Her heart warming at the feeling of Aaron's hand tightening around hers, the third grade teacher gave a real smile for the first time in days. With his ex being the one to cause her little breakdown, Emily knew her boyfriend felt more guilt than he should have.

He made her dinner every night that week, stepped back to let Emily and Jack have time for themselves and cut out snowflakes, and he had even bought her a necklace.

She had made him take it back the next day. She didn't want gifts, she just wanted him.

"Emily?"

After just over a month of dating, Aaron had let his son know that it was ok to call his teacher by her first name as long as they weren't in school.

Looking down to the eight year old, Emily smiled. "What is it, Jack Attack?"

The sandy haired boy lit up at the nickname. "Are you going to be at my birthday party?"

The brunette hid her smile at the question. Aaron had been planning his son's party for a few weeks now and let her know Jack would be overjoyed to have her there. "A birthday party?" she asked, her eyes wide when Jack turned to look at her. "When's your birthday?"

"October eleventh!"

"No way," she breathed, "mine is the day after that."

Jack stopped on the busy city street, staring up tot he smiling woman with his jaw dropped to the floor. "Really?"

"Really."

The eight year old ran into his father's legs. "Can Emily and me have parties together, daddy?"

Aaron laughed, letting Emily take her hand away for a minute to fix the bracelet on her wrist. "Maybe, buddy." Walking the last block to his son's school, he fixed his son's tie. "You're going to be good in your classes today, right?"

"Ask Emily, daddy," he said distractedly, grabbing onto Emily's now free hand as his father fixed his hair. "I'm always good."

Emily smirked at the older man when he turned to look at her. "He's right."

Standing, the engineer brushed his girlfriend's straight locks from her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

She could feel the eyes of other teachers on them as she bit her lip. "Not as nervous as I thought I'd be," she admitted. "I'll be ok."

"I'll be back to get you both at five."

Smiling into the kiss, Emily nodded. "See you then." Watching him walk back the six blocks to where he had parked the car, the teacher shook Jack's hand. "Ok bud, let's get inside."

Emily waved at a few students who called her name and led her boyfriend's son toward their classroom.

"Ms. Prentiss, how are you?"

The third grade teacher let Jack run into the room so she could talk to the principal. "I'm good," she nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate it."

The principal smiled. "Good. Your students missed you."

Emily could swear she was blushing. "I'm glad." She knew how to do her job, but the ids were the ones who made everything worthwhile.

Before she could leave to walk into her classroom, she heard her name being called.

"Are you sure you should still be seeing poor Jack's father?"

All Emily did was frown.

The blond walked up to the younger woman, her arms crossed and judgmental green eyes looking the third grade teacher from head to toe. "Sleeping with a married man is bad enough, but one of your student's fathers?" Her smile tensed. "Emily," she chided, "really?"

Emily's brow furrowed. Adjusting her purse so it fell to rest within her elbow, the brunette batted her eyes. "Janie," she almost sang, "I might be taking your advice if it weren't for your not-so-secret affair with a certain music teacher." When she saw those green eyes widen, she hid her smirk. "Tell me, what does his wife think of your private midday lunch breaks out in his car?"

She probably should have felt bad for making the other teacher practically run to the bathroom to clean her smudged makeup, but turning and getting a smile from Alexis made her laugh.

"Badass," the other teacher whispered with a smile. "How are you feeling? Really," she almost forced her friend.

Emily's head shook. "I feel better," the teacher promised. "Do you want to have lunch later?"

"No boyfriend lunch date?"

The brunette woman blushed as she popped her head into the classroom to make sure all her students were ok. Aaron had brought her lunch every day he was able to get out of work early, and each time Alexis barged in and accidentally interrupted their date. "No, he has a long day at work so if he can't come pick us up, I'm taking Jack back home and making them dinner."

Alexis' big eyes smiled back at her.

"Don't say it," Emily laughed. "I'll see you later."

Sitting herself down at her desk, she made eye contact with her favorite little boy and winked. When he laughed and turned back to joke around with his friends, Emily could feel her sense of security strengthen. Haley could hate her all she wanted, that wouldn't make her give up her new two favorite boys.

"Ms. Prentiss?" Daisy asked, raising her hand from her desk as the bell rang. "Are you back for good?"

Emily stood. "Of course I am." Smiling to the excitement she saw on her students' faces, the third grade teacher played with the diamond bracelet she wore. "Happy Monday, everyone," she grinned, writing the lesson plan on the board. "Ok, the first one to get the answer gets a piece of candy."

She could easily hear Jack's scream of happiness over everyone else's.

Laughing, the brown eyed woman turned back to her students. "Who's ready?"