I've been thinking more about Carole x Penny or Penrole as I've coined them (or carenny? I'm still a bit unsure). This is under the idea that either goose lives but he and Carole separate (like in my post here) or this is after he dies and Carole eventually bumps into Penny. They become close friends, Penny cares for her when she's sick (and lives 😤) and they eventually get together after Penny gets pregnant with Amelia and breaks up with her boyfriend.
Carole knitting Amelia things when Penny's pregnant
Amelia calling Carole "Momma"
Amelia not being able to say Bradley so calls him Bradbird, because Bradley, despite the 16 year age gap, is a great big brother
Amelia's teacher (when she's about 5) sets them a task of drawing their family, she thinks Amelia's confused when she puts "mom" and "momma" by stick figures of Penny, Carole, her dad and Bradley
She asks if she meant that one is her dad's partner and one is her mum but she just says her mum and momma are together and the teacher says something about that not being right (this is Texas in the 2000s, look at Texas today)
Amelia tells Penny this innocently and Penny makes an appointment with the headteacher to tell them she wants Amelia moved
The teacher in question walks in and Penny explains that she feels sickened that her daughter is getting told her home life is wrong by someone who had no problem with their family before she knew Penny was raising her child with another woman
The teacher's shocked and tries to defend herself but Penny just says that Amelia just has more people to love her and walks out
At the school's nativity, Bradley manages to make it from the Academy for winter break, he watches her as an angel in the nativity
That teacher watches as she runs to Penny, Carole and Bradbird, Bradley tells her he just managed to fly in from Annapolis
She goes "like an angel?"
And he goes "more like a bird" and says he's exhausted and that his wings hiding because of how tired he is
Amelia's new teacher tells her that when learning about birds, she drew a Bradbird as her favourite bird
They move to California when Penny's dad goes to a retirement home there
Penny buys her bar
Amelia's getting bullied in school for having 2 mums, after they get married in 2015 (I hc tgm taking place about 2016/17)
So, when the Daggersquad are in town for the mission, they pick her up, find this out and warn the bullies that she has a bunch of navy people as family so knows how to defend herself
After an impromptu phone call, Carole slightly worried as she waits for Penny in the cafe. But perhaps it isn't bad news after all.
~~~
For a prompt list, "I love you doesn't even encompass how I feel about you"
Words: 1218
Carole craned her neck as she watched Penny walk into the cafe. She wasn't as well manufactured as she usually was, not that she was dramatically overdressed on every occasion, but today, Carole could tell she was a bit frazzled. And that wasn't just from the phone call she got yesterday either.
She waved at her and patted the seat for her to sit down at. The waitress came back with two large mugs of coffee. Carole knew Penny's order, they'd done this enough times for her to know she was partial to a flat white, whereas she liked a cappuccino. Bradley did too, but only because she used to give him the froth when he was a baby.
"Hey, how you doing?" She asked. "You sounded pretty worried on the phone."
She just nodded. And although Carole sipped her drink, it was made at a perfectly drinkable temperature, Penny didn't touch it. She held a thousand yard stare as she messed with her car keys.
"Penny? Earth to Penny?" She waved a hand in front of her face.
She jolted upright, breaking from thought, "Sorry, Carole, I was miles away." She went to sip her coffee but stopped herself. "Thank you for getting this, by the way."
"Did I get the wrong one? 'Cause you haven't touched your drink," she said, she had a tendency to speak without thinking sometimes.
Penny just gulped, "I-I don't think I should have caffeine."
"Why?"
"Because I'm pregnant."
She looked up and met eyes with her. Carole remembered when she found out she was pregnant with Bradley. Despite feeling excited, the idea that she was going to be growing and responsible for a whole other life was humbling.
"Oh my god, congratulations," Carole said, but backtracked when she saw that Penny's face still hadn’t moved from bewilderment. "Is it a congratulations? Because if you're not keeping it then I'll support you-"
Penny shook her head. "No, I'm gonna keep it."
"Okay then, congratulations,"
Penny's face didn't pick up. She took to casually stirring her drink as she huffed and sighed.
"Is it John's?" She suggested, trying to figure out why she was acting so weird.
"Yes, of course!" She said. "Not that I'm going to raise it with him."
