"I thought you loved Pad Thai, Plum Sauce." Penelope looked up from the toilet bowl and groaned softly.
"I do, Kev. I don't know what's wrong with me. Would you get me a glass of water?" She heard him move out of her bathroom and she bent back over the bowl, throwing up once more. "Oh god, what did I eat that caused this?" she muttered, breathing heavily.
"I poured you some ginger ale, Penny. That might settle your stomach faster than water." Penelope smiled gratefully as she flushed the toilet. Kevin helped her up, handing her a wet washcloth which she wiped her face with before sipping at the ginger ale.
"Thanks, Kev. Let's go cuddle." She held out her hand and he clasped it, leading her into the living room. "Have I told you lately how grateful I am that we're working on our relationship?"
"I wasn't about to throw away four years of happiness with you. So, we won't move in right away, or get married. I love you, Penny, and if these are my boundaries, I'll live with them." He kissed her temple as they sat down on the couch. "Now, I do have something to ask you. Do you want to watch Galaxy Quest or Lady and the Tramp?"
"Galaxy Quest, please." She settled back in the couch while he put the disc in her DVD player. Once he'd gotten comfortable, she curled into him, relishing the feel of his arm around her shoulders. "I love this movie."
"I know you do, sweetie. Did you read recently where Sigourney Weaver said there's an R-rated version floating around out there?"
"No, I didn't. That would be so amazing to see, though." They watched for a few minutes and Penelope began to feel queasy again. "Excuse me," she murmured as she ran for the bathroom once more. As she threw up, her eyes focused on her box of tampons. It was the same box she had last used two months ago. "Shit."
"What is it?" She looked up at Kevin and smiled weakly. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Penny?"
"I think we need to run down to Wallgreens, Kevin."
"What do you need me to get? Tylenol, Midol, Nyquil?"
"Two different brands of pregnancy tests, actually. We didn't use protection during our reunion weekend because I wasn't thinking about that." She watched his smile grow and felt some of the panic fade from her body.
"You think you're pregnant?" He knelt by her side, gently spreading his hand across her stomach. "Oh my gosh, a little bit of you and me is growing in here. Do you want to call Morgan and let him know?"
"Not until we get everything confirmed. Are you really that happy about this?"
"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" He reached up and smoothed her hair back gently. "Imagine a little girl who looks as perfect as you running around here. I can see if there's another condo available her, that way they don't have to go far to see one of us."
Penelope burst into tears and wrapped her arms around him. "What did I do to deserve you?" she whispered as he rocked her back and forth. "All right, let's find out if my hunch is right." They stood and she clung to him as they left the apartment. It was a short walk down to the store and she led him to the pharmacy section.
"Why are there so many options?" Kevin asked as they looked at the shelves in front of them.
"I have no idea. Just pick one and I'll pick another." Penelope closed her eyes and blindly reached out for a slim box. Kevin did the same moments later and they went up to pay.
The clerk smiled as she checked them out. "Will this be your first?" she asked kindly.
Penelope smiled. "Yes, it will be, hopefully. All depends on what these say." Kevin tightened his arm around her waist and she looked up into his face.
"Well, then, I hope you get happy results."
"Thank you," Kevin replied as he took the bag from the clerk's outstretched hand. They got home ten minutes later and Penelope took a deep breath.
"I can't pee."
"What?"
"I don't have to pee. How am I supposed to take these if I can't pee?"
"By drinking a bunch of water. We can watch the movie up until you feel like you have to go." He kissed her sweetly and she smiled as she nodded. "Go, start it up while I get you a glass."
She went over and sat down once more, pressing play. Penelope giggled a little when Kevin handed her the largest cup she owned, filled to the brim with water. "I don't think I'll need quite this much liquid, honey."
He just shrugged. "Better too much than not enough."
As soon as the climactic battle scene began, Penelope felt her bladder tell her it was time to pee. Getting up, she grabbed the boxes and took them into the bathroom. She opened the first box and read the instructions. While she took it, she read the second box and then took that one. With the task finished, she stood and washed her hands before returning to Kevin. "Now we wait. Let's finish the movie before we check, okay?" He nodded and pulled her close to his side.
