I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.


It was normal for Leonard to find Penny stumbling home, to their apartment - it was weird, even after so long to say their apartment and not their apartment they shared with Sheldon - while drunk. He would put her to bed and in the morning there would be a sweet card, a bottle of water and an aspirin waiting for her on her bedside table.

But Penny didn't know what Leonard did between all of that. A drunk Penny was harder to take care of than a sober Penny. It was hard to get her to bed, to fall asleep with her pajamas and not her 'going outside clothes'. Actually, the hardest thing to do was getting her through the door. She always wanted to celebrate with Leonard, always tried to get them both to the car and go to a bar.

And since Penny didn't know how to take care of a drunk Leonard, she had no idea of how to take care of the happy from intoxication Leonard in front of her.

"Hi!" Amy says.

Penny didn't realize Amy was standing there. She smiles at Amy and asks her where she found him.

"Well, he called me. Asked if I could pick him up."

"Hold on. He called you and not me?" Penny asks, grabbing her phone to see if he texted or called her. She found 10 missed calls from both Leonard and Howard.

"He said he called you, but you didn't answer. Apparently you had a dinner with some coworkers so he just stopped trying to call you and called me."

"He called me." Penny says quietly. "I didn't answer" She says, her voice growing quieter as she said each word.

He needed me and I wasn't there for him' Penny thought. 'He's always there and I didn't even answer.'

Leonard, while Amy and Penny talked, was running up and down the stairs, and Amy was happy he was losing his energy. He giggled when Amy called him.

"Leonard, I'm leaving you here with Penny."

"No! Don't do that! Please." Leonard begged.

"Why not?" Amy asked

"Because she'll leave after you. She always does." Leonard said, and goes up the stairs to the roof.

Leonard's words hurt Penny. That was probably why he got drunk, that was probably why he stopped talking to her about what was going on with him. About his problems. She wasn't there for him.

"What is he talking about?" Amy wonders, out loud.

Penny looks at Amy. She has water in her eyes, and the tears are almost falling.

"Penny, are you okay?" Amy asked, concerned about her bestie.

"No" Penny answers. She gets a hug from Amy and the tears start to fall. At first they are light, but after a moment, they are like the rain on a thunderstorm. She clutches her hand on Amy's clothes, thankful that Amy didn't change her clothes because all those layers of clothes were great to grab her hand.

When the tears subsided, Penny stops the hug.

"Thank you for this." Penny smiles. "And thank you for bringing Leonard back safe and sound."

"Anytime." Amy said, leaving her bestie and entering her apartment.

Penny puts her back on the wall and she feels the tears coming back. She came to LA to be an actress and fulfill that dream that she had since she was a little kid. But Leonard was the reason she stayed when her dream didn't work. He was the reason she was able to afford that apartment, for her not to give up on herself, her own life. He was the reason for everything that was great in her life. And instead of treasuring him, instead of appreciating him, she wasn't there for him when he needed her.

Instead of feeling bad for herself, she decided to speak to her husband.

She climbed the stairs to the roof, where she met the love of her life. She looked at him, and saw him smiling. He had no reason to smile, and neither did she, but she smiled when she saw that bright smile of his. Damn, that smile! She could have the worst day of her life, but if she got home and her husband smiled at her and asked how her day was, she was happy again.

She got closer to him, scared of pushing him away, scared he would realize how stupid she was and leave. Maybe he read her mind or just knew her enough to know what she was thinking about, because he moved closer to her, closing the gap between the two of them. He hugged her, and like he always did, he comforted her instead of being the other way around. Penny realized they were both hurt. She decided to hold him, and he understood what she was trying to do, so he put his head on her shoulder. Penny could feel Leonard's breathing on her neck and smiled. She stroked his hair and started to play with the curls he had when he didn't make much fuss about his hair – and when he did make one, Penny would pout because there were no curls anymore.

They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company.

When Penny broke the hug, she notices Leonard's red eyes.

"Hey." Penny says, smiling and raising Leonard's head with her right hand, the left one drying his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine." Leonard lied.

"Okay." Penny says. Leonard looks at her, wondering if she was speaking the truth. Penny just stared at the sky, looking at the stars and feeling Leonard's stare. "You do know I can tell when you're lying, right?" Penny says, dropping her head from the stars in the sky to the star of her life.

Leonard smiled, noticing the twinkle in Penny's eyes. They were there every time she wasn't mad at him or she was talking to him sweet, like in that moment. He hasn't seen that twinkle in a while.

"It's just work stuff. Forget about it." Leonard says, looking to the ground.

