A/N - When most people wake up too early, they just go back to sleep. I couldn't sleep so I took my dog out and then went back to bed to write. I don't know what inspired this idea other than my excitement that Season Nine is in full swing baby! So here is this addition to the palace.

Penny groaned as yet another churning in her stomach caused her to fling herself out of bed and into the bathroom just in time to throw up. Again. If this was supposed to be the easy part of pregnancy, she dreaded to think what was coming up next. Actually expelling her organs? Flushing the toilet and washing her face once more in the sink, she continued groaning to herself until she was back in the comfort of her bed. She wiped at her stinging tears and gulped down the rest of her water, too lazy to brush her teeth this time round.

All she needed was to not throw up for the next half hour or so while she caught up with Leonard over Skype. If she suddenly disappeared to throw up in the middle of their conversation, he would worry. And she certainly wasn't telling him over a video call that she was probably pregnant and that today she planned on dragging herself to the pharmacy. It was bad enough that Bernadette had insisted Penny go home the previous day when she showed up to work, popping in to Bernadette's office to say hello before promptly throwing up all over her latest petri dishes. There was only so much self-drama she could deal with at the moment.

Still, it could just be a stomach bug. It was a lie she told herself in case the voice in her head yelling "you're pregnant!" was lying to her. Running a hand across her stomach, Penny wondered when maternal instincts started really kicking in. Because deep down she knew it wasn't a stomach bug. She'd spent three weeks wearing sensible underwear and dark jeans, waiting for Mother Nature to make her move. The supply of chocolate Leonard always bought for her was still uneaten. And nothing happened. Penny had been annoyed that she'd spent three weeks purposely avoiding thongs and worrying whenever she had sex with Leonard. Especially the night before he left for his trip. When he'd departed for his two-week trip to England, she'd gone to the nearest toilet to the security gate. Instead of actually doing anything she'd simply splashed her face with cold water because the moment you were wishing your husband a safe flight was certainly not the moment to suddenly think 'oh my God, I'm pregnant'.

The ringing from her laptop caused Penny to remove her contemplative hands from her stomach. It wasn't as though she could feel the baby yet, if she was pregnant. "Which I probably am." Penny mumbled nervously to herself before answering the call with a smile. "Hey, sweetie!"

"Hey!" Leonard grinned as Penny's video feed appeared on his screen. "I'm impressed you're actually awake this time - though you do look like you literally just got up."

"Oh... yeah, I mean, I was up a while ago. I guess mornings just don't look good on me. How was your day?" Penny shrugged, hoping he wouldn't fixate on how she looked too much.

"Same as all the others - I spoke to some people, did some science things, contemplated the results... wrote them down."

"Basically what you do in Pasadena, just on another continent."

"Pretty much." Leonard nodded.

"I got the day off on Monday so I'll be able to get you from the airport, by the way." Penny told him. She hadn't really gotten the day off so much as Bernadette's boss had told her to take a few extra days off when Penny hadn't recovered from her alleged stomach bug in twenty four hours. Trying to sell a drug that may or may not cause anal leakage did not go well with stomach bugs.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that! I don't mind getting a cab."

"No, no, I wanna come and get you. I've missed you and I wanna see you."

"Well I'm not gonna deny you that pleasure." Leonard chuckled.

"What, you not excited about seeing me?" Penny raised a challenging brow, folding her arms.

"Of course I am!"

"I did contemplate waiting for you in bed, all dressed up..." Penny wriggled her brows at him suggestively. "But you know I get impatient."

"Huh, you do."

"Plus I wanna talk to you."

"We're talking now."

"Properly! Not over a stupid video call."

Once they had finished their conversation and hung up, Penny had proudly congratulated herself on not throwing up the whole time before she got up and ready to go. She'd been putting off taking a pregnancy test but the past couple of mornings were the final straw. Leonard was due home soon and she wanted to be certain when she told him - in person, of course.

When the test inevitably told Penny she was pregnant, she had to stop herself from running over to Sheldon's apartment to tell the geographically closest person the good news. When the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, she had to lock herself in the bathroom and turn off her phone before notching down the excitement to drive home and not tell anybody else. When she met up with Amy and Bernadette over the weekend she pursed her lips so often that she went through almost a whole tube of chap stick and said very little and continued pretending it was an upset stomach and that was why she didn't want any wine. When she spoke to Leonard twice more before his departure she simply grinned at him, fairly and not dishonestly passing it off as excitement to see him again. Her years of hiding her emotions had come in handy.

The plan was to wait until they got back to their apartment and he'd told her all about his trip and they had somewhere to really celebrate. With that in mind, she tried to keep herself calm as she waited at the airport.

"Welcome home!" Penny squealed, holding her arms out to him as he exited into the arrivals lounge. She planted a firm kiss on his lips once he'd wrapped his arms around her, glad that his flight arrival time hadn't collided with her morning sickness hours - and the three sticks of gum she'd furiously chewed whilst driving over.

"Mm, thank you." Leonard grinned.

"How was your flight?" Penny asked as they began moving towards the exit, trying to distract herself.

"It was alright, I watched three movies." Leonard said proudly.

"I thought you were gonna sleep?"

"I was but I couldn't fall asleep so I gave up."

"That's okay, we can catch up on sleep together." Penny said, the bounce in her step not going unnoticed by Leonard.

"You're moving like you really need to pee. Do you want to stop at the restroom before we get to the car?"

"No, it's fine! I'm just very excited to see you."

"I was only gone for two weeks, this is a lot of excitement." Leonard chuckled.

"What, you don't appreciate it?"

"Of course I do! It's just unexpected."

"Good." Penny grinned up at him as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. They got in, and she hit the door close button before anybody else could run up to the lift and interrupt the privacy of their lift carriage.

"So how-"

"I'm pregnant." Penny blurted, no longer able to hold it in. Screw the plan.

"Excuse me?" Leonard blinked at her, wondering if he'd misheard.

"I'm pregnant." Penny repeated, bringing her shoulders up to her ears in excitement, her mouth opening wide as she let out a tiny squeal, waiting for his reaction.

"Pregnant? As in... a baby? That's - wow! Congratulations! Oh my God!" Leonard pulled her in for a tight hug, heart racing in excitement. He'd been tired right up until now - and what a way to get his adrenaline pumping.

Penny tipped her head back, releasing a long, satisfied moan. Leonard raised a brow at her and she let out a small hum as she gripped his arms. "Oh it felt so good to finally tell someone."