A/N - Hello! Spoilers for if you haven't seen the finale! This is based loosely on the 'Dear Baby' concept in Waitress. For names of related pies, see to Twitter. Hope you enjoy this, and hope you all absolutely loved the finale.
With her positive pregnancy test sitting on her right knee, Penny balanced her journal on her left knee and chewed on the end of her pen. She found it ironic that the day she found out she was pregnant was the same day that she realized her old journal had run out of pages and she had to start a new one. The thought brought a smile to her face, taking the pen away from her mouth and poising it ready on the page.
This journal was going to be slightly different. Heart skipping a little faster, Penny began to write.
Dear Baby,
Hi. It's your Mommy!
In case you ever doubt it, I want you so very much.
Maybe you weren't what we had planned, and maybe...
Maybe I started to doubt what I thought I wanted.
Or didn't want. Life is weird like that. I think it's okay to change your mind.
But I will never, ever change my mind about wanting you.
I'm terrified, but the good terrified. So that's good, right?
I already know you are everything I never knew I wanted.
I already know you are everything your Daddy ever wanted.
I hope one day you get this incredible feeling.
That moment you realize your life makes sense, even though it's different.
Different to what you planned, or dreamed, or imagined.
Because sometimes, different is good.
And you know that your happiness is going to make someone else happy.
When I get scared - which I will!
When I get scared, don't worry. I'm just trying my best. I'm learning.
You don't stop learning. Your Daddy taught me that.
God, he's going to be so happy.
I'm so happy.
For a while I stopped imagining what this moment might feel like.
I crossed it out as a possibility forever. And then, I simply uncrossed it.
I want you so very, very much, baby.
And once I've wrapped my head around this, and stopped freaking out...
...that may take a while...
Once I've done that, I will learn to be the best Mommy I can possibly be.
I love you already, baby. See you in eight months time!
Mommy xxx
Smiling, Penny glanced over her thoughts on the page. They had flooded out of her, and it felt wonderful knowing that she had been able to be so honest with herself and her baby. Their baby. Fear was not necessarily a bad thing.
Somewhere along the line, Penny had decided that if she ever did get pregnant, it wouldn't be a bad thing. The whole sperm donor thing had been a strangely eye-opening experience, not only about wanting children but about love and realizing that her love for Leonard ran deeper than her wish to keep life as it was. She didn't want to try for a baby, but she wasn't opposed to the idea of having one with Leonard.
Besides, condoms sucked anyway. So did the pill for giving her migraines - an annoying symptom that seemed to have been her thirtieth birthday present and stuck around.
As her mind briefly flickered to the night she was almost certain the baby had been conceived, Penny smirked and then suddenly jumped up. She had a sudden craving for French Toast, which she didn't find surprising. French Toast was her standard post-sex treat.
"If this is a pregnancy craving, is it weird that the baby craves my post-sex food?" Penny asked herself aloud.
Penny shrugged and got up off the bed, pulling off her pajamas as she made her way to the closet. Pulling out one of Leonard's shirts, she pulled it on and did up a few buttons, then retrieved the pregnancy test and stuck it in a pocket. Journal in hand, she headed to the kitchen and placed it on the island before pulling out the ingredients she would need.
Nearing the end of the cooking process, Penny finally heard the front door open and watched as her husband walked in with a small smile. "Hey sweetie, how was work?"
"It was good," Leonard dropped his bag off at his desk then walked over to give his wife a kiss. "How come you're already home?"
"Oh, I finished early," Penny shrugged, busying herself with the food to avoid eye contact out of sudden nerves. "I've been home for a little while so thought I'd get started on something to eat."
Raising a brow when he saw what his wife was making, Leonard let out a nervous chuckle. "Umm, French Toast for dinner? Were you home early to have sex with someone?"
"No, silly!" Penny laughed, rolling her eyes. Turning away from the food for a moment, Penny bit her lip and nudged the journal to Leonard. "Read this."
"What is it?"
"New journal."
"Oh... am I in trouble? Am I gonna have to wear lingerie again?" Leonard tried to remember if he'd accidentally picked up Penny's journal at any point.
"No, but... I might come back to that lingerie idea," Penny smirked. Okay, pregnancy has officially made me weird. "Just read it."
"O-kay..." Leonard looked at his wife in confusion for a moment before picking up the journal and opening it.
Switching off the hob, Penny bit her lip as she joined Leonard at the island. Her heart raced as she watched his face, tears filling his eyes and then hers as the realization hit him.
"Are you..."
"Pregnant? Yes," Penny gulped out.
"Oh my God. How?"
"Well, uh, sex, I suppose."
"And are you-"
"Sure? Yes. Happy? Surprisingly, very much so," Penny smiled, suddenly feeling a lot less nervous now that Leonard knew. "Are you happy?"
"Penny, I am - God, I am just - are you sure? That you're happy?"
Coming over to Leonard, Penny pulled him into a tight embrace. "I am so, so happy, Leonard. I'm scared, and excited, and nervous, and... haven't really processed it fully yet. But... I'm happy."
"Me too."
For a few minutes, the soon-to-be parents stood in their embrace, tears shamelessly soaking through each others shirts. They stayed like that even when the tears were done and all they felt were smiles and unexpected giggles that came with extreme outpourings of emotion.
After a while, Penny pulled back slightly to look at her husband. "You don't mind cold French Toast, do you?"
"I guess not, why?"
Raising her brows, Penny gave her husband a firm kiss. "Do you wanna?"
Dear Baby,
My God, I hope you love French Toast.
If you hate it, I'm so so sorry. You may have to learn to like it.
Mommy and Daddy xxx
