Chapter 21 - Confrontation Begins
Leonard went straight to his office after leaving the main administration building and his amazing meeting with President Siebert and Dr Gablehauser. Once there he quickly unlocked the door, then closed it behind him for some privacy, and he subsequently stood there looking around his old office, it had been a couple months but everything was just the way he left it. The lack of change was in stark contrast to everything that had changed in his life those two months he was gone and it made him smile, because now things were so much better than when he left.
Leonard walked over to his chair and sat down, staying seated there to think about all that had happen the last week, since he had been back. He was back with Penny, the woman he loved and if there was one thing he was positive about in his life, it was that he truly loved her. Their last week together made it evident to Leonard that his life without her would have been just a life where he would have endlessly missed her and he doubted he would have found someone he would love like her again. They had been together almost continuously the last week and if he was honest with himself, being alone now made him miss her, she was the most important person to him now and forever.
Then his thoughts slowly moved from Penny to his career, he was still stunned by what happened in Siebert's office, tenure, a raise and a promotion, all happening at once. Even though it was still unbelievable, it all happened and it made him chuckle to himself, if they only knew how desperate he was to stay at Cal Tech, none of that maybe would have happened. Leonard continued to sit there for another 15 minutes just basking in his good fortune, until he finally decided to do something since he was at work, so he powered up his computer. He had permission to come as he pleased at work this next week, as he told Siebert and Gablehauser he had personal things to do since he just got back, however, he didn't tell them those things centered around Penny. So Leonard opened his email to do some work and catch up at least till when Penny called him so he could go pick her up.
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Penny was excited to see Leonard pull up to the studio parking lot and gave Carol, who she was talking with, a quick good-bye hug before heading over to the car, meeting Leonard just as he stepped out of the drivers seat. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, pressing her whole body against his and pushing his body against the car, deepening the kiss, not caring who saw them. They stayed like that a whole minute before Leonard broke the kiss and pushed her slightly away as gently as he could, while still in each others arms. He looked into her dilated eyes, "Penny we should probably go."
Penny bit her lip and slowly nodded, "Sorry, I missed you." she whispered.
Leonard smiled, "I missed you a lot, too." which made Penny smile.
It was just a few minutes later they were in the car and heading off the studio grounds into early evening traffic. Leonard turned to her, she was sitting as close as she could get to him and had her left arm on the back of his seat, her fingers gently moving in his hair, which was very distracting in a comforting way. "You want to go out to eat? Like I said me and the night are yours."
Penny smiled at him then leaned over some more to put her head on his shoulder and Leonard swore he heard a slight hum from her. "Can we go someplace quiet and romantic?" she asked.
"How about that small Italian place near the university we to went before?" Leonard offered.
Penny nodded, "Yeah, I like that place." she answered, staying against him the whole trip to the restaurant.
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Howard got home from Cal Tech a little late to find his petite beautiful wife making dinner when he walked in the door. "Hey Bernie, sorry I'm late, had to finish a subassembly before I left for the day."
"No problem, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, so you are right on time." She gave him the dazzling smile he loved.
"Oh, big news, I found out Leonard came back to work today. I didn't get to see him but I heard he had a meeting with Siebert and Gablehauser, so something must be up." Howard told her, as he headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Bernadette nodded, "Yeah him and Penny have been back in town since Saturday."
That information made Howard stop dead in his tracks, "You knew he was back?" He then thought about her words, " When you say him and Penny, do you mean they are like together again?"
"Yep." she answered quickly as she turned down one of the pots.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Howard asked confused.
Bernadette now stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "Howie, Leonard went to Nebraska to tell her he still loved her and to salvage their relationship. That is all Penny wanted, Leonard back, so they got back together. I just got a couple text messages from her that they were back together and then one when they were back in town, her asking for time alone with him. We need to leave them alone this week and let them have their time."
"Wow, after all that happened, I thought they were over." Howard said, mostly to himself.
"They love each other, after all these years isn't it obvious, who else would make them happy than each other. Maybe they will be stronger after this all is over, who knows." Bernadette tied to explain to her husband.
"I don't know if I could be like that." Howard said, then looked at his wife as she blankly looked at him, finally realizing his misspoken words, so he gave her a little smile. "Who am I kidding, I'd probably forgive you for almost anything."
