A/N: I'm going to make this a 4-shot series. It will also work nicely as a prequel to my other story, Baby, That's All We Need. See how I did that? ;)

Natalie Figueroa had never failed a test.

Not that she was a perfect, straight-A student, but she'd always managed at least the B honor roll. Math was difficult for her; numbers were too concrete. It frustrated her that numbers couldn't be twisted, massaged, manipulated, and deflected the way that words could.

(Perhaps that was one of the reasons that she had been caught embezzling.)

Failure wasn't an option. Her parents made that loud and clear (when they could manage to be home from the country club or gala of the night).

The first time she'd taken a pregnancy test, Joe had been there in the bathroom with her, counting down the minutes. He was practically bubbling with excitement. She was, too, but she didn't let it show outwardly the way that Joe did.

When the stick came up with one pink line, with zero sign of a second appearing, she could practically feel Joe deflate next to her.

"It'll happen next time." Joe assured her, pressing his lips to her temple.

The second time, he'd waited outside their master bathroom for her, sitting on the edge of the bed in suspense. When she'd walked out of the bathroom, giving him only a slight shake of her head, he'd frowned and folded her into his arms.

"It'll happen." Joe said again, like a mantra that would somehow magically make everything okay.

After that, she'd taken them at work or when he was out of the house so that she could process her own feelings and tears before sharing the bad news with him. She couldn't stand seeing the disappointment in his eyes again, though he tried to hide it. The series of failed tests in the form of expensive sticks of plastic took its toll on Natalie's emotions. Her body was failing not only her, but Joe, too. Nothing could have prepared her for the emptiness that she felt after each negative test.

She was angry at everyone – at herself for putting her career ahead of motherhood, at her 10th grade health teacher for never mentioning how hard it could be for women in their 40s to get pregnant, at all of the teenaged girls in the world who seemed to get pregnant just by looking at a dick, at Walgreen's for selling those plastic sticks of dejection for twelve dollars each.

Given her age, her OB/GYN recommended the more aggressive approach of moving straight to IVF. The estimate (or "financial investment," as the doctor had called it) they were given was staggering.

But they had the money, thanks to Natalie's divorce settlement, and she desperately wanted to feel a baby growing inside of her, kicking, rolling, and hiccupping its way around her womb. She wanted to curse Joe's existence as the baby was born, then cradle it in her arms and finally have a real family.

She wanted to be a mother.

In the passenger's seat of Joe's car, Natalie turned the small glass bottle of hormones over in her hand, examining the clear fluid inside. It would stimulate her ovaries to produce more eggs, which could then be harvested and fertilized with Joe's sperm to create embryos, which would then be incubated and grown before being transplanted into her uterus. It was all described in the spiral-bound informational book that sat in her lap under the drugs and box of syringes. With a sigh, Natalie shoved the vial back into the pharmacy bag.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Natalie replied, unconvincingly.

Joe gave her a side glance. "You're not afraid of the needles, are you? Because you take needles to the face on the regular."

"From a doctor who went to school for like 20 years to learn how to do it, not from you who learned how in about two minutes." Natalie scoffed.

"Is that it?"

Natalie sighed. "No, I'm not afraid of the needles… Though there are other ways I'd rather take it in the ass."

"Well, we could do that, but it's definitely not going to help you get pregnant." Joe smirked.

Natalie rolled her eyes in response. "I just didn't expect this to be so fucking hard. It's not supposed to be this hard. Even after everything we do, all the money we spend, all the hormones we shoot in my ass… It still may not work."

"I just wish I could fix this for you." Joe said quietly, resting one hand on her knee.

Of course he did. Men loved to fix things; though in this case, Natalie wished that he actually could.

"What if it doesn't work?" Natalie asked softly.

Joe sighed. "The hormones are still in the bottle. Don't already doom this to failure."

"Everything else has been a failure so far, so why shouldn't I?" Natalie shot back.

"Come on, Nat."

"What if I'm taking away your chance to be a father?" Natalie felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Nati…"

"Seriously." The tears Natalie had been holding back from him for weeks finally spilled openly over her cheeks. "You could be with a younger woman and have a family, and you wouldn't have to go through all of this bullshit to do it."

Joe was silent for a moment as he stopped the car in front of their house. After setting the parking brake, he turned to Natalie, taking both of her hands in his. His kind eyes looked into her watery ones, and he felt a pang in his chest at how miserable she looked.

"I've gone 46 years without being a father. I've also gone most of my adult life without someone to share it with, and you have given me that." Joe released one of her hands to reach forward and brush a stream of tears away from her face. "I would love to have a child with you, and you only, to share that life with us, but if it's not in the cards for us… It'll be okay. I'll still be the happiest man in the world as long as I still have you."

The genuine sentiment behind his words only made Natalie sob harder, and Joe unbuckled his seatbelt so he could lean over to embrace her. She buried her face in his shoulder, not caring that her tears were soaking his shirt. He murmured comforting words into her ear, stroking her hair gently until her crying finally slowed down to the occasional gasp and sniffle.

"Do you still want to do this, babe?" Joe asked quietly. "If you don't, it's okay. I'm going to love you no matter what."

With a deep breath, Natalie tried to pull herself together, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "Yes. I want to do this."