Chapter 63

The next day, Leonard woke up feeling a little uneasy from being jet lagged the day before. He sat up on the bed and saw that he was alone in the room, thinking that his wife might be in the bathroom getting her morning sickness. He put on his robe and glasses before going straight to the bathroom to splash some water on his face, not finding his wife inside. After washing up and relieving himself, he walked towards the living room and kitchen, seeing Penny on the kitchen island, rummaging through his duffel bag.

"Honey, what are you doing?" he asked, walking towards her.

"I wanted to take out your dirty clothes and then I found these." said Penny showing him the 'souvenirs' he brought home with him from Denmark. "These smell delicious. What are these anyway?" she asked.

"Oh, those are the dried fish that Noah and his dad gave me as a remembrance of me staying with them for almost a month. They sell this stuff over there." said Leonard.

"These look delicious. How do you cook these anyway?" said Penny.

"Really? You don't find them gross at all?" said Leonard.

"No. Why would you think that?" Penny said as she unwrapped one of the packages.

"Well, maybe because the first time they served that to me, I almost threw up." said Leonard. "But it's an acquired taste I suppose."

"I wanna try this honey." said Penny.

"Okay. You just fry them to a crisp and dip them in some vinegar." said Leonard.

"Sounds easy enough. I'm sure the young lady would like these." said Penny while smelling the dried food products. Leonard looked at his wife and found her weird food craving a little amusing. "What is this?"

"Oh that is their local caviar." said Leonard. "You know, fish eggs."

Penny got a little exited. "I'm gonna try this too."

"Okay honey, just take it easy in case you don't like the taste alright?" said Leonard.

"Don't worry sailor, I got it!" she said, making Leonard laugh as Sarah walked out into the hall, rubbing her eyes. "Hey young lady! Do you want to try some of this stuff your dad brought home with him?" she asked the young lady.

Sarah went near her stepmother and saw the dried fish products, frowning after smelling them. "That smells weird mom." said Sarah.

Penny shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, more for me then." she said.

Leonard tapped his daughter's shoulder. "Let your mom do what she wants honey." he said before leaning over to whisper in Sarah's ear. "It's a pregnancy thing."

"Hey I heard that!" Penny said making them laugh.

"Dad, did my mom acted weird when she had me?" asked Sarah.

"Oh yeah." Leonard said.

"Really? Like how?" Sarah asked as Leonard started to help Penny prepare breakfast.

"Well, let me see...it was many things actually...like being overly sensitive to some smells...sometimes she would get furious at me for no reason." said Leonard.

"Really?" Penny said.

"Yeah...sometimes she would tell me to be quiet when chewing my food...and when I did what she says, she would get angry at me. It was so weird." said Leonard.

"That doesn't make sense at all." said Sarah.

"Well, sometimes that's how pregnant women act. I remember one time, when I got into our apartment, I saw her wearing one of my used shirts, like the shirt I wore the day before when it was hot outside and I sweated a lot. When I asked her why she's wearing it, she said she liked how it smelled." said Leonard, laughing a bit.

"That is gross." Sarah said, frowning a bit. "That must've smelled funny."

"It did but it was either that or have your mom yell at me." Leonard said to his daughter as they start having breakfast.

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After breakfast, Penny took Sarah to the bathroom to take a bath while Leonard cleans up in the kitchen. Leonard looked at his wife and daughter and can't keep himself from smiling, happy that he was back to having a simple and uneventful morning with his girls like they did before he left for his trip.

"Okay the little girl is taking a bath." said Penny, hurriedly pulling Leonard into their bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Leonard asked, having a clue at what his wife wanted.

"What else? It's a pregnancy thing." Penny said as she slammed the door shut before pushing Leonard on the bed while starting to take her robe off. "Hurry up!" she said as Leonard laughed.

"If I knew that I would be coming home to this, I would have asked the embassy in Copenhagen to send me home faster." he said as he pulled his wife closer.

"Shut up sailor." said Penny while burying her face on his neck.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After having a quick one in the bedroom, the couple went out into the living room where Sarah was sitting, watching TV. The young lady looked at them, curious as to why they were being weird.

"Why is your hair all messed up mom?" Sarah asked.

Penny quickly tried to comb her hair with her hands. "Uh nothing sweetheart...your dad and I are just..."

"We're just looking for something in the closet." Leonard quickly said.

"What were you looking for anyway?" asked Sarah.

