A/N: Wow, I gotta admit, that last chapter was hard to write. But it just didn't feel honest to have so many changes thrown at them so fast & not cause tension between them. Sheldon and Penny both have unresolved issues that they need to overcome in order to grow into the kind of people - and parents - they need to be.


Sheldon's misery was immediately obvious to his friends. After watching him moping around for awhile, they decided to get him to talk. They were fairly certain something had gone wrong in his new relationship with Penny, but try as they might, they couldn't get anything out of him because he simply ignored their questions. Finally, the three of them decided to corner him in his office.

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Sheldon said as they entered. He scarcely glanced up from his white board, and the tone of his voice was weary.

"We've all noticed you're upset," Leonard began. "I'm guessing you had a fight with Penny."

Sheldon flinched at his words.

"Yeah, we know you're new to this whole dating thing, but we can help you figure it out," Howard added.

"That's right, and we're not leaving until you tell us what's going on," Raj said. He edged closer to Sheldon and quickly plucked the dry erase marker from his hand. Sheldon stared at them all for a long moment, before he silently offered Raj the cap to the marker. Clasping his hands behind his back, he said, "Apparently, being in a relationship with someone such as Penny is not conducive to my mental health. I terminated our relationship last night."

The guys burst into a chorus of shocked exclamations.

"How could you do that to her? Did you hurt her?" Leonard growled.

Sheldon flinched again and turned away quickly. "I don't know," he said at last in a low voice.

"I thought she dumped you," Leonard cried. "What the hell is wrong with you? I don't know why she ever wanted to go out with you. Maybe now she'll have finally come to her senses." With that parting salvo, he stormed off.

Raj and Howard watched him leave, aghast at the outburst. Sheldon, hating the unwanted attention, cringed under their scrutiny and wished for a hole to appear and swallow him up.

Howard finally gathered his nerve. "What did he mean, did you hurt her?"

"I didn't mean to," Sheldon whispered, still facing his whiteboard. When Raj and Howard attempted to question him further, he curled up protectively into a fetal position in a corner of the room and refused to answer them further.


Leonard pounded on the door to apartment 4A. He had driven like a maniac straight from Caltech. He'd barely been willing to tolerate his best friend's dating his ex, even though there were extenuating circumstances. If Sheldon had been stupid enough to break up with Penny, then he saw it as his second chance. Also, there was something bizarre about Sheldon's behavior; he'd acted almost ashamed of himself. Leonard's mind had immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusions.

"Penny? Penny! Are you in there?" he called, knocking again.

The door swung open, and there his ex-girlfriend stood, looking less than pleased. Her arms were crossed over her body above the swell of her stomach, and she was frowning at him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work- Hey!"

In his anger at Sheldon, Leonard had completely forgotten any semblance of manners and started to pat Penny down. He was feeling for injuries, but she had no way of knowing that.

She knocked his hands away with a scowl. "Leonard, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Sheldon said he hurt you," he answered, peering at her face as if he expected to see bruises blossoming on her skin.

She put her hands on her hips. "What, you thought that meant physically? And so you were gonna rush to my rescue? You're such a jerk! I'm tempted to go junior rodeo on you just to show you how 'helpless' I am," she added sarcastically. "Look, nothing happened. We had a fight, and he got upset and yelled at me. That's hardly a reason for you to come rushing over here like the building's on fire. Besides, don't you have a girlfriend now?"

Leonard gaped at her. "Well, I… I mean…"

"Alex deserves better than a boyfriend who's still panting after his ex," Penny said. "But she won't hear about this from me. Go away, Leonard. Go back to work and apologize to Sheldon. I don't need you to protect me."

Penny waited as he stammered his apologies and headed down the stairs. She thought carefully about Sheldon's reaction the day before. Then she rummaged around the apartment until she found her purse. She headed for her car, now worried about him. She didn't need any help, but if that was the conclusion his friends had jumped to, she thought he might need hers.

