Many of you were absolutely begging for the next chapter, so I thought I'd get it up fast, seeing as it was already written!

Note before I start, I greatly appreciate 5Mississippis' review to Very Not Normal. I have zero experience in the area that that chapter was on, having never had a baby myself or been in the room for a birth (of a human, at least, my sheep and goat experience is more extensive), and everything I wrote was based on research, either online or from people I know. The assurance from someone who has decades of work experience in that area that both the events and people's actions were realistic enough to satisfy someone with such experience is very much appreciated.

As usual, all I own are the characters I've created.

Leonard woozily made his way with another nurse – Sally, he thought she said – to the O.R. waiting room and sank down in the nearest chair. His glasses had broken when he fell, and he knew there was a light trickle of blood coming from somewhere on his face, but he wasn't concerned. He didn't give a giant rat's ass about a cut on his face when Penny could be dying.

He pulled out his cell phone and was about to dial Sheldon when he stopped and thought. Sheldon had a meeting this morning, and considering the way he got last time they thought Penny's life was in danger he wasn't likely to be very helpful even if he could handle being told. Leonard hovered over the button a moment longer before deciding it really wasn't the best option, and dialed another number.

"Hey stranger. How's it hanging?"

"Penny's uterus ruptured," Leonard blurted.

Gilda was silent for a moment. "She go into labor, or did it just happen?"

"Labor. We came into the hospital about forty minutes ago. They just took her away."

"Oh my God," Gilda said. "Have you called Sheldon and Amy?"

"Not yet," Leonard said. "Sheldon got so upset when we thought Penny might have cancer, I didn't want to unsettle him."

"Do you need me to come there?" she asked.

"No," Leonard said. "I don't think so."

"If you hear anything," Gilda said, "anything at all, that you need to talk about with someone, you don't hesitate to call me, understood?" Mark doesn't have any meetings today; I can have him pick up Iris and Savannah from school if I need to be at the hospital."

"I think I'd rather be alone," Leonard said. "But thank you for offering."

Leonard stood up as the doctor who had taken Penny to O.R. entered the room and nodded to him. "Penny, as you know, suffered a tear in her uterus that may have been brought on by the stress of fast labor. In these cases, sometimes we just don't know why it happened. She underwent an emergency C – section to deliver the baby, and then had to have the tear repaired. It's an emergency situation that we don't see often, I myself have been doing this for two decades, and this is only the second one I've had to deal with."

"Could, could I maybe have the Cliffnotes version of this?" Leonard asked anxiously.

"Your daughter was born at 9:41 a.m.," she said. "She is healthy and does not appear to have suffered any ill effects. Her heart rate wasn't quite what we'd like it to be at first, but that can be attributed to stress. Everything is in the normal range now, and she has an APGAR of eight."

"Oh God," Leonard said, putting a hand to his mouth. "That's great…fantastic news. And Penny? What about Penny?"

"Fortunately the tear wasn't the worst it could have been," she told him. "We were able to repair it and Penny is okay. She will be weak for a little while, she lost a lot of blood, but she will live. I know this isn't what you're thinking most about now, but she could even have another child, providing she gives birth by C – section."

"When can I see her?"

"In a little bit," the doctor said. "She's in recovery right now. One of the nurses will let you know."

"Thank you," Leonard said, taking her hand and shaking it. "Thank you for saving them. I'd hug you, but I don't think that's appropriate."

"Save that hug for your family," she said. "Congratulations on your new arrival. You guys are very lucky."

When the doctor left, Leonard collapsed into a chair and put his hands over his face, and jumped when a nurse suddenly spoke to him. "If you feel up to it, you can see her. Your daughter."

"Oh," Leonard said, feeling uncomfortable, "Penny really should see her first."

"If that's what you prefer," the nurse said. "But remember that the father is just as much a parent as the mother is."

Leonard knew Penny would want him to be with their daughter if they couldn't both be, so he stood up shakily, and followed the nurse down to the newborns.

The nurse stopped at one of the babies and reached down, lifting the little one up and handing her to Leonard. He was a bit startled; he'd expected to just look and didn't trust himself completely given the circumstances, but then the little one was in his arms and he never wanted to put her down, especially when her eyes looked up and focused on him. He could see more of himself in her than in Savannah, but Penny was there too, and it was mind blowing to him that this little person could resemble him so much.

