This is just a short story, it was supposed to be a one shot but, as usually seems to happen with me, it became too long. I think there will only be two parts, but there could be three, I haven't written the rest yet so I'm not sure.

This takes place sometime at the second half of season 6, I hope you enjoy what I have down so far and I will try to update as soon as possible :)

Penny left her bedroom in a gorgeous, figure hugging dark red dress, with her long blonde hair in soft, wavy curls framing her face. "How do I look?" She nervously asked Leonard, who was standing at the kitchen in dark blue suit pants, a white shirt and coral tie.

Leonard turned around to face her from the kitchen, immediately spotting her nervous demeanour and becoming slightly worried. Penny often asked how she looked before they would leave on a night out, but she never asked it in the manner she was now. She would usually ask cheerfully, knowing that she looked pretty good and was just looking for some confirmation, but this time was different. It was like she really wasn't sure if she looked good enough to go out or not and Leonard wondered how she could look in the mirror right now and think she looked anything other than perfect.

"You look incredible." Leonard said as he walked over to her.

Penny brushed down her dress and looked at him with a frown, "Really?"

"Yes, of course you do." He said as he put his hands around her waist. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Penny asked as she put her hands on his chest and began to play with his tie.

"I don't know you seem… nervous or… worried." He said as he put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Do you not want to go tonight?"

Tonight they were going to Caltech's annual staff party and everyone that worked in Leonard's department would be there. Penny looked her cute little nerd in the eyes and smiled, he always did know when something was bothering her and she was stupid to think he wouldn't notice. She couldn't tell him what was on her mind though, because he would probably insist they stayed home, and she didn't want him to be the only one among his friends that didn't go, especially just because of her and her insecurities.

"No, I do want to go." She said trying her best to reassure him. "I'm fine." She gave him a sweet smile and a quick kiss.

"Okay." Leonard said, still not confident that she was telling the truth, but letting it go because she obviously didn't want to talk about it.

Leonard put on his dark blue suit blazer, fixed his tie and then they both headed out of the apartment, with Penny holding tightly on to his arm.

Penny was unusually quiet on the car ride to the party that was being held in one of the halls at the university. The closer she got, the more nervous she became. She tried to shrug it off and tell herself she was being silly, yet those nerves still ate at her. There was a couple of reasons why she felt like this; she was going to be meeting all these super smart people that Leonard worked with, and she was scared that she wasn't going to be able to join in any conversation that they had, and end up looking stupid. They would no doubt ask her about her career, and what would she say? 'I'm an actress that hasn't had a decent acting job since my haemorrhoid commercial. I work full time at The Cheesecake Factory and do one class at the community college.' It was hardly impressive considering what they all done for a living. But the main reason for her worry, the one that made her insecure about how she looked that night, so much so that she had to change four times before deciding on an outfit and made her even more nervous about sounding stupid that night, was Alex. She was Sheldon's assistant, and Penny knew she had been, and probably still was, interested in Leonard and she was going to be there tonight.

She had only met her once and it was brief, however she had heard plenty about her. She was a sweet and pretty girl, smart too. That was the worst part, she was smart. Penny knew she could compete with this girl on a physical level. She could dress herself up and look just as good, if not better than her, but the brains? Alex would win that race hands down, each and every time. That was what worried her, what if tonight Leonard realized that Alex was better suited to him than her. What if tonight, as she struggled to keep up with the conversations of the smart people while Alex chatted away like it was nothing, he realized that he wanted his girlfriend to have brains, as well as beauty? What if she flirted with him, right in front of her and said things to him that she wouldn't understand? Alex could easily belittle her, make her feel small and stupid, and Penny probably wouldn't even realize she was doing it.

"We're here." Leonard said with a smile as he parked his car. Penny tried her best to smile back at him, but her worry wouldn't let that smile shine like it usually would. "Are you sure you're okay? We don't have to go if you don't want to." He took a hold of her hands and looked into her eyes to let her know he was sincere. He had no idea what was bothering her, but something was and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable at this party.

Penny stared back at him for a second, wondering if she should tell him the truth; that she didn't want to go because she was scared of feeling inferior to all the other people there, especially Alex. She decided against it though, he deserved to have a good night, and she didn't want to ruin it with her insecurities. Penny knew Leonard thought she was over these insecurities, after the last time Alex had asked him out and she bought a pair of geeky glasses to make herself feel smart, but although those feelings left her for a few hours, as soon as those glasses were off, she was just back to being regular Penny that had an IQ that was, most likely, miles beneath his.

She would often find herself worrying about whether Alex was joining him and the guys at their lunch break, getting closer to Leonard in the process. She could be visiting his lab, under the pretence it was just a friendly visit, and Leonard, unsuspecting, naïve Leonard, probably wouldn't even realize what she was really doing. Sometimes those thoughts went into overdrive, and she would wonder what Leonard would do if Alex came on to him, and not in the subtle way she has in the past. What if she tried to kiss him, would he kiss her back? She trusted Leonard, but she didn't trust her and she wondered if Leonard would really be able to control himself if she seduced him. He had tried cheating in the past, albeit not to her, but still, he had tried.

