I do not own Pepe or Penelope

I own the whole Le Pew family.

Chapter Fourteen

Penelope's Surprise

The moment Penelope opened her eyes, she knew she was not at home. She was in a small room in a bed big enough for one person. The only covers on her was a heavy quilt. (In spring and summer, it was replaced with a light afghan.) She sat up straight and looked at her surroundings.

The room was not painted in color, but was just wood. There was a desk in the corner with many old paper sheets with musical notes and lyrics written on them. A small walk in closet and a window was on her right. She could see the grassy areas and small buildings still dim since it was six o clock. The nightstand at her right had old books titled Les Miserables, La Belle et la Bete, Napoleon I of France and The History of Joan of Arc.

Another book caught her eye that said: The Guide to Being a Romantic. She flipped through the pages and skimmed through the first few chapters. They went over how to charm your true love and win their heart. Pick-up lines and ways to kiss. It said the French kissing usually gets the tension between a couple stirring.

"He was definitely a teenager when he read this," she said aloud. She noticed several different sentences and paragraphs that were highlighted. Little notes were written at the side in a boy's messy handwriting.

She put the book down and got out of bed. She had been offered by Nancy to sleep in Pepe's old room. Pepe had slept on the window seat through the whole night with Marie and Ann. They were bound to feel cramped in the back and legs this morning for sure.

Penelope had enjoyed her night sleep. She dozed off wondering how many times Pepe had slept on the same pillow since her grew out of his crib.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy. She stood there for a moment rubbing her eyes. She felt sick in the stomach. It was still cold/flu season. She stumbled to the door and peeked outside. It was quiet. Perhaps no one was up. She went up the hallway to the stairs and went down.

Sure enough, Pepe, Marie and Ann were still where they were the night before. Pepe was now on his side and almost falling off the window seat. Marie was on her back and had both hands behind her head. Ann had her back to Marie and kept on kicking her foot against the windowpane. Pepe finally fell off and hit the floor. Amazingly he still stayed asleep. He only winced and mumbled "Quit hogging zhe bed Penelope."

Marie muttered; "Once upon a time, there was a frog."

Ann grumbled; "Gimme more apple cider!"

Penelope felt her heart beat fast and sigh blissfully at the sight. She went into the kitchen and found Nancy there reading a women's household magazine. A sweet aroma of tea and sticky rolls filled Penelope's nose and then made her feel nauseous.

"Good morning, are you hungry?" Nancy asked cheerfully.

"Yes and no." Penelope said. "I want to eat, but I feel too sick."

"Well, you just have some tea instead," Nancy said getting up to find a cup.

"Nancy?" Penelope said. "I feel strange."

"What kind of strange?" Nancy asked. "Do you feel guilty about sharing you first guilty pleasure to me?"

"No, not really." Penelope answered. "I feel hungry and sick at once."

She suddenly felt a nasty sick feeling in her stomach as if it was rushing up. She saw a huge tin bowl on the counter. She ran to eat and threw up.

"Oh dear," Nancy said. "Upstairs."

She helped Penelope up and shoved her into the small guest bathroom and held her at the stomach over the toilet. Penelope threw up more and spluttered.

"I am glad zhat I had eight children or else I would be passing out right now." she remarked to herself.

"I'm so sorry," Penelope coughed.

"Don't be Honey," Nancy said. "I've seen worse up-chucks."

Soon Penelope was done and Nancy sent her into bed to rest.

"Now, you let me know when you want breakfast," Nancy said. "Eat when you feel better. Do you want some water or tea?"

"Yes, both." Penelope exhaled to check her breath. It smelled awful.

Penelope lay in bed for the next hour sipping tea and water. She felt better, but not strong enough to hold down food.

She gently shut her eyes and fell half asleep. She heard the door quietly open and thought it was Nancy.

"No, Nancy I can't eat." She said.

"Nancy?!" said Pepe.

"Oh, its you." Penelope said, feeling relieved. She felt her heart beat a little fast at seeing

him. "Enjoy your sleep?"

"Yes, I awoke on zhe floor." he said. "I loved falling asleep zhere when I read to zhe twins when zhey were babies, but now that they are eight zhey take up a lot of room."

Are you okay? Mom told me didn't feel good this morning." he added.

"I'm almost much better," she said. "I just don't understand how I can feel sick, when I felt just fine yesterday."

"Maybe your going through zhat once a month thing zhat women go through," he said as he sat on the floor by her side. He got on his knees and kissed her on the lips. Penelope felt weak, but kissed him back.

She was remembering her talk with Nancy and something hit her.

"I ate more than usual, I sighed for no reason other than I was happy and felt a quick heartbeat around Henry. Besides, I threw up about three weeks later."

Penelope thought fast and remembered that at supper she ate more than she usually would have. She had sighed twice around Pepe and felt her heart race at the sight of him. She had thrown up today. Most of all, her menstruation was late. Very late. Two weeks late.

Author's Note: La Belle et la Bete is French forthe fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.