A/N: I am REALLY sorry to have kept this one waiting so long (and, I know, I've been apologizing for that a lot lately). Big, big thank-yous to everyone who has reviewed this story... especially ASGT and Kat Maximoff, who told me what Penny's real middle name was, and hairspraygirl, who alerted me to a brainless mistake in Take One of this chapter. :) On to the story!

Chapter Thirteen:

Good Morning Baltimore

Penny's eyes opened heavily as the sunlight filtering through the windows brightened. She yawned and stretched under her blanket, and then rolled over to try and get an extra few minutes of sleep… only to fall off the sofa she had been sleeping on onto the floor.

What the…? Then she remembered. After Seaweed had proposed (she had to look at her left ring finger to ensure that it wasn't a cruel dream), they had come back to his apartment and opted to curl up under a blanket on the couch and watch a movie. Penny vaguely remembered falling asleep on the sofa, but she also remembered Seaweed being next to her… and he wasn't. Curious, she got up off the floor and went to his bedroom.

He was snoring away on the mattress with only a sheet covering him. Penny was touched to realize that he had given her his pillow and blanket.

She pulled the sheet back and lay down next to him for a moment. Then she put her arms around his neck, moved closer, and listened to him breathe for a few minutes before kissing him awake.

"Mmmm," he rumbled, easing his arms around her waist and kissing her back. "G'morning, my princess," he yawned.

"Good morning," she replied, actually meaning it. She laid there in his arms, drinking in the scent of him. This is how I want to wake up for the rest of my life… minus the couch, she thought.

"We should probably get up now," Seaweed suggested reluctantly.

Penny snuggled closer. "Why?"

"Because, we're engaged. Don't you think our friends and family might want to know?"

"Can't they wait five minutes?"

He got up and gently lifted Penny out of the bed and over his shoulder. She squeaked in protest, but he didn't listen, and carried her into the living room, where he set her down in a chair by the phone.

"Isn't it too early to call anyone?" Penny asked.

Seaweed checked the clock. "Good lord, it's eight thirty."

Penny sighed. "Guess not." She paused. "So, do we want to call first?"

"I know who we probably should call first…"

Penny blanched. "Seaweed, no… not now…not first!"

"Now."

"Could we at least wait till after breakfast?"

"Penny…" He gave her a look and pushed the phone towards her. "Now." His eyes softened. "Just get it over with."

She gave him a mildly nasty glare, took the phone, and dialed. It rang twice, and then someone picked up.

"Hello? This better not be a telemarketer…"

"Hello, Mother."

"Oh, hello, Penny! How are you? How are Tracy and Link and Kelpie?"

Penny sighed. "Tracy, Link, and Seaweed are all great. Actually, that's why I called…"

"Oh, no, did he leave you? That's too bad, but there is a very nice young man your age who just moved in next door. His name is—"

"No, Mother, he didn't leave me, he—"

"Oh, God, are you pregnant?"

"NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT, MOTHER!"

"Then why did you call?"

"Seaweed asked me to MARRY him!"

"Oh." There was a pause. "And you said…"

"YES!"

"That's great, honey. When?"

Penny took a deep breath. "We don't know yet, Mother."

"Oh. Well, let me know when you figure something out."

"All right. Goodbye, Mother."

"Goodbye, Penny."

Penny hung up the phone and put her head in her hands. When she peeked through her fingers at Seaweed, she could tell that he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"She thought you were pregnant?"

"Yes. Happy?"

"Yes." He hugged her. "Now we can call Momma, if you want." She smiled and nodded. Ms. Maybelle would be much more pleasant to talk to than Mrs. Pingleton had been.

As Penny suspected, Ms. Maybelle and Inez (who was now a proud regular on the Corny Collins Show, in the family tradition) were thrilled to shreds about their engagement. Tracy was ecstatic, and asked if Penny needed any help planning the wedding. (She did.) Neither Penny nor Tracy were really sure what Link thought of the whole thing, but they were both fairly sure he was happy about it.

After everyone had been informed of the happy news, Penny decided, reluctantly, that it was time to leave. "My kids are waiting on me," she said apologetically as she kissed Seaweed on the cheek. Penny directed the chorus at a local high school. They were going to competition soon, and had voted to start practicing on weekends as well as in class. "I love you."

He kissed her tenderly. "I love you too. So much."

TRACY'S POV

"Isn't this great, Link?" Tracy asked, bouncing up and down on her chair. "I knew that dinner would work, and Seaweed's idea about the bench was just ingenious!"

"Mm hm," Link assented through a mouthful of food. He swallowed. "By the way, darlin', these pancakes are great."

"Thanks. I don't know, this morning I just got up with the weirdest craving for maple syrup." She demonstrated this by drowning her pancakes in Log Cabin syrup. "And you really can't just drink maple syrup by itself, so I had to make pancakes."

"Either way, they're delicious." Link leaned over the table to kiss Tracy on the cheek. She giggled and started in on her pancakes. When she was about halfway through them, she got the strangest feeling in the pit of her stomach… and had a sudden need to get to a bathroom, now. She stood up quickly, nearly knocking over the table in her haste.

"Tracy, what's wrong?" Link asked, concerned and a little scared.

Tracy pursed her lips, shook her head, and ran for the bathroom, where she got horribly sick. When she came back out again, she looked at Link and said, "Maybe I should… call in sick…"

Link nodded. "Right. And I'll call the doctor." He got up and helped her to the couch. "Are you up to make a trip to the hospital, or will we need a house call?"

"I'm fine," Tracy said weakly. "Probably just a little 24-hour bug…"

"Still," Link said stubbornly, "you're sick. I'll call and make an appointment, okay, darlin'?"

Tracy sighed. "All right." She ran her fingers over her belly. A doctor could at least give her some confirmation about what it really was, even though she did have a sneaking suspicion that she was…

No, she thought, dismissing the thought before it even finished itself. That can't be right…She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

A/N: smiles mysteriously What do you think?