Tuesday night arrived and Grace and Oliver met in the foyer of the mansion after the day's work had been completed. Of course, their work was never really done, but they had done enough to be able to call it a night.

This particular night was far from over for them, of course.

As Drake helped them both into their coats, Oliver matter-of-factly told him, "Drake, Miss Farrell and I will be out for the night. We shall both return first thing in the morning."

"Yes, Sir", Drake replied unblinkingly.

Grace could only wonder what Drake must have been thinking but she sent up a prayer to the heavens to bless him for all eternity for his professionalism and discretion.

Oliver drove them to The Waldorf in the Duesenberg. The valet opened each of their doors for them and they both walked into the hotel on unsteady legs.

Oliver greeted the concierge and told them his name. Of course, he and Grace were treated like royalty after that and were led to the top floor of the hotel to their rooms. Of course they would need to be together for some of the night but Grace had booked Oliver a separate room for him to go to…afterwards.

The bellhop showed Grace to her room first, then Oliver to the room next door. They had both agreed to spend half an hour freshening up before Oliver would knock on the door to the adjoining suite.

Grace set down her bag and kicked off her shoes. Taking time to just breathe, she rolled down her pantyhose and removed her dress, donning a silk dressing gown instead, then moving into the bathroom where she unfastened her hair and splashed some water on her face before applying cleansing cream and a light shade of blush to her cheeks.

Even though she wasn't exactly trying to entice Mr. Warbucks, she still wanted to look nice for him. After all, he would still need his interest peaked in some way or another in order to achieve the result they needed.

She gave her hair another brush through, trying to make it look as lovely as possible.

His knock came as a surprise, even though she'd been expecting him.

She quickly dashed from the bathroom to the door and opened it up swiftly.

He had done his share of preparation too, she could see. He was dressed in only his trousers and shirt, his jacket already having been removed. Both of their eyes lit up when they saw each other. It wasn't often that either one of them was viewed in such a state of undress.

Grace stepped backwards, lowering her head shyly as he entered her room.

Once the door was closed, Grace slid her nightgown off her shoulders and flung it onto a nearby chair.

Underneath, she wore her cream silk chemise - and that was all. It came only just low enough to keep her modesty - at least for the time being.

"Do you want the lights off?" She asked meekly.

"Ah, maybe just the lamplight", he suggested and she nodded, moving to the wall to flick off the main source of light in the room. The low lighting was intimate, setting the tone for what was about to unfold.

Grace released a breath, shivering a little as she did so.

Bashfully, she asked him, "How would you like me?"

Oliver's breath caught in his throat as he tried to respond but no sound came out. "Perhaps you'd like to…face away from me?"

Grace's eyes went wide at his suggestion. "Will it still work that way?"

"W-well um, yes, according to what I've been reading", he blushed.

She cracked a small, shy smile. "You've been preparing."

"Well, we are trying to get this right, are we not?" He asked her with a slightly teasing lilt to his voice.

Grace nodded, "Yes." She raked her eyes over him anxiously before moving over to the bed and crawling onto her knees, leaning forward on her elbows and waiting…

She heard him unbuckle his belt and after a few moments, felt the weight of him shifting onto the bed behind her.

They both took some deep, calming breaths and eventually she heard him ask her, "Are you ready?"

Was she ready…for her whole life to change? All Grace had to do was to picture herself holding her beautiful baby she was so desperately longing for and answer him assuredly, "Yes, I am."

She squeezed her eyes tight and sucked in a sharp breath of air. It wasn't comfortable, not at the start anyway. She tried to relax but the situation was rather tense, and evidently, so was she.

But she didn't stop him.

He continued steadily, his breathing becoming more labored as his pace increased at a gradual rate. Grace grit her teeth, deliberately trying not to make any sound. She only knew the end was near when he gripped her hips and let out a couple of low grunts, then eventually stilled his movements.

He crouched behind her, trying to catch his breath. Slowly, he released her hips from his hands, almost tentatively. He'd tried not to touch her but it had been necessary for him to keep his balance.

She waited until she felt him clamber off the bed before saying, "There's a towel…on the bureau."

"Thank you", she heard his hushed reply.

She remained facing the headboard, not feeling like she could meet his eyes just yet and wanting to allow him his own dignity.

"Are you alright?" He asked her caringly.

Grace swallowed hard. "Yes, I'm alright. Are you?"

"I'm fine. I'll um…I'll leave you to it."

"Goodnight", she murmured.

"Yes. Sleep well", he whispered in reply before she heard the sound of his shuffling feet followed by the door to her room being opened and shut.

Slowly, she turned around and flopped onto her back, releasing a puff of air as she looked up at the ceiling. She could feel the evidence of him on her.

For a moment she lay still, just praying that the discomfort of it all would be worth it.

