Steve spent the weekend spoiling Laura rotten, despite her objections, and he took all of Monday off to surprise her. That morning, he got up and got ready for work, except he didn't go to work. He went to a furniture store and picked out a crib. Then he went to a baby store and picked out clothes, toys, and décor. With his car nearly full, he hopped in and drove to the campus to meet Laura like they had planned. He walked into the clinic and waited for her just inside. She ran up to him about fifteen minutes late.

"Sorry, I'm late," she said, pecking him on the lips.

"That's ok, Sweetums, but you shouldn't be running like that in your condition."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm pregnant, Steve. I'm not sick."

He smiled when he heard her say the "p" word again. It always made him smile. "Just be careful for me, ok?"

"Ok," she said, kissing him again. She walked up to the counter, asked for a blood and urine test, and gave the woman behind the desk her information. Then she and Steve sat to wait. He immediately took her hand and squeezed it firmly, stroking her rings. She placed her other hand on top of his and patted it gently. "It's gonna be fine," she promised.

"I know," he said confidently, but they were both nervous.

"Ms. Urkel?" a young nurse called from the doorway. "We're ready for you," he smiled.

Laura stood and pulled Steve with her. They walked hand-in-hand to an exam room in the back, and the nurse motioned for her to sit on one of the chairs in the room.

"So there's a possibility that you're pregnant?" he asked.

"Yes," Laura nodded nervously, looking at Steve.

He picked up a clipboard and began to run through her symptoms. "Have you had any nausea?"

"No," Laura answered disappointedly.

"Are your breasts tender?"

Steve raised an eyebrow and spoke suddenly. "Would it be possible to get a female nurse?"

"Steve," Laura scolded.

"Well, I'm sorry, Sweetums. I don't object to male nurses, but I object to other men talking about my wife's breasts."

"He's a professional, Steve," she snapped. She looked back at the nurse. "I'm sorry. He gets jealous pretty easily."

"You two are married?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," she replied.

The nurse nodded. "I can see why he gets jealous," he smiled at Laura. "So, your breasts?"

"Um. They feel normal, I guess," Laura answered.

"Ok, any bleeding or spotting?"

"No," Laura said, growing nervous as she realized she really didn't have any symptoms.

"Fatigue?"

"Nope."

"Cramping?"

"No."

"Food aversions or cravings?"

"No."

"Headaches? Constipation? Mood swings? Faintness? Dizziness?"

"No, no, no, no, and no," she answered with a shrug.

"Are you late?"

"Not yet."

"Hm," he said, "then why do you think you're pregnant?"

"I took a pregnancy test and it was positive?" she explained.

"Oh, have you two been trying?" he asked.

Laura looked at Steve. "Yes," she purred.

"For how long?"

Laura's face flushed. They were going to look dumb for even taking a test this soon. "Just over a week."

The nurse chuckled. "Ok, well, let's draw some blood then." He set up Laura's arm and took a sample. He handed Laura a cup for her urine sample and took the blood-filled vile into another room to test.

———————————————————————

When Laura returned from the restroom, she took a seat on Steve's lap. He looked up at her in surprise. She kissed his cheek and rested her head against his. They waited silently for the results. They were nervous, but at least they were together.

When the doctor came in, Laura slid off of Steve's lap into the chair beside him.

"Good news, Miss Urkel," the doctor began without looking up, "you're not pregnant."

Laura's stomach flipped, but then it dropped. Good news… She wasn't pregnant? "Wha– How is that good news?" she asked in confusion.

The doctor finally looked up from the results. He looked Laura up and down and then he looked at Steve. "I'm sorry. Most of my patients are students. They're usually relieved when they get a negative result."

Laura's face contorted in pain. "Well, we're alumni, and I'm not relieved," she snapped. "We're trying."

The doctor cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Again, I'm sorry. Force of habit," he explained.

"I don't understand," Steve said suddenly, trying to hide the tears cracking his voice. "The test she took at home was positive."

Laura looked from Steve to the doctor and placed a hand over her stomach. "Did we– Did we lose the baby?"

"No," the doctor said quickly, "you were never pregnant. It was a false positive."

"How can you be sure?" she asked nervously.

"There's a chemical that we test for that women only make when they're pregnant. There's none in your system, Miss Urkel."

"Mrs.," she corrected fiercely.

"Mrs. Urkel," the doctor repeated.

"How did we get a false positive?" Steve asked.

"Faulty test is the most likely explanation."

Laura looked down at her hand on her stomach. She hadn't expected that news to hurt so much. She glanced hesitantly at Steve. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling. He had spent all weekend with his hand on her stomach, talking to a baby that had never even been there.

"You're both young and appear to be healthy. You have to give it time. Rome wasn't built in a day."

Laura nodded. She knew he was right. "Do you have a recommendation for a brand of pregnancy tests? So we don't have to go through this again?"

The doctor wrote a name down on a prescription pad and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"Take all the time you need," the doctor said eventually as he stepped out the door.

Laura looked at Steve when they were alone again. His eyes were locked on the floor. She reached out and stroked his cheek. He jumped slightly. "Hey," she said. "Relax. It's just me."

He nodded. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," she whispered encouragingly, hoping he understood her deeper meaning. She moved back into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tilted his chin up to look at her. "This is no reason to be discouraged, Steve," she said, trying to be the strong one for him. "I'm disappointed, too, but we have time. We'll figure it out soon."

He looked down at her stomach.

"You still want to have a baby with me, don't you?" she asked softly.

He met her eyes again. "Of course, I do," he said firmly.

"Then let's go home and keep trying," she suggested in a whisper, leaning close to brush her nose against his.

He smiled softly and nodded. "Ok," he whispered.

