I seem to need to be on a near every other day basis with this sequel, like I was with the original. But no one minds, right?

Also, in case you aren't reading Just The Girl, Roxanne (ennaxor) and I have started a podcast for the show where we talk about news, ideas, and the most recent episode. Our first episode is now up at , so feel free to check that out!

And now, the next chapter of The Sulfur Juxtaposition.

"So," Penny said, easing herself next to Leonard and falling on to her back. "Who says couples eight months pregnant can't get it on, huh?"

Leonard gave a little laugh, and then sucked in a breath. "In…"

"What?"

"In…haler."

"Oh!" Penny sat up and reached over to grab it. "Here." Leonard took the medication and then let out another breath. "Okay, I'm good." He lifted a hand, and Penny slapped it with her own. "You can wake me up at two in the morning more often, you know," he said, grinning at her.

"Noted," Penny said, taking the inhaler back from him and reaching to set it back on the. "Oh, God!" She dropped the inhaler and put her hands on her sides.

Leonard's eyes widened? "Contraction?"

She nodded, closing her eyes and letting her breath out through her mouth.

"Real one?"

She nodded again, shifting her weight slightly and then opening her eyes. "That was fast."

"Is it supposed to start that fast?"

Penny gave a little laugh. "You should know by now that nothing is by the book." She lay back down and shifted uncomfortably. "We'll just have to see if there are more."

"Do you want to go sit on the ball?" Leonard asked.

Penny shook her head. "Not yet. Try to sleep, okay?"

"That's what I was doing, until you decided to wake me up," Leonard teased, rolling on his side and kissing her cheek.

"Sorry not sorry!" she said. "Now go to sleep, you. I'll wake you up if this keeps going."

"How am I going to sleep now?" he asked. "Surprise sex plus possible baby? Nuh-uh. Adrenaline is too much right now."

"Well, we could talk about names, then," Penny said. "We still haven't been able to agree."

"I still like names that have to do with scientists," Leonard said. "Darwin, Marie…"

"And I like names that would go good with Savannah, with the S sound. Scott, Sarah, Sierra, Sam…"

"Didn't you date a Sam?" Leonard asked.

"That's not why I like the name," Penny said. "But now that you brought him up…I'm going to veto my own idea."

"Maybe we'll know when we see him or her," Leonard said. "Which could be pretty soon now."

"No more than three weeks," Penny said. "If she goes to full term she'll be near ten pounds and then they'll have a C-section."

"Don't want that," Leonard said.

"No, I don't, but at least I'm not afraid of stitches like you," she teased.

Leonard slept later than he'd planned to the following morning; his alarm hadn't gone off. Penny wasn't beside him, and he immediately checked the bathroom. It was empty. Figuring nothing had happened over night, Leonard wandered out into the living room to see his pregnant Penny opening the toy from Savannah's cereal and handing it to the girl. "Yay!" Savannah said. "Daddy, look! It's a monkey stuffed animal!"

"Aunt Amy would approve," Leonard said mussing Savannah's hair. "Nothing?" he asked of Penny. She shook her head.

"What?" Savannah asked.

"We were thinking that the baby might come this morning," Leonard said, "but nope."

"Aw," Savannah said, clearly disappointed. Then, demonstrating a four year old's attention span, she asked, "who is taking me to school?"

"Aunt Gilda," Penny said. "She's going right by your school on her way to the dentist."

"Okay," Savannah said, watching her mother pour milk in her cereal. "Spoon?"

"Got it," Leonard said, reaching into the drawer and handing her the Mickey Mouse utensil.

When Savannah finished eating, Leonard took her by the hand to lead her downstairs to Sheldon and Amy's, where she'd await Gilda and Iris' arrival.

Penny watched him go, suddenly wishing that Sheldon or Amy had come up to get Savannah, rather than him having to leave. She found herself full of energy this morning, probably as a result of the endorphins from the night before, and despite her advanced pregnancy and the other mothers she'd talked to that spoke of nonexistent libido in the last month, Penny found that she wanted him again. With her newfound energy, she'd cleaned the apartment before Leonard and Savannah had even woken up, and now there really was nothing else to do before Leonard left for work.

Penny went into her bedroom and pulled her shirt off over her head, looking at herself in the mirror. Her stomach was big, no question about it, and she could almost see the footprint when the baby kicked, but she hadn't gained an excessive amount of baby weight, her breasts looked great in her black maternity bra, and her skin was still clear. She knew that she could still be considered attractive, and she knew that Leonard still found her to be so – even in broad daylight.

"Penny?" she heard his voice, sounding confused, from just inside the apartment. "Where'd you go?"

Leaving her shirt off, Penny walked out into the living room. "If you were wondering about something to do before work," she said. "I'd like to offer myself up."

Leonard cocked his head to the left. "Someone like what happened last night?" he asked playfully.

"Mmmm, maybe someone did," she said walking toward him. "Take off your pants."

"Real fast," Leonard held up a hand, "you know what Savannah said to Sheldon down there?"

Penny cocked her head. "What?"

"She told him a joke," Leonard said. "She said 'why can't you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?"

Penny thought. "Why?"

"Because the 'P' is silent."

Penny burst out laughing. "That's fantastic."

