Hi there! Thank you all for the comments on last chapter! New chapter coming up for you. I'm sorry I'm a little late, it took me longer than expected to rewrite a clean version of this. I hope you will all like it, as always please review, cause I love all of your comments and I love reading all of them, and see you soon for the next one!

CHAPTER 8 - The backlash of your mistakes

"You are a fucking liar, you are a terrible person, and I wish I never met you. Ever since we met, you never stopped betraying me and playing with my feelings. I hope I'll never see you again. You know what, Emily? You can go to hell…"

Saying that Aaron was drunk when he called Emily and left that voicemail was an understatement. It's only the morning after, his head pounding and in a bed he didn't know, that he realized that he had called her. He murmured a 'Fuck' before turning his head to the other side of the bed, looking at the naked blonde girl whose name he had forgotten, fast asleep beside him. Not making a noise, he slipped out of bed and quickly got dressed, leaving the place before the unknown girl could wake up.

During more than a week, Ryan had taken Aaron under his wing, pushing him to forget Emily and the baby every way he could. That had included partying hard and drinking a lot of alcohol. That had also included a lot of hating and a lot of sex with any girl on Aaron's path. That voicemail he had left on Emily's phone was just the culmination of that week of debauchery and craziness. He couldn't even remember what he had said, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He knew that sooner rather than later, he would have to deal with the consequences of it, especially when he would have to meet Emily in Washington after coming back home.

These few days in Los Angeles had just been a throwback to their college years in Texas. Saying that Ryan and Aaron had painted the town red when they had met was an understatement. Girl after girl, party after party, football game after football game, they had done everything they could in four years. After graduating, Aaron had moved to Washington to pursue a career in politics, and had of course calmed down a lot. On the contrary, Ryan had stayed the same. Fifteen years later, he was still refusing to settle down with a woman, enjoying the money he was making every day with his real estate agency, driving the latest convertible in town and owning the biggest and brightest house uptown Los Angeles. And as much as Aaron disapproved of Ryan's way of life, he could definitely admit that sometimes it felt good to get away from everything. Though, time was flying and after ten days in California, it was already time to go back home for Aaron.

While he was in California, an article about Kimble Hookstraten's trip to Turkey had been released and the House Ethics Committee had quickly decided to investigate it. Aaron had wanted to do something about it, but it was already too late when he heard the news, and the odds definitely were now not in their favor. It was Kimble's last day as a Speaker for sure, as the Ethics Committee would vote for her removal at the end of the day. Back from Los Angeles and feeling refreshed, Aaron arrived, as usual, earlier than everybody else, and went straight to his boss's office.

"Madam Speaker…" he said, knocking at her door.

"You're probably the last one to call me like that…" Kimble chuckled bitterly.

"I heard…" he answered awkwardly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there…"

"To be fair, Aaron, I don't think you could have done much more. That story would have come out with or without you here…" she admitted as Aaron nodded.

"So, what's next for you? Is there a way I can help you?"

Hookstraten shrugged. It was so unusual for her to shrug that it took Aaron by surprise, not really sure what it meant. They talked for a little bit, knowing that it was their last day working together, but they were soon asked for a meeting at the White House. Tom Kirkman wanted to know how everything was looking in that investigation. After all he had wanted Kimble as his Vice President, even if he knew now that it would not happen. Aaron bit his lip as he realized he would have to go to the White House sooner than he wanted to, but quickly regained his professional demeanor, knowing that he couldn't show any emotion in front of anyone in Washington.

Arriving at the White House, Aaron quickly headed to Seth's office while Kimble walked to her private meeting with Tom Kirkman. Aaron was still disappointed that the Press Secretary didn't tell him about Emily's baby, but he was trying to make peace with the idea. He knew he had to get over it, and truth be told, his few days in California had made him reconsider things a lot.

He was just reaching for Seth's office when he saw Gemma walk toward him like a fury, fire in her eyes and anger in her voice.

"How dare you?" Gemma yelled at him, pointing her finger at him.

"What? What are you talking about?" Aaron asked surprised, taking a step back.

To be honest, he really didn't have a clue what she was talking about. It didn't even come cross his mind that his angry voicemail could be the reason of Gemma's anger.

"How dare you show up in that building, after what you said to Emily!" she repeated, still angry.

