9 months later

I slowly awoke to feeling something damp spread across me. I sat up, throwing the covers off of me quietly so I didn't wake up Jimmy, even though he was a really light sleeper. I took a look at the sheets, and it looked like somebody spilled water everywhere.

"Noel..." Jimmy groaned, shifting. "Why is it wet? Did you piss yourself?"

It took me a minute to realize what was happening. "Jimmy, the baby's coming."

----

Jimmy and I had immediately driven to the hospital and got into a room immediately. My stomach was in so much excruciating pain that I was sobbing. He called Marion and Daniella, and they were on their way.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I screamed, contracting. Jimmy squeezed my hand as I winced while the pain slowly settled down. It hurt so much, I couldn't take it.

All of a sudden, the door opened. Marion and Daniella rushed into the room, their fingers intertwined. "Oh my God, what the fuck?!" Marion said. Both of them were still in their pajamas---so was Jimmy---and they had dark circles under their eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry," I said, squinting my eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" Daniella asked, standing beside my bed and resting her hand on my baby bump.

"Because it's five in the fucking morning and I'm about to push a human out of my reproductive hole."

"Don't be sorry. We wouldn't miss this for the world," Marion stood on the other side of my bed, placing her hand on top of Daniella's. I smiled, grateful for the amazing friends I had. "How much have you dilated so far?"

"Three," I murmured, feeling another contraction coming. I let out a groan, wanting everything to just be over and done with already.

As if on cue, a nurse walked in. A young, short brunette with thin lips. "Hey, how are you feeling, Noel?"

I laughed. "Fantastic," I said sarcastically. "How much have I dilated?"

She paused. "Five."

This was going by a little faster than I thought. "How much longer do you think it'll be?"

"I don't know, hon. Depends. Maybe another hour or two?"

I moaned irritably.

----

It's been another hour and a half, and I have only dilated up to seven. This was pure torture. I kept contracting every five fucking minutes.

The time being, all four of us chatted.

"Do you guys remember the night you guys went into Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Daniella brought up, immediately bringing me back. "Man, what a fun night. Do you guys think everything would be the same if I had never thrown that party?"

----

What If

"Noel, we needa find you a date," Marion said. It was after the last day of school, and my two best friends (aka Ms. and Ms. Popularity) kept pressuring me to find someone to date. They both knew that I have never been in an actual relationship, not to mention that I had also graduated a virgin, so now they were being pushy.

"Guys, I don't need you guys to help me. I can find someone on my own. Someone who I really love," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Let's just let it go, okay?"

"No, we will not let it go!" Marion chimed in. "Noel, you are a smart, sweet, kind, beautiful girl. Any guy would be lucky as fuck to have you as a girlfriend. We're going to get you the right guy, and you will thank us!"

"Like who?"

Pause, and suddenly, her eyes brightened. "Oh my---Mari, didn't Jimmy recently break up with his girlfriend?"

Jimmy Fallon was by far the most popular guy at our school. He had everything any girl would want in a guy; good looks, comedic, a little bit of a fuckboy, but he was perfect. I would so go on a date with him if I got the chance, but why would he want to go out with a geek like me?

"Yes!! I'll text him!" Marion said back, pulling her phone out and typing furiously.

"Guys, I really don't think--"

"Shut up," Daniella interrupted me.

A couple minutes after Marion texted Jimmy, her phone chimed. Once she read it, her eyes widened. "He said yes! Oh my God, Noel, this is your big date!"

I laughed nervously.

"He said he'll pick you up eight. We are so dolling you up!"

They led me to Marion's bedroom and began putting makeup on me; foundation, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, etc. They straightened my hair and clipped my bangs to the side, saying it would reveal my face a little more. They dressed me up in a short black dress that accented my breasts, nylons, and black high heels.

After they were done makeover-ing me, they told me to look at myself in the mirror, a hopeful look on their faces. I did as I was told, vigorously scanning myself.

I'll admit: I didn't look bad. The only thing is that I didn't look like...me. I never dressed up like this. Oh well.

When eight o'clock came around, Marion and Daniella were constantly looking out the window to see if Jimmy was here.

At 8:03, a car pulled up their driveway. The girls gasped in unison, adding some final touches before they sent me out the door without another word.

I sauntered to the car, vaguely seeing Jimmy's face through the window. I pasted a smile on my face as I leisurely climbed into his car. He looked at me, smiling. "Hello, you must be...Noel Pelletier, right?"

"Yup," I said, nodding. "That's me."

Jimmy looked casual; as if he wasn't even on a date. He wore a black and navy blue striped button-down, jeans, and sneakers.

"So," He said as he revved the engine up and pulled out of the driveway. "I was thinking I would take you to a stakehouse, waddya think?" He smirked.

I giggled, fidgeting with my fingers. "Yeah, I'm in."

---

It was a five-minute drive to the steakhouse Jimmy was taking me to. He opened the double glass doors for me. I muttered a thank you before we met with the waitress, and she led us to our booth.

"So, I would like to get to know you better, Noel Pelletier. Who are you?" Jimmy said, picking up the menu and looking through it.

