Hi everyone! Thank you for your reviews, they're so lovely to read, I really hope you're enjoying this twist to the show.

Emily's family have been introduced before, so if you wanted a refresher on them, check out the 2nd chapter of The Minor Leaguer as well as:

Chp. 5 'Good to Know'
Chp. 20 'Astounding Positivity'
Chp. 21 'Amada Shore- part 1'
Chp. 22 'Amada Shore- part 2'

Emily losses her cool in this chapter... Enjoy!


The End of the World as She Knows It


"Hi dad, what's going on?" Emily greeted her father over the phone as she walked into her office a few weeks later.

"Hi Em, your mother is in the hospital."

Emily froze, "What? What happened?"

"She has a blood clot, they're keeping her here for a few days."

"Jesus, dad, why didn't you call me sooner?!" Emily asked as she started to panic.

"Your mother didn't want to bother you, she knows how stretched thin you are-"

"Dad, stop, that is not an excuse. You promised me you would keep me up to date with everything that was going on, that was the one condition I gave when I went back to DC." Emily frustratingly reminded him.

"I know, I'm sorry." John simply said.

Emily sighed, knowing that the last thing her dad needed was for her to get mad at him. "Ok, Aaron and I are due in Connecticut tomorrow anyway for the debate so we can be there in the morning."

"You don't have to honey-"

"Dad, please, stop." Emily said, trying not to lose her temper. "The next time mom tells you that she doesn't want to bother people, remind her that I am not just people, I am her daughter and I should be there. Are the boys there?"

"They've been coming and going, they should be here tomorrow too."

"Ok, good, I'll see you all then, I love you, goodbye." Emily said quickly as she hung up the phone, sat in her chair and put her head in her hands.

Her phone buzzed again and she saw she had a text from Vivienne.

Aaron's doing a TV interview, channel 13, you're going to want to see this one...

Emily sighed and guessed that meant she probably didn't want to see this one, but she was curious as to what Vivienne was talking about. She turned on her TV, sat back and watched as Aaron filled her screen.

"Our next guest is national security adviser and vice-presidential candidate Aaron Shore, as many of you also know as his other title, DC's handsomest politician." the presenter said with a beaming smile down the camera.

"Dear god..." Emily grumbled, as if Aaron's ego needed that title.

Aaron laughed awkwardly, "Thank you for having me, it's my pleasure."

"The first presidential debate is tomorrow night. Have you been helping prep President Kirkman on foreign policy?"

"The president doesn't need mine or anybody else's help when it comes to foreign or domestic affairs." Aaron assured her.

"Well, we certainly look forward to tuning in and we assume you'll be attending with your wife Emily Rhodes?"

"Yes, we'll be there together. Emily is an invaluable member of this administration. Her work on communications within the campaign have benefitted us greatly." Aaron made clear. He knew how much it was bothering Emily to be known as nothing more than Mrs. Aaron Shore, so he wanted to give her credit where it was most certainly due.

"You have been married for a little over a year and half, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"But you've known each other since high school."

"Yes, we attending the same school in Washington." Aaron confirmed again, keeping his answers short and sweet as he didn't want things to get too personal.

"What is the secret to maintaining a love that long?" the presenter asked with a little laugh.

Aaron smiled softly, "You find the person that makes you want to be better." he simply said as Emily too smiled softly at his words. "But I'm sure people are much more interested in the vision President Kirkman will put forward tomorrow night." Aaron said, wanting to sway the conversation quickly away from his relationship.

"Of course, but my viewers would kill me if I didn't ask about this rumoured bundle of joy that could be joining you soon. Is Lexie going to be a big sister?"

"We're all focused on the election right now and the President's sensible, centrist agenda." Aaron said, expertly and politely avoiding the line of questioning.

Emily decided she had heard enough and turned the TV off. She put her head back in her hands, completely fed up with this day already. She was quite honestly fed up with everything. She felt like things were crumbling around her and the ground was about to give way. What more could she possibly take?

Her phone buzzed and she saw Aaron's name appear on screen.

"Well hello DC's handsomest politician..." she teased as she heard Aaron groan.

"You saw that?"

"Oh yeah. Good question evading." she told him as she leant back in her chair.

"Well it's no one else's business but ours as to if and when we decide to have more babies." Aaron replied.

"Aw Aaron you know I would repopulate the Earth with you right now if you asked me too" she teased.

"Ha. Ha." he mocked as Emily giggled. She thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world to have a person that could put a smile on her face, even when she felt she had no reason at all to smile. "What's new with you?"

Emily sighed, "I just got off the phone with my dad. Mom's in hospital."

"Is she ok?" Aaron asked quickly as he walked into his office and closed the door.

