Disclaimer: I don't own Designated Survivor.

3/3

Emily couldn't wait for this day to be over. She had already witnessed Seth giving Aaron a stare-down, which the National Security Adviser pointedly ignored, brushing quickly past the Press Secretary while looking fixedly at a Renaissance painting hanging on the wall in front of him as if waiting for the figures to come to life and pummel Seth. Coming out of the President's study a few hours later, Emily had nearly walked into an awkward and completely silent encounter between Aaron and Sasha and she couldn't tell whose blush was more red- that of Sasha's flushed cheeks or the color rising to back of Aaron's neck when both stopped in the middle of the hallway as their eyes locked over the aides bustling around the hallway around them, before Aaron turned abruptly on his heel and escaped in the direction he had come.

Sasha had cornered Emily in the bathroom later, wordlessly handing her a small brown paper bag, stapled shut for good measure before locking herself in a stall with a sigh of great relief as if she had just handed off the responsibility of world peace to someone else. Emily dried her hands, mumbling a heartfelt "thanks" in Sasha's direction.

"Let me know what he says!" Sasha called after Emily as the Chief of Staff took the bag gingerly in her hands and left the bathroom.

Emily managed to dodge the rest of the senior staff for the rest of the day, throwing herself into her work, idly popping into meetings where her presence wasn't necessarily required just to avoid being left alone in her office like a sitting duck. Her exchanges with Lyor or Seth were always cushioned within a group of aides, scurrying away before they could ask for a private word. Aaron was nowhere to be found, likely stashed away in a top secret room where no one could disturb, let alone find him.

She was just about ready to pack up and leave for the night when Kendra marched into her office.

"Hey you." Emily said cheerily, glad for a fresh face, unmarred by the incident in the office earlier. The White House Counsel had been tied up in mediation all day, tucked away in a remote room where none of the news could have reached her. Or so Emily thought.

Kendra leaned against the back of an armchair, her arms crossed, jaw set in a determined expression that made Emily dread the next words to come out of her friend's mouth.

"What's been going around here all day? All the senior staff have been running away from each other all day."

"Oh, we had a disagreement." Emily said offhandedly, waving her hand as if to brush the matter aside like it was a trivial detail.

"I see, so is that why Aaron's ears turn red whenever he sees Seth or Sasha or why Seth is walking around with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face, or why Lyor keeps spying on the four of you? You know, Aaron walks past your office and he looks in like there's a rabid coyote about to jump out and attack him."

Emily bit her lip, knowing that Kendra saw right through her. "What can I say? It was a big one."

Kendra narrowed her eyes, "And you're so skittish because you're still angry about the argument?"

Emily pulled her coat on, not quite meeting Kendra's skeptical eyes, "It's been a long day, Kendra. I'm sure it will all blow over by tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Mhmm, hopefully you'll make up before Aaron comes by tomorrow to pick you up in the morning." Kendra called after Emily's retreating back and her steps faltered slightly.

"Get home safe!" Emily threw over her shoulder, let out a long breath as she walked down the hallway.

Shit.

She turned before she could reach the double doors of the exit, continuing down the deserted halls until her feet brought her to the piano room. She couldn't go home. Aaron would very likely be there and her escape from this mess of a day lay in the desire to be alone with her tangled thoughts. Emily sat down at the piano, dropping her bag at the side of the bench, her fingers coaxing a familiar melody out of the keys. She could go to Aaron's, she did have a copy of his keys in her purse, but what if he had decided to stay the night at his place instead? That scenario was too awkward to risk. Her pinky slipped on a black key, muddling the chord and her muscle memory blanked as she struggled to find the right fingering.

"Emily."

The voice was soft, she almost attributed it to the trick of her mind until he moved into the room.

"You're supposed to be at home." She blurted before she could stop herself.

Aaron smiled grimly, walking over to the piano with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders tensed, "So are you." He countered, sitting down next to her on the bench. "You wanna tell me why you're avoiding me if the test is Sasha's?"

There it was. The conversation they were both dreading of having at home, happening right here in the White House. They were both too similar for their own good, to end up in the same hiding place.

Emily lifted her chin, meeting his eyes mulishly, "I think we both know it wasn't her test." They watched each other for a long pause before Aaron exhaled, looking down to examine his knuckles as he rubbed them thoughtfully. Emily's eyes traced over his profile, her fingers itching to run through his hair and loosen his curls from the gel restraints, but she held back. After all, that move had essentially gotten them to where they were today.

