"Are you alright?" Alex asked, startling Emily out of her trance. "You seem distracted." It wasn't accusatory, merely concerned in her gently maternal way.

Emily looked up from the paper she was supposed to be grading with a blank stare. She hadn't absorbed a word of it, even though she'd read it three times. She tapped her pen a few times against the desk in thought, then sighed and shook her head. "I have an ultrasound this afternoon..."

"Excited?" Alex asked.

"Fucking terrified," Emily admitted dryly. She shook her head again, teeth worrying her bottom lip. She suddenly seemed intensely interested in the surface of the desk, eyes determinedly avoiding the other woman's gaze. "They're going to show me this baby and I'm afraid I'm going to feel this connection, that I'm going to want it...is that weird?" Her eyes suddenly flickered up to meet Alex's and the fear swirling there was almost breathtaking.

"I think that's normal," Alex assured her. She attempted what she hoping was a soothing smile, reaching across the desk to rest a hand on top of hers.

Emily let out a shaky breath, but didn't pull her hand away. "But then, I think, if I don't feel anything for this baby – my own flesh and blood – growing inside me, does that make me a monster?"

"Of course not," Alex insisted vehemently. "You're allowed to have whatever emotion comes up, even the less than maternal ones. You're human."

"Well, being human sucks sometimes," Emily muttered.

Alex nodded her agreement, but didn't comment further. "Your boyfriend must be excited at least."

Emily rolled her eyes, letting out a breath like she was absolutely exhausted. "I didn't tell him. I really can't handle an argument right now..."

"Still not sold on adoption?" Alex asked, eyes soft and sympathetic.

She scoffed. "If he got to see the baby, I'd never convince him to give it up." She shook her head. "He's stuck on this picture of us as a perfect family with me as the obedient stay-at-home wife and mother...and I'm not sure that's in the cards for us. Not with the life he leads." Her eyes were unfocused, lost in thought.

For a moment, Alex was stunned into silence by that admission, pieces slowly falling into place about who this man was...leaving behind even more questions and more than a few concerns. Then, she asked, "So, you're just going by yourself?"

"Well, I don't have any friends and I don't even know what country my mother is in, so..." She shrugged. Then, more to herself than Alex, she remarked, "I should probably tell her I'm pregnant one of these days."

"Did you..." she asked tentatively, "Did you want some company? I mean, if you wanted... I don't mind coming with you."

"Really?" Emily asked, eyes wide, "You'd do that?" She seemed shy, almost embarrassed by her eagerness, but her smile was hopeful.

"If you want me to," she said, her own smile that same mixture of shy and hopeful.

"Are you sure this isn't too awkward?" Emily asked yet again, squirming around on the exam table, paper crinkling underneath her noisily.

Alex reached over to squeeze her hand with a reassuring smile. "I'm happy to be here for you."

Emily gave a watery little laugh, grateful tears welling in her throat and she silently cursed hormones and her suddenly over the top emotions. "That might be the first time anyone's ever said that to me."

Alex's responding look was sad, her heart going out to Emily who seemed so very alone in her time of need. Not for the first time, she wondered about the young woman and where she'd come from that had left her so very broken, yet stronger than Alex herself had ever been.

Emily attempted a smile, hating the pity that saddened Alex's eyes. "What about you?" she asked, changing the subject. "Any kids?"

Alex's expression fell further, though she tried to hide it. She shook her head. "I had a hysterectomy when I was younger – my mother died of uterine cancer and I had the gene markers that predisposed me for it as well, so they recommended the procedure as a precaution."

"Oh..." Emily said softly, digesting that information, cursing her careless words (even if there was no way she could've known). "I'm sorry."

Alex shook her head, gave her a reassuring smile to assure her no harm had been done. But, as the doctor arrived and commenced the exam, all she could think about was how she'd never know what any of this was like – to grow a child inside her, to have that connection with her own flesh and blood, to experience all the unique emotions that came that first moment she held that child in her arms after nine months of waiting. Most of the time, she was at peace with that, but some days were harder than others...

She was effectively distracted from her quickly spiralling emotions by Emily's clammy hand reaching out to clasp hers as the doctor started up the ultrasound monitor. Alex met her gaze and attempted a comforting smile, trying to hide the little spark of jealousy that she was none too proud of from crossing her face.

Then, the room was filled with the hoofbeat sound of a tiny heartbeat and Alex felt all the air leave her lungs, felt every negative emotion leave her until all she could feel was the awe of witnessing this tiny miracle. She looked to Emily who had one hand clapped over her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

Emily nodded, but seemed unable to form any words. She just squeezed her hand tighter around Alex's.

"Thanks," Emily said, a little awkwardly as she wiped the jelly from her stomach and pulled her shirt back into place. "For coming with me."

"Any time," Alex promised. "Really." Emily just smiled softly in response. "How do you feel now?" she asked, nodding to the sheet of ultrasound images in Emily's hand.

Emily shook her head. "I have no idea," she admitted. "But I know this baby deserves the world...and I can't give it that."

"What if I could?" Alex blurted out.

"What?"

She hadn't planned on saying that, but now that the words were out there, she decided to forge ahead and put voice to the thought that had been plaguing her since that first day she'd caught Emily crying in the bathroom. "What if I adopted your baby?"

For several moments, the two women blinked at each other in stunned silence.