A/N: Hi, all. So I'll be getting the chapters out a little bit faster now that I've finished school. This chapter is rather short, but there's another one soon to come (aka later on today). Read and review, please! Happy Reading!

Chapter 5
Another try gone bad

All they wanted was a child. So when they a certain Milner popped his head in through their fire, frantic yet forcing an odd calm, their hearts sank.

Francesca had lost the baby. It was days before they'd be able to find out the sex. Harry never made it to St. Mungo's. Hermione and Ginny had gone with Ron, but there was nothing for anyone to do. Looking as devastated as he felt, Francesca wept her apologies to Ron again and again. Ron tried to reassure her, letting her know that it wasn't her fault and they didn't blame her. He tried to hold it back, but a sob escaped every few minutes, Ron feeling as though his heart was physically breaking.

Ron tried to stay at St. Mungo's for as long as he could, trying to offer his new friends comfort. Francesca had lost the baby due to her acquiring ovarian cancer. Ron felt horribly for her, knowing that she felt as terrible about it all as he did. After only an hour or so, Ron had to retreat back home. The sadness in the hospital was overwhelming him, and trying to stay strong and not cry in front of everyone was exhausting.

"The Universe is telling us something," Harry had said to Ron when he'd gone back to their home and climbed into their bed where the raven-haired man lay staring at the ceiling. Ron could hear the tears, the hurt in Harry's words. He reached over and grabbed his husband's hand and squeezed it hard. Harry dropped his head to the side to look at Ron. His green eyes were bloodshot. Ron met his gaze and screwed up his face, allowing himself to finally bawl and let out how he really felt. Harry scooted himself closer to his distraught husband and grabbed the larger man into his arms, rocking them slowly.

Neither man could believe that this was happening again.

The ovarian cancer had caused Francesca to lose not only Ron and Harry's baby, but also her own fertility. She'd spent a week at St. Mungo's and had contemplated treatment options. In the end, she'd chosen a magical treatment that took place bi-monthly. At the end of ten months they would remove her uterus completely. Devastated as she'd been, she had pushed through it with a positive attitude, grateful that she had two wonderful children already. Ron and Harry, not blaming her by any means, had kept their friendship with the Milner family strong. They were heartbroken, but they had gained true and honest friends that neither man was ready to give up.

After a few days, 'We're thinking of you,' balloons were delivered to Ron and Harry's home from the surrogate company they'd used to find Francesca. Harry and Ron were both glad that they hadn't started to unpack Lily's baby things. They'd wanted to wait to decorate the nursery until they could find out the sex of the baby. In a way, not knowing whether it had been a boy or a girl had helped them recover. The Weasley family tried to help them heal again, taking turns with providing meals and checking in on the boys. It felt routine to everyone from them all having done it before. Bill and Fleur came one night to check in and make dinner, assuring the boys that it would all work out.

"Having a family is worth the pain. The Universe isn't telling you something, Harry, it's just making sure you want it bad enough. It's testing you to make sure you want a child bad enough to go through the heart ache and try again," Bill had told Harry over a glass of Firewhiskey after supper.

Once they'd gone, Harry and Ron sat on the sofa and stared at the fire for a while.

"I don't want to give up, Harry," Ron had confessed nervously after a while.

"I don't think I can try again, Ron," Harry admitted apologetically.