Well, I guess its my turn to jump on the bandwagon of filling in the stories behind everything mentioned in that feel-tastic episode on Thursday! As expected there is a second part to this, because, sadly, Molly still can't do a one shot. Hope you all enjoy my take on why that rocking chair had to be replaced :) Oh, and yes it is rated M, but you would find out why in this chapter, though I'm sure you can guess!
"I think this is it." Leonard said as he slowly drove up the bumpy, desolate road leading up to a medium sized two-story brick house in the dark.
The moon was out in full effect, however dulled by the gloomy mist that surrounded the night air. A warm glow coming from a few of the eight or so rectangular shaped windows, along with a dim light highlighting the front door, and the headlights from Leonard's car, were all that illuminated the building they were approaching, a building that looked a million miles from the one he had picked out online.
It hadn't been dark when they had set out on their journey here, however between getting lost on the way and stopping for food, by the time they reached their bed and breakfast, located far outside the city in a small town in the countryside, the sun had already set on the first day of their three day weekend away.
The trip had been Leonard's idea, something he had suggested a few days after their silly fight that had begun with that embarrassing book of his mother's that Penny had found and subsequently read. They had fought for a few hours after he had hung up with his mother, Penny furious, and rightly so, that he had been using that book to manipulate her into getting his own way, but he had been angry too. He had argued that she shouldn't have brought his mother into it, that she should simply have told him what she knew and let them sort it out themselves without anyone else's, especially his mother's, involvement.
In the end though, they had both apologised, each of them eventually seeing their own mistakes in what had happened, and Leonard had decided the best way to put it behind them completely, was to leave for a few days together, a decision that he had to admit had a little something to do with that pink nightie she had worn the evening of their confrontation. She had taken it off and changed into her sweats as soon as she had entered her bedroom to leave him to talk to his mother and he hadn't seen it since, but perhaps now, on their romantic countryside getaway, that little outfit would make another appearance, one that would have a much more satisfying outcome than the last.
"Oohh, it looks nice." Penny said as she sat up straight in the passenger seat, her eyes feasting upon the big, yet cosy looking house, one that vaguely reminded her of those back home in Nebraska, surrounded by grass and woodland, the nearest neighbouring house a good five minutes' drive away.
"Yeah…" Leonard replied, frowning as he studied the tall and daunting trees that were dotted along the road and around the house, the cold air giving him chills. "It's a little… creepy, though, don't you think?" He turned to her.
Penny looked towards Leonard, her brow furrowed for just a second before a smile began to curl onto her mouth. "Oh sweetie," She cooed, reaching a hand out to touch his arm, "Are you scared?"
"No." He shook his head and let out a scoffing laugh. "I'm not scared."
Scrunching up her nose Penny replied, "Yes you are."
Turning to her with a glare, Leonard shrugged, "I'm not scared, okay? It's just…" He looked around, "creepy looking with all the trees, and fog and stuff."
"It's just because it's dark sweetie." She said, trying to reassure him as best as she could without laughing, "You picked this place you said it looked nice."
"Yeah, it did." He said, still sceptical, "It didn't show me what it looked like at night though," He mumbled before shaking his head and forcing a small smile, "No, you're right. I'm being silly." He said, as Penny nodded and squeezed his arm.
Moments later they reached the house, parking in the allocated spots just to the left of it before leaving the car to get their suitcases from the trunk.
"What's wrong now?" Penny asked, holding back a grin as she spotted Leonard studying his surroundings, a worried look on his face.
"There's only one other car parked." He said, his eyes locked on the other car as he walked.
"Yeah, so?"
Leonard shrugged, turning his attention to her. "I dunno, it's not exactly a small place," He said, looking up at the house. "and by the looks of it, it's going to be pretty much empty… It's…"
"Creepy?" Penny finished as she opened the trunk of the car.
"Yeah, a little…" He replied as Penny rolled her eyes and grinned. "It's like the beginning of a horror movie." He said as he joined her at the foot of the car, "I bet when we go inside we will find out it's owned by some weird old lady and her unusually quiet husband who pretend to be all nice but are really completely insane and come up to our rooms to murder us in the middle of the night."
