I managed to get two chapters done in one day, partially because nothing much happened in the last one and I didn't want you all to be left with the story like that, and it will be at least two days before I'll be able to get on here again.

I still don't own anything…

"I have to say, we would probably have won if you would have played. Not many bulky women can be a good shot with a paintball gun, but I think you could have done it," Howard told Penny as the fivesome entered the apartment building.

"Don't try your reverse compliments on me, Howard," she said. "And I don't even look different yet."

"It's true, Howard," Sheldon said. "Penny does not fit the definition of the word you have just used. The word, 'bulky' implies heavy, massive, or hulking. It has a similar meaning to the word bulk. Penny, I admit I was not taking pregnancy into consideration in my formula for your bulk-order feminine hygiene products. I apologize."

"The beautiful mind of Sheldon Cooper missing a factor in one of his formulas…" Penny mused aloud.

"Don't," Leonard said. "Be glad he actually apologized."

"I have to say," Howard said, "that with the combination of Penny's shot and my lightning quick decisions, our team would have had it won from the very beginning."

"Your lightning quick decisions?" Leonard laughed. "Like when the Dr. Baldwin snuck up on you and you pulled Raj into the path of the blast?" Raj looked at Howard pointedly and raised his eyebrows.

"I…" Howard stammered. "Shut up."

Penny laughed. Leonard had been right. Watching the game had been a welcome distraction. "I'm just going to get my mail," she told the guys as they headed up the stairs. Walking over to her box, she pulled out a handful of envelopes. One was a letter from her maternal grandmother, who was ill. It contained no news, just the idle chitchat that outlined the elderly woman's life, from gardening to fixing her hair. There was a postcard from some destination spot Penny had never heard of, telling her of "fantastic rates." Well, that paper shredder she'd won in a Cheesecake Party raffle would finally get some use. The other three were bills. Rent, cable, and her car payment. Groaning at the sum, she leaned her head against the wall. That was almost all the money she had, and the first doctor bill would be rolling in any day now. Waitressing was no job for a single mother, this Penny knew. Stuffing the bills in her purse, she took the stairs two at a time and went to put them in her apartment before changing into something more comfortable and going next door.

"Hey," Leonard said when she entered, "We're getting pizza."

"Could you get me a salad, please?" She asked.

Leonard didn't answer her, but told the person he was on the phone with to add a salad. Going over to her chair, she sat down and stared at a watermark left on the coffee table. It gave her something to look blankly at while she pondered her situation. She owed a lot of money. It was the same as every month, but normally it wouldn't cause her concern. She could scrape by, with just a little money left over, and be happy enough. But now it wasn't just about her anymore, and the added medical bills would do her in after the next month or so.

So what to do? No one would hire a pregnant woman, and it wasn't as if she hadn't been looking for a new job before. She didn't exactly have credentials. She couldn't ask her family for money; they already thought she was a fool for going off to California with Kurt; breaking up with him six months later seemed to add to their "I told you so," attitude. She'd never been able to make her father proud of her, and trying to mooch off of him wouldn't help. One thing I know for sure, Penny thought, my baby is going to get all the love and attention he or she can take. I won't let it grow up feeling it is a failure, like Leonard and I did. The thought made her feel better.

When the food came, Penny ate her salad quietly while the other guys discussed work and the paintball game. She was so out of the conversation that Raj even took part, forgetting for the most part that she was even there.

When Raj and Howard said good-night and left, Sheldon took his comic books and went into his room to read, leaving Penny and Leonard alone in the living area. "Are you okay?" Leonard asked her.

"Do I look okay?" Penny snapped before she could help herself.

Leonard looked perplexed. "Yes, but…you're very…quiet."

"I'm just thinking. I do do that once in a while, you know." Penny was surprised at how sharply she'd answered him. She lowered her head. "Sorry."

"What's bothering you so much? Howard made several comments over dinner that normally would have sent you over the breaking point and told him off. I think even he was surprised you didn't."

