When Sheldon and Penny had first gotten together- no one was more surprised than Sheldon and Penny. But, as gobsmacked as Leonard was, he realized he should have known. From the soft kitty's to the Moonpies... Sheldon was hers, and that was an accomplishment. But, he realized for all his taking her for granted, her giving herself as fully as she did to Sheldon was an accomplishment, too.
He had moved into Penny's old apartment when Sheldon gave her Me-Maw's engagement ring, much to the shock of Mary Cooper. And, as their own personal joke, they named their firstborn little girl Katherine Penelope- "Kitty" for short.
Of course, Sheldon declared her the perfect child, and declared to all the other parents at Gymboree that she was "ahead" of their children, and would list the numerous ways.
"She crawls faster than your son, and she's two weeks younger." he'd crow.
"Sheldon, that baby has a leg brace." Penny whispered.
"Oh, right... Kitty's still faster."
Penny would just smile at these times and pat his arm...
Around Kitty's second birthday, Penny became pregnant again, this time with twins. The pregnancy was noticeably harder on the young mother, with more morning sickness, more swelling, more... everything...
Mary sat down in-between daughter-in-law and Howard on the couch. "How are you feeling, darlin'?" she asked gently.
"I have hemmoroids." she said flatly.
"We're eating..." Leonard groused, pushing his plate away.
"Doesn't bother me; you should hear my Ma some days." Howard shrugged, continuing to shovel food in.
Raj shook his head at him.
"Well, sweetheart, that's normal, especially for a second pregnancy, and especially with twins." Mary said, patting her shoulder. "I swear, I think Sheldon was tryin' to escape early out my backdoor!" she chortled, and at that, Howard pushed his plate away as well.
"Okay, that's it for me..." he mumbled.
"I very likely was," Sheldon said seriously. "Sharing a house with Missy was pain enough, but a womb? Honestly, you're lucky I didn't claw my way out and give you a C-Section from the inside."
"I think we all were, Shelly." Mary remarked dryly. "But, on the upside, you look like you're about to pop."
Penny nodded. "Yeah, yay..." she said sarcastically. "I look like a big fat penguin."
"Well, I could've told you not to wear black." Sheldon said with a sly grin.
Penny, unable to get herself up from the couch, reached across Mary and swatted playfully at her husband with a pillow.
"Hey! You got me, Marmee!" Kitty yelped.
"Oh, sorry, boo; couldn't see over the belly." Penny apologized. "C'mere."
Kitty scrambled off of her father's lap, and onto her grandmother's to lay her head on Penny's belly.
"Which one is kicking?" she asked, feeling the gentle movement beneath her cheek.
Penny smiled, ruffing the soft blond hair beneath her fingers. "I don't know, I can't see them from out here... besides, we don't have names yet."
Leonard looked at her, shocked. "You're due in six weeks, and you haven't agreed on names?"
"Well, it would be easier to be twinsy if they were both boys or both girls." Penny explained. "I mean, we had names picked out for that scenario..."
Sheldon smiled at her, a sexy smile, and she flushed. "What?"
"You said 'scenario'..." he explained, giving her the eye.
Penny laughed softly, reaching out over the back of the couch to clasp her hand into her husband's. "You like that, do you? Sce-nario..." she said, her voice curling around the word and dragging it out.
Raj leaned over and whispered into Howard's ear. "Yeah, I know, they have a weird creepy way of flirting." Howard agreed.
"Well, we want the names to be special, to reflect something about us." Penny said, tearing her gaze away from her husband to look at Leonard for a moment.
Raj jumped up and raced over to Sheldon, whispering in his ear. Sheldon looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"We do not remind you of Lucy and Ricky!" he said indignantly.
Raj nodded vehemently.
"Aw, that would be so cute!" Penny squealed. "Oooh, Sheldon, let's do that for Halloween! Well, obviously next Halloween, cause I'm fatter than a Jack-O-Lantern this Halloween..."
Sheldon's mouth quirked slightly. "Yes, we'll see..."
"But, I loooovvveee the name suggestion!" Penny said with pleading eyes.
Sheldon hesitated. "I... isn't there something better than-"
"Sheldon's right, Goldilocks; he should get to choose the name of some famous scientists or something. Not some tv show he never watched..." Mary said firmly.
Penny poked her lip out, and Sheldon frowned. "Now, Mother, I watched those with you and Me-Maw growing up many, many times... And, I did appreciate it's rather cartoonish sense of humor... And, if it makes Penny happy, why, I think it's a brilliant suggestion! ANd, thank you, Raj!" Sheldon said firmly, and got up, bracing his feet to pull Penny to a standing position. "Come along, Penny; I'll help you prop up your feet, and we'll put some coco-butter lotion over Lucy and Ricky." he said, giving a slightly defiant look to his mother, and walking off.
Mary looked at Leonard, smirking. "Just like a man..." she said, laughing under her breath...
