Silas wrapped his arms around Sidney, holding him tightly as he tried getting through this contraction - it was the worst one yet and it was killing him to see Sidney in so much pain while Marc - asshole - was sleeping soundly like there wasn't a damn thing wrong. Silas growled deeply in his throat, anger raging through him like a white hot stake "MARC! WAKE YOUR ASS UP!" Silas shouted, his voice booming through the small delivery room.

Marc sat up calmly and looked over at the monitors. "So five minutes apart now. I want you to lie down on your left side again. Twin A's heartbeat is dipping during the contractions." He got to his feet, yawning, as he walked over. He looked at Silas. "You bellowed?"

"Not. Now," Sidney said through gritted teeth. He put his hand on belly, where one of the twins was kicking him. "I'm dying."

"You're not dying," Marc said, checking the monitors. "Do you want an epidural? You won't be able to move as easily, but you won't feel anything then."

"Yes. No. I don't know," Sidney said as Silas and Marc got him positioned on his left side, curled around his belly. "No. I don't want one."

Silas shook his head. He had to put his foot down or punch Sidney in the face - either way, the man was going to buckle down and stop being so damn stubborn. "He is getting an epidural." Silas said firmly, giving Marc the nod of approval.

Silas then turned and looked down at Sidney, gripping his chin in a firm grasp "You are going to get this epidural, and you are going to stop being stubborn. You are in far too much pain not to have one - I will no longer tolerate you allowing your body to feel such pain when you can easily get rid of it with just one shot." Silas was firm in his resolve, eyes drilling holes into Sidney's as they stared at one another - Even his English seemed less broken than normal, which meant he was absolutely serious about what he was saying and would not back down without a serious fight; and given Sidney's current condition, well... the fight would be easy.

Sidney groaned and clutched at his belly as another contraction started. He didn't have the breath or energy to fight during a contraction, his whole body tensed and trembling.

"When this contraction is over, I'll check his progress so we know how far he's dilated," Marc said calmly. "It is his decision, Silas. I know you don't want him in pain. I don't want it either but I can't do it against his wishes. We'll talk to him when the contraction is over."

Sidney felt tears dripping down his face when the contraction ended and with Marc's help, he got his one leg up so he could check his dilation. It still felt awful, but it wasn't as much pressure as the previous time. He was definitely stretching.

"7 centimeters," Marc pronounced. He settled Sidney's leg back down. "Sidney, I want you to strongly consider the epidural. You still have a ways to go and the contractions are only going to get worse. You can get some sleep, regain some of your energy while your body does the work."

Silas was, for lack of a better word, officially pissed off. He wanted to be there for Sidney, but he was sick of Sidney enduring all of this pain, when there was an option to relieve it, take it away... If only for a little while. Silas moved away from the bed and over to the window, glaring at his own reflection as he listened to Marc talk about how far Sidney was dilated and what the epidural would be able to do for him.

Silas still wanted to scream, yell, punch - anything - to make Sidney listen, but he knew better than anyone - but maybe not Marc - how damn stubborn Sidney truly was when his mind had been made up. Natural birth, no drugs - that was his declaration almost the day they found out he was pregnant... should have waited to see how big those kids got before he made that decision; that was what was currently running through Silas' mind.

Sidney looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot and his face covered in sweat and tears. He was so tired. the idea of sleep and the pain going away was tempting. Marc gave him an ice chip and kept talking about the benefits of the epidural, one of his hands making firm circles on his spine at the same time.

"Okay," Sidney said weakly. "Okay, yes. Do the epidural. I can't do this anymore."

Marc leaned over and smacked a kiss on his forehead. "Good choice. I'll be back in a few minutes with everything." He went over to the window, lightly touching Silas's arm. "Go be with him. He needs you."

Silas nearly whirled around and punched Marc, simply out of instinct -- Sidney knew better than to touch him when he was as pissed as he was, and guessed that the news had not been spread to Marc. But, he managed to reign in his automatic response and just nodded his head stiffly.

