A/N: Just a couple chapters left and the epilogue. Thank you everyone for reading so far. I know its a long story, I appreciate all the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory.
She knew what the day was going to end up being like once everyone found out their plans for the evening. It would be a nonstop hustle and bustle and blur over makeup and shoes and gushing more emotional sentiments than even she could handle. It was happiness in its finest form. But first she wanted to spend some time with just the family.
But now that family included herself, Sheldon, Mary, Missy, her nephew and her parents. She would have expected it to feel odd somehow. The two families had only met last night, they didn't know much about each other at all. Would her father understand Mary's stories about all the inventions Sheldon made as a kid? Could Missy stand the way her nephew kept peeking down her shirt? Could her mother who never went beyond tenth grade have a meaningful conversation with her boyfr—fiancé? Apparently so, because the table was all engaged in happy revelry over eggs and grits and French toast.
She was nervous on how it would sound coming from her mouth. She knew it was sudden and part of her wanted to wait until her friends were there too, they were like family after all. But she rarely got to share special moments with her parents anymore and Mary had already found out when she looked over Sheldon's shoulder at his computer this morning.
"Sheldon and I are going to have the wedding tonight." She said out loud, with no preamble whatsoever. After a few moments, where no one said anything, she thought maybe she hadn't actually committed sound to the words until her father slapped Sheldon a little too hard on the back and gave him a 'that-a-boy'. All the women changed their topics to what they had done in the planning so far and Sheldon and her father talked about something to do with Schrodinger's cat. Her nephew had his nose in one of Sheldon's 'emergency comic books.'
Penny looked around at the crowded table, watching as Sheldon readily interacted with her father, didn't flinch at all from the hugging her mother directed his way. He had really started to change, to break from his shell but was still very much himself with the same attitudes and priorites, same facial ticks. They were just softened and more refined.
Everyone was excited to get started with the planning, so Penny called her female friends to gather in the 'Ramy suite' so she could tell them the news and give the guys HQ as a space to work on their- well whatever geeky guys do before a wedding. When she gave the girls the news Amy jumped higher than Penny ever thought she could.
"Tonight? I'm not especially surprised considering the momentum of the week but there is so much to get done." Bernadette, the expert bride began to fiddle through her ipad with color schemes and venue plans.
"Well that's why I was hoping maybe the Shenny squad hadn't totally disbanded yet."
They were so happy all they had done to break things down so far was to remove computer equipment to the room next door. They were so wrapped up in their celebrations last night that no one sent out the tweet with the news yet- Sheldon and Penny are getting married!
The girls set to work right away. "We should call Tina Grey, see if she has any suggestions." Leanne reminded the group that Tina had married her husband right away in Vegas and was the one to attract hotel staff to the cause. They agreed it was worth a shot, she could at least point them in the right direction.
Ten minutes later Tina slammed down her portfolio on the dinette set in the suite. She turned the pages to those plans that could be executed in the amount of time permitted. Penny was so glad she chose this route. Had she been back in Pasadena she would have had to go through months of planning, but in Vegas things got done right away. A city of instant gratification? Yeah, that was for her.
Penny was busy looking at some pictures of the beautiful new ballroom the hotel built on the abutting property. It had an all glass domed ceiling etched in intricate patterns. Tina explained that it had only been used twice since it opened two weeks ago, both times were for awards ceremonies during the day so none of the pictures showed the potential for how the silver and gold leafing could sparkle with the right lighting at night, making it almost look like dancing under a thousand stars. Penny was instantly entranced.
"So Penny, have you decided on which plan you like best?" Tina asked, eager to relive her brief stint as a wedding planner before getting the management gig at the hotel. She knew Penny would go for the new ballroom and was extra excited, since she could follow a little known tradition of the hotel and give them her own surprise. And she was entirely touched when Penny called Sheldon quickly to ask his opinion on a little matter. He agreed- everyone in the Shenny squad should be there-friends, family, staff, that guy that made their uniforms. It would be a big thank you to everyone they owed their happiness to.
