"So Emily," the gray haired man across from her smiled, his blue eyes sparkling from behind the lenses of his glasses. "You've been living with Aaron and his son for how long now?"

Emily nibbled into her bottom lip, feeling Aaron take her hand as she thought. "I think about a month now."

"Aaron?"

The brunette nodded. "A little longer than a month," he agreed.

Looking over to the man at her side, Emily squeezed his hand with a smile. "Thank you for coming with me," she whispered, nodding as he leaned in to kiss her head. The FBI agent had refused to let her go into the therapy session alone, afraid she might have an episode and he wouldn't be there for it.

And he was the one who made her go in the first place.

"How many meltdowns have you had so far, with being away from home?"

Aaron felt the younger brunette's hand tighten aroun his. "We say episodes," he nodded, not wanting to have the chef grow upset.

"I apologize," Dr. Broden nodded. "How many episodes?"

The mother of one let her head gently tilt to the side as she thought. "I don't know. Less than five."

"But have they been big episodes? Have you been traumatized recently to cause these?"

Emily could feel her eyes stinging. She felt Aaron's eyes on her from his seat beside her on the couch, and she gave a small smile to the doctor to try and calm her nerves. "My boyfriend back home was abusive to both my daughter and I, and sometimes things trigger that."

"Can you give me one example?" he questioned.

She rolled her lips into her mouth and licked them gently. "The other day, I messed up something at work and I thought one of the waiters was going to get physical with me."

Dr. Broden gently nodded his head, scribbling in the notebook he held. "What made you think he was going to do something to you?"

"His eyes," she whispered, tears threatening to spill as her voice grew hoarse. "He just looked really angry for a minute, and I started having a panic attack."

"Can you tell me your worst panic attack? How long did it last?"

Emily's teeth raked over her bottom lip. "Maybe an hour," she shrugged. "I was sleeping on the couch in Aaron's home and I had an awful nightmare of my ex coming and beating me and trying to take Mia."

"I take it you no longer sleep on the couch?"

Noticing her blush, Aaron looked to the doctor. "She has slept in my bed ever since that night. It comforts the both of us."

Dr. Broden smiled gently at the pair on the couch, having noticed their clasped hands from the momet they walked into the room. "May I infer that you two are together?"

"We're testing out a relationship," the elder of the brunettes nodded. "But nothing physical right now."

Emily hid her smile with her other hand.

"I guess you didn't need to know that."

Dr. Broden watched as Emily rubbed her hand along the FBI agent's arm and he sat back a little in his chair. "Emily, can you tell me how your daughter feels about this relationship?"

The brown eyed woman wiped the tears from her cheeks and quickly nodded. "She loves Aaron and loves his little boy. She already thinks of him as a little brother."

"And if this doesn't work out? The children are in jeopardy, you know."

"I think that's obvious," she shrugged. "But Amelia understands how much Aaron has helped us and if we end up just being friends, I'm sure she'll love that just the same."

The doctor nodded. "And how do the children get along?"

Aaron laughed, thinking about how the kids were acting that morning and the mischief they had gotten into. "Jack looks up to Amelia like a sister, and she loves taking care of my son. And they make our lives easier," he laughed, "with helping each other out and giving Emily and I some time to ourselves."

"Do you help Emily with her panic attacks?" he asked, getting back onto the topic they came here to talk about.

"As best I can. It hurts me to see her hurting."

Emily glanced to the older man at her side with her watering brown eyes.

"Do you think a relationship is the best thing for her right now with the mental state she is in?"

He didn't hesitate to shake his head, his shoulders straightening as he felt himself getting ready to be critiqued. "I don't believe so, no. Emily is a strong woman, and we are willing to help each other through this. She's become my support system very quickly and I with her. If she's hurting, I want to make her better. I think that's a good foundation for a relationship."

Emily's lips quivered, taking in a breath as she hid her face in Aaron's strong neck. She knew exactly what he was saying.

Whether they knew it or not, they were heading into falling in love.