Chapter 29

It was still dark when Leonard stirred on the bed as he heard noises coming from the bathroom. He immediately got up and went to the bathroom and saw Penny hunched over the toilet again. He rinsed a small towel and sat beside his wife to comfort her.

"Okay...I'm taking you to the hospital first thing in the morning whether you like it or not." Leonard said.

"Okay honey….whatever you say." she said as she wiped her mouth with the towel. Leonard hugged her and rubbed her back to make her feel better.

"Leonard, let's go back to bed….I think I'm gonna be okay now." Penny said. Leonard helped Penny get up and walked with her to the bed.

"Do you need anything? Water? Pepsi?" he asked her as she laid on the bed and got under the covers.

"No….I just need you here by my side….come on…" she said as she motioned for her husband to lay beside her. Leonard laid on the bed as Penny snuggled onto him, burying her face onto his neck. Leonard wrapped her in his arms as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

Leonard woke up around six-thirty and immediately went to the bathroom to freshen up. Penny was still asleep and he was thankful that she never got sick again. He decided to go to the hotel reception and saw Aliya was on duty.

"Hi…..Aliya right?" Leonard asked her.

"Good morning Mr. Hofstadter!…..what can I do for you?" Aliya said.

"Good morning…..I wanted to ask where is the nearest hospital? My wife has been having some stomach problems for the past two nights and I'm starting to get worried." he said.

"Oh my god! I hope it's not too serious?" she said. "There is a hospital about thirty minutes from here...if you want I can arrange for the hotel to bring you there?" she offered.

"That would be nice!….thank you." he said.

"What time do you want to bring your wife to the hospital?" Aliya asked.

"I was thinking maybe around eight…after we have breakfast." Leonard said.

"Okay no problem Mr. Hofstadter….I'll arrange for the car at eight." Aliya added. "Do you need anything else sir?" she asked.

"No that would be all…..thank you again." he said as he went back to their room and saw Penny still asleep.

Penny woke up a little after seven. Leonard told her about the hotel bringing them to the hospital at eight. They went down to have some breakfast at seven thirty and went to the reception desk a little before eight. They saw Anthony waiting for them.

"Good morning sir! Aliya told me to take you to the hospital. Are you feeling okay Mrs. Hofstadter?" he asked as they walked out into the parking lot.

"I'm feeling okay now….thanks for asking Anthony." Penny said as she held on to Leonard's hand.

Anthony started the car as the couple climbed on the back seat. They drove away merging into the traffic of the road. They reached the hospital in about forty minutes. Anthony went with them inside and said he will wait for them in the lobby. The couple went to the reception desk and made an appointment for a doctor after describing Penny's symptoms. They were given directions to the doctor's office. The couple went to the doctor's office and Leonard told the nurse of their appointment for Dr. Miller. The nurse told them that Dr. Miller will attend to them shortly.

After about an hour of waiting, they were called by the nurse to enter the examination room. Dr. Miller greeted them as she told the couple to take a seat. She talked to them while asking about Penny's symptoms as she started to write on her clipboard. Dr. Miller then called the nurse to have Penny's vitals taken – her height, weight, blood pressure among others. She also prescribed to have Penny's urine and blood tested just to be sure. The nurse went with them to the hospital laboratory to have Penny's blood and urine collected. After this, they went back to wait in Dr. Miller's office. Leonard stood up to get something to drink from the vending machine. Penny asked him to get her some orange juice.

After half an hour, the nurse called Penny in Dr. Miller's examination room. Leonard hasn't come back from the vending machine yet so she decided to go inside alone.

"Well Mrs. Hofstadter, I think congratulations are in order." Dr. Miller said.

Penny was confused. "Uh what!?…..what do you mean congratulations?" she asked Dr. Miller.

"You're pregnant Mrs. Hofstadter!….and based on your last period….for almost two months now." the doctor said.

Penny felt all the blood from her face drain away as she began to panic.

"LEONARD!" she screamed.

Leonard just returned from the vending machine and ran straight into the clinic when he heard his wife scream. Dr. Miller was surprised when Penny screamed.

"What happened?….oh my god is it serious!?…." he asked Dr. Miller.

