Still Own nothing

Leonard had made his way back to the apartment. He had calmed down and resolved to himself that there was nothing that he could do to change what had happened in the last couple of weeks. Penny was now in New York and she would see what she was made of. Leonard was coming to grips with the fact she needed to leave in order to make their relationship stronger.

When he opened the door to 4A, Sheldon, Amy, Raj, Howard and Bernadette were all there with Chinese takeout. Leonard went over to his chair and sat opening a carton of food that they had gotten him. Sheldon had ordered it or him because Leonard seemed to order it all the time. It was General Tso's Chicken. Actually, Leonard much preferred other things. He had taken to ordering General Tso's because it was Penny's favorite and Leonard always wanted there to be some leftovers in the fridge for when Penny would be working late and pop in and steal some food. He looked down at his plate and smiled softly thinking about Penny.

Bernadette got up and went to the fridge for a bottle of water and brought one for Leonard. She set it down while sitting in the wooden chair set up next to his chair. It was the chair Penny would always sit in for dinner. Leonard looked over at Bernadette and smiled. "Thanks Bernadette".

Bernadette smiled back and could see the loneliness that had taken residence in Leonard's eyes. "You doin OK?" Bernadette reached over and put her hand on Leonard's arm. Everyone else stopped talking and were just watching Leonard and listening for his answer. It had created a slightly uncomfortable situation.

Leonard looked from Bernadette to the rest of his friends, noticing the concern in their expressions. "I'm fine…. Really… no need to worry… everything will be just fine. Penny said she would call when she got settled."

The rest of the dinner conversation seemed to get back to normal with Sheldon starting conversations about little known facts and everyone putting in their opinions. All of which were discounted by Sheldon for one reason or another. After dinner was over the guys set up the video game console and started to play.

Bernadette looked at Amy. "Wanna go over to Penny's and have a glass of wine? She asked if I would look after her plants". Leonard looked up quickly at the mention of Penny's name and then was brought back to the video game by one of Sheldon's remarks chiding him for failing to cover his back as Howard managed to blow Sheldon to pieces.

Amy saw the look on Leonard's face and turned to Bernadette. "Sure, let's go and see if we can rescue whatever flora Penny has decided to stretch the boundaries of acceptable hydration". With that, Bernadette and Amy left for 4B.

Bernadette opened the door and walked over to the fridge for the opened bottle of wine that was still there from a few days before. Taped to the bottle was a note from Penny. Bernadette took the bottle of wine out of the fridge, took the note off, poured two glasses and brought them to the couch. Amy was waiting sitting on the couch in the spot closest to the door. It was where Penny often sat. "Is that a note"?

Bernadette handed a glass of wine to Amy. "Yes, it's from Penny". Bernadette put down her wine and unfolded the note. On the outside of the note it was simply addressed

"To the Best Girlfriends there EVER were"

Bernadette looked at Amy with a tear in her eye. Amy responded in kind. "Read it, I think she would like us to".

Bernadette cleared her throat.

"Bernadette and Amy, I can't tell you how much that you mean to me and how much I am going to miss you and hanging out with you. I have really come to appreciate how much we rely on each other so we could better deal with and understand those wonderful guys across the hall that are undoubtedly caught up in some stupid science fiction, comic or video game. Without your help and support, I'm sure I would have killed at least one of them by now".

Bernadette looked up at Amy. Amy smiled, "Sheldon no doubt".

Bernadette continued:

"It's really hard for me to say this, but without your support, I don't think that I could have made this decision. I hope that things aren't too sad. Don't think of it as us being apart, because for me, I have you right here in my heart. Don't be surprised if I give you a call every now and again just to recharge."

Bernadette's voice cracked just a little and she took a sip of wine.

"I have a big favor to ask and I hope you will help me out with it. Leonard is probably going to take this a little badly. We have talked it out and I think that he really does understand why I'm doing this, but he probably won't deal with it too well. Please look after him for me and give him a hug for me every now and then just to let him know someone cares. He really is a special guy and I do Love him so much. So please take care of him for me. I'll see you guys in a few weeks. After I've been here I will know better what I need and I can come and get some stuff. I'm glad you found this note, so here's to us… Another great Ladies Night. I miss you guys more than you could ever imagine. Hugs All Around Penny"

Bernadette put the note down on the coffee table and looked at Amy. They were both crying. Amy raised her glass. "To Bestie… Good luck and God's speed".

After a little talk of what it would be like without Penny, the girls tidied up the apartment, watered the plants and went back to 4A. Before she left and locked the door, Bernadette took the note that Penny had left and slipped it into her purse.

The girls opened the door to 4A to find the guys putting away the video games. Howard and Raj were saying that they should probably get going. Leonard was standing by the TV winding up some controllers.

Bernadette and Amy rushed over to him and wrapped him in a group hug as the other guys in the apartment just looked on.