Season X: Babyproof

by NMI123

As Steve and Laura finish their Bachelor’s degrees, they are faced with an unexpected and challenging decision. Steve seeks an outsider’s perspective. Myrtle goes into labor.

"One, two, three," Carl counted.

"CHEESE!" Steve and Laura exclaimed excitedly, though Steve was far more excited about the prospect of cheese than Laura.

She looked up at him and smiled lovingly with a light giggle. He glanced down and smiled at her proudly, allowing Carl to get a second, perfect shot.

"Ok, ok," Max said, stealing the camera from Carl. "One with the parents."

Carl and Harriette got on either side of Steve and Laura. Carl winced as Steve's graduation cap poked him in the eye.

"Let's try that again," Max said, noticing his problematic face in the picture. "Great. Add in Eddie and 3J!"

Eddie got on the other side of Harriette and put his arm around her.

After that photo, they added Max in. They did one with the whole family. They did one with just the kids. They did one with the grandparents. They did one with just the girls. They did one with just the boys. They did every reasonable combination before Laura grabbed the camera out of Rachel's hands. "Ok," she said finally. "Let's go get something to eat before my face gets stuck in a smile, and I'm unable to chew."

Steve chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. "All right, Sweetums," he said, rubbing her back. "We'll meet you there!" he called as he led her to the car. He opened the door for her and held it as she got in. He paused before closing it. "I'm so proud of you," he cooed.

Laura smiled. "I'm proud of you, too," she smiled. They looked at each other for a long moment. "Now, get in the car," she insisted.

He closed the door and finally got in, holding her hand all the way to the restaurant.

When they got there, they finally stripped off their caps, gowns, and honors cords, revealing a formal, professional white dress and Steve's best, blue suit. Laura fixed her hair and straightened his tie before they met everyone inside.

Her family applauded as the graduates entered.

"Ok, ok, guys," Laura complained as she sat in the chair Steve pulled out for her. "That's enough. Can we please just have a normal meal?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Carl replied, taking one last picture of her, the flash nearly blinding her. "We're just proud. That's all."

"I know. You guys cheered louder than everyone else in the stadium," she quipped.

"And we're grateful for all the support," Steve added pointedly, looking at Laura.

"Yes," Laura agreed. "We are. I just prefer slightly less mortifying support. That's all."

"Oh, grow up, pumpkin," Steve teased. "There's nothing embarrassing about having a family that loves us."

"That's right, Steve," Estelle agreed, pinching his cheek affectionately from his other side.

Laura rolled her eyes behind her menu. As they were about to change topics, Myrtle's voice echoed through the nice, quiet restaurant. "Yoo-hoo!" she called. "We're heeeeere! We're later than Aunt Flo was when I realized I was pregnant," she yelled across a high-end Chicago restaurant as she waddled toward their table all the way in the back, "but we made it!"

Eric helped her sit down when they got to their table.

"Myrtle, are you two ok? We didn't think you were coming when you missed the ceremony," Harriette asked.

"You know, Harriette, we didn't think we were comin' either," Myrtle giggled.

"Myrtle went into labor this morning," Eric explained.

"Whaaaat?" Steve shrieked.

"So we dropped everything. I changed outta my graduation-ceremony-dress and into my havin'-a-baby-dress, which meant I had to change my handbag, and my gloves, and my shoes, and-"

"MYRTLE," Laura exclaimed. "What happened? Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"Laura, you have the patience of a cat in heat; I am gettin' to that!"

Everyone at the table was on the edge of their seats, concerned Myrtle Urkel would give birth on the bright white tablecloth in front of them.

"So we went all the way down to the hospital, and I was moaning louder than the cicadas. I was sure I could feel four hooves comin' right outta my baby maker, but we got there, and they checked us in, and did some tests, and then, do you know what they told me?"

"Braxton Hicks," Estelle, Harriette, and Rachel replied immediately.

Myrtle pouted at them for blowing the climax of her long story. "Yeah," she nodded.

There was an audible sigh of relief from everyone at the table, save for 3J and Richie who didn't know what that meant.

"I just plum couldn't believe it. It felt soooo real!"

"It sounded real!" Eric agreed.

Carl chuckled. "Wait 'til you hear the real thing, son."

"So, anyway, no baby for us today," Myrtle pouted.

"He'll be here soon enough, peaches," Eric promised, kissing her head.

"I just can't wait!" Myrtle chirped excitedly.

Laura looked at Steve as his hand landed on her thigh. He always got so clingy when Myrtle was talking about the baby, but he was usually good about not saying anything to her. He knew they were waiting.

"I know what you mean," Eric added. "I haven't been this excited and disappointed since you canceled three different weddings on me."

Myrtle glared at him. "I didn't cancel three weddings. I postponed the date three times!"

"Tell that to some of our lost deposits," he replied.

"So," Myrtle continued, turning away from her faincé sharply, "tell me about the ceremony!"

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After their celebratory dinner, and a few glasses of champagne, Laura was able to convince Steve, Max, and Eddie to join her for a party at her sorority house. She hadn't planned on going, but after a dinner full of pregnancy talk on a day that was supposed to be all about her and Steve, she was ready for a little release.

Over the year, Steve had grown more comfortable at Laura's sorority events. He preferred the charitable ones, but he'd been to a few more of the keggers, and they never fought like they had at that first one. Her friends had gotten used to him, and he had grown more comfortable with Laura getting a little silly from time to time. Still, he would have rather traded places with Eric. Well, as he thought about it, that's not exactly what he meant. He certainly wasn't interested in having a baby with his cousin, but if given the choice between dancing with Laura at a house party and spending the night on the couch, massaging her swollen pregnancy feet, he'd easily take the latter. He was happy for Myrtle and Eric, but he was green with envy, the worst part of it being that he couldn't really tell Laura how he was feeling without making her uncomfortable. On a night as important as this one, he was still giddily looking forward to celebrating with Laura however she'd let him. He had to acknowledge that she deserved to celebrate her success with her girlfriends, and he was simply glad to be a part of it.

By the end of the night, however, he was starting to feel like he might have gotten his wish. He didn't have a baby, but he did have a wobbly person in his arms who was likely to spit up all over his graduation suit at any moment.

"Ok, honeybee, time to go home," he announced as she stumbled again.

"Awwwwww," she whined, "but we're still having so much fun! We graduated today! We get to let loose a little!"

Steve wrapped his arm around her waist and her arm around his shoulders and began to lead her to the door. "And we have. I'm sure we'll be back soon, my love," he replied.

"Nooooo," she whimpered as she stumbled along beside him. "We're old and boring now. I have to go to law school, and you have to go to grad school, and then we have to get jobs, and make babies, and die. We're never gonna have this much fun again."

Steve shook his head. "I know, sweetheart," he said dismissively.

"I wish we could stay in college forever," she complained as Steve helped her into the car.

"Uh-huh," Steve agreed as he guided her hand as she struggled to buckle her seatbelt. He returned to the other side of the car and sat in the driver's seat. He buckled his seatbelt and then stared at her for a long moment. Staying in college forever was the last thing he wanted to do, and it concerned him to hear her talk about the future he so looked forward to like she was dreading it. He stared at her until she sat up suddenly, threw the door open, and leaned out to vomit in the street. A moment later, she was fully back in the car, wiping her mouth on her hand. She looked back at him in embarrassment. Steve reached out for her thigh. "It's ok, Sweetums. We just had a little too much to drink tonight," he said, reassuring them both.

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When Steve got home, he got her ready for bed and tucked her in, only for her to jump out of bed and run for the toilet before he was even able to change into his pajamas. She stayed over the toilet, vomiting on and off for almost an hour while Steve rubbed her back. He tried to get her back into bed, but she refused to move too far from the toilet, so instead, Steve sat up against the wall, and Laura rested her head in his lap as they both fell asleep. Laura woke up a few more times in the night to throw up, but they kept going back to sleep in that position.

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After a restless night, Steve finally decided to get up once the sun was up, only Laura was still asleep in his lap. He stroked her hair and cheek gently for a few long moments. Then he grabbed a towel from behind him and slid it under her head like a pillow, replacing his lap. He tiptoed out of the bathroom before he paused to stretch. Every part of his body was sore. He finally changed out of his uncomfortable suit and into a pair of sweatpants and a tee. He could tell already that it was going to be a lazy day. Then he went to make her breakfast.

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It was another few hours before he heard Laura stir, and really, it was just the contents of her stomach stirring again. He ran back to the bathroom and rubbed her back again as she vomited. "Morning, my little, nauseous Nancy," he purred softly as she wretched again.

"I feel soooo sick, Steve!" she whined without removing her head from the toilet.

"I know," he said softly. "I'm so sorry, Sweetums."

"I've never been this hungover. Even that first time, I had a pounding headache, but I didn't throw up like this!" She paused and lifted her head from the toilet. "Did I?"

Steve chuckled, knowing she didn't remember that night too well, even if she did finally admit to remembering that kiss. "No," he agreed, "but you probably should have. I don't think passing out before you tossed your cookies did you any favors." He stood, ran cold water in the sink, and grabbed a washcloth from the drawer. He ran it under the faucet when the water was icy and sat beside her again. He placed the cool towel to her forehead, then her cheeks, then the back of her neck.

"Thank you," she whimpered.

"You're welcome, Sweetums." He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Baby?" she pouted at him.

"Yes, my queen?"

"Will you help me get back into bed?"

"Of course," he promised, leaning in to kiss her forehead again. He stood and helped her stand before lifting her into his arms. He carried her back to bed, noticing the vomit on her tanktop, and set her down on the edge of it. "Lemme get you some clean clothes," he suggested, stepping away from her. By the time he turned back around with a tee and pajama shorts in-hand, Laura had wiggled out her clothes. "Yowza," he said softly as her panties hit the floor.

She turned back and smiled at him softly. "C'mere," she whispered, patting the bed beside her as she slipped under the covers.

He set the fresh pajamas he was holding on top of the dresser and slinked over to his side of the bed shyly. "I made your breakfast, but it's getting cold."

She looked up at him and pulled the blankets away from his side of the bed. She tapped it again.

He smiled and climbed in beside her. She immediately pressed her naked body against him and he felt himself grow hard. "You're sick. You don't want to…"

Laura smiled against his chest. "No," she answered softly. "I just wanna cuddle."

Steve couldn't help but admit to himself that he was a little disappointed, but he couldn't resist an offer like that. He took off his glasses and wrapped her more tightly in his embrace. "Ok, Sweetums."

"Sorry," she replied as she noticed the tent pole beneath their sheets. "I didn't mean to tease you."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm used to it," he said with a laugh and three snorts.

She grinned and kissed his chest. She took a deep breath and sighed loudly as they settled deeper into bed.

He began to rub her back gently. "You know," he said softly, carefully testing the waters, "last night proved to me that I'm going to be an excellent nurse when you've got morning sickness."

Laura's eyes shot open.

"I know we're not there yet, but someday. I hope you never doubted that though. After all, I already worship you like a goddess. Imagine how much I'll dote on you when you'reiterally creating life."

Laura pulled out of his arms and shot out of bed. "I'm gonna be sick," she groaned as she took big steps to the bathroom.

By the time Steve had scrambled out of bed to follow her, she was already in the bathroom. She slammed and locked the door in his face. His heart broke. He just wanted to be there for her, and he had been all night long. He couldn't believe it just took one tiny hint that he was thinking about their future to make her shut him out completely.

Laura, however, after she had vomited again, wasn't thinking about what he'd said at all. Well, not the content of it. Instead, she was thinking about how late she would be taking her pill that morning. When she opened the case, she counted them nervously for good measure and found she had missed a pill. Just one single pill. In the chaos of finishing her bachelor's degree and preparing for graduation, she had missed one. Not a placebo. A real one.

She swallowed hard. She had never been quite this hungover before…

When Laura came out, Steve let the subject drop. They cuddled in bed again while Laura pretended she wasn't completely panicked.

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Laura vomited on and off for three days before Steve dragged her into the campus clinic with the hopes of identifying the flu virus she was carrying, since she was clearly well past a possible hangover.

"All right, Mrs. Urkel," the clinic doctor said as she returned. "I've got some news."

"Oh, God!" Steve exclaimed. "It's not the flu, is it? It's stomach cancer. God! I knew it! Oh, Laura I'm so sorry!" He collapsed to her side and began to sob into her hand.

Laura would have been more concerned about how upset he was if she weren't already so concerned, knowing in the back of her mind what that news must be.

"No, Mr. Urkel," the doctor rushed to explain. "No. Mrs. Urkel, you're totally healthy. You're pregnant. Congratulations!"

Steve sat up slowly, looking at the doctor in awe. "What did you just say?"

