Despite Nathan's less than friendly attitude to the Kirkland-Jones couple during their first meeting it seemed as though Mary Jo was correct in her words. A couple days later the peppy blonde girl called the anxious couple to let them know the procedure was all set for takeoff. The day after- hand in hand- Arthur and Alfred went off to the sperm bank and where handed XXX magazines as well as little containers and put in separate rooms so they could take care of their 'business' privately. Two days after that the procedure took place. The dynamic duo met up with Mary Jo and Nathan at the clinic. More than a million 'thank you's and bone crunching hugs (Courtesy of Alfred) were exchanged as Alfred and Arthur watched Mary Jo's back as she was lead deep into the clinic to undergo the- pray to god successful- procedure.

Arthur squeezed Alfred's hand- fingers interlaced together- silently seeking comfort from his optimistic counterpart. The hulking American gently ran his calloused thumb over his petite husbands smooth skin; putting all the reassurance the world had to offer into that single insignificant motion. Arthur could only pray that some of Alfred's never ending optimism would rub off on him during that next week.

A week. A week didn't seem like too long to wait, but when the outcome of one's future is hanging by a thread at the end of those seven days every minute feels like an hour, every hour a day, and every day an eternity. The doctor had said that Mary Jo should wait at least a week until she tried a pregnancy test. At the time it hadn't seemed like a very long time to Arthur, but of course as soon as he returned home later that day he realized how difficult this was going to be.

"Don't stress yourself, okay? Relax, have a cup of tea, embroider, talk to your fairy friends; just keep distracting yourself and you'll see the week will be gone in a flash." Alfred tenderly held his husband close as he soothed the stressing Brit before he left for work that Monday morning.

"Mmn…" The Brit grumbled as he snuggled into the other's chest.

Alfred had a heavy heart as he softly kissed his counterpart goodbye and proceeded to pull out of the driveway and hope that when he came home Arthur would still be in one piece.

As soon as Alfred's car had become nothing more than a spec on the morning horizon Arthur shrugged his green sweater tighter over his thin shoulders before he retreated from the porch to the house to escape the chilly early February morning.

Arthur had long since gotten used to being alone in the house most of the day five days a week. (Since long ago leaving his job in the political world after he and Alfred got engaged.) Usually he didn't mind the silence or the stillness; he was many who quite enjoyed his privacy, but that day he longed for his husband's obnoxious chatter to fill the quiet halls.

"Come on old boy. Don't get stressed." He convinced himself as he walked into the parlor. "Do what Alfred said; find a distraction." He thought of the various things Alfred had suggested earlier. "A cup of tea… sounds lovely." The Brit left the parlor and then proceeded to the kitchen; rummaging through the tea cabinet until he found a flavor that caught his fancy that morning. He grabbed his favorite green kettle from under the cabinet and filled it up placing it on the stove and turning up the heat. He grabbed his favorite cup (An old Worchester that he had found in the antique districts of England) and waited while the water came to a boil.

He waited… and waited… and waited… and waited. What was taking the water so long? It had to have been at least 15 minutes since he had put the kettle on and it still wasn't boiling. The Brit looked over to the clock hanging on the wall and was disappointed that his feeling of fifteen minutes was no more than five. He huffed; tapping his foot impatiently as he waited.

His mind wandered.

What if the procedure wasn't successful? What if at the end of the week Mary Jo called t say she wasn't pregnant? That would just break Arthur's heart. Sure they could always try again, but that didn't mean Mary Jo would want to as well. What if it didn't work and then Mary Jo gave up on them…?

Arthur practically jumped out of his skin as the kettles ear piercing whistle echoed in the empty kitchen. He clutched his chest and commanded his heart to slow down as he moved to take the kettle off the stove. Strangely enough he suddenly found himself not really craving his favorite beverage of all time. He moved the kettle to the back burned to cool and made sure all the other ones were off before he retreated back to the parlor. "Come on Arthur, distractions, find distractions." What else was it Alfred said to do? "Embroider! Embroidery always calms me down." Eagerly Arthur crossed the house through the foyer to his study where he kept his basket of sewing supplies.

