Instantly, Junior's senses were bombarded.

First it was the smell. An odd combination of expensive rose-scented soap, sweat, and fear.

Then it was the sight. On the floor, Jake was curled against a cushion, which he pulled from the rocking chair in the corner. His hair was matted down, and the sweater that he was probably wearing was tossed aside, his undershirt drenched in sweat and sticking to him like a second skin. It had only been two days, but Junior could swear that Jake's belly had grown larger, if that was even possible.

It was the sound, though, that utterly broke Junior. Jake was exhaling in shallow, fluttering breaths. Tiny whimpers. When he slowly rotated his heaving body towards the door and saw her, he whispered in a volume barely audible: "Junior."

"Jake!" Junior rushed to him, putting his face in her hands. "I'm here. We're going to get you out of here. You're safe now. I'm here."

He looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, eyes that could still stop her in her tracks, and she saw so much panic in them. Jules walked in, and drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh my gosh," she quavered, and immediately picked up her cell phone. Junior heard her speaking rapidly to their mother, who was waiting in the car to drive them to the clinic where Dr. Arbogast was preparing a select staff for an emergency cesarean.

"Jake, love, are you able to stand up? We can do this. We're going to have this baby," Junior commanded, refusing to show him how terrified she felt.

Sluggishly, he shifted to a crouching position on all fours, Junior rubbing his back the entire time. Just as she was about to encourage him, Jake let out a bellowing, anguished moan and sunk back onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Junior," he croaked, and she realized he was crying. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, Jake. I shouldn't have left you alone. I should have stayed home with you, to take care of you," Junior pleaded, bending closer to him. "But we can do this."

"It's just that," he whispered, and looked at her, his eyes full of shame. "She isn't ready. This isn't how she was supposed to enter this world."

Now it was Junior's breath that hitched. "She… we're having a little girl?"

Jake nodded slowly, and tried to smile, but another contraction ripped through him. Junior began wiping her own tears. We're going to have a daughter. Hair bands and ballet classes. So much pink, she thought to herself, feeling her heart swell. She became so engrossed in this new revelation that she totally missed Jules lowering herself on the ground on the other side of Jake.

"Jake," Jules said, her voice firm. "I know you're in pain. We're going to lift you up, and it's just a short walk to the car. Our mother is waiting right at the entrance."

"Jules, you shouldn't lift anything right now," Junior attempted to admonish her sister, yet another fruitless argument she tried to pick that day.

"Junior, I love you, but shut the fuck up," she shot back, then turned back to Jake. "I need you to muster all of the strength inside you to get on your feet, for us to get you out of here. For your little girl, Jake. Think of your daughter."

Her tone was somewhere between a parent speaking to a child and a football coach yelling at his team for losing the championship game, but somehow, it worked. Jake nodded again, took a deep breath, put his arms around the Hesse sisters, and planted his feet below him.

"One, two, three," Jules counted, and with a low moan Jake gathered himself to his full, staggering height. The amount of weight he heaved onto Junior almost made her lose her balance, but she pressed on.

"Good, Jake, that's great. Now let's walk, ok?" Jules coached.

"Ok," Jake said breathlessly. With his wrecking ball of a belly leading the way, the three of them made slow, deliberate steps out of the bathroom and into the department store. It must have been such an odd sight, seeing them walking together like a trio of down-trodden prisoners of war, but the store was virtually empty. They were able to make it inside the elevator before Jake's body broke down as another contraction came.

"Damn it!" Jake groaned, and hunched over. Junior pressed her hands into his lower back, trying to remedy any of the pain seizing inside of him.

"Have you been able to time your contractions?" she asked.

"Couldn't," Jake grunted, his teeth clenched. "Whatever Quentin gave me to jumpstart my labor… really messed me up. They come and – oh!"

This time, Jake couldn't speak through the contraction, which came only a few minutes after the previous one. He began to sink lower to the floor, but Jules maintained her posture.

"We're almost there, Jake. Stay strong," she said. But as the words came out of her mouth, Junior saw that she was also grimacing through a relentless pain. She was stuck in an elevator with two heavily pregnant friends, both riding through tumultuous waves of difficult labor. Suddenly, the several hundred yards they needed to walk to get to her mother's car seemed more like several hundred miles.

