They had left each other's lives and returned to their old selves, she to relationships and men that left her cold, if not alone at night, he to the role of best friend and confessor. He cleaned up her mess.
He hated it. But he loved her.
He tried not to.
He hated every man she brought home. He hated her tears. He hated most of all how Penny fell into his arms to cry herself out afterwards. He wanted to hate Penny, too. This was a replay of every girl who ever befriended him in high school. Repeating himself, stroking her hair, murmuring. Comforting her was killing him.
"It's going to be alright. It's not your fault, Penny. You're perfect, Penny".
I love you, Penny…
But damn her, sometimes just when he'd gathered the resolve to defend his heart against her, she'd be the old Penny again. She'd laugh with her mouth full just to irritate Sheldon. She'd punch Harold in the arm. She'd snort and be carefree Penny again.
His Penny.
And the little caress she'd absently leave him with on the back of his collar, or the little kiss on his cheek didn't need to be obsessed over. It was just friendship, just love in a kind of way that didn't hurt him. Didn't keep him up at night, hating his weakness and trying to figure her out.
He felt almost human.
Priya came back, then she left. It was humiliating and it was painful, but Priya was necessary. He had gained insight into the obfuscation and calculation that went on between men and women. It left him disillusioned but he now had some armor in place. He told himself it was personal growth.
He immersed himself in routine, in work, did his best to find his balance again. And he succeeded. He and his merry men carried on with curries and Halo night. Insufferable Harold, adorable Bernadette, Amy, Raj, Sheldon. They were going to need more chairs. He smiled at that for a moment, then wondered about the empty seat that hadn't been filled since Priya had told him in no uncertain terms that it was time to "cut the cord" with Penny.
He had complied, of course. He owed Priya that respect. There wasn't anything between him and Penny. Not like that. Not anymore. They had worked hard to get to that place, after all. Worked hard to be able to look each other in the eye in the hallway. Worked desperately hard not to lose sleep over a chance encounter in the laundry room, or at the mailbox or some other damn silly thing that once upon a time ago would have brought an impossible hope that could light his whole day.
No, there was nothing between them at all.
Penny hadn't come back. After Priya had gone, he'd been unconsciously holding his breath. You can come back now, Penny. No reason to stay away. Come have dinner. Don't bother knocking.
She hasn't left exactly. She is still right down the hall. She has her girl's nights out. She even starts to pop by again, but seldom without the girls, never when they would be alone and never just for him. She was impossibly far away.
o0o
Smile! She was good at it. It was her job. Smile for the customers! Wave at the camera! She smiled at home, too. She did her best to repair the damage she had done. She was getting better at that. The smiles were less painful and more genuine. Every time Leonard smiled little bit back at her, the chill went out of the air. She could stop holding her breath for a little while.
She could be less careful around him, she felt herself coming back to life. She imagined that beautiful light in his eyes was coming back, too. She didn't have any right to it, but she began to feel just a little bit of hope for them. But she was taking it slow. She was going to do this right. She was not going to mess this up again.
She never saw Priya coming. And poor, sweet Leonard never imagined her leaving the way she did. She was angry with Priya, with Priya and Leonard, both. Penny knew that she was being petty and irrational, but there it was. She was mad at Priya for putting that sad look into Leonard's eyes again.
And mad at Leonard for… betraying her? But she knew that wasn't right. She was so very confused. She wanted to pull him into her arms and take care of him. But she had lost that right in a flash long ago, a moment she very much regrets and doesn't understand. There's so much that she doesn't understand. Leonard's changed. His looks are more penetrating, more intense. She feels exposed and a little bit intimidated.
For a moment she wonders if Leonard's out of her league. She sees the irony there, but she also sees right through it. He's brilliant. Everyone knows he is brilliant, and it's not only that, he's kind and loyal and funny and so very, very beautiful. Never mind the rough edges, all it would take is the right woman.
And it's this thought that makes her stomach clench. That woman hadn't been her. She wasn't the one who'd taken him shopping for all those sharp clothes. She wasn't smart like Priya, or accomplished, or damn it, even properly educated! She didn't have a career, a degree, or anything to be proud of. She had never been up to snuff except with her looks, and a man like Leonard would see through all that eventually. No brains, no talent, no prospects. Leonard was moving on and she was stuck in place.
It made her impossibly sad. He was so far away.
o0o
"Leonard. Leonard. LEONARD!"
Leonard was staring blankly into his computer. Sheldon tried again to get his friend's attention. "Leonard, it's raining and it's time for you to get the car. You know what this weather does to my hair."
"Yes, Sheldon, just a second," Leonard replied distractedly, and then winced. He had walked right into that one.
"A second is never a second. Why on earth don't you just say what you mean? Look, now it's been six seconds. Leonard!" Sheldon bounced around like a little boy who had to pee. Looking over Leonard's shoulder, he said, "What are you doing?"
Too late, Leonard tapped something into his laptop and slapped down the screen. "Sheldon, look it's nothing. Let's just go now, OK?"
Sheldon managed to stay quiet for the time it took to lock the front door and walk down to the lobby. "Updating your Facebook relationship status? Really? At a time like this? It's raining and you need to bring the car around for me. That's 3 minutes added to our commute time. Also, with poor road conditions and reduced travel speed I calculate we will need an additional 8 minutes to arrive at the University. Leonard. We are going to be late. I wish you had a little more consideration for my professional responsibilities, if not for your own."
Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and did his best to tune Sheldon out. "Sorry, it won't happen again."
"Well, I should hope not."
