of a flight full of people. That didn't stop the thoughts from invading his mind though.

Shit, he was going to be a dad.

How was that even a possibility?

He didn't even know how to be a dad, he'd never had one and he'd always been fine with it.

Holy fuck balls, what if it was a girl? What if it was twins. The idea of two babies almost had him reaching for the paper bag in front, a panic attack seemed imminent.

When the flight finally landed, Jackson was one of the first ones out. Not even bothering to get his luggage, the man strode off quickly towards the exists, not caring if he was bypassing multiple security checks. If anyone tried to stop him, well he was in a dark enough mood to throw around his senate position. No one did however and almost disappointed, Jackson stalked into the reception lounge where his mood significantly improved at what awaited him there.

Maggie had emailed him saying there would be a car. There was a always a car now, his position demanded it. This time however, there was an additional surprise that began to melt away at his irritation almost instantly. Standing there with a beatific smile on erh face stood his legal adviser and recent short stuff, Victoria Newbury.

"Hey kiddo!" he greeted before enveloping her tiny frame in a massive hug which he held for a little too long because dammit it was comforting to have her around. After last November's fuck up, he had been worried that things would be weird but she had taken his mistake in good stride. The weeks back home had probably helped too. "Boy are you a sight for sore eyes," eh added, hugging her even more fiercely before he finally let her go.

This, this here in his life would never change. At least one thing that would always remain constant. No matter what happened, Victoria Newbury would always make it okay.

When the little witch commented on his luggage, he merely mumbled something about getting a runner to collect it later. Together, the two made it to the smart town car waiting outside, Jackson holding the door open fro teh little Goblin and seeing her in safely before climbing aboard himself. As expected, there was a neat stack of folders waiting in the back seat. Victoria was ready to prep him for whatever they had in store at the office.

"So, how was England? Are your parents doing okay? What about the little munchkins?" As always, there was no mention of her glamorous bachelor brother though Jackson was sure she would mention him anyway. There a also no mention of Miss Azalea but hopefully she understood that to mean he was still ashamed of asking about her and not because he didn't want to know.

"Merida says hi by the way, and a belated happy holidays. She really missed you, said the place isn't the same without you now."

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I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Rsz_mi10

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:40 pm

The Christmas break -- that never usually ended up as a break -- had not come quickly enough for Victoria. After the election night that had seen Jackson re-elected against one of his toughest competition since he'd started his campaign tours, and the celebrations that had come after, Victoria Newbury had not wanted to be around the office as much as she used to. Not that it ever showed, the witch's schedule did not change, her diligent work did not falter, but the deep rooted feeling of no longer being as happy as she had before that night followed her now.

Azalea had done her best to console the witch in the small hours of the morning following the elections, insisting the witch could find someone who deserved her much more than Jackson ever could, and that it was okay to feel as upset as she did. The older witch had tried to make her feel better up until the moment she had had to leave for her classes that morning, but it had not been enough to truly take away the pain of the situation.

Jackson Blake had kissed her, fully on the lips, deeply and... what had felt like a kiss full of raw emotion.

And then he'd declared his love, publicly, for Tessa Greene as if she'd never existed.

No mention of the kiss had been made since that night by the politician, and the media had run up a storm with the various stories of romance revolving around the new couple of Wisconsin. Fate, many media outlets called it, a match made in the aftermath of messy breakups that would surely last other outlets had suggested. Victoria hadn't known what to call it, truthfully, but Sloan had.

"A farce." The older woman had explained, sitting heavily at the lunch table beside Victoria who had been very quiet the week following the elections.

"Pardon?" Victoria had replied, confusion touching her features as she looked to the financial analyst.

"The relationship." Sloan had supplied, but that hadn't really helped the lawyer out in that moment. "Jackson and Tessa. She's probably just looking for someone to make her network look better than it is, and he's happy to oblige her."

Victoria's silence hadn't settled well with the other woman. A sigh had escaped her lips instead.

"You don't kiss someone else in front of your girlfriend and get away with it. I'm sorry that you got roped in to his games. You don't need this. But, for what it's worth... never mind." Sloan had then turned her attention back to the topics she was much more accustomed to talking about, giving Victoria a barrage of numbers that had made the younger witch's head want to spin off completely, but numbers that she was adamant to keep up with. Sloan might not be the best with social conventions, but she knew when things weren't right, and despite her best intentions, Victoria found herself agreeing with the sentiment.

How had Jackson gotten away with the kiss?

It had troubled Victoria extensively for the next week, frustrating the witch when she could not find a suitable answer to the question. But the question had been set back with the work she needed to complete, and the witch had thrown herself in to as many community projects as possible in Jackson's name to ensure her time after work was not free to ponder it.

