Author's Note: Hellooo! I apparently haven't run out of Emron inspiration yet so here you have another fic! It's less dramatic than my first and (I think) also longer, so I hope you guys enjoy this! Happy reading!

Chapter 1:

5:00am

A shrill tone rang out and filled the bedroom, signaling the start of another long day for Emily Rhodes. On the bed and half-concealed underneath a large blanket, Emily started to stir. Her eyelids crunched together and she let out a groan against her pillow. But within a second, her eyes opened, already alert and fully awake.

Sighing, she got up, shrugged off her warm blanket and walked to her work desk. She picked up the ringing phone and turned off the alarm. Immediately, the alarm slid off her screen to reveal the date and time.

5:02 am. September 18, 2016, Thursday

Emily quietly padded through the loft to go to the bathroom, and upon stepping right in front of her mirror, she let out one big breath.

"Whew," she huffed as she let her fingers comb through her evident bed hair. "Twenty-nine. You've made it to twenty-nine, Rhodes."

Emily felt glad she wasn't one of those people who hated celebrating birthdays. She understood them, though. At this time of her life, sometimes she too wanted to slow things down for a bit. Big decisions were always coming at her as she got older, but right now, she was still contented with the way she handled things. She treasured that about herself. She did her best to balance out everything—being practical, being idealistic, being adamant, or being indulgent. So, things were handled okay. For now.

And even though birthdays brought her closer to the rest of the life crises coming, she wasn't one to be a buzzkill to herself. Emily loved having a reason to celebrate. And the world needed a lot that these days—something she realized quickly when she pursued a career in public service and politics.

Plus, she was a sucker for birthday treats. Whether it's cakes, drinks, or free food, Emily Rhodes would shamelessly hoard all those for one night.

.

5:30 am

She had been twisting and turning in front of her vanity mirror for the past ten minutes, making sure her outfit came together in a satisfactory way. She had picked a sleek nude-colored dress that ended just above her knees and hugged her body in the right places. The sleeves reached only until the end of her shoulders and the clean-cut neckline covered the base of her collarbone, making her look tall and elegant. A shiny gold belt looped around her midsection, accentuating her waist. She also chose a matching pair of shoes as well as a bag.

Grabbing her coat and her document bag, she stepped out of her apartment and into the world that was just waking up. Within the next few minutes, she was driving down her street and heading to her favorite cafe, already looking forward to ordering their signature eggs benedict and her daily dose of cappuccino.

.

6:05 am

Aaron Shore walked through the White House entrance and headed for his office. In about twenty or so minutes, the President would be descending from his residential wing and a normal day at the office would begin. That meant he had to gather all his files, quickly read through his reminders for the day, and file out to wait for POTUS with his other two colleagues, ready for the day's load.

As soon as he selected the necessary file folders he had lying on his desk, he breezed through their contents to review what to brief Kirkman about. He grabbed his phone next and started checking the unread emails from the night. He wondered briefly how on earth it was possible that throughout the four or five hours of sleep he got, his unread emails managed to accumulate into yet another large number. Aaron walked out of his office, carrying his folders and going through his phone. He began to filter the emails out, opening only the ones that were relevant for today's agenda and leaving behind those that he could process later.

As he stood in the middle of the hallway, he noticed from his peripheries that a familiar figure was entering the White House entrance. He glanced once and did a double take as he found himself unable to take his eyes off of the woman walking in, holding a coffee cup and phone.

She was absolutely breathtaking in her outfit and Aaron did his best not to let his jaw drop in awe. He wondered to himself how she managed to simply walk into the room and instantly own it with that air of confidence she carried.

And though he didn't want to think about it, his mind dutifully recalled to him all the mornings he had found himself staring a second too long towards Emily's direction, studying her expression every time she talked and smiling a little when she did. He had hoped to God nobody noticed around here. And mostly, everyone had always been busy looking the other way. But one glance at the right one and he was so sure they would spot it—how Aaron Shore, a most serious and logical high-level staffer, was obviously failing to hide his feelings for one Emily Rhodes.

Speaking of, Aaron saw her looking ahead and spotting him. His eyes met with hers and she gave him a hint of a smile as she walked toward him.

Stop staring, Shore!

HEY!

"Morning," she greeted as she stopped a couple steps away from him. Her face was bright and her eyes smiled with the rest of her face.

Aaron blinked, finally remembering to pull it together and say something coherent to his colleague.

"Um," he said.

Nice. Very coherent indeed.

"Morning," he echoed, clearing his throat once. "You uh—you look...really nice."

He mentally slapped his own head.

Really nice!?

"Beautiful." He said in a low voice, his head docking down and his ears turning warm. He noticed the hint of color rising to Emily's cheeks as she replied.

"Thanks, Aaron." Then, he saw her expression change into something like amusement. "Two compliments already? And in the first hour too? Wow, who are you?"

Aaron scoffed, already turning around to head to the ever-hectic West Wing. "Whatever. We should get going. POTUS will be here any minute."

.

