CHAPTER EIGHT

Cat closed her locker and turned around, running right into Sinjin. As soon as the awkward boy realized it was Cat, his eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry, Cat—" Sinjin started.

"It's fine. I'm alright," she said.

"Are you sure? I didn't hurt the baby did I?"

Cat shook her head. "No, there's quite a bit of padding surrounding her. I'm fine, really."

"Okay, well… sorry, again," he said before walking away.

Cat let out a small breath and walked down the hall, getting to Sikowitz's class just as the bell rang for kids to get to class.

"Cat!" Sikowitz exclaimed, making Cat jump. "Glad you're here. We have freshmen in this class this morning and you're gonna answer some questions for them."

"Me? Why me?" she asked, setting her backpack down in her chair.

"Because you're the student that's been here the longest and you know everything there is to know about my class."

"But, why can't you answer their questions?"

"Because I don't feel like it."

Cat giggled as the class started filling up. She walked over to the stage and sat down, rubbing her belly as she felt a small twinge, but didn't think anything of it as she thought it was just the baby kicking. She smiled when Robbie walked in and sat next to her. "Hey. You don't have Sikowitz right now," she said.

"I know, but I wanted to see you before lunch," Robbie said, kissing her lips.

"You're gonna be late to class."

"Nah, I asked to use the restroom."

"Why didn't you go before the bell rang?"

"I don't really have to go to the bathroom."

Cat grinned and kissed him. "I love you."

"No PDA in my classroom," Sikowitz said. "Robbie, get out."

"Yes, sir," Robbie said, kissing Cat's stomach before leaving.

The bell rang again and Cat stood up on the stage, rubbing her lower stomach again as she felt another twinge. "Sikowitz, what am I doing?" she asked.

"Answering questions—class! Start asking questions, Cat will answer everything you need to know," Sikowitz said, sitting on the stage with a coconut.

"Alright—who's got a question?" Cat asked. She pointed to a boy that raised his hand. "Yeah, you."

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

"Oh my god, you don't just ask girls if they're pregnant," a girl said. "What if she's just fat?"

Cat furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not fat. I'm pregnant. That has nothing to do with this class." She pointed to a girl that raised her hand. "If it's a question about me, put your hand down."

"It's not—why is he always eating coconuts?" she asked.

Cat looked at Sikowitz and sighed. "He doesn't eat them, he drinks them… The milk gives him visions."

Cat grimaced a little and ran her hand over her stomach as she rested her other hand on her back.

"Um… are you okay?" the girl asked.

"Yeah… I'm good. Who else has questions?"

"What does the drive-by acting thing do to help us as actors?" a boy asked.

"Well, it's a spontaneous thing. If you're ever on set of a movie or TV show and something weird happens, it helps you n—fuck," Cat whispered to herself, holding her stomach.

"Cat, watch the language," Sikowitz said.

"Sorry," she said, letting out a breath.

"Are you okay?" a girl asked.

"Yeah. Baby kicks really hard these days… Any other questions?"

" Did you have to do the sleepover at Sikowitz thing?" a boy asked.

Cat giggled and nodded. "Yeah. I lost. I went on a date with his nephew instead," she said.

"How hard is it?"

"I dunno. It wasn't really hard. You just get assigned a character and have to stay in character the whole time you're at Sikowitz's house. He'll kick you out if you break character."

"How did you break character?"

"I just gave up on it. I wanted to go out with a hot guy instead."

"Is that how you got pregnant?"

Cat grinned as the class laughed and she shook her head. "No," she said. "Absolutely not. Uh—Sikowitz, can I use the restroom?"

"Go ahead, no peeing in my classroom," Sikowitz said.

Cat giggled and she got down from the stage, walking out of the class. As soon as she was in the hallway, she let out a sharp breath, resting her hand on her stomach as she felt a twinge just like earlier, but this time it was stronger and definitely not the baby kicking. She looked down the hall, thinking of which of her friends was closer. As soon as she remembered, she walked down to the first classroom and opened the door, catching the attention of the students and teacher.

"May I help you, Cat?" the teacher asked.

"I need Trina. Now."

"Cat, we're in the middle of a class."

"It's really important, Mr. Barker, please."

Mr. Barker sighed. "Go ahead Trina, but I'm only giving you five minutes."

