The Ultimate Commitment
"If I could give you one thing in life Penny, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes, for only then you would be able to see how much you mean to me"
Thoughts like that pounded through Leonard's head, as he walked up the stairs to find Penny pushed against her apartment door by another stranger. It was basically the same situation every night that Leonard had late shifts, and when Penny obviously wasn't working her night shifts at the Cheesecake factory. Normally to two pre-mating humans wouldn't even stop to acknowledge his existence as he entered the opposing apartment, but tonight was different. Leonard heard the estranged man groan as Penny pushed his body weight off hers.
"Oh, hi Leonard!" Penny said almost surprised, making him wonder if she had noticed him at all any other night.
Leonard turned, giving Penny as well as the blonde muscular man who was impatiently leaning against the door.
"Leonard, this is Clifford." Penny said, tapping his on the stomach, as he walked towards Leonard to shake his hand. From a distance, door to door, Clifford looked a lot shorter than he was, but when he stood in front of Leonard, easily a foot taller than him.
"Hey buddy," his deep voice boomed through the hallway, as he shook Leonard's hand almost crushing all of the bones in his hand. A distressed look escaped from his face, as he tried to seem confident compared to the six foot man standing in front of him.
"Hello" Leonard winced, as he let go of his hand. "Goodnight Penny."
Leonard entered his apartment, not looking back at Penny and her handsome date.
The next day was the same as Leonard returned home from work. He had been working the late shifts lately, as it was the only time that Caltech's Electromagnetic field laser was available for use. For the first time, that Leonard had witnessed, it was the same guy that Penny was standing with, this time not ravaging each other, but still emerged in each others company.
Penny's face lit up as Leonard reached the fourth floor and came into view.
She gave a huge wave to Leonard, who sent a smile back in her direction and just entered his apartment. He just went straight for a shower, and the straight to bed, 'this had been the day from hell' Leonard said, pulling on his pyjama pants and slowly crawled into his bed.
Three knocks pounded on his bedroom door, followed by repetition calls of his name.
"Go away Sheldon" Leonard retaliated at his annoying roommate. The knocks continued. "What do you want?"
Sheldon entered Leonard's room, as a annoyed groaned escaped Leonard's lips.
"How was your time on the Field Laser? Did you make any scientific breakthroughs?" Sheldon asked, struggling not to laugh at the fact that his roommate, Leonard Hofstadter could possibly make a scientific breakthrough.
"No, my theory was wrong. Can we just leave it at that?"
"Okay, okay." Sheldon said leaving his room.
It wasn't long before Leonard drifted off the sleep.
"Leonard, hunny. Wake up, we have to go and pick Levi up from preschool." Penny said, putting a delicate kiss on her husbands lips.
Leonard's eyes shuffled open, to reveal his gorgeous wife snuggled into his back.
"What are you doing home from work?" Leonard asked, rolling over so they were face to face.
"Well when you texted me and said you weren't well, I took the rest of the day of work to make sure you were alright".
"I love you so much Penny!"
Leonard's eyes shot awake, with the rapid beating on his door, similar to last night.
"Leonard, Leonard, Leonard."
"What Sheldon?"
"You need to drive me to work."
"Can't you just catch the bus? I'm not going in today."
"No, I can't. I'll be late if I have to wait for the bus."
Leonard groaned as he rolled out of his warm bed, and pulled on a jacket and cargo pants. He grabbed his car keys out of the bowl beside the door, and jogged down the stairs after a distressed Sheldon.
The drive to the university was slow, filled with traffic, ignorant drivers and one pain-in-the-ass Sheldon. Leonard dropped him off out the front of Caltech, then did a u-turn and headed straight back to their apartments.
As Leonard walked up the stairs, he heard sobbing come from an apartment near his. He went to enter his apartment, but there was just want sob that was louder than the others than scared him. He needed to make sure that it wasn't from Penny's apartment.
He walked across the hallway, and knocked on the door.
"Just leave me alone, Clifford! I'll call the police!" Penny distressed voice boomed from behind the door.
"It's Leonard. Are you okay?"
"Go away Leonard, please."
The heartbreak in her voice, almost brought Leonard to tears. He cared about her so much, there was no way he was just going to walk away.
"Penny, please." Leonard pleaded, as her sobs continued.
The was no reply, as Leonard put his hand on the cold metal door handle, turning it and applying a small amount of pressure to the door, as it opened. He was slightly worried about what would greet him behind the door, and how he would handle the situation that he would soon face.
He saw Penny leaning up against her aqua blue couch, distressed and distraught.
"Leonard, please just go."
"Penny, I am not leaving you when you are like this. What happened?"
Leonard walked further into her apartment, and sat down next to Penny on the ground.
"Nothing, I can't tell you."
"Yes, you can. You can tell me anything. I won't judge you. Did Clifford hurt you?"
Penny laid her head into Penny shoulder, as he brought his arm around her side to comfort her.
"Tell me what he did. Don't protect him."
"Yes" Penny cried, as she tried to wipe away the tears, but those being mixed with mascara just ended up with black smudged lines down her face. "I said no, he didn't listen. I screamed out, but he just hit me, and told me to shut up."
"Oh Penny." Leonard pulled her closer into his chest, and brought her head onto his shoulder to comfort her. Leonard really didn't know what he was doing, he felt so awkward, but had to overcome that, because Penny needed him. He had to be there for her, otherwise he had no chance in hell with ever being with her.