Penny pointed out her final preferences for food and music (classical please!) and made sure to tell Tina to include some food options that were dairy free, for Leonard, peanut free, for Howard, and not too spicy, for Raj. She had taken care of them and all their needs for so many years that the words fell out of her mouth as naturally as some of her geek slips. (Earlier in the day she commented that Amy would look great in a hairstyle like Diana Troy's)
She was excited, things were starting to come together already. The Shenny squad was so brilliant, twenty minutes ago she just announced her plans and already she had a venue booked for her reception, had an idea she was to run by them all soon about the ceremony and even knew what colors she wanted the girls to wear. If she could just get them all to pick their dresses out and get her own it would be game on.
Just when she was starting to worry about where she was going to find her dream dress (to marry her dream man), Missy and Mrs. Cooper came into the suite with her mother in tow, carrying a large garment bag. She didn't recognize it at first until Amy went to unzip it, revealing meemaw's wedding dress.
"Oh my goodness." Leanne finally looked up from some of the virtual color swatches Bernadette showed her. "You already bought a dress?"
"I- well, no. I don't seem to be buying any of my own clothing this week." She said with some confusion.
"Honey, Mary came to my room to ask if I would be ok with you were wearing her wedding dress. Apparently Shelly's grandmother wore it too." Yeah, even she was calling him Shelly now.
"Are you ok with that?" Penny remembered when the storage shed burned down when her brother first started cooking, well, a chemistry of sorts. Her mother had been so mad her own dress didn't make it. She had wanted Penny to have it one day.
"Of course honey! I think it is so beautiful. Be thankful you have such a wonderful mother in law. I know my mother in law would never have thought to ask my mom if she had been about to make the same offer. "
Penny was thoroughly convinced that her whole life had been leading up to just this week, the moment the stars would properly align. It was almost too perfect, too surreal. Had she not been put through emotional hell for some portion of the trip she would have thought someone was playing a massive joke on her. But she was here, this was happening and crap- it was already 10am and they had lots of shopping to get done, so so much to do! She couldn't have been more relieved when her girls took the reins, creating lists and making schedules, it reminded her of her Sheldon.
Mary peeked on as Penny was finalizing her plans with Tina, what she had of them at least, which was now a good deal. "Wow, these plans are incredibly elegant. When you said you would be getting married tonight I thought maybe it would be with Elvis. Thank the good Lord Jesus I was wrong." Mary held her hand to flutter over her heart.
"Well, Mrs. Cooper," Penny began, relieved Mary brought the topic up, she nearly forgot!
"Mom, or momma. Whatever your real momma says is ok." Her mother chose 'momma' for Mary's name, reminding herself she needed to instruct Sheldon in the same accord.
"Well, momma. I was wondering, see I still have to book a ceremony site. So, I thought if you want us to have the ceremony with one of the pastors you have been talking about visiting maybe you could call and make that arrangement with my mom? I know you raised your son with religion, I want to honor that."
Everyone slyly looked to one another out of the corner of their eye. They knew how much this would mean to Mrs. Cooper, momma. She still made Sheldon attend services whenever she was in town and the first time they all met her she had them bring her on a tour of the churches in LA county, excusing Raj and Howard from their obligation to pray.
Mary hugged her with all her might and disappeared to her room, saying she had work to do and needed to make sure the chapel on the outskirts of town would be clear for the night, or "Lord help them there will be trouble to pay!" Penny smiled broadly as her mother and Mary walked out arm in arm, discussing the potential of grandbabies someday.
"Ok then!" Bernadette clapped her hands. "We have men to nag into action."
As they were leaving to make their way through the day's planning Amy spared a thought.
"Hey Penny, or Bernadette- your wedding isn't too far off either. When you throw the bouquet, try to throw it my way."
-T—B—B—T—
"Woo!"
"Yeah, take that Sheldon!"
"No way. There is no chance your armor can stand up to- hah! Told you!" The sounds of grenade blasts and supply packs filled the small hotel room.