"Your wife is pregnant," the doctor said, smiling at his adorable reaction.

"I'm gonna be a daddy?" he asked, approaching the doctor slowly.

"Yes," she nodded.

He leapt forward and hugged the doctor tightly. He lifted her into the air and spun her around. "I'm gonna be a daddy! I'm gonna be a daddy!" he cheered. Jumping up and down with the doctor still in his arms. "I'm gonna-"

"I wanna talk about my options," Laura blurted suddenly.

Steve and the doctor froze. He set her down slowly and looked back at Laura. "Your options?" he repeated.

"How far along am I? Is there still time to…?"

The doctor smiled sympathetically. "You're only five weeks. There's plenty of time. I'll get some pamphlets with some information about your choices. We can't perform procedures like that here, but there's a Planned Parenthood three blocks from campus."

"Your options?" Steve repeated in disbelief.

"I'll go grab the pamphlets," the doctor said, excusing herself from the room.

Both Laura and Steve waited for the other to speak. Neither did. When the doctor came back, thinking she'd given them enough time to at least begin to talk, she handed the pamphlets to Laura. Steve read them over her shoulder.

"We don't need those," he said firmly.

"Steve," Laura began.

"No, Laura! We don't need those. We're not…"

"I haven't made a decision, Steve. I just want to know what options I have."

"You haven't made a decision? What options you have? This is our baby, Laura."

"Not yet," she retorted. "Not legally. Not until it comes out. This is my decision."

His brow furrowed in pain. "Laura, I wanna be a dad."

"Let's talk about this at home, Steve," she urged him, looking away as she hopped off the table.

"Laura!" he barked.

"We'll talk at home!" she barked back.

Steve gawked at her as she stormed out. He paused to thank the doctor before exiting the room. He stood silently beside Laura as she paid her co-pay. Then he followed her out the door. When they made it to the car, Laura sat in the driver's seat. Steve slammed the passenger door once he was inside. He turned to her, ready for a fight. "This is my baby, too!" he yelled loudly.

But Laura wasn't listening. She rested her face in her hands and immediately sobbed.

Steve gasped and his face softened. "Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry I yelled. I just feel so passionately. I-"

"It's not that, Steve!" she sobbed.

"Then what is it?" he asked softly.

"I'm pregnant! I didn't want this. I'm not ready for this!" she wailed.

"Oh, Laura," he said again, much more softly. "Laura Lee, it's ok. It's all gonna be ok. You have me. We have each other. That's all that matters. We're going to figure this all out."

"It's not that I want to… have an abortion, Steve!" she sobbed. "I don't! It's the last thing I want! I can't stand the thought of... I mean, I'm pro-choice, but… This is our baby, Steve, or our fetus, or our little bundle of cells that isn't even anything yet. It's not that I want to. I just don't wanna have a baby yet. This was supposed to be later! This was supposed to be planned!"

Steve held her close to him as she sobbed. "I know this isn't what you wanted, Laura Lee, but that doesn't mean it can't be wonderful. That doesn't mean it's not a miracle."

"It's not fair! I didn't have sex in high school! I didn't have sex with random guys in college! I've only ever had sex with my husband, and we're so careful. I've only ever missed one stupid pill. I thought I would be able to wait until I was ready. I never thought I'd have to make this choice." She couldn't stop the tears, and her breathing was getting heavier.

"Laura, as far as I see it, there's only one choice. You're right, sweetheart. This is our little bundle of cells. Ours. We made it, Laura. You and me. With our love. How can you do anything but grow this little bundle of cells into a beautiful, healthy baby?"

"It's not that simple, Steve."

"It can be! It is."

"No, it can't. I can't be a mom right now! I'm finally going to law school!"

"You can do both!" he pressed.

"No, I can't! I can't be sleep deprived and do well in my classes. I can't spend every weekend studying and still be there for a baby. Not to mention, you're going back to school too. We're barely gonna see each other as it is. Who's gonna watch this baby while you're at work and in classes and I'm in classes and at the library?"

"You could study from home," he offered.

"No, I can't! I'm not willing to sacrifice my career for this, Steve, and I can't believe you're asking me to!"

"I'm not. I don't want you to have to give up anything for this, Laura! We can figure it out. Maybe Wes and Andy will let me delay my PhD for a few years, and maybe you can go to law school time instead of full time. Whatever time your parents can't cover, we can put her in daycare. I was completely a daycare baby. She'll be fine."

"Please stop calling it 'she', Steve! We don't know what it is yet. It's not anything yet."

Steve reached out a hand and placed it gently on her stomach. "It might be a 'she'," he smiled softly.

Laura slapped his hand away. "With what money, Steve? Even if your bosses let you postpone school, which I doubt they will after all the time they've already invested in you, even if I go part-time, which is going to cost me student loans, how are we going to afford daycare on top of all of the other expenses that come with having a baby?"

"I don't know, Sweetums, but I can crunch the numbers when we get home. We can do this. I know we can! Maybe we can just tighten our budget a bit, or maybe we can move into a cheaper apartment."

"So you don't want me to give up anything, but you've already made me go to school part-time and taken me out of my dream apartment?" she challenged.

Steve hesitated. "Laura, everything wonderful comes with some sacrifices."

Laura scoffed. "And apparently our wonderful marriage means I sacrifice my reproductive freedoms," she spat, turning away from him and starting the car.

Steve didn't say anything else as she pulled out of the parking lot.

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Their car ride home was icily silent. That didn't change when they parked in their parking garage or made it up to their apartment. It really didn't change all night. Every time Steve thought about starting a conversation with her, he could only think about talking about their miraculous accident, and that just made him mad. He wanted to talk about how much joy he was feeling, but every time he saw the look on her face, he decided against it. He didn't want her to ruin any of the ideas or hopes or even tiny fears he was having with her sour mood.

Laura felt similarly. She wanted to talk to him too. He was her best friend and her partner and the love of her life. She always went to him, and at this point in their marriage, really only to him, when she was feeling upset. She had basically just gotten the worst news she'd ever gotten in her entire life, and she wanted to lean on him. She wanted to cry and worry and scream about how unfair it all was, but she knew he wouldn't let her do that right now. Not the way he usually did, anyway. For once, he was not on her side. At all. Crying to him now would only lead to a fight, and she was in no mood to fight with her husband on top of everything else she was feeling, so she didn't say anything.

As their evening passed, they both knew what they were doing was unsustainable. They were going to have to talk about it eventually.

Their silence broke sharply after dinner. Laura pulled out a bottle of wine, and Steve dropped the plates he was carrying to the dishwasher and ran over to her. "Laura, no! Laura, you can't."

Laura looked over at him, having not fully recovered from the loud crash of dishes she'd just heard. Then she looked down at the bottle and it clicked. "Oh," she said softly. She put it back in the fridge immediately.

"You said you were thinking about your options. Unless you've made a decision, you can't…"

Laura nodded. "I just forgot, Steve. I haven't made a decision yet."

Steve nodded sadly and stared at her.

Laura avoided his eyes.

Suddenly, he rushed forward and pulled her into his arms. The moment her eyes met his again, he kissed her passionately. He spun her around and pressed her back against their fridge. He leaned all his weight against her, pinning her against the cool surface. He continued to kiss her relentlessly. He grew more determined as she finally began to kiss him back. He dragged her down to the floor in his lap. He grabbed her butt as she began to grind against him. He pushed her down to the floor and climbed on top of her, between her legs. Then he began to tear off her clothes. He quickly unbuttoned her blouse and removed it from her shoulders, still without breaking their kiss. Then he pulled off her skirt. As she began to unbutton his shirt, he unhooked her bra and removed her panties. When his shirt was off and sitting in her pile of clothes, he pulled away for just a moment. He stared intensely into her eyes as he unbuckled his belt and slid it off. Then he pulled off his pants and boxers. Totally naked, he silently climbed back into position. He looked deep into her eyes. She leaned up to kiss him, but he pulled back. He wanted to look at her. He wanted to breathe with her. He wanted to be totally present, not distracted. His hand trailed up her leg, over her hip, over her ribs, and gripped her breast. He held it firmly. He ran his thumb over her nipple.

She moaned softly, surprising both of them by making any sound at all in this silent moment.

Her moan had clearly affected him. He swallowed hard and avoided her eyes. He suddenly found it difficult to make eye contact with her. He saw her take a deep breath as he stared shamelessly at her chest and knew she was going to break their silence. He wasn't ready for that, so he quickly moved lower.

"Steve," she began, but she never finished her thought because he interrupted her with his tongue entering the folds of her womanhood. She gasped loudly and bit her lip.

He gripped her thighs hard and held her to his face. He buried himself in her warmth, hiding from their problems as best he could. When she came, he didn't move away from her. He licked the juices that rushed from her entrance and returned his tongue gently to her extra sensitive lips. He avoided her clit, but he gave her no peace as she came down from ecstasy. As she began to grow restless, reaching down to pull him up to her, he moved back to her clit. He licked it gently first and held her hips in place as she reacted, but then, as she settled into again, he sucked her clit back into his mouth.

Laura came for him twice more before he allowed her to pull him away. She pulled him back on top of her and looked up at him desperately. She needed him to stop showering her in affection. She needed to please him, too. She needed to give love as much as she needed to receive it.

When he saw the look in her eye, he knew she needed him inside of her. He loved to be needed like that, and he didn't have the heart to make her wait any longer.

She felt his member at her entrance as he leaned down and kissed her again. He entered her slowly. She moaned softly and he possessively nibbled her bottom lip. He moved out torturously slowly and slid back in. He was biting his lip to keep from calling out to her. Her hands slid up his arms and wrapped around his neck. She tried to pull him closer again. He could tell she wanted to close her eyes, kiss him, and forget everything else but how his body felt on top of her, but he wasn't ready to give her that relief. He held himself over her and looked down at her as he moved in and out of her. His pace grew more rapid, but he continued to make eye contact with her.

"Kiss me," she begged eventually. "Please kiss me."

He leaned closer over her, and still didn't kiss her. He brushed his nose up against hers. "Please have my baby," he whispered.

"What?" she gasped.

"Please," he begged, moving faster. "I'm going to come inside you. I always come inside you because I want you to make me a baby." He finally kissed her, but she didn't kiss him back. "We finally made a baby. Please have our baby," he begged, kissing her again. "Please, my love. I need you. I can't do it alone. I need you to do this for me."

Laura was silent as he continued to move into her again and again. As he was reaching his peak, she was suddenly turned off.

"Oh, Laura Lee," he called as he came deep inside her. "Ohhhhh, thank youuuuuu. Thank you for letting me come inside you. Thank youuuu."

Laura pushed him off of her gently as soon as he was done. She wasn't mad at him about what he said, but she was deeply uncomfortable with it. She felt him grab her hips as she tried to move away. "Steve, let go," she ordered sharply.

He did, but then he looked up and pouted at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You made it weird," she complained, starting to dress again.

"What? What did I do?" he whined.

"I don't like to think about pregnancy while we have sex. I certainly don't want to think about our… current situation."

"I'm sorry, Sweetums. I just… I often think about getting you pregnant while we make love."

Laura looked away uncomfortably. "God, it's a good thing I'm on the pill. If it were up to you, you'd have whined about having to wear a condom every time you put one on."

Steve frowned deeply, a little hurt by that conclusion.

"You probably would've poked a hole in one by now, and we would have been in this situation way sooner."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, much more deeply hurt by that comment. "Hey, that's not fair! I didn't do anything to put us in this situation! And the fact that you could imply that I would force myself on you like that is extremely insulting! I would never do anything to your body without your permission! I worship your body!"

Laura stood, fully dressed again. Steve continued to sit on the floor in the nude. "Well, you're not being very respectful of it right now."

"Yes, I am, my love! I just want you to let it do what it was created to do!"

Laura glared at him. "I wasn't created to give birth, Steve! I was created to be a whole person!"

"You are a whole person! But this is a part of that! This can be a part of that!"

"Put some clothes on if we're finally going to talk about this," Laura scolded, walking out of the kitchen.

Steve stood and dressed. He walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and sat beside her. He looked at her silently, and she met his eyes again. He still didn't know what to say. "I would never force myself on you. I can't even believe you said that."

Laura sighed and looked away. "I know. I'm sorry."

"After everything that's happened to you in the last year, how could you even imply that I would try to force a pregnancy on you?"

"I shouldn't have. I trust you. You know I do, but I said that because I can feel you pressuring me. I know you would never force me, but this doesn't feel good either."

Steve sat with that for a moment. "I'm not trying to pressure you. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything I could to make you see what a miracle this is."

"Steve, I still don't know what I'm gonna do, but I know this isn't good news to me. I don't wanna think about it when we're making love. I don't wanna celebrate it. I don't wanna talk about it yet."

