A/N Well, we get a glimpse of them living in their new house, along with the pregnancy moving forward. Shamy has an interesting first in this chapter. I did get another chapter done, to get to three ahead, but publishing this leaves me with only two ahead. I've been writing, but I have been struggling with pain, again, so writing has been slowed, again. But, I keep pushing myself to write, simply because of how thin a margin I have. I'm bound and determined not to have to skip a week.
Chapter 67
Monday 11 May, 1:20 PM
Penny and Leonard had arrived early for their appointment, at 12:50 PM, and were talking about what was left to be done at the house. Mostly it was emptying the last few boxes, with a little bit of putting other things away. Leonard had a few more of his collectibles to put on display, and there were still some things to move from Apartment 4B. They were also going to have to buy a few more bookshelves, but, overall, they were very happy with what had been done. They were also very thankful for their friends, who had made it so easy for them.
The nurse came out and called for Penny, who went to the back with the nurse. It seemed to Leonard that Penny took longer to come back out than usual and he asked her about it when she finally did come back out.
Sounding frustrated, she said, "They did my blood pressure, then Sue left, came back, and added a few more vials of blood to take out. After, I started to ask her about it, but she just said the doctor would talk to me and did another three blood pressure tests."
Leonard didn't know what to say, so they just waited. Again, it seemed to be longer than normal until Dr. Samuels called out Penny's name and the two of them rose and walked back to Dr. Samuels's office. After being seated, they said hello to each other before Dr. Samuels looked at her paperwork and asked, "How did the closing go?"
"It went great," said Penny. "Our friends helped us move, and no, I didn't do much except take things out of the boxes, and even then, it was the lighter things."
Dr. Samuels smiled, "That's good." Then, she became serious, "What's not so good, is your blood pressure. It's still 140 over 90, and you don't have the closing today as a possible reason. We took a few extra vials of blood to do some extra tests today."
"I was going to ask you about that," said Penny.
"Penny, have you been swelling up, or have you had shortness of breath when you aren't moving around?" asked Dr. Samuels.
"No, neither of them," said Penny.
"Are you having any problems with your vision?" asked Dr. Samuels.
"No, nothing there either," said Penny. "What's all this about?"
"I'm just checking on a few things," said Dr. Samuels. "I would also like for you to give a urine sample, after your appointment. See, I'm worried about something called pre-eclampsia. It's a problem associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy."
"Those questions I asked you about are some of the problems that show up with it," said Dr. Samuels. "There are a few other things we can check, which is why we took the extra blood, and why I would like the urine test."
"Should I be worried?" asked Penny.
"No, not yet," said Dr. Samuels. "I just want to check. You gained three pounds, which for you is a personal record for a week, but you are still below average, so we don't have to worry about too much weight. You have a couple of the risk factors, multiple fetuses, and a first-time pregnancy, and we just want to limit the possible complications."
Penny said, with a quaver in her voice, "What are the possible complications?"
Dr. Samuels hesitated. "Dr. Samuels, if you don't tell us, I'll just look it up after I get home," said Penny.
Dr. Samuels sighed and nodded, "Okay, for you, the mother, there is a chance of having your red blood cells breakdown, a low blood platelet count, impaired liver function, and kidney dysfunction. Fetal complications can include fetal growth restriction, pre-term delivery, and placental abruption, that's where the placenta breaks off from the uterus. I don't mean to scare you, but you insisted and I'm just trying to point out how serious this could be. You said you would read it yourself, so I thought it best to tell you."
Penny, and Leonard, now looked very worried, and seeing this, Dr. Samuels continued, "But, you shouldn't have to worry. You don't have any of the other symptoms, so I suspect you don't have it. But, we'll run those other tests and I'll let you know next week. We'll continue to monitor you and if the other symptoms develop or your blood pressure increases, we will change our treatment."
Penny looked relieved, as did Leonard.
"One more thing," said Dr. Samuels. "Can you do me a favor and call and ask your mother if her doctor told her she had it, or if she had high blood pressure during pregnancies? If she just had high blood pressure, we don't have to worry as much about the pre-eclampsia."
Penny nodded, looking even less upset.
"Now I want to keep you on the Methyldopa, but I want to increase it. You've been taking a half pill, of one milligram, twice a day. But, I want you to increase it to one pill, of one milligram, twice a day. Then we can check on you next week. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do," said Penny. "I get why you are increasing to one, twice a day. Do you think you'll increase it to the max dose of 3 milligrams a day, or move me to something else, like Labetalol?"
