A/N: Thank you so much to those of you still reading this story, and an extra thank you to the few of you who reviewed! I love hearing your comments and suggestions, so please keep it up! It's been quite a while since an update, and I'm a little disappointed that the last chapter didn't bring in any reviews. Does anyone even read fanfics anymore? It's really upsetting when you work so hard on something and get 0 feedback, ya know? So with that said, please review if you read this?
Disclaimer: Unless anything has changed, I don't own anything.
Chapter 7.
It had been a few days since the incident at the President's Ball. Emily's sadness was starting to dissipate leaving mainly her anger with Aaron. She hadn't seen him since, and she longed to give him a piece of her mind, tell him off for lying to her, for breaking her heart, for deceiving her.
The day finally came and she didn't hesitate for a second once she saw his guilt stricken face. She had returned back to New Haven, just in time to busy herself with studying for her many exams.
One Wednesday afternoon, she decided she had had enough. She went up to the roof of her apartment building, needing some air and alone time from all the studying she had been doing over the past few days. She stared out at the traffic below, watching as pedestrians crossed the streets, drivers honking impatiently all the while. She wondered what it would be like to be a random pedestrian on the street below her. To be free, to not have anybody always watching her, scrutinizing her every decision, her every outfit. Suddenly she heard the low creak of the door opening behind her and she turned her head, straightening herself up in case it was a foe.
Her jaw locked as brown eyes met hazel ones. She shivered and turned away from his stare, not wanting to look at him any longer. She looked out at the traffic below once more, her eyes landing on a blonde male below. Emily stiffened as his gaze connected with hers from up on the roof. She blinked and a tingle ran down her spine, making her shiver. She blinked once more, but the man was no longer looking up at her. Surely he couldn't be watching her? He was just another random pedestrian, right? She tried to control her breathing for a moment, focusing all her attention on the male below as he turned his head back up to the roof again.
Emily felt the male standing behind her come a step closer. The anger was bubbling inside of her now, begging to be released. She swallowed hard, waiting for him to say something. He didn't. So she finally broke the silence.
"Why."
Aaron watched as her shoulders shuddered under a shaky breath. "I- I'm sorry. I have no excuse." He shook his head, her back still facing him.
"Damn right you don't." She inhaled slowly, trying to control her rage as it threatened to spill over inside of her. Her gaze landed back on the streets below, but the blonde man was no longer there. She had lost sight of him. Ah well. Just some random pedestrian or creep. The usual. This was New Haven, after all.
He knew she was boiling over. He had to choose his words carefully. Anything could set her off, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her even angrier than he had already. Especially with midterms coming up shortly. He swallowed, daring to take a step closer. "I just want to thank you…" He watched as she raised her head a bit, not daring to face him yet. He nodded, "You could have had me fired. And you didn't."
She ignored this, remembering how her father had come into her bedroom the night before, asking her if she was sure she wanted him to continue to work First Family detail. She had said yes. She was sure. He didn't deserve to lose his job over her.
He had her completely fooled into thinking he cared for her. That had to mean something, didn't it? That he was a hardworking, dedicated agent.
She cleared her throat. Her chest ached. "You know the one thing that I hate the most?" She shook her head, avoiding him completely. "I still don't even know your name," She stammered, "-because I doubt you told me the truth on that one." The words were vile in her mouth.
Ouch. That stung a bit, but she was right. He hadn't even gotten to share his name with her. She still knew him as his cover name, Ryan Hughes.
He stiffened, "Emily…" He reached out slowly and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She immediately pulled away as if it had burned her. Idiot move.
"Don't touch me!" She spun around, her nostrils flaring as she glared, long and hard. Her usual soft brown eyes filled with fire. He couldn't help but notice the stress lines across her forehead, and the droopy bags under her eyes, revealing that she hadn't been sleeping.
