Riff holds Aubrey’s hand as she waddles through the lobby towards me. “I’m sorry, bro. We don’t move very fast these days.”

I take Aubrey’s swollen belly. She’s only a month behind Lane in due dates, so I know exactly what they’re going through right now. “I get it, but Lane’s about nine centimeters dilated and she’s crying for Aubrey. I need to get her up there before it’s too late.”

Zach places his hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be fine.”

I stare into the eyes of my best friend. Marrying Aubrey and both of them preparing to have a baby of their own has changed him so much. We’ve gotten even closer, bonding over married-life with pregnant wives together. If someone would’ve told me a year ago, when we were fighting all the time, that we’d be here in this exact moment, I would’ve called them a liar.

The elevator doors open with an audible ding. The screams of a woman in pain ring down the hall and Riff stops in his tracks. “Come on, man.”

Riff shakes his head. “I think I’ll find the waiting area and hang out. Keep an eye on Aubrey, would you?”

“Lane’s not the one yelling like that,” I say, trying to convince him to come with us.

Another loud wail comes from the open door to our right. “Just the same, I don’t think it’s me she wants to see.”

Riff presses the elevator button and steps in as soon as the doors open.

I start after him, but Aubrey grabs my arm. “Let him go. He’s freaked out because we watched a birthing video yesterday. He’s afraid he’ll be scarred for life once he sees that with our kid.”

I nod, completely understanding. “It’ll be different when it’s you. He’ll man up. I know he will.”

She laughs. “We’ll see. Who would’ve thought bad-ass Zachery Riff Oliver gets turned into a scaredy-cat when it comes to childbirth.”

I smile. “It’ll be so much fun to tease him about this later.”

The moment Aubrey steps into the room, Lane reaches for her and cries, “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

Aubrey pushes strands of loose hair away from Lane’s face. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t miss the birth of my Godson for anything.”

Lane smiles and I sigh. It’s the first smile I’ve seen since her labor started ten hours ago. “I can’t wait until my son and your daughter can play together. Have you picked out a name?”

A contraction hits Lane hard, and she closes her eyes and breathes through it. Aubrey holds her hand and counts down, watching the arc of the monitor come down. “Good job, girl. You did it.”

Lane sighs and opens her eyes. “Keep talking. It distracts me. What’s her name going to be?”

“We’re naming her Hailey Lauren after Zach’s sister and mom.”

“That’s so sweet.”

The nurse that’s been with us for the last five hours comes into the room. Her dark hair is pulled into a tight ponytail on top of her head, making her short stature seem a little taller. “How are we doing in here?”

“In a lot of pain,” Lane says.

“Means you’re getting close. I’m going to check you again. Hopefully you’re at ten centimeters and you can start pushing. I’m going to need everyone but Dad to clear the room,” the nurse orders.

Aubrey kisses Lane’s forehead. “Be strong, sweetie. I’m so excited to meet him. I’ll be with Zach in the waiting room.” Aubrey steps to me and hugs me. “Take care of her, Dad.” We laugh and I promise I will before Aubrey leaves the room.

The nurse washes her hands and slips on a pair of gloves before sitting on the edge of Lane’s bed and reaching under the sheet between her legs. After a couple seconds the nurse grins. “Good news. You’re ten. Let me go grab the doctor and you can have this baby.”

The moment she leaves the room I drag my chair up to Lane’s bedside. “I can’t believe we’re going to meet our son today.”

She sniffs as tears roll down her face. “Me neither. I can’t wait to hold James in my arms.”

I wipe her tear away with my thumb. “Your dad would love that we named our son after him.”

“I love that, too,” she whispers.

The doctor and a team full of nurses come charging through the door, setting up equipment and putting blue gowns overtop their clothes. The doctor finally turns to us after his mask is in place and asks, “You two ready for this?”

Lane nods. “We are so ready.”

I grab Lane’s hand. “Let’s do this.”

Everything happens so fast. Stirrups pop out of the sides of the bed and the nurse that’s been with us all day grabs one of Lane’s feet and instructs me to do the same with the other. My eyes widen as the physician uses his fingers to massage the opening between Lane’s legs as my son’s head begins to crown.

Nervous energy fills every inch of me. I’ve never been so excited to see something so gross in my entire life.

The minutes tick by and Lane’s yells out in agony as she pushes James’s head completely out. “Oh, my god, Lane. You’re doing it, baby. Almost there! Just a little more. I see his face. He’s so beautiful.”

“Okay, Lanie. One more big push to get the shoulders out, sweetheart and we’ll be all done,” the nurse encourages my wife. “On the count of three—push with everything you got. One, two, three…push. Push. Push. Push.”