"Oh Howie." Bernadette came over to hug her man and give him a very passionate kiss. Dinner was only slightly burnt, but was still delicious, when they finally ate.
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Amy had gotten her email from Penny that afternoon and it was similar to the one Bernadette got, Leonard and her were back together and she wanted some time alone. Amy was happy for her bestie and knowing Penny and Leonard were working things out reduced the huge amount of guilt she had been feeling ever since that night happened. She hoped they could all go on with their lives without any permanent damage from that night, then quickly corrected herself as she remembered there was still the baby in Penny. Amy sighed, a baby was about as permanent as you could get, so the child would be always a constant reminder about what happened, those couple months ago.
Amy also had to figure out a way to break the news about Penny being back, with Leonard, to Sheldon, so that he didn't bother them for this week, like Penny requested. If she didn't say anything, his extraordinary hearing would pick them up and he would barge right in, making her loose control of the whole situation. No she had to talk to him about it first, but she had to pick the right time and preferably in a location he couldn't just walk out the door and across the hall to knock on Penny's door.
Amy thought quickly as she watched Sheldon make tea for the both of them, they had been at the apartment for over a half hour now and dinner would come up soon. "Sheldon, why don't we go to Siam Palace tonight for dinner." she casually asked him.
"Amy you know tonight is take out night and we usually order our food to eat here." Sheldon scolded her, it was something obvious she should have remembered.
"I know Sheldon, but take out usually included the whole gang, who are obviously not here tonight. Also preparing the food, then handling it to put it into takeout boxes that are additionally handled before we get home, seems like an unnecessary exposure to germs when we could eat there and get the food directly from the chef." Amy explained to him.
Sheldon thought for a moment, "Your theory makes sense, the food hot off the grill would be the least likely to gather harmful pathogens before it reached our mouths." Sheldon thought for another minute. "Amy I can find no fault in your logic, lets go to Siam Palace to eat."
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Penny tasted like meat sauce, at least her tongue did, the one that was in his mouth as she sat in his lap in the drivers seat of his car that was currently parked in the lot for their apartment building. Penny had told him what she wanted to do the rest of the night while they had dinner, but he seriously wondered now if they were going to make it into the building the way she was grinding her butt into his crotch and crushing her mouth against his. He normally was the voice of reason, but Penny was getting better and normal Penny knew all his buttons to push when it came to making love to her, which she seemed intent on doing right now.
However they did have to breathe and the way they were now heavily breathing, their noses couldn't get enough air, so she both broke kissing to catch their breath. Leonard knew it was now or never, "Penny, don't you think we should go upstairs." he hoped he was getting through to her because her eyes were almost black from arousal.
Luckily he did, Penny bit her lip and looked around at the parking lot, a small sigh coming from her as she suddenly realized they needed to move their love making inside. "Uh huh." she responded and got off his lap and opened her car door.
The walk up the stairs was slow, Penny had pulled Leonard's arm around her as soon as he left the car and then basically rubbed against him the whole way to the fourth floor. Opening the door was even harder, because while he tried to get the keys from his pocket, Penny had put her arms around his neck and started nibbling on his neck. He had to put her against the door, which made her squeal in delight as he tried to find the door key hole without being able to see it, Penny's mouth now on his again.
They did finally get in the door, and Leonard managed to get it even closed again before Penny pushed him to the couch and climbed on top of him. Penny quickly stripped them and then, as she looked into Leonard's eyes, she froze, slowly looking down to where Leonard was looking, her belly. Penny bit her lip, she couldn't deny it anymore, she had a very small baby bump and now as Leonard was staring at it, she became scared again. "Sweetie, what are you thinking right now." he asked cautiously.
Leonard's eyes now went to her eyes, "Wow, just wow. That is a baby in you, wow."
"I know, I'm sorry." she felt like crying.
Leonard seemed to come out of his astounded state, "No, you look amazing."
"You think I look amazing?" she said in surprise.
"Oh my God Penny you are amazing, you are growing a baby in you, that is…that is….incredible." Leonard said looking back at her belly. He then lifted his hand and gently put in on her extended belly, her very small bump, and gently rubbed it.
