Hi there! As always, I want to thank everyone who read my chapter and commented, it's always nice to see the reviews, likes and follows.
I am deeply sorry this chapter took so long, it was written and then after I posted last chapter, I decided to change this one, and it took me longer than planned to change everything around. All these changes led to an extra chapter, and might lead to another one depending on how I write things and how you respond to this one.
I hope you'll like it, and please tell me what you think about it! Reviews are always welcome, even from guests! See you soon for the next one.

CHAPTER 10 - Working Together

Rumor had it that Aaron was back at the White House, but people were still surprised to see him walking in the hallways of the West Wing. He could hear people talk behind his back, he could hear the whispers and questions about his return. And he knew very well that all these questions were not only about his work here at the White House, but also about his involvement with Emily. Since his little spat with Gemma a few weeks ago, people had started putting two and two together and most of them were wondering if he was the father of Emily's baby. So of course, people were talking, and every time he could hear something behind his back, he was rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Why do people feel the need to talk?" he asked Seth as they were in Aaron's new office.

"Talk about? You being back? I mean, it was kind of shady… The way you left." Seth answered.

"Yeah, but that I don't care. No, I hear them talk about Emily and I. I think they know." Aaron sighed.

"That wouldn't surprise me. I mean, Gemma wasn't really discreet when she yelled at you a couple of weeks ago…"

Aaron rolled his eyes, remembering his little spat with Gemma.

"How are things going by the way, between Em and you?"

"Better, I guess. We talked things out a couple of days ago. We said what we had to say. It's not easy, but at least we talk."

"I'm glad things are getting better."

"You're probably the only one…" Aaron grumbled.

"Gemma?"

"Yeah… She ambushed me this morning. She told me not to mess up with Emily and that she would keep an eye on me."

Seth laughed.

"That's not even funny. I want to work things out with Emily, we have to. I mean, I get that I was an ass with her, but Gemma doesn't need to constantly remind me of the mistakes I made, and if she is behind my back all the time, we're never going to work things out…"

"Do you, though? Want to work things out?" Seth asked, curious.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, we're having a child together, we need at least to get along."

"Is that all? What about… The two of you?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Do you… Consider being with her?"

"Right now? No. I can't… I don't want to. Everything is still too fresh. But if you ask me if I still have feelings for her, I don't know..." Aaron paused, thinking. "I think so… I mean, yeah. Despite everything, I still like her, but I don't want to think about this right now. I need time, and the baby needs to come before anything else."

Seth nodded. He could understand what Aaron was saying. It was as if, despite the hate, the betrayal, the lie, Aaron couldn't help but being attracted to Emily. Only his senses were telling him not to go down this path. Well, and Gemma too if he really wanted to be honest. The hostility coming from the Communications Director was really startling him, and it was also utterly annoying him. He couldn't understand why she was acting like this, especially since he knew she was the one who had forced Emily to tell him about her pregnancy.

Emily, too, had tried to reason Gemma, and temper her. But the red-haired was stubborn, probably even more stubborn than Emily.

"Gem, you need to let me handle this. I cannot work things out with Aaron if you constantly remind him that he hurt me." Emily told her best friend one evening.

"I swear, if he tries to hurt you again…" Gemma groaned.

"Gemma Elizabeth Bishop, do you listen to me? Stop it… I invited him over tomorrow afternoon, to build the nursery."

"You serious? He's coming over?"

"Yes. And I know it's your apartment too, but I would love very much if you were going shopping in the meantime, cause I know it's not going to be the same if you are around…"

Gemma looked at Emily in the eyes, trying to read her best friend's mind, but she wasn't letting anything show through.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really…"

So, on that Sunday, when Aaron arrived, Gemma looked at him spitefully, but soon left the apartment to mind her own business while he was around.

"How long is she going to be out for?" Aaron asked.

"As long as needs be. I told her to go do her things while you were here. I didn't want you two at each other's throat…"

Aaron chuckled softly. She offered a cup of coffee, and soon after he followed Emily in the baby's room where boxes were lying, ready to be opened. Since they had talked things out and since Aaron was back at the White House, things seemed better between the two of them. They could make small talk, they could even laugh sometimes. Of course, there were topics they still wouldn't broach, but slowly, they could feel they were getting back to something.

