A/N. Man, this past month has been busy. In addition to the holidays at the beginning of the year, it took longer than I thought to get the old shed torn down and taken away. The new shed was here for almost three weeks before I started working on it. And, even though I managed to get it started, it was in fits and starts because of a few other things. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen bits and pieces of it going up.

One of those other things was my wife having her right hip replaced. She had arthritis there and the cartilage was gone, so it was bone on bone. She's been struggling for almost a year with the pain and hasn't been able to do much over the last three months. So, the lack of pain with the new hip was welcome, but she can't do anything until she heals a lot more. Which means I am still doing all the household chores in addition to building the shed.

On top of that, I've also picked up a part-time job. I'm now in charge of the crew that does the construction for the sets at the theatre where I currently do my acting. It's three days a week for three hours, so it's not all that intensive, but still takes some time. I've been trying to get everything (keys, accounts, lists, etc) changed over to me the last couple of weeks.

On the bright side, I've also been moving all my PS4 stuff to the PS5 I won in a contest, believe me, I was shocked. And, yes, the graphics are awesome, along with the frame rate. Love that thing.

I think that about covers it.

For now, enjoy chapter 13.

Chapter 13 Crying.

14 August 10:30 AM

Penny was watching the TV, having used the internet on their Apple TV to find an online yoga class. She was working hard to get back into shape and while the running helped her lose the weight, she needed yoga to help tone up all her flabby muscles. She heard a cry over the baby monitor and after hitting pause on the TV, she went up the stairs to the babies' room. There, she found Jesika crying, so she lifted her out of her crib and put her on the changing table. Expecting her diaper to her wet, she was surprised to find it dry. Now thinking she was hungry, she lowered the strap on her yoga top and tried feeding her. Jesika showed no interest in feeding and now Penny was genuinely puzzled.

Neither of the twins had shown the slightest problem with gas, but still, Penny tried to burb Jesika. There was no burp, but the crying became louder and more insistent. Penny was talking to Jesika when she became aware that Annika was now crying also. She put Jesika down in her crib and picked up Annika. She checked her diaper and found it to be dry. She tried to give Annika a breast but she refused and continued crying. Now, starting to worry, she picked up Jesika and gently bounced both babies, hoping to calm them. For five minutes, they both cried while she held them both and soon Penny was trying to figure out what to do next.

She was getting very frustrated, but she continued bouncing them, trying to shush them. She tried singing, but it did no good, as they both continued crying. She put Annika down and tried to feed Jesika again and when Jesika showed no interest in eating, she put her down and tried to feed Annika. This didn't work and so Penny checked their diapers again. When when it turned out they were both still dry, she tried to think of what to do next, while they both cried.

Finally, Penny picked them up, kissed them, and bounced them. She was thinking that it might not have been a good idea to give Louise the day off, but she was going to take care of her girls. While the girls continued to cry, Penny's eyes started filling with tears, out of sheer frustration. She continued gently bouncing the twins and said, "Please girls, please stop crying." The twins paid no attention and continued crying.

14 August 11:30 AM

Leonard was quiet on the way home, but his father more than made up for it with his excitement. The anthropology professor, Ron, had made an offer to Alfred to come out and give the two lectures on the Etruscans and Alfred had quickly accepted. On the drive home, Alfred had been extremely animated about what he had planned for those two classes. Alfred explained how he and Ron had talked about what exactly Ron wanted in the lectures and he was delighted as Alfred explained how his research could help explain both the Etruscans and how Anthropology fit into the social sciences.

The whole drive back Leonard muttered an occasional, "Yes," or absently requested more information, which his father was more than happy to give. Leonard was thankful his father didn't notice how deep in thought he was. He needed to talk to Penny, but he also needed to get his thoughts together first. He would talk to her tonight after they had gotten ready for bed.

14 August 9:30 PM

It had been a quiet afternoon at the Hofstadter's. After getting home, Leonard thought Penny was a bit off of her normal mood because she pointedly asked him to watch the twins while she went to do another run in the afternoon. Penny had noticed Leonard was more quiet than normal, which usually meant he had something on his mind. Alfred didn't notice either of them, as he continued to talk about coming back to give a pair of lectures. Penny and Leonard both assured him he would be welcome to stay at their house.

After her run, Penny sat and watched television, when she wasn't watching the twins, and noticed Leonard would go back to reading something he had brought home after helping with the twins. She managed to get a look at what Leonard was reading, the title was Cal Tech Faculty Handbook and wondered why he was reading that. Alfred went upstairs early in the afternoon to start packing and, around three PM, he took a break and took a nap.

