Still don't own a thing, I still don't make any money.
"Hey bestie," Amy said, entering Leonard and Penny's apartment.
"Hi Aimes," Penny answered, giving her a quick hug. "Thanks for offering to help me with dinner. Bernadette should be here soon, as well."
Amy nodded. "Of course I'll help my bestie. I think it's nice you and Leonard wanting to host a party for all of us."
Penny smiled and gave a small shrug. "Howard and Bernadette did when they had settled in their new place. Leonard and I just never got round to it." She walked back to the door when another knock came. "Hi Bernadette!"
"Hi Penny," Bernadette answered hugging her friend. "Hi Amy," she said, as the two doctors hugged each other next. She then turned back to Penny, who had moved toward the kitchen. "Something's smelling really good in here."
Penny glanced back over her shoulder. "I started a bit early, and I think I got it figured out. I may not actually need your help, but at least we can have a nice visit with just us girls, right?"
Bernadette and Amy both agreed and moved into the kitchen area, glancing in the pots currently on the stove. "It certainly smells good and it looks like you really got a handle on things," Bernadette said. "So, Penny, is your four month experiment completed?"
Penny smiled and nodded. "As of three weeks ago, actually. And not a single drop of alcohol. You know, I haven't really missed it as much as I thought I would." She glanced back up toward her two best friends. "That being said, the bottle is right over there," she said, pointing toward it. "But, I'm only going to have two glasses this entire afternoon."
Bernadette grabbed the bottle and Amy grabbed three glasses when Penny indicated their location. Penny continued chopping the vegetables, looking forward to just hang out with the girls and have some wine. Most of the food preparation had been completed, and she'd only need a couple more minutes before she could sit down for a little and talk with the girls.
"Where's Leonard," Bernadette asked.
"He went to the lab to get some work done. I think Sam was going to be there with him, so they'll probably arrive together."
"Where do you want me to put your glass, Penny," Amy asked.
"Just put it on the coffee table. I'll be done in a minute and we can just sit and talk for a bit." She finished her chopping, checked the time and decided the vegetables could be added right at that moment.
"Alright, this dish will need to sit for a few more minutes," Penny said as she joined her friends on the sofa. She took a sip of the wine and closed her eyes briefly. "Ah, I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like," she said with a smile.
They talked for awhile about what was going on in their lives, Penny being very careful not to mention anything regarding her pending career boost. In between chats, they worked on three more dishes, and were generally having a great time with just the three of them.
Amy had become a little envious when she learned Leonard had at one time needed to be driven home, because of certain activities the night before, and Penny felt bad for her. It was obvious Amy loved Sheldon, and it was equally obvious she was yearning for more, wanting, even needing a more physical relationship.
Bernadette was shocked to learn Sheldon had indicated on two separate occasions that he did not rule out a physical relationship at some time, remarking that he seemed to become a real boy at last.
Melissa let out a sigh of contentment, placing her forehead against Raj. "You certainly are a good kisser, Dr. Koothrappali," she said. They'd been making out on his sofa for a while now, Melissa sitting in his lap. The movie they were suppose to be watching had finished and Melissa was certain they'd missed more than half of it.
"You're pretty good yourself," he replied.
Melissa smiled and repositioned herself to be able to rest her head against his shoulder. "I guess tonight I'll meet all your close friends for the first time. I hope they'll like me."
"Of course they will! You're an amazingly kind woman and just drop-dead gorgeous. The guys will be all over you." At her look he amended. "Okay, maybe not, since Howard is married, Leonard has Penny and Sheldon, well he's Sheldon. He's a pain anyway, so just ignore him if he makes any hurtful comment. He's not trying to be mean, he just doesn't understand social settings."
Melissa smiled, having heard several stories about Dr. Cooper already. "I'm more worried about the women."
"Well, you already know Penny, Linda and Samantha. Bernadette and Amy are both very nice, and I doubt they'll be mean to you."
"Hmm," was all Melissa said, deciding to drop the subject. "Hey, you should invite Linda sometime. When she was here last Thursday, she almost orgasmed when she saw your telescope. Couldn't stop talking about what a nice one you have." She playfully swatted him when he began to giggle. "I mean that thing right there," she said, pointing at the device near the window. "You've got a dirty mind, mister."
