A/N For those who were waiting for an update of Chew Toy, I've been trying but this this kept interrupting, so I finally gave in, just so I could get back to writing Chew Toy. And as before, I own nothing but the words in between all the character names.
"All I know is Raj said he's bringing a girl to dinner," said Howard. "He wanted to make sure all of us were here tonight."
"Raj introducing us to girl he met and asked out, sober the whole time," marveled Penny. "Who would have thought it?"
"Is it Lucy?" Amy asked.
"No," said Howard, "I know it's not Lucy"
Amy grimaced, "Does he still talk all the time?"
"No," smiled Bernadette, "he found out that no one would listen to him that long. After the first fifty or so women walked away, he finally learned to cut it back."
"Well, it's going to be nice with Raj having a girl," said Leonard. "He always looked so lonely when we're all were couples and he was alone."
"What time are they supposed to be here?" asked Penny.
"Well, they are already fifteen minutes late," complained Sheldon "Why can't WE eat now, and they just have what ever is leftover."
"Sheldon," Amy scolded. "Raj is bringing a guest, it's a social convention to wait for the guests to arrive."
"Well, if it's convention, I suppose we can wait," said Sheldon, "but I don't have to like it."
There was a beep and Howard pulled out his phone, "They'll be here in five minutes, they're parking right now."
Penny grabbed Leonard and pulled him to the island, "We're going start dishing out the food." They got the plates and the food and started putting it on the plates. They were almost done, Penny on the end of the island. Leonard had his back to the door when he heard the door open and Raj say, " Hi everyone."
Suddenly, Leonard felt Penny grab him, her nails digging deeper and deeper into his arm. He was about to ask Penny what her problem was, when he hear a familiar, soft voice say, "Hi Everybody." Leonard spun around to find himself staring at Priya.
Everyone's mouth was hanging open, Priya had slight smirk on her face, "How's everybody been?"
The silence continued. Penny moved closer to Leonard, sliding her arm around his waist and in a sweet, happy voice said, "Priya, it's so good to see you again. Welcome back."
Leonard knew Penny was using her acting skills, from the way her nails dug into his side. He smiled at Priya weekly, not daring to look at Penny. He nodded his head and said, "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"
"Quite well, thank you. Is the loo still in the same place?"
Leonard nodded and Priya turned and walked up the hall.
There was a pause as everyone was looking at each other, wondering what to do. Finally Bernadette was on her feet, and headed, almost running to Raj. "What the Hell is wrong with you?" she hissed. "Bringing her here without telling anyone?"
"Whaaaaat?" said Raj looking with confusion at Bernadette. "She wanted to surprise everyone."
"Did you think that maybe there'd be someone here who didn't want to be surprised? As she flicked her head toward Leonard and Penny.
Raj looked at Penny and finally realized what Bernadette meant, he look crestfallen.
Bernadette went back and sat down, but her face was study in anger, getting a deeper and deeper red.
Howard saw it and was about to try to calm Bernadette when Penny spoke up. "It's OK Bernie." She still had her arm around Leonard. "She's welcome, after all, she's Raj's sister"
"Thank you, Penny." said Priya, observing the scene from the hallway.
Her words surprised everyone. Penny looked up, her smile turning into a smirk.
"Everybody sit down, we'll bring the food," said Penny. "Come on Leonard, let's finish this up."
Leonard took a plate of food to Sheldon, who, of course, was sitting in his spot, and to Amy next to him. Penny took a plate to Raj and Priya, both of whom were also on the couch, Priya on the end. Leonard took plates to Bernadette and Howard. They had brought out three chairs, facing the table and couch, they were seated so there was an open chair, next to Leonard's chair.
Penny started getting everyone drinks. Leonard had noticed that when Penny had served Priya, while she was smiling, there was a tenseness about her. They finally took the last two plates and drinks and walked over to where everyone else was already eating. Leonard sat in his chair and watched as Penny, ignoring the open chair, and staring directly at Priya, also sat in his chair, squeezing into the chair, to sit next to Leonard.
Everyone ate in an awkward silence for several minutes before Bernadette, in a tight flat voice asked, "So, what are you doing in Southern California, Priya."
"My company has some interest in getting a license to use the technology in an American electric car and I'm here to talk to their legal staff."
"How long will you be here?" Amy asked.
"Two to three weeks," responded Priya. "Although, I may stay longer, have a bit of a holiday. I've really missed Southern California."
