Remus was relieved that it was finally time for Sirius to push. In approximately 30 minutes to an hour, or maybe just a few minutes, or maybe even several hours (depending on how long Sirius was going to be pushing), he was going to be a father. He was finally going to meet his son or daughter.
Remus sat right behind Sirius in the hospital bed while Sirius reclined into him, allowing him to hold him. James and a nurse were each holding one of Sirius’s legs.
"You got this," Remus whispered to Sirius as he squeezed his shoulders, and he gave a smile back.
"Alright, Sirius. On your next contraction, breathe out and push," ordered Dr. Garcia.
As instructed, Sirius tucked his chin to his chest, then pushed when he felt another contraction.
As the next contraction started, James counted for Sirius. Remus also helped since it was another way for him to calm his own nerves. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…"
"Good, Sirius. Keep going, that's it!" Dr. Garcia proclaimed. "Again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."
The same routine went on for a minute.
"Continue pushing, Sirius," touted Dr. Garcia.
Gripping James’s arm as he felt another contraction, Sirius kept pushing as everyone counted in unison.
After a while, Sirius started to get impatient. The baby's head wasn't even crowning yet.
"Remus, how long have I been doing this?" Sirius groaned, already even more exhausted than he was when he started.
"Almost an hour," Remus replied, followed by an annoyed moan from Sirius.
"Seriously? It's already been an hour?" Sirius was shocked. He didn't even feel like it had been that long already.
"Sirius, you're going to need to push harder," insisted Dr. Garcia.
"Push like you're having a bowel movement," the nurse reminded him.
"Oh, my god! I am! I'm trying!" Sirius snapped at the nurse, having the urge to punch her in the face. To be honest, he really wasn't worried about pooping while giving birth. He really didn't care. He just wanted this baby out as soon as possible.
"Push, Sirius ," Remus gave his own words of encouragement, which he later realized he probably should have stayed quiet for a while since he got a frustrated response from Sirius.
"Shut the fuck up, Remus!"
Remus would have usually gone into shutdown mode pretty quick as Sirius had never yelled those words to him before, but since he was expecting Sirius to be like this while he was in labor (he even asked him to practice yelling and cursing at him when they "rehearsed" birth), it wasn't startling enough to shut him down.
"Remus, I'm sorry," Sirius sighed regretfully. "Forget I said that."
After an hour, Sirius continued to push and make progress despite his fever.
As Sirius kept pushing whenever he was instructed to, Remus kept stroking his hair and reassuring him with words of encouragement. "You're doing great. Just keep pushing. I know how hard you're working. I'm so proud of you."
"Good job, Lea!" Dr. Garcia commended. "Okay, now, big push!"
Digging his nails into Remus and James skin, Sirius yelped in agony and tears as he lurched forward and pushed, Remus’s hand resting on his shoulder. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"Good, Sirius! Good," preached James as he squeezed his knee. "Keep going!"
Sirius cried in pain as sweat was dampening his dark hair, which was made up into a messy half-ponytail. He continued to whimper.
"I'm proud of you, Sirius," Remus whispered to Sirius as he stroked his disheveled hair.
"It's a bit too early to be telling me that,Remus ," Sirius grunted, feeling Remus wrap his arms around him as he continued to push.
"Okay, Sirius," noted Dr. Garcia. "I need you to keep pushing. You're doing great."
"Don't forget to breathe, babe," reminded Remus as Dr. Garcia, Abby, and the nurse encouraged Sirius to push again.
Sirius sobbed as he continued to attempt to push his baby out. He let out a guttural wail of pain. "I don't want to do this anymore! I quit!"
"Sirius, I understand you're exhausted and in pain, but you can't give up now," sympathized James,patting the top of Sirius’s thigh. "Use your strength, pain, and emotions."
"You have come this far," heartened Remus,wrapping his arms around Sirius even tighter. "Just keep going. Our baby is almost here."
"Okay," whimpered Sirius,ready to resume pushing.
"Come on, honey, give it all you've got," encouraged the nurse as Sirius pushed.
"James,how am I doing?" Sirius whispered, desperate to know if any part of the baby was out yet because he felt like something was actually about to force its way out of his vagina. He wondered if it could be his baby's head. "Any sign of the head coming out?"
"Yes, the top of the head is beginning to emerge," he replied, his eyes gazing towards the intersection of Sirius’s thighs.
That definitely explained why Sirius could now suddenly feel that tingling, stretching, stinging, burning pain - no wonder they call it the "ring of fire". This was the first time he actually screamed during his entire labor.
Sirius’s howls of agony echoed through the room. It was the loudest Remus has ever heard him yell.
"Okay, he’s crowning," crooned Dr. Garcia. "Beautiful."
