Chapter 79
"Sarah hurry up!" yelled Sheryl, one of the young girls in Sarah's neighborhood as she put her foot on her bike's pedal, waiting for the young Hofstadter to join her friends on their bike ride.
"I'm coming!" Sarah yelled back as she pushed her bike out from the side gate towards the curb.
"Wait just right there young lady!" Leonard said as he stood on the porch holding a helmet in his hand. "You're not going anywhere without this." he said, showing the helmet and some elbow and knee pads to his daughter.
Sarah sighed and slowly put her bike down before walking towards her father. "Do I really need to?" she asked as her friends looked on.
"This isn't optional miss...remember, you have to protect this precious cargo right here!" he said, gently knocking on his daughter's head making the other girls laugh a little.
Penny joined them shortly carrying William. "Hey girls!" she greeted.
"Hi Ms. Penny! Hi William!" said Tammy, one of the girls.
"Where are you girls off to this time?" asked Penny.
"We're just gonna go around the neighborhood." said Tammy.
"That's great...but watch out for any cars alright." Penny said.
"Don't worry Mrs. Hofstadter...we got it." Tammy said as Sarah finished putting the last of her elbow pads on.
"Okay I'm done...bye mom, bye dad!" Sarah said while quickly running off and getting on her bike.
"Have fun honey!" Leonard yelled as the girls rode off on the side of the street, laughing and giggling before racing off with one another.
"Look at her honey...she has so many friends now...I'm so happy for her." said Penny.
"Me too." he said as he pulled Penny in for a kiss when William suddenly grabbed his face and pushed him away while grunting. "Hey...that's not nice." he told his son who turned and hugged his mother tight, seeking refuge from her.
"Good job sweetheart...you'll be my bodyguard from now on." Penny said while kissing her son before going back into the house.
"He's still mumbling huh?" Leonard said, following his wife into the house.
"Yeah...I read somewhere that some babies take more time talking so I'm not worried." said Penny as she put her son on the floor, letting him take his first steps. "Come on sweetheart, I know you can do it." she said, trying to encourage the baby.
"Let's go buddy...so you could join your big sister on her bike rides." said Leonard who sat opposite from Penny, trying to get his son to walk towards him. "You can do it buddy!" he added.
William felt the hard floor on his feet and took a deep breath, trying to balance himself. He then took a small step only to fall on his butt. Leonard sat up to help his son up on his feet but Penny cut him off.
"No Leonard...let him stand on his own...he needs to learn how to do this on his own." said Penny as they look closely at their son.
"You're right." he said before facing the baby. "Come on buddy, I know you can do it...just take a deep breath and dig in." he said, trying to encourage the young man.
William looked at his father and took a deep breath, grunting and pushing until he was able to slowly stand on his own while keeping his balance with his arms. He suddenly lost focus and landed back on his butt, surprising the couple, worried that he might scream and cry. The baby then took another deep breath, this time channeling all his strength to keep himself from falling over until he was able to stand up straight.
"Good job buddy!" Leonard said, cheering for his son who squealed a bit, happy for his own success.
"You're so amazing sweetheart...now go and walk to your father." said Penny.
William smiled at his mother before facing Leonard. He then looked at the floor and tried to lift his right foot, keeping his arms up for balance until he was able to make his first step, making the couple cheer and clap their hands.
"Come on buddy...just a couple more steps...I won't let you fall...I promise" he said, not taking his eyes off his son in case his son takes a bad step. William took a couple of steps when his foot slipped. Thankfully, Leonard was able to catch him before he fell forward on the floor.
"Are you okay?" he said as he stood his son back on his feet. "Now why don't you walk back to mommy..." he said as he turned William to face Penny who was a few steps away from them.
"Good job sweetheart...now come to mommy..." she said, reaching out with her hands to entice the baby to walk again.
William looked at his mother and laughed, excited in walking towards her. He took a small step, making sure to keep his balance while seeing his mommy get closer and closer.
"Look at him go Leonard...he's so adorable!" Penny exclaimed, happy in seeing her son develop and grow up. "Come on sweetie... mommy loves you so much..." she added, cheering on as the baby took one small step after another. William finally reached his mother who showered him with hugs and kisses. "Aww...good job sweetheart...mommy and daddy are so proud of you!" she said while showering William with affection.