Penny peeked her head into Leonard's room after no one was found in HQ. "Aww, you are playing Halo without me? It isn't even Halo night!"
Leonard turned to her with one of his typical grins. "Bachelor party."
"Yes, well" Amy burst in with the other girls behind her, taking Raj at the arm. "Come on, we have work to do."
"Woo, she has you whipped good." Penny just noticed her dad sitting on the edge of the bed next to Sheldon, controller in hand. She was so proud her dad was trying something new and beyond delighted that he was bonding with his soon to be son in law. But he made that last statement just a little too loud. Her mother would have been in an earshot had he said it any later.
"Yeah, well your wife nearly heard you and you are more whipped than all these guys combined." Penny happily returned to her snarky attitude for the moment. Despite how great happiness feels, when you have too much of it, you miss the little jabs you used to give.
Leonard admitted they were all pretty whipped, now that he thought about it as Leanne began enumerating the several duties the men had to get done today. Penny had asked her to be a bridesmaid separate from the rest of the group, in case she would have felt pressured to say yes when she really wanted to say no. But she responded with genuine delight, remarking this made her officially part of the group, thanking Penny dearly with hopes they would become great friends.
Looking on as her bridesmaid instructed the guys in particulars of their day and grooming habits, Penny could see just how that could happen. She wouldn't have thought she could grow to have an attachment to a woman so different than her, a woman with Leonard. She certainly never bonded with Priya. But Leanne was different somehow. She had a warmth about her, a happy acceptance of all the changes Penny had been made aware she was going through as well.
Apparently, she left her position with Leonard's mother to escape her ex who cheated on her. She and Penny had that in common at least. And they loved two totally geeky-cheeky guys. And Leanne had been one of the driving forces, as painful as it had been at the time, to bringing her to Sheldon. She would love her for that alone, even if for nothing else.
The girls began shooing the boys out of the room, including her father and nephew in their grasp.
"But wait! I need some time alone with Penny." Sheldon called, having just been told he needed to get his butt to the tailor right now for a tux fitting. "Besides, I already have a tux."
"That one is great, but not really the same feel as what we are going for." All the men rolled their eyes at Bernadette, only a woman would notice the difference between a notch and peak lapel.
But Penny could see he was serious, he needed to talk to her and she was just absolutely praying it wasn't to back on out. She told him he had fifteen minutes with her, before he had to go on with the business of the day.
Howard made a quickie joke but no one appreciated it.
-T—B—B—T—
"Penny we need to talk." 'Uh oh.' They just returned to their room when he began, obviously anxious to get all he could out of his allotted time.
"What is it Sheldon? Are you ok with the plans? If there is something you don't like we can always chan—" He cut her off with a kiss, making sure to keep her loosely in his arms.
"No, no. I love all your ideas. I just wanted to talk to you about something that affects us both. You see, I didn't go after you the night of the banquette and I was gone for a few hours while you were sick because I was being presented a job offer, in Switzerland." Now she felt it, the other foot dropping. Her face must have betrayed her.
"Oh please, Penny! Let me finish. I didn't give an answer yet because I wanted to know what you want to do. Just let me tell you what our options are and whatever you decide is what we will do, ok? I wouldn't even consider a job that would take me away from Pasadena if I didn't think it was an entirely unique opportunity."
She listened, all the while hoping to poke holes in his presentation. She didn't want to leave her friends in Pasadena, they were her second family and she loved them all dearly. How could Sheldon cope without the guys there for vintage video game night or without their company at the comic book store?
But as she listened, she got that he had considered her throughout it all and that he was having the same doubts about leaving their loved ones behind. He he also seemed convinced that they could be happy there. He showed her a list of colleges she could attend, assuring her Dr. Gamble would pull some strings so she could be admitted for the summer semester. He compiled a simple database of all the things she would like about the area: clear air, chocolate, shoes. And he kept mentioning words like 'our children' and 'your career'.
"Ok."
"Huh?" Sheldon stopped mid-sentence, about to explain how he could hire the guys, if they wanted, with the power he would have.