Leonard ignored his roommate as he flipped up the hood to his jacket and made a run for the car. The crumby, Pasadena winter's day did nothing to bolster his mood. He was cold on the inside, and now he was cold on the outside as he ran to his car. He fumbled his keys to the ground and spent a few more seconds getting wet and angry.
Sliding himself into the seat, he slammed the car door shut. Leonard thumped his head on the steering wheel and took a moment to listen to the patter of the rain outside. Breathing in and out, he knew this was the only peace he would get today, so he took another ten seconds for himself. Then it was time to jam the keys into the ignition, crank up the heater and go get Sheldon.
o0o
Penny was going to be late again. And her head was pounding from the half bottle of cheap white wine she had finished while sitting on her couch last night. She was going to have to punch it if she was going to make it in for her shift.
Swinging her car into the left lane, she executed a flawless Mario Andretti through the intersection, avoiding the red light by nanoseconds. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on the traffic on the other side of the light coming to a dead stop. She stood on the breaks and squeezed her eyes shut as her balding tires screeched and skidded way too close to the car in front of her.
Heart pounding, she waved at the trio of kids in the back seat of a minivan who were cheerfully flipping her off. All's well that ends well, but Penny was shaking. She was risking her life to get to a crap job she hated. She didn't even want to think about what might have happened to those stupid kids.
She was so at the end of her rope. And as if on queue, the lights on her dashboard faded out and the power in her car started to sputter then shut down. Struggling with the wheel, she managed to coast out of traffic and onto the median. Guess the alternator finally gave out, she groaned to herself. She'd known it was a problem for a while now, but she didn't have the cash to fix it. Bouncing her head against the steering wheel, she sat and listened to the swish of traffic rushing past.
What the hell was she going to do now? She looked around her and saw that she was closer to home than to work. Walking to work was out of the question. She'd be far too late and her uniform would get trashed. And Bernadette had the day off. She pulled out her cell phone. The temptation to call Leonard was overwhelming. She didn't want a rescue, she just wanted a hug. Resigned, she pressed the number for speed dial to her work.
"Hey, yeah I'm sorry. My car just died. I'm not gonna make it in today."
Tuesday night was Cheesecake Factory night for the gang. It was Penny night for Leonard. He knew himself well enough to know why he'd been rushing the last half hour at work to get things wrapped up. The new guy, Davis, was a total slob and it took more time than usual to get the lab squared away for the night. Leonard did his best to keep his temper and told the new guy, Davis, a third time where the safety goggles were kept.
Meeting Sheldon at his office, they walked together to the car and drove directly to the restaurant from the university. Sheldon had been correct, of course, about them being late for work that morning. Sheldon had also insisted on an extra quarter of an hour office time to make up the difference. Not a moment to waste, but no matter. They'd make it to their weekly 6 o'clock reservation. If they didn't the restaurant might give their table away. They might be seated in someone else's section. Sheldon would flip out. Yeah right, he was concerned about Sheldon.
Leonard scolded himself for this line of thinking. He was doing it again. Stop making yourself crazy.
At 5:58 they arrived at their table and everyone was seated just like they were every Tuesday. For once Leonard took comfort in Sheldon's insistence on routine. Yeah, it was the routine he was taking comfort in. Jeeze, just stop!
"So Howie," Bernadette was saying, "did you ask your mother what she might like to do for her birthday this year?"
"She said something about her bimonthly shearing at the beauty salon. I usually go alone with her, but you should come along. It'll be romantic," Howard waggled his eyebrows at her.
Raj snorted into his coke as Sheldon settled down into his seat. "Now really Howard, Bernadette is surely uninterested in seeing your mother shorn. Fortunately, the process has been fully automated and you'll have plenty of time after to frolic in green pastures. Incidentally, the history of sheep shearing in Australia is a fascinating one…"
"Here we go," said Bernadette. Howard beamed at her.
"Hi, my name's Beth." Everyone's head turned at the unfamiliar voice. "Can I help you with some appetizers this evening?"
"Excuse me," Sheldon craned his neck around to look the waitress over. "Who are you?"
"I'm Beth," the waitress repeated, a little irritated at Sheldon's tone. " Have you decided on your order?"
"No, no no. You're Beth. This is all wrong. Where's Penny?"
"She's not here today."
"Well obviously. Where is she? Did she forget it's Tuesday?"
Dropping any pretext of trying to be pleasant, Beth told Sheldon, "Look, all I know is she didn't show up for work today."
Cutting off Sheldon's next attack on poor Beth, Leonard asked, "Do you know if she's OK? Is she sick or something?"
"I've no idea. I've other tables, are you guys ready? I can come back if you want."
"No, no, it's OK, we're ready." The group placed their orders and Leonard tried to relax.
Leonard couldn't concentrate on his meal. Ignoring Sheldon's ruffled feathers and his companions' speculations concerning Penny's absence, he fiddled with the phone in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked his messages. "Did she call any of you?" he asked.
Bernadette checked her phone. "No." The rest responded in kind. "I'm sure she would have called one of us if she needed. Don't worry," she said gently.
"No, you're right. She would have called. I'm sure she's fine." She would have called, right? At least Bernadette. Leonard told himself not to obsess. She would have called if she needed him. Whatever it was, they'd be home in an hour and he would go see her then. Just to check in. No big deal.
He put away his phone, readjusted the napkin in his lap and smiled pleasantly at his company.
o0o
Penny looked at the clock on her nightstand again. It said 7:27 p.m. in little red lights. She was too hot, yet shivering at the same time. She reached for another tissue, but blowing her nose was too painful now. Oh god, how her head hurt!