Penny was just watching and listening, a large smile on her face while she was stroking Leonard's hair. Amy noticed that Penny's smile slid into a smirk whenever she looked at Priya. Another awkward moment followed as everyone ate in silence. Priya looked around and said, "I notice that some of your space figures are gone. Are you finally selling them off?"
Penny, expression changed into one of smugness, "No, the missing ones are over in our apartment. Leonard's been bringing them over a few at a time when we find room for them." At the word "our" Raj and Howard looked at Leonard in surprise. Amy and Bernadette looked at Penny in shock.
It was Sheldon who spoke, "Leonard, you didn't tell me you moved in with Penny. You still have most of your items here. When were you going to tell me, so I could look for another roommate and do we need to cancel the roommate agreement?"
Leonard looked uncomfortable, but said, "I haven't told you yet because...uh...I still have so much stuff here. So I still need to be...your roommate...um... to keep my things here. I'll keep paying my half. Haven't you missed me Sheldon?"
"Why no," said Sheldon. "You are here every morning, to take me to work, and I go to bed earlier than you most of the time, so I don't notice if you're not here."
"Yeah, I have to be here in the morning to take you, so...uh...so...yeah, I come here to get my shower,...uhhhh... so I don't wake up Penny. Then I get dressed and I'm ready to take you to work.
"Oh," said Sheldon. "I can understand that. Let me know when we need to cancel the roommate agreement and I have to find someone new."
Sheldon was satisfied, but Amy and Bernadette were now looking quizzically at Penny, who had her arm firmly around Leonard.
Priya noticed all the looks, but simply said, "So after all this time, you two are finally together. I'm happy for you."
Penny put her arm on Leonard's knee and leaned into him and said, "Thank you, Priya" Leonard still looked a little confused, but he put his arm around Penny and said, "Thank you."
After that, the guys talked about things going on at the university. Penny kept her arm on Leonard's leg and she didn't look up as Amy and Bernadette would sneak looks at her. Amy and Sheldon started taking plates to the kitchen as each person finished.
Finally, Priya stood and said, "Well, I've had a long flight, and Raj told me you were all eating together, so I thought I would come by, have dinner and say hi. I need to get some sleep to adjust to the time change, so I think it's best I get to Raj's and get to bed. Howard, can you bring him home?"
Bernadette rubbed his back, indicating it was OK, "Sure, No problem. I'll get him home."
"Thanks." Priya stood and walked to the door. She opened it, turned and said, "It was good seeing all of you again. Thank you for dinner, and have a good night." She walked out and closed the door.
The release of the tension in the room was almost physical.
The girls collected in the kitchen while the guys talked in the living room. "When did Leonard move in?" asked Bernadette.
"I don't know, a week or so," said Penny evasively. "After all, he's over there all the time with me and like he says, he comes back here for his showers in the mornings sometimes and most of his stuff is still here, there simply isn't room in my apartment."
Amy's eyebrows went up as she said, "I notice you said my apartment. Has Leonard moved in or not?"
Penny looked down.
Bernadette said softly, "He hasn't, has he Penny?"
"Yes, he has," said Penny. The other two women looked at her. "OK, I don't know," Penny said, sounding frustrated. "Listen, this isn't anything against you guys. We just wanted to make sure...before we said anything. Remember, in the spring, he moved in and I wasn't comfortable with it? We're, not calling it moving in, to ease me into it."
Then why did you tell Priya that...never mind silly question," Bernadette said, raising her hands.
"You wanted to let Priya know you two were now a pair, and you wanted to use the fact that you we living with him," said Amy flatly.
"Yeah, OK, I wanted to make sure she knew he was mine. Like you and your licking and rubbing all of Sheldon's things."
"What?" Bernadette asked.
"Nothing. Just let this slide for now, OK," Penny pleaded.
Amy and Bernadette looked at each other, then turned to Penny and nodded.
...
It was an hour later when Penny and Leonard were getting ready for bed. "What did the girls say?" Leonard asked.
"They wanted to know when we moved in together. I explained it to them."
"How, exactly did you do that," Leonard nodded, "and did get my story to fit with yours?"
Penny chuckled, "Yes, I did."
"What was that Penny?" Leonard asked. "Say something like that and force me to come up with an explanation. Are you that insecure about someone from two years ago? You were doing things like that all night."
