The subliminal message operation

Thursday evening at the Cheesecake Factory, and Penny picked up her tip then after looking at it, began clearing the table. "wow, a full tip, that's the first one today and my shift is nearly over, great!", she thought as she cleared, then after replacing with clean cutlery she headed back and began placing the dirty cutlery into a wash basket.

"Hey Penny, are you up for Tina's leaving party Friday?".

"I thought Tina was leaving in two weeks time though, Jenny", Penny replied as she worked.

"Yeah she is, But this Friday is the only one we are not all working so it has to be tomorrow night, C'mon girl you up for it or not?".

Penny considered for a moment 'It would be good to go out, it might take my mind off a few things'.

"Yeah why not, OK you're on".

"great girl, then we will all trip the light fantastic, get drunk, and see what hunky guys are available", Jenny said with a beaming smile of enthusiasm.

Strangely Jenny's words filled Penny not with excitement but rather sadness, but she quickly shook the feeling off and forced herself to look forward to being the Penny as she was in the old days, the party animal.

She met up with Jenny, Tina and Bernadette outside the club, the girls were in high spirits, particularly Tina who had got offered the production assistant's job at KACL in Seattle.

Penny did not admit though that it had taken her a couple of glasses of vodka though to enable her to face going, 'What is wrong with me', she thought 'I used to be the first one to hit the clubs now I feel so, so' ,but Penny could not find the right words to explain how she felt.

"Penny, are you OK?", Bernadette whispered, noticing that Penny did not look at all enthusiastic in the evening's events.

Penny could never hide anything from Bernadette and was just about to explain when the doors opened and they all filed in. conversation then became impossible due to the loud music so they headed for the bar to order some drinks.

Penny ordered a glass of Chardonnay to start the evening off, when the guy standing next to her offered to pay for her drink, Immediately alarm bells rang inside her head and she declined his offer by telling him that she was going steady with someone.

The guy trying to salvage his ego told her "Well it's your loss honey", "I'm not your Honey, never in a million years pal", Penny angrily rounded on him.

The guy moved off to try his luck elsewhere, while Penny felt someone tapping her on her shoulder turning around she saw Jenny and the way she was gesticulating, told Penny that the guy was gorgeous and Penny must be crazy, then Jenny and Tina moved to the dance floor.

Penny sipped her drink and considered, 'why did I do that, hell I would have jumped at the chance a couple of years ago, but now I seem to have no enthusiasm at all for meeting someone new. And so the evening wore on.

Penny danced, drank and got hit on twice more but was just as brusque with those two guys as she was with the first one.

Penny drank, danced ,drank then danced some more. But all the while her heart was really not into it and all the time she was wishing she had stayed at home, at least then she was near. 'what did I mean near', She puzzled 'near my bed, my T.V., my couch?', Penny really did not know?.

Finally a halt was called to the evening when Tina became too drunk to continue, so Jenny took her home. While Penny also in much the same state was given a lift home by Bernadette.

And on entering her apartment Penny crashed fully clothed onto her bed and remained there until the morning.

It was the sun streaking through a gap in the blind shining fully on Penny's face that finally woke her up.

Penny groaned, once again she had a splitting hangover, a foul taste in her mouth, the empty feeling of loneliness. Before she would pick up a guy just so that she wouldn't feel so lonely through the night. Only for her to feel terrible and wretched the next morning angry at her own weakness, And she usually found that most of them soon left her, as soon as the sun came up. And yet she had brushed aside three would be boyfriends, for reasons Penny just couldn't understand?.

She thought back to occasions when she met some previous boyfriends, Kurt, She shuddered, Mike, Dave, and then a huge smile broke out on her face as she thought of Leonard.

Suddenly an epiphany struck her, 'It's because they're not him, that's why I did not want to know them', Penny realised.

When the first guy offered to buy her a drink, it was Leonard's brown eyes and tousled hair she wanted to see. When she was dancing It was Leonard that she wanted to hold her close and when the last guy groped her ass after she gave him the Spanish archer (El Bow) the hard slap he got round his face was not only because of his outrageous behaviour but also because she considered that her body belonged to Leonard now and no on else.

