Alex and Emily stood crammed into the little coffee shop bathroom, hands tightly clasped together, staring at the timer on Emily's phone as it ticked down the final minute.

Alex was practically vibrating with nervous energy and it was all Emily could do not to chew her nails to shreds, but she knew she had to hold it together, to be the strong steady one for Alex who was barely holding it together.

Alex had always been the calm and collected one, the one who always picked up the pieces of Emily's breakdowns, the one who held everything together no matter what. The one thing Emily could depend on in the tumultuous sea of her life. Now, it was her turn to be the anchor and she wasn't entirely sure she was up to the task...

Not when she knew how this was going to turn out.

From her vantage point, she could already see the second pink line, bright as day. Already knew the answer. Had known from the moment Alex had texted her asking her to pick up the test from the drugstore because her parents checked her bank statements and would ask too many questions.

Had known because Alex wouldn't have asked if she wasn't sure. Because they weren't that lucky that it would be negative.

She exhaled a shaky breath, trying to keep her frazzled nerves from fraying further as her mind raced with all the possible ways this situation could spiral out of control. She didn't have the luxury of freaking out right now, she reminded herself as the timer went off and she could feel Alex start to tremble. She squeezed her hand tighter, anchoring her in that moment (the last moment she'd have before everything fell apart...).

"Whatever happens," she prefaced what came next, "Remember that I'm here for you. No matter what." She didn't bother trying to smile, knew she couldn't muster one anyway.

That simple sentence was enough to give away the answer and Alex sank to her knees with an anguished cry. She clapped a hand over her mouth and, for a moment, looked like she might throw up, even if there was nothing left in her stomach to come up.

Emily fell to her knees beside her, wrapping her arms around her, holding her for dear life because her physical presence was all she had to offer in that moment. One hand stroked up and down her back as she sobbed breathlessly.

"What am I going to do?" Alex begged, choking on each syllable. "I can't have a baby! I can't... I can't..." She was hyperventilating then, unable to get any further words out.

"We don't have to decide anything right now, okay?" Emily soothed. "One step at a time, right?"

"How did this even happen?" Alex demanded, suddenly angry, pushing her away. "I took the morning after pill like you said and it didn't do a damn thing!"

Emily did a quick Google search on her phone, then winced. "Apparently, it's only like sixty percent effective after twenty-four hours," she informed her.

"So, it's my fault?"

"What? No! That's not what I..." She exhaled slowly, gripped Alex's shoulder to ground her. "Alex, none of this is your fault and we can't go back and change any of it. But we do have to deal with it moving forward."

"Why do you keep saying we?" she asked, half demand, half petulant whine.

Emily looked at her like it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard her say. "Because we're in this together. I don't care if you don't want me here, I'm going to be whether you like it or not. You need someone beside you."

"But why?"

"Because I love you, Alex! I've always loved you and that's not about to change any time soon."

For a few moments, a laden silence followed as Alex seemed to decide what to do with that information, whether she truly believed it...

For her part, Emily was glad to have finally said the words aloud. She reached over to stroke away the stray hairs that had stuck to Alex's tear-stained cheeks. Then, one hand resting on her cheek, she sighed, biting back the urge to lean in and kiss her. "You should probably take a few days to weigh your options," she murmured instead. "Go home, get some sleep and..."

"I can't go home," Alex insisted, interrupting her guidance. "Everything makes me throw up and sooner or later they're going to figure out why – assuming they don't hear the rumours first..." She laughed a little frantically. It was a small miracle they didn't know already...

"You can come home with me, my mother is out of town for a week," she offered. Then, seeing the wariness in her eyes, she added softer, "You can have the guest room." She tried not to let on just how deep it cut her that Alex no longer seemed to fully trust her (tried to remember that she'd just been violated in a major way and probably didn't fully trust anyone just then).

Alex nodded once, twice, swallowing thickly. "Yeah, that would be nice." She attempted a smile.

Emily returned the smile – a little softer, a little more genuine. "Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" she encouraged, helping her to stand.

"Are you saying I look like shit?" she asked, joking weakly. For the briefest of moments, she smiled, a familiar twinkle in her eyes.

Emily smiled, cupping her cheek, thumb tracing gently along her cheekbone. "There it is," she murmured, "That beautiful smile."

Alex cleared her throat bashfully, avoiding eye contact as Emily wet a paper towel and mopped the tears off her puffy cheeks.

"Before we go home, you need to eat something," Emily insisted. "You need to take care of yourself while we make a decision."

"I'll just throw it up," she dismissed.

"Just a croissant, then. Some juice. Anything. Then, if you throw that up, I'll hold your hair back, okay?"

Without any words, Alex threw her arms around Emily's neck, holding on for dear life.