Penny stared at him, a frown of confusion and slight amusement covering her face, before slowly it softened and she gave him a small smile, tilting her head sympathetically, "Aww, don't worry baby," She said, stepping a foot closer to him and reaching her hand out to his jaw, "if anyone tries to come into our room and murder us, I'll go all Nebraska on their asses." She said as seriously as she could manage, before kissing him gently on the lips, her arms finding their way around his neck. "No crazy ass couple is going to ruin our weekend!"
At her last sentence Leonard smiled, his fears temporarily forgotten as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him to give her one more tender kiss. "Okay." He said when they broke apart, taking a few moments just to smile at each other, before a cheeky grin broke out on Leonard's face, "Although, what if it's a big giant ape that tries to get us?" He said, earning him a glare and a playful slap on the arm as Penny pulled away from him to face the trunk of the car again.
"Shut up and help me with these bags."
Still slightly chuckling, Leonard turned with her and took out two of the three small cases, one his and one hers, whilst Penny took out the other one, also belonging to her. "I still don't understand why you have so many bags." He commented, "We're only here for the weekend!"
"I needed to be prepared! I don't know what were gonna be doing here, I need full outfits for every possibility. And accessories and make-up and hair straighteners and-"
"Okay!" Leonard interrupted with a chuckle, as he closed the trunk of the car. "I get the point; girls need a lot of stuff."
"Exactly." Penny replied with a triumphant grin, before walking in the direction of the entrance, her case wheeling along behind her as Leonard struggled to juggle the other two. "Should we knock or just go inside?" She asked, receiving a shrug in reply, just as the door was swung open, making Penny jump back a little in surprise. "Oh! Hi!" She said to the middle aged woman in front of her, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a sweater, her raven coloured hair pulled back in a bun. Certainly not her idea of a creepy old lady, something she was relieved about, for Leonard's sake more than her own.
"Hello!" The woman replied with a warm smile, "Sorry I made you jump, I heard your car drive up the lane. Please," She stepped back, "Come inside."
"Thank you." Penny replied, grinning as she walked through the doorway with Leonard close behind her.
As soon as Leonard stepped inside he felt himself relax, despite the cold outside appearance, the entrance was surprisingly warm, decorated with dark shades of red, making it seem cosier than he had expected. The lady that had led them in, who he assumed was the owner, seemed to be nice and friendly too, only adding to his relief.
As the lady, who had introduced herself to them as Mrs Caldwell, led them through the entrance hall and up two flights of stairs to get them to their floor, Leonard continued to study his surroundings as Penny made small talk with Mrs Caldwell and he struggled with the two bags he was carrying. The more he saw of the place, the more he liked it and began to feel foolish for his earlier doubts. Penny was right, the only reason it had seemed creepy was because of the night sky and the mist in the air, he really was being silly.
Moments later, after walking down another short hallway and past a few rooms, Mrs Caldwell stopped, taking out a set of keys and opening the door she was in front of, handing each of them a key as they walked past her and into their room for the weekend.
After giving a set of instructions on various things, such as how to work certain things in the room, who to call if there was a problem, what time the bed and breakfast doors locked at in the evening, and what time breakfast was served, Mrs Caldwell left the room with what seemed like a genuine and heartfelt wish that they enjoy their stay in what was essentially her home.
"It's not bad huh?" Penny said as she sat down on the king sized bed, dropping her bag at her feet and sighing, relieved that after their long day, they had finally arrived and were about to get settled.
"Yeah it looks good." Leonard replied as he too sat the bags he was carrying down, his eyes wandering over the contents of their room. The giant bed Penny was sitting on was to his right, in the centre of the room and pushed up against the wall, with a nightstand on either side and a lamp sitting on top of each one. In the corner to his left sat a dressing table, complete with an oval shaped mirror and stool, and a chest of drawers and wardrobe stood directly to his right, up against the same wall the bedroom door was on. The room had two windows, one directly in front of him, adjacent to the bedroom door and the other facing the bed, drapes hanging from each one. In the far right hand corner, mere feet from the bed was another door, which he assumed was the bathroom, and in the opposite corner, was perhaps the strangest addition to the room, one which he hadn't expected and for some reason brought those chills from before back up his spine.
