Chapter Four: Never Be The Same Again

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Degrassi, only the creation of Martie.

Martie wandered towards the parking lot of Degrassi, an ice cream cone in her hand and her other resting on her bulging pregnant belly. It was freezing out but, she was boiling and had the biggest yerning for strawberry ice cream. She sort of enjoyed that aspect of being pregnant, she didn't have to explain why she wanted something, she could just have it. A few teachers on their lunch break walked by her with gossip-induced eyes and whispered. She had grown accustom to it, Dylan would have to learn how to now. She was on her way to the school to give him the CDs he'd left at her house when they were still going out. She reached the bottom stair of the steps of Degrassi and felt the strangest feeling. It was slimy, sort of shocking to her body and most of all, it was damn painful. She crouched down on her knees and scrunched her face up, dropping the cone down so she could clutch her stomach with her other hand, too. She just wanted to cry, this was the worst kicking she'd felt through out her almost eight months.

"That's why Spinner and I are going to win for king and queen." With a flip of her hair, Paige rhapodized on to her posse of friends. The formal was weeks away but, she couldn't be more excited.

"Just don't cry too hard when Jimmy and I take home the crowns." Hazel chuckled and glided her eyes up at her best friend.

"It's not about who wins. Just go and have a good time." Marco started to walk ahead of them with his usual smile.

"What the -?" Spinner's eyes caught the sight out of the front doors of Degrassi.

"Martie?" Innocently, Paige questioned, tilting her head to see.

"Martie!" Marco fled from the school, followed by the rest of his friends, and rushed to Martie's side. "Martie, what happened?"

She was almost on her knees and her face was bulging red.

"I think the baby's just kicking." She nodded and tried to catch her breath.

"Come sit." Marco slowly tried to lead her to a nearby bench. Before they could get it there, she screamed.

"I don't think it's kicking." Hazel mumbled.

Martie tried to choke up a laugh.

"I'm not in labour." She shook her head. "I'm not even eight months yet. Almost." Even speaking sounded painful.

"Hello, pre-mature." Paige's voice rang.

"No, no, no." Martie finally took a seat on the bench while Marco rubbed her back. "It's not. I'm not." She sounded scared for the first time and more like she was trying to convince herself.

"Let's get you to the hospital." Marco quietly tolded her and stayed for support, rubbing her back. "Paige, go get your parent's van." He called at her and she and Spinner went running while Jimmy and Hazel watched on.

"This is so gross." Spinner whispered loudly in Paige's ear. "Do we have to stay?"

"My niece of nephew is about to be born, yes, we must." She didn't even look his way when she spoke, he should've just known, she figured.

"Where's Dylan?" Marco nervously shifted around in the chair next to her.

"I finally got a hold of him. He was on a field trip with his class at the Man and Nature museum."

"He better get here soon." Spinner muttered, sitting foreword with his head in his hands.

"It's not like the baby's waiting for him to get here, Spin. I read somewhere that it can take up to fourty hours."

"Fourty hours?!" Spinner didn't like the sound of that.

With the cilcking her shoes, the nurse rapidly wandered over to them with gloves on and a glowing smile.

"She's dilated about five centimeters." She clued them in. It all excited Paige, worried Marco and frankly, freaked Spinner right out. "Are you the father?" The nurse's eyes checked down at Spinner.

"What?" He almost shouted. "No, I'm not!"

"Calm down, Hon." Paige tried to pull him together.

"Are you?" She checked with Marco, who was looking away and off into space.

"Huh?" He stared up at her with naive big Italian eyes. "Me? No. He's on his way. He's on the other side of the city right now."

"Well, one of you is going to have to go in, if he's not here on time." She shrugged and wandered back down the hall.

"I'm not going!" Spinner was the first to say.

"Paige?" Marco glazed his eyes into Paige's.

"No way."

"Come on, you're the one who's so excited to become an Aunt."

"That doesn't mean I want to go into the room with the hormone crazy Martie and cheer for her to push."

