A/N From the comments in reviews and in PMs, it appears that the majority of those that replied do not want an epilogue at this time. So, I will simply continue to write on this story, but at a much slower pace. I'm aiming for a chapter every four to six weeks, but it may well vary, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. This will start after the babies arrive home, in the story. I will let you know two weeks before I start the longer timeframe.

With the longer and variable schedule of publishing, I would suggest, if you wish to continue to read this story, that you follow the story. Because, you will get notified whenever a new chapter is published. Now, you might consider following me, as an author, as I have some one-shot ideas that will probably, at some point, see the light of day and you would get notified when those get published.

It occurred to me that we have a lot of stories about the early days of Lenny, but not as many stories about later in their relationship. Part of this has to do with the reduction of Lenny on the show. But, there are still some possible continuations. Their discussion and how they got rid of the relationship agreement they signed(cause it's obvious they aren't following it). A bit more about the holiday argument about the tree and Luke Cage, those types of things. If I think of something else, it will be there also.

In this chapter, Penny starts watching a show. The individual subjects mentioned in the show, have actually been broadcast. I was trying to find something to hook Penny and remembered her comment in The Psychic Vortex about voodoo being real and not wanting to mess with it. I found my hook, you'll see when you read it. Enjoy

Chapter 82

Friday 19 June, 3:00 PM

Penny was unhappy. Sitting at home is driving me crazy, I don't know how Bernadette did it. She said she watched those detective shows. But her father was a detective, and mine's not and so, I can't get into them.

What Penny was trying to figure out was why was this week seemed so much harder than last week. As she thought about it, she realized that last week she worked Tuesday, so Wednesday and Thursday it was just nice to be off. Friday had been broken up by Louise coming over to sign her contract. Then she had the weekend with Leonard and the doctor's appointment on Monday.

What happened this week was I had the breastfeeding class on Tuesday, and that was it. I've been home alone the rest of the week, except for Wednesday night. At least Leonard is here at night and on the weekends. Leonard is here at night, I hope he gets off early today.

With that, Penny went back to flipping through the various streaming services, trying to find something.

Friday 19 June, 5:00 PM

"Arrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhh," yelled Penny, as she got back into the recliner. She had just run to the bathroom and upon returning noticed a voicemail from Leonard saying he would be late tonight, sometime after 7 PM. He said he would stop and get some Thai carryout for dinner tonight, on his way home.

This just made Penny mad. Well, I'm not mad at Leonard, just with the situation. She was struggling with even modified bed rest, and now Leonard wouldn't be home with her until later. She didn't bother to call back, because she knew he probably wouldn't answer. When he stayed late like this, it was usually because of meetings with the head of the department, or worse, with someone in administration. Penny didn't want to bother him.

She was still flicking through Amazon when she saw something titled, The St. Croix Voodoo Murders. Ooooohhhh, voodoo, she thought. This could be good, but I'm a bit scared. It's voodoo after all. She paused for a few seconds then pressed play. I'll watch it, it's not like I'll be doing any voodoo. She leaned back in her chair.

Friday 19 June, 7:45 PM

Leonard pulled into the garage, closed the garage door, and got out of the car. He entered the house, hoping Penny wouldn't be too mad at him for getting home so late. I don't know why President Siebert went on so long tonight.

Leonard said, "Hello," as he came in and noticed she seemed to be engrossed in some television show, so he put the carryout over on the island and then walked over to her. He leaned over to kiss her and she pulled back, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Not now, Leonard, they're about to announce the killer," she said, her eyes never leaving the screen.

Leonard was puzzled, "Penny, I just got home, can you at least pause it for a second?"

Penny shook her head, he heard a name from the TV, and then she finally looked at Leonard and said, "What do you need."

"What are you watching?" asked Leonard

Penny grimaced and pushed pause before saying, "It's called Unsolved Mysteries," said Penny.

"Well, can you stop, I have food," said Leonard.

"Go ahead and get it ready," said Penny. "There's only about ten minutes left here. We can eat when this is done." Penny unpaused the TV and her attention went right back to it.

Leonard still looked puzzled, but he went over to the cupboard and got down two plates. He started opening the containers and putting the food on them. By the time he had the food put out and warmed, Penny was walking over to him.

While they ate, Penny kept talking about the show, how she had just found it today. About the voodoo episode, then about two murder mysteries on farms. One set of murders in Germany in the 1920s and another murder in Florida, in the 1980s. It sounded rather gruesome to Leonard, but he didn't say anything. Penny was excited because she was going to start to binge the entire series after dinner.

After they ate, Penny went back to her recliner and started the series from the first episode. Leonard did the dishes, before playing several different video games on his computer. Around 11 PM, he had to force Penny to shut off the TV and come to bed. Penny reluctantly shut it off but spent the walk up the stairs talking about the show and how she would be watching it all of tomorrow. Leonard didn't say anything, just thought that at least she wasn't running around aggravating her high blood pressure.