"You lied to me. The least you could do is tell me your real name." She folded her arms across her chest, taking a few steps away from him. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Just as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. Her voice was a low growl, "You lied to me, and like the idiot I am, I trusted you. I told you things." She sucked in a breath, her hands clenching at her sides now. "I told you so many things that I've never told anyone before. I told you my biggest pet peeve is liars and you did exactly that. I-" She cut herself off quickly.
I loved you.
Did she, though? Maybe not completely, but she certainly was close to loving him. She had definitely fallen for him, fallen for him more than she thought was possible, that was for sure. But did she love him? She didn't know. Shaking her head, she turned away again. Aaron watched her, stunned.
They both went silent for a moment. Aaron moved toward the stairwell, pausing in the doorway, wanting to comfort her and tell her how sorry he was. He knew she didn't want that right now. He nodded slowly. She was right. He did owe her that much.
"Aaron."
Emily couldn't help but turning at that, her eyebrow arched up in silent question. She stared up at him and he could now see the tears so evident in her brown eyes. It hurt him to know that he had done that to her. He took one last look at her before she turned back around, hiding her face from view.
He wet his lips, his voice just above a whisper, "My name is Aaron." Before he could catch her reaction, he forced himself to walk through the door and down the stairs, leaving her alone. Starting now, he was going to be honest with her, even if it killed him. He needed to make this right.
Aaron.
Hm. She kind of liked that. It suited him for some reason.
Hearing the door close behind Aaron, Emily allowed herself to break down.
She didn't know how long she had stayed on the roof, but the sky was growing dark as the moon took over for the sun. Emily began to shiver in the cold air and decided she should probably head back to her room. She glanced at her watch, noting that Vivian would be back any minute from class. She exited the roof and then headed down the stairwell.
Back at the apartment about ten minutes later, Vivian found Sampson guarding the door, "Where is she?" He nodded towards the door and Vivian dropped her bag on the couch before making her way to the bedroom. She found Emily laying on her bed. "Em." She shook her head, quietly going to sit down at her side. The brunette lifted her head just slightly, her eyes red and puffy. She had been crying again. Vivian laid herself back on the bed next to her and sat with her friend for a few moments, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. She waited, knowing that her friend would talk when she was ready.
"I feel so humiliated." Emily mumbled quietly, moments later. "I mean, I actually thought he loved me. I actually thought that he-" She stiffened, nearly breaking down into another fit of sobs. She finished quietly, "I thought he liked me for me."
"And how do you know his feelings for you weren't real, Em? His feelings definitely seemed real."
"He was just doing his job." She muttered bitterly. She flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, tracing over the square tiles with her eyes, counting them silently.
"That is crap and you know it. He definitely wanted you." Vivian smiled sadly, running her hand through Emily's raven hair. She eyed her carefully, "It's time to get out of this apartment, Ms. Prentiss. Yes, it hurts, but date someone else. It will help. And maybe, just maybe, it'll make him jealous." She winked at her friend, making Emily quirk an eyebrow up at the suggestion. Date somebody else. Maybe… She chewed on her bottom lip and grabbed for her cellphone once more. She scrolled through her contacts, and paused at Wren's name. She stared down at the phone and groaned.
Vivian watched over Emily's shoulder and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Atta girl. Go get him, tiger."
Shaking her head, she let the phone drop down to the bed. "I can't." Emily sighed quietly, "Not yet. It's just… it's too soon."
Vivian let out a soft breath, picking up Emily's phone from the bedspread. "Em, if you don't do this now, you will never do this. Don't you want to make him crazy with jealousy?" The brunette shrugged. Vivian snorted and began to type a message to Wren, the boy Emily had gone running with that one time.
You + me, dinner friday night?
-E
Before Emily could refuse, Vivian sent the text. Her eyes went wide as she saw that the status of the message now read 'delivered'. Shaking her head, Emily groaned quietly, "Viv… I don't want to date anybody else right yet."
"Well that's too bad, Emily. Because it looks like a certain somebody definitely wants to go out with you." Tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder, Vivian showed her the text that had been received. "You're going out on Friday, Em. And you are going to have a great time with him." She noticed the sadness and apprehension in her friend's eyes and nudged her, offering her a small smile. "Forget about the boy, Em."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wednesday and Thursday had come and gone. Despite her last conversation with Aaron on the roof, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad that he had stopped coming to class.
