Some new fathers pace outside the delivery room. Others are right beside the mother as she gives the final push. But for Ron, the wait to see Mira, the newborn girl he thinks may be his daughter, will be much, much longer.

Yesterday, Ron, 46, said he wants a DNA test so that he can prove his paternity and see the baby. He'd heard that such testing had already been done on both the baby and his girlfriend, Pam, 41, who remains in police custody. Pam faces two criminal charges: failing to provide the necessities of life and child abandonment.

"I would like to see the kid," he said anxiously.

Staffers nicknamed the child Mira, for miracle baby, after she suffered a heart attack while being transported by ambulance. Her birth weight was 4 pounds 6 ounces. The infant is now doing extremely well and showing no unusual behaviour or sign of illness, according to one official.

Ron, a homeless man, is caught in the bewildering vortex of a police investigation and a criminal case involving his girlfriend, who's also homeless. Then there is the complexity of trying to obtain a DNA test when he has no fixed address or phone.

He did not know exactly what a DNA test was or how to get one. In an earlier interview, he explained that he was illiterate and had attended a school in Toronto for what he called "slow learners."

He said he first met Pam four years ago in a church shelter, and has been with her, more or less, ever since. She calls him "dear," and he calls her "honey." Still, she had denied through most of her pregnancy that she was having a baby.

A few weeks ago, he said, she suddenly announced she was indeed pregnant. That both scared and thrilled Ron, who said he has no children.

"Yeah, I do want a DA test," he said, dropping the N. "But how do I get one?"

Ron had been out of town, playing the slot machines in Barrie, when Pam gave birth. He returned this week to find out that she had been arrested.

Pam appeared briefly in court at Old City Hall yesterday for a psychological assessment to determine whether she is fit to stand trial. All evidence presented to Mr. Justice Richard Schneider of the Ontario Court is protected by a court-imposed publication ban.

Pam's physical and emotional appearance in court yesterday was drastically different from that of the day before.

Yesterday, she looked pale as police escorted her to the prisoner's box. She wore a green, prison-issue sweat suit and her dark-blonde hair was tidy. She was composed and spoke quietly with her lawyer, Mara Greene.

On Tuesday, she appeared gaunt, her face pinched and her hair messy. And she yelled at Ms. Greene.

The mental-health court receives brief psychiatric assessments and the standard to prove fitness is very low, Ms. Greene said after the hearing.

"Someone can be fit and still be very [mentally] ill," she said.

When Ron learned which hospital Mira was in, he tried to visit her. But the Hospital for Sick Children said it needed permission from the Children's Aid Society to let him see the baby.

On Tuesday, after Ron made his way to the Children's Aid offices, staffers there were more anxious to learn about the background of Pam than to help him see Mira. He left more confused than ever. When he had asked to see the baby, they had told him that until DNA testing was done, they weren't even sure Pam was the mother.

DNA results take at least six days, often longer, to complete.

Bruce Rivers, executive director of the society, said yesterday that his organization would act as an advocate for Ron to obtain DNA testing. When that message was relayed to Ron, he grew excited.

"Today?" he said hopefully. Not Wednesday, he was told.

"Okay," he said resignedly. "But I would like to see the kid."