"Well, I was going to say that you were the only one, beside me, who's allowed to use my telescope."
She laughed at his grin and his eyebrows waggling. "I guess that's a good thing," she said, before kissing him again. "You know," she said, when they finally came up for air. "There are two ways we can go from here. Either we take a very cold shower, or..."
"I choose the second option," he said as he lifted her and moved to the bedroom.
Leonard felt Penny's hand moving to grab his, briefly squeezing it, before she smiled at him. She clearly was enjoying herself and happy with how the dinner party was going. The food tasted amazingly, and both Bernadette and Amy had assured everybody that Penny had pretty much done everything by herself.
Surprisingly, even Sheldon seemed to enjoy his evening. Of course, he had insisted on bringing his own take out, but Penny had anticipated that, having learned that lesson from the earlier dinner parties.
"So, Penny," Melissa said during a brief lull in the conversations. "When do you think you'll go back to the Cheesecake Factory, now that my ex is going to be locked up for a while?"
Penny smiled, happy to have someone steer the conversation to what she had set out to tell anyway. "Well, I may actually not work there anymore."
Leonard squeezed her hand, as she waited for everyone directing their attention to her, all with the same question.
"Last Tuesday I had an audition for a guest role on a new TV show. And Thursday I signed a contract for a recurring role on that TV show."
"You're kidding," Howard said. "Is that why you asked me if I knew any lawyers with experience on acting contracts?"
"Yes, and thank you, by the way," Penny answered. "As it turns out, your cousin was my agent's regular lawyer, so he would've been there anyway."
"So, what's the show about," Bernadette asked. "What character are you playing?"
"It's going to be a sitcom about a group of scientists, struggling getting through everyday life. I'll be playing a female experimental physicist on at least six episodes. If my character gets a good response, that might increase. The contract already prevents me from taking high profile jobs for the first two seasons, assuming the show is not cancelled."
"You auditioned for a guest role and managed to land a recurring role? How did that happen?"
Penny shrugged. "The audition scene involved the three lead characters. They were having a tough time with all the techno mumbo-jumbo, which, by the way, is going to be totally accurate, because they have an actual scientist as the adviser. Anyway, I explained the difference between a theoretical and experimental physicist, and when I was done going over the audition piece, I explained what Leonard had been doing."
"I guess the casting people saw that and figured you'd be better suited as a scientist," Melissa said.
"Yeah," Penny said, but Leonard noticed her frown. "Except, they weren't in the room when that happened."
"Didn't your agent tell you you got the part because you talked about science so easily?"
Penny nodded. "Yeah, he did. I guess one of the guys must have told them."
Penny entered the Cheesecake Factory, and looked for the manager on duty. She spotted Lisa just entering the manager officer, and walked toward the office. She knocked and waited to be invited. "Hi, Lisa," she greeted her manager.
"Good morning Penny," Lisa replied and then frowned. "Aren't you supposed to stay home for another five days?"
"Yes, but Melissa's ex is not getting out, now that he's the main suspect in his wife's death. Besides, I'm not here to work. I landed an acting job that's going to keep me pretty busy for a while."
Lisa smiled. "That's great! What will you be doing?"
"A recurring role on a new sitcom. I'll be in at least six episodes, but I'm not allowed to get another high profile acting job for the first two years, unless the show is cancelled before then. My lawyer got the producers to financially compensate for the weeks I can't do any other acting job."
Lisa nodded. "So, in other words, you probably won't need to work this job for a long while."
Penny smiled an apologetic smile. "Probably not."
"Don't feel sorry about that," Lisa said. "You finally get to be an actress. Even if the show will get cancelled, you'll still have been on TV and probably get noticed. You may never have to work as a waitress again. You can't tell me you love waitressing that much you'll miss it!"
Penny smiled and then laughed. "I definitely will not miss it. It's just, I kinda feel bad that this is on such short notice. I didn't sign the contract until last Thursday, and next Monday we have a table read."
