Thought I would give you all a new chapter today since it's also new episode day! As you may have noticed, this fic is now rated M. Honestly, most fics with the content this fic has and will have are rated T. But this chapter has – and other chapters will have – what I would define as 'mildly suggestive adult themes' and has that characterized as an M story, so I will make it an M story. Remember that this will no longer appear in the main filter, so if you normally miss stories like that, be sure to follow it so you'll be told when it's updated.

"It feels like so long since we've had time for the girls," Bernadette said, smiling across the table at Amy.

"I know," Amy said. "I'm sorry I haven't been very social these past few months."

"We totally understand," Penny said. "We're just glad that you let us in."

"Well, I couldn't not," Amy said, "you two are my closest friends." She sighed. "I just don't know why I never thought that my unpredictable cycle could be a sign of a reproductive problem."

"It's best not to dwell on it," Penny said gently.

Amy nodded. "I know."

"Have you and Sheldon talked about adoption?" Bernadette asked. "You'd mentioned to us last month that you were thinking about that conversation."

Amy shrugged. "We had a brief discussion. But I don't want to adopt. Call me selfish, because I know it is, but…" she shrugged. "I don't want to raise a baby that isn't Sheldon's. And he doesn't want to raise a baby that isn't mine."

"I can understand that," Bernadette said. "But if you did adopt, you would get to skip the pregnancy/childbirth part."

"I don't want to skip that part!" Amy said. "No, we've decided. Sheldon and I are not going to be parents. I thought you guys took me out to take my mind off it," she reminded them with a smile.

"Right, sorry," Penny said. "So Missy will be back in a week or so."

"Oh yeah?" Bernadette said. "Is Raj excited?"

"He's ridiculously happy," Penny said. "It's adorable. She called him last night while we were watching TV, and he pretty much bounded out of the room to take the call. Savannah gave him the oddest look, and then looked at me and Leonard as if we could explain that. Leonard just said 'he's pretty happy.' Understatement of the decade."

"I think it's adorable that they've been together almost four years and he's still that giddy to hear from her," Bernadette said.

"Too bad his meds didn't wear off, or they could be a dozen years strong already," Penny commented.

Amy looked confused for a moment, and then she nodded as she recalled what Penny was referencing. "Maybe Sheldon and I should do that," she said.

"Do what?"

"Get a pet. You know, Raj and Missy are living together and have the dogs. Maybe Sheldon and I should get a pet to substitute for our inability to have children. Like maybe a cat. We both love cats."

"You think a cat will satisfy your longing for a baby?" Penny asked.

Amy shrugged. "Maybe. If it's a cute little cuddly cat." She shrugged. "What time are you picking Savannah up from Gilda's?"

"In a couple of hours," Penny said. "I stopped by right before I came here to make Savannah eat the vitamin that she hit under her placemat this morning, and she and Iris were drawing – or diagraming, if you're talking to Gilda – on Iris's board, discussing what their babies would look like if they got married. Gilda was trying to explain the whole thing about how two girls can't have a baby that looks like both of them, and Iris yelled something about how Gilda is supposed to be encouraging them to use their imaginations."

Amy and Bernadette both started laughing. "That sounds like Iris," Amy said.

"It sounds like Iris's kindergarten teacher," Penny said. "I don't think that woman can go thirty seconds without saying 'use your imagination'."

"Speaking of teachers," Bernadette said, "what's Mrs. Bennet been like since the coitus incident?"

"She's very wary to call on Savannah for anything, even when they're identifying colors and rhyming words." Penny shook her head. "Savannah's a bit frustrated. But Leonard told her that she can teach her baby brother or sister all the colors and rhyming words, and that made her happier."

"Leonard's such a good daddy," Bernadette said.

Penny glanced at Amy, wondering if the conversation was too sensitive for her, but the neurobiologist was nodding as she took another drink of her water – Amy had been so good about not getting upset when they talked about Penny's pregnancy. Penny smiled. "Yeah, he is."

"Is he just as wildly attractive to you as Missy is to Raj?" Bernadette asked mischeviously.