When she had gotten home, instead of taking her wet clothes off and getting in a hot shower, Penny had taken out her phone and made a call she'd been dreading since she started her long walk home. Kurt, the creep, had a friend with a garage and a tow truck. She really couldn't afford the repairs, but Kurt still owed her another thousand dollars and maybe he'd make a trade with his friend to get square with her. She'd get her car back and he'd probably make out better than her from the deal.
Penny didn't care. She just needed this day to be over and that couldn't happen until she took some responsibility and sorted out the car. Kurt was never easy to deal with, and she knew he'd make this hard for her because that was the kind of guy he was. Her stomach started to hurt. She dialed Kurt's number…
That was hours ago and her stomach still hurt, but now her head hurt, her eyes hurt, her everything hurt. Shivers wracked her body and she was exhausted, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She was going to miss more work. Oh god, she couldn't afford to miss work! Not now! Penny started to cry.
She was sniffling and maybe crying a little bit and her ears were ringing, so she didn't hear Leonard when he knocked at her door.
He'd stood there knocking quietly for about a minute. He was worried now. He'd seen her lights on from her windows outside and he was pretty sure he could hear something through the door. He patted his pockets down for her spare key, but the door was unlocked.
He cracked the door open. "Penny? Penny, are you home? It's me. Are you OK?"
Stepping into the apartment, he didn't see her immediately, but all the lights were on and he could hear a soft snuffling. "Penny?"
He could see someone on her bed. Penny was curled up in a little ball with just a bit of blond at the top. Then he heard that sound again and recognized it as a sad little sob. He was at her side in an instant. He sat on the bed next to her and stroked her back.
"Penny, sweetheart, what's wrong? Baby, what's the matter?"
Penny's heart leapt. Leonard was here! That just made her cry harder. She threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his lap.
"Baby, you're scaring me. What's the matter?"
Gently disengaging her, he tipped her face up to look at his. "God, you're burning up! Baby, we gotta get you to a doctor."
She shook her head 'no'. Ow, god her head hurt. No way she could afford a doctor.
"Penny, you're very sick. Come on, I'll help you get dressed and we'll go together."
She just burrowed back down into the sheets. "S'ok," she croaked. "I just caught a cold from the rain today."
The rain? Wait a minute. Leonard shifted the sheets off of Penny a bit to see that she indeed was wearing wet clothes. Why on earth hadn't she changed? She had to be freezing! "Come on, get up. We gotta get you out of these." He was too distracted to bother about why she was wearing her wet uniform in the first place.
"Come on," Leonard insisted quietly. Slowly he shifted her out of bed. He put an arm around her waist because he wanted to, but she seemed to need it. Penny stumbled a bit to the bathroom where Leonard deposited her on the closed toilet seat while he turned on the tap for a hot bath.
He turned to her and stood her up slowly. "OK, now. Let's get these clothes off and warm you up, alright?" Penny just shivered with her head down and nodded her assent. Her arms were wrapped around herself and she didn't move. "It's OK, let me help you."
Leonard was a little awkward at first, trying to manage her blouse around her folded arms, but this had to be done and quickly. He gathered his resolve and pulled her arms to her sides. "Just hold on another minute, OK?" The blouse wasn't soaking but it was still pretty damp and very cold. What the hell had she been thinking? Next came the skirt. He hesitated at her bra and underwear, but decided to leave them. It was just as well. He needed to run to the drug store and he wasn't going to leave her in the tub alone.
"I've got to go for a minute, but I'm going to get Sheldon. Climb on in, but don't fall asleep. Understand?"
"Yeah…"
"OK, Penny, are you going to be alright?"
He was helping her slide into the water, an arm around her shoulder. "Oooh, that's very, mmm…Yeah."
"Penny?"
"No, yeah. I'm fine. I won't fall asleep. Oh god, this is so good."
Leonard couldn't help it if his chest got a little tight at the look of utter pleasure on her face as she slowly slipped, half naked, into the water.
He shook himself back to attention. "Right, um, Sheldon. I'll go get Sheldon and then I'll be right back."
"Mmmm, Sheldon….", she murmured, eyes closed. "OK, nothing he hasn't seen before."
"Huh, what? Oh, yeah, right," Leonard remembered with a half smile. "I'll be right back."
Leonard rushed back to his own apartment and explained the situation to Sheldon. He was pleasantly surprised when he didn't have to fight with the man to go take care of Penny. He grabbed the keys and was out the door in a flash.
Half an hour later, Leonard came through the bathroom door with most of a pharmacy in a plastic CVS bag. He couldn't help the big smile he got at the sight he found inside. Sheldon, in a surgical mask, butcher's apron and rubber gloves was dispensing tissues to Penny via tongs. Penny was laughing out loud and covered to her chin in bubbles. Sheldon had brought her his special reserve Wrath of Kahn bubble bath.
"Back", Leonard said.
"Leonard!" Penny and Sheldon said happily.
Sheldon shifted out of the way as Leonard knelt by the tub and laid the back of his hand on Penny's forehead. "Feeling better?"
"I'll leave the lady to your tender mercies," Sheldon said as he slipped from the bathroom.
"Bye Shelly!" Penny waved after him.
Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Shelly? Really? What on earth went on here while I was gone?" Leonard joked.
"Just another pleasant evening with Penny in her bathtub. "Must be the company," Sheldon quipped. "Or perhaps it's the codeine. Good night Penny." Sheldon gave Leonard his little koala smile from under the mask, pointed to an empty bottle of cough syrup on the floor and left.
"Ha," smiled Leonard, "so you ARE feeling better."
"So much better." At that Penny brought something out from the bubbles in the tub. Something yellow squeaked at him and he got a squirt of water on his shirt.