"Woah…" Aaron tried to temper. "Slow down. First, why are you yelling in the hallways of the White House, and second, that's none of your business…"

Aaron was trying to stay calm in front of Gemma, but her sudden aggression was utterly annoying him, He suddenly wasn't sure he would stay calm very long. Coming back to D.C., he had decided to wear a mask and act as if nothing could break him, building his walls up to protect himself from the rest of the world and prevent his emotions from failing him, but he had not been prepared to be hit like that so fast.

"First, unlike you I work in that building so I do whatever I want, and second it's my business from the moment it hits my best friend. And you know why? Because she spent a full night crying after your stupid voicemail. She's tired, pregnant and hormonal, she doesn't need you to be an asshole!"

Aaron took a deep breath, and looking to his right, realized he was just next to Seth's office. He took Gemma by the arm and pulled her inside the Press Secretary's office. Seth was inside, but of course had stopped working since everybody could hear them yelling in the hallway.

"It's not my fault if Emily decided to be a bitch and hide the fact that I was going to be a father." Aaron said sternly after closing the door. "I know that my voicemail was probably a little harsh, but she fucking lied to me for 6 months, and this is her fault and her fault only. So I don't care what you think, I don't care that you are her best friend, and I don't care that I hurt her. She hurt me too, and what she did to me is much worse than a stupid voicemail."

Aaron was towering over Gemma, his look was furious, his eyes dark. He was frowning and his voice was low and serious. The usually very instinctive red-haired was suddenly feeling very small facing Aaron and his stature. She dared open her mouth to add something, but before any word could come out, she was cut short by Aaron. He was looking in her eyes, defying her to say something to him.

"Also, Emily is a grown up, she doesn't need a lapdog to defend herself, and I really hope that she can get over a stupid voicemail on her own, because otherwise I'm really worried for Kirkman's administration. And please, for further notice, stop barking at me like that, because it is something I really don't appreciate."

Gemma felt so small facing Aaron she didn't know what to say anymore. He had his hand of the handle of Seth's door. Opening it, he invited her to exit the room, and then closed it again, finally allowing himself to breathe. Seth had stayed quiet at his desk the whole time, knowing better than to intervene between his friend and his colleague. He still hated himself for hiding Aaron that he was going to be a father, so he didn't want to make things worse now that Aaron seemed to come to terms with the idea.

"Need a drink?" Seth asked as Aaron turned toward Seth.

"Yes, please. How do you stand working with her? She's insufferable…" Aaron groaned, rolling his eyes.

Aaron sat in a chair opposite Seth's desk as the Press Secretary took two glasses and the bottle of scotch from his drawer.

"She's not that bad actually. She's just always on the defensive when it comes to Emily…"

"I didn't know Emily needed a puppy to defend herself…"

"Aaron…" Seth scolded.

"What!" Aaron exclaimed. "It's true, she just barked at me like that, and in the middle of the hallway. I don't need everyone to know that I have a complicated relation with Emily…"

"As if you actually had any relation with her…" Seth chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's not my fault…" Aaron grumbled.

Seth raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced by Aaron's latest comment.

"It's true!" Aaron protested.

"I'm actually pretty sure it's both your fault, but yeah, continue to be stubborn…"

"She investigated me, I didn't…"

"She what?" Seth asked, surprised.

"Wait, what? You didn't know?"

Seth shook his head and Aaron realized that Emily had never told him she had investigated him for treason, and that's how he ended up being interrogated by the FBI. Aaron probably shouldn't have told Seth to be honest, it was going to make the Press Secretary's life much more complicated, but he had security clearance, which made it possible for Aaron to tell Seth. He didn't really care anyway, he was rightly convinced that Emily had told Gemma too, and probably even before the newly appointed Communications Director had the proper clearance.

"She investigated me for treason, that's why I ended up at the FBI a few months back…"

"Fuck…" Seth answered, speechless.

"Yeah, you can say that…"

"How did that happen?"

"Kirkman asked her to do that… Because I had security clearance in the Richmond administration and they were sure there was a mole in the White House."

"So, that's why you fell out."

"Yeah…" Aaron admitted. " But she's the one who thinks I don't want to talk to her…"

"Do you, though?"