Trina sprang up from her seat and closed the door behind her. "What's going on? Is something wrong with Tori?" she asked.

"No, it's me," Cat said as tears sprang to her eyes.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I think I'm going into labor," her voice cracked.

"Already? You're over a month away from your due date. What makes you think you're in labor?"

"I keep getting these weird feelings in my stomach, and I know it's not the baby kicking—it's like, like a tightening feeling and it's starting to hurt."

"Oh my god—Cat, you're having contractions. When did this start?"

"This morning, about forty-five minutes ago."

"We have to get you to the office so they can call an ambulance."

"What? No! No ambulance, Trina—it's not that bad."

"You're over a month from your due date and you're having contractions, this is serious. You need to go to the hospital and have your labor progression stopped."

"Trina—"

Trina grabbed Cat's arm and started pulling her down the hallway. Cat sighed and gave up, following Trina, but then stopped in her tracks, letting out a loud groan as she almost doubled over. Trina stopped and held Cat up the best she could.

"Are you having a contraction?" Trina asked.

Cat nodded and let out a sob. "It hurts—please make it stop," she said.

Trina helped Cat sit down against the lockers and she kneeled in front of her, feeling around on her stomach. "God, you're as hard as a rock. I think this is real labor, Cat; I really need to go get somebody to call an ambulance. I promise I'll be right back and I'll get Robbie and Jade. Will you be okay by yourself for a couple minutes?"

"Yes, just please hurry…"

As Trina ran off, Cat ran her hand over her stomach and let out a sob. "Come on, baby girl, calm down…" she said to her stomach. "You're not ready yet; you still have to cook a little bit longer. I promise it'll be worth the wait, just please settle down, you can't come out yet…"

"Cat!"

Cat sniffled and looked up, seeing Tori running towards her. "I'm fine—I'm okay," she said.

"I ran into Trina on my way to the bathroom—what's going on? Are you in labor?" Tori asked.

"I don't know. I just know I'm getting really weird cramps and I have a lot of pressure in my vagina. I feel like I'm dying."

"That's what Trina said when she was in labor," Tori said, chuckling at the memory. "You're still a month away from your due date, I'm sure you're just getting those fake contractions."

"They feel pretty real to me, Tori."

"I know—just calm down, okay? Don't stress out, it's only going to make it worse."

"I can't help it, she's not ready—it's too early," Cat said with a sob.

"I know. I know, and you know what? She's gonna be just fine, you're gonna be fine, everything is gonna be okay."

"I'm scared, Tori, what if—fuck!" she snapped, grabbing her stomach. "Oh my god, stop, stop, stop…"

Tori rested her hand on Cat's stomach, gasping slightly at the feel of it. "Oh my god Cat, your stomach is as hard as a—"

"Rock, I know—shit…"

"Do you still have pressure? Is it getting worse? Getting better?"

"Worse. It's really bad, I don't know what it is and I feel really sick to my stomach."

Tori took her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through it for a few seconds. "Okay, it says here that nausea is perfectly normal during labor—it's the pain that's making you feel sick and—" she looked up at Cat, hearing her gag. She immediately took her book bag off her shoulder and dumped everything out onto the floor before opening it and holding it up to Cat's chin just seconds before the redhead started vomiting. The small Latina held Cat's hair back the best she could until she was done, and she placed the book bag a little bit away from them before looking at Cat and moving her friend's hair out of her face. "Are you alright?"

Cat nodded. "Yeah… Sorry about your bag, there's no cleaning that."

"It's fine. Anything for a friend. Really."

"Tori, what if…"

"Nothing is going to happen, Cat… you're gonna be fine, okay?"

Cat sniffled and squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head rest against the lockers. "Is this a bad time to say I have to pee really bad?" she asked.

Tori chuckled. "Well, as much as we both don't want you to pee your pants, you're in no condition to stand up or walk right now, so do your best to hold it."

"I'll try, but you know pregnancy bladder."

"I do. Trina peed her pants a few times when she was pregnant with Lacey. It was pretty hilarious."

"Cat!" Robbie exclaimed, running over to her with Jade right behind him.

"Robbie… I'm scared," Cat said.

"I know. You're gonna be fine, Trina's talking to the principal and the nurse is calling an ambulance, they'll be here in no time."