At Caltech, Penny made her way through the hallways to Sheldon's office. She was aware of the curious stares directed at her rounded stomach and the whispers behind her back. It suddenly made her realize how much like high school this closed-off atmosphere was, and how much Sheldon's personal life was the subject of gossip and speculation. She found his office door ajar. Howard and Raj were standing around him as he huddled, crouched down, in a corner, with his head tucked down underneath his arms, which were folded across his knees.

"Both of you out, now," she ordered in a tone which brooked no argument.

Sheldon's head jerked up as he heard her voice. "Penny. You shouldn't be here."

She waited until the guys filed out sheepishly. "No, I should've come a while ago," she answered. "Honey, this is stupid. I don't think you really wanted to break up with me. I never should've said what I did about leaving. I didn't mean it."

He shook his head. "It's not safe for you to be around me. I could have hurt you. I lost control… like my dad."

Penny sat down on the cold floor next to him, awkwardly folding her legs beneath her. She put a hand on his arm. "What do you mean?" she asked in a low voice.

He started trying to explain about his childhood, and soon it all came pouring out: the alcoholism and the abuse, his helplessness to protect his sister, and his fear that he was turning into his father. By the time he wound to a halt, his face was wet with tears. Penny had been swiping at her eyes the whole time he was talking, but now she dug a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him. Once he had regained his composure, she reached out and laced her fingers through his.

"I am so sorry for everything that man put you through," she said. "He didn't deserve to be a father. You're nothing like him, honey. The very fact that you tried to distance yourself from me just because you yelled is proof that you're a better man." She reached out and gently turned his face toward her. "You are going to be a wonderful father," she said, taking his hand and placing it over her gently rounded stomach. "I know that because you're a wonderful boyfriend. I love you, and I promise that I will be right there with you. And if you screw up, I'll let you know," she added with a grin.

"You love me?" he asked, wide-eyed.

She laughed a little nervously. "Did I say that?"

"Yes." He tapped his head. "I have an eidetic memory, remember?" She gave him a little nod. "If it makes you feel any better, I think breaking up with you was more painful than tearing off my own arm."

She made a face and then smiled at him. "In that case, it should be easy for you to promise never to do it again."

"All right," he said quietly. He pulled her into his arms, and she lifted her face to his for a kiss. Neither of them broke it off for some time, and when Penny's tongue traced along his lower lip, he let her in. His hands tightened on her shoulders, pulling her closer. She moaned in anticipation, and within a few moments, she was so turned on it was all she could do to not rip his clothes off right then and there. Realizing that was what finally got her to pull away. Leaning her head against the cool metal side of a filing cabinet, she heaved a deep sigh.

"I want you so much. You have no idea how hard this is," she sighed.

"But you do love me?" he asked.

She groaned. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

He answered, "The possibility of your leaving me has always been in the back of my mind. My fear drove me to do the very opposite of what I wanted. I know I have certain inhibitions, but seeing that you overcame yours, I will work to overcome mine."

She smiled. "In that case, I wish I'd said it months ago."

"Months ago?" he asked sharply.

Covering her face with her hands, she laughed a little. "I've had these fantasies about you for the longest time. I think it started when you gave me that first back rub. My mind immediately began wondering what else you could do with those long-fingered hands of yours. You know that's what that box in the mail was all about, right?"

He nodded. "It was open on the counter. I saw that you had ordered a personal massager… at least, that was what the invoice called it. But it was meant as an erotic stimulatory device, wasn't it?"

Penny chuckled at his odd description. "Yup. You packed all my other vibrators away in storage, and then you were driving me crazy. Short of tearing all your clothes off and jumping on top of you, what's a girl to do?"

He hesitated, and then ventured, "I don't like the idea of you resorting to a battery-powered object to meet your needs. I don't think I'm ready for coitus to be a part of our relationship, but perhaps we could work out some sort of compromise?"

Penny sat up straight, and her pulse started racing. "I'm listening."