As Natalya's pregnancy advanced, she began to feel very awkward and ungainly. Although Michael assured her that she was more beautiful than ever to him, she still worried that she was now less attractive. She also began to experience frequent backaches. Michael gave her many back massages to help ease her discomfort, and she was very grateful to him.

Natalya began to feel that she'd been pregnant forever. Her feet and hands became swollen, and she began to have false contractions. One evening the contractions felt different, more intense and even a bit painful. Then Natalya felt a sudden gush of warm water soak her clothing and knew that she was truly in labor.

Michael quickly drove his wife to the hospital, where she was placed in a wheelchair and taken to a room with an uncomfortable-looking bed and various rather frightening-looking instruments.

Right away the doctor told Michael that he'd have to stay in the waiting room, then told Natalya to remove all her clothing and gave her a gown that barely covered any part of her body. Self-conscious, Natalya struggled to arrange the gown to cover one body part, only to leave another exposed.

"Please lie on the bed so that I can examine you," the doctor told her. Natalya lay back on the bed, which proved to be every bit as uncomfortable as it looked, and spread her legs as the doctor told her to. Feeling very embarrassed and vulnerable, she winced as she felt the doctor's cold fingers slide into her.

"You've got a ways to go," the doctor told her before disappearing into the hallway.

Presently a nurse appeared. "Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?" the nurse asked. She sounded much kinder than the doctor had.

"Please, can you send my husband in to see me?" Natalya begged her.

"I'm sorry, but that's against hospital regulations," the nurse replied. She drew blood from Natalya's arm, then gave her a shot that she said would lessen the pain. The shot made Natalya feel woozy and made her mouth feel very dry.

The contractions became more intense, and in between them, Natalya drifted in and out of awareness. At some point the doctor reappeared and examined her once again.

"It won't be much longer now," he announced.

Suddenly the contractions became unbearable. Wave after wave of pain crashed over Natalya until she felt that she simply couldn't take it anymore. Somewhere in the background, a voice was telling her to push. She did and the pain lessened significantly. Over and over again she pushed with all her might, then felt a burning and tearing sensation, and suddenly the pain had disappeared.

"It's a girl!" the doctor announced. A moment later, Natalya heard the newborn crying. It sounded just like the bleating of a baby lamb.

Oh, Michael. Tears came to Natalya's eyes as she longed for her husband more than she ever had before, and then all of a sudden there he was, grinning ear to ear and looking at her with eyes full of love.

"Hello there, little mother."

"Michael." She reached for him, and he embraced her tightly. "I needed you so badly."

"I wanted to be with you too, sweetheart, but they told me it was against hospital regulations, and this place is so well guarded that I knew it would be useless to protest." Gently he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.

"Six pounds, five ounces," announced the nurse as she lifted the baby from the scale and wrapped her in a blanket. A little small, but still well within the weight range of a normal full-term newborn. It was now exactly eight months and one week since Natalya had married Michael. She felt the touch of an icy finger on her spine and was afraid to look Michael in the eye.

"Well, aren't you gorgeous." The nurse had handed the baby to Michael, who held her lovingly and spoke gently to her. When Natalya looked into the tiny face, she felt such an overwhelming love for her newborn daughter that all doubts and fears vanished.

"I was thinking that perhaps we could name her Natalya after her mother and call her Tata," Michael suggested.

"If it's all right with you, I'd like to name her Michaela," Natalya said, a bit hesitantly.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to argue with that." Michael chuckled. "Thank you, my dear. I'm deeply honored."