"To be honest," Penny said, "I kind of tuned out."

"Worried about money again?" He asked.

Penny was surprised he figured it out, but then again, his I.Q. was 173. "Three bills came today."

"Can you afford them?"

"Barely." Penny sighed. "Don't worry about it, Leonard. I'll figure it out."

Leonard and Penny both looked down at the same spot on the floor. Then Leonard spoke. "Let me help you out." Penny shook her head. "I'm serious. I'm the father, at least let me pay the medical bills. It's not all your obligation because you're the one that's…you know…pregnant." Leonard stood up. "We can't be in this together if you don't let me help, Penny. And it's not because of an obligation-I want to."

Penny stood, too. She faced him, trying to read his expression. She didn't want help; she could do it herself…who was she kidding? She hugged him gratefully. "I've asked this before, I know, but I still wonder: why can't all guys be like you?"

A few days to a week later...

"God! Just kill me, Leonard. Shoot me or something."

"How about I get you more crackers?" he suggested, holding Penny's hair out of the way while she knelt by the toilet.

She moaned, leaning back against him. "I hate crackers." She looked up and saw him grinning. "It's not funny!" She wiped traces of vomit from her mouth with a wad of toilet paper and flushed it.

He laughed, and then his face grew solemn. "I know, I'm sorry."

Day ten of morning sickness had hit Penny just like the first nine: hard. She'd throw up violently until nearly ten in the morning, and she'd feel weak for another hour or so. Sometimes, like this time, Leonard could help her by joking in between fits of nausea. He took it as a challenge and felt accomplished when he'd get her to smile.

Penny stood shakily, leaning on Leonard for support. "Take it easy," he said, "Don't overdo it. It's only nine thirty."

"Hurts my knees," Penny complained, resting against the sink. She caught a look at her arm. "My skin is so dry."

"Don't touch your lotion," Leonard warned. The strong smell was too much for Penny until at least noon every day. He was expecting a laugh, a playful glare, or something along the lines of "won't make that mistake again." Instead he saw Penny bent at the waist and gag again, falling to her knees. Leonard dropped to his knees behind her and held her shoulders while they jerked. "What happened? Was it me?"

"Not your fault…"

"Well, technically, it is."

"Don't get scientific on me now," Penny joked.

After another forty minutes or so, Penny felt well enough to leave the bathroom. "Two more months of this," she said quietly. "Two more months of puking my guts out every day."

"Actually," Leonard put in, "I read yesterday that morning sickness could disappear after two months."

"Really?"

"Yes, but…it also said it could last the duration of the pregnancy."

Penny sighed. "Great." She put on her robe and sat down on the couch. "It's frustrating because I'm not showing yet and I still have to deal with puking every day, not to mention I'm running to the bathroom like every ten minutes to pee." She looked at the clock. "Damn. I'm going to be late for work."

"When are you going in?" Leonard asked. It was only after ten.

"Ten-thirty." Penny was heading for the bedroom to change.

Leonard followed her. "Why would you go in that early? You haven't had to work before noon before."

She pulled her uniform out of her closet. "I said I'd come in early. Extra money." She went into the bathroom to change.

Leonard was worried. Penny didn't deal well with stress, and he could tell that she was feeling some of it, especially these past few days. She'd made it to seven weeks with no sign of morning sickness, and just when she was beginning to think she'd be one of the women who were free of it, it had hit. Being as violent as it was, it had made her wary of everything that was to come. And the money she'd taken from him to help with the bills hadn't seemed to ease her nerves much, if at all, leading Leonard to the suspicion that she'd accepted far less from him than she needed. Adding to those suspicions were her suddenly taking on more and more hours, at a time when she shouldn't be thinking of putting in ten hour days.

Penny came out of her room with a smile, looking perfectly composed. She kissed Leonard's cheek and grabbed her purse. Her step was lively, and she looked happy. Maybe it was just Leonard's imagination.