Thanks for all the kind reviews again! I hope you like this chapter, please review if you do or if you don't.
Penny laid in bed, reading on her iPad, annoyed at how uncomfortable she was a few days before her due date. She had stopped working and was now just waiting for her son to arrive, and she was losing her patience and ability to move. Leonard had taken on Lily duty for the night as Penny simply couldn't get out of bed or find the patience to deal with a toddler and Leonard would do anything to make her happy. They usually split bedtime duties, but tonight Leonard offered to bathe her and put her to bed. As Penny was finishing a riveting chapter, Leonard walked into their bedroom holding a freshly bathed 3 year old in footed pajamas.
"Someone wanted to say goodnight to mommy," Leonard said, carrying his daughter over to their bed as Penny put her iPad away. He placed Lily in Penny's arms and Penny held her tightly.
"Aw, how was your bath Lily bear?" Penny asked, running her fingers through her daughter's blonde ringlets.
"Daddy got shampoo in my eyes!" Lily said, which caused Penny to gasp dramatically, knowing they used baby shampoo that couldn't harm her.
"He did?" Penny asked.
"Uh huh, but it doesn't hurt anymore," Lily said, wiping her eyes, "is my brother coming tomorrow?" She was very curious about the baby, especially since Leonard Cooper was born and she started to spend time with the newborn, knowing that her own brother would be there soon.
"I hope so, but we don't know exactly when he'll be here." Penny said, unable to articulate that babies come when they come to a three year old. Lily put her head on her mother's belly.
"Baby brother, can you come out so we can play?" She screamed which caused her parents to giggle. Penny grabbed her daughter and cuddled her tightly, something she'd tried to do a lot more often, knowing that perhaps it would be the last time she would do that with Lily as an only child.
"I think he heard you, sweetie," Penny said, "and I know he's so excited to play with his big sister." She squeezed her daughter again and looked at Leonard with a sad face. As excited as they were to have another baby, they were sad about the changes that would come and worried for Lily.
"Lily, let's go to bed so you're not so tired tomorrow morning," Leonard said, "give Mommy one more hug and then we'll read a story."
"I love you Mommy," Lily said.
"I love you too, my sweet girl." Penny responded, and Leonard scooped his daughter up and brought her to her bedroom. She picked out a book and he began to read to her, until she fell asleep. He took a picture of his sleeping toddler and kissed her cheek before heading back to his bedroom. When he got to his room, Penny was twisting and turning, trying to get comfortable.
"You okay?" Leonard asked, taking off his sweatpants and getting into his side of the bed.
"Yeah, it's just impossible to get comfortable with this stupid baby." Penny said, clearly annoyed.
"Hey, don't call my baby stupid." Leonard said, laughing, "here." He grabbed Penny and pulled her into him and held her close with his hand on her bump.
"Mmm, much better," she said, "are you nervous about how Lily is going to react when we bring him home?" She'd been so excited about the baby and so excited about how excited Lily was about the baby that she hadn't really thought about the actual change that was about to occur in her daughter's life.
"A little," Leonard admitted, "I keep worrying that she's not going to love splitting our attention. I've been taking a picture of her every night when she's asleep to remember her at this age, before we're so busy with a screaming baby all night."
"Why don't you play hooky tomorrow and we'll take Lily somewhere fun where it's just us and her, probably for the last time." Penny said. She was scrolling on Instagram mindlessly when she came across an ad for the American Girl store at Century City mall. "Ooh, we can get her a doll!"
"Are you sure you'll be up for walking around the mall?" Leonard asked.
"Yes, I just really want to spend time with our daughter." Penny said.
"Let me email the university now and let them know I won't be there tomorrow," Leonard said, kissing her cheek and rolling over to grab his phone from his nightstand and opening the Outlook app to write the email.
