A/N: Thank you all for reading and enjoying this story. A note about this chapter. While I do try to research things as much as I can to make what I write authentic, sometimes I have to play around with times and/or sequence of events to jive with the story. Think of it as if you are watching NCIS and a hit from AFIS comes back in 2.5 seconds. Sometimes you have to speed up the process...

Emily Takes Leonard For a Ride

Emily ran up the stairs and knocked on Leonard's door. She was out of breath when he opened it and he smiled as she tried to compose herself. He stood aside and told her to sit down on the couch. He went into the kitchen and got her a bottled water. He returned and sat down in his usual chair.

"Sorry I'm late," she lied It was her intent all along to arrive when the others had already gone. She did not want Penny to see her. She wanted her to squirm a bit with curiosity as to what Leonard was up to.

"That's alright," he replied. "Am I dressed appropriately for what we are going to do?"

"Well," she replied standing up and placing the bottled water on the coffee table. "I don't think you have the clothing needed in your closet so we'll have to go shopping."

"You don't know for sure. I do have some things that might surprise you." Emily smiled.

"I just assumed since I had to go out and purchase this outfit," she replied moving her hands up and down the outfit to show him. He stared at her outfit and couldn't quite figure out what or who she was trying to be. She had on a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, jeans and boots. Kind of reminded him of a movie Penny made him watch a few years ago.

"The outfit looks like something from that movie Grease. Are we going to see that play? Do we dress up like the characters?" he asked sincerely.

"Nope," she said coyly. "I'm not going to tell you what we are going to do just yet. But you do need to wear something like I am wearing."

"Well these are reddish and corduroy. And I do have a white T shirt I can wear. Don't have a leather jacket or boots like that," he replied.

"Come on. Let's just buy what we need. We're already running a bit late," she said. He nodded his okay and they left. Of course he let her drive since he had no idea where they were going. They drove for a bit and then stopped outside of a store that looked somewhat scary to Leonard. He looked at her hesitantly but she assured him it would be fine. He followed her inside. She went up to the counter and spoke to the guy behind it by name.

"You've been to this place before?" he asked surprised.

"Owner is a patient of mine. I came here Thursday to get this ensemble," she said as she watched the guy go to the back storeroom. "I didn't know your sizes but I had him pull out what I thought you would need."

"Okay," Leonard said looking around. Nothing in that store was remotely like anything he had ever worn – even for Halloween. It was a bit unnerving, yet thrilling in a way for him.

"I think you got the size of the jacket right Dr. Emily," the owner of the shop said. "But the boot size was way off. Man you have little feet for a guy."

"Yes I know," Leonard said embarrassed. Once he had gotten the right sizes, he was shown where he could try on the clothing. He came out a couple of minutes later. Emily gasped when she saw his transformation especially since he had not had his glasses on.

"Wow you look like you are ready to ride," the shop owner said. Emily seconded it. Leonard looked at himself in the mirror and felt like it was a surreal moment.

"So how does it feel to be a biker dude?" Emily asked teasingly.

"Feels pretty good," Leonard replied still looking in the mirror.

"All you need now is a tat," she said. Leonard froze. He turned to look at her.

"That isn't where we are going is it?" he asked starting to shake a bit.

"No silly," Emily replied and Leonard relaxed a bit. She told him to go grab his clothes why she settled up with the owner. "Next appointment is free Max."

"Sounds good Doc," he replied and waved to them as they left.

"You barter services?" Leonard asked curiously.

"Why not?"

"I wasn't judging. I'm actually glad you are because I feel less guilty about you spending all this money on me," Leonard replied. Emily smiled as they got into her car.

"You shouldn't feel guilty. This was the deal we agreed to when we all signed up for this," Emily said pulling out and heading to their next destination. They arrived at Muir High School and Emily parked in the front parking area.

"We're going to high school?" Leonard asked completely dumbfounded as to what they were going to do.

"Well it's a bit unorthodox but I know the owner so he's giving us a little latitude on this," Emily replied motioning him to join her at the front entrance.

"And what exactly is this?"

"You really haven't figured it out yet?" Emily asked surprised. Leonard shook his head no. "We're going to learn to ride a motorcycle."

"Really? Like on the road? Don't we need helmets and a permit and and..." Emily put her hands on Leonard's shoulders to calm him down.

"Relax Leonard. First we're going into a classroom to get a crash – sorry bad pun – course in riding. Then Charlie is going to show us how to ride on a small Kawasaki. He's got helmets and gloves for us. If we like it then we can come back and finish the rest of the course to get our license." That seemed to calm Leonard down, but he did step into the bathroom before going into the classroom. He had to use the facilities and his inhaler.

When Leonard finally came into the classroom, he sat down next to Emily and opened the handbook that was in front of him. The owner of the instruction school started off by telling them a bit about the history of the Academy of Motorcycle Operations. He then started in on some of the basics about a motorcycle and the particulars about mastering the handling of one.

Their time in the classroom was abbreviated so that they could get into some of the on hand riding that day. Charlie explained that after today there were not going to be masters at riding a motorcycle, and would have to come and take the complete course to become fully prepared if they wanted a license.

"But we do have the outfit down pat," Leonard said to Emily's amusement.

"Just because you put on a cape doesn't make you Superman," Charlie replied. Leonard mumbled buzz kill under his breath. "Okay why don't we go outside and I will introduce you to the motorcycles you will be training on. We will also fit you with gloves and a helmet."

"If the gloves don't fit you must acquit," Leonard said walking out of the room. Emily smiled at him glad that he seemed to be enjoying himself. She felt a certain pride in that. Over the next hour, Charlie went over the parts of the Kawasaki and then had each of them get on the bike to get the feel of the machine under them.