Well, of course he stopped coming to class. She chastised herself bitterly. He's already graduated, dummy. He already has a respectable job. She had seen him since the ball, of course. The FBI had decided to forgo a transfer for Aaron, especially with the President's say in the matter. They had let him go with the promise that he would remain objective on duty and they kept him on his assignment of protecting the first daughter.
Emily let out a glum sigh as she copied down notes from her textbook and transferred them to her homework. Her eyes flicked over to the clock by her bed and internally groaned. She had just under an hour until her date with Wren. Deciding it was better to be early than late, she slammed the textbook closed and tossed it to the ground with a large thump. She blew out a breath and ran a hand through her hair before straightening up and hopping off the large bed. Wren wouldn't tell her where he was planning on taking her, only that she should dress nice.
She was already dressed in a sky blue velvet dress that landed at her mid thigh, something Vivian had picked out, of course. She just needed to do her makeup and she would be set for the night ahead of her, whatever that so entailed.
Emily ran through the motions of applying her makeup, teasing her hair just a bit to give it a little more bounce, and was in the process of touching up her makeup once more where there was a brief knock on her door. She eyed the clock by her bedside table and raised an eyebrow. It was still a bit early. In fact, it was like, fifteen minutes early. And although Emily had been raised on a schedule, mapping out everything in her life, even down to the second, Emily wasn't ready. She swallowed the ever rising lump in her throat and made her way to the door. She fluffed her hair quickly and opened it slowly, plastering a smile on her face as she greeted Wren.
only... it wasn't Wren.
She stared up at the man at her door and narrowed her eyes, "What are you-"
"Security detail." Aaron fought the way his breath nearly hitched in his throat at first glance of the brunette. He watched as her arms protectively hugged around her chest, shielding herself from him. He heard her mumble a 'You've got to be kidding me' and he chewed his lip and let out a soft sigh. He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she looked, he wanted to kiss her hello, to hold her in his arms. He wanted to see her smile. He hated how their relationship and friendship had done a complete 180.
He stiffened as the man standing beside him spoke suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts, "We ran a background check on your date, Wren, and he has passed. Everything seems clean."
Emily's eyes switched from the younger agent to the older blonde one. She nodded, now avoiding Aaron's watchful gaze as she plastered a small smile to her lips. "Of course, thank you."
The agent nodded his head and spoke once more ignoring the way she seemed to be ignoring Agent Hotchner. "Miss Prentiss, tonight Agent Hotchner and I will be your security detail. We will follow you and your date to the restaurant, and we will be right behind you two the entire time, should anything happen." Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes, having heard this spiel more often than not, and instead she nodded.
She more than knew the drill by now. No doubt they had already obtained from Wren his plans for the night, mapped out that restaurant and location, had spoke with the owner or manager, and had already obtained the rights to their security cameras. With one last nod, the older agent walked away. Aaron was holding his gaze longer than Emily would have appreciated, but within seconds, he, too, had his back turned and she was shutting the door behind them. She still had about ten minutes left.
At last there was another knock on the door and Emily rushed to get it, taking a few seconds to pull herself together as she had before. She took in a small breath and blew the air out, rubbing her palms down her dress before reaching out and pulling the door open, revealing her date. Before she could welcome him inside, he closed the distance between them and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Emily blushed a soft scarlet, her eyes averting his, and instead landing on the agent who was standing down the hall. Aaron.
She caught his dark eyes on her and she stiffened, her eyes suddenly falling on a bouquet of red roses that Wren was holding out to her. Pushing her thoughts of Aaron away, she accepted the bouquet with a large fake smile, and whispered her thanks. The smile never completely reached her eyes, but Wren didn't seem to notice this.
