A/N: it's time to find out the incredibly obvious reason why Emma's been feeling sick in the mornings.
Emma groaned as she leant over the toilet bowl once more. This was getting ridiculous she mused as she sat back against the cubicle door and wiped her sweating brow. For once in her life she was looking forward to her doctor's appointment that afternoon, if only to have some answers about what was making her feel so rotten.
Returning to her room, Red glanced up at Emma from her mirror in which she was applying eyeliner. She had noticed how often the blonde was being sick in the mornings but when she asked, Emma had dismissed it as nothing. The brunette had another theory but she kept it to herself for now.
"Feeling better?" she asked as she went back to perfecting her makeup.
"Barely," Emma said, flopping down onto her bed.
"Got any of those nausea pills left?"
"Two but they don't work that well," Emma said, her hands rubbing soothing circles over her stomach. "I'll be ok in a bit."
"You going to see the doc today right? Maybe she can provide some answers."
"Hopefully," Emma nodded, staring at the calendar.
Friday 13th March. She had been inside for an entire month. Exactly one eleventh of her sentence had been served. Only ten more months left.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Red offered, standing up and placing her makeup bag back in her cabinet.
"No thanks," Emma said. "I think Booth is gonna be there anyway."
"Ok," Red shrugged. "Breakfast?"
"Yep," Emma said, standing up and following her friend to the dining hall.
They met Snow and French in line for food, the two of them having an animated discussion about which Harry Potter book was the best.
"I still maintain Chamber of Secrets is highly underrated," Snow said, folding her arms. "It sets up so much of the storyline. It has the first horcrux in it. We learn about Voldemort's family and everything."
"Yes but Prisoner of Azkaban has Sirius in it. And werewolves. And Wormtail becomes human again which starts the whole ball rolling for the rest of the storyline," Emma butted in, glad of something to distract her from her roiling stomach.
"I still maintain nothing can beat the last book," French argued. "Everything is pulled together and explained so perfectly. It shows how amazingly J K Rowling planned out the entire storyline before she even started writing. She's phenomenal and I think Deathly Hallows shows just how talented a story teller she is."
"Why do you care so much about these books?" Red asked. "Aren't they for children?"
"You've never read them?" French asked, eyebrows raised.
"Nah, I'm not really a reader," Red shrugged.
"We'll soon fix that. After your work today, come to the library and I'll set you up with some books."
Red groaned dramatically but winked at Emma as she did so.
The women got their breakfasts and sat down together, Emma nibbling on some plain toast which had quickly become her staple morning meal. Glancing around the dining hall absentmindedly, Emma watched Athena work. The woman was young, perhaps a year or two older than Emma. She served the meals alongside the other cooks, occasionally disappearing into the back to get more food. As Emma watched, Trident lined up for breakfast. The blonde observed Athena glance at the black woman and nod her head almost imperceptibly. As Trident slid her tray in front of the redhead, Athena reached below the counter, slipping something underneath the plate before handing it over to the other inmate. Trident turned and walked away, sitting in the back corner behind Emma. Trying to turn around subtly, the blonde watched as Trident read from a small scrap of paper, a grim look on her face before she placed it into her pocket.
Frowning, Emma turned back to her friends and tried to reengage in their conversation, which had moved on to the family and friends who were due to visit the following morning.
Emma sat outside Doctor Fisher's room, picking at her nails. Booth sat beside her, waiting patiently. He had been touched when the blonde came to him earlier in the week, asking him to accompany her to the appointment. He could sense she was nervous and understood her desire to have someone trustworthy close to her. At least, as her counsellor, he hoped she trusted him.
The door beside Emma clicked open and the blonde jumped, looking up into the smiling face of the doctor.
"Hi Miss Swan, come on in," Fisher said kindly.
The blonde traipsed inside, sitting in the same chair as the previous week while Booth stood next to the door.
"So," Fisher said, taking her own seat and pulling up Emma's charts on the computer. "We have your test results back. I think we know why you've been nauseous in the mornings."
Emma heaved a sigh of relief at the news. Maybe now they would give her something to help her stomach.
"How long have you been at FCI Miss Swan?" Fisher asked.
"One month today," Emma answered.
"And when were you arrested?" Fisher questioned.
"Five weeks before that. Why?" Emma asked.
"That fits," Fisher mused, glancing once more at Emma's results. "Your blood work shows you're pregnant Miss Swan."
Emma stared, open mouthed at the doctor. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly. She couldn't have heard correctly. There was no way she could be pregnant. She was in prison. She and Neal had always used condoms. Well, except for that one time on New Years Eve…
"Emma?" Booth's voice sounded far away, fuzzy.
She jumped as she felt a gentle hand on her arm. She looked from the point of contact up into the compassionate face of the doctor.
"You had no idea?" Fisher asked.
"No," breathed Emma. "What … what do I do?"
"Well, you have options," the doctor said, leaning back in her seat. "You're about ten weeks along and you are within your legal rights to request a termination. Otherwise, you can go through with the pregnancy and the baby can either be put up for adoption or a family member can be given temporary guardianship until you finish your sentence. How much longer have you got to serve?"
"Ten months," Emma whispered, her mind working overtime to comprehend this life changing news.
"Ok, well your baby is due towards the end of September," Fisher told her.
"When do I have to decide what I want to do?"
"You have some time. Terminations can take place up until the twenty fourth week. But I wouldn't recommend waiting too long if that is the route you want to go down. If you have a family member who may take the baby, you'll also want to speak to them soon to gauge their situation."
"I don't have any family," Emma said. She had never felt more alone in her life. Except … she placed her hand over her flat stomach almost as if she was feeling for a sign of life. Not that there was anything to feel. The baby was probably the size of a peanut.
