Guilt

Chapter 9

Emma didn't know whether she was supposed to follow Hope into her bedroom or give her some time, but before she could decide, Hope left her bedroom and went to stand in front of her mother.

She turned to her teacher, who was still sitting at the table, and smiled politely. "Mrs. Mills, could you please excuse me and my mother for a moment, thank you very much."

Regina quickly nodded her head. She figured Hope was going to talk to Emma regarding her pregnancy and she felt that was a moment between mother and daughter, not with a friend of the mother present.

"I'm going home," she said softly to Emma and smiled encouragingly at Hope as she walked passed the woman.

Hope waited for Regina to leave, before she sat down opposite her mother at the table. She'd fixed herself up in the few minutes that she'd been inside her bedroom, but Emma was still very worried about her.

"I'm pregnant," Hope said. She just wanted to get it over with and didn't want to beat around the bush. Though, when she saw her mother's face fall, she wished she'd started with a slight introduction to prepare her mother for the worst. "And I want to keep it," Hope added softly.

Emma didn't respond. She just looked at her daughter in utter confusion, having a really hard time comprehending this news.

She loved her daughter more than anything, but she never wanted Hope to become a teen mom as well. It was a time of her life Emma wasn't proud of and she hoped she'd warned her daughter about the consequences of having unprotected sex, but apparently it hadn't been good enough.

Emma herself was raised an orphan. She'd hopped from foster home to foster home, and when she'd gotten pregnant, her life had gotten much more complicated. Although the circumstances weren't comparable, Emma wasn't thrilled to hear this.

Though she'd never forgive herself if she responded the wrong way and lost Hope forever. She needed to thoroughly discuss this with Hope, because becoming a mom at sixteen years old is not easy.

"Nicholas is the father, but we did use a condom," Hope said. "I don't know how it happened. I missed my period and was nauseous in the morning and then Mrs. Mills gave me a pregnancy test, I just.. are you mad?"

Emma smiled at her daughter and opened her arms. Hope, despite often rejecting her mother's touch, crawled on her mother's lap and sighed softly. Emma embraced her daughter and closed her eyes.

"I'm not mad. It's a lot to take in. I love you, no matter what," Emma said and kissed the top of Hope's head. "Did Regina know about this? Is that why you two were acting strange?" she suddenly asked confused and Hope looked up.

"Yes, but I begged her not to tell you and honestly, I'm glad she kept her promise," Hope said. "I didn't know she was capable of being kind, but she actually was tolerable." A soft chuckle escaped Hope's throat and Emma smiled slightly.

"Honey, I.. do you really want to keep the child? You know there are other options as well, right? I'm not saying you should get rid of the baby, but I do want you to think this through and through," Emma said.

Hope lay in her mother's arms as she contemplated what her mother had said, but she already knew her answer. Emma also knew that once Hope had set her mind to something, she'd do anything to achieve her goal and do it perfectly. And she also knew that she'd help her daughter with every step. She and Killian maybe didn't have anyone when she'd gotten pregnant, but she didn't want her daughter to experience the same thing.

~~~~

"Am I a bad mother?"

Regina had barely opened the door before Emma started talking. The blonde walked inside and stared at Regina with a conflicted look upon her face.