"Sirius,are you sure you don't want a mirror?" The nurse offered. "Do you want to see your baby's head?"
"No! Nope!" Sirius answered irritably. He already had the image of the "ring of fire" ingrained into his mind, and he could already feel his vagina ripping open, which hurt like hell, and that was already enough. He really didn't want to watch that happen as he felt it.
"Dad, do you want to see?" The nurse suggested to Remus.
Remus was speechless. He really wanted to get a full view, but Sirius didn't and he wanted to respect his wishes. Before he could ask Sirius anything, Sirius gave him his permission to take a look.
"Go ahead, knock yourself out," he sighed, rolling his eyes.
Remus shifted his body off of the bed and made his way towards the foot to see the whole thing. He could see an emerging small mass of dark hair. He got excited. "Yes! I can see the hair! I can see the top of the head!" Remus beamed enthusiastically, practically smiling and grinning, before returning to the head of the bed and getting back into his original position.
"Remus would you like to feel your baby's head?" James proposed.
Sirius nodded a yes and then allowed Remus to take his hand and then guide it towards the area between his legs.
"Oh, my god," breathed Sirius as he felt his baby's damp wet curls. "I can feel it. Our baby has hair!"
Remus could feel it, too.
Desperate to get his baby out, Sirius continued to push very hard and fast, even as he felt his baby's crowning head rip him open even more. He howled in agony as he felt his crotch rip apart like tissue paper.
"Okay, Sirius, slow down," commanded Dr. Garcia urgently. "Try not to push too hard or too fast. Just relax for a few seconds before you continue pushing."
Sirius didn't want to tear up to his asshole, but he might if he didn't slow down.
After a few more seconds of waiting, Dr. Garcia told Sirius that he could finally start pushing again. "Push, Sirius! Push!" She ordered.
"Ow! It fucking burns! It's ripping me apart!" Sirius yelled as he felt a burning sensation as the rest of his baby's head emerged, ripping him open even more - hoping his now second-degree tear wouldn't become third/fourth-degree.
Remus made noises of excitement as he watched his child's head be born. But as Sirius tried to push the shoulders out, he seemed to be having trouble.
"Damn it," Dr. Garcia cursed under her breath. As a doctor, Remus knew that when a doctor said that or any similar phrase during any procedure, that meant something was wrong.
"What's going on? Is it shoulder dystocia?" Remus guessed, trying to remain calm and not freak Sirius out.
"Yeah, looks like it," Dr. Garcia sighed and then immediately called in for an extra nurse and got ready for action. "Start my timer."
Remus got off the bed so Sirius could lay back, crouching down next to the bed to his level and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. James and the nurse helped Sirius pull his legs back further towards his chest. The nurse was using one hand to push down on the area above Sirius’s pubic region.
Remus stroked Sirius sweat-matted hair, and he could tell that Sirius was scared and in pain as he tried to push the rest of their baby out of his body.
He suddenly noticed that Sirius’s fever was now one degree higher than it was earlier. "Dr. Garcia, his fever is at 103 now," he disclosed frantically. He was scared, and so was Sirius.
Dr. Garcia glanced at the monitor, her face shifting to an expression of panic as she saw how high Sirius’s fever was. "Lea, don't push! Don't push!"
After a few seconds, Dr. Garcia finally gave the news to Remus and Sirius of what needed to happen.
"Okay, Sirius. I need you to listen carefully. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but your fever is at 103 now. If we don't deliver this baby as soon as possible, your baby could have brain damage or die. Suprapubic pressure isn't working, so I'm going to need to perform an episiotomy. I'm going to give you a local anesthetic to numb you, so you won't feel the incision."
"Okay," breathed Sirius. He just wanted this whole thing to be over so he can finally hold his baby. He was not looking forward to getting a needle down there.
"It will be numbing gel, not an injection," whispered Remus in reassurance, causing Sirius to sigh in relief.
Remus grit his teeth as he felt Sirius’s hand, which he had just now offered him at the moment Dr. Garcia applied the lidocaine gel, grip his own at its tightest. He bit his lip as Sirius squeezed his hand very hard, and it hurt...but he sucked it up and didn't complain.
Even with all those years of medical school, Remus couldn't help but feel physically sick as he saw a fresh burst of blood come pouring out once Dr. Garcia made the incision into Sirius’s perineum. He was feeling Sirius’s pain and fear right alongside him.
In less than two minutes with the assistance of forceps, Daisy Regulus Lupin-black was born on May 30, 2021 at 6:11 am after 33 hours and 26 minutes of labor.
"It's a girl," announced Dr. Garcia.
Sirius was practically bawling at that moment.