"Oh my god!" Leonard laughed. "That's Sheldon's rubber ducky! I think I just fell a little bit in love with Sheldon!"
"I think I did, too!" said Penny.
"What!" Leonard laughed in mock outrage and flicked some bubbles onto Penny's nose.
Penny giggled and tried to wipe her face free of bubbles, which of course resulted in exactly the opposite. Leonard's eyes sparkled at her as he laughed. Penny blushed.
A little flush himself, Leonard cleared his throat. "Well, I've got a thermometer here and some medicine. I brought the good stuff." He pulled Nyquil and then Robitussin out of the bag. "But let's wait a little while before we start mixing cocktails." He indicated the cough syrup on the floor. Picking it up, he adjusted his glasses and read the ingredients.
"There's nothing here really to bring a fever down, just cough suppressant and a pain killer. I'll give you some aspirin in a couple hours." He pulled a glass thermometer out of the bag and popped it out of its packaging. "The codeine should help you feel better, but it doesn't really do much but mask the symptoms. Here, open up." Leonard held up the thermometer. "Let's see how that fever's doing."
"Dr. Leonard Hofstadter," Penny teased and she opened her mouth and said "Ahhh!"
Leonard popped the thermometer in. "No talking for one minute."
Penny narrowed her eyes at him and frowned around the thermometer.
"Make that two," he said.
Penny rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. Leonard sat on his heels and leaned against the tub. Resting his chin in his palm, he watched her with a soft smile on his face.
Penny's heart did a little pitter pat and this subdued her somewhat. Not sure what to do with herself and not quite brave enough to meet his gaze, she sighed with pleasure the warm bath gave her, settled back down into the tub, closed her eyes and let the lassitude of the medication overtake her.
After a bit she felt Leonard slip the thermometer from her mouth. She didn't open her eyes. She was feeling too boneless to bother.
"Your fever's still pretty high. It's not dangerous though. We'll keep an eye on it. If it doesn't come down or it gets any worse, we'll go see the doctor, OK?"
Eyes still closed, Penny nodded her head.
"Good girl."
Penny smiled at that. For a while she just lay in the bath, feeling more content then she had in ages. Her head felt full of cotton, her body still shivered a bit in spite of the wonderful heat, and she couldn't breathe through her nose. But she felt good. So she stayed put.
She had lost track of time when she felt a kiss ghost her forehead. "Penny," Leonard whispered. His thumb traced her cheek. "Penny, baby. Let's go to bed."
Eyes still closed. "Ummm hmmm."
That earned her a chuckle, "Come on, you. Bed time."
He helped her stand and he was gentleman enough not to dwell overmuch on the soapy water cascading off her body. He wrapped her snugly in an oversized towel, then after making sure she could stand on her own, disappeared to get more.
"Here, " he said handing her another towel and putting a pile of clothes on the toilet seat. "Do that thing you do with your hair."
She flipped her head over and wrapped her hair up. Standing upright, she groaned with the pain of a sudden sinus headache.
"You're probably going to start to feel like crap again pretty soon. Don't worry though, I brought home a full liquor cabinet worth of goodies." He shook the Nyquil at her. "Put on your P.J.'s, brush your teeth and we'll tuck you into bed."
Ablutions attended to, Penny emerged from the bathroom. It was freezing out here. But Leonard, the dear, sweet man, had anticipated that. There was an extra comforter on her bed now and a small space heater droning away in the corner.
"Oh Leonard!"
Leonard's cheeks felt hot. She'd said it like he'd brought home flowers. He shrugged. "Come on, climb in." He held the covers open for her.
Penny climbed in and scooted to the far side of the bed. "Stay with me? Please?"
His breath caught in his throat. "Alright…" He climbed in beside her and switched off the light.
o0o
It was a little after seven in the morning when Leonard dragged himself out of bed for what felt like the 100th time. Penny had indeed begun to feel worse in the night. The shivering started again and he could tell she was in a lot of pain. Around midnight, Leonard took her temperature and fed her some pills and water. Every couple of hours, he checked her temperature. To his relief, it began to come down from triple digits around 5 a.m. He allowed himself to sleep another three hours, and then rolled out of bed to call his office. He left messages with the relevant parties that he would be out today on personal business.
Grabbing his laptop from across the hall, he apologized to Sheldon and packed the grumbling Texan off to the bus stop. Settling himself on Penny's couch with a cup of her coffee, he opened his computer and waited for Penny to wake. He would make her breakfast. He wondered what she would like. Oatmeal, maybe? Nothing too challenging, he didn't want to upset her tummy. Maybe toast and jam? He had some of that blueberry jam she liked back in his own kitchen.
A knock came on Penny's apartment door, interrupting Leonard's thoughts. Strange. Who on earth would dare come knocking for Penny so early in the morning? The knock came louder this time, and Leonard jumped up to keep the racket from disturbing her.
The noise wasn't nearly as disturbing as who it was doing the knocking. "Kurt?"
Kurt pushed his way passed Leonard into Penny's apartment. "Excuse me," Leonard said, offended. "Can I help you?"
"Where's Penny?" Kurt cast his eyes about the living room. Leonard was glad he'd shut the bedroom door earlier to give Penny some privacy.
"She's not available right now Kurt. What is it that you want?"
"Kurt?" came a muffled female voice from behind Penny's bedroom door.
Kurt took in Leonard's robe and the socks on his feet and leered at him. "Looks like a slot just opened up for me." And he ambled into Penny's room, shutting the door behind him like he owned the place.
