A/N: Hi there, new chapter coming up for you. Thank you very much for your comments and everything else. Hope you will like this one, please tell me what you think!
See you soon for the next one!

CHAPTER 4 - Moving Together

A couple of weeks after Gemma's hiring at the White House, the two best friends had decided to move in together. It was the red-haired who had offered the deal. It was easier for Emily who would be able to rely on her all the time when the baby would come, and they could also help each other through this. Emily had not felt very comfortable with Gemma's offer, she felt that she was putting too much pressure on her best friend. But Gemma had very valid arguments that made her accept the offer after a few days, and especially after a hard day at the White House. She had come home past eleven at night, exhausted and annoyed by the terrible day she had had. Falling asleep on the couch even before changing into her pyjamas, she had been woken up at four in the morning by an emergency call. This had been way too much for her pregnant-sleep-deprived-caffeine-deprived body, and she had almost ended up fainting in her office. Phil had seen it, called Seth and Gemma, and she had been forced to admit her pregnancy to her deputy as well as to the President. She had begged all of them to keep it quiet, but she knew the secret was about to come out soon. She had started wearing looser clothes, but it wasn't suitable for the White House and her bump was becoming clearer and clearer, no matter how much she could try to hide it. It was another step that was making her think of the choice she had made, and whether it was the right one or not. She had always been very self-conscious of people's looks on her and of course, she could hear people talking behind her back.

So that morning, just in her underwear, she was looking at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. She could clearly see the bump of her belly, and she couldn't help but think about how everything would go.

"Em, you're here?"

Gemma had entered Emily's apartment and was now knocking at the bathroom door, waking Emily from her thoughts. She unlocked the door of the bathroom and opened the door for Gemma to come in. Looking again at herself in the mirror, she asked.

"Do I look pregnant?"

"You are pregnant, Emily…" Gemma asserted.

"I know… But…"

"Em, at one point people will know. You won't be able to hide it much longer…" Gemma continued.

"People are already starting to talk…" Emily sighed.

"I know, I work there now… I hear them too… Especially since not everybody knows yet that we are friends"

"What should I do?" Emily asked.

"What do you mean?" Gemma raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't want to say it, but clearly people won't stop whispering behind my back."

"You should just stop hiding yourself behind loose clothes. Just wear what you usually wear, wear skirts and blouses that suit your figure. Be proud of yourself, be proud of your body changing. You are growing a baby, that's beautiful, you shouldn't hide it."

A hormonal Emily suddenly burst into tears and hugged Gemma tight, letting her tears fall down her cheeks and on her best friend's shoulder. Gemma was right, and hearing this out loud had made Emily cry. Hormones were making her crazy, on the verge of crying most of the time.

"Em… You will be okay" Gemma whispered, running a hand in her best friend's back.

"Yeah?" Emma asked, needing a confirmation.

"Yeah… I promise you will"

The two girls had found a 3-bedroom apartment not too far from the White House, which would allow them to avoid public transportation every day. They were excited to live together, it felt like they were back to college, being roommates and doing everything together. They had already packed most of the things they were taking to their new apartment. Actually, Gemma's apartment was already empty, she had finished cleaning everything the day before, as it had been a slow day for her at the White House. Only Emily's apartment needed to be cleaned, and the red-haired had planned to do most of the work. She knew that Emily was just 4 months pregnant, but she also knew that she was exhausted most of the time, both physically and mentally. She had already forbid Emily to lift any heavy box, and they had even asked professional movers to help them. Emily thought it was useless, they could do it on their own, especially since Seth had also offered his help, along with Phil and a couple of Gemma's former colleagues.

Around ten, Seth knocked at the door and hugged both girls before starting to help. Most of the work was to fill the boxes in, since everything would be transferred to their new apartment in the afternoon. Unlike Gemma and Emily though, Seth wasn't really off that day, and he was called in at the White House before lunch. He came back just in time for food, and they decided to head to a fast-food not too far down the street, along with Phil that wanted to get out of the West Wing for an hour. They were all enjoying their lunch, laughing and saying stupid things when Emily suddenly choked on her bagel.

"Em, you're okay?" Gemma asked.

"Huh, yeah… Huh…"

Emily's heart was suddenly pounding, and that's when Seth raised his head to see what was happening. Aaron had just come in with his cousin Nadia, right in the restaurant where they were. He couldn't believe it, the former Chief of Staff, the father of Emily's baby, was a few feet away from them, and of course, he had spotted them too. Gemma turned around to look at what Seth was looking, and realized who it was even though she had never personally met him.

