Here we go, Leonard thought. All last night he had rehearsed how their dinner would go, but he still felt a pang of nervousness, like he was on a date with Penny for the first time ever. Get it together!

He loved that she appreciated what he had done so far though, and it wasn't helping that Penny looked stunning. She was wearing a plain black dress, but like anything she wore, the dress looked like it was made specifically for her.

"Well," he stammered. "I believe I do."

Penny giggled. "Are you nervous?" She asked, almost laughing. "Look, sweetie, I'm your friend. You can tell me literally anything."

Leonard sighed. "In that case, now that i've mentioned it anyway, I guess I'd like to apologize for not knowing how to treat you better until now."

He continued. "I guess I took for granted that someone like you was even going out on a date with someone like me."

Penny put down her fork, and reached out to touch his hand in the middle of the table. "Well, our relationship wasn't a complete disaster you know," she assured him with a smile. "We may not have agreed on a lot of things but we did try."

"I know." Leonard replied. "Still, it would have made me feel better if I had been a better boyfriend. So, I'm sorry for that."

She nodded. "Thanks. Come to think of it though, your next girlfriend would be the luckiest woman in the world."

Leonard smiled and took a sip of wine before proceeding. "That's not the only thing I have to say..." he trailed off.

"Okay," Penny encouraged him.

One fall night, two years ago, Leonard had asked Penny to marry her. They were in his apartment, and Sheldon was on one of his date nights with Amy so they were alone. He hadn't prepared for it at all - in fact, he had asked the question out of the blue while they were having dinner sitting on the couch. But he had a ring, and he had said "Will you marry me?" in his head for about four times now, and he was, in a sense, ready.

Penny's eyes were focused on the TV then, so he took that moment to get the ring from his pocket. "Penny," he said, getting her attention. He knelt to the ground in front of her and asked the dreaded question - "Will you marry me?"

She was so stunned, she wasn't able to move for the next minute. "Leonard, what are you doing?"

Leonard shrugged. "I mean, we have dated for many years now, and you have always wondered if we were getting somewhere with our relationship, so I figured it was time for us to finally settle down."

He doesn't even remember what she said exactly, but he remembers the tears rolling down her face and him trying to comfort her for the rest of the night.

"Oh." Just like before, Penny was too stunned to form a follow-up sentence. "Just so I have it right, are you saying that you are still in love with me?" She had to ask, trying to see if she had just misheard.

"Yeah." Leonard replied, and she closed her eyes processing what he is saying. "And yes, it has been so long since we broke up, but I just figured I should let you know."

Penny drank from her glass of ice water. "Leonard, you do remember why we broke up, right?" He nodded. "We aren't right for each other. All we did was fight and disagree, and there were times i felt you weren't supporting me during those tough times I was going through before." She sighed, remembering all the details from way back. "I loved you, too, but we wouldn't have been able to make a marriage work if all we did was stay there for convenience."

Leonard nodded again. Of course he was too stubborn to try and understand, but he was trying. "I understand. And I'm actually, really sorry for that," he replied.

"Besides," she continued, "and I know this is weird for you to hear, but I've actually fallen in love for Sheldon, and we're very happy together."

That hit him like a truck, but he smiled anyway. Out of his view, Penny touched her belly and thought about her husband back at home.

"I need to go," she suddenly said, taking Leonard aback. "Sorry, Leonard. I do hope you can forgive me for this one, but right now I need to talk to Sheldon about something."

Leonard nodded. That he clearly understood. "Let me just go ahead and pay for dinner, then I'll drive you home."

And with that, he knew that he had lost her for what felt like the hundredth time.

Penny hurried up the stairs and Leonard almost struggled to keep up. Penny stopped when they reached their floor, and before Leonard could open his door, she touched his arm to stop him.

"I'm really sorry for everything, Leonard," she said, facing him. "I'm sorry, too," he replied, trying to sound as calm and collected. "You have a good night, Penny." Upon hearing her reply, he opened the door and shut it behind him, as Penny carefully went inside her own apartment.

She found Sheldon in her bed, sound asleep. She knew waking him up was probably not a good idea, but she couldn't wait. She carefully tapped him on the shoulder. "Sheldon, wake up."

He finally opened his eyes and saw Penny's face in the darkness - she had only lit up one lamp. "Back so soon?" He asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "And i have something to tell you."

He sat up. "What is it?"

Penny took a breath to calm her racing heart. "You're going to be a dad," she said, and she found herself being wrapped around Sheldon's arms.

And just as easy as that, engulfed in Sheldon's arms with the thought of their baby coming soon, she Penny knew she had made the right choice.