Shocked momentarily by Kurt's rudeness, Leonard shook his head, indignantly swinging the bedroom door open. "Kurt, this is extremely inappropriate. Penny is ill, you can't just…"
Ignoring the little man, Kurt stood impatiently over Penny, who was rubbing her eyes from sleep. "Come on, babe. Hurry it up. This was your idea. You called me, so if you want me to get it, give me the keys."
"Kurt? Wait, just give me a second, alright?" Penny was foggy and trying to pull herself together.
Leonard wasn't sure what the hell was going on here, but he was done with being ignored. He stepped in between the two and turned to face Kurt. "You need to wait outside." Kurt did his best to look over the smaller man, but Leonard was doing a pretty good job of getting into Kurt's personal space. "NOW," Leonard said.
Alarmed, Penny didn't like where this was heading. "Wait, hold on! Just give me a SECOND!" Penny rushed out of the room and grabbed her car keys out of her purse. She returned to see the two men hadn't moved. The look on Leonard's face made her stop short. She'd never seen him look so hostile before.
"Here, look! Here are the keys. Just go, OK?" She pushed the car keys into Kurt's hand, hoping that it would distract him. This was getting scary.
Turning his head, arms crossed over his massive chest, Kurt looked Penny up and down. "You owe me one." He stepped around her and out the front door of the apartment.
Closing the robe she hadn't noticed had fallen open over her P.J.'s, she spat out, "I so do NOT owe you anything." Deflating, she sat heavily on the corner of her bed, heels of her hands rubbing her eyes. God, she felt like crap.
"Penny," Leonard said a little too quietly, "what the hell was that about?"
"Nothing! My car died yesterday and I called Kurt to help…"
"You needed help and you thought of HIM?"
"Leonard, it's not like that!"
Leonard was hurt she hadn't come to him, and he tried not to make it about that. But he was angry and couldn't stop what came out next.
"God Penny, of all the guys… Kurt? I thought you would have better judgment."
Penny bristled. It stung to know Leonard thought she was stupid for calling Kurt. "Who I call is none of your business."
And of course Leonard didn't hear "who I call" but "who I see". Leonard saw red.
"Damn right it's my business!"
"Excuse me?"
"It's my business when that asshole makes a wreck of your life again and I have to help you clean up the damn mess!"
Penny was speechless and beyond pissed. "Oh my god! I'll make this really simple, so even someone as smart as you can understand. Get out Leonard. Get out and don't come back!"
"Fine!"
"FINE!"
Her front door slammed and the sound seemed to echo through her chest. Oh god. What had just happened? How had this gotten so out of control?
o0o
Kurt and the other man were obviously intoxicated.
It was late Friday night when Leonard had finally come home. Leonard stood by his own front door while Kurt staggered to Penny's, fumbling for something in his pocket. Kurt pulled out what Leonard recognized to be Penny's keys and he shook them at Leonard.
"Private party, dork. Better luck next time." Kurt's friend thought this was hilarious and they both stumbled through Penny's door, slamming it shut behind them.
Leonard was seething. 'Not my business, not my problem' he recited to himself firmly. Penny had made her choice and she was a big girl. She could do whatever she wanted.
He tried to ignore the sound of her raised voice through the door as he opened his own front lock. He tossed his keys into the bowl and threw himself onto the couch, rubbing his temples as he sat. He heard a crash and the sound of laughter from across the hall. Leonard grabbed the remote and switched on the T.V., stabbing at the volume to drown out the racket next door.
More laughter and Leonard threw the remote down onto the couch. This wasn't working. Damn it, if Penny wanted to act the fool, then fine. But she need not subject the whole building to her crap. He stood up and marched over to Penny's apartment. He pounded on her door. More laughter from within. "Penny!"
"Cut it out!" He heard her say from behind the door.
"Just relax, babe."
Pound pound pound! "Penny!"
"Get lost dork!"
"Leonard!" he heard her yell, and that was all the permission he needed to enter her apartment.
He swung the door open, fully expecting to see Penny partying with her pals and he was in full force to tell her off. He didn't expect to see a furious Penny struggling to disengage herself from Kurt, who had her by both wrists and pressed firmly to his front.
Kurt's buddy was sitting on the couch, feet up on Penny's coffee table, munching away at her potato chips. He still thought the situation was hilarious and was laughing at Penny's futile attempts to get away.
"Kurt, just leave! NOW!" Penny pulled on her wrists. Kurt squeezed them tighter.
"Come on babe, we just got here." Kurt gave Leonard a greasy smile. "Your little friend can stay and watch if you want." Kurt swiped his tongue across Penny's cheek. Outraged, Penny jerked her head back and tried to pull away. More laughter from the guy on the couch.
Leonard got very still. "Are you asking Kurt and his friend to go, Penny?"
"I never asked them to come in the first place!"
"Then I'd say the lady's made herself clear. It's time for you both to leave." Leonard looked Kurt over with a contemptuous glare, "If you still don't understand, maybe we can step outside and I'll be sure to use short words and lots of pictures."
He knew he was provoking the huge man, but his first priority was to get Kurt's attention off of Penny.
It worked. Kurt pushed Penny away from him and she stumbled onto the kitchen floor. Leonard had to hold himself in check to resist going to her. Kurt was his main problem right now and the guy was looking at him with the red eyes of an enraged bull.
'Oh crap,' Leonard muttered to himself.
Without taking his eyes off Kurt, Leonard quickly calculated his position in the room and took a half step to the left. Penny had stood up behind them and was slowly making her way to the butcher's block that held her kitchen knives. Leonard shook his head minutely, glancing quickly instead to the Louisville Slugger he knew she kept by the fridge. Penny understood and began to move towards it.
"What's the matter?" Leonard taunted, "Mommy tell you never to hit a guy with glasses? Or are you all cock and no balls?"
