'Healing' written by Michael English (featuring Wynonna Judd) Curb Records, 1995.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Big Bang Theory.
A month after giving birth Penny launched herself into her next big challenge, training to run the LA marathon. Taking to the streets and parks of Pasadena for pre-dawn training sessions, she and Alfred became a familiar sight to the city's residents who were steadfast in their support for the waitress turned actress. One day in October whilst out running in Brookside Park, Penny was approached by a woman jogger named Daisy who revealed that like her, she was also a survivor of domestic violence. Brought together by their shared experiences, the two women began to meet regularly to train and to lend each other moral support. It was then Penny hit upon the idea of encouraging others to join her in running the marathon, using an appearance on a popular TV chat show that fall to reach out to other survivors. In the weeks that followed she received an unprecedented response, with hundreds of women and men mostly survivors of domestic violence themselves enlisting to run in aid of her charity. With only a few weeks to go until the day of the marathon, Leonard took advantage of a weekend on which Penny was away to do something which he hoped would demonstrate how much he loved and supported her. As planned Penny returned home late on Sunday afternoon, steering her car onto the gravel driveway she glimpsed Leonard emerging from the garage, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hi honey." he chirped, bounding over and pulling her into his embrace the instant she stepped out her car. "I missed you. How was your weekend?"
"Busy. I missed you and James too like sooo much. Whoever said that acting is a glamorous job really didn't know what they were talking about." Penny said, as Leonard retrieved her luggage from the trunk and set it down on the ground. She had been away since Thursday filming on location for the season premier which featured her character tending to victims at the scene of an airplane crash. It had also been her first weekend away from Leonard and baby James since giving birth. "Where's James sweetie?"
"Bernadette and Howard took him and Alfred out for a walk in the park." Leonard replied, immediately seeing the look of disappointment upon Penny's face.
"Oh." Penny said, whilst driving back all she could think about was spending the rest of the day cuddling with them both.
"Don't worry they'll be back in an hour or so." Leonard reassured her.
They kissed again, this time allowing time lingering for a considerable length of time.
"Well if that's how you're gonna greet me after I've been away, maybe I should go away more often!" Penny cooed.
Leonard laughed tapping her on the nose playfully.
"Listen I have something to show you, but it's a surprise so close your eyes." he instructed. "And no peeking!"
"Leonard that's a very mischievous look you have right there. What have you done?" Penny questioned, tilting her head to one side. She couldn't imagine what her boyfriend had been up to all weekend.
"Please Penny just trust me ok?"
Obediently Penny covered her eyes with her hands allowing Leonard to guide her with his hand on the small of back into the garage. Hearing the garage door hinges creak he told her to uncover her eyes. Peering around the garage that among other things housed boxes of Leonard's sci-fi memorabilia and her old pink bicycle, was a clothes rail on which hung an array of t-shirts in different colours and sizes. Stacked on the floor there were numerous cardboard boxes which she could see also contained t-shirts wrapped in cellophane.
"I thought you could give these out to the people that are running the marathon with you." Leonard said proudly, removing a pink coloured t-shirt from the rail and holding it up for Penny to view. "The guys have been helping me all weekend, either in here printing the t-shirts or taking turns to take care of James and Alfred."
Penny took a step forward to run her finger along the cotton material of the t-shirt, noticing then that each one bore the words 'On the Road to Healing.'
"I got the idea from that song you like. The one you downloaded and have been playing in your car all the time recently." Leonard said.
"Healing." Penny whispered, moved by the fact that he had taken note of the song by Michael English and Wynonna Judd that had come to mean so much to her.
"And you did all this for me?" Penny said quietly, clutching one of the t-shirts to her bosom, her eyes brimming with grateful tears.
"Yeah well everyone pitched in. Stuart helped us with the designs and a friend of his lent us his t-shirt printing machine."
Penny was completely overwhelmed. To know that Leonard and her friends had spent their entire weekend printing t-shirts in order to show their support for her was incredibly touching.
"It kinda reminded me of that time when we stayed up all night to help you make your Penny blossom berets." Leonard smirked. "Sheldon even got us all singing sea shanties again. We kept him away from the coffee this time though."
Leonard laughed at the memory of how Sheldon had gone hyper that night after downing copious amounts of coffee, noticeably Penny failed to laugh instead she stared down at the floor.
"Look I know it isn't much. It's just a few t-shirts which can't possibly make up for what you've been through..."
"No Leonard they're perfect." Penny said, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you so much...I'm so lucky to have you and our friends...this means so..."
With that she bowed her head again as tears spilled helplessly down her cheeks prompting Leonard to draw her into the comfort of his arms.
"Hey listen you don't need to thank us you're worth every bit of it and more. I love you Penny." Leonard said, raising her chin so her eyes met with his. "We all love you."
"I love you too." Penny sniffed, smiling happily through her tears. "So so much."
For a long while they held each other without speaking. Eventually Penny pulled away and Leonard saw the twinkle in her eye he knew only too well.