"I mean…" Aaron hesitated. "It's pretty awkward, I know. But she never even tried to talk to me, to ease tensions between us. She just made her mind that I hated her and that I would never talk to her, and that's all… Well, that was until a couple of weeks ago…"

"Yeah, and now you don't want to talk to her…"

"I want to make peace with her, because I want to know and see my child grow up, but I mean, I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust her anymore."

Seth sighed, understanding completely what Aaron meant. He realized that Emily got riled up a little too much, and that with time, the new and the former Chief of Staff could have talked and gotten things straight.

"Where is she, by the way?" Aaron asked.

"Where do you think she is? She knows that Hookstraten is here, so…"

"Hiding in her office?"

Seth nodded. Of course Emily was hiding in her office. She didn't want to risk seeing Aaron, not after everything, not after that voicemail he had left a few days ago. They both knew that one day or another, they would have to talk about everything and set things straight, but it was still too new for both of them. They still needed to clear their heads before they could say something to each other.

"What did you say, on that voicemail by the way?" Seth suddenly asked.

"I don't know to be honest… I was pretty smashed…" Aaron answered, ashamed.

"Where were you anyway?"

"L.A… Spent time with my college best friend… Good old times"

"Oh…" Seth exclaimed. "I see…" he chuckled.

"If only I could have more than clouded memories of that week, that would be nice though…"

"That bad?"

Aaron just nodded.

"How many?" Seth asked, a little curious suddenly.

"What?"

"Girls… I mean, there's no 'good old times' without banging girls, not knowing their names and leaving a fake phone number in the morning…." Seth laughed at Aaron.

"More than in my 12 years in Washington I think…" Aaron hissed, not really sure.

Seth laughed.

"Woah, you didn't pull any punches…" the Press Secretary continued.

"Shut up…" Aaron chuckled. "I would say I'd wish to forget that week, but I already don't remember much so…"

Aaron finished his drink in silence and then headed outside with Seth to wait for Kimble Hookstraten. He could probably have waited for her in front of the Oval Office, but he knew that it meant crossing Emily's path and he wasn't sure he wanted another fight after that little spat between Gemma and him, arguing in front of everybody.

At the end of the day, Aaron was left without a job after Kimble Hookstraten was officially voted out by the House Ethics Committee. Seeing how things were unfolding, Kimble Hookstraten had pulled the last few strings she could in the House to earn another year of funding for art education. It was Aaron and Kimble's last fight, and they had won. This was something Tom Kirkman was really happy about, as it was a promise he made to President Richmond's son after meeting him.

Kimble Hookstraten had not even done that for fame or in hope she would get anything in return. She had a lot of flaws, that was for sure, but greed wasn't one of them. She truly believed in what she was doing, and truly believed she was doing the best for her people. That was something Tom Kirkman and her were sharing. He had been touched that she pulled those last few strings to get the art education refund, and he had offered her the position of Secretary of Education. She had of course accepted. It wasn't the Vice Presidency, but it was something she truly believed in and she had offered Aaron to follow her as her Chief of Staff, but after navigating around the White House for so long, the Secretary of Education sort of felt like the minor leagues for him. He had declined the offer and, for the second time in only a few months, was jobless again.

"Aaron…"

Aaron turned around to see Tom Kirkman calling him after a ceremony they had both attended at the White House.

"Mr. President?"

"What are your plans, for the future?" the President asked.

"I don't know yet. I'll take the time to think about it. In Washington, I hope. "

Truth was, Aaron was thinking about Emily and the baby. Even though he had learned only a couple of weeks ago he was going to be a father, of course it was changing things. He could put everything into perspective now and was convinced he couldn't leave Washington D.C., that he should stay and know his child.

"How about coming back to work for me?" Tom Kirkman asked.

"I'm sorry Sir, but my position's been filled."

"We'll make another one for you!"

"You can't…"

"Come on, Aaron. I want you by my side. I know it hasn't been easy, there are things I shouldn't have done, but I truly want you to work for me…"

Aaron considered the offer. Of course, it wouldn't be the position of Chief of Staff, but he truly believed that Tom Kirkman would find him a good job. He had no doubt about that, and that meant he could stay in Washington, near Emily, even if they weren't even talking.

"So, what do you say, Aaron?" Tom Kirkman asked.

"I say… that I serve at the pleasure of the President." Aaron answered, smiling and shaking the President's hand.

"Welcome back, Aaron"