I don't own HIMYM and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: It's my headcanon that The Mother didn't like Leia as a first name, so it became Penny's middle name. Also, it's incredibly frustrating to write for a character that doesn't have a name yet. Enjoy!
She and Ted started fighting over names almost immediately after they learned about the pregnancy. In between getting the nursery ready with their friends' help and buying what they needed for the baby, the two couldn't agree on anything. Ted kept pushing for Leia, but his wife wouldn't go for it. "Ted, you know I love Star Wars, but I am not naming our daughter Leia."
"Come on, please?" He stuck his bottom lip out and pouted, hoping she'd give in.
She laughed. "Don't play that game with me, Theodore Mosby. I'm not falling for it." She winced in pain when yet another contraction rose up within her.
They went to the hospital an hour and a half later, and six hours later – seventeen hours after she initially went into labor - the couple's first child was born. "She's amazing. And you did an amazing job. I'm so proud of you." Ted had fallen in love with his daughter instantly. He had never expected to feel this way, but he did. He was scared shitless, but he was so ready to raise this little girl.
"Thanks." She grinned and looked up at him. She was exhausted, but the whole process of labor had been worth it.
"She looks like a Leia doesn't she?" Ted scooted back when his wife glared at him. "She doesn't. Sorry."
"This baby is the best parts of both of us. We create this tiny little person. I carried her inside me for nine months." She thought about it for a minute and then came to a decision. "How about we compromise? Leia can be her middle name. I won't object to that."
Ted refrained from screaming in happiness. "I'll agree to that. What do you think about the name Penny, baby? She looks like a Penny to me for some reason." And he was thinking of the lucky penny all those years ago that led to him meeting the love of his life.
"Penelope Leia Mosby." Penny Leia sounded nice, but Penelope was a pretty name (one of her favorites) and it fit better with Leia. She informed her husband of that fact.
He sat down in the chair next to bed and admired both of his girls. "We got our name. Can you believe it? Only took us nine months. You hear that, Penny? Mommy and Daddy aren't fighting over what to call you anymore." The two of them laughed when the newborn responded by popping her tiny little hand out of her blanket.
She sniffled. "She loves it. Our little Penny." She started to rock Penny back and forth and started humming into an attempt to get her daughter to sleep.
Needless to say, Barney and Marshall were a tiny bit disappointed that Penny's first name wasn't Leia, but they were happy it was in there somewhere. She was spoiled by her family just as much as Marshall and Lily's children (their second had been conceived as a result of make-up sex after their big fight in Farhampton) were.
When they learned their second child was on the way, Ted waited to bring up baby names. There was a minor scare in the beginning of the pregnancy – it was a rough first trimester – so they waited to talk about names this time around. Ted definitely floated Star Wars ideas again, but she shot them down again. She refused to name her daughter Padme. However, the point was moot when the twenty week ultrasound revealed their second child was a boy. Ted was definitely pulling for Luke, but he didn't bring it up because he believed his wife wouldn't go for the name. Sure, it was popular, but it was also another Star Wars name. She had rejected Leia as a first name for a reason.
"Do you want to name your brother, Penny?" Ted picked up his daughter out of her high chair and put her in the playpen as he cleaned up.
Penny responded by winding up her musical toy (he was going to kill Barney and Robin for that the next time they saw each other) and giggling. "Mama!" she cried out.
"Sorry, kiddo. Mommy's at the store, but she'll be home soon." Ted knew how his daughter felt. They had only been apart for a few hours, but he definitely missed his wife. Some people made fun of them for it, but he didn't care.
He regretted the decision later to go to Farhampton for one last trip before their second child was born, but he thought it was a great idea at first. She happily agreed to it since Farhampton was their place and they wanted to take the kids there a lot in the future. It meant a lot to both of them. And when she went into labor in the middle of the night, they didn't mind all that much. They were excited to meet the second little person they had created. Penny had her own distinctive personality and new things were discovered about her every day. Both Mosbys couldn't wait to see how different – or similar – their little boy turned out to be.
A little while after they arrived at the hospital – just after 2:00AM - the second Mosby child entered the world. A nurse kept Penny busy since neither of her parents had time to look after her and all their friends were at home and sleeping. Ted didn't want to bother them until after the baby was born. "Ted, I love you, but I am never doing this again. We have one of each and that's enough."
"Our perfect little family. I'm good with Penny and our son." The instant he laid eyes on his son, Ted had fallen in love all over again. His heart had expanded more than he thought possible because of his wife and children.
"So names? We didn't fight about them like we did Penny, but we couldn't really agree on anything again. You know I liked Matthew."
He shook his head. "He's not a Matthew." Ted wondered if he should bring it up and eventually decided to go for it. A little scared, he took a deep breath before starting. "How about Luke?"
She took her eyes off the baby. "After Luke Skywalker?"
He nodded and panicked. "I know you didn't want to do it with Penny and I didn't want to bring it up, but I really think he's a Luke."
She laughed. "Ted, I'm not mad. I'll agree to Luke as his first name because I love it, but we need to compromise again. I pick the middle name." She was deadly serious about that.
"I'm not opposed to that." Ted was just so excited she had actually agreed to naming their son Luke that he would have done anything in that moment.
"His middle name is Norman." She was dead set on using it and wasn't about to back down.
"After your dad?" Ted's nose crinkled up. He liked his father-in-law, but Norman? Really? He backtracked when he saw the look on his wife's face. "Okay, Norman it is. Hello, Luke Norman Mosby. I'm your dad. Your mommy's holding you. And your big sister Penny is sleeping, but you can meet her just as soon as she wakes up." The baby cooed and they both melted.
Fortunately for them, Penny and Luke's first meeting went somewhat well (both of them broke into tears, which set off their mother) and they got along pretty well (most of the time). Even though it felt like it took forever, listening to their father's story of how he met their mother was actually pretty interesting to the Mosby siblings.