Aaron stopped in his track right in front of the group's table and greeted them. Emily could feel her hands shaking and she decided to put them down on the table to try and calm herself.

"Hey man!" Seth started, ready to make conversation to cover Emily's embarrassment.

Seth stood up and greeted Aaron, then Nadia who he knew a little, while Gemma and Emily were just sitting there, smiling awkwardly. Phil shook Aaron's hand, but everybody could feel the tension in the conversation.

"I don't think you've ever met Nadia, my cousin." Aaron introduced to the others.

Emily took her courage to babble a few words

"Nice to meet you" she said, smiling awkwardly.

"What are you doing here? I've never seen any of you around" Aaron inquired.

"Yeah, we actually wanted to try the place. We've been talking about this for the past couple of weeks, and we were around since the girls are moving in a few streets away." Seth answered.

"Oh?" Aaron exclaimed, curious.

"Yeah, Gemma and I are moving together, just like old times. We were roommates in college." Emily explained, stuttering, as Aaron nodded.

"You're the new Communications Director of the White House, am I right? I knew I had seen you somewhere" Aaron asked directly Gemma.

"That's me, indeed" Gemma smiled.

"Didn't know you knew each other" Aaron continued.

"Yeah, that's a fifteen-year long story" Gemma answered.

Gemma was on the defensive. She was trying to hide it with a smile, but she wasn't sure it was working, and clearly Aaron felt awkward at the way she had answered. Phil, not aware of Emily and Aaron's past, couldn't clearly understand what was going on, just like Nadia who was observing the interactions from a distance, not really sure what all of this was about. It was a strange mix, these six people together with all these secrets around in the air, not knowing who knew what and who didn't know. It's the Mexican-American brunette who decided to end up this awkward conversation quickly.

"Aaron, we should get going. There are people in the line to order and we have to get back to the Capitol in half an hour…" Nadia commented, trying to find an excuse to get out of here.

"Yeah, right. Sorry, have a good one guys" Aaron exclaimed before leaving the table.

Emily let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. Gemma handed her hand above the table to hold her best friend's, and Seth put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're okay?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah… Just uncomfortable…" she answered.

To be honest, Phil wasn't saying anything and was probably the one who felt the most uncomfortable in all of this. He didn't know anything about Aaron and Emily's relation, except for the fact that she clearly didn't want to be around him since he was the one meeting Aaron every time. He even considered the possibility that Aaron had harassed Emily, but really hoped that if such a thing had happened, she wouldn't have let him get away with this.

"I feel that there are a lot of things that I don't know, and that I probably shouldn't know either…" he commented.

"Don't worry…" Gemma answered. "There are also a lot of things people don't know but probably should, right Emily?"

Emily knew very well what Gemma was referring to and shot her a death glare. Phil raised an eyebrow, understanding that there was a lot of unsaid in all of this, and Seth gave a faint smile, obviously agreeing with Gemma but not really sure it was the moment to talk about it. Emily was just exhausted by the pressure of her friends where putting on her to tell Aaron the truth. Couldn't they realize how bad it was between Aaron and her? Why were they pressuring her like that?

After lunch, Phil went back to the White House while Gemma, Seth and Emily headed to the girls' new apartment to start unpacking things. A couple of Gemma's colleagues showed up later in the day after work to help put together important things, and by eight, the girls could live in their apartment. Sure, there were still a lot of things to do, but their beds were made, the kitchen was organized, and the couch was were it was supposed to be in the middle of the living-room. Emily offered beers to everybody who had stayed while she continued to tidy up a little. She started putting books on her shelves, plugged the TV and started decorating a little. It's not that they would spend much time here, but she knew that it felt good to come home to something that felt like home. Empty shelves and unhooked frames were not helping her feeling like home. By the time everybody left, Emily and Gemma looked at each other and sat on the couch, thinking about their college years and what was to come for them. Emily established rules on Gemma's lifestyle as she knew very well that her best friend would invite guys over at one point or another. Gemma laughed, saying that those rules were for both of them, but for Emily, it seemed clear that her sex life, already almost nonexistent before her pregnancy, was forever gone now that she would raise a child on her own.

"You know that children don't actually prevent people from having sex, right?" Gemma said, a little tipsy.

"It just makes it much harder. But don't worry, I allow you to enjoy sex for both of us…" Emily chuckled.

"Does that mean I can have double amount of sex?"

"As long as you enjoy it, and I don't actually hear anything just like when we were in college, do whatever you want."

"Sweet!" Gemma exclaimed. "I think I'm gonna love sharing an apartment with you."

"Don't make me regret it…" Emily groaned.

"I promise, I won't!"