"Doing what things" Penny demanded. "Besides, she did something stupid, cheating on you. That caused you two to break up and allowed me to get back together with you. I don't have anything to worry about."
"Then why does my arm look like a pincushion?" Leonard demanded.
"What are you talking about?"
"When she first came in," Leonard explained. "You grabbed my arm and sunk your nails into it." He was pulling off his hoodie, his right upper arm had five marks, the size of Penny's nails.
Penny was dimissive, "OK, I may have over reacted when she first came in."
"What about sitting in my chair with me?
Penny didn't know why and she was caught short, "Ummmmm, I just wanted to sit with you."
"Well, that's the first time in over a month, and the first time, in a long time, I remember you sitting in the chair with me when were eating," said Leonard with a grin. "Interesting that it was tonight, with Priya there."
Penny snapped, "I told you, I just wanted to sit with you."
Leonard looked at her, "Well, then, what was up with you almost crawling into my lap or wrapping your arms around me every chance you got?"
Penny looked puzzled. Was I really doing that? After a few seconds she said, "Was I really that bad Leonard? I wan't thinking about it. I guess I just have bad memories from when you two were dating, OK?"
"You were like a mother hen," said Leonard. "I couldn't move without you grabbing on to me somehow. That's OK, but I can't think of a reason for you to be insecure or worry about it. Unless you want me to worry about Zack. After all, you see him every couple of weeks, when he brings the menus in, right?"
Penny was surprised he knew that, but she nodded her head. "You got me, yes I do see him. I'm sorry, I should have told you, but you don't have to worry about it."
"And, you don't have to worry about Priya, OK?"
"OK, neither of us has to worry."
...
Leonard spent the next morning adjusting the two experimental lasers for the data run due the next week. It was relatively undemanding as it was fire the laser, measure how far off of center, then adjust the laser. He had been thinking of the previous evening all morning.
He was fighting himself in his mind. He was trying to figure out why he had been happy to see Priya. Part of it was she had been his longest relationship, until he got back with Penny. She had hurt him badly twice, not telling him she was leaving and then by cheating on him. Of course, he wasn't completely innocent there.
In a way it was interesting. He felt absolute nothing for her anymore, and had no intention of doing anything that would interfere with his relationship with Penny. But, he felt good about many of the memories with Priya. Similar to how things worked out with Alex. Enjoying the attention, but not wanting to disturb his relationship with Penny.
Maybe it was the fact that it was the relationship with her, that gave him the confidence he now felt. He knew, Penny breaking up with him undermined his confidence, and he got it back and more with Priya. Even though Priya cheated on him.
What ever it was, it was funny seeing Penny act all protective last night. He smiled, thinking about Penny. She was so obvious last night, about showing her affection for him, but she didn't realize what she was doing. I wonder if Priya noticed, I know Amy and Bernie noticed. Ahhhhh, it doesn't matter, it's not like I'm going to be making out with Priya anymore.
Leonard had just tested the laser and found it was centered. He was getting ready to lock down the laser when he heard Priya's voice right behind him. He spun around, looking at her. She was close enough that he could smell her perfume. She hadn't changed it since they were dating. The smell bringing back memories of them waking up together. He shook his head, I can't go there.
Looking at her, he said, "What do you want, Priya?"
"I need to talk to you."
...
Howard finished his computer drawing, looked at it, then saved it. He was happy with the new arm and mechanical fingers on his new remote manipulator. He was hoping to have a prototype for NASA in a couple of weeks. He looked at the clock and figured he would go to lunch early. He headed for Leonard's lab, hoping he was free. Coming to Leonard's door, he saw Priya kiss Leonard and pull him into a tight hug.
Howard backed up and walked quickly away, heading for the cafeteria. Once he got out of the building, he pulled his phone out, hit 1 and waited. This is Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, how can I help you.
Bernie...
"Hi Howie," she said brightly, "what's up?"
"Listen to this..."
...
Penny was leaning up against the order station. It had been a busy lunch and she had gotten a lot of tips for a change. Now the restaurant was nearly empty and she was bored, because she didn't have a table at the present. She felt her phone in her order book pocket start to vibrate. Picking it up, she saw it was Bernadette. She hit answer and said happily, "What's up Bernie?"
One of the other waitress was walking to the order station when she saw a stack of plastic cups fly off of the shelf, hit the wall and crash to the ground. When she came around the station, there was Penny, fury in her face.