Penny quickly shook the thoughts out of her mind, Leonard wouldn't do that to her, he loved her. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little nervous about meeting all your colleagues, that's all." It wasn't exactly a lie; that was part of the reason she was nervous, she just hoped he took what she had said as the whole truth, and didn't push her for anything more.

Leonard searched her face and from what he could tell, that was all that was bothering her. "You don't need to be nervous, you will be fine, they will all love you. I'm sure of it." He gave her a classic big 'Leonard' smile and kissed her, hoping that his words had been enough to squash her fears, but they weren't.

They left the car and headed to the University doors, Penny held tightly on to his arm the whole way there, almost afraid to let him go, in case Alex swooped in and took him off of her. It was unreasonable and irrational, but still, she couldn't let him go.

They headed straight to the bar. Penny ordered a glass of wine, while Leonard asked for a beer. They took their drinks and began to walk around the room, spotting their friends in various spots talking to other professors and giving them a quick wave. Penny searched the room for Alex, hoping that she wasn't here and had decided not to come and as she was scanning the room, someone came over to Leonard. He was a fairly tall, skinny man with huge round glasses and balding hair, looked to be in his mid-fifties.

"Hello, Dr. Stephens." Leonard said as he reached his hand out.

"Dr. Hofstadter." He said with a nod as he shook his hand. "And who is this lovely lady?" He said as he turned to Penny.

Crap. This was what she had been dreading. What was he going to say to her? What was she going to say to him?

"This is my girlfriend, Penny." Leonard said with a fantastic grin on his face.

Penny couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, maybe she was wrong after all; maybe she didn't need to be so worried about Alex. "Hi." She said shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Lovely to meet you too." He replied. They then got into a small conversation as Dr. Stephens asked them how they had met, how long they had been together and informed them on what a lovely couple they made. Penny liked Dr. Stephens, he was very polite although he had a stern looking face. Penny likened to him to one of the teachers at her college, a fairly friendly guy, one who you generally couldn't find a bad word to say about, but if you got on the wrong side of him, he would definitely give you a good telling off.

The three of them chatted for a good few minutes and just as Penny found herself beginning to relax, he asked her what she had been dreading.

"So, what do you do for a living Penny?" He asked her with a sweet smile, unbeknownst to the fear that question hit her with. But Leonard saw it. Leonard saw the fear and he immediately jumped to her rescue.

"She's an actress." He said with a grin. "She has been in a few plays and commercials and occasionally works at a restaurant, just to keep on top of the bills as acting can be fairly unreliable." Leonard turned to her and smiled, then looked back at Dr. Stephens. "She is also currently doing a class at college, studying history."

Penny looked at him, completely dumbfounded that he had just answered the question she had been dreading, with such happiness, like he was proud of her and what she done, even although there wasn't really much for him to be proud of. She had to hold back tears.

"Sorry," He said turning to her. "I didn't give you a chance to answer," He giggled and looked towards the professor. "I'm just very proud of her, she's a wonderful woman." He said as he took a hold of her hand, squeezed it and gave it a quick kiss.

Penny felt those tears well up in her eyes and struggled to keep them at bay. What had she done to deserve someone as wonderful as Leonard? He took her failing career and dead end job and managed to put them together in a way that didn't make her look like a failure. He was proud of her, she really couldn't understand why, but he was. "Excuse me," Penny said through the lump in her throat. "I need to go to the ladies room, I'll be right back." Penny quickly turned before her tears fell and headed to the bathroom.

Leonard wasn't quite sure what had just happened, he wanted to go after her and find out if she was okay, but before he knew it she was in the ladies room and there was no way he was going in there. Leonard turned back to Dr. Stephens and continued his conversation with him and after a few minutes, he felt a tap on his shoulder that he assumed was Penny. He turned around with a smile, ready to ask her if she was alright, when his eyes met a blue eyed brunette with a sparkling smile.

"Hey Leonard." Alex said. "How are you?"

"Oh, hey Alex." He said still slightly in shock that she wasn't who he was expecting. He quickly got over that shock though, and introduced Alex to Dr. Stephens.

Penny left the ladies room after quickly splashing her face with water and re-applying her make-up. She was refreshed and already feeling better about the whole situation. Leonard loved and adored her and she knew it. She had no reason to doubt his loyalty to her, and even if she did, even if Alex did try and pry her man away from her, there was no way she was going to take it lying down. She was from Nebraska after all and Nebraskans fought, they didn't sit and cry in the corner. She didn't have to be insecure, and even if she was she wasn't going to show it, but as much as she told herself that, as soon as she began to make her way through the crowd and her eyes met the sight of Leonard, Alex and Dr. Stephens, talking, smiling and laughing away, her stomach fell. She had let go of him for no more than five minutes, and Alex had already found her way into her space. That bitch. She thought as she ran her hands through her hair. There was no way she was going to let this happen, Leonard was hers and Alex wasn't getting him.