It became apparent that they weren't going to get their baby by Christmas. The weeks ticked by, with Norma growing more frantic every time that single pink line kept showing up, taunting her.

"Well?" He asked, just a few months down the line, yelling over the sound of the running shower. He could see her faint outline through the shower curtain, pacing up and down the bathroom while he showered. He watched as her silhouette padded towards the sink, heard the faint clink of plastic on porcelain as she turned the stick over.

She let out an anguished scream of frustration, and there was a clattering that let him know she'd thrown the pregnancy test against the wall, knocking several things over as she did so.

"Hey, hey!" He tore the shower curtain back, throwing his arms around her, neither of them caring that he was naked and wet and she was fully dressed and dry.

"It'll happen." He assured her gently, as she cried, her frustrations becoming apparent as she clutched at him, pressing her face against his wet chest, sobbing quietly.

"It'll happen." He repeated, not sure he believed himself anymore.

He started getting texts at work that just said "I'm ovulating. Come home at lunch."

"The romance is dead." He joked, as she tore his clothes off him, pulling him into Room 11, not even bothering to make it up to the house.

A strange sort of tension began to settle over them, as she grew more distant, and he tried desperately to pretend that he wasn't as upset by their difficulties conceiving as she was. In truth, he felt just as devastated as she did every time she emerged from the bathroom, her face crumpling, feeling the pressure grow as the weeks ticked by.

Realistically, he knew they were both being ridiculous. They were older, and they'd barely been trying for any time at all, but he could tell that they'd both secretly thought it would be easy - They were fit and healthy, healthier than most people their age, and boy, did they have alot of sex. Silently, he'd assumed they'd have no problem conceiving a baby.

Private fears began to set in as the days crept by. She already had two kids - What if he was the problem? He didn't voice this secret fear, but he let it creep into his mind, taking hold like a weed. He couldn't bear it if he was the reason for the sadness that was starting to touch Norma's eyes.

"Harder." She demanded one night. They'd barely spoken at dinner, and when he'd laid her down on the bed, she'd kissed him for a few minutes, pumping her hand lazily on him, before pulling her nightgown off unceremoniously. She had rolled onto her stomach, grabbing a pillow and shoving it underneath her, tilting her hips up.

"We should try this..." She started, and he sighed. "It said on-"

"Google." He finished her sentence for her, his tone weary and she glanced over her shoulder, nodding at him.

"Ok." He agreed, because he would never deny her anything, though he wasn't sure he liked it like this. He missed looking into her eyes, missed kissing her and feeling her hands clutching at him. This felt less intimate somehow as he leaned over her, thrusting into her hard.

She reached behind her, grabbing his hand on the bed next to her, where it was holding his weight up and he smiled down at the back of her neck, watching as the muscles in her back began to go taut, focusing on the feeling of her hand holding his.

"Deeper." She urged frantically, her voice muffled against the pillow, her hand releasing his to grab fistfuls of the sheets beneath her, and then it was over, and they groaned quietly together as he emptied himself inside her. He hoped that wasn't the one. He didn't like the idea of their child being conceived in such a rushed, emotionless moment. He compared it to the first night they had tried, remembering how excited they'd both been at the idea of making a baby together, feeling such an infinite loving connection between them. He couldn't feel that right now, as he withdrew, laying down next to her, staring at the ceiling as she rolled onto her back, pulling her knees up against her chest.

"I miss you." He muttered out before he could stop himself, feeling her head drop to the side to gaze at him questioningly.

"What?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes scanning her face.

"I... miss you. I miss us."

A beat passed, and he was worried she was going to pretend she didn't feel it too, but then she sighed heavily, casting her gaze to the sheets for a second.

"Me too." She admitted, pressing her hand against her eyes, then running it through her hair.

"I'm sorry." She muttered quietly, slowly lowering her legs back down, shaking her head at the ceiling.

"I've been..."

Obsessed, he wanted to say, but he didn't. He just scooched forwards, rolling onto his side, and tugging her hand, pulling her to lie facing him. She shuffled round, resting her head on her elbow, biting her lip.

"I know it's disappointing." He said gently, trailing his fingers down her arm.

She nodded back.

"I'm disappointed too." He admitted, and her bottom lip trembled as she pushed her face against the pillows, hiding from him.

"With me? Because I can't get pregnant?" She asked, in a tiny voice, her words muffled against the pillow.

"What?" He choked out, shocked. "Norma... No."

He hooked a finger under her chin, turning her to look at him.

"No." He repeated seriously.

"I thought maybe you were mad?" She admitted softly, pouting.

"Are you crazy?" He blurted out, and she glanced at him, her eyes wide and sad.

"I'm not mad. I could never be..." He floundered, shaking his head at the idea that he would be angry with her over this.

"I'm sad." He said finally, after a long pause. "I'm sad because it's not happening and we both thought it would."

She smiled, half nodding, confirming that he wasn't the only one who'd naively assumed it would be easy.

