Sheldon closed the door behind Amy and Bernadette. They were on their way to meet Penny at a restaurant for girl's night while the guys had a movie night. Sheldon turned to the living room and sighed. Howard was sitting on the sofa looking nervously between Leonard and Raj. Leonard was sitting in an armchair, arms crossed angrily. Raj was looking out the window at the backyard.

"So," Howard began hesitantly, "what are we going to watch?"

Leonard glared at Raj's back. "How about Unfaithful?"

Raj turned to face them and sighed. "If you have something to say, just say it Leonard. I am tired of the glares and snide remarks."

Leonard shot to his feet. "You stole Penny from me!"

Raj resisted the urge to bolt for the bathroom. His relationship with Penny had brought out hidden depths of courage he had not known he possessed. "Penny ended her involvement with you when she walked in on you telling Alex that you'd do just about anything to fuck her right there on your desk."

Leonard turned bright red, and then pale white. "She told you?"

Raj nodded. "I also know you had a hand under Alex's dress, and she had one in your pants. I didn't steal Penny from you. You threw her away."

"Penny and I are meant for one another!" Leonard yelled. "No matter what happened, no matter who came along, it's always been Penny and me!" He smirked smugly. "And it will be again."

Sheldon struggled to find a way to restore order. He hated arguing. He hated fights. He just wanted to return to the peaceful lives they had experienced before. "Please," he said timidly. "No arguing. Let's just carry on with our planned activity for the evening."

Leonard shook his head angrily. "No! I'm tired of this! What did you do, Raj? Did you send Penny to my office? Did you set me up? How long have you been waiting to steal her from me?"

Raj looked at him with a sneer. "Set you up? You couldn't keep it in your pants. That's not my fault. If I had wanted to steal Penny, I would have done it a long time ago. Penny and I care about each other, and we respect each other."

Leonard smiled smugly. "Respect isn't what floats Penny's boat. It won't be long before she's looking right back at me to give her what she really wants."

Raj squared his shoulders. "I got a job offer from a group in Italy. A research project that will run three years. I leave on Monday." Silence reigned for several seconds after Raj spoke. He looked around the room at his friends. "There's more," he said when Howard started to speak. "We're pregnant. Penny and I are having a baby. She's going to Rome with me."

Sheldon could only watch in disbelief as Leonard launched himself at the Indian man. Howard tried to separate them, but Sheldon could only stand frozen, torn between helping Howard, and helping Leonard.

Bernadette opened her apartment door and stared at the scene before her. Raj was sitting on her couch, one hand holding a steak to his eye, and the other wrapped around Penny who was curled up by his side. Howard was in the kitchen making a ice pack. He looked up with red-rimmed eyes and Bernadette moved to his side.

"Poor Howie," she murmured. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Better than Raj, anyway. Leonard punched him. Twice."

Penny stood and looked at them sadly. "I'm sorry we hurt you all," she said.

"No," Howard said firmly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't confide in me, Raj. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you both. You're our friends and I forgot that. I hate that …that you're leaving. I don't want you to go. But I love you both. Wherever you are, I am still your friend."

Penny burst into tears and pulled Howard into a tight hug. Raj stood and patted Howard's arm, tears in his own eyes. Bernadette looked proudly at her husband and nodded.

"Howie is right. We are your friends and we support you both. And we can still call or skype. Maybe even come visit," she said.

Penny released Howard who was immediately hugged by Raj. "We're going to miss you guys so much," she said to Bernadette. "And you would always be welcome to visit." The two women hugged and Howard spoke up.

"Don't worry about the others. It's change and none of them handle that very well. They'll come around."

Penny looked at Raj with a mix of sadness and hope. Whatever happened, they were in it together.

Sheldon sat on the couch, Amy's head in his lap. She had finally cried herself to sleep. She was feeling angry, sad, betrayed. He, himself, felt numb. Penny was pregnant. By Raj. For one brief, optimistic moment, he had wished fervently that Penny was carrying his child. Immediately after, he had felt guilty. Amy was carrying his child. Amy loved him. And while he could not say he loved her, he did care for her a great deal.

He drew the lap blanket up around her shoulders and leaned his head back on the couch. How had everything become so screwed up?

Their flight left in the early morning hours. They had told the others not to worry about seeing them off. Penny was behind Raj in line for boarding when she glanced around the lobby. Her pulse sped up when she saw him. She shrunk a bit at the intense look of regret in Sheldon's eyes. After a couple of heartbeats he turned and walked away, quickly swallowed up by the crowds. Resolutely Penny turned back and handed her ticket to the attendant.

2 months later

Sheldon cradled his daughter close to his chest. He sat down on the small sofa and marveled at how tiny and perfect she was. He looked up as his Meemaw sat down beside him and held out her arms. He reluctantly handed Sabina over to her and glanced at his friends and family gathered around Amy. She was telling them every single detail of her labor.