"Penny, you're not the first waitress who has had to quit on short notice because of a good acting opportunity, and you won't be the last. Granted, you're the first to land a recurring role on a TV show, but that doesn't matter."
Leonard entered his lab, a little tired. Penny was going in to the table read today for her second episode, which was going to be the third episode overall. He'd been going over the script with her almost all day yesterday, helping her with the pronunciation of some of the scientific terminology. He was very impressed by the accuracy and the level; they were definitely not trying to dumb down anything, though they did seem to stick to the easier to comprehend subjects.
He was also very impressed by Penny's way of getting in the role; despite once telling him she found science boring, she'd started to read more about physics and asking him questions about it. He'd always suspected she was capable of learning anything, and the way she managed to learn her lines in a very short amount of time told him it wasn't a matter of her not being capable of learning things, but a matter of her just not being that interested in it.
He booted up his laptop and went to get a coffee. While doing that, he pondered the experiments Sam and he were conducting. So far, all they had were promising simulation results, but they still hadn't obtained the proof they had hoped to get.
Another simulation had been running over the weekend, though they had only changed a single thing compared to the previous run. They had actually bickered about that one for a while, but Leonard had insisted the change was worth a new run, and Sam had in the end relented. He felt a little bit bad about it, feeling he had more or less bullied her into his hunch, especially since he hadn't really allowed her to explain her changes.
He mentally shrugged, realizing he couldn't change what happened in the past, and opened the simulation results. He globally went over them once, frowned and delved deeper into the results.
"Oh my god!" Leonard glanced around the lab in excitement, but was disappointed to find Sam had not yet arrived. He directed his attention back to the results and checked the data once more.
"Good morning, darling," Sam greeted him as she entered the lab a few minutes later.
"Hey, Sam." Leonard pointed at the screen, realizing he was grinning widely. "I got the results from this weekend's simulation."
"I can tell by your excitement you found something big."
"Big? This is huge!" He got out of his seat and offered it to her. "Here, you go over the results, and I'll get you a coffee."
Leonard left his lab, a spring in his step as he made his way over to the coffee machine down the hall. He selected Sam's favorite and waited for the machine to dump it in the mug he'd taken with him, all the while humming a tune.
He took the now filled mug and walked back to his lab, stopping briefly to get himself a Red Bull from the machine close to his lab. By now, Sam had probably found the part that had gotten him so excited. He entered the lab and saw Sam's eyes had gone wide.
"That's unbelievable," she said as she noticed him. "I was excited to see that this protocol should provide the proof of Dr. Hawking's theory. But then I came to this part," she pointed at the result table on the screen, "That's quite a find."
Leonard grinned and nodded. "We need to rerun the simulation, but I think we can send these results to Dr. Hawking today."
"Oh, certainly," Sam agreed, taking a sip of her coffee. "I think another North Sea experiment will be planned."
Leonard nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not going to be part of it. I have no desire to be separated from Penny for any period of time."
Sam smiled. "I'm sure Penny would be happy to hear that. To be honest, I wouldn't be willing to go, either. Between the four months at sea and now being here, I think I've had my share of traveling."
Leonard suddenly felt bad. Not once had it occurred to him how hard it must be for Sam. In the span of a year, she'd been away from home for almost half that time. "How are you dealing with this?"
She looked at him. "I'm okay, darling. Obviously I miss my friends and family, but unlike you I don't have a significant other. And, honestly, being here is not as bad as being on a ship in the middle of the North Sea. At least here, I can go out, or hang out with you guys." She grinned. "Not to mention training Sheldon."
Leonard chuckled. "I have to admit, he's becoming a lot less awkward. Very impressive how you managed to change him in a little over a month."
Sam shrugged. "I only managed because I had gone through the same thing with Karen. Don't worry, there will be plenty of idiosyncrasies left. He'll still be Sheldon, just less awkward in social settings."
Melissa let out a grunt as she hit the training mat, but didn't allow herself to feel defeated and give up. Instead, she rolled with the momentum and got back to a standing position, immediately assuming a defensive stance.
