Penny exited her bedroom, set her water on the coffee table and reached for the bowl of popcorn. She grimaced when she tossed some in her mouth. "Can't we add just a tiny bit of butter?"

Amy shook her head with a smile. "Absolutely not! You're four months pregnant and Dr. Sargant said you've put on 6 pounds more than expected. So, no more binging on snack foods, young lady."

Penny stuck her tongue out at Amy and turned to the others. "Remind me again why I agreed to let her be my weight coach?"

"Because the doctor said your sugar was a bit high, and you're retaining too much water," Alex answered. "So you asked Amy to help you follow the diet he prescribed for you. You don't want to end up with gestational diabetes, do you?"

Penny sulked as she chewed on some more bland popcorn. "Spoil sports."

Amy laughed and stood up. "Sleepovers require blankets. Be right back." She walked into Penny's bedroom and grabbed some afghans from the closet. She was about to leave the room when she noticed Penny's laptop was open. What caught her eye was the profile picture on the open message.

She was very tempted to read the message, but she was more interested in talking to Penny about this. She hurried back out to the living room, dumping the blankets on the arm chair. She looked at Bernadette and Alex with excitement before turning to Penny.

"Your laptop is open," she said in a rush. "I wasn't snooping, but.."

Penny sighed and held up a hand. She looked around at her friends and waved Amy to the seat beside her. "I was actually going to bring that up tonight," she admitted. "It's why I wanted this girl's night. I need your advice, ladies." She took a deep breath and looked at them all. "I've heard from Sheldon."

"That's wonderful!" Alex said with a smile. "Have you decided to work things out?"

Penny sighed and shrugged. "Kind of. Maybe." Her head dropped over on Amy's shoulder. "I don't know. He's in Germany with some kind of behavior guy. He says the guy is an old friend and he's an expert at helping people get over their fears or something. It's… complicated."

"Penny, what are you hoping for out of messaging with Sheldon?" Bernadette asked gently.

Penny sat up straight after a couple of seconds. She licked her lips nervously and placed her left hand in Amy's right one. "I'm not sure. I want him to be involved with the baby." She noticed the skeptical looks the women were giving her. "I know what I said before, but I was angry and I lashed out at him. Look, we all know Sheldon. He's annoying and superior, but he's also one of the most loyal people I know. I just don't know what kind of contact I want the two of us to have. Are we friends? Are we simply co-parents?" She blushed lightly. "Are we more?"

Amy gave Penny's hand a comforting squeeze. "What do you want your relationship to be?"

Penny looked at her worriedly. "I have a lot of good memories with Sheldon. I still dream about him," she admitted softly. "What if he only wants our baby, not me?"

Amy smiled happily. "Penny, I'm sure he loves you. Think about it! He went to Germany for you and the baby! Sheldon Cooper, the man who douses himself in Purell when someone shakes his hand, flew across the world to ask someone for help. Think about that Penny. He asked for help!"

Alex nodded. "You guys have known him longer than I have, but it seems to me that it is completely out of character for him to do this. I mean, why not just call a lawyer if all he wanted was some form of custody? Wouldn't that be easier and less stressful on him? Instead, he's going out of his comfort zone to be a better man."

Bernadette nodded swiftly. "She's right, Penny. Think about the things he hasn't done. He hasn't hired a lawyer. He hasn't tried to force himself into your life. He hasn't even called his mom. He's trying to do the right thing, Penny."

She bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. "So you guys think I should take a chance?"

"What do you want?" Amy asked her. "Complete honesty, Penny. Forget about legal issues, or what anyone else wants. Forget about what you think is easiest, or hardest, or logical. What do you want?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I want to be happy. I want my baby to be safe and happy. I want our entire group to be happy." She blushed lightly and shot Amy a guilty look. "And I want all of that with Sheldon."

"You have to stop this," Amy said softly. "I'm not upset about you and Sheldon. I don't hold any anger toward either of you, Penny. I love you both. I want you both to be happy. You are my best friend. I clung to Sheldon because he was the first man to ever show interest in me. But I didn't love him." Amy blushed slightly. "In fact, I might have found someone new."

All three women looked at her with surprise. "Oh my god!" Bernadette squealed. "Who?"

Amy grinned with pride. "He's a geologist at Cal-Tech. Charlie Flay. We're having dinner on Sunday."

Talk turned to the upcoming date and all four women settled in for a long night of gossip, bland popcorn and laughter.

(Now we pick back up at the end of the last chapter.)

Hello, Sheldon. I'm sorry it took so long to reply. I've been doing a lot of thinking since I got your message. To be honest, I have had a hard time deciding what to say. I'm still not sure what I want to say.

You hurt me, but I know I hurt you, too. Sometimes I wonder if that's just our destiny. To always be at odds with one another.

Sheldon shook his head agitatedly. No! He didn't accept that!

But then I remember all the fun times we had. Mini-golf, making Penny-blossoms, even laundry nights. How did things get so screwed up, Sheldon? How did I allow myself to get so lost?

Sometimes I want to blame Leonard, or you, or just the world in general, but the fact is, I am the one who dug my hole. I was so scared of being left behind. I was positive that eventually you guys would realize I was too stupid for you all and I would have lost my best friends.

I don't know what we are to each other anymore. I don't know if we can ever be more than parents to the same child. But I do miss you, Sheldon. I am sorry for what I said the last time we spoke. I was angry and emotional, and I treated you horribly. I want you to be part of our child's life. You're a good man even with all the quirks.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't change for me. If you feel like you need to change, change for yourself. Change so you can be happy with who you are.

If you don't mind, I would like it if you kept writing to me, though. I can let you know how things are going here, with the baby. Take care of yourself, Sheldon. Please come back when you can.

Penny

He felt the huge knot of tension that had lived inside his gut for the last 6 weeks begin to loosen up. It wasn't a declaration of love, but she had forgiven him. She was willing to talk with him. Maybe there was a chance after all.

A/N: Sheldon and Penny have a lot to deal with and discuss, but at least they're talking again.

On a separate note, I worked very hard to make sure the new part of the story meshed with the original part. That's why the updates are a bit slower. But I'm very happy with how this one is turning out.