Penny woke up early, and nervous, on Saturday morning. She knew she had to tell Leonard about the news reports, but she was concerned that this would upset him. She paced in the living room for the better part of an hour. Eventually she heard Leonard ring the little bell she'd left by the bed, and she went to him. She brought him breakfast, and then figured she couldn't postpone the inevitable any longer.
"Leonard, there's something you need to know."
Leonard looked up at her curiously. "Oh?"
"Well, it turns out that there was a lot of press coverage of what happened to us. It was pretty graphic. There was even a big piece in the LA Times."
"Wow! We're famous!"
"Yeah, I guess, a little. But there's something else. Here, let me read you the article." And she ran out to the living room and brought in the laptop. She sat on the bed and read Leonard the article she and Michael had looked at.
Leonard listened, enthralled. He laughed at the "scientist fells felon" headline, and perked up noticeably with the description of his work. "They called me distinguished!" he said, proudly.
"Oh," Penny said, "I think they meant diminutive."
Leonard punched her on the arm lightly. "Didn't even think you knew that word."
"Hey, I'm learning all sorts of synonyms for 'little;' I figure they'll come in handy over the years. Seriously, though, this is some pretty scary stuff. It explains a few things."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that everybody at Caltech knew what had happened, and said they were proud of you. Like the patrol car out front."
"I guess you're right," Leonard said pensively. "But everything seems good, doesn't it? I think we would have heard if there were really any serious danger."
"I guess," Penny said. "Oh, by the way, I had unplugged the apartment phone and there are a ton of messages on it. They're probably from journalists, and I think that ship has sailed – it's old news by now. But we should listen to them. I didn't want to get the messages myself – it's your phone, after all – but maybe you should go through them?"
"Mi casa es tu casa," Leonard said. "I don't remember how to say phone in Spanish. Anyway, you can access the messages and let me know if there's anything important. You know the passcode."
As if on cue, a text came into Penny's cellphone. It was Michael, asking if he could come over. Penny confirmed with Leonard that it was a good time, and went out to the living room to let him in.
While waiting, she listened to the huge string of messages. Almost all were in fact from television, radio, newspapers. And they were all from Tuesday or Wednesday. She figured that by now the story was old. Plus she wasn't all that eager to talk about the incident, anyway. However, there were three interesting messages that she saved, and about which she noted down information. They were from people in the industry – a writer, a studio, and a production company – asking about the possibility of acquiring rights to the story. Michael had suggested jokingly that this might be an acting opportunity for Penny, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea. She needed to talk to Leonard about it.
When Michael arrived, she told him about these calls. He was supportive, and encouraged her to follow up. "After all," he said, "there's no harm in finding out what the possibilities might be." So Penny called her agent and left a message about the phone calls and her thinking. She made it clear that she and Leonard needed time, but that in principle she was open to the possibility. She'd discuss it with Leonard later.
The rest of the day was mostly Michael's. Leonard could not get enough of talking to him. And when Penny insisted Leonard rest, she and Michael continued to talk in the living room. Saturday went by quickly, and by 9 PM Michael was back at the hotel and Leonard was back in bed.
Penny went into the bedroom to get him ready to sleep.
"What, no talk tonight?" Leonard seemed to have gotten as attached to their little evening routine as Penny.
"You know, we don't have to do this at night, we can talk like this during the day. You're tired now."
"No, I like these little evening chats. It gives me something to think about during the day – what question you're going to ask me, for example. And afterwards it gives me something to think about as I fall asleep, like how I could have answered better."
"Really?" Penny scoffed. "Why do you need to figure out better answers? Your answers are just fine."
Leonard looked serious. "What I mean is, to try to see how I can explain my feelings better. We said we would try to do that."
Penny pursed her lips. "You're right, I'm sorry. Anyway, you got it." And she rolled the pillows around and plopped down on the bed facing Leonard.
"First I have to ask you about something." And Penny told Leonard about the calls about the rights to their story, and her idea about a part.
"That's fantastic!" Leonard said enthusiastically. "You should definitely pursue it. Any port in a storm!"
Penny sighed in relief. She had hoped Leonard would be supportive. But now it was time for the evening chat. She was really enjoying the routine. She had even come up with a name for it: the Momentum Conversations, meant to sustain the forward motion she had felt accelerating in Barstow. Again, she was quietly proud of her little scientific analogy. Someday she'd tell Leonard about it, and hope he wouldn't laugh at her. But for now, it was time for a Momentum Conversation.
"Let's talk. Leonard Hofstadter," Penny said, as always, "tell me about your friends."
"Whoa. Didn't expect that. OK." And he proceeded to go through their little circle of friends. For each one Leonard had a more neutral description – appearance, background, professional activities. But then, one by one, he went into a detailed discussion of their personality, foibles, emotional features. Penny was stunned by how insightful the little character sketches were. Leonard was truly observant, and really understood his friends. When he finished, Penny stared at him.
