When Teana began to wake in the morning, Atem's eyes had been fixated to look at her face. She opened her eyes, yawning, catching his eye. She smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips. He pulled her towards him and she gently placed her face towards the crook of his neck, drawing her arms around his torso. Atem lazily looped one arm over her to get more comfortable. They stayed like that for a couple minutes, simply in silence enjoying the peaceful quietness of their surroundings. Their minds were still whirling with thoughts, but this time the mood of these thoughts were significantly less somber than the night before. Sadness had still not washed out of Teana's system completely, but it was very slowly draining. Atem was trying his hardest to push his fears out of his mind, to put faith in the gods and enjoy the tranquil environment right now. Light peaked out from the window and Atem yawned loudly, quickly covering his mouth.

Teana smiled, shifting and moving out of Atem's hold. "I think it is time we get up..." Atem signed and then frowned, his act of admitting defeat in his desire to stay in bed much, much longer. His wife stretched herself a little, before gently sitting on her bed. It was then she had a startling reaction that immediately caught Atem's attention. Teana shook a few times quite furiously and then grunted loudly as if in pain.

Atem pulled himself up on one arm, scared and terrified. "Are you alright?!"

"Yes." She breathed, grunting again. "The baby just gave a hard kick, that is all."

"The baby gave a kick?!" He screeched, his eyes widening considerably as he raised himself up completely.

Her mouth opened wide open as she sat there frozen. "The baby just gave a hard kick...?" she questioned, bewildered at the words that came out of her mouth. "The baby just gave a hard kick!" She confirmed putting her hand to her stomach. "Ow! And another one!" She exclaimed with surprised glee.

Atem rushed over and crawled near her on the bed, putting his hand gently over her belly. "Could it be? Have the gods blessed us?" It seemed to good to be true! His hand was quivering; he didn't want to be lured into a false sense of hope... but then he felt a kick radiating from his wife's stomach and hope submerged and fully overtook his thoughts.

Tears were already streaming down the Pharaohess's eyes and soon the Pharaoh too followed in the suit. It was possibly the closest thing to a miracle that could happen to them. This time, the tears that were shed were not of pain or sadness. The twinkle that shone in both their eyes revealed it was happiness instead.

It was time to call the healers.

"It is a miracle!" Isis squeezed Teana's hands. "A miracle! A completely wonderful miracle!" Teana smiled brightly in return. "I am so happy for you!"

"I can hardly believe it myself!" Teana exclaimed in glee, grinning considerably. "I am not entirely sure how it is possible... but nevertheless I do not care."

Isis smiled shyly. "I have been speaking to other people for you my Queen and it seems it is not only you who had been graced with such a miracle. It is a rarity, but not as much as we thought."

"Oh?" She titled her head.

Isis nodded. "Yes, I have been speaking with the healers and others and it seems so. One thing to note is that a side effect of this is that..."

"Owww!" Teana flinched, bending and putting her hands on her knees. "I need to sit down." She stammered. Isis quickly lead her to a chair before she winced again. "The baby seems to be more active than usual..." She said weakly.

"Are you going into labor?"

"No, I do not think so... OWWW!" She yelled. "OWW!" She breathed heavily. "Just give me a moment..."

Isis looked worriedly at her. She was taking quick, sharp breaths, wincing or groaning in pain every thirty seconds or so at what Isis assumed was the baby kicking or something of the sort. "Should I call for the healers?"

"No... I think...!" She winced.

"Early labor." Isis stammered.

"Early labor?" Teana questioned." UGH..." She grimaced in pain.

"That is what happens in most of these cases. It is possible that..."

"OWWW!" She squeezed Isis's hand tight. "OWWWW! You know what?" She heaved... "Call them. Call them... This feels like labor." Isis immediately dashed out the door.

"Guards, guards! Bring forth the midwives!"

Screams radiated from inside the room. Atem winced outside, very worried for his love. 'May the gods give her strength...' he prayed silently.

Hondo reached out and put his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. He shared a glance with Jono who stood beside him. "We came to check on you." He began. "We thought we might find you here."

Atem grunted. "She has been there for hours!" He screeched pulling at his hair. "Hours!"

Jono and Hondo both frowned. Jono spoke up, "That is supposed to be norm-"

"And all I hear when I come here is her yelling, screaming or crying in pain." He covered his face.

"Women are strong..." Jono comforted.

"We are all praying for her." Hondo told him.

"Besides...the only thing you could hear from out here would be loud noises..." Jono added.