"I don't know, I think so? Dad basically refused to go into details. She doesn't want to feel like a burden which makes me feel burdened and I just... I feel like a horrible daughter that I'm not there right now and that I get snappy when they don't tell me things, but I'm not there so how was I supposed to know sooner when I found out?"

"Em, take a breath." Aaron told her as she rambled on. "You are not a terrible daughter; you are a wonderful daughter. You have done so much for your mother and she knows that and she appreciates it. You are also an irreplaceable senior staffer on an all-encompassing presidential campaign, your life is being scrutinised by the media and you have a toddler to look after. You're doing the best you can."

Emily nodded down the line, "Yeah, I guess so..." she mumbled. "But no one is irreplaceable."

"You are."

"... Please don't make me cry right now."

Aaron chuckled, "I'm sorry, I take it back." he joked. "So I guess it's a good thing we'll be Connecticut tomorrow."

"Yeah, I told her I'd be there in the morning, Vivienne and Warner are taking Lexie tonight so we can go straight to the airport with no fuss." Emily told him.

"Ok, I'll come with you to the hospital-"

"No, you need to be with Kirkman."

"Emily, I think this is a little more important that a stupid debate-"

"No arguments Aaron, I will be fine. My brothers will be there, I will be fine." she assured him.

Aaron sighed realising there was no sense arguing on this. "If you change your mind-"

"You will be the first to know. I'll be in the White House a little later today, I'll see you then."

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too."


The following morning, Aaron and Emily sat solemnly in their car with Lorraine on their way to board Airforce One. Emily had barely said a word all morning. She was so scared to see her mom, especially when she didn't really know what she was walking into.

Lorraine observed Aaron and Emily as they looked out their windows, not saying a thing.

"Ok, have I missed something? Did you two have a big fight or something? Cause we really don't have time for this-" Lorraine warned them.

"Lorraine, give it a rest." Emily snapped.

"You two are America's sweethearts, we need a united front-"

"Leave our personal lives out of this Lorraine, ok?" Aaron asked.

"You don't have a personal life, how are you not getting this?!" Lorraine asked, completely frustrated. "You two need to kiss and make up."

"We're not fighting!" they both shouted as Lorraine raised her eyebrows.

"Then what is the issue?"

They both remained silent, not wanting Lorraine to find a way to spin her mother's illness to their benefit. That would truly be a step too far.

A short while later, they had landed in Connecticut. While Aaron went with the president to the debate, Emily went the opposite direction and to the hospital. She slowly made her way into her mother's room and stood in door while Karen conversed with John and her brothers. They were smiling and laughing about something and it warmed Emily's heart to see. It was like an assurance that everything was going to be ok.

"Hi" she said quietly as they all turned around.

"Emily" John said happily as he walked towards the door and hugged her.

"Hey sis" her brothers greeted as she quickly kissed them all before sitting on the edge of Karen's bed.

"Hi mom."

"Hi Em. I'm so glad to see you." she said with a smile.

"I'm very glad to see you too." Emily said, returning her smile and holding onto her hand. "How are you feeling?"

Karen chuckled, "Better than I look."

Emily took in her mother's appearance. The last time she saw her, she didn't look this frail. She didn't look this tired. She figured this was why she didn't want to talk to her over Facetime anymore. So Emily wouldn't see her like this. Emily gulped as she looked up at her dad and her brothers who were all standing there, sheepishly, with tears in their eyes. For the first time in her life, Emily's older brothers looked small to her. They were always these towering figures in her life, but right now they looked like little lost boys. In that moment, Emily finally understood. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her hand that was resting in her mother's.

"This isn't just a blood clot... is it?" she asked.

Everyone remained silent except Karen who tried to divert. "Have you eaten?"

"Mom." Emily said as her voice broke. "Will you please just tell me what is going on?"

"The cancer has spread." Karen confirmed quietly as Emily nodded her head and tried to hold it together. "And... I'm stopping chemo."

"No, mom." Emily immediately protested as she finally let her tears fall. "You can't stop."

"The doctor said it was my choice." Karen made clear as Emily nodded her head.

"How long?" Emily asked quietly, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.

"Months maybe. They don't know." Karen told her as Emily wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Karen looked at the four other men in the room, looking at her with pleading eyes before she turned back to Emily. "Emily, I need you to do something for me."

"Mom, stop this." Harry said as Emily turned to look at her brother. "You can't ask her to do this. You can't ask any of us to do this."

Emily frowned, "Ask me to do what?"

"I need you to make me a go-pack."

Emily looked between her brothers and her mother, "A go-pack? What is that?"

"It's a mixture of pills I can take when it's time for me to go." Karen explained.

Emily felt her heart sink to the floor and her whole Earth shatter. This had to be some kind of terrible dream.

