Chapter Four

Apartment 4B

Missy knocked softly on Penny's apartment door as she tested the knob to see if it was unlocked. The knob turned and the door swung open quietly. She saw that Penny had already grabbed a bottle of vodka and a half gallon of orange juice from the refrigerator and was busy preparing to drown her troubles.

"Penny are you alright?"

Penny looked up from her kitchen counter and did her best to put on a fake smile that ended up looking like a crazed grin. She held up the glass in front of her. "No, but I will be."

"Hon, I don't think that's the answer to your problem." Missy said as she pointed to the vodka bottle.

Penny looked down at her hands, one grasping a glass, the other the bottle of booze. Her vision blurred from tears and she let out a chocked sob. "I don't know what to do."

"There's a lot of that going around today." Missy walked over to where Penny was standing and took the glass and vodka from her and set them on the counter. She wrapped her arms around Penny and gave her a sisterly hug.

"Thanks Missy."

Missy led her over to the sofa and sat her down. "Now why don't you tell me what happened and we can figure out what's what."

Penny pulled out a wad of tissues from a Kleenex box to dry her eyes. "Leonard cheated on me."

Missy had heard Leonard's protestations that he hadn't cheated. "Are you sure Penny? Its just that Leonard doesn't seem to be the type of guy who would do that."

"He kissed her." Penny sighed.

Now we're starting to get somewhere Missy thought. "Who's her? And is that all he did? I mean…he didn't…you know…sleep with her?"

"It's Stephanie, she and Leonard used to date. She was practically living with him last year." Penny started pulling apart the tissue in her hands. "He must not have been over her. She's a doctor. They must have run into each other at the hospital.

Missy nodded in realization. "That's why Leonard said it was all Sheldon's fault."

Penny whipped her gaze up to meet Missy's. "How typical, blaming Sheldon for having appendicitis, like it was an evil plan or something. God, to even think I was glad she worked there!"

Missy patted her shoulder to try to soothe her. "Now, he couldn't have done much since Saturday, could he? He's either been at work or with us the whole time."

"I know you're probably right. It's just…it's just after what happened with my ex-boyfriend Kurt. When he cheated on me it started with phone calls to another girl. And…and…how could he? Penny let out another fresh sob.

Missy knew she wasn't talking about Kurt anymore. "How could he what?"

"Leonard kissed her! Well, he said she kissed him. But why didn't he stop her? And why are they texting each other?"

Missy didn't have an answer for her.

"You know what the worst thing is? I could have handled it if he told me right away that they kissed. I would have laughed it off. But the fact that he kept it a secret and then lied to me. It makes me wonder what else he's lied to me about." Penny frowned at the thought.

"Maybe he thought he was trying to spare your feelings?" Missy said it, although she didn't believe it. Most men were weasels.

Penny shook her head. "Well, I'd say that backfired in a big way. What was he thinking?"

Missy drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Can I ask you a question Penny? And please don't be offended by it."

"You can ask, and I'll try not to be." Penny said, with eyebrows raised.

"Was it your heart he hurt, or was it your pride?" Missy asked pointedly.

Penny was immediately put on the defensive and prickled at the question. She wanted to deny that he hurt her pride. She thought it over and over in her mind. She couldn't be mad at Missy for asking, she was just as blunt as Sheldon could be. "A bit of both I guess."

Missy nodded as asked another question. "Then can you work through it and put it past you?"

Penny seriously thought about it. "At this point, I'm not sure."

Missy took another deep breath. "Do you love Leonard?"

Penny fretted at the tissue in her hands again, avoiding Missy's eyes. She didn't want to answer her, because in truth she wasn't sure that she did, and she wasn't ready to voice it yet.

Missy got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchenette. She pulled another glass from the cupboard and started to make two screwdrivers. "Well Penny, I think it's going to be a long night talkin', and I don't think one of these will kill either one of us."

Apartment 4A

Sheldon stood at the threshold of his apartment for a full five minutes after his sister crossed the hall over to Penny's. He was still unsure of what to do. Penny was upset, and she was his best friend. He knew he should try and comfort her, but he knew it was beyond the realm of his knowledge. He thought it best that Missy take care of her as she had had her share of heartbreaks and would know how to handle it. But as he stood there something started to ache inside him. Leonard had done this. Sheldon had buried down his own anger after what Leonard did to his monopole experiment. He also had ignored the fact that Leonard had not been there for him when he became ill. This was different, Leonard had hurt Penny. He would make him pay, he just didn't know how yet. He shut the door and strode quickly through the apartment to Leonard's bedroom door.

Knock, knock, knock

"Leonard?"

"Go away Sheldon."

Knock, knock, knock

"Leonard?"

"I said, go away!"

Knock, knock, knock

"Leonard?"

"I'm not talking to you Sheldon!"

Sheldon looked hard at the door. "Well, then maybe you'll listen. You made Penny cry. That is unacceptable Leonard!"

Leonard wouldn't answer him. Inside the room he sat on his bed and held his head in his hands wondering how everything had unraveled so quickly.

Sheldon stood outside the door for a few more moments. When Leonard made no sign that he was going to open the door, Sheldon turned and went into his own room. He pulled the small blue gift box from his jacket pocket and placed it on his bureau. There would be another day to give it to Penny.