For dinner, Leonard grilled some chicken and it was served with coleslaw and beans. After dinner and cleaning up, the three of them sat around for a bit, talking. Most of it was Alfred, again, talking about the classes he would teach. Around eight PM, he decided to go upstairs and finish packing as he would be leaving in the morning, with Leonard driving him to the airport. After Alfred went upstairs, Leonard and Penny fed and changed the twins, before laying them down for the night.

They both prepared for bed since Penny would get up early for her run and Leonard would be up early to take his father to the airport. As they were getting into bed, Penny said, "So, do you want to tell me what you've been thinking about since you got home this afternoon and why you're reading the Faculty Handbook?"

Leonard was surprised by the question. He thought he had hidden it pretty well, then remembered that Penny could tell what kind of mood he was in, almost just by looking at him, something she had developed as they had dated. He paused for several seconds, wondering if he should tell her, then decided she might be able to help him figure it out.

"Dr. Gablehauser wants me to take over as temporary department chair for a few months," said Leonard.

"And, you don't want to do it," said Penny.

"I've got so much coming up with our experiment," said Leonard. "Plus, I have Tony who is working on his thesis, and Keith and Tom have their duties, they don't need to keep doing mine…."

"That wasn't a no, was it?" said Penny. "Those are just excuses to not accept it, so why don't you just say no?"

"I'm not sure," said Leonard. "I feel there is something he isn't telling me. He said he was having some procedures done, but he didn't specify what exactly those procedures were."

"So, you don't want to say no, because you think it may be serious and he needs someone he can depend on?" asked Penny.

"Yeah, and even if it isn't serious, the department needs someone to cover while he is out," said Leonard. "And, I would have a backup in the form of President Siebert."

"When do you have to tell him?" Asked Penny.

"Probably the end of next week," said Leonard. "I'm due to go back to work on the 24, so he will probably want to know by the Friday before."

"I'd take it, Leonard," said Penny. "You know he's hinted at you getting the position when he retires, so why not look at this as, to use something from my previous career, an audition? See if you can do it, see if you like it. And, maybe, when you talk to him next you can ask what's so urgent about it now."

Leonard was quiet for a few seconds. What Penny said made a lot of sense, but dammit, he still had his duties as head of the photon entanglement experiment team. Maybe, he could do both for a few months, at least until he found out if he was a good fit for administration.

Leonard sighed then said, "You make a good point, Penny. I'll think it over though next week, but I should check out if I like being in administration. I'll have a few more questions for him when he calls me back in, mainly why he needs me now."

Penny snuggled in under Leonard's arm and said, "I think that's the smart thing to do, sweety." She then kissed him and said, "I love you, good night."

He smiled at her, "I love you too, good night." He shut off his nightstand light and then shifted to spooning Penny.

15 August 9:30 AM

Penny had gotten up at 6 AM, got dressed, and then went out for her run. By the time she got back, Leonard had Annika and Jesika fed and changed and was playing and tickling both of them. They had started smiling over the last week and Annika had also started giggling.

Looking at the twins, Penny said, "Did you have any problems feeding and changing them?"

Learned looked at Penny, "No, why? What kind of problems?"

"Oh, I don't know what kind," said Penny. "I was just wondering."

"Nope, no problems at all," said Leonard.

She nodded and gave Leonard what he thought was a strange look, but took over playing with the twins while Leonard started cooking breakfast. He started the sausages before getting Penny a cup of coffee. He got out the bread and poured a couple of glasses of orange juice before starting to scramble the eggs. Within ten minutes, they were both eating, and talking about their mornings. By 8 AM, Alfred was up and Leonard made him breakfast. Leonard cleaned up the kitchen while Alfred ate. After Alfred finished, he went upstairs to finish packing and Leonard went upstairs to get ready to take Alfred to the Airport.

Alfred's plane was scheduled to leave at 1:30 PM and Leonard planned on leaving around 9:30 AM. While that would get Alfred to the airport three hours before his plane was supposed to leave, Leonard planned for the extra hour just in case there were any of the usual problems on the LA Freeways. Leonard loaded up the car with Alfred's luggage and all of them gathered in the living room. Alfred tickled and made funny noises at the twins, as his way of saying goodbye. He then hugged Penny and told her to take care of herself and that he would see her in January. Leonard kissed Penny and said he would see her in a few hours.

