"What do I do!!"  Jase continues to yell at me through the phone. I pull the phone away from my ears not used to the volume after waking up.

"Well first of all: CALM DOWN!" I yell back and he shuts up in an instant, but I still hear muffled sounds and Kylee's cursing on the other end. "Is the bag in the car?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Did you help Kylee to the car?"

"Yes."

"Okay I sent you the location of the hospital. Go only 5 miles above each speed limit just so you can avoid getting pulled over. You should arrive in at least 15 minutes since traffic is light." I say and we hang up. I look at the clock and read 12:43 a.m.

October 18th. I groan and get out of bed. I brush my teeth grab my sweatshirt and beanie and head to the parking lot. My bike handles are cold and the light October rain hits my face and freezes my hands, neck and the little open space between my shoes and sweats.

The hospital is about a 10 minute drive from my apartment so it takes me about 35 minutes to get there on bike. That time also includes when my bike lost traction and I went flying into the grass.

My hands got a little scrapped and my ankle throbs just slightly as I continue towards the hospital.

Walking into the hospital a short nurse walks up to me. "Ryan Taylor?" She asks and I nod. She leads me through a long hallway and I hear Kylee yell a curse word. I chuckle and I see the nurse trying not to smile.

"You need to sit outside the room for about ten minutes and fill out theses papers." The nurse says handing me a clipboard and a pen. "Would you like some bandaids?" She asks noticing the little scratches on my hands from the bike fall.

"Oh no. I-I'm okay." I say and she nods.

"I will be right back." As the nurse leaves I wave through the window at Jase to let him know I'm here. Jase has dark circles around his eyes but a look saying he's excited.

I sit in the chair outside the door and fill out the papers, most of which want my name, relationship to the mother, and my phone number. My hands are shaking and I can't feel the pen in my cold grip.

The nurse comes back holding a thick blanket and a couple other things. She hands me the blanket telling me to "wrap up because it's gonna be a long night." Then she takes the finished papers and opens the door letting me in.

The warmth of the blanket helps a lot, but then I see the state Kylee is in and my body goes cold again. Her hair is up in a ponytail, but little strands hang around her face and sweat goes down on the sides.

Her eyes are shut as she tries to arch her back. One of her hands rubs the lower part of her stomach. Then out of nowhere she lets out a sigh of relief. Two other nurses are in the room. Setting up IV's and preparing the room for a baby.

The short nurse comes up to me and explains that she is having labor contractions and that they we will becoming more frequent and stronger through the night.

When Kylee sees me she smiles. "I hate you right now." She says with an almost evil laugh and I chuckle back while taking the seat next to the bed.

"I know, that's why, when it's over you don't ever have to see me again." I say and now it's her turn to laugh. "You can even hit me for all I care."

Her smile doesn't last long because her eyes squeeze shut and her hand quickly reaches for the closest thing to her. Which is me. She grabs onto my sleeve and pulls it closer to her dragging me out of my chair a little bit. I look over and see Jase wince as Kylee squeezes his hand.

She seems to hold her breath, but her face doesn't register pain. There's another sigh of relief, but Kylee's eyes stay shut. "That is the most uncomfortable feeling EVER." She says dramatically.

One of the nurses chuckle. "Keep fighting honey." The nurse says. I look over at Jase and see the worry in his eyes when seeing Kylee like this. His eyes never leave her and his hand remains in hers, even if his fingers will be bruised by the end of the night.

————

After three hours I tell Jase that I am going to go eat something in the cafeteria and he nods. Down the hall I see another woman in labor being wheeled into a room. A fairly large group of people follow the wheelchair.

Slowly walking past I hear a nurse telling them that only three people are allowed in the room at a time and that the rest have to sit out in the hallway.

The parents and the husband, I presume, head inside with the nurse. The rest, family members most likely, sit or stand along the white walls. Then I see Danny.

"Ryan?" She asks as she stands up from her chair surprised and walks up to me. Her hair is in a messy bun, but because she has short hair half of it hangs around her neck. She is also wearing flannel pajamas and a big black coat.

"Um... hey." I say walking to her. "What are you doing here?" I ask, but immediately feel stupid since she's obviously her because of the woman in labor.

Danny doesn't notice my ears go red instead she jumps up and down having too much energy for it being so early. "My sister is in labor! I'm so excited to be an aunt." She says. Her hands go into fists and she waves them in the air. Then she looks at me questioningly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well...." I can't keep lying about this. She will figure out soon anyway. Especially since she is going to be here all night like me. "Why don't we talk over a really early breakfast? I was just heading to the cafeteria." I suggest and I see a look of suspicion on her face.

Finally she responds with a little sigh, "Sure. Let me just let my family know." Danny opens the door to the room and tells something to an older gentleman, probably her father. Then we walk down the hall and into the hospital cafeteria.

The big white and blue room is filled with round tables and couches. The kitchen seems closed but there are meals wrapped in foil on the kitchen window ledge. We grab a couple waters and two plates then pick a table near the doors.

"So... what's up? You're acting funny." Danny says staring at me across the table completely ignoring her food.

"It's going to be a long story. And you may be upset as well." I say. I keep my eyes away from her stare as I open my meal.

"Why... what would I be upset about?" She asks.

"Because I didn't tell you sooner." I say quickly but a bit too quiet while looking up and placing my hands on either side of my plate.

She sits back and raises her hands as if she surrenders. "I've got all night and tons of forgiveness ready to give!" She says with a smile. And that's when I tell her. I tell her about Kylee and our relationship before the break up. Then how I got my job to save money. I tell her about Jase giving me a call and... Kylee was pregnant and that a test showed that it was my child. Then I paused. Her face showed calmness, but beneath it all.... I could see something else. Something hard to read.