"You know the garage is the only place in the house that we haven't you know.." Penny purred, running her hand over Leonard's chest, feeling his heart rate quicken. After moving into their new home they had made a point of christening every room with their amorous activities. With that in mind Leonard turned the key in the garage door, locking it from the inside.
"Well we'll have to see what we can do about that..."
The day of the marathon dawned on a warm spring day in March. With a good luck kiss and hug from Leonard and baby James Penny made her way to the starting line to begin one of the greatest challenges of her life. Starting off from the Dodger baseball stadium she managed to set a steady pace, making excellent time. It was only with five miles to go that the exhaustion started to bite hard.
"Go Penny! We love you." a woman spectator yelled as she bounced excitedly on the spot waving a banner baring the same words.
Penny's face contorted as determined to keep running she tried to block out the excruciating pain and exhaustion that was now upon her. No longer to maintain a jogging pace and with thoughts of having to concede, she edged towards to the side of the road.
"Oh no please..." Penny panted, tears of disappointment springing to her eyes as her dream of finishing the marathon started to fade. Bent over at the waist, her hands resting on her thighs Penny lifted her head to spot a girl with red hair tied in a neat plait, wearing a pink vest and black Lycra shorts a few meters ahead. Slowing down the girl turned to look over her shoulder, making eye contact with her.
"You can do it Penny." she mouthed.
What happened next was something that Penny knew she would never be able to explain. Suddenly the overwhelming pain and exhaustion seemed to dissipate, replaced by a sense of strength and inner calm. Setting off again, the cheers of the crowds were eclipsed by the sound of her heartbeat and her steady breathing. It was as though something was helping her, driving her forward. Carrying her those last few miles. Now with every step she could feel herself getting stronger, leaving the torment and anguish of the past behind her.
Waiting among the crowds of spectators at the finishing line on Ocean Avenue Leonard bent down to lift James from his stroller, resting him on his hip.
"You're gonna see Mommy in a minute James." he said, craning his neck expectantly hoping to see Penny pass over the finish line at any moment.
"Look! James there she is! wave to Mommy."
Leonard beamed with immense pride as Penny with her arms outstretched, crossed over the finish line to be presented with her finisher's medal by a race official. He then waited patiently for some time whilst she spoke to the media and had her photograph taken with other runners.
"I'm so proud of you Penny!" Leonard exclaimed, as Penny, wrapped in a silver space blanket, her finisher's medal gleaming in the afternoon LA sunshine bounded over to join her two favourite men.
"I did it Leonard!" Penny cried, with happy tears in her eyes. "I can't believe I actually did it!"
Leonard pulled Penny into a family hug. He hadn't for one moment doubted that she would accomplish what she had set out so tirelessly to achieve.
"It's too bad the guys couldn't make it down here today. I know they would have loved to have seen you cross over the finish line." Leonard said, disappointed that they had missed her moment of triumph.
"It looks like they made it after all." Penny stated pointing across the street.
Leonard turned to follow the direction of Penny's finger seeing all whole gang gathered together on the spectator stand on the opposite side of the street.
"I don't get it why didn't they say they were coming." Leonard said with a look of bemusement.
Penny shrugged.
"I don't know maybe you should ask them."
This time when Leonard looked back something had changed. There draped across the front of the stand was a white sheet baring the words 'Will you marry me Leonard?' in red lettering. By the time he turned back Penny was down on one knee on the sidewalk.
"Four years ago you said if I were ever to propose that you wanted the 'whole nine yards'...well I've just done 26.2 miles.." Penny joked nervously. "And I know I couldn't have done any of this without your love and support Leonard..."
There was a long silence, eventually fearing that Leonard was rejecting her proposal for a second time Penny rose to her feet. From across the street unable to hear the conversation taking place their friends waited with anxious anticipation.
"From the lack of a response I'm guessing that it's a no." Penny whispered, her gaze dropping to the ground with disappointment and embarrassment.
"No hang on Penny...yes" Leonard burst out, finally finding his voice after the shock of the unexpected proposal that for a while had rendered him speechless.
"Yes what?"
"Yes I will marry you." Leonard answered, flashing his sexy smile that never failed to make Penny go weak at the knees.
"Really?"
"Really."
Letting out a shriek of joy Penny gave the thumbs up sign to their friends before flinging her arms around Leonard's neck, embracing her new fiancé. From across the street their friends cheered as Raj popped a cork on a bottle of champagne. From around her neck Penny removed the diamond ring that she had put on the chain with her heart locket, allowing Leonard to slip it onto her finger.
"Thank you, but I think I'd better stick with the water for now." Penny giggled as the gang enjoyed them from across the street and Raj passed around glasses of champagne to everyone.
Howard raised his glass, proposing a toast to the newly engaged couple, the mention of which was Sheldon's cue to launch into explaining the origins of the term 'to toast' to Alex who was the only member of the group yet to hear his interesting factoid. It was then that Penny noticed a middle-aged man with a ginger beard and glasses similar to Leonard's watching them as they celebrated.
