Confronting the Truth
A few days later, Emily walked into Aaron's office at the White House after Lorraine asked to meet them there. Aaron was due to fly out to Texas to meet with a little boy and his family who came from Mexico illegally for a kidney transplant. The Moss administration was raving about immigrants taking 'American kidneys' and the Kirkman administration decided that Aaron should go down there to show his concern and buy the administration time before they decided what to do.
"Hey... where's Lorraine?" Emily asked as she stood opposite Aaron.
"Lorraine is here." Lorraine announced as she walked in and closed the door. "Now, let's make this quick, Aaron has to go and see a dying boy. About your little blow up at the debate-" Lorraine began.
Emily held up her hand, "I would actually like to apologise for that, I shouldn't have lost my temper-"
"You're right, you shouldn't have, but I'm willing to let it slide because we really need this darling duo to work. Do you have any idea the microscope you are under? If somebody outside of that room had have heard your outburst, the headlines would have twisted it drastically into making you a villain." Lorraine told Emily seriously. In all honesty, being Aaron's darling and doting wife was the last thing on Emily's mind right about now. "As long as widow Kirkman is not ready to date, this Emron romance is all I've got. It is a very valuable commodity that I need to protect!"
Emily sighed, "I know."
"Women love you Emily and they like you Aaron but they will turn on you like a week-old fish if they think you're not treating your wife right. They will blame you for her anger, and they will point to your ex-girlfriend that everyone now knows is running around the White House and blame your relationship with her too." Lorraine reminded them. There had been a few tabloid headlines twisting Isabel's presence in the White House into something it wasn't. Rumours of affairs, rivalries and mad up stories about their past constantly arrived in Emily and Aaron's inboxes every day, but they tried to ignore them. What good was fueling this fire?
"So, do we all have an understanding?" Lorraine asked with a fake smile. "Fantastic, now, go forth and show the world your love." she said before darting out of the room.
"I sincerely dislike that woman." Emily said as she ran a hand over her head.
"Yeah..." Aaron grumbled as he put stuff in his brief case. "Do you know why I'm going to Texas? Cause I don't know why I'm going to Texas." He knew it was some sort of crisis management but what was it exactly that they expected him to do?
"I'll get Lorraine to e-mail you some talking points." Emily offered. "It's not a bad idea sending you there Aaron."
"It's just a stupid photo op Emily, I can't say I'm a fan of using this little boy like that."
"I get that... but at the end of the day, he's just a little boy who needs our help. Try and focus on that." Emily encouraged.
"Yeah... what are you doing today?"
"I am going to Bethesda. I think I found a clinic trial that my mom qualifies for." Emily told him with a hopeful smile.
"Em, that's great. Have you told her?" Aaron said, matching her enthusiasm.
"No, I don't want to get her hopes up until I'm sure, but I have to go." Emily said as she walked towards the door.
"Hey, I can stay if you need me to come with you?" he offered.
Emily smiled and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I love you"
"I love you too" he said as she opened the door and left.
That evening, Emily walked into Lorraine's office to discuss the latest developments on Matteo. It appeared that whatever Aaron had been doing, support for the little boy was growing steadily. In other news, Emily's meeting with the head of this clinical trial went well and she had managed to convince her parents to fly out to DC and stay with her and Aaron and maybe discuss some other options for treatment.
"Do me a favour Rhodes and give me so some good news." Lorraine snapped as she crossed her arms.
"Ok, well, the latest polling stats indicate a groundswell of support for Matteo." Emily told her as she showed her the results on the tablet.
"How's he doing in the states we care about?"
"Gangbusters in the rust belt and it's growing in Texas." Emily said happily.
"Holy cow, the kid is a godsend. When is his surgery?" Lorraine said, not expecting this outcome at all.
"Tomorrow morning and people are invested. I think Aaron should do another press conference."
"In really tight scrubs I'm hoping." Lorraine said as she looked to the sky and did a little clap while Emily rolled her eyes. "You stay here tonight and monitor things."