Grabbing his reading glasses and sewing basket Arthur plopped down in the green velvet armchair in the corner of the room by the fire place; shuffling through the basket until he found his most current piece of work (A handkerchief he had begun embroidering with intricate patterns of flowers for Mary Jo as thanks.) He selected the correct color thread and began trying to thread it through the opening in the needle.

If the procedure was successful that didn't mean the pregnancy would go smoothly. Bad things happened all the time during pregnancy (Arthur had read all about it on the internet. He tended to over research things.) For all he knew she could miscarry….

Arthur missed the hold of the needle and instead his finger went straight for the point. He jolted as he quickly drew his finger away and popped in his mouth; licking over the small wound. It probably wasn't a good idea for Arthur to be working with needles with the out of mind state he was in. He placed the needle and cloth gently back in the basket and leaned back in his chair. He sighed loudly as he removed his reading glasses and pressed his palms against his eyes. Why was this all driving him so completely mad?

"What's wrong Mr. Arthur?" A tiny voice called from near the fire place. Arthur's green eyed gaze slid up to see a few of the houses fairies sitting on the mantle next to a framed picture of himself and Alfred on their wedding day looking at him with small worried eyes.

"Oh nothing really; thank you for your concern." He replied gratefully. "I guess I'm just letting myself get so stressed about all this baby business." He pulled nervously on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Don't get so upset Mr. Arthur!" The little blue fairy called as she flew up from her perch and began hovering near Arthur's head. Arthur stared up at the little blue pixie with dismay.

"That's right sir! Everything will turn out fine. There's no need to worry!" Next was the red one to fly off the mantle and move to hover next to her friend. Arthur desperately wanted to agree with the two little fairies, but as always no matter how far he pushed those bad thoughts into the back of his mind they were always there constantly gnawing away at it.

He slumped forward resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. "Oh how I wish I could believe you…" He sighed. "I know you mean well, but no matter how much anyone tries to convince me I just can't let things stop bothering me." The two fairies exchanged a brief worried look; the blue one gave a brisk nod and the red one gave a nod in understanding. Arthur only heard a few shuffling and clattering noises; he looked up to see his wedding picture floating in front of his face.

Both of them dressed in cream colored suits with gold waist coats and gold ties (They had decided not to have one wear a white suit and one wear a black suit. Whoever topped in the relationship was there business although it was pretty obvious who did.) Alfred held Arthur tenderly, both men's eye gently closed as their lips softly brushed; a picture taken just before their lips met in their first kiss as husband and husband. The church was a bit on the dark side, but just behind the newly married couple was a multistory stained glass window the illuminated and glistened with a million shades of color. (1)

This was Arthur's favorite picture out of all the ones in their wedding album.

"Remember this Mr. Arthur?" A little voice piped up from behind the frame. The little red fairy poked her head out from over the top of the wooden frame and smiled.

Arthur smiled tenderly; taking the frame in his hands. "How could I forget…?" He sighed dreamily.

"Whenever you feel unsure of something think of this picture and remember that you have a wonderful person who will always be there to look after and take care of you." The blue one added in confidently.

Alfred… the pillar of strength in Arthur's life. Whenever something went wrong or when Arthur felt upset Alfred was always there to display a beaming grin and offer tender comfort and soft kisses. Where ever he went he always seemed to bring an aura of confidence with him; he never seemed to have a single care in the world and that is what Arthur loved about him. It was one of the reasons they fell in love in the first place.

Arthur took in a deep calming breath before standing and placing the picture back up on the mantel and turning it so it faced him. He sat back down in his chair and admired the picture fondly. Remembering the fairies words Arthur pushed his glass back onto his nose and reached into the sewing basket; taking back out his work and successfully threading the needle without pricking his finger once. Quickly and efficiently his finger worked expertly as the needle poked in and out of the fabric leaving a beautiful pattern in its wake.

