Chapter Thirty Seven

"Hey, don't cry, sweetheart. Don't cry." Steven pulled her close, "It's okay, everything's fine."

"I've been in labor for almost 4 hours and nothing is changing," she cried. "I know what the 'options' are if I haven't made and progress by the time they check me again, and I don't want either of them."

"Let's not think about those just yet, okay?" he said as he brushed the tears off her face. "Let's get this other gown back on you and let's go make as many laps around these halls as we can, and we'll see what happens from there."

Lila nodded and stood up so Steven could help her into the other gown. Just as she did, the next contraction hit.

"Oowwwww!" she said, grabbing a hold of his shoulders.

"Put your arms around my neck like before," Steven coached. "And your head here, there you go, just like that." They stood beside the bed and swayed back and forth a little bit as Lila took slow, careful breaths. As the pain drew to a close, there was a familiar face at the door.

"Hi, Mom!" said Lila, a little out of breath. "Come on in, you just missed the fun!"

"I gathered that," replied Eddie. "Are they getting really bad?"

"Not too bad yet," said Lila. "I'm able to breathe through them."

"And I'm still standing!" joked Steven. Eddie laughed and agreed with him. "So, what has the doctor said? I just saw her leaving and Joey and Dad are chomping at the bit for news."

"Dilated to four centimeters and the head is at minus two," said Lila. "That's where I was when we first got here as well as where I was when my doctor checked me a few minutes ago, but she said things are going well for now and we'll give it a couple more hours before we talk about doing anything to nudge things along."

"Okay, cool. It took me a long time to get past six with your brother then it was fast. I hope it goes that way for you, too, honey. I know it's hard." Eddie sympathized with her daughter, she actually knew how much it hurt. "Have they had you out walking the halls?"

"Yeah," replied Steven. "We've been out there some and that's where we're headed now if you'd like to join us."

"Sure," said Eddie. "The men are driving me up a wall out there right now." Steven helped Lila get back into the second gown, and he took Lila's hand while Eddie handled the IV pole this time. They managed to make two complete laps before the next contraction hit. Steven stopped and leaned against the wall while Lila put her arms around his neck and her head onto his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, it was comforting to her.

"Very good, Lila," Eddie praised when Lila lifted her head up and let her arms slide off of Steven's neck. She was proud of her daughter.

"Thanks. It'd be a little easier to do that if someone wasn't so tall." She looked at Steven and smiled.

"I'm sorry, babe. I'll try to lean down more from now on," Steven offered

"I'm just teasing you, Steven," said Lila. "You're doing great, don't change a thing."

"You two are so perfect together," Eddie laughed. "You remind me of Dad and me. Real partners."

"You think so?" asked Lila. That was high praise, she always admired her parents' marriage.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Eddie exclaimed. "You are soul mates if ever two people were soul mates, except for me and Dad. Even your father admitted that to me."

"I think so, too" smiled Steven. "And it means a lot coming from you, Eddie. I just wish I had asked her to marry me even sooner than I did."

"Hey, no regrets, remember?" said Lila. "Today is all about the here and now, and what we're doing now is walking so hopefully these babies will decide to be born sometime this week!"

"Yes, dear!" said Steven as he gave Lila a mock salute.

"Goofball!" she said as she playfully swatted his chest. They walked through the halls for another half hour before stopping for a bathroom break, then they walked for another 45 minutes, stopping for 3 more contractions before heading back to Lila's room.

"See if the nurse will come check me, please?" Lila asked Steven as Eddie helped her get back into the bed.

"It's been almost 2 hours," said Steven. "I'm sure she will. I'll be right back." He returned a few minutes later followed by the nurse.

"How are you feeling, Lila?" the nurse asked Lila.

"Kind of tired," answered Lila. "But pretty good I guess."

"Good," said the nurse. "Go ahead and lay back and we'll see if all that walking made any difference for you."

"I sure hope it did," said Lila as she bent her knees again and tried to relax. She didn't jump this time when the nurse touched her cervix, and she wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"Well?" asked Lila when she felt the nurse take her hand out.

"Sorry, hon," said the nurse. "Still no change. You've got some stubborn little ones in there!"

"Gee," said Steven. "Wonder where they could have gotten that from?"

"Take your pick!" snapped Lila. "Dr. Mianni said there were a couple of things we could talk about doing in the event that I hadn't progressed any by now, do you know what they are?" she asked the nurse.

"Yes, Lila," answered the nurse. "She said we can either break your water, or we can start you on a drug to make your contractions stronger."

"I don't want any drugs," said Lila firmly. "At least not that particular one and not right now."