"I'm not sure…wait, how do you know about Labetalol?" said Dr. Samuels. "It's…oh, yeah, you sell pharmaceuticals, don't you?"
Penny giggled and said, "Yeah, you almost forgot, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I almost did," said Dr. Samuels, also smiling. "Yes, we would increase the Metheldopa, but if your blood pressure is still increasing, we would go to the Labetalol, simply because those two are the safest for women who are pregnant. Now, how about we get a look at those girls of yours?"
Penny got up and walked over to the examination table. She pulled her pants down below her belly and raised her blouse, while Dr. Samuels prepared the machine. As usual, Dr. Samuels moved it around Penny's belly for several minutes, made some changes to the dials, then moved it around for another few minutes. However, this time, she made more dial changes and checked again, before turning the machine off. She gave Penny the things to clean off her belly, then said she'd be back in a few minutes.
Penny cleaned off, then she and Leonard sat, waiting for Dr. Samuels. She returned, as usual with a handful of papers. She sat down and looked over them and said, "Sorry, again there are no cute images of them doing something. I am getting the impression that baby B, rather likes laying crossways. Almost every week, that's how it is in the ultrasound. Baby A is head down, so that's a good thing."
"My calculations show they are both 16.5 inches long, remember those are estimates and they won't be growing much longer. I suspect Baby A is longer, but she's curled up, so it's difficult to tell. On the other hand, Baby A gained seven ounces and Baby B gained six. They are both a bit below the median weight for twins, but still within the normal average. So, except for your blood pressure, which we will watch, you and your babies are in great shape. By the way, what kind of cream are you using on your belly?"
Penny looked surprised by that question, "Nothing more than I had been using before I got pregnant. Why?"
"I'm not seeing any stretch marks on your belly," said Dr. Samuels. "It's very unusual for a woman carrying twins. Although again, it could be related to your ab strength, because your stomach isn't protruding as much as is usual for twins."
"I've just been putting my cream on every night," said Penny. "And if I saw what I thought was a stretch mark, I put some extra there."
"Okay, sounds about right," said Dr. Samuels. "Anything else for me?"
Penny hesitated, then said, "Why the extra look today? You did a few more things with the ultrasound."
"You seem to have a rather large placenta," said Dr. Samuels. "Not really unusual with multiple babies, but I was checking on it. And, yes, it is bigger than most."
"Is that bad?"
"No, not really," said Dr. Samuels. "There are some possible things that can occur, but all we can do is check on it, and be ready. Knowing is half the battle."
"Oh, okay," said Penny starting to rise. "I guess that's it then."
"Oh, wait a minute," said Dr. Samuels. "Do you have the paperwork to allow Leonard to sign off on any surgery we may have to do?"
Leonard started, "Oh yeah, I have it."
"Here, give it to me," said Dr. Samuels. "I'll put it in your folder, which we'll take with us to the hospital."
Leonard handed it over, then he and Penny rose, thanked Dr. Samuels, and walked out to the receptionist. They made their appointment for the next week and then Leonard headed back to work, while Penny waited to give her urine sample.
Monday 11 May, 8:20 PM
Sheldon was meticulously going through his luggage for the third time, making sure everything was packed. Amy was working on a paper. She understood his checking and rechecking, it was what Sheldon did after all, so she started working on the paper to keep from saying anything. He finally closed his suitcases and put them by the front door.
He walked up behind her and kissed her just behind her ear. He knew she enjoyed that and her response was what he expected.
"Are you ready?" asked Amy.
"I am," said Sheldon. "Are you?"
"I'm almost always ready," said Amy. "Let's go." She grabbed his hand and was leading him to the bedroom, when she said, "You know Sheldon, this will be our first time in 4A."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, all our other times have been across the hall, or in New York," said Amy as they entered the bedroom.
"Not true," said Sheldon. "There was that one time in the bounce house, at Howard and Bernadette's."
"Your right," said Amy, smiling at the memory. "But this will still be our first time in this apartment."
Sheldon looked at her, nodded, and then kissed her deeply, pulling her toward the bed.
Tuesday 12 May, 9:20 AM
Leonard was going over the schematic, then checking the wiring list against the schematic. It was something he didn't think of doing last time, but he was making sure everything was checked out, this time before they started the tests.
He planned to do all the last minutes checks with Tony. Tony was working on the notes for his dissertation, as he would be working on the first part, of the first draft, over the summer. Tony had been invaluable to him since the first of the year. And Leonard planned to look over some end-of-year gifts for him.