Steve continued to stare at her intensely. "But, Laura! This is good news to me! I am so incredibly happy and excited, and I want to share it with you!"

"And I'm devastated, and I want to share that with you, but I can't!" she spat. "And if we have this baby, it's not going to be like how you've always imagined it. It's going to be hard, and I'm going to be miserable, and maybe it will be worth it in the end, but I can't go through an unplanned pregnancy if you're going to act like this!"

"Act like what?"

"I can't do something this hard if you're going to ignore how I feel about it! If you want me to do this, you need to start acting like the loving and supportive partner you have always been right now."

"Laura, I don't understand what I'm doing wrong," Steve complained. "Me being happy is wrong? You can't do this if I'm not going to be miserable too?"

"I don't need you to be miserable! I need you to care that I am! I need you to tell me not to do this! I need you to tell me that this isn't worth it if it's going to dim my light!" she exploded, standing from the couch.

Steve looked up at her, his brow deeply furrowed. "Laura Lee, I love you with all my heart, but I can't do that. I'm so completely sure this is going to be worth it. To both of us," he said softly.

Laura looked away from him again, tears streaming down her face. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore," she said firmly, walking away from him. She moved back to their bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Steve deflated and stayed in his place on the couch until he got up to sweep up the dishes he had dropped.

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That night, once Steve was sure she was asleep, he moved lower in the bed and wrapped his arm around her abdomen. He kissed her stomach softly. "Hi, Baby Urkel," he whispered. "This is your daddy. I'm sorry if you're having a little trouble hearing me. I'm trying hard not to wake your mama up."

But Laura was awake. He hadn't been quite patient enough and moving lower in the bed to hold her had woken her. Still, she lay still and quiet. It was easier to pretend to sleep than to start another fight and scold him for trying to talk to her stomach at all. She also thought he might reveal something about how he was feeling that might bring her some clarity.

"Gosh, I hope I get to be your daddy soon. Your mama thinks we should wait a little longer, but I know we're ready. I know I can do this, and I know she can do anything that she sets her mind to. All she has to do is decide that she wants this." There was a long pause before she heard him continue, and when he did, he gripped her tighter. "Of course, I understand why she wouldn't want this, and I don't want you to take that personally. It's not you. It's me. Having a baby with me would be a whole new level of commitment that she might not be ready for. We'd have to share you… forever, and that's an awfully long time to agree to having an Urkel in your life." Steve looked up at her when he felt her fingers under his chin, tipping his gaze up.

"Steve, I've told you a hundred times, that's not why I'm hesitant," she whispered.

Steve allowed her to pull him back up next to her. She looked at him carefully and stroked his cheek. "It's not because I don't want you. I want you forever. I will always want you. I'm just not ready for a baby. That's all. There's no secret meaning hidden in that. It's honestly not about you."

Steve laid her back on the bed and moved lower again so he could rest against her. He allowed her to hold him the way he always held her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and used her body to cradle his head. She raised her hand to stroke his head as he held onto her tightly. "I need you," he whispered.

"I need you too, Steve," she replied.

She tensed up slightly as she felt his hand stroke her abdomen. "And I need this," he whispered.

Laura didn't respond to that, but she held him close for the rest of the night.

————————————————————

Laura and Steve gave each other the silent treatment for days, or a version of it. They had plenty of logistical conversations. When will you be home? What do you want for dinner? Did you start the laundry? But they didn't talk about anything real, and they certainly didn't talk about it. It was during one of these logistical conversations that Steve shocked her out of her stupor.

"I'm gonna go to the store tomorrow. Do you want anything particular for dinner this week?" she asked.

"No," Steve replied. "I'm actually not going to be here for dinner for the next couple days."

"What?" Laura asked, suddenly making eye contact with him for the first time that day.

"I'm going to Washington D.C. with Wes. We have to meet with some FDA people."

Laura glared at him. "And when were you planning to tell me?"

"I just told you," Steve answered, looking away from her again and down at his plate.

"When did you find out?"

"Just today," he shrugged.

"How can you just leave?!" she exclaimed.

Steve looked back up at her again. "What do you mean?"

"With everything going on right now, how can you just leave?!"

"What do you mean?" he said again, more firmly.

"I'M PREGNANT, STEVE. HOW CAN YOU LEAVE ME?!"

Steve exhaled in relief. "You hadn't said it in so long, it was starting to feel like it wasn't real," he said softly.

"How can you go out of town when we haven't made a decision?!" she whined, tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh, so it's we again?" he snapped. "It hasn't been we since we found out."

Laura pursed her lips. "Fine," she snarled. "Go to Washington. I'll make my decision when you come back." She wiped her hands on her napkin and stood. She threw it down on her plate and stormed away. She slammed the bedroom door behind her and started to cry again. She was crying a lot lately. It could have been the hormones, but she knew it wasn't.

Steve took a deep breath and exhaled. He started to clear the table, also leaving his dinner unfinished. He had to get on that plane. He absolutely had to. He was starting to think they'd never get through this if he didn't.

————————————————————

Steve left early the next morning and kissed her goodbye while she slept. He left her a loving note on his side of the bed and slipped out the door.

As Steve slipped out the front door with his carry-on rolling behind him, he ran into Eric with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "Morning, neighbor! You're up early! Off to the gym?" he asked.

"Morning, Steve," he replied. "No. I'm headed outta town for a day or two. My mama had a little accident and twisted her ankle pretty bad. I'm gonna head down and help for a little bit so my siblings don't think I just moved up here so they could take care of mama when she got older."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Steve said, "but are you sure you should be traveling this close to Myrtle's due date?"

"Well, she's got a couple weeks left, and it's our first, so he's pretty likely to come late according to my mama. I think it'll be ok. I did tell her to check in with y'all if she was feeling even the slightest contraction though."

Steve nodded. "I'm actually going out of town too, on a work trip, so I won't be much help, but I'm sure Laura will be there for her." Steve couldn't help but wonder how dealing with a very cranky and pregnant Myrtle would influence Laura's decision making, but he couldn't think about that right now. He couldn't do anything about that right now.

"Yeah. They'll be fine," Eric concluded as they stepped into the elevator.

————————————————————

When Laura woke, she read Steve's letter:

Laura Lee, my one true love,

I'm leaving for the airport. I'll be back in a couple days. I'm hoping this time on our own will give us some clarity. I know that every second I'm away from you, I'll be thinking of you, of how much I love you, and what our love has made. I hope that you will feel the same way. Please, don't be too upset while I'm away. I know you're experiencing something life-changing, and I know you're hurting, but please find some comfort in my unconditional, eternal love for you, even from a distance.

xoxo,

Steve

Laura set the letter on her nightstand and climbed out of bed. She said a silent prayer that his love really was as unconditional as he said it was.

————————————————————

"Your brother," Max began as she opened Laura and Steve's door with her spare key, "is an idiot."

Laura looked up from her laptop at the kitchen table and closed it quickly, not wanting Max to see what was on the screen. "Hey, girl," Laura said. "Come on in, I guess?" she laughed nervously.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Max replied sarcastically. "You should also know I'm crashing on the futon because I have lived with your brother less than a month and I already cannot stand him." She moved to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of white wine from the fridge, the same one Laura had almost opened the other night. Laura cringed as she plunged the corkscrew in.

"Hey, as someone who lived with him for many, many LONG years, I tried to warn you."

"Yeah, well, live with my parents for a month and see how quickly you're willing to move in with literally any man who offers."

Max pulled two glasses down once she'd successfully opened the bottle. "Where's Steve?" Max asked. "I know he doesn't want a glass of wine, but does he want one for grape juice or something?"

Laura frowned when Max laughed at Steve, but he had legitimately had a glass of juice alongside them several times at this point in their marriage. "No, he's in D.C. on business," she replied.

Max raised an eyebrow at her. "'On business'? What is that supposed to mean? Is he having an affair with a callgirl?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "No!" Laura barked. "He has some meeting about one of the products he and his bosses are trying to get FDA approved. I don't know."

"Are you ok?" Max asked finally.

"Didn't you come to talk about my brother?" Laura demanded.

"Yes," she agreed, "but we're coming back to this Steve conversation, and for now, I'm pouring you an extra big glass of wine."

"Great," Laura grumbled as she accepted the glass. Suddenly, she really wished Steve was there so they could casually swap glasses, and she could have his juice. She took a seat on the couch, and Max sat beside her, tucking her feet under her. "So what did Eddie do?"

"He still has his little black book!" she exclaimed.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "Greta told me she made him blend that. I think the setting was purée?"

"She did," Max agreed, "but he had all the numbers backed up on his computer. Steve almost lost all of those by crashing his hard drive, but they were able to restore it, so he just rewrote his little black book. Back to him being an idiot, he told me all of this when we were out to drinks with some of his friends from work as if it were a funny story and he expected me to laugh! Obviously, my first question was if he still had it, and he finally realized his mistake. I swear, we fought all last night and you know where we ended this today when I finally walked out?"

"Where?"

"I asked him why he insisted on keeping it, and he said, 'Well, we're not married yet! Anything could happen!'"

"Girl!" Laura exclaimed.

"I know!"

"Hey, I told you not to date my brother. You didn't listen, and now here we are!"

Max laughed and slapped her arm. "Girl, what am I gonna do?" she asked eventually.

"I don't know," Laura shrugged. "He'll come around. He'll be begging you to come home soon enough. Just wait it out and take a hard stance in the negotiations."

Max chuckled. "I guess," she agreed. She took a long sip of wine and then turned to face Laura more directly. "So… what's going on with you? Where is Steve?"

Laura felt her heart skip a beat and come back to life pounding in her ears. "He really is away on business," she said.

"Well, why does that bother you?"

"It doesn't," Laura said firmly.

"Well, something's bothering you, and it definitely has to do with Steve."

Laura looked away from her. "It's nothing. I'm not ready to talk about it. Can we just go back to talking about my brother?"

Max looked at her seriously. "Ok," she agreed. "As long as you know that I'm here for you and we can talk about anything."

Laura looked back at her weakly. "I know," she agreed, squeezing her hand.

"He still hasn't told your parents that I moved in," Max said.

Laura was grateful for the change of topic. "Seriously?!"

"I know! It's like we've learned nothing from trying to hide our relationship from you. We're gonna get caught eventually!"

"He really should just tell them."

"Do you think they'll be ok with it?"

Laura's face scrunched up. "Well…"

"Oh, no!"

"Well, they're pretty traditional, Max! You know that. It's not like I think they'll sit you down with our pastor to tell you you're living in sin, but… they probably will sit you down and pressure you to just get married if you're already living together."

"I am soooo not ready for that."

"I know," she nodded. "Believe me, I understand."

Max furrowed her brow at her. "How could you? You got married at 21! If Steve hadn't gone to space, you would've gotten married at 20! And you'd only been dating officially for six months by the time he proposed!"

Laura squirmed as she realized how close she'd come to revealing her secret. "I know," she admitted. "That was crazy, but I knew it was right when I decided to do it. I completely knew. How can anyone ask us to take a huge life step without that same feeling?"

"I don't even know what that feels like. To be so sure of loving Steve Urkel that you agree to spend the rest of your life with him? I cannot imagine being that sure of something that used to seem like a bad idea."

"I know! But I knew! I really, really knew! And now…"

Max raised an eyebrow at her. "And now what?"

Laura looked back at her and looked away again guiltily.

Max took a deep breath and shook her head. She pressed Laura's wine glass closer to her. "Take three big sips, and then tell me what's going on," she ordered.

Laura looked down at the glass. She leaned forward and set it on the table. "I can't," she admitted softly.

Max stared at her seriously for a moment while she came to terms with what Laura was telling her. "Oh," Max said.

"Yeah," Laura confirmed weakly.

"And we're not… happy about this?" Max asked, her eyes growing wider.

"Steve is," she admitted.

"But you're not?"

"No," she whimpered.

"Oh, Laura," she said softly, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm so sorry." She pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

Laura wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in her neck. She quickly fell apart, sobbing powerfully, grateful to finally have someone to comfort her. "What am I gonna do, Max?" She had to yell it over her own sobs.

"Whatever you want to do," Max replied.

Laura pulled back from her and wiped her eyes. "You don't mean that. I'm happily married. My husband has a good job. There's only one thing I can do."

"No, Laura. You can do whatever you want to do. I mean that."

"How could I ever look Steve in the eye again? And my parents? God, we're talking about how they won't be able to handle you living with Eddie. How do you think they'd feel if they knew I'd even considered this?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is what you want to do. You don't have to tell anyone that you don't wanna tell. I assume Steve already knows, but you don't even have to tell your parents. And Steve, he could get over it, or if you don't think he ever would, you could always tell him you lost it."

