Sperm Account

He'd been making deposits for three months now. No one knew, except of course for the staff at the neurology center. A lot had changed in those three months. His son was stillborn. Grieved beyond her ability to accept the loss, Kem moved back to the Congo. She was inconsolable; nothing he tried eased her pain. The life and family he thought he would have now vanished in one tragic instant and he had no idea how to get it back.

Deb too, was facing her share of challenges. Her father's condition had become worse and it was getting increasingly more difficult for her to manage his care. It didn't help that Pratt drove into the river during a road rage incident while she was in the car. She is still in a cast. Damn, sometimes that man doesn't think! It was his own fault though. If he had taken the time to talk to her that day, she wouldn't have been in his car in the first place.

Maybe he would tell her today. Maybe he could make her world a little better. God knows he couldn't make his own better. He grabbed his keys and the brown paper sack by the door. Out in the warm summer air, the bright sunshine lifted his mood. He got into his jeep, rolled the window down and the radio up. Driving over to Deb's with the wind blowing through his hair, he felt a bit reckless. He was definitely going to tell her today.

He knocked on the door. She opened it looking tired and weak, but glad to see him just the same.

"I brought back your dishes" he said, lifting the sack for her to take note of it. "Thank you for bringing us meals and trying to help after the baby…"

With a small smile, she nodded. "Come on in, sorry the place is a mess. My father and the maid had a disagreement. She came out on the losing end."

Looking around it was hard to detect the mess. "When did that happen, this morning?" That got a little more of smile out of her. "I'll put these in the kitchen for you".

When Carter returned from the kitchen, Jing Mei was helping her father back into his bed. "Here let me help you with that" and he quickened his pace to take hold of the older man's other arm. "How are you today Mr. Chen?" he asked as they got him settled in place.

His response was rather incoherent. Jing Mei explained that his meds were kicking in and they made him sleepy. Looking at the medicine bottles on the bedside table, Carter noted "looks like he'll be taking a nice nap".

She started hooking the leads back up for the monitor. "That's why I insisted on the monitor. He's scared me one too many times."

"Didn't take him long" Carter said as he started snoring.

"Never does, he sort of a light weight". Jing Mei lovingly tucked the blanket around her father.

Satisfied her father would be fine for a little while, she asked "Can I offer you a Coke?"

"Sounds good".

They walked into the spacious kitchen, grabbed a couple of Cokes out of the Sub Zero refrigerator and sat down at the table in the breakfast room.

"How's it going Deb?"

"It'll be better next week when I can get this cast off" she said hopefully.

"How are you doing with your father's long term outlook?"

She crinkled her nose and squirmed a bit.

"You're still apprehensive about being" he did not have to finish the question, she knew where he was going and silently made a slight nod.

He reached over and put his hand on hers. "Deb, I have something for you to consider." His tone was serious.

She bit her lip and raised her eyebrows.

"I know that you think having a family of your own is something that won't happen for you."

She made a silent gesture of agreement.

He continued "So I wanted to give you a way to make it happen, if you want."

She looked at him with confusion, unable to figure out where he was going.

"I set up an account for you, an account that's just for you, no one else."

"I don't need money John."

Looking her directly in the eye, he told her "It's a sperm account."

She leaned back in her chair. "What?"

"I set up a sperm account for you. There's about a three month supply on deposit for you to use if or when you feel you need to."

"You made the deposits?" she asked almost in disbelief. But this was John Carter after all, his most basic need was to be needed and this was a huge way he could serve in that capacity.

"mm hmm" he humbly acknowledged.

"That's probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, but I can't accept."

"Why not?" Hurt by the rejection, he needed to know why in order to overcome it.

"Don't you think it'd be kind of weird? We work together. You…" she searched for her words, but couldn't come up with them.

"I'm going to find a way to get Kem back. She's talking to me again, emailing me more. If I have to, I'll move back to the Congo to be with her." He took a deep breath and reached out for her hand with both of his. "If I go to the Congo, I want to know you'll be okay; you won't be alone."

She was touched by his compassion, but concerned it might jeopardize his own happiness. "Does she know you did this?"

"No."

"You going to tell her?"

"If we're living in the Congo, I don't see the point."

She looked into his eyes with a combination of empathy for the loneliness he felt for Kem and an appreciation for the graciousness of his gift to her.

Carter inspected his half empty Coke can before taking a sip. "Look, if that great guy comes along and you don't need it, don't use it. But if you ever feel like that's not going to happen and you need to start things on your own, you have a way."

John was a great guy. He always seemed to be there when she needed him. Sometimes, she didn't even know she needed him, but he was there anyway. She decided to accept the gift for what it was, but didn't want to get all mushy about it. That wasn't what their friendship was about. "So is it true they have porn in those donation rooms?"

Carter let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, but all my donating was done when Kem wasn't here."

"So you were horny as hell and didn't need the visual aids?" she teased.

Another small chuckle escaped from Carter's mouth. Again searching his Coke can, he answered "Pretty much".

"John?" softly, she got his attention.

He looked up at her, "Yes."

"Thank you."