To Charlie's amazement, Leonard seemed to be a natural at handling the motorcycle. Emily, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping her weight centered so that she didn't tip the bike. She finally gave up and sat down on the curb to watch Leonard take another ride around the parking lot.

Leonard had seen Emily get off her back and sit down, and he wondered if he should get off his bike also. He knew she was not mastering the concept of riding, and though he wanted to be a gentleman and join her, he was having too much fun.

Charlie had gotten on the other bike and he led Leonard around the building. Leonard was far from being ready for the street just yet, but Charlie felt comfortable will having him to quite a bit of turning and obstacle maneuvering. They even did a mini drag race which Leonard won. After an hour of that, Leonard drove his bike next to where Emily was sitting and turned off the engine. He took off his helmet and asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine. I'm more happy that you enjoyed this as much as you did," she said happily.

"I surprised myself," he replied. Charlie had come up to the both of them and said that they were done with the lessons. He urged Leonard to continue with his training, and gave a sad smile to Emily indicating that she should not.

"We have a bit of time before dinner. Would you like to get a drink somewhere?" Emily asked as she stood up.

"Seems like a beer, a dart game and a bar fight is in order after riding a hog," Leonard replied.

"This isn't a hog," Charlie interjected. Leonard nodded his head and turned away. Charlie loaded the bikes on his trailer and put the rest of the gear inside the truck. He gave a final wave when he left.

"Charlie was a good teacher but he doesn't have a huge sense of humor," Leonard said as they walked to the car.

"Maybe it's the huge boil he has to have lanced next Tuesday that's hindering it." Leonard blanched, getting into the car. They drove a ways and found a bar that seemed to be appropriate for their dress, but not too intimidating. They sat at a high top table and Leonard went up to the bar to get them each a beer. They sat and drank for a while. Leonard was going over in his head how much fun he had that day, and how he thought that Penny might enjoy it if he got his license and then got a motorcycle. He was broken out of his daydream when he heard Emily's phone. She looked at it but didn't answer it.

"Do you need to get that?" he asked.

"No," she replied putting the phone in her purse. "So, I can't believe you have never ridden a motorcycle before. You seemed to know what you are doing."

"Like I said before, I was surprised myself. It's amazing how something that could scare you at first, you can find exhilarating after you give it a chance," he replied reflectively.

"Kind of like relationships," Emily said.

"Yes I guess so. Although I've never been in a relationship where I feared crashing into a wall and dying," he replied.

"Well not physically but metaphorically relationships can be that scary." Leonard agreed.

"Did you have anything special planned for dinner tonight?" he asked.

"Are you getting hungry?" she asked. He began to reply when his phone began to vibrate. He looked at the caller ID and put up his finger. He answered the phone.

"Hi Bernadette. Is everything okay with Sheldon and you?" He listened as Emily looked at him curiously. "Well if everyone else will be there, then I'm sure Emily will want to come." He hung up with Bernadette.

"What's that all about?" Emily asked.

"Bernadette said she tried to call you a couple of times. Everyone is meeting at Bernie's office building . Some surprise I guess she isn't telling. I'm sure you'd want to go."

"Of course," Emily replied, but she looked crestfallen. Oh she wanted Penny to see Leonard in his new get up but this new thing could be a wrinkle in her plan.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I know that it wasn't in the plan, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it," Leonard said. Emily relented and gave him a smile. They finished their beer and went out to the car. Emily drove slowly to Bernadette's office, all the while thinking. When they got closer to the parking lot of the place, they were surprised at what they saw. Leonard laughed as they got out of the car and looked around to find who else was there. Amy was the first to greet them.

"Wow I almost did not recognize you Leonard. You either Emily. Great outfits. Did you go see the play Grease?" she asked.

"No Emily took me to my first motorcycle riding lesson. The gear is what all serious riders where," Leonard replied happily.

"Emily, you look gorgeous," Raj said coming up behind her. "Wow, I like that outfit – a lot."

"Thank you Raj. I thought you might." Raj turned to Leonard.

"Whazzup Kenickie?" he asked.

"Your girlfriend is the best. She took me to get my first motorcycle riding lesson. I loved it. I'm going to learn how to ride a hog," Leonard said strongly. Sheldon and Bernadette joined the group.

"Leonard this is not a State Fair. There are no hogs here," Sheldon said. Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Hey where's Penny and Howard?" he asked.

"They'll be along in a while. Penny took him to the Magic Castle. They wanted to stay and see the whole performance of this chef guy," Bernadette replied.

"Come on everyone. You have to see all that Bernadette did," Sheldon said grabbing Amy's hand. She smiled when he did and joyfully followed him. Raj took Emily's hand and they followed close behind. Bernadette stayed behind with Leonard.

"What do you think Penny is going to say about your new duds?" she asked.

"Hopefully she'll say that I'm sexy," he replied.

"Do you think there was some motive behind Emily dressing you up like this?" Leonard looked at her surprised.

"I don't think so. Do you? I mean Penny thinks Emily is out for her, but she hasn't done anything I would consider over the line," Leonard replied.

"Well let's make sure she keeps it that way." Bernadette said walking away from Leonard. Leonard stood there for a couple of minutes trying to figure out the meaning behind Bernadette's words. He was about to follow the others when he heard a car pull up.

"Oh. My. God," Penny said as her eyes affixed on Leonard and his get up.

"Did Emily get him to join the Hell's Angels?" Howard asked as she parked the car.

"I don't know but I'm not sure how I should feel about this," Penny replied.

TBC

A/N 2: In case it wasn't glaringly obvious, I know zip about riding a motorcycle outside of holding on to the boyfriend as we rode. I do though know what it is like to burn my leg on one of the mufflers. Hurts like the dickens...