"Ok. Let's do it. We get six months back here right? And running a department for—sorry hunny I still don't know what your experiment means. But running the department is a huge deal for you. So I say we go with just a few conditions." She was resolved, she could handle this, even if they would both miss their friends terribly.
He was too pleased and too surprised. He didn't think she would go for it. He meant that it was up to her, he would have denied Dr. Gamble without second thought if she said no, but secretly he hoped she would say yes. He thought she would like it there, love it there. And she could still have Pasadena too, he would miss it as much as she would. But with this plan, they would have their friends, their life. He would still be intellectually challenged and Penny would have the chance at a real university education. It was perfect for them.
"What are they?"
"One, you hire at least Leonard to come along. And two, we come back to Pasadena every year for Christmas."
It was a deal sealed with a kiss.
-T—B—B—T—
Raj, Howard and Leonard were all focused on the tiny instruments they were holding. They didn't have much time; Sheldon would be out of his fitting any minute and back to Leonard's room.
"What exactly are you doing there?" Penny's father asked them, looking over their shoulders.
"We are modifying the circuits of Sheldon's watch so that when he needs to wake Penny up before 11am it will let out a gentle high pitch. She will think she is naturally rising and therefore won't hit him in the throat." Leonard grinned at the brilliance of the idea… no more Sheldon calling him at 6am for advice.
"Yeah, she has always been a cranky riser. You boys do this stuff all the time?"
"Oh yeah, but usually it is to get back at Sheldon for something. Tonight though, its his wedding present." Howard lifted his hands in a shrug like he didn't get when the world all changed.
"Awesome. Think you guys could teach me? I have been getting more into electronics lately and computers. Only been able to get passed a few firewalls here in the casino so far, but I'm learning." Even Howard couldn't hack into the network. Penny's nephew was impressive, a valuable addition to the skills of the group.
"Kid, you have no idea how lucky you are. Your new uncle is going to be very proud. Nothing he wants more than a protégé."
"Oh that reminds me." Sheldon returned to the group with his usual silent grace. "Leonard will be my best man, and Raj and Howard groomsmen. And of course her father will be walking her down the aisle. Would you like to be my Jr. groomsman? I am told that is a real position and both Penny and I would like to include you."
Leonard smiled at the happy family forming between Sheldon and Penny's 'menfolk'. Sheldon was reaching out to them, becoming a role model for a teen who needed the direction. He had once thought of himself there, about to be the man that Penny would spend her life with. But that was a long time ago, in an immature innocence for a deeper understanding of what love really could be. He had loved Penny, but it was just the same feelings he had towards her now, plus sex. With Sheldon it was more than that, they had a connection of a cosmic level, if that was such a thing.
He was happy. Happier than he thought he would be. Sheldon chose him as his best man, Sheldon wasn't putting up too much a fight over the clothing choices he had no control over. Sheldon was reaching out to his future nephew and growing into a real man.
They were nearly all done picking out their clothes so he decided he would challenge his friend to one last round of Halo while he was still single all the while he wondered how much success the girls were having, laughing at the mental image of Penny trying to get her perfect wedding (and he knew she would want it PERFECT) in just a few hours. 'Oh, I bet the girls were having a blast. -Sarcasm.'
-T-B—B—T—
Not a single dress fit right. Every style failed to work on someone. Missy and Bernadette had large busts, but Missy had nearly a foot on Bernie in height. Amy and Leanne were roughly the same coloring but Leanne's tiny waist, large bust and curvy hips didn't look right in any of the sheath styles they had looked through yet.
Penny was nearly at her wits end. She was supposed to be focused on tonight, becoming Mrs. Cooper! She hadn't even figured out her whole ensemble yet, though she already had her dress and veil provided. When she had tried it on in the suite they had all held their breath that it wouldn't need more alterations than Mary Cooper could handle. But it had fit like a glove. It was the perfect length, emphasized all her right assets. As if she hadn't had enough evidence of fate, this just sealed the deal.
The only good part of the girls not yet finding their dresses was that their time in the changing rooms have her the chance to call Meemaw.