"Faggot, you are fucking DEAD!"
As Leonard had hoped he would, Kurt came rushing at him with a burst of explosive speed. Kurt was a breath away from taking Leonard's head off when Leonard pivoted on his heel, grabbed the brute's arm and sent him hurtling into Penny's coffee table.
Penny leapt into action, tossing Leonard the bat. In an instant she was standing over Kurt's prone body. She ground the spike of her shoe into Kurt's back.
Kurt moaned and Leonard crouched down to look in his face, careful to keep clear of Kurt's hands. "The stabbing sensation you're feeling is the four and three quarter inch heel of the Christian Louboutin stilettos I bought for Penny digging into your kidney. Unless you want to piss blood for a month…Don't…Fucking…Move."
Leonard stood up, pointing the bat straight at the guy on the couch. "Time to go."
The guy had scrambled up the back of the couch and had potato chips all over his shirt. He thrust his hands out placatingly at Leonard. "It's cool man! It's cool! We're out of here. Come on, man!" He got down and yanked at Kurt, who was groaning on the floor. "Shit man, let's get the hell out of here!" Kurt's buddy hastily dragged the big man out the door, slamming it shut behind them.
A beat passed, then all the starch drained out of Leonard. He dropped the bat on the floor and started to wheeze. He bent over double.
Penny rushed over to him, patting the air around him. "It's OK now, they're gone. It's OK!"
Leonard waved her off, taking deep breaths that seemed to do little to calm him. He looked at her, eyes a little wild. "Oh god, oh god…"
"It's OK, Leonard…"
"What if I hadn't come over, Penny?" Leonard was shaking. "I nearly didn't! What the hell were you thinking to invite him in here? God, I'm pretty sure if I hadn't come in he would have…He was going to try to…GOD!"
Penny watched as Leonard fell onto her couch, breathing hard. A little non-pulsed that she was comforting HIM after the night they had, she knelt down in front of him. She'd always been a no-nonsense kind of girl and once the immediate threat to her and Leonard had been over, she'd calmed considerably.
But Leonard was still very upset. "I almost didn't come. I was so angry with you. God, I feel sick." Leonard was sucking in air, his head between his knees.
Penny patted him awkwardly on the back. 'But you did come, sweetie. It's alright. Everything's alright now. See? We're OK." For a few moments it was quiet in the apartment.
Then she said, "Pretty neat the way you handled Kurt. If I hadn't been so mad, I might have peed myself laughing." Leonard managed to look up a little at that, a pained smile on his face.
"Timely redirection of forward momentum. Newton saves the day again."
Penny moved around the wreckage of her coffee table to sit next to Leonard. She grasped him by his arm and snuggled into his side. They just sat like that for a few minutes. Finally calmer, Leonard shifted Penny away and dusted some debris off his pants.
"You should call the police. This is at least assault. And he broke into your house."
Trying not to upset Leonard, calmly Penny reasoned, "No, he didn't. I gave him my keys, remember? And if anything he'd be the one with an assault charge against you. Which was awesome, by the way. You know, how you kicked his ass and all?" Leonard blushed a little at that. "But all a cop's gonna do is hear that he's my ex-boyfriend and that I gave him my keys and they won't do anything about it. No, there's no point."
"So, you're going to let him get away with it?"
"No…"
"He brought a 'friend', Penny. Do you understand what he was going to do!" Leonard's voice was starting to rise. "He was going to…he wanted to…" Leonard jumped up and started to pace. "Well, if you're not going to call them, then I will!"
Penny was trying to keep her cool, but the adrenaline and stress of the night were starting to catch up with her. She stood up. "And tell them what? There's no point! I'm not letting him get away with anything. But I don't know what to do!"
"God damn it!" Leonard shouted. Penny was rooted to the floor, shocked at his outburst. She watched him move quickly through her apartment, grabbing her purse and tossing odds and ends into her bag.
"Come on. You're not staying here tonight."
"I can't afford a hotel, Leonard." Embarrassed, Penny started to feel her anger rise.
Leonard gave her a disgusted look. "You're staying at my place tonight. Do you think I'd let you stay by yourself in some hotel after what just happened? Come on." He pushed passed her, crunching his sneakers over rubble as he opened her front door. "Come on, Penny." His voice was sharp.
Penny didn't move an inch. She was pissed. She crossed her arms and stayed put. Recognizing Penny's 'stubborn face', Leonard looked heavenward. "God! Penny, for once can't you just do what I ask?"
"Ask! Seems to me like nobody's asked me anything tonight. Seems to me like you're TELLING!"
"Penny, you can't stay here!"
"Yes, I can."
"He has your keys!"
"I'll change the locks."
"It's twelve o'clock in the morning!"
"He's not going to come back tonight."
Leonard got right up in Penny's face. "You're sure about that? You know him THAT well, do you?" That stung. Penny swallowed.
"You don't want to be with me? Fine." He rummaged through her purse and handed her the phone. "Call one of your friends, then. But I am NOT leaving you alone in this apartment tonight!"
Leonard was hurt. He was furious. It was all right there on his face. Penny crumbled as she choked back a sob.
Leonard dropped his arms in defeat. "Please, Penny, can we fight about this tomorrow?"
She hadn't wanted to fight with him at all! His words made Penny's eyes fill. She turned away so he wouldn't see, but he was Leonard and he saw anyway.
"Fine," she mumbled and walked past him through the hallway and into his apartment.
Leonard followed behind and watched her sit on his couch. For a moment he thought to offer her his bed, but he didn't want to start them off fighting again and decided it was best to let her be. He shuffled into his own room. He hadn't meant to argue with her. He just wanted to keep her safe. Why did she always have to make things so hard?
