And I Can Feel It, Coming In The Air Tonight (Victoria)

Despite Andrew Yang's assurance the night before that they had the votes, Jackson had been fleeing nervous the morning of the first day of the hearings to discuss HR420. The man hadn't wanted to confide this to Victoria though as he'd gotten up a solid hour before the early rising witch, kissed her softly on the forehead and headed out to the facility's gym. An hour of cardio and lifting weights later, the US Senator had felt marginally better and entered his apartment to a full English breakfast waiting for him. Apparently the Goblin hand't gotten up much after he had and she had been far more productive.

Along with breakfast, he'd been given notes, files, annotations and anything he would need despite the fact that Victoria would be in the chamber with him as the Senate deliberated the bill. The legal advisory would just be in the pews while Jackson sat with the other policy makers. Truthfully, the pews and halls of the building were for aides and clerks with Victoria ranking too high in his office to do the job but she was he only person Jackson needed there. And as always, she had understood without him needing to ask.

The deliberation lasted a whole week, with the chamber hearing arguments form both camps abotu the virtues of overhauling the System Compounding Pharmacies acted upon and and the negative impact of making small, localized businesses adhere to larger, hard to comply with FDA regulations but in the end, the had the numbers. The week was spend arguing as logically as possible in the Senate with nights dedicated to Jackson and Victoria curled into bed, taking it in turns to discuss the verdict and make love to each other. On the final night before the vote however, they hand't discussed anything. Their last day in DC was for more important.

And as the tiny witch had finally fallen asleep after multiple releases over the last few hours, Jackson had quietly promised to himself that the next time they were here, he would take her sightseeing properly.

Victoria was much more than a secret he had to hide from the world.

"And the Ayes have it," the chairman declared the next afternoon, making the small gathering of aides and clerks and Victoria break into polite applause as they finally accomplished what they had came to get done. From here on, all small and medium sized medical based facilities - including Compounding Pharmacies - would be required to have a personae from the FDA come and inspect the premise every few months to ensure everything was up to code.

Unable to retrain himself until they could head home, Jackson had leaned into the minuscule witch as soon as the car doors had closed on them at the steps of the Senate building, kissing ehr deeply in congratulations because this was just as much ehr victory as it was his.

Neither of them had noticed the small flash of a camera go off just as the car windows were rolling up, catapulting the small moment of passion.

The week following their win had been full of congratulations, flowers, cakes, pizza and an unbelievably cheery office environment. Jackson had been all for taking a few days off after their trip to DC but Victoria would have non of it. So bright eyed and bushy tailed, she was up in the mornings and coaxing him out of bed on Monday despite the senator's drowsy mood. Fresh eggs and sausages improved said mood though, as did the naked withc that came with them.

Mac and Sloane had hung up a huge banner at the office congratulating the returning heroes and that night, the whole office plus their partners and children were crowded into Jackson's favorite pizza place and what was probably the last ball pit left in America. The rest of the week was spent giving interviews, releasing press briefings and prepping news junkets for all major media outlets announcing their great victory. Political pundits (especially on Fox) had already declared that Jackson would ride this wave into yet another successful re-election come 2028.

And then Victoria had asked for two days off.

This wasn't as troublesome as it was surprising for the legal adviser of the campaign who often burned her annual holidays than take them. But further questioning revealed that her parents were packing up from the UK and moving back home. No mention of ehr brother and his children were made and Jackson left it at that. If the Great Jake Newbury was coming too, he would have heard of it.

So the dark haired wizard did the only thing that made sense. He took the same two days of and told Victoria he would help move her parents back into their home in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. they left the day before ehr parents were due, Alexis having sent ehr a key in advance - and spent the day cleaning. Or at least cleaning up more than making a mess. The due slept in Victoria's childhood room that night, Jackson cheekily pointing out how she still fit in her tiny princess bed whereas his lanky frame hung off the piece of furniture awkwardly.

The next day, they were waiting at the airport when Henry and Alexis arrived, Jackson complete with a huge bouquet of begonias for Mrs. Newbury. It didn't take too long to get the couple settled in and though Jackson offered to get takeout, the Princess and her mother were more than equipped to start cooking right away, leaving the men in the small garden with their well earned cans of cold (unopened on Jackson's part) beer.