He realized he hadn't spoken. "Hey," he said gently, drawing her up closer to him. "Hey, sweetheart."

The baby's mouth changed slightly, and Leonard was almost instantly choked up. "You're smiling, aren't you?"

"She knows who you are," the nurse told him. "Babies can often recognize their mother's voices, and if the fathers talked to them while in utero, they can recognize him, too."

Leonard bit his lip and then continued talking to his daughter, rocking her gently. She continued looking at him as if she felt it was very important to hear what he had to say. He sank down in a chair the nurse, whose name tag said CHLOE, provided, and cuddled her close, feeling the warmth from her body through the blanket, thanking anyone out there that she was alive.

After a while, another nurse entered the ward to tell him that he could see Penny. "We can bring the baby over to you guys in about ten minutes, if you'd like."

"Please," Leonard said, putting her back down and nodding. "And thank you. You saved them."

When Leonard saw Penny lying in the hospital bed, pale, with a breathing tube under her nose and a heart monitor beeping away next to her, he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or distressed. She was alive, looking more at peace then when he'd last seen her, but at the same time, seeing her like that broke his heart. It was a big baby, he thought. We knew that. How could we be so stupid as to think nothing would go wrong? Leonard knew the answer. Because nothing went wrong last time. Their paranoia over every little thing – he felt it too, even though he didn't voice it as often so she could have him to worry to – had been completely eradicated with Savannah's uneventful birth after a very eventful pregnancy. This time, uneventful pregnancy and nearly tragic birth. Leonard preferred the former and knew that his girlfriend would, too. Letting out a sigh, Leonard came around to her bedside, dropped down on the chair, and reached out, taking Penny's hand in his and curling his fingers around her own. "Penny?" He said quietly, looking at her closed eyes. He didn't want to wake her if she was sleeping soundly, but if she woke up after such little stimulus, Leonard wouldn't hate it. He needed to see her move, hear her talk.

After a moment her eyes opened, and her head tilted to the side to focus on him. "Hey," she said, her voice lacking substance.

"Hey," Leonard said, giving her a smile. "How do you feel?"

She closed her eyes briefly and then opened them again. "Pretty bad. Sore." Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "What happened?" She blinked, her eyes showing sudden alarm. "I'm not pregnant," she said. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Leonard, and in the background he heard the heart rate increase ever so slightly. "Leonard, what happened?"

"Shhh, it's okay," Leonard said, using his free hand to touch her face. "You don't remember anything?"

Her head moved weakly from side to side. "No." Her breathing became more noticeable. "Leonard, what happened?" Tears escaped her eyes.

"Hey," he said, squeezing her hand and smiling for reassurance. "Calm down." He drew her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You went into labor. Your uterus ruptured during a contraction, and our daughter was delivered via emergency C – section. Then you were in surgery to repair the tear."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He nodded. "But everything is okay now, all right? She's fine, I've seen her, and they're going to bring her to us in a minute. She's fine. "

Penny's free hand went to her stomach, and her breath caught. "It's a girl?"

Leonard smiled. "Yes. A beautiful little girl. And if I do say so myself…she looks like me."

"And she's okay?" Penny asked, the tears still coming.

"Yes," Leonard said. "She's okay. You're both okay." He looked at her for another moment and then swallowed hard. "I thought…" he removed a hand from hers and pushed his thumb and pointer finger into the inner corners of his eyes. He returned the hand to Penny's and his own. "I thought I was going to lose you both." He hated tearing up in front of her; she'd been through more than enough, but the relief he felt at the moment was too much for him to keep locked up. "God, I was so afraid." He looked into her eyes. "You know how much I love you, right?"

She nodded, a small smile coming over her face. "I have some idea. Because I think I love you about the same."

He smiled and squeezed her hand.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

"You have to stay here a couple of days," he said. "But then we'll go home. You'll have to take it easy, but we'll all be at home, the four of us. Okay?"

She smiled at him, her eyes still wet. "I can't wait."

Leonard leaned over, still holding both her hands, and kissed her tenderly on the lips. She freed one of her hands to place along the side of his face, and when their lips broke apart, Penny lifted her head slightly to rub noses with him before settling back against the pillow.

Leonard, still seeming more distressed than Penny, wiped his eyes again and then held her hands tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said, giving him a smile.

