A/N - Just little bits of fluff to share whilst I'm lying on the beach this week. Seven parts, all linked, but not all in order of time. They're based on wedding vows, little reflections on how they got to marriage based on a line from the vows. It's been sitting on my laptop for ages. Hope you all enjoy, there'll be one each day, so get those reviews in, make my vaca even better! :)

"I, Penny, take you, Leonard, to be my lawfully wedded husband,"

As she sat with Bernadette, watching her sign various documents for the house she was buying with Howard, Penny couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Bernadette got to sign it with Howard's last name. She'd even adjusted her signature to include 'Wolowitz' - and although it was a very long name, Bernadette seemed to be very happy with it. And they were buying a place together, moving forward with their lives.

Penny thought back to the day Leonard had told her that he wouldn't propose anymore; it had to be her. She didn't know if that was serious, but sitting there, watching Bernadette happily use her married name, she decided that was it. Leonard wanted it to be a surprise, the whole nine yards, and that's what he would get. As she sipped on her coffee, and Bernadette muttered something about how boring reading this paperwork was, Penny wondered if she had to get him a ring. Did women do that? She decided she would, it was a big part of getting engaged.

Engaged. Her heart sped up a little at that word, and a trickle of fear flowed through her. But she shook it off. It was scary, yes. It was a very big step. But she wanted to do this; she wanted to be able to sign her bills as 'Mrs. Penny Hofstadter' and see it on her paychecks. Maybe, if she ever got somewhere with her acting career, that would be the name in the credits. That's what people would write when they sent her mail. She was going to get a new email address, she was going to change her name on Facebook and Twitter and people would have to change her name in their contacts list on their phones. She wanted that. She wanted to see 'Dr. and Mrs. Hofstadter' written at the bottom of documents, with two sets of lines for each of them to sign.

Once she returned back to her apartment, she realized how much she had to plan. Though, on second thought, maybe she didn't. She knew what Leonard wanted. She knew she didn't want to wait for a special day, because she wanted this day to be special on it's own. Deciding that overthinking wasn't going to help, she set about making dinner. Leonard returned home just as she had finished cooking. She couldn't help but smile every time he spoke, unsuspecting of what was going through her mind at that moment.

After her breakfast shift at the Cheesecake Factory the next day, she went straight to the mall and headed over to her favorite jewelry store, locating a friendly looking salesman.

"Hi," She said, smiling. "Um, would you be able to help me?"

"Of course, ma'am." He smiled back at her, standing up. "How may I assist you?"

"Okay, here's the thing." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to propose to my boyfriend. And I know, that's backwards, but whatever. I don't know if when women propose they buy rings, but I want to get him a ring anyway."

Telling this man wasn't as daunting as she had expected. Perhaps it was because he didn't know her, which made it easier.

"That's sounds wonderful. I have had women buying rings - though I can't tell you whether or not it is common practice, considering I have only spoken to the ones who have bought a ring." He took out a key from his pocket. "If you follow me, I'll show you our selection of men's rings."

Penny followed him, grateful that he was friendly and had dealt with this before.

"Did you have anything in mind?" He asked, opening the back of the display cabinet.

"Umm..." Penny realized she hadn't really thought about it. "A silver one?"

Understanding, the salesman smiled and took out two trays of silver rings. Penny thought they all looked quite similar; while women often chose diamonds and other gemstones, men's were far simpler. She looked up at the salesman helplessly.

"How much are you willing to spend?"

Penny bit her lip. This wasn't something she'd thought about. She didn't exactly have much money, but she didn't want to get him a horrible ring. If it was Leonard, she knew he wouldn't care how much he had to spend, as long as the ring was perfect. "I don't care. As long as it's not horrendously too much, I don't mind. I want the ring to be perfect for him." She vowed to herself to stop shopping so much and try pick up a few more shifts so she had some money. Then it hit her. Her dad liked Leonard. Maybe he'd help her out with this. "Can you hold on just a second?"

The salesman nodded, and Penny stepped aside, selecting her dad from her contacts, chewing on her lip as she waited for him to answer.

"Penny!" She could practically hear him smiling through the phone. "What's up, Slugger?"

Penny grinned. "Hi Daddy. I was wondering if you could help me out a little?"

"What have you done?"

"It's nothing bad," Penny giggled at his tone. "In fact, I think you'll be pretty happy about this."

"Oh," She heard him breathe a sigh of relief. "What is it?"

She paused. "I'm going to propose to Leonard."

On the other side of the line, Wyatt grinned, punching the air. "Congratulations, darling! I told you he's a keeper."

"I know, Daddy." Penny smiled.

"A little unconventional though."

"I know that too, which is why I need your help." She decided to get straight to the point. "I'm looking at rings, and you know I have a sucky job and... well I don't want to get him a cheap ring, I want it to be perfect, you know?"

"You want some money for the ring?"

"Is that okay?" Penny asked shyly. She felt like a child, asking her parents for money again. "I promise I'll pay you back, I just really want to buy the perfect ring."

"That's not a problem sweetheart," Wyatt smiled. "You buy him the perfect ring, and don't you worry about paying me back. I'm proud of my little girl."

"Thank you Dad."

"You still remember all my credit card numbers from when you used to 'borrow' money from me?"

Penny giggled. "The only numbers I've never had trouble remembering."

"Then you go get him that perfect ring, Penny."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too."

Penny hung up, still smiling. She walked confidently back over to the salesman. "Okay, show me what you've got."

He helped her pick out a silver ring, with a small diamond in a rubover setting. Penny thought it was perfect; as soon as she had seen it, she fell in love with it. The small diamond made it special, but the rubover setting in the silver made it masculine and unique. She handed the salesman one of Leonard's rings; he didn't really wear rings, but he had a few from various costumes, and it was the best Penny could do for sizing. As the salesman fetched the ring in Leonard's size, Penny felt proud of herself. Handing over her fathers card details, she made a mental note to thank him properly for all the money that was going on this ring, and for accepting her decision to propose to Leonard.

She carried the small bag holding the boxed ring with pride. As she parked at the apartment complex, she hid the bag in her handbag, in case Leonard was home early today. When she saw that he wasn't she hid it carefully in a shoe box at the back of her closet, stacking a few other boxes on top of it and then placing a pair of pink heels on top so she knew where it was.

She had the ring. She was partway there. And it was far less terrifying than she had thought it would be.