Aaron watched the brunette back into her apartment to find a vase for the flowers. He smirked, of course this boy had brought her flowers. It was a nice gesture, really. However, what nobody really seemed to realize, was that Emily hated red roses. He had caught the brief look of surprise on her face, and watched as it had turned to a slight frown before she scolded her features and plastered that fake smile across her lips again. He felt a sense of pride knowing that he was the only one she had told about her distaste for the red flowers.
It was a Saturday afternoon and the air smelled of peaches and flowers of all different types. The two brunettes were walking side by side, hand in hand, through the booths of the farmers market. After reading about it in the local paper, Emily had insisted that they check it out, as she loved the idea of local businesses coming together. She had never been to a farmers market while living in the white house, and her friends at school had said the CitySeed Wooster Farmers Market was one of the best markets they had been to.
Aaron had been distracted for a moment, talking to one of the farmers about his locally grown strawberries when Emily had stepped away from his side, something having caught her eye. Aaron was in the middle of telling the man how his mother had grown strawberries of her own when he was younger, and he expected Emily to comment on this, only to find she wasn't there.
In fact, she wasn't anywhere near him. Panic began to set in and he quickly cut off mid-conversation with the older man, his eyes darting around the booths, desperately looking for the brunette. He knew that with every passing second, the worse the situation could become and the further away his Emily could be.
"Your girlfriend's over there, son." The farmer sent the young agent a smile and nodded in the direction of the flower garden a few yards away. He watched the brunette male physically relax before turning back to him. "Looks like she likes those flowers." He grinned, "You should get her some. After all, they came out pretty good for this time of year."
Aaron's eyes tracked Emily's movements as she bent down to smell the bright pink tulips. "You know, I think I might." He turned back to the man and a soft grin took place on his features before shaking the man's outstretched hand after paying for the fresh strawberries. He left the man and made his way over to Emily. Hearing Aaron's footsteps behind her, Emily pretended she hadn't been interested in the pretty flowers, and instead,, she turned her attention to the italian ice stand across from the flowers.
Taking a step closer, he made sure to watch her from the corner of his eye as he stared at the flowers Emily had just been eyeing dreamily. He chewed his bottom lip and huffed out a defeated sigh as he stared at the colors. He didn't exactly know much about flowers. He was stumped here.
"Need some help, hon?"
Aaron spun around on his heel and locked eyes with an older woman. He flushed a bit, slightly embarrassed to admit that he did indeed need some help. As if sensing this, the woman took a small step towards him and followed his eyes over to the brunette across the stall. She smiled and picked up a few of the white lillies. She moved to the tulips and stood next to the man, "I recommend the pink or the red tulips."
"What about, uh-" Aaron turned his attention to the deep red flowers on his left, "These? He eyed the roses delicately. As far as he knew roses signified love. Roses were good.
The redhead chuckled softly, "What's her name?"
"Emily."
She hummed quietly and nodded, "While every woman loves roses, I don't think yours does. If there's one thing I know, it's people and what flowers suit them. And your girl over there, she doesn't seem like a rose girl." She winked, "Not to mention, the cliche of them."
Aaron nodded slowly, his attention bouncing from Emily to the older woman who was helping him. Huh. He never thought of that.
Then again, he never really had to buy flowers… The last time he had, he had been in high school and his mother had told him that he couldn't go wrong with roses. Apparently you could go wrong with roses.
"Are you sure?" He still seemed a bit skeptical.
"I haven't been wrong yet." the woman shrugged, pulling up a bundle of the tulips. "Your girlfriend is a bit tricky though… I can't figure out if she is more of a red tulip or a pink tulip." She pursed her lips and looked from the male brunette to the female, who was now digging through her purse for some money to pay the man running the italian ice stand.
"Both." Aaron felt confident over his choice. She was worth two colors. He watched Lydia's eyes go wide with happiness and a bit of shock. She was about to ask if he were sure, but she stopped herself when he nodded, confirming. "It's what she deserves."
"Well okay then. You might just be the best boyfriend there is." She let out a soft chuckle and nodded, grabbing bundles of both pink and red tulips and arranging them into a neat bouquet with the white lillies. She wrapped them up delicately and handed them to him with a grin. He handed her his card and she shook her head, "It's on me."
