[FUTURE] ... the one with the money & the one without talk pre-nup

[freshoffthefarm]

It was one of those days where Clay had gotten home before Annie. One of those days where Annie'd been stuck behind a mountain of actionable paperwork, a cantankerous elevator, a security card reader that wouldn't let her out the building, and a walk across the parking lot in pouring down rain that hadn't made her mood any better.

Walking into their house in Great Falls was like walking into a sanctuary. All she wanted to do was finish planning the menu for their second reception and make sure that the shoes she'd ordered for her second dress were on their way. Between that and dinner, she wanted nothing more than to relax.

"Honey? I'm home."

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[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay's day couldn't have been more different than Annie's. He spent his morning doing his usual morning intelligence briefings, then attended a work related function at the Country Club. Afterward, he went to practice his fencing as he felt he needed to burn off some of the frustration of dealing with members of congress outside of The Hill.

As he was headed to the bar for a drink, he'd told the men he was with that he'd asked Annie to marry him. The first thing out of their mouths was 'Congratulations'. The second was, 'Have you drawn up a prenup'?

Clay said he didn't think he'd need one, Annie wasn't that kind of person. Then they started to tell him their horror stories that involved women his friends also thought weren't that kind of person.

All the way home, he doubted his decision not to mention the prenup. He knew for someone in his position, it was something that made sense, just not something he thought they needed. Not after the way Annie reacted when she'd found out she'd get Manderly if something happened to him.

Still he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that he was making the wrong choice.

When Annie got home, he was in the middle of serving their dinner, steak potatoes, and spinach. "In the kitchen."

[freshoffthefarm]

Four inch heels? Off. Purse? Down. Jacket? Barely made it to the coat hanger. Then she moved into the kitchen, shrugging out her shoulders along the way. Her expression upon seeing dinner being served was one of relief mixed in with happiness.

There was no way she was going to mention her bad day and there was a reason she'd made top marks in deception training. A bright smile appeared and she said, "That looks incredible."

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay didn't even suspect Annie had a bad day. Though he doubted she suspected anything relating to prenuptial agreements. Since she said dinner looked incredible, he wasn't bringing it up now. Annie was going to eat first.

"And it's all done."

[freshoffthefarm]

At the table, Annie didn't waste a single moment digging in. The small talk was small, inconsequential, and had nothing at all to do with work. If she had to do another op or two, tiny ones, before their wedding... well, she was sure that he'd understand. When they came up. Which was not now.

"And how was your day?" She finally asked as she finished up, taking a drink of her wine.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"Interesting," Clay said, using one of the most ambiguous adjectives to describe any situation. "After that event I told you about I went to do some fencing."

[freshoffthefarm]

"Fencing. And it was..." She blinked at him, tilting her head at the ambiguity with a little bit of curiosity. "Interesting?"

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

He nodded, "I went upstairs for a drink afterward." Then came the part he was dreading, "And I told everyone I was marrying you. I expected to get some congratulations, which I did, then they asked if I was drawing up a prenup."

He expected the yelling he was sure to happen any second.

[freshoffthefarm]

"So, fencing wasn't interesting. Which, of course it's not. Fencing is never interesting." She went back to her wine glass to avoid any hurt expression appearing on her face.

Annie took a long sip to make sure that her face and tone would remain blank when she finally lowered her glass. It took far longer than she thought it should, though in reality, probably wasn't that long at all. Just a normal drink, if hefty.

"A prenup. Of course, that makes sense." Her smile might have been a little tight, which she felt, so she stood and lifted her plate before flashing him a more genuine smile. "If you have your lawyers draw it up..."

A shrug and she disappeared into the kitchen. She'd look at it. Have someone else look at it. Think about it.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

This was going slightly better than he anticipated. There was no yelling...yet.

Clay counted to fifty before getting up and bringing his plate into the kitchen, "I didn't think we needed one to be honest. Not after how you reacted to getting Manderly in my will."

Though if they were married when they originally broke up six years ago, he wouldn't have doubted that Annie would hang him out to dry, and he'd deserve every second of legal hell.

"I'm not going to say that having one would protect both of us, because we both know that's a lot of shit."

[freshoffthefarm]

"I reacted to getting Manderly in your will after we broke up because you'd dumped me then I found out about it. It seemed a little counter-productive," she said, finishing rinsing the plate she had in her hand and then turning off the water to look at him.

Though, if he thought that she'd ever do that to him, he would have been wrong and her look showed it when he spoke. "It is a lot of shit. A prenup makes sure that whoever has the money gets to keep it in the event of a divorce. But trust me, Clayton, if you ever did something bad enough to make me want to divorce you? Your money would be the least of your worries."