"How do you feel?" Jade asked. "Pain, pressure, anything?"

"Pain, pressure, puking, all the works," Cat said.

"Pressure where? Back, stomach?"

"Vagina. Like, really bad."

"The baby might be working its way down. It's gonna be alright, Mom had all the same stuff happen."

"It's getting worse—I don't know what it is, but I have a really bad urge to push and it's taking everything I have not to."

"Okay, don't push. No pushing, not right now."

"I need to do something; this pressure is fucking killing me…"

"Miss Valentine, watch your language," Principal Dickers said as he and Trina arrived with the nurse.

"Dude, she's in labor, I think she should get a slip on the bad words," Jade said.

"Cat, how are you feeling?" the nurse asked.

"I feel like a watermelon is trying to escape from my vagina," Cat said.

The nurse felt Cat's forehead with the back of her hand and she pulled out a blood pressure cuff from her first aid kit. "I'm gonna check your basic vitals so the ambulance doesn't have to waste time doing it, okay?" she said, wrapping the cuff around Cat's arm.

"I'm starting to get another contraction."

Jade took Cat's hand in hers. "You squeeze my hand off if that's what it takes, but do not push."

"No pushing," the nurse said. "Breathe through it the best you can, okay? Everything's gonna be just fine, the ambulance should be here any minute."

"Is there anybody else I should call, Cat?" Trina asked.

"Nonna and Sam," Cat said. "Ow…" she said, squeezing Jade's hand.

"You're okay, breathe," Jade said, tucking Cat's hair behind her ear. "Keep it calm and steady, it's alright."

"I'm gonna throw up," she said, hiccupping.

Tori grabbed her book bag as quickly as possible and held it under Cat's chin again, just barely in time before the small redhead started vomiting again.

"I'm gonna call 9-1-1 again, the ambulance is taking way too long," Trina said.

Robbie knelt next to Cat and wiped sweat off of her forehead, holding her other hand. "It's gonna be alright, Cat. Everything will be perfect just as soon as everything gets calmed down."

"Robbie, this baby is over a month early—she can die this early, everything is not fine," Cat said.

"Cat, do you still have pressure in your vaginal area?" Trina asked.

"Yeah—and I'm starting to get pain and burning."

"She still has the pressure and she's feeling a little pain and burning—could she be crowning?" Trina stayed silent for a few seconds and looked at Cat. "We have to check to see if you're crowning, Cat. Tori, Jade?"

"On it," Jade said, helping Cat scoot forward. "Robbie, get behind her so she's not laying on the floor."

As Robbie sat behind Cat and let her lean back on him, Tori threw her book bag in the trashcan before making her way back over to them and kneeling next to Jade. "What do we do?" Tori asked.

"Cat, I have to take your panties off, okay?" Jade asked.

"I thought you didn't like the word 'panties'."

"I don't, but Cat refuses to acknowledge them as underwear," she said, pushing Cat's dress up. "Take off your jacket so we can put it under her. I don't want her naked on this floor."

Tori took her jacket off and as Jade helped Cat raise her hips, she slid the jacket underneath Cat's bottom, spreading it out evenly. Jade carefully but quickly took off Cat's underwear, sighing as Cat kept her legs together.

"Cat, I have to check," Jade said.

"It's embarrassing," Cat sobbed.

"Listen, no one here is worrying about that right now; we're more concerned about you and your baby. Please work with me here. Spread your legs," she said.

Cat slowly moved her knees apart, but Jade pushed them apart in agitation. "Okay, she's not crowning. She looks pretty normal," Jade said. "But, we don't know if she's dilated or not—Trina, ask them if I know how to check to see if she's dilated if I can or if I need to wait."

"She's not crowning," Trina said into the phone. "But, we have someone here that knows how to check her dilation—is it alright if she does that?" She was silent for a second and then nodded. "Go ahead, Jade."

"You got gloves in that first aid kit?" Jade asked the nurse.

"I do, help yourself," the nurse said. "Blood pressure's a little high, but that's just because you're so worked up. Try to stay calm, alright?" she asked. "Where'd you learn to be so helpful during labor?" she asked Jade.

"My mom's an OBGYN," she said, sliding some latex gloves on. "Okay Cat, this is gonna hurt… does anybody have any sort of lube?"