Leonard took off his glasses and climbed into bed. He lay awake, unable to close his eyes. For the first time in his life, Leonard was at a total loss as to what to do.
o0o
Leonard had left her sitting on his couch some time ago, but she hadn't moved. She was too numb. She didn't see Sheldon watching her from the kitchen, warm milk in his hand. She didn't notice when he left and came back several minutes later.
Sheldon approached her and took her hand. Gently, he led her to his room. Sitting at the edge of his bed, him in a bathrobe, Penny realized Sheldon must have had a shower at some point. He was freshly shaven. He smelled nice.
Sheldon stilled next to her and looked into Penny's eyes. 'Penny, are you sad?"
His soft question made her heart skip a beat. "Yes, sweetie, I am."
Shifting next to her a little bit, he said, "Penny, if you say 'Sheldon, make me happy', I shall endeavor to do my best." Sheldon closed his eyes, leaned in and pecked Penny's cheek, then sat back watching for her response.
Touched, Penny pulled him into a hug. He sat stiffly with his arms at his sides, but he was trying his best, she could tell. Penny couldn't help a little laugh at the surprise of Sheldon's gesture, but it came out as a sob.
"Am I…insufficient?"
Penny pulled back. "No, sweetie, that's not…" She let out a puff of air. "I'm sorry, I just…" Penny dropped her arms into her lap and looked at the floor.
"You want Leonard."
"Yes, I want Leonard."
Wondering at the inner workings of Sheldon's mind, Penny looped an arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss on the cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.
"Thank you, Sheldon."
"Your welcome, Penny," Sheldon said. He didn't move away and that was almost as surprising as his offer of comfort tonight.
After a minute or two Sheldon stood, bade Penny a good night and left her still seated at the edge of his bed. She shook her head, trying to assimilate all that had just happened. Holy Crap. Sheldon had certainly succeeded in blowing her mind.
But the night of surprises wasn't over yet. "Sheldon, what the hell?" she heard from a muffled voice outside the bedroom door before it swung open and Sheldon shoved Leonard inside.
Sheldon pointed to Penny. "Penny is sad. Fix it!" And he slammed the door in Leonard's stunned face. Leonard blinked rapidly, maybe trying to focus his eyes without his glasses, or maybe he was just trying to comprehend a world where he was in Sheldon's room…alone, with Penny.
"Can you catch me up, here?"
"I just got here, myself." Penny provided.
Carefully, Leonard sat himself down next to her.
"Umm, maybe we should talk?"
Penny played with the hem of her sweater. "OK," she said shyly.
When she didn't say anything more, Leonard took the initiative and a deep breath. "I know who you choose to be with is none of my business." Penny squirmed, but Leonard pressed through any interruption she might have made. "And I promise to stay out of it, but please, you've got to promise me to stay away from that guy, OK? He's dangerous. I want to…I only want you to be safe. Alright?"
Penny was shaking her head. "Damn it, Leonard! That's not…that's not what was going on. Nothing was going on!" She threw her hands up in frustration. She looked at him, ready for an argument, but Leonard was just watching her, giving her the chance to explain, so she took a deep breath herself and tried again.
"I don't want to have anything to do with him." She said finally.
Leonard waited for her to continue, but when she didn't he couldn't help but ask, "Then why did you call him?"
She shifted in her spot and ran a rough hand through her hair. "It was Tuesday, I was late and it was raining." Leonard nodded encouragement for her to go on. "My car. You know that stupid check engine light?" Leonard nodded again. "I knew the alternator was going bad, but I didn't have any money to fix it. I figured I could wait a bit and save up. But it's a lot of money and it's been slow at work and…" She was rambling. She started over.
"Kurt still owes me money and he has a friend who's a mechanic. I hoped maybe I could just have him call his friend to pick up the car and cut me a deal on the repairs. I thought maybe Kurt would call him if I promised to forget about the cash he owed me."
Leonard had gone still as he listened to Penny explain. Her reasoning made a great deal more sense to him, now. But that didn't do anything to abate the building fury he was feeling towards Kurt. God, what a bastard. He should have hit him with the bat when he'd had the chance. Blinking at the unprecedented wave of protective violence that flashed through him, he refocused on Penny's words.
"I should have known Kurt would turn things around on me. He always does that! You were right, it was stupid of me to call him!" Angry tears were leaking from Penny's eyes and Leonard wrapped his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
"Baby, I never said you were stupid. Shhh. I understand why you called him. I do."
He was rocking her now. Gently he tipped her face to look at him. "But I don't understand why you didn't just call me."
He was looking at her with those new, intense eyes of his and she couldn't bear it. She hid away under his chin.
"Is it…is it me, Penny? Did I do something wrong? I know I told you to…with Priya…God, baby I'm so sorry. Don't you know that I'll always take care of you?"
Penny still hadn't looked up from her hiding place and Leonard was scared he'd really screwed things up. "Penny, I need you to know. You need to understand that I'll always be there, OK? Do you believe me?"
Penny nodded her head, but she was still crying. The issue wasn't with Leonard, it was with her! She was a silly little waitress with stupid little problems and Leonard was going to get tired of her. It was only a matter of time before someone new came along into his life and he politely asked her to get out of the way.
"Penny?" Leonard cupped her cheek with his palm and tilted her head to look at him. "Penny do you? Do you believe me?" She nodded again, but her eyes were still downcast. He gently forced her gaze back to his. "Tell me. Tell me what's wrong Penny, please." He was starting to feel a little desperate.