'I belong to Leonard, I want Leonard, no I need Leonard', she wailed, then collapsed sobbing broken heartedly in anguish. Once she was all cried out but still feeling pretty miserable Penny considered what she could possibly do to get Leonard back in her life.

She would ask him if it wasn't for her fear of his rejection of her, a rejection Penny would be unable to bear, she'd hoped that once he was over Priya then he would ask her out on a date again , but Penny could see no sign of Leonard doing so at all, perhaps she had hurt him so badly over Wheaton's cruel hints in her ear convincing her to dump Leonard, that Leonard could not take no more, and then when she thought of that drunken night with Raj in Leonard's own bed, even though Penny and Leonard were not a couple at the time and that nothing had happened between her and Raj, it still cut her to the quick that she had betrayed Leonard.

'Things are such a mess. What do I do?, I want him so badly now it hurts like hell', she thought then she collapsed into a fresh storm of weeping.

After recovering a little, Penny forced herself to shower and to get herself a little something to eat, she had just made coffee when her doorbell rang.

"Bernadette", "I didn't expect to see you here today?, I thought you would be at home recovering from last night?", Penny told her in surprise.

"I drove last night remember, so I stayed on non alcoholic drinks. Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure, sorry, I just made coffee would you like some?", Penny asked her.

"Yes please, so what's wrong Penny?", Bernadette asked determined to get to the bottom of Penny's behaviour last night.

"Nothings wrong, everything is fine, really", Penny replied defensively.

"Don't give me that Penny, I know you too well by now, Tina was drinking to celebrate, while you, it seems were drinking to drown your sorrows, so what's up?"

Penny's answer was a sob and she began crying on Bernadette's shoulder, who had moved towards Penny at the first sign that Penny was crying.

"It, It's Leonard", Penny brokenly began. "Leonard?, What's Leonard done to you?", Bernadette asked her in surprise.

"N,n, nothing, It's me, I want him so badly but I am afraid to tell him in case he rejects me", Penny continued.

"Penny, Leonard cares for you I'm sure he wouldn't reject you if you asked him", Bernadette assured her.

"If he cares for me then why has he not asked me for a date yet then?", Penny asked her in anguish.

Bernadette couldn't answer that one, but asked Penny again if Penny was sure she couldn't talk to Leonard herself. Penny didn't need to say anything, the look of despair on Penny's face told Bernadette all she needed to know.

Later:

"Hello, Amy Farrah-Fowler speaking, may I help you?".

"Hi Amy It's me Bernadette", and Bernadette related to Amy, Penny's problem.

"I see, OK, leave it with me, I'll think of something to get Leonard to ask Penny for a date, ", then suddenly, "Of course, I've got it! subliminal advertising", Amy said.

"Whaaat", Bernadette puzzled.

"You'll see", Amy told her mysteriously.

Amy though first tried speaking outright to Leonard, about him seeing Penny again. But Leonard's answer to her made her feel like banging Leonard and Penny's heads together. So Amy decided to put her plan into action.

Leonard wearily opened his door to the apartment he shared with Dr Sheldon Cooper, entered, then threw his bag down by his desk then collapsed onto the sofa in depression.

"Ah, Leonard you're here, look what Amy's sent me, Isn't it great?", Sheldon asked him.

"What is it Sheldon?", Leonard warily asked, hoping that Sheldon was not going to give one of his long lectures in explanation.

"It's a picture of a penny farthing, isn't it super, One wheel is quite tiny while the front wheel is huge, isn't Amy thoughtful to send me this gift, it's so nice of her".

And while Sheldon swooned over his picture, Leonard thought of a different Penny, he wished he knew if she still had feelings for him, if he could know for sure, Leonard would ask her out for a date in an instant, but he was afraid to ask her in case she turned him down. "After all, let's face it I look nothing like the guys she likes to date, they're all taller than me for a start", he thought sadly.