"I can't imagine keeping something like this from my parents, but I would never, ever lie to Steve about this. I just wish he would tell me it was ok."

"It is ok," Max said firmly.

"Is it? We've never even known anyone who got one? How am I supposed to know how I really feel about it? It's all hypotheticals and propaganda, and I know there are women who really need them, and I know I support any woman for making whatever choices she wants for her body… as a legal philosophy exercise, but I never thought it would be me. Never."

"Did you ever think it would be me?" Max asked softly.

Laura looked back at her. "What?" She shook her head in disbelief. "You and Eddie…?"

Max shook her head. "No. Me and Waldo."

Laura's jaw dropped. "Really? When? How could you never tell me? Not that you have to tell me, but how could you never tell me?"

Max pulled away from her a little as she settled in to tell this story completely. She fiddled nervously with her hands, still not sure how her best friend would feel about this, even given her current situation. "I never told anybody, except for Waldo." She cleared her throat and continued. "I was seventeen. Almost eighteen. It was late April of senior year when I took the test. Early May when I went to the clinic. When I saw that positive test, I freaked out. I called Waldo. He came over. It took me like 45 minutes to make sure he fully understood what was going on," she laughed.

Laura laughed too, remembering Waldo fondly.

"And when I actually got through to him, he proposed."

"What?" Laura gasped. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He wanted to do, you know, the right thing, I guess." She reached up and wiped a tear. "I loved him so much, and it might've been ok. We were young, but neither of us had crazy big aspirations. Not like you have. I still could have gone to beauty school. He still could have gotten a job as a cook somewhere. But I didn't want kids!" she exclaimed. "Not at seventeen. I'm a lot more open to it now, but I'm still not sure. Back then, I was certain that I never wanted kids. Not after my childhood. Not after everything that my mom put me through."

Laura nodded and reached out to rub her back. She didn't know everything that Eddie knew about Max's home life, but she knew enough. She knew enough to understand why Max might not want kids.

"When I told him I wanted an abortion, he was so sweet and immediately understanding… once he understood, anyway," she shrugged. She turned to Laura and met her eyes again quickly. She reached out to her and held her hand again. "And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad or rub that in your face, and I don't know how Steve has reacted so far, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm just saying it because Waldo was really there for me. He was so great through it. That's why I didn't tell anybody. I didn't have to. He had my back through everything. I never told my parents. I never told anyone." She looked away again. "It was scary and hard and painful, and I was ashamed for a while. I was honestly too ashamed to tell you. You say that you never thought this would be you, but I never thought it would either. I thought there was a real possibility you would judge me."

Laura frowned deeply. "I wouldn't have, Max. I would never have judged you for this."

"Laura," she scoffed, "you judged me when I lost my virginity."

"No, I didn't!"

"And you judged me for wanting to go to beauty school instead of a university."

Laura nodded uncomfortably. "I did do that, but I learned my lesson! You know how proud I am of you for finding something that you love! And you know I would never trust anyone else with my hair! And you know how much my hair means to me!"

"I do," Max laughed, "but you would've judged me for getting pregnant by accident, and you would've judged me whether or not I decided to go through with it. You may have learned your lesson within a week, but you would have judged me, and it was hard enough without that."

"Max, I'm so sorry that you felt that way. Obviously, I have no way to prove it to you now, but I really don't think I would have judged you for the choice you made, and I'm so sorry I ever made you feel like I would."

"Thank you, Laura," she replied, giving her hand a squeeze. "I appreciate that." There was a long pause.

"Did you ever regret it?"

"Only once," Max admitted. "When Waldo left, and I was at my lowest, I definitely wished I'd accepted his proposal and had his kids."

"That makes sense."

"But only then. Otherwise, Laura, I have been so glad that I made that choice. I wasn't ready for kids. I'm still not even ready to get married. I can't imagine committing myself to a kid back then! Or now, honestly."

Laura nodded and folded her arms across her body. "I want kids though, Max. I know I want kids, and I know I want to have Steve's kids. I just… I wanted to have them later! Once I became a lawyer and got to live my dream! Then I wanted to…"

"Give Steve his?" Max offered hesitantly.

"That's what I was gonna say, but that's not what I meant. I don't know what I meant," Laura admitted.

"Laura, it's ok if you don't want kids," Max assured her, "and it's ok if you just don't want kids now."

"I want kids," she said firmly. "I don't know why I said that. I know I want kids. That's my dream too. I just… I don't want to give up my other dreams to do it."

"And that's ok," Max assured her. "You can wait until you're ready. You don't have to do this now just because this happened."

"But Steve would never forgive me."

"That's not true, Laura. Is he trying to make you feel guilty? Like on purpose?"

"No," she assured her. "He just wants me to change my mind. I don't think he wants me to feel bad. I just do."

"You know you shouldn't feel guilty, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, trying and dialing to hold back her tears.

"Where the hell is Steve?" Max asked, growing upset with him for the first time in this conversation. Laura was not ok, and he was nowhere to be found.

"He really is on a work trip," she sniffled.

Max wrapped her arm around her again and held her. "No matter what you decide to do, I will be there for you. I believe Steve will, too, but I promise you, I will be there. No matter what."

"Thank you, Max," Laura sniffled again as she began to cry harder, leaning into her again.

The phone rang loudly beside them, and Laura sat up again. She wiped her eyes and tried to pull herself together to answer it, but she wasn't doing it quickly.

Max leaned past her and answered the phone. "Urkel residence," she answered. She turned to Laura. "It's the clinic."

————————————————————

As soon as Steve got off the plane, he headed for a cyber café in the airport and sent Laura an email. He wrote:

Hello to the light of my life from Washington, D.C.!

I'm sorry I didn't call right when I got off the plane. It's been crazy here. Wes and I have already had a ton of meetings, and we're going to have a ton more. I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you with all my heart, Laura Lee. I hope you're doing ok and feeling ok.

Sending you all my glove,

Sleeve

P.S.

If you're willing to, I would really appreciate it if you could tell the baby that I love and miss her/him, too.

xoxo

Then he crashed for a couple of hours until it was really morning in Russia.

————————————————————

Late that evening, back in the States, Eric arrived at his destination. He approached the grand front door and rang the bell. He straightened his back and stood tall, his face set in stone in a cold, firm expression. When the door opened, he heard a gravely southern drawl.

"You," Big Daddy Urkel growled.

"Mr. Urkel," he said. "We should talk."

Big Daddy nodded and walked away from the door, leaving it to Eric to follow and close the door behind them.

————————————————————

Dr. Roberta Urkel got out of surgery. She washed up and went to give some bad news to her former patient's family. She was zoning out down the hallway until she heard perfect English in an American accent, which was unusual in this Russian hospital. Of course, the pitch of the voice was by far more unusual.

"Hello, Roberta," Steve said again, more softly this time now that his mother had frozen in place. He came up to her and looked at her.

"Steven," she began, "what are you doing here?"

"Believe me, I didn't want to come. I never wanted to see you or Pop again after what you did to me all over again, but I need you. My mother is the only person I know who can help me understand this."

"Understand what?"

Steve swallowed hard. "Can we find somewhere to sit? Somewhere private?"

"Yes," she replied without hesitance. "I have to find a colleague to go break some news about one of my patients, but give me two minutes, and I'll be right there. Why don't you go wait in the lounge?" she suggested, grabbing his arm to lead him down the hallway.

Steve resisted. "If you don't mind, I'd really rather wait with you in my eyeline. I came a long way, and if you bolt, it'll all be a waste."

She frowned. "I understand. Wait right here. I'm going to have a two minute conversation on the phone at that nurse's station," she said, pointing to a desk in the middle of the room, "and then we can go find the lounge or my office to talk in."

"Ok."

His mother did as she said, and then came back to him. She led him silently into her office. She gestured to a chair and sat beside him.

Steve sat and looked down at his feet. "Laura's pregnant," he said softly, choking on the words.

"Oh, my GOD!" Roberta gasped. "Oh, Steve!" She desperately wanted to reach out and hug him, but instead she placed a light hand on his shoulder and patted it gently. "Congratulations, Steven. You both must be thrilled." She stared at him for a long moment. He didn't look thrilled. "Is something wrong with the baby? Is that why you're here?" she asked nervously. "I could put in some calls. There are excellent neonatal surgeons in the States."

"No, it's not that. The baby's fine. At least, it's fine as far as we know. It's just… It was an accident."

"Oh," she said softly. "Well, that's ok. If you two are happy and the baby is healthy, it doesn't matter how it got here."

"The baby is healthy, and I was happy, but…"

Roberta waited for him to finish, but she watched instead as he bit his bottom lip hard to stop it from trembling. "Laura doesn't want to keep it," she guessed for him.

He nodded.

"Why are you here, Steven?" she asked gently, thinking she was beginning to make the connection.

"I was… an accident, right? On your honeymoon?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Did you ever consider…?"

"Having an abortion? I'm a doctor, Steven. You can say it."

"I'd really rather not."

"We did consider it," she answered. "Only briefly, but we did consider it."

That explains everything, doesn't it? Steve asked himself. No wonder everything in my life has been an uphill battle. I was never supposed to be here.

"Ultimately, we decided that wasn't something that married people do," she added.

"But that's not true."

"Statistically, no, but it felt true at the time. It was 1978. We were only five years past Roe. Things were different."

"So you had me out of obligation?"

"Sort of. It was less so an external obligation so much as an internal motivation to comply with societal norms. I never really wanted children. I just knew that I would have some someday."

"But Laura wants children. I know she does. We've talked about it so many times."

"But she doesn't want one now, right?"

"Right."

"Steven, I understand why you're uncomfortable with this, but you came here to talk to me about this for a reason, so I'm going to speak very frankly."

Steve smirked at her. "That sure would be a change, huh?" he asked sarcastically.

She laughed softly. "Ouch," she scolded, pinching his arm. "But fair," she admitted.

He nodded and looked down at his feet again.

"Steven, when I was pregnant with you, I was dreading every second of it."

"Ouch," he said softly.

"But," she continued, smiling softly, "when you were born, your father and I were thrilled. We loved you so much. So much more than we ever thought we could." She reached out and took his hand. "We still do."

Steve looked at her with big puppy dog eyes. He had been so stoic on the way here, and he had been so focused on the pregnancy since they started talking that he was able to stay mad and upset, but as she said that, his heart melted. Whether she was a terrible mother or not, she was still his mother. "I love you too, Mama," he said softly.

She squeezed his hand tightly and pulled back, looking away to control her emotions. "We loved you so much, but I know that you don't think we were the best parents, and you have every right to feel that way. Think about it for a minute though. What are the things you resent us for? The things from your childhood."

Steve thought hard about how he wanted to approach this conversation. "Mom, I don't think you want to hear that."

"No, Steven, I don't, but I'm going somewhere with this. Answer the question."

Steve sighed deeply. "I-I don't know. There were some things. I guess… You guys worked too much," he began.

"Mm-hm. We worked too much because we didn't get time as newlyweds to devote to our careers because we had a baby we didn't plan on having yet."

Steve looked at her, finally understanding the point she was trying to make.

"You yelled at me… a lot."

"Because we were trying to live our lives like we did before we had you, the way we wanted to, so you were always breaking things we never should have had around you in the first place and embarrassing us at places we shouldn't have been taking you."

"You kept me away from your friends and some of our family," he complained.

"Because our friends didn't have kids, and the family issue is more about us having issues with our families than you. I'm not going to apologize for that. Trust me, my Aunt Sue would have been crueler to you than any bully you've ever met. You didn't need to meet her."

"Ok…" Steve said, surprised by that side note, "so maybe that one I can let slide, but you guys were mean to me and mean to each other."

"We were unhappy, Steven. We loved you more than we ever knew we could love anyone, but we were unhappy. We didn't want to be parents. We weren't ready to be parents. We didn't change our lives or ourselves to make room for you. We just carved out a little space in our lives to squeeze you in. It wasn't big enough for you. It wasn't big enough for our love for you."

"But that's on you guys! Why are you trying to make excuses like this? That's on you guys! Laura and I won't do it like that. Laura and I will turn our lives upside down to raise this baby right," Steve exclaimed, growing frustrated. He wasn't his father. He wasn't anything like his father, and he hated the implication that he and Laura were going to be or do anything like his parents.

"It is. It is absolutely on us, and maybe you won't. Maybe you'll do better, but what will that do to Laura?" she asked softly.

"What?" Steve asked, looking at her more softly.

"If you don't want to do what we did, if you want to really be the parents you never had, if you want to be the Winslows, your kids will always come first."

"That's how it's supposed to be!" he exclaimed.

