As soon as Aaron saw her, he felt as though his heart stopped. Seeing her again brought back a wave of feelings and emotions he long since believed had passed. In his eyes, she was still as beautiful as he had always believed her to be. "Emily."

Emily's body tensed up as soon as she heard him call her name, regret flooding her. She had replayed this scenario over and over in her head, cultivating what to say, but now that it was actually happening she was speechless.

She looked up for the first time, taking in the sight of him. Not seeing him for three years had been tough enough, but seeing him now brought back those feelings she had hidden deep inside herself. Her heart broke, crying at all the missed time, the lost memories. Her brain struggled to comprehend that this was Aaron, in the flesh, not the picture she kept hidden in her bedside table. "Aaron. I… I. .. I don't know what to say."

Aaron looked up at her, his eyes filled with pain "Just tell me, is it true?"

He knew the answer before she even opened her mouth. Her emotions were not easily hidden, she had always been an open book. Her pain was evident in the crease of her brow and the down-curve of her full lips. Her eyes were a deep pool of restless gold, an ocean of hopeless grief.

"I'm sorry."

His jaw was tense, his fists clenched. "So it's true?"

"Yes. It's true." she replied. Her body sighed, suddenly rid of three years worth of tension.

He remained silent for a minute, processing the information, his eyes full of angst and sorrow. Emily watched as his face twisted from pain to anger, her own stomach knotting up, her ears getting hot.

"YOU KEPT MY CHILD FROM ME?" Aaron screamed, slamming his fist on the desk, making Emily jump.

"Aaron, I. . ."

He drew in a breath, his breathing ragged and shallow. "MY CHILD! Why would you keep my child from me?"

Emily longed to go back and take a different path, but now that was impossible. There was no way back. There was no way to make this right. "I don't know what else to say. Aaron, I truly am sorry."

This burned Aaron up. "Sorry? You're sorry? Do you know what it's like finding out that you're a dad from the Political Journal? That's sorry."

"I thought it was the right decision."

"The right decision? Why would this be the right decision? It was the right decision to give me NO DECISION? that's a piece of me out there, a piece of me that I would have very much wanted to be a part of."

Emily sighed. "But at what cost?"

Aaron grimaced. "Is that why you left? My career? You're saying you did this for me? Emily, I loved you, I would have dropped everything if that's what it took."

Loved. Emily's heart skipped a beat at the mention of love, only to then break when she realised the past tense. She toughened up. He was here for Elena, not her. "Exactly. You would have thrown everything away. You try so hard. You work hard. You fought for every step; You deserve to be where you're at and you wouldn't have been there at all if I hadn't left. Look at you! You're going to be the vice president of the United States! I wanted you to fly and look at you now . . . you're soaring."

Aaron chuckled. "This was all for me huh? What about our child? Don't they need a father? You of all people should know how much it means to have a father that. . ."

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING MY CHILDHOOD INTO THIS." Emily shouted, the tears beginning to stream down her face.

Aaron knew he'd gone too far but the words had just come out. He had been walking a thin line between not wanting to hurt Emily, and wanting her to feel the full pain he had felt since the news had broke.

Emily wiped tears away with her sleeve. " I knew you didn't want kids. I went to tell you, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."

Aaron arched his eyebrow, confused. "I didn't want kids? I never said that. I would have very much wanted our kid."

"Yes you did," Emily retorted. "When Kirkman took Penny to the zoo. You and Seth kept going on and on about how children are political suicide. Funny thing was, I had come into your office that day to tell you."

Aaron's head was spinning. "But if I had known, I wouldn't have said any of that."

I know, that's why I'm so glad Seth interrupted me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to ruin your career. I needed time to think without anyone else's opinion. I didn't think I was going to leave forever, but I left and then the next thing I know she was here and..."

"She? I have a daughter?" Aaron asked, his eyes glimmering with this realization.

Emily nodded. "She just turned two on August 2nd. Her name is Elena Ale. . . "

"Elena?" Aaron interrupted, "That was my. . . "

"It was your mother's name. I heard she passed away the same week I found out I was having a baby girl. I knew I had to name her Elena."

Aaron brought his hands to his mouth. "A baby girl. I have a daughter."

The duo sit in the quiet for a minute, three years of silence between them.

Aaron finally looked up at Emily. "Can I meet her?"

Emily smiled meekly. "Of course."