A/N - If you have ever been a final year student mid-thesis, you will understand the satisfaction of writing something else: in my case, this is! A majority of this opening chapter was written by hand post-op, so I guess I knew the moment I put pen to paper what was going to happen. The third (and final) installation to The Situation series begins here!

With a slight sense of guilt, Penny unwrapped the box of two pregnancy tests, quickly scrunching the plastic and binning it. She fumbled with opening the box and pulling a stick out, the nerves getting the better of her. After an unnecessarily difficult struggle to pull down her shorts and underwear, she finally sat herself down on the toilet to take the test.

This had to all be done before Leonard got back from the local grocery store she'd sent him to just to get him out of the hotel room. Why the hell wasn't she peeing? It wasn't as though she was in a public bathroom where everybody could hear her.

Closing her eyes, Penny tried to relax. After a few seconds she leaned over and turned on the taps fully: something she had done the first few nights Leonard had ever stayed at her place. It did the trick - almost a whole two minutes after sitting down, Penny was finally done and pulling up her shorts. Placing the stick on the edge of the sink, she washed her hands and checked the time on her phone before running to the window. There was no sign of Leonard, so she gazed longingly at the beach beyond for a small while. Despite having spent most of their morning there, Penny had the sudden desire to run down the road to the beach again, barefoot and giggling with her brand new wedding ring shining in the sunlight. Tugging her focus away from the beckoning view, Penny once more checked the time on her phone and trudged back to the bathroom.

After all, Leonard did not know that she had stopped taking her contraceptive pill once they had made their pre-wedding no-sex pact. Although she'd been openly following all the subsequent tips to get pregnant since the day after their wedding, it would seem pretty sudden and strange if she fell pregnant this soon. Obviously she would tell him if the test was positive - and she would tell him about the pill soon enough regardless of the outcome - but Penny couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she hadn't told him. They hadn't had that conversation yet; not since their initial agreement that once they'd gotten married they'd begin trying - but this soon? She was sure it wouldn't be a big deal - she had been pretty expressive about wanting a baby for a long time now. And he hadn't argued against her tips on getting pregnant that she'd employed recently. At least Leonard had been enjoying the view of her on her back with her legs up in the air after every time they had sex, Penny thought with a smirk.

"Alright, moment of truth." Penny said to herself with a sharp intake of breath.

Not pregnant.

Penny was not prepared for how distressing those two words would be, regardless of the fact that she'd been preparing herself for either result. Her eyes welled up with tears and her chest tightened; the pregnancy test became tightly embraced by the clenching of her fists. This was her first pregnancy test since she'd lost Hope and it was like a punch to the stomach; as though someone was telling her she was physically incapable of having or carrying a child. Unable to rationalize her thoughts to calm down, Penny curled up on the cold bathroom floor and let herself cry, pained gasps and heaves taking over her hopeful bounce from mere moments ago.

After a while, Penny very suddenly became aware of how tightly her fists were clenched. "Don't do this to yourself," Penny whispered through the lump in her throat. She knew cutting her hands, whether it was intentional or not, wasn't going to change the outcome of the pregnancy test; neither was lying on the floor.

Slowly, she sat up. Uncurling her fingers, she let the pregnancy test drop to her lap. After wiping at her eyes and taking a deep breath, she picked the stick back up and stood to face herself in the mirror. Initially, she had been planning on simply throwing the test away if it was negative and forgetting about it, leaving Leonard none the wiser.

"But you have nothing to hide from Leonard." Penny told her reflection in the mirror.

It was true: what was there to hide? What was there to be so ashamed of? Leonard knew how much she wanted to have a baby, and he understood how difficult it was for her after the miscarriage to deal with these sorts of things. And it's not as though he'd be angry at her for having stopped taking her pill earlier than planned, or that she had taken a pregnancy test. It was difficult for him as well; he'd lost Hope too, Penny knew a negative pregnancy test would affect him as much as it did her. He deserved to be involved in this process, and she realized now just how much she needed him to be there for it all.

Sighing, Penny looked down at her still trembling hands holding the pregnancy test. As if on cue, she heard the door open and Leonard call "hello?"

In a rush of desperation, Penny half-ran out of the bathroom straight into Leonard's arms. Holding onto him tightly, she gripped onto his t-shirt sleeves. "I missed you."

"I was only gone a few minutes," Leonard half-chuckled, one brow raised in confusion. His arms were holding her against him cautiously, the grocery bag dangling from his hands. When she didn't let go, he frowned as the worry kicked in. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Stepping back, Penny shook her head. "No." Hands still shaking, she held out the pregnancy test.

"Is that..." Leonard gulped as he looked down at her hands. "Is that a pregnancy test?"

"It's negative." Penny croaked out; her throat felt dry and she finally understood the term 'all cried out'. She used her free hand to guide Leonard to the hotel bed which just hours ago she had joked was probably receiving the best show of it's entire life.

Leonard placed the grocery bag on the floor while Penny blinked up at the ceiling. "Is... what..." He closed his mouth again, unsure of what he was trying to ask.

"Please don't be mad at me." Penny said, turning to face him. She twiddled nervously with the pregnancy test in her hands. "When we made that no-sex pact, I was close to finishing my pills. So I did. And when I would normally start a new pack, I just... didn't. I was so... so desperate to have the best chance possible." It was painful to talk, but she continued, as his only answer was the same shocked expression from moments ago. "I know I should have told you but I was... scared and excited, and I felt... kinda silly, but I also liked having my own little secret. And this morning I felt a little different, so I took... this test."

"Oh, Penny," Leonard gently placed his hand over hers. "I'm not mad at you for that. Why would I be?"

"Because we're in this together. I should have told you." Her voice was so quiet, if she hadn't been directly in front of him he would have struggled to hear. Bottom lip quivering, Penny placed the pregnancy test in Leonard's hand. "I was not prepared for it to be negative."

"I don't think it's something you can really prepare for."