"Are you going to build a nursery in your apartment too?" Emily asked, as they were sitting on the floor putting a crib together.

"You want me to? I mean, I haven't put much thought into it yet…" he paused. "Actually, we should probably talk about that…" Aaron answered, still sitting on the floor.

"What do you mean, talk about that?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How are we going to do that coparenting thing? I'm not sure how it's supposed to be done…" Aaron admitted. "Isn't it going to be a little complicated?"

"Probably, but we're gonna have to make things work. We won't have the choice, so…"

"I guess the baby will spend most of the nights with you though…"

"At first, probably yeah… Would you, though? Want to have the baby at night with you?"

"Sure, that's my kid too. And… I guess that when you'll be back to the White House, after your maternity leave I mean, you'll love a good night sleep at some point."

Emily chuckled. Clearly, Aaron had put some thought into it, even if he didn't want to admit it. It felt great for her to see that he was so committed to make this work and that he wanted to be involved in this baby's life. It was surprising her a little though. Not that she would ever imagine Aaron being a bad parent, far from that actually, but of course she had not thought everything through when she had decided to raise that baby. She had always imagined she would do it alone, and the possibility of having the father around had always been so far from her mind that it was disconcerting her a little.

"To be honest, I haven't put much thought into it either. I mean, it seemed pretty logical to me that you would want to build a nursery at your place, but yeah, I don't know."

"We still have a little bit of time before thinking about it."

Emily nodded and smiled.

"I know it's still far ahead, but have you thought about what you were going to do with the baby, after your maternity leave?"

"I have. I was thinking I would take the baby to daycare. But I haven't figured out yet which one I should choose. There aren't many with extended hours…"

"What about a nanny?"

"It's complicated. I mean, finding someone who would be willing to take the baby any time of the day or the night because of an emergency…" Emily sighed.

"But, what were you planning then, for emergencies?"

"Gemma?" Emily offered, chuckling. "I mean, except in case of a nuclear attack, the probability of her being called in the middle of the night is pretty slim… So, she's supposed to be my backup. That's pretty much why we moved in together."

Aaron smiled. Despite Gemma being a pain with him, he could see that she always had Emily's best interest at heart and was doing everything for her. As much as he disliked her, he had to admit that Gemma was great. He knew that she would be great with the baby, and that she would always help Emily out, no matter what. As Aaron was finishing to put the crib together, there was a peaceful silence between the two, but Emily suddenly spoke.

"I have an appointment in two days… An ultrasound. Do you… want to come with me?" Emily offered.

Aaron slowly rose his head, surprised with the offer. He stuttered and looked at Emily in the eyes, trying to detect something, anything. He had not seen this coming and was at loss for words. Emily saw it, and smiled softly at him to reassure him.

"Yeah? You sure?" Aaron asked, unsure of what he should say.

"Yeah, I'd like you to come with me."

"Ok then."

Aaron's smile suddenly lit up his face, truly happy that Emily had invited him to her ultrasound. And Emily was happy to see his face light up like that. She didn't even know if she had ever seen him this genuinely happy, it reassured her, knowing that she had made the right choice by asking him to come.

And that's how Emily and Aaron met each other on a parking lot a couple of days later, ready for Emily's appointment. Aaron was nervous, Emily could see it. He couldn't stop tapping his foot on the floor, biting his lower lip. He couldn't make small talk, he was stuttering every time Emily would ask him something. It would be the first time he would see his child on a screen, that he would hear his baby's heartbeat, and he knew that it would make it more real than ever. He had even called Nadia in need of reassurance, but she was so excited for him that it didn't do much good. Weirdly enough, Emily didn't seem that stressed. She should be, she knew she should be because it was the first time that she was seeing her obgyn with Aaron and that it would be weird, but she was almost peaceful. She felt reassured that Aaron would do anything for their baby, even leave the White House for a couple of hours to come with her.