His eyes went wide and he quickly shook his head, "Oh, you really don't have to-"
"Believe me when I say this, sir, but I haven't seen a young gentleman such as yourself come here in a very long time to buy his girl flowers. You are the first in such a long time, and you must really love her if you're willing to take the time to pick out the right flowers for your Emily." She smiled warmly and handed him her business card. "If you ever need anything in the future, allow me." She winked and he grinned widely, nearly speechless.
"Well, thank you. Thank you so much." He nodded and shook Lydia's hand like he had done with the farmer earlier. He still was in shock that she was trying to give him a bouquet worth well over $60 to him free of charge. He heard Emily's words from earlier about supporting local businesses echo in his head and he quickly dug through his wallet, finding a fifty dollar bill. He placed it in the tip jar, meeting Lydia's gracious smile with one of his own, and then headed over to the italian ice stand where Emily was waiting for her change. She pocketed the money he returned to her and took both of the paper bowls from the man.
"Hey you."
Emily spun around at the sound of his voice. Her eyes met his and she smiled softly, "Hi."
He grinned, watching as her brow furrowed as she suddenly caught sight of the flowers he held. She tilted her head and he let out a soft chuckle, handing the flowers to her. "For you. I, uh-"
"Oh, they're gorgeous!" She was in utter shock at the beautiful bouquet, that she nearly dropped her italian ice."Ryan, you really didn't have to." She placed both bowls on the counter and accepted the bouquet with a wide grin.
The use of his cover name nearly got him. He swallowed quickly and nodded, shoving away his disappointment that he was still undercover and she didn't know his real name. Once again, reminding him that this was fake. Or mostly fake. His feelings certainly didn't seem fake.
"I, uh, was going to get you roses but-"
He caught the wrinkle of her nose as she turned her dark chocolatey brown eyes up to meet his hazel ones. "I'm kinda glad you didn't, actually. I kind of hate red roses..." She inhaled the scent of the tulips and a peaceful grin took place over her features, "I love them, thank you so much." A sheepish look crossed her face once more and she shrugged, "I uh, got you something too… Nothing quite as extravagant or sweet as flowers." She sighed, slightly disappointed. She held a paper bowl out to him, her own sitting on the counter still. "Uh, I didn't know what flavor to get you, so I got you strawberry." She smiled, a bit embarrassed, not even knowing if he liked the sweet treat.
"Strawberry is perfect!" He accepted the bowl and pressed his lips to her temple before hugging her close to his chest and whispering in her hair. "I love italian ice."
Later than night as they sat on the couch, bodies entwined, Emily's flowers sitting in a silver vase on the coffee table in front of them, Aaron had asked why Emily hated roses.
She had wrinkled her nose again and she shrugged a bit before pursing her lips. "Mother was stationed overseas in Rome at the time. I was 17 and well, this boy from my school who I went out with once - he wouldn't leave me alone. The date itself wasn't terrible, but after dinner, it was pretty bad." She snuggled closer into Aaron's side and let out a soft breath, "He wanted me to steal a yacht with him, and although I was a bit rebellious at that time," she shrugged, "I wasn't going to go that far as to land myself in a Rome prison." She chuckled quietly and nibbled at her bottom lip before continuing. "He kept sending me roses, red roses, saying he loved me, saying he wanted to go out again, saying he was sorry. I think it kind of became a game for him - trying to win me back, when truthfully, I was never his to begin with." Her eyes flashed over to his hazel ones and she absentmindedly traced circles over his arm with her finger.
"One day I came home from school to find my bedroom covered in red roses." She shook her head, shuddering a bit. "I finally told my mother's security, and they 'took care of it'" Emily trailed off, her eyes now glancing at the flowers in front of them. "I don't know what happened to him, but he stopped sending the roses, stopped following me around…" She inhaled quietly, tears pricking her eyes, "The next week, he never showed up to school. I didn't see him again. And the next month after that, we moved back to the states."