"So you are the one my Missy has been talking about all week." Penny smiled, even though Meemaw couldn't travel by plane anymore (She had asked Sheldon why he hadn't have her come with his family) she was glad she was kept apprised of everything going on with her moonpie.
"That's me! Listen, I want to talk to you about the wedding. I just wanted to let you know we will miss you there. I will make sure Sheldon takes me to visit you in the next couple weeks and we can all watch the wedding video together."
Meemaw was touched. Her other grandchildren to have gotten married away from home at the air force base never insisted she be included in any part of the process. "For a girl with so much to do in so little time you sure are a sweet thing to spend so much of that precious wedddin' plann'n on me. I know I will love you Penny, anyone who can break into my moonpie is sure good in my book. Now get yourself going! I want to see pictures of you in that old dress of mine."
Penny was relieved that as soon as she got off the phone with meemaw, Tina called to inform her that everything was finalized, she had even been able to work in time to make sure Sheldon picked out the right tux and worked in his request for specific types of flowers. Thinking of Sheldon made her remember how nervous Sheldon seemed when thinking about leaving his friends behind, even if he was excited to be going on to new opportunities. She had a brilliant idea but would need some alone time to do it, and she needed to discuss a few things with her girls first, so it was in the back burner for now.
Bernadette was getting anxious. No one had discussed who would play what role in the bridal party yet, not for the girls anyway. She knew it would be too hard for Penny to choose between her and Amy as maid of honor. She wanted to tell her that it would be fine to pick Amy. But Penny finally thought to mention what was on her mind just as Bernadette got up the courage to approach her.
"If it is alright with everyone, I would like to ask you, Missy, to be the maid of honor since you have always felt like a sister to me and will finally be one soon." They all let out long breaths that no one knew they were holding. It was the perfect solution. Sister trumps best friend in these situations. No one's feelings had to get hurt. Yes, weddings really are that complicated.
Mary finally showed up ready to find her mother's outfit. She got it in only ten minutes, helping Penny's mother complete the task in fifteen. Every girl was jealous. But then they were all relieved. One of the Shenny squad members (wearing a pin, when did those get made?) ran to them with the perfect solution to their dress woes, they could all pull off a floor length sheath gown with an empire waist. The dresses were blue, almost the same as Penny's dress from Sheldon and they demurely laced up the back so that everyone's figure could be flattered by the adjustable waist lines.
Penny took the few minutes everyone was buzzing around finalizing their dress sizes and grabbing matching shoes to pop into the hallway and call someone she never dreamed she could talk to again, for a problem she hadn't anticipated until her last conversation with Sheldon.
"Hello Penny." Once again, Wil Wheaton wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.
"Hey, I know Sheldon had called you to apologize and I am thankful that you let him off the hook."
"Of course. I understand it completely. So, I guess you are getting married tonight then? I didn't tell him before but Raj inducted me into the squad a few days ago. Its all over twitter now." Penny smiled into the phone, of course even he would be involved in this wacky venture.
"I am so glad you are part of this, you and your wife must come to the wedding too. And when you come I was hoping maybe you could bring a long a present I want to give Sheldon. I think you are the only person who could get it, if it exists."
He was thrilled to help, he thought he had really hurt the chances of them getting together when he innocently asked Penny to LARP with him. He had fun with her, she was interesting and entirely hung up on Cooper.
"I would be happy to help."
"Great! I need…"
After she hung up the phone, the same pinned Shenny squad member came up to her, reminding her of the time, pulling the bridesmaids along with her.
Amy and Leanne and Bernadette were almost in a panic, though Missy seemed to have her head together, just a bit anxious is all. They needed to get dressed and then help Penny get ready and into her gown. It was only two hours before the wedding.
As she was pulled back towards her room with what seemed like a hundred hands all fluttering over her appearance she smiled widely.
'Soon,' Penny thought with a mental smile, 'I will be Penny Cooper... totally and completely miserably happy with my own personal whack-a-doo moonpie.'