"Hello?" Penny said into her phone after seeing an unknown number appear on the screen.

"Penny, hi. It's Debbie Wolowitz. Howard's mom."

Relaxing a bit at knowing who the caller was, Penny's concern grew, "Hi. Is everything okay? Nothing happened to the guys, did it?"

Smiling, appreciating the younger woman's concern, Mrs. Wolowitz let her know the reason for her call, "They're all fine as far as I know. They should be at work."

"Oh, okay. What can I do for you then?"

"Howard told me you're pregnant. I know your mother isn't local and thought you might like someone to talk to," Mrs. Wolowitz said with a touch of sadness.

Penny shook her head to herself, "That sounds nice. I appreciate the offer."

"Okay, dear," Mrs. Wolowitz sensed Penny's hesitancy. "You've got my number. Feel free to call anytime. Or stop by the house. I haven't seen you since Thanksgiving. I'd love to have you over sometime if you're free."

"I'll let you know. Thanks, again," Penny began to end the call before stopping herself. "I'm off tomorrow. Do you think I could maybe stop by for a little while?"

"Tomorrow would be perfect. Does twelve-thirty work for you? I'll make us lunch."

"I'll see you then," replied Penny.

Penny turned the key in the ignition of her car, turning it off after parking in a driveway in Altadena. Mrs. Wolowitz had stepped onto the porch by the time Penny walked the few feet to the door. "I'm so glad you wanted to come over, dear. I enjoyed talking with you on Thanksgiving. Now, come inside. I made us lunch."

"This looks amazing," Penny took in the sight in front of her as Mrs. Wolowitz ushered her into the dining room. "You really didn't have to do this."

The older woman brushed off the younger woman, "Hush. What do you want to drink? I've got iced tea and lemonade. There are sodas in the fridge, too."

"Lemonade sounds great, thank you," answered Penny. As Mrs. Wolowitz left Penny alone in the dining room, Penny whispered to herself, "What the hell did I get myself into?"

Mrs. Wolowitz returned, passed Penny her glass of lemonade, and sat across from the blonde. The pair filled their plates and were a few bites into their meal before either spoke again, "I know you've had a busy few months since Thanksgiving. How far along are you?"

"About five and a half months. I'm due at the end of July."

"You might be young, but you're going to be a wonderful mother, I'm sure of it," Mrs. Wolowitz smiled at Penny. "I've seen and heard about the way you've taken care of those boys. I heard you were the only one who could handle Sheldon when he was sick a few months back. Knowing they've got you around to keep an eye on them has been a huge sigh of relief for me. I've been less worried about the shenanigans Howard is getting into knowing you're around to talk some sense into them."

Shifting uncomfortably in her chair, Penny shared, "I, um, haven't decided if I'm going to keep the baby or not. Howard didn't tell you that, did he?"

"No, he hadn't. I'm sorry for assuming you were."

"It's okay. It's a big decision and I want to make sure I do what's right, not only for the baby, but also for me. Obviously, I want the baby to have a good life, I'm just not sure if I'm able to provide that. My family is back in Nebraska. My friends are all busy with their own stuff that I doubt I could call them if I need help last minute if I can't find a babysitter or something. And the guys have been great, but I don't really see them helping in that way. More like the fun uncles who give the kid candy and ice cream, tell a few jokes, and show up again a week later."

Mrs. Wolowitz took a few bites before reassuring Penny, "You've got a bigger support system than you know."

Narrowing her eyes at the matronly woman across from her, Penny questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"You've got me. I don't work much anymore and when I do, the hours are flexible. I'd be happy to babysit whenever you need if you decide to keep your baby."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Penny shook her head. "You barely know me."

Passing the plate of cookies for dessert across the table, Mrs. Wolowitz stated, "Howard tells me plenty. I feel like you could be my daughter. Besides, you didn't ask. I offered." Penny smiled at the reassurance, but didn't say anything. "Is your mother coming out when you have the baby? I remember how tired I was after I came home from the hospital when Howard was born. His father may have been a putz, but it was nice to have an extra set of hands those first few weeks."

"Uh," Penny shifted uncomfortably again, "I kind of haven't told my parents yet. My sister was in a similar situation when she was in high school and my brother is in jail again. I didn't want them to worry until I decided what I'm doing. If I decide to give the baby up, I might not even have to tell them. After all, they don't visit that often and they know I don't have the money to come home, so it wouldn't be hard to go a few more months without seeing them. They would never have to know."

Mrs. Wolowitz took this opportunity to stand from her chair, walk around the table and position herself next to Penny. Placing her hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "I get it, you're scared of disappointing them, but tell them. They might surprise you and be more supportive than you think."

"I don't think I can," Penny began to cry as Mrs. Wolowitz wrapped her in her arms.

Holding Penny until the sobbing slowed, she had a suggestion, "Have you tried talking to your baby? I remember how scared I was when I was pregnant with Howard. Talking to him helped to get my feelings off my chest. Every so often he would kick or move and I liked to think he was listening to me."

"My doctor suggested the same thing at my appointment last week."

"Mothers and doctors do know best. Now, how about I pack up these leftovers for you?"

Penny nodded, "That'd be nice. Thanks, again for letting me come over."

Returning to her apartment, Penny placed the containers of leftovers from lunch on the counter and lay on the couch. Running her hand over her stomach, she sighed. "Hi, little one. I'm sorry that I haven't talked to you before now. We've been together for five and a half months. That's a long time to not talk to someone who's living inside you." Silent for a few minutes, she waited to see if her baby responded to her voice. Feeling a flutter under her fingers, Penny continued.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I can either keep you or I could find a nice family with parents who are more grown-up than me. A family with a nice house and maybe a dog. I work at a restaurant and am trying to be an actress. I do okay, but I want you to have so much more than just okay. It would be just me and you. All my family is back in Nebraska. You wouldn't grow up with your grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins close by. I loved growing up with all my cousins. We'd run wild on the farm all summer. I don't want you to be stuck in this tiny one-bedroom apartment."

Feeling her eyes grow heavy, Penny continued to rub her stomach as she dozed off, "Maybe things will make sense after a little nap."

Penny sat on the bench near the playground, watching a young child come down the slide. "Push me on the swings, momma," they called to her. Smiling, she made her way to the swing set and helped her child onto the swing, and began to gently push. "Momma, can I play with the kites?"

"You'll have to ask. You know Uncle Sheldon doesn't like other people playing with his kite."

The child shook their head, "I always get to play kites."

Watching her child run across the open space to where the guys were flying their kites, she smiled as she watched Leonard lift the child into his arms and explain his kite. She returned to the bench and continued to watch as the child made their way to each of the guys, wishing she were closer to hear what they were saying. It was then that the alarm on her phone went off. Collecting her bag, she approached the men with kites. "It's time to go. I've gotta get to work and drop this one at daycare on the way."

"But we're flying kites," whined Raj, who was now holding the child. "Maybe you skip daycare drop-off? We can babysit today."

Penny made eye contact with each of the guys, each of them giving her a smile and nod at Raj's suggestion. "Okay." She reached to take her child from the astrophysicist, "You be good for them, okay?" The child nodded. Pointing her finger at the men, she reminded them, "That goes for you, too. I don't want to get any bad reports about anyone when I get home from work."

Waking with a start, Penny smiled to herself. Rubbing a hand over her baby bump, she said, "I guess the guys have been right all along. We do have more people here than I thought. This won't be easy, but I'm going to do the best I can for you."

The part in Italics is supposed to be a dream.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to update this weekend. It might not be until the middle of the week before I'm able to post the next chapter. Thanks for continuing to read. I really appreciate it.