"…We don't just carry sexual pleasure items, Jade," Robbie said.

"Any kind will work—anything slick. It'll make it easier to get in there and feel around."

"Will baby oil work?" Tori asked, holding up a bottle of baby oil.

"Perfect."

Tori handed the bottle to Jade, who poured a little of the oil on one of her gloves.

"Okay, Cat. I'm going in," Jade said.

"Please don't hurt me…" Cat whimpered.

"I can't help it, I'm sorry."

As Jade inserted her fingers into Cat, the redhead whined. "Jade…" Cat said.

"I know. I'm sorry. Just a minute, I have to feel around," Jade said.

"Ow… Jade, you're really hurting me, please stop."

"I know Cat, but I wanna be sure—Vega, get my phone out of my back pocket and call my mom. Tell her to get to the hospital so we can meet her there."

"Sure," Tori said, getting Jade's phone out of her pocket.

"I'm almost done Cat, I promise—I just don't want to be wrong."

Cat let out a sob, squeezing Robbie's hand. "Jade, please—"

"Caterina."

The redhead whined and leaned her head back against Robbie's chest, who kissed her head.

"It'll be over in a minute," Robbie said, running his hands over her arms.

"Okay," Jade said, removing her fingers. "I'm done. You okay?"

Cat sniffled and nodded as Jade took the gloves off. "Trina, tell them she's anywhere from two to four centimeters dilated and her water hasn't broken yet," Jade said.

Trina nodded and started speaking on the phone as Jade put Cat's legs down and looked at Tori.

"Vega, take off your jacket," she said.

Tori looked at her confused for a few seconds but took her jacket off and handed it to Jade. "Your mom said she's on her way to Cedar Sinai right now, she'll get there before us."

"Good," Jade said, pulling the hem of Cat's dress down before draping Tori's jacket over her lap. "The ambulance is gonna be here soon, Cat—just stay calm. Everything's gonna be fine, okay?"

"I'm getting a contraction, Jade—I can't do this, I can't have this baby right now," Cat said, sobbing.

"Your water hasn't broken yet, they can stop your labor. It's gonna be fine," Jade said. She couldn't say whether she believed herself or not, though.


"How you feeling, Cat?" Grace asked.

Cat shrugged. "Better. I'm just glad my contractions stopped. They were killer."

"Well, thankfully it was just false labor. You're gonna stay overnight for observation. I'm gonna stay on duty until you're released, and then you're coming home with me and Jade and staying with us until the baby is born and you're all situated with her."

"Oh no, I couldn't—I'll be just fine at home with Sam."

"No offense, but Sam's not a mom. Or a doctor. I am. There's no debating on this. I already talked to your Nonna and she agreed that since you can't stay at Elderly Acres with her that coming home with us would be best. Just until you get the hang of things with the baby. Then you can go back home."

Cat sighed and laid her head back on her pillow.


Two weeks later, Cat walked into Sikowitz's class room, closing the door behind her quietly, but she pursed her lips when everyone turned and looked at her. "…What? Can I help you? Take a picture," she said, sitting in her seat.

"You aren't supposed to be here, you're supposed to be sleeping all day at home," Sikowitz said.

"I'm allowed to come to school, there's not much walking involved and all of my teachers gave me the okay to take my time and not worry about being late."

"Alright then."

"Are you really supposed to be here?" Tori whispered.

"Yeah. I got the okay from my doctor. Just no extensive activities."

"How's the baby doing?"

"Really good. I'll be glad when she's out, though."

"Trina was the same way. You wanna come over after school? Kick back, relax, play some cards?"

"Sure. As long as I can get a ride home."

"Trina can take you home."

"Okay."

"Caterina Valentine to the nurse's office," the intercom said. "Caterina Valentine to the nurse's office."

Cat sighed and stood up, picking her backpack up, but Tori took it from her.

"I'll bring it to next period," Tori said.

"Thanks."

"Have a safe trip, Cat," Sikowitz said. "Don't have the baby on the way."

Cat giggled. "I'll try not to," she said before leaving the room. She made her way to the nurse's office and wrote her name down on a clipboard.

"Can I help you, honey?" the nurse asked.

"I was called up here, I'm Cat Valentine."

"Oh, right, okay."

"What was I called up for? I don't feel sick."