Henry Newbury wasn't a talkative man but when he spoke, Jackson found it best to pay attention. Henry's muted congratulates on the senate win made Jackson realize Victoria's father kept up with the news, or his news. The statement about citizens returning made him wonder of Henry's point of view and the barely there disappointment of not all the Newburies making it back home and the question on unrest in the public made Jackson see that perhaps there was danger to come.

After an unbelievably scrumptious dinner, Jackson had taken his leave, though he had tried to make Victoria stay. Both Newburies were happy to accommodate him for the night, Alexis insisting Jackson could have Jake's old room. Thankfully the Princess had intervened and half an hour later, they were speeding towards the nearest portal back to Milwaukee.

The first sign of trouble they met was at the portal through, having entered Milwaukee only to find a long line of cars waiting at the gas station No Mag's couldn't see. Emergency MACUSA officers in police blues stood by, trying to direct traffic into at least manageable chunks so No Mags wouldn't see a random line of cars in the middle of a field.

Leaning his head out the window, Jackson flagged down the nearest MACUSA officer.

"Hey Brad, what's up?"

"Oh Blake, what are you doing ehre?"

"Just headed up from Minnesota. This si the head of my legal team, Ms. Newbury. What's teh hold up about?"

The man in blue touched his cap politely towards Victria before turning to Jackson again.

"People protesting by the freeway, mostly our folks but with a couple of NMs in the middle who just like holding signs. The confusion caused a collision between two cars. We got people out and into ambulances but the crowd isn't dispersing."

Jackson nodded. The presence of even one muggle at a magical gathering would trigger the emergency procedure meaning all traffic coming through the portal would have to be managed in small groups to not attract too much attention.

"Hey bud, is there any way we can get to the city before sunrise. Work and all."

"Only police vehicles are allowed through without following SOP, Blake. I could slap a sin on your car but notmany officers do SUV unless..." The man's gaze swiveled to Victoria once again.

"Reckon we can get ehr a shirt?"

"Reckon we can."

"She don't drive though."

"She don't have to, the uniform and badge will be enough. And your shit car can double as a soccer mom's mini."

"Hey, I'm a politician Brad, we don't make money, only headlines."

A few minutes later, a blue shirt was tossed through the windows, along with a fake police shield. Jackson turned to the witch beside him who had clearly guessed where this was heading.

"Do you think you can put this short on over your own. We just need to pass you off as a police officer from afar or we'll be stuck here all night."

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And I Can Feel It, Coming In The Air Tonight (Victoria) Rsz_mi10

And I Can Feel It, Coming In The Air Tonight (Victoria) Rsz_ja12

And I Can Feel It, Coming In The Air Tonight (Victoria) Rsz_rs13

The win had come to them as Victoria had always told Jackson that it would. The witch had had her own worries, carefully tucked away where Jackson would never see them when they were fuelled by a flurry of anxieties, but she'd still been resolute the whole way through the HR420. They would be able to get this through, because their team had done such an outstanding job every hole that could possibly had been pulled at had an answer.

It hadn't made the week in DC any easier for them, though, Victoria had fallen in to bed each night beyond exhausted from the strenuous day sat in the chamber taking in every word spoken by each politician so that she could brief Jackson when they were released each evening. Gently coaching him on where to direct his eyes when he spoke so he could ensure a politician was being amply satisfied as being important to the case, or who needed to be treated with a firmer hand to get their point across, and try to sway the votes.

Politics was a field of mind games, and playing on egos when you entered the chambers, and as each day passed, Victoria had watched Jackson blossom in to the role so perfectly she had had to hide the proud smile on her lips as she watched on.

The mental exhaustion would have been enough to see the witch in to a sound sleep each night, in truth, but even after they'd spent hours debriefing the day and prepping for the next, Jackson had still had the energy to make love to her each evening. Where the man's energy supply came to the witch would have tried to ponder if he hadn't left her so blissfully unaware of the world before sleep, the comfort of his protecting arms making it impossible to stay awake even in the unfamiliar apartment they were staying.