That night, Aaron had stayed with Emily on the couch, both of them having fallen asleep and not bothering to move when they woke up in the middle of the night. Instead, Aaron had tucked a blanket around them both and snuggled even closer to her as his arms wrapped tightly around her body.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Emily sat across from Wren at a table in a very expensive restaurant. He had driven her to a small place called Fiore in downtown Middletown, the drive having taken a little over half an hour. The restaurant was cute, intimate even, and she would probably be impressed if she hadn't been the First Daughter, or for the fact that fancy and boujee restaurants weren't exactly her forte. Glass of wine in her hand, Emily glanced around the place, suddenly feeling self conscious of being underdressed.
The harsh whispers and unkind glares from customers and onlookers as she had entered the restaurant hadn't gone unheard, and now she was kind of feeling like a tramp.
"Emily?"
Her name coming from Wren's lips pulled Emily from her self-degrading thoughts and slowly brought her attention to him. "Hm?" She blushed, realizing she hadn't heard a single word he had been saying to her. She felt like an ass. "I'm sorry, I-"
"No, it's okay. I get it." He offered her a small smile and nodded, tearing a piece of bread from the bread basket sitting in front of them. He passed the basket to her and she took a piece, thanking him silently.
"No, really. I've just been distracted lately… What was it that you were saying?" Her brown eyes lingered on the roll he held in his hand as he broke a piece off and ate it.
"Oh, I was just wondering where your favorite place you've lived was?" He shrugged casually and bit into another piece of the bread as Emily sipped her glass of wine.
"Oh, uh, France, I think. I love the countryside." She smiled, a faraway look crossing her features as she suddenly got lost in a memory of her last visit to the French Alps to stay with her grandparents. She managed to tear herself away from her thoughts and she looked into his cool blue eyes. "Have you ever been?"
He offered her a small smile with the shake of his head. "Not yet, it's one of the top countries to visit, though." He nodded, taking her hand in his as he glanced her over. "Have you ever been to Russia?"
Emily had flinched as he took her hand in his and she swallowed. This wasn't Ryan. Or, Aaron, rather. She bit her lip and forced herself to calm down. She was here because of Aaron. She was angry with Aaron.
Speaking of which, she felt Aaron's eyes on the back of her head. She turned her head to the side and caught him staring at her, immediately he averted her gaze. She turned back to Wren and answered his question, eyeing him over. "I have actually. But I'm dying to go back. There are so many places that I'd love to learn about." As she had turned to face him, she could practically feel Aaron's eyes boring into the back of her skull again. She forced a tight smile, and leaned in. "Excuse me for a moment, I have to use the ladies room." She took her hand from his grasp and slowly made her way to the back of the room, feeling many sets of eyes track her movements. She passed Aaron, who was standing stiffly in the corner of the room, and she paused briefly before him. "Stop it." She hissed.
Aaron cringed at her low hiss and eyed her with dark eyes, "Stop what?"
Emily folded her arms over her chest and returned his dark gaze, sending him a dangerous look, "Aaron…" She exhaled a low breath and bit her lip, puffing out her chest a bit, "Stop staring, and stop glaring at him." She felt short compared to the brunette, as he had at least a full foot on her, even with her high heels. She swallowed nervously, "Stop... caring."
"I can't do that." He whispered sadly, half afraid of what she would say. To his relief, she had stalked past him and had went into the bathroom.
Had she really brought herself to stop caring about him already? It had only been a few days since the events. Had he really been that easy to forget? To move on from?
Of course he was. She was already on a date with this Wren guy. Who, he really wasn't a fan of… Something seemed off. Of course, the FBI deemed him safe to go out with, but… Arron still felt his stomach doing a flip at the sight of the man. Was it just jealousy?
As Emily returned, Aaron tried to talk to her, wanting to warn her about his gut feeling. He sighed quietly as she chose to ignore him and she made her way back to the table. To her relief, their dishes had arrived and were waiting for them.
