A/N: Thank you for your comments on the last chapter! I'm glad you like the concept of Regina carrying Emma's biological baby :) Now, to bring in some new characters we haven't seen yet in this verse.

Saturday, October 13, 11am

"Hey, Emma, can I talk to you?" Paige, one of the most promising students in the senior company asked at the end of the ballet class Emma was teaching. At their first competition of the season the weekend before, the 17-year-old student had been awarded a prestigious dance scholarship for a dance convention tour that would start in Los Angeles and then move across the United States the following summer. The girl had big dreams of becoming a commercial dancer in LA after graduating high school, and the convention tour was a fantastic starting point. It would give her opportunities to dance in several major cities and explore her options before deciding her next step. Emma had become a mentor to her over the past year, providing insight into dance opportunities in America for the girl to consider after high school graduation.

"Of course. What's up?" Emma asked as she disconnected her iPhone from the stereo in the studio, tossing it into her bag.

"Can we, umm…can we go somewhere more private and talk?" the girl asked nervously, chewing on her bottom lip as she shuffled her feet back and forth.

"Sure," Emma said, a sense of dread washing over her. "We can use the office. Lily is still teaching class for another 10 minutes or so, so it should be empty."

"Thank you," the girl said, struggling to make eye contact as she followed Emma toward the small room marked 'Staff Only' off the main hallway of the studio.

Emma immediately sat down in the swivel chair by Lily's desk and motioned for Paige to take a seat on the sofa. "What's going on, Paige?"

The girl looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. She took a deep breath, and on her exhale, she hiccupped softly as she started to speak. "I screwed up."

Emma quirked a brow, appraising the girl sitting across from her. She said nothing as she waited for the young girl to continue.

"Big time," was all the clarification the girl offered.

"Paige…" Emma coaxed, causing the teen to look up at her with red-rimmed eyes. "What do you mean you screwed up?"

The girl looked off to the side, unable to look her mentor in the eye. "This morning…" she started, but she was cut off by her own sobs, unable to continue.

Shit, Emma thought to herself, deciding to move over to the couch to sit down next to the girl. Her mind immediately went back to that morning when she had been walking into the small studio bathroom to splash some cold water on her face before class. She had heard the tell-tale signs of someone throwing up, which forced her to fight back her own nausea that she was dealing with due to the fertility drugs she was taking to prepare for her egg donation. Moments later Paige had walked out of the stall, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment at getting caught, simply stating 'just some bad Taco Bell after the football game last night' before quickly washing her hands and exiting the bathroom. Emma wasn't fooled, though, as she had gone to high school at a rigorous ballet academy and had then been part of the competitive professional ballet world for nearly a decade. She had seen it countless times before, particularly when dancers were gearing up for stressful auditions and transitions. Paige had always been a naturally petite girl, but she knew Paige was embarking on a very stressful year. It was enough pressure to cause even the strongest dancers to struggle with body image.

"Paige," she started, "what you're doing isn't healthy, and you could cause permanent damage to yourself—"

"No," Paige interrupted her, vehemently shaking her head. "It's not that. I'm not bulimic."

"Paige, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We have a list of great sports psychologists who can help—"

"I'm pregnant," Paige blurted out, causing Emma's eyes to widen and her jaw to drop open.

"Oh," Emma managed to say when she found her voice. That was certainly not the direction she was expecting the conversation to go, and one she felt even more incompetent to address.

"I told you I messed up," the girl said again, her tears returning in full force.

"Oh, honey," Emma consoled, wrapping an arm around the girl's back and letting her cry into her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"No, it won't. And I don't know what to do. My parents are going to kill me; they'll probably kick me out of the house. I'll lose my scholarship, I won't be able to move to the US to dance…no one will want a knocked up teenager auditioning for their company or agency."

"Shhhh," Emma said, hoping to comfort the girl. "How far along do you think you are?"

"Seven weeks. I've only ever done it once," she confessed, blushing again. "We used a condom, but I guess that didn't matter."

"And you're sure you're pregnant?"

The girl nodded. "I was late, and then I started feeling off, so I took a test just in case and it was positive. Then I took another one a few days later to be sure, and I've been puking almost every morning and afternoon for the past week and a half."

"Have you told anyone else or seen a doctor?"

She shook her head. "I can't tell anyone else. My mom will kill me, Emma. And I don't even want to think what my dad will do. He's running for re-election in Parliament. He can't have a pregnant daughter. His voters would turn against him."

"Paige, you can't keep this a secret from them. They're your parents."

"If I have an abortion I can. I looked it up, and they don't require parental permission if I'm over 14."

"Oh. Is that what you're going to do?" Emma asked hesitantly, still feeling far too underqualified to be having this conversation.

"I don't know," Paige sighed. "I haven't decided yet. I always thought I was pro-life, because my parents are, so I don't know."

"Well, you should probably go on prenatal vitamins in the meantime in case you decide to have the baby," Emma offered, thankful she had been reading up on pregnancy recently given what she and Regina were about to undergo The young dancer barely nodded her head, but at least she indicated that she heard the blonde's words. "Have you talked to the baby's father? Does he know?"

Paige shook her head. "No," she said, wiping away tears from her eyes. "He broke up with me three weeks ago. I haven't talked to him since."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Emma commented. She generally tried to avoid the gossip of her young dancers' romantic drama, as they seemed to each have a new crush or new boyfriend every week, and it was exhausting trying to keep track. But, Emma knew enough to know that Paige had been dating a soccer player at her school for the past six months or so and that the girl had been smitten with him.

"He got mad that I wouldn't have sex with him again, so he dumped me."

