Two months later…

Her hands trembled as she opened the package and extracted the product. It was awkward, but she managed to follow the instructions to get a good test.

She waited…

Carrying the tester carefully, she walked slowly down the stairs. Peter was sitting on the sofa reading the paper, Satchmo curled up on the floor by his feet, and she wound up next to him.

"Peter?"

He looked up, puzzled at the tone of her voice. She was holding something out to him, and he reached for it.

It took a moment to register what it was, and what it meant.

"El?"

Elizabeth sank down on the couch next to him. "Peter, I'm pregnant."

For a long moment he couldn't speak. He'd been sterile since a bad case of chicken pox at age twenty five. Several fertility doctors had confirmed it since. So how… "Neal?"

El gave a little shrug of her shoulders and nodded. "It's not like there's been anyone else, Peter."

"No, El, I didn't mean..."

"I know, Peter." She took his hand, rubbing her thumb over his palm. "We had talked about artificial insemination, with a donor."

Yeah, an anonymous donor… "But, Neal?"

"It's kind of a surprise to me too, you know."

"Oh, El." He reached out and pulled her in, holding her tight.

She barely recognized her own voice, small and uncertain, as she asked the next question. "What do we do now?"

A/N: So, is this the real future, or just someone's nightmare? Don't know yet, just an interesting concept to think about.

Thanks to those who have sent constructive feedback and asked for this to be finished. It is.