And like that, the desire to burn away into a pile of ashes and float away on the breeze was overwhelming, but she ultimately got what she wanted and spent the remainder of the trip dreaming of a day she could buck the act and go work for the next Hilary. Those dreams came to an abrupt halt, however, as the nightmare refused to end. She clutched her laptop bag to her chest as she reluctantly walked ahead of Marcus into his office, wondering silently if this was the end of her political career.<br/><br/>She sunk into the seat in front of his desk and stared straight into the wood, as if her eyesight alone could somehow bore a hole through it and beam her somewhere else entirely. Before he had a chance to humiliate her further or remind her of how batshit insane her idea was, she bit back the tears pricking at her eyes and beat him to the punch, opting for a big swallow of humble pie over the childish desire to defend her honor.<br/><br/>"If this is about the briefing...Yeah, that was really stupid. I deserved the ridicule, it is a very outlandish idea. It's not realistic, it was a momentary lapse of judgement."