Dr. Miller smiled and didn't say anything so Leonard turned to his wife. "What is it? Tell me!" he said as he moved towards Penny.

Penny punched him on the arm. "Ow!….that hurt….what was that for!?" he said as he touched his arm.

Penny yelled at him. "I'm pregnant you jackass!" she said as she folded her arms.

Leonard froze and just stared at his wife for about five minutes. He still can't process this news in his mind.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Penny glared at him.

Leonard then burst out laughing and jumping with joy as he moved closer to calm her down. "Oh my god!….I'm so happy honey!….we're gonna be parents!" he laughed as he hugged his wife.

Penny hugged her husband and began to cry. Leonard rubbed her back.

"Don't cry honey….this baby is a blessing to us…..this is the happiest day of my life!" he said as he looked at his wife.

"I'm scared Leonard…..are we gonna be good parents? She asked her husband.

"What are you talking about?….of course we're gonna be good parents!….we're gonna be the coolest parents!" he said trying to calm her down. "We got this….we're a team remember!" he said as he kissed his wife on the cheeks.

Dr. Miller decided to butt in. "Don't worry Mrs. Hofstadter, it's normal for pregnant women to be emotional….it's the hormones." she added. "It also explains your cravings and your heightened sense of smell." she continued. "Just make sure to avoid any alcoholic drinks and caffeine and you'll be fine…..I'm gonna give you a list of foods to avoid and I recommend you to have an appointment with your OB-GYN as soon as you get back to the US so they could monitor both your health and your baby." she added. "and you're in your honeymoon….you should relax and enjoy….the stress is not good for your baby." she said.

"Thank you Dr. Miller….we appreciate it." Leonard said.

"No problem….when your wife yelled that she wanted to kill you….I was thankful that she didn't notice the baseball bat in the corner there…." she pointed to the corner of the office.

"Why didn't you say so doctor!?" Penny said looking at her husband.

"That's not funny." he said as they went out of the doctor's office.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her as they started to walk along the corridor.

"Scared and a little bit excited." she said. "Honey….let's just keep this to ourselves okay?" she told him.

"Okay….whatever you want." he said as he hugged his wife.

Anthony saw them and walked beside them as they were exiting the hospital.

"Mr. Hofstadter I hope you won't mind me asking but is your wife going to be okay? I hope it's not too serious." he asked.

Leonard looked at Penny and raised his eyebrows. Penny nodded since it is their friends in California whom she wanted to keep this secret from.

Leonard looked at Anthony and made a semi-circle gesture over his stomach.

Anthony jumped and laughed. "Congratulations sir! That is good news!" he said as he shook Leonard's hand.

"Thank you Anthony." Leonard said as they climbed inside the car. Anthony started the car and drove back to the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Aliya and another receptionist welcomed the couple back and asked if Penny is going to be okay. Penny didn't say anything so Leonard made the gesture over his stomach. Aliya and the other receptionist screamed and giggled at the exciting news.

"Oh my god! Congratulations….this is so exciting!" they said smiling

"Thank you Aliya….I think my wife needs to rest for a bit." Leonard smiled at them.

They went to their room and Penny laid on the bed. "How are you feeling?" Leonard asked her.

Penny sighed and looked at him. "I don't know honey….I still can't wrap my head around it." she took a pillow and put it against her face. Leonard laid down beside her. Penny took off the pillow and snuggled up to her husband and buried her face on his neck. "This explains why I always want to smell you." she said as she hugged her husband.

"Maybe this also explains why you have been very frisky these past couple of days." Leonard said.

Penny looked at him. "Are you complaining about us having sex all the time?" she glared at him.

Leonard became defensive. "No….I kinda enjoy it actually." he laughed.

She smiled at him. "Well... do you wanna?" she winked at him.

"We already did it in the shower….where do you want to do it now?" he smiled at her.

"The couch looks cozy." she kissed him as she stood up and moved her finger for Leonard to follow her.

Leonard stood up and grabbed a blanket. He laid it across the couch as Penny pulled him in for a kiss. Leonard started to undress his wife while Penny did the same to him. They were naked in no time as Leonard pulled the blanket over them as they laughed and giggled while making love.