Thank you again guys for the great reviews! I love hearing from you! I personally found this chapter quite sweet to write, so I hope it comes across that way! Enjoy! :)

The dinner

Later on that evening, Penny and Leonard got dressed up and went to a nice Chinese restaurant a few blocks away from them. Penny looked stunning as always. Leonard still couldn't believe that he was hers; he didn't understand how a man like him could get a girl like her.

When they arrived, they were shown to their booth, with a lovely view of the park across the road. Penny moved over to where Leonard was sat, as his placed his arm around her. They always did this when they were somewhere like that. They looked at their menus and ordered their food. They both ordered something that the other liked, so that they could share food. Again another tradition of theirs. After they ordered, they sat and talked for a bit. Penny was trying to get Leonard to talk about his problems at work, but he wasn't saying much, not about Sheldon anyway. He explained the experiment he couldn't get to work. Penny didn't understand much, but she just smile at him and said "You'll figure it out soon, I know you will". He then proceeded to ask her about her day. She, like him, didn't say much. They were both more concerned about each other. She said that she was going to work her but off now though so that she wouldn't get fired. Leonard said that it would all be alright, that even if she did get fired, she would be able to find another job straight away. Penny chuckled at this, she loved it when he gave her hope. She leant in and kissed him gently before the food came.

While they were eating, they spoke about their friends and their relationships. Starting off with Bernadette and Howard, then leading to Amy and Sheldon, then finally settling on Raj. They both said that they felt sorry for him, he didn't have anybody. He still didn't have the confidence to speak to Penny, unless he was drunk. Penny said that she would find someone for him, or at least make him okay with talking to other women. She called it 'project get Raj a girl', which made Leonard laugh. They then went back to Shammy for a bit. Penny told him some of the things that Amy had said about him. Like the rush she gets every time she sees him, and that his face is desirable. Leonard burst out laughing at this point. Penny pouted at first, but then joined in.

"I defiantly picked the best one of the group" Penny said, smiling into Leonards eyes. "Yeah? Well… I could have done better" Leonard joked, receiving a whack from Penny followed by a "How rude!" Leonard laughed and said ow! "Well you deserved it" she replied with a slight grin on her face. You know I'm joking right?" Penny looked up at him and smiled, nodding. "Good because you know that you are the best thing that ever happened to me, you mean everything, I love you, never forget that!" he said. Penny's heart swelled. She knew that he felt this way; she felt the same towards him, but still every time she heard him say it, her heart filled with warmth and love. She would never get tired of him saying I love you.

"I love you too "she replied, looking up at him, leaning for a kiss. He met her in the middle, as their lips touched. They had to break away, before the kiss became too passionate.

After they finished eating, they shared a desert. "Can we go for a walk in the park after please? It's such a beautiful night" Penny asked as she gazed out of the window. "Of course we can, this date is for you remember" he said with a smile. She turned around and kissed him. When they broke she smeared strawberry jelly over his nose and laughed. "Aww, you look so adorable" Penny said between laughs. Leonard grabbed her, and whipped his nose all over her cheek. "Ewww, Leonard!" she said, still laughing. He smiled at her, quite proud of what he had done. After they cleaned up, they finished their desert, paid the bill and left, heading towards the park. They walked hand in hand, with Penny's head resting on his shoulder. She had her high heels in her other hand, which she had took off not long after they started walking. They talked about their friends some more. Penny was telling Leonard about Bernadette and Howard's love life, of which Bernadette had told Penny most of their sexual activities. Leonard laughed and winced at parts. Fining it both hilarious, making a mental note to tease Howard at a later date, yet also kind of disgusting to be hearing about one of his best friends sex life. After Penny finished her story about how Howard's mother walked in on the both of them once, they both walked in silence, just happy to be with each other. Penny sighed and pulled Leonard towards a quiet spot of the park. She pulled his down so that they were sat on the grass. "We should come for a picnic here someday; it's gorgeous this time of year" Penny said as she leant into Leonard. "Hum… that would be a good idea, although I've never really had a picnic before". Penny pulled away from him just a little bit. "You've never had a picnic, not even as a child?" she questioned in shock. Back in Nebraska, practically every time it was hot and sunny, her family would all walk down to the fields, find their usual stop and sit and have a nice picnic. After her and her siblings would go and play, running round the fields, pretending to be cops and robbers. She loved it.

"Nope" Leonard replied, "My mother and father didn't like the idea of… I don't know… socialising with us, especially me, so we never really went out many places. We never went to the park, rarely went on holiday, and if we did, me and my brothers would be made to write papers and stuff, so it wasn't really a holiday." Penny went silent, she couldn't believe it. She knew that he had had a bad childhood, but for him to say that his parents never wanted to see him was almost heart breaking. She couldn't imagine growing up practically on her own, with hardly any fun or not being able to have a nice holiday. She loved having her childhood memories, they were part of her. She understood why Leonard wanted to separate himself away from his family now, they were no family to him, and they wouldn't really care anyway. She understood why he never spoke about his childhood, as he didn't want her to feel sorry for him. She suddenly understood Leonard a lot better. She knew why he always wanted to please her, and how much the relationship meant to him. She knew why he cared more about her than himself. She understood him. She loved him even more now (if that was possible) because of it. "Aww my poor baby, I can't believe you went through that all on your own, I'm so sorry, you should have told me" she said, with only love in her eyes. "I don't really know why I kept it from you, I don't know, it's just a part of my life not very many people know about, I tried to forget it if I'm honest, and if we ever had kids, I would made sure we spoil them rotten, and let them know that we loved them." Penny felt tears start to form in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She suddenly had images of their future children, how happy they would be, how happy their family would be. She couldn't believe what he had gone through. She made a promise to herself that she would always made sure that Leonard knows that she loves him. She never wanted him to feel like that again. She reached out and grabbed him, pulling him close. "I love you Leonard Hofstader, I will never let you forget that" she sobbed into his shoulder. Leonard smiled, "I know honey, I love you too, we will have an amazing life together, you and I and our little family, and it will be perfect." Penny believed every word he said. She wanted all of what he had just said. She loosened her grip on him and kissed him passionately, letting him know that she felt the same way. For the rest of the evening, Penny lied on Leonard's lap, as they watched the sun set, they discussed their future together, getting married, children, houses, pets everything. Penny was finally ready for a family, and she couldn't wait.