Thank you all for your kind words! Going to try to update this story with fluffy Lenny one shots and I think this one is particularly sweet.
I obviously don't own anything or I wouldn't be writing fanfic.
Penny watched as all the girls walked out of the ballet studio, clad in little pink tutus and leotards. In the middle of the pack was her almost three year old daughter, Lily, who was chatting with her friend about something regarding Peppa Pig or her new doll — those were her main interests. She spotted her mother and ran over to her, almost tripping in her ballet slippers, blonde curls bouncing. Penny loved having a little girl to dress up and hang out with and she was a little nervous she wouldn't be as close with the son she was expecting in 4 months.
"Mommy!" Lily said, running into Penny's arms.
"Hi baby, how was dance class?" Penny asked, as they walked out of the studio.
"We learned-ed a new dance and we got to go on the barres!" she exclaimed, as Penny put her down and grabbed onto her hand. She walked over to her car and strapped her into the carseat.
"We're going somewhere very special," Penny said, watching her daughter react in the mirror.
"Disneyland?" She asked, getting excited.
"Okay, maybe I oversold it. We're going to get your dinner and then go meet Aunt Amy and Uncle Sheldon's new baby!" Penny said.
"It was borned?" Lily asked, getting excited. They were very happy she had reacted so well to Sheldon and Amy's baby, which really opened her up to the idea that she wasn't going to be an only child.
"Yup," Penny said, looking back at the little girl who developed a smile on her face.
"What are we getting for dinner?" Lily asked, the excitement had passed and food was on her mind. With parenthood, Penny had learned how to cook a bit more and Leonard had taken the charge to make sure they ate healthy, but after dance class, Lily got to get take out.
"We can pick up anything you want, but the quicker we get it, the quicker we see the baby!" Penny said.
"Potle!" Lily screamed and Penny obliged and drove over to the nearest Chipotle. She ordered Lily's kids meal and bought herself and Leonard burrito bowls. She gave Lily her food in the car, which was a special treat because Penny really wanted to get to the hospital and picked Leonard up on the way over. He got in the car and Penny handed him his bowl and he started eating it.
"Hi Lily bean, how was ballet?" Leonard asked, between bites as he turned to face his daughter in the backseat. She told him all about her new dance and her friends and how good her quesadilla was as they pulled up to the hospital.
"Is the baby a boy baby like my brother or a girl baby?" Lily asked, as they parked and Leonard took her out of her carseat.
"It's a boy, sweetie." Penny said, grabbing her hand and walking toward the entrance.
"So it can be friends with baby brother?" Lily asked, genuinely concerned for her brother's future social life.
"Of course, but even if it was a girl, it would still be friends with baby brother," Penny explained, "just like you and Michael are friends, even though he's a boy and you're a girl."
"Michael is yucky!" Lily said, sticking out her tongue, "boys are yucky!"
"That's right, Lily, they are." Leonard said, laughing.
"Boys aren't yucky, Lily" Penny said, glaring at Leonard, "Daddy is a boy."
"Daddy isn't yucky, but all the other boys are," Lily said.
"That sounds pretty fair to me," Leonard said. They entered the automatic doors to the hospital and headed to the maternity ward. Lily got a little frightened by all the beeping and doctors running around and asked for Leonard to pick her up, he happily obliged.
"Okay, they should be this way," Penny said, leading the way down a hall of hospital rooms. Finally, they reached room 73 and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Amy practically sang from the other side of the door. She was laying in bed holding a newborn baby boy as Sheldon sat next to her, unable to take his eyes off of his wife or son. The family opened the door, and Penny immediately burst into tears.
"Let me see him!" She said, running over to the bed and staring down at the brown haired, bright blue eyed newborn. He had already started looking around the room and became aware of his surroundings. Penny looked at Amy, "he's perfect."
"Well, he is a combination of mine and Amy's DNA." Sheldon said, becoming less a doting dad and more, Sheldon Cooper.
"Hey, congrats buddy," Leonard said, patting Sheldon on the back, as he reached to swipe his finger across the baby's cheek.
"It was all Amy's work, congratulate her, her genitals went through a lot today." Sheldon said, matter-of-factly.
"And it was all worth it," Amy said, looking into the baby's eyes.
"So, does he have a name?" Penny asked, as she played with Lily's hair. She was reminded of how big her daughter was at this moment, that just three short years ago, she was sitting in a hospital room with a newborn baby and that in just a few short months, she'd do it all over again.
"Well, we wanted to run it by you guys first." Amy said, looking at Penny and Leonard.
"You can name him anything you want, you don't need us," Leonard said.