The smile she tacked on to the end of that statement had very little humor in it.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Her last statement combined with that smile made him extremely uncomfortable and it showed.

"...like I said, I don't know if we need one."

But with that smile, he knew she was serious, and he should probably protect his family's investments. Probably.

[freshoffthefarm]

"If you honestly believe that I would do anything to separate you from any of this?" She waved her hands upward to indicate his mother's house. "Then, yes. We do need one." She tossed the towel she was holding onto the counter. "Like I said, have your lawyer draw one up. I'll sign whatever you want me to."

Annie made it to the kitchen door before she turned and looked at him. "Please remember that I never asked you for anything. Not even Manderly."

And she went upstairs to change.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay watched as she went upstairs to change and then sat in his mother's favorite chair. Times like these, when he truly didn't know what to do, he'd ask his mother. So here he was, sitting in her chair and wondering what the hell she'd tell him to do.

After about five minutes, he knew exactly what Porter would say. Go upstairs, apologize to your wife, and do what you think is right. It took another ten minutes to formulate a plan, then he went upstairs and knocked on their bedroom door.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Three days later, Clay came home about an hour after Annie bearing Thai food and an envelope of paper, which he planned on addressing after dinner. He knew she knew he was going to the attorney's office to pick up the paperwork she needed to sign to protect his financial health and give her a divorce settlement if it comes down to it.

He left Manderly in his will, just like it had been since his trip to South America all those years ago.

"Annie? Sorry I'm later than I said. Picked up dinner."

[freshoffthefarm]

Upon seeing the envelope, Annie's appetite fled. Really, he should have known by now that any business, especially unpleasant business, had to be addressed before dinner or she wasn't going to eat. And maybe even then...

"Let's see it."

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay handed the agreement over.

"The way I structured it is this, the divorce settlement increases based on how long we're married. There's a stipulation for child support payments, over and above what the state would require me to provide and all gifts are kept by each of us." Specifically called out were Annie's gray shoes. "My family's money stays with the children."

"Also you can either take the furniture, or a cash payment."

There were other clauses, but that was the gist.

[freshoffthefarm]

She would definitely not be eating dinner tonight.

Nodding, she gave him a tight smile, deciding that arguing that she'd said she didn't want anything, including the furniture (oh, those fluffy red couches), wasn't worth it. Whatever he'd said was fine.

Annie took a moment to skim it and didn't find anything too very offensive, though she caught sight of the words extra-marital affair. Satisfied that he'd be satisfied, though it had taken her about thirty seconds to read several pages, she reached out and took his fancy pen from his pocket.

Signing the agreement, she folded it and handed it back without a word.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

The extra-marital affair clause applied to each of them, not that he anticipated it being a problem.

Clay was surprised that she signed it without any argument or changes, but he took his pen, signed his name then put the paperwork in his briefcase to leave the house with him in the morning and hopefully never be spoken about again.

"I talked to him about a trust for our future children too, shouldn't be too hard to set up. Then all we have to worry about it whether they go to Harvard, Georgetown, or" he shuddered, "Yale".

[freshoffthefarm]

Considering that she'd told him that she would sign whatever he'd given her, he shouldn't have been surprised.

"You're a snob," she said before turning back toward the kitchen. She needed a glass of water and whether she was referring to everything else or just his reference to Yale? Well, that was totally up to him to decipher.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"A snob who graduated from Harvard." Which meant he was allowed to hate Yale.

He followed Annie into the kitchen, "Thank you for doing that."

[freshoffthefarm]

"Mmhmm." She just couldn't bring herself to be any more gracious about it than that. "There's nothing wrong with Yale, either. I just want smart children. Smarter than us. Smarter than all of the ridiculousness that we've gone through."

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"I want them to be smart, happy, and get the best parts of both of us. The can be doctors, lawyers, or anything but spies. I never understood why my mother didn't want me to follow in my father's footsteps. I do now."

He wouldn't want this career path for them.

[freshoffthefarm]

"You told me once that if you're a Webb, you're a spy." She raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to hope that that's not always going to be true."

That they'd moved on from the piece of paper that was going to burn a hole in his briefcase was a good thing, as far as she was concerned.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"I hope so too."

Clay started dishing out their dinner and opened a bottle of wine. "How was your day today?"

[freshoffthefarm]

The sick feeling in her stomach hadn't passed and she folded her arms over her chest as she watched him before ignoring his question and finally saying, "I'm not hungry. I'll just sit with you while you eat."