Welcome to Bermuda

Situation Five: The Political Nightmare

By the time they all hurried into the room Lyor Boone was already pacing in large loops around the couches in a figure 8.

"What's the Emergency?" Seth asked with an alarmed look.

"I need the two of you," he gestured wildly between Wright and Emily. "To tell me," He stabbed himself in the chest with his index finger. "That you are not the two stupidest people in DC."

Seth's gaze remained blunted, but Emily's faltered just enough to send Boone into panic.

"No. No. No. No. No!" He shook his head frantically, pointing at Emily. "We are poised for a reelection campaign that is at best going to be brutal and you go and do this again?"

Rhodes looked down at her lap. From his spot across the room Aaron shore narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't think he liked where this was going.

"Anyone want to tell me what this is all about?" Kirkman said softly looking between the two of them.

"The Press has it." The strategist hissed, folding his hands over his chest.

"What exactly does the press have?" Seth shook his head, trying to understand.

"The press knows that you're sleeping with your boss, genius!" Lyor tossed his hands up in the air.

"What?" The word slipped passed the National Security Advisor's lips before he could stop it.

"I'm sorry. I'm confused." Kendra announced softly from one of the sofas.

Kirkman made an uncomfortable noise, tilting his head back towards the ceiling. Kendra pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't see how this is anyone's business-." Wright argued weakly, his voice coming out higher than he would have liked.

"She's your boss!" Lyor hollered. "Soon to be former boss, since we're all going to lose our jobs."

"Alright." Kirkman shook his head. "This isn't a big deal. Emily and Seth are both adults and-."

"It's a big deal." Boone interrupted. He pulled and arm loose and pointed his palm towards Kendra. She gave an uncomfortable glance to Seth before looking at her hands. "Go on. Tell them."

"It's a big deal." She sighed, shaking her head slowly. "There are workplace agreements, security agreements, chain of command issues, the appearances of impropriety.."

"We don't work at Pizza Hut. You cannot engage in a relationship with someone who reports directly to you." The tall lanky man pushed his glasses back up the slope of his nose and stared at the Chief of Staff. Emily was still staring at the carpet of the Oval office.

"When the hell did this happen?" Aaron asked softly, his eyes boring into the top of her head.

"We haven't done anything wron-." Wright began again.

"We can have Seth start reporting directly to me." The president said in a soft condescending way, as if Lyor had been too stupid to consider the easy fix.

Aaron actually snorted before whispering.

"That's not how it works."

"Yeah. I know I'd feel great about disagreeing with the boss's boyfriend about something." Boone quipped. "No fear of retribution there!"

"Sir." Kendra replied softly. "It wouldn't fix any of the problems. If for some reason you had to ask for Seth's resignation-."

"I would never do that." Kirkman shook his head.

"Sir that's not always a predictable occurrence." She swallowed hard. "Any misdeeds, either of them were accused of would have a political effect on the other. Any political distrust of Emily would surely cause a distrust of you as well."

"Not to mention what this does to your reputation alone." Lyor continued rambling to Emily, his head swinging slightly back and forth like it had a loose screw. "Everyone knows you and Shore were involved last year. Do you know what that looks like?"

"Wait what?" Seth's face screwed up. Aaron had his back to them now, his hand on the window frame, looking out onto the grounds. "When was-?"

"That wasn't public knowledge." Kirkman tried to sound supportive.

"I knew." Lyor nodded fiercely. "Everyone in DC not working in this white house knew." He sputtered turning his attention and pointing hand back to Kendra.

"There was definitely an understanding… that the two of them… were engaged in a-." She struggled to answer.

"But that wasn't a political brush fire?" The press secretary questioned.

"I wasn't her boss, Seth!" Aaron said loudly, before pulling his hands back slowly, cupping them over his face for a second. "Is this a matter of National Security? If it's not I don't see why I need to be here." He turned towards Kirkman, Tom didn't miss the glazed over look. "Do you need anything further from me, Sir?"

The President shook his head.

"Aaron.." Shore was out of the room before Emily managed to muster the first word she'd spoken since this began. She shut her eyes tightly. "I didn't think. I didn't-."

Seth started towards her, his hand reaching out.

