"Hello?" Alex called out, knocking on the bathroom door. Instantly, the sobs echoing from within stopped. "Are you okay in there?"

The door flew open suddenly, causing Alex to stumble back a few steps in surprise. Emily emerged – eyes red and swollen – attempting to wipe away her tears before anyone could notice them. "Dr. Blake?" she yelped in surprise upon almost crashing into her teacher. She attempted a smile to ease her suspicions, hoping it didn't look half as fake as it felt.

"Emily? Are you okay?" Alex asked gently, reaching out to rest a hand on her upper arm, then realized it was a gesture she tended to use on victims and withdrew her hand quickly, lest Emily think she viewed her as weak.

"No! I – umm..." She wiped away another stray tear, hoping her insistence was more convincing than it seemed. She cared a lot about what the other woman thought of her, given she was both her teacher and her faculty advisor. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine," she insisted, concern creasing her brow. "Why don't you come up to my office?"

"No, really, I-I don't want to impose," she stammered, on the verge of tears again and not wanting to cry in front of her. "You've got office hours and I should be..."

Alex cut off her rambling excuses with a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. "Come. Take some time to collect yourself."

Emily quirked a brow. "Is that your way of saying I look like shit?" she deadpanned, but followed the other woman's gentle lead with a soft, grateful smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Emily whispered, looking anywhere but at her. She was rarely one to share much of herself, least of all with someone whose opinion she valued so highly. Her fingers trembled around the mug of tea Alex passed her; she wasn't normally a tea drinker, but she was grateful nonetheless.

"You weren't in class today," Alex prompted, blowing steam from her own mug of tea, watching Emily over the rim.

"I was sick," she said too quickly, but not altogether untruthful.

Alex raised a brow, but didn't comment further on the obvious half-truth. "Emily," she said, purposely emphasizing her name, reaching across to rest a hand on top of hers, "If there's something you'd like to talk about..."

Emily bit down sharply on her bottom lip, eyes filling with tears again, and she cursed the emotions that were all too close to the surface at the moment, spilling forth with the slightest display of kindness.

Alex had never been the best when it came to overt displays of emotion, preferring to function behind the scenes, better with people's words than she was with people... But Emily clearly needed someone to talk to right now, so she chewed on the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood, waiting for Emily to open up to her.

Something about Alex's softly compassionate smile made something inside Emily crack and break. "I – umm," she paused, sighed, eyes lifting to the ceiling, confession spilling forth like water from a dam. "I'm pregnant."

"Judging by your reaction, I'm assuming congratulations aren't in order?" she said, then winced, wishing she'd said something a little more gracious. She tightened her grip on Emily's hand in apology.

Emily gave an unladylike snort, but made no move to pull away, physically or emotionally. "I guess you could say that."

"And the father?" Alex asked before realizing she might be prying.

"There is one," Emily said and that appeared to be all she was about to say on the matter.

"Would he be...pleased with the news?"

She shrugged, but said in a half-answer, "He's made no secret of his desire for a big family..." Neither woman failed to pick up on the emphasis that it was his desire...

"Have you considered what you're going to do?" Alex prompted, treading carefully lest Emily shut down.

Her laugh was a little hysterical, her hands shaking a hard enough to slosh tea onto her jeans as she tried to take a sip. "You mean, aside from freak out?" She flicked her tongue out over her top lip. "I can't raise a baby – I can barely support myself, even with my mother's help. I'll be applying to the Academy in the fall...how am I supposed to do that with an infant who's completely dependant on me? I can't do this, I can't..." She trailed off, hyperventilating a little, colour draining from her face.

Alex didn't tell her everything would be alright, knowing very well it might not be. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked once Emily's breathing had slowed again.

"Do you happen to know anyone who wants a baby?" Emily joked darkly because, even at a time like this, she couldn't resist being sarcastic.

Alex didn't respond, knowing it was mostly a joke. Mostly. "I can put you in contact with the guidance counsellor – she'll have more resources for you," she offered because it was all she could do.

Emily nodded once, twice, though her eyes were unfocused and she didn't seem to know what she was agreeing to. She dabbed absently at the tea stain on her jeans, long after it had dried.

"And if there's anything I can do...in terms of accommodating tests or..." She shrugged helplessly; she really wasn't very good at this.

"Thank you," Emily whispered. "Really."

"Do you have anyone you can talk to?"

She shrugged again, but didn't meet Alex's eyes. Alex knew what her evasion meant and before she knew what she was doing, she'd swept Emily up in a comforting embrace. Emily stiffened momentarily, surprised, then her entire body collapsed into Alex's arms with the suddenness of someone who was struggling to keep herself together.

For a moment, Alex tensed in discomfort as Emily sobbed into her shoulder – she couldn't remember the last time anyone had sobbed in her arms – but she swallowed it down as best she could, tightening her embrace because it was the only thing she had to offer.

Just as quickly, Emily pulled back as if suddenly realizing how far she'd extended herself beyond the brick wall she sheltered herself behind. "I'm sorry, that was...inappropriate. I should go."

"No, Emily, wait," Alex urged, reaching out to grab her wrist before she could flee and lock her emotions away like a rare bird that yearned to stretch its wings but would never again get the chance to fly.

Emily paused, turned, and there was no hiding the faintest glimmer of desperate sadness that shone in her eyes.

Alex faltered. "If...umm...if you need anything, I'll be here."

Emily bit down on her lip, trying to disguise the ghost of a smile on her lips. "Thanks," she murmured quietly, "It means a lot."

Alex let her hand drop, unsure why Emily's soft smile made her heart beat faster.