Emily sighed, "I have a child I would very much like to get home to Lorraine and my parents are flying in tonight to stay with me."
"Well, I'm not a monster so why don't you go and let your parents in, kiss your kid goodnight and then get your ass back here?" Lorraine told her as Emily sighed and said ok. She completely ignored Lorraine's request anyway. Her parents' flight had been cancelled so they wouldn't be getting in until the morning, but she just wanted to spend some time with her daughter, so she went home and did just that.
Emily played on the living room floor with Lexie the following morning as she waited for her parents to arrive. She had rearranged the furniture in the sitting room and had a hospital bed put in her Karen, since she was unable to climb the stairs. Emily watched as Lexie darted about the living room on her feet. Thankfully, her walking phobia had come to an end after about a month and now she was racing around the house like crazy. Aaron had put baby gates in all over the house—but she was an expert at climbing over them—so they had to watch her like a hawk.
The doorbell soon rang and Emily scooped Lexie up and walked to the door.
"Hi mom" she greeted as the door opened and Lexie clapped her hands at the sight of her grandparents.
"Hi babies" Karen said as she kissed both of them.
"How are you?" Emily asked as they came into the house.
Karen let out a little laugh, "I never did fly well."
"She needs to lie down. Hi sweetie." John said as he kissed Emily.
"Hi dad. I got your bed put into the sitting room. I figured that was the best room since it has a little bit of privacy." Emily told her. The rest of the house was open planned after all.
"Oh, that's ok sweetie. I'm sure you'll want your privacy too. I won't be a bother." Karen said as John helped her into the sitting room and onto the bed.
Emily sighed, "Mom, you are never a bother." she said as she shifted Lexie to her other hip. "Oh, I have some great news-"
"Is it about that little boy Aaron is with in Texas?" Karen asked eagerly. "I have been following it on the news and Emily he is going great out there, I really hope this all works out."
"Uh, no it's not about Matteo, I met with someone at the NIH and you've been accepted into a trial therapy. It's the most promising thing out there for a cure." Emily said hopefully.
Karen scoffed, "I'm too tired to think about that right now Em." Emily frowned and nodded her head. She wondered if her mother would ever be well enough to talk about it. "We can talk when you get home from work."
Emily shook her head, "I'm not going to go to work today."
"No, Emily, go" Karen insisted. "Your father and I will be fine right here, in fact, John can look after Lexie too. I'll just be asleep all day anyway."
"Mom-"
"She's right hon, I can look after Lexie." John assured her.
"Oh, and if you're talking to President Kirkman, tell him not to worry, I voted by mail before we left." Karen said with a wink as Emily let out a laugh. "John, take Lexie from Emily so she can go."
John took his granddaughter from Emily as she smiled gratefully. She looked at her mother one last time, struggling to see her in so much discomfort, before leaving the room to get ready for the day.
Emily made it to the office a short time later and was about to get started on her work when her phone rang and Aaron's name popped up on the screen, immediately calming her. She hadn't even spoken to him let and she just felt so much relief wash through her.
"Hi" she greeted quietly.
"Hi" he replied just as quietly, knowing that this morning had probably been a rough one for her. "Did your parents get in ok?"
"Yeah, they got in this morning. Dad is going to look after Lexie for the day. I tried to stay home but they really did not want me to stay..."
"It's probably good to keep busy anyway. Did she say anything about the trial?"
"No, just that we would talk about it later." Emily replied. She knew deep down that Karen was going to say no, but she just couldn't say it out loud. "How is Matteo? Is he out of surgery yet?"
"In about an hour and a half or so. I'm pacing like it's Lexie in there or something." Aaron said with a sigh. This whole thing had really gotten to him and right now he would do anything to protect Matteo.
Emily chuckled, "the little guy got to you huh?"
"Yeah it appears so... maybe I'm just feeling a little broody..." he said cautiously, wanting to test the waters.
Emily raised an eyebrow, "Broody? Really?"
"Yeah... Lexie's just growing so fast, I miss having a little baby in the house. Plus, imagine how fun she would be as a big sister." Aaron reasoned.