It had been impossible to deny her parent's request to spend a longer time at home this Christmas because of everything happening, too, and Victoria had been surprised that Jackson had looked so... put out when she'd told him. The lawyer's mind had been made up, though, not wanting to spend time thinking about how Jackson and Tessa would be spending Christmas whilst she was stuck in work, Victoria had left work behind. Or... as behind as Victoria could ever leave her work as she shouldered her laptop bag as she boarded the plane for the UK.

The break had been a good one, not only had the witch spent plenty of time with her beautiful niece and nephew, her brother and their parents, the witch had met up with Azalea on a few occasions and enjoyed the older witch's company, and her talk of her life with Joshua and Ethan. Alcohol had been a welcome change to the witch's lifestyle in those two weeks, too, allowing her body to completely relax around those she felt comfortable with. Of course, Azalea had wanted to discuss Jackson in a little bit more depth, and Victoria had obliged her best friend without a second thought. Tears had ensued, and Victoria had tried her best to assure the witch that she was okay with everything. The idea of leaving her job to be away from the man had been one that had been firmly shut down, too.

All in all, though, the holidays had been the welcome break Victoria had needed.

Well rested, and having spoken about her problems with someone, Victoria had returned to the UK on New Year's Day. A quick stop to drop off her bag, and the witch was back in her office, catching up on the work she hadn't managed to complete during her holiday, and to get a head start before everyone came back to work.

The first couple of days, without Jackson had been highly productive, the whole office starting the new year on a high.

As the news of Jackson's return was announced, Victoria had offered to collect the man from the terminal without hesitation, collecting her files for the journey and arranging his car to collect her. The driver had helped with the files and Victoria had rested in the back of the car with a file that required her attention. The journey had been fruitful in that respect, with Victoria managing to pick up on a number of details being used too loosely in some of the upcoming legislation they would be putting forward.

The journey was brought to an end as they arrived at the terminal, though, and the flight checker in Victoria's phone denoted the flight had landed fifteen minutes ago. Getting out of the vehicle, the witch moved out to the terminal doors, stepping just inside to wait for the man she had... without a doubt, missed over her break. As much as Victoria knew she shouldn't admit it, it had hurt to be away from Jackson for so long.

How long she had waited, Victoria couldn't have said, time seemingly slowing down as she stood up on her tiptoes to try and see Jackson over the crowds. There, over the women teetering slowly from their flight, Jackson emerged, a head over all of them, and looking thoroughly relaxed, in perfect health. The smile upon the witch's lips blossomed exponentially upon seeing Jackson, her feet already moving forth to the man without a second thought.

His arms enveloped her without a second thought, and Victoria's head nestled in to Jackson's chest, sucking in the minty fresh scent that was one that would never grow old to the witch. The overwhelming need to cry let itself known for a moment, her body relaxing on instinct as Jackson held her close, but the witch pushed that much down, instead seeking out the familiar sound of the man's heartbeat against her ear, and using that to settle herself instead.

"Boy are you a sight for sore eyes,"

"I missed you, too." Victoria replied softly, managing to catch herself from over balancing as Jackson let her go, to not look disheartened that he'd done so. Instead, the witch composed herself, the smile still in place as she noted the missing part of her friends attire. The question of his luggage came from her lips in the next moment, only to be waved away as a non-worry.

Not wishing to counter Jackson, Victoria fell in to step beside the man as they moved back to the waiting car. They had time for the folders, which was why Victoria obliged with the conversation the moment Jackson started to ask, wanting nothing more than to talk to the man for hours if they could.

"England was great! I spoilt Ivan and Adrienne rotten the whole time I was there," Victoria replied, already reaching for her phone the moment her niece and nephew had been mentioned. It took only a few taps of her finger before Victoria pulled up a picture of herself with the two children hugged in to her, each of them sporting a festive hat of the own, all beaming at the camera -- Adrienne with a rather gappy smile, and Ivan looking to be laughing heartily. Turning the phone to Jackson, Victoria continued on. "Adrienne is getting her adult teeth through, and Ivan finds it most amusing, especially if you sing 'if you're gappy and you know it!'. Jake isn't happy that I brought them both so much candy, but I told him that my niece and nephew had to know about all the classic American goodies we got to eat as children.

"They don't have most of them in the UK, you know? And I just can't fathom not being able to get Hershey bars as a kid!" Victoria explained, pausing only to slide through to another picture with the children opening their presents, and then the excitement on their faces as they all sat down for Christmas dinner with the entirety of the Newbury clan in view. "Mom and dad are great, too. Well, dad is a little tired of the border controls getting tighter and tighter every day, asked if we can hurry up and sort that out, which I reminded him that we're struggling to get even the smallest laws through without the democrats blocking our moves, let alone trying to get something as colossal as that through. He knew that, of course."