Asshole, Emma thought, forcing her to keep herself from vocalizing her disdain. I'm so glad I don't sleep with men.

*.*.*

"I'm back," Emma announced as she walked into their apartment that afternoon. She kicked off her shoes by the door, not bothering to put them in the closet, and immediately collapsed next to Regina on the couch.

The brunette was sifting through some paperwork for her upcoming cooking pilot. After talking with Robin, her lawyer, her agent, and the production studio, she had agreed to sign on as host and as an executive producer, with the addition of at least three episodes as director if the show were to be picked up. She had spent all afternoon reviewing applications and audition videos of potential contestants for their sample episode, and it was surprisingly exhausting. "Hey," she said, resting her hand on Emma's thigh as the blonde reclined on the sofa. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Emma nodded, knowing Regina was referring to the migraine and nausea that had woken up the blonde that morning.

"Good. And you're almost done with the cycle, so hopefully as soon as you stop the injections it'll subside. It did for me," Regina said. The brunette had had even more side effects from the drugs when she had gone through the treatment. Emma was having a rough time, but at least she wasn't as violently ill as Regina had been during her attempt.

"I know. And it'll be worth it in the end," Emma offered her a small smile. "And speaking of, you know Paige from the studio?"

"Your little mini-me?" Regina asked, her eyebrow raised. She knew the young dancer idolized the blonde, even trying to dress like Emma, so she liked to tease her about it.

She rolled her eyes at Regina's statement. "Yeah. She's pregnant."

"Oh my God," Regina looked shocked. "The poor girl."

"Yep," she sighed. "She feels like her life is crumbling before her. She was just starting to get some amazing opportunities to pursue a professional dance career, and now that might not be able to happen for her. She can't exactly audition for music videos or Gap commercials when she has a baby bump, nor can she tour the US on that scholarship if she has a newborn to take care of here."

"Shit. What is she going to do?"

"Right now she's thinking about an abortion, so maybe she can still start her dance career next summer. I'm just glad I wasn't ever in her position. I felt completely useless when she confided that in me, and I didn't know what to do."

"So, what did you say to her?"

"I mainly just listened to her. She hasn't told anyone else yet, so I think she just needed to vent…and I think she felt obligated to say something because I caught her in the middle of a morning sickness episode before class. She's absolutely terrified of her parents finding out."

"I remember meeting her mom at your last company performance. What a grade A psycho stage mother. She reminds me a lot of my mother, if I'm being honest."

"Exactly. Except she's very conservative. I'm betting Cora would've driven you herself to the abortion clinic if you had been pregnant at that age and she thought it would interfere with the trajectory of your career."

"Oh, no doubt."

Emma let herself chuckle, despite the morose topic. "Yeah. Well, think of Paige's mom as Cora, but super religious and conservative. I have no idea what they will do if they find out. Paige said she looked it up though and she doesn't need parental permission, so she can always do it without telling them."

"Do you think she will go that route?"

"I don't know. I think she already would have if she was going to, so I think she's still undecided."

"Hmm," Regina hummed. "I'd hate to be in her position. I feel bad for her."

"So do I. I told her to think about it and look at all her options and to tell her ex-boyfriend about it, who, by the way, broke up with her when she decided she didn't want to have sex again."

"God, what a douche."

"I know. But she doesn't want to tell him. And I guess legally she doesn't have to if she does terminate, but if she decides to keep the baby, she has to tell him. I also told her to go to the doctor and get checked out at least, and to talk to her parents. But I offered to talk more with her, too. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I want to try..."

Regina smiled sadly as she squeezed Emma's hand, threading their fingers together. "Just being there for her as a trusted adult will do wonders, Emma. Just…" she trailed off.

"Just what?"

The brunette sighed. "Just…don't do anything stupid that could get you into trouble."

"What? Like what?" Emma asked, confused.

"Like, don't offer to drive her to an abortion clinic, if that's what she decides to do. Her dad is one of the most prominent conservative politicians in this province. If her parents found out, I'm sure they would come after you, even if you didn't break a law. They have a lot of money and power in this town. Don't jeopardize your reputation, the studio or the dance company for this. And I don't want to sound selfish, but with trying to sell this new show and auditioning for things here and there, I can't risk my girlfriend being involved in a scandal like that. 'Local dancer and girlfriend of former Frozen Mirror star involved in a politician's teen daughter's abortion' isn't really a headline we can deal with right now."

"I think you're being a little paranoid, Regina," Emma dismissed.

"I think I have a right to be after everything that I've gone through with my family, Emma. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there will always be someone willing to manipulate you, and some people will stop at nothing for power and to destroy anyone they think might be standing in their way. I just don't want your good intentions and big heart to backfire and screw any of us over."

"Fine. If it makes you feel better, I promise not to get involved in that."

"That's all I ask."

A/N: Thanks for reading! So, Regina has signed on for her new project, Emma is almost ready to donate her eggs, and there's a potential scandal/drama happening with Emma's favorite student and the girl's politician parents. What could possibly go wrong? Do we think Regina is being overly paranoid about potential backlash or is she being smart?

I'm still hoping to update twice next week (Tuesday or Wednesday + Friday or Saturday), but it might only be once because I need to crank out another chapter of Moments in Time, because in that fic's timeline another event is upon us. The next chapter of A New Exploration though is one of my favorites in this entire series, so I'll definitely post it sometime next week. Hopefully this weekend will be productive enough for me that I can get a second chapter of this fic and my MIT fic chapter ready for you all :)

And for those in the US, enjoy the three day weekend! Have a fun and safe Memorial Day.