After spending one night in the emergency room, Bernadette was given a clean bill of health and was allowed to go home. It took Bernie almost two weeks to try and convince Howard that she could go places and live her life, without him calling her every hour on the hour, he hadn't caught on quite yet. That afternoon the couple was going over to Penny and Leonard's apartment. According to Leonard, he needed a microbiologist's point of view on an experiment the university had given him. Howard decided to tag along and stay with Penny and grab some parenting training with Peter.

"Hey, Bernadette," Leonard smiled, "Ready to go?"

"Yes I am! I'm so excited to be back in the lab," she replied happily

"Promise you'll be extra cautious around the chemicals and equipment," Howard spoke with a touch of uneasiness in his voice.

"Ok, Howie," Bernadette sighed, she was becoming more agitated with this overly protective behavior, but she knew he meant well. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled giving her a sweet kiss, "Call me when you park the car, and when you get in the building, and…"

"When I leave, and if I go to the bathroom, and if I leave Leonard, and if the car stalls, or if the world suddenly decides to implode! I know, I know, already. Come on Leonard let's go!" Bernadette stormed out, annoyed, followed by a slightly terrified Leonard.

Howard felt a bit silly as he sat next to Penny on the couch.

"She's with child, not a child, Howard," Penny laughed giving him a friendly nudge, "You need to calm down, Hon, we all think so."

"Calm down, calm down!" Howard stood up in frustration, she didn't get it, did she, "Is everyone forgetting that I thought I lost her! That what happened could have been far worse! My wife could have died, my baby could have died, and I would be alone all over again."

"Howard!" Penny grabbed her friend's arm and sat him down, "None of that happened though! Everything is going to be just fine!" she reassured her traumatized friend.

"No, it's not," he began, "I can't get it out of my head. I've had nightmares about losing her every night this week! You don't know how scared I was."

"I don't know how scared you were, I DON'T KNOW HOW SCARRED YOU WERE!" the blonde yelled, "Howard! I was a fucking mess! I couldn't handle the fact that we could have lost her! Ask Leonard, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't get that day out of my head!" Penny began to tear up. Howard pulled his friend into a tight embrace and sat her down next to him. "I wouldn't be able to cope if I lost Bernadette and your little girl."

Howard's head shot up, "Wait, little girl? Did Bernie tell you we were having a girl? We promised that…"

"No, No!" Penny cut him off, "I hope you have a girl, I really want you to have a little girl."

"Why?" Howard asked tentatively.

"Well, if you tell Leonard, I'll kill you," Penny threatened, "We're having a girl, and if there is a little version of me in this world, I want her to have a little Bernadette to be her best friend, just like she's my best friend."

"I didn't know Bernie was your best friend," Howard smiled.

"Howard, when I introduced you to her, she was just a cute girl I knew from work. I never expected your relationship to go past the blind date. I definitely did not see you guys ever staying together after you thought it would be smart to propose after three dates. Then you survived past that first break up, and then you guys got married. I guess I never thought my friendship with Bernadette would go past coworkers, especially after having a date with you. But, then, you changed to be with her, and somewhere along the line, we became closer. She makes me a better person too, Howard. If you guys didn't set such an amazing example for marriage and how to work through conflict for love, I know I wouldn't be in this position, I wouldn't have tried to make it work when things got tough. I guess that's why she's my best friend." Penny finished with a glisten in her eyes, "And if you tell Amy, I'll…no…she'll probably kill you."

"Why haven't you ever told Bernie all this?" Howard asked with a smile, knowing what she said would mean as much to his wife as it did to him.

"Oh, she'd probably think it's stupid!" Penny reached for a tissue.

"I don't think it's stupid at all!" Bernadette stood in the doorway with crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks. Penny ran towards her best friend and together they cried and hugged.

"Why are you here?" Penny said through tears, "Aren't you supposed to be with Leonard?"

"I forgot my purse!" Bernadette sniffled.

"How long were you standing there?" Penny asked.

"Long enough to know our friendship is mutual!" fresh tears sprung to both of their eyes.

Leonard didn't get much work done that day. After they were finished crying, Penny and Bernadette went shopping for new maternity clothes, since Bernadette didn't have any. That night, Howard and Bernie got in to bed, kissed, and set off for a restful night's sleep.

"Howie," Bernadette whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Ya sweetie, I am," he rolled over to face her.

"Do you think Penny's right? Do you think it's a girl?" Bernadette mused while staring dreamily at the ceiling.

Howard too tried to imagine what his wife was picturing, but he just began to feel uncomfortable, "I don't know…I don't think I'd be very good with a girl."

"What are you talking about?" her head snapped over to look at him, "You would be amazing with a little girl Howard!"

"I don't know how to do girl stuff, I only know how to do boy stuff," he explained with general concern.

"Like what?" Bernadette laughed, "Throw a ball, play sports."

"Ok... nerdy boy stuff," Howard gave in to her hurtfully true comment.

"Howie," she began, "Don't worry about not knowing "girl stuff", that's what she's got me for. If we have a daughter, Howard, you're going to be her protector, her first dance partner, he number one man, her whole world. I know being a king isn't as fun as being a super hero, but it sure is special to be king of your daughter's heart."

"Bernie…that…that was beautiful" Howard stuttered, completely stunned, "How do you know this?"

Bernadette smiled, "It's a firsthand experience when you're daddy's little girl! Now, let's put this baby to bed."

"Sounds fantastic," he kissed his wife as he rubbed her belly and settled back into bed, but Howard couldn't sleep, "Hey Bernie?"

"Hmmm," she sleepily mumbled.

"If we have a daughter can I scare the shit out of all of her boyfriends, like your dad scares me?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course you can honey," Bernadette yawned.

"Excellent," Howard sighed as he stretched his arms. Maybe he could do the daughter thing after all.