The couple kept at it, letting their son find his balance as the young man continued walking around the living room, finding his new-found freedom exciting as he explored things around the house. Leonard saw a different side of Penny, the woman he met almost four years ago has somewhat transformed into a loving and dedicated mother to his children, giving all her time and energy to them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It was almost time for lunch when Sarah came back into the house. She went straight to the side gate and carefully locked her bike on piece of steel pipe before quietly entering the backdoor of the kitchen. The couple saw Sarah and was surprised to see her all dirty with a few bruises on her arms and legs.
"Oh my god! What happened to you!?" Penny exclaimed.
"Why are you so dirty?!..and where did you get these bruises!?" Leonard said, immediately checking his daughter's legs and arms for any injuries.
"You better explain yourself right now young lady!" said Penny.
Sarah took a deep breath. "Mom...dad...please relax...I'm fine...my front tire ran over a small rock...and I sorta lost control and crashed into the bushes...but I don't have any broken bones or whatever!" said the young girl, hoping her parents would not freak out.
"Oh my god!" said Leonard. "I told you to be careful didn't I?!" he added.
"I know dad...I told you, I'm not hurt or anything...it's just a few scratches...I can handle it!" said Sarah.
Penny took a deep breath before looking at her husband. "Okay fine...why don't you go to the bathroom and take a bath...we'll tend to your bruises after." she said as she removed Sarah's helmet and put it on the side.
"Okay mom..." said the young lady as she went straight to the bathroom to clean herself up.
Leonard looked at Penny. "Let it go Leonard...at least she's not hurt or anything." she said.
Leonard took a deep breath. "Fine..." he said.
Penny went and hugged her husband, understanding how he felt. "Come here...I know she means the world to you..." she said, kissing him on the cheek when William screamed, surprising the couple. "Okay fine...I'll lay off your daddy!" she told her son.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"So now you know why I always insist on you wearing your helmet and elbow pads?" said Leonard as Penny lightly put some disinfectant on Sarah's bruises.
"Dad please...I'm not a child anymore." said Sarah as she sat still, letting Penny clean up her bruises.
"Your dad and I just don't want you getting hurt sweetheart." Penny said.
"I know that mom...and I'll be careful next time...I promise." Sarah said.
"Good..." Penny said. "Now did you invite your friends over to come on your brother's birthday party?" she asked.
"Yeah...they're gonna come." said Sarah. "And I told them it's okay if they don't bring any presents or something." she added.
Leonard leaned over and kissed Sarah on her forehead. "I'm so glad you have many friends honey." he said as William made some noise, wanting to be in the center of attention again.
"You are such a diva!" Sarah said as she lifted her baby brother to sit with them on the couch. "And weighs almost a ton now...ugh!" she added, making her parents laugh. "Will grandma and grandpa gonna be here for his birthday?" she asked.
"Of course they're gonna be here...I'm sure they'll be happy to see him walking on his own now." said Leonard.
"But why do you think it's taking him so long to speak?" asked Sarah. "He can't even say 'mama' or 'dada'." she added.
"He's the same with you honey...but once you started speaking, you were so talkative...always asking me questions and stuff." he told his daughter.
"I don't remember being so talkative." said Sarah.
"Trust me you were...but when you got older and started asking questions about your mother, you became a little less talkative...quieter and more reserved..." said Leonard.
"That one I remember..." said Sarah.
Penny pulled her daughter close and kissed her head. "It's alright sweetheart...you have me and your brother now...and your father too!" she said, making Sarah laugh.
Leonard then lifted the baby up and put him back on the floor to walk some more. "Come on buddy...you need to get stronger so your grandma and grandpa would be impressed with you." he said as William took a few small steps forward.
"Have you tried luring him with food?" asked the young lady. "Might make him more interested."
"We haven't tried that before." Penny said, amused at how smart Sarah is. "Come to mommy sweetheart...are you hungry?" she asked the baby, making him squeal with delight.
"I think you said the magic word honey." Leonard said while laughing.
"Come on sweetheart...we're gonna get something to eat in the kitchen." Penny said as William hurriedly walked towards his mother, happy at the prospect of food.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
After a couple of weeks, the young family celebrated William's first birthday party. Everyone came including Wyatt and Susan, Beverly and Alfred who was surprisingly getting along well with each other to the surprise of everyone especially Leonard. Some of Penny's friends and former work-mates also came as well as a few of Leonard's colleagues from the university.
"Some friends you guys turn out to be!" Sarah said to her friends as they sat around the coffee table while eating with Beverly and Susan joining them.
"But you didn't really get hurt right?" Tammy said.
"Yeah and it was like watching one of those comedy shows on TV..." said Sheryl, piling up on what Tammy said.
"At least you didn't break anything dear." Beverly said, laughing along with the young girls.
