Aaron looks over at Emily and smiles at how deeply she is sleeping. She looks perfectly calm and content, nestled under a pile of blankets with just the top of her head sticking out. It's the exact opposite of the scene he often witnesses, Emily frantically thrashing, unable to pull herself out of a nightmare. He worries about her, worries about what feelings must be brewing under the surface for her to have such frequent nightmares. And when he's not worrying about that, he's worrying about Jo. She seems dead set on going down a path of throwing her life away, and he's clueless as to how to help her.
Between her and Emily he's feeling impotent in a way he never had before. He's used to problems he can't solve, problems that have no solution, but he's not used to feeling like there is literally nothing he can do to improve the situation. Even on his darkest, most challenging days in government, there's always some action he can take. But the more time he spent with Emily, the more he saw how deep her pain truly went, and the more time he spent talking with his sister, the more hopeless things felt.
His latest plan was finding something for Jo to do over summer. Teenagers and free time sounded like a terrible combination to him to begin with, and add all her problems in and he felt a pressing need to make sure she was occupied and miles away from her boyfriend. Which is why he was up at two AM. Emily might be the one who had nightmares, but she didn't have the market cornered on terrible sleeping habits. He was always finding himself up in the middle of the night, and instead of trying to fall back asleep, he would scroll on his phone ruminating. That night, as she often does, Emily ends up stirring next to him, and while he tries to stay quiet, he really doesn't hate it when she wakes up, he could use the company.
"What are you worrying about tonight?" She asks, her tone half joking, half admonishing. She's the one who always tells him staring at his phone is the worst thing to do if he wants to fall back asleep.
"Jo. What to do with her this summer."
Emily scoots over closer to him, blankets and all. "What to do with her? You make her sound like a juvenile delinquent."
"She might as well be." He says, unimpressed with Emily's boundless optimism.
Emily shakes her head at him, before resting up against his chest and looking at his phone with him. "Georgetown has summer programs."
"Not sure a kid who's failing out of high school is high on their admission list."
"You're the Vice President and I work there, I think she could squeak in."
"I don't like using connections."
"That's literally all those programs are, people whose parents have too much money and connections."
"Hmm." He says, not at all convinced that extra summer course work is a good plan, "What did you do summers in high school?" He always worked, but he thinks the chances of Jo actually showing up to a summer job are right around zero.
"Babysat mostly. Waitressed one summer."
"Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. My mom always said babysitting is the most efficient form of birth control."
"Condoms and the pill." Emily counters. She's made it very clear that she thinks a teenager with a steady boyfriend and poor decision making skills should be on some form of birth control. And honestly he's on the same page as her, but his sister is nowhere close to it, so he's stuck hoping Jo is making good decisions.
"You know what I mean."
"Teenagers are teenagers Aaron, if they want to have sex their going to, time spent with screaming babies be damned.
"Mhm." He really doesn't want to talk about his nieces hypothetical sex life.
"And your mother might be horrified to learn this, but after the kids were asleep was when I got most of my alone time with my boyfriends."
"Alone time?" He asks, not bothering to suppress his amusement at her attempted euphemism.
"Shut up. Like Saint Aaron is saving himself for marriage."
"Touché. So babysitting is out."
"She likes soccer?" Emily asks.
"Mhm, her team does summer captain's practices, but with her grades she's off the team."
"I'm sure there are soccer camps or something around."
"Feels like rewarding her, doesn't it?"
"I dunno. She's a kid. Spending the summer away from her friends might already be punishment enough."
"And her stupid boyfriend." He says with some satisfaction.
"You know, I don't think she's dating him at you."
"I know. I just- she's throwing away all these opportunities, chances I would have killed for when I was her age. And what? All for some guy."
"She's not you Aaron. And I remember how easy it was at that age to get… carried away over a guy."
"Carried away huh?" He was actually interested to hear this. He wasn't sure he could imagine Emily ever getting carried away in a relationship.
She elbows him lightly. "You know what I mean."
He puts his phone down. "No, I want to hear all about these boyfriends you were getting carried away with when you were supposed to be babysitting."
"Nothing to tell really. You know high school, they were really just guys to have a little fun with. Nothing too serious."
"Nothing too serious, but you guys were still enjoying alone time?"
Emily elbows him again, a little more sharply this time. "Sorry my mom didn't lock me up in a convent."
"Who knew Emily Rhodes was such a player?" Although the more he thinks about it, the more Emily leaving behind a trail of broken hearted guys sounds about right. Certainly more plausible than her pinning over a guy.
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"You must have had some fun growing up, or were you laser focused on the White House even then?"
"Just one serious girlfriend really. Lauren Johnson." He tries, but he can't keep the bitterness out of his voice. He should have realized he couldn't tease Emily about her teenaged relationships, without expecting her to want to delve into his.
"You okay?" She asks, clearly picking up on his tone.
"Bad breakup." He shakes his head. "But that was years ago."
"You want to talk about it?"
"Her father wasn't spending thirty thousand a year on school for her to date a Rivera." Even going on twenty years later he hasn't forgotten the exact phrasing.
"Jesus. What an asshole."
"Yeah, that's Texas in the 90s for you." Or America, today. But it's easier, giving it some imagined distance. And it might help clear the stricken look from Emily's face.
"Well you proved him wrong, Vice President."
"I don't think my job prospects were his issue."
"Fucking jerk." They're both silent for a moment, before she hesitantly adds, "Is that why you did it? Changed your name, I mean?"
