As the days progressed, Leonard's health improved. The couple began spending some time, usually in the evening, in Penny's apartment, in a quiet attempt to get Sheldon used to their not being in 4A. The therapy seemed to be helping, too: he had one nightmare that week, and it seemed a little milder. As Dr. Shaw walked him through the cognitive behavioral therapy, it fascinated him. He thought it might be useful for Penny, too.

"The idea," he explained one evening as they sat in Penny's living room, "is to train yourself to recognize when you're imagining events that are not realistic. It's hard to explain, but somehow even in your sleep you can recognize that a dragon flying above you can't be real, for example. And then you get closer and closer to the things that are bothering you, and you recognize that while they might seem real in your dream, they aren't. I can't really describe the feeling but it seems to be helping me. You might mention it to your doctor. Because you went through the same kinds of trauma that I did."

"OK, I'll ask her about it. But for now we're mostly focusing on some other things," Penny said, a little vaguely.

"Oh. Am I allowed to ask?"

"Well, you can ask…OK, sure. I still feel guilty about how I've treated you over the years."

"Penny, please…"

"Shush. This isn't about you, it's about me. The fact is that I do feel guilty. And Dr. Kaplan is helping me see that it's not really all that much about you – so how do you like that now? Some of it is what they call "survivor guilt," because you got seriously hurt but I didn't, and on top of it you only got hurt because you were trying to help me. But some of it is a little deeper, because over the years people mature and look back on how they behaved when they were younger, and it's not always a pleasant picture. Frankly, I wasn't a particularly nice teenager, and I realize that now. And some of the people I wasn't particularly nice to were people that remind me of you: really smart people, guys who were gentle and kind rather than macho. I know it was just high school, but I can't help feeling bad about that."

"I understand that," Leonard said, seriously.

"When you gave your commencement speech on Skype – I mean the real one, not the boring one – it really moved me. Because the kids you were talking about, and to, were kids I never paid any attention to. And it was so sad to think about such smart, sensitive kids having such a bad time. Like you did. And I remembered it again because of a conversation my father and I had that made an impression on me."

"Oh?" Leonard was interested.

"It was between the two of us, and he was trying to help me understand things about men, and about you. He pointed out how hard it must have been for you, growing up, and how strong that made you. Of course, I wouldn't change you, but it burns me up to think of how you were mistreated."

"It wasn't that bad," Leonard said. "Well, maybe it was."

"Actually, that raises another thing I've talked about with Dr. Kaplan. Your mother. Even thinking about her makes me really angry. Really, really angry. So angry that I'm truly glad she won't be coming to our wedding. The way she treated you – and the way she still treats you – is so awful. And since we've been talking about starting a family, I think a lot about parents. And I get worried about what kind of mother I'll be. Especially since there was a time when I know I wasn't nice to other kids."

"Penny, whatever you might have been like as a teenager – and frankly I can't believe you were as bad as you say – today you're just about the warmest, kindest person I know. You're going to be an incredible mother. The anti-Beverly."

"I'm already anti-Beverly. But I know what you mean."

Penny paused. "Leonard?" she asked, tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Remember I promised to think about why I didn't talk to you more about us after you broke up with Priya?"

"Yes."

"Well, I did. And I think I can give you a better answer. I think it was two things. The first was that I really was scared that you might not want to try again, or that if you did it we would mess it up somehow. And the second, which I guess is related, is that I didn't want to be a person you turned to on the rebound – a shoulder to cry on when you needed one. I think I wanted to give us time to be single together, if you know what I mean, and to start fresh. I figured that our best chance would be if we were going to begin again, not pick up where we left off and not commiserate over Priya or something. Does that make any sense?"

"I don't know. The first one I don't really get: I really can't imagine you seriously thought I'd turn down a chance to be with you, and we could have gone slow like we eventually did."

"That's easy for you to say. I didn't really know how you felt about me by then. Remember, we hadn't been talking all that much. Plus, look, I was scared! I was desperate for it to work out between us, and I didn't want to do anything to screw it up. But what about the other reason? Not being some rebound pickup?" she asked

"That I do understand. At the time I was confused about it, though. I thought maybe you were hurt that I had been with Priya for so long, and you didn't want to give me the idea that you were going to come along, as a second-best replacement. Not that I ever thought that – just that I thought maybe you thought that. Wow, that's way too complicated, but do you get it?"

"Yeah. That's a lot like the rebound idea. I wanted you to want to go out with me, to want to be with me, period. Not because you had just broken up, not because somebody had cheated on you, not for any other reason," Penny concluded.

"OK. I get it. I still think you made me suffer unnecessarily, but suffering is good for the soul, they say. I must have a lot of soul," Leonard said, looking as pitiful as he could.