She'd been going to Jennifer's dojo for almost four weeks, twice a week, and had become a bit more confident. Since Penny was working today, Melissa had to practice with other women in the group, but she wasn't as scared anymore.
"Alright, ladies," Jennifer said. "That's it for today. Next week we'll look at techniques to get out of a situation with multiple attackers."
Melissa walked to her gym bag at the edge of the practice area and grabbed her water bottle.
"Melissa," Jennifer said, approaching her. "I couldn't help but notice how much you've changed."
Melissa smiled. "Thanks. I do feel more confident, though some of it might have to with the fact that Eric is not getting out. After the trial he may even be gone forever."
"Do you know when the trial will start?"
She shook her head. "No, might be another two, three weeks." She glanced at the clock on her phone. "I better run. My shift starts in an hour."
After saying goodbye, she drove home, took a quick shower, put on her Cheesecake Factory uniform and drove toward the restaurant. She clocked in and searched for the manager to inform them she was present.
She found Dan exiting the manager office and walked over. "Hey, Dan."
"Hi Melissa. Today you'll be waiting more tables than usual. Just let me know if it gets to be too much to handle and I'll see if I can get someone to come in for another shift."
Melissa nodded. "I'll see how it goes. I'm sure I can handle it, though."
Over the next few hours she found herself running around, being very buys. She skipped two breaks, simply because there was no time to take them. She noticed a new customer sitting down at one of her tables, and walked over, retrieving the little notebook from her pocket. "Good evening, sir. What can I get you?"
"Hello, Melissa."
She froze for just a second. "Brian," she simply said, not even trying to be polite. "What do you want?"
"My brother out of jail."
"Sorry, can't help you with that." She glanced around, but didn't see her manager. "He's in jail because he's the main suspect in his wife's death."
"No, he's in jail because of you. If you had just stayed with him, he wouldn't have done that."
Melissa frowned. "Really? You're trying to blame his behavior on me? You do realize he's been beating up women for a long time, right?"
"Women should know their place. Every now and then us men have to show you your place. There's nothing wrong with that."
Melissa turned around. "I'll get you another waiter." She didn't hesitate when he grabbed her, and broke free from his hold, instinctively assuming a defensive posture.
One of the other customers stood up and told Brian to leave her alone, but Brian simply responded with a "stay out of it, asshole."
Melissa was ready for his attack, and moved just enough to let his fist fly past her face, grabbing his arm to use his momentum and shove him past her. Her leg stretched to make him trip and fall flat on his face. She immediately moved to sit on top of him, one knee on his right wrist, the other on his lower back. "You listen very carefully. I'm not going to let anyone tell me what to do, or force me into anything. You come near me again, and I'll show you all the other cool things I've learned. I want you, your brother, hell, your entire family out of my life. Permanently. Got it?" She allowed a little more weight on him when he didn't respond. "Got it?"
"You fucking bitch!"
"Sir," Dan said, causing Melissa to look up in surprise. "I'd appreciate you not swearing in our establishment. This is a family restaurant." He winked at Melissa, giving a small nod of approval. "I think it's best you leave," he added, bending down to grab him under the armpit.
Melissa let go when she saw Dan had a good hold. Brian began to struggle, but Dan was stronger, and had a good hold on him. She helped Dan to force Brian out of the Cheesecake Factory.
Melissa blushed when the customers started to applaud as she returned to the restaurant area.
Penny yawned. After the first table read of the day, the writers had asked if they could stay around, to see if certain changes would work out better. Several rounds of changes had followed, resulting in a long day.
In between the reading sessions, she'd talked with the main cast about her experiences before being cast in this role. All of them could relate to the disappointments of not getting a job, having to work all kinds of low paying jobs, just to survive, feeling you're just not good enough to make it as an actor or actress.
The science adviser for the show had sat up straighter during the current break; Penny was talking about her friends to the three guests on this episode. He had recognised the names of Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and even Howard, and seemed even more impressed to find that Penny was also friends with a neurobiologist and a microbiologist. "Now I understand why you seem to have the least trouble with the scientific terminology," he said. "You've been hearing about this stuff daily, I guess."
