Chapter 76
"What do you want me to do Howard?" asked Leonard as they put their food trays on the table before sitting down, joining Raj and Sheldon at the cafeteria.
"I don't know Leonard..." said Howard.
"If there's an instruction manual for this I'll be more than glad to share it with you." Leonard said.
"Leonard's right dude...it's still her decision if she wants to have a baby or not." Raj chimed in.
Howard took a deep breath and tried to stay calm even if his best friend isn't taking his side. "It's still not right Raj...it should be our decision since we're husband and wife now." said Howard. "I mean look at Leonard and Penny here...as soon as they got married, Leonard wasted no time in getting her knocked up." he added.
"Howard...that's not what happened to me and my wife." said Leonard.
"Really? And how would you put it then?" Howard asked.
"I guess we just got careless...Penny and I talked about having kids but we were planning on doing it in a few years." said Leonard.
"And now you guys see my point right?" said Howard.
"We see your point Howard but I still don't know how to help you with your problem." Leonard said.
"Sheldon, aren't you gonna say something?" Raj asked, looking at him.
"I'm not talking to you until you two apologize for making me look like a fool." Sheldon said with a stern expression, obviously still not over of them making fun of him with Leonard's son.
"Come on dude...we said we're sorry...we just wanted to make William laugh." said Raj. "And it worked right?" he said.
"I can't believe you made fun of me just to entertain an infant." Sheldon said.
"Okay Sheldon, they already apologized so you need to let it go." said Leonard.
"That's easy for you to say...you we're not the one who's made fun of." Sheldon said.
"Can we just go back to the topic at hand here?" said Howard.
Sheldon sighed. "Fine. Where's your wife now?" he asked.
"At work I guess...she texted me this morning but I haven't replied to her yet." said Howard.
"You should call her…" said Leonard.
"I don't know...maybe later...I don't know what I'm gonna say to her right now." said Howard as they continued having lunch, not able to find a solution to Howard's predicament.
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"Aren't you supposed to be at work today?" Penny asked as she welcomed Bernadette into the apartment while carrying William in her arms.
William giggled and laughed at seeing Bernadette. "Aww...come to aunt Bernie honey!" Bernadette said while taking the baby from Penny before sitting at the living room. "You are such a sweet boy huh!?" she added.
"Bernie...is everything alright?" asked Penny as Bernadette sat the baby on her lap.
Bernadette took a deep breath before looking at Penny. "Howie and I fought last night." she said.
"Oh my god! What happened." asked Penny.
"We fought about your son...well more specifically about getting this man someone to play with." Bernadette said as she cuddled William who was happily playing with the toy in his hands.
"Howard wanted you to get pregnant?" Penny asked. "What did you say to him?"
"I told him that I'm not sure if I wanted to have kids." Bernadette said, slightly surprising Penny.
"Oh...okay...and I'm guessing that wasn't what he wanted to hear huh?" asked Penny.
"No...he kinda lost it and stormed out of the apartment." said Bernadette. "I'm guessing he crashed in Raj's place last night."
"How are you holding up? I mean, you really don't want to have a baby?" Penny asked.
"I'm not sure Penny...thinking about it scares me to death...especially when I saw how much you suffered when you were pregnant with this young man." Bernadette said.
Penny sighed and gave her a weak smile. "Well you have a point...there was a time that I really wanted to kill Leonard for getting me pregnant...the morning sickness was just too much and I was always irritable...and bloated." she said before taking her son from Bernadette and showering him with kisses, making William scream with laughter. "But when the nurse finally put William in my arms, all of the suffering and pain just melted away." she said.
Bernadette smiled back and played with William's hands. "I guess Howie saw how happy Leonard was with having a new baby...you know with how traumatic his experience with his first child was..." she said.
"I never thought of it that way Bernie...I was just glad that Leonard had endless patience when I was pregnant...and my daughter also made it easier for me." Penny said. "I'm surprised you guys haven't talked about this before." she added.
"We did...but it was...oh I don't know what to do Penny!" Bernadette said, putting her face on her hands and crying a little. "I don't want to lose Howard over this."
