A/N - So over at the Snowflake Snugglers thread on FanForum we were talking about babies and how they might announce they're pregnant and then it was suggested to do a collection of one shots... and apparently that fell to me... and then we were talking about Penny's parents and I decided right, Meryl and Wyatt have to be in the first one because they're the best! So here we are. I dunno how frequent these will be. Just whenever I have an idea and write it out, I guess. So, anyway, enjoy the Lenny cuteness :)
"You fancy going for a ride this afternoon, sweetheart?" Meryl asked, placing down her now empty coffee mug. "Weathers good so we'll be able to jump the fences without getting all muddy everywhere."
"Oh, umm, no." Penny shook her head, pushing the toastie her mother had made around her plate before picking it up and taking a bite. "Mm, this is so good. I've missed these."
"Yeah, guess who had to go buy the ingredients and scrub the toastie pan." Wyatt sighed with an amused smile. "Nothing changed since you left, eh?"
"It's 'cause you love me, Daddy." Penny grinned through a mouthful of food. "Your baby girl comes home to Nebraska, if Mom asks you to do something, you do it."
"Mm, this really is good." Leonard nodded approvingly. "I see what Penny was going on about when she was going on about toasties on the plane."
"Well I'm glad you think so. That fares well for your visits since it's Penny's favorite thing to eat." Wyatt chuckled.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure her favorite thing to eat is something Leonard can provide." Meryl smirked. Unlike her daughter, the morning hours didn't stump her quick-thinking mind.
As Leonard choked on his bite of toastie, Penny's eyes widened in disbelief. "Mom!" Growing up, she'd gotten used to this joking and teasing from both her mother and sister - however, these weren't things she was ever comfortable with around her father, and she was certain Leonard hadn't expected this on their first morning in Omaha.
Thankfully, her father never really got the jokes. "Oh, you cook, Leonard?"
"I, uh, yes." Leonard replied awkwardly, before preoccupying himself with a large bite of toastie he could only pray not to choke on.
"What kind of stuff do you cook?" Wyatt asked, genuine interest in his tone, only causing Meryl to stifle a laugh.
"Uhm," Penny chewed on the food in her mouth as she tried to think of an answer. Looking around the kitchen, she prayed for inspiration as her eyes fell on the vegetables her mother had taken out to cook later for lunch. "Chilli. He makes chilli."
"As in chilli con carne?"
"Sure."
"You never used to like that."
"Oh, she does when it's Leonard's... chilli con carne." Meryl chuckled, before returning to her coffee.
"Good on you Leonard, she never liked it when I made it."
Waving her hands around her head and pulling a face, Penny groaned. "What the hell are we even talking about? Can we not talk about chilli? Or who makes it? Eugh!"
"I am so confused." Leonard mumbled.
"We're here for two weeks, unfortunately you'll get used to it." Penny told Leonard, before glaring at her mother. "Mom is a huge fan of ruining... well, everything."
"I don't ruin everything. I pick opportune moments for funny jokes."
"They're not funny." Penny insisted.
"Alright sweetheart. You just drink your coffee and then you to go get washed up, it's a nice day out, you don't wanna miss it, else you'll be stuck showing Leonard around Omaha in the rain."
"Yeah, about that." Penny said slowly, placing her hands in her lap. "I can't."
"You can't show me around Omaha?" Leonard raised a brow.
"No, yes, I can." Penny flashed a smile his way before looking at her now empty plate. "I was talking about the coffee."
"Now I'm confused." Meryl said.
"Me too." Wyatt nodded.
"You're... you're not gonna have your coffee?" Leonard asked, only half-jokingly in disbelief.
Penny looked from her parents to Leonard, chewing on her bottom lip. "I'm pregnant."
In the same moment, Penny pulled out Leonard's inhaler from her dressing gown pocket and shoved it into his hands, Leonard clutched his chest, Meryl screamed "oh my God!" while her arms flailed and knocked over her empty mug, whilst Wyatt dropped his mug and spilt coffee over the table.
"Are you serious?" Meryl asked, gripping the edge of the table as Leonard took two deep puffs from his inhaler, her voice high.
"I'm gonna have grandkids?" Wyatt asked quietly.
"Yup." Penny replied sheepishly, nervous from having made her announcement but amused by the chaos in front of her.
"We're having a baby?" Leonard finally got out, putting his inhaler down.
"We're having a baby." Penny confirmed, placing a hand on his arm, her grin not fading.
"This is so exciting!" Meryl jumped up and skipped around the table to hug her daughter, before pulling Leonard into the hug too. "Oh, you two! You make me so happy!"
"Congratulations, Slugger. You too, son." Wyatt grinned, a slight tear in his eye as he joined the embrace.
"Okay, guys, feeling the love but pregnant woman and asthmatic nerd here!" Penny reminded them after a while.
"Oh! Right!" Meryl jumped away, pushing Wyatt back slightly too. "Aww, you guys."
"We're really having a baby?" Leonard asked again, in a state of excited shock. "As in... a baby?"
"Yeah." Penny giggled, standing so she could move closer and put her arms around him. "We are."
"Oh my God," he half whispered, half laughed as it sunk in. "This is amazing."
"I know." Penny smiled, a tear coming to her eyes. "Oh God, I thought these tears were over, I already had them from freaking out and then from being happy and then from deciding to wait until now to tell you all at once..." Sighing, she giggled again. "Oh what the hell, I can blame the hormones for the tears." Putting a hand on his cheek, she placed her lips over his and kissed him, blushing with joy when he gently kissed her back.
"You gonna blame them for that too, sweetheart?" Meryl laughed. "Just not in the kitchen."
Turning her head to glare at her mother, Penny found she couldn't; her smile refused to leave her face. Dropping her hand from Leonard's face to link with his, she simply shrugged shrugged instead. "Fine. Not in the kitchen. C'mon sweetie, we've got some celebrating to do."
As the two of them left the kitchen, Penny giggling with a slightly amused and bewildered Leonard following her, Meryl let out a small laugh before she began to clean up the mess that was made as a result of the exciting news.
"Reckon she'll want chilli for dinner then?" Wyatt asked, grabbing a cloth to wipe up his spilt coffee.
"Oh, she will." Meryl smirked to herself. "I think we'll go out for dinner though to celebrate. You know, it won't grow up in a house with no wheels, so that's worth a bottle of champagne in itself when it comes to this family. Though I guess no champagne for Penny. Now go on, clean up your coffee. Let's be quick and get out to the horses so those two can celebrate without us hanging around."
