As she waited for the second half of her weekly Skype date, Emily chewed at her nails. It was a habit she found herself doing less of lately, which she took to be a good sign that life in London was settling into a less stressful – and therefore probably healthier – routine.

She was just nervous. Today's conversation would probably have a rather large impact on said routine.

"Hey," Derek Morgan said brightly as her screen flickered to life with his cheerful face and hundred watt smile. "Look at you…you look good."

She laughed and forced her hands into her lap, hoping he hadn't noticed. "You think so? I've been really busy, so I haven't had a lot of time for beauty treatments," she joked.

"You always look good, princess."

She knew he meant it, but rolled her eyes anyway. "I'm glad you think so, but that lack of grooming might explain why I can't find a man to save my life."

"Those men are blind," he insisted, "You're beautiful."

She shook her head to change the subject before they got any further into awkward territory, but she did it with a grateful smile. "I, umm…I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"You can tell me anything."

"So, I haven't said anything yet…" She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands in her lap, clenched in her pyjama pants in nervous anticipation. "But, I-I've been looking into sperm donors."

That seemed to visibly surprise him. "Sperm donors?"

She bit at her lip. "Yeah… Now that I've been in London for awhile and worked at this job for a couple months, things have settled down into a regular schedule – I'm actually home at reasonable hours and eating more home-cooked meals than takeout. Now seems like it might be the time to start the family I've always wanted before I'm eighty with no one to care if I live or die but my legion of cats."

He opened his mouth to interject that he'd care, but she didn't give him the chance.

"I'm not getting any younger, though, and I can't really afford to wait for a man if I want to have a baby. So, I've decided to go in a less traditional direction."

"The sperm donor direction," he supplied. "Okay, so, why are you telling me? You need a hand getting the goods?" He winked teasingly.

She sighed and shut her eyes to find her resolve. "Actually, yes." She noticed his raised brow and rushed to explain. "Well, I went through the clinic's catalogue and everything, but I just couldn't find anyone I liked."

"No Vonnegut fans?"

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically, "Luckily I don't have to date the guy…I just didn't want any of them to be the father of my child."

"No one is going to be perfect," he shrugged.

She shook her head again. "Maybe I just have impossibly high standards, but if I'm going to have a baby, the father can't be just anyone."

"So, what have you decided?"

She couldn't help biting her nails again. "Actually, it kind of depends on you…and whether you'd be willing to make a little donation."

He was kind of taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what I wanted to talk to you about was whether you might possibly think about considering maybe donating sperm so I could conceive?"

"You…you want me to father your child?"

His expression seemed to be wandering towards panic, so she rushed to explain. "Not be the father, just let me borrow some of your genes."

"I guess I could do that," he frowned, "But wouldn't it be weird?"

"Why would it be weird? We're not dating."

"That's why it's weird," he insisted, "But my real concern is, are you sure you want to do this?"

She looked him straight in the eye so he could see how serious she was. "You've known me for a long time – is there anything I want more than to have a baby?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "If you're sure, I suppose I can't see anything against it."

She grinned and gave a sigh of relief. "I'll be in DC on business in a few weeks. I'll give you the name of the clinic so you can make a 'deposit' and I'll have it implanted later."

"You know, I always thought if I ever created a person with my DNA, it would be the traditional method," he said thoughtfully.

She nodded in agreement. "Well, I thought I'd be married and much younger than forty, but things don't always work that way."

"I know what you mean. You're going to be a great mom, you know?"

"I hope so," she smiled softly. "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

He glanced down, then smiled back at her. "I'm honored you think I'm good enough to want to make a person with."