Clare wriggled out from Raj's grip. She got to her feet and began pacing the floor. "You can't be serious, you just can't be serious." She paused, took a deep breath and made eye contact with him. "Start laughing and tell me that I should've seen my face."

"It's no joke - That it how it happened."

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Clare backed up against the wall and slowly slid down it. "I seriously, seriously feel like throwing up."Clare kneeled forward and clutched at her stomach, waiting for the feeling to pass. "Could Uncle Leonard not spare two seconds to get his own glass of water, why did he have to use Doctor Cooper's?"

Raj took a moment for thought. "Sheldon was on his way out, we honestly didn't imagine for a second that he would down it before he left. If we had, we would never have let it out of our sight."

Clare was not willing to let it slide. "You didn't think he would drink it? He went to the kitchen, got a glass and filled it up. It should've been pretty obvious than he was going to want to drink it." Her cheeks flushed an angry red. She stood up and kicked a toy box- weakened by age; the wood gave way, allowing the long forgotten contents to escape. Clare looked at the toys, remembering the careless days when she used to play with them, wishing she could be back to that age, where her family was nothing less than perfectly ordinary. "Why didn't you just take the time to think it through?"

Raj considered lying – acknowledging the she had already had enough dishonesty in her life, he decided to give her the truth however ashamed of it he may have been. "When you are as sexually frustrated as Leonard was all those years ago, you'll soon realise that small details such as a glass of water don't really matter to you."

"Well, why didn't you just tell me?" Her tone was viciously sarcastic. "All if forgiven now that I know that Uncle Leonard was thinking with his..."

Raj quickly interrupted. "Hey, why are you angry with me? I told Leonard not to listen to your dad! Your father was the one that supplied the powder and Leonard was the one that put enough in to cause a major overdose – If anything, I'm the most innocent here."

"What I don't get is why would Dad be talking like that? You make him sound like he was sex obsessed! I mean why would he have stuff like that with him anyway?" Clare was struggling to comprehend all that she had heard. "It's just not his thing."

Raj never thought he would see the day where someone would describe Howard in such a way. "How do I put this delicately...? Well, let's just say that your Dad wasn't exactly saving himself for marriage before he met your Mom and even after, it wasn't until you came along and his priorities changed that he fully stopped all the..." Embarrassed, he paused for a moment and cleared his throat. "Stopped with all the kinky, weird stuff he was in to."

"I regret asking."

"If he asks, I didn't say anything."

"I guess not, after all this time you're no stranger to lying." Her voice had a bitter edge.

Raj didn't know how to respond. Five years ago, Leonard had confessed that if Clare ever found out the truth, he knew exactly what he would say to her. At the time, Raj had dismissed it- never in a million years had he ever seen this day coming. "I'm sorry. I don't know how many times you need to hear me say it before you believe me, but I really am sorry for all the lies that we had to tell." His words were heartfelt and genuine.

"After all the lies Emily told you, you should understand how this feels."

"That's different, her lies were bad lies. We lied to protect you!""

"I don't feel very protected." Breaking eye contact, she moved onwards and started to climb down the rope ladder.

"Clare, wait." Raj called after her. "Where are you going now?"

"I just don't want to be up here anymore."

"Right, that's fine. Go back inside and you can talk to your father, he really wants to speak to you."

Reaching halfway, she paused, looked back up at him. "And which father would that be?"

He kept his distance from the rope ladder, standing where he could see her, but taking care not to knock the un-sturdy piece of rope. "You know I mean Howard. He loves you Clare, just talk to him and he can tell you so much more."

"And what about Doctor Cooper? Am I meant to talk to him to?"

He waited until she had safely reached the bottom and stepped away from the ladder. "Only you can choose that. No one's going to stop you, if that's what you want."

"I don't want to see any of them." Clare didn't wait for a response, she turned on her heel and walked calmly down the garden path – there was no reason to rush off, it by the time he was able to climb down, she would be long gone. The cold air hit her and she shivered, wishing she had brought a jacket.

A stray tear escaped out of the corner of her eye. She promptly wiped it away, promising herself that she would shed no tears for two strangers who had crashed into her life uninvited, bringing nothing but chaos. Clare pictured them in her mind. Although their arrival had caused a lot of pain and anger, she couldn't help but feel relieved that they were here. Over the past six months, they had played heavily on her mind, however she been driven mad by not knowing the first thing about them. Now they were here, she no longer had to spend her time wondering.

