A/N: Okay, y'all convinced me to make this into a three part story. I thought this would turn out about as long as the previous chapter, but then it kinda grew legs. Your feedback is always appreciated.

"You know, babe, maybe we should put off having a second kid."

"Henry, what are you on about now?" In the last couple months, Elizabeth had gotten used to non-stop comments from Henry about his desire to have another baby.

"Well, I'm just saying, everyone says we're all going to die in Y2K, so why bother?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Henry, I swear, if you say one more thing about Y2K, you're sleeping on the sofa."

It seemed like half of Bess's life now involved the 2000 switch. No one knew what would happen to the entire world's computers. The electricity system might go down. Missiles might fire indiscriminately. She was sick of talking about it.

"You play dirty, no fair. Besides, I haven't heard any complaints about our sleeping arrangements." Henry gave her a coy wink.

Elizabeth smiled to herself, knowing something Henry didn't.

Sobering, she replied, "Well, I mean, I'm not really one to complain. But seriously, if you do want to wait, we can. I don't want to push you." Elizabeth tried to look like she doubted Henry's months of opining for another baby. She let her voice trail away softly, and she refused to make eye contact.

"Hey. Hey. Bess." Henry tried to get her to look at him. "Elizabeth, do you want another baby?" He took her hands in his, pulling her close to him.

"I do only if you do." Elizabeth couldn't meet his eyes. He would make her. Henry took this as reticence.

"Lizzie, I want another baby, but I want you to be happy. If you aren't, we'll wait as long as you want." Henry reached a hand up to cup her face so he could kiss her gently. "You are all I need."

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Henry's neck. "I am happy, Henry."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise. I want another baby, too." Elizabeth's smile this time was completely genuine.

They shared a quiet moment together, each lost in the other's gaze. For all of Bess's toying with Henry, he had comforted her. She needed reassurance that they were ready for another child. In one sense, no one could ever be ready for a child. It was a responsibility that one grew into, just like anything else. But even so, Bess needed to know Henry was ready.

"Are you nervous about it, babe?" Henry wanted to know what had sparked Elizabeth's sudden concern.

"Maybe a little, I guess." Elizabeth wondered how Henry had gotten her to admit it. She had started playing offense, and now here she was letting Henry analyze her.

"Why are you nervous?"

Henry was going to start playing Socrates; Elizabeth just knew it.

"I'm nervous because babies are a lot of work." Bess knew he wouldn't contest that.

"And why are you nervous about lots of work?"

"Because I want to do it right."

"You don't think you'll be able to do the right thing if we have another baby?" Henry gently led her over to the sofa so they could both sit down.

"No. I don't know. Maybe. What if I get that promotion and don't have time?" Bess was up for a promotion since she had finished her certification in Farsi.

"So you're worried about how much time the baby will take?"

"No! But what if I have to choose between the baby and work?"

"Have you had to choose between Stevie and work?"

"No. You always take care of her when I have to work late." Elizabeth kissed him gratefully.

"So why will this baby be any different?" Henry refused to be deterred by her kisses.

"Because… I don't want to make you do something you don't want to."

"Why wouldn't I want to take care of our children?"

"Because you are busy."

"Why is my being busy different than you being busy?" Henry wanted to ask when he had ever acted too busy for their family, but he wanted to find the source of her anxiety.

"Because you should be able to count on me to take care of the kids."

"Elizabeth. Think about what you just said."

"I guess that's pretty sexist."

"Just a bit, babe." He ran his hand up and down her arm, telling her that it was okay.

"But you taking care of the kids is a favor to me."

"….maybe. Then is you taking care of the kids a favor to me?" Henry wasn't ready to concede the point.

"I guess. But one that you deserve." Elizabeth believed this wholeheartedly.

"Why?"

"Because you love me."

"Last time I checked, you loved me, too. Anything changed?" Henry smiled.

"Of course it hasn't. Don't be silly." Bess leaned into Henry, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"So why don't I owe it to you to take care of the kids in exchange for your love?"

"That isn't how it works." They didn't have to 'pay' each other for love or favors.

"I agree."

"I love taking care of Stevie." Elizabeth did love spending time with her children. She had taken it for granted, but she was always surprised to find coworkers who thought their kids were annoying or messy or noisy.

"You know I do, too."

"But it's work."

"Yes it is." Henry didn't see any point arguing.

"And I don't want you to get tired of it."

"Why don't you want me to get tired of working for our family?"

"….I don't want you to get tired of me." Her voice nearly broke.

"Bess… Come here."

Elizabeth had gotten up to pace around the room. Damn Henry and his Socratic method. She glanced back over at him. Tears were glistening in both of their eyes. Elizabeth didn't move. She felt rooted to the spot.

Seeing Elizabeth wasn't moving, Henry got up and went to her. She looked small, like the twelve year old she had been when her father sent her to boarding school.

"I'm never going to get tired of you. That's not going to happen." Henry tried to kiss her, but she moved away.

Tears were streaming down her face in earnest now.

"It happens all the time, Henry. People fall out of love."

"They do. But most of them aren't as compatible as we are."

"How do you know?" There's no way you can know that, Henry.