"I know... I know..." he muttered. Atem started walking in circles. "You know, you would think it would be done and over with by now... but noooo... instead pull at my heartstrings the whole time." He took a deep breath. "Worry for my wife, worry for the child. " Jono and Hondo shared a nervous glance. "Complications! All my fault." He covered his face. "All my fault!" He cried angrily.

"Atem." Seto called out, entering the area. The other three men turned to look at him. "Do not put blame on yourself. You are the reason she is still alive."

Hondo murmured in agreement. "Who knows what would have happened if you had not let your gut feeling guide you to her."

"Calm down." Jono said gently, "sit down..." He put his arm around him and guided his friend to a seat away from the entrance.

Atem took in a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists. "You are right. Most definitely right." He nodded his head slowly. The Pharaoh finally bent down to take a seat when he heard a scream louder than the rest and his eyes opened wide.

Teana was in pain, so much pain. Why all this pain? All this work for one little baby? Nine months she carried the baby and that wasn't a cup of tea either ...and now? She'd really have to rethink anymore children, not that she had that much of a choice really. The gods would bless her with as many kids as they wanted her to have.

A whirlwind of feelings and emotions clouded her. She kept her eyes shut and only opened them to see the ceiling. Everything ached. Everything hurt. She just wanted it to stop. She just wanted to take a warm, long bath and go to sleep. Instead she was here, bawling her eyes out while going through labor. Push, push, push. That was what they were screaming at her to do. Well, she was doing that and it didn't happen yet... How long had she been here? It felt like days. It was agony!

Her hands kept fisting into a ball, her toes kept curling and perspiration kept dripping on her forehead before someone (she didn't know who) wiped it off with a wet cloth.

She was no longer worried about her well-being nor the baby's well-being. All her thoughts were clouded about pain and when this would all end. Why had she been born a woman?! Why did men not give birth instead?!

Tears were also spilling out of her eyes, but she didn't bother wiping them, instead opting to close her eyes tight shut. The pain was getting worse... much worse. She didn't know it could be possible for it to get worse! Every now and then a scream or a cry emitted from her mouth, because it was all too much.

She wanted to give up, but even that wasn't possible.

Her breaths were quick and short, but she tried to breathe strong and heavily like the midwives recommended. It just wasn't working. Her screams became more frequent. Pain tremored through her entire being, her core, her head...

She groaned loudly in pain. She heard yells and murmurs from the people around her, but what was said was just drowned out. Everything was blurred. Everything was exhausting. Everything was pain.

She screamed.

Atem's heart lurched. He stood up immediately, fear enveloping his entire being, sending more emotions his way.

That scream had been different, more violent, more painful...

He stood up, running to the doorway, when suddenly... he heard the sound of a baby crying from within. He froze as a he let out a breath of air he did not know he was holding. His hand tensed, he had to get in there.

His eyes enlarged when a servant girl sped out hitting him accidentally smack in the chest, as she ran out. She grimaced in fear, muttering apologies, but Atem grabbed her shoulder with a tight, iron hold, and questioned her about the activities in the room in a fury. "The Queen has given birth," was her feared reply. With that, Atem nearly pushed her out of the way and entered the room where his wife lay.

He saw his wife first when he entered, her form weary and exhausted, but her cerulean blue eyes as radiant and sparkling with emotion as ever. He rushed to her, ignoring everything in the room, putting his hand to her face and kissing her temple firmly. She only managed to give a weak smile to reassure him. He grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it with both his own.

But then, he heard crying and he turned to see a midwife holding a babe in her arms. He met eyes with the elder woman and she gently walked over to him, giving the baby to him to hold. Ever so gently Atem's arms folded under the baby mimicking how the midwife had held the babe. He took in a deep breath taking in the sight of his kin. 'Perfect, healthy' was all Atem could think of the crying baby in his arms. He kneeled down, putting his head near his wife's, showing her the baby they both had a share in creating, and the baby that his beloved had brought into the world. Teana put her head on her husband's and smiled brighter this time as the child's cries slowly came to stop. The babe opened both eyes wide, looking up at the two people who were known as the Pharaoh and Queen of the land, but to the baby, would be known as mother and father.

Epilogue will be up shortly! I'm so happy that this fic is coming to a conclusion soon! :')

Yay, it turns out Teana didn't lose the baby after all and she was able to give birth to a healthy baby! The bleeding was actually bloodied mucus that may come before a woman is about to give birth. I was thinking about her losing the baby for real, but then I ended up deciding to keep it happy this way. A special thanks to Angiembabe, for helping me with this chapter. She was a big help!

****IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are pregnant and you bleed, please immediately contact your doctor. It could be a result of serious complication or miscarriage and you may need medical attention! Please do not ignore it!

Thanks for reading and please review!

~Startistica