Little did she know, Wren had seen her talking with the tall agent in the corner, and had even seen the pleading look his date had sent the well-built man. He knew there was or had been something between the two. He could see it; he was no idiot. So that was where Emily kept disappearing to in her thoughts. He sighed quietly, wondering if he would have competition. He hadn't even seen her return until he heard her voice.
"Oh thank god, I'm so hungry."
Wren met her eyes with a smile and nodded, "Good, because it looks delicious." He got up from his seat and pulled out her chair for her to sit down, taking in the hardened eyes of the agent in the corner. Well, two could play at that game.
As the couple sat down, Wren replaced his hand over Emily's smaller one and gave it a small squeeze. Agent Hotchner may have been there, but he was here now. He smiled to himself.
A few minutes went by as they ate in a comfortable silence.
"So what's it like being the president's daughter?" He eyed her curiously and shrugged, "Must be a piece of work having to deal with all the agents, ordering them around and what not." He wore a straight face as he took a bite of the pasta from his fork.
Emily stared at him, and he briefly dropped the straight face and replacing it with a mischievous grin. She caught it and she shook her head, laughter bubbling in her throat. "You're making fun of me…"
"Oh, no. I'd be much too afraid to tease the First daughter" He replied sarcastically before he trailed off in a light chuckle, shaking his head as the two laughed quietly.
Once Emily settled down, she offered him a small shrug, "It's not too bad. Sometimes it sucks. But for the most part, I think they do most of the ordering around." She shrugged once more, "It's their job." Emily picked at a piece of shrimp from her dish and twirled it around in the linguini. She had been craving seafood all week, and had decided on ordering the zuppa de pesce, which came with shrimp, scallops, calamari, with linguini pasta mixed with a wine sauce.
Wren fixed his coat, fluffing it out behind him, and that was when Aaron saw the butt of something metal hiding in the waistband of his trousers. His hand brushed.
"GUN!"
All too fast, the scene turned into chaos. People screamed and ducked for cover, as Aaron rushed across the entire dining area, jumping over a chair to cross the room. Within seconds, the older agent, Todd, was pointing a gun at Wren, as Aaron swooped in and scooped up Emily in his arms. He carried her bridal style, away from the gun, away from Wren. Aaron's quick movements had made Emily's dish go flying in the air, and some of the pasta leaked onto her dress. She screamed, not quite understanding what was happening, but knowing that she was suddenly being yanked in the air and now had hot food on her dress.
Next thing she knew, she was being carried outside into the crisp air. Her jacket was still inside. "Let go of me!" She kicked her legs, trying to break free of the strong arms that were holding onto her. "Put me down!" She kicked and clawed.
"I can't do that."
"Aaron?" She twisted in his arms and glared hard, "WHAT THE FUCK AARON?! PUT ME DOWN! NOW!" She screamed at him, practically throwing herself out of his arms. She landed on the ground in a heap. At that point, many of the dinner guests had come running out of the restaurant, fearing for their lives at hearing that there was a gun present.
Face turning a dark scarlet, half embarrassed for falling on the ground, and half pissed off at Aaron, Emily picked herself up off the ground, ignoring Aaron's outstretched hand. Tears threatened to spill over in her eyes and her vision was clouding with them.
"Why can't you just let me be happy?!" She screamed at him, her eyes catching sight of Wren being led out by the other agent. "Wren… Wren!" She was about to follow him, but Aaron's arms grabbed around her torso again. "Let me go." He only released her once Wren was inside a squad car. She stared at the car, shaking her head.
"Emily, he had a gun!"
She whirled on him, flashing dark dangerous eyes. "YOU have a gun!"
"That's-"
"Oh, how is it different, Aaron? HOW?!" She shook her head, her arms wrapping around her body to shield herself from the cold. She really wished she had her damn jacket!
He saw her shiver and quickly took off his own jacket. He draped it around her shoulders, noticing that she seemed reluctant. "Come on, you're freezing. It's just a jacket." She hesitated before accepting it and pulling her arms through the holes fully. He nodded, "It's different because I'm an agent. I'm certified to have one."
