She knew she was dreaming again. There was darkness around her, yet a light from the doorway was becoming brighter and brighter until she realized to her horror that it was someone holding a torch and by the footsteps she could hear, it could only be one person.

The second he entered, the whole room was illuminated and this time he wasn't alone. Cesare Borgia was with his most trusted accomplice- Machiavelli.

It was then that she knew for sure she was dreaming. Machiavelli would never be an ally of such a wretched man, but it was a dream and it had a mind of its own. Cesare smiled with a grin that only meant he had thought of a new way to inflict pain on her and she cowered in the corner.

"Don't hurt me!" she thought she had said, but apparently her voice was not heard for Cesare came to her and laid out his hand in front of Machiavelli.

Without a blink, Machiavelli handed him a dagger and then smirked at her, happy to know that she was going to be hurt again.

She awoke with a start, breathing heavily and feeling her heart pound in her chest. As she noticed the familiar surroundings of her room, her breathing calmed, only for her heart to skip a beat when she saw someone in the room with her.

"You are awake! That is good." It was the doctor and his beaked mask startled her again. His robes made a rustling sound against the floor and she was reminded of a memory when she had heard Cesare's cloak made that same sound.

Claudia sat up on her bed and pushed away the last of the wisps of her nightmare. As more time passed, she started to forget what it had been about except she had seen Machiavelli.

"I feel better now." She said, wanting to get rid of the Doctor.

"You should." The Doctor said. "I have administered my potions that will bring strength back to your muscles in no time."

Claudia smiled weakly and wished the Doctor would leave already. She wanted to be alone with her miseries and nightmares. But the Doctor came to sit beside her and checked her pulse.

"Hmm." He said thoughtfully.

"I should just get some rest." She said, hoping he would take the hint. Her dream was starting to come back to her and with it the thoughts. In her dream her thoughts had been about Machiavelli's innocence even though she had not seen it. It was as if her heart was telling her to believe Machiavelli regardless of the implicating evidence against him.

She was being silly and she knew it. After all, hadn't she seen him with Marietta with her own two eyes?

"You should get plenty of rest." The Doctor said. "Try not to do any strenuous activity." He was checking her eyes and then sat up straight. "Hmm."

"Is something wrong?" she asked. The Doctor was annoying her and still not leaving her alone.

"No, in fact there might be a bit of good news." He said. "I cannot be certain for it may be early I suppose. But I have instincts about these sorts of things and I have been getting some pretty strong…"

"What is it?" Claudia snapped.

"You may be pregnant." He said.

Claudia felt her mouth drop open. "No!" she said.

"Like I said I cannot be certain." The Doctor said quickly. "It may be early since you don't show certain signs, but you do have an aura of a pregnant lady."

The Doctor was babbling about his instincts and how he had told one woman she was pregnant once and she had laughed at his face only to find out weeks later that she was indeed expecting. All this was lost on her as she tried to grasp on what he had just said. She was pregnant?

"Is this why I have been vomiting?" she asked in horror.

"Not necessarily." The Doctor said, annoyed he was interrupted in another tale about his instincts. "You look as if you haven't slept and eaten well in days. Or it could be a pregnancy symptom. Some women show it in months after conception, others in a few days and weeks."

Claudia felt her stomach clench, turned on her side and vomited on the floor.

No she couldn't be pregnant! She just couldn't be!

Wiping her mouth, she straightened, feeling light-headed again.

"In a few days I should be able to confirm it for you." The Doctor said, getting up. "And then in a few months I should be able to tell you if you're having a boy or a girl."

Claudia grabbed his sleeve and pulled him towards her. "Zitto! If you utter a single word of this to anyone I will slice your throat." She threatened.

"I-Bu-but….Is it not good news?"

Claudia pushed him away and got up herself. "Not one word." She warned.

The Doctor looked scared as he hurried towards the door. Before leaving, he paused. "Or you may not be pregnant." He gave her a nervous smile and Claudia glared at him. That was enough for the Doctor to leave and close the door behind him.

When he left, Claudia sat down on her bed and put her hands on her lap. Before tonight, she would have been happy that she was going to be a Mother. But after what had happened, she wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Her hands went over to her stomach and she touched it softly. Was there really a child growing inside her?

Claudia shook her head and got up, feeling dizzy and grabbing her bedpost. With one hand clutched to her chest, she squeezed her eyes shut.

If there ever was a time to pray, it was now. Regardless of what she thought of her pregnancy, she knew for sure that her Mother would not be pleased. And there was a strong chance that she would ask her to terminate the pregnancy.

She had overheard once that abortions were illegal, but there were some doctors who illegally prescribed herbs and potions that resulted in miscarriages. What if her Mother asked her to take something like that?

Claudia held back her tears. She couldn't think of this anymore or she was sure she would go mad.

Besides, there was a chance that she wasn't pregnant. Si, she would think only of that- that she was not pregnant. She was only tired and weak from not sleeping and eating well. That had to be it.

Taking a deep calming breath, she went downstairs to hear the Doctor tell her Mother that her daughter was just fatigued and nothing else. Claudia entered the room and the Doctor looked at her nervously and then left.

"Claudia, you should be in bed." Her Mother said, turning to face her. "You need rest."

"After what happened tonight, it isn't surprising she cannot find rest." La Volpe said dryly.

Her Mother put an arm around her and made her sit on a nearby chair. "You must be strong, Claudia. I had hoped you would never experience betrayal again, but it seems that destiny keeps bringing you to that spot."

Claudia said nothing and only looked at her hands.

"Do not forget that we are here for you- your family and the Assassins." Her Mother said. "We will rebuild our Order and bring in more recruits. We shall stand again."

Claudia nodded, still unable to say anything. She didn't want to keep anything from her Mother, but was it really a good idea to tell her at this moment that she was pregnant?

"Si." La Volpe said. "The Templars shall never win. And the ones, who betrayed us, will repay with their life!"

Claudia looked up at him in surprise.

La Volpe knelt beside her. "We will get our revenge. Machiavelli will die by my blade."

Claudia was sure that her heart had stopped beating and that what she had heard was not really true. She was probably dreaming; it had to be all a dream.

"I agree with La Volpe." Antonio said angrily. "Machiavelli betrayed us and he should be killed."

Claudia looked up at her Mother with tears in her eyes. But her Mother hadn't noticed her yet.

"No." she said. "We are not strong enough. Niccolò is backed by the Borgia. If we kill him now, they will retaliate and we would have been defeated yet again. No, we must rebuild our forces first."

La Volpe agreed reluctantly. "But then Machiavelli dies." He said. "By my blade."

Claudia reached out to touch her Mother's arm.

"Agreed." Her Mother said and Claudia's hand froze in mid-air. "Once we have our recruits, we get our revenge."