A/N: I really wanted this to be longer, but have been at a good stopping point for a little while now. I know I've said it before, but updates for this will be more prompt than they have been recently. Thank you, thank you all for the reviews, follows AND favorites. It is impossible for me to say how much I appreciate them and you all for reading.

Happy New Year (didn't Mr. & Mrs. Sweeting make a lovely bride and groom?); I own nothing having to do with The Big Bang Theory!

Chapter 14: Staging.

I.

After leaving Dr. Hunt in the cafeteria, Leonard made it as fast as he could back to Penny, in the pet-scan area of the imaging department. Once arriving, he waited outside the door briefly, hoping it would not take him too long to catch his breath.

Opening the door quickly, he found Penny coming out from where she entered just over an hour ago, when the test was beginning.

"Hey you" she said it with a smile, but the voice was tired.

Leading her to a chair, he sat down next to her. "You look beat" he said with more than a little concern in his voice.

She laughed and said "I fell asleep during the scan. Larry gave me some head phones. I chose some classical music, hoping for those cello concertos again. The music was soooo relaxing; the next thing I knew, Larry's shaking my shoulder telling me we're all done!"

"Hello Leonard" Larry said entering the waiting area. "You will be pleased to know that your girl did quite well. She was so relaxed she was asleep for most of the scan."

"So she tells me" Leonard replied; less concerned now.

"The testing is complete and the results just went to up to Dr. Hunt." the couple nodded in response.

"She messaged me that you should go and have some lunch and she would speak with you at 2:45."

Making their farewells to Larry, they exited the pet-scan unit. Leonard led her to the cafeteria that he had just left after his conversation with Dr. Hunt. Neither of them felt hungry, but decided to share a salad and have some water.

"Hey you" she said it again, tenderly, and reached out for his hand. "You look like you're a million miles away." They were sitting at a table, eating quietly.

Coming out of his thoughts, he have her a warm smile and squeezed her hand in return, eliciting an equally loving smile.

"Oh. No. I was just thinking about what comes next."

Swiping her phone out of its sleep state to look at the time, she replied "well, we will see in about fifteen minutes." He nodded in agreement.

The rest of the time in the cafeteria was spent in idle chatter about Larry, and about Dr. Hunt. Leonard also relayed the many well wishes on their marriage from colleagues at the university that he had received via email. It seemed like the secret, along with the cat, was alive and out of the box.

At 2:40 she stood up and walked over to his side. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head to her chest. He could hear her heart beating. "Let's go talk to her" she said quietly.

After the ride up in the elevator, they entered room 328 at exactly 2:45. This time it was Dr. Hunt who greeted them.

"Hi Penny. Leonard" she said brightly as a greeting. "Kathleen is down confirming things for you for Thursday" she continued, looking directly at Penny now. "I've looked through the results of the pet-scan. Why don't we go into my office and talk over some things."

The couple followed. Penny again had her arm through Leonard's, her left hand joining her right in gripping his bicep.'

After they were seated, Dr. Hunt got right to it.

"The pet-scan did not provide any surprises, good or bad. You are pretty much where I thought you would be."

They both were listening intently. Penny, sitting to Leonard's right, held his left hand with her left. His right hand was on her left thigh; her right gripped the arm of the seat she occupied.

"Are either of you familiar with the term 'staging'?" she asked.

They both nodded that they did.

"Alright. The staging just tells us how advanced the lymphoma is." Again both nodded, however Leonard furrowed his brow at the word 'just', but let Dr. Hunt continue.

"On the Ann Arbor staging system, there are four categories. Presently, Penny, you are in stage 3SB."

Penny gave a sharp intake of breath. Three out of four. With extra letters. Not good was all that flashed through her mind.

Leonard removed his hand from her thigh and wrapped around her shoulders.

"Can you tell us about that designation?" he asked quietly. Penny remained still, but had paled considerably.

"Of course" the doctor replied calmly.

"Stage 3 means that the disease is located on both sides of your diaphragm, Penny, and has spread to your spleen. That is the 'S' designation."

Penny's next intake of breath was audibly shaky. Leonard pulled her closer and continued to listen, trying to remain calm himself.

"Finally, 3SB just acknowledges the fact that your symptoms have included a significant loss of weight along with the night sweating that you have been experiencing."

Dr. Hunt nodded her head at the last part of the statement, trying to have the couple remain calm. She had been speaking in a slow, even voice. The technique she had the most success with in giving this news so early on in the process. Her nodding produced the same action from the Hofstadters.

"The staging could have been much worse. We see no sign of it spreading to your brain, your liver, the spinal cord or your lungs."