The victory had been sweet in the end, and the smile that blossomed on Victoria's features had said everything it need to as they had left the chambers that evening. Neither one of them had thought as they got in to the back of their car that evening, that holding out on the celebrations would be necessary. Neither one of them had seen the lurking stranger with a camera, they had only seen the ecstasy of finalising the implementation stage of HR420, and the necessary celebrations that just had to follow.

DC was a distant memory, though, and after all the celebrations had been made with the office and their families, work had been back in full swing. Normal routine had ensued, and Victoria had set about on the next stages of HR420.

When the information had come through from her parents of their return, Victoria had asked for a couple of days off to help them settle back in to life in America. She'd expected to be going alone to see her parents, still quite aware that the relationship Jackson and her were working with was one that had to be kept under wraps, but Jackson had not wanted to hear of it, and had taken the two days off with her.

Grateful was an understatement, in truth, the house in Eden Prairie had been closed up for much too long, and the extra pair of hands had aided in cleaning through the house in half the time it would have taken Victoria -- even with magic. The house was probably not up to her mom's standards, but the dust, and signs of no one being around had been removed from the building, the garden had been tamed, and the day had been filled with Jackson trying much too often to distract her.

Sleeping in her childhood bedroom had been odd, the witch had been drawing light circles in to Jackson's chest as she took in the much-too-pink room fondly. Jackson's tall frame had not fit in her bed, he'd been slightly disgruntled in having to be in the pink room ("Would you rather sleep in Jake's bed?" had been followed by a much too quick "No!" that had left Victoria's smiling fondly at him) but they had made it work.

The next day had seen the return of her parents, and Victoria was so grateful to have them back on American soil. Helping them from the airport -- and seeing the fond smile on her mom's lips at the sight of Jackson and the bouquet of flowers he had in hand -- had been straightforward, the fridge had been stocked nicely the previous day, and to welcome them back dinner had been made on the overly large scale that always came with Alexis Newbury hosting.

As the night grew darker, Jackson had tried to excuse himself. Knowing that if he were to leave her on her own for the evening sleep would not come, Victoria had excused herself, too. The offer for them both to stay had been made, but not wanting to tell her parents just yet about Jackson and herself, which meant separate bedrooms would be provided, the witch had simply noted that she was behind with work, and getting back tonight would allow her to catch up in the morning.

Satisfied that they had eaten enough, and Jackson could get her home safely (not touching the beer had not gone unnoticed) the duo had left for Milwaukee. Victoria's fingers had threaded through Jackson's free hand as he drove in the quiet thank you for all he'd done to help her and her family over the last couple of days as she rested back in the seat.

The cities moved quickly with the portals across the country, and as Milwaukee came in to being, the witch had sat up a little straighter at the queue of traffic.

"What's going on..?" The witch wondered aloud as they joined the back of the queue, eyes scanning across the cars in front of them for some indication of what had happened. Jackson had been one step ahead, though, hailing down a MACUSA agent and getting the information from the officer easily.

The exchange was quick, and the witch knew exactly what the two men were trying to achieve before the shirt and badge came through the window and in to her lap. Victoria's eyes took in the two items before her eyes moved back to Jackson, words already on her lips.

"Do you think you can put this short on over your own. We just need to pass you off as a police officer from afar or we'll be stuck here all night."

"You know impersonating a police officer is an offence, Jackson! Code 912." The witch replied, voice hushed and clearly not on board with the idea of putting on the shirt. The look on Jackson's features was one that said he did know, and that he was okay with breaking the law, to get out of the queue. "I could be imprisoned, or fined..."

The look of amusement on Jackson's face showed that he was not moving from the idea, that he was okay with it.

Victoria looked to the retreating back of Brad and back to Jackson, clearly struggling with her own internal argument. Did she want to sit this one out all night? Definitely not. But, did she wish to break the law that she had been studying so very closely since her return to the U.S.A. to be the best legal council she could be for the man beside her? Absolutely not.

But, it all came down to the same thing each time.

She would, and had, done anything for the man sitting beside her.

Using a shirt to get out of a queue would not hurt anybody.