She took one last look back at the house before walking out the garden gate. Maybe if she went for an extra long walk, they would all be gone when she got back?

The piercing sound of a car horn broke through the silence. Turning around, she found herself blinded by the bright headlights that flooded her vision. Rubbing at her eyes, she had to rely on her hearing for guidance – The sound of a car window being rolled down was heard, a female voice accompanied. "Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?"

It was Penny.

She stepped out of the car and held her hand out to Clare. "C'mon sweetie, let's talk about this." Leonard had phoned her and she had driven there as fast as she could get away with. Penny guided her to the passenger seat, pushed it back to make room for her long legs, before taking her place in the driver's side. "So, what do you know?"

"Viagra laced tap water." Her voice was deadpan.

Penny offered a sympathetic expression. "Oh honey, we never wanted you to find out. It's just not something you ever want to hear." She placed a hand on her shoulder. "Me and your Mom, we didn't know for a long time. The guys weren't exactly keen to spill the details."

"Do they know?" Clare nodded at the house. "Doctor Cooper and May, do they know about what happened?"

If Penny thought that Clare getting Amy's name wrong was odd, she didn't comment on it. "No, and we don't think they ever should." Shame was present in her voice. There was a pause. Clare made no effort to respond. "Right, ok, we can play this one of two ways."

"Tell me more?"

"Well first of all, we could just forget that this whole night ever happened. We can just put what you know to the side, tell Sheldon and Amy that they have to go and then just get on with our lives as if they were never here."

Clare considered this for a moment, shook her head. "I want to know what option two is."

"I will tell you more. I won't sugar coat it or twist the truth in any way, I'll just give you the whole damn, unpolished, unedited truth." She caught her eye and held her gaze. "I won't treat you like a kid, Clare. If you wanna know what I know, then I'll give it to you straight."

Clare left no time for doubt, a look of determination burned brightly in her eyes. "Just tell me, whatever you have to say, I can handle it."

Penny's POV:

Penny had had the worst of days – everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong. Her boss had been in a bad mood all day, her car had broken down and the bus had been delayed. Making the decision to walk home, she had been particularly frustrated when it had started to rain – even more so when she realised she had forgotten her umbrella that day.

The rain had gradually worn off, however the damage was done, she was wet through, her hairstyle ruined and her shoes had filled with water. The building came into view and she picked up her pace to a slow jog – Leonard had called her several times that day and she was on her way to see him. There was something about the way he had been acting these past few weeks that had had her worried. She remembered him mentioning to her that Sheldon was unwell – for a few days after that, she didn't see or speak to either or them, despite her best efforts – since then, Leonard hadn't quite been himself.

Entering the building, she took the stairs as quickly as her tired feet would allow. Reaching the top, she paused to catch her breath.

Arguing could be heard from Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. Usually, Penny would have thought nothing of this, she knew her neighbours well enough to know that they were no strangers to bickering. However, this argument was not between Leonard and Sheldon.

She recognised Amy's voice immediately.

There was something about it that unnerved her. Penny had never heard such aggression and anger in her friend before. Whatever had happened, Penny knew it had to have been serious.

Suddenly the door flew open.

Alarmed, Penny took a step backwards.

Amy emerged from the apartment to come face to face with her friend. Penny looked her up and down, her hair was unbrushed and her eyes were red from crying. "Penny, have you been listening?" She asked, surprised to see her.

"Uh no, I literally just got here." She walked over to her, placed a hand on her arm. "What's going on?"

Amy looked down at the ground. "It's Sheldon. He seems to think this is all my fault, Penny." Her voice was barely audible; shame was present when she spoke. "This just can't be happening."

Bernadette appeared in the doorway, making eye contact with Penny, she walked over to where they were stood. "Has Amy told you?"

Penny shook her head. "Amy?" Receiving no response, she looked to Bernadette for guidance. "It can't be that bad." A look of doubt flashed across her face. "Can it?"

"She's pregnant, Penny."

Penny's jaw literally dropped. "You mean they did it?"

Before anything more could be said, fast approaching footsteps from inside the apartment could be heard, and within seconds, Sheldon had joined them in the corridor. "Amy, I mean it, this is not the type of thing we want to be shouting about."

"He's embarrassed." Amy said to no one in particular.