Penny smiled and rolled her eyes. "That plus comics, video games, Sci-Fi movies and shows. Sometimes they were driving me nuts. But they're all so nice. They don't make me feel like I'm stupid, you know?"
"So, how did you happen to hang around all these nerds," one of the producers asked.
Penny shrugged. "I just moved in the apartment across from Leonard and Sheldon." She chuckled. "I could tell right away Leonard had a crush on me, though it took me a long time to realize his feelings went so much deeper than that. And it took even longer for me to admit having feelings for him."
She smiled to herself, remembering that first day, taking a shower at their place. "Anyway, after that, I met the other guys, and I frequently hung out with them."
"Penny, can you… I mean..." The scientific adviser let out a frustrated sigh. "I've heard things about Dr. Cooper. I'm just curious if… uhm..."
Penny chuckled. "Well, what can I say about Dr. Whackadoodle? Leonard says he's textbook Asperger's, though Sheldon denies it. His life revolves around a strict adherence to routine and he hates unexpected changes. He had Leonard sign a roommate agreement, mostly to assure nothing would interfere with his daily routine. Not to mention the relationship agreement with his girlfriend."
"Hi sexy."
Raj smiled at just hearing Melissa's voice as she answered the phone. "Hi. I just wanted to hear your voice."
"Well, if you can wait twenty minutes, you can hear it straight from my mouth, instead of over this phone. As a bonus, you get to see me as well."
He giggled. "Oh, that would be great. Does that mean you will spend the night?"
"Duh. I'm not just coming over so you can hear my voice properly."
"You do realize you've spend more time at my apartment then you have at yours?" He managed to not mention living together, not sure if she was even ready for that.
"You're not complaining, are you?"
"No, of course not! If you want, you can stay here every night."
"Hmm, that does sound very inviting. Raj, I really love you, but I'm not sure about moving in. I mean, I'm still going to spend a lot of nights at your place. It's just, I don't know. It seems too quick to move in together. I hope you understand that I'm not turning you down or anything."
Raj shook his head. "No, that's okay. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if I'd be ready for that." Of course he was, but he didn't want her to feel pressured.
"Good. Oh, Dan is ready to walk us girls to our cars, so I got to go. I'll be there in twenty. I love you."
"I love you, too." Raj hung up, and frowned. Why did the manager need to escort the women to their car? As far as he knew, Eric was still locked up. Of course, it could be the Cheesecake Factory had introduced the policy. He busied himself changing the bed and straightening up the apartment. Since he usually kept it pretty clean, it didn't take him long and he was already sitting a little over five minutes when he heard Melissa inserting her key in the lock.
"Hi," she greeted him, kissing him on the lips, before moving towards the bedroom, stripping out of her uniform on the way.
Raj followed her with his eyes, again amazed that this beautiful, sweet, funny woman had chosen to be with him.
"I'm gonna take a quick shower," she told him through his opened bedroom door. "And then I wanna cuddle up with you and watch some TV."
"Sure, take your time," he said, hoping she would do the opposite so he could hold her.
Ten minutes later she walked out of his bedroom, clad in a towel. She sat down next to him on the sofa and, as she had told him, snuggled into him for a cuddle. "Hmm, I missed this."
Raj smiled. "Yeah, me too." They remained seated like that on his sofa for just an hour, before Melissa declared she'd wound down enough to go to bed. Raj was glad, as he'd been nearly falling asleep for the last half hour.
Penny smiled, listening to Leonard talking about the unexpected results from this weekend's simulation. She wasn't paying much attention to the words, but the passion and excitement behind them. Suddenly, some of his words registered, and she lifted her head with what she knew had to be fear in her eyes.
"Oh, no. I'm not going. No way," he assured her as soon as she had lifted her head. "One time was more than enough for the foreseeable future."
"Good. Because I'm not sure I would let you go this time."
He grinned. "Good to know. But honestly, I've no desire to embark on another long term expedition. A week I could probably do, but nothing that would keep me away from you any longer than that. So, how did the table read go?"
Penny smiled. "Pretty good. I mean, it took a long time, because the writers kept changing the script. In between the reading sessions, we just talked about things, like how hard it is to get the big break all of us had been looking for. Our science dude didn't know I've been hanging around you guys..."