The doctor said he was happy to see Emily's husband, and after an embarrassed chuckle, Aaron and Emily quickly denied being married or even being together. Their situation was less than ideal, and this awkward conversation was another proof of it. Seeing his baby for the first time, and then hearing the heartbeat, Aaron's heart melted and he almost thought he would lose it. He was pretty close to letting a tear fall down his cheek, and that made him realize that despite everything that had been going on with Emily, he could never have let her down. He knew that he had to be around for this baby, to take care of it and to raise it. It suddenly also made it even more bitter, to realize that Aaron had missed 6 months because Emily had lied to him, had betrayed him.

"Miss Rhodes, are you taking it slow like I advised you to? Do you feel weak sometimes, or dizzy?" her obgyn asked, seemingly concerned.

"It happens, yes, but not too often. I mean it's not really easy to really take it slow, I have a lot to do, but I'm doing my best." Emily answered.

Aaron didn't want to intervene, he didn't feel like he had his word in this, but he couldn't help rolling his eyes, knowing very well that Emily was still running here and there in the hallways of the West Wing everyday.

"Your friend here doesn't seem to agree…" Emily's obgyn said after noticing Aaron's eyes.

"What?" Emily exclaimed.

"Em… You know very well that you are still running all the time. Otherwise we don't have the same idea of 'taking it slow'…" Aaron said gently.

"It's not as if I had a choice…" Emily argued.

"Well, I'm not going to give you the choice either" the doctor cut them off. "I'm giving you ten days off and bed rest is not an option. Otherwise you will give birth early. This is not a joke Miss Rhodes. While pregnancy isn't an illness, you have to think about your health."

Emily's jaw dropped as she realized that she would be stuck at home for ten days. It was the worst scenario for her. She hated not doing anything, so being stuck in bed was even worse.

"Isn't there any other possibility?" she asked, worried.

"I'm afraid not… Your blood pressure is low. It's serious. If you're not taking it slow, it could lead to a placental abruption…"

"What is that exactly?" Aaron asked, suddenly concerned.

"It's when the placenta separates from the uterus before the birth. It means that your baby could be born early, and it can be dangerous both for the baby and you, Miss Rhodes. Loss of blood and so on… I could make a list of all the complications that it could cause, but I'm pretty sure you already realize how serious that can be…"

Emily was suddenly as white as a sheet, realizing what all of this meant. After that, she kept quiet. She could hear the obgyn talk, she could listen to him, but she was just nodding at his statements. She shook his hand as she left his office, followed by Aaron, but she was just silent.

"Em, are you okay?" Aaron asked as they were on the parking lot, looking at her worriedly.

"I… Huh… I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't really plan this when I asked you to come with me…" she answered weakly.

"It's okay, don't worry. But what about you?"

"I… It's just as if…" Emily couldn't find her words. "I feel like I just got hit by reality…"

Aaron just nodded. He didn't really know what to say, he was really uncomfortable with the situation because he wasn't close to Emily, far from that, but still he felt like he should be there for her and help her get through this.

"Can I… Do anything for you?" he asked as they were reaching their cars.

"Not really… I'm gonna go home. And stay in bed I guess…" Emily answered, defeated.

"Hey, I know it cannot be easy for you, but you're gonna be okay, right?" Aaron tried to cheer her up.

He suddenly put a hand on her arm and stroked it gently, smiling at her. He couldn't help it, he knew that Emily needed it and he wanted to be there for her.

"I should get going…" Emily said, smiling at him after his nice gesture.

"Yeah, I'll go back to the White House, I have work to do. But, I can come by your place at some point during your leave…" he said "I mean if you want…" he quickly added, suddenly embarrassed he had offered the idea.

It had come instinctively, but suddenly Aaron was regretting it because he didn't know how to behave with Emily, even if she seemed moved with Aaron's attention.

"Sure." she answered, smiling.

More and more everyday, she couldn't help but wonder why she had hidden her pregnancy from him. Everybody had always told her that she was stubborn, she knew she was. But as she was driving back home, she was thinking that maybe, maybe she had taken her stubbornness too far. What she had always considered a strength, especially as a woman in politics, was suddenly a terrible flaw that had hurt people she cared about, and had hurt her relation with a man she had a thing for, that she had even once considered boyfriend-material. She couldn't help but think that everything was her fault, and as she lied on her bed, arriving at home, she started crying.