She placed an firm hand on his knee.  “Stop, please?”

“Sorry,” he anxiously whispered as he shot up and started pacing around the bed.  “It's just...nothing's happening.  I don't know what we should do next.”

“Well, I'm sure the nurse will be in here soon.  Maybe there are some breathing exercises or things we could do to get things going?  I don't know.”  Pam's eyes drifted downwards.

“Maybe it's like the hiccups.  I'll hide around the corner and jump out and scare you into labor,” he said with his hands splayed wide.

“Ha ha. Very funny,” she sighed.

Pam's labor had not progressed at all.  She had been at the hospital for a few hours, but there were no contractions or dilation or any sign that the baby was on it's way.  They were afraid, confused and unsure of what lay ahead of them.

Nurse Liz strolled into the room and broke the scared silence.  She gently placed a thermometer in Pam's ear.

“Temperature looks good.  Now, let's see if there's any action going on here.”  She looked at the print out that measures contractions.  “Tsk. Nothing.  Are you feeling any abdominal pain?”

“Well, I feel a little something around the bottom here.”  Pam cupped her hand around the lower part of her belly.

“Hon, if you describe it as 'a little something', you are no where near labor.  Look, why don't you go for a walk down the hall.  See if maybe you can get things started.”

“Can I walk with all this stuff on me?”

“Oh yeah.  The IV has wheels and I can unhook you from the baby belt for a while.”

Jim and Nurse Liz worked together to free Pam from the monitor and bed.  She shuffled through the doorway with one hand on the rolling IV stand and the other on Jim's arm.  They quietly creeped up one side of the long hallway and both became lost in their own thoughts.

Jim linked his arm with Pam's and tried to think of something...anything that he could do to help her through this. Usually flowers, picking up her favorite snack or a movie did the trick when she was having a bad day, but none of those would work here.  This was more than a bad day.  It was a good day, that would have some scary stuff happen before the good.  As he continued to support her arm and put one foot in front of the other, he realized that he was simply terrified of seeing her in pain and not being able to help her.

Pam's thoughts would not allow her to drift into fear.  She plodded along and counted the number of squeaks that the wheels of the IV cart made as it rolled along the oatmeal-colored linoleum floor.  She wondered which wheel was making the squeak and if it was maybe more than one wheel.  Maybe it was a pair of wheels that were working together to make one unified squeak.  They had reached the end of the hall and were just about to round the corner and follow down the other side when a guttural scream stopped them dead in their tracks.

“What the hell was that?” Jim fearfully whispered.

All the color had drained from Pam's face as she stared ahead.  “I...I have never heard a sound like that come out of another human being.”

“That was human?  Wow, I would have definitely pegged it as--”

“NO!  PLEASE!  JUST GET.  IT.  OUT!!!!” the terrified female voice wailed from behind a closed door just down the hall.

They looked at each other, wide-eyed and stunned.

“Oh, God. I...I'm not going to freak out like that, am I?”  Her voice trembled as she white-knuckled the IV stand.

Jim and Pam remained frozen as a succession of moans and shrieks were followed by the gravelly screech of a newborn baby.

The fear that her mind pushed aside earlier now drowned her thoughts.

What if everyone hears me scream like that?  How will I be able to take care of a baby?  What if I can't stop her from crying?

“I don't think I can do this.  I...need to go sit down.”

“Yeah, yeah...let's rest for a bit,” Jim said hurriedly as he guided her quickly down the hall and back into her room.  Just as they reached the threshold of the door, they heard a bellowing singing voice from the end of the hall.

“You're having my baby! What a lovely way to say how much you love me!  Pammmmeeelllaaaaa!”

“No...no, please no, Jim.  Get rid of him?  I can't handle him right now.”

“You just get into bed, I'll take care of it.”  Pam waddled as quickly as she could into her room as Jim stood guard in the doorway.

“Whooooooo's your daddy!?  Jim is!”  Michael slapped Jim on the back and laughed.  “So, did I miss anything yet?  Is she crowning?”  Michael peeked around Jim's shoulder.

“If she is,” Dwight added, “Make sure she gets an episiotomy.  Trust me, it's for her own good.”

“Dwight...God...Pam doesn't need a lobotomy, she just needs help getting that bouncing baby Halpert out!  So, what's the deal?”

Jim shook his head.  “The deal is that Pam does not want to see anyone right now.  Look, guys, I will call you if anything happens.  It's just best if you two...go. Now.”

“Go? No way! I want to be the first one to kiss that little girl on the forehead, for good luck,” Michael beamed.

“Make sure they've cleaned the blood and afterbirth off first,” Dwight scoffed.

“Okay! Thanks again for dropping by guys,” Jim said as he nudged Michael and Dwight down the hall.

“Alright, alright,” Michael sighed.  “Look, we will be in the cafeterium downstairs.  I had the best lasagna here when I visited Meredith a few years ago, so if you get bored or hungry, come on down.  Oh, and let us know about the baby, too”

Jim slammed his hand on the automatic door opener and ushered the two men out into the hallway.  He headed straight to the nurse's station and spotted Liz on the computer.

“Uh, Liz?”

“Yeah...Jim. What's up?”

“Did you see those two gentlemen I just escorted down the hall?”

“Yes,” she answered hesitantly.

“Is there any way we can get a psychiatric hold on them so they won't come up here again?”

“Uh, I don't think so, but I'll make sure they stay in the friends and family room outside of the ward,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Jim sighed.