"Not to mention we make insanely cute babies..." Emily added.
"That is very true, like little cherubs." Aaron joked.
"Well, that is a conversation we can definitely have when you get back." Emily told him.
"Alright..." he said hopefully. "Hey, do you know if there are any provisions in the HHS code that cover after-care for transplant patients?"
"No, but I can do a quick search..." Emily said as she opened her laptop and looked it up. "It says here is only addresses procurement and allocation."
"The doctor told me that Matteo's anti-rejection drugs will run him about 17 grand a year."
Emily's eyes widened. "Damn..."
"If Matteo lives for around 70 years, that's over a million dollars. That's freaking outrageous." Aaron said, completely frustrated by the system.
"Yeah, but if you put it into perspective it's not that much. Think about how much money is spent on election campaigns. $2 billion this cycle? That is freaking outrageous."
Aaron paused for a second. What if he could find a way to turn election funds into funds for Matteo? "Em, you just gave me an idea, I gotta go, I'll call you later, love you."
"I- I love you too" Emily said quickly, entirely confused by what just went down.
Aaron soon addressed the press and set up a text fund for Matteo, encouraging people to donate $10 to him instead of the campaign. Emily watched the TV proudly as he did so, but it wasn't going to solve the final problem they were facing—should they deport Matteo and his family? Aaron was in favour of them staying, but naturally most people were against him. They felt they couldn't send a message that crossing the border illegally and successfully gaining medical assistance was a path to permanent residency.
He went home with Emily that night a little disheartened by the whole thing. They walked through the front door and stood in the sitting room doorway to greet Karen andJohn.
"Hi Karen, John" he said.
Karen smiled, "Oh Aaron, you're back. I saw you on the news earlier, you were wonderful. It's a great thing you did for that little boy."
Aaron gave her a small smile, "It was the only thing to do in this situation... how are you feeling?"
"I'm getting by" she said with a little wink.
"Was Lexie ok?" Emily asked her dad.
"She was an angel as usual." John assured her. "Took her a while to go to sleep though."
Emily chuckled, "Yeah, the only person who can quickly get her down is Aaron, he's the Lexie whisperer."
"It's a gift..." Aaron joked as they all smiled. "I'm going to go check the news." he said as he took his coat off, wanting to see what Kirkman had decided to do. As Aaron left the room, Emily took her coat off and sat in the chair beside Karen's bed.
"Why don't we put on that awful reality TV show you like?" Emily asked as she reached for the remote.
Karen sighed as she turned on her side to face Emily, "I'm not really in the mood." she said as Emily nodded and set the remote down. "John, would you grab my sweater for me? I think I left it in the kitchen."
"Sure hon" John replied as he got up and left the room.
"So, we have an appointment with the NIH tomorrow." Emily said with a hopeful smile. She wasn't prepared to let this one go just yet. "We need to get you started on the protocol as soon as possible."
Karen shook her head and looked at her hands, "I don't think so honey, tell them to give my spot to someone else."
Emily frowned, "What? What are you talking about?"
"I can't go through anymore treatment." Karen told her with a gulp.
"Yes, you can, mom. The alternative is... death." Emily said, struggling to get the words out.
Karen grabbed Emily's hand, "I'm stage four Emily. I've made my peace with that."
"Mom... you came here so I could look after you, let me look after you." Emily pleaded.
"Honey, I didn't come here so you could take care of me. I came here because assisted suicide is legal in DC."
Emily sat back in her chair, almost in disbelief that this is still what she wanted. She was hurt that her mother came here under entirely false pretenses too. Emily turned her head to look at her father when she saw him standing in the door.
"You're ok with this? Really? You're going to watch as she kills herself?" Emily asked through her teeth. She was so beyond frustrated that her father had been so silent throughout this process.
John gulped. "No, Emily, I'm not ok with this. But this is not my decision to make. She has made up her mind."
Emily was about to protest further when she heard something smash in the living room and Lexie's cries started bellowing from upstairs. She sighed and quickly rushed into the living to see the TV remote smashed by the wall, and Aaron standing in the middle of the room—fuming.
