Run, Girl (If You Can)

By the time Aaron got home, Keeley was emotionally worn out from both her colleague's rejection and how needy Violet was being after getting home from preschool. The second he came upstairs, she wrapped her arms around him and refused to let go for a solid three minutes. Soaking his love and affection into the very core of her being helped recharge her a little.

"Rough day?" he asked sympathetically.

"Don't get me started."

Aaron's arms tightened around her and he kissed the top of her head. "I expect the full story later."

"Daddy, Daddy, guess what I did at preschool today!" Kaleb yelled excitedly as he circled around his parents.

He finally released her to pick up his son and briefly toss him in the air, making him laugh. "What?"

Kaleb launched into the same spiel he had given Keeley earlier in the car and Aaron listened intently with a soft smile on his face. He was so good with the kids. She fell in love with him a little more every time she saw him interact with them.

Violet came out from the behind the couch where she had finally cornered Dinah and tugged on Aaron's pant leg to tell him all the things she didn't like about preschool. He picked her up too and she snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I don't wanna go back, Daddy. I wanna go to work with Mommy."

"You can't go to work with Mommy because it's dangerous for little kids. But if you're really good and don't cry about going to preschool for the rest of the week I'll let you come to work with me on Monday, okay?" Aaron offered.

Violet's eyes shone with excitement. "Okay, Daddy! I'll be good!"

Crisis averted. Sometimes Keeley marveled at how good with kids he was considering he had no prior experience before the twins were born and didn't have good examples growing up to boot. He was a pro.

When he set the kids down to go change out of his suit, Violet ran off to get him a cookie even though dinner was nearly ready.

"I helped," she informed him as she handed him the cookie.

Aaron reached out to ruffle her hair. "You're such a good helper! Thank you, Vi."

The little girl beamed at him and climbed up onto the kitchen chair right next to his. Keeley had to call for Kaleb three times before he made it to the table. She served up the pasta for everyone but made sure the kids were wearing bibs before she let them eat. They might be out of highchairs but they were still pretty messy.

The kids played with their dad for an hour and half after dinner before it was bath time. They liked taking baths but hated what came afterwards. The dreaded bedtime. Robert had been right; bedtime was the worst time of the day at this age. Neither of them ever wanted to sleep!

Three bedtime stories, two lullabies, and a bit of crying later the kids were asleep in their rooms and Keeley collapsed onto the couch, completely spent. Aaron joined her and she cuddled up to him immediately.

"Want to tell me what actually happened today now?" he asked gently. 

"It was awful," she admitted. "Everybody knew I was there because I bought my way in and one of my research assistants accused me of that to my face. At least the other one seemed nice. Get this—he was my TA about ten years ago and he actually remembered me. I didn't recognize him at all."

Her husband frowned and she knew where his thoughts were heading immediately. "Don't worry; he's married with a kid. I'm just surprised he remembered since I didn't. You meet a lot of people in college; it's impossible to remember them all."

"Who was it that gave you a hard time?"

Keeley recognized that tone. It was 'I'll destroy the whole world if it would make my wife happy' tone.

"Actually, I don't think I should tell you. She shouldn't be fired simply for not liking me. That's childish."

Aaron scowled. "Still, somebody ought to teach her a lesson. You worked hard for your degree. You have as much of a right to be there as anybody else."

His words made her feel validated. She had worked hard for her degree, dang it! She had pulled countless all-nighters, had no free time, and even managed to finish her dissertation while heavily pregnant. She was every bit as much a scientist as the other DOMA researchers.

Part of the reason she was so discouraged was that being a stay-at-home mom had severely limited her social network. When the twins were infants she didn't see anybody outside of her and Aaron's small circle of friends.

 As they got a little older she could chat with some of the other moms at the playground or Kaleb's little league soccer classes but it still wasn't much. One of the things she had been looking forward to most about going back to work was making new friends. If things kept going this way, that dream would be crushed.

"I know that but it's hard feeling like an outsider," Keeley admitted. "I'm going to try and bribe her with cookies tomorrow."

Aaron laughed. "Taking a page out of my book, huh? Well, it works on the most stubborn of people over time. It worked on you after all."

She stuck her tongue out at him even though she had basically thought the same thing earlier. It had worked on her. He had slowly spoiled her until he wormed his way back into her hardened heart.

As resistant as she had been, she was profoundly grateful now that he hadn't given up on her. Rough day aside, Keeley loved the life she had now. She wouldn't trade it for anything.

She tilted her head up to kiss her husband's jaw. "I love you, Aaron."

He responded by giving her a long and passionate kiss on the lips. "I love you too. So much. Why don't we go watch the first Star Wars movie? That ought to cheer you up."

Though touched by his offer, she could think of something else that would cheer her up even more right now. "We can watch it tomorrow. Right now I want to go to bed early, if you know what I mean."

Keeley shot him a wink as she got up from the couch and he followed after her eagerly. He definitely knew what that meant. That was an offer he could never refuse.