A/N: Hello again! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, alerted, and in general waited for the next installment of my little work. Your feedback has been so amazing!

I apologize for the delay – what can I say? Real life has a way of commanding priorities over fanfiction, sad as it is to admit.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's shorter than I originally intended, but I think it covers what I needed it to and sets up the next chapter nicely.

As always, I don't claim ownership of The Big Bang Theory, the characters, or settings. Any resemblance to any real people, places, or things is entirely coincidental.

No beta suffered through my scribbles.

Enjoy!


Knock. Knock. Knock. "Bernadette and Howard."

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Bernadette and Howard."

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Bernadette and Howard."

Sheldon stood outside Bernadette's apartment door, knowing Howard was having dinner with his fiancé. Hopefully his visit was timed for after their meal. He didn't want to burden their time together with his truculent roommate. Bernadette opened the door quickly enough that he knew she'd been waiting for him to complete his ritual.

"Hi, Sheldon. Come on in," she greeted with a smile. Howard had filled her in on the physicist's concerns on Leonard's erratic behavior after the Dinner Incident, so she could guess the approximate reason for his visit.

"Thank you," he said quietly as he entered their apartment.

Noting the visitor, Howard moved out of the kitchen to the living area. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

Sheldon sat down on a chair while his two hosts took either side of a couch. "My fears regarding Leonard's increasingly disturbing behavior have been proven true," he said to Howard.

Bernadette looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Sheldon looked grim. "I pulled up the GPS data from the chips hidden in various items of his and saw that he indeed was following Penny's movements for the entire week."

"That skirt-chasing son of a bitch is STALKING her?" Bernadette exclaimed.

The high-pitched explosion of profanity from the usually calm Bernadette had Sheldon's face twitching in an effort to hide a smile. "That would appear to be the case," he confirmed.

"So what happened?" Howard asked after taking his fiance's hand to calm her down.

"He stormed home after Penny's manager called the police. Apparently the Cheesecake Factory management had also noticed that Leonard was spending a significant amount of time there. He and I had a rather heated conversation about the likelihood of his being 'meant to be' with Penny, after which I informed him of the trackers," Sheldon answered his two friends.

"Aren't you worried about him finding and disabling the chips somehow?" Howard wondered.

"Give me some credit here, Howard. I only told him about half of the ways I have of tracking him," Sheldon scolded after rolling his eyes.

Bernadette looked confused. "Is that even legal?"

"It's in the Roommate Agreement. Leonard is always so impatient. He signs forms without examining them fully, even after Priya picked the last one apart. He even signed a sub-clause that I can lock him up and call a zoo if I suspect he's turning into a werewolf," Sheldon said with an evil grin.

Both Howard and Bernadette burst out laughing. "That's awesome," Howard breathed.

Looking concerned, Bernadette turned to face Sheldon as Howard's phone rang. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

Sheldon watched Howard go into the kitchen to take the call, giving himself and Bernadette a measure of privacy. He turned to regard his…friend. Yes, she was his friend. Bernadette was a recent but welcome addition to their group through her connections to both Howard and Penny. She was intelligent enough to maintain conversation with himself, Raj, and Amy but down to earth enough to talk shoes with Penny. "For once, I'm not sure. After what happened at the last meal we shared as a group, Penny should be less likely to begin another ill-fated relationship with Leonard. As for Leonard himself, he is aware that I know of his movements, so hopefully his actions will be more circumspect, especially in light of his recent conversation with the police. In any event, I'm prepared to cite recent events as enough reason to evict him from the apartment if he continues down this path."

At that moment, Howard rejoined them. "That was Raj. Apparently there's some kind of emergency with one of his comic books and he needs me over there. Are you two going to be okay while I'm gone?"

"Yeah, we'll just hang out and talk about this whole Leonard, Sheldon, and Penny situation," Bernadette said with a smile.

Howard looked uncertain, not wanting to miss out on any vital information, but the look in his fiance's eyes told him she wanted some privacy. He shrugged halfheartedly before giving her a kiss and exchanging nods with Sheldon.

When the door closed behind him, Bernadette sat silently for a moment, watching her friend. Free of twitches and tics, he was apparently very serious about his words. More than his physical calm, the look of quiet certainty in his eyes convinced her. Still, she had to push just a little bit to see if Sheldon was aware of his own motivations. "Do you even know why you're deliberately wrecking a friendship of almost a decade?"