"No touching!" Lyor hollered. "For God sakes!" He put his hands on Seth's forearm and pulled him away, pointing to a nearby chair. Wright sat.

"So what do we do now? How do we fix it?"

Kendra grimaced slightly before turning to the President.

"It's not that easy, Sir."

"You have to stop seeing each other. Immediately." Boone muttered.

…

"I'll resign." Seth said softly, leaning against the door of her office. "I'll take the job I was offered a few months ago. Hell I'll take my pick of jobs."

"You're not resigning." Emily whispered, her blank face staring straight ahead.

"It'll be good for me. Less stress, more money. Think of all the time I'll have to spend with my beautiful Girlfriend." He teased, her face didn't change.

"Seth you're not resigning."

"Why didn't you tell me about you and Aaron?" He asked, sinking into the soft cushions of her sofa.

"There wasn't much to tell." Emily looked down at her desk top. "We were both going through a lot. It was a difficult time. We were there for each other. We understood what the other was going through."

"Like us." He finished. She swallowed, watching her own reflection in the shiny oak. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She whispered.

"Did it have something to do with him leaving?" Wright held as still as he could, watching the way Emily's lower lip had trembled with his question. Her tongue darted out and stilled it before her teeth settled on top.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did you think about it? When we first got together?"

"I try not to think about it at all." She snorted.

"No" He shook his head. "The consequences."

Seth watched her consider it.

"I tend to leap before I look." She said finally. "I didn't really give it much thought. I should have. I should have thought it through I should have trusted Aaron. I should have never-."

"Emily." He waited for her to look up. "I spent the day thinking about what our jobs would be like if this didn't work out between us. I kept thinking about all the times I wondered why Aaron left, how things were never quite the same when he came back. How we'd all lost something."

"We can't do this." Emily shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking. Things have to go back to the way things were."

"I can't go back to the way things were.I can't pretend like we never happened."

Emily swallowed hard, tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes.

"He couldn't either, could he?"

…

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Aaron, sit down." Kirkman gestured to the sofa across from him before settling on to his. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Boone seems to have a knack for putting people in awkward situations."

"No Sir, I'm sorry if I lost my composure."

"I didn't realize that you and Emily were together last year, when everything-."The president took a deep breath. "Played out… the way it did."

"It'd rather not revisit that, Sir." Shore took a breath.

"I wanted to let you know that I have appreciated having you back on the team, you've been doing a wonderful job as NSA."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Are you enjoying it?"

"I am, Sir." Aaron's brow furrowed and he leaned slightly towards Kirkman.

"I should probably cut to the chase, huh?"

"I'd appreciate that, Mr. President.." Shore grinned unsteadily.

"Aaron, Emily is stepping down as Chief of Staff."

"Sir, you can't accept her resignation. She-."

"I don't intend to let her go far. We still have several cabinet openings to fill and I intend to find one to promote her to. With what happened with Moss I also have an opening at State that I would like to promote you to"

"Secretary of State?" The younger man whispered.

"Unless you'd like to come back here and be my Chief of Staff." Kirkman grinned.

"Sir, with all due respect I'm not sure I'm qualified-."

"You have a decorated Military background including time in combat. You went from an enlisted service member to a commissioned officer. Under your leadership as National Security Advisor, the FBI brought down the biggest threat to the United States since WWII. And due to the unfortunate loss of institutional knowledge this nation has suffered you have more political experience that just about anyone else, including me." Tom watched Aaron's mouth twist into a smirk. "I would hope you have plans to run for office one day, this would surely help you in that quest. And most importantly, I trust you implicitly. There are very few people left in Washington I can say that about."

It was not lost on Tom Kirkman how Aaron Shores eyes misted up a little at his declaration of trust. He felt the same pang of guilt that he always did.

"Tell me you'll think about it? Talk to your family?" The President rose, walking back to his desk.

"Yes Sir." Shore whispered. "Sir?" He looked up as Kirkman glanced back at him. "I'd like to make a recommendation for UN Ambassador"

….

"I wanted to stop in, and say goodbye." Lyor Boone stood in the doorway, holding the disgusting drink Emily loved so much at arm's length. She smiled at him before grabbing it. "I know I haven't done anything that wasn't my job, but I still feel like I owe you an apology."