"Great, I'm going to go pee." Penny said, getting up and waddling to the primary bathroom which had become her second home during this pregnancy. After she peed, she walked down the hall to the nursery and looked into her son's room. It was perfect and they'd just finished decorating it this week. They painted Lily's old crib navy and moved her into a big girl bed in preparation for her brother's arrival. She rubbed her belly and smiled. She was excited to have a baby that they'd wanted and prepared for, rather than a baby they'd kind of just let happen — it wasn't that they ever didn't want Lily, they had loved and wanted her since the second they found out Penny was pregnant. But, this time they were tracking ovulation cycles and doing everything to get pregnant. She walked through the Jack and Jill bathroom and into Lily's room and watched her daughter sleep, knowing how excited she would be in the morning to spend the day with her parents. Penny went to go sit on her bed, careful not to wake her. Lily could sleep through anything, just like her mother. She yawned and slowly laid down next to her daughter, grateful that they'd decided to get her a full bed rather than a twin bed. She played with the blonde curls and slowly drifted off. A few minutes later, Leonard came in and saw Penny fast asleep in Lily's bed. He thought about waking her and helping her back to their room, but instead gave both of his girls a kiss on the cheek and walked back to the primary bedroom. He hated not sleeping next to Penny, but he understood that she felt she needed to be with Lily every second. He set an alarm for 6:30 to make a special breakfast and take Lily and Penny on a special shopping trip.
When he woke up, he went straight to Lily's room and saw that his wife and daughter were both fast asleep. Rather than wake them, he headed to the kitchen and started on some pancakes. He heard the toilet flush and knew that at least Penny was awake and Lily would probably awaken shortly. Penny walked to the kitchen and saw Leonard cooking, "Mmm smells amazing," she said, walking over to the kitchen island. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.
"You fell asleep in Lily's room last night," Leonard said.
"I know, I think I feel so guilty about this baby and want to spend every second with her."
"I get it," Leonard said, flipping pancakes, "I think she'll be really excited to spend the day with us today."
"How'd you sleep?" Penny asked, stealing some chocolate chips from the bag.
"Fine, it's always worse when I'm not sleeping next to you."
"Even though I'm huge now and take up the whole bed?" she asked, laughing.
"Yeah." he said, throwing a pancake on a plate.
"Mommy!" they heard a yell come from Lily's room. She usually screamed for them when she woke up in the morning so they could untuck her in and get her up for the day. Penny walked over to her room where Lily was waiting for her with open arms. She sat on the bed and hugged her daughter.
"Guess what?" Penny said, as she put Lily on her lap.
"What?" Lily asked.
"We're going to go to the doll store today." Penny said.
"Really? Can I get a doll?" Lily asked, with wide eyes.
"Of course, Lily bear." Penny said, as she got up and helped Lily out of bed, "and Daddy made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast." They walked into the kitchen to find the table set and Leonard pouring orange juice for them.
"Did you tell her the good news?" he asked, pulling out Penny's chair so she could sit down.
"I'm really gonna get a doll?" Lily asked excitedly, now with her mouth full.
"Hey, don't talk with your mouth full little missy," Penny said, giving her a stern look.
"I'm sorry Mommy." she said, swallowing her food.
"Yeah, Lil, you can pick out any doll you want." Leonard said, finally sitting down to join his wife and daughter. They talked over the pancakes and Lily began to get excited about picking out a doll. They got dressed for the day and headed to Leonard's car to make the trek to the mall.
"There it is sweetie," Penny said, as she and Leonard each held one of their daughter's hands and approached the American Girl store. They walked in and took Lily to look at all the dolls. She wanted everything in the store, but when they told her she could only pick one doll, she began to really think about her decision making.
"If I get a baby I can be like Mommy because Mommy is getting a baby too," Lily said, as they walked through the part of the store where they kept the bitty babies. She liked a blonde one wearing a blue outfit.
"I think the baby is a really good idea," Leonard said to Lily, "and it's so much less expensive, why didn't you tell me these dolls were a million bucks?" he whispered to Penny who laughed.
"Maybe she'll keep it mint in box and then sell it for a million more," Penny joked to Leonard and let out a little laugh. She winced in pain and grabbed her belly.