Penny, for the second time since she met Leonard, wasn't sure he was lying or not. She looks at him, remembering the time where they met and the first following years when he wouldn't make eye contact with her, and when he did it was for a moment or two. He would then procced to drop his head or look at something behind her. Even during their first time they dated he wouldn't look at her for more than ten seconds. He did get better over the years, and that was something was thankful for, since Leonard's eyes were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and whenever he looked at her, her legs would feel like jelly and she would melt.

While Penny grew up she saw her parents together, and she could see how much they loved each other by the way they talked and looked at each other. She dreamed of having that with someone, and she finally had that with Leonard.
She would see her parents fight and whenever they said something they shouldn't have said, she could see the pain in the eyes of who said it. She would see them made up, and how much it cost them the fights.
Her mom told her, the first time she said she was dating someone, that 'there was a way to know if a person truly loves you or not. Whenever you fight, if that person's is hurt, they love you. If life carries on, and if that person isn't at all affected by the words he or she said, leave them. They are not worth it.' That was why she broke up with her first boyfriend.

Penny saw that happening with Leonard, the first time they fought. She noticed the hurt in his eyes, just like she would see in her parents' eyes. That's when she realized she loved him and he loved her. Of course she didn't tell him that, and that was how she almost lost him. She wasn't going to take that risk again.

"Leonard." She says.

Whenever she said his name, Leonard would shiver. Not from cold – even though it was a cold night and Leonard only had a jacket – but from the simple thought that would go through his mind. 'Is this going to be the last time I'll hear her say my name?' He was scared of the answer, until the moment she would say it again. But after a moment that thought would come back to haunt him.

He didn't see the love that existed between his parents while he grew up. Maybe because there was no love, or they wouldn't share their loving moments with their kids. Leonard was not a betting person, but if he was he would chose the first option.
That was why he didn't talk much to his parents, since they weren't home a lot and never showed they cared. His dad was the one that tried the hardest, Leonard could tell. But his job was more important than his family, always was.
Leonard still had in his possession the post cards from the various cities his dad went to give lectures at. He would always stay longer than he needed, to make sure he didn't have to be with Beverly.
So that was why Leonard promised himself – and no one else but him – that he would be better at relationships than his parents'.

"Yes, Penny?"

"Are you okay?"

"Honestly? No." Leonard says, squinting his eyes, so that the tears wouldn't fall.

"What's wrong?"

Leonard took a deep breath before answering.

"The university gave me an offer."

"What kind of offer?"

"They want me to go work in MIT, in Massachusetts."

"Ow!" Penny exclaims. "That seems like an amazing opportunity."

"It is. And it's only for a year, so we won't be separated for that long."

Penny just stares at her husband.

"What do you mean with 'separated'? Can't we go together?"

"We can go together but Penny your entire life is in here. I can just make you leave because of me. Your job, friends, they are all here."

"Leonard." Penny says, grabbing Leonard's arms. Leonard shivers. "You are my life. If you have this offer, we can both go. Together. Okay?"

Leonard smiles. The drunkenness of ten minutes ago has somehow subsided when that conversation started. Maybe it had something to do with that medicine Amy had given him.

"My head hurts." Leonard says.

"That's called hangover." Penny laughs. She then shakes her head. "You're an idiot."

Leonard smiles and kisses her.


The next morning Leonard wakes up with a note.

'Hope you're doing well. There's coffee in the kitchen if you want some. I told Sheldon you were sick. Hopefully he'll tell someone that. Call me if you need anything.
Love, Penny 3'

Leonard smiles at the note. He then proceeds to get up from bed and take a bath. But as he gets up, he notices his clothes. He's wearing his white shirt and boxers – his normal pajamas – but that wasn't what he was wearing when he left the roof – his last memory. He looks at the note and smiles.


The night before – After the conversation

Penny noticed Leonard getting tired so she tried to get him to the apartment. To no avail.
She pushed him, and finally got him inside the apartment. Remembering that Leonard couldn't open the door when he was sleepy, she prayed the same happened when he was drunk. She locked the door to make sure he wouldn't leave the apartment in the middle of the night and took him to the bathroom so he could take a shower.
She barely got him in the tub and when he was finally bathed, she was soaked. It was like showering a child.
She finally got him to bed where he fell like a rock and slept like one as well. She changed clothes and slept next to her husband, thinking that in a couple of weeks she would probably not be there anymore. She would be in a different city, with her husband. It would be their big trip, it would be an adventure. But just for a couple of hours, she just wanted to treasure this moment.


The End

Well, we reached the end.
But I'm not sure if this is the end of the story. Do you think I should continue this? Maybe their life in Massachusetts or the two of them saying goodbye to their friends? Maybe even both? Please tell me if you want me to continue this or not!

And also, I needed to publish this today because in the last couple of days most stories I read were Shamy. There was only a few Lenny stories since Shamy's wedding is coming up. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited for their wedding, I just miss my Lenny stories. Am I the only one?