No sooner did the first star bathe Rome in its pale light than Aurelia's contractions began, and energetic female hands pushed Gaius out of her bedroom. Before the door slammed shut with a final bang, he caught one last glimpse of his wife's face. Although her body had already been seized by another wave of pain, she gave him one last, confident smile. She would make it. This thought gave him the strength to turn on his heel and quietly retreat to his public reception room, which was the furthest away from their private chambers.
But minutes turned into hours. One by one, the remaining stars twinkled up, forming a luminous sea to the horizon. The air was clear and mild. The waiting and her equally cruel friend the uncertainty played tricks on him. All sense of time faded away. At some point, Vespasian appeared with a bottle of wine that neither of them touched. With all his heart, Gaius was grateful to Vespasian for his assistance, but his friend's company only reminded him of his own helplessness in this situation.
Sometimes he thought he could hear Aurelia's agonised cries through the thick walls and Gaius found himself praying to the gods every time. They must not take Aurelia from him.
Slowly the stars in the sky faded and dawn broke. Still no new news of Aurelia. Still, he waited nervously with Vespasian. Every attempt at distraction failed. Again and again his thoughts returned to her and the child.

When the door opened with the first ray of sunlight, the waiting friends looked at the door expectantly at the same time. Standing awkwardly on the threshold was Hesiod, who hesitantly asked if Gaius would like to receive supplicants today. With him, the frantic sounds of the slave women entered the room, hurrying throughout the house in support of the woman in labour. Tiredly, Gaius ran his hand through his hair.
"Let no one in today!" he commanded, the freedman nodding with an expressionless expression and closing the door noiselessly behind him. Silence descended on the room. While Vespasian remained silent, Gaius took a papyrus. But after staring at the same group of words for half an hour without even beginning to grasp their meaning, he put the document back in its place, leaned back in his chair and looked out of the window. By now the city around them had come to life, only the world of his little room seemed to stand still.
A soft knock on the door shattered this small world. On the threshold stood a young slave girl, almost still a child. Her face was marked by tiredness and nervousness. Quietly she asked him to follow her. Something was wrong with Aurelia. Immediately Gaius jumped up from his chair, forgot his dignity and started to run. His whole mind was dominated by her.
When Gaius entered her chambers, he knew immediately that something was wrong. The women avoided his gaze, no one asked him to leave or approached him to offer an explanation. There were no congratulations, no joy, only tense silence. Heart racing, Gaius crossed the familiar rooms without noticing them until he finally reached their sleeping area. In the centre of the room stood the now empty birthing chair, on the edge of the bed sat his sisters, quietly tending to Aurelia. Drusilla, covering most of Aurelia's form with her own body, held a bowl of water, Agrippina was wringing out a cloth over it, while Julia simply held her hand. Immediately Julia raised her eyes, spotted Gaius and nodded to her sisters. Agrippina put the cloth back into the bowl, which Drusilla placed on a side table. As they rose at the same time, their robes rustled softly. One by one they left the room and their hands gently stroking his upper arm, Gaius barely felt them. All his attention was drawn to Aurelia's tired, pale face. Although she looked terribly exhausted, her eyes lit up when she saw him.
The next moment he was with her, sitting on the edge of the bed and trying to suppress his fear. Aurelia was not Junia. Aurelia was so, so much stronger. But her chapped lips, the tangled hair, the little beads of sweat on her forehead and her pallor only fired his fear further. Carefully, he placed the back of his hand on her forehead and was startled. She was glowing with fever. Before he could pull his hand away, her delicate fingers closed around his and drew them to her cheek.
"It's a boy," Aurelia's voice whispered softly and her beautiful eyes sparkled. "Our beautiful little boy"
As Gaius looked at his wife, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Aurelia swallowed and her lips twisted into a sad smile.
"The midwife said I lost too much blood," she continued, and fear gripped his heart with its steely grip. "Take good care of him, Gaius, and promise me that you will love him no matter what".
A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and Aurelia wiped it away tenderly. She stretched her arms out to him demandingly and as he sank into the depths of her eyes, he forgot everything else for a moment. Immediately he slipped into bed beside her and gently put his arms around her. Instantly his body relaxed.
"I wish we had more time," Aurelia murmured and Gaius eagerly absorbed the sight of her beautiful, drained face. She could not leave him.
"Please stay with me," he begged her, but it was too late. Her heart had stopped beating.

With a cry, Gaius rode up from his sleep and for a moment he did not know where he was. Frantically, his hands groped for her in the dark, but the other side of the bed was empty and cold. Crying, he rolled onto her part of the bed and buried his face in her pillow, the smell still clinging to it rising to his nostrils and beguiling his mind. After a while, Gaius emerged from her pillow. By now his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and his gaze fell on her nightstand. Next to a half-empty glass lay an opened codex.
