3:30 am.

Emily turned over and looked at her phone. She was planning on sleeping in until 5 this morning, but apparently her body had another plan. She looked over at Aaron, sleeping peacefully with his arm draped over her waist. His breath was deep and even, so she lifted his arm up gently and scooted out of bed.

She walked to the closet and dressed for a run. Before she left her bedroom, she took one last look at Aaron. She walked to the kitchen and pulled her spare key out of her junk drawer and left it on the counter.

5:00 am.

Emily unlocked her apartment door and slipped in trying to be as quiet as possible. She was hoping that Aaron was still asleep. She slipped off her shoes and started the coffee maker. She grabbed a bottle of water and went to the bedroom.

Emily froze when she got to the doorway.

"Hey, good morning," she said cheerfully. Aaron was sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but his boxers. Emily bit her lip again.

"Where did you go?" Aaron asked. His voice sounded concerned.

"I just went for a quick run."

"A quick run? You were gone an hour and half. And at 3:30 in the morning? Em, that's not safe." Aaron hung his head in his hands.

"Aaron," Emily said softly causing him to look up. She walked over to him and put a hand on his bare shoulder. She held up the mace in her hand and shook it before tossing it into the bed and straddling him.

"Next time, you should come with me," Emily teased before kissing him.

"Next time, you should wake me up," Aaron smirked, squeezing her and returning her kiss. Aaron buried his head into Emily's shoulder and smelled her hair. "We should get to work," he said as he stood up and placed her gently on the ground, kissing her cheek. Emily sighed and turned towards the bathroom to shower.

8:15 am.

It was quite the morning already, and although Emily got more sleep last night, she was feeling exhausted. She walked quickly to her office and shut the door. This day could not be over soon enough. She sat at her desk and kicked off her shoes. She took a sip of cold coffee and cringed. She started going through files when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," Emily called as she closed the file and put it back on the top of the stack.

"Hey, Emily," Kendra said tightly.

"Oh no. I don't like that tone," Emily replied shaking her head. "You could have at least brought me donuts, Ken."

Kendra laughed, "I'll remember that for next time. The Attorney General of Virginia is suing the president."

12:00 pm.

Emily looked up as Aaron walked into her office.

"I know you're busy, so I brought you lunch." Aaron held up the bag in his hand before placing it in front of Emily. She smiled up at him.

"Is that coffee also for me?" Emily asked sweetly, noticing the cup in Aaron's other hand. Aaron chuckled, "of course." He put the cup down next to her lunch.

"I'm heading over to the Pentagon, but I'll be back later this afternoon." Emily smiled at him as she stood up and closed her office door.

"I know," Emily said turning back to Aaron.

"You know?" Aaron asked with a smirk, walking towards her.

"The Chief of Staff knows everything," Emily replied with a smirk of her own. Aaron leaned down and kissed her gently.

"See you later."

2:45 pm.

Emily stood in the back of the press room, half listening to questions from reporters and Seth's answers. She still hadn't received the files for tomorrow from her deputy, and she was getting annoyed.

"Thank you, that's all for today," Seth announced. Upon hearing that, Emily exited the press room without looking up from her phone and continued to her office. Her deputy was nowhere to be found, but luckily, the files were on her desk. She sat back and continued answering emails on her phone. She tried to keep one day each week meeting free for herself, so she could catch up on paperwork.

"Emily, did you see this?" Seth asked as he barged into Emily's office and turning on her tv. She gave a little groan and dropped her phone on her desk.

"...Rhoades, White House Chief of Staff, showed up in a button down dress to today's press conference. Fashionable? Or disorderly?"

"Please shut this off," Emily said as she dropped her head into her hands. "We should be grateful. Must be a slow news cycle."

"Should I release a statement?" Seth asked, earning him a hard stare from Emily.

"No, this administration is focused on policies to improve the lives of American citizens. They'll be talking about something else tomorrow." She glanced up at the muted television. "Casual dress means casual policy at the White House," scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Emily sighed. "I'll go apologize to the president."

6:30 pm.

Emily returned to her office and dropped more files on her table. Of course, the president wanted nothing to do with Emily's apologies about her dress. He was more concerned about potential VP picks. They went through this every couple of months or so. He would come up with some candidates, narrow them down with Emily, and then have them vetted by Aaron. Something always came up though. The president was taking zero risks. They couldn't afford to have a MacLeish repeat.

Emily put her laptop in her bag and grabbed her coat and files. She just wanted to go home and relax with Aaron. She walked into his office and dropped the files onto his desk.

"More VP candidates to vet," Emily said softly.

"Will do." Aaron moved the files to a stack on his desk. "Ready to go?" he asked as he stood and grabbed his coat.

"Yes," Emily sighed. She led him out of his office, and they started walking to the parking lot.

"You ok?" he asked quietly, aware of other staffers still present. Emily nodded. Aaron opened his passenger door for her, but grabbed her arm before she got in.

"You look gorgeous in that dress," he whispered into her ear. She could feel the heat pooling in her belly as she looked into his eyes. He quickly kissed her cheek and got into the driver's side.

"What do you want for dinner?" Aaron asked as he put his hand on her knee, causing her to forget to breathe for a second.

8:15 pm.

Emily picked up the leftover Chinese food containers on the coffee table and put them in the refrigerator, leaving Aaron on the couch. She stood in front of the counter and saw the key she took out earlier that morning. She flipped it over.

At work, if Emily wanted something, she made it happen. In relationships, she was usually more passive, but she hadn't been with Aaron since their first night together, and she desperately wanted to be with him again. She couldn't stand going to bed disappointed again. She felt like he barely touched her since that first night, and when he did, she was the one initiating it.

"Hey Aaron," she said calmly as she walked out of the kitchen, "Do you want me?" She knew Aaron understood what she meant because he coughed up a little of the beer he was drinking.

"Emily, of course I do," replied standing up. He looked worried, so Emily smiled.

"You do realize you're going to have to touch me then?" she questioned as she walked towards him, unbuttoning her dress as she went. He watched her. She could feel his eyes on her, and she felt empowered. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him as he kissed her. He pulled away to lift her gently and carried her to her bedroom.

9:00 pm.

Emily was draped across Aaron and buried her face into his neck. Being with Aaron was exactly what Emily wanted. He was gently stroking her bare back, and it felt so right.

"Em, I worry about you," Aaron said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Aaron, you used to be the Chief of Staff, and you survived," Emily mumbled.

"Yes, but you don't sleep, and 90% of your diet is coffee," Aaron's voice was teasing, but Emily knew he was serious.

"Aaron, I appreciate your concern," Emily said looking up at him, "but there are other things I need other than sleep and food." He was staring at her lips again. She sat up, so she was straddling him.

"I need you, Aaron," she said softly before kissing him.