"Well, we got a note from your doctor to keep an eye on your blood pressure and blood sugar and to make sure your little one's heart beat sounds good."

"My doctor?"

"Doctor Grace West."

Cat rolled her eyes. "Of course she did."

After the nurse made sure everything was fine, Cat was released to go back to class. On the way, she saw a familiar face and her eyebrows furrowed as she stopped in her tracks.

"…Cat?" the woman asked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was just about to go to the attendance office—I have a job interview."

"And it just so happened to be a coincidence that it's at my school."

"Cat, please don't start…"

"Don't start what? Don't start telling you how horrible you are? How you deserted your family? How you're cold hearted? I can go on."

"Caterina Evangeline Valentine, I did not raise you to act like this."

"You didn't raise Max to rape me either and that still happened. You didn't raise me at all. You let those lowlifes do whatever the fuck they pleased because you knew that if they weren't beating me, they'd do it to you. I would sacrifice my life for my child, but you—you just let shit happen to me. You didn't try to stop it, not once. Even when you had the chance, you didn't call the cops. Because you didn't do anything about it, I didn't know any better than to let them."

"Cat, that's not true."

"The fuck it's not!" she shouted, her voice echoing in the halls.

"Keep your voice down," she said.

"Why? Because you don't want anybody to know what a bad mother you are? They already know the rest of my life story, might as well know how shitty my mother was too!"

"I said keep it down, Caterina."

"Stop calling me that! It's Cat! I don't go by Caterina!"

"It's your name."

"Cat?" Trina's voice called from around the corner. As she turned the corner, she quickly made her way to the redhead. "Are you alright? I thought I heard your voice—oh, hello," she said, looking at Cat's mother.

"Hi."

"Is everything alright?" Trina asked looking at Cat.

"Everything's fine, dear—thank you for checking on my daughter."

"Oh, you're Cat's mo—"

"No," Cat interrupted. "She's not my mother. She thinks she is, but she's not."

"That is enough, Caterina," Mrs. Valentine said.

"It's not! You don't get it! You didn't do anything to help me!"

"I did what I could."

"Which was nothing? Because you didn't stop anything from happening, I thought it was okay for my brother to molest me! I thought it was okay for my father to push me against walls and take me like I was some harlot he paid to spend the night with! I thought it was okay to be raped and beat! I didn't know any better because you didn't do anything to help me!"

"You know what," Trina interrupted. "I'm sorry Mrs. Valentine, but this is not the appropriate place for this conversation, and Cat really needs to get back to class. You can find your way to the office or out the door."

"We're talking about this later, Caterina," Mrs. Valentine said, walking past them.

Trina ran her hand over Cat's arms and lifted the girl's head up to wipe her tears away. "Listen—don't worry about her, alright? I know things are tough right now, but they're gonna get better. Tori and I have had some issues with our mom too."

"Yeah, but your mom cheated on your dad, she didn't let your father or brother hold you down and have sex with you against your will," Cat's voice cracked.

"I know. I know it's not the same situation, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. No one ever should. It's a crappy way to live, but that's not your life anymore."

"I know it's not, but it still hurts."

"I'm sure it does. How about we calm down and then go back to class?"

Cat nodded and sniffled, pushing her hair out of her face. "What are you doing out here anyways? You don't have Sikowitz."

"I was in English. I thought I heard you, I asked if I could come check on you."

"Well, thanks. If you hadn't come when you did, I would've given her a new face."

Trina laughed and wrapped an arm around Cat's shoulders. "Well, I would've cheered you on. You ready to get back to class?"

Cat nodded. "Yeah."


"Ew!" Cat shrieked as a mini corndog hit her in the head. "That's so gross, Andre," she said.

"Sorry, Lil Red," Andre said.

Cat leaned against Robbie, laying her head on his shoulder as she ran her hand over her stomach. "She won't stop moving…"

"Well, that's good. We know she's okay," Robbie said, placing his hand on her stomach. "Hi, baby girl."

Jade smiled and leaned to Beck. "Maybe we can have a baby girl of our own," she said, resting her chin in her palm. "If Cat here can do it, anybody can."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat asked.

"You've been through a lot. If you can handle everything you went through and a pregnancy then anybody can do it."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good, baby girl."