Leonard came to the end of the list, and so far, everything matched. He was planning on spending the rest of the morning in the lab and then going over the final sequencing for the tests tomorrow. He rose, left his office, and headed toward the lab.
Tuesday 12 May, 9:30 AM
Sheldon and Amy were waiting just outside the security gate. There weren't many people in line, and they had waited until there was only a half-hour before boarding started for Sheldon's flight. Now, he had to go and they were saying their goodbyes.
"Make sure you call me as soon as you get in," said Amy.
"I will," said Sheldon. "Don't you think I can make it there on my own?"
"Well, I worry about you," said Amy.
"You shouldn't, after all, I made it to Princeton by myself, to propose to you."
"Yes, yes you did," said Amy with a smile, remembering. "But, I still would like to know you made it safely."
"Don't worry, I'll call," said Sheldon. "Goodbye, Amy, I'll talk to you tonight."
"Goodbye, Sheldon," said Amy, kissing him and then pulling him in for a hug.
He looked exasperated but hugged Amy back. He broke the hug, grabbed his carry-on, and walked through the security gate, before turning back to wave at Amy. Amy waved back, then turned to start walking back to her car.
Tuesday 12 May, 2:30
Penny had been struggling all day. For some reason, she had started sweating as soon as she got into work. As the day went on, she continued sweating, taking trips to the restrooms to wipe her forehead, then her face, and eventually her armpits with paper towels, soaked with cool water.
Even during lunch, in her office, she had to stop so she could run to the restroom, to wipe down. If this continues for the rest of the day, I'm going to bring in some rags and ice tomorrow, she thought.
Tuesday 12 May, 7:30 PM
Amy had gotten a quick call from Sheldon when he landed, and he promised to call later that night, from his hotel room, after he checked in, talked to Brookhaven, and had dinner.
He had called at 9:30 PM his time and had interrupted Amy's dinner, not that she minded. They had talked for almost an hour when she heard him yawn. Realizing it was 10:30 PM, where he was, well past his bedtime, so she told him to go to bed. They exchanged their goodbyes and I love you's, before disconnecting. After hanging up, Amy was thinking about the previous night and starting to get horny. She thought about it, and went to their bedroom, and pulled out her electronic version of Sheldon.
Tuesday 12 May, 9:30
For the first time in their house, Leonard and Penny ate, then sat and watched some TV for the evening. There were still a few boxes to unpack, there was still some stuff in 4B that needed to be brought over, but, for the most part, they didn't need to do anything tonight, so they were taking the night off.
"So, how's living here so far?" asked Leonard.
"Well, I don't know my way around in the dark," said Penny. "But, I love all the space we have here. Eating in the kitchen is nice, although we still have to get our own stools. I can imagine how damn hectic it's going to get around here, once the babies are born."
"I love the shower," said Leonard. "And, I can't wait to try the tub with the jets."
"Yeah, that will be fun, and all the space on the bathroom counter for my makeup. Oh, and how big the closet is, I've never had a closet that could fit all my shoes."
"I like having all the cables running where we can't see them," said Leonard. "I mean we have the two TVs and both computers hard-wired into our network, and the network cables are mostly hidden."
Penny gave him a hard look, "Did you really need to make such a long password?"
"Yes, it makes it harder to hack," said Leonard, grinning. "And besides, you only had to enter it once, and now your phone and computer remember it."
"Yes, Leonard, I know," said Penny. "But did you really have to make it PennyyougotyourownWIFI."
Leonard giggled, "Yes, yes I did. Sheldon was always telling you to get your own WIFI, now you have one."
"Well, at least I don't have to climb up and down those stairs to do laundry," said Penny. "Having the washer and dryer right outside our bedroom door is really handy. And, speaking of stairs, climbing up and down those stairs hasn't been the most fun."
"Come on," said Leonard. "You spent twelve years climbing up three flights of stairs."
"Yeah, but I was thirty pounds lighter," said Penny wryly.
"If it gets to be too much for you, we could always sleep down here, in the downstairs bedroom."
"We'll see," said Penny. "If it comes to that, at least we have a room I can sleep in." Penny chuckled, "What is funny, is you're going to have to do the laundry, if I can't get up the stairs."
He looked at her in mock horror. Penny again chuckled, then rubbed her hand over his arm, "For now, how about we go upstairs and get ready for bed?"
Leonard nodded, walked Penny to the stairs turned off the downstairs lights, and started up the stairs.