"That's what you meant when you had other plans?" Emily said as she stood from the bed and let go of her mother's hand. "You're considering assisted suicide?" she said, completely horrified and confused. Emily looked desperately at her brothers. If ever there was a time for them to do their over protective thing, it was right now.

"Your brothers won't do it, your father won't do it." Karen explained as Emily looked at her father who was standing like a ghost in the corner. She had never seen him look so timid.

"There is a goddamn reason for that mom, of course they won't do it, I won't do it, you can't ask me to do that!" Emily exclaimed though her tears as she felt Sam grab her hand and Peter wrap his arm around her waist to steady her.

"It's what I want." Karen pleaded.

Emily lifted her phone out of her pocket and was about to speed dial Aaron to tell him she wasn't coming to the debate. "I'm staying here, we are all staying right here and we are going to talk about this."

"No." Karen said firmly as Emily paused before hitting the button. "I need to sleep and you need to go to the debate. Aaron and the President are counting on you."

"No mom, that is the least important thing in the world right now-"

"Emily. I am not going anywhere." Karen said with a little laugh. "Go to the debate and come back tomorrow. I will have a list of what I need you to get."

Emily shook her head and lifted her bag. "I'm not doing it." she said sternly before darting out of the room. John went straight towards Karen and held her hands while Emily's brothers went after her.

"Emily!" Peter called once they'd made it around the corner.

"This is ridiculous Peter, this is not happening!" Emily said firmly.

"We don't want this to happen any more than you do Emily, why do you think we all said no?" Harry reminded her. They were on her side, they didn't need to fight about it.

"I just—I don't understand." Emily said as she shook her head and ran her head through her hair. "How can she ask us to do this for her? I would never in a million years think about asking Lexie to do something like this for me."

Sam shrugged, "I guess she wants to go out on her own terms."

"And how could dad just stand there and say nothing?" Emily questioned as she fought her tears yet again. "He was like a ghost in there, completely impassive to the whole thing. He's really just going to stand back and watch while his wife kills herself with the help of her kids? This is just—this isn't who we are! We're a happy, loving family who enjoy life, we don't seek to end it! If we do this for her, it will change everything. We will never be the same."

"Em..." Peter said as he reached out a hand to his little sister, which she took as Sam and Harry rested their hands on top. "Something tells me that if she wants to do this, she's going to find a way to do this no matter what. It's just a question of whether we're willing to be there with her when she does."

"There's gotta be another way." Emily said in a whisper as she looked at her brothers with pleading eyes. Emily was a fixer. She hated not being in control and right now, she had never felt more out of place in her life.

"Go to the debate Emily. Take a breather. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Harry told her.

Emily nodded her head as she released her hand from her brothers' hold before turning and walking away. How was she supposed to go to a debate when she was such a mess? She drove around Hartford for what felt like minutes but actually turned into hours in an attempt to compose herself before she turned into the debate centre. By the time she got there, the debate was essentially over.

She took a minute to get herself together, before standing tall and walking into the behind the scenes hall. She didn't realise just how fragile she was though until Lorraine made a passive aggressive comment.

"Oh nice of you to show up when the debate is almost over Mrs. VP..." Lorraine said as she typed away on her phone.

Emily slammed her bag down on the table, "Lorraine, I know you can't seem to get your head around this but I am not Mrs. VP and I have a life outside of your demands so fuck you!" she exclaimed as Aaron looked at her with wide eyes, not expecting that at all.

"Geez, Em..." he said as Emily grabbed onto his arm.

"I need you, right now." she demanded before dragging him out of the room, leaving a ton of Kirkman staff workers stunned.

Emily dragged Aaron up to their hotel room and swiftly pulled him into it.

"Emily what is going-" Aaron began, but Emily cut him off with a searing kiss that he quickly deepened. Emily's hands roamed through his perfectly set hair while Aaron's found their way down to her ass.

Aaron broke away from the kiss briefly as Emily kissed down his neck and took his jacket and tie off.

"Em, wow, wow, hold on-"

"I need you. Now." she said sternly as Aaron looked at his watch. The debate was in its closing remarks and Kirkman was expecting to see them at the end.

"Right now?" he questioned as Emily made quick work of his shirt while she kicked off her heels.

"Do you seriously have a problem with that?"

Aaron gulped; "... no ma'am." he said as he swiftly lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom.

Right now, it felt like the world was ending. In a way, a part of her world was ending and she just wanted to be with the person she loved most in this world. She wanted to feel safe and secure and that was all that mattered.


Aaron and Emily lay side by side on their stomachs. While Aaron drew lazy patterns with his fingers on Emily's exposed back, she looked out of the window and away from him. Kirkman had come out on top during the debate and it was a moment to celebrate, but that was the last thing Emily wanted to do right now and when Emily was like this, Aaron couldn't help but feel the same.

