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Disclaimer: I only wish I owned the rights to Degrassi!
"Where is she?" Jay asked, coming through the doors and rushing up to Manny.
Manny, face pale, hugged Jay tightly. "They took her. I don't know what's going on! Jay, this is too early! What if something is wrong?"
Jay hugged Manny back before approaching the front desk, praying it wouldn't be the nurse he'd pissed off months before. Lucky for him, this one was new. He asked about Emma Nelson.
"Are you the father?" the nurse asked.
Jay looked over at Manny, wondering what to say. The nurse saw him hesitate and smiled. "I can let you go in, but there's already two people with her. She has to narrow it down to two for the actual delivery. Would you like to come in?"
Again, Jay looked at Manny. She was now coming toward him. "Is something wrong?"
The nurse, realizing that Jay was in some kind of tight spot, told Manny, "You seem upset. I think you should go get a cup of coffee and calm down before I can let you come in to see your friend. In the mean time, sir, can I take you in?"
Jay looked at Manny. Manny rubbed his back and said, "She's right. I'm a mess right now. Besides, you're her coach. You go in and I'll come back later. Give her a hug for me."
Jay followed the nurse into the Labour and Delivery section of the hospital. "Thanks," he told the woman.
The nurse smiled at him. "I could tell you were in a hard spot. I should let you know that her parents are with her. She hasn't begun full blown labour yet, but she's dilating quickly."
Jay swallowed, thinking back to his last prenatal class, where the health nurses had showed an actual video of a woman in labour and delivering her baby. "She's five weeks early."
The nurse led him through another set of doors. "She'll have our best obstetrician and a wonderful team of nurses. If anything goes wrong, they'll be there to do what they have to do. But so far, she's been doing well breathing through the contractions. And here we are."
The nurse left Jay at the doorway. He peered in and saw Emma sitting in a bed, gown on, smiling at her mother, who held her hand. Snake was standing on the other side of the bed, looking worried.
"Jay?"
He smiled slightly. Spike gave him a curious look, but Snake's tense face seemed to relax when he saw Jay.
"You were this eager to have the little guy?" he asked, trying to make light of the incredibly heavy moment.
Emma smiled. "I really just wanted out of my Chemistry exam. What are you doing here?"
"I'm the coach," he announced.
Spike stood up. "That's great, Jay, but Emma's already decided that I'm going to the delivery room with her."
"She can have two people," Snake reminded.
"But she doesn't need a stranger..." Spike started.
"I'm not a stranger!" Jay interrupted, loudly.
Snake walked past Jay, patting him on the back. He grabbed Spike gently by her shoulders and commandeered her to the door. He turned back to Emma and said, "Your mother and I will be right back."
The room became quiet. Jay stood as still as a statue. Then he noticed Emma's scrunched up face, closed eyes, and intense breathing. She was having a contraction. He went to her bedside and took her hand. She squeezed his hand hard for a few breaths and then released it. Small droplets of sweat had appeared on Emma's forehead. Jay turned to the small bedside table and grabbed the wet towel that was there. He gently patted Emma's forehead until it was dry.
"They're getting closer," Emma whispered.
"That's a good thing," Jay reminded. "It means that the little guy's almost here."
Emma smirked. "You keep calling the baby 'little guy'. It could be a girl."
Jay was about to tell Emma no way, when a nurse walked into the room. "Let's see how we're doing."
Jay shook his head at Emma and walked out of the room, into the hall. Snake and Spike were standing there talking. Spike looked upset and was whispering fiercely at her husband.
"Is everything okay?" Snake asked, seeing Jay appear.
Jay nodded. "Is everything okay out here?"
Spike walked toward Jay and glared at him. "You did this to my baby and then left her to move on to her best friend? How dare you have the nerve to show up here now and pretend like we're the crazy ones!"
Jay took a step back. She was small, but mighty. Snake sighed and approached Jay as well. "Sorry."
"Look, you people can think what you want to. Emma knows the truth and so do I. You can stand here and be pissed off with me, or you can come inside that room and share in this experience. Either way, I'm not leaving," he said, stomping back into Emma's room.
Next chapter tells you what they have and the name...
