"What do you want for dinner?" Alex asked, poking her head into the guest bedroom where Emily was unpacking her meagre possessions (she hadn't bothered to get most of her things out of storage where they'd been since she'd been undercover). "I haven't got much in the way of groceries right now, as I wasn't expecting company, but we can go shopping tomorrow and order in for tonight."

Emily smiled her appreciation. "Anything is fine," she insisted. When Alex gave her a look that very nearly commanded she provide an opinion, she shrugged and said, "I'd kill for some ginger beef..."

"Have you fed recently?" she asked pointedly.

She nodded. "I promise I've been very vigilant about it," she added. Then, quieter, she said, "Believe me, the baby has very strong opinions about when I feed."

Alex nodded, as if she'd suspected as much. "I've done a little research on the subject of vampire pregnancy and, while there's not a lot of information available, I did see that..." She paused the middle of her sentence upon sensing the way Emily was looking at her. "What?"

"You've been researching?" she asked.

"Well, yeah..." Alex said slowly, as if she couldn't quite understand Emily's incredulity. "I wanted to be prepared to support you, no matter what you decided." She shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Is that weird?" she asked eventually when silence followed a moment too long.

Emily shook her head. "No. It's actually really sweet," she murmured, almost shyly.

Seeming encouraged then, Alex continued, "There's an excellent vamp OB/GYN in Arlington. Alternatively, there's a really well-reviewed Planned Parenthood in DC." She paused, reaching for Emily's hand and squeezing it. "I'll go with you either way."

With a shaky exhale, followed by a half laugh/half sob sound. "Thank you. I've kind of been freaking out these past few weeks and even though it's only been a few hours, I don't know...it doesn't seem quite as scary when you're around."

"Why are you scared?" Alex asked curiously.

Emily couldn't seem to meet Alex's gaze as she said, "Because no matter which option I choose, it's forever. There's no taking it back once I've made up my mind. I can barely take care of myself, let alone a baby that may or may not be incredibly powerful. But I've also always wanted to be a mom and what if this is my only chance?"

"Oh, Em..."

She shook her head, sniffled softly, cursing her sudden inability to control her emotions.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be so 'all or nothing', though..." Alex suggested. "You could always put the baby up for adoption."

Not seeming entirely convinced, Emily said, "Why do I feel like there aren't a lot of parents lining up to adopt undead infants?"

Alex had to admit that was a good point.


There was a knock on Alex's office door, startling her from the paper she was grading (or at least, was supposed to be grading, but was in reality staring blankly at it, mind a million miles away). "Tara? What are you still doing here?" she asked upon glancing at her guest, then her watch. Usually at this hour, the only people still on campus were the vampires and students on their way to the campus pub. And, being neither of those things, Tara was rather out of place.

"Made the mistake of scheduling an evening lecture this semester," Tara replied, looking mildly chagrined by her own foolishness. "It's been two weeks and I'm already fucking exhausted..."

Alex laughed; she remembered those days, back before she'd been nocturnal. "Well, I don't know about you, but I could sure use a coffee," she suggested. Granted, caffeine didn't work on her, so it was more an excuse to take a break from her work and, perhaps, unload a little of her mental anguish on a friend.

"You read my mind," Tara readily agreed. It wasn't until the two of them were seated with their coffees in the little cafeteria colloquially called the 'Bullpen' that Tara remarked, "You look like you've really been through it..."

She barked out a small hysterical little laugh at that, as it was quite possibly the understatement of the year. She'd spent the last several nights tossing and turning, weighing all of Emily's options in her mind until she'd tangled herself up in knots and didn't know what the right decision was... "My sort of no-so-ex-girlfriend is staying with me," she explained. "It's a very convoluted situation." She shook her head slowly in a silent indication that there wasn't really time to get into the whole messy chain of events. Then, eager to change the subject, she asked, "So, how are things with Rebecca?"

Tara couldn't hide the smile that wanted to burst forth at the mention of her girlfriend. "Things are going well," Tara said. "Really well, actually. I think we're ready to take things to the next level..."

"Next level?" Alex repeated, "What level would that be?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted with a little shake of her head. "Maybe getting a dog?"

"How about a baby instead?" Alex said with a laugh that even she didn't know whether it was fake or not. She hadn't actually planned on saying that aloud, but now that she had, there was no taking it back.

Tara raised a brow at that, silently wondering What the fuck?

Silently, she agreed with that assessment. "Sorry," Alex said, "That was inappropriate." She offered a contrite expression. "It's a long story, but my ex is considering giving her baby up for adoption. She's not convinced, though, and I thought if I could find someone I trust who would take the baby, then it might make it a little easier for her to warm up to the idea."

She nodded her understanding. "You're a good person, Alex. She's lucky to have you."

Alex didn't seem entirely convinced of that, though she didn't say as much. "I just wish I could make things easier for her."