"Well, my queen, you're in perfect health," The physician proclaims. I grin, and look at Atem. His face radiates joy; his first child only has a month before it is born. Preparations are being made daily for the birth and baptism.

Looking over the stomach that used to be board flat, I giggled. In the past five months, the child had grown, quite a bit. Isa's new favorite thing to do is to balance a glass on top of my stomach. While she has mastered the art of balancing it there, I have yet to keep it balanced.

Atem squeezed my hand. "Everything is well, then?"

"Yes. We can probably expect our heir in less that a month." The physician smiles kindly, reminding me again of a grandfather. He bowed to Atem and I, and then left the room.

"Well, daddy, are you ready to help me downstairs for dinner?" I grinned, and Atem laughed. Suddenly his strong arms swept me up off the bed, and I squealed, protesting.

"Atem! Set me down!" He merely chuckled harder, and swung me around.

"Oh... Atem! I have to walk downstairs... swinging me won't help!"

With a grin, he set me back on my feet. I clutched his arm as the room slowly stopped spinning. Pouting, I let go of his arm as soon as I could stand straight, and started walking toward the door.

"Aww... Kisara..." Atem was at my side, holding my hand. Even though I tried my best to glare at him, his bright eyes and boyish grin made me smile, and punch him gently on the arm.

"You can't be swinging a pregnant woman around," I said as we walked out the door and to the stairs.

"I know," he replied innocently.

As we started down the stairs, I looked at the rail with a newfound interest.

"Hold onto me," I said, and sat down on the rail. As soon as my feet were off the ground, I began to slide down, gaining speed every second.

"Kisara!" Atem called as he ran down the stairs after me. I laughed, and as I hit the end, slid off neatly, landing with both feet on the floor.

Atem reached the bottom as just after I did. "Kisara," he said, his face pale. "Are you okay?"

I laughed lightly. "I'm fine. I should do that more."

"No!" Atem got a sour look on his face. "You could fall. You could have fallen there."

I rolled my eyes, and sighed.

"What's the point of living in a palace with a grand stair rail if you can't slide down it," I grumbled as Atem took my arm, and we walked into the dining hall.

"The point is that you are eight months pregnant with the heir of Egypt," Atem said, "and you are my one and only wife, my only love. That's the point. The rail will be there, but I have to make sure you will too." He smiled tenderly.

I sighed heavily. "Do you ever stop being right?"

"On occasion."

The dining hall was filled with a few scattered groups: several foreign diplomats, most of the council, and various people of wealth or standing. Atem and I sat down at the head of the large center table, where there were a few other people eating and socializing. Feeling slightly ill, I simply took a slice of bread and slowly ate it. Atem on the other hand, ate heartily, laughing along with a wealthy farmer from the northern part of the kingdom.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside the doors. I stood up quickly.

"What was that?" the farmer asked, looking puzzled.

As if in answer to the question, the dining hall doors burst open, and there stood a tall, tanned figure in scarlet. His white hair was eerily familiar.

"Bakura!" Atem snarled from behind me.

"My dear pharaoh," Bakura said with false charm, "I see you are in good health." He grinned at me then, a lewd look upon his face. "And so is the queen," he added with a smirk.

"Don't you dare," Atem growled, his face one of sheer rage.

"Come on, boys," Bakura said with a chuckle, and raising a scimitar, rushed into the dining hall, followed by a horde of men, all armed. I gasped, as the few guards in the room locked swords with the thieves. Atem was tossed a sword, and went straight after Bakura. The king of thieves was waiting, and the two began to fight, blow by blow blocked, neither giving any ground.

"Kisara!" Atem yelled. I remained frozen to the spot where I was, and clutched my stomach. A razor sharp pain swept through my abdomen, and I blinked back the pain.

"Run!" Atem cried out, and jabbed at Bakura. Suddenly, my feet unfroze, and I ran, out the door and straight into a man covered in dust.

"Well, you're a pretty one," he leered, and before I could think of a response, my fist swung up and punched him straight in the face. He howled in pain and I fled past him, looking for guards, wondering where they all could be. I tripped over something, and was sent sprawling on the floor, the sharp pain in my stomach back, burning through me with the intensity of the sun. I tried not to scream out, and looked for what I had tripped over. And found the guards. They were laying on the floor, the throats cut, blood spilling over the marble floors. Blood I was laying in, blood that covered me. Blood slain to keep Atem and I safe. Blood for my unborn child.

The scream escaped me then, as I fell back on the red floor. The sounds from the dining hall, the clash of metal on metal, the cries of the wounded and dying, all swam in my head as the red faded to black.

"Oh Ra, she's hurt!"

"Kisara!"

"My queen! Please, wake up!"

"Is the queen dead?"

Sobbing from somewhere very close. Hands holding mine, more hands at my neck, on my stomach. I moved my head weakly, and opened my eyes.

"She's alive!"

"Awake too!"

"Kisara?"

Eyes, so many eyes above me. One pair wine, one hazel, and... two sets blue?

I opened my eyes fully, and saw the eyes had faces. Atem, Ain, Isis, and Seth. I gasped, and stared at Seth, my lips trembling.

"You're back," I mouthed, my voice gone. He nodded, pale and bloody.