"Okay, Lila," the nurse agreed. "How do you feel about letting the doctor break your water?"

"What exactly is involved there?" asked Steven.

"It's a very quick and simple procedure," answered the nurse. "The doctor would insert a plastic 'stick' with a small hook at the end of it through the Lila's cervix and rupture the amniotic sac around the baby."

"That sounds painful!" said Lila.

"It can be a bit uncomfortable, Lila, but it's not usually too painful. Do you need a few minutes to talk about it perhaps?"

"Actually," said Lila. "What about getting into the whirlpool? Could we try that instead?"

"I think so," replied the nurse. "Dr. Mianni said that you'd indicated a desire to try that if possible, so let me go page her and double check, and if she says now's a good time for that, we'll get you set up."

"Thank you," said Lila as the nurse left the room. "I really hope they'll let us try the pool, I don't want those drugs and I sure don't want them "rupturing' anything in there!"

"I know, sweetie," said Steven hugging her. Eddie stroked Lila's hair, "Just remember that it is totally worth it honey. When you hold those babies, you won't remember this part, I promise you. I'm going to update everyone and I'll come back a little later. If you need any of us or want us, you just call and we'll be right here."

The nurse returned about 10 minutes later after speaking with the doctor. Lila was sitting on the side of the bed, breathing through the end of the latest contraction. Steven was kneeling in front of her so she could wrap her arms around him, and Eddie was rubbing her lower back. Lila had asked her to wait, she wanted her mother until she knew if she and Steven could use the whirlpool tub.

"Good news," the nurse announced. "You can try the tub!"

"Oh, good!" said Lila. "Just show me where to go and I'm there!"

"It's down the hall just a bit," said the nurse.

"He's allowed to get in, too, right?" Lila asked pointing to Steven.

"As long as you remembered to pack his swim suit, Lila," said the nurse. "Otherwise he'll need to just sit on the edge of the tub."

"I've got my swim suit, Lila packed it four months ago," said Steven. "It's one of the first things she packed!"

"Wonderful! If you'd like to get it, we'll all head down the hall." Steven went over to the suitcase, grabbed his American flag patterned Tommy Hilfiger swim suit and Lila's red bikini top, and they started out towards the whirlpool room.

"I think I'll go update the family now, but you need me, you call." Eddie kissed her daughter's head softly and headed to the waiting room where Jamie paced anxiously.

"Jamison, sit down," Frank ordered. "I know it's tough to wait but that's what labor is all about. Park it."

"I can't, Dad. It's taking Eddie a long time, what if Lila is really struggling and needs her Mom and…"

"Jamie, we have been her so many times before, waiting on baby to be born, only this time you're the grand and I'm the great…You'll get Eddie excited if she sees you pacing the halls."

Just then Eddie emerged, "You got that right. Jamie, where is your cane?" Eddie shook her head. "She's doing well, still dilated to four, still at minus two but they are heading into the whirlpool to hopefully get things going."

"But she's all right?" Joey asked. Molly looked up at him and laughed, "You and yer father both…"

"Yes, she is. It's just moving slow, but you took your time too, young man," Eddie laughed and playfully swatted Joey on the arm.

Back in the whirlpool room, the nurse was assisting with getting Lila situated. "Okay, Lila, let the Steven get in first, then you can sit down with your back to him." Steven carefully climbed into the tub, then held his hands up to help Lila in.

"Careful, sweetie," he said. "There you go, sit down, all right, you comfortable?"

"Oh yeah," she said as she let out a long sigh. "This is gonna help a lot, I can tell already."

"I'll leave you two alone for a while," said the nurse. "There's a call button on the wall right here if you need anything, Okay?"

The nurse left the couple alone to see if the soothing waters would help Lila's labor progress.

"Isn't this great?" Lila asked him after the nurse had left. The water was just right, not too hot or too cold, and the massaging jets were on enough to create a relaxing ripple in the water.

"Yeah, it's really nice," agreed Steven. "How long do you think we'll have to sit in here?"

"Forever," said Lila as she leaned her head back against Steven's chest.

"Well, I sure hope not," he said. "Considering why we're in here in the first place!"

"Yeah, yeah…" said Lila. "Speaking of that…" He felt her body tense up against his and he knew she was contracting again.

"Breathe through it, Lila" he said softly. "That's it…again…good…another…good…"

"Ow! Ow!" she said between breaths.

"You're doing great, babe," he said. "Just keep breathing…it'll be over soon…"

"Whew," said Lila as she let out the last breath she'd been hanging on to.

