Run, Girl (If You Can)

When Aaron arrived home he was more than a little confused seeing Alice Kelly parked on his couch. He quickly kissed his wife before asking what she was doing there.

"I ran into Alice at the park earlier. She needs a place to stay for a little while and we have plenty of guest rooms," Keeley explained. "I was actually going to ask if you could watch the twins for a while so we could go get our nails done."

His eyes narrowed. "You hate getting your nails done. You always do it yourself."

She pulled him aside and whispered. "Alice is having a bad day; she's lost everything that matters to her. She likes getting manicures so I want to try and cheer her up."

A small indulgent smile crossed his face as he hugged her. She was always thinking about other people first. He was a bit put out that he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her while Alice was here but she could definitely use a person like Keeley right now so he would let it slide.

"Alright, go have fun. Have they been fed recently?"

"Yes. Their diapers will probably need changing soon. We already ate; there's still some food left warming in the Crock Pot for you. I should be back in time to help put them to bed but in case I'm not you know what to do."

She kissed his cheek before kissing both of the babies goodbye and grabbing her purse on the way downstairs. Alice shot him an apologetic look as she followed his wife that Aaron waved off.

He had wanted Alice to leave her husband; he should have expected she would latch onto Keeley. She was the kind of person that lonely people tended to gravitate towards. Her warmth drew them to her like moths to a flame.

He shook his head and sighed. Things were about to get crazy around here. If he knew his wife, she was going to twist herself into a pretzel to help Alice until she got things figured out.

Aaron's attention turned to his children babbling on the floor. He squatted down next to them with a soft expression on his face.

"Hey, babies. Daddy's home."

They both smiled at him and stretched their arms out wanting to be picked up. Now that they could hold their heads up he could technically carry both of them at once. He gave into their demands and they cooed in delight.

It was good to be home. His workload shouldn't have increased too much from vice president to CEO but there were a lot of things to settle because of the sudden change in leadership. It didn't help that his father refused to cooperate.

Alistair had apparently locked himself inside his house as reporters kept trying to crowd it following the shocking news Gray released. He wouldn't answer any of Aaron's calls as he tried to complete the handover.

Oh well. He should have expected this. Of course his father wouldn't be happy at being deposed.

He had to admit he was slightly curious how his cold, proud mother had reacted to the news but he didn't care enough about her to inquire about her well-being. After all, she had never cared about him.

Violet tried tugging at his tie and Aaron realized he should have taken it off before picking her up. He removed it and tossed it onto the other end of the couch.

Honestly, he should have gotten changed before picking her up too. Drool was all over his suit jacket. He would have to send it down to the dry cleaners' on one of the lower floors of the building.

"Ah, Violet, you're so cute but so messy," he sighed. She smiled at him in response as if she knew what he was saying.

He planted a kiss on her head before giving a little attention to Kaleb, who was fussing. It was difficult managing two babies by yourself. Sometimes he wondered how Keeley managed to do it day after day while he was gone.

She was an excellent mother. Their children were happy, well-adjusted infants under her care. As they grew up, they would never doubt they were loved.

Aaron was actually a bit jealous. His childhood hadn't been anything like that. The only warmth he ever got was from people his parents paid to take care of him and they had a high turnover rate. He couldn't even count the number of nannies he went through.

Though he felt bad that Keeley's dream had been deferred yet again, he was grateful she had chosen to stay home with their children until they were old enough to go to preschool. They needed her warmth and love while they were this little.

He couldn't help but wonder how different he would have turned out if his own mother had given him even a fraction of the attention his children got from Keeley. Even though Roslyn Hale's pride was shattered to pieces right now because the whole world knew she had been cheated on he couldn't find it within himself to spare her any sympathy.

Aaron wondered if she was even hurt beyond her embarrassment at being publicly shamed. As far as he had seen, his mother didn't harbor any actual feelings for his father. He didn't think she had a heart.

Then again, people had accused him of the same thing and that obviously wasn't true. What exactly went on inside that woman's head? He had always assumed it was full of nothing but shallow thoughts of jewelry, clothes, and barely concealed gossip.

What was it like actually having a good relationship with your mother? Gray had loved his mother enough to resort to murder. When Keeley spoke of her mother, it was with a mixture of sorrow and fondness. She kept up the traditions Monica Hall had started to honor her memory.

Roslyn Hale had never done anything as a mother to spark any kind of devotion. As far as he knew, she hadn't been actively involved in the ectopic pregnancy scheme but she was one of the main reasons Keeley had been so miserable during their first marriage.

Mothers-in-law were people to be feared and respected in that social circle. Keeley was forced to cater to her every whim even while knowing Roslyn was looking down on her. There was no love lost between those two.

Aaron harbored no positive feelings for her anyway because she was so distant but after Keeley died and he realized how miserable she had truly been because of his mother things got even worse.

No, he didn't feel sorry for her. If anything, she deserved what she was experiencing now.  Karma came for everyone in the end.