Chapter 1

Penny walked up the stairs for the millionth time in her life. As a force of habit she counted the stairs subconsciously, hardly noticing the girl on the landing, until she nearly walked into her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Penny mumbled and headed to her door but halfway there, she noticed the girl was staring at apartment 4A with serious focus. Penny dropped her bags by her door and snuck up on the girl, staring at her with amusement.

She looked to be in her early twenties. She was short and thin and very pretty. She looked a little familiar but Penny couldn't place her.

"Are you trying to open the door using 'the force'?" Penny eventually asked. She broke her focus and turned to look at Penny for the first time. She frowned at Penny as if she didn't understand.

"Not one of Sheldon's weirdo's?" Penny asked. The girl tried to say something but no words came out.

"Oh, you have selective mutism? You're here to see Raj for help?" Penny guessed.

"I don't know what you mean." The girl said finally.

"Okay, let me start over. Hi, I'm Penny."

"Hi Penny." He said quickly and looked back at the door.

"It won't open by itself." Penny said, slightly bored.

"I'm Prissy." The girl looked away from the door.

"I wouldn't say that. Although I'm not entirely sure what it means…" Penny frowned.

"My name is Prissy. Or Pris." She clarified. "Prissy means prudish, stiff and formal."

"Well, Hi Pris." Penny crossed her arms, still unaware of what the girl was doing there. "So, whatcha doin?"

"I'm about to change someone's life. You understand why I'm hesitating to knock on the door."

"Oh my god. You're Howard's kid? And he doesn't know?"

"Who? What? No." Pris shook her head. "I'm here to see Leonard Hofstadter."

"Oh my god, you're his kid?" Penny started Hyperventilating. "I didn't even know he was sexually active twenty-something years ago…"

Pris turned to stare at Penny, suddenly amused by her freak-out. She tilted her head to the side and watched her.

"No. I'm not his daughter." She finally said. "I'm his sister. Half-sister. He doesn't know about me. Yet."