I still own nothing; enjoy!

Ch. 2:

"Okay, so…he's still asleep. Now what?"

They had spent the last hour cuddling on the couch simply basking in each other's presence while they marveled at the innocent little tot in the car seat. Now, the glow had waned slightly. After retiring to the kitchen for a brief drink of wine, the couple had resumed their earlier position of standing in front of Penny's couch and staring at the sleeping child; each one just as clueless as the other as to the best way to proceed through these next few days.

Leonard for his part was petrified of what was to come. He had long known that he wanted to marry Penny and have kids with her, but now that he had been given this chance to test out fatherhood he was afraid. He was terrified that he wouldn't be able to measure up as a father to his own child someday, terrified that Penny would think of him as a bad father, and afraid that this experience might turn Penny off to the idea of children. He pushed all this aside, however, and made the decision to be supportive and pitch in as much as possible because he knew that this was a new experience for her, as well. If he was this afraid, how must she have been feeling?"

"Honestly," Leonard took out his inhaler and took a puff to calm himself from the beginnings of a panic induced asthma attack "I really don't know. But…you've had practice with Sheldon…sort of." He arched his eyebrows realizing that the example of Penny mothering a thirty-two year old man-child sounded better in his head. "And, I'm a doctor. I'm sure we can figure out how to take care of a baby." He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, but the smile faltered. "Oh crap, did I really just say 'I'm a doctor' as a reason why I'm qualified to handle an infant? God, I sound like my mother already."

Penny grinned at Leonard's flustered state. Despite the fact that he had succeeded in freaking himself out, the awkward point Leonard made had relaxed her a little bit. "Sweetie," She squeezed the arm she had draped around him to emphasize her words, "You're the sweetest, most considerate, loving guy I've ever known. There's no way you're going to be like your parents!"

Leonard smiled at her words, feeling thoroughly uplifted at such high praise from the woman he loved. The immediate feeling of validation brought to mind the elder Dr. Hofstadter's first visit. He continued to smile as he turned to Penny, "You know what my mother would say about that. She'd say that I'm 'compensating for the lack of a mother-son emotional connection.'

Penny gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Well, I gotta hand it to her. She may be cold, but she did something right: she made you who you are."

At that, the two leaned in to their embrace, momentarily forgetting the third party that lay dozing on the couch mere inches in front of them. Just as their lips met, the moment was broken by a soft cry. The soft cry then grew into something more agitated before either of them had the chance to properly register the interruption.

Surprisingly for Leonard, Penny showed no sign of any underlying insecurity and immediately moved to comfort the baby; picking him up out of the car seat and rocking him as she held him against her chest. For those few moments, it was easy for the scientist to pretend that this was real…that she was holding their child, but then he was pulled out of his daydream as quickly as he had fallen into it when Penny's efforts failed to comfort the boy and his cries increased in volume and pitch.

"This was working earlier…" Penny sighed, beginning to grow frustrated with herself.

"I think someone's hungry." Leonard spoke and Penny looked at him then followed his gaze down to her chest where the boy was attempting to latch on to her nipple through her shirt.

She looked sheepishly at Leonard, but behind the gaze Leonard noted a hint of shame, "Yeah, I kind of got so caught up in the baby himself after you got here that I forgot that I haven't had any baby stuff to use all day." She held the baby to her and cooed playfully, "Let's just go fix that right now!"

While she busied herself in the kitchen making the formula, Leonard took the opportunity to retrieve the baby from her and change his diaper. For a couple moments, he just held his fingers on the tab apprehensively; slightly afraid of what might be underneath. The experimental physicist wasn't known for his strong stomach, but the fact that there was no strong odor other than the slight hint of ammonia was comforting. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the tab open and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that it was only a wet diaper.

"So, did you tell Sheldon yet?" Penny came over once Leonard had put a fresh diaper on the kid and offered the bottle to his waiting hands.

"Actually, he kind of overheard our phone conversation."

