"What can I do for you?" she asked calmly.

Sheldon stood beside her sofa, his hands clasped behind his back. "Who is the father?"

Penny paled and walked to the kitchen. She pulled a bottle of juice from the fridge and poured some in a glass. "I don't know." she said.

"You are lying."

She spun to find Sheldon was moving closer. "What?"

His expression turned angry. "You are lying. Whenever you lie, you tuck your hair behind your left ear and look away. You know who the father is."

"Why are you asking?" she demanded, desperate to distract him. "It's none of your business."

Sheldon reached out and grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away. "Is it Leonard's?" he growled.

Penny tried to jerk her hand away, but he held tight. "No! Leonard and I haven't been together in over five months!" She tugged again and Sheldon released her as if burned.

Sheldon's expression turned cold as ice. "So it's some random drunk hook-up, isn't it? Did you even catch his name? Did you bother giving him yours? How could you screw up like this?"

Penny felt the blood drain from her face. "Shut up," she whispered.

Sheldon stepped closer, sneering down at her. "I shouldn't be surprised. You never did have any sense of decency. I don't know why I bothered that first night. I tried to help you. I tried to keep you from doing something this idiotic, but I see now you were always a lost cause."

Penny wrapped her arms around herself as if shielding her baby. "Stop it," she begged softly.

Sheldon knew he should leave before he said something unforgivable. For years he had watched helplessly as Leonard and Penny floundered in a doomed relationship. How many times had he been forced to bite his tongue to keep from pleading with her to end it gently? The closest he had come was to beg her not to hurt Leonard. How many nights had he lain awake, afraid to sleep because dreaming of her hurt too much? He had loved her far too long to stop now. He had hurt for too long to just hush now.

"I am no longer willing to put up with your whorish behavior," he said stiffly. "You are not welcome in my home." Sheldon clenched his jaw tight against the immediate desire to take the words back. He walked swiftly to the door, desperate to erase her from his life, mind and heart.

"You."

He froze as that one small word hit him like a physical blow. Slowly he turned and looked at her. Her eyes blazed with unshed tears, but she stood straight, unyielding. "Me what?" he said with confusion.

Penny walked over and jerked open the door. Neither of them noticed Amy and Bernadette coming up the stairs. She grabbed her keys and purse from the stand by the door. "You're the father, you sanctimonious prick," she spit out. "Or don't you remember pushing me up against this door as if our lives depended on it? Of course the next day you were right back to treating me like I'm scum, so I guess you're right. I'm the idiot who believes a guy when he tells her that it was always her. I'm the tramp who believes a guy when he says he dreams about her every night." She shuddered as a pained sob escaped her. "I'm the slut who believes her best friend when he says he loves her."

She spun away, and stopped short when she saw the other two women staring at her with shock. It was too much for Penny's overwrought emotions. She burst into tears and pushed her way past them. She was halfway to the second floor when a hand grabbed her shoulder. Penny jerked away and overbalanced on the step. She barely had time to throw her hands out to catch herself before everything went black.

She could hear murmuring, but it seemed as if it was far away and muffled. She tried to open her eyes but she was just too tired. The most she could do was shift slightly. A small moan escaped her lips as pain shot up her back.

"I've got you," a soft voice said near her ear. "It's okay. I swear, it'll all be okay."

A glass pressed against her lips and she drank the cool water gratefully. She wanted to say thanks, but already she was beginning to drift off again.

"Sleep. I'll be here when you get up."

She woke up cold and sore. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The room was dark, and the moon shone brightly through the window. She was startled to see the machines beside the bed. What was going on? The last thing she remembered was arguing with someone. She couldn't remember who or what about, but she definitely remembered yelling and crying. She bit her bottom lip as she noticed the brunette with her head on the bed beside her.

Suddenly the memories crowded into the front of her mind. She flinched as she recalled the pain and betrayal in Amy's eyes. She remembered needing to get as far from Sheldon and his hateful words as she could. She remembered losing her balance. Then… nothing.

Penny shifted to draw the blanket up over her more and Amy popped up. Her glasses were askew and her left cheek was creased with an imprint of the blanket's wrinkles.

"Penny?"

She flinched slightly, waiting for the anger and accusations to begin flying. Even worse, she knew she deserved them. That's why she was so stunned when Amy's hand reached out to gently push her hair away from her face.

"How are you feeling?" Amy asked softly. "Should I call the doctor?"

Penny looked at her hesitantly. "Why are you here?" she asked softly.

Amy sighed and fiddled with the edge of the blanket. "Because you're my best friend," she said softly.

Penny sobbed, covering her eyes with he hands. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "Oh god, Amy! I'm such a screw up! I never, ever…!"

"Shhh," Amy murmured as she wrapped her arms around Penny tight and let her own tears fall. "I know."

A/N: Amy is the good guys here, people. (So is Leonard when he re-enters the story.) Don't forget, Penny and Sheldon cheated on Amy, not the other way around.

Also, just to clarify, when I said I had multiple endings, I wasn't asking you to vote for one (although I do appreciate you letting me know your opinions). I was just explaining that even I don't know how this one is going to end. I've been warning from the start that this one has a lot of angst in it (because god forbid someone get pissy it's not a happy story and complain) (yeah, that's sarcasm). I just don't want you to get to the end expecting something that might not be there.