After a moment or two, she rose from the bed and went into the bathroom to wash any outward trace of him away.

She waited outside of her room for him in the morning, offering him a casual smile when he appeared in the hallway.

"Ready to go?" She asked him lightly. They had both decided to try and carry on as if last night hadn't happened - at least until the time it became apparent that something had (God willing).

"I thought we'd have breakfast before we leave", he answered in a rather carefree way, surprising Grace greatly.

"Oh, I thought you'd want to get back home and begin our working day."

"We can talk business over breakfast, can we not?" He shrugged, a buoyant expression lighting up his face.

Grace couldn't help but return his smile. "Sure", she agreed and then thanked him as he took her bag from her hand and carried it downstairs for her.

"I must say I'm rather hungry", he commented, as they waited for the elevator to arrive.

"Oh? Work up an appetite somehow, did you?" She responded with a glint in her eye.

She pursed her lips as his eyes widened in shock, his expression clearly saying that he thought they weren't going to acknowledge what had happened.

But Grace couldn't see the harm in having just a little bit of fun, at least while they were still at the hotel.

Normality could resume later.

And it very much did - for the most part. Of course, the one major difference was the constant wondering in both of their minds if their effort to conceive had worked.

Every morning, Grace checked for changes in her body. She read about all the early signs to look for and became hyper-aware of any differences.

Three weeks later though, the truth became apparent when Grace began to bleed as part of her normal cycle.

She was crushed, suffering from physical pain as well as emotional.

She didn't know how to tell Oliver.

It wasn't as if he were also hanging his hopes on a baby too, but he had made a hell of an effort to help her with the process. She wondered if he would be willing to try again. Should they try again?

She wasn't sure she could even ask him to.

Feeling melancholy and hesitant about seeing him, she made her way downstairs.

When she found him, he was rushing around his study, searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" She queried him, her mind instantly shifting from her own needs to his.

"I can't find my GOP pin and I'm flying out to meet President Hoover. I want him to know I did everything I could to keep him in office."

"You're going to Washington today?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

He stopped searching the room to look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Doesn't matter. We'll talk about it later."

"Grace. What is it?"

"It's not important right now. You seeing President Hoover off before he leaves the Whitehouse is what's important today. He's been a good friend to you."

"Yes, he has. Are you sure it can wait?"

With a great deal of courage, she concealed her sadness and nodded her head bravely. "Absolutely."

"Alright. We can talk as soon as I get back."

"I'll meet you off the autocopter", she smiled at him.

He returned her smile and sighed, returning to his search.

Grace walked calmly over to the coat rack in the corner of the room and shuffled through the jackets until she found the one she was looking for.

Oliver felt her tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around to find her reaching up to his lapel, pinning his Republican pin onto it.

"You wore your double-breasted gray last time you visited the White House", she told him gently.

He released a breath of relief. "Thank you."

She smoothed down his collar and gave him the warmest smile she could manage. "Give my regards to the President."

As she left the room, Oliver's eyes followed her.

It didn't take a genius to know what was wrong.

He thought her admirable for being able to push it aside for the sake of duty and yet, he felt shame for making her feel like she had no choice but to do so.

When he returned that evening, Grace was indeed waiting for him on the lawn. The propellers made her look windswept and she was hunched up in the cold, causing her to appear especially fragile.

As Oliver stepped out of the autocopter, he held out a single red rose to her.

She looked up at him in surprise and he gave her a compassionate and knowing look.

He followed her across the lawn, away from the noise, until they reached the bottom of the stone steps.

She brought the rose to her face and inhaled its scent. He noticed then that there was a tear in her eye. "How did you know?" She asked him quietly.

He tilted his head to the side, wearing a sympathetic expression. "I had a feeling that was what you were looking so forlorn about this morning, plus…I can count."

"I'm sorry", she croaked.

"So am I", he returned softly.

"We don't know why it didn't work. No one can be blamed."

"Still…it'd be good to know if we needed to do something different next time."

"Next time?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I presume you want to keep trying?" He looked a bit hesitant. "As per our original discussion. I understand we'll need to wait a week or so, though."

"Y-you'd do it again?"

He puffed up his chest and replied, "I'm no quitter." There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it and as the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.

Grace tittered. "Are you sure?"

"Are you sure you still want a baby?"

"Oh, yes. More than anything", she answered honestly.

"Well then, we must."

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Grace simply stared at him with tears in her eyes. "Mr. Warbucks, I…thank you."

He reached over and took her hand in his own, wearing a reassuring smile. "It's going to happen, I promise you it will."

Grace knew there was no way he could really promise that, but she was grateful for his optimism and his willingness to keep trying.

"So…how was the President?" She enquired, still holding his hand and swinging it lightly in her own as they strolled companionably side by side, back into the house.