A/N: Prologue to a story that is a 'what if' story, exploring what would happen if one little fact (not saying which little fact) would be different, resulting in yet another alternate way for our favorite couple to find each other.


"Andy, what the heck?"

Leonard found himself staring at the beautiful woman who was currently admonishing her son. She was dressed professionally in a skirt suit and managed to look incredibly sexy.

The young boy, Leonard had guessed him to be about ten, rolled his eyes. "Relax, Mom. I moved only like forty feet away. Plus the tracker app I installed on our phones clearly showed you where I was."

"That's not the point, Andy. You're only eleven and there are a lot of creeps in the world."

Andy rolled his eyes again. "Mom, this is Dr. Hofstadter, a respected physicist, the one who gave the presentation we just attended. I think he's safe. Besides, you got me enrolled in several self defense and martial arts courses since I was six."

That explained why he looked athletic, Leonard realized. He had already noticed how incredibly smart he was, possibly even smarter than Sheldon.

"Those classes may give you a benefit, but you're still not strong enough to take on a grown man that is out to get you."

"You're too worried, Mom. Not everyone is out to get me. In a few months I'm off to college, and you won't be able to keep an eye on me all the time."

Leonard could see the woman getting emotional at the reminder of her son leaving for college soon.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"I know, Sweetie. And I know I won't be able to look out for you once you're in college. And I know you're smart enough to not approach people that might have bad intentions. I just worry when you're not where I expect you to be."

Andy sighed. "I'm sorry I walked away. But Dr. Hofstadter is like my idol. I just wanted to talk with him when I saw him walking by."

The woman finally looked up at Leonard, who found his heart skipping a beat at the smile on her face. She stood up and took a few steps forward and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Penny, Andy's mom."

Leonard took her hand and shook it. "Hi. Leonard Hofstadter." He was proud of himself for not stammering. "Call me Leonard," he added, realizing she had not even given her last name, and neither had her son.

"Hi," Penny said again. "I hope Andy didn't bother you?"

"No, not at all," Leonard replied. "He's very polite."

Penny glanced back at her son briefly. "He'd better be." She grinned at Leonard. "It's about the only thing I've been able to teach him since he was six. I bet he asked you tons of questions, though."

Leonard grinned. "Actually, I was just finished answering his first question when you found us."

"Oh." Penny turned around. "Sorry, Sweetie."

Andy shrugged. "It's okay, Mom."

Leonard cleared his throat. "Well, if you two have some time, my lab's down there," he pointed down the hall. "If you want, you could come with me and see what I'm working on and ask questions?" Leonard smiled at the huge smile on Andy's face and Penny chuckled as she also noticed the excitement on her son's face.

"Alright, but we'll need to go in half an hour at the latest," Penny told Andy.

The imposed time limit did nothing to diminish Andy's excitement and he nodded happily in agreement.


"Wow," Penny said when the hologram of the pencil was replaced by one of Earth. She leaned forward a little, bracing herself on the workbench. "That's so cool." She stood back up when Leonard made a pinching gesture to have hologram zoom out to show the solar system, and then again to that of what she thought was the entire known universe, though she really had no clue. All she knew for sure was that it looked amazingly beautiful.

A rotating motion of his hand made the universe rotate slowly as he completed his explanation of the theory that the entire universe might be just a hologram. Penny found herself staring into his eyes until he turned toward Andy who was asking various questions. She was glad Andy had diverted Leonard's attention, as it gave her time to get her act together.

For the past eleven years she'd been fine alone, never really needing a man in her life. She had never been quite as smitten with the men she did meet professionally either, but something about this man, who was excitedly explaining things to her son at a level that was far beyond her comprehension, had gotten to her.

During her pregnancy, no guy had even wanted to be with her and that hadn't changed even after Andy was born. She had quickly adapted to the change, deciding to focus on her own education, accepting the offer from her parents to take care of Andy during the day. It had been a struggle, both financially and intellectually, but she had obtained a degree in business management. During that time she hadn't dated anyone, not even gone out to parties and such; Andy was the only man she had or needed in her life.

When she found out she was pregnant with Andy, her then boyfriend had quickly dumped her, claiming someone else probably had gotten her pregnant, basically accusing her of either cheating on him or for being a slut. Either way, she was glad he hadn't insisted on staying with her or having any part in raising her son.

Sure, it wouldn't have hurt if he had contributed more than just his semen, but last she heard, about six years ago, he was in jail. By then she had already moved out to LA, scary as that had been. The move had been necessary, as she had no luck finding a job that would pay enough to provide for Andy and herself in or around Omaha.

She had applied for a job opening in LA, mostly because the job would involve managing stars and celebrities, basically small businesses, her old dreams of being an actress having urged her on. She hadn't expected anything to come from it, but was invited to interview.

Penny hadn't known what to do; she couldn't afford a trip to LA just for an interview, especially when she wasn't all that sure she would get the job. In the end she had asked if the interview could be done by phone, explaining that her finances didn't allow for the trip unless the move would be permanent. It had been a risk, but considering she didn't really believe she'd get the job, she decided to take the risk anyway.

The company had understood her situation and had agreed to interview her by phone right at that instant. It had surprised her, but she had accepted the opportunity. The interview had take a little over half an hour and Penny had had a good feeling afterwards. Two weeks later she got a call, offering her the job and and offer to pay moving expenses. She'd found it impossible to say no.

"Mom?"

"Hm?" Penny blinked a few times. "Yes, Sweetie?"

Andy frowned slightly then retrieved his phone and showed her the time. "You said we only had half an hour and that time is up. Also, Dr. Hofstadter offered to exchange contact information, if that's okay with you."

Penny frowned, not having realized the half hour had already passed. "Oh, uhm, I don't think that's a good idea, Sweetie." She hated the crestfallen look on Andy's face but he didn't argue the point, clearly understanding why she didn't like the idea of an adult man having unlimited and unsupervised access to him.

"How about you and I exchange contact information," the physicist asked, indicating her and himself with his hand. "That way, Andy would still have a way to contact me, but only with your knowledge."

Penny smiled at the hopeful look on Andy's face and nodded. "Yeah, that would work." She looked at Leonard apologetically. "Sorry about..."

He immediately raised his hand. "Don't worry, I completely understand. I would've been surprised if you had agreed to my suggestion."

Penny felt unexpectedly excited about exchanging contact information with the physicist, though it also worried her. It had been just Andy and her for such a long time, she was afraid Andy wouldn't like the idea of her starting a relationship. With someone he practically idolized no less. Then again, Andy was smart and would probably understand why she didn't want to remain alone the rest of her life. At least she hoped he would understand. Because to Penny it was all very clear: she wanted an adult relationship, with Leonard.


A/N2: Clearly the story explores what would've happened if teenage Penny had actually been pregnant, though I set the story itself for around season six's The Holographic Excitation (just because I really, really like that episode).