Hey guys! I've been having major trouble sleeping lately so I've found some extra writing time! I finished writing this chapter at 5 a.m. which was kind of fun. Hope you enjoy it! –Modern

The next day, Howard woke up with Raj's arms around him. It was perfect. He snuggled closer to Raj, never wanting to leave. It was a wonderful feeling, the heat of Raj's body warming him. Each breath Raj took danced across Howard's shoulder. As the world spun around and around, Howard felt still. He was safe here. Here, no one would call him freak. No one would try to analyze him. Most importantly, Raj was here. It didn't matter what they were, be it friends or boyfriends. At that moment, they were together. The three of them.

Or, this would have been what Howard Wolowitz woke up to if everything had happened differently yesterday. Instead, he woke up cold and alone; the covers crumpled up in a ball at the end of the bed. His chest hurt, his throat hurt, everything hurt. The man was curled up into a ball much like the sheets at the end of the bed. More than anything, Howard wanted to close his eyes and wake up again in his own room where his mother was waiting for him. He closed his eyes and opened them again. He was still in Raj's room. His mom still hated him. And he was still going to have a baby. A familiar wave of nausea hit Howard and he barely managed to make it to the bathroom before throwing up. Shakily, Howard stood up and looked in the mirror. His hair was tangled and his eyes were red and swollen. Beautiful. Once Howard got back into Raj's room, he glanced at the clock. It was one in the afternoon.

"Howard?" a voice called from the living room. It was Raj.

"I'm awake," he shouted. His voice was scratchy. It hurt to talk. Howard heard footsteps. He sat back down on the bed. In a few seconds, the door opened and Raj entered the room with a worried smile on his face. He sat down beside Howard and put an arm around him.

"I wanted to let you sleep." Raj told him.

"Thanks."

Raj shifted uncomfortably. Howard moved to the other side of the bed and laid down. Raj laid down next to him. Both of them were staring at the ceiling, searching for words. It was strange, Howard didn't feel sad anymore, he just felt incredibly numb. Raj leaned over and wrapped his arms around Howard, pulling him close. Howard closed his eyes, feeling safe in the warm embrace. During the worst of times, all it took was Raj's embrace for Howard to feel like there just might be something worth living for. Maybe all of this pain was worth just being able to lie next to Rajesh for a little while. Maybe. A hand slid down and rested over Howard's stomach.

"It's my job to keep you safe now, Howard Wolowitz."

Leonard was sitting on the couch when he got the email from Raj. Howard had been kicked out of his house. He'd almost dropped his laptop after reading the message. During the past few months, Leonard had felt like he'd been watching his friend's life get worse and worse. Would he ever be ok? Leonard didn't know. He hadn't truly had a solid conversation with Howard since before learning that the man was pregnant. The whole pregnancy thing still freaked him out. He couldn't get over it. Beside him, Penny put down the script he was studying and looked up at him.

"What's up sweetie?" she asked him.

"Howard got kicked out of his house."

Penny gasped. She threw down her script and turned to face Leonard.

"Is he ok? What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know Penny. Raj said that he isn't doing well but that he'd call us if things got worse," Leonard paused for a second, "What do I do Penny? How can I possibly help in this kind of situation when I can't get past how weird this is? It kills me that I'm the only one around here who is still freaked out over all of this!" Leonard took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Penny pulled her boyfriend into a loving hug.

"Leonard, you aren't the only one who thinks this is weird! We all do."

"But then what do I do?"

"Howard just needs a friend right now. Just be his friend." Hearing this, Leonard frowned.

"I just don't know how to be his friend right now."

"You'll figure it out, I know you will."

Sheldon frowned as he pondered the ramifications of Raj's latest email. Wolowitz was now without a maternal figure in his life. Without a paternal figure, this meant that Howard was now a figurative orphan. How would this effect his decisions regarding the pregnancy? Sheldon debated doing the math. It wouldn't take him very long. He was about to get out a notebook and pen when his computer alerted him to an incoming email. Frowning, Sheldon closed his desk drawer. The newest one was from Leonard. He wanted to go over to Rajesh's apartment that night to see Howard. How odd.

Howard saw himself as a broken man, weak and weary but Raj saw him in a completely different way. As he laid with Howard, his hand never leaving Howard's stomach, Raj pondered the events that had led both of them to this moment. He couldn't believe that it had already been a little over three months since they'd hooked up. He could still remember every touch and every sound from that night. As much trouble as that night had caused both of them, Raj wouldn't change it. He'd replayed that memory in his head over and over again, making it one of the fondest memories he had.

The following weeks had been hell. Howard had barely spoken to him. Normally only shy around women, Raj hadn't been able to bring himself to confront Howard. He had wanted to talk to Howard so badly but every time he gathered up enough courage, something seemed to stop him. Raj remembered the days he'd spent sulking, not interested in his work, much less anything else. No one had really noticed; that was always Howard's job. Whatever social life Raj had before they'd hooked up had completely crumbled. Neither he nor Howard went out after that night. Then came the biggest news of Raj's life. He'd gotten his best friend pregnant. There was no turning back now.

But what were they going to do? Every time Raj had tried to bring up the subject of the baby, Howard had cleverly found a way to avoid any form of direct answer. It scared Raj. Howard was still struggling to accept what was happening. He barely even acknowledged the fact that they might be anything other than best friends. And now Howard had just gotten kicked out of his house because of whatever was going on between them.