It had taken almost an hour for Penny to calm down. The manager, Bruce, had her clock out and sit down and got her a shot of tequila. Now, she was just upset. There had to be an explanation. Leonard wouldn't do something like that, he just wouldn't. Tears started forming before she mastered herself.
She was still sitting there when she saw Priya walk into the restaurant. The anger she had felt since the phone call from Bernadette boiled over and she leaped from the seat toward Priya. Bruce had no idea who had just walked into the store, but he saw Penny's reaction and rushed to position himself between them. As Penny tried to run past him, he grabbed her, keeping her from getting to Priya.
You BITCH," Penny screamed. It was a good thing the restaurant was almost empty. "You damn bitch, just stay away from Leonard, you hear me, stay away.
Priya looked at Penny and said, "Calm down, I just want to tell you..."
Penny was having none of it and kept screaming, "I don't want to hear anything from you, bitch. You just stay away from Leonard, or so help me..."
Priya said, "Penny, calm down listen to me..."
"NO," Penny was still yelling, "you listen to me, you stay away from Leonard. You hear me? I don't want some man-stealing pompous bitch around Leonard, do you understand?"
Priya face changed from calm to icy, she had tried to be calm, now she had had enough of this, it was time to fire back. "Awwww, how cute, that you're so upset, how does it feel to know his ex is around. Maybe I should have ate off of Leonard's plate last night, or maybe you just think you can't keep him."
Penny lost it, "I'm going to fuck you up. Dammit let me go. I'll show her what I learned in Junior Rodeo. Let me go, let me get her..." Penny was still screaming at her, but Bruce had had enough. He picked her up and carried her to the back, opened the freezer and put her in it. "You cool off," he yelled at her while closing the door and locking it.
He walked back out to the front. Priya was still there, seething. Bruce walked up to her and said, "I don't know who exactly you are, but you just better leave now. I can keep her from coming out here for only about another ten minutes, at most."
Priya looked at him, anger on her face. She composed herself, turned quickly and walked out.
Bruce had finally let her out of the freezer, telling her that that woman had left and what the hell was Penny's problem.
With Priya gone, there was no one to direct her anger at. She was just upset now. "Do you remember Bernadette?
"I think so, short? Blonde?"
Yeah, that's her. She called and told me someone had seen her kissing and hugging Leonard.
Bruce looked surprised, "Penny, from what I know about Leonard, he would never do anything like that."
Yeah, I know, there has to be an explanation," Penny said distractedly. Maybe I should call Leonard."
No, Penny," Bruce said, "don't call. Wait until he gets home tonight, then talk to him. You can't do something like this over the phone."
Penny agreed and Bruce kept Penny around for another half hour, to make sure she was calm, then sent her home. As Penny was leaving, Bruce came by. The embarrassment was evident on Penny face as she looked at him and said sadly, "Thanks Bruce, I'm sorry."
"Just be calm and get home safe, OK?"
...
Penny had been home an hour. She hadn't even taken off her uniform, but went right to her cupboard and grabbed a bottle of wine, opened it and downed two glasses of wine rather quickly. She wasn't mad anymore, but more sad. She knew the wine was part of it, but couldn't decide if the rest was her embarrassment or because she felt bad about thinking Leonard could do something like that. She did know she had enough wine and put it away.
What am I going to say to Leonard? Nothing? See if he'll tell me, or do I just jump on him for seeing her, without telling me before? No, I have to trust him, he isn't the kind to do something like that. I'll just talk with him and give him some time to bring it up.
She heard the key in the door and took a deep breath. Leonard came in, he looked happy. Penny started to get angry again, but she tried not to let it to show, she wanted to give him a chance.
He came over to the couch and gave her a kiss, "Hi, pretty lady. You have a glass of wine and are still in your uniform, I'm guessing you had a rough day."
Penny appeared to remained calm, "Let's just say I had a rough afternoon."
"Well, I had an interesting afternoon, can we talk about something?"
Penny looked at him and thought, Well, that was quick. To Leonard, she simply nodded.
He came around the couch and sat down near Penny. He looked unsure and a bit nervous. Penny looked down and smiled. I should have known he'd tell me. He learned well from that mistake he made with Alex.
"Penny," he started. "Priya came to see me at the lab today."
She felt the anger building in her, but she tried to keep her voice flat, "What did she want?"
