Emily managed to keep her stomach under control for all of thirty seconds after the waiter set the plate of paté in front of her. Then, she lost the battle and went running for the bathroom. The last thing she saw was her mother's look of grim disappointment as she fled the dining room, trying her hardest not to vomit all over the Foreign Ambassador from France.

Then, she was on her knees in front of the toilet, heaving her guts out.

"Definitely not a false positive," she texted – plus several puking emoji – to Derek once she finished vomiting. They'd have the blood test results back tomorrow, but she already knew what they'd say.

"Gross," he replied with a few hearts to show he was only teasing.

She was typing out her reply when a shadow darkened the bathroom doorway.

"That was extremely rude to our guest, Emily," Elizabeth scolded. "You couldn't even excuse yourself before running off?"

"I'm sick, Mother," Emily bit out. "Surely that's a good enough reason to be excused from my unwanted diplomatic 'duty'?"

"If you're sick, let's go to the hospital," Elizabeth challenged. This wouldn't have been the first time she'd faked being sick to get out of dinner with some boring foreign diplomat. "Surely if you're sick enough to miss dinner, you require medical attention..."

It was a trap and Emily knew it. Fortunately, Emily had been playing her mother's game a long time. "Fine. If you think it's best to slight our guest, let's go," she called her mother's bluff. It was a risky move, she knew. But as she locked eyes with her mother, she knew she'd won.

The next day, though, her insolence came back to bite her.

When she arrived home from school, her mother was seated at the table with an ominous expression, looking like every villain in every Bond movie ever made, face shadowed and everything.

"We need to talk, Emily," she said emotionlessly.

"...about what?" Emily asked slowly, warily. She made no move to come any closer.

Elizabeth slid a box of pregnancy tests across the table toward her. "I think you know..."

Emily stared at the box like it were a bomb about to detonate for what felt like an eternity, trying to form a response. She'd had no idea her mother suspected anything.

"Shall I take your silence as your answer?" Elizabeth asked, one brow arched challengingly.

This was also a trap.

"You might as well tell me, Emily, because I will find out the truth eventually."

"What is it you want to hear, Mother?" Emily asked, throwing her hands up. "That I'm easy? That I'm a slut? That I give it up to any guy who asks?

"Language, Emily!" Elizabeth scolded, scandalized.

"You're right, I should watch my language if I'm going to be someone's mother. Hopefully I won't make as many mistakes as you did... That's what you're afraid of, isn't it? That someone will find out about your whore daughter who couldn't keep her legs closed and judge you?"

"That's enough, Emily!" her mother demanded, not raising her voice, but menacing all the same. "You know my rule..."

"What rule, Mother? You've never been around enough to lay down any 'rules' – you let the nannies do that," she spit.

Biting down on her back teeth, Elizabeth ground out, "I told you when you started dating that boy that if you got pregnant, you would no longer be welcome under my roof."

"He has a name!" Emily snapped, anger flaring. "And you've never liked him! Admit it – it's because he's black and you're a fucking racist!"

"You will not speak to me like that, I'm still your mother and as long as you're under my roof, you will respect me."

"Well, apparently, you don't want me under your roof anymore," she retorted.

"If you apologize, I'll help you take care of it and we can move on as if this never happened."

"'Take care of it'?" she repeated, voice shrill. "'Take care of it'!? What right do you have to tell me what to do with my body?"

"I'm your mother!" Elizabeth said, smacking her palms down on the table in an uncharacteristic show of anger. "And you will do as you're told. Or you'll find somewhere else to live."

"Fine."

"Fine what?"

"I'll find somewhere else to live."

"Emily..." her mother warned.

"This is what you've always wanted, isn't it? To be rid of me? Well, this is your lucky day! I'm not your problem anymore! You never have to see me ever again – it'll be like I was never born! You finally get your wish!"

"Emily!"

But she was no longer listening. Elizabeth followed her up the stairs to her room where she was furiously stuffing things into her suitcase.

"Emily, be reasonable – you can't leave, you're still a minor, where are you going to go? You can't take care of yourself, let alone an infant...you need my help."

Emily turned on her heel, pointing deliberately at her mother with a sweater forgotten in her hand. "I've never needed you! Not once! You've never been there for me, so why start now? In ten minutes, I'll be out of your life forever!"

Derek pulled the door open, ending the furious knocking, causing Emily to nearly collapse into his arms. "Whoa! Hold your horses, Princess...where's the fire?"

Emily attempted to explain what had happened, but the words came out all jumbled.

Derek folded her into his embrace, gently stroking her hair, whispering soothingly in her ear. Once she'd calmed down, he asked again, "What happened?"

"Mother kicked me out after I told her I was pregnant..."

"What?"

"She said I wasn't allowed under her roof while pregnant, but she'd help me 'get rid of it'," she scoffed, trembling with rage.

"What?" he yelped and she could see the anger rising in him.

"So, I packed my things and told her to never speak to me again." She let out a shuddering breath, seeming to deflate in on herself. "God, I don't know what I'm going to do..." She sniffled, tears filling her eyes.

"Shh," he soothed, "We'll figure it out."

"Maybe she was right," Emily whispered, "I can't take care of a baby..."

Wiping away her tears with his thumbs, Derek asked, "Is that what you want? To have this baby?"

"I-I don't know," she stammered. "I think I want to try..." She flicked her gaze away from his, suddenly shy.

"Then that's what we'll do," he vowed. "Screw what your mother and everyone else thinks."

"Really?"

"If that's what you want, we'll have this baby and we'll be the best sixteen year old parents in the entire world just to prove your mother wrong."

That got a laugh out of her for the first time that day.