"Leonard, that was really amazing. You know your friends so well."
"I had a great teacher," Leonard said warmly.
"Who?"
"You, silly. You're the best judge of character I know. Everything I know about people, I learned from you."
Penny was genuinely touched. "Not likely. You were already a sensitive guy when I met you. But I'm happy to think that we helped each other out along the way."
They lay there looking at each other for a few more minutes, until Leonard's eyes began to close and Penny got them set up in bed for the night.
Sunday was more of Michael. Penny couldn't help but try to grab him for herself at every opportunity. She wanted to learn as much as she could about Leonard's life before she had met him. There was a lot to learn. She had known, at least intellectually, that he had always been smart, but Michael's stories were overpowering.
Penny could hardly imagine being as brilliant as Leonard – and as his brother. She took advantage of having Michael there to try to get some insight into the minds of the Hofstadters as academics. He gave Penny some sense of what it was like to sit around the dinner table growing up, talking about the latest ideas in evolutionary biology or anthropology. And Michael's enthusiasm for his own work helped Penny understand how important his research was to Leonard. Michael's work was about legal federalism, the relationship between state and federal law. This was easier for Penny to understand than Leonard's research, which Michael also affirmed he could not follow.
"You know," Michael mused Sunday afternoon in the living room, "he's so much a better scientist than my mother. But you'd never know that by the way she talks about him, or about herself. And, of course, she's a peerless self-promoter, so she's taken her idiotic ideas very far."
"Shh," said Penny, "You'd better not let Sheldon hear that. He thinks Beverly is a god."
"I believe it," Michael said. He had gotten to know Sheldon a bit over the weekend. Sheldon had been very discreet, leaving the house often – usually picked up by Howard or Raj – and keeping to himself. But Michael had engaged him several times, and really seemed to enjoy talking to him.
"You see, Sheldon is a little like my mother. Science as showmanship, research as a competition. They're both very good at it. I'm sure Sheldon's a much better scientist than my mother. But I'm not convinced his work is more important than Leonard's. Leonard is just a lot more 'normal-science.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It means he works with other people to develop ideas that the whole field is trying to grapple with. Sheldon is sort of a loner, trying to remake or replace the reigning paradigm. Leonard works within the paradigm, trying to improve or perfect it. I don't think I could explain more – I don't really know that much about science, but this kind of distinction I sort of understand, from having talked with Leonard."
Penny wasn't sure she understood, but she knew she wanted to. And now she wanted to ask Michael a question she had been aching to ask Leonard for ages. She had always been afraid to hear the answer, but now she felt she needed to know.
"Michael, I want to ask you something and I want you to give me an honest answer, no matter what."
"Of course. What is it?"
Penny swallowed hard. "Do you think someone as stupid as me will be able to keep Leonard's interest – intellectually, I mean. I don't want to be crude, but we have a very strong physical relationship, which is great. But I really worry that he's so much smarter than I am that eventually he will get bored."
Michael looked hard at Penny. "OK. Let me tell you what I think. First of all, you are not stupid. You may not be knowledgeable about science, or other academic subjects, but you are super smart. Trust me, I know; I deal with smart students all the time. You could hold your own with any of them in terms of raw intelligence. Second, from what I hear, and I believe it, you're an excellent actress, and that takes a tremendous amount of intelligence. Third, and let me make sure I say this right. Leonard doesn't need to look to you to talk about physics. That's what he talks about with his colleagues. What he gets from you is a broader vision of the world – about other people, about social interactions, about life in general. Leonard is completely swept away by your command of, just, life."
Penny looked relieved. But Michael continued. "But now I am going to be brutally honest with you. I don't think Leonard could care less about your academic achievements. He told me a long time ago that you have had some fights over this. Whatever that might have involved, I'm quite sure that degrees don't matter to him. However...and here's the big bad however…I think that if you had more intellectual interests of your own, it would probably mean a lot to Leonard. For example, you were telling me yesterday how much you liked your Psychology and History courses. And I would guess from your acting that you have a strong interest in literature. Why not cultivate those? In the manner of expanding your horizons."
Michael looked at Penny apologetically. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just projecting from the evil Hofstadter family arrogance. But I know that Leonard values the life of the mind, and there's no reason that can't include you. You've got as good a mind as anyone."
Penny sat quietly. "I understand. Thank you, Michael. That's not necessarily the answer I wanted. But I believe it's the right answer. I have a lot of thinking to do. I want Leonard and me to grow together. Not just grow old together – I want that too – but to grow together. And that's on me." And she sighed deeply.
Later that evening, Raj and Howard took Michael out to dinner. Penny had asked them to, ostensibly to give her and Leonard some time alone. But she had two ulterior motives. The first was to allow Michael to meet some of their friends, and vice versa. The second was to give her some time to talk to Sheldon.