"You good?" Leonard asked, freaking out a little.
"Yeah, just a little cramp." Penny said, as they kept walking over to the historical doll section. Lily led the way and Leonard walked with Penny, keeping a hand on the small of her back.
"But this one is pretty!" Lily said, pointing to a Samantha doll in a pink dress.
"So pretty," Penny said, playing with Lily's hair.
"Do you think my baby brother will want to play with me and my doll?" Lily asked, looking seriously at both of her parents.
"Of course, you'll teach him how to play with all of your toys, but he's going to be really small for a while, but when he's ready he's going to be the best playmate ever." Penny said, holding her bump with one hand and tucking Lily's hair behind her ear with the other.
"Or her?" Lily pointed to the section where the Courtney doll was and her parents followed her.
"Whatever you want, baby girl." Leonard said.
"I think I want her," Lily said, pointing to Courtney.
"Are you sure?" Penny asked.
"I don't know." Lily freaked out. She walked to each doll and stared at it for a bit.
"That's okay, take your time." Penny said, "ow."
"Babe, are you sure you're okay?" Leonard asked, "I mean he's due in a few days, it wouldn't be crazy for you to go into labor."
"Leonard, it's fine." Penny said, wincing again, "I just want to spend the day with Lily."
"I think I want her!" Lily said, pointing to Julie, "she has hair like me and Mommy."
"Okay, let's get her." Leonard said, grabbing the box that the doll came in.
"Can we play with her when we get home?" Lily asked, looking up at Penny with the widest eyes.
"Of course, baby." Penny said, walking with her daughter and husband to the checkout. Leonard bought the doll and they took it out of the box so that Lily could walk around holding her.
"I love her so much!" Lily said, hugging the doll and spinning around.
"Careful," Penny said, as she watched her daughter clumsily twirl around the entrance of the store.
"Okay, let's go home and try to beat the traffic," Leonard said, checking the time on his phone. Lily started to walk out of the store and Leonard walked with her, until they walked out the door and noticed Penny was still inside. Leonard grabbed Lily's hand and turned back around into the store where Penny stood holding her bump, clearly in distress.
"Leonard," she whined, reaching out for his hand.
"Mommy, you okay?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, Mommy is ok." Penny said, forcing a smile.
"Penny, I think we should probably go to the hospital." Leonard said, trying not to freak out in front of Lily, "the bag is packed in the car and I'll call Howard to pick Lily up from the hospital."
"Leonard, I really wanted to have this day with her," Penny said, sadly, looking at their daughter who couldn't stop staring at her new doll.
"I know you did," Leonard said to Penny, sadly, "but, she'll never forget this day. She's always going to remember it as the day that her baby brother was born. She's the luckiest girl in the world, she didn't really have to pick between a baby and big girl doll — she's getting both."
"Lily bear," Penny said, "I think baby brother is coming today."
"Really?" Lily stopped and stared up at both her parents.
"I think so." Penny said, as Lily ran up to hug her, "Leonard, I think we should go to the hospital.
"We're going to go to the hospital and uncle Howard is going to pick you up and take you to play with Halley and Mikey." Leonard said to Lily, scooping her up into his arms. They walked out of the store and speed walked as fast as they (Penny) could until they reached Leonard's car. In the car, Leonard started driving, not exactly as fast as Penny wanted him to and put Howard on bluetooth to tell him to meet them at the hospital.
"No way," Howard said, "Yeah, I'll come pick her up." They heard him scream as he hung up "Halley! Michael! Get ready, we're picking Lily up." They eventually reached the hospital and Leonard grabbed Lily out of her carseat, then carried the hospital bag, the baby's carseat, and Penny's purse out of the car. They rushed into the hospital and checked Penny in, then a nurse took her to her room and said it would be a few hours before the baby came.