"It is. It's absolutely how it's supposed to be. So you'll put the kids first, and your wife second."

"She would want me to," he said softly.

"She would because that's how she was raised and the kind of mother she wants to be," Roberta continued. "So you put Laura second. You spend time with your kids first and Laura second. You spend money on your kids first and Laura second. So Laura gets fewer romantic gestures, fewer presents."

"She hates it when I surprise her. She says it's an irresponsible use of our money."

"But does she really hate that side of you? Deep down?"

Steve pursed his lips and thought for a moment. "I don't think so. If I thought she really hated it, I would stop."

"So while you're putting Laura second, she's also putting you second. You'll get less of her time, and less of her affection, and less of her emotional energy."

"I'm fine with that."

"Are you? Because you've lived a lot of your life without getting what you needed from her, and you definitely weren't fine," she pressed.

Steve flashed back to how he used to feel when Laura ignored him. It couldn't feel that bad. He was sure of it. "It won't be like when we were kids. I wasn't second on her list then. I was at the bottom! All I need from her is for her to mother my kids and love me a little. If anything, my childhood prepared me for this. Nothing can be as bad as that."

"Fine, so you're going to have less alone time, she's going to do less to keep up her appearance, you're going to have less sex. That's all fine with you?"

Steve shifted in his seat. He had never talked about sex with his mother, and he certainly hadn't enjoyed the conversations he had had with his father. "My relationship with Laura is deeper than all that shallow, physical stuff."

"Ok, so let's say, for the sake of argument, that your marriage comes out of all that completely unchanged. Let's say, for a minute, that your marriage is perfect beyond reason."

"I don't need perfect," Steve interrupted.

"No, I know," she agreed, "but let's start there. Let's pretend your marriage won't be affected. Let's just talk about Laura."

Steve nodded. That was all he really cared about anyway.

"So we've already established that Laura will be putting the kids first, because she's a Winslow and that's all she has ever known, and she'll be putting you second, because I've seen the way she looks at you, and I've seen the marriage she's using as an example, and because we made her promise she would. So where does that leave her on her list?"

Steve looked at his mom. "Third?" he offered weakly.

His mom nodded, "At best. Her parents, and brother, and extended family, and friends all have places on that list too, and her priorities will shift when they have to, but no one is coming before the kids and no one is coming before you."

Steve swallowed hard. He didn't like the idea of Laura prioritizing anyone over herself, but he also knew his wife, and he knew Roberta was right. Laura knew how to stand up for herself, how to ask for what she needs, and how to take care of herself, but he also knew that she wasn't always very good at it. He knew that society conditioned her, as a woman, a wife, and someday, a mother, to put herself last. He knew that every ounce of selfishness she was holding onto was through sheer force of will, though her will was a force to be reckoned with.

"So Laura is going to stay up late with the baby when it's fussy and be too tired to concentrate in class. She's going to skip meetings with professors to take the baby to the ER when it has a fever. She's going to try to balance her breastfeeding schedule with her classes. She's going to get a job at a law firm that provides her with some flexibility, even if it's not the best one interested in her. She's going to go for a bigger paycheck to help pay for the baby instead of following her own moral compass. She's going to take days off for field trips and leave early for dance recitals. She's going to go into work late because she's trying to get the kids off to school. As incredible as she is, and I know she's special to you, Steven, but as incredible as she is, she's going to have to make sacrifices to make this work," she said firmly, letting that thought marinate for a moment before she continued. "Maybe she'd be fine with that. Maybe she'll still be happy. Maybe your little family could be enough, but if she's really considering what you say she's considering, she's not sure it will be."

Steve grew flustered again. "But I don't understand. She wants to have kids. That's what having kids is. She's either going to make those sacrifices now or in a few years!"

"Yeah, Steve, and those few years could make all the difference. She seems to think they will. Those few years are clearly important to her." Steve looked away again and exhaled heavily. His mom grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I want you and Laura to have a baby, Steve. You know that, but you came here so I could help you understand her perspective."

"I don't want her to be unhappy," he whimpered, "but what if we never get this chance again?"

"You will. There's no reason to expect you'll struggle with fertility after this. Actually, if you're using some kind of protection, the chances of you having an accident like this were really low, which is a good sign for your fertility. Imagine how easy it will be when you're actually trying to get pregnant."

"But what if she's never willing to try?"

"You just said you know she wants kids."

"But I don't know that she wants them with me. Why would she?"

"Because she loves you, Steven."

"But what if she doesn't still love me by the time she's ready?"

"If you're worried about her falling out of love with you already, why aren't you concerned about the possibility of her growing to resent you?"

Steve thought long and hard for a moment. "I guess I'm just hoping that you're wrong, and that she's wrong, and that this baby will make her as happy as it will make me."

"You're a scientist, Steven. You know that the reality is we won't really know until it happens, but the evidence isn't pointing to that. This pregnancy sure has made her miserable though, huh?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Is this how you wanted to have a baby with Laura? By accident? Dragging her through it kicking and screaming?"

"No, of course not! I wanted her to tell me on our wedding night that she never wanted to use protection with me and that every miracle baby we had would be a blessing, but that certainly didn't happen."

His mother scoffed. "Have you met your wife?"

Steve chuckled. "I didn't say it was realistic. I said it was what I wanted."

"No, it's not. It can't be because you want Laura, and you've only ever wanted Laura. That's not Laura. You don't want that. You want someone who is going to bring you down to Earth and make you think things through and challenge you and tease you. You want Laura to be Laura. She won't be Laura if she does this for you. You don't want her to do this."

Steve felt tears come to his eyes. He'd never thought about it quite like that. "I want her to be Laura, and I want her to be happy, and I want to have this baby," he said firmly.

"What do you want more? Because that's the choice here. Do you want her or the baby?"

"I want both," he sniffled.

"But I'm telling you you have to choose. You either drop this, support her through whatever decision she makes, and keep Laura or you keep pushing her on this. Maybe you get a baby out of the deal, maybe she gets an abortion anyway, but you lose her either way."

"I want her. I choose her. I will always choose her," he finally confirmed.

"Then you have to drop this, Steven. You need to go home and tell her that even though you don't like it, you will support her in whatever decision she makes. More importantly, you have to forgive her for whatever decision she makes. That's what choosing her looks like in this situation."

Steve paused for a long moment, wiping his tears. "What if I can't forgive her?"

"Then you don't love her as much as you thought you did."

Steve leaned forward suddenly and grabbed his mother. He held her tightly and sobbed into her neck.

Roberta was surprised at first. She gasped softly, but as he held on tighter and tighter, she wrapped him into her arms, determined to make up for every hug she'd denied him as a child.

————————————————————

Steve took a deep breath as he unlocked the apartment door and walked inside. As he did, he saw Laura bustling around the kitchen and living room area at breakneck speed. "Hidy-ho, Laura Lee," he said softly as he closed the door behind him.

Laura froze in the living room as she noticed him, a blanket in her hands. "Hi," she said softly. She stared at him for a long moment and then she got back to work. She took the blanket over to the counter where she was packing a bag.

Steve's heart stopped as he saw the suitcase on the counter. He moved over to her quickly. "Laura, no," he said firmly, pulling her away from the bag.

"Steve! What the heck—" she exclaimed, resisting his firm pulls.

He lifted her into the air and set her on the other side of their small kitchen, placing himself between her and the bag.

"Steve!"

"Laura, no. Laura, you can't leave me. I know this has been a rough week, but I didn't go to Washington. I went to Russia, and I saw my mom."

Laura was no longer trying to get back to the bag. She was frozen in place.

"I told her about the ba—" He stopped himself. "I told her you were pregnant, and I told her that you want an abortion."

"Steve!" Laura complained. "That's private!"

"But I had to talk to her about it because I knew I was an accident, and I knew she was never happy when I was growing up, and I was afraid I was putting you in the same position. Laura, she helped me realize, I want you. You are the most important thing in the world to me, and if you don't want this the way I want this, then I don't wanna do it. I want you to be happy, and I want you to be you, and forcing you into this isn't going to give me those things. I don't wanna have a baby with my soul mate that way. I wanna have a baby with you on your terms, when we're both ready, when we're both overflowing with love. I don't wanna force you to give up part of yourself to have a baby with me. I want you to give up only what you have to spare. That's what it'll be like when we have a baby. We won't be able to contain our love in just ourselves, so we'll have a baby to help us contain it. I don't want our baby to hurt you or take from you or make you resent me. I want you to be happy. I will support you no matter what decision you make. I will be there for you. I will hold your hand the whole time. I will love you through it. I can't say it won't hurt me, and I can't say that I'll like it, but I promise that I will be there for you and I will forgive you. It might take me a minute, but I will get over my hurt and myself so that I can be the kind of partner you deserve. I love you with all my heart, Laura Lee. I want what you want. I need what you need. I want and need you and only you. End of story."

Laura stared at him, mouth agape, as she processed all of this information. Finally, she grabbed his face by both cheeks and pulled him down to her lips. She kissed him hard and passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him and kissed him and kissed him.

Then their door flew open. "Seriously?!" Myrtle screeched as she waddled in. "This is why you're taking so long?!! You had to have a make out session in the middle of me having a baAAAAAAABYYYYYYY?!" She transitioned into a long wail as another contraction hit her. She gripped the kitchen counter for support.

Laura and Steve pulled apart, but not far apart.

"You're having the baby?!" Steve echoed.

"Nooooo, I'm practicing my Native American throat singing," she cooed. "Of course, I'm having the BAAAAAABYYYYYY, YOU STUPID YANKEEEEEEEEE!"

Steve looked back at Laura in shock.

"I wasn't leaving you, Baby. I was packing a bag for Myrtle," she said softly, pulling out of his arms. "Eric's out of town and the baby seems to be coming a couple weeks early. We're taking her to the hospital right now, and after Eric gets back to relieve us, you and I are going to sit down and have a long, long talk, ok?" she asked, wrapping her arms around Myrtle and giving her her hand to squeeze. "Zip that bag up, honey, and carry it for me?" She started to walk with Myrtle out of the apartment, slowly but with purpose.

Steve followed directions and locked the door behind them.

"I wanna hear all about your visit with your mom, and I have so many questions about that little discussion we just had, and I've got some stuff to tell you too, but I cannot deal with any of that right now."

Myrtle was breathing heavily as they led her to the elevator, irritated by their level of distraction in her time of need.

"You and I need to focus on Myrtle for the next few hours, ok?"

"Ok," Steve agreed as he pushed the button to take them down to the parking garage.

"You're doing great, Myrtle. We're not that far from the hospital. It's gonna be ok," she encouraged.

As Laura and Myrtle started to bicker, despite Laura's best efforts to stay calm and positive, Steve came up behind Laura and kissed the top of her head. He placed a hand lovingly on her shoulder. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tightly. He wanted to cover her with kisses, but she was wrapped around Myrtle, so he got close to her however he could and took a moment as they were stuck in the elevator to savor her scent and the warmth of her skin.

————————————————————

When they got to the hospital, Laura checked Myrtle in, and they followed her up to a Labor room.

"Steve? Could you go call Eric? Myrtle left him a couple of rambling voicemails, but he needs real information like a room number, and I would like to have some information from him on when he's getting back and why he went to visit his mom in the first place when Myrtle was so pregnant," she suggested, her voice growing harsh with that last comment.

"I'm on it, light of my life, angel of my apartment, soul mate of my-"

"Steve! I mean now," she scolded softly, her eyes bugging before she turned back to Myrtle.

"On it!" he called as he rushed out of the room.

"You're doing great, Myrtle," she said again as she sat behind her and took her hand.

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. "You two seem to be doing a little better."

"We don't need to talk about that right now," she said, looking away from her.

"C'mon, Cousin-in-Law! I need the distraction! You never even told me what this fight was about," she whined.

"And I'm not going to," Laura said firmly, "so come up with another distraction."

Myrtle scowled at her. "You're no fun."

"I know, but this one was bad, Myrtle. Steve even talked to his mom about it."

"Really?" Myrtle exclaimed. "The Cold War is over?"

Laura shook her head. "I don't think so. I think he just… needed his mom. I don't think anything's changed."

"I don't know about that. The fact that she was there for him when he needed her seems like a change."

"Yeah," she agreed. "For once."

"But you're all good now?"

Laura hesitated. "We still have some stuff to talk out, but when he left, we were in no condition to talk anything out. When he came home, he seemed to see my perspective in a whole new light. I'm hoping that we will be all good once we've had some time to really talk."

————————————————————

When Eric burst through the door, Myrtle was screaming in pain. "I'm here, porcupine! I'm finally, finally here!"

Myrtle's voice continued to bellow as Laura and Steve stepped away to give them space. Steve immediately grabbed Laura tightly, hanging on for dear life. She rested her head against him reassuringly.