"And then Azalea and I took the children in to London for a day, and spoiled them rotten some more, because that's what the best aunties do!" Victoria explained, turning to another picture where the two children and the two women were all grinning behind the biggest of ice cream sundaes they could buy. "She sends her love to you, and insists we all have to get together some time."

The news that Merida had sent her well wishes made Victoria smile warmly. "I missed her this year, too. I'll have to go and see her one weekend to make up for my absence." The comments were made witch genuine intention, too.

"How about you and Tessa, what did the two of you do for Christmas?" Victoria asked, ignoring the agonising wrench in her stomach at the idea of the couple together at Christmas. The feeling did not settle well with Victoria, it never had settled well with her, but she would ignore it.

Jackson was happy, and as always, that was all that would ever matter to the younger witch.

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Wed Oct 02, 2019 1:05 pm

The politician hadn't realized how much he'd needed this, just to have the Goblin nearby and talking non stop about things from her life. The sound of her being happy and generally existing was enough to put him at ease. The pictures on her phone flew by as she swiped through them, one after the other showing happy children, sleepy children, children tearing into presents, children with mouths sticky from pudding. This was what he kept her away from most of the time, and as much as he felt bad for it, Jackson knew he didn't have a choice.

Because when she was away, he wasn't happy.

"No way, every kid should grow up on good old American candy!" he exclaimed, genuinely surprised they didn't have the same sweets over there. but hen again, they were England. they couldn't be expected to do much right. "If we as Americans don't have our obesity and football, what do we even have?" Making up his mind to send candies to lexis, the man returned to Victoria's stories. Her parents were doing well, Henry's complaints only expected. Jackson didn't want to point out the man was still lucky to be able to travel as much as he did. Knowing the head of the Newbury clan, he was probably aware anyway.

"And then Azalea and I took the children in to London for a day, and spoiled them rotten some more, because that's what the best aunties do!"

As always, the princess had picked on the question he hadn't asked, detailing Miss Azalea's interaction with the munchkins. Jackson would never understand the depths of his former teacher's forgiveness but he was in no position to comment. While the politician wasn't exactly as much of a scum as Jake Newbury, he wasn't too far off when it came to the older witch.

"How about you and Tessa, what did the two of you do for Christmas?"

"Not much really," he replied because he didn't want to lie but wasn't ready to divulge the entire truth of the matter. "It was too cold most fo the time to do anything too adventurous, and she's from LA so she starts feeling chills at eighty degrees when its literally nice enough to go out without a shirt." Settling into the car beside the witch, he took up the file she had been studying on her drive over to the airport. The words "H-R 422 - CP Draft" were typed in bold on the cover, confirming his suspicion. A quick flick through revealed several annotates highlighting errors or requesting more information in the Goblin's small, neat handwriting.

"T got a little sick towards the end of it," he added absently, not wishing to completely lie, and perhaps creating a tentative foundation for when he actually had to confide to the princess about what he had done. The feeling of unease that had lodged somewhere deep inside him ever since the news reared its ugly head again, but this time tinged with shame.

Why was he ashamed of telling Victoria what had happened? He hadn't done anything wrong. And neither had Tessa.

Then why did it feel that way?

To distract himself, the opened the file once more. "I got Maggie's emails saying Sloan had new figures, but apparently they were still coming off the press so Sloan wasn't CC-ed into the chain." Ever since a long ago email blunder in which Mac had accidentally sent the entire office as well as about fifty reporters and news channels her pregnancy ultrasounds, the campaign manager kept emails on a tight loop. "Those numbers in yet?"

Ever since their win last November, it had become obvious that they would need some kind of significant legislation to their name. A solution had presented itself in a constituent's repeated complains through one of the community centers Victoria volunteered at. The constituents' grandmother had suffered from a unique form of arthritis and could not take regularly prescribed drugs so the physicians had referred her to a compounding pharmacy just outside Milwaukee. Three months later, the old lady was found dead on her kitchen floor and a week after that, an autopsy had revealed the cause to be a kind of drug severely detrimental to the elderly, more than trace amounts of which were found in her bespoke drug.

Since then, the office had hunkered down and began research on the complicated issue of compounding pharmacies and how they operated, how they dodged FDA regulations and how loosely they were held accountable for the thousands of deaths that resulted as a criminal negligence on their part. Before leaving for the holidays, Jackson had asked Maggie to compile a list of every compounding pharmacy in Wisconsin and handed out "assignments" to visit each outlet to various staffers, earning a glace from Kendra and a resigned sigh from Jenna.