Penny closed her eyes, now trying to stop the tears of happiness she was feeling, he said she was amazing and her being pregnant was incredible. She couldn't even describe how wonderful it felt to have his hand gently rubbing her belly, she felt so in love with him at the moment. That moment went on for a few minutes until she heard her name being called, bringing her out of her secure happy place she was in. "Yes Sweetie."
"Penny, should we be having sex like this with you being, you know pregnant. I know you like this position because it goes sort of deep, but it won't hit the baby will it?" Leonard asked in confusion.
Penny almost laughed, how could someone so smart be so clueless. She leaned down to her marvelous man and kissed his lips then whispered to him "Sweetie, I read all about sex and pregnancy last week on my phone. As long as you don't pound me into the bed or do anything that would hurt be down there normally, everything else is fine, even this."
He had said she was amazing, the baby incredible and now he didn't want to do anything that would hurt either of them, Penny was crushing on Leonard really bad now. Penny wanted to be part of him, she wanted him in her so much and she now kissed him hard again while she rubbed against him to accomplish that goal. Even then, her needs were too much and she slid on him, a soft moan coming from deep inside her as he filled her up, she had been thinking about him all day and their naked bodies rubbing against each other while he was buried deep inside her was want she had wanted so badly.
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"Why haven't you told me this before?" Sheldon looked at Amy, obviously upset.
"Sheldon, Penny sent me a text telling me she was back and asked me to give her a week alone with Leonard before I contacted her. I am her friend, friends do that for friends." Amy explained.
"So you are saying it is a social responsibility?" Sheldon was now confused.
Amy nodded, "When your friend needs you to do something to help her, it is the responsibility of a real friend to comply and help said friend, so yes it is a social requirement."
Sheldon slowly nodded, he didn't like it, but Amy knew much more about social responsibilities that him. "So Leonard is with her?"
"I think so. The way she wrote the email, it implies he is."
Sheldon sighed, "Do you think he wants to move back into my apartment?"
Amy just stared at him, did he really want Leonard back, what about her? "I don't know Sheldon." Amy said so softly it was almost a whisper.
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Penny was laying completely on Leonard, trying to catch her breath and still feeling small tremors traveling through her as she laid her head on Leonard's shoulder. Her whole weight was on him, but he didn't seem to mind, and his warm body against hers was comforting, especially his rubbing of her back as he held on to her. It was unusual for her to experience something like this before the man, it was also rare for it to be so….intense. He was obviously still ready to go and she was hoping they could do more, but she was the one who needed recharging this time, not him.
'Penny, are you awake?' she heard him ask and she then realized she hadn't moved, since she laid on him, and her eyes had been closed. "Yes Sweetie." she whispered.
"Did you want to go to bed?" Leonard was a little concerned about her, once she began to ride him, she seemed to come unglued after only a few minutes and now she seemed to be going to sleep. He had only seen her do something like that once before and she had been really drunk, which she wasn't tonight.
To Penny, the thought of being in bed with Leonard sounded so good right now, it would give her time to rest and he could spoon her and still be inside her. She had felt she used him the first time, but now she wanted to be caressed by him as he made love to her, again she still wanted him badly. "Yes let's go to bed."
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The ride back to Sheldon's apartment was quiet along with the walk up to the fourth floor, Amy didn't know what to say to him and she knew he had been thinking about Penny and Leonard ever since she told him they were back. So when he stopped before putting his key in the lock and looked over at 4B, Amy got worried. "Sheldon, remember it is a social responsibility to give her time."
"Amy I have been thinking about what you said, but I have also been thinking about the baby and how it is being housed in the disorganized, scatter brained, and unconcerned about their health, person that is Penny. I think the health and well being of the baby supersedes the social responsibilities of friendship." Sheldon then turned and walked across the short hall.
"No!" Amy said loudly then tried to grab him.
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"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
Penny was in the bed on her back, while Leonard was laying half by her side and half over her, kissing and nibbling on her neck. She was breathing heavy and felt like a bowl of warm Jell-O, he had been caressing her and loving on her for a while now, she had already gone over one peak and was climbing another for a second fall into post orgasmatic bliss. So she couldn't understand why she was hearing knocking on her door, and why it was happening now.