6:23 am

Emily entered her office and crossed the room to reach her desk in three strides. She spotted the blue folders and a sturdy binder she left the night before. The folders were needed for the four staff meetings scheduled today and the binder contained what she summed up as her "West Wing Survival Kit," as it contained all her notes, reminders, and other documents used for briefings with the President.

She was promptly putting her bags under her desk and gathering her files when a couple of knocks sounded against her door. Emily looked up from her place and spotted the third member of their bunch by her receiving area.

"Well, well, well." Seth's deep voice came in as he walked towards her. "And here I thought the birthday girl was going to take a day off."

Emily chuckled and shook her head at her colleague, who was going around her desk to hug her. That was when her eyes caught the mint green box in his hands.

"Happy Birthday, Em." Seth greeted, giving her a kiss on the temple and holding up the box between them. "Don't get too excited. I wasn't sure which ones you would like so I googled, alright? Whatever you get in this box is supposedly approved by three lifestyle blogs."

Her eyebrows met in confusion but her lips twitched in amusement. "Um, alright..? Can I open it now?"

"Go ahead," he answered. "But I'm turning away so you can hide your disappointment and mask it if you need to."

"Seth," she said exasperatedly as she pulled on the white ribbon and lifted the cover of the box. A few layers of japanese paper were on top, but upon pulling them out, her jaw dropped and she felt like laughing like an idiot.

"You got me socks!" She half-yelled, a big smile painted on her face. "Ohmygod! These are wonderful, I love them!"

Seth chuckled as he watched her friend practically bounce up and down in joy.

"Emily Rhodes, White House Chief of Staff, has a weakness for cute pairs of socks. Who knew?" He joked, earning him a ball of japanese paper chucked to his head.

"Seriously, Seth. Thank you so much. I'll get back to these later." She tucked the gift back into its box and placed it inside her drawer.

"My pleasure." He replied. "Now come on, let's get this working day over with so you can fill me with drinks later."

Emily rolled her eyes disapprovingly but followed him outside. Together, they headed for the Oval Office.

.

3:04 pm

Three staff meetings had already been ticked off her list and Emily looked forward to finishing up the next one soon. Her schedule was no more hectic than it was the past few days, but she was nevertheless still spending a lot of her energy each day which was hard to refill using only less than six hours of sleep.

"Is he in there?" Emily inquired, looking sideways at Wyatt who was just standing up from his desk. Seth walked right beside her, holding his tablet and looking through the latest posts on the news websites he closely monitored.

"Just came in about 20 seconds before you did." Wyatt answered, handing them a couple of folders as per usual. Seth and Emily opened theirs respectively and glanced at the contents for a second before proceeding to walk into the office.

"OH! And uh, happy birthday, Emily," came the same voice from behind them. Emily turned halfway and smiled at her friend.

"Thank you, Wyatt. But please don't let the whole wing know." She pleaded. "It's just another day, as far as the rest of the world is concerned."

"Of course," he replied.

With that, Seth and Emily entered the Oval where President Kirkman had just settled behind his desk.

"Okay, what have you got? Where's Aaron?"

The same thought wandered through Emily's mind before she got to the office. Usually, the three of them would somehow meet up along whichever corridor at the West Wing. But for some reason, only she and Seth got to the office. She was about to answer the President when she heard a deep voice coming from the doorway, making them turn around.

"Right here, sir. Sorry for the hold up. I just got off the phone with Foreign Minister Shukev." Aaron stated, stepping towards the table right beside Seth.

"Right, and how did he take our proposal?" POTUS asked.

"He's all aboard, sir. And he thinks he'll gain the support of the general public when he makes his stand known later. With the spotlight on him and his decision, and the people behind him, Nadir is more likely to stand down."

POTUS nodded. "That's good. And where are we on securing the prisoner?"

"Details just came in about half an hour ago. They're sending a team from the local police department to make sure the prisoner's drive to the holding area won't be subject to any trouble." Emily informed them. "We're anticipating some resistance at the holding area, but they assured me they could handle it. I asked them to keep us in the loop if anything changes."

"Seth, be ready with a statement and release it after Minister Shukev goes public with his stance. With his support as well as his people's, we can pressure Nadir into backing down with his threat to terminate the contract that allows refugees to continue receiving aid packages from the US."

"He has intentions of going for public office. He wouldn't want this tainting his campaign next cycle." Emily reminded them.

"Definitely. I think this is a good move, sir." Aaron said in agreement.

"Thank you, everyone." Kirkman stood up from his desk, signaling that the next order for the day was now up.

"Emily," he began just as Seth and Aaron exited the room. "Is Ambassador Han here yet?"

"He's just entered the White House gates, sir." His Chief of Staff responded. "Shall I meet him downstairs?"

Kirkman nodded, buttoning his suit and compiling a few papers at the side of his desk. "Oh! But before I forget…" His voice trailed off as he bent down to reach one of the drawers. "Happy Birthday." With a warm smile, Kirkman presented her with a narrow maroon box with gold lettering on the outside and a gold ribbon on top.

"Oh, sir," Emily sighed in appreciation, cautiously taking the box in her hands as if it might break.

"Alex helped me pick it out and I hope you like it."