Cat smiled and popped a chip in her mouth. "You know, she's starting to recognize my voice. If she's too active for me to sleep, I just sing to her and she calms right down."

"You have a pretty voice, she likes it," Tori said. "Are you getting nervous about her coming?"

Cat nodded. "Yeah… Really nervous."

"Well, don't be. You can handle it," Trina said.

"I hope so."

"You'll be alright," Robbie said. "I'll make sure of it."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and everyone stood up and spread out as Robbie helped Cat stand up.

"Good?" Robbie asked.

Cat nodded. "Yeah. I'll be glad when I don't need help getting up anymore," she said as they walked, their fingers laced together.

"It'll be sooner than you think," he said as they walked into the building. "You sure you feel okay to go to class? You don't wanna take the rest of the day off and go home to rest?"

"I'm fine, babe."

"Alright. Well, let's get you to class then. How are your grades?"

"Good. A's. I was put on the principal's list aga—ow…" she said as she stopped walking and rested her hand on her lower abdomen.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so… I think she just kicked really hard."

Cat let out a slow breath, but then squeezed Robbie's hand. "Ow…" she said.

"Cat…" Robbie said.

"I'm fine."

"You said 'ow' twice in less than ten seconds."

"I'm fine," she said. "Let's just get to class."

"Do you want me to skip English? I'll sit with you in your class."

"No. Beck's in my next class, I'll just ask to sit with him in case it happens again. I'm sure she's just kicking."

"Alright… If you're sure."

Fifteen minutes later, Cat was writing the assignment on the board down in a notebook, but she let out a breath and put her pen down, tightly holding onto the edge of her desk. Beck noticed and looked at her for a few seconds before running a hand over her back.

"Cat? You okay?" Beck asked.

"I think so… It happened earlier too, I think she's just kicking."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said raising her hand. "Mrs. Stevens?"

"Yes, Cat," the teacher asked.

"Can I use the restroom?"

"Go ahead."

Cat got up and slowly started her way out the door, but she stopped in her tracks and gasped loudly as a gush of water landed on the floor around her feet, grabbing the attention of the whole room. Beck's head whipped around and as soon as he saw the water on the floor he got up quickly and made his way to her side.

"It's time," Cat said. "Oh my god, it's time, the baby's coming, it's time."

"It's time," Beck said. "It'll be alright."

"Alright, everyone file out, be careful where you step," Mrs. Stevens said.

As the class slowly left the room, Beck helped Cat sit down in a chair and he knelt in front of her, holding her hands in his. "It's gonna be fine, Cat," he said.

"I'm still early, Beck—I can't have this baby right now," Cat's voice cracked.

"You're only a week away from your due date, you'll be fine, I promise."

"I'll call the principal and let him know what's going on. Are there any students here that need to be notified?" Mrs. Stevens asked.

"Robbie Shapiro and Jade West."

"Ow…" Cat groaned.

"It's okay. Breathe," Beck said.

"I'm getting that feeling."

"What feeling?"

"I need to push."

"No, don't push. Mrs. Stevens, can we pull the shade on the window of the door? I gotta check and see if she's alright or not, she thinks she needs to push."

Mrs. Stevens nodded and crossed the room as she talked on the phone and the shade was pulled down as Beck took his jacket off.

"Are you gonna be okay with me checking you out? The ambulance is gonna need to know your situation," Beck said.

Cat let out and grunt and squeezed Beck's hand. "I don't care, I just need her out."

"Stop pushing, Cat," Beck said, pulling Cat's pants and underwear off carefully and draped his jacket over her legs so she'd have a bit of decency. "I'm gonna look now, okay?"

Cat nodded and let out a sob. "I can't hold on forever, Beck, she's coming way too fast."

Beck pushed the jacket up and pulled Cat's legs apart, his eyes widening. "Oh my god."

"What? What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"Fine. She's just coming. Now. Mrs. Stevens, she's not gonna make it to a hospital, we need at least Robbie right now."

"I'm on it, Beck—Cat, you hang in there okay?" Mrs. Stevens said.

"I have to push Beck, please," Cat said with a whine.

"Okay. Okay, slowly. Push slowly," Beck said.

Cat pushed as lightly as she could and Beck put his hand up.

"Stop, stop pushing," Beck said. "Mrs. Stevens, we need someone in here now."