"Well, we haven't been doing too much recently," Penny said. "What with…" she gestured to her stomach, "this, but yeah, he is. I mean, we've been together longer than Raj and Missy, and we've had such a hectic last couple of years, but…" she nodded. "Of course he is. I'll always find him attractive."

Penny stared at the ceiling. She didn't know what time it was, but considering it was two seventeen the last time she looked at the clock, it was probably still before two thirty. She couldn't sleep, but not because of discomfort. She was just…awake.

Penny let her head tip toward the clock radio. Two twenty four. Groaning slightly, Penny looked back up at the ceiling. It was going to be a long night.

She turned her head the other way. She could barely see Leonard in the dim moon light coming through the window, but she smiled anyway. He looked absolutely adorable, lying on his side facing her, the moon hitting his skin. He was wearing his white tee shirt that showed off his arms, and all of a sudden, despite what she'd said to the girls earlier that day, Penny couldn't remember the last time she'd found him so attractive.

She looked at the clock again. Two twenty five. Looking back at Leonard, Penny scooted closer to him, moving the covers over and running her hand from his shoulder to hip and back again. Leonard shifted his weight slightly but didn't wake up. Penny smiled mischievously. He was on his side, but she scooted over to his side of the bed and pushed him over onto his back, getting a leg on either side of him but keeping her body leaned to the right so she could still kiss his neck without her stomach getting in the way. After a moment or two, she shifted so she was centered over him and began rubbing his chest to get him to wake up. "Leonard," she whispered, moving to run her hands along his arms.

"Mmm," Leonard mumbled, his eyes opening slightly. Penny leaned forward, putting some weight on her hands as well as her knees, and stretched her head down to kiss him on the lips. He kissed her back and put his hands on her stomach. "Penny, he whispered, "what are you doing?"

"Is there some sort of problem?" she asked teasingly, putting one of her hands on his stomach and running it farther down.

"No," he said, his breath hitching. "But if we do this…" his hands went to her hips, "you could go into labor. You know that, right?"

"So?" Penny asked, using her free hand to twist the fabric of his under shirt between her fingers and then moving it up to her own maternity nightshirt, fumbling to undo the buttons with one hand, but managing.

"We'd have to wake Sheldon and Amy up to give them Savannah."

"Leonard," she said, leaning slightly forward and placing both hands flat on his chest. "Sheldon used to wake us up all the time. This would be payback."

"Mmmm," Leonard said, smiling up at her. "This is pretty good payback."

"That's right," Penny said, "and we might even get a baby out of it. In a different way than we've previously gotten babies out of it."

Leonard looked up at her. "My God, you're attractive." He freed his hands from hers and sat up, sliding his arms around her, raising an eyebrow when the motion caused her body to shudder. "What?"

"Your arms," she said, sliding her own around his neck as best as she could and kissing him again.

Leonard raised an eyebrow slightly, and then ran his arms up and down her back, eliciting more of a response from her than he'd expected. Her pregnancy hormones were certainly interesting, but he wasn't complaining.

She tried to rid him of his boxers at the same time he began tugging her pajama pants down over her hips, and with her cumbersome figure, they almost toppled over, Penny's momentum likely to carry her off the bed. "Whoa," Penny said, pulling on his shirt to keep her balance. "How about we just undress ourselves?"

Leonard grinned at her – almost toppling over was funny when it stayed almost – and nodded. "Good plan."

She giggled, kissed him, and shifted off of him so she could remove the pants. "When was the last time we did this?" she asked Leonard.

"Had sex, or had spur of the moment sex in the middle of the night?" Leonard asked. "Hmmm, well if we think about the times that we weren't so exhausted from the day we both slept through the night, plus right after Savannah was born when were weren't sleeping together, then we can probably figure out the most likely..."

"Honey," Penny said, tossing her undergarments across the room and grabbing his boxers from his hand, throwing them in the same direction before straddling him again, "shut up and kiss me."

Leonard put his hands back on her hips. "Yes, ma'am."