Excuse Me, Miss Mills?

Chapter 18

The sight of one positive pregnancy test was overwhelming, but to see it repeated six times was too much. I hated that she'd taken so many. To see it over and over and over and over and over and over that yes, Regina was pregnant... It was enough to make me want to vomit.

I couldn't though, because the moment she caught sight of the tests, Regina nearly crumpled. I only barely managed to catch her as she did so, and I half-led, half-dragged her out of the bathroom. She was sobbing and shaking, and I didn't know how to comfort her.

If I was honest I thought it was a bit of an overreaction at first. I knew it was bad news. There was only one answer to the question of who the father was, and it was more than obvious that a baby wasn't in Regina's plan at that moment. Especially not a baby with Robin. But to collapse like that? It really wasn't the end of the world. She could go in any direction with this. She didn't have to keep it. I fully believed in a woman's right to choose in any case and would support her if she chose that route.

"No," she mumbled, curled into a ball, shaking her head, her fingers run tightly through her hair. "No, no, no, no, no."

"Regina, it's okay," I said, trying to sound soothing. She was panicking over something she could easily fix if she needed to, and she wasn't going to help herself if she freaked out. "We can fix this. We can do whatever you need to about this. I'll be right here for you."

She just kept repeating the word, "No," though, and I couldn't figure out how to pull her out of it. It was like she hadn't even heard me.

"Regina, are you listening?" I asked, trying to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

Again, she ignored me.

"Regina, come on, just listen to me," I said a little more sharply. I instantly felt terrible as she flinched away from me and my touch. I quickly pulled my hands back.

She didn't stop repeating what she was saying.

"Regina, I'm right here for you," I said, trying a softer tone of voice again. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Whatever you do here, you're completely within your rights to do it. If you want it, you'll keep it. If you don't want it, you can figure out which route you want to go in that direction. You don't even have to tell him if you don't want to."

"He can't know," she snapped, her tone almost as vicious as it was panicked and desperate. "He can't take this one. He can't have it. It's mine. I can't lose another to him."

"What?" I asked, confused as anything. "Have you had a scare like this with Robin before?"

Her gaze was faraway though and she didn't seem to have an answer for that. I couldn't figure it out.

"Regina please come back to me," I pleaded. "I just need to know how I can help you here. You don't have to say a word to Robin. Just let me know how I can help."

"I don't need help!" she nearly shouted, wrenching away from me and putting distance between us. "I don't need anyone's help!"

Regina's violent resistance to my assistance caught me off guard. I didn't want to crowd her or put to much stress on her—I only wanted to help her.

My eyes widened.

Shit.

This wasn't about Robin. This wasn't about me. This wasn't even about this baby.

This was about Leopold and the two she'd been made to miscarry.

I felt sick to my stomach. Regina was dealing with something so far beyond what I was able to deal with. I couldn't help feeling like an ass knowing I'd thought she was overreacting at first. She was reliving a horrific period in her life and I'd thought she was overreacting. I kept my distance from her now, not wanting to make things worse. I'd already done a good job making a bad situation even more unpleasant, but I wasn't going to risk touching her again when she didn't want it.