All too soon the holiday vacations ended and school resumed. Bruce continued to pick Amber up every morning and drive her to school where they parted company until lunch. They still looked forward to having lunch with each other and spending the afternoon together in different classes. It was difficult not to stare at each other during the classes they shared, but they found the strength to resist.

The rumors concerning who had fathered her baby had stopped after her announcement in the principals office not long ago and they were able to concentrate on their school work. One morning, on the ride to school Amber asked Bruce if he had a problem driving her to her OB-GYN appointment and then waiting to take her home. He hesitated, until she told him he could wait in the car.

As he drove her home afterward, she informed him that the Lamaze classes were due to start next week at 6:00 pm. The classes were held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and lasted for about one hour. On his next day at work, he informed Mama G and was told that he could leave an hour early on those days.

The classes were held at the same hospital were Amber would give birth. Bruce was surprised at the number of young ladies there, many were Amber's age and some looked even younger .He was also shocked by the lack of men in attendance, many of the only girls had an older sibling or parent with them.

"That would be me, if you had not agreed to do this," Amber whispered and pointed to one of the young ladies accompanied by her mother.

The instructor was a female doctor that specialized in obstetrics. She imparted a lot of wisdom using a mixture of humor and personal knowledge. Bruce brought a notebook and kept notes on every issue she addressed. He than shared these notes with Amber's parents in case Amber went into labor while at home.

 Using his old gym bag he and Amber assembled a birthing room bag that would be kept in his car. Amber put a similar one together using her old school bag and that one was kept at the ready in her room.

The necessary phone numbers were entered into Bruce's cell phone and were numbered as to who should be called first. A sound bite of a police siren was downloaded into his cell phone, which was the signal that Amber was calling and needed to get to the hospital.

Blank copies of the admittance paperwork were obtained and filled out and kept in a file in Bruce's car, as they were sure they would be in no condition to do paperwork.

More than once on the ride home, Amber broke into tears.

"Bruce, I'm scared," she admitted.

All Bruce could do was place his arm around her and hold her tight as he drove.

"Don't be scared, I will be there with you," he assured her.

Amber's parents had a meeting with the principal and informed him of Bruce's labor coach status. If she went into labor during school hours, it was his duty to get her to the hospital. The principal informed Bruce's teachers at the next faculty meeting that if he was summoned he would simply get up and leave their classrooms.

It was around the middle of January that Amber's friends surprised her with a baby shower during her second period class. Many of her friends could not believe that she did not want to know the sex of her baby until she delivered.

"If it was good enough for my parents then its good enough for me," was her standard answer.

Bruce was facing a different line of questioning from his friends.

"So you're actually going to be in the room, when she pops the kid out?" Ralphie asked.

"Yep."

"She is gonna be screaming and blaming you for her pain," Tim stated.

"Probably."

"Are you going to cut the umbilical cord?" Drew asked.

Bruce almost ruined everything because he almost responded with , "Why should I? Its not my kid.". He however caught himself and responded with a simple, "No."

February finally arrived and Amber's due date was less than a week away. She was fortunate that she did not have any of the false labor pains that many expectant mothers experience and cause them to fly to the hospital only to be told that it wasn't time.

Three days into the month Amber was in her third period class. The teacher had just cracked a joke to make a point and the whole class erupted in laughter. As Amber was laughing, she felt a small stabbing pain and then a flood of warm liquid ran down her legs.

"Oh my God, my water just broke, " she said aloud with a slight touch of panic in her voice.