"She was embarrassed about several things," said Leonard "The cheating, not telling me she was leaving, and then leaving early. She said she felt really terrible about it, really guilty about it and just couldn't bring herself to talk to me about it after I called her to tell her about the girl from the comic book store, because she was so embarrassed."
"She was all apologetic and was begging me to forgive her. So I told her it was no longer important, I loved you, I was with you now, and I held no grudge for what happened in the past. She was very thankful, and kissed my cheek and hugged me."
Penny was still feeling anger, but simply said, "That's it?"
"Yeah, and even the hug, I pushed her away after only a couple of Mississippi's."
Penny smile at the reference. I guess her kissing his cheek could look like a kiss, and evidently Howard only saw the hug, not Leonard pushing her away. How could I have doubted him? It doesn't matter what she did, Leonard pushed her away.
"That's OK," said Penny, as her anger melted away, "You were right last night, I had nothing to worry about."
"Did you see her?" Leonard asked. "As she was leaving, she said she wanted to talk to you, so I told her you were working and she was going to stop by the Cheesecake factory."
Penny gasped. "Oh my god."
"What?
"Leonard, I was such an idiot today."
"Why do you say that?"
Penny looked down, she was embarrassed for her outburst now. "She came into the store, and I started yelling at her."
"What? Why would you do that? What did she do to you?"
She looked even more embarrassed, "She didn't do anything. I'm sorry Leonard." She looked about to cry. Howard came by to get you for lunch and called Bernadette to say he saw Priya kiss you and saw her hugging you."
"I guess he thought the kiss on the cheek was a kiss and he didn't see you break away from the hug. He called Bernadette, and she called me. I was so pissed. So when she came in I just lost it. I was calling her names telling her I was going to hurt her."
"Dammit Penny," Leonard said, looking very angry. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I know," said Penny sadly. "I should have asked you first, but when I heard that, all I could think about was when you were dating and how miserable I felt and how I thought she had stolen you from me and I thought she wanted to do it again. I guess I wanted to make sure she knew to stay away from you."
"What the hell were you thinking? I told you last night you didn't have to worry."
"I'm so sorry Leonard, I have to call Raj and find Priya so I can apologize. I had no right to ..."
There were three knocks on the door. They both were waiting to hear Sheldon's voice, but there was silence. They waited and heard two knocks.
"It's not Sheldon," said Penny as she got up and went to the door. She opened it and found herself looking directly at Priya.
There was an awkward silence as they both looked at each other, both of their faces neutral. Leonard, watching what was going on, finally said, "Why don't you both sit down."
Penny nodded and stepped back, allowing Priya to enter. Priya walked to the chair, looked at Penny and said, "May I sit?"
Penny nodded again and came to the couch, sitting next to Leonard.
After several moments of silence, Priya said, "I'm sure you're surprised to see me after this afternoon."
Penny looked embarrassed, swallowed and said, "Yes, and I'm sorry. I was totally out of line. I was reacting to something that I know now didn't happen.
Priya smiled, "Me seeing Leonard in his lab?
Penny nodded.
"I accept your apology, I can understand why you were so upset," said Priya. "I want you to know Penny, I ask for his forgiveness for the things I did when I left and after I got back to India."
"As you know, he's very forgiving, he quickly forgave me, telling me he was with and loved you. I thanked him, kissed his cheek, it's a cultural thing, and then I hugged him." She smiled wryly, "He broke the hug very quickly."
Penny smiled, "That's exactly what he told me. A few months ago, he didn't tell me of a situation, he now knows he should have told me, and he's learned from it."
"Yes, well he's always been a quick learner, hasn't he?"
"Yes, he has."
I want to tell you, Raj told me how you found out. Priya chuckled, "There's still no secrets in this group, is there."
Penny chuckled also, "No, there isn't." Penny became serious, "Leonard told me you wanted to talk to me. I won't attack you now, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, I apologized to Leonard," started Priya. "I also want to apologize to you and since Leonard's here, I want to explain some things to both of you."
Leonard looked surprised, but interested.
Penny simply said, "Go on."
"Penny, I wanted to tell you that you need to do all you can to hang on to Leonard."
Both Penny and Leonard's face registered surprise.
"I say this, as ever since I left, I've dated a variety of different guys all over the world, and I have yet to find someone like Leonard. When I left, I knew the two of you cared for each other. It's more apparent now that you care even more than you did before.
There was still surprise on Penny and Leonard's faces.
