Hi there! I was in a super good mood so I am posting this new chapter now. As always, thank you very much for the super kind comments, I'm super excited every time I read a new comment from one of you. This is it, the revelation. I hope you'll like the chapter, please tell me what you think about it! See you soon for the next one!

Emily was in her office with Gemma and Seth when Phil knocked at her door.

"Hey, Emily… Aaron Shore requested a meeting for tomorrow. He wants to talk about Hookstraten and... you know, the possibility for her to be VP…" Phil said, peering his head through Emily's office.

"Okay, huh… Can you do this?" she asked, definitely not wanting to see him.

"No, no, no." Gemma said, cutting Emily short and preventing her from answering. "Thank you Phil, Emily will go this time…"

"Okay, sure…" the Deputy answered, leaving the three senior advisers in Emily's office.

"What? No! I can't go!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yes, you can, and you will…" Gemma continued.

"Gemma, you know I can't…"

"Em, you have to tell him at some point…" Seth confirmed.

"No, guys, seriously, I just can't…"

"Emily, we won't do it for you…" Seth said. "You don't have a choice…"

Emily almost started sobbing, suddenly anxious at the idea of being forced to meet Aaron because of Seth and Gemma.

"Why?"

"Because, he has to know." Gemma answered.

"No, but why did you do that?"

"Call that a friend's intervention if you want, I don't care. I'll take you wherever you meet, I'll wait around if I have to, but you'll go and talk to him…" Gemma continued.

"I hate you…"

"I know you do, but it's for your own good."

So here she was, pacing in front of the Jefferson memorial two days later. Walking back and forth, she was imagining all kind of scenarios in her mind. For the first time in months, she would meet Aaron in a one-to-one and she couldn't help but be stressed about it. The weather was surprisingly warm today and she had let her coat open. Her pregnancy was more than obvious now, even for someone that was not looking with attention. She knew that Gemma was waiting for her on a parking lot not too far, but she still wanted to run away. She couldn't stop thinking of how much she hated Gemma and Seth for forcing her to come to that meeting. She was in no way ready to meet Aaron.

As for him, he didn't know that he would meet her. In the past five months, he had seen her only once or twice. She had always sent Phil instead of her when he requested a meeting. He had requested this one to talk about the Vice Presidency, and he was really hopeful he could make that happen for his boss. But when he saw the familiar shape of the woman pacing back and forth in front of the memorial, he stopped. He suddenly wasn't confident anymore. His heart started beating faster, he wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He almost considered standing her up, but he knew he couldn't do that, it wasn't professional. So, after a long pause and a deep breath, he decided to walk the remaining distance from her, hiding his shaking hands in the pockets of his coat.

"Emily…" he called softly.

She turned around when she heard her name. She knew it was him, she could recognize his voice among thousands. It had always sent shivers down her spine and this time was no exception.

"Aaron… hey" she answered, a weak smile on her face.

"I didn't think I would see you." he said, honest.

"Yeah, I know… It's been a while. It's a slow day at the White House…" she lied.

Aaron just nodded, and they didn't have anything to say anymore. The bump of her belly was so clear he couldn't help but glance at it, even if he didn't want to. He almost wanted to congratulate her, but that would trigger the only subject he really didn't want to talk about. It was awkward, they could feel the tension between and they were both trying to find something to say, something to do.

"Wanna walk a bit?" she offered.

"Sure…"

They started talking about work —the only topic they could talk about not too awkwardly— walking slowly and almost peacefully. Thank God, it was a beautiful day. At least, they could walk outside, look at the birds singing and the flowers blossoming. Neither one of them could have stand facing each other in an office. Emily's hands were in her pockets, and she couldn't help but dig her nails in her palms. She was biting her lower lip every time that she was not talking. She could feel that Aaron wasn't really comfortable either, she could hear it in his shaky voice, in the way he was clearing his throat. She was really doing her best not to freak out, not to run away and to stay professional, but it was Aaron she was talking to, it was just too hard.

"So, I heard that Kirkman needed a push for his gun reform?" he said.

"Yeah, but it's not exactly a secret that Democrats are outnumbered in the Senate…"

"Kirkman is an Independent, he can appeal to pretty much every one with the right help…"

"What do you suggest?"

"I think we could help…"

"Hookstraten? Help? She's the Speaker… of the House…"

"She is, but you know there are a few soft spots in the Senate, if they know that the time of election, they have someone to back them up, I'm sure they wouldn't oppose a gun reform…"

"You're trying to pave her the way to the Vice Presidency, aren't you?"

Aaron didn't even answer, he just smirked, but he knew that Emily had seen it. Talking about work was in his territory, it felt safer and he wasn't sure he wanted to stop. But he also knew that he had to address a very important topic, a very personal one. He just wasn't sure how to do it, he wasn't sure he could.

"Aaron, you have to ask her…" Nadia said, one evening.

"I know, but how do you want me to ask that. 'Hey hi, remember that night we had sex, am I the father of your unborn child?' Come on, Nadia. It's not that simple…"

"It's not, but you deserve to know if you are going to be a father or not. I deserve to know if I'm going to be an aunt or not!" she chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"And when should I do that, huh? I'm not going to go knock at the White House and corner her in her office to ask her… Do I have to remind you that she doesn't talk to me anymore?"

It had been a couple of weeks since Aaron had learned Emily's pregnancy, and the least he could say was that he had not stopped thinking about it.

"Aaron, you have dark rings under your eyes. I can see that you aren't sleeping well. I can see that you're not thinking about anything else than the possibility that you are the father of her child. You need at least to know. Then you'll see what you decide."