"Science dude," Leonard asked, a grin on his face.
Penny sighed. "Anyway, he knew you guys by name." She giggled. "He was very curious about Sheldon and how much of the stuff he'd read or heard about him were true. I'm sure I told him more than he heard before. Oh, the producers asked if you guys would like to come to the taping this Friday. I'm not sure Sheldon would want to, but I guess nobody else minds. I just hope you'll all have time."
"I guess Sheldon will not be thrilled, but I'm sure the rest of us will be there. I know I'll be."
Penny smiled. "I'll ask the rest of the gang tomorrow."
"Melissa," Jennifer said, approaching the group of students. "Dan told me what happened yesterday."
"What," Penny asked, her head whipping around to Melissa quickly. "Eric didn't get out, did he?"
Melissa smiled and shook her head. "No, he's still locked up. His brother, Brian, came by at the Cheesecake Factory though. Apparently, because I left Eric, he beat his wife to death, and thus it's my fault Eric's now locked up."
"That's absurd," Penny exclaimed. "What happened then?"
Melissa shrugged. "Uhm, well, he tried to attack me, and Dan wasn't around, so I used some of the techniques I learned here to get him to the ground and immobilize him."
Penny grinned. "Oh, I wish I could've seen that!"
Melissa grinned in response, for the first time feeling proud of her way of dealing with Brian. "I told him if he came back I'd show more techniques I've learned. And then Dan showed up and together we removed him from the premises."
Jennifer had followed the conversation with a smile. Her two assistants had the same smile, all three of them realizing that the other students, hearing this, would be extra motivated to learn more, now that one of their own had proven the effectiveness.
"This is so cool," Leonard said to Howard, as they looked at the set in between scenes. "Have you ever been to a taping of a TV show?"
"No, I think it's safe to say none of us have," his friend replied, looking around with interest. "But it's definitely cool."
Leonard grinned and nodded, as they walked back to the writer's room, where the entire group was seated. They were currently halfway through the episode, which he only knew because he'd been going over the script with Penny. Given the time, he figured they'd be here for at least another two hours.
"It's a good thing Sheldon decided not to come," Howard said. "Not only would he be complaining about the amount of time it takes, but why they didn't ask him as the science adviser."
Leonard chuckled. "Yeah, he probably would. But you have to admit that could've been fun to watch."
"What would be fun to watch," Penny asked, walking up to them, giving Leonard a quick kiss.
"Watch Sheldon argue with the writers and producers about the science," Leonard replied, smiling at her.
Penny giggled. "Yeah, I'm sure he would. So, guys, whadda ya think?"
"The show is so funny," Bernadette replied. "And it's uncanny how the characters seem to behave so much like the guys."
Sam nodded. "Yes, and the accuracy of the science is also impressive."
"Penny, are these your friends?"
Penny nodded. "Yeah."
As she introduced them, Leonard couldn't help but notice she had put her arm around him as soon as the guy arrived, and kept it there. The emphasis on 'boyfriend' as she introduced him was also very obvious. They talked for a little, before the guy walked away again. Penny's arm hadn't moved from it's spot the entire time. He was about to confront her, when one of the lead actors approached.
"Is Peter still trying to get you to go on a date?"
Penny rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I figured I'd better show him I'm already in a committed relationship."
Leonard kept quiet. Her almost casual categorizing their relationship as 'committed' made him want to do a happy dance, no matter how foolish he would look. Despite living together for just over a month, this was the first time she mentioned anything as strong as this.
"Yeah, well, let me know if he gives you any more trouble. He only has a small role, and if he keeps bothering you or the other women, we can have him replaced."
"Don't worry Rick, I can handle it." She turned to Leonard. "Honey, just a heads up, that guy and I will have to kiss in one of the scenes."
Leonard nodded, already knowing that from going over the script with her several times. "I know. It's part of your job. I'm cool." He doubted he'd fooled her anymore than he did himself, but she kissed him nevertheless, before returning to prepare for the next scene.
