Chapter Text
President Robert ‘Bobby’ Nash was a conundrum of statistics and facts that no other standing American president had ever/would ever have written about them in the history books. He’d been a fire captain turned city mayor turned senator turned president all before the age of fifty. He had a documented history of civil service and public sacrifice a mile long that would put most saints to shame. He was the first president with an interracial marriage and didn’t tote it around like it was some ground breaking news. He’d faced three major disasters--- a plane crash, a massive earthquake, and a tsunami--- all in his first term and brought the American people back to their feet with stable ground beneath them. He was also an openly recovering alcoholic; a fact that nearly cost him the election when his anonymity was ripped away by a careless staffer who worked on his opponent’s campaign.
To be honest, the only thing that had probably saved him had been the fact that Gerrard had taken a moment too long to fire those responsible for the smear campaign and the public thought the move had been dirty and underhanded. Athena, though, often quelled those doubts by reminding him that his speech in response to the exposure had made him more open and honest in a way he hadn’t felt in a while and the American people had felt that in return.
The millions of views of the speech on Youtube probably helped too.
But Bobby was also a godfather to a foreign prince; the first president to ever claim such a title.
It’d been all over the news for months. Bobby had been a senator at the time, in the capital for a state dinner where royalty from all over were coming to visit in celebration of the birth of President Strand’s first and only son. Duchess Amelia had been far too pregnant to be walking around in heels all night and had taken a moment to step away from all the excitement when her water broke. A frightening moment for a woman her age and the baby still too many weeks away from what would’ve been a comfortable due date.
Bobby, in a tuxedo rather than a fire department uniform, flew in like he'd been on duty yesterday.
The press couldn’t get enough of the no name senator who had saved both mother and baby which led to a rare break from protocol from the royal family. God parentage was usually reserved for distant relations or neighboring royalty. But Bobby Nash from the cold Midwest had been summoned to the christening where he was given the honor of being the baby’s godfather and it was an honor he took very seriously.
Bobby loved the kid like he was his own and after the duke and duchess had passed away in a car crash, he’d broken down every barrier put in place to make sure he was there when he was needed.
Prince Evan was always a favorite for the press whenever they got bored, something which the prince made easy with how stupid he could be sometimes. But Bobby loved him and he was fiercely protective of their relationship.
Which is why Eddie had no idea why Bobby decided that he would be the best person to act as the prince’s personal bodyguard while he visited the states.
“With all due respect, sir,” Eddie said after a few moments of open mouth gapping. “I’m not sure I’m the best man for the job.”
“I have to disagree with you, Eddie,” Bobby said in that calm way he always spoke whenever he was trying a little too hard to not give away his amusement. “I think you would be the perfect person for the job.”
“Sir---”
Bobby splayed his hands in front of him. “Look, Eddie, I’m going to be honest with you here. My godson can be a bit of a handful, I know, but you’re the best agent for the job. You’ll interest him so he won’t get bored and try to run off.”
Athena snorted but kept quiet all the same.
Eddie didn't even know what that meant. From what little he knew about the prince, he seriously doubted that he, a nameless Secret Service agent, would be found anywhere on the list of interesting things for the prince. The last thing he'd expected when he'd been called into the President's private office in the Residence was to be asked to head a protection detail for Bobby's own godson. Visiting royalty usually had their own PPOs that were just as much of a pain to work with as their charges. The prince had his own unit of guards for God's sake!
“And you’re the one person I trust that will be able to look out for him.” Bobby added.
“What he means to say, Eddie, is that he’s sorry in advance for making you babysit.” Athena’s smile was good humored but weighted. “Buck’s got a good head on his shoulders but that boy can use that brain for evil sometimes.”
“I think this’ll be a little different.” Bobby grimaced. “He’s… had a rough go of it these last couple of years and this past summer was a lot. He’s coming here to escape more than anything.”
To hide, he didn't say.
