Sabrina's eyes widened as the door to her office opened and the woman poked her head through, looking around nervously. "Noëlle?" Sabrina stood up, smiling, and waved for her to come in. "Léa mentioned that she'd added a last-minute appointment to my schedule; she didn't tell me it would be you! Welcome; come in! Would you like some tea? It just started steeping, so it should be ready in just a couple minutes."

Noëlle gave her a nervous look, her emotions a jumbled mess that Sabrina could barely identify. Still the shame she'd carried last time. Guilt. Disappointment. Anxiety. But also relief. And even… joy? She glanced around the small counseling office quickly before her eyes returned to Sabrina's face, though she remained in the doorway.

Sabrina gave her a warm smile. "Whatever's going on, I'm sure we can work through it together."

Finally, Noëlle stepped fully inside, moving gingerly, and closed the door behind her. Sighing heavily, she nodded. "Tea sounds nice."

Sabrina glanced over the woman – just out of university, if she remembered correctly from their previous encounter. Last time she had come for counseling, Noëlle had been confused and unsure of what to do, having become pregnant while in the Angola refugee camp. The father had abandoned her outright; she had been afraid and ashamed to seek help from her employer or her family. It had taken a lot of encouragement from Sabrina for her to consider asking others for support. Sabrina let out a breath. Noëlle was still clearly pregnant – the baby's emotions stood out to her like a beacon, happy and contented. But Noëlle's emotions…

"Did you see that they just redid the Trocadéro?" Sabrina asked, pouring Noëlle a cup of tea and taking out the sugar. "My fiancé and I went for a walk through there yesterday evening, and it was absolutely gorgeous!"

Noëlle hummed thoughtfully, holding her cup with both hands, and nodded. "Maybe I'll stop by there later."

"I heard that Miss Pinky was planning to plant another community garden, only a few blocks from here," Sabrina observed, leaning forward and observing Noëlle carefully. "That looks like it will be fun to see!"

"I guess."

Sabrina frowned, letting out a heavy sigh, and pulled up her notes from their last visit on her tablet. "We can continue making small talk. But I suppose we should get to the reason for this visit. So, what can I do for you today?"

Noëlle sighed heavily, her emotions shifting back and forth between sadness, guilt, and anxiety. "I guess… I'm not really sure what I should do now," she admitted. "I decided to keep the baby."

Sabrina nodded, smiling. "I'm happy to hear that!"

"But that's the thing – I'm not." Noëlle frowned, a worried look on her face. "I hadn't planned on this – like, at all. It really just happened on accident. I haven't seen Jean since getting back from Angola; I don't expect to see him again. That means it's all on me now. What kind of life will I be able to give this baby?"

"Have you told your parents about it?" asked Sabrina, glancing down at her notes. "You had mentioned them as a possible resource." Noëlle nodded, looking away. Her sadness increased. Sabrina's breathing hitched. "They were angry," Sabrina guessed, giving her a sympathetic look.

Noëlle's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes. I–I thought they would accept it, that they would help me, that they would support me! And they did say that they still loved me, that they would help with the baby. But they were angry and frustrated about it, too. My father – he was just about ready to go and find Jean and punch him – whether because of the pregnancy or because he had left, I was too afraid to ask." She folded her arms over her belly protectively.

Sabrina sighed heavily. "I'm so sorry to hear that. It must have been a shock, to have your parents react that way when you went to them in this time of need."

Noëlle scoffed. "Do you want to know the strangest part? They were both worried that I would never get married with a baby – as if that was the first thing on my mind at the moment."

"Is it a consideration?"

Noëlle shrugged noncommittally, a hint of guilt in her emotions. "I hadn't really thought about it before. I hadn't had any plans, but I also hadn't been opposed to it, either. But then they brought it up, and now it's like it's all I can think about. How am I supposed to raise this baby on my own? How am I supposed to get married or even date as a single mother? Am I going to be all alone for the rest of my life?"

Sabrina hummed. "You can't really know that for sure," she pointed out. "Unless there's something you haven't told me, you can't predict the future. But what I do know is that you will not be alone, alone. You aren't alone right now!"

Noëlle raised an eyebrow at Sabrina dubiously. "You?"

Sabrina shrugged. "Well, yes, I supposed. But no; I mean your baby. You have your baby right now with you, and he or she will be a part of your life, no matter what. Now, that's not the same thing – of course, it's not. But it gives you a reason to keep going. For myself, that was the first thing I thought about: no matter what, I have this baby, who will be a part of my life and will need me."

Noëlle cocked her head to one side, her brows furrowed. Looking Sabrina up and down, her eyes widened. "Wait… are you–?"

Sabrina nodded, smiling slightly. "About a month behind you, I think," she answered. "I knew when you were first here, but it was still very early."

Noëlle nodded in understanding. "What was it like for you?" she asked, a pleading tone in her voice, curiosity coloring her emotions.

"It was… not the same as you," Sabrina admitted. "Although it easily could have been. My boyfriend – he wasn't in Angola; I… thought he had been killed. It wasn't until it was all over that I found out he was still alive. And when I found him again, I don't know – I just… I couldn't stop myself. I had to be with him, to feel that he was there, that he was real. And then…" She shrugged. "I was so scared at first. I didn't know what to do. But Max was so happy – he wants us to be a family. My parents were worried and upset that it happened the way it did, but they are happy for us. Max's mother promised to be there and help me, no matter what happens; actually, she was in a similar situation as you, when Max's father abandoned her and her parents refused to help her."

Noëlle's eyes widened. "What did she do?"

"It wasn't easy for her," Sabrina told her. "She had to work really hard to make ends meet and raise her son. She put her hopes and dreams on hold for fifteen years, until Max was in lycée. But she was able to find a decent job, one that would allow her to take care of herself and her son. And eventually, she was even able to go back and achieve her dream."

"So there is hope."

Sabrina leaned forward. "There is always hope," she assured Noëlle. "We can't know what the future will look like. You may be able to pursue your dream while raising your child. You may need to put it on hold temporarily. You may meet someone else to start a life with, and they will love your baby just as much as you do. Or you might not. But either way, you don't have to go through this alone."

"I know." Noëlle quirked an eyebrow humorlessly. "A couple of my friends from university, they're also expecting now. But they're in relationships – they're not facing it by themselves."

Sabrina hummed. "Have you considered ways that you and your friends might be able to work together? For babysitting and the like, I mean."

Noëlle cocked her head to one side. "Huh. I… actually hadn't even thought about that," she admitted. "But I'll ask."

Sabrina smiled. "Whatever happens, know that you aren't facing this alone. I'm here to counsel you any time you need it. And the charity has actually talked about ways to help people in situations like yours: providing clothes, diapers, toys… whatever you need. If you can't afford it, we're here to help."