Own nothing

Penny woke up feeling rested. Far more rested than she normally did. She turned over expecting to find Leonard there so she could give him a kiss. As she turned, she found herself alone. She noticed that the bed was cold next to her. Penny couldn't figure where he was. She looked at the alarm clock and noticed it was 8:00 AM. Penny practically jumped out of bed and ran to the next room. The babies never slept this long, they should have been up hungry between 4:00 and 6:00...something must be wrong. She raced into the next room to find the crib empty. "OH MY GOD" she thought.

She then ran to the living room. Upon turning the corner, she saw that Leonard was sitting in his chair. Penny quietly came around the side of the chair to see Leonard asleep with the children, each nestled into his neck, held in place by the blue snuggie. It was a sight that quickly brought warmth to her heart and tears to her eyes.

Just then, Max opened his eyes and looked up at his mother. He reached up for her and she bent down and carefully took him from Leonard without waking the other two family members. Max was eager to be with his mother, and Penny was also eager for some relief. She hadn't gone this long without nursing since the babies were born and although her chest was now quite impressive, it was presently getting uncomfortable. She lifted her t-shirt and Max latched on like the pro he was. Penny smiled down at Max and then over to Jenny. She was still fast asleep.

As Penny was enjoying her time with her son, Leonard woke up. He just gazed over to his wife and son and smiled. Max finished, and as Penny was sitting him up to burp him, Jenny woke up and began to get very fussy. Leonard quickly sat up and quieted her. Penny looked up, "give her here Leonard, and take Max".

Leonard gave Jenny to Penny, who continued feeding, just with a new customer. Jenny was just as eager as Max had been. Penny held her daughter close marveling at how gently Jenny suckled. Penny looked up at Leonard. "Thanks, Honey, for letting me sleep, I feel great, but, these puppies need a workout more often. Now I know why the cows back home get so ornery when Daddy doesn't get out to the barn early enough".

Leonard took Max, changed him and placed him in the playpen they kept next to the couch by the window. "I'll be more than happy to help with those, just give the word".

Penny smirked, "Sweetie, as good as you are..., and I REALLY mean that..., Penny grinned an evil grin...you just don't do it for me right now". Penny handed Jenny to Leonard and Penny picked up the breast pump to finish the job. It had been so long, Penny had enough to put in the fridge so Leonard could help later. "Don't worry sweetie, you'll get your shot. As much as I love these guys, you are still the king, and I need you in a very special different way and love you so very much".

Leonard smiled to himself as he finished with Jenny and put her in the playpen with Max.

Bernadette needed a different perspective. She had seen how happy Penny and Leonard were with their children. Bernadette had made it well known that she had reservations about having kids. She didn't want to stall her career even before it got started, she didn't know how a pregnancy would affect her body. She knew that these things were self-centered and probably selfish but she did let Howard know about her feelings before they were married.

Now with the birth of Penny's precious two children, and their entrance into the group, she started to have different thoughts. She saw how it was taking care of the babies, and the schedule changes and accommodations that Leonard and Penny made. Sometimes, Penny looked positively exhausted. She still would never let anyone think that any of it was due to the kids. She adored them and would do anything for them. Leonard was the same. He would do whatever was necessary for their family. He would work different schedules at the University in order to let Penny go to class or work at the Cheesecake factory, or to let her rehearse for a play that she wanted to be in. It was so important to him that Penny be happy in all that she wanted to do. Thank god for Amy, she had picked up the burden of driving Sheldon to and from work when Leonard worked those crazy shifts.

Bernadette had talked to Penny about what it was like, to carry the babies, to give birth, although Penny wasn't the best source there due to the C-Section. What it was like nursing and just working out all the stuff necessary to raise children. She couldn't really talk to Amy, that poor girl was still trying to get Sheldon off the launching pad that was their relationship. She really had very limited other places to go for help. She got in her car and went to have a talk.

Alex sat there on the toilet staring at the pregnancy stick…..

Raj knew the time had elapsed and Alex had not come out of the bathroom. He decided that this was probably difficult and awkward for Alex. After all, she had only taken the test at Raj's insistence. She had been suffering through what she had told Raj was a slight case of the Flu.

Raj had stopped by the pharmacy to pick up something to help with her nausea and asked the pharmacy tech for advice. When she recommended a pregnancy test, Raj almost fell over. To be sure there was less of a chance that things could go wrong, Raj had bought two different tests.

Raj decided to see how things were coming along, so he gently knocked on the bathroom door and slowly opened it to see Alex sitting staring at her hands. In front of her, face up on her lap, was the pregnancy test stick….. POSITIVE…

Alex looked up at Raj, a look of disbelief on her face.

Raj sat down on the edge of the tub and reached across to take her hand. As Alex held out her hand, Raj saw that she was holding the test from the other manufacturer. Once Alex found out the positive test result, she opened the second test to make sure. That was why it had been taking so long for her to come out of the bathroom.

Alex held out the second test so Raj could see the result… NEGATIVE… Alex just kept looking into Raj's eyes, not saying anything.

Sheldon sat watching the ending of the program and turned to Amy. "Thank you for coming over this morning, did you enjoy the show?"

Amy was a little put out by Sheldon's nonchalant attitude as to their "unscheduled date time". "Sheldon, the show was fine for its genre and as long as you don't take any of the production issues into account. Why did you ask me over here at this hour? Surely it wasn't to watch TV?'

Sheldon looked back. "Of course not, although I was hoping that you would have a more positive outlook on the show considering there is a marathon that starts in a few hours."

Amy looked in his eyes. "SHELLLDONNNN!"

Sheldon turned to Amy, "Fine. I was wondering if we could discuss schedules of transportation. It seems that Leonard is spending a lot more unscheduled time tending to his family needs and therefore, neglecting the terms of the neighbor agreement."