"Some." Anna kept her voice carefully neutral. "Increasingly frequently, actually. Have you?" And dammit it looked like they were having this talk after all.

"Occasionally," Ezio admitted. "However, I had initially planned to wait for a while to ask your thoughts on the matter."

Anna snorted. "So basically we've both been worry about what the other will think." She shook her head, amused. "Alright. You go first. What do you think about having kids?"

"I... would not mind children," Ezio said after a moment to gather his thoughts. "At all. I think I would enjoy the chance to be a father." He looked at her. "And you? What are your thoughts?"

"I honestly hadn't thought much about it before Iris got pregnant." Anna shrugged. "I think it would certainly be interesting. Anyone who has kids doesn't seem to regret it. So I'm certainly not against the idea."

"That was when the idea first caught me, as well," Ezio said. He looked at her, trying to figure out what to say next. Clearly, neither of them was against the idea of children, but neither of them was jumping at the idea, either. As far as he could see, at least.

Anna looked at him again. "Well, maybe after Iris has hers, we should babysit sometime? Sort of get an idea?"

"That seems like a sound plan," Ezio agreed. It seemed like a good way to decide if they wanted to try for a child themselves. And, he mentally added, it would give him a chance to talk to Altair and ask questions about fatherhood.

Anna nodded and figured that was that. So she looked over at him, grinned briefly and kissed him, and then went to go work on the Assassins again for a while.

Ezio grinned back and returned the kiss. Then he got back to work as well. They both had their work cut out for them with this group.

A few weeks passed. Anna discovered that once in a while saying things like "I had an easier time of this with the Italians" made the Americans work harder, because they hated being last.

And then Iris went into labor in the middle of the day.

Altair was already keeping a close eye on Iris, since it was getting close to time, but he was still caught by surprise. He shooed the group out of his way when he noticed something going on with Iris.

"I'm okay," Iris said when Altair shooed everyone away and started hovering around her. "Really. I can handle this." Her breath hitched a bit when a contraction caught her by surprise, and she wrapped an arm around her belly.

"What's happening?" Altair asked quietly, steering her inside carefully. He still didn't know what to expect, not really. No one was ever prepared the first time.

"The baby is going to be born soon," Iris replied as she let him take her inside. "I don't know how long it will take, though." She bit her lip briefly. There had to be someone around with experience delivering babies. The Order had to have someone.

"Sit." Altair steered her over to a chair. "I will find... someone." He knew the woman, but he didn't know the proper modern-day term for her. After looking at her one more time to be sure she wasn't going anyway, he slipped off to go find the woman.

Iris had no intention of getting up. So far, the contractions were slow and relatively easy, but she'd read in her research that they wouldn't stay that way. So, for the moment, she settled into the chair and pulled out her cell phone to text Anna.

Baby's on its way.

Anna had almost the same reaction as Altair. She stared for a moment before shooing people out of her way and bolting back to the main building to check on Iris.

Altair brought the woman, who looked Iris over briefly.

"How are you coming so far?" the woman asked with a kind smile.

Ezio noticed Anna taking off, and wondered what could be the matter before it dawned on him that it was likely Iris. He looked at the group of Americans he was working with before waving them all off for the day and following Anna.

"It's been about fifteen minutes," Iris replied. "I'm not entirely sure what's supposed to happen, or when."

"No one knows when exactly," the woman said. "It takes its own time. When the contractions start coming faster, tell me. We should move you to a bedroom now, dear. Can you walk?"

Iris nodded and carefully got up, one arm supporting her belly. Although she tried not to show it, she was a little nervous now. The baby wasn't going to be contently nestled inside her for much longer.

The woman led her to a room well away from the others, and she shut the blinds. "There. Go ahead and get comfortable, dear." She nodded when she noticed Iris was wearing a dress. Good. That would make things easier.

Iris nodded and did so, only pausing to brace herself on a piece of furniture as a contraction came and went. The baby squirmed a bit, but for the most part stayed still.

Ezio could definitely tell that Altair was already getting tense. Anyone who didn't know him wouldn't notice, but Ezio could see the man starting to fidget.

"Will you be alright?" he asked softly.

Altair nodded, glancing back at Ezio. He was more worried about Iris than himself. He'd been through stressful situations before. Really, no one's life was in danger, so it shouldn't have been a problem.

But it was.

The woman helped her get settled. "Just keep breathing," she said, pulling over a chair next to her for the moment. "Deep, circular breaths. Just let it happen, don't try to fight it."

Ezio could tell what Altair was stressing over.

"She'll be alright," he said. "And soon enough you'll have two people to fuss over."

Iris nodded and settled in. It was going to be a long day.

Altair smiled humorlessly. 'Soon enough' wouldn't be soon enough for him.

As it turned out, he didn't wait well. Within a few hours he was pacing, his shoulders tensed, his attention constantly on the door to the room where Iris was, which the nurse had pointedly closed a short while ago.

Anna wasn't much better, although she at least was sitting. She kept drumming her fingers on the arms of the chair and tapping her feet.