He finally looked up at her, his voice surprisingly even as he asked, "Do you want to get married?"

In the years looking back, Emily would swear that this was the only time in her life where her jaw had dropped. Not just gaped, but honest-to-God fell to the floor. She was overwhelmed by the urge to either laugh, slap him or storm out and scream her lungs out before hopping on a one-way flight to her mother in Tampa.

So she just settled on staring speechlessly at Aaron until he reached out and lightly closed her mouth with two fingers on her chin.

"Are you shitting me right now?" Emily spat, jerking away from his touch. Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as he observed her livid reaction, the rest of his body remaining annoyingly calm.

"You want to get married?" She demanded, pushing herself off the bench to pace behind the piano as Aaron turned to watch her, his brows coming together in confusion.

"Well, I- uh," He was clearly flustered but Emily couldn't stop herself.

"Is that just supposed to solve everything? Just put a ring on it and all our troubles go away, never mind that no one even knows we've been fucking-, oh sorry,- sleeping together-,"

"Seth knows," Aaron said quietly.

"What?" Emily rounded on him as he quickly held his hands out as if in surrender.

"I didn't tell him! He figured it out himself! I guess we aren't as subtle as we thought." Aaron took this opportunity to grip Emily's elbow as she passed by him, effectively stopping her as she began pacing again. "Hey, stop." His voice softened as Emily calmed down enough to meet his eyes, "Look, maybe we both don't know how to respond to this… change of circumstance but we'll figure it out together, yeah? Ring or no ring." He added hastily at Emily's raised eyebrow.

She sighed. He was right. Neither of them knew how to react to this news and admittedly, the way Aaron found out was less than ideal. Emily leaned into his touch, her hands resting on his shoulders, her thumbs stroking upwards to trace of the skin of his neck above the collar of his shirt as his own hands settled on her waist.

"Hey guys, you're all still here? Am I interrupting? Let me guess, it's about that thing we didn't see in your office, right?"

"Lyor, LEAVE!" Emily hollered, stepping quickly away from Aaron as he groaned, bury his face in his hands, elbows resting heavily on his knees. She strode quickly to the door of the room to make sure Lyor was actually gone, and she watched him exasperatedly as he ran down the hall, waving his smartwatch around trying to simulate as many steps as possible.

"Let's get out of here," She muttered, walking back to Aaron and stooping down to pick up her purse before leading him out of the room.

…

"Sweetheart! We don't have to get married anymore!" Aaron head Emily call out in a singsong voice, the door of the apartment slamming shut behind her a moment later. He waited patiently as he sharp clicks of her footsteps drew closer to the bedroom and she appeared in the doorway a second later, brandishing papers in one hand, the other dropping her purse on the ground at the foot of the bed before she shucked her heels before climbing onto the bed. Aaron at least had the sense to close the file in his lap and toss it onto the nightstand before Emily climbed into his lap, straddling him as she placed a sound kiss on his lips in greeting. One hand came to steady her on the small of her back while the other rested lightly on her leg.

Emily waved the papers excitedly in his face, "We don't have to get married anymore." She repeated teasingly, "It was a false positive. I'm not pregnant!"

Aaron took the papers from her as she got off his lap, beginning to undress for bed. Sure enough, the blood test showed an absence of hCG in her system. Aaron blinked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up.

Not pregnant.

That was good. No unplanned pregnancy. Everything was back to the status quo. He should be happy. Relieved. Celebrating just like Emily was, glad that their routine could stay the same, that they didn't need to announce their relationship to the world, that they were free to stay in their little bubble, safe from prying eyes and uncomfortable questions.

But then why was there a sudden emptiness in his chest?

Emily emerged from the bathroom in her slip and Aaron watched as she made a beeline for the bed, stepping between his knees as she pried the test results from his hands and set them on the nightstand on top of his file, a look of pure bliss on her face. Aaron's hands lifted on their own accord, his fingers skimming down her sides as her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips tracing over his cheek.

"Everything okay?" She whispered and he pulled her closer to him, his thoughts drifting to the little black box stashed away in his briefcase, the product of a covert trip he had made a few days after the incident in the Chief of Staff office while Emily had gone in to get her blood drawn.

He buried his nose in her hair as her infectious smile spread to his lips. Aaron fell back onto the bed, pulling Emily with him as she gave a surprised laugh.

"Everything's perfect." He replied, and he really meant it because from here on out, he had a clear picture of exactly what he wanted his future to look like.