Myrtle grabbed Eric's hand and squeezed tightly as she wailed. He steeled himself and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'm here, darlin'," he whispered.

"Now how is he doing that without keeling over in pain like we were?" Steve asked loudly, pointing at their joined hands.

Laura chuckled and hushed him. "We should leave them alone," she said softly.

"Awwww," he complained, "but I wanna see the baby."

As Myrtle started to breathe in again and her contraction passed, she relaxed a little. "No!" she ordered. "Don't you two go anywhere. I'm gonna need you to hold my hand again once I kick this hillbilly to the curb!" She glared aggressively at her fiancé. "Where THE HELL have you been?"

"Dandelion, you know I went down south to see my mama," he said with a sweet lilt in his voice.

"We called your mama when you didn't pick up the phone, bucket head!" She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him way too close to her snarling face. "So I'll say again, where THE HELL have you been?"

Laura and Steve cringed and took a couple of steps toward the door. "We should give you two some privacy," Laura concluded again.

"Don't move!" Myrtle ordered again, freezing them in place.

Eric swallowed hard. "You called my mama?" he squeaked. "Oh, man, she is gonna be so mad at me for not callin' the second you went into labor."

"If you don't answer my goddamn question, she will no longer have a son to be mad at!"

Eric nodded quickly and grabbed her hand at his collar. He pulled it away and held it lovingly as she continued to squeeze with all her might. "I didn't go see my mama," he admitted, rushing to finish before she totally freaked out on him. "I did drive down south, which is why it took me so long to get to you when I got the first message, but I wasn't in Alabama. I was in Biloxi."

Myrtle's face softened. "You were in Biloxi? Why?"

"I went to see Big Daddy. To work things out. Man to man."

"You did?" she asked weakly.

"I did. I tried my darndest, Dandelion, and I just couldn't make him budge. He doesn't want me in your life." He set a hand gently on her belly. "He doesn't want to know our baby."

Myrtle felt tears spring to her eyes. "Well, I don't know why you're telling me all this. This is supposed to be a happy day," she whined.

"I know. I wouldn't've even told you I went down to see him if you hadn't gone into labor while I was down there. I just couldn't let you think I missed a second of this for anything that wasn't important. I really thought I could fix it, Dandelion. I'm so sorry."

"That's ok, cowboy. Thank you for trying," she sniffled, patting the hand she was holding. She turned to Laura and Steve. "Ok. Now you can give us some privacy."

Laura nodded and led Steve toward the door. "We'll just be down in the cafeteria for a bit. We'll bring you something to eat later, Eric."

"Thanks, y'all," he replied, standing up straight to look at them. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Laura replied.

————————————————————

Laura and Steve walked down to the cafeteria hand-in-hand. Steve sat her at a table and went to grab her a cup of coffee. He came back with one for each of them. "So…" he said awkwardly.

"So…" she replied before taking a long sip of her coffee and looking away.

Steve looked down at his hands. "Gosh, what did I do to us?" he laughed and snorted. "Why is this so uncomfortable?"

Laura smiled softly and looked up at him. She reached out and took his hand in hers.

"It doesn't have to be. If you start looking me in the eye again," she chuckled.

Steve slowly looked back up at her. "I'm sorry, Sweetums. I didn't even realize I wasn't."

She squeezed his hand. "I know. I know you're hurting. I understand."

Steve frowned and shook his head. "No, I'm growing. I'm pushing through. I'm here for you. Nothing to understand."

"That's not true, Steve. I appreciate the sentiment, but you still get to have feelings. When I insisted it was my decision, I didn't mean to dismiss your feelings. I care about your feelings. I just can't surrender my bodily autonomy to you to protect your feelings."

"I don't want you to," he pressed. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I did."

"And I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I didn't care about your feelings."

"You don't have to care about my feelings," he insisted.

"Steve, stop. Please," she said softly. "Please stop that. I need to know that you understand this. Really understand this. What you're telling me right now isn't showing me that."

Steve swallowed hard. "I just… I wanna do and say the right thing."

"I know. You always want to do the right thing, but I have to know that you know what the right thing is here. I have to know that you understand what I've been trying and honestly failing to explain over the last couple weeks."

Steve took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand. In the logical part of my brain, I've always understood."

"Then explain it to me. I need to know you meant what you said."

Steve moved to the other side of the table to be close to her. He continued to hold her hand as he wrapped his other arm around her. "I understand, Laura. You're not ready for this. It doesn't mean you don't love me. It doesn't mean you don't want to have a baby with me. It just means you're not ready yet. More importantly, no matter what you decide or why you decide it, it's not my place to push you to do anything with your body that you don't want to do. I will wait as long as I have to, and if you're never ready, I'll learn to live with that, too. You are the love of my life, and I want to have a baby with you… when you're ready." He leaned his forehead down to rest against hers. He wanted her to kiss him again, but more than that, he wanted her to absorb what he was saying and trust in it, so he waited. He made eye contact with her, and waited. Eventually, she leaned in and kissed him softly. He didn't pull away when she broke their kiss. He squeezed her hand tightly. "So I read some stuff on the plane ride home. It was all in Russian, so I might have some of the details a little fuzzy. My Russian isn't very strong. It's also possible some of the procedures are a little different over there, or a lot different over there, but I read that you need to be six weeks along for a surgical… termination. Otherwise, it's a pill, and it's kind of painful. Not like emergency contraception, which is just a high dose of birth control. It's like a really, really heavy period, but it hurts a lot mo—"

"Steve, stop. Please, stop. I don't wanna…" She shook her head. "I needed to know that we were really on the same page about this because… I'm not pregnant."

"What?" Steve asked, his brow furrowing deeply. "Laura, I know we were in a bad place when I left for Russia, but you didn't do this without me. You wouldn't do that to me, would you? I know I don't get to choose for you, but I deserve to be there when we…"

"No, no, no, Steve," she answered quickly. "No. I didn't do it without telling you. I would never do that."

Steve cocked his head at her. "So you're still… I mean, did you lose—"

"I was never pregnant, Steve. The day after you left, the doctor called and explained. They mixed up my blood sample. They called me back in to double check. I was never pregnant."

Steve shook his head in disbelief. "W-w-why didn't you call?" he whimpered. He felt tears coming to his eyes which frustrated him. This was for the best. This was better than having to work through the pain they would both feel if she really had to make this choice. So why was he hurting?

Laura could see the hurt clear as day on his face. She reached up and stroked his cheek. "I was so mad at you, Steve. I didn't wanna call. And when you got home, I didn't tell you immediately because I wanted to know for sure that you meant everything that you said. If we couldn't figure this out… I was really getting worried for us, Steve. This kind of stuff… I mean, kids and morality and boundaries… This stuff makes or breaks a marriage, and I didn't know how we could move past this, even knowing that I wasn't really pregnant, if we couldn't come to some sort of understanding. I was honestly so scared that we were just going to push this away once we knew it wasn't a choice we had to make."

Steve was still reeling. "I read so much about abortion. I haven't slept since we found out. I…"

"I'm sorry, Steve. I know this is a lot, and I'm sorry. I just needed to know that you would respect my choice in the end, and you did," she said, squeezing his hand. She reached her other hand up and softly wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"I don't know why I'm upset. This is so much easier than having to deal with our feelings if we really…"

"It is so much easier. At least for me. I cried when I found out, too, but they were happy tears. I was so relieved."

"I'm relieved, too, I think. I'm just… still processing."

"This is good, Steve. This means we can stick to our plans guilt-free."

Steve wiped his tears hard and nodded. "That is good." He swallowed hard. "I guess there was a small part of me that thought… that maybe you wouldn't go through with it. That maybe you would still choose to have our baby."

Laura placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently.

"I guess I'm just naïve, huh?"

Laura shook her head. "No, Steve. Not at all. I honestly hadn't decided. When you left, I was still considering both options. I told you, Honey. I didn't want to choose… abortion. That would have destroyed me. Knowing how badly it would hurt you would have made it so much harder. It's possible we would have had a baby."

Steve swallowed hard. "I want that so badly."

"I know," she said softly. "I do, too, Steve. Just not until we're ready."

He nodded. "I know."

"You know it was never about you, right? You're going to be an amazing father no matter when we have a baby. It was always about me."

"I know," he agreed, "but it's still nice to hear."

"You were the only reason I considered keeping it. I know that you would have bent over backwards to make it work for me and for our baby. And I do want to make a baby for you so badly. I want to give you that gift. Desperately."

Steve was basically sobbing now, as much as he was trying to get it under control. He grabbed her face and kissed her deeply. "I want that. I want that, too. Desperately," he agreed.

She wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I promise I will do everything I can to make your dream come true. Our dream. When the time is right."

He hugged her tightly and buried his face in her neck. "I love you, Laura Lee."

"I love you, too, baby," she promised.

————————————————————

Laura and Steve were waiting in the waiting room when Big Daddy strolled in. He eyed Steve immediately. "Where is my daughter, nephew?" he bellowed across the room.

Steve looked up from the magazine he and Laura were sharing and handed it to her. "Uncle Amos!" he exclaimed.

"That's Big Daddy's name?" Laura asked softly.

Steve nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"That… boy left my house suddenly because he said my baby girl was in labor! And that my grandbaby would be arriving soon, and I wasn't gonna stand around like a fool in Biloxi while that was happening in this… hell hole! I'm putting my baby girl on my helicopter, and I'm flying her down to Mississippi where she can see a qualified doctor."

"Well, Uncle Amos, there are plenty of qualified doctors in this hospital. My parents worked here for over a decade!"

"Would you trust your parents with your babies?!"

he asked pointedly.

Steve hesitated. "Well, if my babies, God forbid, needed brain or heart surgery, sure!" He spoke to Laura out of the side of his mouth. "If they needed love, attention, words of encouragement, or physical affection, probably not."

Laura pursed her lips and suppressed a laugh. She put a hand on his back and rubbed it gently. "She's in room 412," Laura said eventually.

As Big Daddy stormed away, Steve looked at her. "Should we have told him that? What if he tries to make Myrtle cross state lines?"

Laura shrugged. "We've been with Myrtle most of the day. What do you think the chances are of him making her do something she doesn't wanna do right now?"

Steve's eyes widened and he nodded, suddenly understanding. Laura lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head.

————————————————————

"You!" Big Daddy scowled as he burst in the room and pointed sharply at Eric, his arm trembling with fury. "You get away from my precious, little girl!"

"Big Daddy!" Myrtle exclaimed.

Eric did not budge from Myrtle's side, and he glared at her father as he approached her other side and grabbed her hand.

"Myrtle Mae," he said sweetly, "we gotta get you on my helicopter to get you back to Biloxi. We can't let these Yankees bring your baby into this world."

Myrtle's brow furrowed.

"Now, Peanut, I'm gonna get a nurse to get you loaded onto a stretcher. I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and moved away from her.

"No!" Myrtle spat back at him.

His back tensed, and he turned to look at her again. "What did you just say to me, young lady?"

"I said no, Big Daddy. You have no right to waltz into this hospital room and put me in your helicopter. My fiancé and I have decided to have our baby in this hospital with these yankee doctors, and that's what we're gonna do. You didn't want any part of it. Remember?" To put it simply, at 11:30 P.M. and seventeen hours into her labor, Myrtle was not looking her best. As she seethed with anger toward her father, her appearance was reminiscent of Medusa, and all of the men in the room cowered, her father included.

"Myrtle Mae, I-I-I'm here to apologize to you for all that nasty business."

"Then apologize!" she barked.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," he said sadly. "I just… I was just scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of losing you the way I lost your mama."

"What do you mean?" Myrtle asked softly. "Mama died in a car accident."

"No, she didn't. She died bringing you into this world. I just told you that so you'd never, ever blame yourself, and when you told me… you were with child, I was just terrified the same thing was gonna happen to you."

Myrtle felt tears running down her cheek, which was when she realized she was crying. She felt Eric wipe her face and rub her belly. "And you think that's a good reason to cut me off?"

"No," he said firmly. "No, it's definitely not. I was just hoping that cutting you off would make you listen to me in the first place. I was hoping that would push you to reconsider this pregnancy. Pregnancy is so hard on a woman's body."

"I know that!" she exclaimed. "For God's sake, I've been pregnant for almost ten months and in labor for seventeen hours! I know how hard pregnancy is on a body."

"Well, then let's hurry up and get you on a helicopter and down to some real doctors!" he said firmly.

"And what state did my mama deliver in?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were her doctors Yankees?"

"Well, no."

"Then what in the name of my rodeo champion finacé do you think is gonna make me get on a helicopter with you and fly down to some doctors I've never met?"