He and Alfred then left and got into the car and took only an hour to drive to the airport. Leonard found a place to park and he and Alfred walked over to the terminal. Alfred checked his luggage and got his boarding pass. They then walked toward security and just before getting there, they found a coffee bar and both ordered coffee before they sat down at a small table. They talked about Alfred coming back and Alfred again complimented Leonard on the house. They also talked about the twins and Leonard promised to send Alfred pictures of them, at least once a month.

It was just after 11:30 AM, two hours before his flight, and Alfred said he should be going. They both rose, threw away their empty cups, and walked toward security. Just in front of the entrance, Leonard and Alfred hugged and said goodbye, both saying they were looking forward to seeing each other in January. With that, Alfred turned and went through the gate to security. He turned back and they both waved at each other before Leonard turned to leave the airport.

15 August 10:30 AM

Leonard and Alfred had been gone for an hour and Penny had been playing with the twins. They had been up for almost four hours when they both started whimpering. Penny first tried feeding Annika, thinking they were hungry, but she refused to latch. She then tried Jesika, but she also refused to latch. Penny then tried a bottle, but neither one wanted to eat again. With neither one seemingly interested in food, Penny checked both their diapers, but neither one's diaper was soiled. Their cries were now getting louder and Penny was beginning to panic, thinking it was going to be a repeat of the previous day.

It was. She picked up Annika and began hugging her, shushing her, and making little bouncing motions. While this quieted Annika, Jesika was now full-out crying. Penny put Annika down and picked up Jesika, trying the same things that had quieted Annika. But, it did not work and Jesika continued crying loudly. Penny was getting frustrated with being unable to get Jesika to stop crying and tears started forming in Penny's eyes. Then she heard Annika start crying again. "No, please don't start crying again," Penny said before picking up Annika.

Sitting down, Penny then tried to feed them again. Penny had only double nursed once before and while Annika started feeding, Jesika didn't, she continued crying. So, while Penny fed Annika, she tried to quiet Jesika. After Annika finished, Penny put them both down in the crib before changing Annika, who was now wet. Afterward, she put Annika back in the crib and picked up Jesika who was still crying. After about ten minutes, it seemed to Penny that Jesika's crying had lessened, which was good as Annika was almost asleep. Penny moved Jesika to her other arm and Jesika let out a loud screech and began crying louder, which shocked Penny, as all she did was move her. It also woke up Annika who started crying. With both twins crying loudly, Penny looked at each of them and started crying herself.

15 August 12:30 PM

Leonard arrived home and entered the house. He smiled looking at the picture he saw. Penny was asleep on the couch and the twins were asleep in the crib. Penny was in a bit of a strange position, thought Leonard, face down on the couch, but, she was asleep.

He let them sleep and went over to the dining table and opened up his laptop. He was going over the reports on the experiments, along with the improvements Tom and Keith were thinking about making. He had begun thinking about Dr. Gablehauser asking him to take over the department and all that might entail, from running the department, to not working on his experiment, to not being able to guide his grad student, Tony.

He wanted Tom and Keith to work on learning both the theoretical and experimental sides of the experiment. They were each concentrating on their specialty, right now, but Leonard wanted them to know and understand both sides before he took on the temporary position. If they didn't have the information, they may have questions, or get questions, and he might not be able to help answer them, being involved in running the department.

After an hour, he heard one of the twins starting to make low crying sounds, so he shut the computer and walked over to the crib. He found Annika awake, so he picked her up, went to the kitchen, and heated a bottle before feeding her. After changing her, he laid her back down in the crib and he saw Jesika looking at him and he smiled. Leonard laid out a blanket on the floor, then picked up Jesika and changed and fed her. He brought her back out and laid her on the blanket, then he picked up Annika and laid her on the blanket. For the next 15 minutes, he lay next to them and snuggled with the twins, played with and tickled them.

He heard Penny, "Leonard, is that you, what are you doing?" He looked back and saw her stretching.

"You were sleeping when I got home," said Leonard. "So, I fed and changed the twins and now I'm playing with them. Watch."

She sat up as he tickled both of their stomachs and was rewarded with giggles from both of the twins. He looked at Penny, smiled, and was surprised to see her burst into tears.

He was not expecting that reaction from her, so he got up from the floor, sat down next to her, and asked, "What's wrong Penny?"

Sobbing, she said, "My babies don't like me."