"You look so much better, Leonard," exclaimed Dr. Sussman as he walked into the examination room. "How do you feel?"

"I feel really pretty good, all things considered."

"And your voice certainly sounds stronger." He examined Leonard's bruises, looked carefully at his throat, took off the splint on his finger.

"You're healing very well, Leonard. Seriously, we couldn't ask for more encouraging progress. I think Penny has magical healing powers," the doctor said, smiling at the young couple.

"Definitely," Leonard grinned. "But, Doctor Sussman, I wanted to ask when I could get off this full bed rest regime and go out? It's getting a little claustrophobic in the apartment."

"I can understand that. How much are you sleeping now?"

"Oh, probably 10 or 12 hours a day," Leonard responded.

Penny shook her head sternly. "More like 16."

"All right," the doctor said. "That's your body saying you need more time. So I'm afraid I'm going to insist you stay on complete bed rest for at least another week. We can reconsider when I see you next week. Anyway, for now let me have Lourdes give you a full workover and I'll talk to you afterwards." He left the room to the nurse and the couple.

A moment later the receptionist knocked and entered, and asked Penny to come to the front desk to deal with some insurance details, as Lourdes took Leonard's vitals. Penny stepped out to find Dr. Sussman waiting for her in the hall, motioning to her silently.

"That was just a ruse for me to be able to talk to you alone. Come down to my office," he said.

They sat and he looked over Leonard's file. "He's doing great physically. But I'm worried about his state of mind after a trauma like what he's suffered. In fact, I did a little research – this sort of thing is not my specialty – and almost everything in the literature says that strangulation is one of the most traumatic forms of violence. So how would you assess his emotional state?"

"I really wanted to talk to you about that, too, doctor. He's in very good spirits, and we're getting along fantastically. But he keeps having these really terrifying nightmares. Only during the daytime, though, for some reason. I'm worried about them. They're not going away, and they're not getting any better."

"That's certainly to be expected, but it's definitely something that needs attention. And," he said gently, "this applies to you, too. You experienced a terrible trauma, both with the attack on you and with what happened to Leonard. Have you been having any of these sorts of nightmares?"

"No," said Penny, but she squirmed a little. "I do worry a lot. A lot more than I used to. And sometimes I wake up at night and I get scared that Leonard isn't there and I have to make sure he's all right."

"That's completely normal. More than normal, it would be surprising if you weren't affected. But I really think both of you need to talk to a professional to help you through this time, even if it's only for now. I consulted with a colleague and put together a list of therapists who are in-network, and who have experience with post-traumatic stress." He handed her a sheet with a half-dozen names on it. "I want you to start on this. I'm not sure whether it makes the most sense for the two of you to see somebody together, or to see the same person but separately, or to see different people – maybe you can talk to someone on the list about that. But you should definitely try to find somebody that you are comfortable with, and start as soon as you can. And once Leonard's able to get around, I want him to start seeing somebody. It's really important, Penny. He's healing physically, but the emotional healing is just as important. For both of you. OK?"

Penny nodded.

Dr. Sussman looked at her intently. "I'm serious. You have to promise me you'll do this. The psychological part is probably the most important thing now. I want to know about what you've done by next week. I'm not trying to be mean, and I wouldn't mention this to Leonard yet, but it really is important."

"I understand," Penny said meekly.

"OK," said the doctor, less sternly now. "You two are really doing great, all things considered. And I'm sure you'll be fine. But you have to be careful, and be conscious of all the issues that might arise."

"Do you think I should try to get Leonard to talk with me about what happened?" Penny asked.

"I wouldn't force the issue. That is, don't ask him to talk about it. But if he wants to, by all means, listen. It needs to be voluntary. He'll know what he can take. If he feels it is too much, he won't try to talk about it. So let him take the lead."

"I'm sure you two will get through this fine. You're both very strong people, and your relationship is clearly very close. And you're doing a wonderful job, Penny, truly wonderful. Just be sure to take care of yourself, too. OK?"

Penny nodded.

"And now let's get back to Leonard. You go in first; I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

On the way back home, Leonard groaned, "Another week in that apartment. I guess the only saving grace is that your parents will be there. I'm really excited to meet your mother, and I can't wait to see your father again. You know, the last time I saw him was when you pulled that stunt pretending we were still together. And you know what the last thing he said to me was?"

"No, what?"

"He said, 'Don't give up on her.' And guess what: I didn't, and I finally wore her down."

"I know," Penny mock-sighed, "I just figured it was easier to give in. But I guess it all worked out."