"Well, they're the best doctors money can buy!"

"And these doctors are the best doctors my insurance could afford, and they're good doctors, so if you wanna come crawling back in my life, you better sit down, shut up, and apologize to my husband-to-be and me for how you've been treating us." Myrtle had another contraction that interrupted their conversation and grabbed everyone's attention.

When it was over, Big Daddy walked to Eric's side of the room and looked at him. Then he sat in a chair behind him. "So you didn't even marry my little girl yet, boy?" he grumbled.

Eric looked at Myrtle and squeezed her hand. Then he sat by Big Daddy. "Well, we've set four different wedding dates, but she just keeps pushing it back. She won't admit it to me," he said, looking at her pointedly, "but I think it's because she wants her daddy there to walk her down the aisle. Steve agreed to give her away, but we keep postponing anyway."

"That's not why," she objected. "The first date we chose, there were no good caterers available. The second date, it was supposed to be too snowy. By the third date, I was way too big to fit into my dress. Now, the fourth date we set, still looks promising."

"I bet it would keep looking promising, if your daddy would give us his blessing."

"We don't need his blessing, and he doesn't need to be there. We're a little family now. We don't need him," she whimpered.

Eric pursed his lips. "Now, c'mon, Myrtle. My daddy's long since passed away. Don't you want our baby to have a Pop-Pop?" He paused and turned to look at Big Daddy. "Don't you wanna know your grandson?"

"I do wanna know my grandson," he replied. His voice strained and harsh. He turned back to Myrtle. "Myrtle Mae, I'm so sorry I've been acting like such a fool. Believe me, it was out of fear and grief and nothin' else. I'm not ashamed of you or anything you've done. I'm so proud of you, baby girl, for being so brave. So much braver than me. I just wish your mama was here to see you. She always was my rock."

Myrtle reached up to wipe her tears as she started to really weep. She would have given almost anything to have her mama there with her, to have known her mother. Before she could respond, she was hit with another contraction. It was bigger than all the others and the pain distracted her from any attempts to make up with her father.

————————————————————

It was 3:50 A.M. when Cheryl showed up. "Now what are you two still doing in this waiting room?" she asked as she noticed Steve and Laura asleep in the uncomfortable, ancient chairs.

Steve sat up quickly and jolted Laura awake. "Cheryl," he said, standing to hug her.

Laura rubbed her eyes and hugged her next.

"If you two are tired," she said firmly, "you should go home. Granny is here now! I got this."

Steve shook his head. "We've been at this for hours. It's gotta be soon. We don't wanna miss it!"

"How long exactly has she been in labor?"

"We've been here since 10:00 A.M., but she said it started a few hours before that, so like 21 hours now," Laura answered.

Cheryl shrugged. "Hate to tell you this, honey, because I know babies aren't too far away for you, but my first, Eric's older sister, Mazie, took me 26 hours. Then the next two slid right out," she chuckled.

Steve wrapped an arm around Laura as she cringed. "Please don't scare her, Cheryl."

Big Daddy walked back into the waiting room before Cheryl could respond. "Well, they kicked me out," he said as he approached Steve and Laura. "The baby is really crowning, and they wanted some privacy. Should be any minute right now."

"I'm sorry," Cheryl interrupted. "Who are you?"

He stood up a little straighter and finally acknowledged the stranger in front of him. "Why, I'm Amos Urkel of Urkel Oaks in Biloxi. Most people just call me Big Daddy. It sure is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss," he said with a wink. He extended his hand to her, and she ignored it.

She turned to Steve. "Steve, is this your uncle?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he nodded.

"So you're Myrtle's father," she concluded, turning back to look at him. "You're the blowhard who thinks my baby isn't good enough for Myrtle!"

"Well, he's not!" Big Daddy replied curtly. "Ain't no crime in speaking the truth."

Cheryl widened her eyes. "Now, who do you think you're talking to, you self-righteous, stuck-up, ol' fool?!"

Big Daddy gasped. Not many people talked to him that way anymore in Biloxi.

"My baby is a good man who chose to stand by your daughter, even though she didn't have the good sense to keep her legs closed until she was married."

Big Daddy gasped. "Well, if your Playboy son hadn't pressured her into it, I'm sure none of this would have happened."

"In what world do you think my son would have to pressure Myrtle into anything?"

As Big Daddy went to respond again, Laura forced her way in between them. "Ok!" she exclaimed. "That's enough! As one of the people actually responsible for them getting together, I've heard enough of this. Neither of you know what you're talking about, so sit down, shut up, and listen!" she barked.

They sat immediately and looked up at her. Steve sat beside them and looked up at her with the same worried look. Logically, he knew he wasn't in trouble, but the tone in her voice was really scary, so he thought he'd follow directions just to be safe. She turned to Cheryl. "Cheryl, what are you doing? You love Myrtle! Eric and Myrtle told me all about their trips down to see you at Thanksgiving and Christmas. You've welcomed her right into your family."

"I do love, Myrtle," Cheryl agreed. "I'm thrilled my baby finally had the good sense to follow his heart somewhere instead of his… willy, but this man thinks my baby isn't good enough for Myrtle! And that's just crazy! I love Myrtle, but let's be honest, until she met my baby, there was a real possibility that girl was gonna end up a cat lady."

Big Daddy's brow furrowed deeply, and he glared at her.

"Oh, no!" Steve interrupted. "Myrtle is more of a tortoise gal."

Laura looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She doesn't like cats. She likes tortoises. If she were gonna get a boatload of pets to fill a hole in her life, it would've been tortoises," he answered simply.

"Steve," Laura said, placing a hand over her face and rubbing her temples. It had been a long day and night, and as much as she adored her husband, he was about to start driving her batty. "Baby, I love you, but let's stay focused, ok?"

"Ok," he agreed, nodding.

"You see?" Cheryl exclaimed, turning to Big Daddy. "If it weren't for my baby and his big heart, you'd have a crazy tortoise lady on your hands!"

Big Daddy moved to respond, but Laura interrupted him. "Oh, no," she began. "Let's talk about your baby. He may be generous enough to look past a few of Myrtle's flaws, but she's doing the same for him. If it weren't for Myrtle, you'd still have a man whore on your hands, so I think we need to take back that comment about Myrtle not having the good sense to keep her legs closed. I lived across the hall from your baby for less than two months before Myrtle moved in, and I have a number of stories I could tell about bumping into marchers in that long parade of women he had exiting his apartment. Believe me, you're lucky Myrtle is the one he knocked up."

Cheryl was shocked into silence.

"Now, that's exactly what I mean!" Big Daddy exclaimed. "My baby is having the baby of a notable big city… gigolo!"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Oh, for God's sakes, he's not a literal man whore. He was just promiscuous, and your daughter was thrilled to learn this about him. Myrtle was desperate to find a man to love her, and although she was hesitant at the beginning of their relationship, I've never seen her happier than I have over the last ten months. Sure, she's got some pregnancy hormones, but otherwise, she is head over heels in love with that man. And let's be honest, I love Myrtle, but she hasn't always been great at finding men in her own league to fall for, so she's probably lucky she trapped him."

"Laura Lee!" Steve exclaimed. He knew she was tired, but she was pulling no punches.

"I'm sorry. Did she trap him on purpose?" Cheryl screeched.

Laura rolled her eyes. "No, your son was just too blind drunk to put on a condom correctly."

"Oh, great," Big Daddy grumbled. "So he's a drunk, too."

"All I'm saying," Laura concluded, "is that those two are lucky to have each other. They're going to be good parents to your grandbaby and good spouses to each other. Both of you live pretty far away from them, so if you want them to bring your grandbaby home for the holidays, you better start acting like you like each other and each other's kids." She exhaled sharply and sat beside Steve.

Cheryl sat up a little straighter, ready to be the bigger person. "You're right, Laura, except I really do like Myrtle. I don't have to act like it. I'm glad Eric has found someone who is pushing him to settle down and act right. She's sweet and bright and funny. She knows what she wants and she makes sure she gets that. That's important in a woman marrying a Chambers man. I love that girl, and I can't wait until she's part of the family. I just wish we'd been able to have that first wedding so that we could've just said that the baby came early, instead of being obviously born out of wedlock, but I'll… get over that." She looked at Big Daddy. "I'm sorry about what I said, but I know it's your fault we didn't have the first three weddings we were supposed to have, so I ain't that sorry."

Big Daddy stood to look down at all of them and project some semblance of unearned authority. "Laura, you married into this family. You know that it presents some challenges. Do you think Eric has what it takes to be married to an Urkel woman?"

Laura hesitated. It was awfully soon to tell. "I think, even if he doesn't, Myrtle will turn him into a man who can handle it just through sheer force of will."

Big Daddy was silent for a long moment and then he guffawed loudly and slapped his knee. He even snorted a couple times. Then he sat between Steve and Cheryl again. "Now, that does sound like my little Peanut," he laughed. He turned to Cheryl, more relaxed now. "I'm sorry, too, little lady. I'm sure you understand how… overprotective a father can be of his one and only baby girl."

Cheryl nodded wisely. "That I do. I was an only child and my daddy nearly lost his mind when I brought my late husband home for dinner."

Before their conversation could continue, Eric burst from Myrtle's room and sprinted down the hallway. "He's here!" he exclaimed. "He's here! Our healthy baby boy!"

Laura, Steve, Cheryl, and Big Daddy jumped from their chairs and ran to him.

"Congratulations, baby!" Cheryl cheered, growing immediately teary as she took her baby boy, a new father, into her arms.

"Thank you, Mama!" he replied, squeezing her tightly. "When did you get here?" he asked quizzically, only once it dawned on him.

Big Daddy had run straight past Eric, so Laura and Steve quickly followed him.

"Peanut!" he cried as he entered the room.

Myrtle was panting heavily as she held her son close to her chest. "Big Daddy!" she replied. "Oh, Big Daddy! Come look! Isn't he beautiful?"

Big Daddy moved to her side as Eric and Cheryl entered the room. Eric closed the door behind them. Steve and Laura moved to the foot of the bed to give them some space and still not miss a moment of it. Laura leaned into Steve as she felt his arm around her back.

"Oh, Peanut, he's almost as beautiful as you," he sniffled.

Myrtle was crying openly now. "Oh, Big Daddy, I missed you!"

Big Daddy wept just as dramatically as Myrtle did. He handed her his hanky to wipe her tears. "I missed you, too, baby girl! I cannot believe I let some… boy get in between us."

"Now, Big Daddy," she scolded, "that's no way to talk about your future son-in-law."

Big Daddy frowned, and Cheryl raised an eyebrow at him challengingly, glad to know that Myrtle was firmly on her son's side.

Big Daddy cleared his throat, sniffled, and turned to Eric. "I'm sorry, son. I'd like for you and I to start over."

Eric nodded. "I'd like that too," he agreed.

Finally, Laura piped up from the other end of the room. "Ok. Can we talk about the baby now?"

Steve laughed, snorted, and pinched her side as they walked closer to the bed together.

"Congratulations, Myrtle!" Laura exclaimed, leaning in to hug her.

"Thank you, darlin'," she said, hugging her back.

Eric cleared his throat. "Right. Everybody, I'd like you to meet our son, Beauregard Clarence Chambers. He was born at 3:58 A.M. on April 26th, 2000. He weighs a whopping 10 pounds, 2 ounces."

"TEN POUNDS!" Laura exclaimed, leaning into Steve as her knees gave out.

Myrtle smirked at her. "Runs in the family, pumpkin."

Steve squeezed Laura tighter, mostly so she wouldn't run away.

"He is beautiful," Cheryl said softly. "When does Granny get to hold him?"

Eric beamed proudly and picked the baby up from Myrtle's arms. He carefully handed him to his mother. "Beau. You know, for my middle name and for Pop-Pop."

Cheryl smiled and kissed Eric's cheek. "I know. My daddy would be so proud of you if he were still with us."

"Thank you, Mama," he said softly, clearly choking up and trying to hide it. He cleared his throat loudly.

Big Daddy leaned down to Myrtle and hugged her tightly. He kissed her forehead. "And Clarence," he began. "That's for your mama, right? My Clara?"

"Of course, Big Daddy. I've been feeling closer to her than ever lately. Going through all of this."

"I love that name, baby girl. Good choice."

Myrtle smiled up at him. "Stick around for the next pregnancy and maybe we'll have an Amos someday," she teased.

He chuckled loudly and kissed her again. "I'll be there, Peanut. I promise."

————————————————————

"Hey, there, handsome," Laura whispered as she tiptoed back into Myrtle's room around 5:30 A.M.. Myrtle and Eric were sleeping soundly, and Steve was holding the baby.

Steve looked up at her and grinned. "Hello, gorgeous," he replied in the same hushed tone.

