Emily and Aaron are excited, engaged (if the pretty rock on Emily's left hand is any indication) and eager to welcome their baby. She thinks she's having a girl and he tells her that there's a little boy in her belly. Everyone obviously agrees with Emily.
A few weeks later, they're at their doctor's office, and the ultrasound technician asks them if they want to know the sex of the baby.
"Yes," replies Emily. They've already talked about this part. This pregnancy is a big surprise itself, and they'd rather know if they're having a son or daughter, so they can prepare for his or her arrival accordingly.
They're informed that it's a boy.
Emily never thought she'd be the kind of girl that cries happy tears but here she is. Then there's Aaron, who's quiet, but tightly holding her hand, kissing it and then her lips and then the top of her belly, once the nurse wipes that awful cold gel off of her.
They elope the following weekend. It's just him, and her and their unborn baby son, and a minister. Only Alex Kirkman knows of their plans, (after all, she's the one who helps Emily find a pretty white dress), and as much as Aaron wants Seth there as his best man, and Emily wants her family and the First Family to be there, they know they can't. But it's okay. This moment is their's.
They're major players in the Kirkman Administration. They don't want their work to cast a dark shadow on their marriage nor do they want their private life to impact their professional life; the world doesn't need to know when they get married.
All the world, and most importantly America, needs to know is that Aaron Shores and Emily Rhodes can get their job done. Their private lives have to stay private.
They have a plan in place. In order to ensure minimal questions and media involvement. It's all about image and perception and sooner or later, they'll have Seth draft a joint statement, saying they've been married for a while (there's no need to share an actual date) and that they're having a baby, and would request the public to respect their privacy.
Emily plans on being on maternity leave for three months, even though POTUS has offered to give her more time off, which she's kindly refused, because she's his Chief of Staff, and she can't be gone for so long. There's always so much work that needs to be done.
There's also the dilemma of her husband stepping in as temporary Chief of Staff, a role he is familiar with; a job that was his first. This is something that his wife still feels the guilt of it all.
The past is in the past but she still hates the fact that Aaron resigned from his position, leaving it open for her. She was never first choice for Chief of Staff, and she's done wonders with it, but it's never really been hers.
After all, Kirkman chose Aaron for a reason. She wonders how bad it'll sound to the public. They started off with Aaron Shore as Chief of Staff, only to have him replaced by Emily Rhodes, only for Emily Rhodes to become Emily Shore, only for her to be temporarily replaced by her predecessor, oh, who, by the way, happens to be her new husband. That doesn't sound strange at all, does it? But hey, maybe it won't sound so strange since she really isn't legally changing her name to take his.
Sure, she's thrilled to be Mrs. Shore, because the name ties her to Aaron (and their son), but to the world, she has to be Emily Rhodes. Her name is a part of her identity, and since it's all about perception, she's holding onto it. She wonders if hyphenating it would solve the problem. However, Emily Rhodes-Shore sounds like a fucking ridiculous mouthful, and after thinking about it for a while, she realizes she's happy with her name, and how it stands for who she is, and what she's done.
/
Aaron is a great husband.
After getting married, he and Emily mutually decide that she's moving into his apartment, because there's so much more space. She obviously decides to redecorate. As great as his place is, she wants it to be her's too. So she spends her limited time off, finding space for her stuff, and arranging things the way she likes them.
Aaron helps too.
When it comes to setting up their son's nursery, Emily makes a few suggestions and buys a crib, and a bunch of other necessary things. She tells Aaron what her plans are for the room, and is excited to get things together. Until she tires herself out real quick, and her husband suggests that she should leave things to him. She has enough to deal with it, and it's not like he's physically carrying a baby, so he doesn't mind doing more of the grunt work for their child's room.
One Friday night, Seth shows up at their door, and hands Emily a pint of her favorite ice cream, and takes himself and a bunch of large shopping bags into the baby's room. Emily shrugs, grabs a spoon and takes a seat on the couch, where she happily devours her some chocolatey goodness and watches an old rerun of Grey's Anatomy.
She ignores the fact that she can hear her husband and their friend yelling profanities (between them those two boys, they're both potty mouths; something really need to fix before the baby gets here) followed by all these loud clings and clangs. They're most likely setting up the crib.
Three hours later, when the clock strikes midnight, Seth walks back into the living room and drops down to sit next to Emily. "Remind me never to have a baby," he groans, as he makes himself comfortable. "Oh and also remind me to seek revenge on Aaron."
Emily rolls her eyes at his antics, and offers him the tv remote. He shakes his head and proceeds to tell her that he's only here for a moment of rest and to tell Emily to meet Aaron in the nursery. He plans on heading out and getting a solid five hours of sleep before accompanying the President to a summit in France. She kisses his cheek, and wishes him a safe flight, before going to see what the boys have been up to.
There's a dim light on in the hallway, and Emily finds herself in her son's room. It looks wonderful, just as she expected. There's a white bassinet carrier on a table, and there's a cupboard full of toys and baby clothes. The theme is a typical blue and white, for their little boy, and she loves it.
There's a nice big rocking chair in the corner, and she can already see herself sitting there, putting her son to sleep, and giving him his bottle. She runs a hand across a Harry Potter poster in the corner (which is definitely Uncle Seth's doing) and smiles even wider.
She sees her poor husband sprawled out on the floor and he's not asleep, that much she knows, so she smiles, before walking over to him, without giving him the faintest indication that there's another person in the room. She slowly lowers herself down onto the floor (it isn't as easy as it used to be, what with there being a large baby bump to consider) and leans over Aaron until she's close enough to feel his breath on her face. Her lips ghost over his cheeks, and his neck, before finding their way onto his lips. She also finds herself sitting on top of him, with her hands working their way across his chest.
