"Micah? Can I talk to you about something?"
When Micah turns to look at Emily, he instantly recognizes the look on her face. It is the "I have to tell you something that is going to make you very unhappy and potentially break your heart" face. The last time they had begun a conversation like this, she had told him that she had slept with Will. They were just coming back from that, and now something else was clearly going wrong.
Micah wonders again what he could possibly have done to create such bad Karma for himself over the past year.
Somehow, he manages to keep his voice calm and give Emily a light smile. "Sure" is all he says before following her down the hall.
She closes the door of her tiny office behind them as they enter. Micah avoids looking at the Skin Cancer poster on the wall as he leans against the front of her desk and waits for Emily to summon up enough courage to say whatever it is she has to say.
"I know we're just getting back to a good place with us" begins Emily nervously. As she talks, Micah notices she is having trouble deciding what to do with her hands. Sometimes they punctuate her words, sometimes they are in her pockets. He decides it must be one of her tells. "…And I probably shouldn't get involved, but I really do care about you and your family…"
"Emily?" interrupts Micah, indicating gently that she is rambling. At times he thinks this is one of her more adorable quirks, but on this particular day he isn't sure how much more suspense he can take.
She stops suddenly, standing very still before she says quietly, "I saw your sister smoking in the parking lot."
Micah can't help the sound of delight that escapes him as the tension leaves his body. The sudden release of adrenaline causes him to rise from his seat and do a few quick paces across the tiny room as he rubs his face in relief. "Is that all?" he laughs.
Emily is staring at him incredulously. "Micah, I saw your PREGNANT sister smoking in the parking lot! It's not just about her health anymore. What about her baby?"
Micah suddenly realizes the problem. He stops pacing and plops back down on the desk, holding his hands out in surrender as he finally confesses "Liz isn't really pregnant."
"What?!"
"She did it to convince Mom to participate in the Clinical Trial. She knew if Mom thought she had something to live for, she'd be more likely to agree. "
It is Emily's turn to be speechless.
"She wasn't wrong" he adds in defense.
Emily moves to sit by him on the desk.
"How long have you known?" she asks quietly.
"Since the night you slept with Will" he says shortly, hoping she will take the hint that she doesn't have the right to try to make him feel guilty about not sharing with her earlier.
Emily accepts the chastisement with a quiet nod, but isn't willing to let the matter drop.
"Micah, she starts the trial in two days. You have to tell her the truth. It's not fair to let her start under false pretenses." She says gently.
"What? You're an expert on my family now?" he snaps at her. He knows lashing out at her like this is a childish response, but he is also scared to continue this conversation, knowing already how it is going to end and how hard the next visit to his mother's room is going to be.
"No, but I care about them…and you" says Emily. "We both know the longer you let her think there is going to be a baby, the more heartbroken she is going to be when she finds out there isn't one. This deception isn't you, Micah. It may be the kind of thing that works for your sister, but it isn't you."
Micah stares at her for a moment, trying to be angry, trying to convince himself that she's wrong, but he can't. He has known this day would come since the moment he agreed to Liz's plan. He groans, putting his head in his hands. "How am I going to tell her? What if she decides to not do the trial?"
Emily puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Tell her the truth" she says practically. "Say it was Liz's idea and you were so happy to see her excited about the future and willing to keep fighting that you went along with it even though you knew it was a bad idea. She loves you. She'll be upset, but she'll understand. And who knows, she might surprise you and decide to do the trial anyway."
He lifts his head and looks at her a moment before sighing. "Better go before I lose my nerve," he says with a tight smile, rising from his seat next to her.
"Page me if you need me" she responds with a gentle smile.
He shoots her one last grateful smile before going through the door.
Moments later he enters his mother's room. "Mom" he says, voice breaking a little. "There's something I need to tell you…."