A few weeks passed uneventfully. The wedding was getting closer and closer, and Leonard and Penny were getting more and more excited. However, Leonard noticed that for about a week, Penny's excitement was presenting itself more as anxiety. Finally, during a silent dinner at home, Leonard decided to confront her about it.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Penny looked up from her food and met his eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"I asked if you're okay. You've been acting kind of weird all week."

"Weird? What do you mean, weird?"

"You've just been really quiet, and we both know that you are not a quiet girl. So what gives?" Leonard asked. Penny paused for a few minutes, then sighed and threw her fork on the plate.

"Leonard…I've been trying to find a way to tell you this forever, but I just couldn't think of the right way to say it," Penny said.

"Say what?" Leonard asked, perplexed.

"You remember when I said I faked puking to get out of work a few weeks ago?" Penny asked. Leonard nodded. "I lied. It wasn't fake."

"You really threw up?" Leonard asked. Penny nodded. "Are you sick?"

"In a way," Penny said reluctantly. "You could say that I have a…parasite growing inside me."

"A parasite?" Leonard asked. Penny nodded. "Did a doctor tell you this?" She nodded again. "On the Internet or in person?"

"It was a human."

"Well, can you do anything about it?"

"Um, according to the doctor, only for about a month or so. After that, it becomes illegal to take it out," Penny told him.

"Illegal?" Leonard asked, truly confused.

"But, according to the doctor, a lot of people will grow attached to these parasites," Penny said, beginning to ramble. "Apparently, people like to name them, dress them up, arrange playdates with other parasites—"

"Penny?"

"Yes?"

"This is the most convoluted way to tell someone you're pregnant that I've ever heard," Leonard said, his face blank.

"You're really smart," Penny said quietly after a few moments.

"Yeah, I'm a genius," Leonard said sarcastically. "How long have you know about this?"

"Um, about two weeks now," Penny said hesitantly.

"Two weeks?! You've known that you're pregnant for two weeks and you haven't told me?!" Leonard exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! I've been so freaked out for the last two weeks about being pregnant in the first place, and trying to think of how to tell you. We've never talked about kids before. I didn't know if you would be happy or not."

"Well, are you happy?" Leonard asked.

"I don't know. I'm…I'm scared," Penny told him. "I mean…Do you want kids?"

"I mean, I think I do. I don't know if I want kids now, but if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. What about you?"

"I have no idea. I always told myself that I didn't, but like you said, now that I don't have a choice…I don't know."

"Well, we've got nine months to figure things out," Leonard said, trying to sound reassuring. But Penny still looked distressed.

"I'm not sure a year would be enough time."