She laid her fingers over her stomach, her stomach lurching, but not necessarily in a bad way. slowly she ran her hand over her stomach, and her eyes widened. A part of her wanted to second guess herself, but she knew that there was no way to deny it. It would explain all of her recent ailments, and her recent mood swings. Isis had suspected that she was pregnant for some time now, but you couldn't always be sure. Being skilled in medicine as she was, she had come across her fair share of false alarms, women who displayed all of the symptoms, but ended up never being pregnant to begin with. But now she was certain, the small bump in her abdomen a clear positive.

She slowly dropped onto her bed, letting the fact sink in. She couldn't believe that she was finally pregnant! For years she had been worried that she wouldn't be able to find a husband, much less get pregnant, and now it was finally happening. She had always loved children, and wanted a little boy or girl of her own. When she had told this to her husband, he had at first been nervous regarding having and raising a child, as she supposed all men were to some extent. He had asked to give the topic some thought, and she had respected that... until a year went by and he was still thinking about it. She had put her foot down then, as gently as she possibly could, and he had agreed that they were ready. They had been trying for three months now, not that either of them were complaining; to say the least, the sex was incredible! She had been feeling a bit put out, though. she had known women who had conceived the first time, with no complications, and had hoped that she was one of them.

But that hardly mattered to her now; all she cared about was that she and Mahad were going to have a child of their own.

Which reminded her, she needed to tell Mahad. How was she going to break the news to him? More importantly, how was he going to react. The last time she had brought up children to him, he had gone white, and started rambling about how Mana was bad enough as it was. But again, that had been almost a year and a half ago. His views may have changed. Even if they hadn't, wouldn't he be happy to know that it was his child that she was having?

Well, she wouldn't find out sitting here. Picking up her dress from off the ground, she put it on, smiling when she noticed that the dress wasn't as loose around her stomach as usual. she ran her hand delicately over her abdomen once more before heading out the door.

It was close to the afternoon, so Mahad would most likely be in the Magician's wing, either teaching Mana, or signing documents for the Pharaoh. She took the fastest route she knew to get there, yet it still seemed that she was going too slow. She was so anxious to tell him the news, regardless of how he would take it. However, she decided that if he took it badly, she would see to it that he would make him change his opinion in the harshest of ways. He may be her husband, but no matter how much she loved him she wouldn't allow him to rain on this happy occasion. He could tend to exaggerate things, after all. She arrived at the Magician's wing after what seemed like hours of walking. Mahad's study was at the very back, where his teacher's used to be.

She'd make him move it closer once she was farther into her pregnancy.

When she got to his study, noticing it took much more out of her than usual to make the trek, she knocked on the door and practically sung out, "It's me Mahad." she said.

"Come in, Isis." he called. She happily obliged, almost slamming the door open in her enthusiasm. Mahad looked up from his work as she entered, smiling at her.

He exhaled a sigh in admiration. "How is it that you always manage to look so beautiful every time I see you?" he asked, walking over to her and encircling her in his arms. She giggled and kissed him on the lips.

"That's my little secret." she said, and kissed him again. He pulled away, smiling like an idiot at her.

"You're in a good mood today." he noted, and she laughed again. "Something I should know about? Like if it means you'll be making me happy later tonight?" he whispered the last part in her ear, causing pleasant shivers to go down her spine.

"We'll see how the day plays out." she stated. Mahad sighed; that usually meant 'no', or 'I feel like teasing you until you go crazy with want', neither of which were good for him. Isis noticed his expression fall.

"I didn't say no." she said playfully.

"But you didn't say yes, either." he responded, going back to sit at his desk. She walked over with him, sitting on top of her desk where there were no papers or other objects that she could disturb.

"What would you say if I asked you if you would like to have another Mana running around?" she asked, placing her hand on her stomach affectionately.

Mahad scoffed, not even looking up from his papers. "I'd say one Mana's bad enough." his voice turned to a laugh at the end, though, so that was a good sign. "Surely you don't want me to take on another apprentice."

"No, I just thought it would be nice for Mana to have someone with her youthful energy around, perhaps a bit younger, though, like a little brother or sister."

"I think Atem plays that role very well already." Mahad said. Isis frowned.

"What would you say if I told you we were expecting company soon?"

"When is this?" he asked.

"Hopefully somewhere between seven to eight months."

"Is this something you saw with your Necklace?"

Isis frowned again. "What would you say if I told you that you're the biggest idiot I've ever known."

Mahad looked up at this accusation. "What?" he asked. "What did I do? Did I forget something?"

Isis rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't." she sighed. "Mahad, I'm... I'm pregnant." she finally admitted.

She held her breath when she saw his eyes widen and he stood up, never taking his eyes off of her.

"You...Isis, y-you're..." he stuttered, not able to say anything.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yes, Mahad, I'm pregnant." her eyes softened.

"Who's is it?" he asked, causing her to nearly fall off the desk.

"Who-?" she exclaimed. "Yours, dummy! Who else have I slept with in my life besides you?!"

He laughed then. "I know that, I just felt like ruffling your feathers a little." his tone turned serious. "But...you're really pregnant, though? With our child?" he asked.

She nodded, the smile returning. "Yes, our child."

"And we're going to be parents?"

"Yes."

"And I'm going to be a father?"

"Yes."

That was the last thing she said before her husband collapsed on the hard stone floor.

This is one of my favorite chapters! Ha ha ha! He passed out in shock! Haha!

R&R at your leisure!