Michael and the guys left around 7. Leonard had a quiet dinner in his room – if a soy milk nutritional supplement counts as dinner – with Penny by his side. After that, Leonard needed a nap, and Penny went out to the living room. Sheldon was there, but got up quickly when Penny entered.
"Sheldon, stay there. Have you had dinner?"
Sheldon shook his head no. "Why don't you and I have a nice dinner? Leonard's resting."
Penny heated up one of the meals their friends had brought, and they sat at the kitchen high-top eating. As they finished, Penny looked up at Sheldon. His eyes were as sad as they had been ever since Penny and Leonard had returned home.
"Sweetie, let's talk about you and Amy. What are you thinking about that? How do you feel about it?"
"I'm confused, Penny," Sheldon admitted. "I think I understand where my efforts at being a good boyfriend have been coming up short, and I want to try to improve. But I can't do that if Amy won't talk to me."
And for the next half hour the two sat talking about what Sheldon thought he should try harder at, and how he might express this to Amy. Penny was impressed with the level of insight. Honestly, it was not much beyond that of the average 22-year-old, but that was a lot of progress for Sheldon. Maybe, she thought, there was hope for Amy and Sheldon yet.
As they cleared the plates, Sheldon touched Penny on the arm. Penny was surprised; it was a very un-Sheldon action. But Sheldon was looking at her with those sad eyes. "Penny, when Leonard is better, do you think that you could talk to Amy?"
"Of course, sweetie. Actually, there's no need for me to wait. I have time to talk to her now, and I want to. But it will need to be sometime when you're not around. Let me work it out. Why don't you tell me your schedule for the week, and one of the evenings you're not here I'll invite Amy over and try to get a feel for what she's thinking. Would that be all right?"
"More than all right. That would be wonderful. Thank you, Penny. I don't know what I would do without you and Leonard." He looked so sad, Penny just wanted to hold him. Sheldon looked at her. "You can hug me if you want. I'm OK with it." So she did, and for the second time – the first being when they arrived home from Barstow – Penny felt Sheldon soften into something resembling a normal hug. Progress, real progress, she thought.
After bidding good night to Sheldon, Penny retired to the bedroom. Leonard woke up at the sound of the door opening.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you!"
"That's OK. I have to go to the bathroom anyway. Plus we haven't had our conversation yet."
Penny walked Leonard down to the bathroom and back, and then they settled in for their evening Momentum Conversation. Penny knew exactly what she wanted to ask this time. She started as she always did.
"Let's talk. Leonard Hofstadter, what is your favorite book?"
"A Brief History of –"
"Fiction."
"A Hitchhiker's Guide – "
"Not science fiction."
Leonard thought. "OK. Catch-22."
"Tell me about it."
And Leonard proceeded to give Penny a précis of the great novel: about Yossarian, Doctor Daneeka, Milo Minderbinder and the others. About how it was both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. About how it made him think about war, and people, and life, differently.
Penny listened intently. "It sounds amazing." Then she paused and her eyes lit up, "Wait. Is that where that expression comes from?"
"Yep. Joseph Heller invented it. I read once that it was originally Catch-18, which had some significance in Jewish thought, which Heller liked, but somehow the number 18 was taken."
"Wow," Penny said. "I never realized it was an expression that somebody made up. That's so impressive." And suddenly she turned away and sat up on the bed, facing away from Leonard.
"What is it, honey?"
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing. And you know we promised not to keep things from each other anymore."
Penny sat for another moment, then turned to Leonard. He saw the tears in her eyes that he expected, and that always broke his heart. But now he had no idea what had caused them. "What is it, Penny?"
"I'm so ignorant. How can somebody who knows as much as you do stand to be with somebody who knows as little as I do? You're going to get bored with me so fast," she said pitifully.
Leonard sat up in the bed and looked directly into Penny's wet eyes. "You're the most interesting person I know. You have intelligence, and knowledge, that I don't. I don't have to talk to you about physics – for that I have my colleagues. With you I talk about life. That's much more important."
Penny nodded. "Yes, that's what Michael said."
"You talked to Michael about this?" Leonard said, curiously.
"I talked to Michael about a lot of things," she said defensively.
"No, no, that's fine, I'm glad you two are getting along so well. Just don't go thinking of trading me in for a taller, smarter, younger, handsomer model," he kidded, trying to lighten the mood.
Penny did laugh at that, but then got serious again. "But Michael also said that I should think of working on my own intellectual development. He was very nice about it, even though I think he knew that it would hurt me a little. And it did. But I think he's right."
Leonard looked at Penny. "That's up to you. If you are interested in reading more, or studying more, you should. But don't do it because you think I need you to. I don't. You're more than fascinating enough for me now."
"Thank you. But I do want to see about expanding my horizons," Penny concluded, remembering Michael's interesting phrase.