"My word," Meemaw said fondly. "Aren't you just as pretty as a peach," she cooed. Sheldon smiled as he looked at Sabrina's shock of dark brown curls. She yawned widely before making little sucking motions with her mouth. Meemaw watched his expression of joy and smiled. "How about you, Moon Pie? How are you doing?"

Sheldon flinched slightly at the nickname. It brought Penny to mind. He shrugged and reached out to place his finger in Sabrina's grasping hand. "My work is progressing at a rapid pace. Sabrina is here safe and sound. You are here visiting. I am content."

Meemaw watched him closely. When Mary walked over, she handed her great-granddaughter over. She stood and looked at Sheldon. "I would like some tea. Walk me to the cafeteria." It was not a request.

He hesitated long enough to make sure his mom sat down with Sabrina and then followed his grandmother out the door. They walked in silence to the elevator and rode down to the lobby. In the cafeteria they both bought some tea and sat down at a table. Meemaw took a deep breath and looked at him closely.

"Moon Pie, I know none of what I am about to say is any of my business. Feel free to ignore me. But I need to ask. For six years your letters to me became more and more peppered with details about your friendship with Penny. You wrote about her often. Sometimes, your entire letter was about your friendship with the young woman. Until seven months ago. Suddenly you stopped speaking of anything except work, until two months ago. The letter was short, mostly concerning the music you had purchased for Sabrina's bedroom. But the last line stuck out. Just one sentence. 'Penny and Raj have moved to Italy'. No explanation, no other details. So, I guess my question to you is, why are you married to Amy when you love Penny?"

Sheldon paled immediately. He looked down at his clenched hands on the table. This was something he had never wanted to talk about. But this was his Meemaw. The one woman who had always loved and accepted him.

"I married Amy because it was the right thing to do. She is the mother of my child. Penny is gone. She has moved to Italy. Raj has since informed us that they married a few days before they left. They are expecting a child of their own in a couple of months. I have not heard from Penny since they moved. There is nothing more to say. It is what it is."

Meemaw took his hands in hers. "You do love her though, don't you?"

Sheldon took a deep breath. "It started gradually, building over the years. We grew closer and closer. I was biding my time. Waiting for the inevitable break up with Leonard. I was trying to find a gentle way to end my own relationship with Amy. I had hoped that after a suitable amount of time, I could approach Penny about a relationship between us."

Meemaw frowned slightly. "But you were sleeping with Amy?"

Sheldon shook his head. "I had no intentions of engaging in coitus with Amy. It was a mistake. I inadvertently drank doctored punch at a fundraiser and became intoxicated. I awoke in Amy's bed."

Meemaw looked at him shrewdly. "Was Amy drunk, also?"

Slowly he shook his head. He would not lie to his grandmother. Not again. "She was not. But in her defense, we were in a relationship that had already spanned several years. She has been a good wife, and a good friend. I do not hold one mistake against her."

Meemaw sighed and squeezed his hands. "Moon Pie, all I have ever wanted is for you to be happy."

Sheldon leaned across the table and kissed her cheek. "I have Sabrina, Meemaw. That makes me very happy." They finished their tea and made their way back to Amy's room.

Amy looked at Sheldon as he rocked Sabrina gently. They were alone, at last. She had expected to feel some sort of bond forming between her and her child, but strangely enough, she was as ambivalent as ever. Was there something wrong with her? Even primates of the lowest order were nurturing and affectionate with their offspring.

Instead, she felt …very little. Relief that the pregnancy had ended well, glad that her child was delivered safe and healthy, grateful for the support of their friends and family, and (Amy cringed slightly) a bit arrogant that she had proven her worth as a woman.

She sighed internally. She had always wondered if it was some fault in her that had made her mother show very little affection. Now she wondered if it was something genetic in her family that made them emotionally repressed. She looked up as Sheldon walked over with a slight frown.

"I think she may be hungry," he said softly. "She keeps making sucking noises, and she's starting to get fussy."

Amy almost reached for the call button to summon a nurse with a bottle, but then her pride rose up. She held out her arms and Sheldon placed the baby in the crook of her elbow. She replayed the steps in her head and adjusted her gown down to reveal her breast. It took a moment's coaxing, but Sabrina latched on and began to nurse. Amy gasped aloud, causing Sheldon to view them with alarm.

"Are you in pain? Is she?" he asked worriedly.

Amy looked up at him with astonishment. How could she explain it? She struggled to find the words to express what she was feeling. She was feeding her daughter. Her! She felt each tug on her breast resonating within her entire body. It was amazing. A sense of peace and contentment settled over her and she relaxed against the pillows. "No, Sheldon. Everything is wonderful," she said softly. "Absolutely wonderful."