Thanks for all your lovely reviews! Here's your explanation!

DISCLAIMER: Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Co. own the show.

"My father met someone else when I was ten," Howard began once everyone was inside Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. Everyone was crowded into the living room, listening silently to the story, except for Raj and Danielle, who were standing in the kitchen. Their hands, both up on the counter, were less than an inch apart, but neither of them made the move to grab the other's. They didn't even look at each other. Raj knew if he looked at Danielle right now he'd start crying.

"I didn't know it then, but my parents' marriage wasn't great," Howard continued. "They fought a lot – almost every night. I guess I just thought that was normal. But anyway, my father meets this woman, and he falls in love with her. He starts seeing her secretly, calling her, emailing her, and soon, he's sleeping with her."

Raj forced himself to look at Danielle, just a little peek from the corner of his eye. Her head was down, her brown hair covering her face, and her shoulders were hunched forward slightly, as if she was or had been crying to herself.

"This goes on for a year. Then, the woman gets pregnant." Howard said. "When my dad found out, he decided to leave. He ran away with this woman, married her, and they raised their daughter together. The last thing we ever heard from him was when he sent my mother divorce papers – not even from his new address, from a friend's house. I still don't know if Ma ever signed them. I just never had the heart to ask her."

"I didn't know the whole story until three years ago. Danielle found me online one day, and her mom told her the truth about Dad's old life. She called me and I agreed to meet her. We spent some time together for a few weeks, just the two of us, getting to know each other, filling in the gaps in the story. We didn't tell our parents, anyone, that we'd met. It was all going great, until Danielle asked me to see our father. I told her I couldn't do it but she just kept pushing, and pushing, until finally, I told her I couldn't do it anymore. I told her I never wanted to see her again."

Danielle looked up, her hair falling back to its proper position, and her and Howard exchanged a brief look. "And that's it," He finished, turning back to address the rest of their friends. "That's the story."

Bernadette sniffled, loudly, and grabbed onto her husband by the front of his shirt, dropping her face against his chest. Penny shifted in her seat, scooting over so she was right up against Leonard. For once Sheldon and Amy didn't say anything at all.

Danielle turned to look at Raj, and Raj met her eyes. Don't cry. He thought to himself. Please don't cry. He wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself anymore. "…You're not an astrophysics student, are you?" He asked her.

Danielle responded with a slight shake of her head. "No," She replied. "No, I'm an English major. But…but I did actually read your papers. Sure I didn't understand them…but I read them."

Raj gulped and didn't comment. "How old are you, really?"

"…Nineteen,"

She was nineteen. Approximately eleven years younger than Howard, eleven years younger than him. She was practically a minor. "It wasn't a coincidence you went to my lecture that day, was it?"

Danielle shook her head again. "No," She sounded choked up.

"And do you really like Rock Band, or Sandra Bullock movies or Eat, Pray, Love?" He asked.

"I've never played Rock Band," Danielle said. "The only Sandra Bullock movie I've ever seen is The Proposal – I went to go see it with my mom. But I really do like Eat, Pray, Love. I've read it four times. And it did help me with my love life."

"And that day at the hospital," Raj continued. His eyes stung with the beginnings of tears, but he couldn't stop. He needed answers from her. "You went to the cafeteria because you didn't want Howard to recognize you, didn't you?"

Danielle nodded. "Yes," She whispered in ashamed reply. "Yes, that's true."

Raj shook his head. It was becoming harder for him to see, the edges of his vision beginning to get blurry, but he didn't cry. He wouldn't let her see him cry. "I loved you," He said, under his breath. "And this whole time you were using me."

"Raj," Danielle said. Was she actually…smiling, almost? "I…I love you too."

"Loved!" Raj repeated. "I said loved, past tense. I loved you and you played me. You've been playing me this whole time."

Danielle's almost-a-smile faltered at his words. "I'm sorry," She said. "I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"But that's exactly what you did, Danielle."

The girl – he can't bring himself to call her a woman, after how she manipulated him like she was a juvenile high schooler trying to get her way. She's practically in high school anyway, God he can't believe she's only nineteen… - blinks away tears. "Okay, so maybe I did go into this with not the best intentions. But it wasn't all a lie. I really fell for you, Raj. I fell in love with you, and it wasn't part of the plan, but I don't regret it. The only thing I regret is hurting you, Raj."

Raj looked down, not even bothering to pretend to be fascinated by the floor. "Dr. Koothrappali," He murmured.

"What?" Danielle asked.

"Dr. Koothrappali," He corrected, looking up at her again. Danielle was giving him a confused look, her mouth hanging slightly open. "I'm not comfortable with you calling me Raj, not anymore."

Danielle's jaw snapped shut, and she pressed her lips together, hard. She turned on her heel and headed for the door, but when the rest of the gang saw her leave, they stopped her.

"Danielle," Howard called after her. Other than Raj (and okay, maybe Sheldon, since he's practically robotic when it comes to emotions), he was the last person Danielle expected to do this.

She forced herself to turn around and look at them. They were all watching her, staring at her intently. "You don't have to go," Bernadette said. "Stay, let's talk."

Danielle opened her mouth to blatantly refuse, but as she looked into her sister in law's eyes, she felt absolutely terrible. She felt terrible for deceiving Raj and Bernadette and the rest of them, she felt terrible for trying to force Howard into her idea of a perfect little family unit, for not being honest, and for storming out now when they all really, genuinely, wanted to talk to her about it and she doesn't deserve them, not in the slightest. Raj was right – she hurt them, that's exactly what she did. She lied to them, and nineteen years ago she ruined her brother's life, and yet Bernadette was still giving her that damn look as if to say: "Everything's okay." She didn't deserve this.

Danielle looked to Raj, who had been watching her this whole time. She expected him to be glaring at her, smoke coming out of his ears, but he wasn't. She almost wished he was. "There's nothing left to say," She finally forced out. Danielle almost choked on the words, tears in her eyes and her throat beginning to tighten, as if it was closing in on itself. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

She turned back around and slammed the door behind her just as she began to cry. And in the surprised silence that followed, no one came after her. She's almost grateful. Almost.