"Pregnant. She said pregnant."

"We know Sheldon."

"Pregnant. She said-"

"We know what she said!" Leonard exclaimed, ready to lose his mind at his roommates catatonic mumblings. He'd been able to shuffle Raj and Howard out the door with minimal fuss, which surprised him considering how much they both loved to hear about Sheldon's relationship with Winona. Winona had stayed on the couch, and Penny had begun to help Leonard tidy up from the guys' night in. Sheldon, it seemed, hadn't budged an inch since he'd been deposited in the chair. He simply continued to stare straight ahead and every so often spout out his new mantra.

"How are you feeling, Winona?" Penny asked, absently passing Leonard the rest of the snack bags, their hands brushing slightly.

"Freaked out. I mean, not financially, my family's loaded and I've got my savings and trustfund. It's the parenting options, on the one hand I'm a single parent which is never easy, and on the other, I'm involved with a man who may have suffered permanent brain damage.

"I have not."

Sheldon's retort had everyone in the room looking at him; it was the first new thing he'd said in nearly an hour. He was still white as a ghost, moreso than usual, and his hands were clenched into tight fists, but he was blinking and starting to get his bearings. "How did I get here."

"That's not important right now," Winona started, then stopped when Sheldon looked at her, and for the first time, she saw something resembling misery on his face.

"Noni, I am so sorry for my completely inappropriate reaction, but you have to understand what a shock this is for me."

"For you?" Leonard tried to keep his own surprise out of his voice. "How about us who thought that you'd never even have a girlfriend?"

"Way to be supportive Leonard," Penny put in sarcastically, making him shrug. "Noni, I'm sure you and Sheldon want some privacy to talk things through, um Lenoard why don't we go over to my place, let them have some time alone."

Leonard nodded in agreement, and once again, Winona and Sheldon were alone. The silence was heavy between them, but at least Sheldon was coherent and could talk. Shifting closer on the couch, Winona linked her fingers together and pursed her lips.

"So, what do you think?"

"Not to sound too cold or indifferent, but are you sure I am the one responsible for fertilizing the fruit of your ovaries?"

"Yes, I am. I'd stopped sleeping with my boyfriend before you about three months before we met, and I was wanting some time for myself after you and I decided to go our separate ways, so mathematical logic would tell you that there's only one possibility."

"Actually, it wouldn't be mathematical logic, it would be biological logic." Feeling like himself a little more, Sheldon moved his hands from the arms of the chair into his lap, and for the first time, looked at Winona. "Are you exhibiting any early symptoms of the first trimester of gestation? Nausea, cravings, gas both esophegal and intestinal, excessive fluid retention?"

"Just a little morning sickness."

"Morning sickness is technically an inaccurate phrase, because most women experience the nausea well after midday and some even into the afternoon and evening hours."

Winona laughed a little even as she got a little choked up; Sheldon was coming around to his senses. Reaching out she put a hand over his and said, "It's good to have you back."

"What does this mean for me? Are we going to enter into a legally binding union so that in the eyes of the Lord the child won't be starting off with its soul on the short road to hell?"

"More than anything I wanted you to know, it just...it didn't feel right that I should keep it to myself." Winona patted his hands. "The ball is in your court now." At his blank look, she sighed. "Sheldon, the decision is yours to make now, what do you want to do?"

"I want a drink."

"Okay." Winona passed him a bottle of water, which he drained in less than two minutes. "So?"

"Well, I think, as the pater familis of this zygote, I should be involved and take on a certain amount of responsibility. I'd like a list of all your doctor's appointments from when you got confirmation of the pregnancy up to your next one, as well as any medical histories of your family that it would be pertinent to keep an eye on during the length of the foetus' incubation."

Winona felt the little bubble of hope burst. Leave it to Dr. Sheldon C. Cooper to turn what should have been a happy resolution of the situation into a cold and sterile business transaction. Straightening her jacket, she stood up and walked to the door. Thanks to the hormones, the shock, and most of all the hurt, the tears sprang into her eyes like she'd flipped a switch. "Fine. I'll send you a text when my next doctor's appointment is coming up, and I'll be sure to get you your bloody lists."

"Is something wrong?" Sheldon asked, genuinely confused as Winona all but stalked to the door of the apartment. "Are the hormonal processes already overtaking your rational processors in your brain?"

Because her pregnancy had made her filters all but disappear, and her patience with idiotic men grind down to zero percent, Winona turned back as she left her hand on the doorknob. "No, Sheldon, I was just stupid enough to think that the news of me carrying your child might actually make you seem more human."

Sheldon felt the barb of her words as if they'd been real traquilizer darts full of box-jellyfish poison. He'd been called many things but inhuman was not one of them. While he hadn't always been charitable to his fellow homo sapiens, he certainly hadn't been as cold and indifferent as Winona was painting him now. Going with his instincts, he shot back, "I am most certainly human, as you well know from our nights spent procreating together, and pardon me if the news that the only woman I've slept with is pregnant. It's not exactly the opening line of a conversation I anticipated having with you tonight."

"What did you think was going to happen?"

"Certainly not this. But for the love of God, don't go out that door in such a state. For one thing, being so angry will increase your chances of being involved in a traffic collision, resulting in multiple complications for the baby."

Then, with an unknown force motivating him - perhaps it was how vulnerable Winona looked as she'd started wiping at her tearing eyes - Sheldon crossed to her and put a hand over hers, the other one on her cheek. He brushed a thumb over the tear dripping down her cheek, the tenderness of the gesture surprising them both. "I'm asking you not to go."

Winona nodded numbly. "I won't if you won't."