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“Sid?” Lana's frightened voice immediately drew his attention. “What's happening?”

Before he could answer, Dawn stepped closer. “Lana, sometimes a baby's heart rate dips during contractions. We're watching her closely, but I want you to turn onto your side for a moment.”

“Is she okay?” Lana asked.

“She's recovering well,” Slade assured her, his attention returning to the monitor.

Sid wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer, but Lana was already reaching for him. He helped Angelina support her as she shifted onto her side, keeping his arm around her when another contraction began.

“Fuck!” Lana cried out, gripping him.

“I'm here.” He held her close, his gaze snapping toward Slade. “How's she doing?”

“Heart rate's coming back up nicely,” Slade replied not looking at Sid, but keeping his attention on the monitor.

“Then why the hell aren't you smiling?”

Slade slowly turned his head. “Would you like me to smile, Sid?”

“Wouldn't fucking hurt.”

“Sid!” Lana gasped.

“What?”

“Stop arguing with Slade.”

“He started it.”

Even Dawn laughed at that, although she quickly returned her attention to Lana. “All right, let's get through this contraction. I don't want you pushing just yet.”

Sid looked at her. “I thought we were pushing.”

“We will be,” Dawn replied patiently. “Right now, I want to give the baby a moment to recover.”

He opened his mouth, ready to question Dawn again, but Lana's grip tightened around his hand.

“Sid, please,” Lana said as if knowing he was getting ready to argue.

The fear in her voice stopped him. He looked down at his wife, and the expression on her face nearly brought him to his knees. Fuck. She was scared enough without him adding to it. He wanted to grab Slade by the throat and demand to know why the hell his daughter's heart rate had dropped, but that wasn't going to help Lana. And right now, she needed him a hell of a lot more than he needed answers.

“Hey.” Sid leaned closer, brushing the damp hair away from her face. “Look at me. Slade's watching her, Dawn's right here, and nobody's running around screaming. That's a good sign, right?”

Lana gave him a small nod, although he could tell she wasn't convinced.

Hell, neither was he.

He knew Slade and Dawn wouldn't hesitate to act if something was seriously wrong, but that didn't stop the horrible possibilities racing through his head. His daughter wasn't even born yet, and already he was getting a taste of just how fucking terrifying being a father was going to be.

“Just stay with me,” Lana whispered.

“Not going anywhere.” He kissed her forehead, keeping his attention on her even though every instinct he possessed wanted to look over his shoulder at that damn monitor.

“Where we at, Slade?” Dawn asked, already heading back to her stool at the end of the bed.

Slade waited a few seconds, which felt like an hour to Sid, before he answered. “Heart rate's back where we want it and didn’t drop during that last contraction.”

Thank fuck.