But the hard work had paid off, the preliminary numbers emailed to him through loan showed that of the over 120 CP's in the state, only two would satisfactorily meet FDA standards on cleanliness alone. The fact that the numbers were still coming in meant Sloan had learned something even worse.

"You know, Green Lake doesn't have a CP," he commented casually as he examined Victoria's notes outlining the need for stricter business measures. "I never realized until now. If anyone got a specific type of sick, they'd have to go all the way three towns over to the nearest one. Funny how you never think about these things until they become important."

As he looked up at her face, accidentally meting her dark brown and curious gaze dead on, the man realized how true the words were.

You never realized how important some things wore... Until they became crucial to your survival.

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As Jackson opted for his patriotic speech about their country, Victoria could only roll her eyes affectionately at the man. There was no point arguing against Jackson on this point, it would be one of the few areas the witch would not be able to win him over, and suggest they had better things than the two that had been stated, but right now, in this moment, arguing with Jackson was not something the witch wished to do. "Of course," Victoria settled on, shaking her head for good nature.

Jackson's talk of his Christmas were much less detailed than her own, bemoaning the fact Tessa could not stand the cold of the Northern states in the winter. How you couldn't enjoy such weather, the younger witch would never know, but she would not speak ill of Jackson's girlfriend. Never would she speak down of anything the man did. "Well, you'll have to make sure that next time she's here, you ensure she has all the appropriate clothing to withstand the cold of Wisconsin and Green Lake. Your mom would not be happy if you started to vacation south for Christmas!" The witch insisted, knowing that much at least would be true. Merida could be counted on for her traditions, Victoria already knew that much.

"T got a little sick towards the end of it,"

"Oh no," Victoria replied, concern touching her features as she looked across at the man beside her. "Just the flu, or something, right? I'll send her my warmest wishes when we get back to the office, and remind her to drink lots of soup, and rest." The sentiment was automatic, and not thought on any more than needed, there was no need, a flu would be gone in no time, especially when you could afford any medicine you wanted, unlike those they were currently working on behalf of to get better medicines available to.

The mention of the new figures brought a smile to Victoria's lips anew, reaching in to her folder and producing the updated numbers that Sloan had printed for her just before she'd left the office. "I was told to guard them with my life, and only let you see, so make sure you don't lose them." The witch replied, teasing the man beside her because they both knew their team had gone slightly crazy after Mac's blunder with confidentiality growing tighter on all documents. "They're all working in our favour, though, Sloan is ready to debrief you on all of them when you're ready, but there's nothing in there that is surprising to any of us."

Leaving the politician to read over the numbers in peace for a moment, Victoria took the time of Jackson's distraction to study him. He didn't look... relaxed. She'd expected him to look well rested, happy, and not so... the witch couldn't place her finger on how Jackson looked at the moment, almost not sure that she was right in how she was viewing the man, but something was different, even as he began to talk again.

Their eyes met as he managed to express how you didn't always notice things until they became important. His eyes seemed to be trying to express more than those words had as he looked to her.

Was he...?

Did he..?

"No, you don't always realise." Victoria managed, ever so softly in reply to the statement.

Another moment.

"But," the witch continued, opening her file to the notes she'd made. "That's the beauty of politics. You notice the things that aren't right, you listen to the public, and you make the changes you can to give people a better life."

He didn't mean you.

"I think the bill will be ready to present in the next couple of weeks. As you can see I've already made a few notes on adjustments I think we need to ensure we don't leave any loopholes, or questions, but undoubtedly someone will try to find one anyway." Victoria continued on, talking about work for the sake of keeping her mind, and not being distracted by the way Jackson's eyes had made it all seem...

He didn't mean you.

"Do you have a date?" Victoria asked, wondering how much more time Jackson wished to take over the matter before they presented it all publicly.

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:44 pm

For a split second, it almost felt as if she understood the statement on a deeper level, but then the legal adviser changed the topic and Jackson was forced to look away, listening instead to her talking about the political process in all too simple terms. Jackson on his part had no notions of how clean and clear cut the process would be. If the bill ever actually made it to the Senate floor in the first place, it would take everything they had to try and gain the 60 votes in a senate currently tied 39 to 61 in four of the blue asses. But they had to at least try.

"I think the bill will be ready to present in the next couple of weeks. "

"I suppose that depends on how well our meetings go for the next week," he interjected, noting her additions and questions. Sloan's numbers would make up the brunt of their argument but they also had to obtain testimony from medical professionals and legal workers who had seen the poor conditions fo these pharmacies. They also had multiple appointments with state and federal autopsy workers to confirm that there had been hundreds of deaths related to poorly prescribed or mixed drugs in these compounding pharmacies.