"Nice try. You'll get no fake sympathy from me. Only the real thing. Right now, no sympathy. Only a big hug and a lot of love," she said, hugging him. "Anyway, it's getting late. Do you want me to show you another yoga meditation position?"

"Sure. But keep it simple. The last one practically broke my leg."

They tried a basic stretch on the floor, which Leonard was actually able to do. And then they headed back to apartment 4A to get ready for bed. They were still sleeping there, although they knew they'd eventually have to raise the issue with Sheldon. The Momentum Conversations had continued, covering everything from the cello to what it means for the universe to be infinite yet expanding.

"Let's talk. Leonard Hofstadter, when are we going to set a date to get married?"

"Ha! I knew you were going to ask that eventually. Reach into my nightstand drawer and take out the sheet there."

Penny opened the drawer and found a sheet of paper. It was a calendar with six Sundays circled.

"Take your pick. They all seem good to me: no conflicts at Caltech or with Harvard Law, or with the Jewish holidays, no long weekends."

Penny looked through them all. "I have to check with my parents, but as far as I'm concerned the earlier the better."

Leonard looked. "That's in about eight weeks, you know."

"I know. That's fine with me. But, Leonard, what are we going to do about living arrangements? About Sheldon? We keep putting it off because those two are still waltzing around, but we have to talk to him."

"I know," Leonard sighed. "Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll talk to him in the morning."

The next morning, Leonard wandered into the living room at around 9 AM – he was sleeping less, getting up earlier – while Penny was back in her apartment taking a long bath. Sheldon was at his desk.

"Buddy, can we talk about something pretty important?"

"What's so important?"

"Here's the thing. Penny and I are setting the date for our wedding. It will probably be in a couple of months. And we're thinking about our living arrangements. One thing is certain. I think you know what it is, but I want to make sure. The thing is, we don't want to live apart any more. What I mean is, we don't want to spend any more nights apart. Married couples don't do that, and we're basically a married couple."

Sheldon nodded. "I know that. I knew this was coming." He seemed defensive, but not hostile.

"Sheldon, I know it's disturbing to you, but this is how it's going to be: either we'll stay together in Penny's apartment, or here. Of course, we're open to your views as to how we might handle it."

Sheldon was quiet.

"Believe me, I realize this is tough on you. But we're not doing it to hurt you. We're doing it because we love each other and want to be together, and this is what people do when they grow up, get married, have a family. Maybe you and Amy will be getting there eventually. I hope so."

"I hope so, too, Leonard. I think about it a lot. And I do realize that you two are going to want to continue to live together. So I figured you'd probably move in with Penny. After all, you've been with her every night since you got injured. I've sort of gotten used to you two being together all the time. I know I was really angry at both of you before. But that didn't actually have to do with you both being here – it was mostly that things with Amy were so unsettled, and I didn't feel like you were taking my side."

"I'm sorry you felt that way," Leonard said. "It's hard, you know. Both you and Amy are our friends, and we were just trying to be fair to both of you. I'm sorry if it seemed to you like we were lined up against you. That's not how we meant it."

"It still bothered me." Sheldon insisted. "Anyway, I'll miss you a lot on the times you stay over at Penny's, but I think it will be all right."

"Actually," Sheldon continued, "it might all work out. Because one of the things I have been thinking is that if Amy and I continue to make progress, I would ask her if she wanted to be my roommate. With a separate room, of course. She wanted that at one point, but I wasn't ready. I think I might be ready now. I'm not sure, but I think so."

"That's very exciting, about Amy, and I'm glad to hear it. But that's pretty far in the future, I imagine. For now, let me be clear: does what you're saying mean," Leonard asked cautiously, "that you think you would be all right with Penny and me spending every night together? If it helps, we can alternate between here and her apartment."

Sheldon nodded. "I can deal with that, I think. And if the roommate thing with Amy happens you could move in with Penny, and that would be a good solution."

"Umm, well, there's something else," Leonard said with some trepidation. "After we get married, we will probably move in together for good. But it won't be in Penny's place, at least not for long. Her apartment is really too small, and she's making very good money now. So we can afford a larger place."

Sheldon looked substantially more troubled. "Moving somewhere else? That's harder for me to deal with. There's no guarantee that Amy would want to move in here. And, I mean, who would drive me? And you know I don't really cook. It would be one thing for you to be across the hall. It's another thing for you to move to San Francisco or something. I hear there's a two-bedroom apartment opening up downstairs. That would be an easier commute than San Francisco."

Leonard tried to be patient. "We're not moving to San Francisco. Maybe to someplace within walking distance, maybe even in this building. Who knows? That's a couple of months away, probably. We can deal with that when the time comes. For now the issue is our spending three or four nights of the week together at Penny's, and three or four nights together here. And I want to make sure that's all right with you."

