A/N: I do not own The Big Bang Theory. This is a fan work not done for profit.
"Sheldon?"
"Yes, Leonard?"
"Could you come talk to Penny?" The voice on the other side of the door hesitated. "We had an argument over her dishes."
"Why would I need to talk to her? You're the one involved in a dispute wither her."
"Because she's locked herself in the bathroom," he admitted, "and she won't come out. I thought that she might listen to you."
Leonard barely had time to stand back before the door to what had been his room, but was now Sheldon's, was thrown open and Sheldon flew out.
It hadn't been hard to convince her to part with things like her couch and microwave. They already had those things. Parting with smaller things set her off. There had been tears as they had packed away her pots and pans to donate them to the Goodwill. None of them really cooked, but the pots and pans Leonard's mother had nagged him into buying when he first moved to California were much nicer than any of Penny's. There was no space for two sets which they would never use. Penny herself had suggested getting rid of them, but that did not stop the tears from coming as she stacked them in the box.
He knocked three times on the bathroom door and called her name.
"What?" she snapped from inside.
"I would like to speak to you about the plate situation."
"Alright, but I'm not coming out."
Inside of the bathroom she struggled with the lock and finally finding it unlocked, cracked the door open only enough for Sheldon to slip inside.
With him inside she slammed the door shut and stood against it.
"Sheldon, all of imy stuff/i is being given away. All of your stuff is still here."
"Of course, Penny. There was no point in keeping all of your things as we have neither the space nor the need for those them. And may I point out that not all of your things have been given away? You still have all of your clothes, DVDs," he began to tick off items on his fingers, "CDs, house plants…"
"That isn't what I meant, Sheldon. All the stuff that made my apartment my home is gone. Everything here is you guys'." She threw up her hands. "Nothing in the apartment says 'Penny lives here'."
"I believe your clothes hanging in the closet say that."
"Most people don't spend time in closets. It doesn't feel like home."
"Are you familiar with the expression 'home is where the heart is'? As I understand it, that adage applies to this situation."
"I know, but it just doesn't feel like home."
"What would make it 'feel like home'? Would you like to hang up that awful Mucha print you had hanging in your bedroom?"
"Mucha?"
Sheldon sighed and attempted not to roll his eyes. He would lecture her later on the history of the Art Nouveau movement. "The one with the lady covered in lilies."
"I guess that would be nice… I really want to hang up my curtains."
"Well why didn't you say so?"
"I don't know." She backed away from the door and leaned against the sink. "This whole thing has been so stressful… I don't feel like I've been in control of anything. Everything just happened so suddenly. It feels like I've just been sitting there while everyone else made decisions for me."
"You agreed to getting rid of most of your things."
"But everything else. No working, no lifting heavy objects, and now I have to lay in bed all day? I don't know how much more I can take."
"Those are recommendations made by your doctor to keep you healthy. I can understand why being ordered to stay in bed all day would be annoying, but it is in your best interest. Besides, you only have a month left."
"Stuck in bed all day—it feels like an eternity."
"It only feels like an eternity. If that is all, I'll go tell Leonard to hang the curtains." He squeezed past her and opened the door.
"Wait for me." Penny said. "I wanna watch."