"Penny," she continued, "I'm sure you know, but Leonard is loyal, loving, caring, honest, as I said, very forgiving and he seems to have found some confidence. Also, even though we were so far apart, he refused to get sexually involved with someone else. He started, but couldn't bring himself to finish. When you find someone like that, you need to hold on to him."
"Then why didn't you stay longer and try to work it out with him, and why are you telling me? Penny asked.
"And, why did you end up sleeping with your ex-boyfriend?" added Leonard.
Priya paused, looking at both of them. "Do you remember when I asked you to tell Penny to stay away from you?"
Leonard nodded, and Priya continued, "It wasn't just arbitrary, I told you I was uncomfortable with her around. The reason why was because I could tell by the way you talked and acted around her, that you still had some strong feelings for her. I thought if I could keep you away from her, that would stop."
"Penny," she asked, "were you aware that I was offered a permanent position here?"
Penny looked shocked. "No, when"
"It was just before I ask Leonard to ask you to stay away. I hadn't told Leonard yet, I wanted to know if he could separate himself from you. Do you remember when you saw us in the restaurant?"
"Yeah."
"Just before you came in," said Priya, "I was telling Leonard about it. He informed me the day before, that he had told you to stay away. So, now that I knew he could stay away, I could tell him about the job. If I stayed, I would have had my own apartment. How long do you think it would have taken before Leonard moved in with me?"
The question froze Penny. Leonard, living with Priya, in her own apartment? She remembered the feeling when she found out Raj and Leonard had just swapped rooms, her feelings were visible on her face.
Priya smiled in understanding. "I see it upsets you."
"It upset me when I found out that Leonard was staying with you at Raj's."
"Of course," said Priya. "Anyway, I was thinking ahead to Leonard moving in with me, but to do that, I had to separate the two of you. Penny, it was nothing personal, I was just not comfortable with Leonard so close to his ex, especially since I knew he still had feelings for you. I hope you understand."
Penny, remembering her outburst earlier, said, "I think, from the restaurant you realize I wasn't comfortable when I thought you were getting close. So I do understand. I wasn't so kind with my words back then, either."
"Well, I could be sarcastic and mean back then also. After talking to Raj earlier, I do understand your outburst at the restaurant. So, when you came into the restaurant, after seeing us, I knew Leonard wasn't able to tell you to stay away.
Penny smiled, "He never did figure out how. I had to figure it out myself, and when I did I walked away."
Priya looked at Leonard with surprise, who gave her a small nod. "Why Penny?"
"Well," started Penny, "I didn't think it would be fair to Leonard, or his relationship with you, for me to hang around when his girlfriend wasn't comfortable with it. I didn't like it, I thought you were rather insecure, I thought you were bitchy, but to give you two a fair shot, I walked away."
Priya looked thoughtful, "Well, let me give you a belated thank you and apologize for not knowing how you thought about the whole thing. I was thinking you wanted to take him back, and bitchy was about the nicest thing I was thinking."
"I won't lie, I did want him back," said Penny, staring directly at Priya. "It was me who screwed that up, and I didn't fully understand my feelings, until you started dating, then I thought it was too late. My dislike of cheaters prevented me from making any kind of move. Did you know he wanted us to continue see each other as friends?" Leonard looked embarrassed.
"No, but it fits with my thoughts that he still cared for you. You walked away from that also?"
"Yes," said Penny. "It goes back to the idea that if you weren't comfortable, then it wasn't fair to you two for me to hang around."
"Well," said Priya, "about a week after the restaurant, he lied to me and he called you to help with getting Sheldon's game things back, when he knew I didn't want him to."
Both Penny and Leonard looked at her. She laughed, "Remember, that are no secrets in this group. After Raj got home I was questioning him and he finally told me the whole story."
"That was another difference between us Penny," Priya said sadly. "You would go help the guys with their stuff, I wanted nothing to do with it after seeing Raj play with it when we were kids. A bit short sighted perhaps, but what can I say? On top of that, there was also his lies to me, to cover calling you. That showed me he trusted you more than me, not really conducive to a healthy relationship."
"Then there was that night when Bernadette and Howard came over." Priya pointed at Leonard, "You mentioned that Penny hadn't said anything to you about getting a part in a movie. You gave yourself away that night Leonard. Seems you were at least talking to her."
Leonard looked down, Penny was smiling.
