Rereading the same sentence for the fifth time Emily finally gave up. With a huff of frustration, she threw her pen down. It only took a quick glance at the clock to realize that only five minutes had passed. Her eyes began to water, again, as she ran her hand through her hair, tugging a bit to feel some type of relief.
Aaron Shore was still gone. As far as Emily knew everyone was safe and on a plane home. What she didn't know what when he'd be home. Over the last two hours she watched the west wing slowly empty out, her glass of brandy refill three times, and none of her work get done. It wasn't enough to have the knowledge that he was safe, she needed to see it.
Her palms were sweating, her stomach was empty, having thrown up anything she tried to eat today, and her brain was a frazzled mess. She had asked secret service to inform her the very second Aaron was back. All she had to do was wait for the short, 'beep beep,' from her phone and everything would be better. At this point, 'better' was starting to feel more like a fantasy than a reality.
Emily pushed her paperwork away, there was no use in even trying to get it done. She had long passed that point, she was just too stubborn to admit defeat until now. Her bottom lip was captured in worry as she watched time continue to pass. One hour to two, two to three, after three she stopped counting.
It wasn't until two more glasses of brandy and her lip slightly bleeding that her phone finally went off. Emily didn't even attempt to read the message. Instead, her feet took off and before her brain could catch up she was running through the empty halls of the west wing.
The carpet was soft beneath her bare feet as her legs worked as fast as possible, carrying her to the only person occupying her thoughts. Right as she came to Aaron's office her steps came to sudden halt. She could feel her lungs working overtime while her hand, shakily, pushed open the slightly cracked door.
Her eyes fixed on him immediately. He was clearly disheveled, his shirt half way untucked and wrinkled, his hair reverted back to natural curls. He was faced away from her, looking out the window behind his desk. Emily's mouth started to open, started to call his name only for nothing to come out. Just as she was beginning to find her voice, Aaron heard the door creak. He turned, finding her agape.
"Emily," He said, voice raspy and dry.
She couldn't move. No matter how much her brain was screaming at her legs to move, they wouldn't. She was completely statute, frozen in time. Her thoughts kept short-circuiting, the only one to completely go through was that Aaron was finally here, safe, and standing in front of her.
"Em," He tried again, her name filled with relief.
That was the trigger. She bolted across the room. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him down to her. All of her movements catching Aaron by surprise. Before he even had time to return her embrace he heard her muttering, "You're here," over and over again.
Aaron's arms had never felt so good. Not when he touched her for the first time and not even when they shared their first embrace. Nothing could ever compare to this moment. She didn't realize what an idiot she had been up until today. It took Aarons life being in danger for her to realize how much he meant to her. How could she have been so stupid? Dating Seth to fill the void… God, she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forgive herself, let alone if he would ever forgive her.
Aaron pulled away and began wiping her tears before she noticed that the dam had broken and was flooding full force.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the one crying, not you." He joked, the slightest tilt of a smirk on his lips.
Which, of course, only made her cry harder. A soft hiccup coming out as well.
At the sound of her resolute his smirk turned into a full-on smile. Emily felt him gently pull her back into him, her face tucked nicely into his neck. He smelled like dirt, sweat, and a bit of cologne, but mostly, he smelled like home. Emily's hands tightened around him, one in his hair and the other in his shirt. At this moment the only thing holding her together was the feeling of him against her.
She wasn't sure how long they stood there. Eventually her fingers loosened, her tears dried up, and her worries eased, "Aaron… "
"Hey, hey… it's okay. I'm fine, everyone's safe." He said, their bodies still close that his breath was warm against her cheek.
"No, Aaron. It isn't okay. I thought—" Her voice began to crack, "—I thought that I lost you. I thought that I'd never see you again."
Aaron's gaze was so intense that she couldn't hold it. As he watched her all Emily could do was stare at their feet. His rough hands traveled down her arms, grabbing her own. She felt his hands give hers a gentle squeeze, his thumb running circles on her soft skin.
"But you didn't. I'm here, everything is okay." He finally answered, his voice unsteady.
Emily had the briefest suspicion that at some point he had thought he wouldn't be back, that everything wouldn't have worked out. Her eyes closed at the notion. After all her nerves had been through today she couldn't waste any more time on 'what ifs'.
"I can't lose you," she admitted softly, "I don't know what I would do without you."
Aaron disconnected one hand from hers. He reached up and cradled her chin, "You won't, I promise."
Emily couldn't take it any longer. She breached the short distance and softly connected their lips. By God, if she hadn't wanted this. She felt Aaron pull her closer, their kiss intensifying. It felt as if they were reacquainting themselves. After everything that happened they had finally found their way back to each other.
It was Aaron who pulled away first, giving some excuse about a shower and In n' Out. All she could do was smile at him. Everything was beginning to settle down and for the first time all day her stomach wasn't full of anxiety and her brain wasn't full of worry. Her lips placed a final kiss against his chapped ones, pulling away to grab his hand.
"Let's go." She said while leading the way to the door.
Today was the greatest challenge she had ever faced. What Emily was quickly learning was that the biggest challenges in life often yield the greatest results. Her and Aaron were living proof of that.
