Author's Note: Hellooo! I'm back with the second and final chapter and if you're reading this, I already am very grateful that you're actually here. Special thanks to all those who left reviews on the first chapter. I appreciate all the insights so much!

Anyway, here's the second part of the fic and I hope you enjoy it! :D

Chapter 2: IOU

She loved the White House at night. And as Chief of Staff, she usually got to see it on a daily basis when her work piled over-which was almost always. When the hours reached into the dark night, most of the staffers were already gone and the House became a quiet, peaceful space for thinking.

Tonight, Emily Rhodes had a lot to think about, which was why she sat at the edge of the White House landing. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground and her eyes stared into the dimly lit garden by the small fountain. She wasn't far from her office so this little place of hers was incredibly convenient for unloading some steam from time to time. Not many agents rounded this spot luckily, giving her the solitude she needed at the moment.

Out of nowhere, Emily felt something smooth and heavy coming into contact with her shoulders and wrapping her in warmth. She turned to her left with curious eyes and saw an all too familiar tall figure crouching down to sit beside her.

Of course he'd find me.

Emily adjusted the coat around her shoulders so it didn't fall from her tiny frame. She was grateful for the warmth it offered. Her sleeveless dress today was undoubtedly gorgeous in every way but even she admitted it wasn't the best outfit for a cold night.

The two of them sat in silence for a while before Emily finally spoke.

"Thank you," she whispered as she turned towards Aaron. "For what you did back there."

Their shoulders brushed against each other and Emily resisted the urge to lean closer to him and tuck herself under his arm. She was exhausted from the day's work as well as the heaviness that dragged her spirits down. But at this point, maybe—just maybe—things could still turn around.

"You heard that?" He wondered, glancing once towards her direction.

"I was going to speak with Brenda in the lounge when...when I heard you in the next hallway. Sounded pretty angry and I was—"

"Eavesdropping?" He teased as he sported an easy grin.

"Concerned," she finished with an adamant tone before recoiling. "And yes, eavesdropping."

A soft chuckle came from Aaron's lips creating a trace of mist from his breath.

"But yeah, thank you." Emily turned to look at him with a firm gaze, finding herself momentarily lost in the eyes that were intently staring back at her. When he looked away, Aaron spoke in a soft voice.

"Look, I know it isn't easy to be in this job and not many people will get that. People will talk and they will keep talking. About you, about Kirkman, about everything that happened after the bombing. I know you already know that, but if you need to talk about it, I'm always here. Seth too." He paused before pointing out in a lighter tone, "Heck, I'm pretty sure POTUS and FLOTUS too, and how great is that, huh?"

Her face cracked a small smile.

"The point is, whatever it is, big or small, we're here for you when you need us."

Emily felt him studying her face. She wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how. She didn't want to prove Asterick right by being unable to pull herself together. She wondered whether saying her thoughts out loud was a sign of strength or weakness. She wanted to get it out of her system, but it wasn't that easy. She was never the type to open up about these things. She was the type to listen, not talk.

"Hey, I know something's bothering you but you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, okay?" Aaron reassured her, as if he heard her thoughts. "You do you. And I won't ever take it against you."

The gentle reminder did more to ease her nerves. She appreciated how patient he was being and somehow…she knew that no matter what she felt like doing, he was going to go with it. Whether she told him she wanted to talk about something else or that she wanted to be alone, she felt at ease saying it to him, knowing he would understand. And for that very reason, she decided to bite the bullet and let him in.

"It's just…the funny thing about what Asterick said is, I wonder that myself, you know? Why I'm even here. Why I haven't left this job yet. Why I didn't just ask for something else instead. Everything he said...it's everything I think about at night. I've done a good job ignoring it when it's just me talking but I knew one day someone else was going to point it out to my face. And it sure hurt like hell, you know? And it just...it just made me wonder if he's right."

She thought back to that morning's confrontation with Asterick. Sure, Emily gave herself credit for not losing face to that guy and for coming up with a solid response to his words. But deep down, she only had that much to strike back with, and if Seth hadn't interrupted them when he did, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle more.

"Emily Rhodes, why did you compete with me for Office of Chief of Staff the very first week you were here?" He asked with a challenging tone. Their eyes met and she knew they were both remembering that time when they used to rip each other's heads off at the mention of the vacant position.

Her eyes narrowed, but the corners of her face were forcibly trying to hide a smile. "So I would have a reason to say no to my boyfriend's proposal then?"

It wasn't at all what Aaron was expecting to hear from her, and upon seeing how taken aback he was, Emily let out a real, hearty laugh.

"Okay," he said, shaking his head amusedly. "Aside from that obvious reason."

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she started to think about his question. It took a couple moments before she finally said, "I saw that the world people were waking up to that day was in absolute, uncontrolled chaos. They were waking up with fear and uncertainty. And the man I worked for all these years is suddenly someone who can help fix that chaos and counter that fear. And I suddenly had the chance to get to the frontlines and help him do just that. It was crazy as hell but I knew I wouldn't have been happier elsewhere. I wouldn't be happier doing something else than following that man who was going to be serving the rest of the world."