Penny put her hand on Bernadette's shoulder to console her. "Hey...don't freak out, I'm sure Howard doesn't want that too..." she said, hoping Bernadette would calm down.
"What should I do Penny?" asked Bernadette.
Penny sighed as she cuddled her son. "I don't know what to tell you Bernie...I mean, it's still your body and your decision...it's difficult taking care of this young man and I'm still learning." she said. "Having a baby is not all cuddles and cuteness...most of it is giving this handsome man baths...changing diapers...being worried to death when he gets a fever or something...but I still won't trade it for anything else." Penny said, kissing her son on the neck.
"I know...me and Amy can see how happy you are." said Bernadette.
Penny smiled at her. "I am happy Bernie...Leonard is so great...and Sarah is just amazing." she said. "I guess I just lucked out...especially with this young man right here." she added nibbling on William's neck, making him scream with laughter.
"Can I stay here for a while Penny?" said Bernadette.
"Yeah sure...can you watch over him, I'm going to the bathroom." Penny said, handing her son over to her friend before standing up to go to the bathroom.
"Come here little man...you are so handsome huh!?" Bernadette said while tickling him. William laughed and giggled while Bernadette looked at him as she thought about her husband, still unsure what to feel about having kids.
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Later that afternoon, Leonard and his daughter arrived in the apartment along with his friends Sheldon, Howard and Raj, carrying takeout food for dinner.
"Honey, we're home...the guys came along so we can have dinner together." said Leonard as they saw Penny and Bernadette sitting on the couch, playing with the baby. "Uh...Bernadette...we didn't know that you're gonna be here..." he said as they all look at Howard who was surprised to see his wife in Leonard's apartment.
"Uh...Bernie...what are you doing here?" Howard asked, giving his wife a weak smile.
Bernadette stood up and held his hand. "Come on...we need to talk." she said, pulling him towards Sarah's bedroom. "Sarah, can we borrow your room for a while?" she said.
"Uh...okay aunt Bernie...sure." said Sarah as she sat beside her mother to greet her baby brother. "Hey baby boy, did you miss me?" she said, nibbling his brother's neck, making the baby laugh at seeing his big sister again.
"Uh...do we wait for you guys for dinner?" Penny asked the couple.
"You guys go ahead, we won't take long." said Bernie before they went inside the young girl's room.
Leonard and Raj then began unpacking the food on the coffee table. "I wonder what those two are gonna talk about." said Leonard. Raj leaned in and whispered in Leonard's ear, making him laugh a little. "That sound's like Howard."
"What is it honey?" asked Penny.
"Raj said thaT Howard would probably beg FOR her forgiveness." said Leonard making Penny laugh and Sarah curious as to what her father meant.
"What's going on with aunt Bernie and uncle Howard dad?" asked Sarah.
"Nothing to worry about honey...just something private between them." said Leonard. "Now let's unpack this so we could all eat." he said as he took his son from Penny. William saw his father and giggled, jumping and laughing as Leonard carried him in his arms while Raj and Penny unpacked the food containers, handing a paper plate to Sheldon and Sarah.
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Inside Sarah's bedroom...
Bernadette pulled Howard to sit on the bed, facing each other. "Listen Howie...I'm sorry for disappointing you and I feel really bad for doing this to you...I know how much you want to have kids and it's unfair to you." she said.
Howard smiled and touched her face. "Bernie...I'm sorry too...I never should have walked out on you." he said while holding her hands. "I guess I was selfish to force you into something you're not okay with." he said.
Bernadette smiled and hugged her husband. "Well to tell you honestly, I'm not really against the idea of having a baby." she said, giving him a weak smile.
"Uh really? That's great!" Howard said. "What changed your mind?" he asked.
"I don't know...I just don't want things to get weird between us." said Bernadette.
Howard smiled and kissed his wife. "Don't worry Bernie...let's just enjoy each other for now." he said, making Bernadette laugh.
"Okay Howie." said Bernadette. "Let's get out of here, I'm hungry." she said as they went out the room holding hands.
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The gang looked at Howard and Bernadette as they joined them in the living room.
"So?" Penny asked.
