"Ahh, but there are no really good options, are there? There will be consequences to any choices I make, and I have to make the one that is best for my baby, not me. Besides, I could marry for the thought of love and the same thing could happen, the man could turn out to be cruel like you are saying. It could happen with any man I chose to wed, right?" She reached out and lightly touched his arm as a friend would do, then dropped her hand.

"I've wracked my brain for answers for the last several weeks and I can assure you that I am not making a choice without having thought about it thoroughly. I know that you are concerned for my wellbeing, and I appreciate you for it, but it is better to do it this way so that I can see for myself that my baby is well take care of, even without a father's involvement. I cannot bear the thought of not being there for the child... I imagined myself giving him or her up to someone I do not know and then wondering 'what if?' I would not be able to live with myself if I gave the baby to someone who would mistreat them. That could happen too... I am a woman grown and can take the pain, the child is innocent and would never understand until they are older... It isn't their fault that their father did what he did and is what he is. It wasn't the child's choice to be conceived and it certainly won't be their choice to be brought into this world at all. I would rather be the one to shield him or her from suffering as much as I can because that is what a mother does, yes?"

She paused again and looked down at her lap, sighing heavily. "The truth is nothing I do will be easy, nothing I can say will change what was done... But a choice has to be made and I think I have made it." And then her hand moved to rest over the slight swell that could now be seen. "It's not about me anymore... it's about the child."