Ryan was still awake when Briana came into his room. She always snuck in with Daddy whenever Mommy was away. Oftentimes she waited until Daddy was asleep. But on other occasions, like tonight, she came in while he was still awake, so they could talk before nodding off.

"Hey Little Lady," Ryan said to his daughter as he saw her poke her face through the doorway to his bedroom. He knew full well that Briana would spend the night there, but he played the game with her anyway. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy?" Briana said with a smile. "Can I sleep in here tonight?"

"Now why do you want to do that, Sweetie?" She paused, knowing she would get what she wanted, but enjoying the lead-in as much as her daddy.

"Ummm, 'cuz I'm lonely?"

"You're lonely?" Ryan said with exaggerated surprise. "Why, would you be lonely?"

"Because Mommy's out of town?"

"She is?" Briana giggled at her father's question.

"Yes, Daddy! You know she is!"

"Well, then, I guess you had better stay here with me. Otherwise we'll both be lonely, huh?" Briana squealed with joy at having gotten what she knew she would get anyway. She ran into the room, jumped up on the bed and got under the covers next to her father, then snuggled in. Ryan continued looking through the magazine he had been reading when Briana came to the door. He noticed she was looking up at him.

"Daddy?" she said.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Briana, don't you think it's time for sleeping?"

"But I want to ask you about something from school today." Ryan was familiar with this game also, in which Briana engaged in conversation for as long as possible in order to avoid going to sleep.

"O.K. What is it?"

"Did you know we were studying the 'preproducting system' in school?" Ryan smiled at his daughter's adorable mistake.

"Uh, you mean, the reproductive system?" Briana nodded. "Yes, I did. They sent a letter home for Mommy and me so we would know what you were studying and so we could help with any questions you might have about it."

"Oh, good."

"Why, Sweetie? Do you have a question?"

"Yes." Briana sat up and leaned against the headboard, looking at her father very seriously. "They told us about how babies are made." Ryan knew this would be the subject of the lesson. Both he and Karen were comfortable with the description of the age appropriate material the teachers would be using.

"Right," Ryan replied. "And what did you think?"

"It was kind of strange."

"I can understand why it would seem that way being the first time you really heard it. But when you get older you'll understand it a lot better."

"Do you understand it, Daddy?" Ryan smiled again.

"I think I have a pretty good idea of how it all works, Bri. Don't forget, that's how you got here." Briana paused again to consider his words. "But what's your question?"

"Well, they told us how it works, with the sperm and the egg, how they meet inside the mommy and make the baby."

"That's right."

"And the sperm comes from the daddy and the egg from the mommy."

"Right again, Bri. I guess you were paying attention."

"I was. But there was one thing I didn't understand."

"O.K. What was that?"

"I don't understand how the sperm gets inside the mommy." Ryan stopped dead in his formerly confident tracks, no longer feeling secure in his ability to answer of his daughter's questions.

"Uhh ... did you ask your teacher about that?"

"Yes. And she said something I didn't understand."

"What did she say?" Ryan asked.

"She said something about it being a miracle that happens between a man and woman who are in love and want a baby."

"Well, that's true." Ryan thought this to be a good enough answer for Briana's level. He should have known that while this would be a fine answer for most kids in her class, it would not suffice for Bri. As always, she had to know everything.

"Daddy, what does that mean?" Ryan silently cursed Karen for being away on the day their daughter studied the 'preproduction system'."

"Briana ... you uh..." Ryan cursed to himself again. "Sweetie, you're a little young to know about that." His daughter looked disappointed.

"Why, Daddy? I want to know. Why can't I know."

"You're just too young, Bri. You won't be able to really understand it."

"Yes I will, Daddy. You know I will." Ryan knew his daughter was probably correct. She had no trouble with concepts, even those that would be abstract for her, such as the mechanics of sex.

"Briana ... I don't..." Ryan sighed. "Are you sure you want to know this? Maybe you should wait until Mommy comes home."

"Daddy, I want you to tell me. I know you know how it happens."

"It's not that I don't know, Sweetie. I'm just not that comfortable talking about it with you."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Because, like I said, I don't know if you're old enough."

"Come on, Daddy! You know I'll understand. Pleeeeaassseeee?" Ryan sighed again, bigger this time.

"Oh, Briana. You're a real pill sometimes. Do you know that?" He gave her his best exasperated look.

"I know!" she replied with pride. Ryan knew he was getting in over his head. He knew he should have waited for Karen to get home. But he didn't.

"O.K. But I'm just going to give you the very basics, understand?" She nodded in affirmation, clearly pleased with her own persuasive skills.

