“Tyler?” Anne mumbled.  He nodded, running a hand through his disheveled hair.  His colorless eyes darted between Jon and Anne in pure distrust.  She could sense he didn’t know what was going on at all.  “I’m sorry, my name’s Anne.  Jess has been, well, she’s a friend of mine.”

            “Who are you?” he snapped to Jon, who still hadn’t stopped scowling.

            “Jonathon,” he reluctantly introduced. 

            “Are you a ‘friend’ of her two?” Tyler sized possessively.  Jonathon narrowed his eyes.

            “Yeah, yeah I am.”

            “So what’s going on,” he sighed, pacing before the two.  “Is she all right?  Is the baby all right?”

            “Where did you come from?” Jon asked.

            “I live in Bakerville.  That baby’s mine, you know, I have a right to see if it’s OK.”

            “We’re sorry,” Jon apologized softly, “but they’re not letting anyone in there.  The doctors told us that—“

            “Who the f#*$ are you, anyway!” Tyler barked.  Annie winced a bit.

            “Hey, buddy, don’t get all worked up,” Jon coaxed.  “We’re all worried about Jess, but she’s going to be fine.”

            “I…I really do care about that baby, you know,” he muttered. 

            “Doesn’t sound like it,” Annie replied coldly.  “She told us all about how you left her as soon as you found out.”

            “Annie,” Jon interrupted.

            “Yeah, well, I was scared.  Aren’t you allowed to be scared?”

            “That’s not an excuse,” she icily replied while brushing past him to the door.  The buzzer sounded half as loud as it slammed behind her.  Tyler seemed hurt.

            “She’s pregnant too, man,” Jon explained, “You know, emotions all over the place.”

            “Are…are you the father?” Tyler carefully asked.

            “Yeah,” Jon admitted rather proudly.  “She’s about seven months along.”

            “That means…she’s going to have it pretty soon, huh?”

            “It’s a boy,” Jonathon corrected.  “I…I hate to call him ‘it’.”  Tyler turned and sat down, his head in his palms.  As quickly as he had jumped to judge Tyler, Jon was learning to have pity for him.  Tyler was in a faded jersey and fraying jeans; dark smudges like grease or some kind of coal were on his arms.  Now he could see why expecting a baby might be hard for him to handle.  He might have trouble affording it.  “How…did you find out so quick?” Jon asked, sitting down next to him.  Tyler shrugged.

            “My mom and her parents keep in real good touch.  Ma didn’t think I’d care, but I do.  I really do.”

            “You know, it’s OK to…to be a little afraid of something like this.  It isn’t easy for anyone to take.”

            “You seem to be doing all right,” he remarked snidely.  “I saw your girl.  I couldn’t afford to pay for all that fancy stuff, like doctors and…and that ring.”  He noticed her ring, Jon thought.  “It looks like Jesse’s going to have a pretty sweet set up here if you ask me.”  He looked up, and Jon saw a bit of glaze in his eyes.  “She doesn’t need some backwards city hick like me around.”

            “Yeah, she does,” Jon answered.  “She does, and so does your little girl.”  Tyler perked up.

            “It’s a girl?”  Jon could recognize the early signs of a proud father in his slight smile.  He grinned to, putting a strong hand on Tyler’s slumped shoulder.

            “Yeah, man.  She hasn’t picked out a name yet.”  Tyler sniffed, wiping under his eyes quickly.

            “I…I, uh, I don’t want to be such a…a problem.  I want to help.”  He gazed off somewhere.  “I just can’t.”  Jonathon watched him stand and walk towards the door.

            “Tyler, don’t go—"  It was too late.  He sighed, throwing his hands down.  His heart swelled; Don’t give up.  Jon smiled to himself before the doctor’s door opened, and Margaret stepped out.

            “Where did everyone go?” she asked, looking relieved.

            “They’ll be back.  I should probably tell you—“

            “Don’t worry,” she smiled.  “Jess and the baby are fine.”  She drew a deep breath and sat next to Jon.  “They think she might be going into labor.”

            “Labor?” Jon repeated, jumping to his feet.  “It’s too early!”

            “When she comes, she comes!” Margaret sighed.  “We have to wait.”

            “Can we see her?”

            “They’re only letting family in right now, I’m sorry.”  Jonathon remembered Tyler, who couldn’t have gone far.  “Her parents can’t be here until tomorrow.”

            “Someone else is here,” he said, glancing to the door.  “He’s family.”