"I still can't believe it when Penny called and told me what happened." Susan added.
"It was only a few scratches grandma..." said Sarah.
"What was your dad's reaction anyway?" asked Tammy.
"He totally lost it...like I died or something." Sarah said, making the girls laugh out loud.
"Gosh, I wish I was there to see your dad's face." said the other girl named Anna.
Susan then saw Penny put the baby on the floor so she called on William towards her. "Come on honey...come to grandma," she said as William laughed, taking small steps to join his grandma and sister on the coffee table.
"Look at him...he's so handsome." Beverly said, proud of how William was growing up to be.
"Yeah...try saying anything about food to him and you can really get him excited." said Sarah, making her friends laugh out more.
"Let's try that..." Beverly said before calling out to the baby. "Come on dear...we have plenty of food here!" she said, making William scream while hurriedly walking towards them.
"That's interesting...I hope nobody uses his love for food and lure him away..." said Beverly.
"Oh come on mom...don't you think you're overthinking a little bit?" Leonard said.
"I wouldn't worry about it grandma...even if somebody manages to lure William away, they'll give him back as soon as they see how much they would have to feed him to keep him happy and quiet...the cost-benefit ratio would just make them realize that he's not worth it." Sarah said, making them all laugh at how smart and funny the young lady can be.
William finally reached Susan, laughing and giggling while receiving tons of hugs and kisses from his grandmother. "Ugh...you're so handsome!" Susan said while nibbling on William's neck.
The birthday party continued with Leonard and Penny making the rounds so that everyone could meet with the birthday celebrant while Amy, Bernadette and Raj made sure the food and drinks were in order. After making the rounds, Leonard brought out the birthday so William could blow out the candles. The baby screamed after seeing the sweet treat being carried by his father while everyone sang 'happy birthday' to the young man.
"Okay sweetheart...on the count of three..." said Penny as she held the baby in front of the cake.
"Sarah honey, help your brother out." Leonard said as Sarah took her place beside her father to help in blowing out the candles.
"Okay...three...two...one!" said everyone as Sarah and Penny blew out the candles while the crowd cheered and clapped their hands. William suddenly jumped from his mother's arms and grabbed the cake with his hands, quickly putting the sweet frosting to his mouth. "Oh my god sweetheart! You ruined your cake!" Penny exclaimed.
"Well it would be disappointing if he didn't!" Wyatt chimed in, making everyone laugh while William quietly ate and licked the cake from his hands, making a mess on his shirt.
"Come on sweetie...let's clean you up in the bathroom." Penny said, carrying her son. "Leonard, can you help me out please?" she called her husband.
"Yeah sure." Leonard said, handing the bread knife to Susan.
"Go...I'll make sure everyone has a slice." said Susan as she started to cut the birthday cake for everyone.
After cleaning up and changing William's clothes, the couple went back to the living room, letting the baby walk on his own to join his sister and her friends who are playing with the X-Box in the living room while the older guests were talking in their own small groups. Sarah pulled her brother close, letting him sit beside her while the other girls played. William saw the colorful images on the screen and laughed, amused with the game which he hardly understood.
Leonard and Penny went to talk to some of their guests, letting the kids have some fun playing their video game with William trying to involve himself with what the girls were playing.
Suddenly, William spoke out of nowhere, surprising Sarah and her friends who were focused in playing their video game.
"Mama." William said softly, making the girls stop their game.
"Huh...did you speak just now?" Sarah asked her little brother who looked at her with his innocent eyes. "Come on...say it again." she added.
William smiled at his sister and spoke again. "Mama!" he said, making the girls laugh and cheer.
"Oh my god that is so cool!" Tammy said, giving Anna a high-five.
Sarah turned around to look for her parents. "I have to tell my mom and dad." she said as she stood up, running towards the backyard to tell her parents who were talking to Amy and a few of their friends. "Mom! Dad! William just said his first word!" said Sarah, making Penny jump and run back into the house with the young lady while Leonard followed close. Penny then sat on the floor beside her son who was laughing and giggling with Sarah's friends.
"Sweetheart...did you just say your first word?" she said, putting William on her lap.
"He did aunt Penny...he just said 'mama'...like three times already." said Sheryl, making Penny gasp.
Penny held her son to face him. "Come on sweetie...can you say it for me please?" she said as William looked at his mother with a blank expression while Leonard and Sarah sat beside Penny. The baby then saw Leonard and leaned over towards his father.
