Penny and Sheldon admit their love for one another. Leonard and Amy begin plotting. And things are about to get more complicated.


Penny dropped her head into her hands and closed her eyes. She had been staring at these reports for five weeks now. She had read them numerous times and was no closer to an answer than when she started. And now B had called to tell her another operative had been killed. The front door opened and she looked up.

Sheldon was smiling as he stepped into the apartment, his eyes on his newest comic books. He looked up to greet Penny but froze. Her expression was of anguish and guilt. "Penny?"

She shook her head and stood up from the table. She quickly walked back to the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Sheldon set his books down and started to follow but his phone rang. He looked at the id and answered. "What is it, Howard? Now is not a good time."

"Kurt is dead," Howard said bluntly. " Bernie called Penny already, but I thought I would let you know. Penny's going to be pretty upset. They were close friends for a long time, even before they dated."

Sheldon swallowed hard and nodded, even though Howard couldn't see him. "I will take care of Penny. Please tell Bernadette not to worry."

"Thanks," Howard said. "From what Bernie has told me, he was a hero. A real good guy. Give Penny my sympathies, alright?"

"I will," Sheldon said before hanging up.

He walked across the room and stepped into the bedroom. Penny was sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest. "I can't find it," she said softly. "I've searched and read and stared at those reports for weeks, Sheldon. 5 operatives are dead now. I trained Hale myself. She was one of only 30 women in my field work. I recruited her aggressively. Now Kurt is gone, too." She looked up at him sadly. "He has a daughter, Sheldon. She's only 5. What can I say to her? How can I tell her I wasn't smart enough to stop this before her daddy died?" Tears spilled down her cheeks, unchecked.

Sheldon walked over and pulled Penny into his arms. He wished he knew what to say to make her feel better. Only with Penny did he ever feel inadequate. He had no experience, before her, with emotions like sympathy and concern. The only thing he knew how to do was to hold her and let her cry. "There, there, honey. Sheldon's here," he whispered.


He eased her sleeping form back against the pillows and slipped from the bed quietly. She was exhausted and heartbroken. He made his way back to the living room and sat down at the table. He picked up the folder and stared at it. He had not even glanced at this in all the time Penny had been studying it. Penny was adamant that she did not want him involved in that world. Sheldon opened it up with determination. He had to help her. The guilt would crush her if another operative died.


Penny placed the file on the table, and tucked the blanket around him carefully. Sheldon snuggled down into the warm fleece and mumble something about robot bunnies. She picked back up the file and headed into the kitchen. She knew she should be mad. If it had been anyone else, she probably would have been. But it was Sheldon. The only reason he would have read the files was out of concern for her. She opened it up the newest one and carefully, clinically, read over the report of Kurt's death.

He had been out for a morning jog after putting Callie on the bus and seeing his wife off to work. Gabby was the broadcast meteorologist for channel 41. He was on the return run home when something or someone made him veer off his usual course. He had slowed to a walk and headed 14 feet up an alley off San Pasqual street. His body had been found by a mailman. Two shots, one to the head and one to the heart. Forensics said the heart was hit first, while standing. The head shot came while he was in a prone position.

Penny tapped the report with her fingers. Someone in a car had attracted his attention. That's the only thing that made sense. A car he knew, or driven by someone he knew had drawn him up that alley. Then they had lowered the window if it wasn't already down and shot him. As he lay on the ground they had gotten out, and finished the job. It had to be someone he knew and trusted. Kurt was too good of an operative to let a stranger get that close.

But who? Who would he have trusted that much? There were so many new faces in the organization now, that she wasn't sure. Penny sighed and poured herself a cup of coffee. She couldn't solve this from outside. It was impossible. She would need to go back in if she had any chance of finding out who this was.

She looked over at Sheldon and frowned. He wasn't going to like it. In fact, he was going to hate it.


She was wrong. He didn't hate it. He despised it. He loathed it. And he forbade it.

She took a deep breath and tried to speak rationally. "Sheldon, I'm not going into the field. Just into recon. I'll work with Bernie. Strictly desk duty, okay?"

He drew himself up to his full height. "Penny, I will say this one more time," he said gruffly, his Texas twang in full effect, "you are NOT going back to that life! You promised me you wouldn't and I am holding you to that promise! YOU. ARE. NOT. DOING. IT!"

Penny's eyes flashed with anger. "Okay, Sheldon. I get why you are upset. I really do. But do not think for one second you have the right to dictate my actions. I am a soldier! This is what I do! I can't just sit back and watch my friends die because you don't like it!"

Sheldon backed her up against the kitchen counter and slammed his palms down on the countertop. "I will not let you put yourself in harms way, Penny! This is dangerous! You could be hurt, or killed!" His voice cracked alarmingly. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you!"

Penny struggled to find some way to reassure him. She had spent the past week thinking about this. She had tried to find another way, but it all came down to one thing. She needed to be around the operation to figure out who fit the profile she had of the mole. Penny's phone rang, bringing them both out of their focus. Sheldon moved to the side and Penny walked over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Bernie's been in an accident," Howard said brokenly. "It's bad."


Sheldon looked up as the doors opened and Raj, Leonard and Amy rushed in. Howard and Penny were sitting together on the small sofa while the nurse changed the saline bag by Bernadette's bed. Howard was wane and limp, leaning on Penny heavily.

"How bad is it?" asked Amy, thoughts of jealousy still swirling in her mind as they faced this crisis.

Sheldon looked toward the bed. "A broken arm, a fractured hip, and a shattered knee cap. She's going to need to have that replaced. Concussion, blood loss from internal injuries, and there's the possibility of hearing loss in her left ear. The tympanic membrane is ruptured."

Leonard watched as Raj headed toward Howard and Penny. "What happened?"

Sheldon looked away toward the bed so they could not see his twitch. "Car accident. It appears she lost control, ran into a ditch and the car flipped."

Raj settled in beside his friend and put an arm around Howard's shoulders. Howard smiled gratefully and looked at his wife as the nurse took her vitals. As soon as the nurse left, Howard got up and walked over to the bed. He slipped back onto it and lay down beside Bernadette. He whispered into her uninjured ear gently. Words of love and promises to never leave her side. After a couple of minutes they all stood and walked out of the room. Howard needed to be alone with his wife.