"No." Then he corrects himself, "I don't know. It's not like I thought I was going to win her back. Or even wanted to at that point. I was just so sick of defining everything." Ironic, since now he can't leave this conversation behind.
Emily takes his hand in hers and squeezes it.
"I guess idiotic teenage decisions run in my family." He sighs, thinking of his sister. At least he was only left with a name he sometimes regretted.
"I think they run in all families."
"I just want more for Jo." He says, back now from his brief respite from worrying about her.
"You're a good uncle." Emily says, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek.
"Hopefully." He mutters, more to himself than to her. Emily rolls over and drifts back off to sleep, but Aaron spends a while more thinking about his family before he's able to fall back asleep.
That morning Aaron woke to his alarm blaring and moved quickly to silence it. He'd always assumed Emily was naturally an early riser like him, but it turns out that given the option she would sleep in as late as possible. He always tried to get up without disturbing her
Muffled from under the blankets he hears Emily's voice, "Trying to leave without saying goodbye?"
"I was coming back, I was just gonna get ready first, let you get a little more sleep." He's traveling to Europe for a week, and it will be the longest they have been apart since they've started dating. Normally he would be excited for a trip like this, but without Emily it feels more like a chore.
"No." Comes her reply, still from under the blankets.
"No?" He asks, half confused, half amused at how adamant she sounds.
She wrestles free from the blankets and wraps herself around him, "Don't go." Her voice is almost needy, it's nothing Aaron has ever heard from her before.
"Em-" He starts to answer, but she cuts him off.
"I'm sorry. I know you need to go. I'm just going to miss you." She says, composure restored.
"I'm gonna miss you too." He kisses her neck, which as always makes her giggle. And then stuck by an idea, he adds, "Come with me."
"What?" She says straightening up and pulling away from him.
"To Europe. You've always wanted to see Italy."
"I can't just go to Italy with you." She says, as if he proposed a trip to the moon.
"Why not?"
"Well for starters I have a job."
"Play hooky." Although he knows the chances of her skipping work are basically zero.
"And you'd be working all day anyway. And people would find out we're dating."
He laughs, "People?" His family and their close friends know, but it's not exactly common knowledge they are dating.
"DC people. The media." She wrinkles her nose.
He knows she had good reason to be worried about the media especially. They really raked her over the coals after the election. The stories about her mother's death were especially brutal, with some websites going so far as to post the 911 tapes and call her a murderer. "Whenever you're ready." That's what they decided the previous times they've discussed this. She's the one with more to lose, and he's been ready for months.
"Maybe when you get back?"
"Really?"
"It would be nice to actually go on a real date with you."
"A real date. Well at least I have something to look forward to."
"Only if you bring me something nice from Italy."
"So wine?"
"I do like wine." She smiles and kisses him, wrapping her body back around him. And the morning workout he's been planning suddenly becomes much less of a priority.
"So, you and Emily. Huh." Kirkman does his best to smile, but even Aaron can easily see it doesn't come close to reaching his eyes.
"Yep." Aaron figured it was common courtesy as Vice President to let the President know you were dating someone new. Doubly so when it was someone the President had a long and now fraught relationship with. He wouldn't want Kirkman seeing stumbling on the news in the tabloids.
"Huh." Kirkman repeats.
Aaron waits for Kirkman to continue, but when he doesn't Aaron forges ahead, "I'm not asking for your permission you know."
Kirkman almost laughs, "I'm well aware." And then more seriously, "Have you really thought this through?"
"Yes." He says tersely. And then annoyed, adds, "She didn't turn into a monster you know. She's still the same person." Still the same person who sacrificed her own career, so Kirkman could get out of election interference scot-free, he thinks but doesn't verbalize.
"I know, and I like Emily as much as the next person. More so actually." He says with a smile. "But you know the press wasn't easy on her last year. And I don't think they will be any kinder to her as your girlfriend."
Aaron thinks it's pretty rich of Kirkman to remind him of just how brutally Emily got torn apart by the media last year, when it was Aaron not Kirkman who was there to pick up the pieces. "You think we don't know that?"
"I just think you two should really think about if she's ready for round two."
He wants to tell Kirkman that actually, this time will be different because Aaron will be by her side defending her, instead of leaving her hanging out to dry. And that Kirkman had a lot of nerve opining on what someone he hadn't even spoken to in over a year was ready for. But he settles for a terse, "We have." They talked about it most nights he was away in Europe, and as much as it scares him, the thought of putting her through everything over again, he's also eager to take their relationship further.
"Well, in that case, I'm very happy for you both." Kirkman says, giving Aaron a genuine smile.
Aaron knows he should return it and say something nice. He's wanted Kirkman to be happy for them, he tells himself. But a part of him had been spoiling for a fight with Kirkman. He would have enjoyed telling Kirkman off for everything he could have but didn't do for Emily. It would have felt like he was doing something, instead of more of the passive holding pattern he feels stuck in. And yet another part of him had wanted to fix Emily and Kirkman's relationship. He knew it wouldn't be anything even close to having her mother back, but Aaron didn't think Emily was honest about how much it hurt being on bad terms, or no terms, with the President. And since they were planning on kicking off round two of Emily being called a liar, cheat, and murderer in the press, he wanted her to have as many friends on her side as possible. But he settles for muttering his thanks like an annoyed teenager and changing the subject.