"Just some stuff." Penny said, walking towards her stepdaughter. "What are you watching?" she said.

Sarah squinted her eyes at Penny. "Why are you acting so weird mom? Is this a pregnancy thing too?"

"Yes sweetie, it's a pregnancy thing." Penny said, sighing with relief.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and went back to watching the TV. "Are we gonna go to the mall today daddy?"

"Uh, yeah sure, if you want." said Leonard, feeling relieved that him and Penny were able to get away with it.

"Okay, I'm just gonna take a quick shower and get dressed." said Penny.

"Or we could just stay here if you want dad." said Sarah. "Maybe you're still tired from your trip." said the child.

Leonard smiled at how thoughtful his daughter was. "Actually, can we just stay for the whole day honey?" he said to his girls.

Penny nodded. "I don't mind if we stay here all day."

"Okay mom." Sarah said.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The young family stayed all day in the apartment with Leonard telling them all about his survival story and his almost month-long stay in Denmark. They were sitting on the couch watching television with Leonard sandwiched between his girls.

"So what you're saying is after almost dying at sea, you agreed to help out this Frederik and Noah going out to sea again and catch some fish?" Penny asked, unable to believe her husband's story.

"I'm not joking!" said Leonard, laughing a little. "I mean I tried not to go but I was gonna stay there for a while and I might as well do something."

"I can't believe that you would risk your life like that again!?" said Penny. "What if something happens and you get into trouble again?"

"Mom is right dad. What if the boat broke down, or you fall over to the side?" said Sarah.

Leonard pulled his daughter, putting his arm around her. "The good thing is that I'm here now and I promise I'm not gonna leave again, okay?" he said to the young lady.

"So you basically had nothing on you but your clothes when they rescued you daddy?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, pretty much. I had some money in my pocket and my inhaler but other than that, I had nothing." said Leonard. "That's one of the reasons I agreed to help out with Noah and his dad. I had to at least pay them by working at their boat. They never asked me to pay them or anything but I don't want to just stay there waiting to be sent home." he said.

"Well I'm glad you're gonna be here to see me and my team compete with that other school." said Sarah.

"I almost forgot about that. Are you guys prepared already?" asked Leonard.

"They've been going at it every weekend here with Sheldon and the guys." Penny said.

"Really? That was so nice of them." said Leonard.

"Uh huh, aunt Amy had to stop uncle Sheldon because he felt he was the one going to compete." Sarah said, laughing a little.

"Oh my god, what did Sheldon do this time?" he asked.

"Well, I suggested they study like one of those TV shows where the host asks a question and the opposing teams try to beat each other by answering first. So we divided the kids into two teams with the guys joining them." said Penny.

"Aunt Bernie decided to be the host daddy." Sarah chimed in.

"Yeah, but Sheldon kept buzzing in and saying the answers out loud without giving the kids an opportunity to answer." said Penny. "He said that the point of the competition was to buzz in first and give the correct answer which exactly what he was doing."

"Uncle Sheldon is like a stubborn little kid." Sarah said.

"What did you do?" Leonard asked, slightly amused by their story.

"We threw him out of the apartment!" said Penny, making them all laugh.

"Oh my god! How did you manage to do that?" Leonard said.

"Aunt Bernadette went at him like a wolverine so he had no choice but to leave. I'm telling you daddy, uncle Sheldon was like a sick puppy!" she added while laughing with her parents.

"I think he peed himself when Bernie growled at him." Penny added.

"It was so funny." Sarah said.

"I wish I was there to see it." said Leonard. "So I guess you guys are already prepared huh?" he asked his daughter.

Sarah nodded. "I think we are dad. I just hope I don't panic."

Leonard held her close, kissing her cheek. "I'm sure you're gonna do great there honey." he said.

"Your dad is right sweetheart, just relax and don't think about it too much." Penny said as she lay her head on Leonard's shoulder.

"Dad?" said Sarah.

"Yeah?" Leonard said. "What is it?"

"Are we still going to Nebraska to visit grandpa and grandma?" asked Sarah.

"Of course we are." said Leonard, smiling at his daughter. "But we'll go there after your contest okay?"

Sarah leaned over and hugged her father. "Thank you dad."

"I'm sure they're gonna be thrilled to see us there now that you're gonna have a baby sister or brother." said Penny.

"I'm just excited to meet all the farm animals that grandpa has, especially the horses." said Sarah as they continued sharing stories, having a fun quality time just by hanging out in the living room.