"Aaron, what the hell?!" she exclaimed.
"POTUS is deporting Matteo." Aaron told her with a clenched jaw as Emily closed her eyes and sighed. She jumped slightly when Lexie's cries got louder through the monitor, she was about to walk out the door to get her when Aaron stopped her.
"I'll get her" he said, feeling guilty that he has woken her up in his anger. He swiftly walked up the stairs as Emily just stood there, almost afraid to move. Could nothing go right for them?
A few days later, Aaron stood in the kitchen, cutting up some strawberries for Lexie to have with her baby pancakes for breakfast. He set the bowl down in front of her as she happily kicked her feet against her high chair at the sight of her food. Lexie's vocabulary had been expanding recently as she took in the world around her. She was constantly babbling 'mama' and 'dada' and 'baba' in the mornings. She could recognise her grandparents as 'gan gan' and 'papa'. She also loved her 'anana' snack and to play with her 'ball with ennie' (Lenny) in the garden and she especially loved the word 'no'- even when she didn't really mean it.
"What do we say Lex?"
"Ta ta!" she replied as she clapped her hands together and Aaron smiled.
"Good job mija." he said as he turned his attention to his coffee machine. "Hey Em?" Aaron called through the house as she came down the stairs, "Do you want some coffee?"
"No, I'm going to have some tea... are my parents awake?" she asked as she set her bag on the counter.
"No not yet" he replied as both their phone buzzed. As they read the messages, their faces fell a thousand miles and they both looked at each other.
"... shit." Emily grumbled.
"Hit!" they suddenly heard from Lexie's high chair as they looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Thank god she can't say her s sounds yet." Aaron said as he ran a hand over his face, wondering how the hell they were going to fix this one.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Kirkman exclaimed as he stood with his senior staff in the oval office.
"Sir, I was a teenager, I did what my aunt asked-"
"I'm not talking about then, I'm talking about now, you know better why did you keep this to yourself!" Kirkman shouted further as he paced in front of his desk.
Emily sighed, "He told me. He told me and I told him to keep it to himself." she confessed.
Tom glared at Emily in disbelief. "You told him what?"
"Sir, don't blame Emily, this is on me, I made the call." Aaron insisted, not wanting to land Emily in it for simply trying to protect him.
"You don't get to make the call on a subject like that." Mars warned him.
"We also have a problem with mixed messages. The President just deported a family for entering the country illegally and you've become the poster boy for open borders." Lorraine added.
"Sir, I should resign from the ticket." Aaron insisted as Emily felt her heart sink. She couldn't believe he was going to have to give this up over something his aunt asked him to do as a teenager.
"We'll see how the speech goes." Tom said as he sat at his desk.
"What speech?"
"We've advised that you'll be making an address at 9pm from the East Room. It'll preempt local news on the West Coast, all the cables will carry it live." Seth explained.
"It's meant to give you the opportunity to deliver a convincing mea culpa to the country." Mars explained. Aaron looked at his feet, not sure he was particularly prepared to take the blame and apologise for something he wasn't even remotely sorry for. The only thing he was sorry about was that it was affecting Kirkman's campaign. "So this unrepentant thing you've got going on? You better smooth it over with contrition ASAP."
"Emily" Tom said, as Emily looked up, "I need you to write two statements, one if Aaron stays on the ticket and one if he goes."
Emily frowned, "Don't you think it's a little inappropriate for me to be the one to do that?"
Lorraine rolled her eyes, "You wanted to treated like more than Mrs. VP and now you don't? Make up your mind Rhodes."
Emily clenched her jaw and folded her arms, "Fine, I'll do it."
"And you can also draft your own resignation letter while you're at it, I'll let you know if I need it later. That'll be all." Tom said as everyone swiftly left the room.
While Kirkman and Aaron dealt with a sudden national security issue, Emily sat in Lenny's office trying to draft the statements. It seemed like some sort of sick joke that she was sitting here potentially signing her and her husband's jobs away. As she tapped her pen against the desk, Lenny walked in with two cups of coffee.
