Going to make some food for sick kids tonight, but thought you guys should be left with a little entertainment – hopefully warm fuzzy inducing – while I'm gone. Picks up a few minutes after the last one ended.

When Leonard and Penny picked up Ada from Raj's on their way up to the apartment, the baby was wailing and fussing. "She won't take her bottle," Raj said. I gave it to her just like you said."

"She's picky about bottles," Leonard said, taking the baby from the astro-physicist. "She prefers the real thing."

"She'll be a pretty expensive teenager, then," Raj joked.

"I hope she'll be weaned by the time she's a teenager," Penny said, giving a thin smile.

They finished their walk to the apartment in silence; Leonard wanted to talk, to lift the uncomfortable silence, but Penny was staring at the ground, her hand around Savannah's, giving no sign of wanting to make small talk. So Leonard stayed, silent, cradling his youngest daughter in an attempt to quiet her down, and upon reaching the fift floor, unlocking the door and holding it open for Penny and Savannah.

"Savvy," Penny said, turning the girl around to face her and dropping down to eye level. "Go to your room. I have to feed Ada and then Daddy and I have to talk to you. Okay?"

"I'm sorry," Savannah said, raising her eyes from the floor to her mother.

"That's good," Penny said, kissing her forehead. "But just go to your room for a little while, okay?"

Savannah nodded and walked – it was rare she never skipped – toward her bedroom.

"Give her to me," Penny said, and Leonard handed her Ada. With her free hand, Penny worked her way under her shirt and unhooked her bra – the ones that came apart in the front came in very handy at times like this – and settled down on the couch to let the baby nurse. She put a hand on the back of Ada's head and closed her eyes.

"Penny?" Leonard said, "do you want me to go talk to her?"

"We really both should," Penny said quietly, after a moment..

"I know," Leonard said, "but it's been a crazy day. Let me take care of it."

"No."

Leonard was surprised at how choked up that word sounded. He blinked as Penny opened her watery eyes and shook her head. "No, Leonard, we have to do it together!" She looked away from him as Ada wiggled, turning her head, and Leonard came over and sank down on the couch next to her. "Penny, what's wrong?"

Penny inhaled sharply, and her body shook in an effort to keep the tears in her eyes. Ada wiggled again, and Penny held her closer. "It's okay, baby girl," she whispered, rocking the infant.

"Hey," Leonard said, standing up and reaching to take the baby from Penny. Penny held on for a moment, then let Ada go, and Leonard set her in the baby hammock behind the couch that Howard and Raj had made when Savannah was small. Seeing that the baby was settled, Leonard came back around and sat by Penny. "He-e-ey, what is it?"

Penny bit her lip, shook her head, and then looked over at Leonard. "That horrible woman…"

"Penny," Leonard said sliding his arm around her.

"She suggested we were bad parents!" Penny said, not leaning into him, putting her face in her hands. She stayed that way for a moment, Leonard tried to think of a response, and then she looked back over at him. "I didn't think in this day and age people cared if couples got married, we…" she let out a shaky breath and looked down at her hands. "We love Savannah so much."

"We do," Leonard agreed, wondering if he should tell her he loved her now, or wondering if that would just make it seem like he didn't want to listen anymore. He held it in.

"We love her so much, and…" Penny took a breath, "it was such a struggle to have her, and she and Ada are the best things we've ever done, but just because we aren't married, they must not feel secure?" Penny had been looking down, but now she lifted her eyes to Leonard's. "How can she not feel secure with us? Have we ever given her any reason to make her think that we don't love her with everything we have?"

"No," Leonard said firmly, beginning to rub her back, using his free hand to cover her own. "No, we never have. That little girl is so, so loved, and she knows it. Don't let Carrie Cicala tell you any differently. She doesn't know anything."

"I've been so bad at everything in my life," Penny said. "But no one's ever told me I was a bad mother!" Her last two words came out as squeaks, and she collapsed against Leonard, her body shaking, Leonard noting that she was still a little too thin.

"Penny," he said, holding her close, making a Shhhhh noise out of habit, "Penny, you are an amazing mother. You daughters love you, and they know…they know you'll always be there for them." He smiled a bit. "You can't be a bad mother when you let Savannah watch Star Wars before she's even in Kindergarten, I mean, that right there should give us both the title of Coolest Parents Ever."

Penny lifted her head long enough to give him a brief smile. "She doesn't know anything," she repeated, as if trying to make herself believe it.

Leonard wanted to go back to the school and make Carrie Cicala sorry for making someone fighting depression feel this terrible.

"Mommy?"

Leonard and Penny looked in the direction of the voice. Savannah, her short attention span clearly past the expiration date, stood at the end of the hallway. A look of terrible concern was on her face. "Mommy!" she said, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears herself.

"Hi, baby," Penny said, giving her daughter what she hoped was a convincing smile.

It must not have been, for Savannah ran across the room and threw herself in the air to join them on the couch. Her knee made contact with Leonard's groin, and he winced.

"Mommy, don't cry!" Savannah said, looking both terrified and empathetic, throwing her little arms around her mother's neck. "Mommy," she said, more quietly now, tears in her own eyes. "Mommy, don't cry. I'm sorry I did Cattle Drive!"

"Mommy's fine, baby girl," Penny said, putting her hands on her daughter's back and squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the crying from starting up again. "Mommy isn't mad at you. Mommy's just fine. Mommy loves Savannah's hugs."

Leonard smiled.

Savannah let go of Penny's neck and cuddled up to her, her knees tucked up against her stomach so the side of her left leg was against Penny's, Penny's right arm serving to keep her from falling over backwards. Savannah looked up into her mother's eyes. "Are you better?"

Penny smiled lovingly at the little blonde. "I'm much better. I'm always better when you're around, Savvy."

Savannah smiled, satisfied with the answer, and put her head on Penny's chest. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too," Penny said, cuddling the girl as close as she could, looking over at Leonard and giving him a look that he could only interpret as grateful relief, "I love you so very much."

As you can imagine, this will be a setback in Penny's recovery. But it's good for her to know that the specific point that the assistant principal brought up is not applicable to her and Leonard when it comes to making their daughters have a stable home environment.