"Wait… whaaaat?" Leonard asks, very confused.

"I know, I know, you probably have a lot of questions," Penny said, exasperated. "Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are… but isn't this great, though? You've always wanted to be a dad!" She goes up and hugs him.

"Ummm…" he replies

She immediately lets go and pushes him off "Ummm? UMMM? I just told you I'm carrying your freaking baby, and all you have to say is UMMMMMMM?!"

"Uhhhhh…"

"What the hell, Leonard?!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry…" he said, sitting down on the couch. Penny follows and sits closer to him. "Today was kind of a rough day, and with that whole thing with this 'mystery child', it was just a little unexpected to hear." Leonard moves closer and holds her hands in his and looks into her eyes. "Penny, this is super exciting. I can't believe we're having a baby… but…"

"But what, sweetie?" Penny asks, slightly worringly.

"Are you sure you want to go through this? You said you didn't want to have children."

"I know I said that, and trust me, when I saw that pregnancy test come out positive, I was really scared. And I still am. I mean, the other night when you found out that there is someone out in the world who is your biological child? That was the same night that I was originally going to tell you, but I got so paranoid over the idea of—"

Penny begins to tear up.

"Of me… being with someone else… just so I could have a child?" Leonard asks

Penny nods, as she begins to cry.

"Oh my gosh, Penny," Leonard hugs her. "Penny, I'm so sorry… I had no idea that was how you felt. Look, I know in the past, before we got married, I may have slipped up. But when I told you that night going to Vegas that I would be completely honest you, I meant that. I love you so, so much, and please believe me when I say that if I had any idea that someone from my past had my baby, I would not hide that you. I don't want to hide anything from you, and I will not hide anything from you. And yes, I did dream of being a father, but as in being the father of our children, not anyone else's," He wipes her tears and kisses her forehead.

"I know you wouldn't do that. I just freaked out… I guess it's just maternal instincts already kicking in," Penny laughs. "Well, that, and just thinking about what happened with Amy and Sheldon not too long ago didn't really help me at all."

"Yeah, I know, that whole thing still sickens me," says Leonard. "The poor guy still has to deal with Kripke daily, even after all that's happened. I know he can be a pain, I mean I lived with the man for a very long time, and yes, it can be hard to be patient with him all the damn time, but that's still no reason to hurt him like that."

"Is he doing okay?"

"Yeah, he was really happy today… you know, aside from another altercation with Kripke, which was kinda what made work today not so great."

"God, what happened this time?"

"Well, Sheldon and I needed to discuss something about Ophelia, our new assistant, so she stepped outside, and during that, Kripke was being a creep and trying to convince her to work with him instead… I think it's the fastest I've ever seen him move, and the way he pushed him away from her was pretty rough."

"Wow, Sheldon actually touching someone? To protect someone else? Hmmm…"

"Hmm what?"

"He must really like her. He usually can't even defend himself most of the time without soaking himself in Purell." She and Leonard both laughed at her remark.

Leonard ponders over Penny's last comment. "You might be on to something though… Ophelia was already in his office when I came to talk to him today. I mean, I highly doubt he has any romantic interest in her, but he has been super impressed with her; he actually was the first one to reply to her."

"You did say she was a genius, maybe she… blinded him with science, hahah,"

"Pffft, maybe," replied Leonard. "I doubt it, though. She just turned 30, so that's quite an age gap… she is working on her second doctorate, so he could be going crazy for some… Double D's!"

"Oh god," Penny rolls her eyes, but still can't help but chuckle at Leonard's joke.

Leonard looks at Penny admiringly, taking in her beautiful smile, and he puts him arm around her. "Going back to earlier, are you still sure you want to do this, have a baby? I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. I love you no matter what."

Penny takes Leonard's free hand and moves it onto her belly. "I'm very sure. I mean, we're older now. We've been going without birth control or anything like that for a long while now… and for some reason I get pregnant now?! If we don't accept this now, the chance of this ever happening again is slim to none. I think it's the universe telling us this really is meant to be."

Leonard gets misty-eyed. "I'm gonna be a daddy."

Penny kissed Leonard, and they fall into a soft, celebratory make-out session on the couch.

…

Buzz buzz. Buzz buzz. [1 NEW EMAIL]

Dear LLHOF80,

I'm contacting you because I noticed on my ancestry profile that you may be my biological father. I have been desperately been looking for this missing part of my life for quite a while now. I noticed on your profile that you live in Pasadena? I actually happen to be in the area as well. Please, I would really love to meet you and get to know you. I understand if you do not want any new attachments, especially if you have another family/set of children, but I would at least like to get a face with the (user)name? I'm best available Mondays and Thurdays after 5pm, as well as anytime on the weekends. Thanks so much in advance, and I look forward to possibly hearing from you and meeting you soon.

Best,

Alberta H. Pointe

…

"Thank you… for everything today," said Ophelia as she got under the covers on the right side of the bed.

"Oh of course," replied Sheldon, getting into the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry you ended up being stuck out there with Kripke. He just always has to make people uncomfortable to get his way, and it sadly works sometimes, and it makes me so angry. He hurts people, creeps them out… always attempts to steal… or cheat his way… through everything," Sheldon rants.

"Not surprising. Must be frustrating, too, that he's in your same field study."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Sheldon replied, annoyed at that simple fact.

"Well, may I also remind you that the one with the Nobel Prize is you… and not him? So, sure, it may work for him sometimes, but it'll never get him as far as where you are."

"You're right, that's always a great reminder. Goodness, Ophelia, you never seize to amaze me, do you?" Sheldon says, staring at her in pure awe.

"I could ask the same about you, Sheldon," Ophelia replies, staring happily into his beautiful blue eyes.

They softly smile at each other, and then kiss each other goodnight.

Ophelia opens her bedside table drawer to put her phone in there, when she discovers a silver, heart-shaped locket. She opens and looks inside it.

"Sheldon,"

"Yes?"

"Who's Amy?"