"You are a cheerleader." Marco tried to push it on her.

"No way, Marco. Forget it."

"I'm going to call Dylan again." Marco got up from a chair, even more frazzled now, and headed to find a pay phone in the hospital.

"Marco?" Martie watched the little Italian walk by her room on his way back to the waiting area from the pay phone. He turned back around and wandered into the room.

"Oh, Martie, don't worry." He said as soon as he caught a glimpse of her child-like face, she was terrified. Her breathing was heavy and she looked like she was trying her best not to let her forming tears down. "Dylan's on his way. Paige called your parents, too."

"You mean no one's here?" It only freaked her out more.

"Well, Paige and Spinner are." That didn't seem to make Martie feel any better. She just tried to push some hair from her apple red face. "And me." He shrugged his shoulders and moved closer. She smiled when she heard he was sticking around. "Hold my hand." She put it out for him to slip his into.

"You're scared?"

She nodded right away. "I'm not even in the actual labour part yet and I'm terrified."

"You'll be great." He tried to assure her but, then remembered he knew absolutely nothing about labour and had neve rbeen in labour himself. "Why don't we try to take your mind off it?"

"Try your best." Her breathing calmed down and she began to loosen up.

"Have you seen any good movies lately?" He asked her the first thing that popped into his head.

"Uh," She tried to think. "I rented Duece Bigalow a few nights ago." She grinned and sort of chuckled in rememberance. "It was really funny."

"I saw that with my friend, Ellie. I hear they're going to make a sequal."

"Rob Schrider's funny." She mentione dand swallowed around the disappearing lump in her throat. "What about you? Been to theatres lately?"

"I went and saw Zombie Raider's Three with Dylan actually." He smirked. "It was horrifying."

"Man, he made me go to Zombie Raider's Two with him, I hated it. Way too much gore and guts."

"I know. You know when the large green zombie is in the hospital and he walks into that room where that woman is screaming and screaming. You think it's cause she's being eaten by the baby zombie and you seen him with the blood dripping from his lips as he walks in." She listened to the story, so far it was really keeping her mind off everything. "And then you see she's just screaming because she's in labour." The moment the words escaped his lips, Marco's eyes bulged open. "I'm sorry, Martie." Her face began to crunch up again and she looked ready to scream. She pressed both hands on her pelvis and started to whimper. "I'm sorry, Martie, I didn't mean too-"

"No," She shook her head and pulled his hand back so he wouldn't leave. "I think I'm having a contraction." She swallowed and tried to just grit her teeth through the pain. "Don't leave me, okay?" She asked Marco who looked even more afraid than she was.

Moments later, the same nurse who'd asked Spinner if he was the father wandered back in and noticed Martie's blantly pain filled face. She checked on a screen and then slipped her hand beneath the covers.

"We tried what you said, the breathing stuff but, the contractions won't stop." Martie said between breaths, her eyes weak yet bulging.

"No, you're fully dialated, Martie. You're ready to go into the labour room."

"What?" Both she and Marco nearly screamed at the nurse.

"The father's not here yet." Marco filled the nurse in quickly but, she didn't seem to care.

"My parents aren't here." Scared like a little baby herself, she told the nurse.

"It's time to take you, Martie, I'm sorry." She called for a few other nurses and they began to wheel Martie and her bed out into a whole new room. "Sir, you should go get a gown and gloves, you've got to come in with her." The nurse told Marco without looking behind her at him.

Freaked out, Marco rushe dout of the hospital room to tell Paige and Spinner but, he bumped right into the firm chest of Dylan. Paige and Spinner following close behind him.

"Did I miss it? Did I miss it?" Out of breath and worrisome, Dylan glanced into Marco's eyes and then raced his stare around the hospital.

"Thank God, you're here. You've got to go get a gown and gloves, you have to go in there." They raced Dylan over to get changed, Marco thanking every God he knew of that Dylan had showed up right in the nick of time.