Saturday 20 June, 10:45 PM

Penny was still watching Unsolved Mysteries, but she was feeling grouchy. She had to keep running to the bathroom all day. Along with being unable to get comfortable, almost like she felt when going to bed. Even with the recliner and her feet up, her feet hurt. The skin on her stomach was tight, and she was just tired of being pregnant.

She hadn't said anything to Leonard, as she had been watching the show all day. It had kept her mind off of her physical problems mostly, except when she had to get up to go to the bathroom. She and Leonard had talked and eaten together and he had been working on his project while she watched.

It was coming to the end of an episode and Penny was debating about watching another one when Leonard walked up. "You ready for bed?" asked Leonard.

She was grouchy and she snapped at him, "No, I'm not. It helps me not think about my aches and pains."

"You don't need to be so grouchy," said Leonard.

Penny immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, Leonard," she said, "I just feel achy, I can't get comfortable and my stomach feels stretched tight."

Leonard smiled at her and said, "Well, how about this. After this episode, you go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll get the lights and the doors, then come up and get ready for bed. After that, I'll rub your feet and put lotion on your belly. Then, we can just cuddle until you feel sleepy."

Penny would have been happy with the belly and foot rub, but cuddling sounded really awesome to her right now. She nodded, got out of the chair, and started for the stairs. Leonard watched her go, and after she got past the landing, he went to check the doors, before turning off the lights.

Sunday 21 June, 9:45 PM

Penny was in her chair, yawning. Leonard smiled to himself as he was expecting it. After all, she had gotten to bed late, last night. Watching Unsolved Mysteries, before being treated to a foot and belly rub, the latter with lotion.

This morning, they had both gotten up at the same time and went downstairs for their coffee. Penny immediately took hers to the living room and turned on the show. Leonard stayed at the island looking at his phone for an hour, then he got ready to go to the farmers market.

Leonard was gone for an hour and Penny hadn't moved, so he put the groceries away and prepared lunch. Howard, Bernadette, Halley, and Michael had come over after lunch. Penny was unhappy, wanting to watch her show, but hid it and helped Halley put her hand on Penny's belly, so she could feel the twins moving.

After an hour, the Wolowitzs left, Penny went back to watching the show, while Leonard spent the afternoon looking over some applications for his team next year, although he felt he should have their folders here. He would need five new grad students, and Tom and Keith would have to finish the selections. Around four, he stopped and changed over to video games. At six, he stopped the video games to start on dinner.

They ate at the island, and afterward, while Leonard cleaned up, Penny went back to watching the show. Leonard joined her and watched with her until he saw her yawning. He didn't insist she go to bed, but pointed out another episode would take her to almost 11 PM. She reluctantly agreed it was time for bed and started up the stairs, while Leonard locked the doors and shut off the lights.

They had gotten in bed, and Penny was snuggling up to Leonard and then started rubbing between his legs.

"Penny, we should be going to bed," objected Leonard.

"Awwww, I came to bed when you mentioned it," said Penny. "At least let's have some fun."

"You're not going to stop, are you?" said Leonard.

"To quote Sheldon, I think we both know the answer to that one," said Penny.

Leonard gave in to the inevitable, and they started kissing deeply. After a short bit, Penny pulled Leonard's head down to her chest. His tongue began flicking her nipple and he could feel it start to get hard. He covered the nipple with his whole mouth and began sucking while licking it with his tongue. Penny was enjoying the feeling immensely, hold his head to keep it on her nipple.

Suddenly, she felt a tightening in her belly and as it got stronger, she pushed his head away and said, "Leonard stop."

He saw a grimace on her face, looked at her, and said, "Are you okay?"

She continued grimacing but held up her forefinger. After about a minute, she lowered her finger and said, "Whew, I'm okay, but I think I had a contraction."

"Not a Braxton-Hicks?" asked Leonard.

"I don't think so," said Penny "This one was stronger, and lasted longer, I think."

"If it was real, then you should have another one," said Leonard. He looked at the glowing numbers of the clock and said, "In about 15 or so minutes."

He got up, turned on the light, had Penny sit up in the bed, and then they waited. They were wondering if Penny was in labor,

After sixteen minutes, Penny could feel a tightening in her belly and told Leonard. He started the stopwatch on his phone and Penny started breathing faster. She felt the tightening peak, then slowly go away. She told Leonard it had stopped and he said, it was 55 seconds.

"That's not Braxton-Hicks," said Penny.

"No, I don't think it is," said Leonard. "Okay, we wait some more, the next one should be in fifteen or sixteen minutes. I'll go get you some water, you need to walk around."

Leonard went downstairs and brought up two water bottles, one for each of them. He sat while Penny walked around and at fourteen minutes, Penny felt another one starting, she could even feel it with her hand on her belly. Leonard timed it and this one lasted 50 seconds.