Now that she said it out loud, her ruined morning seemed so long ago and Asterick's words so far away. Her body felt warm and comfortable, and her head didn't ache anymore from overthinking. Beside her, Aaron was wearing a small smile as he looked at her.

"That, Ms. Rhodes, is the only voice you need to listen to when everyone else starts talking." He told her. "I meant what I told Asterick. You run this House like no one else. And I know the people whose opinion matters, sees it. Your staff? They see it. Guests. POTUS. This House knows it. They believe in you. You need to believe in you, too."

I need you to be you..

Tom Kirkman's words rung out to her once more. That was what he told her when he appointed her as Special Advisor. While it stung the first time he said it because she wasn't sure if that meant that being her wasn't enough to land her the position of Chief of Staff then, she knew now what he really meant.

Forget the job title. Forget the formalities. Kirkman just wanted an Emily Rhodes in this House. That was enough.

She was enough.

That was the reminder she needed to seal this day off.

"Yeah," She replied, the faintest of smiles showing on her face. "You're right."

Aaron winked at her and Emily grinned back at him. They seemed to have reached a common understanding without saying it out loud because the next second, Aaron lifted his arm up and Emily scooted closer to him.

"So, what did happen when you said to no Mr. Post-Disaster Acceleration?" He asked, glancing at Emily.

Emily shook her head furiously. "Uh uh. No way are you getting more out of me tonight, Shore. I'm emotionally vulnerable but I'm not that vulnerable."

He laughed beside her and Emily felt each rise and fall of his chest.

"Just curious is all." He reasoned with a sly grin on his face.

Emily reached up to facepalm herself. "Ugh. Can we not discuss the failed marriage proposal right now?" She paused for a while, head in her palm and internally cringing. And yet, she mumbled, "We broke up shortly after I took the job here."

"Weakling," Aaron scoffed.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, looking up at him. She noticed for the first time that at the end of the day, his slicked back hair was starting to revert to its original curly state and she wondered for a moment how he looked like without the hair styling. "In case you forgot, you kissed me after that, so you should be nice to guy for leaving. Otherwise, that kiss wouldn't have happened."

"I'm pretty sure you kissed me."

"No, it was the other way around."

"No, it wasn't."

"You told me to believe in me so I do. I think you kissed me." Emily mentally high-fived herself for that comeback.

"Wow, I give you great advice and it backfires on me so soon?" He said in a jokingly hurt tone.

She stared at him, watching his every expression and studying the features on his face as he tried to build up his arguments against her.

"I mean, technically speaking, we were a little drunk that night, correct? So that means our individual recollections of that night would naturally be—"

"Aaron," she interrupted. "Shut up and kiss me."

That shut him up. And Emily was leaning forward when she heard his voice respond with, "No."

Her confusion took over and for a second she felt embarrassed at the attempt.

"Only because you're emotionally vulnerable right now." He continued, leaving her with her mouth hanging in shock and amusement. She used his words against him and now he was using hers.

Emily groaned against his shoulder. "You choose right now to be a gentleman!? You're impossible."

"Hey! I'm always a gentleman." He pointed out. "Which is why I'll issue you an IOU for now, for that request. But tonight, sorry, can't take advantage of this vulnerable state."

After minutes of more bickering later, Aaron felt Emily sagging beside him, betraying her exhaustion. Her voice was slowly dragging into semi-coherent mumbles and Aaron decided to call it a night.

"Come on, I'll drive you home." He said, pulling her up from their spot.

"No, no, it's fine...I'm-" The latter part of her response was swallowed in her yawn. "Okay fine, I'm beat."

As they drove through the quiet streets of Washington, Emily was passed out on the passenger seat. Aaron promptly turned down the radio as he drove straight to her apartment. Within a few minutes he was double parking in front of her apartment building and turning off the engine.

"Hey," he leaned across and gently nudged her awake.

Emily blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She looked around and spotted her building outside the window.

"I can't thank you enough, Aaron." She said, glancing towards him. "For tonight."

"There's no need." He assured her with a small smile. "You should get some rest."

"Okay," Emily answered as she opened the door and stepped out of the car. She was already wistfully thinking about the large bed that was waiting for her at the third floor of her building but she decided to hold it off for another minute and leaned back down on the open window of Aaron's car.

"Don't forget you still owe me that IOU." Her eyes glinted and the corners of her mouth formed a teasing grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He responded without missing a beat. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Rhodes."

"See you, Mr. Shore."

The next morning, Emily found a large coffee cup on her desk as well as a breakfast sandwich from her favorite cafe. Smiling to herself, she picked up the white paper bag when she noticed the messy scribble on the side.

"Dinner tonight? ~A"

Emily's lips pressed into a thin smile. No rainchecks this time, she thought to herself.

That night, she claimed her IOU.

A/N: Okay so I still am looking for direction for the other Emron fic prompts, but if you have anything to suggest or tell me about, hit me up via Reviews or PM! Would love to hear from the population of shippers here! :D

Thanks for reading! I hope your Emron hearts will find happiness. 3