"We want to name him Leonard, Leonard John Cooper," Sheldon said, looking at Leonard who was rendered speechless, "after Leonard Nimoy of course, but it's your name too and we don't want it to get too confusing."
"Aww," Penny said, placing one arm around Leonard and the other on Lily's head. She looked up at Leonard and saw that he was tearing up — and she found that she was too.
"Of course you can name him Leonard," Leonard said, wiping away tears.
"We want to call him Leo," Amy said.
"Good, because Leonard is a name that gets you bullied." Leonard joked. He couldn't stop crying. He pulled Penny in closer to him and kissed her head. This was a moment that was Sheldon's way of saying thank you to Leonard for dealing with him all these years, a statement that validated that being a Leonard was something to be proud of. He was the namesake of Sheldon's son, that was more than he could ever imagine. He was sure his mother would have something to say, something like "really?" but he was going to enjoy the moment.
"Would you like to hold him?" Amy asked, as she lifted the baby slightly and Leonard took him into his arms.
"Hi little Leonard," Leonard said, holding the baby gently. Leo opened his eyes and Leonard swore he understood their newly established dynamic. Leonard had been paternal since the day he met Sheldon, and now he was going to be there to guide his best friend through fatherhood. Penny watched as Leonard held Leo, taking out her phone to snap a picture. He didn't notice, he was too enchanted with the baby and feeling sure about himself, a feeling that was new to him. He stepped up and became the confident parent when it came to Lily, assuring an anxious Penny that they were going to be okay and that they were doing the right thing. Now, holding his best friend's kid, he could feel like everything was going to be okay for them, for Sheldon, for Amy, and for little Leonard.
"Ok, my turn!" Penny said, as Leonard gently handed her the baby, "He looks just like Sheldon! Those eyes!" Now, Leonard watched her hold little Leonard, knowing that in a few short months they'd be holding their own son. They hadn't planned to get pregnant at the same time, but it worked out that way. Leonard and baby boy Hofstadter were born to be best friends, destined to grow up like brothers, something Sheldon and Leonard never got from their childhoods. Penny rocked the baby as he started to close his eyes and fall asleep, "Lily, look how cute he is." She brought the baby down to Lily's eye level.
"Can I hold him?" She asked, looking at her mother with eyes that always got what they wanted. Penny handed the baby back to Amy and went down to Lily's eye level.
"He's too little for you to hold him right now, but when he gets big and strong you can hold him too." Penny said.
"Actually Lily, why don't you come sit on my bed and we can hold him together." Amy said, as she tapped her bed.
"Can I mommy?" Lily asked, getting excited. Penny helped her onto the bed and settled her so that both Lily and Amy were comfy, "he's so little, is my brother going to be little like this?"
"Yeah, he's even littler right now." Leonard said, as he watched Lily gently touch the baby. He pulled out his phone and took a picture.
"That's so little." Lily said. She stared at the baby for a bit and then quickly lost interest. They stayed in the room for a while, passing around baby Leonard and taking pictures. Penny and Leonard tried to give them tips for life with a newborn, but Sheldon assured them that he had it all down to a science, which caused Penny to laugh.
"Okay Lily bear, I think we have to head home for bath time and bed." Penny said, checking the time on her phone.
"Can I see baby Leo tomorrow?" Lily asked, looking at Amy and then her parents.
"You'll see him soon, probably not tomorrow, but soon." Penny said, as Leonard picked Lily up and they said their goodbyes to their friends.
The Hofstadter family pulled into the driveway of the home they had bought when Lily turned one and they realized that an apartment was no place for a family. They had a yard, a pool, and four bedrooms. Lily was nodding off in the car and Penny knew that meant bath time was going to be a cranky precursor to a very resistant bedtime. The more tired she was, the less she wanted to go to bed. Leonard lifted her out of the car and took her into the house.
"Do you want a snack before bath?" Penny asked, as they walked into the kitchen to set their stuff down.
"Ice cream!" Lily said, walking over to the freezer.
"Ice cream, please" Penny corrected her.
"Ice cream, please," Lily repeated. Penny opened the freezer and pulled out a healthy ice cream popsicle. She didn't love giving Lily sugar before bed, but she knew a little sweet would make putting the girl to bed much easier. Penny watched with so much love as the little girl walked around the kitchen with her dessert, she was still in her ballet clothes, her hair was a mess, and she was exhausted, but she was so cute! Penny selfishly loved having her little doppelganger and this look was very Penny.
