Emily clung tightly to Derek's hand as they crossed from the parking lot to the mass of assembled students milling about as they waited for the ceremony to start. She was certain there were a hundred sets of eyes or more watching her with her huge protruding belly, an outsider even though she'd so recently shared a classroom with many of them.

Derek, of course, easily sensed her anxiety and wordlessly squeezed her hand in a silent show of support. He knew that the only reason she was willing to endure this social punishment was to support him.

(Technically speaking, it was her graduation too, but she'd been resolute that under no circumstances was she going to walk the stage.)

"I'm proud of you," Derek murmured, leaning in to kiss her temple.

"For what?" she asked, "I didn't do anything." She leaned into his side, relishing in the affections.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're here," he said, "Even though I know you'd rather be anywhere else..."

She shrugged slightly. "It's not everyday my baby daddy graduates from high school," she pointed out.

He laughed softly. "I might not have, if it weren't for you pushing me every step of the way..."

"What's a girlfriend for?" she teased.

He pretended to think on the matter for a moment, then winked playfully. "If it's my girlfriend we're talking about? She's good for everything...just don't tell her I said that or she'll get a swelled head."

Leaning in to kiss him, she whispered against his lips, "You're one to talk..."

He looked like he would have liked to banter more, but the ceremony was about to start, so their playfulness was cut short, leaving Emily to find Fran and his sisters.

She didn't make it very far, though, before she crossed paths with Derek's ex-girlfriend Savannah... Emily had made it her mission to avoid contact during her brief stint at high school, but she knew Savannah knew who she was. This was made abundantly clear when she drawled, "Hello, Emily..."

Emily sighed heavily. "Hello, Savannah," she said politely.

"I'm surprised you'd show your face today," Savannah said, "I thought you'd be too ashamed to show the evidence of your trashiness."

"Don't," Emily said firmly. At Savannah's raised brow, she repeated, "Don't talk about my son like that."

Savannah barked out a laugh. "So, you're keeping it,then?" She shook her head. "I guess once you make a mistake, you might as well own it... I have to say, though, I never thought Derek would be the one to make this particular mistake. I guess he's not immune to your slutty charms."

And, since Emily had never been able to resist a catfight, she lashed out, "You're just bitter he didn't want you."

Savannah glowered – apparently she'd successfully touched a nerve.

"You wish so badly you could be me right now," Emily continued with a smirk. "You may have gotten a high school diploma, but I've got a diploma and Derek Morgan."

Savannah spent several moments struggling to come up with a response amidst her surging anger. Eventually, she hugged, stomped her foot, and snapped, "Some of use have a ceremony to participate in... Have fun being a whore."

The problem with Derek's graduation ceremony was that it was outdoors. In the middle of summer. And Emily was exceedingly hot...which made her pissy.

She was doing her best to not lose her temper as the ceremony wore on and on, but she wasn't necessarily all that successful. (It was just lucky for her – and everyone else – that no one tried talking to her.)

By some small miracle, she made it through the ceremony...until the end, when she stood to go give Derek a hug and her legs gave out from under her.

She locked eyes with Derek as she reached desperately for a nearby chair and she could see panic wash over him as she sat back down to prevent herself from hitting the ground.

The problem, though...is that she was heavily pregnant and everyone notices when a heavily pregnant woman nearly faints. In the next moment, people were swarming around her to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine," she tried to insist, but her voice warbled. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, her vision swimming.

Fran rested a hand on her back. "Put your head between your legs, Dear," she instructed.

Doing as Fran suggested, Emily attempted to regain control of her breathing and trying not to panic. She could hear Derek struggling to make his way through the amassed crowd and when she looked up, she met his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry..."

"What for, Princess?" he asked, kneeling in front of her.

"Ruining your big day..."

He cupped her cheeks, smudged away an errant tear with his thumb. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Princess – you didn't ruin anything," he soothed.

Her bottom lip wobbled just a little, clearly full of disbelief.

He leaned in to kiss her softly. "You didn't do it on purpose, Em," he pointed out, "You didn't ask for a health crisis." Those were the wrong words to use, though, because she choked on a nervous sob; what little colour had been in her face visibly drained. "Okay, okay," he soothed, "I'm sure it's not a crisis. But just to be safe, we're going to the hospital, alright?"

"But what about..." she started to protest.

He shook his head. "I'm taking you to the ER, Princess – no arguing allowed."

"I'm sorry," she repeated for about the eight hundredth time. "I'm sorry for ruining your graduation."

Derek glanced over at her as they pulled up to a red light on the way home from the hospital. "Stop apologizing," he said, "You didn't have low blood pressure intentionally."

"Still..." she said with a little shrug. "It seems like all I do lately is make your life...not fun."

He waved away her concerns because they'd already had this conversation. "At least we have a definitive day for his arrival," he said, trying to make her see the positive.

They'd scheduled her for an induction in the coming weeks because her amniotic levels were getting a little low.

Emily, however, was less than thrilled by that development. She wanted to go into labour naturally, but it seemed that things were determined not to go her way lately.

"Cheer up, Princess," he encouraged, "It's almost time to meet our little lion cub."

"I know."

"But...?" he prompted.

She heaved a sigh. "I don't want to fail at this too."

"Fail?" he repeated, "Too?"

She nodded. "I can't give Simba everything he deserves in life as a teen mom – that's just a fact. But I at least wanted to give him life the right way."

He slammed on the brakes, pulled a hard left into a McDonald's parking lot off the highway. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're being ridiculous." At her raised brow, he explained, "There is no 'right way' to have a baby. If you want to induce naturally, we'll try that, but get it out of your head that you're not doing this correctly, okay?"

She nodded slowly but said nothing.

"Let me hear you say it."

Pouting, she repeated, "There is no correct way to give birth to our son."

"Good girl," he praised, leaning in to kiss her temple.

"Since we're here, can we get burgers?" she asked, batting her lashes.