Her phone rang just as they walked into the apartment. It was Howard, asking if he could come over then. It seemed strange to both of them, during work hours, but he was insistent.

Thirty minutes later Howard knocked. Leonard was already back in bed, resting but not asleep. He was as curious as Penny about what was up. As Howard and Penny walked back toward the bedroom, Penny asked Howard if he could stay with Leonard Sunday so she could take her parents around. Howard was happy to do it; he suggested bringing Bernadette or Raj along to keep them company as well.

Once in the room, Howard got more serious. "I'm worried about Sheldon. He's been acting very strange – I mean strange, even for him. He's really angry at everyone. I think he blames us all for Amy wanting a break. He's saying some pretty awful things about her. But more than that, sometimes he doesn't seem quite all there. His conversations wander and sometimes he doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think we all know what's going on with him, but what can we do?"

Penny and Leonard looked at each other. Penny was first to speak: "Frankly, I think we're at a loss, too. Both of us have tried to talk to him, but he just got angry at us both. I know he's suffering – he showed me a kind of diary he had written, and it was really pretty disturbing. But he just doesn't seem able to let anybody help him."

Leonard repeated what he had told Penny: "His pride is his worst enemy. I don't know if he can move forward unless he admits that he made some pretty serious mistakes, and we all know how hard it is for Sheldon to admit mistakes. Howard, I have to say that I don't have any good ideas. Maybe the only thing we can do is let some more time go by. Maybe that will give him some distance."

They talked some more, without concluding much other than that they had to make it clear to Sheldon that they were willing to be supportive. Howard left, and Leonard went down for the afternoon as Penny straightened up and started planning for her parents' visit. She realized that they hadn't mentioned it to Sheldon, and recognized with regret that he would not be happy. She resolved to tell him that evening.

Sheldon came home and Penny ordered takeout for the two of them – Leonard had eaten earlier, before going down for another nap. Over dinner she told Sheldon about her parents' visit. Sheldon was visibly unhappy about it, but Penny assured him that they were staying in a hotel and would not be around much. He finished his dinner and once more disappeared into his bedroom.

After cleaning up, Penny joined Leonard in their bedroom, shaking her head.

"Bad interaction with Sheldon again. He really didn't react well to my telling him about my parents. But what can we do?"

"Nothing, Penny. We just have to deal with it as best we can."

Leonard was still very tired from the trip to the doctor, and they got ready for bed.

"Let's talk," Penny began another of her Momentum Conversations. The topic suggested itself. "Leonard Hofstadter, how are you feeling about Sheldon?"

Leonard sighed deeply. "I'm very torn. On the one hand, I feel really sorry for him. He seemed to be getting along so well with Amy, and really making progress toward being more normal – terrible thing to say, but it's how I see it. He's brilliant, he's always been brilliant, he'll always be brilliant. But I don't think he will be a whole person if he doesn't get past some of his problems. And Amy was helping with that. A lot, I think. So I know he's suffering."

"So what's the other hand?" Penny asked.

"He's just getting more difficult. It all seems to be going backwards; he seems to be regressing. The way he's responding reminds me of some of the worst times early on, years ago. The intolerance, the inability to see anybody else's point of view. I could take it ten years ago, maybe even a few years ago, but I'm not sure I can put up with much of it any more. We've all matured, and I thought Sheldon had too – but this past week I'm not so sure. And I don't know if I can go back to the Sheldon of eight or ten years ago."

They were both silent. Penny pursed her lips. "It's so tough. And it's like you say. It's terrible to see him suffer, but he makes it hard to be on his side. Plus for me it's doubly hard: I really like Amy and I know exactly where she's coming from. But I can't tell Sheldon that or he'd probably never speak to me again. So I feel helpless."

"Helpless is exactly right. I guess it's like we were saying with Howard: maybe all we can do is give him time, and space, and hope he can figure at least some of it out on his own."

Penny nodded. "Plus I think I may be able to push things a little from the Amy end. She already said she was willing to talk to him, and at least with me one of Sheldon's biggest beefs was that she wouldn't talk. So maybe when they start talking again he'll calm down. But he'll really have to watch himself: she's got a short fuse now."

Leonard agreed. "She has good reasons. But I think she was happy with Sheldon a lot of the time. I hope they work it out. For their sake. And, I have to admit, a little bit for ours. If they were happy, and together, it might make it easier for us to move ahead with our own plans."

She smiled. "That would be nice. And now, time to sleep."