"Emily..." he said quietly, wanting to get to the bottom of all of this. "What happened tonight?" He knew something must have happened at the hospital to make her lose it with Lorraine and drag him up here.

Emily gulped. "I'm sorry you missed the end of the debate." she simply replied. Truth was, she just couldn't say it out loud. She couldn't say that her mother was dying because then it would make it more real, but she knew she had to.

"I don't care about the stupid debate, you are the only thing that matters right now." he said as he propped his head up on his elbow.

Emily finally turned her head around and Aaron watched as a stray tear fell from her eye. He didn't think he had ever seen her like this before. In all the years he had known her, he had never seen her so broken. He moved some hair behind her ear, giving her the time and silence to say what she needed to say.

"My mom's dying Aaron." Emily said in a whisper. "Her cancer has spread and she's stopped the chemo."

"Emily..."

"That's not all... she asked my brothers and they said no, she asked my dad and he said no and now she's asked me... to help her end her life." she said before scoffing. "And now I can only speak in euphemisms. My mom has asked me to help her kill herself."

Aaron felt his own eyes fill with tears as she watched Emily close eyes in an attempt to fight hers. He leant forward and rested his hand on her neck while he kissed her cheek and her forehead before resting his head against hers.

"How am I supposed to do that for her Aaron?" Emily asked quietly. "I just—I feel so lost. I feel like my whole world is crumbling around me. How could I do that for her and not compromise every part of who I am?"

Aaron didn't know what to say. He had no idea what was the right thing to do. He could never have anticipated this. Karen Rhodes was one of the most bubbly, spirited people he knew and it would never have crossed his mind that this would be how she wanted to go.

"I feel like everything I know about my mom is a lie." Emily confessed as her voice started to crack and she let out a few uncontrollable sobs.

"Hey, no, that's not true." Aaron quickly said. "Your mom is still your mom. She is still the life and soul of every room she is in. She is still the same curious, chatty, boisterous woman who raised you and that is never going to change I can promise you that."

Emily turned her body onto its side with her back snuggly against Aaron's chest, allowing him to wrap his arm tightly around her. She held onto his arm as if her life depended on it as he kissed her head and felt a tear of his own escape his eye.

"Just sleep Em." he said quietly to her as Emily slowly nodded her head and drifted off to sleep. This day had completely exhausted her and she knew the days following would be no different.


The following morning, Aaron and Emily walked into Karen's hospital room to find her asleep with John in the chair beside her.

"Hi dad" Emily greeted as John stood up and hugged his daughter.

"Hi sweetie." he said quietly. "Aaron" he said as he shook his son-in-law's hand.

Seconds later, Karen stirred and smiled softly when she saw Emily and Aaron standing at the bottom of her bed.

"Oh hi sweeties." she said groggily, but happily.

"Hi Karen." Aaron greeted as Emily went and sat on the side of her bed.

"President Kirkman did so well last night, I'm sure you two had a lot to do with that." Karen complimented them with a knowing smirk. She was so proud of everything both of them had been doing at the White House.

"We may have prepped him a little..." Emily told her with a little laugh. Karen smiled knowingly as she held onto Emily's hand. "Where are the boys?" Emily asked, hoping to see her brothers here.

"Well I hope they're at work because that's where they told me they would be." Karen joked. Her sense of humour hadn't disappeared yet and Emily prayed that it never would.

Karen's face fell slightly as she saw the sadness in Emily's eyes. She looked at Aaron briefly who gave her a light nod that let her know that he knew what she had asked Emily to do.

"Emily, I know this is hard on you, but it is what I want."

"Then let's make a deal." Emily said as Karen looked at her with hopeful eyes. "You and dad come and stay with us in DC. If we're going to do this then we do it together. All of us."

Karen nodded, "We'll think about it." She didn't want to make Emily any promises. Connecticut was her home after all, but there was something about being with her daughter through this that Karen found soothing.


After talking with John and Karen for about an hour, Aaron and Emily made their way to the airport to jet back home on Airforce One. Aaron pulled his car onto the runway and stopped it. Before he got out he looked over at Emily who appeared to be in a nervous daze.

"Do you really want to do this Emily?"

Emily shook her head. "I am going to exhaust every possible option before I even considering helping her end her life. I can't let it just end without a fight, it's not fair."

"I know this is all overwhelming. So if you need to stop, please just say stop and I will drop everything and come running." he told her seriously.

Emily gave him a small smile, "I know you would. Let's get home to our girl."

Aaron nodded his head as they got out of the car and boarded the plane, not sure where the next few months would take them.


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