When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child

Sophia Loren

Emery laid awake in bed, watching the sun rise through the gap in her curtains. She wasn't awake because she was an early riser. She was awake because she'd never gone to sleep, not for very long anyway. Her problems in her waking state were wreaking having on her subconscious state, filling her dreams with pictures of Redhawks and Atrians at war, with her baby right in the middle.

A week had passed since her discovery of her pregnancy. And today, she had decided, was the day she had to steel her nerves and let the chips fall where they may. Today was the day she was going to reveal her pregnancy

Emery wasn't ashamed. As far as she was concerned, she didn't have anything to ashamed of. She didn't regret a second of the love she and Roman had shared with one another. And she was looking forward to the day that they wouldn't have to hide it. Her only fear was of the backlash that would surely be directed at their innocent baby.

Her alarm clock sounded off its shrill, irritating buzz. Emery sighed before she reached out to turn it off. Come on, baby. Time to face the big bad world we live in.

Have these shorts always been so tight? Emery asked herself. She couldn't remember. And then she wanted to laugh out loud for worrying about her clothes. And then she reminded herself not to. She couldn't draw any undue attention to herself. Instead she pressed her lips tightly together and made herself watch the people around her.

There seemed be very few not wrapped up in the Winter Blast dance. She remembered Taylor and Julia discussing it yesterday. Well, kind of. Mostly Taylor talked about it, while Julia managed to interject a word now and then, while Emery nodded and pretended she was listening.

Hey, she had a little more important situation on hand.

She was so distracted by trying to appear normal that she walked right into another person. "Oh! Sorry." The automatic apology caught in her throat as she saw that it was Roman she'd walked into.

"Hi." I'm pregnant. She wanted to slap herself.

"Hi." Roman got quiet after, simply looking at her. Oh God, she thought. He can tell! Her sleep-deprived, fearful self thought. No, no he can't that's stupid. Talk about something. ANYTHING.

"Every year students come up with elaborate ways to ask each other to the Winter Blast Dance."

"Well, that explains why I saw Frosty the Snowman at the urinal practicing his Shakespeare." Emery smiled, glad for the excuse to. "And you guys think our traditions are bizarre?"

She looks TERRIBLE, Roman thought. She seemed thin, and pale. Dark shadows that she'd tried to disguise with makeup hung underneath her eyes. Her hair seemed dull and lank. He remembered her illness, immune deficiency, he believed it was called, and wondered if that working its way through his Emery's system again.

Yeah, that's right. HIS Emery. He didn't care what anyone else said. As far as he was concerned, she was his, just as much as he was hers. And when the day came that they could be together, out in the open, he had many a plan to show it.

"How's the Sector? How are you? Are you safe?" Roman smiled. They were broken up and she still wanted to protect him. "You don't really have to worry about me anymore." Never mind that his current problems would give her plenty to worry about. Today after school he had to tell the Hwatab the truth about Castor, and hope they believed him.

"Your uncle, Castor, is a homicidal maniac. Your terrorist ex-girlfriend drugged you so..." Emery looked down momentarily "Yeah. I worry."

"Emery.." It hurt to say it. "You're the one who said that we'd be better off apart." She nodded in remembrance. "Have fun at the dance." But not too much fun.

Emery had planned to wait until the end of the day. But time was moving SO slowly. And she was just passing through the hallways and her classes, being there physically but not mentally. She felt Roman's eyes on her in every class they shared.

Julia had noticed her best friend's state, and had attempted to question her multiple times, only to finally hold her questions at bay by Emery's promise that she would tell her the truth. By lunch time, she couldn't stand it.

She walked to Gloria Garcia's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Gloria looked up from her computer to see Emery Whitehill walk through her door and smiled in greeting. "Emery. This is a nice surprise. Sit down. Is there a problem?"

Emery gave a small, uncertain smile. "No. Yes. Maybe." She was breathing heavily through her nose, like she had just ran a marathon. "I'm pregnant."

Gloria was at a loss. Why would Emery come to her with this? And then realization dawned on her. "The baby is Roman's, isn't it?" Emery nodded, unable to meet Gloria's eyes.

Gloria's first instinct was to yell at the girl, tell her how damaging for integration this was. How people would think that Atrians were preying on young human girls. Not to mention how damaging for Emery and Roman's futures in general. She was ramping up for it to. Gloria stepped around her desk so she could say so to Emery's face. And then she saw it.

How Emery sat straight up on the edge of her seat, ready for a fight. The deep circles under her eyes, speaking of several sleepless nights. Not to mention her pallid skin tone.

Oh, the poor thing looks terrible. I think she's already thought of this. Gloria realized. "Have you told Roman? Or your parent's?" Emery shook her head. And then Gloria realized how afraid Emery had to be for the girl to come to her before the father of the child, or even her own parent's. I think what Emery needs now is a little understanding. After all, Gloria thought wryly, who else knows better about what she's going through?

So Gloria choose not say any of those things. Instead she choose to stand next to Emery's chair and put her hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be all right."

It was far from what Emery expected. She had expected yelling, anger, even outright rage from the lovely government liaison. Instead her calm and, apparent, acceptance of Emery's situation made her relax. At least, she relaxed until Gloria spoke again.

"When do you want to tell Roman?"

I will happily take any advice about my story under consideration. Cause so far these chapters are all I have.

What should the Romery baby be? Boy or Girl?