"So?" She spat, eyeing him carefully. "Tell me, was he going to shoot me?"
"He-" He swallowed, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know, Em."
"Damn right you don't. It could've just been for protection or something, loads of people have them."
"Emily," Aaron took in a soft breath and nodded, "Yes, lots of people do, but Em, he had a gun in the waistband of his pants, and his hand reached for it. I saw him. What was he 'protecting' himself from?" He shook his head and exhaled quietly, "You can't tell me that's not suspicious. Especially since his file didn't say anything about carrying a gun."
Emily bit her lip, finding it useless to argue with him, plus even with his wool coat, she was still cold. "What's going to happen to him then?"
"He'll be taken in for questioning, the gun will be investigated, and well, the rest kind of depends on that…" He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment. "Em, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes and refrained herself from releasing all the anger she was still feeling. She took in a deep breath and shook her head slowly, walking to the black sedan that had just pulled up, waiting to take her home.
"I am." He followed her to the sedan but caught her hand in his and pulled her back to him. He forced her to meet his eyes by placing a gentle finger under her chin, "Really. I am sorry it turned out like this." He swallowed thickly and tilted his head to the side, "You obviously liked him, and I'm sorry I had to do my job. But Emily, I promise you, I acted out of duty. If I see a gun anywhere near you, I need to spring to action to protect you. No matter who it is. That's the-"
"-The job, I know." She shook her head, defeated. "I know. But sometimes… your job really fucking sucks."
"Yeah." He nodded slowly, guiltily, "Yeah, it does." He watched her shiver once more, and taking one last look of the area, he nodded, guiding her the rest of the way to the sedan. "Stay in here, I'll get your jacket." He made sure she was safely inside the vehicle, the door shut and locked before he dashed inside the restaurant to look for her jacket. He found it hooked on the back of the knocked over chair, and he grabbed it. Aaron glanced at the table, Emily's food still, for the most part, together on the plate. He knew she'd appreciate it if he brought it back to her.
Despite the previous scene, a waiter was circling around the tables, trying to clean up what he could. Aaron approached him with a small smile. "Hey man, I know a lot just happened, but would it be too much to ask for a to-go box? It's for the First Daughter, and I really need this…" He grimaced, taking a look around the dining area. Food was spilt everywhere.
"Oh, uh yeah." He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a box. Aaron pulled a fifty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to the man in exchange for the box.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh. Well, thanks mate." He nodded, offering the agent a smile as he folded the fifty dollar bill and pocketed it. "And no worries, we'll clean it up in time. Good luck with your girlfriend."
Aaron watched the waiter scurry back to the kitchen, before he filled the box with the leftovers of Emily's food that hadn't spilled. At least he had this for her. Maybe it wasn't a complete loss after all. He shook his head and carried the box out to the vehicle. He climbed in beside her and silently handed her the box as well as her jacket and purse.
Dark eyes eyed him over curiously and then stared at the box, slightly confused. "What's this?" She opened it and her eyes widened just a bit. "You brought me the rest of my meal?"
"Well, I guess I did kind of, unintentionally ruin your date, so it was the least I could do…" He stared down at his hands as the vehicle began to speed down the busy street. A moment later, he felt hands wrap around his torso. Glancing down, he recognized those hands as Emily's. She was hugging him. Awkwardly, but it was still a hug, no doubt. Maybe things would be okay between them after all...
"Thank you." She whispered, once again tears springing to her eyes. She blinked them away and chewed her bottom lip. "That was really sweet of you." She leaned her head in and gave him a small peck of a kiss to his cheek. The skin where her lips had touched tingled and he flushed a bit.
The rest of the car ride back to New Haven was silent, but Emily, nor Aaron seemed to mind. They had just made a bit of an improvement and that was good enough for them.
A/N: Wow, okay, again so sorry for not updating sooner. Please remember to review! They help a lot and definitely make for better/faster updates!