A/N: Okay, I heard a spoiler that Brennan is going to ask Booth to father a child with her and my imagination went wild with that scenario, so here you go.

"Say What?"

Booth pushed the pie plate away and picked up his cup for a sip. His partner was gazing out the window, and he suddenly realized she'd been quiet for a long time. A line between her brows told him something had the wheels turning in that brilliant mind, and for a moment he debated with himself. Did he want to know what she was thinking about? Then she sighed and stared down at her cup and he decided to take a chance that whatever it was wasn't going to embarrass or irritate him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Her eyes bounced up to meet his. "What?"

"You look like you're thinking pretty deep about something. Care to share?"

She stared into his eyes for a long, uncomfortable moment, and Booth began to regret saying anything. Then she opened her mouth and her first words made him sorry he hadn't paid the bill and left while there was still time.

"Would you be willing to father a child with me?"

His mouth fell open and his mind raced back over the last couple weeks. Had he given her any indication of his feelings? He didn't think so—he'd been so careful. Besides, Bones was generally pretty oblivious to that kind of thing.

"What?" he croaked, as his brain scrambled to understand where this was coming from, to give him an idea of how to respond.

"I've been thinking, ever since the case with Andy, that I'd like to have a child one day."

"Really? But…I didn't think you ever wanted children."

"Being around Andy changed my mind. Don't you think I'd be a good mother?"

Booth blew out a breath. At least they'd gotten away from the aspect of the issue that made him nervous. "Sure, Bones. You'd make a great mother."

She smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot to me, coming from a good father like you."

Booth gave a nervous smile and lifted his cup for another sip.

"I think you would be an ideal candidate to father my child."

Choking, he set down his cup and picked up a napkin to wipe his chin.

"Are you okay?" she asked calmly.

Shifting in his chair, Booth looked around. Nobody was paying any attention, thank God. He leaned in and lowered his voice. "For the sake of our partnership, and in the interest of keeping things platonic, I don't think that's a good idea."

She frowned. "What makes you think we can't keep it platonic? It's only an exchange of semen—"

"Shhhh!" he hissed, looking around again.

Brennan rolled her eyes, but lowered her voice and leaned towards him. "You know, you really ought to talk to Sweets about this problem you have with discussing normal bodily functions. You may have some underlying issues that you need to address."

Booth gritted his teeth and slowly counted to ten. "I don't think the fact that I like to be discreet when it comes to personal issues like…that…means I have any issues."

"I thought you would be flattered that I chose you," she replied with a puzzled look. "Out of all the alpha males that I know, I think you have the best attributes that I would like passed on to my child. It's a huge compliment."

Sigh. "Of course I'm honored, but think about it. If we…if you and I…I mean, I don't think I could ever look at you as just my partner and friend again if we…"

The puzzled look intensified as he trailed off. Swallowing hard, Booth looked away, trying to find the words to tell her without actually saying it.

"Do you have a problem with knowing my child has your DNA, or is it the artificial insemination that bothers you?"

His wide eyes jerked up to meet hers. "Artificial--? You mean, we wouldn't have to--?"

Husky laugh. "Of course not. That would be out of the question."

The stunned look on his face would have been comical if the subject wasn't so serious. He was wondering why he was feeling insulted instead of relieved.

"Booth, I know how strongly you feel about coworkers getting involved romantically, and while I wouldn't have a problem compartmentalizing, I know you are incapable of viewing sexual intercourse clinically. I would never ask you to do that."

His mouth was dry as their gazes locked. Hers had a warmth in them that belied the cool, scientific words, and he suspected she was trying to make it easier on him by removing the emotion from the subject. He appreciated the effort, but it wasn't working.

The idea of watching her body swell with his child, knowing the changes she would go through, physically and emotionally, was far too appealing to him. And the thought of creating that new life, their child, in any way other than the way God intended repulsed him. But the alternative method…his mind skittered away from that dangerous idea.

She was watching him intently, waiting for him to tell her what he thought, but he couldn't be honest with her about this. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Bones, you can't just drop this on me and expect me to make a decision over pie and coffee. I mean, you're not ready to have a baby right away, are you?"

She smiled triumphantly, obviously glad that he hadn't completely dismissed the idea. "No, not right away. You can have a year or so to think about it."

"A year or so? Wow, what's the rush?" Relief at the reprieve made him giddy.

"I don't want to wait too long. I'd rather not be too old when he or she reaches high school."

An awkward silence fell and the waitress came by to refill their cups. Booth racked his brain for an innocuous conversation topic, but Brennan beat him to it.

"Angela's working on the facial reconstruction for that victim we found yesterday. She should have it for us by…"

A/N: This was originally going to be a oneshot, but after brainstorming with my friend Jenna, it looks more like it's going to be a shortie, 3 or 4 chaps. Now click the review button and tell me what you thought. Musie may hang around if she gets great feedback.