To say the two had been through a lot would be an understatement. Between The Incidents and their baby Lincoln, Eddie felt numb to the world. They lost their babies... .

It was devastating. This is the kind of thing that can tear marriages apart, or make them stronger.

So far, Eddie hoped for the best. By the looks of it, their marriage had yet to go down the drain, so he was slightly reassured. But that didn't mean the were absolutely crushed.

They'd both taken some time off work, and after a very brief post on Richie's Twitter, they blocked the world out and grieved with one another. It was really hard. But the world was behind them. Richie had a large audience.

As they grieved, the once clean and prepped nursery was left abandoned, the shelves full of baby books and chests full of toys collecting dust. Everything laid untouched. Neither of them could bear being in that room at the moment.

While time went on, Eddie noticed the final change in his husband's mood. It broke his heart, seeing his resolve go down to nothing.

Richie was getting less and less hopeful. He was simply accepting the fact that maybe they'd never get a baby. Their baby. They've talked about their other options. Yeah, they'd gladly adopt a baby, but... it isn't the same. And the shame he felt... .

It felt like he was throwing in the towel. It made his stomach twist. Like he was giving up.

They were winding down for the day when it happened. It had been silent for the most part. That's what they usually did now. Richie was busy in his thoughts more often than not nowadays. When he realized he had spoken, they were already in bed.

"Maybe we should just adopt.." Richie had rushed it out, fiddling with the hem of the old faithful t-shirt he slept in. Tattered and nearly as old as his professional career in comedy. But he couldn't bare to get rid of anything. Not now. Too much change had happened in such little time.

When he looked over, he saw that Eddie's eyes were as wide as saucers. And like always, Richie thought he'd be supportive. "What?" Eddie had finally managed.

That's set alarm bells in Richie's head. "I said-," "I heard what you said," Eddie interrupts, looking at his husband. "But why?"

The taller male gulps, looking down towards his lap in shame. He suddenly lost all confidence. What was he supposed to say?

Yeah, sorry Eddie. Our children are practically doomed, we should just adopt and consider ourselves barren. Richie's eyes watered at the thought. Oh god... .

"Eds... We've tried for two years.. Maybe we should just accept it.." Richie couldn't do this anymore... . But the look on Eddie's face, it made his stomach swirl even more. He could throw up... .

"Richie, how can you even say that?!" Eddie's eyes were wide, "We can't just give up! When have we ever given up before?" Eddie didn't mean to yell, but he was passionate about it. About their family.

Richie's eyes watered more. Between the constant flux of hormones and the sequence of events, he cried a lot. His eyes were always so swollen and red. It was his go to look by now.

"Eddie... . After Lincoln, I don't know how much more I can take. The miscarriages, the literal years we've spent trying, the surrogate... I can only spread so thin.." He wanted to keep it brief, but he knew that wouldn't work.

"How?! We're so close! So close! We can't give up now, what'll that say about us?" Eddie counters. He didn't even realize he was borderline yelling. But he'd be damned if he gave up. Not on their family.

"Because I can't handle any more of this!" Richie yells back, "I can't! I'm exhausted, mentally and physically. My body is spent, I can hardly function! We might as well adopt and consider us hopeless!" His face was red, eyes flooded and full of heartbreak. "I can't keep losing our babies..." He croaks.

The fight they had after that was nasty. Old dirt between them had been kicked up, words were said that neither of them meant. But it was ugly. Damn near primal.

But in the end, Richie stormed out of the house yelling "Good luck Eds! Shoot blanks for all I care!" And slammed the door so hard the picture frame by the door rattled against the drywall.

But when he left for Bev's place, his heart felt like it laid in the pit of his stomach. Eddie wanted a baby so bad, and he was so much more vibrant. Richie couldn't handle it... he couldn't do it any longer. It was killing him.

So that night, Richie got shit faced and turned his phone on vibrate. Eddie was still so hopeful. He didn't know how he still was. And like most drunken decisions, he didn't even know what he had done until it was happening.

Eddie was laying in bed, thinking back through their fight, when he saw Richie calling. "Rich?" He answers. And judging by the slurs, he knew what he'd done. "Honey, how much did you drink?"

"Dus it matter?" Richie slurs out, "I jus' needed somethin'to focus on... . We los' too many babies, my insides are fuckin' useless by nowww..." The male laughs sadly. Yeah, that was happening too. Richie had been telling a lot more self-deprecating jokes.

"Richie..." Eddie frowns. He didn't know he felt like that. If he did, he wouldn't have been so pressing saying they could do it. Eddie would've been so much more patient.

"Wha' d'you care? You wan' a baby so bad... I feel like I fuckin'failed. Might s'well consider myself fuckin' barren..." Richie's been happy drunk before. This was the complete opposite. This was depressed drunk.

"Because I care about you, honey," Eddie says gently, frowning as he sat up in bed. "You should've told me you felt like this. We need to communicate, sweetheart," He felt awful now.

"I try.." Richie responds. "I jus' stopped after awhile.."

"Honey..." Eddie closes his eyes for a moment, "why don't you sober up? Eat something greasy, and take a hot shower? We'll talk in the morning," Richie was breaking his heart. And the guilt he felt hit him like a semi-truck.

"Yeah, sure.." Richie says, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. He'd have a surprise for him tomorrow, for sure.