It was too humiliating, too painful to lay herself open like that. To tell him what an idiot, what a loser she was? Losing him was hard enough.
"Please, Penny. Please talk to me." The panic was starting to creep into his voice. "If you don't talk to me, I can't fix it. Please, just tell me what's wrong!"
"I'm sorry!" She wailed finally. "I'm sorry! I'm stupid and I always get in the way and I should go away because you don't love me anymore. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"
Leonard was stunned. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a firm shake. She wouldn't look up. "Penny!" He roughly pulled her against his chest, tangled a hand in her hair and pulled her up so she would look at him. He smashed his mouth down onto hers. Jerking her free, he clasped her head with both his hands, just inches away from his face. He was panting. "Don't you know Penny? Don't you know how crazy goddamn in love with you I am?"
He crashed into her again, he tried to control himself, but Penny had come alive in his arms and she was clawing at his back. Leonard stood and dragged her up across the bed.
All at once, their clothes were gone and Leonard was touching Penny's beautiful, soft skin again. It was like a miracle. Penny was pressing her breasts tightly against him as she pulled him close. Her nails dragged over his thighs and up his back and he thought he might pass out right there.
Dizzy, he drew himself up onto his elbows and looked at her. He looked down at her beautiful breasts. God! He just couldn't help himself. He swooped down and sucked a nipple into his mouth. Penny squirmed under him and pressed his head down harder. He gave her a little nip and was rewarded with a gasp and her hand grasping at his scalp. "Oh Leonard, yesss."
He sucked and nibbled his way to her other breast, then up her neck to her mouth. They were both starting to sweat. Penny's legs came around his hips now. She rolled herself into him and his eyes crossed.
"Wait! Stop, wait. This is Sheldon's room."
"We'll buy him a new mattress." Penny pulled Leonard's lips back down to hers.
Leonard was laughing. Laughing! Just a few minutes ago he thought he would never laugh again. Talking around her lips, he said, "No, I mean he's not going to have any…" He groaned. Penny had slid a hand down his belly and now she had hold of him. Focus, Leonard! "I mean he doesn't have any condoms."
Penny stilled under him and he watched her face as a look of perfect understanding came over her. She looked him strait in the eyes. "Don't stop," she said.
"Penny?"
"Don't. Stop."
With her hand still on him, she guided him to her entrance, tightened her legs around his hips and drew him in a few inches inside her.
"Oh god." Heart pounding, Leonard looked at Penny. She was still looking right back at him, she knew what this meant. She understood the possible consequences. She wasn't stopping him. God, and she felt sooo good. And she still wasn't stopping him at all. In fact, now she had her claws firmly planted on either side of his butt as she slowly drew him down into her fully.
They both gasped in unison. Breathing hard, Leonard rested his forehead on hers. "Oh, god, that's so good, Penny." He swallowed hard. "Penny, wait. Slow down. I've never done this before."
"Liar." Now they were both laughing. The feeling inside of her was incredible.
Leonard was pressing his forehead hard against hers now, trying to get control of himself. "Ah, I mean, no I've never tried this without a condom."
Penny smiled up at him coyly. "Do you like it?"
Leonard thought he might die. "Uh huh," he panted enthusiastically.
She squeezed herself around his cock and Leonard shouted, pushing himself deep inside her.
Leonard's head dropped down to her shoulder. He was grinding into her now, unable to stop the movement of his hips any longer. Sucking and biting at her neck, "Penny!" he begged. "Penny…Penny…"
"Leonard, please!" Penny was losing her mind, meeting his rocking thrusts with her own, clawing at his back. "God, I love you! Oh god, please! Leonard!"
Leonard felt the bands that had been tightening around his heart give way. Grabbing Penny's wrists, he jerked her hands away from him and slammed them over her head. He spread her open with his arms locked straight behind her knees. He loomed over her, panting. "Say it again."
Penny was incoherent, she tossed her head from side to side, sweat rolling into her eyes. Leonard slammed his full length into her. Penny squealed, and he pulled himself fully out, teasing her with the tip of his cock.
"Say it again!" he demanded.
"I love you!" He ground into her once more. Penny was sobbing.
"Again!"
"I love you I love you I love you!" Leonard was pounding into her now, one hand was clasped around her back, at the crook of her neck, pulling Penny down hard onto him. The other hand lifted one of her long, beautiful legs high onto his shoulder.
The new angle pushed Leonard even deeper and Penny couldn't take it any more. She was coming harder than she ever had in her life. Leonard felt her orgasm and it pulled him into his own as Penny clamped down on him hard. He spilled into her for what felt like forever.
Finally, he fell exhausted on top of her, his head between her breasts. Every few seconds an aftershock would roll through Penny, the contractions dragging a groan from Leonard and he would lazily pump into her.
A few minutes of this and Leonard was starting to get Penny's full attention. Leonard was still semi-erect, and the situation was improving with every little gasp Penny was making under him.
"Wow," Penny said as Leonard settled himself over her and began to move with a slow earnestness. "Really? Again?"
"You're a bad influence," he smiled, "and a very dirty girl."
"Well, your language has certainly taken a turn for the worse, lately," Penny teased.
Leonard punished her with a slow, deep thrust of his hips. "Ohhhh!" Penny sighed. She opened her eyes to see Leonard smirking down at her.
Leonard watched her give him a calculating look before she utterly surprised him, flipping him over onto his back. She straddled him, thighs on either side of his hips. Penny stretched her arms over her head, giving Leonard what she knew to be an excellent view of her breasts. Wasting no more time, she seated herself firmly onto his cock.
"Jesus!" Leonard exclaimed.
"See what I mean about your language?" Penny smiled and rode him into oblivion.