"I'm gonna go get your bath ready." Leonard said, kissing Lily on the head. Bathtime was something they always tried to do as a family. Leonard made sure to be home from work before Lily went to sleep every night and Penny had been working from home for the most part since Lily was born and almost entirely since she found out she was pregnant again.
"Mommy?" Lily asked, looking up at Penny who was fixing herself a snack.
"Yeah baby?" She responded.
"Are you going to go to the hospital to get my brother out?" She asked, genuine concern filled her face. Penny picked the girl up and put her on a stool so she could sit on the kitchen island, grabbing a wipe to wipe her hands and face as she explained the situation to her.
"Yes, when baby brother is ready, Mommy and Daddy are going to go to the hospital so that the doctors can help take him out so he's safe and healthy. And you're going to go to Aunt Bernie and Uncle Howie's to play with Halley and Michael and then when he's here, they'll bring you to the hospital to meet him." She explained.
"And then you come home?" She asked, still worried.
"Yes, when the doctors say it's okay, we're all gonna come home and he's going to live in his new room right next to your room." Penny said, playing with the toddler's hair, "ready for your bath?" Lily nodded and Penny helped her up and walked her down the hall where Leonard was waiting with a perfectly drawn bath. He helped Lily get in while Penny ran down the hall to get her pajamas ready.
"So, what did you think of baby Leonard?" Leonard asked, as he shampooed Lily's hair.
"It's silly that his name is the same as yours." Lily said, playing with her rubber duck, "I don't like to say Leonard because your name is daddy."
"Well, they're going to call him Leo." Leonard said, "but it is a little funny, you're right."
"What are we going to call baby brother?" Lily asked.
"I'm not sure, do you have any ideas?" Leonard asked her. He and Penny hadn't talked about names much. When they were naming Lily, they talked about it constantly, Lily was their whole world. But this time around, Lily was still their whole world and talking about names felt like a non-urgent task.
"Maybe Carl." Lily said, which caused Leonard to laugh.
"Hmm, I think we can do better." He said, as he rinsed her hair.
"How about Jackson like in my class?" Lily asked, she loved Jackson from her class and Penny joked that he would be her first boyfriend.
"Well, Jackson already has that name." Leonard said.
"So? You already are Leonard, Daddy." She said, and she had a point. He started to condition her hair.
"That's true." He said, laughing.
"Are you going to love baby brother?" Lily asked.
"Of course I'm going to love him." Leonard said.
"More than me?" Lily asked.
"I could never love anyone more than you, Lily Bear. But, I think I'll love him just as much as I love you, but differently." He said, not knowing exactly how to answer her question.
"Like you love Mommy as much as me but different?" Lily asked.
"Exactly." Leonard said, as Penny walked into the bathroom with a towel and fresh pajamas for Lily.
"Whatcha talking about?" Penny asked, holding up the towel and helping Lily get out of the tub. She loved holding a clean baby, no matter how old Lily got, she would always swaddle her in a towel and smell her clean hair.
"How much Daddy loves me." Lily said.
"I think that's a lot!" Penny said, kissing the girl's face as she dried her hair.
"Oh yeah." Leonard said. Penny helped the now dry toddler into her pajamas and had Leonard carry her to her bedroom. They sat in Lily's bed with her on either side and read her a book, something they had done every night for as long as they could remember. She would often fall asleep in the middle of the book and Leonard and Penny would quietly sneak out of her room and wait until she was sound asleep to go to bed themselves. This was one of those nights.
"Goodnight sweet girl," Penny whispered, kissing her head. Leonard tucked the blanket over her and kissed her cheek.
The couple walked to their bedroom, beginning to get ready to go to sleep.
"So, what did you think of baby Leonard?" Penny asked, as she rubbed lotion on her body to prepare for bed.
"I was really shocked they named him that, it was really sweet." Leonard said, taking off his pants and climbing into bed in his boxers.
"Hey, you earned it." Penny said, climbing into bed next to him.
"I guess so," he took a breath, "you know, I'm happy they named him Leonard for another reason."
"Oh yeah, what's that?" Penny asked, as she cuddled up to him.
"Well, a million years ago, Amy said she wanted to name her son Elliott, but you know that's my favorite boy name and I thought for sure they would name him Elliott, but since they didn't, we can name our son Elliott." Leonard rambled on, for some reason he was so shy suggesting names.
"I love it." Penny said, kissing him, "Elliott Hofstadter has a nice ring to it." Leonard wrapped his arms around her and bent down to kiss her stomach.
"Elliott, perfect." He said, laying his head down on her stomach and Penny played with his hair. He had always imagined him and Penny with a little boy named Elliott, until Amy claimed the name, but now they had a new legacy with Leonard and Elliott was all his.