"Hey, figured you might need this." Lenny said as she set the cup down in front of her.
"Thanks... I can go if you need your desk back."
Lenny shook her head, "No, no it's fine. I'm looking forward to visiting you in Hatch Act jail." she said with a grimace as Emily groaned. "Do you have any idea what's going on in the Sit Room? Seems there's a bit of commotion."
"No, I have no idea, I have been cooped up in here trying to find a way to eloquently end my own husband's career as well as my own." Emily said with a sarcastic smile. "It is honestly some kind of sick joke..."
"He's not going to fire you." Lenny insisted. There was no way. Kirkman valued her way too much.
"Are you sure? Because I would fire me. I was so hell bent on protecting him that I didn't see the bigger picture. I should have known it would somehow be leaked; nothing can stay hidden forever." Emily said with a deep sigh. "I guess I should have known better than to think my life couldn't get any shittier than it already is."
"How is your mom doing?" Lenny asked quietly. She could only imagine how Emily was feeling right now. She was surprised she hadn't completely exploded, but at the same time, no one was calmer and more collected than Emily Rhodes. She always dealt with her problems head on and rarely let them get to her head, but even Lenny could see that her walls were starting to crumble. She walked around with less determination in her step and there was just so much pain in her eyes.
"She still wants me to help her kill herself." Emily told her as Lenny looked at her sadly. "My brothers are coming into town next week to try and help us come up with a better resolution but... something tells me she's going to find a way to do this with or without us."
"What do you want to do?" Lenny asked.
Emily scoffed, "I have no idea. This is going to change my life forever no matter if I'm there for her or not."
"I really wish there was something I could say or do Em, but I am really at a loss." Lenny replied honestly.
Emily gave her a soft smile, "It's ok Len. You being here is enough."
Lorraine appeared at the door and Lenny looked at her with wide eyes. "I'll leave you two to talk..." she said before quickly escaping past Lorraine.
Emily sighed, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Lorraine scoffed, "I'm not the one you owe the apology to. I'd start with Kirkman then maybe your husband, you could be the reason his career is about to go caput."
"Helpful. Thank you." Emily told her sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Her phone buzzed and she saw her dad's name appear on screen. "Excuse me... dad? Well, can you make her eat?" she said down the line as Lorraine listened on cautiously. She knew Emily's mom was pretty sick, but it was something no one dared mention. "Ok, ok, I'll be home as soon as I can."
"You know, I'm only going to say this once..." Lorraine began as Emily hung up the phone. "And if I'm asked about it under oath I will probably deny, but sometimes... family takes priority. This sounds like one of those times. Take it from the lady who's in the home stretch of her 3rd divorce."
Emily looked at Lorraine entirely surprised by her momentary compassion. "I have to finish these statements-"
"I'll finish those up, I need something to do and, in all honesty, it is a little cruel having you be the one writing the statement that ends Aaron's career."
Emily nodded her head and swiftly gathered her things and left the room, remembering she needed to thank Lorraine later.
When Emily got home, she was surprised to find her mother in good spirits. Her dad told her he had just given her the pain meds so she should be good for about another 4 hours. Emily did frown when she saw him packing away the lunch he had prepared for her that had clearly gone uneaten.
"It's a sign you know." John told her as he put the Tupperware in the fridge.
"A sign of what?"
"When patients at your mother's stage stop eating, it's their way of saying they're ready to go." John told her with tears in his eyes.
Emily shook her head, "No, she's not going anywhere yet."
"Emily." John said firmly as he grabbed his daughter's hand. "Your mother has been the biggest part of my life since I was 19 years old. We've been through so much together. I have shared the joy and the anger and the tears of my life with her and to not have that anymore... I can't bear the thought of it." he told her as tears started rolling down Emily's face. "But I also love her enough to respect what she wants. I love her enough to let her go on her own terms. Maybe you and your brothers can't understand that but this is her life and she is the only one who can control it. Not me, not Peter, not Harry, not Sam, not you."