"Really? How'd he take it?"

"Surprisingly well; although, he does think you're pregnant."

Penny's eyebrows arched in surprise, "What? How did that happen?"

With a roll of his eyes, Leonard bounced the baby on his knee "Oh, you know Sheldon. He fixates on ideas like an undersized high school freshman duct taped to the gym wall by the senior dodgeball team."

Leonard walked down the hall from his bedroom headed for the door of apartment 4A. He and Penny had planned to spend the night in her apartment since she was off work. Passing through the living room, he did a slight double take at the sight of his roommate sitting on the couch in the middle of a pile of what looked to be comic books.

"What are you doing?

Without bothering to look up from his reading, Sheldon replied. "I'm studying, Leonard. If I am going to beat Rajesh in this ridiculous disagreement, I'll need to perfect my understanding of the subject matter."

Leonard shrugged, "Have fun with that. I'm going to see Penny."

Before he made it to the door, Penny opened it from the other side, entering the apartment with another visitor in tow. Sheldon's attention was drawn by the sound of a soft gurgle as Penny crossed the room and sat down in the middle of the couch.

"Really?" Sheldon eyed the infant with surprise, "I didn't think adoption was your style, but to each her own."

"No—sweetie, he's not adopted. He was abandoned in the restroom at the Cheesecake Factory."

At this, Sheldon let out a dramatic gasp and sprang from his spot on the couch, sending comic books flying in all directions. "Oh dear Lord! Dear Lord! You've brought the plague into this apartment!" Sheldon strode over to the fridge and swiftly turned the apartment flag upside down."

Penny glanced back and forth between each physicist with her mouth agape. Though she couldn't really say that this behavior was surprising anymore, it was a little over the top. She asked of Leonard, "Is this gonna be like the chair all over again?"

Leonard nodded vigorously, "Yeah, probably."

"Okay, Sheldon. He's a baby, you're not gonna die. I mean, we've all spent time in a bathroom today. You don't call us contaminated."

Sheldon shook his head, "It's not the same. None of us have laid in the bathroom floor."

Under her breath, Penny spoke to herself and sheepishly averted her gaze to the floor. "Well…"

"Look Sheldon, you handled a blue jay last year and they carry diseases." Leonard attempted to aid Penny in calming Sheldon."

Sheldon's face fell into an expression that was akin to his koala face at the memory of that night. "Oh yes, but that was different. Lovey Dovey was my friend. He wouldn't have contaminated me."

"See? You spent all that time afraid of birds and nothing bad happened when you handled one. What can you learn from Lovey Dovey?" Leonard asked

In an instant, the smile fell from Sheldon's face and was replaced with a bitter frown. "That if I get attached to small cuddly creatures, they'll jump up and take flight as soon as I open a window."

At this point, the couple was approaching the end of their patience. "Sheldon, just hold the damn kid." Penny demanded of the genius, holding the child out towards him.

At first, he recoiled slightly from the bundle, but the more he stared into the infant's gentle face, the more confident he felt. Slowly and awkwardly, just as if he were initiating a hug, the theoretical physicist wrapped his arms around the bundle and pulled the baby into his lap. Leonard and Penny looked on at the display with proud smiles on their faces.

"This isn't so bad." Sheldon stated after several moments, the smile returned to his face and he grinned down at the small figure in his lap. "Yes, you're just my little Moonpie, aren't you?" He received a quiet cooing noise in response and placed his finger into a tiny palm to trigger the grasping reflex.

To the pair looking on at the display, it was a mixture of touching yet oddly creepy to see their robotic friend showing affection to a baby. They wrapped their arms around each other and continued to quietly observe the scene until Sheldon suddenly went silent, sitting bolt upright in a rigid posture for several moments as he felt a warm sensation in his lap."

"Leonard?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Moonpie, peed on me."

Well, that's it for this one. I meant to get it up yesterday, but I've been sick. I hope you liked Sheldon's introduction to the baby! Please R&R!