"Hey Lily girl," Penny said, watching her daughter play with Leonard's iPad sitting next to her new doll on the couch of their hospital room. Leonard was on the phone with his parents and Penny's parents outside to tell them that the baby was coming. Lily perked up when she heard her name and looked up at her mom. "Come here, my sweet sweet baby," Penny motioned to the bed and helped Lily jump up and climb in next to her.
"I'm not your baby!" Lily said, laughing, "he is!" she pointed to Penny's bump.
"Oh yes you are, you're always going to be my baby," Penny said, tucking a hair behind Lily's ear.
"Always?" Lily asked.
"Absolutely, I pinky promise." Penny said, sticking out her pinky and Lily obliged in the oath. "I don't want you to ever feel like you're not my baby because your little brother is coming and you're not going to be my littlest baby anymore. You're a big girl for sure, but you're always going to be my baby, just now your brother will be too."
"When is he going to be here?" She asked.
"Soon, probably when you're going to sleep tonight." Penny said.
"Can he come before I go to sleep?" Lily asked.
"Maybe, but it's already 4, your bedtime is in 3 hours." Penny said, looking at her phone. Lily took it out of her hands and took a selfie. Leonard and Penny had decided that restricting electronics would be impossible, so they let her use their phones and iPads to play with educational apps. She'd learned to open the camera app and loved taking pictures of herself.
"Mommy, cheese!" Lily said, taking a picture of them. They took a bunch in different poses.
"Thank you for taking these, baby." Penny said, swiping through the pictures. Leonard walked in with Howard and looked at his two girls, soon they would be his two girls and his baby boy.
"Alright, say goodbye to Mommy, Uncle Howard is going to take you to sleep at his house." Leonard said, walking over to the hospital bed.
"Bye Mommy, please give me my baby brother fast." Lily said, hugging her mom and jumping off the bed and into Leonard's arms.
"Oh you got it," Penny said, laughing as she watched Leonard take Lily to Howard and her take Howard's hand and walk out of the hospital room. She looked up at Leonard and smiled.
"What?" Leonard asked, grabbing her hand.
"Nothing, I'm just really happy." Penny said.
"Remember that in a few minutes when the contraction hits." He joked, kissing her forehead.
"She's going to be the best big sister ever." Penny said, still looking at the pictures of her and Lily.
"I can't disagree with you." Leonard said, pulling up a chair next to her bed, "You are shockingly calm this time around."
"Well, there's nothing to freak out about," Penny said, "this baby was planned for one."
"Ah well yeah," Leonard said, laughing with her.
"And we're really good at being parents." Penny said.
"Oh we are so good, nobody is as good as us." Leonard said, grabbing her hand and kissing it. Just as he grabbed it, a contraction hit and she squeezed it.
"I forgot how freaking painful it is." Penny said, wincing from the pain and breathing through the contraction. Eventually, the doctor came in and told Penny that she was ready to start pushing and that the baby would be there very soon. Only 20 minutes later, their son was born. The doctor placed him on Penny's chest and Leonard stood at her side as they stared at the newborn until he was taken to be cleaned up.
"He's perfect," Leonard said, in unconsolable tears. He grabbed the now clean newborn from the nurse's arms and began to stare at him.
"Yeah, he is." Penny said, smiling at Leonard holding the newborn.
"Thank you," Leonard said, still sobbing.
"You don't have to thank me, sweetie." Penny said, as Leonard passed her the newborn.
"Well, you were a rockstar giving birth to him and now we have a perfect daughter and a perfect son." He wiped his tears and ran his hand through Penny's hair as she stared at her new baby.
"Elliott, did you hear that? You're perfect." Penny said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You still want to name him that?" Leonard asked, "I know we haven't talked about any other names really, but I think he's an Elliott."
"Yeah," Penny said, in a trance, "Elliott Cooper Hofstadter."
"After Sheldon?" Leonard asked.
"No, after Bradley Cooper," Penny rolled her eyes, "Yes, after Sheldon. He named his baby after you, it's the least we could do because I am not naming my baby Sheldon."
"I like that." Leonard said, "Elliott Cooper Hofstadter."