Unlike some of the other things she'd done.

The shirt had been pulled on over her own shirt a moment later, her fingers working swiftly down the buttons. The sizing was slightly off, her small frame not filling out the shoulders, but it would pass for what they needed it to as she tucked it in to her trousers for good measure. Her fingers hesitated on the badge before reaffirming their grip and sliding it on to the waist of the trousers.

"Please, hurry and get us through the line so I can take this off." The witch would finally say, trying to keep her breathing and heart rate at a steady pace as the adrenaline began to flood through her bloodstream.

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"You know impersonating a police officer is an offence, Jackson! Code 912."

"C'mon Vic, you don't want to be stuck here all night, do you?" Because while she may have a point, it was a police officer himself who had suggested they do this. Brad came from an old school law enforcement family, he and his three brothers who were also in the force had met Jackson at a campaign rally many years ago and old friends did you favors now and then.

The princess looked as if she wanted to argue, but eventually realized there would be no winning this one. They had work tomorrow and surely the protest wasn't that bad. Even as she donned the shirt over her own, tucking it in properly, Jackson waved towards Brad and hit the gas. Their vehicle would be radio-ed on ahead.

It took another fifteen minutes for them to come across where the majority of the incident had happened. And Jackson cursed internally at not having the good sense to distract Victoria before the real damage loomed into view. It looked like a small bonfire from far off but the closer they drove, the more evident it became that the fire was anything but small.

Two cars had collided with each each, one had overturned and the other was on fire. An ambulance stood nearby but an expert observer would know there were no survivors. The two body bags lay to the side and the EMTs packing up was enough of a giveaway. And as if the flaming car and the dead bodies weren't enough, there was more disturbing sights ahead.

A large crowd had gathered near the cars, holding up large signs Jackson couldn't read , focused only on driving past this spectacle. but even he couldn't unsee how barricades of police officers in full riot gear were holding people back, using force where needed and shoving women and the elderly out of the way.

Instinctively, one hand reached for Victoria's to find her own fingers shaking. Of course she had seen everything.

"It's okay, we're almost clear," he reassured her, increasing their speed and maneuvering towards the next portal. The witch made no reply but Jackson didn't expect her to. The reassurance had only been that.

And he doubted it would work.

The image of an officer kicking at a teenager disappeared from the SUV's review mirror and Jackson sighed with relief. The next moment, they were hurtling through a second portal and then, ten seconds later, driving down a quiet suburban street.

Slowing down the car, Jackson pulled over at a shoulder. Turning towards the lawyer he merely waited, giving her time to process. One of the things he'd learned from his meetings, was to give her time.

And for Victoria, Jackson had all the time in the world.

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The witch held her breath as they drove forth, bypassing the queue due to the shirt she now bore, and the badge that sat in the centre console almost jeering at her for what they were doing. Jackson was right, they didn't want to be stuck her all night, but that did not make what they were doing right in the witch's books. Victoria's eyes remained firmly away from the cars they passed, and likely countless eyes looking back at them in the questioning manner of why they got to jump the queue.

When they'd passed the queue, though, Victoria had wished beyond anything in the world that they hadn't opted to skip the queue.

The fast thuds in her chest all put stopped as they drew closer to the smouldering wreckage of the two cars involved. That sight on it's own would have been okay for the witch -- not pleasant, of course, but okay -- but it was the sight of the two body bags beside the vehicles that had her hand moving to cover her mouth in disbelief. Calls would be made shortly to the family of those two people, two families would be broken apart by the harrowing news of the loss...

But the sights did not end there.

Just past the smouldering car was a crowd that had gathered, angry and with signs denoting their anger at the government for trying to take away the citizenships of those Americans who chose not to return to the country. Like her brother... Part of the witch wanted to believe that the government -- both magical and nomaj would not attempt something so wrong, but the years spent with Jackson in the political world had opened her eyes to the fact that the possibility was very real.

Real enough to drive crowds of angry people to the street.

Real enough to cause accidents that cost lives.