"I'm working on it—how's she doing?" Mrs. Stevens asked.

"The baby's head is coming and she's having a hard time not pushing."

Robbie and Jade came through the door a few seconds later and Jade knelt next to Beck.

"How's it looking?" Jade asked.

"Crowning. A lot," Beck said.

"God… okay, Cat—how bad is the urge?"

"Really bad, I have to push, I need to get her out, Jade," Cat said with a sob.

"Okay. Let's have a baby, then."

"What? Right now? Right here?" Robbie asked.

"Right here, right now. Beck, you keep it up, I'm gonna call my mom," Jade said, dialing her mother's phone number.

"Ow…" Cat whined.

Robbie knelt next to her and held her hand. "It's gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be okay, Cat. We're just having a baby."

"We're having a baby…"

"We're having a baby."

"Oh my god, we're having a baby," Cat said between a laugh and a sob.

"Push, Cat," Jade said before turning her attention back to the phone.

"Alright, the principal is calling an ambulance—what are you doing? Why is she pushing?" Mrs. Stevens asked.

"This baby's not gonna wait, we have to get her out," Beck said.

"I don't think that's wise, you kids have no idea what you're doing."

"My dad and Jade's mom are obstetricians; we have enough common sense to deliver a baby."

"Alright Cat, push," Jade said. "Mom's on her way with her instruments."

"Ready to have a baby?" Robbie asked.

Cat nodded and looked at Jade with teary eyes. "Jade…"

"You're gonna be fine. The baby's gonna be fine, you're in the safe zone. Now, let's have us a baby, yeah?" Jade said with a smile.

"Let's have a baby."

"Push."

Cat took a deep breath and pushed, letting out a groan. "Ow…"

"Keep pushing. You're doing really good."

"Come on, Cat, her forehead is coming, her head's almost out," Beck said.

The redhead let out a guttural grunt and she tightened her grip on Robbie's hand. She felt a sudden relief in pressure and gasped, breathing heavily.

Beck's hand pressed against her middle and looked at her with serious eyes. "Don't push. Breathe through the urge."

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Cat asked.

"Breathe."

"Is something wrong?"

"Just breathe, Cat," Jade said, standing up. "Robbie, come here," she said, walking to the other side of the room.

"What's going on? Is the baby okay?" Robbie asked in a hushed voice.

"She'll be okay, it's just that the cord is wrapped around her neck and I don't want to scare Cat. We might have to wait until my mom gets here to do anything about it, and I'm not sure we have enough time to wait. We need to find something to get that cord cut."

Robbie's eyes watered and he looked over at Cat, but Jade turned his head back to face her. "Don't look at her, she'll know something's up if you're crying. Calm down, it's gonna be fine," Jade said.

"We can't lose this baby," Robbie's voice cracked in a whisper. "She's gone through too much to lose this baby."

"You're not gonna lose her. She will be fine, I promise you that. Do you have anything that can cut a thick cord?"

"Uh… fishing line! What about fishing line?"

Jade raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "That would be perfect, hand it over."

Robbie reached into his jacket and handed her a spool of fishing line.

Jade walked back over to Beck and unraveled the fishing line just as he managed to slip the umbilical cord over the baby's head.

"Don't need it, I just got it," Beck said, unwrapping the second layer. "Keep it so we can cut the cord when she's out."

"How you doin', baby girl?" Jade asked, looking at Cat.

"I need to push, please let me push," Cat said with a sob as Robbie held her hand.

"Go ahead, Cat," Beck said.

As Cat pushed, Jade flipped Beck's jacket over on Cat's lap so the inside of it was laying up. Jade rubbed Cat's thigh soothingly as she let out a sharp breath. "It's okay, Cat. One shoulder is out, you gotta keep pushing to get the other out and then you'll have your baby."

"Kids, the ambulance is on its way," Mrs. Stevens said. "How's she doing?"

"Baby's almost here," Beck said. "Push, Cat."

Cat pushed, letting out a sob. As she screamed, Beck gave her a wide smile and help up a newborn baby girl, cuddling her to his chest as Jade covered her mouth with teary eyes.

"She's here," Beck said, handing the screaming baby to Cat.

Cat let out a rack of sobs, holding the baby to her chest. "Oh my god, she's perfect," her voice cracked.