"So kind of bad news and good news"" Penny asked, still quietly, but the color was returning to her face. Dr. Hunt noted that quick recovery. She also noticed that her patient moved her chair closer to her husband-her source of strength. A small smile turned at the corner of the doctor's mouth-not noticed by the couple.

"Correct" she responded. "The best thing would be to see it just in the lymph nodes we had identified earlier. That the spread is still localized? That is positive news."

The last bit of information produced a wary smile from Penny.

Dr. Hunt went on to explain that the course of chemotherapy Penny would undergo would consist of six cycles that would include twelve infusions over a six month period. She would be receiving four chemo meds each time. This regimen was known as "ABVD'.

She asked if they had any questions. Penny said that she couldn't think of any. Leonard shook his head "no".

She then produced an envelope with prescriptions along with explanations for each medication. She also provided a bag that contained some meds to take home. Anti-nausea mediation, heat burn suppressors, fever reducers, energy increasing medication. The prescriptions included steroids, sleep medication and extra strength medicated mouth wash.

"I'm a walking pharmacy here" Penny said with a giggle.

Leonard smiled again. He still hadn't said anything since the stage of the lymphoma was disclosed.

The doctor made a few more points about Thursday, then rose from her desk and walked around to her patient. Taking both of Penny's hands she reiterated her feelings for a successful outcome.

"Penny. Leonard" she said looking back and forth between them both; never letting go of Penny's hands. "we have a long journey ahead of us. As I said before, this will be like a war waged inside your body. Penny you will be victorious". The last was said with a warm smile. Penny dropped the hands and engulfed Dr. Hunt in a huge hug.

"Thank you Dr. Hunt."

As Penny released the hug, the doctor smiled warmly and shook Leonard's hand.

"We'll see you on Thursday. Call if you have any questions before then. You both have my cell number."

They both nodded again, made their goodbyes and left the office.

II.

Driving home they were mostly silent. Penny was turned slightly away from him, looking out the car window. They still held hands across the console, each occasionally caressing the other with a thumb.

"When you were younger, did you picture yourself to be here? Where you are now? How did you think things would work out?" She asked it in a wistful manner.

"Wow. Where did that come from?" he asked

"Oh. I don't know. I guess I'm pulling a Leonard and over thinking things."

"Well. I'm not really sure. How about you?" he replied.

"I'm not taking about when you were little; you know fireman, policeman, like that. Later, when you were-I don't know-a teenager."

He just nodded and turned to look at her questioningly, but her attention was still drawn away from him, outside the window.

"For me," she said quietly, "when I was like 14, it was all about horses and riding and jumping. It had been that way for awhile. The acting thing didn't even occur to me until I was in high school."

Finally, she turned to him. A little more animated now. "What about you?" she asked pulling at the sleeve of his hoodie. "Did you always think you would end up as a brilliant scientist?"

"I don't know about brilliant" she cut him off "if you weren't brilliant, Hawking wouldn't have asked you to be a part of his expedition; wouldn't have taken you away from me for four months." He just nodded.

After thinking for a moment he said "I always knew I would do something with physics; knew that I would get a Ph.D." He stopped speaking and looked at her. "I guess the thing that I wanted most was…." he turned his head back to the road, avoiding eye contact now "…..the thing I wanted most was a real family." She reached out and touched his face.

"And I have that now. With you. You're my family."

"I love you Leonard."

"I know. And I love you Penny."

They were both quiet for a bit. As they neared home, she decided to jump in to the subject that had been on her mind since last week.

"You know at some point, you're going to talk to you mother about-well about our being married. And about me."

"I know. Maybe not just yet. Let's have some things settle down first. See how you are feeling after Thursday. The last thing I want is anything that is going to cause you any stress.

"Do you want me to call her?"

"No. I think it should come from me."

"I think it should come from both of us, Leonard. We're a team. Me and you. We're 'the Leonard and Penny Hofstadter family'." She was smiling brightly at him, which caused him to smile back, just as big.

They pulled into the driveway on Monterey Street.

"You must be exhausted." He got out of the car and walked to the passenger side. He opened her door and reached out his hand to help her out. Grasping his hand she exited the vehicle. Walking toward the front porch, then up the stairs, she stood beside him as he put the key in the lock.

"Yup. I am pretty tired." She finally responded. He closed the door and put his keys into a bowl on a table next to the entry. She locked the door and stretched her arms and gave out a huge yawn.

"Really, really tired" she said as she walked by him and started upstairs to the bedroom, removing clothing as she went. "I think I need to get into bed, don't you baby?"

She stopped at the top of the staircase and turned around and winked at her husband. She was now completely naked. Leonard didn't waste any time, racing up to meet her.