"Kisara? Are you hurt?" Atem clasped my hand tightly.

Another stab went through my womb.

"I'm not," I said tightly, and tried to sit up. "But I think this baby wants out now."

Atem's jaw dropped. "But there's supposed to be another month to go!"

"Tell your child that," I said breathlessly.

"Let's move her," Isis said, her voice firm and calming.

Seth picked me up before anyone could say anything, and began carrying me up the stairs like a babe. Atem, Isis, and Ain followed.

"What are you doing?" I hissed under my breath.

"Helping you," he said in a low monotone. He cast a warning glance at me: there would be time to speak later.

"What happened?" I protested loudly. It seemed an evil hand had taken hold of my stomach, twisting and clawing at my innards. It was all I could do to hold in my cries. Blood had plastered my hair to my face and I couldn't help but wonder whose it was.

"We'll tell you later," Ain said, her voice low, her eyes averted.

Something seemed off about her manner, and I started to demand an answer, but another wave of pain washed over my body. This time, I couldn't help crying out, and Atem paled visibly.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and didn't open them until I felt myself being laid down. We were in a special room that had been prepared for the birth. It wasn't quite done yet, but a bed had been constructed and furnished already. Seth had laid me down upon it, and everyone crowded around the bed.

"Ain, will you fetch the midwife?" Isis asked quietly. Ain nodded and fled the room.

"Atem, you must leave. Seth, if you will say a blessing, then leave as well?" Isis looked at them expectantly.

Atem nodded, and looked at me. "I love you," he mouthed. I pressed my lips together, and nodded. He gave me one last look and left the room.

Seth bent his head and muttered a quick prayer to Hathor and Bes, asking them to bless the child and protect it, as well as the mother. A breeze fluttered the curtains, and I breathed in deeply.

Seth finally raised his head, and our eyes met for a single, knowing moment. Then he turned and left.

"Are you ready, Kisara?" Isis asked gently, fluffing my pillow and resting a hand on my brow.

"I guess I better be," I said with a weak smile, and leaned back.

Teana looked up at Atem and Seth. Both were pacing back and forth across the room, passing each other. Teana smiled, and went back to her needlework. You couldn't tell who the father was unless you knew, she thought with a concealed grin. Each had paled with every cry from the room.

"I swear I can see treads in floor," Ain said teasingly from her chair by the door.

"Quiet, wench," Priest Seth said snappishly. Atem glared in Ain's direction, continuing his feverish pace. Teana rolled her eyes for Ain's benefit.

The birthing room door opened, and Isis came out. Atem and Seth were there in an instant, blocking her way into the room, fierce in their thirst for answers.

"How is she?" they asked in unison.

Isis smiled beatifically. "Fine."

"And the child?" Atem asked, holding his breath.

Isis gave a wry grin to Ain and Teana. "They have been like this for five hours?"

"Five and a half," Ain said.

"They've been counting," Teana added.

"The child, damn it!" Atem said loudly. Seth glared menacingly at Isis.

"Is fine as well. And a baby girl. Her father's eyes and mother's hair." Isis smiled, and moved out of the way as Atem sped into the room, Seth restraining himself slightly, but following. Fathers were served first, uncles second.

Though in this case, it could easily be the other way around, Seth thought with a grimace as he approached the bed. It had only taken him a second upon hearing the news to realize it could be his child. A sudden swell of happiness had filled him, only to be taken away again at the thought of his once chance against countless of tries on Atem behalf.

Kisara lay there quietly, and Seth was almost sure she was asleep. But there was a cry, and she seemed to shake herself, and smiled serenely down at the wailing bundle in her arms. Atem was leaned over the bed next to her, his face one of pure rapture. Seth grimaced, and looked away, willing himself not to pull Atem away from the woman he loved.

"Seth," Kisara called, looking up, "Come see your niece." She smiled sadly at him, her eyes beseeching him to join them. Swallowing hard, Seth walked stiffly over to the bed, and peered at his new niece. She was a pretty creature, even with her wrinkled red face, and head of fair hair.

"She's lovely," Seth said.

Atem nodded in agreement, and touched the infant's hand with his finger. She opened her tiny fist and grasped his finger, holding it tightly within her tiny fingers.

"She's a miracle," Kisara whispered. Her lovely eyes were tired, her lids drooping.

"Indeed," Atem said. Kisara looked from Seth to Atem, and finally to her child, then closed her eyes, leaning back into the pillow.

"Can I... hold her?" Seth asked quietly. Atem grinned. "Be careful."

Seth carefully picked the child up, and looked deep into its eyes. They were half closed, but it was clear that her eyes belonged to Atem: they were a radiant violet. Cradling the baby, Seth drew the shape of an ankh on her forehead, and handed her to Atem.

"What are you going to name her?"

Atem looked down at the babe in his arms, and smiled. "Eshe. For she is life to me, the life that Kisara and I made." A muscle in Seth's neck twitched, and he stood quickly stood.

"I shall announce it to the council," he said shortly, and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Atem looked from the face of his newborn babe to that of his exhausted wife. Cradling the child gently, he lay down next to the sleeping beauty that was his wife and sighed softly.

"No man could be happier than I," he murmured.