"Thank you, really, Mr. President." She replied and her lips pressed into a thin smile and her eyes looking doe-like.

"You're very welcome."

Just then, Emily's phone buzzed and she lifted it to read the message.

"Ambassador Han is at the entrance. I'll be back." With that, she turned around and left the office to fetch their next guest of the afternoon.

.

3:39 pm

Meanwhile, over at the main corridor, about a dozen employees were filing out of one of the conference rooms. As Aaron walked through the herd, his phone was gingerly stuck between his shoulder and ear, his hands occupied signing and receiving three different documents from some staffers who caught him just as they exited the conference room.

"Yes, yes, I think that would do." He spoke to his contact on the phone. "Let me know if any trouble comes up. Thank you."

Ending his phone call, Aaron tucked the new documents in his arm and pocketed his phone. As he looked up at the now near empty hallway, his sight landed on a small girl with radiant blonde hair, bouncing through and holding a piece of paper. Within the flash of a second, she disappeared through the door at the end of the hall and for a moment, Aaron felt his concern rising to his attention.

Penny Kirkman almost never went to the West Wing. Too many affairs happened around here and neither POTUS nor FLOTUS wanted Penny around to see them, knowing how fast things could escalate in a normal day.

His worry, however, dwindled a little when, a few seconds after Penny disappeared, her Secret Service detail appeared and was already following the girl inside. But that did little to answer his questions, which was why Aaron was now heading for the same door—the door to Emily's office.

"Knock, knock?" He asked as his head popped through the doorway.

"Mr. Shore," Robbie, Penny's detail, greeted from where he stood at the far side of the room. Aaron noted the three crayons the agent had in his hands and smiled to himself.

"Hey, Robbie."

Aaron surged forward and noticed Penny sitting on one of the chairs in front of Emily's desk. Her head was bent low and her right hand was scribbling something on a pale cream card.

"Hey, Penny!" He called with a more friendly voice. He admitted, he wasn't the best with kids but he always appreciated how much of a family man Kirkman was and he admired the President's relationship with this little girl in front of him.

"Hi, Aaron!" She turned to smile at him for a moment, before proceeding with her artwork.

"What have you got there?" He asked, staying right next to her and crouching down to her level.

"It's a birthday card for Emily!"

Aaron froze in his spot and his smile disappeared while Penny continued to explain.

"Mommy helped me pick the paper and Leo helped me draw the garden." She answered sweetly, her attention still focused on the card.

His mind went blank.

"What?" He asked dumbly, but she didn't seem to have heard him.

Birthday card?

"Wait, did you say that's for Emily?" His tone changed and Penny appeared to have noticed as she was now looking at him with confusion evident in her eyes.

"Yeah…?" she replied questioningly. "It's September 18th today! It's Emily's birthday!"

Aaron blinked and he stood up a little too fast.

"Something wrong, Mr. Shore?" Robbie piped in.

"No, no, it's fine…" He shook his head, unable to finish his sentence. It wasn't possible. There was absolutely no way he could have forgotten Emily's birthday.

"Done!" Penny's high-pitched voice interrupted his dazed state. She then stood up and placed the card right in the middle of Emily's desk and passed Aaron, who was still glued to the carpet.

"See you later, Aaron!" the same voice called as it disappeared behind him, leaving him to his own shell-shocked thoughts.

It wasn't possible.

He marked that day. Or rather, this day.

He already had a gift in mind weeks before and had even made the arrangements for it. So, how could he possibly forget it!? He was Special Advisor to the President, for heaven's sake! He wasn't built to forget anything.

"Holy shit," he muttered, raising a hand to his forehead.

"Woah," a male voice responded. "Careful with the language, I just saw Penny in the hall."

Seth walked in holding a couple folders but stopped midway to the desk upon seeing his friend's expression.

"You alright, Aaron?" He questioned. "Aaron? Did you hear me?"

"I forgot that it's Emily's birthday." Aaron blurted in one fast breath.

Seth's mouth formed an oval and his eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Ohhhhh no. You did not."

"Dammit!" Aaron whipped his phone out from his pocket and sure enough, the reminder to pick up Emily's gift was blinking up at him right there in the middle of his list of tasks to do.

"Okay, okay, calm down! She probably doesn't know you forgot. Maybe thinks you're saving your greeting for later tonight or something," Seth offered.

"What's tonight?" Aaron asked cluelessly, earning himself an incredulous look from the Press Secretary that screamed Seriously!?

"Look at your calendar again, Shore."

He did as the was told and right then, Aaron saw the small letters that spelled out the reminder about Emily's small gathering tonight.

Aaron cursed as he hunted down a phone number in his contacts. "This is ridiculous! She was with me the whole morning and it completely slipped my mind that today's her birthday!? Look man, you gotta cover for me. I have to pick up her gift!"

"Yeah, obviously." Seth rolled his eyes. "Get outta here already! She'll be in a meeting until six."

All these years in the White House molded him into an expert in crisis management. But when it came to matters of Emily Rhodes, Aaron Shore was utterly disoriented.

A/N: That's all for now! I hope you like it so far. I'll update as soon as I can! See y'all soon. 3