Silas went over to the bed and, there was just enough space to slip his body onto the mattress so he did; spooning right up behind Sidney. Silas wrapped his arm around Sidney's chest and held him close to his own "I'm sorry..." Silas whispered against the back of Sidney's sweat soaked head "I just do not like seeing you suffer so much... It has been a long, rough road for you... and I want the pain to just go away."

"I thought I could do it," Sidney said, feeling like he had failed. He sniffled into the pillow before the tears really started to come. "I'm not good enough. I wanted to do this myself."

He started to sob, his body hitching and trembling as he let it out. When a contraction came he was completely unprepared and unable to do anything through it except sob even more, completely lost in the shame of not being able to give birth without drugs.

Silas shook his head and tightened his arm around Sidney's chest a little "There was never a way you would have done that naturally, Sid. I do not want to be mean, but those children are bigger than most newborns, especially twins - Marc has said so many times." Silas grasped Sidney's hand and squeezed lightly "You are absolutely good enough though, you have endured thirty-eight weeks of pregnancy, gotten through so much pain, helped raise a puppy and deter Demon Cat from trying to kill me in my sleep. You have... done so much in recent months that it is amazing. You are amazing, Sidney, who cares if you need a little help to get through the worst but best part of your life?" Silas asked quietly -- it was quite literally probably the most he had ever spoken, even with Sidney.

Silas held Sidney even more as his sobs started shaking his whole body. He started humming and then singing softly in Greek, his lips pressed right next to Sidney's ear; he whispered words of comfort throughout the song, staying in a constant string of Greek.

Marc came back in with the anesthesiologist and one of the nurses. "Okay big guy, we need you out of the bed. We're going to try and work pretty quickly here and I need you in front of Sidney, helping to sit him up."

Sidney let himself be moved around, sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over his belly with his back rounded. Marc got an IV started in his hand and the anesthesiologist worked as quick as she could to get the epidural started before the next contraction. Sidney started to tremble, trying to hold still as another contraction started while they were still working.

"Good Sidney," Marc said absently as they worked. "Almost done."

Sidney gripped Silas's hand, gasping for breath as he felt one of his legs go numb, the anesthesiologist telling him that was normal. He was lying down again before he really knew it, Marc looking at the heartbeat monitors for the twins. "It'll kick in pretty fast. Just relax and let it work."

Silas could no longer lay on the bed, so he pulled the only chair in the room over and got himself as close to Sidney as possible. Their foreheads were - literally - sticking together by sweat. "Get some rest, love." Silas whispered, rubbing his closed fist lightly up and down Sidney's side, sliding it around to his back and rubbing at his lower back as well.

Silas kissed Sidney on the lips "Just get some rest, you are soon going to need it.."

Sidney nodded, relaxing as he felt the epidural kick in and his body go numb from his chest down. Marc wiped off his forehead and back with a damp washcloth before drying him off and settling back down in the armchair. It was within a breath that he started to snore again.

Sidney reached up to push back Silas's hair, smiling at him tiredly. "You should rest too. I know you haven't slept well either."

Silas shook his head and kissed Sidney's palm, placing it back down onto the bed and squeezing lightly "I will not sleep until you have given birth." Silas said quietly but firmly, continuing to card his own fingers through Sidney's sweaty hair.

"Please, no more being stubborn with me - Just close your eyes and rest, Sidney."

Sidney nodded and closed his eyes, falling asleep between one breath and the next.

----

Marc checked the monitors, frowning a little at the heart rate of Twin A. Sidney's contractions were only 1 minute apart which meant the babies weren't getting much of a break and Twin A who was in position was having his heart rate dip with each contraction. Both Silas and Sidney were asleep but Marc needed to at least wake Sidney so he could examine him.

"Hey," Marc said gently, shaking Sidney's shoulder. "I need to examine you."

Sidney looked at him blearily, not sure where he was. It took him a moment to remember that he was in labor and Marc needed to figure out if he was dilated or not. Sidney nodded and tried to move his leg, but he couldn't at all. Marc did it for him while Sidney turned to look at Silas who was fast asleep, his head on the bed.