"And I'm sad because you're sad. And I don't know how to make it better." He confessed quietly, distracting himself from looking at her heartbroken face by running his finger tip up and down the smooth curve of her waist.

There was a long silence, where his finger tips kept stroking gently up and down her side, and her hand came up to rest on the side of his cheek, her thumb tracing his eyebrow.

"And I feel like you're... I dunno... pulling away from me?" He revealed, looking deeply uncomfortable to be talking about feelings. He never had any problem telling her how much he loved her, but this was something else entirely, and she knew it. She unconsciously shifted her body towards his, rubbing her foot along his ankle.

"Sometimes, I feel like you're not really here?" Her mouth dropped open at his admission. She knew he had a point. She'd gotten carried away, treating him more like a piece of meat than her husband.

"I just feel like there's alot of pressure and..." She cut him off by swinging towards him, kissing him gently, her fingers brushing his earlobe as she cupped his face.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, pulling back, sweeping her hand down the side of his neck, her eyes darting from his sad eyes to his lips and back again.

"I just... I just want this so much. I... guess I got a little..." She looked like she was about to cry and he swooped forwards, kissing her again.

"It's ok. It's ok." He murmured against her lips, never breaking the kiss, feeling her hand clutch on to his shoulder, pulling him closer, her breasts brushing against his chest. He deepened the kiss naturally, swiping his tongue into her mouth, his grip on her waist tightening a little as their bodies pressed together.

"You wanna go again?" He muttered against her jaw, and her hand drifted down his chest, sandwiching between them to curl her fingers around him by way of answer.

"Yes." She whispered breathlessly, her hand moving on him, stroking him in slow languid pumps, while his own hand slid down her thigh, gripping and hitching it up over his hip, opening her up to him.

"And not just because..." She trailed off as his fingers found her clit, circling gently, watching her face as her eyes drifted shut.

"Yes." She repeated simply, as he increased his pressure, her own movements speeding up a little too, feeling him hardening under her hand.

She gasped as he slid his fingers inside of her, his thumb never slowing it's circles around her clit, and she wrapped her leg around him more firmly, opening her thighs more to him. He made a move as if to roll her onto her back, but she resisted, instead pushing him back, their hands reluctantly releasing each other as she rolled herself on top of him.

She smiled down at him wickedly, her breaths already panting out hard as she reached between them, guiding him to her entrance and sinking down slowly on him. She paused, leaning down to kiss the look of breathless shock from his face. He felt like it had been an age since he'd seen her like this, taking control, her slight weight resting on top of him, her blonde curls hanging down into his face, ever since the all-knowing google told her that it wasn't the best position for conception. He'd missed it.

"But what about gravity?" He murmured, half jokingly, as she started a steady rocking motion, his hands digging into her ass, spurring her on. She'd made the inelegant point that she couldn't go on top while they were trying for a baby "because... gravity", a theory that had made him laugh and frown in equal measures.

"Fuck gravity." She panted out, increasing her pace, sitting up and leaning back, resting her hands on his knees. He laughed out a frantic groan at her words, not daring to take his eyes off her. She was beautiful, her teeth clasped around her bottom lip, her eyes squeezed shut, her halo of blonde waves bouncing around her face.

She flopped forwards a little, dragging her nails down his chest lightly, her soft moans growing louder and he groaned at the sensation, his head dropping back against the pillows.

"Come back to me." He muttered without thinking, and she just gasped, leaning forwards, panting against his cheek.

"Come back to me..." He murmured again, and she was quiet for a second, before she cried out, her fingers digging in hard to his shoulders for support.

"Yes, yes..." She panted frantically, and he came with her, bucking up and meeting her last few thrusts as she falteringly crashed down on him a few more times, grabbing a handful of her hair while he groaned loudly.

She collapsed on him, their sweaty torsos pressed together as she gave up holding up her weight all together, breathing hard in his ear. He blew a tendril of hair out of his face, chuckling slightly, his hands smoothing up and down her back.

"Am I crushing you?" She muttered sleepily, and he barked out a short laugh. She was light as a feather, draped across his chest.

"Yeah, cause you weigh 500 pounds, Norma." He deadpanned, and she pushed herself up a few inches to slap his chest in faux annoyance.

She managed to weakly sit up, and he watched her satisfied smile as she gazed down at him, his hands trailing up her thighs, proudly revelling in the way they were still quivering under his hands.

She flipped over to the side, falling limply next to him, both of them panting out at the ceiling for a few minutes.

"Alex... do you think-"

He cut her off, his hands finding hers, entwining their fingers.

"It'll happen, Norma." He assured her, not letting her finish her question. "It'll happen when it happens."

He raised her hand to his lips.

"Ok? Let's just take the pressure off?"

He felt her nod gratefully next to him, giving his hand a little squeeze and then rolling on to her side, wrapping herself around him.

"Ok." She agreed.

"I love you..."