They stood and embraced tightly. She rubbed his back slowly and gently as he did the same for her. She sniffled softly, holding back her tears. "Oh, shoot," she said eventually, pulling away from him. "You have to go back to work, don't you?"

He blushed and shook his head. "I took the day off."

She cocked her head at him. "Where have you been all morning?" she asked.

"Shopping," he admitted. "I guess I have to take all that stuff back, now, huh?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. He bought baby stuff? "Steve, we talked about that. You don't buy anything until the first trimester is done."

"I guess this is why, huh?"

"No," she chuckled. "This was us being dumb. We should have taken a couple more tests before we got excited. The reason you wait before buying anything or telling anyone is a much bigger deal."

He nodded. "I'll take everything back."

"No," she said quickly. "No, don't. We'll just… hide it somewhere in the apartment."

"Where?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"I have no idea," she laughed, "but I wanna keep it. Please?"

"I wanna keep it, too," he smiled, pulling her back into his arms.

"Let's go make a baby, Steve," she purred, leading him out the door.

"Whoa, Mama!" he shouted in excitement.

———————————————————————

Laura and Steve unloaded Steve's car, but Steve didn't let her peek in a single bag or box. They kept trying to make a baby for the rest of the day, mostly just trying to comfort each other. Still, by the time Laura fell asleep, Steve's heart was still aching. He spooned her and held her close, finally letting his tears escape. As his gentle sobs slowed, he slipped out of bed, put on his robe and glasses, and walked into the office. He went to the bookshelf and took a tiny unmarked book from one of the shelves and opened it. When he was younger, especially during his loneliest years, he had had a journaling habit. He told Laura it was all notes from his experiments when they were unpacking their books, and there were many of those entries in those little books, but he also wrote about his life. He had picked one up at random and began to flip through it.

"Laura went out with Ted again tonight. I'll never understand what she sees in that Neanderthal. Sure, he's handsome, athletic, and one of the few guys she's liked that wasn't a complete idiot, but after everything he said about her, how could she have forgiven him? He let the whole school believe she was easy. Why would she rather be with a guy like that than a guy like me?" it read.

Steve flipped ahead to Valentine's Day, hoping for a happier entry. "It finally happened," he read. "Laura agreed to be my Valentine again this year. This time for the whole day! As much as I loved comforting her, I hated to see my strong, sassy, independent goddess crying her heart out over some fool that let her slip through his fingers. She held it together pretty well for the day, but after I got Richie set up with Gwendolyn, I snuck upstairs to check in on my vivacious Valentine, only to find her in pieces again. I slipped into her bedroom and sat with her while she cried. She let me rub her back gently, and she cried on my shoulder as we sat by her window. Normally, I'd be willing to die for that kind of physical interaction with Laura Lee Winslow, but this time, it just made my stomach ache. I love her more than anything in this world, and if she would just give me a chance, I could make her so happy. I'd never leave her. I'd never long for someone else. I'd do anything I could to give her everything she's ever wanted. I just need one chance. Please, Laura, just one chance." Steve slammed the journal shut and threw it down on the desk. He had finally gotten his chance and somehow, he was still a failure. He was still a loser. He still couldn't make her happy. He couldn't give her what she wanted. Steve sat in silence for a moment before deciding to do something about it. He started up the computer and found the best fertility specialist in the city. He dialed the number immediately. Of course, it was the middle of the night, so they were closed.

"Hello," he said quietly to the answering machine. "This is Dr. Steven Q. Urkel, and I need to make an appointment to have my fertility tested as soon as possible." He left his number and hung up, not sure how he'd sleep until he got a call back.

"Steve?" Laura asked sleepily from the doorway.

Steve jumped. "Laura, my pet, what are you doing up?"

"I heard you talking," she said.

"I'm sorry, Sweetums. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Who were you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just reading," he explained. It was a half-truth.

"What were you reading?" she asked, walking up to the desk and sitting on his lap.

"Oh, nothing," he said nervously, sliding the journal to the side.

"One of your old lab notebooks?" she asked, taking the book.

"Yeah. I used to… include some personal entries, too. I was feeling a little nostalgic," he admitted..

"Read one to me," she proposed, handing him the journal.

"Now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," she said.

He took the journal from her and opened it. He began to flip through. "Ok, let me find a good one." He smiled when he landed on a familiar entry. "Tonight," he began, "Laura made me go on a double date with her, Ted, and his cousin, Mary or something."

Laura giggled and elbowed him. "It doesn't say that."

He turned it around and pointed.

"Oh, my God, Steve. You'd already forgotten her name?" she asked.

"Only for a little while," he shrugged. Laura shook her head and he continued. "I learned a lot from this experience. Mary was a beautiful, intelligent, charming girl. In another world, I could see myself spending my life with a woman like that, but in this world, I only have eyes for one woman. Laura nearly killed me tonight after I re-declared my unending love for her at the concert. She said it was embarrassing, but if she'd just listen to me for once, she'd see that I'm offering her something Ted never could. No one has ever loved anyone the way I love Laura, and no one ever will. Someday, she'll realize that."

Laura leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. "I do realize that," she promised. She took the journal from him and set it back on the desk. "Why are we up reading tonight, baby?" she asked, leaning her head against his and rubbing his arm.

"I couldn't sleep," he explained.

"Why not?"

He looked away from her. "You know why."

"I do," she agreed, "but, baby, if you don't sleep until I'm really pregnant, you won't have enough energy to get me pregnant." She stood and tugged on his arm until he joined her. "Come back to bed with me," she instructed. "I'll even let you try one more time tonight," she offered.

He raised his eyebrows and quickly followed behind her as she led him back into the bedroom, smacking her butt along the way.