And finally, the team was also canvasing for actually employees and pharmacist (because of course one needn't have any medical credentials to work at such a place thanks to the FDA non regulations) who were willing to go on record and testify how these periphrases focused on profit rather than patient care. If everything came together the way Jackson's offices were expecting it to, they would have a very solid case.

They just needed one thing.

"Victoria, what do you think about a demon rat- I mean, a democrat co sponsoring the bill? Do you think it will give us a better chance at the senate?" Truth be told, the idea had been bothering him for some time now and he really, really, really did not want to do it. But the world wasn't perfect and sharing credit with a bastard in blue might just give the bill the final shove it needed to turn into a law. Even considering the possibility left a bad taste in the politician's mouth, making him change the subject abruptly.

"How're the appointments for today looking, I have an extra jacket at the office, don't I?" the man asked, slightly worrying the collar o his casual shirt, his legs encased in his well worn pair of travel jeans. They were perhaps ten more minutes from the office, their driven having skillfully navigated through the downtown traffic without any trouble.

"Maggie said the doctors are going to be in first, then the pharmacist?" The third meeting was not confirmed yet but Jackson new he had one. Someone or other had called it.

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:52 pm

"Victoria, what do you think about a demon rat- I mean, a democrat co sponsoring the bill? Do you think it will give us a better chance at the senate?"

The question had caught Victoria off guard. Not because the possibility hadn't occurred to the witch, but because it had been Jackson that had raised the idea with her, and not something she would have to try to word very carefully so as not to affront the wizard sat by her side. A soft, knowing smile touched the witch's lips in that moment, glad to see that Jackson was taking this seriously, and even considering cooperating with those who he usually wouldn't wish to collaborate with. This meant the bill was much more personal, and something Jackson truly was behind -- as if Victoria hadn't already worked that out -- and made getting it through all the more enticing.

"I think that it would definitely help us, if we can find someone willing to put aside the usual political tensions we face with the democrats, and won't cost us too much in the long run." The witch replied, not really needing to think it through. It was the latter that would be the issue, because as soon as you went cross party with these things, the bartering on the 'price' for the support would begin, and whilst the help would be more than welcome, there was obviously only so much they could afford to give away before the support wouldn't be as useful as they wished. "I'll look over the democrats most likely to support us with the bill, and then whittle it down to a smaller pool that I think we might not be robbed by."

"You have a whole suit waiting for you in the office, and I got a bag of some fresh clothes from your house brought to the office, just in case." Victoria supplied without missing a beat. It was hardly too much to guess that Jackson might not have washed up all his clothes from his visit to LA, and getting completely freshened up after a flight would have been Victoria's first port of call. Jackson wouldn't have to use all of it, of course, but Victoria couldn't leave the man uncomfortable for the whole day. Mentioning that she had done it all personally was not something the witch decided upon, though, just leaving it as yet another unsaid thing between the two of them.

"Maggie is right, and we're still waiting on confirmation from the last appointment. Those coming forward are not easy to get tied down to anything concrete, and we're doing our best not to push too hard. Don't want to lose their input." Victoria explained as they pulled up before the office building. Jackson, as usual, hurried out of the vehicle and aided her out from her door only a moment later, making the familiar warm feeling inside of her bubble up anew.

"We should have a couple of hours before we need to start worrying too much, though, so you can freshen up, and then we can have a meeting with the team to go over anything you're not quite sure on, or want a little more coverage of." Victoria explained as they headed in to the building, making sure Jackson was at ease with the situation they were working with and not stressing about it in any manner.

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:26 am

Truth be told, Jackson had been hesitant at first at the mention of a donkey joining in on the bill. the help it would grant would probably not be worth it in the end but do a little right and a lot wrong seemed to the be the policy of this country moving forwards. And if he had to at least get a little right, this might be the hill. Victoria, always to attuned to his thinking, was already two steps ahead, offering to compile a list of democrats who would help sign on. They had a good shot, he supposed. The Blake name was still hot in the media thanks largely to his reelection as well as the funding from Fox.

"You have a whole suit waiting for you in the office, and I got a bag of some fresh clothes from your house brought to the office, just in case."

"Ah," the politician sighed, casually leaning over to the tiny witch and slinging an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close in a brief hug. "hat would I ever do without you kiddo?" he idea of a fresh suit was enough to cheer him up the rest of the way, going over the meetings and figures with his legal adviser until they reached their office biding. The temporary suites they had hired on his first election mapping were now a permanent home and who knew, they could lease out another floor if things kept going they way they were.

