As Jennifer set the plate of beef stroganoff and green beans down on Fred’s TV tray, Fred’s channel surfing suddenly stopped. It was the local news channel and something had caught his eye: a video clip of a scantily-clad young blonde and obviously nubile female of Scandinavian origin. She was ‘traffic accident gorgeous’ but Fred couldn’t quite comprehend the scene on the TV; from the grainy quality and slightly washed-out look of the footage and the alien background she appeared to be broadcasting from some type of spaceship.

Jennifer sat on the living room sofa next to her husband of two years and, glancing at the TV she saw the lithe young female grinding and gyrating. Although the news crew had made an obvious effort to make the clip family-friendly by cropping and zooming in the video so that only the young woman’s shoulders and face showed on the viewing screen, she could tell that the original video had definitely been NSFW! “What’s on?” she asked her spouse.

“UmmMMMmmm,” Fred replied, turning up the volume.

“….an incredible story of how one brave young woman had enough of the current economic crisis so she took matters into her own hands.”

“That’s right, and I gotta tell you, this story really gives me the goose bumps. Let’s go to Michael who’s live on location for more.”

(The news broadcast cuts from the newsroom studio to some official government-looking location in front of which a twenty-something anchorman with neatly trimmed sideburns stood dressed in a blazer holding a mic and standing next to the beautiful young woman from the clip. She was currently donning elegant dangling gold earrings, movie star sunglasses and a tight yet stylish cashmere blouse that accentuated her firm bosom perfectly)

“Leslie, Erin, I’m speaking with Anastasia Kornienko, a cosmonaut with the Russian Space Agency. This amazing tale all began with a freak asteroid mishap, is that right Anastasia?” the anchorman asked, holding up the microphone so she could speak.

“Yes, is correct. Asteroid was made of ice so did not show up on radar. We use much fuel to avoid last minute collision.”

“Amazing,” Michael interjected, “What happened when you realized you didn’t have enough fuel to return to Earth?”

“Well,” the female cosmonaut chuckled to herself, “The situation went from – how do you say – bad to worst. After I reported information about fuel problem to base they say sending new fuel supply ship is not possible. Due to global economic crisis, Russian Space Agency cannot afford fuel supply ship.”

“So Anastasia, let me just make sure I have this so far,” Michael interrupted. “You’re in outer space, riding in a rocket from the Russian Space Agency. You swerve to avoid an unexpected asteroid and by the time you’ve maneuvered to get back on course, more fuel has been used than has been allotted for the round-trip of the mission, is that correct?”

“Yes, is correct,” Anastasia nodded enthusiastically, her earrings dancing in the light of the news camera.

“Please tell our viewers at home what happened next,” the news anchor prompted.

“Well, let me say first thing – I have family. Not seeing them again was not okay to me. So I had to – how do you say – think outside your box. All I have to work with is myself, communication equipment, and big spaceship who has no fuel. So only solution I can think of is become webcam model girl and raise funds for Russian Space Agency to send fuel supply ship.”

“I see. What made you believe you could pull it off?” Michael asked.

“Well, I have sister and cousins who are webcam models. They like it. My family have good genes, everybody in family is pretty. So sister and cousins make very excellent money webcam modeling.”

“I see, and I imagine that being the only Russian cosmonaut to ever become a webcam girl pretty much gave you an exclusive niche to perform in. Was it enough in the end to pay for the fuel supply ship?” the anchorman asked.

“Well do you see me here now?” the Russian webcam model shot back, smiling.

“Yes we certainly do,” the anchorman replied in a deep voice, quickly glancing down and back up again into her eyes. Then, turning back to the camera he said, “And there you have it, our galaxy’s first interplanetary – and sexiest webcam model. Leslie, Erin, back to you in the studio.”

“Wow! That’s such an incredible story,” Leslie said in appreciative wonder, looking at Erin.

“Yes indeed. Quite the entrepreneurial spirit she has. Anastasia, please tell our viewers at home how they can become a web model too. We’ve got to do something about this economic crisis, tons of people are still needing jobs,” Erin pointed out.

“Yes, you can go to Webcam Modeling website and there you find information about webcam modeling jobs. Is very simple process and easy to start; you make money right away.”

“Thank you Anastasia, our collective hat is off to you. You’ve definitely made your country proud. What a brave girl!” Erin said, and referring to her notes quickly added, “Since her return landing, Anastasia has started her own online dating company. She says that her modeling career has paid her a substantially higher salary than her former career as a Russian cosmonaut and she plans on pursuing this more lucrative path her good genes and looks have allowed her to explore. We all truly wish her the best of luck. If you would like to get in touch with Anastasia, you can find out more by going to WebcamModelingTalk.com and clicking her picture at the bottom on the left hand side. What an amazing girl. Well, stay tuned after the break as we cover the bank-robbing carjacker that police officers fired forty-two rounds at in a Wendy’s drive-through to try and save mother and baby…”

Chewing another bite of Stroganoff, Fred pushed the down button on his TV remote control volume and thought for a moment. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”

“Yeah, that’s just what I was thinking,” Jennifer agreed, and looked towards the empty baby room.