"You did it," Robbie said, kissing her head.

"We just had a baby."

"I'm so proud of you," Jade said as her voice shook. "You did so good, Cat. You did so good."

"You think so?"

"I just witnessed it, I know so."

Cat sniffled and stared at the baby for a few seconds, rubbing her back before looking at Beck and Jade. "You guys are the best friends anybody could ever have. I really couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much, Beck…"

"Hey, I'd do anything for you. We've been besties since 8th grade," Beck said. "I'll deliver all the babies I have to for you. Let's get baby cleaned up real quick, yeah?"

Cat nodded. "Okay."

Jade carefully took the baby from Cat as Beck took his shirt off and started to wipe the baby off with it.

"Hey, pretty girl," Jade said. "You'll be warm in a few minutes, Auntie's not gonna let you freeze," she said, kissing the baby's cheek.

There was a knock at the door and Mrs. Stevens opened the door as Grace raced in.

"I'm here, how dilated is she?" she asked.

"She's not," Robbie said.

"What? Jade said she was in labor."

"She was," Jade said, shifting a little so Grace could see the baby. "She's here."

Grace covered her mouth and knelt next to Jade. "Oh my—Cat, she's beautiful."

"Isn't she?" Cat asked.

"Honey, I'm so proud of you," she said, getting up and sitting next to Cat, giving her a hug. "Oh my gosh… one of my little girls is a mommy…"

"That makes you a grandma," Beck said with a smirk.

"Oh stop it," she said, pushing Beck's shoulder playfully.

Beck took the baby from Jade and wiped her face off with his shirt gently, before placing her on his jacket in Cat's lap and wrapping her up the best he could. "Her placenta hasn't delivered yet and we still need to cut the cord and suction her throat and nose. Other than that, she looks practically perfect."

"Well, we can deal with the placenta when the ambulance gets here," Grace said, opening her bag. She pulled out an aspirator and cleaned out the baby's nose and mouth before handing Jade some plastic clamps and a pair of medical scissors.

Jade placed the clamps on the baby's umbilical cord and handed the scissors to Robbie. "Have at it, daddy. Right between the clamps."

Robbie carefully cut where he was instructed and handed the scissors to Grace as Beck handed the baby over to Cat.

"Rub her back, it'll warm her up faster," he said.

Cat rubbed the baby's back and kissed her tiny head before looking at Robbie. "We have a baby," her voice cracked.

Robbie kissed her lips lightly. "We do. You did so good, I'm so proud of you for doing this with just the bare minimums."

"I didn't really have a choice."

"Ambulance is here," Mrs. Stevens said, opening the door. "Kids, back up, you don't need to be nosy. Out of the way," she said to the students gathered around the door.

"Oh my god, take the baby," Cat said quickly.

"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, taking the baby from her.

"I'm gonna get sick," she said covering her mouth.

Beck quickly grabbed the small trashcan by Mrs. Stevens' desk and got it under Cat's chin just before she started vomiting. Grace held Cat's hair back and Jade stood up when she noticed a gurney rolling towards them, moving out of the way.

"How's everything? Mom and baby are doing good?" a medic asked.

"Well, mom's throwing up, but they're both great. Baby's about ten minutes old, and the placenta hasn't delivered yet," Jade said.

"Has the cord been cut yet?"

"Yeah. We left her attached until after we got her cleaned up."

"We?"

"Beck delivered her," Jade said, gesturing towards Beck.

"Wow. Good job, kid," the medic said. "Once she's alright we'll get her up here on the gurney. Did anybody manage to check her vitals?"

"No—I just got here," Grace said. "I'm a doctor."

"No problem, we'll do it in the ambulance. Is the father here?"

"Me," Robbie said.

"You wanna ride up to the hospital with us in the rig?"

"Sure."

"Cat, I'll be right behind you, okay? Jade, Beck, you get cleaned up a little and we'll leave."

Jade and Beck stood up and the paramedics carefully lifted Cat onto the gurney and covered her with a sheet. Jade gave her a hug and looked at her for a few seconds. "I really am so proud of you, Cat. No one else would've been able to handle having a baby in a chair in their English class. You're one of a kind," she said.

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again."

"Let's just hope you don't get pregnant again until we're out of school. Sound good?"

Cat smiled and nodded. "Sounds good."