"Come on buddy...just do it once for mommy." said Leonard when William suddenly laughed, pushing his face on his father's shoulder as if hiding from someone, a clear sign that he's playing around while the other guests looked on, curious if the young man would be goaded into speaking again.
"Sweetheart please...can you say 'mama'?" Penny said when William did the same thing, hugging his father tight as if hiding from her, obviously teasing his mother. Penny sighed, knowing that she would have to wait a little longer to hear her son speak.
"Come on William...you already did it!" Sarah said to her baby brother.
"Yaya!" William suddenly said, surprising everybody in the living room.
"Sarah, I think he just called your name." Sheryl said, equally surprised as the others.
"Yaya!" William said again, making Sarah laugh.
"Dad did you hear that? He called my name!" Sarah said, happy in hearing her baby brother's voice.
Leonard looked at his wife and saw her reaction. "Oh honey...I'm so sorry." he said, trying to console Penny with her longing of hearing their baby speak for the first time.
"It's alright." Penny said, wiping the tears off her eyes.
William looked at his mother and stared at her, curious as to why she was sad. Without warning, William spoke again. "Mama! Mama!" he said out loud before reaching out with his arms to be with Penny.
Penny cried happy tears while taking the baby from Leonard, feeling a deep sense of joy after hearing her son's first words. "Aww...come here sweetheart...mommy loves you so much!" she said while hugging her son tight.
"Mama! Mama!" said William again while wrapping his tiny arms around his mother's neck while the people in the living room looked on, touched by the tender moment between mother and child.
Penny kissed her son. "You really know how to make a scene huh?" she told the baby.
William squealed, clearly playing and teasing his mother. "Mama! Mama!" he yelled.
Penny hugged her son again, proud of how expressive he is. "Ugh...my baby is so adorable!" she said as William said 'mama' a few more times.
Leonard then took the baby from Penny. "Come on buddy...I know you can do it...can you say 'dada'?" he said, hoping his son would do what he asked.
William quickly grunted and screamed, surprising Leonard by his outburst.
"Dude give it up...you won't catch a break this time." Raj said while the rest of the guests laugh at them.
"Fine...why do you have to make everything difficult huh?" he said to his son while he handed him back to his wife.
"Because he is a mama's boy...right sweetheart!?" Penny said while kissing her son.
"Mama! Mama!" William said.
"Dad, why don't you try this..." said Sarah, handing him her cup of ice cream.
"That's a good idea." said Leonard as he took the cup and showed it to the baby to entice him. "Do you want some ice cream buddy?" he said. William giggled and laughed, leaning over to be with his father after seeing the sweet treat in his hand. "Come here..." Leonard said as he put William on his lap before giving a small bite of ice cream.
William slightly shivered and laughed after tasting the cold treat before looking up to his father. "Dada! Dada!" he said, making everyone cheer and laugh at how easy it was to cajole the baby.
"So that's all it takes huh?" said Wyatt. "Give him something sweet and he'll do anything you ask him."
"Don't tell me that all this time you've been holding out on all of us?" Leonard said to his son.
"Dada! Dada!" William exclaimed, surprising his parents even more.
"Fine...but you owe me...now that I have to do the dishes for a month." he said to the baby, making Sarah and Penny laugh.
"And why would you do the dishes for a whole month?" asked Alfred.
"Oh? The girls and I made a bet with each other and the whoever William calls last would do the dishes for a whole month." Leonard said as Penny and Sarah gave high-fives with each other.
"Speaking of which...aren't we forgetting something Wyatt?" Susan said, giving her husband a smug look.
Wyatt sighed and pulled out his wallet. "Fine...here you go." he said as he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to his wife.
The young family looked at each other in disbelief. "Unbelievable!" Penny said while throwing her hands in the air. "You and dad made a bet on your grandson?" she asked.
"Well yeah...Sarah told us about your little wager and we decided to get in on the action!" Susan said while happily putting the money in her purse.
"Uh guys...aren't we forgetting something?" Bernadette said to Sheldon, Howard and Raj.
"Yeah...time to pay up!" Amy added, folding her arms while looking at the guys.
"Don't tell me you guys made a bet too!?" Leonard asked his friends.
"We had no choice Leonard..." said Sheldon as he reached into his pocket and gave Amy a fifty-dollar bill. "If we won, they would have to pay us fifty dollars each." he added.
"Yeah fine." said Howard as he gave his money to his wife with Raj doing the same.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!" said Bernadette before giving Amy a high-five.
"I'll give your twenty-five dollars tomorrow." said Amy.