Slowly the realisation filtered through to him that he had just had a very, very bad dream. Aurelia was fine. Relieved, Gaius sank back onto her pillow, only to sit upright in bed again in shock. Where was she? Struggling to compose himself, he called out to her. Perhaps she had not found sleep and was busying herself in his private study. With a pounding heart he waited for an answer, but an oppressive silence surrounded him. Panic-stricken, he jumped out of bed, carelessly slipped on the tunic he had carefully placed on his dresser the night before and ran barefoot through every single room of her chambers. Wherever he looked, he discovered nothing but emptiness, silence and cold. Breathing heavily, he yanked open the heavy front door and eyed the guards. There were only three of them. Where the hell was the fourth of them?
In front of them, Gaius immediately put on a friendly, calm expression and inquired if any of them had seen his wife. The youngest of the Praetorians, Gnaeus Pompinius, looked stubbornly straight ahead as he answered in a military snappy manner, "She was hungry and was on her way to the kitchen. Clemens escorted her there"
Nodding his head gratefully, Gaius made his way to the kitchen at a strolling pace, just managing to keep his impatience in check until he had turned the next corner. He ran the rest of the way. Even from a distance, a delicious smell assailed his nostrils that he had never smelled before. Soon the sounds of bubbling pots mingled with it.
Through the open kitchen door, bright light fell into the dimly torchlit corridor to Clemens, who stood patiently waiting on the threshold with his sword raised. As soon as he recognised Gaius, however, the praetorian lowered his sword, nodded sheepishly and cleared a path for him. When Gaius stepped next to him, Clemens opened his mouth, but Gaius quickly put his hand on his forearm. Whatever Clemens wanted to tell him; it would have to wait. At first, the sight of Aurelia overwhelmed Gaius. Although her back was to him, he knew she was smiling. Her whole body glowed with life and happiness. Her hair poured down to her bottom in a shimmering golden waterfall, the light tunic flattering her goddess-like body. She was talking to a tired but contented looking kitchen slave and stirring one of the pots with a long wooden spoon. Slowly Gaius entered the room. When the slave discovered him, she quickly lowered her eyes and took a step back. Before Aurelia could turn to him in confusion, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face against her shoulder. Her tender back nestled against his chest and her hand gently ran through his hair as Gaius simply inhaled her scent deeply, completely enjoying just being able to hold her alive in his arms. She was fine. She was still with him. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment.
Carefully, her hand pulled out of his hair. Then he felt her move away from him a little, only to turn to him a moment later, enclosed in his arms. Her sea-blue eyes bored questioningly into his and Gaius lost himself in their depths. Gently, she placed her hand on his cheek and asked in a whisper if he had been crying. Unable to get out even a sound, instead of an answer he only pulled her closer, nuzzled his face against her slender neck and closed his eyes. Hesitantly, her arms now closed around him. Her fingers began to move slowly and soothingly over his back, his arms and his shoulders. He guessed that her clever mind was desperately seeking an explanation for his behaviour and was grateful that she was not pestering him, but simply being with him. He would love to freeze this moment and live in it forever. What did he care about possible border crossings by Germanic tribes on the Rhine or potential unrest on the fringes of the provinces? This, them both, anchored him in this world and gave him the strength to create a better world. For her. For the child. For himself. Without her, he would have already welcomed the darkness inside him and let it drive him mad. Because without her, his life was pure, dark, all-destroying, unpredictable madness.
After a while he was able to speak again. Slowly he loosened his grip on her body. His mouth travelled only a few inches above her bare skin to her ear and, thanks to his thorough training, immediately registered her reaction to him. A comforting shiver ran through her body, her breathing quickened, her lips opened slightly, and her pupils dilated.
"You're still with me," he whispered, unable to hide his own amazement. Aurelia laughed softly and placed a hand on her slowly growing belly. Soon everyone would be able to see her circumstance.
"You won't get rid of us that quickly either," she murmured, standing on tiptoe and pressing her lips to his in a demanding manner. He was only too happy to let himself fall and she made sure he forgot that horrible night.
"What was so important that you had to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. Aurelia bit her lower lip and looked aside, embarrassed. Gently he embraced her face and kissed her tenderly.
"I was in the mood for pasta," she confessed, and Gaius tilted his head, frowning. Hadn't last night's second course of supper consisted of fattened chicken? And if she was going to eat chicken, where was the chicken? Irritated, Gaius eyed a bright pile of dough threads. Giggling softly, Aurelia dug out a plate and placed it next to another on the work surface. She then delicately arranged the strands of dough with a mixture of minced meat and vegetables. Once she was satisfied with her result, she handed him a plate and rummaged in the cutlery. Suddenly she slapped her palm against her forehead and cursed. The furrow on his forehead deepened in irritation. Embarrassed, Aurelia looked over her shoulder at him.