She mumbled the last bit under her breath.
"What?" Carole asked.
"It's just-" she sighed and looked down at her hands. "Finding out I'm pregnant has made me realise that I don't love John, and I haven't for a while, so it just doesn't seem fair to stay with him just because I'm pregnant. It wouldn’t be fair on me or him or the baby."
For the first time since she got here she smiled, stroking her stomach where the baby would be. Warmth radiated from her slight grin. The way her hands settled there now the secret was out, such care, made a part of her jingle like a bell. She loved seeing her content, albeit with anxiety still tense in her fingers.
"Have you told him that?"
Penny looked up from where she stroked her stomach, there was no bump yet. "Yeah, but you can imagine he didn't take it well. But it's the right decision."
Carole didn't say anything. Penny making a difficult decision, choosing to be a single mother would be choosing the hard option, but she was brave for taking it anyway, knowing it was the right one.
"That's not saying I don't want him in this kid's life, I do, but just not in a relationship kind of way."
"Right."
"Well, that's the only reason." She looked away, sheepish. "I don't want to raise this kid with him, yes because I'm not in love with him, but also because there's someone else I want to raise the baby with."
"Oh?"
"And I'm in love with them too."
Carole almost knocked over her coffee. "What? Who? For how long? Do I know them?" She turned her head to a slant and squinted at her. "It's not Pete, is it?"
"No! It is not Pete Mitchell," she said. "And why all the questions?"
She blushed pink. Her hand went to curl her hair around her finger, a nervous tick of her's.
"Because I'm a gossip, that's why!"
"Well stop being one!" Penny lent forward, as their fingers grazed each other’s, sparks seemed to fly.
"You can give me a little leniency, Pen, I've just learnt three very big pieces of news in less than five minutes, you're pregnant, you broke up with your boyfriend and you're in love with somebody else!"
She sighed and went all shy again. Carole's big mouth and no filter ready to ruin someone's mood whether she intended to or not. And Penny was someone she really cared about, in some kind of way that she couldn't quite define or put a finger on.
"Sorry-" she started.
"No, you're right, you, and this person, deserve an answer-" Closing her eyes, she gulped and looked at her when they opened again. "-because you're the same."
"What?"
"I love you, Carole, in fact, I love you doesn't even begin to encompass how I feel about you." She said, hands running through her hair as her breath began to speed up. "It all started when you got sick and I knew I wanted to look after you, healthy or not, 'til the day I die. And everything else followed, the way you care, how confident you are, how you always say what's on your mind, your hair, your smell, your-"
She stopped. Her mouth clicked shut as she read Carole's face. She was at a loss for words. This was all so, so, unexpected. Sure, she'd fell asleep on the sofa with her more times than she could count and their closets were practically one with how often they'd shared clothes. And Carole may have stared a little too long at the way the sun shined off Penny on a bright day like she was source of all things good on the earth and Carole wanted to kiss her glossy lips sometimes-
Oh god, she was in love with her too.
"And you don’t feel the same." Penny said. "I've just ruined this, haven't I? Oh no."
She began to spiral. Her shaking hands running through her hair as her breath quickened in pace.
"Wait!" Carole shouted, placing a hand on her's. "I do feel the same, I do, but you admitting it has only just made me realise that I do."
Penny stopped. Hesitantly, she wrapped her long fingers around her hand. "Really?"
"Yeah," she said. "I mean, raising a kid is a big first step but I think I want you and I know I want to help you."
Their hands in each other’s felt right, Carole realised, like a puzzle being completed. Penny's smile made something spark, and she loved how she knew what that feeling was now. Penny picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles, there was still some hesitation as she did so. Carole felt her cheeks go bright red. She tried not to turn to mush.
"So, is this a date?" She stammered.
"It can be if you want it to be," Penny said, anxiety replaced by suave.
"Well, I want it to be."
Penny kissed her hand again. "Good."
I did it! The last prompt! It took me so long, because in the week I was writing this I was also trying to sort out a work transfer that's now going ahead so very stressful, but I'm happy it's done! Also the part about Carole feeding Bradley the foam off a cappuccino is because my mum used to do the same with me. Thanks for reading!