"What I decide?" Aaron questioned, not sure he understood well what Nadia was saying.

"If you want to be a part of this baby's life of not…"

"Cause you really think that if ever, I am the father, I'm just going to let her deal with this on her own. This will change everything, my whole life is going to be turned upside down…"

"So, you're actually saying that you prefer not to know?"

"No, I'm not saying that… I'm just freaking out at the idea I could be a father…"

"You would be a great father, I am sure of this…" Nadia sat, patting his shoulder.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Because you are the most caring man in the world. You were always there for me when I was a child, you're more of a brother than a cousin to me, you know that…"

"It's different… Like you said: brother, not father"

"How so? You've been there for me your whole life, taking care of me, always being sure that everything was fine… I know it wasn't because you felt pity for me losing my mom…"

"It wasn't…"

"That's what I'm saying. You're the most caring man I've ever known. Even your brothers aren't like that…"

"They are older, way older than us… They were already very independent when we were born."

"Whatever, that doesn't change a thing. You need to ask her…"

Emily offered to sit on a bench facing the water. She loved walking, but she had to say that walking in heels wasn't very comfortable, especially now that she could start feeling the weight on her back. Aaron sat next to her, looking in the same direction than her, not daring to look at her.

"Em, can I ask you a question?" Aaron suddenly asked, his voice shaky.

Emily felt the change of tone in his voice. He sounded more serious, worried, he sounded scared almost. She knew what it meant, she knew what the question was.

"I think I know what you want to ask" she sighed, not daring to look at him either. "I am five months along, almost six now."

She didn't want to say it, she was trying to avoid the question, but she knew it was coming. There was no turning back now. Silence was the only thing she could hear as Aaron started doing the math, but whichever way he was taking it, it was always leading to the same result.

"Is it…" he started. "Am I?"

He couldn't bring himself to say out loud the word "father", not in front of Emily, not at all.

"Yes."

There was a silence. A deafening silence. A silence so loud that the world could have stopped turning. Aaron gulped, Emily's answer ringing in his head like an echo, he could feel his hands shaking and gripped to the bench, holding onto it. His heart was pounding.

"Before you ask…" she continued. "No, there isn't a doubt it's yours. It's not as if I really had the time to have a personal life, and…"

Emily didn't even finish her sentence. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, and there wasn't a point in finishing it anyway. She had finally told the truth. She was starting to sniff, she could feel the tears coming to her eyes, ready to fall down her cheeks. She was trying really hard not to cry in front of Aaron, but it was just too hard, the tears were already starting to silently fall down her cheeks. She was waiting patiently for his next word, his next comment, but it wasn't coming. Aaron was speechless, he couldn't say anything and this was worrying her. He wasn't moving either. He could feel the lump in his throat. He didn't know what to do, what to say, just trying to process what was happening.

"Say something… please" she begged after a few seconds of silence.

"Why… didn't you tell me?" he asked.

The question had come like a murmur, his voice was low as if he didn't want to hear himself speaking. As if all of this was just a nightmare he could wake up from. He still had not dared looking at Emily, but he could hear her sniffing, she wasn't even trying to hide her cries anymore.

"I…" she sighed. "I couldn't bring myself to talk to you… after everything…" she said.

"Is this why you've been avoiding me for all these months?"

"Partly yeah, but even before that, before I learned I was pregnant, I just couldn't see you, not after how you left the White House, after I investigated you, after what happened between us…"

"What made you decide to see me then?" he asked.

"Gemma and Seth, they forced me to see you, to tell you…"

Without wanting to, Emily's last comment had come like a slap in Aaron's face. He suddenly realized that Seth knew all along that he was the father of Emily's baby, but didn't tell him. His friend, his only friend in the White House had lied to him, and he suddenly didn't know which betrayal was the worst, between Emily's and Seth's.

"Were you planning to tell me, one day?"

"I don't know, probably not. I early came to the conclusion that I would be a single mother, just like my mom. I just convinced myself that I would do it alone and that I didn't need anyone. I didn't want to put that weight on you either."

"And you never thought that I had a right to know?"

"I don't know. I guess you do… No, I'm sure you do. But what does it change? It's not as if we're getting together to raise that baby or anything. I'm still going to do it all alone…"

Aaron shook his head no.

"Do you think so little of me to imagine that I wouldn't even help you with that baby, that I wouldn't want to be a part of that baby's life?" he asked, his toneless voice about to break.

"I'm sorry, Aaron…" she said.

She had said it with all the strength and truth she was capable of. It was coming from the bottom of her heart, she was truly sorry she had not told him. But she knew that it was too late.

"I have to get going…" he suddenly said, rising from his seat and finally looking at Emily, daring to glance at her belly. "I'll… keep in touch I guess…"

He turned his back to her and didn't let her the time to say anything. Leaving her there, she had murmured his name, but he didn't hear it. He was dumbfounded, stunned. His mind was racing, trying to process everything, but he just couldn't. He would be a father in less than four months, and Emily had not told him. There was a mix of anger, hate and sadness in his heart that he couldn't really describe. He didn't even cry once, he didn't flinch once either. He walked the fifty minutes back to his office, but Kimble Hookstraten quickly realized something was wrong and sent him home, thinking he was sick. So that's what he did, and arriving there, he lied on his couch, the light off and the silence deafening, and just took a beer out of the fridge. Later in the evening, he took another one, and again another. He was tired, but that's all he could feel.