Aurelia was a bright medical scientist who received her doctorate at the age of 28. In virtue of this, she had been bright with a high reputation in the research world, having come up with many discoveries which greatly contributed to medical science. However, people tend to misunderstand her because of her fine looks, and many may think a dy of her stature could best fit as a model than as a scientist.

  She has long, golden hair falling down her back, combined with snow white skin that gives her an elegant look. Her eyes are golden in color, reflecting the sharpness of her mind. With a height of 180 cm and a well-proportioned body, her presence always steals the show, both in the conference room and in the academic environment.

  Unlike her husband, who is flexible, Aurelia is the type of person who depends on her reasoning for almost everything in her life. She never gets carried away by emotions and prefers to face everything with a reasoning attitude. Though stern and serious, her affection is never cking. Not one to speak words of love through soft words or fttery, she speaks through actions in making sure her nearest and dearest always have the best, be it in health, education, or life in general.

  In Reykjavik, Icend, at the country's main hospital, a delivery room is ready. Bright lights turn on and illuminate the medical tools neatly arranged, as the steps of the nurses echo with softness on the sterile floor. The atmosphere in the room was not rowdy, but beneath that tranquility y the magnitude of a moment. A new life was about to arrive into the world.

  Aurelia was seated on the hospital bed, she wore a soft fabric birth dress that reached out to her skin and touched it with comfort. The design was simple, functional all to make it easy for her body to move between the preparations made by the medical staff. Her golden hair fell down over her shoulders, a bit messy, yet carrying its natural elegance.

  She calms, almost like a doctor getting ready for a medical procedure. His face did not show excessive anxiety, his eyes remained as sharp as ever, as if all of this was just part of a process he understood well. Inside, however, there was something he could not fully control.

  Her heart was beating more rapidly than usual, not only because of bor approaching but due to some unexpinable anxiety. Not fear of pain, nor concern for safety-but deeper.

  She has spent his life in logic and careful calcution. Every decision, every step, was based upon data and analysis she trusted. This time, however, there were no numbers, no theories, no formus to say what it would feel like to be a mother.

  For the first time in a long while, Aurelia faced something she could not fully control.

  ‘What if I am a bad mother? What if my child isn't like I have ever envisioned? What if there is something wrong, something with which I won't be able to cope, just with scientific knowledge?’ That thought fshed briskly in her mind, yet she buried it deep, just like usual. No sense indulging in counterproductive anxiety.

  With one deep breath, she raised her head to let her expression remain composed and professional, as it had been. No matter what she might feel, no matter how strong the anxiety weighing upon her from within, Aurelia refused to be seen to falter.

  Outside the delivery room, a man paced restlessly; his footsteps went back and forth in the quiet yet tense corridor. Trying to manage the pounding of his heart, a cold sweat running down his back told the story of how he wasn't in the best of shape.

  He is also attired in a suit, though without appearing like the stereotype of a nerd, à a character in most cssic movies from the '90s with big nerdy specs or stumbling along. Just basically masculine and oozing with an air of education combined with stern solidity.

  His bck pants were perfectly wrapped around his legs, neat but not stiff. He had worn a white shirt tucked into his pants, sans belt, to give a casual yet professional look. The long sleeves of the shirt were folded up to his elbows, showing well-defined arms, as if he was ready to move any time should there be a need.

  He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, but did not let one bit of anxiety leave his eyes. He had been through lots of situations in his life, greater than those most people would face, but right now. Everything felt different.

  Behind that door, the person who meant most in his life was about to face an important moment in her life, while he out here could do nothing but wait.

  ××××××××××××××××××××

  In the delivery room, originally so quiet, suddenly there were noises that tore through the silence. The doctor's firm orders, quick steps of nurses, continuous beeping of monitors, and in between them, the heavy breathing of a woman struggling at her limit.

  Aurelia y on the bor bed, her tense body and hands clutching tightly to the sheets, reflecting the pain now beginning to reach its peak. Sweat ran down her temples, mingling with strands of golden hair now matted from the long struggle. Her face was composed, but the tension was reflected in her piercing gaze.

  "Take a deep breath. and push," the female doctor's voice rang out loud and clear, trying to keep her composure in intense situation.

  Aurelia shut her eyes for a moment, using all the strength in her body. Her muscles tensed, her bones seeming to burst from the tremendous pressure. One more push. Then another one. Yet the baby still didn't come out.

  Then blood began to seep, flowing onto the sheets, which stained a deep, crimson red. Droplets of sweat and spots of blood intertwined among the efforts of a mother.

  Aurelia has never been afraid to look pain in the eye, she has gone through so much. But this time, something felt different. Not only her body but also her mind was trying to fight the battle.

  Anxiety started to creep in, "What if this goes wrong? What if my baby doesn't come out safely? What if all my medical estimations are just not good enough to save my little baby?"

  "Come on, just a little more," the same doctor's voice came back.

  Aurelia opened her eyes, staring ahead with renewed focus. There was no more room for doubt. No more time for fear.

  He took a deep breath and gave one st push with the remaining strength he had.

  And then. The cries that should have filed the room never came.

  What was earlier a busy set of medical voices began dying down into an eerie silence. The hospital staff looked at each other, waited, and wished that very soon they could hear the baby cry. But there was dead silence.

  The doctor holding the baby immediately performed an examination, his hands deftly confirming that the baby's lungs were working properly. There were no immediate signs of danger, no bluish skin color, no breathing problems, but still, the baby was still silent.

  Aurelia, still gasping on the bor bed, felt her blood ripple coldly. Her eyes, always sharp, now began to go out of focus, her body weak from the heavy blood loss. Labored was her breathing, and she was beginning to feel exhaustion dragging her to the brink of unconsciousness. But she refused to give up now.

  "Why isn't it crying?" Her voice was not loud, yet somehow, it sliced through the silence of the room.

  A nurse straightened up toward Aurelia's bed immediately and approached her, trying to soothe her, while Aurelia didn't want to be soothed-she wanted answers. Her half blurred vision tried hard to search for her baby, fighting the dizziness that was increasingly hitting her consciousness.

  Newborn James, on the contrary, was silent.

  For him, there was nothing to cry over. There were no painful sensations to startle him, none of those fears that demand an emotional outlet. He was used to reality, and even in his new body his consciousness was a grown man's.

  Yet, in his silence, he could make something out. The concern in the air, voices that sounded irate, and most obviously, the weak voice of the woman who could be known to be the mother of his new body.

  This concept of family had been so alien to James earlier. He was never the one who got attached via emotional strings or accustomed to having someone care for him. But for the first time in his life, he saw a woman who had been holding on to her st breath for her sake just now try to stay conscious to get a glimpse of him.

  Aurelia wished she could hug her son.

  The hand so steady suddenly started to flutter, as her body gave in, and her dimmed golden eyes searched for one thing—the baby.

  As if noticing Aurelia getting worse, the nurse hastily handed the baby over to her.

  James still said nothing.

  She came to one conclusion. If he remained in the silence, he felt it was not needed, and then maybe her mother would be even more worried, and maybe she would even lose her consciousness.

  James hated manipution, but did a little compromise here count as manipution? Is acting just to ensure that this woman can feel a little calmer something that goes against his principles?

  He didn't know.

  But one thing he realized was that he didn't want to see her fall into darkness just because of him.

  And finally, that little voice came out.

  Not a loud cry like a typical baby, but enough to be heard-a weak sound, but enough to prove that it was alive, that it existed.

  'This is enough,' James said in his mind.

  Smiles creased the face of Aurelia, and her slow breathing finally moderated. She took her child for the first time into her arms with whatever strength was left.