He nodded. "Penny is a creature of light and joy. She deserves to be happier than she was with Leonard."

With a shake of her head, Bernadette kept up her line of questioning. "No way, buster. I'm not buying it. Why do you want Penny to be happy? Give me the real reasons here."

Sheldon heaved a resigned sigh and stared at the tips of his shoes before meeting Bernadette's eyes. "From the day she moved in I've been attracted to her. What man wouldn't? She is ethereal, with beauty that rivals the sunrise, but at the same time she's hard as adamantium, challenging everything I thought about the universe and myself. It's too much to hope that she would be interested in a romantic relationship with someone like me. I'm awkward around other people, I prefer my life to be set in routines, and I love all things related to comic books and superheroes. If all I can do is ensure that she doesn't descend into the pit of unfulfilling drunken sex again, it's worth it."

Bernadette stared at him in wonder. She hadn't been around Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, Howard, and Penny for as long as most of the group, but in that time she'd seen how Sheldon and Penny had interacted. For Sheldon to admit attraction and be willing to sacrifice his oldest friend was a sign of much deeper feelings. He's probably not even aware how much he loves her, she reflected.

"I have one or two ideas that might help, if Leonard continues to be a problem. There are a couple experimental drugs around work that no one would notice a pill or two missing," she said with a mischievous wink.


After the blowup, things calmed down for a couple weeks. Penny made herself scarce around 2311 North Los Robles. When Sheldon texted to inquire about her well being, she only would say that she was fine, but was spending some time outside Pasadena to avoid Leonard.

Leonard himself was doing an excellent impression of a sloth at a tennis match. He was quiet and reserved, seemingly expending as little energy as possible in moving around, but watching everything. His eyes darted back and forth behind his glasses, watching for some indication that Sheldon's vigilance was slipping. Knowing that his roommate was tracking his movements, he refused to go anywhere that could be remotely interpreted as following Penny. His outings were reserved to the university, the comic book store, and the grocery store.

Over time, his paranoia grew to epic proportions as he constantly looked over his shoulder, imagining Sheldon's presence at all times. He'd spent a frantic evening going through all his possessions, even ripping out the soles of his shoes to find the GPS tracking chips Sheldon mentioned. He'd only mentioned two, and truthfully Leonard had found two in his search, but something about Sheldon left him on edge.

Whether they passed him in the university's hallways or saw him at lunch – despite the growing fractures among the once cohesive group they were loath to completely abandon tradition yet – Howard and Raj took every opportunity to try convincing him to let Penny go, saying that if she didn't want to be with him, it was her choice and he could move on knowing they'd really given it a shot. He tuned them out just as readily as he'd tuned Sheldon out.

Penny was his; she just needed to be reminded of that fact.


The first Tuesday night after the confrontation with the police, Leonard tried to brazen it out and go with everyone to the Cheesecake Factory, but getting a cold shoulder from not only Sheldon, but Raj, Howard, and Bernadette left him alone and uncomfortable. Amy tried to engage him in conversation on the drive over, but he was so far lost in his own head with thoughts of Penny that it was a futile effort.

Deep in thought and staring at the tips of his shoes as they walked in, Leonard dragged behind everyone. When the hostess saw him approaching, she let everyone else in but closed the door in his face. He tried to pull it open anyway, but the manager was quick to jump up and shake her head. "No way. You're not welcome here anymore after the last time. Get out of here or I'm calling the cops again and this time, I'm pressing charges." He tried to protest, but she remained firm, leaving him to shake his head and walk away.

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief that the awkwardness of an evening spent in Leonard's company was gone, but when they got to their usual table, another absence made itself known. Penny wasn't there that evening. Just as Sheldon started to get upset at the break in routine and turned to leave, a young woman in a Cheesecake Factory waitress outfit with long, wavy caramel-colored hair and dark green eyes walked up to their table and introduced herself "Hi, my name's Jennifer, and I'll be taking care of you tonight."

"I'm sorry, Jennifer, but it appears we won't be dining here tonight," Sheldon half-rose, but an outstretched hand stopped his progress.