"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
"Knock, Knock, Knock….Penny"
"I know you both are in there, I heard you and I will continue till you open the door."
"I'm going to kill him." Leonard growled. He had forgiven Penny, about everything, but he still blamed Sheldon. He actually didn't think he could ever forgive him for what happened over two months ago, he had used up all the forgiveness Leonard had to give him.
Penny opened her eyes and looked at Leonard and immediately got worried, he looked too serious. "Honey, don't hurt him."
Leonard quickly looked at her in confusion, the meaning of her words could mean several things and the one that he prayed she didn't mean was that she was worried about him. "Penny?"
Penny gave him a small smile, "Sweetie, I don't want you to go to jail, I need you here with me."
Leonard let out a breath, he hadn't even realized he had been holding it since she said 'don't hurt him." He nodded to her and gave her a small smile. "Okay."
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Sheldon was about to knock again when the door opened in front of him, Leonard moving up into the doorway then standing there staring at him with a very angry expression on his face. However, Sheldon had seen Leonard mad before and he couldn't be bothered by it right now, it was late and he needed to talk to Penny before his bedtime, so he would deal with Leonard another day. "I need to talk to Penny." Sheldon then tried to enter the apartment by walking around Leonard, but as soon as he took a step, Leonard put an arm out blocking him.
"Leonard, I need you to move so I can speak to Penny." Sheldon told him, expecting him to now move.
"She doesn't want to talk to you and I want you to leave." Leonard stated flatly.
"Leonard this is none of your concern, this involves Penny and I. Please move from the doorway, so I may enter." Sheldon insisted.
"For someone with acute hearing you don't listen well, or are you just stupid?" Leonard now said with an edge in his voice.
Sheldon was taken back, no one called him stupid and he blinked a couple times, while looking at Leonard, obviously at a loss for words.
Amy started to get worried, "Sheldon, maybe you can talk to Penny later."
"I am here and I will talk to her now. Leonard move out of the way." Sheldon insisted, upset now from Leonard's insult about him being stupid.
Leonard now got an evil smile. "No, you will not being seeing Penny, but let me tell you what will happen. I'm going to close the door and if you knock again I will call the police and report you for harassing us. Then tomorrow Penny will file a restraining order on you, you know what a restraining order means, you have enough of them."
"Yes, I do and I will file it with my others." Sheldon said arrogantly.
"Sheldon, a restraining orders directs you stay 500 feet away from the person who you are not to go near." Amy reminded him.
"So" Sheldon looked at Amy as she made a head movement towards the apartment finally making it dawn on Sheldon, "Oh!"
"Yeah, Oh. You will have to move from your precious 0,0,0,0, your spot." Leonard said sarcastically.
Penny walked up behind Leonard her phone against her ear, "Yes officer, someone has been knocking on our door and won't go away."
Sheldon looked at Penny, then Leonard and finally Amy, who was motioning he go back to his apartment. Sheldon was confused and now a little worried, he didn't want to take the chance he had to move, that was completely unacceptable. He also needed time to think, so he looked back at Leonard, "this is not over." trying to save face and not admit he had been beaten. He then turned and went back to the apartment, Amy following him.
Leonard closed the door, no sooner turning then having Penny wrap herself around him. "Thank you Honey."
They stood there for a few minutes, just hugging, until Leonard finally spoke, "Did you really have the police on the line?"
Penny's head shook on his shoulder and he heard her soft response, "No, I was bluffing."
Leonard just nodded, then slowly separated enough from her so he could take her to bed, cuddling her under the covers. They were both drained emotionally from what just happened so Penny quickly fell asleep in Leonard's arms. Leonard unfortunately laid there awake, unable to sleep, thoughts about Sheldon still resident in his mind and bothering him.
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Penny woke up a couple hours later, feeling strange, and soon understanding why, she was alone. She was immediately worried, as it was still dark and Leonard was gone, so she jumped out of bed to look for him. She also felt a little fear again, something had to be really bothering him, and it probably had something to do about what happened tonight, she just knew it. Why did Sheldon have to come over, she just needed more time with Leonard alone, why did that crazy man have to come over, kept going through her mind as she walked out of her bedroom.