"Well, um, there's not really much to say," Smooth, Noel. "I guess I like to read."

"Yeah?" He grinned. He was much nicer that I thought he would be. "What are some of your favorite books?"

"Well, I liked To Kill a Mockingbird."

"Ooh, that was a good book."

I raised my eyebrows, astounded. "Really? I never really pegged you as the reading type."

"I mean, we had to read it in English, so..." Jimmy giggled. His laugh was probably the most adorable sound I have ever heard.

I laughed under my breath. "I figured."

Jimmy and I had ordered our beverages and food while talking. To be honest, I didn't expect him to be this nice and gregarious. I expected this to be a blind date, but it was turning out really nicely.

"It actually happened, I shit you not! My friend literally forced me to try the cigarette. So I try it, and when I go to take it out of my mouth, literally a whole chunk of skin is peeling off of my lip!" Jimmy said once he was done chewing his food. I was laughing so hard little tears were starting to come out.

"Oh my gosh, you're hilarious!" I said through laughter. "I hear you wanna be a comedian? You would totally ace that job."

"Actually, yeah, I do. I've performed stand-up a couple times before; it was an amazing experience."

"Wow," I said with utter amazement. He was stubborn. "That's really cool. I don't know what I wanna be; maybe an author."

"That's a cool job," He said as he took his last bite of his steak.

"Yeah. I've written these random stories since I was little."

"Well, I would love to read some of your stories one day."

I smiled.

Jimmy and I argued over who was going to pay the check until we finally came to the agreement to split the money. We paid and made our way back to Marion's house.

"So, this was a fun night," Jimmy patted my knee, sending chills up my spine. "Thanks for, you know, going on a date with me. Maybe we can go on a second date, if you're up for it."

"Oh yeah, totally!" I said, my voice a little too high-pitched.

He pulled up the driveway, putting the car in park. He started the gaze at me, and I wasn't sure whether to leave or to say something.

All of a sudden, Jimmy put his hands on my face and sunk his lips into mine. When we let go, he said: "Sorry."

---

Present

All four of us continued on our conversation on if things would be different if Daniella had never thrown the party until the same nurse walked in again.

"How much has she dilated?" Marion said without hesitation.

The nurse no-name took a look and faced us all. "It's time."

---

The nurse and the three brought me to the delivery room. It was thankfully a girl who would be delivering my baby. They parted my legs, and it was finally time. It was time for me and Jimmy's child to come into the world. All of a sudden, I wasn't scared at all. I was determined to get this baby out of me.

"Okay, are you ready?" The doctor, Dr. Dempsey said. I nodded as all three of them held me hand. "Alright, push...one...two...three..." I pushed, the pain taking a moment before it finally sunk it. I yelped, squeezing everyone's hand harder. "Another one."

Each push was more excruciating than the last. I was screaming until my throat was burning.

"I can see the head, keep pushing!"

I pushed again, screaming. I knew I probably had deafened everyone at this point, but that was the last thing on my mind.

Jimmy looked in between my legs as I pushed, yelling along with me while grimacing. But then he got this relieved, ecstatic look on his face. "It's almost here!" He squealed.

"You can do it, Noel, keep going!" Daniella cheered, a tear streaming down my face.

"Two more!" Dr. Dempsey said. I took a deep breath and gave those two last pushes the best I had until I could hear the cry of a newborn baby. I panted, trying to catch my breath before looking up.

Dr. Dempsey looked at me before saying those two words: "It's a girl."

I smiled and looked over at Jimmy, whose eyes were red from tearing up. He went over to me and kissed me. I wiped away the sweat that was dribbling down my forehead from pushing a human out of my vagina for an hour.

A few other doctors came rushing in, slapping the baby until it finally breathed. They wrapped her up in a pink blanket and gently handed her to me. She was finally beginning to calm down.

"Oh my God," Marion and Daniella whispered in unison, looking at the baby in awe.

"Hi baby girl," I whispered to her, softly stroking her cheek with my thumb. "How are you?"

"Noel, the baby can't talk," Jimmy assured me playfully.

"Dammit, James, I know," I laughed.

"Do we have a name for her yet?" Dr. Dempsey asked. I looked over at Jimmy. He shrugged his shoulders.

"What about Jaime?" Daniella chimed in.

"I don't know, I kinda have another name in mine," I rubbed my lips together. "I was thinking...maybe...we could name her Natalia."

"Oh my God..." Marion looked over at Jimmy. "That's so cute."

"I love that name," He whispered, smiling.

I looked up at Dr. Dempsey, who was cleaning up the room. "I think we're gonna name her Natalia."

She turned around and smiled radiantly. "Aw. Natalia Fallon. So cute."

"Can I hold her?" Marion outstretched her arms. I nodded and slowly handed Natalia to her. She rocked her back and forth, looking at her with utter amazement.

"Me next," Daniella said.

"Jesus Christ, people, I made her," Jimmy joked. Marion laughed and handed her to him. He placed a lingering kiss on her head, gazing at her.

This was the start of a brand new era.