Hey everyone! So, I've been working on this story for a while (since The Santa Simulation to be precise), and I'm actually, really, truly proud of this. Just so you know, there will be some hardcore angst in this, but there will be some fluffy times to. I'm just warning you ahead of time that some topics that will be covered in this story may make some readers uncomfortable, specifically issues related to pregnancy/fertility – that's part of the reason this story is rated M. Proceed with caution if you are not an angst fan.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Big Bang Theory or any of its characters. They belong to those who created them.

Today was a slow day at The Cheesecake Factory. It was a Friday mid-afternoon, the time when children were still in school and adults were finished their lunch breaks and back at the office. As Penny wiped down the bar, she wondered what she would do with this free time she had on her hands. She couldn't call any of her friends, because they were all probably in their labs, and she had no one to wait on, which was good since bringing people food wasn't exactly a favorite past time, but bad because now Penny was alone in the restaurant, which was completely silent. She could've dropped her bobby pin on the floor and heard it.

So, Penny was just alone with her thoughts. The only problem was, her thoughts were not particularly interesting. The gang's going out tonight, right? She thought to herself. Well, I guess I have that to look forward to…A pause. I wonder if Leonard would pick up if I called him…Nah, he's probably working on his experiment. He better not be with Alex…Another pause. So…

The bell attached to the front door rang out and Penny looked up, startled. She was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar, blonde former waitress walk in. "Hey, Bernadette," She said, dropping her rag. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

Penny's happiness turned to worry when she walked over. Bernadette was biting her lip, and she looked tense. Penny could see that her eyes were puffy under her glasses. "Have you been…have you been crying?" Penny asked.

Bernadette nodded. "Yeah," She said. Her voice sounded shaky.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Penny asked again. "Is Howard okay? Did something happen?"

"Everyone's fine," Bernadette insisted. "Howard's fine, I'm fine. There's just something I…I really need to talk to you about…" She trailed off, and Penny pulled her into a big hug, the kind that would've made Sheldon squirm. Bernadette hugged her back, a little harder than she usually would have.

"Honey, you can talk to me about anything." Penny told her, sitting on one of the bar stools and patting the one next to her. Bernadette sat down. "Now, what is it?"

The microbiologist sighed. "I'm tired, all the time," She began. "I can't even open the refrigerator without wincing. My head hurts…" She stopped, and glanced up at Penny expectantly.

Penny simply blinked. "Umm, okay?"

Bernadette gave her a look. "Penny, I'm late,"

For a moment, Penny opened her mouth to say "late for what" until it dawned on her. "Oh," She gasped. "Are you sure you're…?"

Bernadette shook her head. "No," She pulled a CVS pharmacy bag out of her purse. "But, I'm going to find out. Will you be with me while I take it? Well, you know, not when I actually take it but…" She was still saying something, but Penny had stopped listening as another realization hit her.

No, there was no way Bernadette could be late, because if she was late, that meant Penny was late. Their cycles had finally synced up two or three months ago, hers, Bernadette's and Amy's – Penny remembered because when Amy found out she'd been so excited she'd thrown a 'mensie buddies party' that had left Penny and Bernadette mortified. Was today already the eleventh?

Crap, it was. Penny was officially a week late for her period, and so was Bernadette. Holy Cow, she was screwed.

"Penny?"

The waitress blinked and snapped out of her thoughts. Bernadette was looked at her in confusion, and Penny wondered how long it had been since she'd zoned out. "Oh, sorry," Penny said quickly. "Of course I'll be with you when you take the test."

Bernadette reappeared from the bathroom, dropping three pregnancy tests down on the counter. Penny still sat on the barstool, swiveling back and forth and tapping her fingers against her knees. "Three minutes," She told her, and Penny nodded solemnly. Bernadette wondered why she looked sad – it was her who was probably pregnant, not Penny – but she didn't comment. If Penny wanted to talk about it, she would.

Bernadette sat back down and watched the clock. These would be some of the longest three minutes of her life. She didn't know what she was going to do if she was pregnant – Bernadette had never wanted kids. Of course if she was pregnant she'd (hopefully) come to terms with it, and there was no doubt in her mind Howard would be thrilled. And yes, sure having a child may seem logical to some – she was happily married and already thirty, the child would always be there to keep her company and love her unconditionally, etc, etc. Maybe it was strange for her to not like children; maybe it was cruel of her to not want them when Howard did so badly, but Bernadette just couldn't picture herself being somebody's mother, at least not at this point in time. Her career was taking off, her and Howard hadn't even been married for a year, she was happy where she was – what if having a child threw off that balance? …What if she wasn't a good mom?