She gave him a warm smile. "Doctor Cooper, right? Please don't leave. Penny told me about her special group of regulars and gave me detailed instructions regarding your order and how it was to be handled. I won't let either of you down, I promise."

Making eye contact, Sheldon saw sincerity and determination in the woman's gaze. To the great astonishment of everyone present, he nodded and sat back down. "That will be satisfactory. I trust Penny's judgment."

Jennifer took everyone's order and left to put them into the system. When she returned with a tray of everyone's drinks, she made a show of giving Sheldon his with exquisite care.

"So where is she?" Raj asked after a sip of his grasshopper. "It's been a while since she's been around."

"All I know for sure is that she's spending time away from her usual haunts in order to give Leonard time to cool down and move on," Sheldon answered.

"Is she still in California?" Amy asked with a noticeable undertone to her voice. While it wasn't unusual for Sheldon and Penny to contact each other, the fact that he was the only person out of the group that her bestie chose to stay in touch with during her absence was something to ponder indeed.

Thinking quickly, Sheldon came up with a reply that would be ambiguous enough to allow him to avoid facial tics that came from dishonesty. "I don't know exactly where Penny has been spending her time, but she is still in in the greater Los Angeles area."

That seemed to placate the group of friends. Everyone returned to their meal, Sheldon pretending obliviousness to Amy's searching glances every so often.


The next afternoon, Penny met Sarah for a late lunch at a deli in Santa Monica near the beach.

"You're looking better than the last time we met," Sarah commented after they sat down at a table.

Penny nodded around a bite of her turkey sandwich. "Feeling better, too."

Regarding her new friend, Sarah took in the more-rested appearance. Penny's eyes didn't have the bags underneath they once did, nor did she keep looking over her shoulder. "Come to any decisions?"

"Yeah. I'm going to have to make some serious changes," Penny confirmed. "Acting is still my dream, but it's not going anywhere, and as long as I'm a waitress, I'll always be short on funds and long on headaches."

Sarah smiled, but shook her head. "That's great, but I was talking about Stalker Guy versus Tall, Dark, and Geeky. Any progress on that front?"

Penny hoped the blush she could feel wasn't visible, but from the way Sarah's grin widened she knew it was a futile hope. "Well, finding that temp job has let me stay away from Pasadena and Leonard, and my manager at the Cheesecake Factory has been more than understanding. She knows how long I've been there and agrees it's probably time for a change. Working just Tuesday nights has kept my friends from asking too many questions for now."

"What about the rest of your friends?" Sarah asked as she picked at a salad.

"Bernadette is one of my best friends. She'll understand, and where she goes, Howard goes, and thus Raj as well," they shared a chuckle at Penny's explanation, Sarah remembering Penny's description of their odd bro-mance, "and Sheldon has been supportive from the start. That just leaves Leonard – who I'm more than ready to cut loose at this point – and Amy. Amy's the real wild card. She wants Sheldon, but I'm really not sure if she wants Sheldon for himself or if she wants a boyfriend just for the sake of having a guy she can get physical with."

Sarah made a face. "That's kind of sad."

"Yeah. I feel really badly for her, but she just up and decided I was her 'bestie'," Penny even made the air quotes to emphasize her distaste for the moniker, "and it wasn't a mutual decision. I'm not responsible for her anymore. Took me long enough to figure that out though."

"You're avoiding the main question," Sarah pressed. "Sheldon?"

"Boy, you don't let up, do you?" Penny grumped. "Okay, fine. I like him. I've always thought he was cute but ever since this whole mess started, I've been examining it more and for some reason the attraction runs a lot deeper than I thought."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Sarah challenged over the rim of her paper drink cup.

"Nothing," Penny demurred. "He's so far out of my league it's not even funny. Future Nobel Prize winner with a community college dropout? He's going to reach for the stars and I'm stuck here in the dust. With all the craziness in my life, I'd just end up dragging him down with me. I'll stay friends with him – I care about him too much to ever lose track of him completely, but that's all it can ever be. Maybe it's a blessing, you know? Maybe I should spend some time rediscovering myself first before I can have a healthy relationship. Maybe I'll meet someone someday who challenges me like he does. Maybe I'll buy the winning lottery ticket tonight, too."