"Is that… a rocking chair?" Leonard asked, his face scrunched up in confusion as he looked from it, to Penny who was still perched on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, looks like it." She replied, a slight chuckle in her voice. "Kinda random huh?"
"Yeah…" He nodded, his eyes still locked on the weird choice of furnishing. "Very."
Shaking her head, Penny let out a short laugh at the freaked out look on her boyfriend's face, one which she found both amusing and adorable at the same time, before standing up and zipping open her bag. "Come on, let's get ready for bed, honey, I'm beat."
Almost an hour later they were crawling into the massive bed, after having unpacked most of their clothes and washed up for the night. As soon as they were in, the sheets pulled over them and with Penny cuddled up against his side, Leonard removed his glasses and turned off the lights using the switch that had been conveniently put on the wall right beside their nightstand.
When the room went dark, Leonard felt that chill once again. The sight of the moonlight creeping through the drapes, somehow highlighting what he still found to be an odd addition to the room in the corner, and proving to be a freakier sight than he had thought it would be. He wasn't even so sure why it freaked him out so much, but something about that chair gave him chills. Maybe it wasn't just the chair, he reasoned, maybe the whistling noises the wind was making as it blew through the abundance of woodland outside was what really brought those chills to his spine. Maybe it was the sounds of the bushes rustling, twigs snapping, and the squeals and howls that came as the wildlife woke up to their night time playground out here in what felt like the middle of nowhere, but in reality was only ten minutes away from town. The full moon in the sky, though blurry through foggy clouds, only intensified that creepy feeling, but despite all those other things that could, and did, freak him out, that rocking chair continued to stand out.
"Leonard?" Penny mumbled as she pushed her nose up to touch his jaw before nuzzling back into the crook of his neck. "Are you still freaking out about that chair?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.
Leonard frowned as his right hand began to lightly stoke the arm that was wrapped over him, his left softly squeezing her waist as he pushed her body closer to his. "A little. Doesn't it freak you out?" He asked feeling her shake her head as her body shook lightly while she chuckled at his expense.
"No. Sweetie, go to sleep, you're just tired."
Leonard nodded, however his eyes stayed focused on that old and slightly crooked piece of furniture. "What does it remind you of?" He asked, almost hoping whatever answer she gave would give some sort of explanation as to why it was making him feel so uneasy.
"What does it remind me of?" Penny asked, moving her head to sit directly on his chest as he continued to make patterns on her arm and waist, before giving some sort of shrug. "I dunno… old ladies sitting on a porch, knitting scarves and telling stories to little kids." She laughed, "Why? What does it remind you of?"
Leonard pondered his answer as he stared blankly at it, one thought suddenly popping into his head, "Remember that film we went to see? I think it was last year."
"We went to see a lot of movies last year Leonard."
"The really scary one… with the house in the middle of nowhere, and the room with the rocking chair in it and that freaky woman." He said, describing the movie to the best of his ability.
Penny stayed quiet and thoughtful for a few moments as she thought over all the movies she and Leonard had seen in the past year or so. "The one with Harry Potter in it?"
"Yeah!" Leonard replied, nodding. "Although it wasn't actually Harry Potter-"
"Yeah I know but you know what I mean. What was it called? Woman in Black?"
"Yes, that's the one."
Penny smiled, "So that's why this freaks you out? Because of that movie."
"I think so yeah," He said, tilting his head to look down at her, "and would you stop looking so amused about all of this! It was creepy!" He playfully protested as Penny tried to remove the smile from her face, "And now I'm just getting images of that thing rocking back and forth with this ghost sitting in it." He shuddered. "It's really creepy."