"We'll have to talk about that other thing. I'm not happy about it. But OK for now; I can live with your coital commute back and forth across the hall. At least it will be quieter around here at night the times you spend at Penny's. I thought at least with you an invalid you two would make less noise, but if anything it's worse than ever."

"Sorry about that, buddy. But we're good on the commuting, as you put it?

"I guess."

"Good man. Sheldon, I'm glad that you and Amy seem to be working things out. I have to say, there was a time when I was worried about what was going on between you two. But now you seem a lot happier."

"We are," Sheldon confirmed. "I think both of us realize that we want to be together. We just have to figure out how to make that work better."

"That," said Leonard, "is what every couple has to figure out. It can take time. Look at Penny and me – I think I'd say that it took us eight years."

"Yes," Sheldon said seriously, "but that was you and Penny. I'd give Amy and me six months."

Leonard rolled his eyes, but figured it was best to let it go. "Thanks for talking about this with me, Sheldon. I know the whole issue is touchy, and I'm glad we seem to be on the road to settling it."

"No problem. But now I have work to get back to."

Leonard walked back to the bedroom, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

That evening, as they got into bed, Leonard reported on the discussion to Penny. "It wasn't all that pleasant, but he said he was all right with our staying together – you know, a few nights in your place, a few nights over here. He did complain about the noise at night. Apparently, according to him, we're louder than ever."

Penny laughed. "I always did like riding. Maybe that's why." She stopped for a minute, thinking. "Seriously, even though you're pretty limited these days, I do think that the sex is better."

"Limited! Oh, all right, I know what you mean. And I agree. I feel like we're more in tune with each other, even in bed."

Penny nodded, reflecting on all that was new.

"Anyway," Leonard continued, "back to Sheldon. It wasn't all that easy. I also tried to bring up the longer run, after we're married. I mentioned the possibility that we might move away, and he really didn't like that idea. You know what, though?"

"What?"

"He's actually thinking of asking Amy to move in with him at some point – separate bedrooms, of course. Who'd have thought it?"

"Wow. That would make it a lot easier."

"Maybe. But he was pretty resistant to our moving away. I can't believe we're having to take this into account, but there it is: if we do decide to get another place, he's probably going to have a fit."

"Maybe Howard could arrange another private call from Stephen Hawking to talk to Sheldon about our living arrangements," Penny suggested.

Leonard shook his head. "You know what they say: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I doubt it would work again."

"Do you think he'll ever figure it out?" Penny wondered.

"I hope not. Actually, I think that he believed what he wanted to believe. The fact is that Sheldon realized what he needed to do, and I think he was happy to accept that he was hearing it from somebody he respected. It just confirmed what he knew was right. Anyway, Howard better never do his imitation of Stephen Hawking again with Sheldon present."

Penny laughed, "That's for sure. So I guess we'll just have to work it out with him ourselves, without divine intervention from the great man."

"We will. But at least he didn't go crazy, he didn't start accusing me, he didn't run away from home. I'm optimistic."

"That's great. Ready for bed?"

They both climbed in and prepared for another conversation.

"Let's talk," Penny began, as always. "Leonard Hofstadter, what do you see us doing about living arrangements after we're married? I mean, forgetting about Sheldon for a moment: what do you want?"

"I'm not sure. Sheldon said that he heard that one of the two-bedroom apartments in our building was opening up. That might be a possibility. But to be honest, that doesn't really appeal to me. What I'm thinking is that we should be looking to rent a house. You know, in case we need more room pretty quickly."

"Gee," Penny teased, "I can't imagine why that would be."

"Hmm. A failure of imagination. Well, can I give you a hint?" And he nestled closer to her and kissed her passionately.

"No, still not getting it," she kidded.

"No? OK, how about now," and Leonard rolled over so that he was lightly poised on top of her.

"Oh!" Penny's eyes widened. "That's a pretty big hint you've got down there! But, Leonard, are you sure you're healed enough? We don't want to reinjure anything. Remember what the nurse said about my being on top for a while."

"It feels just fine. Limited, my foot!"

"I don't think that's your foot. At least I hope not."

Leonard laughed. "Anyway, much as I love you controlling everything in bed, every once in a while I like to feel like I have something to do with it. OK?"

"You always have something to do with it. You have everything to do with it," Penny said, suddenly serious. "I want you to know that we're in it for the long, long haul. And we have to be equal partners in everything, in and out of bed. For all our lives." She stopped the rhythmic movements she had subconsciously begun.

Leonard looked at her and stopped moving, conscious of how important this was to her, and to them. "I know. Equal partners, in everything, forever."

"Leonard." She peered into his eyes, looking even more serious.

"I love you. I'm so happy. I can't even explain how happy I am."

Leonard smiled. "You don't have to. I know. I'm that happy, too. So now, let's celebrate our happiness."