Run, Girl (If You Can)

"How do you tell your boss about someone without making it seem like you're tattling so they won't get in trouble?" Keeley asked without preamble as soon as Aaron arrived home.

She blinked up at him expectantly as her arms were around his waist. He chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead.

"That's the first thing you have to say after not seeing me all day? You didn't even text me at lunchtime."

"Sorry, somebody sat by me and struck up a conversation. They helped me realize what the problem with my research assistant is."

The kids were playing upstairs in Kaleb's room so Keeley was able to explain things to him as she worked on dinner. Once she was done, she waited patiently for him to process what she said and offer some advice.

Aaron thought about it a moment. She couldn't help but notice how he looked especially handsome when he was concentrating. No wonder so many women preferred reliable, hard-working men.

"This one is a bit tricky. If you don't word things exactly right, your boss will think you're trying to get rid of her because you aren't satisfied with her work. That could get her in trouble and she would resent you even more."

"I know," Keeley sighed. "That's why I'm asking an expert."

He smiled at the compliment and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's simple, really. Dr. Butler will do anything you ask. All you have to do is find another research assistant to replace her from the outside and then request she be sent back to where she was before."

Keeley thought about it. It was brilliant and straightforward. She wouldn't need to say a word about Kate's attitude or performance if she wanted to bring in someone familiar that she had worked with before. She had just the person in mind, too.

Erica recently finished some post doc work and had such a hard time finding a job that she was currently working in a vastly underpaid blood technician job at a hospital. She would be happy to get a raise and work in a prestigious laboratory.

They had worked together before, though it might be a bit strange to suddenly be a rank above her friend. It wasn't too late in the day to text her.

'If I happened to have a possible job as a research assistant for you, would you be interested?'

She replied immediately. 'Are you kidding me? You better not be joking right now. Anything would be better than this. I didn't spend eight years of my life in school to be handling blood samples all day'

'Awesome. I'll get back to you tomorrow after I talk to my boss' Erica simply sent a thumbs up emoji in response.

Keeley grinned up at her husband. "You may have just solved the problem for me."

"Does that mean I can get a kiss as a reward?"

She rolled her eyes but obliged. He was so shameless sometimes but she secretly loved it.

The twins came downstairs in the middle of their make out session in the kitchen. They appeared curious rather than horrified. Keeley and Aaron normally only did quick pecks in front of the kids.

"What are you doing?"

They jumped apart immediately at Kaleb's question. Keeley's face was bright red from being caught but Aaron was cool as a cucumber. He stood beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Kissing. It's what mommies and daddies do to show they love each other."

"You love Mommy a whole lot, right Daddy?" he asked innocently.

"Yep. I love Mommy the most."

Violet pouted. "What about me?"

Aaron immediately bent down to pick up both of them. "I love all of you the most. But it's a little different because Mommy is my wife and you two are my kids."

"What's a wife?" Kaleb asked.

Keeley was barely managing to keep it together. They were so young and already asking these kinds of questions! She really wanted to laugh. Aaron had to answer since she was sure if she spoke she would lose her composure completely.

"Well, there are different kinds of love. I love you two because we're family. But if you really love someone who isn't your family, you can marry them and they become your family too. If you marry a woman, she's your wife. If you marry a man, he's your husband."

"So you're Mommy's husband," Kaleb concluded.

Violet's eyes lit up with understanding. "I wanna marry Noah!"

That was the final straw. Keeley broke into giggles. Her innocent statement was too cute! She would have to tell Jennica later.

"Mommy, why are you laughing?"

She patted her daughter's head. "Because you're cute and it makes me happy."

Violet beamed. "I'm cute! Be happy, Mommy!"

"Am I cute too?" Kaleb asked, feeling a bit left out.

"Of course you are. I have the cutest kids in the whole world," Keeley said before kissing the top of his head.

Both children were appeased and scrambled to get down and make their dad come play with them. She was able to finish dinner in peace though she was still internally laughing at the conversation that just went down. Her kids really were too cute.

===

Keeley stood as confidently as she could in front of Dr. Butler after presenting her proposal. She stated it in a way that made it seem like she was doing her friend a favor and that it would help her research flow more smoothly since she had worked with Erica before.

Dr. Butler seemed eager to do whatever she wanted but he had a frown on his face. "I would love to help you, Doctor Hale, but three research assistants at a time is a bit much for your type of research."

She shrugged as nonchalantly as she could though this was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"I was talking to Doctor Graham yesterday. I think he could use some more help with his research. Didn't Kate used to work on his team? She could go back to the way things were."

He bought her excuse hook, line, and sinker. Excellent. Keeley left the office with a promise to bring Erica in on Monday. Now all she had to do was tell Kate the good news. The next few days should be smooth sailing since she was getting what she wanted.