"Do you have any questions for me?" Fisher asked.
"Not right now," Emma said. "It's all just a bit of a shock."
"Of course," Fisher nodded understandably. "I suggest you speak with Counsellor Booth about this when you've had time to digest the information."
Emma glanced around at the rugged man stood by the door. She had forgotten he was even there but he smiled kindly at her as he nodded his encouragement.
"Of course," he said. "We'll work this out together Swan."
"Now I know you're pregnant, I can give you some specific prenatal anti-nausea tablets which should be more effective," Fisher said as she stood and walked to the cabinet on the far wall. "I'll schedule an ultrasound appointment for two weeks time. At the three month mark we should be able to get a decent image. Is the same time ok for you?"
Emma nodded and took the tablets, mumbled her thanks and headed for the door.
"Miss Swan," the doctor called from behind her. Emma turned around. "Congratulations."
Emma bid goodbye to Booth outside the sleeping area and walked towards her bunk. She felt numb. She felt nothing. She felt everything. Emotions were swirling around her head, conflicting feelings jumbled together as she tried to comprehend the fact that she was pregnant. Emma Swan was going to have a baby. In prison.
The bunk was mercifully empty when Emma returned and she collapsed on the bed, perhaps more carefully than she would usually do. Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling. How had this happened? Three months ago her life had been amazing. She had an incredible boyfriend, a vibrant and exciting lifestyle, and freedom. Now she was single, pregnant and incarcerated.
Rolling onto her side, facing the wall, Emma began to cry. Tears ran down her cheeks, seeping into her pillow as her body shock with silent sobs.
"Swan?" came a voice from the doorway.
Wiping her face, Emma sat up and looked towards the corridor. Officer Fa stood there.
"Yes," Emma said, frowning.
"Post for you," she said, passing Emma an already opened envelope.
Even more confused, Emma took the lumpy package and Fa disappeared.
Opening it up, Emma gasped at what she saw inside. The swan pendant Neal had stolen for her months before was clipped onto a key. Pulling the key out, Emma examined it. The Volkswagen logo was clearly displayed on the plastic top but it was unfamiliar to her. She and Neal had always started her bug with a screwdriver so what did this key belong to?
Glancing back into the envelope, Emma pulled out two pieces of paper. One was a cheque. Emma's jaw dropped as she looked at it.
Emma Swan. $15,000. Signed Neal Cassidy.
Emma had half a mind to rip up the cheque right there and then but her right hand subconsciously drifted to her stomach, stopping her rash decision.
Looking at the final piece of paper, Emma saw Neal's messy scrawl. Taking a deep breath, she began to read:
Emma,
I'll never be able to say sorry enough times to make up for what I did to you but please know that I am. Here's your half of the money. And the key is to your car. I had a friend make it. When you get out, you'll find the bug at Taylor's Impound Lot in Tallahassee. Tell Taylor your name. He's expecting you.
I'm truly sorry, Emma.
Neal x
Emma screwed the note up in a ball and threw it across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed on Red's unmade bed. Anger boiled inside Emma as thoughts of her ex boyfriend filled her mind. How did Neal think some money and a car were going to make up for Emma losing almost one year of her life? Nothing that man could ever do would be enough for Emma to forgive him. The blonde balled her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into her palms. The pain grounded her, brought her back to the present instead of fuming about the past. There was nothing she could do now. Neal had gone. He had left her. He had left her carrying his child. A child who Emma could never care for herself. A child whose first breath was going to be taken in prison.
As soon as the doctor had told Emma, she knew she could not have an abortion. She didn't believe in them. But that meant her son or daughter might end up in the foster system and have a shitty upbringing like she had. Emma closed her eyes and silently prayed to a God she didn't believe in to allow her child to find a loving, secure family.
The money. What would she do with that? Perhaps there was a way to give it to the family who adopted the baby. Emma didn't want a constant reminder of the man who screwed her over. The car however … Emma loved that beat up yellow vehicle and admitted her heart had skipped a beat when she realised what the key was for.
Lying back down on the bed, Emma clasped the key and the cheque against her chest. Her mind was spinning as she thought over everything that had happened in the past hour. The blonde wouldn't have described her life as ideal beforehand, but it was at least simple, straightforward. Now however, Emma didn't think she had ever been more confused in her entire life.
"How was the doctor?" Red asked, entering the bunk and drawing Emma out of her thoughts.
"Fine," Emma said, not wanting to share her news just yet. "How was the library?"
"Great," Red said, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks as she dumped the entire Harry Potter collection onto her cabinet. Emma didn't notice as she was still staring resolutely at the ceiling. "What have you got there?" Red asked as she glanced at her bunkmate.
Emma held up the key.
"What does it open?"
"My car," Emma said.
"Cool," Red grinned. "At least you'll have something to sleep in when you get out."
Emma laughed darkly, remembering the numerous nights she and Neal had huddled under a blanket on the back seat, wrapped in each other's arm for warmth. Her heart clenched at the memory.
"This yours?" Red asked, picking up the balled up note from her bed.
Emma jumped to her feet and snatched it back. Red's eyes widened at the move.
"Sorry," Emma muttered. "It's private."
"Is everything ok Swan?" Red asked, sitting down other bed and looking intently at her bunkmate.
"I'm fine. Wanna come for dinner?" Emma asked, walking out without waiting for Red's reply. Frowning at the strange behaviour, Red got to her feet and strode after the blonde.
P.S. Emma's views on abortion are not mine, I just needed to give her a reason to keep the baby. Please don't review with angry pro-choice messages, thanks! Love you all x