The phone in his back pocket pinged, announcing a new email as he opened Victoria's side of the door, automatically helping her out of the vehicle. Reasoning that they were close enough to the office to ignore the email for the next five minutes, Jackson didn't look at his phone. Instead the gently took all the files from the younger witch, slinging them in one arm and following her to the elevators. By the time the lift reached them, his phone had pinged thrice more.

Still, nothing to panic about until they were in the elevator on their way up. And this time something had to be serious because both their phones beeped with texts simultaneously. Victoria's work ethic was a lot more strict than his own, making the young woman reach for her device immediately as they elevator opened into the lobby of their offices. Both Jackson and the lawyer walked out, Victoria stopping on her third step to call out a warning which by then was completely unnecessary.

For in the lobby were several men in dark, expensive suits, enough to intimate the poor receptionist who was wringing her hands, unsure what to do. Sloan and Mac's muted voices could be heard from inside the open plan office, negotiating with Camoens to take a seat as the senator had just returned from travel. Apparently their visitors were not in the mood to reschedule.

"Hi Kendra, what's up," Jackson asked, walking over to the nervous receptionist who looked up as if an angel had descended upon the earth to save her. But before she could answer, Maggie was coming towards them with a relieved smile.

"Victoria," she called out, "Senator, please step inside, we have some representatives from Purdue Pharma who have to speak to you right away."

Purdue Pharma, Jackson noted. A name notorious with the monopoly held by any single drug chain in America. That explained the dark suits. They had lawyered up early on. Big time.

"Shall we?' the man looked at Victoria, taking her hand more for his own reassurance than hers. They might need a team of lawyers for this but for Jackson, only his one was enough.

And together, they walked into his large office to see what awaited them.

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The thankfulness of the senator brought a smile to the witch's lips, hanging on to the idea of what he would do without her. The notion that he still needed her would never be a comment that she would get used to, especially with his clear fondness for Tessa. It was a minuscule spark of hope that kept her going, kept her pushing forward and fighting the man's corner. He didn't have to know how out of context she took those words, no one did, but it was enough to make the witch smile to herself before they continued on with the information Jackson would need now he was back.

The journey was over before they could get too deeply involved in their work, though, and Victoria wished they could have driven around the block just one more time so that she could get a few moments more with Jackson. As it was, they had work to do, and the office called to both of them. Jackson was the quickest from the car, as usual, and hurrying around to her side of the car before she could tell him that she really could manage these things. The door was opened only a moment later, and Jackson was taking all the files from her without allowing her to argue, the small witch merely let him as the ping of his phone went off, denoting an email had come through.

Victoria didn't pay it any mind, though, knowing they would be up in the building in only a few moments.

But another ping from Jackson's phone made the witch look to him curiously. Jackson didn't move to retrieve his phone, though, instead ignoring the alerts. She shouldn't have been surprised, of course, whilst Jackson was a work orientated man, he was not quite so diligent as herself in that matter. The third unopened message was about ready to push Victoria in to saying something, but the ping of Jackson's phone coincided with her own as the elevator moved upwards. Victoria's hands moved to her handbag, deftly seeking out the mobile device and unlocking it.

Sloan: Whatever you do, don't bring Jackson up yet. Suits.

The chime of the elevator sounded and the doors opened to show exactly what Sloan had been warning her of. Men in overly pressed suits stood before the duo. Behind them, Victoria caught the end of the actual facepalm pulled by Sloan. Tucking her phone back in to her bag as Jackson moved to speak to Kendra who looked quite pale upon seeing them. Victoria shot her a small, reassuring smile as she straightened herself up to her full height in that moment. The relaxed shoulders Jackson had brought about her person were gone as she moved quickly in to the professional mode that Jackson would need of her.

Maggie had arrived only a moment later, explaining their guests. The witch understood almost immediately, and couldn't help but feel... satisfied. They were obviously stepping on toes with their work completed thus far, which meant -- even though the witch already knew this to be the case -- that they were on to something good. However, now they had to hold their own.

"Thanks, Maggie." Victoria replied as Jackson took her hand. Giving his hand a small, reassuring squeeze, the witch walked confidently to the boardroom beside the Senator, only letting go of the man as they graced the threshold, allowing Jackson to enter ahead of her before she closed the door tightly closed behind her.

"Good evening, gentlemen." Victoria greeted, making her way to the table and offering them the seats opposite herself and Jackson.

The file was placed upon the table, and slid unceremoniously towards Victoria in that moment. The witch pulled it towards her, but did not open it in that moment. Whatever sat behind the cardboard front of the folder was not something they needed to see right now. And so, the lawyer did what she did best, inviting the men before her to explain their reasons for being here, to allow them to play the barely covered threats they wished to convey, and to put their offer on the table to make this go away, all the while, gently guiding the conversation in to a neutral playing field, and ensuring Jackson didn't say anything they didn't wish to give away, with the gentle nudges of her foot beneath the table when she needed him to talk, as always.