She thought it couldn't get worse until Jules furrowed her brows, then murmured to Junior, "Hey, look."

Junior followed her sister's gaze, and saw a dark red stain that was painstakingly evident on Jake's pants. It took her a moment to process what this could possibly mean. Out of all the scenarios that were discussed with his imminent labor and birth plan, none of them included blood. And then Jake's words flooded into Junior's ears: This isn't how she was supposed to enter this world.

The doors opened, and the three of them resumed their original positions, but it was clear that Jake's contractions were picking up in intensity, and Jules was just downright exhausted.

"We can do this," Junior tried to match her sister's authority, but it lost its effect. When they made it outside, Jake couldn't even stand upright, and they slumped onto the closest bench.

"Maybe Mom can help us," Junior said out loud, panicked. Jules was only able to shrug her shoulders. Her mother could leave the car, but she was not as strong as Junior; supporting Jake would be an equally challenging endeavor for her. Just as she began to lose hope, from the corner of her eye, a giant, imposing figure glided towards them.

In one swift motion, Dr. Alexander Hesse put Jake's arm over his shoulder and lifted him up, shifting all of his weight onto him. The action alone brought tears to Junior's eyes.

"Dad," Junior whispered.

"C'mon, son," Dr. Hesse coaxed. "I need you to put all of your weight on me, I've got you, it's ok. I want to meet my grandchild today."

As instructed, Jake looped his other arm across Dr. Hesse's chest, and put one foot in front of the other. Junior could tell that there were tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Where's Quentin?" she asked.

"Taken care of. Junior, lead me to the car," Dr. Hesse continued, his expression and voice remaining steadfast. Her father, Junior marveled, was an incredible human being.

They neared the front of the mall where Diana's car waited expectantly. As soon as she saw them, she jumped out of the car and immediately opened the passenger doors.

"You all are going to get in the car," Dr. Hesse said, not losing his breath despite practically carrying Jake in his arms, "and I'll see you at the clinic. Jake will be most comfortable in the middle seat."

Junior nodded, and Jules gave a thumbs up.

"Jules," Jake mumbled, turning his head weakly, "your pants."

"Gosh, Jake, you're about to have a baby and still manage to make fun of my maternity wardrobe?" Jules shrilled.

"No," he responded wearily. "Look."

"What do you – oh…" she looked down, then swallowed. "That."

Her heather grey biker shorts were now marked by a large, growing dark stain in the middle. It was clear that Jules's water broke.

This was when Junior took charge.

"Jules, I'll help you into in the front seat," she decided. "I'll ride with Jake in the back. Dad, you need to call Dr. Arbogast and notify him of the situation. Tell him to prep another delivery room for Jules. Jake's contractions are less than three minutes apart. I think there might be internal hemorrhaging."

Junior said all of this as they heaved Jake's heavy body in the car. Her father nodded, serious, and unhesitatingly helped his pregnant daughter in the passenger seat. Before he turned and sprinted to his car, he kissed Junior on her forehead and said, "I love you. Be strong. Everything is going to be ok."

She nodded, and with those words of encouragement, Junior gained the strength she needed for the treacherous car ride ahead.

When Junior got into the back seat, she positioned herself behind Jake, and gently guided his body into hers. His long body took up the entire row, but she could tell that position relaxed him, somewhat.

"Lean into me," she said, and looked towards the front of the car. "Mom, how long until we get to the clinic?"

"About 25 minutes," Diana replied. "Jules, keep breathing, it's not much longer. Same goes to you, Jake."

Jake rested a hand on his bulging belly, exhaling. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then looked directly at Junior.

"Hey," he said somnolently. "Do you remember that night… at the bar?"

She couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that Jake was bringing up a memory from nine months ago. Arguably the night that was the beginning of their love story.

"Yes, why?"

"I wish," Jake began, readying his body for the next contraction. "I wish I asked you to dance."

Junior continued to gaze into his exquisite eyes, and smiled. He tried to reciprocate that smile, but it was clear that pain gripped his insides and he struggled to breathe. What she wouldn't give to take some of that pain from him.

Gingerly, she placed her hand on top of his. She still couldn't grasp how impossibly humongous his belly was. And yet, she felt it, felt the life—their daughter—he nurtured inside of him for nine months, and prayed that she would get to meet her soon.

But she feared that prayer was not enough.