"Getting worse?" asked Steven as he lifted her hair up off her neck.

"A little maybe," she admitted "But it's hard to know for sure since the water is helping with the pain."

"You're doing an amazing job. I want you to know that."

"So are you" she said, looking up at him. He leaned down and their lips met lovingly.

"This is almost as nice as the bubble bath we took together last week." said Lila.

"Almost as nice?" questioned Steven. "What was nicer about that?"

"It had bubbles and candles," answered Lila.

"Yeah, but this one has us having our babies," replied Steven. He put his hands on Lila's tummy and she put hers atop his, just as they'd done in the bubble bath, only this time they both choked up a bit.

Lila and Steven stayed in the pool another hour. Slowly but surely, Lila's contractions grew stronger. "Breathe, Lila" said Steven as another contraction began. "Just like that…good…"

"Owwww…" moaned Lila as she did her best to breathe through her pain. She had her feet against the end of the tub and was pushing herself back against Steven's body as the pain grew stronger.

"Squeeze my hand, babe," said Steven as he took her hand and held it tight. Lila squeezed his hand pretty hard, but it didn't bother him at all considering the pain she was in.

"Oh God," she said as the pain tapered off. "That was definitely the worst one so far!"

"That's good though," said Steven, choosing his words carefully, unsure when the pain would cause Lila's Reagan temper to smart. "That they're getting stronger I mean."

"I know it's what has to happen, but I've never had pain like this before and it scares me to think about how much worse it's gonna get before the babies come out."

"Don't think about it like that," Steven advised. "We'll just take it as it comes and deal with it and then move on to the next one. I'm right here with you, Lila, you don't have to do this alone."

"I know," Lila laid her head on Steven's chest. "I think the fear of it all is starting to get to me."

"I'm scared, too," Steven confessed, rubbing her shoulders tenderly. "But so far everything has gone well and you're doing a great job, and every contraction you have is one step closer to having the babies."

"How are we doing in here?" asked the nurse, opening the door enough to peek inside.

"We're good," said Steven. "She's had 5 contractions, and the last one was noticeably stronger than the rest."

"Great! Are you ready to get out, or do you want to stay in a little longer?"

"Can we have maybe another half hour?" asked Lila.

"Yes, Lila," replied the nurse. "Dr. Mianni wants to check you again within the hour, but you can stay in here a bit longer, not a problem."

"Thank you," said Steven. The nurse closed the door and left them to enjoy the tub in peace again.

"We need one of these at home," Lila sighed as she relaxed between contractions.

"A labor tub?" asked Steven.

"No, silly," said Lila. "A whirlpool tub. Wouldn't it be nice to have in the master bathroom?"

"Hmmm…I believe you're right, my love" said Steven. "I'm envisioning a quiet evening, candlelight, maybe some soft music…"

"Hold that thought," said Lila as she reached out for Steven's hand. He didn't say anything this time, knowing that she knew the drill quite well by then.

"How far apart were those last two?" he asked her once the pain had passed.

"Only eight minutes. We're making progress if I dare say so myself!"

"Do you still wanna stay here for a while longer?" asked Steven. "Or should we go back to the room and let them check you?"

"Let's head back," said Lila. "I'd like to know exactly how much closer we are to 'push time'." Lila slid forward a little in the tub so Steven could stand up behind her and get out. Once his feet were on the mat beside the tub, he reached over and helped Lila step slowly out.

"Here you go, babe," he said, handing her a towel and her gowns. He grabbed his uniform from the chair. "I'm going to go get dressed."

"Hang on," said Lila. "Don't you wanna put on your civvies instead of your uniform?"

"Oh yeah," said Steven, "I guess I do. They're still in the suitcase."

"It's Okay," said Lila as she slipped her gowns back on. "Just wrap your towel around your waist and you can change clothes in the bathroom once we get back to the room."

"You want me to walk out of here without a shirt on?" asked Steven as he tied her gown for her.

"Oh, Steven," Lila laughed. "It's all of a fifteen foot walk back to the room, no one is going to care!"

"Good point," he said as he wrapped his towel around his waist. Even as tired as she already was, Lila couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked right then.

"Ready?" he asked her, taking his uniform, shoes and Lila's bikini top in one armload.

"Let's go," she said. They made it back to the room just in time for the next contraction.

A/N: These babies are likely to be 100% Reagan given how long they are taking to make their way out of there. Steven and Eddie are doing a good job of keeping Lila focused though, shouldn't be too much longer.

Next Update – Jamie visits his baby girl as she labors, Lila's labor quickly accelerates after some medical intervention.