AN-ATTENTION! Please read the ending Author's Note! Thank you!

So… I had a really good idea for the next chapter, so I sat down and wrote it. I was going to wait a little, but I love it so much that I'm just going to share it with you now. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer- I do not own the Big Bang Theory, nor do I own the images found at the bottom.


Leonard had found his own place, not far from the university, and on the opposite side to his old friends. He figured his absence had been celebrated, what with his behaviour, which had caused the whole mess. He didn't sit with his friends, well, former friends, anymore, nor did he talk to them, but he thought about them. It was hard not to when he saw them sitting together in the cafeteria, laughing and getting frustrated with Sheldon as he used to. He noticed Penny there sometimes too, sitting with Sheldon, holding his hand under the table, thinking nobody would see.

He knew they had moved in together, that Penny had taken his place in the apartment, and it had bothered him at first, but he knew now that they were happier without him. They were happier together. He thought back to where he had gone wrong. Was it the cameras? Was it when he had yelled at her? Or was it even before then? When he had tried to get her to change her beliefs or go back to college? Maybe if he'd just loved her for who she was instead of trying to change her, they would be together. She would've chosen him over Sheldon.

But what he had done was irreversible. He had no time-machine, or any means of making one. He couldn't go back and do it over. What he had done was done.


****************ONE YEAR LATER****************

When he received the invitation, he couldn't believe it.

Miss Penelope Sarah Carlisle
and
Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper

request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
at Neighbourhood Church of Pasadena, Pasadena,
on Saturday 17
th of September,
At 2 o'clock pm.

R.S.V.P
4A, 2311 Los Robles Ave,
Pasadena
California
Tel: 626-744-8462

He had to read it 4 times before he was sure he'd read it right. It did say Penelope and Sheldon, and it did say marriage. Leonard didn't know whether to be more surprised at the fact that they were actually getting married, or the fact that they had invited him. They hadn't spoken in a year, after that horrible incident he'd caused. They'd moved on. He'd found new friends, started dating another woman, Rebecca, and they were happy, but there had always been a little part of him that missed those days.

Without even thinking about the consequences, he picked up the phone and dialled the number on the invitation. He was going to the wedding.


****************17th of September****************

Penny was ready in her dress, about to walk down the aisle to Sheldon. Her hair was done up in an elegant updo, with tendrils falling around her face, and she wore a beautiful green dress. She and Sheldon had decided not to go with the traditional white scheme that usually goes with a wedding. They had had a bit of difficulty choosing between green and yellow, after she had looked up the meanings of the colours, but Sheldon wanted green, saying it matched her eyes, and yellow was too bright and clashed with her hair. Her dress was indescribable, really. Whenever someone asked her about the dress, she couldn't describe it. It was light green, but with a transparent medium green over the top, and flowers near the hip. Her bouquet had orchids, tulips, protea and cestrum in yellows and greens. Her father took her arm as her cue came, and she was lead down the aisle to Sheldon.

They'd decided on an outdoor wedding at the church, during autumn, so the leaves on the trees were starting to change colour and fall. She noticed her guests staring at her; she noticed Amy and Bernadette standing at the altar, and Howard and Raj behind the only person she had eyes for, Sheldon. He wore a tuxedo with a green shirt underneath his jacket, and had a green coloured flower pinned onto it. As soon as she saw him, all of the nervousness she had been feeling went away, and instead, she felt like the happiest person in the world.


Leonard sat at the back of the crowd; he didn't want to ruin the wedding by being seen. He felt like he was intruding, like he shouldn't be here.

Even after a year, he hadn't completely gotten over Penny. There was still a small part of him that hoped, but seeing her at the wedding, in her beautiful green dress, smiling so happily at Sheldon, that did it. He knew there was no hope for them, and that was okay. That day was the happiest day for a lot of people, he realised. He'd finally moved on, and he could be 100% with Rebecca, not wondering what could happen.

He stayed for the entire ceremony, and almost cried when they read the vows. He noticed little things, like the way they held each other's hands throughout the whole thing, the way they looked at one another, and the way they smiled. They were happy, and so was he.


Leonard had come after all. Sheldon had doubted he would, but he had. He spoke to them after the ceremony, something he hadn't expected. "Sheldon, Penny, congratulations, for one. I realise now that I was wrong to do what I did to you. You belong together, and I see that now. I'm sorry." Sheldon went to speak, but Leonard continued. "Penny, I just want you to know that I'm sorry. I see now that there's no chance for us to ever be together. I should never have tried to change you, or force you out of happiness for my own sake. I just hope you can forgive me." He spoke the last bit to both Sheldon and Penny. Sheldon was about to tell him to forget it. What he had done was terrible, and couldn't be forgiven, but Penny spoke up. "Swe- Leonard, I forgave you a long time ago. What you did was wrong, yes, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it? Truthfully, it was partly my fault too. I led you on, I went out with you, but really, all I wanted was Sheldon. For that I'm sorry. I'm glad you could make it today, I really am." She smiled at him, but Sheldon didn't. He didn't say anything, until he got a nudge from Penny. "Leonard, what you did was malevolent, and I'm not sure I can forgive you, but if Penny's happy, then I'm happy. I would be delighted to try to mend our friendship, but until you prove yourself, I won't be able to completely trust you. I'm sorry Leonard."

He didn't stay around, he couldn't. He went off to find his mother, they hadn't spoken yet, which would probably earn him a bit of an earful from her, but Penny was by his side, so it didn't matter; nothing did, she was there.


They left for their honeymoon that night. Penny had changed out of her wedding dress for the flight to Switzerland. She'd laughed when Sheldon suggested it, remembering that one Valentine's Day they'd spent together, sick in their apartment, instead of with Leonard in Switzerland. They hadn't had to discuss it any further.

They weren't staying long, only a month, as Sheldon had to get back to work, and Penny had finally landed an acting job on a new TV series. All had worked out in the end, Penny smiled. She laid her head on Sheldon's shoulder and closed her eyes as the plane took off, with her hand resting gently on her stomach. For that moment, everything was perfect.


AN- And this is where I leave you. I had plans for another chapter (I'm sure most of you can guess what about), but it felt right to end it here. So, I think I'm going to write a sequel to this, instead of another chapter.

Also, I'm thinking about writing about the wedding in another story, maybe. What do you think? Whether or not I get time to write it is another question, though.

Thanks all for being so supportive with this story!

Remember to review! I'll be quite sad if I don't get many for this chapter. ;)

-Maddy


Now, for anyone who's interested, here are the images of the wedding dress and bouquet I used when writing this. Tell me what you think!

.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQI-zXbUDArtD48Mlj-BB_VhemWq8CfRfvJnzKWjvZ0z6o6ROd (Penny's dress)

.com/images?q=tbn: (Penny's bouquet)