"Hello hello," came a sing – song. Leonard and Penny looked up to see an older female nurse walking into the room holding something in a blanket. "Someone wants to see her Mommy and Daddy."

"Oh!" Penny said, attempting to sit up. Leonard glanced to his right to make sure she was okay, then his eyes trained back on what the nurse was holding.

"Here you go, Mom," she said, handing the little girl to Penny. "She's clean and healthy. We fed her a few minutes ago, but next time she's ready, you can nurse if you'd like.

"Oh, thank you," Penny said as she received the baby, tears springing to her eyes as she pulled her second daughter against her chest and cuddled her. "Hi!" she said, giving a little laugh of relief. "Hi…" she trailed off, looking up at Leonard.

"We'll figure out a name," Leonard said. "That's not the most important thing right now.

"No, it's not," Penny said, biting her lip as she looked down at their second daughter. "Just that she's here, and she's…and she's okay."

"Hmmmm," Penny said fondly, tracing the newborn's face. The baby opened her eyes and locked on to Penny. "Hi, baby girl," she said, her eyes supplying her with fresh tears that threatened to leak. "I'm your mommy, and I love you so, so very much." She looked at Leonard. "Do you want to hold her?"

"You just got her," Leonard said. "I've seen her already."

"I know, but…" Penny smiled at him. "I like watching you hold our babies."

"Well then, you don't have to tell me again," he said eagerly, taking the baby from Penny's arms and cuddling her. She may have been a big baby, but each time he held her she just looked tiny. A tiny, fragile little life in his arms. His second daughter. And she had brown hair. He couldn't get over her having brown hair. "I love you," he said to her, enunciating as clearly as he could, his voice so full of emotion that it almost brought Penny to tears again.

Penny was watching them, smiling, and then she slowly started shaking her head. "I can't believe everything went wrong this morning."

"Not everything," Leonard said. "I mean, I'm glad you don't remember – for a couple of reasons – but if everything went wrong, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. I wouldn't be holding our daughter right now. I'd be crumpled over in the O.R. waiting room, and they'd be sending Gilda and Sheldon to come get me and take me home because I'd be incapable of moving on my own. As terrible as this is, we're lucky."

Penny smiled at that. "That we are." She looked longingly at the bundle in Leonard's arms, and he noted the expression and handed her back. Penny cuddled the baby close.

"Daddy!" Savannah yelled, running up to Leonard and giving him a hug.

"Hey, Savvy," Leonard said, picking her up. "How's my biggest girl?"

"She's fantastic," Howard said. "She was right on time after school."

"Very good," Leonard said, smiling at who was now his oldest. "Thanks for getting her."

"No problem," Howard said. "It's better than Gilda bringing both the girls here."

"Can I see mommy and my sister?" Savannah asked.

"Yes you can," Leonard said. "Right this way."

"I'll be waiting out here," Howard said. "Just let me know when I can come in."

"Thanks, Howard," Leonard said, smiling over his shoulder at the engineer and he carried Savannah down the hall. "Okay, baby girl," he said, setting her down. "Mommy's tummy hurts right now, so don't jump at her, okay? You have to be very gentle with her and your baby sister - the baby is only seven hours old."

"I can be gentle," Savannah said. "I am gentle with Olivia's bunny rabbit."

"I know you are," Leonard said, taking her hand and leading her the rest of the way. "Surprise, Mommy," he said as they entered the room.

Penny, who was nursing the baby, looked at Savannah and gave the four year old a big smile. "Hi there, sweetums!"

"Mommy!" Savannah said, heeding Leonard's warning and walking calmly over to the bed – one of the first times her parents could remember her walking anywhere. She stood on her tip toes and looked at her sleeping sister. "What's her name?"

"We're working on that," Penny said, looking down at Savannah's sister.

Savannah jumped on the chair. "Eat up, sister," she told the baby. "You need to get big and strong so we can play."

Leonard came around to the same side of the bed Savannah was on and bent down, kissing Penny's forehead. Penny smiled at him. "This is the best part, you know," she said, referencing the baby nursing. "I just feel so close."

"You deserve it," he said quietly, and then turned to his oldest and smiled, giving her a hug. "Do you like your new sister?"

Savannah nodded. "She's so small!"

"You know what?" Penny said. "You were even smaller."

Savannah's jaw was hanging so dramatically in response that both her parents couldn't help but laugh.