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Subject: Re: I saw there were no oceans left (Victoria) Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:17 am

Jackson had expected this to be a show of strength. The half a dozen lawyers in the reception area had made it abundantly clear. He had also expected a high level exec of the firm waiting in the boardroom when he and Victoria walked in. What he hadn't expected was the tiny, slim, baby faced man sitting opposite, almost overshadows by the many suits on either side of him. By contrast, the man beside the current CEO of Purdue Pharma was nearly six feet tall and built to suit his African American lineage. The man was introduced as VP of Operations.

In any normal shakedown, the VP would have been enough. But if the small man was here... They were either in real trouble or about to be made the greatest offer of their lives.

"Senator Blake, Miss Newbury, it's a pleasure to meet you," the CEO's boyish voice floated towards hem, almost defying his fifty years of age. His face did not reflect those years either, a combination of stellar genes and tactical surgery. "I'm Jared Kushner, we've had the pleasure of meeting before with the Senator." the instruction was probably for Victoria's benefit, not that it was needed. His princess would know him from the get go.

But you weren't head of Purdue then, Jackson though. The words that came form him though, were perfectly cordial. "Of course, how are Ivanka and the children?"

"As well as can be expected. Arabella just started college and Joe is still trying to figure out if he'd made for high school two years in."

The moment for polite chit chat came to an end with the sliding of a file heir way, and Jackson was once again on the same page as Victoria. The file would probably reiterate Jared's position at Purdue after the company had all but been declared PNG by the supreme court due to the massive damages it had done to the country and its opined crisis. The former CEO, Richard Sackler, had resigned in disgrace after the company had offered a billion dollar settlement in 2019.

Purdue had filed to reorganize their structure, signed a binding contract to never sell any form of medication ever again and decided to improve the company's PR by gifting the CEO's position to the prodigal son in law, a feat that had been celebrated by the former president Trump and his entire family by setting off fountains of champagne at Mar-A-Lago.

These days, Purdue Pharma was in the business of owning drug stores instead of selling drugs because the laws in this country were stranger than fiction. And it was no secret that Purdue held an 89% market share on most drugs sold across the US. A substantial amount of which were the product of compounding pharmacies.

To go after the CPs of the state was to go after Purdue, and they would either soon be paying the price for it or otherwise...

"We heard abotu the unfortunate incident with Maude Johnson," Jared began, an appropriately distressed expression on his baby face. "And we intend to lead out own investigations into her death. The state authorities are busy and often burdened by the lack of.. resources. And we couldn't bear to think one of or pharmacies was responsible."

"With all due respect, Mr. Kushner, Maude Johnson was not the only one. Ever since her granddaughter approached us, we've been looking into misdiagnosed or polluted drug related death and there are hundreds, all stemming from the lack of supervision afforded to compounding pharmacies."

"Most unfortunately, truly," the CEO agreed as if they had just said the same thing. "There is not greater sorrow than the death of a fellow American by the hands of negligent staff members." Staff members that his company hired but still... "But would it really b in the best interest of all those affected to turn this into a lawsuit? or push frankly slow and cumbersome legislation through. No dollar amount could atone for a life but Purdue is happy to supplement friends and families of the victims."

So there was a dollar value for a human life, as long as you called it "supplementing"

"That's a very ingenious thing to offer," Jackson spoke warmly, making sure not to miss a beat. "But I'm sure you'll agree that the intent isn't just to make those affected feel better but to prevent such a thing from happening in future. And that can only be achieved when countrywide legislation is passed to hold all pharmacies up to the FDA code."

In response, Kushner only shook his head, gesturing to the file. Apparently, it wasn't just the brief summary of the past decade of Purdue. it had more. "Victoria," the senator looked towards his legal adviser, inviting her to open he file.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Jackson was quite comfortable in the room full of suits, though guarded in everything he replied to them. Victoria sat beside the man as a pillar of support, only speaking when she needed to, and tapping Jackson's leg as and when he didn't need to. Nobody would notice the subtle moment, but it kept them afloat in their talks with the men opposite them. All of them trying much too hard to be intimidating in that moment. It might have worked another time, but all of this, this just proved they were hitting much to close to home, and they were not going to get away with it.

Not if Victoria had any say in the matter, anyway.

The talk remained carefully scripted, the other party not wanting to openly admit to their own faults, whilst Jackson showed that he knew -- without explicitly saying so -- that they were to blame. The game of politics would never cease to amuse Victoria as each party danced around the subject they were trying to get to. But, then, this was also the game of legality, and you never won if you were too brazen with your ideas. Not at this stage, at least.