Sarah decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. She put her hand on Penny's forearm, willing her to connect with the gesture. "From what I've learned of you so far, it sounds like you've always been the kind of woman who takes life by the throat and shakes happiness out of it. At least you were until Leonard kind of wrung that out of you. Why don't you get back to that kind of strength and use that to go after Sheldon?"

Taking the final bite of her turkey sandwich on rye with Muenster cheese, Penny just shook her head again. "I told you. I'm not in his league. He's never even had a girlfriend, and I've had way too many boyfriends and one-night mistakes. I would ruin him. Maybe if he's still single when I'm in a better place – if Amy doesn't get her hooks into him any deeper – I might risk it, but he's never shown even the slightest interested in any kind of romantic relationship. Why would he want me?"

Determined to not let Penny sink down into the doldrums of despair, alcohol, and Leonard again, Sarah changed the subject. "Okay, so that's guys. What about work? You want to quit the Cheesecake Factory, right? What happens after that? Is your temp job a possibility for full time?"

"No, it's just a short-term contract," Penny answered. "I don't really know what I would do. I should go back to school, but that costs money. I should get new head shots and work on my acting, but that takes time and money."

Seeing the hopelessness in Penny's eyes, Sarah gave her an encouraging smile. "I think I may have just the answer for you."


Buoyed by her talk with Sarah, Penny returned to her apartment that evening determined to start revamping her entire life. She called her manager at the Cheesecake Factory and formally gave her two-week notice. Her agent gave her a list of auditions taking place after that time frame along with a new photographer who would do head and glamor shots for free as she built up her portfolio and clientele. Her landlord was barely able to contain his joy that she'd be leaving. Continually behind on her rent, she was one of his least favorite tenants.

The next few calls she needed to make started her hands shaking and stomach sinking. The guys were out. Amy was out – she was most likely biased toward keeping the group's status quo, and Penny had already determined that had to change. She decided to take the easy route and call Bernadette first. "Hi, Penny. I was wondering when you'd call," she heard through her phone's speaker.

Penny looked at her phone in surprise, as if the display would show someone other than Bernadette. "Really?"

"Sheldon just left here. He told us everything. How are you holding up?" Bernadette's voice was full of concern for her friend.

"It's been hard, but I think spending time in Burbank and Santa Monica has been good for me. I realized a lot of things about myself and how I've allowed myself to act with Leonard," Penny admitted.

"So what are you going to do?" Bernadette asked.

"Well, I quit the Cheesecake Factory already," Penny explained as she walked around her apartment's living area. Walking always helped her organize her thoughts while on the phone. "I can't stay there. I'll never escape this vicious cycle of depending on the guys financially and feeling obligated if I do. I don't trust Leonard not to take advantage of that kind of thing anymore."

"Sounds like a good start," the microbiologist affirmed.

Okay, Penny. Trust her. She's your friend. "And," she breathed, "I'm moving out of the building."

Glass shattered in the background. "What? You're leaving?" Bernadette exclaimed after cursing the broken glass.

"Not California. Calm down! Just the building. I think I'm going to move to Santa Monica or Burbank. I got an office job, and I need to be closer to save on gas anyway," Penny answered.

"Are you still going to be around here? When are you going to tell everyone?"

"Most of the time no. I can't deal with Leonard anymore. He's stalking me! I was going to call you and Howard first, then Raj, Amy, and Sheldon."

"What if there was a way to make your problems with Leonard go away?" Bernadette wondered far too casually for the question.

Penny was shocked at the amount of mischief in her friend's voice. "Wha – what are you talking about?"

"There are a couple experimental drugs my lab is working on. If Leonard gets to be too much of a problem, we could use one of them to eliminate the difficulty."

"You're not talking about killing him, are you?" Penny wondered at her own sanity that she could ask such a question even close to seriously.

"What? No of course not! I just meant get him back under control so you're not looking over your shoulder all the time," Bernadette clarified.

"Now THAT sounds like a great idea!"

After the two women discussed options and decided on a course of action – should it become necessary – they agreed Penny would tell the entire group at one time during one of their dinners together. A public setting would make it that much harder for Leonard to do anything untoward.


A/N: And there it is! I'm sorry again this took so long, but I've had to focus on real life. Hopefully I'll have more time in the near future, but we'll see.

Constructive feedback is always welcome!