"You don't." Emily whispered.

"So we're still friends?"

"Still friends Lyor." She rolled her eyes. "We've been friends for almost a decade."

"I don't have a lot of them."

"Wonder why?" She teased.

"I know this isn't the best of circumstances, but you have to be a little excited about your new role."

"I'm very excited. And humbled. And terrified.. It gives me a chance to shape not just the Kirkman administration or even the United States Government. With this I could shape the world. I'm just not sure that I'm the right person for it."

"It's a good thing Shore thinks more highly of your skills than you do." Boone shrugged.

"What does Aaron have to-?" She stopped, looking at Lyor's raised eyebrows and knowing glance. "He was the one who planted the seed with Kirkman."

"He's nothing like the others." Boone muttered. "You almost broke your pattern."

"What are you talking about?" Emily sniffed, walking back towards her desk and rustling through her files.

"Oh please Emily. You've been doing this since college. Finding the guy who'll come in, adore you and rescue you from yourself. Take all the bad choices away, make it all work out in the end." He shook his outstretched palms. "You have a type, the nice guy who boosts you up and you feel so grateful you throw yourself into their arms-."

"I do not."

"Scott Myer." Lyor raised an eyebrow. "David Peirce. Andrew Cork."

Emily made a face.

"I hoped when you finally went to work for the nicest most morally pure man in the world you'd found your prototype and you'd rein it in. Maybe fall for an equal? Someone who challenged you? A tall dark and an handsome type who pushed you to be just a little more... "

"Enough."

"But sadly you went right back to it."

"Seth's a good person!" She argued.

"Yep. Good and safe. No chance of him leaving you first." Lyor shook his head. "Risk free."

"I thought you were coming in her to apologize to me?"

"I'm here, as an old friend, to point out to you that you have a pattern that tends to end in disaster."

"Disaster is a strong-."

"John Doherty!"

"Okay that one was a disaster." She muttered.

"Emily. Take it from the risk management specialist?" He placed his hand over his heart. "You can take the bigger risk."

…...

"Emily."

"Seth, hi." Emily pushed a large curl back from her face and gave Wright a hug. "How are you?"

"Good. It's been what? Six months?"

"Eight probably. I haven't been back in Washington for a while."

"You look great." He smiled.

"Thanks." There was a time when that might have made her blush and look at her toes. That time was over. "I've been criss crossing the globe. It think it agrees with me."

"I think so."

"How's the job?"

"It sucks. I don't know how you did this and didn't pull out your eyelashes." He nodded with a smile.

"Fakes." She nodded along with him, pointing to her eyes with a knowing grin.

"Of course." He gave her a hard look. "We should go to dinner while you're here, catch up."

"I would love to, but I leave for Germany tomorrow and there is someone I need to meet with before then." She sighed. "Maybe breakfast? I'm at the Hilton. We could meet there?"

"Yeah. That sounds good." He leaned back in and kissed her on the cheek. "It was good to see you."

"You too." Emily sighed, watching him walk away before heading back towards the cabinet room.

"Ambassador Rhodes." The voice hit her ears before she turned the corner.

"Secretary Shore." She turned towards him. "It's been a while."

"I haven't seen you since China." Aaron grinned at her.

"Has it been that long?" She teased. It had been six weeks, three days and four hours.

"Were you looking for me?" He leaned towards her just enough that she could smell his aftershave.

"Actually I was hoping to catch Secretary Hookstratten, see if she wanted to have dinner with me." She teased.

"Really.." Aaron raised his eyebrows at her, she turned in the direction that he was pointing. "I think I just saw her leaving with Secretary Moore."

"Oh Damn!" She spun back towards him, letting her eyes roam up and down his body. "I guess you'll do."

He pressed his palm into the middle of her back and lead her back towards the doors where the line of cars and drivers would be waiting.

"Do you have to check in with Nadia?" She sighed, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"I told her we could have breakfast tomorrow before we leave for G7." Aaron pulled back a little as they located his car and his agent opened the door for them.

"Funny you should mention breakfast." Emily bit her lip, sliding in before him.

"What did you do now?" He sighed, waving slightly to the press pool before joining her inside.

…...