Penny wasn't looking forward to doing the scene again. The last five times Peter had held her just a bit too tightly, his kissing just a bit too real. Of course she didn't want to complain, and he was just a one time guest.
"Penny," one of the producers said. "A word, please?"
Penny nodded and followed him. To her surprise, all regular cast members were present, as was the director and the other producer.
"Penny, how do you feel about Peter? Are you comfortable to do the scene with him again?"
Penny shrugged, not sure if she should complain too much. "Sure."
"Are you sure," the producer asked again. "Obviously we'd prefer doing this scene with him, but if needed we can redo his scenes with his backup."
Penny was relieved to find the producers and cast were actually looking out for her, giving her an out. "No, I can handle it. I really hope this is the last take, though."
The director nodded. "It is. If he 'screws up' again, he's out of here, and we'll redo the scenes with his backup."
Again, Penny was relieved, both knowing it would be the last take with the creepy actor, and knowing they didn't blame her for the already five takes of what was in essence not much more than a single line from her and some kissing. "Alright, let's get this over with so we can all go home."
A couple of minutes later, and Penny was regretting agreeing to another take. Peter was definitely the most obnoxious, most unprofessional actor she'd ever met. He seemed to think acting gave him permission to try and slip in a tongue during a kissing scene, or place his hands on her ass, even though that was not in the script and the director had told him after each take he shouldn't do that.
The director yelled 'cut' and Peter was asked to follow the producers. Penny glanced at the director who shrugged and then followed the producers and Peter. Penny walked toward the writer's room, knowing her friends were there.
Rick, who played her fellow experimental physicist, was talking with Leonard, and Penny became curious. She wrapped her arm around Leonard and gave him a quick kiss. "Hi. What's going on?"
"I was explaining to your boyfriend most actors don't behave like Peter," Rick answered. "He said he knew that."
Penny raised an eyebrow as she looked at Leonard. "Really?"
Leonard nodded. "Yeah, I've seen you in several plays, with the occasional kissing scenes. I've never seen any of them behave like he did. Besides, I trust you." Grinning he added "Well, I do now."
"He has no idea how lucky he is Penny didn't punch his lights out," Howard said, as Bernie drove him, Raj and Melissa back to Pasadena. They'd all seen how that Peter guy had behaved, both on and off set.
Melissa giggled, "yeah, she's really good at that. Have you ever seen her handiwork?"
Howard glanced at Bernadette. He wasn't sure if he should tell about his experience in front of her, but then again, Penny might have told her already. He sighed. "I may have been the recipient once."
"Of course you were, Howie," Bernadette said in a, to Howards relieve, friendly way. "You tried to kiss her after she told you you were a nice guy."
"Dude, you were lucky Penny came up with that 'slipped and fell' story."
Howard turned around. "I think we can all agree nobody really believed that." He turned back to Bernadette. "And, yes, I did deserve it. Nevertheless, that guy hasn't got a clue what could've happened to him."
"I'm pretty sure Penny didn't do anything because of being in the public eye now," Melissa said. "She's smart enough to realize it could reflect badly on her."
"That's probably true," Howard agreed with a nod. "I heard what Rick said to Leonard, that he would've loved to just kick that guys ass, but that wouldn't be good for him."
"Maybe you should've handled him, Melissa," Bernadette suggested. "I heard you dealt with that guy at the Cheesecake Factory very effectively."
"What?!"
Howard turned around to look at his friend. He understood why Raj was upset to hearing this only now, but his reaction might have an adverse effect on his girlfriend.
"Uhm, yeah, the other day Eric's brother came by. He implied it was my fault his brother had beaten his wife to death and is now in prison."
"But, that's absurd!"
"That's what I told him. And then I told him I would get another waitress, and then he grabbed me from behind. I executed the move Jen has us practice every single lesson, and when he attacked me, I forced him to the ground and told him he and his family should leave me the hell alone. Dan, the manager, then helped me force him out of the Cheesecake Factory. I haven't seen him since."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Melissa shrugged. "I didn't want to worry you. And I really don't think you have to. Like I said, I haven't seen him since, and Brian isn't as bad as Eric."
