Crosses with Mr. Peabody & Sherman. In terms of this story, Mr. Peabody & Sherman takes place back in the time of the original show- 1959 when Sherman is seven. This makes Penny and Sherman twenty-eight when they decide to adopt Bernard as he was born in 1980.
This continuation takes place shortly after the events of Bern Unnoticed. Contains reference to the Mr. Peabody & Sherman movie and a whole lot of character death.
Metro City, Michigan
Bernard, the orphanage worker Ms. Emma named him, didn't make much noise- save for the few times she heard him make babble noises. Aside from that he was so painfully silent that it made her want to cry for the boy. He was keeping his beautiful voice to himself, a crime in and of itself, but she supposed it did no good to make him talk. So, as painful as it was to say, she didn't try to force him aside from gentle encouragement, because she could only go so far with him.
Manhatten, New York
"What do you mean we can't have children?" Sherman asked the doctor, confused as he put his hands on Penny's shoulders when she started to cry.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Peabody." the doctor said, looking truly sorry. "There's nothing that we can do. Even if we could make it so you could impregnate your wife, it wouldn't take because, unfortunately, she's barren." there was no other way to say it. They couldn't have children either way.
Sherman nodded once, a stiff move of his head was all he could manage as tears clouded his eyes behind his glasses. He had been looking forward to being a father- having children of his own. But apparently, it wasn't meant to be.
They were now in their apartment, Sherman sat beside Penny on the couch. He held her, letting her cry into his chest.
"I- I've been thinking..." he began, wiping his own eyes. "Maybe we could adopt? Look at me, I was adopted by Mr. Peabody, and I turned out fine." Granted Mr. Peabody was a dog and had found Sherman in a cardboard box in an alleyway.
Penny laughed, wiping her eyes. Sherman always knew what to say. "I guess we could look into it." She said, looking up at him. She was worried- what if the child didn't accept them? What would they do then?
"Alright, it's settled." Sherman smiled as he leaned down and kissed Penny's cheek.
A few months later, they were in Metro City, Michigan with Mr. Peabody as he was promoting his newest product- a hovering desktop for those that were on the go but had reports to do.
Sherman tried to explain to Mr. Peabody that yes, while it sounded like a promising invention, it probably wasn't going to be one of the companies biggest sales. But the stubborn beagle would listen, and so Sherman and Penny were dragged along for the ride.
It was then that Penny convinced Sherman to go to the orphanage, just for a look and to get his mind off of his adopted father's possible business failure- though it wouldn't matter as Mr. Peabody had a massive amount of income to spare.
They walked into the orphanage and were greeted by the caretaker, Ms. Emma. They explained that they were from out of state but looking to adopt, handing her some papers. After reading the papers, Mr. Emma allowed the two to converse with the children. It was then that Penny wandered off, leading Sherman and Ms. Emma to track her down.
They found her in the baby ward, looking at the infants with wonder. She walked to one specific cradle, the baby inside had brown eyes and matching brown hair that looked blonde in the light. She lowered her finger into the crib for the baby to grasp if he wanted, and she felt tears when his little fingers wrapped around her full size one. It was magic.
Sherman walked up behind her and looked down, his heart melting at the sight of the baby inside the cradle. The boy showed no fear of them, but rather a subdued form of curiousity, like he was focusing his tiny brain to work out what to do with Penny's finger other than hold it.
"He's the one, Sherman." Penny looked the her husband, her blue eyes shinning with certainty. This was her baby.
Sherman nodded, feeling the same. "I know." He said to her before he turned to Ms. Emma. "How soon can we start the process of adoption?"
"Well, I'll need to get in touch with the adoption center in New York and then we'll see where it goes from there." Ms. Emma said, hoping that they were the right couple to adopt Bernard.
Several months later, the adoption papers were signed and Bernard was officially named Bernard Paul Peabody. It was a mouthful, so they settled on calling him Bernard. Mr. Peabody was delighted to have a baby around the apartment again, not minding that Bernard was adopted. Penny's parents had been a bit more of a hard sell, but they warmed up to the idea after seeing Bernard for the first time.
It took some time for Bernard to adjust to his new surroundings- the noise, people and talking dog was a bit much at first. But within a week he was giggling loudly at seeing Mr. Peabody chasing a ball that he rolled across the floor, reaching for Patty when she and Paul came to visit, snuggling up to Penny during nap time. He took pleasure in stealing Sherman's glasses, and Sherman let him as payback for his taking his adopted father's glasses countless times as a child, and he enjoyed pulling on Paul's ties- "which is why Mr. Peabody and I wear bowties!"- after the first two visits, Paul buttoned his jacket to conceal most of the tie and loosened it in case Bernard got a hold of it.
The first few years went by with the blink of an eye. Bernard was six, his hair remenescent to a poodle's mane and wearing glasses, when Mr. Peabody passed away in his sleep. He refused to go to pre-school for fear the same thing would happen to his parents or grandparents.
Patty had died cancer five years later, devestating Paul and Penny. Bernard was eleven at the time, and that was what made the smiles less frequent. Paul died a few years later- liver failure as a result of his grief over losing Patty, Bernard was fifteen when he lost his ability to laugh along with his grandfather.
Sherman was, unfortunately, the straw that broke the camel's back. Bernard was twenty-five, having just moved to Metro City for a job oppurtunity with the Michigan branch of Peabody industries, when he got a frantic call from his mother begging him to come home. It was an accident with the WABAC, she had told him, it had malfunctioned when he was attempting to upgrade the software. It had exploded, rocking the whole complex. And by the time she got to him, it was too late. He was already gone.
Bernard stayed strong for his mother, holding her at the funeral, giving the eulogy. It was all too much, he broke down that night, crying and screaming. It was all too unfair. It wasn't fair! He thought his family was going to last forever, not all be taken away from him! And now he couldn't even go back in time and see them since the WABAC was destroyed.