"Victoria,"

But at the end of the day, it would always come back to this moment. The file sat before the lawyer, still unopened because it went without saying what was inside. Useless information for the most part, information that could easily be found upon researching Purdue Pharma. The company's most recent results would likely be in there, the tax figure they recently paid somehow highlighted even if it hadn't been coloured in to show how much they gave to the American citizens each year -- which would of course be the lowest possible figure they could pay that was possible because that was how corporations worked. Behind that, a list of all the community offerings they supplied to show they really were 'good' people.

Victoria followed the instructions, though, opening the folder to find what she'd expected tucked in the file. The first page was a direct print from the website of the company's history, detailing how the man opposite them had taken over the business after the previous CEO had run it in to the ground. How the company had been turned around in that moment, and made to look like a very well established, profitable company. Victoria had read this page more times that she cared to admit as she'd compiled the paperwork of their legislation, and she knew what each line was. Propaganda, nothing more.

The witch pretended, for the rest of the room, to read over the page, before dutifully turning it over.

The next page, a signed approval from the board. This much was new, and upon it was the offer from the board. Forty five thousand dollars was to be paid to the person that was closest to the two hundred and seventeen people that had died due to the poor work of the compounding pharmacies. Two hundred and seventeen... Sloan's last figure had been two hundred and one. There were sixteen more deaths that they had not accounted for, and despite herself, Victoria felt the win for them growing more concrete in that moment. Sixteen more deaths -- confirmed by Purdue Pharma in writing -- was something that they could only solidify their case.

But it also meant that sixteen more people had lost their lives.

And Purdue Pharma only wished to offer each of their families forty five thousand dollars in compensation.

Disgusted as she might be, Victoria's features remained neutral as she passed the paper across to Jackson, her hand lingering on the piece of paper for four seconds before she let go. The sign that Jackson was to read, but not comment upon the piece of paper because they could not be seen to falter on this point.

The next page was an investors portfolio, more numbers which would make the company look good, and profitable, and also to reinstate how big the corporation they were trying to take down truly was. Sloan would make more sense of the numbers in time, but Victoria knew that this simply meant they were keeping investors happy, and happy investors seldom ever wanted to see big changes being made by the board.

The next page, though, was the one that made Victoria stop. The letter -- once again signed by the board -- showed that Jackson had been given a seat on the advisory board of Purdue, should he wish to take it. The seat would be one that would buy the man's silence, and as Victoria turned the page to continue reading, it showed how much the man's silence was worth.

A one percent stake in Purdue was being gifted to the man -- which didn't seem a lot, on paper, but when you looked at the profits being made, a one percent sharing in that much profit...

But the salary beneath it was one that Victoria had to look at for a couple of moments. Two million dollars a year, as a starting salary. Benefits would also apply. Plus, there would be an expenses account provided for Jackson.

The cost of their silence, of people's lives, of a better ruling on the compounding pharmacies had been laid out before them.

Nine million, seven hundred and sixty five thousand dollars would be paid in compensation to the families of those who had died. Money that would be tax deductible, Victoria was sure.

Plus two million for Jackson, per annum.

Victoria looked back up to the man before them, and offered a small, polite smile. The papers were once again slid across to Jackson, and her hand lingered upon the page for a brief couple of seconds as she had before. "Your offer is very kind, Mr Kushner. Generous in many ways, but Senator Blake and I would need time to fully digest the offer, discuss the matter at hand, and review the paperwork before we could offer any kind of response to your offer."

"Of course," Mr Kushner replied, the vague hint of a smirk starting to touch upon his lips. "But the offer is not one that will linger for long."

"I appreciate that." Victoria replied, not wanting to be undermined by the man before her. "The papers will have our full attention. May I request you give us forty eight hours to make our decision?" The witch requested, knowing any further dallying would be unprofessional.

"Forty eight hours." Mr Kushner replied, looking to his watch to take account of the time, as if it were a necessary action. "The offer will be withdrawn if we don't hear from you before that time."

Victoria gave but a single nod of understanding before Mr Kushner and his team were on their feet. Victoria followed suit in that moment, standing and following the men to the door. The pleasantries were forced as they said their goodbyes, Victoria hiding the worry as best as she could until Kendra escorted them through the rest of the building. Victoria waited only long enough for the door to close behind the men before turning back to Jackson.

"I don't care how much money they are offering us, please tell me you're not considering their offer?" The witch asked, her eyes pleading with him to tell her exactly that. But the money was high, the offer much too good, and Victoria was not naive enough to believe it wouldn't sway the man before her. That level of money was life changing, but, it would mean Purdue Pharma won.

They couldn't win.

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