"I can't believe you guys would do that." Leonard said, a little upset that he got the bad deal from the whole affair.
Penny then took the baby in her arms. "Come on sweetheart, let's get you washed up." she told her son.
"Mama! Mama!" William said, glad to be with his mother.
"That's right sweetie, mommy loves you so much!" said Penny as she walked away with William, going towards the bathroom.
Sarah then sat beside her father before taking the cup of ice cream from his hand. "Don't worry dad, I'll help you out with the dishes." she said.
Leonard pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Thank you honey...you're the best daughter any father could ever have." he said.
"Thanks dad." said Sarah while smiling at her father.
"Wow that is so nice...I don't mean to jump in or anything but can we please get back to the game now?" Sheryl told Sarah, making them all laugh.
"Yeah I got it!...excuse me for having a nice moment with my father!" Sarah said, firing back at her friend as she sat down to get back on their video game.
Leonard laughed before standing up, lightly ruffling his daughter's hair before joining Wyatt and Alfred. Wyatt took a bottle of beer from the table and gave it to his son-in-law.
"Thanks." said Leonard.
"You really did a good job Leonard." Wyatt said.
"He's right son...your wife is happy...your kids are happy...what more can you ask for?" Alfred added.
"I don't know...a fully paid mortgage I guess." he said, making the two laugh. "Being with Penny has taught me one important lesson." he said.
"And what is that?" asked Wyatt.
"Don't argue and let her decide on everything." Leonard said as Wyatt clinked his bottle with him and Alfred.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." said Wyatt.
"Amen to that." Alfred added.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It's been two weeks since William's birthday party...
"Mom we're home!" Sarah said, finding Penny and William sitting on the couch.
"Yaya! Yaya!" William exclaimed, happy in seeing his big sister. "Dada!" he added as Penny slowly stood the baby on the floor so he could walk to his father and sister.
"Come here buddy!" Leonard said as he scooped the baby in his arms, glad in seeing his son getting more confident with his legs. "Did you miss me?" he asked.
"Dada! Dada!" William uttered while clapping his hands. Leonard put the baby on the floor so he could join his sister on the couch with Penny.
"Look what I got here." Penny said, showing an envelope to Leonard.
"Is that it? Is it done?" Leonard asked as he sat beside his wife and daughter.
"What is that?" Sarah asked.
Penny gave the envelope to the young girl. "Open it and find out." she said while looking at Leonard.
"Okay...I wonder what this is?" Sarah said as she opened the envelope and took out the folded sheets of paper before reading it quietly while Leonard looked at his son who was playing with his toy on the coffee table. Sarah suddenly stopped and looked at her parents. "I don't understand...you're adopting me?" she asked while looking at her mother.
Penny smiled and nodded. "I am sweetheart...we wanted this to be a surprise for you." she said.
"Dad?" said Sarah.
"It's done honey...we're officially stuck with your mom." he jokingly said, making Penny laugh.
Sarah suddenly hugged her mother before crying on her shoulder, overwhelmed by the mixture of feelings running through her. "Aww...it's alright sweetie..." Penny said, savoring the crushing hug from the young lady.
"I don't know what to say." Sarah said, not letting go of her mother.
"You don't have to say anything sweetheart." Penny said while consoling the young lady.
William saw his mother and sister and suddenly screamed, walking hurriedly towards them to join in on their tender moment. "Mama! Yaya! Mama! Yaya!" exclaimed the young man.
Penny and Sarah looked at the baby and rolled their eyes, amused at how needy he was. "You just have to be in the center of everything huh?" Sarah told her brother.
"Come here sweetheart." Penny said before lifting the baby so they could sandwich him in their arms. "Is this what you wanted?" she asked.
"Mama! Mama!" William muttered as he buried his face on Penny's chest.
"He really knows how to break the mood huh?" Leonard said, amused by his family.
"Yeah...he's becoming more and more of a jackass like his father." said Penny, getting her digs on her husband.
"I'm not gonna be ashamed of that." Leonard answered.
"Thank you mom." Sarah said.
"You're welcome sweetheart." said Penny. "And you know what the best part of me officially adopting you?" she added.
"What?" asked Sarah.
"When your dad and I get a divorce, you and your brother are gonna come with me!" said Penny, making the young girl laugh.
"And when you have custody of me and William, dad would have to work and pay for child support!" Sarah added, piling up on what her mother said.
Leonard gave them a death stare. "I'm not laughing!" he said.
"Oh come on honey...do you really think that we're gonna get a divorce?" Penny said, laughing a little.