"Can I help you?" Penny asked approaching the man, assuming that he was waiting for an opportunity to ask her for her autograph or to have his picture taken with her.
"Oh...I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare. I can see you're with your friends." the man replied a little embarrassed. "Congratulations on finishing the race you should be very proud." he added.
"Thank you. Do you know someone running in the marathon today?" Penny asked, curious as to why he had come to spectate. The man sighed dropping his gaze to the ground.
"Actually I came here for my daughter." he answered. "But mostly I came in the hope of speaking with you."
The man coughed and cleared his throat nervously before continuing.
"Unfortunately my daughter isn't running today. Rebecca died nearly a year ago now. She was er...she was killed by her partner. My wife and I we're raising her daughter Bethany, she's just about to turn four."
Studying the man's face Penny could see the pain evident in his eyes. No matter how many stories of personal tragedy she'd heard they never failed to move her.
"Anyway I just wanted to thank you personally for all that you're doing. It's too late for Rebecca, but I've no doubt that with the work of your charity and raising awareness you will save hundreds of lives."
"Thank you Sir. I really am very sorry to hear about your daughter." Penny said, with heartfelt sincerity.
"Would you like to see a photo of her?" the man asked, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and producing his wallet "That was Rebecca. It was taken just a few weeks before she died."
Passing her the photograph Penny found herself staring at an image of a young girl, with a beautiful smile, leaning over the hood of a car with a foamy sponge in one hand and a hosepipe in the other. Startled by what she saw she took a sharp intake of breath. She was certain that the girl in the picture was the same girl that had run alongside for the last few miles of the race, but who she had lost sight of after crossing the finishing line.
"Are you ok Penny?" the man asked, noticing that Penny's hand was trembling as she held the photo between her fingers.
"Yeah I erm...she's just so beautiful. I really am sorry for your loss Sir." Penny said, on the verge of tears, but determined not to cry in front of Rebecca's father.
"Rebecca loved to keep fit especially running. I'm sure she would have been here today if she could have. Anyway it's been lovely meeting you Penny." he concluded, replacing his wallet and putting out his hand to shake Penny's hand. Instinctively Penny pulled him into a hug.
"Be strong." she whispered.
With that the man walked away and headed back towards his wife who was stood holding hands with their granddaughter. Smiling Penny waved to the little girl with freckles and the same red hair as her mom's tied up in pigtails.
"Honey are you ok?"
Penny turned around to see Leonard standing directly behind her.
"Yeah I'm fine sweetie. Do you think the guys would mind if we continued this party later? Right now I just want to have a looong soak in the tub."
Leonard grinned. Secretly he couldn't wait to have Penny all to himself so he could spend the remainder of the day spoiling her. Always thinking of her, he'd made a special trip to the mall to purchase a batch of her favourite relaxing bubble baths and soaps.
"Sure they'll understand." he answered taking hold of her hand and kissing it. "Come on lets go home."
Hand in hand with Leonard pushing James in his stroller the couple walked the two blocks to the parking lot. Penny waited while Leonard secured James in his baby seat and folded the stroller down to place in the trunk for the journey home.
"Ok let's go." Leonard announced cheerfully pulling on his safety belt to the sound of James's contented gurgling in the back.
He was just putting the car into reverse when Penny began to cry, burying her face in her hands. She was so happy with her life now and yet she was painfully aware that if it hadn't been for Leonard and her friends, Rebecca's story could have easily been her story. It was something which even over a year after the accident at the lake was never far from her thoughts.
"Sweetheart tell me what's wrong." Leonard coaxed, gently moving her hands away to reveal her tear stained face.
"I just love you so much Leonard. I thought that my acting career and being famous was what would make me happy, but it doesn't even come close to you and James. You're my world." she stated, quickly brushing away her tears.
"And I love you. Having you and a family of my own is all I've ever really wanted too."
After exchanging a deep and passionate kiss Leonard reversed his car out of the space and pulled out onto the street, coming to a stop at an intersection with a pedestrian crosswalk.
"I have a surprise for you when we get back home." Leonard began as they waited for the lights to change. "Something which I think you will really appreciate..."
But Penny wasn't hearing Leonard. There standing in front of their car on the crosswalk peering in at her through the windshield was Rebecca.
"And I'm gonna spoil you so much when we get home...Penny are you listening?"
"Huh?...Sorry Leonard I was miles away."
The lights began to change. Penny scanned the road and the sidewalk for Rebecca, but she had disappeared with the same suddenness with which she had appeared.
"It's like today marks a whole new beginning for us. We're gonna be so happy Penny." Leonard said confidently, taking his hand of the steering wheel momentarily to squeeze Penny's knee.
And Penny had no reason to doubt.
THE END.
A/N: Just wanted to say thank you SO much for all your reviews. There were times when I seriously considered giving up on this story, but thanks to your encouragement I made it to the end. It's not nearly as good as I'd like it to be, but it's the best I can manage at the moment given my inexperience as a writer (I only started to try to write stories a year ago.) Anyway I hope you enjoyed it.
Goodbye for now!
BBT78.