"She's so clever," Leonard said, smiling proudly. "I mean, I've heard the joke, but still."

"She's smart like her daddy," Penny said, coming over to him and putting her hands on his chest. "Did she say anything else that was clever."

"No," Leonard said, another smile coming over his face. "I think that was about it."

Penny nodded, and then gestured with her head to the couch. "Then take off your pants. And your jacket. Show off those arms."

"Dammit," Penny said, when a contraction hit just minutes after she and Leonard had finished.

"Again, huh?" Leonard said.

"Yeah," she said pausing momentarily and then going back to putting her sweatpants back on. "I'm sure one of these times it will be for real."

"Hopefully that day isn't too far off," Leonard said. "I hate seeing you looking so uncomfortable."

"It's not too bad," she said, smiling. "Really. I'm not working, so I can sit whenever I want."

"True," Leonard said, slipping his boxers back on and flipping onto his back on the couch. "True."

"Not that that's always the most comfortable thing to be doing, but you know." Penny sat on the front edge of the couch and began kissing him, curling her fingers around his. He kissed her back, squeezing her hand, and they remained locked for several minutes until Penny smiled, stood up, and went toward the bedroom to put her shirt back on.

Then a second contraction hit, and Penny, not expecting it, leaned over the bed, pushing her hands against the covers and letting out a long breath. She tipped her head to the side to look at the clock. It'd been five minutes since the last one.

Five minutes.

That was the magic number, the get-to-the-hospital-now number, but Penny still wasn't sure if these were the real thing. Contractions after sex, especially in the later stages, were unpredictable, and despite the fact that second labors could go much faster than the first, Penny wasn't sure it was time to go to the hospital just yet.

She went into the bathroom and pulled her hair up into the ponytail, and then headed back out into the living room. "Leonard," she said, "I had another contraction. Five minutes after the first one."

Leonard jumped up. "Do we need to go?"

"I don't know," Penny said. "Maybe. There's only been two."

"Okay," Leonard said, getting up. "I'm gonna grab the bag anyway."

"Sure," Penny said. She walked over to the kitchen and adjusted Savannah's homemade magnet that held up a drawing she'd done in crayon of her, Penny, and Leonard.

"Okay," I've got everything we need," Leonard said. "You want to go just to be safe?"

"Might as well," Penny said. Leonard got her shoes from the floor by the door and brought them to her. She settled down on the couch and put them on. "This is a comfy seat," she said, leaning back and closing her eyes. "I might just stay here instead."

"Penny," Leonard said sternly, holding out his hand to her. "Some women have had half hour second labors and weren't able to get to the hospital. We are going while you can still walk because I am not letting you have this baby on the floor in the apartment and I'm even less comfortable with the idea of pulling over on the way to the hospital."

She smiled and took his hand, and he helped pull her up. "Oh-h," she said, wobbling slightly, hanging onto Leonard's hands for balance. She looked at Leonard. "My water broke. Contraction."

"Then I'd say we're on our way," Leonard said, putting an arm behind her back and walking her toward the bedroom once the contraction was over. He dug through her drawers and tossed her clean shorts.

She raised her eyebrows. "Those don't exactly go with…fine!" she said when he raised an eyebrow at her. She put them on and went into the bathroom, turning on the sink and splashing cold water on her face. Taking a long look at herself in the mirror, she let out a heavy breath. "Okay," she said, nodding and coming back out to join Leonard. "Let's go."

They were in the lobby when Penny's muscles tightened again and she grabbed on to Leonard for support. The arm she wasn't holding went around her back, and he reminded her to exhale. She did, blowing out and then taking in another deep breath, not letting up on her grip on his arm for several more seconds. "That one was worse, wasn't it?" he asked.

She nodded. "That'll happen sometimes after your water breaks."

"We'll be at the hospital in less than ten minutes," Leonard reminded her as they moved out to the car. "Just try to relax."

"Mmm hmm," she said, climbing into the passenger seat and leaning back, putting the seat belt on and shifting in discomfort.

"If the belt's bothering you, un clip it," Leonard said. "I'm not going to drive recklessly with you in the car."

"Because you're such a speed demon when I'm not," she said, taking the belt off. "Leonard, I don't want fast labor."

"Why not?" Leonard asked. "It'll be over quick. And with the way everything's going now, you could be done in an hour."

"Would you rather walk a mile or run a mile?" Penny asked. "Same distance covered, but at different paces."

"I'm not in shape," Leonard said. "I don't run all the time. But I see your point."

"I don't have babies all the time either," Penny said, her breath catching at the end of her sentence. "Another one. Four minutes."

"Easy there," Leonard said, reaching over and taking her hand. "But, and I hate to quote Jar Jar Binks, but yousa point is well seen."

"What?" She managed through the pain, cracking her eyes open and looking at him, squinting into the sun.

"Nothing." He squeezed her hand and began moving his thumb over her skin. "We'll be there soon. Don't worry about a thing. We've done this before."

Penny nodded in agreement. Fast labor or no, this wasn't an unknown anymore. She knew what to expect, and she took comfort in that as the car flew in the direction of the hospital.

Just a reminder that Penny's pregnancy isn't the focus of this fic, so the baby's coming rather early on, rather than at the end. I still have ten thousand words written, and I typically double – or more – my word count in editing. :)