"Cheryl and Big Daddy are headed back to our building. Cheryl's gonna crash at Eric and Myrtle's and Big Daddy's headed for our bed. We get the futon." Laura walked over to where he was sitting in the rocking chair. "We should go home, too," she reminded him softly. "Mom and Dad need to get some sleep, and we need to rest up for when they really need us to babysit."

Steve nodded. "I know," he agreed, looking down at the sleeping baby. "I'm just not ready yet."

"Five more minutes," Laura agreed, slowly and carefully pulling a chair up beside him.

"Thank you," he said softly. He continued to rock him gently. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" he asked eventually.

"He is," Laura agreed. "If I hadn't been there during the labor, it'd be hard to believe he's Myrtle's," she teased.

Steve smirked. "Don't make me laugh. If I snort, they're all waking up."

"Ok," Laura chuckled. She sat silently for a moment and watched Steve watching little Beauregard. "You look so good with a baby in your arms," she purred.

Steve smiled softly.

"What?" Laura asked as his face changed.

"It's just a little bittersweet to hear that today. That's all."

Laura frowned deeply. "I don't want it to be."

"But it is," Steve reaffirmed.

"I love you, Steve, and I wanna have a baby with you when we're both ready. You know that."

"I do," he agreed. "I know, and I'm definitely looking forward to that date. I just wish I knew when it was."

Laura looked at him for a long moment. "How about the day I pass the Bar?"

Steve's eyes widened. "Right after you pass the Bar? No more 'I have to get my career started first'?"

Laura pursed her lips. That was what she'd always said. "I don't think I wanna wait that long," she explained with a gentle shake of her head.

Steve stared at her in amazement, terrified she was gonna back out any second. "So, what's the plan here, Turtletoes? You're gonna pass the Bar. We're gonna start trying, and then you're gonna get your dream job, get knocked up, and go on maternity leave for a couple months in the first year you work there?"

Laura looked at him for a long time. "Yeah, or maybe I could stay home with them for a little while."

Steve's eyes widened dramatically. He froze completely. There was a part of him that wanted that more than anything. His perfect wife staying home with his perfect children so he didn't have to worry about anyone in a daycare facility, any kind relative, or even himself screwing them up? That was an absolute dream come true. Only Laura could possibly be good enough for those children.

But that wasn't what she wanted. "Laura Lee, as much as I would love you to be there for our kids' every precious moment, you don't wanna do that, my love. You're terrified of just being a mom."

"I haven't fully decided yet, so don't get your hopes up or anything, but I've been thinking about it. I mean, it's one of the things I've been thinking about with everything we just went through. Obviously, I considered taking time off of school, but I hate that idea. That is so scary to me. I would be terrified that I'd never go back and finish, but if I am a lawyer, and I just don't get started right away, that doesn't feel as scary. Then I can stay home for a couple months or a year or several years if it turns out I actually like it. It'll be harder to get a job with a gap in my resume, but I can do some charitable work on the side to fill it. I can get emeritus pro bono status so I can work without all the hour requirements. I just have to limit myself to pro bono cases and work within a charitable organization. I wouldn't even need to be supervised. I could just pick up some ACLU work or something, which could be really cool. Then I can always take a mediocre job or even an internship to start if we've been ok on your salary alone for a while. Plus, I really want to work for the state, and people don't always want those jobs." Laura noticed that Steve was strangely quiet as she rambled. "What's wrong? What are you thinking?"

"Nothing is wrong, sweetheart. I'm just... worried."

"About what?"

"I'm worried that you're reacting to the difficult couple of weeks we just had and making a bunch of promises you can't keep to make me feel better."

Laura's brow furrowed deeply, hurt that he thought she would do that.

He interrupted to correct himself before she could respond. "I'm not saying you would do that to me on purpose, my love. I'm just saying that sometimes, when you feel guilty, you talk big. I'm just afraid of getting my heart set on something that's going to put you in the position of breaking my heart down the line."

"Steve, I didn't commit to staying home with the kids. I just said I was thinking about it."

"Right, but you did commit to having a baby right after you pass the Bar."

"I did."

Steve pursed his lips. "And you really mean that?"

"Yes, Steve," Laura stressed. "I've been thinking about having a baby with you. I've been thinking about what I really want and when. I want to have a baby with you as soon as I'm done with school. That's three and a half years from now, assuming I pass the first time."

"You're going to," he said insistently.

"Then we're going to start trying in three and a half years," she promised.

Steve swallowed hard as she reached over and stroked the back of his head gently and he continued to rock the baby. "I want you to sleep on it."

"I have been, Steve. I—"

"Laura, please," he interrupted urgently, his voice cracking slightly. "Please, sweetheart. Please just do this for me. Sleep on it for a month. Then, if you decide you still want to make me this promise, sit me down and make me this promise. Then I'll get excited about it. Then I'll get my hopes up. I swear."

Laura paused for a moment in thought. Then she nodded. "Ok. That's fair. I'll wait until we're a little bit further past this, and then I'll make you this promise."

"Thank you, my love," he whispered. He swallowed hard and looked her deep in the eye. "And thank you, Sweetums, for trying to make me feel better tonight."

Laura shook her head. "I wasn't. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wanted you to feel better tonight, but that's not why I said it. I said it because I felt it. Because you asked me when and I answered." She stared at him for a moment. "You know I want us to start a family, right? You at least know that, don't you?"

He moved his eyes away from the baby but didn't meet hers. He looked straight ahead. "Yeah," he agreed softly.

Laura reached under his chin and pulled his eyes back to hers. She stroked his cheek gently. "I want you to sleep on this for a month, too, and in a month, when I sit you down to have this conversation, I really hope you'll be able to tell me that you believe me."

"Laura Lee, it's not that I think you're lying to me. I just think… I can't know for sure until it happens. So much could happen between us. So much could happen to us. I believe that you're planning to have a baby with me… today, in this moment, but that doesn't mean we'll ever really get there."

"We will," she promised. "We absolutely will."

Steve shrugged at her. "I hope so."

Laura felt tears pooling in her eyes. "What can I do to convince you?"

"I don't think there is anything. I think we're just gonna have to live with me being anxiously excited about this."

"Ok," she whimpered.

Steve looked over at her again and noticed the tears she was trying to hide. "You need to hold Beauregard for a minute, Laura Lee. You haven't held him yet," he said urgently, hoping to distract from her tears.

"Oh, no," she replied. "You were comfortable. I don't wanna wake him up."

"You won't," he said, placing the baby in her arms and pushing him closer to her chest.

Laura relented and pulled him close. She looked down at him. He was beautiful, and she was relieved. After all the birth stories she'd heard about the Urkels, she was glad to see that an Urkel could make a normal-ish baby with the right genes in the mix. Although, she had to admit ten pounds was way too much and Beauregard's head was bigger than most. She looked up at Steve and noticed how he was staring at her, with that desperate twinkle in his eye. "Someday, Steve. Soon. I promise."

Steve smiled softly at her. "We're going to make the most amazing babies."

Laura nodded. "We are, and we're going to be excellent parents who raise amazing adults. In part, because we're going to wait until we're ready."

Steve nodded. "We are," he agreed.

"Let's go home, baby. We need to sleep."

Steve nodded. He took the baby from her arms and set him back down in his bassinet. Then he offered her his arm as they started to walk out of the room.

"You know, moving a baby without waking them up is a very sexy skill. I had no idea you could do that, Mr. Clumsy."

Steve chuckled. "Well, just wait 'til it's our kid. I'll be way too nervous to do any of this stuff right."

————————————————————

Dear, Roberta,

So, it turns out, Laura isn't pregnant. I guess that's what I get for dragging her into the campus clinic instead of waiting for her to get an appointment with her GP. When I got home, she did leave me dangling on that hook long enough to get everything off my chest, which I think was really good for us. We're in a really good place now. We're going to wait until we're really ready and continue to be careful for a while. Honestly, I think everything that happened made her trust me more in the end. I can finally talk about Myrtle's baby (a healthy baby boy, by the way) without her getting all squirmy. I can even talk about our future kids without her having to remind me that we're waiting over and over again. It's really nice.

She told me that she wants to have a baby with me after she passes the Bar, which really isn't that far away. Now that I'm writing this, I'm wondering if that was supposed to be a secret. Probably. Just don't tell anybody around here, ok?

I'll be sure to write to you and Pop again when Laura and I move toward any big changes. It'd be nice if you'd respond this time. I'm sorry I haven't been more in-touch, but in fairness, you did tell my wife you'd throw out any letter I sent, so I don't really know what I'm apologizing for.

I hope you read this one though, so that you know I'm ok and Laura's ok and that our marriage is way more than ok. Thank you for your help, Mama. I don't know what I would've done without you. Laura would've killed me for taking this to her family. As much as her family is my family, too, this wasn't something I could discuss with them, and I'm glad you were there for me. I still don't understand our relationship. You and me and Pop. But I still value it, and I hope you know that I want you in your future grandchildren's lives. I can promise, with Laura's genes in the mix, they won't be half as annoying as me, so… think about it. You've got about four years to decide.

I miss you, Mama, and I still love you. Thank you again for helping me save my marriage and the little family I've built for myself. You know how much I need it.

Love,

Steven Quincy Urkel, B.S.

P.S.

I think Laura had decided to keep it, or was at least leaning in that direction. Even now, she says she hadn't made up her mind, but I found something that made me think she had.

————————————————————

"Hey, Laura!" Steve called as he walked out of the bedroom.

"Yeah, baby," she replied from the kitchen where she was finalizing the welcome home basket she had prepared for baby Beau. It was overflowing with diapers, baby clothes, and formula. Myrtle had decided to bottle feed exclusively. As she put it, "My daddy spent a lot of money on these money makers. They're worth a lot more than a 25 milk carton for sale in a school cafeteria." No matter how many times Laura tried to remind her of the price difference between cow's milk and baby formula, she didn't change her mind.

"I think you forgot something for the basket. This was in the strangest place! I was way in the back of your makeup drawer looking for a sponge small enough to clean my ear wax, and I found this tucked away there," he explained, handing her a mobile. "This is so neat. A mobile of the solar system with accurate scaling and coloring of all nine planets and the sun? I want one to put over our bed!" He laughed and snorted.

Laura was staring at him dumbfounded. She had a choice to make. She could either casually tuck that into the gift basket and give it away, which she really didn't want to do, or she could tell him the truth. Only, it wasn't much of a choice, because she always tried to be honest with him. "Actually, honey, that's not for Beau."

"It's not?" Steve asked, cocking his head. "Well, don't you think that will look a little weird over our bed? I was kidding, but if you wanna do this for real, I think we should have a bigger one custom made. It at least needs to be scaled appropriately for a Queen-sized bed, don't ya think?"

Laura swallowed hard and chuckled. "Um. No. It's not for over our bed, Steve. It's for… the eventual nursery we'll have to decorate."

Steve froze. "You mean… you bought this for… our baby?"

"Yes, and before you ask," she rushed to explain, "I'm not pregnant or anything, so don't get excited. It's for… eventually."

Steve was gripping the mobile box tightly. "When did you buy it?"

Laura looked away from him and started to fluff the plastic grass in the basket. "Last week," she answered.

"Last week… when you thought you were pregnant? Or last week when you already knew you weren't?"

"Why does that matter?" she asked, still avoiding his eyes.

"Laura, please," he begged. "Please just answer the question."

Laura looked back at him and sighed. "Yes, I thought I was pregnant when I bought it."

Steve smiled and set the mobile down. He grabbed her hips and pulled her into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "So… we were gonna have a baby?"

Laura shook her head. "I told you I hadn't decided."

"But you'd started… nesting?" he beamed.

"Well, I know we're gonna have a baby someday, so yeah… When I saw that stupid, nerdy mobile, I thought about you and us and… the family we're eventually going to have, and I bought it."

"Wow."

"But I still hadn't decided, and it doesn't mean anything," she said firmly. "And I'm still glad I'm not pregnant and that we'll get to do this on our terms."

Steve nodded. "Ok," he agreed.

"Stop giving me that dopey look," she grumbled, pulling out of his arms.

"We're gonna have a baby," he purred in her ear, hugging her from behind and holding her close. "A nerdy baby that I can teach all about the universe." He kissed her cheek hard.

"In four years," she reminded him.

"We're gonna have a baby in four years," he repeated.

Laura was silent for a moment as she fiddled with the ribbon on the basket again, trying to get it just right. "Is that good enough for you?" she asked, gesturing toward the basket.

"Definitely. I can definitely wait four years," he promised.

"That's not what I meant."

"Isn't it?" he whispered, kissing her cheek again and again.

Author's Note: Thank you for your very kind reviews.