But it wasn't just the crash scene that would cause damage. The police officers in their full riot gear were clearly pushing back the crowds with unnecessary force in that moment. Shoving women aside as if they were nothing more than rag dolls. One such woman looked to have been screaming towards the EMT personnel, perhaps... but her screams were rewarded only with the manhandling of her flailing body, pulled through the line of police, before being forcefully snapped in to handcuffs.

The witch hadn't realised her own reaction until she felt Jackson's hand in her own. The warmth a stark contrast to the almost icy cold lengths of her own fingers, and the stillness of them a world apart from the shakes that trembled through her own.

"It's okay, we're almost clear,"

It wasn't okay, Victoria wanted to point out, but her voice would not comply as they hurtled through the next portal, and were transported miles away from the protests that were about to break out behind them.

One street over, Jackson pulled the car over, the engine was switched off, and quietness consumed the vehicle for a moment. The man beside her would have waited for an age, Victoria knew, but now that the car was stationary, all the witch wanted to do was get out of the car. Disentangling herself from Jackson's hands, the witch unfastened her seat belt, and much too hastily pulled apart the shirt she'd used to get away from those protests. The images of the officers trying to disperse the crowd with more force than would ever be necessary making her want to distance herself from them. When the shirt was off, and tossed back in to the footwell of the back seat, the witch opened the window of the car, still trying to process, and rid herself of the nausea that was growing within.

Sitting back in the passenger seat, the witch's fingers carefully found their way back to Jackson's, entwining with his so that the comfort of his presence could be used to gently ground herself once more.

"Why..." the witch started to ask, but what did you even ask in that situation? Why were the police being so violent? Why could the distressed woman not be spoken to instead of being flung in to the bonnet of the police car? Why were people protesting there, of all places? Why had they chosen to come back tonight? Why would the government threatened the citizenship of their people if they didn't return home? But none of those questions would have made a difference in the end.

"That shouldn't be happening, Jax." Was what Victoria settled on, because right in this moment, the witch couldn't manage anything more as she drew in some 'fresh' air that did nothing to quell the uneasy feeling in her stomach.

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Jackson didn't know how many minutes it took to clear the scene, and how many more to reach the small, quiet street they were now in. All he knew was that it took too damn long. Long enough for Victoria to go numb and cold. Long enough for her to finally realize there was something deeply wrong in the country they called home.

When she moved ehr hand away from his, the wizard let her. She either needed space or something more. His meetings were very clear on giving people space and having faith that they would return. And she did, after she had removed the shirt and balled it up to throw it to the backseat - a distinctly un-Victoria move. If Jackson hand't already known she was upset, this would have been the giveaway.

"Why..."

The question sounded broken, like a plea. Not a tone Jackson ever anted to hear from his Princess. And yet he couldn't make it go away.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. His work was mostly nomaj politics with only a few feelers down in MACUSA. Honestly, Victoria's own father would be in a better situation to answer that question. At least he would know more, being somewhat in the middle fo this whole engineered law.

"But maybe its time we find out?" he suggested gently, knowing that letting the lawyer simply still and think about it would do no good.Victoria was always happier in action, researching, preparing arguments, going through available data, collecting notes and points of view. She was not made to sit still and especially not in situations like this.

She was a lawyer, she simply needed to eb remidned of ehr man y talents.

Drawing slow, soothing circles on the well of her palm, he continued. "It doesn't look like this thing is going away. Sooner or later... It will affect everyone's life." As much as Jackson had thought they could get away from it, work and live safely in their bubble, they would remain unaffected. Bu the very fact that they had just moved her parents back to the States said otherwise. It already had affected their life. The protest was just the last straw.

"We can call up the NAACP tomorrow and ask them what they're doing. If you want to take some time and lend your resources to the cause..." The man waited, watching for any response from the witch. They were on the right track if she was turning her mind towards how to fight the injustice they had just witnessed.

Slowly, every so slowly, she began to speak, pointing out her friends in the legal system she could reach out to. Unsurprisingly, the young witch had won over many people in high circles with her friendly manner and genuine talent. And as they started up the car again, this time heading for home, Jackson saw a glimmer of hope.

And that was the best anyone could wish for in these times.

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» Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight (Victoria)
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» With a Full Moon tonight... {OPEN}