Fitz knew something was up the moment that they got home. He was plucking random knickknacks off the display shelves in the living room - mostly wedding presents - and staring at some of the paintings on the walls - courtesy of Keefe - like they held the world's deepest secrets. But if you looked closer, you could see the pain hiding in his eyes.

Sophie tried to distract him by showing off all the work she had done on her cleaning rampages and by monologuing about Biana's predicament, but she knew he wasn't buying any of it. He was barely even listening to what she was saying to him, his eyes trailing up and down her form. He watched her nervous hand gestures and stared her in the eyes for a couple of seconds and even watched the way she rocked on the heels of her feet tentatively, unsure of how to stay still in that moment.

Suddenly, in the middle of her explaining, he interrupted, "There's something you aren't telling me."

Her mouth went dry. "W-What?" she croaked. She knew playing dumb wasn't going to work, but it was all she knew how to do, in the moment. She wasn't ready to tell him. Not yet. She needed to stall, keep him busy-

He took a few strides forward, reaching for her hand. "There's something you aren't telling me," he repeated. His voice was more firm, but she heard the smallest crack and she could see the raw pain lingering in his eyes.

Sophie pulled her wrist out of his hand and intertwined their fingers, staring up at him apologetically, mouth in a fine line and turned down at the corners. She didn't know how she was just supposed to explain that to him. How could she get herself to say that?

His thumb brushed absentmindedly over her knuckles and she licked her lips, turning away from the intensity of his gaze. Thankfully, he was being patient with her.

"Fitz. . ." She blew out a breath, shaking her head. She couldn't do this. She didn't want to do this. Her brain was already overloading from just thinking the words she was trying to force out her mouth, and tears pricked her eyes.

She didn't want to start crying again. It hurt so much to cry. And yet, it also hurt not to cry. Everything hurt.

She looked back at him, voice hushed and eyebrows pressed together. Her voice was faint as she said, "You can't change some things, okay?" Her voice cracked at the end and her traitorous jaw trembled, so she clenched her jaw as tight as it could go and avoided eye contact again. She didn't want to talk about this. Not now. Not every. She wanted to rewind everything that had happened, done something new, tried anything else in hope of preventing it all from happening.

"Sophie," Fitz said. He reached up with his other hand when she wouldn't respond or even so much as look at him, his fingers delicately turning his chin towards him. He waited until she looked up at him with misty eyes. She looked tired of it all. "Did someone do something to you? Did I do something to you?"

Her heart stuttered in her chest for a moment, breath catching out in surprise at how he could ever think that - how she could ever make him think that. Yes, they had fights, but it was always stupid, silly things like the one misplacing an item and the other getting pissed off. It was never about how they'd mistreated one another because they just didn't.

"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head. "No, that's not it. I'm okay. You didn't do anything." She could breathe a bit better when he started breathing again, taking in a slow breath and bobbing his head at her. He traced her jaw and chin with his thumb, so confidently maintaining eye contact. His other hand was still laced with hers and she held on a bit tighter, swallowing at how his eyes were making her squirm.

"I didn't mean to," she whispered suddenly, eyebrows furrowed a little. "I didn't know it was happening. . ."

"What was happening?" he prodded, confusion and worry laced into his tight voice.

Sophie didn't make eye contact in the silence, still too afraid to look back out of fear that she wouldn't be able to look away. She didn't want to be captivated by his eyes all over again, didn't want to have to deal with the way that they stole her breath, every time, without fail. It was annoying how much control he had over her without even trying - without even realizing.

"I can't. . . " She blew out a shaky breath, becoming more jittery as every second passed by. She was starting to breath more rapidly, gulping in air and fidgeting with Fitz's hands in hers. "I can't tell you."

"Yes, you-"

"No, you don't understand!" she snapped, tugging a hand away. He watched her in shock and she focused on breathing, trying not to have a panic attack because of how terrified he looked. "I can't tell you. I don't. . . It'll. . ."

It will make it real.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "You just don't want to know, alright? It's bad. It's really. . . really bad."

"Then tell me," he begged. "I don't want you deal with these things alone. If something happens, I need you to communicate that with me. We're going to get nowhere if you keep it all inside." He pressed a finger to her heart. "We're a team, Sophie. Not because we were friends, not because we're Cognates, not because we're married. We're a team because I care for you and I love you. And I'm always going to be there for you."

Sophie sniffled, striding forward and wrapping her arms around him. She didn't care if she was being childish, she just needed to be held. To be close to him right then. He enveloped her in a hug without so much as a word and she buried her face into his shoulder. She let out a shaky breath, her body involuntarily shuddering.

A sob bubbled up in her chest and she choked out, "I miscarried."

Fitz tensed. "...What?" he whispered. It was so soft that Sophie barely heard it.

She started crying into his shirt, not caring about holding it back anymore. It hurt. Everything just really hurt. "I'm sorry," she bawled. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry. . . I'm sorry. . ."

Fitz's shoulders were shaking too, she realized, and the back of her neck and her hair were wet. But they stayed there, standing, holding one another through it all.

I'm sorry.