Penny found him on the couch, and in the quiet of the night, she watched him for a few moments, while he sat there so still that she wondered if he was even awake. Her concern quickly overcame her and she quietly walked up to him, to put her hands on his shoulders as she stood behind him, making him jump slightly. "Sorry…..I woke up and you were gone."
"I'm sorry." was all he said.
Penny walked around the couch and sat next to him, taking him into a hug, he offered no resistance. "Honey, what's wrong?"
Leonard sighed, "I don't know what I would have done if he kept it up, I really don't."
Penny rubbed her hands through his hair, she didn't need him to elaborate who 'he' was, she knew he meant Sheldon. "But you didn't do anything to him, Sweetie. Everything is fine." Penny closed her eyes then, she needed to ask him why he had felt that way, but she wasn't sure she would like the answer, "What is wrong honey, Sheldon never set you off like this before."
Leonard took a breath, "Penny, a lot has happened the last two months and I thought I was over it, but Sheldon, tonight, just made me realize how much I still hate him for what he did and all the other things that have happened over the years. I'm just so done with him."
Penny felt sick to her stomach, he was thinking about what happened and she was worried she was loosing him again. "Leonard, I screwed up just as much as him, he didn't do it alone." Penny confessed, she was ready to cry again, she was waiting for him to do something that would separate them again, because of the memories Sheldon brought up.
Leonard could tell by her voice she was getting upset, so he lifted up off of her, to look at her. "Penny, I love you, you'll probably never understand how much I love you. My time away just reminded me how much that I loved you and the whole time all I could think about was that I wanted to be with you. I really don't know if I could ever be truly happy again in my life without you."
Penny had tears in her eyes as she looked at him. "Honey I feel the same way."
Leonard then moved to kiss her and as their lips met, Penny closed her eyes, hoping everything was going to be okay, however, he moved back from her after a short kiss to look at her, "Penny you need to understand, I see you and Sheldon differently, I fully believe what happened was a one-time mistake between you and Sheldon, but I can't forget that I have had to live with Sheldon making these kind of mistakes for years now. I have always made excuses to myself why he needed to be forgiven, like how he pulled me into the stunt when he covered the board of directors in foam, and almost got us all fired. Then when he held me, Howard and Raj at the cold and dangerous North Pole for two months, as prisoners, because he was wrong in his theory, and he wouldn't admit it. Things like that I lived with, and add to that things like his experimenting on me, several times, like when he tricked me to eat bugs. There was so much more too, but still I would continuously made excuses for him, every time, however, when he tortured me with the sweater, to teach me a lesson, I started to feel different. Tonight was the last straw, and I wanted to hit him so bad, I can't even explain it, I don't know if I will ever forgive him again anymore."
Leonard was quiet for a few seconds, then sighed, "No more Penny, no more Sheldon, I want to be married to you and have a family with you." Leonard looked directly into her eyes, "I need to know if you really want that too. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but I need you to be with me on this, if we are going to move on."
Penny nodded, "Of course Honey, I love you, I want to marry you and I want have a family with you."
Leonard nodded, "I don't need Sheldon to tell me what he wants or needs, as far as I'm concerned he has no say in our family. But I also need to ask about what you are feeling, is living like that fine with you, no Sheldon?"
Penny nodded, but she had to bring something up, because ignoring it would only make it harder later, it was really the elephant in the room at that moment to her. "Sweetie, but what if it is obvious that Sheldon is the father." Penny now held her breath, they needed to address it, even though the result could be devastating to her.
Leonard didn't hesitate, "Then the baby will have an Uncle Sheldon and when he/she gets old enough, they'll find out he is their biological father, but he will still have no say on how our child is raised. Penny you saw him, as soon as I mentioned the restraining order and he realized it would impact him personally, the baby became a lower priority. If he ever is capable of putting someone before himself" he sighed, "well we will have to decide what to do then." He then took Penny's hands, "But we'll decide together, okay."
Penny nodded and smiled, "I think that is fine, I like that actually." Penny got out between sniffles. Leonard now took her into his arms and they just hugged each other for a while, before finally getting up and going back to bed. The both fell asleep tightly in each others arms the rest of the night.