"So, the boys coming here is a complete waste of time. We're not going to be able to convince her." Emily concluded.
John shook his head, "No, you're not... but you are all going to be able to say goodbye. And that counts for a hell of a lot."
That night, Emily stood in the kitchen loading up the dishwasher while John and Karen sat in the sitting room watching cartoons with Lexie. After managing to convince her mom to eat some soup, Emily also convinced her to hold on for a little while longer. She knew Karen was ready to go, but Emily wasn't ready to see it. She just couldn't do it right now.
As she closed the dishwasher door, her phone buzzed and she saw Aaron's name.
"Hi" she greeted.
"Hi. I'm sorry I'm only calling you now, Lorraine told me you went home at lunch time?" he questioned.
"Yeah, dad called. Mom refused to eat anything and he was having a hard time with it." Emily explained as she went into the living room and sat on the sofa.
"Did you get her to eat?"
"She had some soup for dinner... but only because I told her I wasn't ready for her to go." Emily said as Aaron remained silent. "I think it's time I came to terms with this Aaron. My mom is dying and she is going to go on her own terms and I can't change that."
Aaron sighed, "I am so sorry Emily. As soon as this speech is over, I'll be right home and we can talk about this. We can talk about what we're going to do and how we're going to get you through this."
Emily nodded down the phone as she bit her lip. She hated what this campaign was doing to their relationship. Whenever they seemed to need each other, they just couldn't be there. They fell asleep and woke up together every day, but for some reason Emily still missed him. She prayed that when he became VP it wouldn't be like this.
"How's your speech coming?" Emily asked, knowing that if she said another word about her mother she would burst into tears and she wanted Aaron to be there to hold her when she did.
"It's all this fake outrage when the real story should be about what we did today. The work that nobody knows about, protecting this country." Aaron said, referring to the issue of national security they dealt with today.
"Forget about what they're expecting Aaron. Forget about what Kirkman or Lorraine want to hear. Say what you need to say." Emily encouraged. She couldn't encourage Aaron to get up there and lie. Not when his principles wouldn't let him.
"I don't know what that is Em. The thing that kills me about this, is that I want it... I want VP and not just for me but for what it means. The first Latino vice president. That means something... but how do I express it?"
"Speak your truth. Be honest." Emily told him. "I'm really sorry I can't be there right now-"
"Emily, no-" he began to protest. In no way did he expect her to be here right now.
"But I will be right here waiting for you to come home. I will always be right here, no matter what happens."
"I love you so much." Aaron said as his voice broke slightly. "More than I can ever tell you. And we will be ok Emily. I promise you, you will be ok."
Aaron did exactly what Emily told him to do. He told his truth. He told the truth of his mother and her family and how they came here for a better life. One that proved difficult to achieve yet so heartedly deserved. How his mother fought for him to have a good life. He was a proud Mexican American and it was time he owned it.
Emily had watched the speech with immense pride. He was honest and he spoke from the heart and he showed why he should be the next VP. She carefully tucked her mother in that night just as she heard the front door open and close. She walked into the hallway and saw a disheveled looking Aaron standing there.
"Hey" she greeted with a small smile as she walked forward and hugged him tightly. "You were amazing tonight. Really amazing, I am so proud of you. Come on, let's get you a celebratory drink." she said as she released him from her hold and pulled his hand.
Aaron shook his head, "I don't really feel like celebrating tonight."
Emily stopped walking and gulped. "Aaron, I know things are pretty shitty right now... but we have to take these moments and we have to enjoy them. I know you think that was a pony show up there, but you spoke your truth and there is nothing wrong with that. Our crap will still be there tomorrow, so for now, I would like to sit down with my husband, have a drink and watch some trashy TV."
All Emily wanted was to have a moment of normality. A moment to enjoy the good in their lives. It was the least they deserved. Aaron nodded his head at her request as she pulled his hand again and walked into the kitchen, happy he was here to make her feel whole again.
Don't forget to review!