"Because we've stayed up talking more nights than we've slept. We know each other, babe." Henry was exaggerating slightly, but not much.

"But it could still happen. You might wake up one day and think I'm not worth the work." Her tears started to fall harder. This was her greatest fear.

"No. That's not going to happen. I can't promise you that nothing will come up. But I can promise you that I will never think you are too much work. I can promise you that I will never stop loving you. And I can promise you that you are worrying about something so unlikely and so far away that it isn't worth your time."

"Henry, I need you. I wouldn't be here without you." Elizabeth's tears weren't stopping.

"You would, actually. Don't put yourself down. You were interning at the CIA before you even finished high school. You had your degree before we got married. You were doing pretty well without me. You are perfectly capable on your own. Don't convince yourself that you aren't."

Elizabeth smiled through her tears, trying to dry her face with her hands. "You know, any other husband would have just promised not to leave to keep me from crying."

"Well, a few tears never hurt anyone," Henry said, giving her a smirk.

"Henry!" Elizabeth gave him a gentle shove. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"What's more horrible, letting you cry for five minutes, or letting you think you can't do something?"

Elizabeth laughed again. "Well, I guess if I had wanted someone who wouldn't challenge me, I'd have married someone else."

"And for the record, everything you do with our children is the right thing. You have a great maternal instinct. And even if you get overwhelmed, that'll be okay, too. And you have done a great job making time for Stevie. We won't let work get in the way of our family. And even if it has to for a while, we'll make it work. And I love taking care of Stevie. You know I secretly love you working late so I get a chance to spoil her. And I don't expect you to take care of the kids. I know you, and I know you love our family, so I know that we can lean on each other when one of us can't take care of the kids. And taking care of the kids isn't a favor. It's a commitment that we both undertake together out of love. And even if it were a favor to you, you would deserve a break because you're the one who has to birth the little monsters. And I am never going to get tired of you. I'm never going to up and leave you. That isn't how this works for us. I made a promise to you that I take very seriously. I love you too much to leave you, please believe me when I say that."

Elizabeth stopped breathing for a second. Her tears kept falling, but her eyes finally felt clear. After a minute, she found her voice. "You say you love the Socratic method, but I know you hate it." She was still processing all of Henry's words.

"What do you mean? The Socratic method got us here, didn't it?"

"Yeah. But you wanted to interject between every question, and instead of doing that, you saved it all up so you could make a grand, impassioned speech."

"It still worked."

"I guess it did." Bess smiled

"You okay now?" Henry was still concerned about her.

"As long as I've got you." Elizabeth folded herself against Henry's chest, still smiling.

"Me, too, babe." Henry's arms encircled his wife securely. "You hungry?"

Bess laughed. Leave it to Henry.

"Starving."

"What do you want for dinner?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Nothing. Just let me think about it while I go freshen up."

"Fine, but this really doesn't have to be a complicated thing. I'm fine with pizza."

Bess called back to him over her shoulder, "Henry, we've been out of college for ten years. Let's stop eating like teenagers."

Elizabeth stepped into the master bathroom and shut the door. Now was the moment. She was pretty sure she was pregnant, but she had to wait to take the test. She didn't want to take it too early and be disappointed. But now was the time.

The wait for the stupid stick to show one line or two felt like hours. She knew it was only five minutes, but it made Bess more nervous by the second.

"Babe? You okay?" Henry knocked on the door gently. Elizabeth had seemed fine after their conversation, but maybe she wasn't. He knew she could get upset, and understandably so, when dealing with abandonment. Her parents hadn't given her much choice about boarding school, and while they were very supportive, she was still a little sensitive and unsure that people wouldn't leave her. Henry thought he had kept from opening that particular wound, but he also knew Bess wasn't one to be completely open with her feelings. She always needed a little prodding and reassurance.

Elizabeth didn't answer.

Henry knocked again. "Bess, come on. It's all going to be okay."

She opened the door quietly, soft tears clinging to her eyelashes.

Henry's heart melted. "Come here, babe. It's okay. I've got you." He was silently cursing himself for making her this sad. The line between challenging her and pushing her limits was difficult to find.

Elizabeth let him pull her into a hug, but said, "No. I'm happy, Henry."

"Okay… why are you happy?" Now he was just confused.

"Because we're having a baby." She held out the positive pregnancy test for Henry to see.

The test fell to the floor as Henry's mouth found hers in a tender kiss. For several moments, both of them reveled in the love between them now physically manifested in a baby growing in Elizabeth's womb. They were ready. They had just proven to each other that they could cope as long as they were together.

"Well, I guess we should go out somewhere fancy to celebrate. You pick." Henry finally stepped back to let Elizabeth breathe.

"Let's get a pizza and go eat it on the river."

Henry gave her a funny look. "Really? You want pizza and the river? It's early spring. It's going to be freezing."

"Good point. We should bring a blanket for Stevie. Ooh, and let's bring ice cream." Elizabeth was completely serious, and obviously excited about their family dinner.

"Won't you get cold?"

"You'll keep me warm." Her answer was so automatic and sure, it pulled at Henry's heart. She had taken their conversation seriously.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I will." He smiled and pulled her back into his embrace for another kiss.

"I promise."