"O.K. Daddy." She looked at him intently as he groped for the right words.

"Well ... uh ... there's a ... well..."

"Daddy, just tell me!"

"Allright, Bri. Hold your horses." He paused again. "O.K. There's a part of the daddy that sort of, goes ... well, goes inside the mommy and that's how the sperm gets there." Ryan considered his words and thought he just might have escaped without major damage to either of them. No such luck.

"What does that MEAN, Daddy? I don't understand." Another silent curse.

"Like I said, Sweetie," Ryan tried again, "there's a part of the daddy's body that goes inside the mommy, in sort of a, special hug kind of ... thing. And that's how the sperm gets to the egg in the mommy."

"I don't understand," Briana repeated. Ryan sighed yet again and resolved himself to the fact that he might just have to tell his daughter how it actually happened.

"O.K., Bri. Here's how it works. See if this makes sense. Obviously you know that daddies have a penis and mommies have vaginas." She looked at him as if to say, 'Duh!' "Right. I knew you knew that. Well, the way it works is, the daddy's penis goes inside the mommy's vagina. Then it stays there for a little while until some liquid squirts out that has the sperm in it. And then the sperm swims into the mommy's vagina and finds the egg and fertilizes it." He waited for the clouds to part and lightning to strike. Bri was carefully considering his words, trying to grasp the concept.

"Really?" was all she said in reply.

"Really," Ryan retorted. Crossing his fingers that he was off the hook, Ryan looked at his daugther as she continued to ponder his explanation. Then, as he had been dreading, she began to ask more questions.

"How does it fit inside? Does it hurt? How long does it take? Does it have to go in more than once? What does it feel like?" Ryan's head was swimming.

"Briana, I think this is enough for tonight." He was hoping for a narrow escape.

"No, Daddy! I want to understand!" She thought some more, then said words that shocked Ryan more than he could have imagined. "Show me." He sat there staring at his daughter, trying desperately to understand what she had just said. He was sure she couldn't have said what he thought she had said. It sounded like she had said..."Show me, Daddy."

"Briana! Absolutely not! That is totally and completely inappropriate!"

"Why, Daddy?" Every parent's favorite question. There were so many reasons that Ryan was taken aback, again.

"Why?" he retorted. "Why ... well, I'll tell you why. Because you're much too young to know about that much less be shown it. Because that's not something a daddy should show his daughter. And because ... Mommy would kill me."

"Daddy," Briana turned serious again. "Come on ... I really, really want to know. I do lots of things that I'm too young to do. You know that. You always say anything's O.K. if I'm ready. Well I'm ready to know this. And I won't tell Mommy. I promise." Ryan knew what an exasperating experience it was to argue with Briana once her mind was made up. He wanted to get to sleep and be done with this. But, could he really be considering doing what she asked? No way!

"Briana Lynn," Ryan tried to sound his most stern, "now you stop this immediately. I said 'no' and I mean it."

"Daaaddddyyyyyyy... ," Briana could counter with her own persuasive tones. "I want to see. Just show me. Come on. Show me." Pause for effect. "Daaaaadddyyyyyyyy... ," Another pause. "Pllllleeeeeaaaasssseeee?"

"I must be crazy ... totally crazy," Ryan said to himself under his breath. He reluctantly got to his knees on the bed. He paused to reconsider what he was about to do. But knowing how persistent his daughter was, he thought it better to try to give her a part of what she was asking than continue to argue with her all night. Besides, he figured, she didn't really understand what she was asking for. So he could get out of it somewhere along the way and she would be none the wiser. Ryan put his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down. Per usual, he was not wearing a shirt. His very average sized penis was now exposed. Briana stared.

"Now what?" she said.

"Well, this is my penis. It goes inside Mommy ... in her vagina. O.K.? Are we done now?"

"Daddy ... I've seen your penis before. But I still don't understand. HOW does it go into Mommy's vagina?"

"It ... well ... it gets kind of hard. It's called being erect. It gets erect and then it can slip into Mommy's vagina."

"Show me." Not wanting to extend the protest, Ryan slowly took his penis in his hand and began to squeeze it. Briana looked closely at what her father was doing, clearly fascinated. For several minutes Ryan diddled his dick, but the awkwardness of the moment kept him from becoming erect. "What's wrong, Daddy? It doesn't look ... erect."

"Sometimes it just doesn't work, Bri. This must be one of those times. Sorry." Thinking he was getting away without creating too much potential trouble for himself, he began to pull up his shorts.

"Wait," Briana stopped him. "Are you supposed to touch it and make it hard?" Ryan stopped.