"Dylan." Martie reached up for him with scared and adoring eyes. She had half a smile while the rest of her was clearly upset. "You're here." She breathed out and swallowed, like she had been for the last few minutes.

"You think I'd miss this?" He didn't feel at all prepared to be a father, he didn't even feel ready to watch a baby be born but, it was like a hockey game to him. Even if you weren't at your best, you showed up and you give it all you've got. That was what had been going through his head, as he took the longest cab ride of his life over to the hospital.

"I'm really scared." She inhaled, as he took a seat and grabbed her hand. "I've already been here three hours."

"Martie," He looked at her as if she was mental. "This could take days. My mom was in labour with me for twenty two hours."

This wasn't comforting news to Martie, it only made her more petrified.

"Days? Dylan, I know I'm not funny but, you're not funny either." She told him in a paniacked voice.

"I'm not going anywhere."

The nurse wandered in and just smiled at them both.

"You must be Dylan." He reached up an dhsook the woman's hand as she turned her attention back over to Martie. "How you doing, Martie?"

"I'm having a baby." Martie spat like it was a suitable answer.

"Well, you're boyfriend's here now, you'll be great."

Martie and Dylan shifted their eyes between them but, neither bothered to correct the nurse. There was too much chaos going on already.

"Why isn't the baby here yet?" Martie questioned up at the nurse like a child would.

"Sweetie, take it easy. We've checked already, you've got a little while." She nodded. "I'll be right back with some ice chips."

Martie grabbed her stomach and squealed.

"Contraction?" Dylan questioned, he could feel her hand squeeze his. She nodded and tried to push right then and there. "Whoa, whoa, Martie." he got up out of his seat and tried to stop her. "You can't force it right now, you heard the nurse."

"I'm the mother, I can do it, if I want."

"Lay back, lay back." He helped her down onto her back and fluffed the pillow beneath her head.

"Alright, Martie, one more, push!" The doctor stood between her open legs and directed her, his hands ready to slide the baby into his arms. Martie screamed like they do in horror movies, clutching onto Dylan's whole arm with both hands, as he watched with a mixture of emotions. He was scared, anxious, amazed, and everything in between. "One more." The doctor waved one hand through the air to help coach her. She pushed as much as she could but, it was only bringing her to tears. "Keep breathing, Martie."

Dylan looked back down at her with his his sea blue eyes and breathed the way she was to help out, it didn't make the pain go away even a bit.

She wasn't even concentrating on the room around her or on the nurse's. She barely even glanced at the doctor, she just wanted the pain to go away and for the baby to come out.

"Dylan, stop." She shook her head at him. "Stop, stop." She balled her eyes out.

"It's okay." He put a hand over his arm where her hands were and helped her hold on.

"Alright, there's the head." The doctor let them know and Dylan went back to viewing. He took a huge gulp as the doctor instructed Martie to push again and again. Like magic, the baby slid it's whole way out and into the doctor's arms and crying replaced Martie's screaming through out the room. It was a magic trick that took eighteen hours and twenty seven minutes.

"You did it!" A nurse cheered and pinching Martie's shoulder. Martie just dropped head back and put her legs down. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

"You did a great job." Dylan went back to sitting next to her as the doctor took the baby away to cut it's imbilicle cord and give it a quick cleaning so Martie didn't think she had given birth to flem. Dylan pushed all the sweat covered streaks of hair from Martie's blushing face and cuddled close to her as the doctor planted their baby boy in her hands.

"Oh my gosh." She took another huge gasp. "Look at him." She couldn't peel her brown eyes off this bald headed blue eyed boy. He was without a doubt the sweetest thing she'd ever laid her eyes on. "Hi, hi, I'm your mom." Her voice sweeter than usual and breathier, she spoke to him. Dylan was right in there trying to process this. He'd only found out two and half weeks ago that he was going to be a father and now, here it was - his son. This new form of life that he had helped create. He carefully and sort of timidly placed a single finger on the baby's stomach that was covered in a white blanket. With that one small touch, the whole thing was suddenly real to him.