Bernadette smile and squeezed Howard's hand. "Oh? Howie and I are okay now." she said before looking at her husband as they join them in getting some dinner.
Raj leaned in to whisper in Leonard's ear. "No Raj, I don't think we should ask them what they talked about." he said.
"Thank you Leonard..." said Bernadette as Howard handed her a paper plate. "We appreciate it if you guys won't ask us about it anymore."
"You don't have to worry about me Bernadette...if anything else, I really don't care about other people's business." said Sheldon.
Penny and Bernadette looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "That's good to know Sheldon." Penny said with a hint of sarcasm. "Where is Amy anyway?" she asked.
Sheldon looked at his plate before looking at them. "Well...Amy and I sorta had a...misunderstanding..." he said, surprising the gang.
"Oh my god...what happened?" asked Bernadette.
"Bernadette...I hope you would do the same courtesy I gave you and Howard and not ask me about my situation with Amy." said Sheldon.
Bernadette took a deep breath. "Fine Sheldon...I just hope you and Amy can sort it out." she said.
"Oh I'm counting on it...with my great intellect and charming personality, I'm sure Amy will come to her senses and come back to me." said Sheldon, making them all roll their eyes.
"Sheldon what did you do to her?" Penny asked.
"Nothing...and what makes you think that I'm the one who did something?" asked Sheldon, being a little defensive.
"Is that a serious question?" asked Penny.
Leonard sighed and looked at Sheldon. "Sheldon...what did you do to Amy." he asked.
"I told you...nothing...although I might have said something to upset her." said Sheldon.
"What is it uncle Sheldon?" asked Sarah.
Sheldon looked at Leonard and Penny, wary to say anything in front of the young girl. "Okay Sheldon, maybe you could whisper it to me first so I could decide if it's okay to say in front of my daughter." Leonard said as Sheldon leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Oh? Okay...I think it's fine." he said.
"Fine...as you know, Amy and I have been together for almost a year now and seeing as the rest of you have moved on with your relationships, getting married and having babies, she thought that we should move on with our relationship as well." Sheldon said.
"And I suppose you said something stupid, right?" said Penny.
"No...I just told her that what we had was a bit too much for me." said Sheldon, making his friends roll their eyes.
"And what did she tell you?" Bernadette asked.
"Well...she kinda laid it on me and walked out, leaving me alone to pay for our dinner at the restaurant." said Sheldon.
"Sheldon you have to apologize to her." said Howard.
"I already did but she doesn't want to talk to me...she said she wanted some space." said Sheldon as Penny and Leonard looked at each other, knowing what it meant.
"Do you want us to talk to her?" asked Penny.
"I think that's a good idea mom." Sarah butted in.
"Let's invite her over tomorrow." Bernadette said to Penny.
"Okay...sounds good." said Penny.
"Just don't forget to tell her about how brilliant and charming I really am." Sheldon said making them laugh a bit.
"Don't worry uncle Sheldon, I'll talk you up to aunt Amy." said Sarah, making Penny and Leonard smile at how thoughtful their daughter can be.
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Later that night, Leonard just put his son on the crib, making sure the baby held the milk bottle before kissing him goodnight.
"Do you think Amy and Sheldon are gonna get back together?" asked Penny as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror.
"I don't know...Sheldon might be quirky but we all know that he didn't mean half of what he says." said Leonard as he went up to Penny and smelled her neck, putting his arms around her hips.
"Hmmm...someone wants to get lucky..." Penny said, teasing him.
"You always know what I want." Leonard whispered while continuing to nibble on her neck.
Penny suddenly broke off, surprising Leonard. "Hey before I forget, I thought we're gonna look for a house? The money's just sitting in our joint account doing nothing." she said.
"You're right...I guess I got distracted with that young man over there." said Leonard. "Don't worry honey...I'll look into it this week so we can find a good house...now where were we?" he said, pulling Penny onto the bed to get busy with her.
"Wait...make sure he's asleep." said Penny as Leonard quickly checked-up on his son, glad that William already fell asleep, his arms and legs sprawled wide in the crib.
"Coast is clear." said Leonard, pulling his wife close and kissing her passionately while Penny tried to undress him.