Disclaimer: I own nothing.

So here's the next chapter of this fun little story! I hope you'll enjoy it :)

Derek waited patiently for Penelope's question, but nothing happened. Instead, her squirming form greeted him. He arched a brow. What was she waiting for? She should have known she could talk to him about anything. Unless this was something incredibly serious, he couldn't imagine why she looked uncertain.

"Baby? What's wrong?" he asked.

Penelope took a deep breath. "Listen," she began, "I've been doing some thinking." She didn't say anything, staying silent and blinking at him.

He coughed. "Umm, okay?"

"Well, I've been thinking that I'm getting a little bit older, and I – I've been talking with JJ a lot, and she's been helping me," she prattled on. Derek had no idea where this was going, but before he could question her, she continued. "But along the way, while she was helping me, she gave me some advice. She said I should ask a person I know, a person I trusted." She paused to bite her lip.

Derek sat back, not understanding still. "Wh –"

But Penelope interrupted him. "I'm trying to say that, I want to be a mom. I – I want to have a baby, and I wanted to ask you if you would be my sperm donor," she blurted out, appearing shocked at herself for what she said.

Derek had no idea what to say. This question completely threw him off. He fell into a spot where everything disappeared and his whole body went numb. Ringing started in her ears. His eyes fell on Penelope's face that had flushed red with embarrassment.

Had Penelope really just asked what he thought she had asked?

"Oh, God!" she cried, breaking the silence. Leaping to her feet, she shook her head and waved her hands. "Just forget I asked. I'm going to go!"

Hurriedly, she made her way toward the door. Derek jumped into action without a second thought. In two long strides he reached the door, putting his hand on it to stop her from opening it.

"Wait," he murmured. "Don't leave."

She looked him in the eye, shaking her head. "Really, I can't believe I even asked this," she muttered. "I'm so embarrassed, just let me out."

Trying to cheer her up, he smiled. "Garcia, you can't drop a question like that on me, and then expect you can just jump out of the room," he teased. "We need to talk about this. You can't leave after that."

"Derek, it was way out of line for me to ask that," she said hastily. "We dated and we fought and we broke up because of it. I shouldn't have asked you this at all."

He frowned. "Why not?" he asked. When he slowed down to think about it, he liked her question. It showed she trusted him, and there was nothing he wanted more in the world than for her to be able to depend on him. He trusted her, and he wanted to give her that same feeling.

She huffed. "You know why not!" she cried. "Because no one wants their ex-girlfriend asking them to be their baby daddy!"

Derek laughed, shaking his head. "Penelope, why would you think I wouldn't want to hear that?" he asked.

"Because!" she said, backing away to stare at him with an incredulous stare.

When she didn't elaborate, he shrugged. "Because what?"

"Because it's not something an ex-girlfriend should ask an ex-boyfriend," she stated, rolling her eyes.

Derek shook his head. "Baby Girl, I'm glad you asked me," he said. "Really happy."

Penelope stared at her. "You…" Her voice trailed off. Swallowing hard, she cocked her head to the side. "You're happy I asked?"

He smiled, trying to comfort her. "I'm happy," he repeated. "And I'm gonna say yes." Her mouth dropped, and the look of shock on her face made him crack an even larger smile. "Is that not what you wanted to hear?"

Shaking her head, she nodded vigorously. Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him tightly. Small beads of wetness dotted the skin of his neck. Tears. Holding her back, he sighed at what he was about to ask. Even if she said no, he would still do what she asked of him, but the smallest sliver of hope filled him that she might agree.

She moved back and wiped her eyes. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked with a laugh.

"You're not dreaming," he confirmed.

Penelope clapped her hands together. "Thank you," she said, placing her hand on his chest. "Thank you so much."

"I'm gonna do it for you, Baby Girl," he murmured, reaching forward to tweak her nose. "But can I ask you something?"

Penelope nodded vigorously. "God, yes!" she exclaimed. "Anything you want! You just said yes to being my sperm donor, you can have anything you want!" Her eyes went wide. "Do you want to be a dad for him or her? 'Cause that would be awesome! We can figure out a schedule, and everything!"

He took a deep breath. "No, no," he murmured. When he thought about it a moment, though, yes, it was that. But he wanted more than just that. "Actually, yes, that is what I want. But that's not my question. I just want to know if…if you'll give me another try." Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to speak. "Even if you say no, I'm still going to be your donor. But I have to ask you this now, or I don't think I'll ever have the courage to tell you. I just want to go on a date with you. One date."

She stood in silence, surprised at what he had said. He prayed she would say something soon and not leave them in dead silence.

"Why?" she asked, finally speaking. "Why do you want me to go out with you?"

Derek didn't even need to think before he spoke. "I want you to give me another shot because I'm still in love with you, always have been." Hesitantly, he reached forward and moved a lock of her hair out of her face. He smiled. "I don't care how much we fought, I love you more than I hated that." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out their one hundred percent match card and handed it to her. "This showed me what I needed to do."

She took the card in shaking hands and read it.

He watched as her eyes scanned the card. A small mist covered her eyes, and she covered her mouth as if to cover a gasp. His gut churned as he waited for her answer. When she finally looked up, her tears had started to roll down her cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" she asked.

Derek shrugged. "I wasn't brave enough," he admitted.

Nodding slowly, she looked away to contemplate what he had just said to her. He grew nervous at the amount of time it was taking for her to respond. Had he been too out of line by asking this? Did it mean she was about to reject him completely?

Had he just ruined their friendship?

"I – I need some time to think," Penelope said finally. "I'm not saying no, I just…I just want to think about what you asked."

Without another word, she went for the doorknob again, leaving him in the silence of his office.