They were now waiting for the next one and as sixteen minutes approached, Leonard prepared to time it with the phone. But, time continued by with nothing from Penny. Eighteen minutes, twenty minutes, and there was nothing. They waited for another half-hour, but the tightening never returned.

Leonard looked at their twins site, and found something called Prodromal contractions. These were more intense than Braxton-Hicks but less regular than true contractions. He really couldn't find anything more on them and they finally decided to go to bed and this time, they both decided they would go to sleep.

Monday 22 June, 8:45 AM

Penny and Leonard were sitting at the island, drinking their coffee, with a far-off look in their eyes. Penny thinking about the contractions, but Leonard was thinking about the files on the prospective students that applied for his team.

He had a few more sips of coffee, before saying, "Penny, I think I'm going to go in today and pick up the files of the students who applied for the team."

Penny narrowed her eyes at him and he quickly added, "I'm not going into work, just to pick up the files. I've got to have my selections for the new students picked out by the end of the month, so Tom and Keith can finish it up. I can get some of it done tonight, while you're watching that new show you can't stop talking about."

"It's called Unsolved Mysteries," said Penny tightly.

"Okay, okay, but you will be watching whether or not I'm working on the files or playing a video game," said Leonard. "I just feel I need to have the students selected, that's all."

Penny sighed and nodded, "I'm sorry, Leonard, you do need to have that done. Just make sure you have your phone, I don't want to start having contractions and not be able to get a hold of you. And, don't forget we have a…"

"Doctor's appointment at one," said Leonard. He showed Penny the phone then put it in his pocket, grabbed his keys, and kissed Penny. "I'll be back in an hour or so. I love you."

"Love you, too," said Penny. Leonard left and Penny walked out to her recliner.

Monday 22 June, 9:15 AM

Penny waited for fifteen minutes, making sure Leonard had actually left before dialing the number. She heard it ring, heard someone answer the phone and say, "Zangen Pharmaceuticals, this is Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, Vice-president of Research, how may I help you?"

Penny chuckled as she said, "You know, you could record that and save yourself ten minutes each time someone calls you."

She heard Bernadette sigh, "I know, I feel like it takes all day to get that out. What's up?"

"I have a question for you," said Penny.

"Okay, what is it?" said Bernadette.

"I had some contractions last night…"

"How long were they?" said Bernadette. "You still having them? Did you time them? What…"

"Slow down, slow down," said Penny. "I had three and they went away. That was around 9:30 or so, but I haven't had any since."

"Did you call Dr. Samuels?" asked Bernadette.

"No, I'm supposed to see her today," said Penny. "I just thought you might know something about it."

"No, I don't," said Bernadette. "Once my labor started, it didn't stop until they were both born."

"Oh, okay," said Penny, sounding disappointed.

"Sorry I couldn't help," said Bernadette. "Just make sure you ask Dr. Samuels today."

"I will, thanks Bernie," said Penny.

"How is everything else going?" asked Bernadette.

"I'm still having trouble sleeping," said Penny. "I also have to pee a lot and my legs and feet are swelling."

"So, about normal for the end of a pregnancy," said Bernadette.

"Yeah, I guess," said Penny, sounding sad.

"Cheer up, you're almost done," said Bernadette.

"Do you think that really helps," said Penny.

"No, I know it doesn't, that's why I said it," giggled Bernadette.

Penny laughed and said, "Goodbye."

Bernadette said, "Bye, Penny."

They both hung up.

Monday 22 June, 9:30 AM

Leonard was going through his files of students and picking out the ones who had applied for the team. He was hoping to get out of his office by ten, after all, he had given everyone the day off. He had the first three files when he heard, "What are you doing in here Leonard?"

He looked up and saw Keith, with three or four of the grad students following him.

"I might ask you the same question," said Leonard. "As for me, I'm just picking up the files on the students who applied for jobs with the teams."

"Oh, yeah, that's right, those have to be ready by the end of the month," said Keith.

"Yeah, so you can pick them," said Leonard. "So what are you doing here?"

"Just doing some checks on the material we used for the beamsplitter," said Keith. "Some checks to see what kind of experiments we can do, to check on resonances."

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea," said Leonard. "You just going to check different voltages?"

"Basically, the first few will be hit or miss," said Keith. "Oh, and don't be surprised if you see Tom and his retinue. He had an idea about the software, for analysis, and he wanted to do some checks with older data before he makes the changes in the current software."

"Jeez, I give you guys time off, and you come into work," said Leonard with a smile.

"I could say the same about you," said a smirking Keith.

Leonard laughed, "Yeah, okay, you got me."

"Well, I got to get going," said Keith. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Keith," said Leonard.

Keith left, and Leonard started looking at files again. Even with the brief interruption, he still should be finished by ten. He wanted to make sure he had the files and ate lunch, before taking Penny to her doctor's appointment at one PM.