"Forks haven't been invented yet," she said, turning to her plate as if that were explanation enough. Sceptically, Gaius took one of those strands of dough from his plate with pointed fingers and eyed it.
"What exactly is this?" he asked, letting the thread slide back onto his plate and looking at his wife in confusion.
"This, my heart," she proclaimed solemnly. "Comes closest to a dish from my time. We call it spaghetti al ragù or bolognese. Basically, spaghetti is such strands of pasta dough. The sauce consists of tomatoes, minced meat and the vegetables that are on your plate. Unfortunately, we don't have all the ingredients at this time, but I hope you like it."
With these words, she carefully began to roll up the strings - spaghetti - into little nests and slowly eat them. With each bite her lips twisted more and more into a happy smile. Gaius' curiosity conquered his scepticism and, imitating Aurelia, he tasted the dish. It tasted really good.
As they put their plates in the sink and washed their hands, Gaius quietly asked why some ingredients were not available at this time. He had been mulling it over all this time, but none of his ideas really made sense. Aurelia avoided his gaze.
"Many things like food come from areas that have not yet been discovered," she explained, her gaze wandering thoughtfully into the distance. "But I'm not a food historian and I never really looked into the origins of the foods that were commonplace to me, and the fact that they didn't originally come from Europe only occurred to me when they were no longer available to me"
"Do you miss your time?" he asked softly, and he felt his throat tighten. At last Aurelia returned his gaze. Hesitantly she stepped up to him and placed her hands on his chest.
"I miss my parents, my family and my friends," she confessed softly. "And yes, sometimes I miss normal, everyday things like tomatoes, coffee, electricity or my mobile phone. But nothing in my life has ever felt as good and right as being here with you. This is where I belong. Even if I found a way to go back, I would still stay."
His heart immediately lightened, and he happily wrapped his arms around her. They stayed like that in silence for a while until a small yawn escaped Aurelia.
"Let's go back to bed," Gaius murmured and Aurelia nodded. Hand in hand, they returned to their chambers.

A few days later, Gaius strolled into his reception room, rested, and registered with relief that the room was empty. Since the little incident with Ennia, Clemens and Lucius Suetonius, the second Praetorian prefect, had developed a completely new security concept for Aurelia and him. Smiling, Gaius remembered Aurelia's face when Suetonius had introduced himself to her. For a single blink she had been completely speechless and had blinked in surprise at the man standing before her. Gaius resolved to ask Aurelia tonight the reason for her surprise.
Slowly, Gaius stepped to the window and looked out into the magnificent gardens, which had been designed according to Augustus' wishes. Some days Gaius would love to tear down the whole palace and build a perfect nine that would dwarf the previous one in splendour. But he had witnessed on Capri how a beautiful, old, venerable villa had been demolished for one of Tiberius' tastelessness. This palace, the House of Augustus, was perhaps plainer than Gaius' taste, but it was filled with history. The great Augustus had once stood in front of this very window, while the same atrium was filled with supplicants, most of whom he had received in this very room. Who was Gaius to dare cover the tracks of this great man?
The soft creaking of the door jolted him from his thoughts. Calmly he turned around. On the threshold stood Aurelia, skimming a wax tablet. Ever since she had told him about the universities of her time, the desire had been burning in him to create such a centre of science in Rome that would outrank Alexandria. Every morning Aurelia came before his first visitor, and they discussed her idea. If they presented a half-finished concept to the Senate, their ideas would remain pipe dreams.
"Have you decided on one of the possible locations for the library by now?" asked Gaius and Aurelia looked up from her watch tablet. But before she could answer, a heavily breathing young slave pushed past her, waving a document excitedly in front of Gaius' face. Gaius swallowed his displeasure and inquired kindly what the boy had brought him.
"It's a letter from your uncle, milord," the boy explained excitedly. Hesiod was probably training him to be a secretary and he almost felt sorry for Hesiod. The boy still had a lot to learn and a lot of work to do. With a curt nod, Gaius accepted the letter and the boy hurried out of the room. Apparently, he had already internalised this lesson. A letter from Claudius was indeed something highly unusual. He usually came to talk to Claudius at their banquets. Interested, Gaius unrolled the letter and began to read. Stunned, he stared at the neatly formed letters.
"What's wrong?" asked Aurelia worriedly, stepping up to him. With trembling hands, Gaius handed her the letter from his uncle.
"They have set the date for the first hearing of the trial of Macro," Gaius explained as she read. Slowly, Aurelia lowered the letter and looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Tomorrow," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. From tomorrow, the Senate and the people of Rome would know who was at the head of the state.