"Howard? Are you awake?" Raj whispered. The man in his arms stirred.

"Yeah."

"I have to ask you something and you have to answer, ok?"

Howard was silent. Raj waited another few seconds for an answer. When he didn't get one, he continued.

"What are we? I mean, what do you want us to be? What's going on between us?"

The silence following Raj's questions was stunning. Raj was sure that Howard could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"I don't know Raj. Do we really have to talk about this now?" grumbled Howard. He was surprised when he felt Raj let go of him and get up.

"Yes we do! I know you're upset but did you ever think about how I'm feeling? I went back to your house and got all of your stuff for you! I've worried about you, waited for you to talk to me, and I don't know if I can wait any longer! I can't keep doing this with you if we never talk about it!"

Howard was stunned. Raj rarely got mad, and when he did, it was almost never at him. His words stung.

"What do you want me to tell you Raj?"

"Quit acting like you're the only one that's been effected by this! You're not the only one who's going to become a parent! Don't look so surprised! I've told you a thousand times that I'm never leaving you Howard! I'd follow you to the ends of the earth if I had to! You mean that much to me,"

Howard was sitting up now, staring at the man pacing before him. Raj's eyes were wide, and Howard could tell that he was nervous. Or perhaps Howard was just picking up on his own nerves. Either way, Howard knew that he had to say something.

"I'm sorry," he said flatly. Howard cursed himself. There was so much that he wanted to say but so far he was only succeeding in acting like a jerk.

"Sorry! That's all you can say Howard? Really? I'm doing the best I can here! You could at least act like you care!"

"I do care!" suddenly Howard was yelling. He stood up and grabbed Raj by the shoulders and was holding the man in place. Raj's mouth was hanging open in surprise. The moment finally caught up with Howard and he realized what he was doing. Taking a step back, he released Raj.

"I care more than I can say Raj. You know I'm scared. I know I'm scared. I just can't express myself as well as you can, I just end up sounding like a jerk. I know you are going to be here for me, but sometimes it's just hard for me to understand what that means. You were my best friend and I don't know what happened." Howard sat down on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and waited for Raj to respond.

"I don't think we can just go back to being best friends Howard." Raj admitted. His heart fell. The Indian man prepared himself for a world of pain.

"No. I don't think we can. But we can be something else right? I mean, we don't have to stop talking or anything."

"I don't want to stop talking Howard."

"Me neither."

"What should we do then?"

"What are we supposed to do in this situation?"

"I want you to stay with me. I don't know if that's anything you'd want to do Howard, but I don't want to lose you again," Raj admitted weakly. They were sitting next to each other now and Raj lifted his hand and placed it on top of Howard's.

"I want to stay with you too. We should probably see if we can pull off a relationship before, well, you know," Howard said motioning to his stomach.

"Are you asking me out?"

"Am I?"

"I think so."

"Ok."

Howard and Raj were sitting on Raj's couch when someone knocked at the door. Raj got up and answered it. Sheldon and Leonard were standing in the doorway. Leonard was smiling awkwardly and Sheldon wasn't even pretending to be happy.

"Leonard insisted that I join him tonight. I hardly see any reason why I needed to accompany him here. He is perfectly capable of getting here on his own." Sheldon grumbled as he let himself into the apartment. He paused in the living room area and looked around. After a few minutes, Sheldon decided to sit in the chair next to the couch. He shifted around for a little while before settling into the chair. When he looked up, everyone was staring at him. "What?"

No one answered Sheldon as they all settled onto the couch. Leonard sat next to Howard. Raj was on Howard's other side, holding his hand.

"Sheldon and I have something to tell you." Leonard said.

"So do Howard and I." Both pairs of men fell silent for a while. Sheldon huffed in annoyance and shifted positions again.

"While this conversation is stimulating, I believe you had a point to make by coming here Leonard?" Sheldon whined. Leonard pushed his glasses further up his nose and cleared his throat.

"We came by to say we are sorry."

"You came here to say sorry; I was just dragged here against my will,"

"Sheldon!"

Howard and Raj looked at each other for a second. Neither of them had expected an apology.

"Guys, it's ok. I don't get why you are apologizing-"

Leonard interrupted Howard, "For not being there for you. We just didn't know how to handle the situation."

"You didn't know how to handle the situation. I am handling this situation quite perfectly. If things continue to go as planned, my study will be a great contribution to science." Sheldon said with a glare to Leonard.

Howard laughed. Raj loved to hear him laugh.

"It's ok guys, this whole thing is messed up. I doubt it will get any easier to deal with as time goes on. I've been avoiding the problem too. But I'm hoping to get past that," admitted Howard.

"Can we just go back to being friends? Halo nights are pretty lame without you guys," asked Leonard. Both Raj and Howard nodded.

"I miss Halo nights," said Raj. Sheldon scowled.

"Didn't you two have something to say to us as well?" he asked.

"Oh! Right. Should I tell them Raj? Or do you want to?"

"You tell them,"

Howard took a deep breath. Half of him was relieved to be getting this off of his chest and the other half of him was terrified of what his friends would think.

"I'm moving in with Raj," Howard said, "And we are officially a couple."

I don't know what I think of this chapter. Dialogue is not my strong point but for some reason I'm proud of my work here. But, I still think that it's not super amazing or anything. Hopefully you guys liked it!