That was the last thought that ran through Bernadette's head when three minutes finally passed. "Do you want to look or would you rather I do it?" Penny asked her.

Bernadette paused, her back still to the three pee sticks that would determine her fate. "How about we do it together?"

Penny nodded. "That sounds good; I'll count to three okay? And then we'll both look. One…two…three…"

The two women both turned around in their seats, and Bernadette froze when she saw the tests. The two in front of her both had automated smiley faces flashing on their screens that made Bernadette suddenly feel sick. The one in Penny's hands even had the audacity to tell her congratulations.

"So, you're not pregnant?" Penny asked. Bernadette was so tempted to roll her eyes, but her better judgment forced her to hold it in.

She handed the box to Penny, and didn't say anything. Penny's eyes widened when she realized that "congratulations" meant "pregnant". "Oh, Bernadette…" She trailed off. It was obvious she didn't know what to say. Penny knew Bernadette's feelings about children. Everyone did.

Bernadette rose and bit down on her lip as she walked back off to the bathroom, locking herself in a stall. She would not cry in front of Penny.

Penny sighed and placed her head against the counter. She guessed it wasn't a good time to mention they might be raising their babies together.

Raj liked the rare times he gave lectures. He didn't even have to pour alcohol into his coffee to do it! He smiled to himself as he shut down his laptop. He'd have to toast himself a few extra times tonight…

"Excuse me, Dr. Koothrappali?"

Raj turned around and froze when he saw one of the students behind him – a young, beautiful, female student. She was shorter than Raj, maybe 5"4 or 5"5, and had a pair of Juicy Couture glasses that were a little low on her nose, which was a little…large, but in an endearing way – the nose, not the glasses. She had dark brown hair and bangs she clipped back, and bright blue eyes. She was pretty in an unconventional way, and just one look at her rendered Raj speechless.

"That lecture was amazing," The girl gushed. "I just wanted to tell you that your thoughts on dark matter are so compelling,"

Raj nodded and looked around. He spotted the scotch of the professor who normally used this room and walked over, pouring some into his empty coffee cup, taking a big sip. He flashed the girl what he meant to be a charming smile. "Don't tell Dr. Cooper – he'll claim the theory was all his,"

The girl giggled. "You know, when you were in People, I clipped the article out and hung it up on my bulletin board."

"Really?" Raj croaked. He felt his face flush and took another swig of scotch.

The girl nodded. "I'm a huge fan of your work. I think you're going to do great things; Dr. Koothrappali," She hiked her bag a little farther up on her shoulder and smiled. "I have to go, but it was a pleasure," She extended her hand and Raj shook it, staring at her as she walked out.

"Whoa,"

Raj grabbed the next student who passed him by. "That girl who was just talking to me, do you know her?"

The guy looked a little freaked out. "The girl…?"

Raj sighed. "Dark brown hair, purple glasses, big but cute nose, wore a baggy sweater, you know her?"

"Oh," The student said, pulling himself away from Raj's grip. "Her name's Danielle,"

"Danielle," Raj said, testing it out. Danielle, Danielle…it was like music to his ears. "What's her last name?"

"Don't know, I only just met her when I tried to hit on her," The guy replied. "She doesn't go here. She says she takes astrophysics classes online while she works,"

Now it was Raj's turned to be surprised. "Then, why was she at my lecture?"

The guy shrugged and started out. "Don't know, dude,"

Raj stood there for a long moment as everyone filed out of the room. It was no accident this girl had talked to him after this lecture. She'd come to this lecture to specifically hear him.

It had to be fate.

Because I know someone is going to ask, Danielle is not a student at Caltech. She does take astrophysics classes and did sign up to attend Raj's lecture, but she doesn't go there. I just want to make sure you understand, because I was pretty sure someone wouldn't.

This chapter was originally going to be longer, but it is 1,572 words on its own, not counting the AN or disclaimer. So, I'm going to stop here for now. All reviews are very much appreciated.