"I like your hat." He told his son as he glanced up at the little blue cap the nurse had slid onto the baby's head.

"Do you guys have a name picked out?" The nurse asked. Martie and Dylan hadn't even discussed names. Dylan hadn't thought of any either but, Martie had a list written and carved in her mind. "We'll give you two a minute." The nurse grinned fondly and left the room with the rest of the crew.

"Got any ideas?" Dylan asked while Martie craddled their nameless child.

"What about Pacey?" She suggested with hope in her words.

"I hate Dawson's Creek." Dylan shook his head in disgust. "No son of mine will be called Pacey."

Martie pushe dup her nose and fixed Dylan with a face.

"What about Ben?" Dylan tried.

"That's so generic." Martie shook her head.

"Todd?" He tried again.

Martie didn't mind that name at all. She put her head back and took all of her son in, trying to map him out.

"He doesn't look a thing like a Todd." She finally decided and then looked back up at Dylan for more suggestions. Dylan was too hypnotized by his little boy. "I kind of like Dodger." She announced. She really hoped Dylan would, too. She had the idea that he wouldn't though.

"Martie, have you even read Oliver Twist? The Artful Dodger is a theif and a bit of a brat."

"That's it!" She exclaimed, for the first time during their whole time at the hospital, she looked excited.

"No, Martie, That's not his name."

"No, Oliver, Oliver Moir-Michaelchuck."

"Marvin? Why Marvin for a middle name?"

"No," She shook her head. "Hifinated last name, I'm Marvin, you're Michaelchuck."

Dylan took a moment and then followed with a nod.

"I like Oliver. Could his middle name be John?" he asked, thinking of his dad. He knew his dad wouldn't show up since he so disapointed in his son and didn't agree with any of this. "After my dad."

"Alright, Oliver John Marvin-Michaelchuck." Martie grinned and told her son. "That's you, that's you, yes. You're Oliver. Hello, Oliver."

Dylan sat, completely fixated on this surreal event. He hadn't any idea that someone had already peeked in and seen what was going on.

Walking through the hallway, Marco grabbed his coat from his chair in the waiting room and began to put it on.

"Did you see the baby? Did you?" Paige pulled away from her mom and asked, more than ecstatic.

"Yep." He fixed the collar of his jacket and got prepared to leave.

"Is that why you look so upset? Was the baby ugly?"

"No, Paige,the baby was beautiful. He was beautiful."

"He's a he?" She almost screamed. "Mom, it's a boy." She glanced behind her and tapped her mom in a smile. Behind them both, her mom began to jump and almost break into a fit of joy and tears. Spinner had taken off a few hours ago to be home in time for supper. Paige was ready to take off and meet her first nephew but with how miserable Marco appeared, she pulled back. "What is wrong with you, Marco?"

"It's just, they looked so perfect together." Marco sighed in his hurt voice. "They were a family. I mean, Dylan is meant for her and she is meant for him. They just had a son together."

"Marco." Paige wanted to smack her hand across her friend's face. How much convincing did he need? "Dylan is gay. He doesn't like Martie anymore than a friend anymore."

"Maybe, he's just confused." Marco fought her point.

"Are you just confused?" She darted her Paige-stare into his face and jetted her pelvis to the side.

"No." He mumbled knowing she'd won.

"Exactly. Yes, the whole baby changes everything and maybe you'll have to wait for Dylan now but, just be happy for him."

Before Marco could say anything or ask her any questions, she and her mother were rushing down the hallway to meet the newest and smallest member of their family. Still, a little doubtful and feeling upset that he and Dylan couldn't be together, Marco left the hospital for the bus stop. His head hung low the whole way.

Let me know what you guys think.

Don't lose hope, just keep reading because I have a lot more planned.

And thanks for all the awesome responses so far.

Never Be The Same Again - Mel C.