"There's only one thing that could possibly make me any happier right now," Will said to Soren. They were relaxing together in the living room after a long hard day on the Enterprise followed by a delicious dinner, a really hot lovemaking session, and a nice, leisurely soak in the hot tub. Will was leaning back in the recliner, and Soren was sitting in his lap with her lead resting on his shoulder.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I want us to have a child together, Soren. That's the thing I want most in the world."

"I want it just as badly as you do, Will. But we don't know whether it would be possible to combine human DNA with J'naii DNA. It's never been done before. And as you know, I have no organ for carrying a child to term."

"We have a couple of options there," Will replied. "We could hire a surrogate mother, or we could use an artificial womb."

"I like the idea of the artificial womb much better," Soren stated. "To me it sounds a lot more like the fibrous husks J'naii offspring are gestated in."

"I'm sorry, Soren, but I don't think I could ever get used to the idea of my child being gestated inside a fibrous husk," Will laughed. "I'll talk to Beverly tomorrow and see what she suggests."

The next day Soren had planned to meet Tasha Yar for lunch. She waited for about a half hour and was about to give up and order lunch alone when the other woman finally approached her, looking somewhat pale and shaky but also very happy.

"Are you all right, Tasha?" Soren asked with concern.

"I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm still having a hard time believing it though," Tasha replied.

"Believing what?" Soren was bewildered.

"I'm pregnant!" Tasha exclaimed.

"Really? Congratulations!" Soren smiled and sqeezed Tasha's arm.

"I just can't believe it happened so quickly!" Tasha continued.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, to be honest, we weren't sure it would happen at all," Tasha confided. "Data has testicular implants that allow him to function sexually, but we didn't know whether they were capable of producing healthy sperm or not. We'd thought that we might have to use a sperm donor. This is a wonderful surprise, Soren. I can't wait to tell Data."

"When did you find out?" Soren asked.

"Just this morning. I went to see Beverly because I'd been feeling queasy and tired all the time and thought I might be coming down with the flu. Beverly checked me and told me that my symptoms were due to the fact that I'm about two months pregnant. She did an ultrasound too." Tasha showed Soren her ultrasound picture. Soren saw the dark area that was the embryo's head and the equally-sized dark area that was its body, which gave the embryo a peanut-like shape.

"I'm so excited! I just can't wait to start decorating the nursery," Tasha exclaimed.

"Congratulations, Tasha," Soren replied. She thought that it was probably too soon to mention her own and Will's plans to Tasha. After all, it wasn't even known whether or not she and Will were capable of producing a viable embryo together.

That evening after work Soren told Will about Tasha's happy news.

"That's great! I'm happy for them," Will replied. "That may very well be good news for us too, Soren. If an android can impregnate a human, then it seems all the more likely that a human sperm could impregnate a J'naii reproductive cell, doesn't it?"

"It seems that way to me," Soren agreed. "Have you had the chance to talk to Beverly yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Will replied. "She thinks that it's worth a try. Sickbay on the Enterprise has no artificial womb, but she thinks that Dr. Julian Bashir on Deep Space Nine might have one that he'd loan to us. She'll contact him and let us know what he says."

Soren walked over to Will, put her arms around him, and buried her face in his chest. "I so hope that the artificial womb will be available," she responded. "I want so badly to have a baby with you."

Will gave her a tight squeeze. "So do I."

The next day, Soren saw Data and Tasha busily looking over something on the table. "Hey Tasha," Soren called. "We need your help with something."

"Of course," Soren replied, walking toward them.

"We'd like to know which shade of green you like best." Soren saw that they had been looking at paint tiles. She studied them for a moment. "This one," she decided, indicating her favorite.

"Thank you, Soren," Data said with a smile.

"What are you going to paint?" Soren asked.

"The room we're going to use as the nursery." Tasha smiled.

Soren looked at Data. "How do you feel about becoming a father?" she asked him.

"I find the prospect both exhilarating and overwhelming," he responded.

"When I first told him, you could have knocked him over with a feather," Tasha added.

"I was truly astonished," Data agreed. "I had no idea I was so…virile."

"But now that he's had time to get used to the idea, he's simply thrilled, just like I am," Tasha offered.

"Yes," Data agreed.

A few days later Will told Soren,"Great news! Dr. Julian Bashir does have an artificial womb which he has offered to loan us. All we have to do is travel to Deep Space Nine and pick it up." His tone grew more serious as he continued, "While I was talking to Beverly, Tasha came in, looking very upset. I heard her tell Beverly that she'd started bleeding."