"Is that it?" She asked her eyebrows raise slightly and her face still remains calm.

"Uh... well a majority of it." I say still trying to read her emotions. I force myself to take a bit of my food as the silence gets longer. I look back up to meet her piercing stare.

"I'm not mad. If that's what your trying to figure out..." she says leaning her elbows on the table with a sigh. "I don't really know what I'm feeling if I'm completely honest. Is there more to what's bothering you?"

"Well... Cole and Lauren are helping me get into the Catholic faith, which you already knew about. And I am also deciding if I want the baby to be raised in that faith..." I say then add, "I'm also in counseling which adds on to my stress level." When I talk about my stress it finally shows me how tired my body is. All the work I have put myself through then figuring out I need to care for another human when I can barely remember to feed myself. My mind is never at ease. I mean, I had a dream about getting fired from my job two nights ago!

"I'm sorry..." she says. Her hand finds its way across the table and onto mine and she gives my hand a squeeze.

"For what?" I ask trying my best to keep my face a normal shade and not red.

"For not being able to help you all this time. I knew something was up." She shakes her head. "I knew that you had some problem, but I didn't know it was something this extravagant."

"But you didn't need to help me. And... it's my fault for not telling you. You had no idea so don't blame yourself." I say and my head drops. Using the hand that Danny didn't grab, I run my fingers through my tangled bed head.

"Can I help you now?" She asks and my heart leaps.

I want to say yes but... "I can't make you do that. You have your work and obviously a niece or nephew to look after. I have been preparing myself for this for a while and I don't want to drag you into it."

"Ryan." Danny says sternly. Her cheeks start to turn pink. "I.... uh... I think you feel the same why as I do- well at least I hope you do-" she stutters.

"I do." I say quickly. Her hand tenses in mine and her face goes red.

"O-okay." She says with a smile. "Then don't turn me down when I ask to help. But if you want time to get used to your baby then have all the time you need, I'm here." She says softly. I nod and she gives my hand another squeeze. Then we finish the bland breakfast and I walk her back to her room.

"I'll give you a call maybe Friday? I'm sure Michael  will give you a week off." Danny says.

"Uh... yeah I would hope so. Friday will be fine is that... the ... 25th?" I ask. She nods. Then she heads into her room and I walk to Kylee's.

"My turn." Jase says when I walk in. He gives Kylee's hand a squeeze then heads out leaving me, her, and a couple nurses.

"That was a long breakfast." Kylee's says in a raspy voice.

"Yeah sorry. I ran into someone and got to talking." I take a seat in the chair next to her.

"At 3 in the morning?" Kylee asks slightly annoyed.

I nod looking down. "Someone from my work. Their sister is having a baby too." I say. Kylee's face flinches and I reach for her hand as another contraction occurs. This time she grits her teeth. Her hand squeezes my hand and my fingers almost start to turn blue before she finally exhales.

"You're at 5 centimeters." One of the nurses say and Kylee lets out a groan.

"It feels like I was at 4 an hour ago!" She says a little loud.

"It feels like that yes, but from now on things will be moving a little faster. At 7 centimeters we will get the doctor in here and he'll give you a short checkup. Then at 10 you can push." The nurse explains.

"You can do this Kylee." I say encouragingly. I run my thumb along the backside of Kylee's hand and a small smile appears on her face. Shortly after Jase returns holding one of the bland egg burritos in his hand.

"Can Kylee eat?" Jase asks the nurse.

Kylee makes a gagging sound and heads turn to her. "Food sounds absolutely DISGUSTING right now." She says and the nurses laugh.

"Either way, she shouldn't eat. Early in labor you can have applesauce, jello, popsicles, or some small snack, but this far into labor isn't the best idea." The nurse says.

————

"Good morning!" Says a middle aged doctor about three hours later. He introduces himself as Dr. Hansel. He is bald and has big glasses on the edge of his nose. He is a little shorter than me and has a slight belly.

He checks Kylee's eyes, mouth and neck before grabbing his stethoscope and instructing Kylee to give some deep breaths. Her breaths are raspy and shaky. "Pretty tired huh?" Dr. Hansel asks. Kylee gives him a weak smile.

Then the doctor raises her dress revealing her stomach but keeping the blankets on the rest of her for privacy. The doctor gently feels around the belly and checks multiple pulses.

"This baby seems to be just as excited as you!" He says teasingly. Then taking the ear pieces out of his ears he hands them to Kylee. She quickly puts them in her ears with excitement written in eyes and Dr. Hansel positions the bell so she can hear the heartbeat.

"Oh my-" Kylee gasps. She covers her mouth and and tears form in her eyes.

Ending his check up, the doctor stands and shakes Jase's hand. "Boyfriend?" He asks and Jase nods. Then he comes up to me. "Father?" He asks. My heart leaps in my chest and my ears go red. Then he laughs. "You don't need to answer that. The answer is in your reaction." He says.

"W-What?" I ask.

"Your reaction just said 'yep... guilty as charged' all over it." Then the doctor sits in the chair next to Kylee. "This situation of yours... it's very odd, but it happens. It's not my first single parent rodeo." Dr. Hansel says. Then he turns his back and focuses on Kylee.

A/N:

Hey guys! Thanks for all the love you've been giving my book.

All the comments and votes are greatly appreciated and I read every comment. Please vote and continue to give this book love as I continue to publish chapters.