She sighs contentedly and tells him that he and Seth have done a great job. "I love it."
And his eyes flash open.
There's mischief sparkling in them as he pulls his wife closer to him. Emily moves a bit, until she finds herself lying flat, with her back touching the carpet covering the floor, and Aaron's arm is under her head, serving as a pillow. They both just lie there, in silence, until they're both staring up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.
"I can't wait to meet him," says Aaron.
Emily agrees. Her son already means the world to her, and she is looking forward to the day she gets to physically hold him. "We'll do everything we can to make him happy."
Aaron nods.
That night, Emily falls asleep on the floor, only for Aaron to scoop her in his arms, and carry her back to their room.
/
She remembers to send Seth a 'thank you' present once he's back.
/
It's 12:45 PM on a Thursday afternoon when Emily realizes that her Braxton Hicks contractions aren't what she thinks they are. They're real contractions which means that she's clearly in labor, possibly a few centimeters along. She has a hand on her back and the other one is rubbing her belly. "Just wait in there a little longer," she tells her son, but it sounds like she's begging. "Come on, just because I don't listen to anyone, doesn't mean you have to follow my example too..."
The Vice President has a video call conference with the German Chancellor and she needs to be there, (not that she has to but she's been asked to) however, Baby Shore isn't in the mood to cooperate, it seems. He's definitely got his parents' stubbornness which could be problematic in the long run. (Who is she kidding? It is going to be a problem in the future)
There's also the very concerning fact that she's not due for another five weeks, and her husband is in Chicago, on some official business, with the President.
She refrains the urge to let out a scream, and suddenly, she's overcome with fear and agony. First, she's scared for the baby (oh god, oh god, no, he needs to stay safe inside for the next few weeks) and then she's in total pain (fucking hell, this can't be real). She takes a few deep breaths and forces herself back into her seat. Leaning back, she reaches for her phone, and hopes and prays to god that the person on the other end answers.
"Oh hey Em!" greets Seth happily. He's just got done with a press briefing and for once, he's only had to address two stupid questions as opposed to the usual plethora of them, which in his opinion, is symbolic of a great day.
"I'm having the baby."
There's a pause at the other end before Seth chuckles nervously. He's heard a thing or two about pregnant women and memory loss but she's already told him this. "Well, yeah, that's kinda a given, Emily," he replies kindly. If he was in the room, he would have rolled his eyes, pointed at her belly and patted her shoulder or something. Silly Em saying silly things.
A wave of contractions washes over Emily, and she weakly tells Seth that she's ready to give birth now. Right now.
Seth barks a few orders at his deputy to man the fort, while he takes care of other pressing matters (mainly his pregnant friend and her unborn child AKA his nephew). He rushes into Emily's office, and tells her that there's a car ready for them, Secret Service agent and all, and that they really need to get to the hospital before he's responsible for delivering a child on the White House floor. He blanches at the mere thought of it. That would be highly unsanitary.
On their drive to the hospital, Emily's face constantly contorts in pain and Seth feels sick. He isn't supposed to be sitting in the car with Emily right now.
This is supposed to be stupid Aaron's stupid job. Seth is just supposed to be the nice uncle that shows up to the hospital with flowers and a teddy bear- after the baby is actually born (and not covered in blood)
His eyes widen in horror as soon as it hits him that Aaron isn't going to be back in time for the kid to be born. He shoots a quick text:
YOUR WIFE IS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH. CALL ASAP!
-SW.
Next thing he knows, he's helping Emily into a wheelchair, and towards the maternity ward, where a nurse takes over shortly. She tells him to give them a moment as she examines the patient and that she'll send word as soon as it's safe for him to come back into the room.
Seth shivers and plants his butt down on the nearest seat. Taking his face into his hands, he can't believe what he's gotten himself into. He keeps whispering curse words under his breath until someone claps a hand on his back, and he turns around to see a male doctor.
"Your first little one eh?" He doesn't wait for Seth's reply only to say, "It gets easier as you have more kids. It'll be okay."
Seth raises an eyebrow at that. "Not mine," he protests. "I'm just stepping in until the dad gets here." He simultaneously curses Aaron all the way to the fiery pits of Hades for not being there right then in that moment. Fucking hell.
The doctor gives him a blank look and walks away, leaving Seth to wonder why the dude doesn't watch the news or he'd know that the White House Press Secretary isn't the one having a child anytime soon. Or maybe he just doesn't know who Seth is (But he should, shouldn't he?)
But that's besides the point. He wanders into Emily's room (way before the nurse gives him an okay) and sees her propped up on the bed. "How's it going?" He asks, just as his phone starts to ring. He takes a glance at it. "Oh, it's Aaron!"
Emily snatches the phone out of his hands. "Baby's ETA is 2 hours," she says calmly.
Seth can hear Aaron's frantic voice over the phone.
"Aiden's going to be okay and so am I," she says, and Seth falters. She sounds like she's trying to convince herself just as much as her husband. "I love you, Aaron, but I'm going to hang up now. Don't worry. We have Seth. See you soon."
"Seth?"
"Yeah, Em."
"I'm scared." It's too soon.
That makes three of them. Poor Seth who is ready to belch, Aaron who is ready to break stuff because he's so far away and Emily, who really wants her son to be okay.
"It's going to be okay." Seth really hopes he's right. "Aiden huh? Nice name."
/
A/N: the next chapter should be the last one of this mini series. Please let me know what you think.
Reviews mean everything to me :)
