Calling the contractions "uncomfortable" wasn't entirely the right word, but that was the best way Eva could describe it at the time.

It was like a feeling of intense pressure squeezing her abdomen tightly for around a minute to a minute and a half. They came in intervals of about two to three minutes, providing her with a strange sense of rythm. It helped her time her breathing, to a point.

The doctors and nurses buzzed around her like little busy bees. Every now and then she felt a pair of intruding gloved fingers in her vagina and she heard a voice speaking. It wasn't Ezio's. He was...somewhere. She wanted him here. Needed him here. Maybe he fainted? No, he wasn't that squeamish. Maybe he was getting into a medical smock for that big moment? Maybe.

Something changed. The pressure in her abdomen intensified. The squeezing and cramping was finally beginning to hurt; particularly around her lower back. But she could also feel a tingling sensation. One of the doctors said something about seeing the head and her instincts were telling her to push, so she did.

The tingling gave way to a stretching feeling, then an intense burning pain. Eve's eyes clamped shut as the burning pain intensified, finally causing her to cry out. She had heard about this in her Lamaze classes. The "ring of fire", those instructors called it. She knew what it meant, and what was about to happen.

Sure enough, she felt the pressure abruptly "pop", though the burning pain remained. Behind her, she finally heard Ezio's voice. It had a soothing effect on her, made this ordeal more bearable.

"I see the head, the head is out! Woah... They've got black fur! Black fur, hon!"

Eva resisted the urge to reach out and grab him. But she reminded herself that the whole having a baby thing was her idea, not his. He was just all too happy to go that far when she finally asked.

She also wanted him to be the first to hold the baby after it was born and cut the cord. It felt right to her. He played a big part in this miracle, so he has every right to help deliver the baby himself as far as she was concerned. Her obstetrician and the nurses would handle everything after that...