"I'm not embarrassed; I just don't appreciate a blabbermouth like Penny knowing the most intimate details of our personal life."

Infuriated, Amy pushed passed him, flung the apartment door wide open to reveal the rest of the group and strode in. "Everybody knows, Sheldon!" She shouted to him. "Who else is there to possibly keep this from?"

Sheldon shook his head. "This is no longer up for discussion." He re-entered the apartment and retreated to his bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind him.

Leonard got up and made to follow him. "Sheldon, wait."

Howard reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "The mood he's in, whatever you say or do is gonna make this worse."

He slumped back down onto the couch, bewildered. "God, I seriously can't see how anything could make this awful situation any worse, in terms of how bad things can get, I think we're there."

Amy crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes. "You're being very rude."

"I don't mean to be rude, but how can you ever imagine him with a kid? I'm sorry, but he can barely take care of himself."

"I know it will be fine. He just needs some time to get used to the idea." Amy said. Despite her words, doubt was clear to see in her eyes. "He's only acting this way because it was such a shock, he can't stay like this forever."

"Oh can't he?" Leonard was becoming evermore frustrated. "You know him, once he gets an idea stuck in his head, it won't budge."

Sensing his friend's mood, Howard quickly intervened, desperate to calm the situation before it escalated out of control. "Hey, Leonard, just take it easy. It's not all that bad."

"Take it easy? You want me to take it easy?" He pointed an accusing finger at him. Leonard had been deeply regretful of what had happened- he wished Howard had never introduced him to the drugs. "Why should I listen to another word you say ever again? I mean it, next time you think about giving me advice, just don't."

Before Howard could reply, Bernadette was by his side, shooting him a venomous look. "Howard Wolowitz, what have you done?" She held his gaze, not letting him look away.

"Nothing, it's really nothing." He replied. "He's just angry about some stupid thing that happened at work and he keeps bringing it up."

"Oh yeah, this is all my problem! That's it Howard, you shift the blame, pretend that nothing is wrong, everything is fine!" Leonard couldn't contain his emotions, nor did he want to. "You're just the worst."

Faking a smile for the three women, Howard took hold of Leonard's arm. "If you'll excuse us, Ladies, me and Raj need to take Leonard into his room for a little chat."

Raj nodded in agreement, he took hold of Leonard's other arm and helped Howard to move him from the living room and down the corridor. Despite initial resistance, Leonard accepted the move and walked into the bedroom unaided, albeit reluctantly.

Bernadette crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "I can always tell when he's lying to me. There's something going on there."

Brushing over Bernadette's statement, Penny was eager to know more. She looked at Amy. "C'mon, Amy- Let's here some more about this." She pretended not to hear the raised voices coming from Leonard's room.

"Everything was just as it always was, until about two months ago." She began. "He came over to my apartment and he just wasn't himself."

"How was he not himself?"

"He just seemed so spontaneous, he walked into the apartment and he kissed me straight away, without being asked. I can't say that it wasn't great and everything, but it felt weird, you know? He was acting really crazy - it was kinda exciting, kinda surreal."

Penny and Bernadette nodded, hoping to hear more.

"He couldn't eat anything; he was sweating really bad and talking a lot faster than what he normally would." Amy explained. "Then he got up and started pacing the apartment floor, saying that he was having the best night ever, I was the best girlfriend ever and he had never felt so..." Suddenly embarrassed, she trailed off, blushed.

"Never felt so...?" Bernadette pushed.

"He said he never felt so out of control of his genitalia, his mother would call him a sinner, but he didn't care, it felt good and he liked it." Amy was unable to make eye contact. "Then he started jumping on the couch, like the time Tom Cruise did, but a lot crazier. At least Tom didn't take off his shirt and throw it Oprah."

Penny was genuinely lost for words. "Wow... I mean, just wow."

"He didn't stop there. Everything but the socks came off and it was like he didn't even care. I mean, it was pretty cold that night, but he didn't seem to think twice."

"Did you... Did you like it?" Bernadette asked, slightly cautiously.

Amy couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess I did, you know? We've been together years and I thought he never would, and there he was, willing to go all the way, without being talked into it." She explained. "I didn't know why it had happened, but I was glad it had. Although, he didn't look so good, so I asked him if he wanted to stay on the sofa and then we could've talked about it more in the morning."

"And he said?" Penny asked.

"How about the bed?"