Every tabloid would have a field day if they knew that. Bobby seemed to realize that as well because he grabbed Athena’s hand and squeezed it in his own, his wife leaning against his shoulder.
“It’ll only be for six weeks and then he goes back for his sister’s coronation,” Bobby said.
“Who knows, you may have some fun, for once.”
Eddie rolled his eyes but only because they were in private and Athena was always telling him he needed to loosen up. But Eddie also recognized the unspoken words in the room.
This was important to Bobby. Something had him worried and Bobby had a way of slipping into a level of genuine sincerity that could knock you out at the knees. Eddie had worked with a couple of politicians and officials and blow hards that had a good smile and could give a good speech but wouldn't know authenticity if it smacked them in the face. Without fail, he was still blown away every time with Bobby. He didn’t place significance for its weightiness. He did it when it mattered.
This mattered.
“It’d be an honor, sir,” Eddie said finally and turned on his heel when Bobby nodded his dismissal.
Bobby watched as Eddie disappeared and relaxed into the warm weight of his wife’s hands as she massaged out the day’s stress from his muscles.
“Did I just make a big mistake?”
“Nah,” Athena said quietly, her breath hot on his skin as she kissed his cheek. “They’ll be good for each other. They’ll get on like water and oil.”
So, Eddie researched. And researched and researched and researched. He dove into the dark recess of the internet and saw things he didn’t need to see. He wasn’t usually on protection detail for a reason. Sure, every agent was ready to step in the way of a bullet at a moment's notice but to be a head protection agent was an entirely different ball game. You were a companion. Most head agents knew more about their charges than their own significant others. You got them where they needed to go and stood by their side and ate pizza with them when they didn't want to go home yet. It was an intense level of trust that was supposed to be an honor.
It was an honor.
Bobby didn't place his trust lightly. He cared for a lot, sure, but Eddie could count on his hand the number of people that were truly important to him. The kind of importance where there was a protocol in place if the President ever tried to do something stupid like throwing himself in front of a bullet rather than letting the agents in charge take care of it.
But Eddie's strengths were in reading body language and anticipating. Threat assessment. His job was to watch and assess and trust that his fellow agents would do their job correctly when it came down to it. He spotted the problem before it became a danger.
Which was why he was having such a hard time keeping his judgment from his notes.
The prince was a problem that had the potential to be a danger and it went against all his instincts to not tackle it into the ground. There were too many variables that were still unknown. He didn't know why the prince was planning to hide out at the White House, a very secure building in a completely different country from his own. He didn't know what happened to cause the prince to come running--- he'd only been assured by his superiors that it was nothing life threatening and that no one was chasing after him to look out for--- which was still tugging at the back of Eddie's brain. All he knew about his new charge was what he saw in the gossip magazines and the very brief, slim dossier he’d been given.
Age: 26
Hair: Dirty blond
Eyes: Blue
Identifying markers: Red birthmark over left eye; tattoo on left forearm [text]; tattoo on left bicep [Saturn]; tattoo on right arm [two bands]; tattoo on right bicep [skull]; tattoo on chest [symbol]; tattoo on abdomen [head]; tattoo on shoulder [script]
Allergies: Strawberries
Medical conditions: Being a pain in the ass
That part had been marked out but he could still see the distinctive scrawl of Chimney’s handwriting.
From the pattern of media attention, he also knew that the prince spent a good chunk of time staining his reputation over actually protecting it. He was with someone new what seemed like every week and had a long history of exes that ranged from mindless hook ups to being on a very top secret list of people who may attempt assassination (the names of which Eddie had already memorized). He had a habit of sneaking out of the palace and stealing security cars for joyrides that had local police in a complete frenzy. He was reckless, arrogant, blasé about anything and everything and---
Six weeks.
Six weeks. He could do six weeks. He could do six weeks of babysitting a spoiled, troublemaking, prince with a disregard for all chains of authority.
Six weeks that Eddie had to keep him alive and in line and then he could get back to being on a team.
He could do that.