"If you were with me, i'll treat you like a god damn princess. You'd be my world, and i'd never let anyone lay a hand on you." It was the same thoughts that constantly filled his head when he was around her. He hated the way he felt about Penny, because he knew, one hundred percent knew, that she was too good for him, and that he'd never stand a chance.
"Penny, I am so sorry"
"It's okay, he said he was sorry."
"Doesn't mean he is." Leonard bit back, everything he thought about Clifford when he saw him, he was completely wrong, and this had changed his entire view about him.
"I don't mean to ask too much, but did he. I mean did you two still 'do it' after you said no?" Leonard asked, awkwardly.
Penny nodded.
"So, he... ugh. Penny, did he rape you?"
Penny burst into tears.
"He can get in a lot of trouble for this, we can call the cops. Penny, he can and will go to jail."
"No, Leonard don't. I care about him, and I don't want him to get in trouble."
"So, after all this. Him hitting you, and doing that without your permission, you still care about him. After all of it."
"I do."
"Okay, I'm going to go." Leonard said standing up.
"Why?" Penny asked, confused. She was in no better condition than what she was when Leonard first saw it. He was so caring for her, and now his face was blank, and didn't even look like he cared about her.
"Well, he hit you, he hurt you, and you still trust and like him. And I can't help you, if you still feel that way about him." Leonard defended.
"What, so just because he lost his temper a little bit, you think he is a bad person? He loves me."
"Penny, no he doesn't. If he loved you, he wouldn't lay a hand on you. He wouldn't even have thoughts of hurting you. If he loved you, the idea of you being in pain would make him hurt as much as it would hurt you. He would drop everything to make sure you were the most important thing in his life, and that when you were happy, nothing else mattered. If he loved you, he treat you the way you deserved to be treated. He'd listen to how you felt, and if you ever said no, about anything. He'd take that in his heart, and listen to you, because he'd know that the reason you said no, was because there was something wrong. And then he'd do everything he possible could to make sure that the thing was wrong, turned right as fast as it could, just so that you could be as happy as you can be. And most importantly, he wouldn't leave you the way he did, when you were down."
"Wow, okay Leonard. Thanks." Penny said, the tears in her eyes which slowly turned from pain to love, when she heard the way Leonard talked around her.
"Yeah, i have to go. Goodbye Penny."
Leonard walked out of her apartment, after he put everything on the table. He only made one mistake, although it was one mistake that he knew would haunt him especially if he ever saw Penny with Clifford again. He didn't tell her, that everything he said, about loving someone, about that ultimate commitment. Everything that he said, was things that he would do for her, if he was just given the chance.
After listening to everything Leonard had said to her, it really made her realise that even though Clifford said that he loved her, Penny knew he didn't. He hadn't come over since what happened the other day, and Penny was hoping that he wouldn't come back. She had thought about the situation, and how he treated her, and although she believed he would change, she was also doubtful that he would.
As it got later on into the day, she called the Cheesecake Factory and told her that she couldn't work her late shift, even though she desperately need the money. It was about 6pm, and Penny lay curled up on her couch, with a tub of ice-cream in her arms, and Sex in the City on her television.
They was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Penny yelled, with a mouth full of ice-cream.
Whoever is was, hey didn't reply, and just entered. It was Clifford who appeared from behind her door.
"You shouldn't be here. I have nothing to say to you." Penny defended, after she had thought about what Leonard had said to her.
"I want to apologise. I didn't mean what I did, and I can change, it will never happen again. Do you forgive me?" Clifford walked towards Penny, sitting next to her on the couch.
"No, I can't forgive you Cliff. You, you..." Penny burst out into tears again, and whispered. "Clifford, you raped me."
"I did not." He stood up, defending himself immediatley.
Penny nodded.
"Just go. I really don't want you here."
"You won't, like you know. You want call the cops will you. And Penny, it's not like you didn't enjoy it, it's only rape if you don't want it." He laughed, trying to make a joke out of the situation, that really changed the way Penny thought about him.
"Maybe I will. You shouldn't have done it in the first place. And I said no, thats all that you should of needed to stop. You betrayed me. Leonard came over this afternoon, and helped me realise that." As soon as that came out of Penny's mouth, she regretted bringing Leonard into this fight. He was only trying to help her, and after saying this different side of Clifford last night, she was worried about how he would react.
"Leonard ahy, that little dorky prick from across the hall?"
"Don't you speak about him like that!" Penny yelled in Clifford's face.
"Or what? You'll leave me for him? What a downgrade that would be, he's probably still a virgin. Never even kissed a girl." Clifford laughed, and it really offended Penny the way he talked about him.
"Why would it matter to you, if i do. You don't care about me. Otherwise you wouldn't have done what you did last night." Penny started to yell in his face, as Clifford turned around to get out his anger, he punched a hole in Penny's wall.
"Well at least you hit the wall this time instead of me."
"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" He yelled, as he stood up against the wall.
"You should go, otherwise I will call the cops."
Clifford didn't even reply, his face was red, and his was bleeding, but he left. He just slammed the door behind him, and Penny just hoped that Leonard didn't come out of his apartment, or that Clifford didn't confront Leonard.
A/N This is a oneshot at the moment, depending on reviews. I'd like to continue it at some stage, but let me know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed. It's very different from my other fanfics, and a little bit 'angsty'. So yeah! R&R please xx