Pulling herself up so she was hovering slightly above him, Penny touched her nose to his and kissed him on the lips. "You're so cute when you're scared, you know that?" She whispered as she began to plant kisses over his mouth and down his jaw, putting a finger to his lips when she knew he was going to tell her he wasn't scared, he was just 'creeped out'. Her kisses slowly made their way down past his ear and to his neck, beginning to lick and gently nibble at his skin.
"How about," She said, moving her lips away from his mouth as she moved her body to straddle him, her hands placed flat on his chest as she bent down to continue kissing him, "we stop talking about that chair," Moving her lips to his neck again as her hands snaked their way down his torso and under his white t-shirt, Penny gently rocked her hips into his, "and we start making good use of this bed."
The next day, Leonard and Penny spent very little of their day inside their room. They woke up just before ten, fairly late from Leonard's point of view, but Penny had saw the ten am rise as anything but late. Leonard would have been happy to have given in to her pleas to stay in bed just that little bit longer, gladly surrendering to the comfort of the bed and the company of the girl within it, if it hadn't been for the glorious day outside and his rumbling stomach, reminding him that breakfast downstairs was only half an hour away from ending.
As he and Penny had ate in the dining room, at their own small table, with a few other guests scattered around, Leonard took the time to ponder just how different this place looked in the light compared to the dark. It was a serene location, the trees didn't seem anywhere near as tall and daunting as they had the night before and more importantly, the house wasn't all that was visible. The beautiful view of the California countryside was now on show, making him wonder just what had freaked him out in the first place.
The rest of their day was spent in town perusing the small collection of antique and vintage stores, each of them having very little to offer but still finding the most random and unique objects in them to purchase and take home. They had lunch in a cosy café, before taking a stroll through the small parks and what little landmarks the town had to offer. It wasn't incredibly exciting, a sentiment the both of them shared, but it had been nice, being able to relax in one another's company without the interference of Sheldon or work.
By the time they got back to their room that day, with the intention of getting ready to go out for dinner, it was almost seven pm. As soon as they had walked through the door, Leonard's eyes shot instantly to the chair in the corner, those same chills returning as the same image of that chair rocking of its own accord shot into his head.
"You still on that?" Penny commented, noticing that familiar look of fear, her hand brushing over his back as she walked past him and over to the chair.
"What are you doing?" Leonard asked as he shut the door behind him, walking to go and sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm gonna sit on it," She replied as she reached out to the wooden frame, rocking it slightly before cautiously sitting down, squirming as she sat down on the hard surface. "Yeah I don't like it. The wood hurts my ass."
At this comment, Leonard's eyebrows shot up, a smirk covering his face as Penny looked innocently at him.
"What?" She asked, her face dropping in confusion at his sudden amusement, until something clicked in her head and she shook her head, holding in her own laugh, "Such a dirty mind Leonard." She said as she stood up, heading to the bed as she watched Leonard go to sit in the spot she had just vacated, the look of amusement gone and replaced with the same hint of fear she had become accustomed to since arriving.
At that moment, as she watched him slowly sit down and gently rock the chair, frowning the whole time he was on it, a tiny little light bulb lit up in her head. Glancing over to the drawers that now contained their clothes, Penny bit down a grin, stood up and went over to collect the items she needed to follow through with her plan.
"Oh, yeah, I suppose we should start getting ready for dinner." Leonard said as he began to get up, assuming that what Penny was looking for were clothes to change into for dinner.
"No, not yet." Penny replied as she spun on her heel, holding the clothing she had just picked out behind her, a smirk covering her face at the confusion written in his frown lines. "I've just thought of the perfect way to stop you being creeped out by that chair."
"Oh really?" Leonard asked, a brow arched with curiosity, "What do you plan on doing? Erasing my memory of that movie?"
Biting down on her lip as she slowly walked in his direction, her hands still hidden behind her back, "No, I'm going to replace it with a better memory." She smiled as she came within a few feet of him, "So that the next time you see a rocking chair, the last thing you will be thinking of is 'The Woman in Black.'" Moving in the direction of the bathroom as her hands moved to keep what she was holding out of his sight, she threw her head over her shoulder, "Well, that woman in black anyway."