Once the credits started rolling, they stood and she led him over to the bathroom. "I'll look at one and you look at the other?"
"Sure." She handed him one and picked up hers. Happy tears prickled her eyes as she read the positive results. "Mine says Daddy."
"And mine says Mommy. Oh, I'm so happy!" He leaned forward and kissed her passionately and she wrapped her arms around him. He brought her out to the bedroom and helped her out of her dress. Kneeling on the floor, he kissed her stomach tenderly. "Our future is growing in you, Penny. It hardly seems possible, does it? Are we going to name her Emily, if she's a girl?"
Penelope slid down his body to kneel in front of him, looking deep into his eyes. "I would love that, Kevin." It had been so difficult to let Emily go, but she knew her friend had to find peace in the end. "Thank you." She unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders. "You're not nervous about this."
"How do you know?"
"You're not sweating. Take me to bed." He nodded and helped her to stand and they finished undressing. He tossed her a nightshirt and she pulled it on before climbing into bed. "I hope the baby has your hair, Kevin."
"And I hope the baby has your eyes and smile. And your heart." He kissed her softly as he pulled her flush against him. "Go to sleep, Penny." She nodded and felt her eyes close heavily.
When she woke up in the morning, she could smell breakfast cooking. "I don't know how much of that I can eat, Kevin. Food and I seem to be fighting at the moment," she said as she got out of bed.
"Just try to get something down. We have an appointment with your GP at 10:30." He smiled at her and she just shook her head. "I know, kind of fast, but I want to know what we're in for."
"I'll have to call Hotch. He needs to know why I'm not coming in."
"Already taken care of, my turtle dove. Though he doesn't know why you're taking a personal day. If you were thinking of grabbing a shower, I would do so right after you eat. We have to leave in about an hour."
She nodded and sat at the table, eating the eggs he'd prepared. With them gone, she got up and pulled out an outfit for the day and disappeared into the bathroom. Tucking her hair into a shower cap, she showered quickly and then dressed. Eschewing her normal makeup regimen, she applied just a light coat of lip gloss and a dusting of blush. "I'm ready, Kevin."
Picking up her purse and cell phone, she slipped on a light cardigan and waited for him by the door. They went out into the hall and Penelope locked the door. While they drove, Kevin formed a classical music station on Pandora. "That will be good for the baby, right?"
"JJ listened to it when she was pregnant with Henry." Sighing happily, she sank back in the seat, letting the music wash over her. By the time they got to the office, she was thoroughly relaxed. Handing Kevin her purse, she checked in and then joined him. Her stomach fluttered nervously and she took hold of his hand, squeezing lightly, trying to retain the calm of the car ride.
"Ms. Garcia?" the nurse called out moments later and she stood with Kevin, walking with him over to the door. "How are you this morning?"
"Wonderful. We think we're pregnant."
"That's what Mr. Lynch said when he called. Let me just take your vitals and then Dr. Kane will be in momentarily." The nurse took down her height and weight before showing them to an exam room where she recorded Penelope's blood pressure. "That's a little higher than I'd like, but given the circumstances, I think it'll go back down Just sit down wherever and she'll be here shortly."
After the nurse had left the room, Penelope hopped up on the exam table. "So, we're going to ask for the name of a good OB and what to expect at our first appointment with them. Here, take notes on Hera while we talk." She pulled out her iPad from her purse, thrusting it at him. He'd just called up the notepad app when her doctor bustled in.
"So, Penelope, I hear congratulations are in order. I'm sure you're going to have a lot of questions, most of which I can only answer half as well as an obstetrician. Here's a list of ones that I've worked with in the past. I would recommend Lisandra Moe. She generally works with later in life pregnancies. Now, she'll want to know as much about your family history as possible, so begin to gather that information. I'd expect to get in to see her in two weeks."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Kane." She nodded and left while Penelope and Kevin continued to sit there. "Well, I would have thought we'd get more time with her."
"She's busy, Kev. And we have our OB. Everything's fine. I guess."
They got up and he put his arm around her waist. "You guess?"
"Yeah. Now I have to get in touch with my brothers. This might actually be worse than morning sicknessā¦"