Before he even knew it "Arthur! I'm home!" Alfred's voice echoed from the foyer accompanied by the sound of the front door closing. Surprised by the speed up in time Arthur looked over to the clock and was surprised to see it didn't say 8:00AM but 3:00PM.

"I'm in my study!" He called back as he tied off the end of the thread and cut off the remains. There was the click clack of Alfred's shoes on the hard wood floor as he walked into Arthur's study. He smiled fondly at the sight of his cute little husband busy at work with one of his little hobbies.

"Hey, how was your day?" He asked as he leaned against the frame of the door way.

"Splendid, I finished Mary Jo's present." He announced proudly as he held up the now completed piece of cloth for Alfred to see. The hulking American pushed his glasses up his nose and walked over to examine Arthur's work.

"It looks great; I know she'll love it." Alfred praised as he cupped Arthur's cheek and planted a soft kiss on his head.

"Oh come on, give me a real kiss." Arthur protested slyly as he smirked and cocked one eye brow seductively. Alfred smirked himself and leaned down towards the other's face. Their lips locking together in an unbreakable seal. Alfred and Arthur pulled away from each other, but remained close with touching foreheads and brushing noses.

"So you feel better?" Alfred asked as he stroked Arthur's cheeks.

He sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid some of that endless optimism of yours had begun to rub off on me."

Alfred chuckled warmly. "How's that a bad thing?"

Arthur laughed as well. "Well you should be happy you were right. Distractions really does make the day go by faster." He said wrapped one hand around the back of Alfred thick muscular neck and gently tugging at the locks of ash blonde hair.

The American grinned. "Well heroes are always right aren't they?"

Arthur merely smiled and shook his head a little; impossible his husband was, but he loved him.

Whenever I'm feeling unsure I'll just think of you Alfred and everything will be fine. He thought to himself as they kissed again; a kiss that made the stress melt away into nothingness.

A week it doesn't seem like that long amount of time, but when your very future hangs on a thread at the end of those seven days. It can feel like an eternity- those seven days- that is if you don't have someone to help you make it through.

Sunday afternoon the phone rings. Alfred and Arthur shoot up from their perches on the living room couch and run to the kitchen where the phone sits on the corner of the smooth marble counter. Arthur grabs it first; clicking the pick up button with nervously trembling hands and bringing the device up to his ear. "Ello?" He calls.

"Hi, Arthur?" Its Mary Jo's familiar perky voice echoes from the other end of the line.

Arthur turns the phone on speaker so Alfred can hear her as well. "Yes, hello Mary Jo, how are you?" He asks politely even though he really wants to find out the answer to the question he had been with holding all week.

"I've been great and I think you'll be happy to know that you and Alfred are now parents to be because the procedure was successful!"

The world stopped for a moment as the realization of it all sank into the couple's skin. They were going to be parents…. It worked, it really, really worked. After the next nine months Alfred and Arthur would be the proud parents of a handsome little boy or a beautiful little girl. The realization of it all was over powering….

"Yes! Yes!" Alfred cheered as he pumped his fist in the air and bounced around the kitchen like a caffeine crazed idiot.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much for this Mary Jo. You have absolutely no idea how much this means to us. If you ever, ever need anything please call us. Thank you so much, thank you thank you." Every word tumbled out of his mouth as happiness filled his entire being.

One week was worth it all.

Okay so finally I have the fourth part done! I had some writers block with this one for a while not to mention I'm working on like a hundred other stories at the same time. Phew…

Annotations:

Al and Arthur's wedding picture is based on a picture by Junez-chan on deviantart. .com/art/APH-Love-Coalition-163875331

Anyway please review because nothing makes me want to write more than feedback from my readers! Thanks so much! XD