"I would certainly hope not!" said Leonard.
"Good...because your ass is mine Hofstadter!" said Penny, making Sarah and Leonard laugh.
"My ass is yours!" Leonard added.
"Hmm...come here." Penny said as she pulled Leonard in for a kiss when William screamed at them.
"Dada! Mama!" yelled the baby while pushing his father off with all his strength.
"Okay okay! I get it...hands off your mother!" Leonard said. "It's getting more and more difficult being a good husband around this house." he said, making Penny laugh.
"I think I can speak for my baby brother and tell you that he doesn't like seeing gross and disgusting stuff." said Sarah, teasing her parents.
"Well I think you should get off your butt and go to the bathroom to wash up...and change into your pajamas so we could all have dinner...I'm getting hungry." Leonard said, pulling Sarah off the couch and lightly pushing her towards the bathroom.
"Okay I'm going already...jeez!" said Sarah.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Later that night after dinner, the young family were at the living room. Penny was leaning her head on her husband's shoulder as they were watching TV while Sarah sat on the couch with her legs curled up, reading a book while glancing at the TV from time to time. The couple let William sit on the floor playing with his toys, trying to copy the sounds he was hearing from the TV. Little did they notice that the baby found some of Sarah's story books under the coffee table and started looking through them, amused by the bright colors on the pages. They were then surprised when they heard the sound of ripping paper, seeing William starting rip out a page from the book.
"Hey what are you doing down there?" asked Penny.
William turned his head around and smiled at his parents. "Mama!"
"Don't do that...you're ripping out your sister's book!" Penny said while sitting beside her son to take the book away.
"Mama! Mama!" William yelled, protesting against his mother.
"Well you're not gonna get this back unless you learn how to read." Penny said to the young man.
"Maybe it's better if we read it to him." said Sarah. "Come on..." she added while taking the book from her mother.
"Come on sweetie, your sister's gonna teach you how to read." Penny said, putting the baby on the couch as Sarah sat beside her brother, opening the book for him.
"Okay...promise me you won't rip out the pages..." Sarah told her baby brother.
"Yaya! Yaya!" William said, seemingly agreeing with his sister.
"Alright...just stay put." Sarah said as she started reading to her baby brother, pointing at the colorful pictures to keep the baby amused.
"Mama! Mama!" William said, pointing at a picture on the page.
"Yeah...that's mommy...good job." Sarah said to the baby.
"Yaya! Yaya!" William added, pointing to another figure on the book that looks like a princess.
"Aww...you're so sweet...you think I'm the princess?" Sarah told her brother.
"Yaya!" William answered, making his parents laugh as Sarah continued reading to him.
"Dada! Dada!" William exclaimed, pointing at another figure that somewhat looks like the villain on the story.
Penny and Sarah laughed, amused by the baby's playful nature. "Good job sweetheart...that's your daddy...the ugly monster..." said Penny, teasing her husband.
Leonard took a deep breath. "I can't believe this." he said.
"Aww come one honey...we all know that he's just playing around!" Penny said.
"That's easy for you to say...you were not compared to a big ugly monster by your own son." said Leonard.
"Aww...poor baby..." Penny said before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before their kids could bust on them.
After almost ten minutes, Sarah and Penny looked at the baby and saw him leaning on Penny, peacefully sleeping. Leonard and Penny smiled, amused at how adorable William was when he's sleeping.
"Come on buddy...let's tuck you in..." he said while carefully lifting the baby onto his arms, making sure not to wake up his son. William felt the movement and stretched his arms and legs out before going back to sleep, lightly snoring as his father carried him upstairs.
After putting William to bed, Leonard went out his son's bedroom and decided to go down to the living room and join his wife and daughter. "So what did I miss?" he said, referring to the TV show that him and Penny were watching.
"Nothing much." Penny said as Leonard sat on the couch, sandwiching their daughter in between them.
Sarah leaned on her mother, feeling the warmth of her parents. "Hmm...this is nice..." she said.
"Yeah...like the time when we were still living in the apartment huh?" said Leonard, kissing his daughter's head before going back to watching the TV.
Penny looked at her husband and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "And look how far we've come along." she said.
"Yeah...lots of crazy things...but I wouldn't trade it for anything else." said Leonard as they continued watching TV, thankful for their simple and quiet life they have.
Author's notes: I'm gonna be honest and tell you guys that I'm thinking of ending this story with this chapter. I still have more ideas on where to take this story and I'll try my best to hash them out so I could keep things interesting, especially now that William is growing up too fast. Enjoy.