"He said he wouldn't fall asleep. How long did we sleep?"

"About three hours," Marc said, feeling around gently. "I think we're ready to push. What do you think, Sid? Want to meet your first baby?"

Sidney blinked up at him and then nodded, reaching over to Silas, shaking him gently. "Silas, baby. Time to wake up."

Silas snorted and turned away from Sidney's hand, mumbling something in Greek - The shaking got more incessant and he had not choice but to wake up. It took him a few minutes to figure out why he was being woken up, but then remembered where they were and why. His head shot up off the mattress "I'm awake. I am." he said, although a yawn protested the fact that he had not been awake.

"Are we ready to have the kids now?" he asked hopefully, looking between Sidney and Marc.

"Time to push," Marc confirmed as the room turned into a flurry of activity. "Twin A is in position and ready to go. His heart rate is fluctuating so we do want to try and minimize how long this takes so if I call this quits, I need you to listen to me. I'm not doing it to be mean. I'm doing it because he's in distress and I need to get him out faster than you can push him out. Understand?"

Sidney nodded, his legs moved into the stirrups and the head of the bed lifted so he was sitting upright. "I can't feel anything."

"Not a problem. We can tell when you're having one and when to push," Marc said, getting everything ready. "One is starting now so go ahead and push."

Sidney took a deep breath and pushed down, unable to feel the contraction or if anything was happening. It was definitely unsettling to push without a guide.

Silas held onto Sidney's hand with one of his own, while wrapping the other around his back, keeping him upright and supported "That's it baby... Keep pushing." Silas chanted the words over and over quietly into Sidney's ear, tears were riding down his face the entire time, but he didn't seem at all bothered by it.

It was a sweaty, and hectic moment, Marc coaching from the foot of the bed, Silas and another nurse from the sides of the bed. They went through three big pushes already and things did not seem to be progressing at all -- Worry and Anxiety were warring inside of Silas, but he knew he had to stay strong... For Sidney's sake.

Sidney gasped and flopped back on the bed when Marc told him the contraction was over. He put a hand on his belly, rubbing it in soothing circles. Marc patted his thigh. "Good pushing. He's got a big head, but he moved on those pushes. If you can keep pushing like that, I think we can do this."

Sidney gave him a shaky smile. "I'll do my best."

"Give me another one," said Marc. "Good strong pushes."

Sidney grasped his knees and pulled himself forward into the push, Silas helping to hold him up as he pushed. Marc kept encouraging him, telling him when to take another breath and start pushing again. Sidney felt like his head was spinning and he was lightheaded.

Silas kept his coaching up, wiping at Sidney's forehead with a cold damp cloth and feeding him ice chips when they were on break from pushing. It felt like a never ending cycle - Push, wipe, ice, push, wipe, ice; over and over again.

Silas held onto Sidney as they went through yet another round of contractions and pushing. The contractions were almost overlapping each other, coming one right after another and hardly giving Sidney a break to catch his breath -- Twin A was being stubborn, just like both his fathers and it was starting to frazzle Silas' nerves... Even Marc looked a little bent out of shape with how little progress they were really making, despite now having been pushing for an hour and a half.

Marc sighed heavily when Sidney finished his latest round of pushing. Twin A was just not moving. His heart rate was okay, but Sidney was fading fast. They couldn't keep this up.

"Okay Sid," Marc said gently. "This is me, calling it quits and telling you that we need to do a C-section. We're not making any progress and we need to get these babies out."

Sidney hiccuped and looked between him and Silas. "Are you sure? Can you let me try for ten more minutes?"

Marc exchanged a glance with Silas, but nodded in agreement. "Ten minutes. If Twin A isn't well into the birth canal and on the way, we're doing the C-section."

Sidney nodded, looking determined. He tucked his chin to his chest and pushed again, harder than he had before now, doing everything he could to move the baby and not have a C-section.