The next night was date night for Sheldon and Amy, and at Amy's suggestion they hung the picture in a position from where it could be seen as One opened the front door. Then at Amy's suggestion, Sheldon and herself had a game of general knowledge quiz. And as Leonard had returned at 10:30pm from his lab, (which was the only place he could go to avoid being the third wheel).

When Amy suddenly asked Sheldon "OK Sheldon,which was the first postage stamp to be issued?".

"Why Amy that's easy, it's the Penny Black which was first issued in 1840" Sheldon scoffed.

"So Sheldon your answer is the Penny Black, is that correct?".

"Oh my Amy, I just said it, haven't I, yes it's the Penny Black", Sheldon gaped at her incredulously.

"I'm sorry Sheldon but I do like to make sure of my facts", Amy explained.

Sheldon beamed at her "I'm sorry, and yes you are quite right to do so Amy Farrah-Fowler. I too always like to check that my facts are accurate too.

"Alright Sheldon, so we have the date for the Penny Black at 1840, I didn't know that Sheldon", Amy said, with a surreptitious glance at Leonard, who was making himself a drink.

"It's always my pleasure to educate, Amy Farrah-Fowler", Sheldon beamed, as proud as punch.

Leonard took his drink into his room thinking how weird those two were, then lay on his bed and for some reason began to think about Penny.

When 'knock knock Leonard', thrice came to his ears.

"What is it Sheldon?, Leonard asked, a little annoyed as the image of Penny faded from his mind.

"I think Amy is going mad", Sheldon told him seriously.

"You're both mad, Sheldon. Now what are you on about?".

"Well when she came in she made such a fuss over getting one penny change from a purchase she had made. She was just going on and on and on, saying 'one Penny Sheldon, what am I supposed to do with one Penny, I ask you, one Penny?' do you think Amy is alright?", Sheldon asked Leonard, the concern clearly evident on his face.

"No Sheldon I think you'll probably find She's OK, I too find it a little annoying too in getting one penny change sometimes, I don't know why they price things like that, like say $4.99, nope I've never understood it myself ", thank you Leonard, that is very reassuring, I thought for a moment I would have to replace her.

"I don't think you can Sheldon, Amy's the only one", Leonard reasoned, imagining the huge difficulty Sheldon would have finding another like Amy.

Sheldon Left feeling much relieved. Leaving Leonard to return once again to his thoughts.

'One Penny, what am I to do with one Penny', Amy's words ran through his mind "Yeah, What am I to do with Penny", he thought to himself, but Leonard could find no answer. Then thinking again about the huge difficulty Sheldon would have finding another like Amy, then he found his thoughts turning to the huge difficulty, He would have in finding another Penny. He had tried hard with Priya, but found his love just was not as strong as it always has been for Penny.

So when he had heard of Priya's betrayal from her own lips, it was relief he felt rather than anger, that their relationship was at an end.

Leonard turned off his lamp, turned over and went to sleep. And as he slept he kept hearing those words again continually flowing through his mind, 'One Penny, date Penny, what can you do about Penny?".

Leonard awoke to the sound of his alarm. And strangely a strong determination to ask his wonderful Penny for a date had now entered his mind, replacing the fear of rejection that had always been present before.

Some days later Leonard and Sheldon were returning from another day at Cal-Tech and were walking up the stairs to apartment 4a.

And Leonard trying to ascertain from Sheldon what take out they should go for when Sheldon as usual completely ignoring Leonard's question began talking a load of drivel about lizards when Sheldon noticed a large flat parcel standing against the door to 4a and then went into ecstasy that his life size cut out of Mr Spock had arrived.

Leonard meanwhile had turned to look longingly towards apartment 4b to see Penny, Amy, and Bernadette unpacking a new fruit and vegetable Juicer then realised that Penny was looking at him, Her eyes wide, and a broad smile on her face. What he could not see was that her heart had leapt inside her chest at the sight of him and a powerful longing had appeared inside her.

Leonard then firmly made up his mind, saying to Sheldon, "Hang on", he went to 4b and asked his one Penny for a date.

Amy and Bernadette unnoticed by either Penny or Leonard winked at each other.