"And Penny, I'm sorry, but I didn't think you got a part in a movie." Priya continued. "Bernadette kept changing her story and it just didn't make sense. I thought you were trying to make either me or Leonard jealous, but, by then it didn't matter. Between everything I just talked about, I started to realize that Leonard and I probably weren't meant to be."
"I had already told my company that I wasn't going to accept the job here in LA. The only things left were to explain it to Leonard and find a way to reconcile with you and get you back to the group, where you belonged. When we were at the hospital and you suggested we find some real coffee, that was my chance to repair what I had broken, unintentionally at the beginning, I assure you."
Penny chuckled, "I was trying to find a way to get you to let me back in the group. Looks like we were working on the same thing and didn't even know it."
Priya smiled, "Well, we got to actually talk for the first time, and, of course, it was fun talking about Leonard."
"Yeah, it was," said Penny, returning the smile. "You know, the foreplay time has really dropped, but he has incre..."
There was a cough from Leonard and both women looked at each other, with smirks.
Priya continue, "Well, from talking to you, I realized that you still had strong feelings for him. It was so cute. Every time you said something about him your eyes lit up, just like Leonard's did when he talked about you."
I just couldn't figure out how to tell Leonard. When he found out from my parents, I panicked and ran into the bedroom. After that, I simply didn't think it mattered. With you two able to see each other again, and Leonard knowing I was leaving, I figured you be back together before the summer ended, so there was really no reason stay, so I left early.
Priya turned to Leonard, "I was surprised you kept the relationship alive with skyping and calling. I didn't understand why you didn't break it off and gotten back together with Penny, since I knew you two cared for each other so much.
Penny and Leonard looked at each other. Leonard spoke first. "I would rather not get into it, let's just say that we each had some issues we needed to work through before getting back together."
"Most of them were mine." Penny added. "Also, there was a situation that only the two of us know about. The others don't, so there are some secrets in the group." There was the slightest nod from Leonard, indicating to Penny that he understood she was hiding what really happened. "That situation made it kind of weird between us and took about six months to get through it."
"Is that why you kept talking to me, Leonard?"
"Well, it was part of it. To be honest, not knowing any of this, I still thought we had a chance. When I met that girl, Penny told me I needed to break up with you if I wanted to go out with the other girl."
Priya looked at Penny, "Thank you, although I see it didn't work."
It was Leonard who answered, "No, but I felt so guilty, even with just kissing her."
"Well, if it's any consolation, after I told you what happened with Sanjay, I realized how unfair I had been to you, by not telling you before I left. I didn't feel guilty, because I knew we were never going to work out and I thought by telling you what happened we would be over and the two of you would get back together."
"You know, I've been in town three times since I left," Priya said. "I couldn't bring myself to find you and talk to you, to explain everything. I was just so embarrassed, because I realized I hurt you. So, again, please accept my apologies."
Turning to Penny she said, "I can understand you feeling hurt by some of my actions, but I feel that those actions were proper for someone in a relationship. I think you can understand me wanting Leonard to stop seeing you. We both said things that were bad, but I think we both agree it was the situation."
Penny nodded.
"Again, all I can offer you, as a way of apology, is to repeat what I said earlier. Don't let this guy go. You'll regret it."
Penny smiled, "I made that mistake once before and I paid for it for two years of misery and loneliness. I'm not making that mistake again, but I want to thank you for making me even more sure. It's not too often an ex gives such a rousing approval to the new girlfriend."
Priya looked at them, they were holding hands. She felt good about coming here. She stood and said, "I guess it's time for me to go. I don't want to overstay my welcome."
Leonard and Penny both stood. Priya held out her hand, but Penny took two steps and gave her a hug. "Thanks."
Priya said, "Take care of him." Priya backed up, she saw Penny was nodding and smiling.
Leonard walked over and hugged her also. Priya said, "And you take care of her."
"You bet," said Leonard.
Priya walked to the door and opened it, she turned and said, "Goodbye."
She was about to walk out the door, when Penny spoke, "Priya?"
"Yes, Penny?"
"Why don't you come by on Wednesday and you can eat with all of us."
Priya smiled and said, "Thanks, I think that would be wonderful. See you then."
"Oh, and take those extra weeks, enjoy Southern California, again, for a while," said Penny.
Priya smiled and nodded. "Goodbye for now."
Leonard and Penny said together, "Goodbye."
Priya turned, walked out, closing the door behind her.
Penny and Leonard looked at each other and smiled.