Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.
Author's Note: But wait, there's more!
Driving home – in the actual driver's seat of course, Sheldon still uncertified, and with a desire to keep her body in one piece – the pains began.
As her husband fiddled with the cap of Harmony's bottle, she gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Their daughter happily sucking on her drink, Sheldon turned to his wife, noticing the tightened muscles. "You are looking awfully tense."
"You think?" she gritted out.
The moment Penny pulled up in front of the apartment building and killed the engine she had a sleeping daughter, a freaked out husband and baby Cooper No 2 on the way.
As Penny Cooper was wheeled through double doors at the hospital and Sheldon dashed after, Leonard pocketed his car keys and hoisted his goddaughter further up his hip.
Howard and Raj dashed in behind him moments later. "I can't believe Sheldon's married with a kid, with another on the way, and we're still bachelors," bemoaned Leonard as he took a seat, Harmony in his lap.
"But we all feel sorry for you don't we chicka dee?" sympathised Howard, chucking the grinning toddler's chin.
Young Cooper retaliated to the insult to her father by promptly throwing up on her adoptive uncle.
Decked out in scrubs, his large hands held up in the air at the risk of touching anything, Sheldon dashed toward the sterile room.
He bounced from foot to foot as he considered his gloved hands and the door before him. Beyond these doors was Penny in labour.
Deciding, he knocked his elbow on the glass pane. "Penny." Knock. "Penny." Knock. "Pen-"
"Just get in here Sheldon!" yelled Penny, her husband's name becoming a scream then moan of pain.
The genius startled forward at her demand, pushing through, but shuffled backward after for his last knock.
"-ny."
"Argh!" screamed Penny.
With Howard bemoaning the loss of his purple pants and Leonard diving through the large bag searching for wet ones, Raj found himself balancing the toddler on his knees.
In the months leading up to the birth of this girl, Raj had had high hopes that his inability to speak with females unless drunk would not translate onto Sheldon's offspring.
But alas, from the moment Harmony Marie Cooper had arrived, he'd been tongue tied.
He now prided himself on teaching the youngster Morse code from an early age, as the only way he could communicate with her was through blinks.
Sheldon's face distorted as Penny squeezed his hand. "Some women endure childbirth silently," he said seriously as he rode out another contraction with her.
"I told you this fifteen months ago. And I'm going to tell you agaiiinnn..." gritted out Penny, tapering off in pain. "I don't care about those miraculous women. I just want this basketball out of the pin."
"Now Penny, it's not..." began Sheldon before he swallowed his words as Penny set devil eyes on him.
"Your. Fault. Shut. Up."
The meaning was clear and Sheldon was surprised to find himself sounding like his father. "Yes dear."
When the doors opened for the nth time that night, Leonard was the only person awake to cast a tired glance there.
Harmony was sprawled across his lap, thumb in her mouth as she slept. She hadn't taken well to the absence of her parents as she fought slumber, but eventually sleep had won out.
He spared a glance toward his fellow waiters. Howard was wearing scrubs, his mouth open as he slept, Raj's head comfortably resting on his shoulder.
He snorted as he rearranged the blanket on the toddler, before placing a hand on Harmony's back and dozing off.
"Breathe Penny," Sheldon instructed imperiously.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped.
"You need to keep breathing madam," ordered the midwife.
"Yes ma'am," replied Penny obediently.
"I don't understand your two different responses to the same instruction," said a confused Sheldon.
"She's bringing our kid into the world," gritted out Penny, pulling at Sheldon's shirt. "It's your job to hold my hand."
"You're doing a good job." Was that right?
He'd been reading about the correct method on coaxing a woman through childbirth, but appeared to be fumbling once again.
Penny's face softened for a moment. "You're getting there."
Baby boy Cooper was resting in his mother's arms just under five hours later.
Sheldon's long fingers were shaking slightly as he eased the blanket back on their latest red-faced squalling creation before looking to his exhausted wife.
The never wavering intense gaze had made her uncomfortable before, but now as he turned his eyes to her, Penny just took it as part of him and smiled.
The baby fed and sleeping, Penny's tired eyes looked at Sheldon's own bagged ones. "What do we name him?"
"Might I refer back to my perfectly good naming chart?" the genius proposed.
"No."
It was a short discussion.
"We're not naming our son Stanley, Newton or any other hare brained scientist or comic creator," said Penny firmly.
Sheldon looked ready to protest, before his face lit up and Penny could almost see a physical lightbulb in the air next to his head. "What about number three? That one wasn't."
Penny's confused mind sought to remember which one number three was then nodded her head slowly.
"Shall we let in the masses?" asked the delighted father.
"Hang on," protested Penny. "I need to make sure I look okay."
"You look beautiful," said Sheldon truthfully.
It was a ragtag crew that stumbled into the room.
Leonard's glasses weren't sitting quite right, Howard had on ill-fitting hospital pants and Raj was averting his eyes, refusing to look at the bed.
Harmony was waiting for no one, dashing across the room before scrambling up the bed – scrambling a skill the determined baby had learnt before crawling or walking.
"Baby?" the blonde haired toddler queried, demanding to know with a face much like her father.
"Daddy has him," said Penny softly, nodding toward where her tall husband turned with a flourish to make his announcement.
"Mackinley Hamish Cooper!"
Next Chapter: Happy New Year.