I'm back with another chapter :)
For all of you out there who look forward to the ILY, look at the chapter number. A round number is coming up, you know what that usually means ^^
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.
Penny was bored. There was no going around it. Since Leonard and his friends were on that train trip to San Francisco, she had no idea what to do with herself. This situation was once again the perfect example what an overwhelming influence Leonard had become in her life, only a few days away and she had no idea what to do.
Usually she knew what to do. But before meeting Leonard that involved mostly going to clubs, meeting a guy and taking him home for a hot night but right now that was the last thing she wanted to do. Not so much the clubbing but the thought of someone else than Leonard touching her made her skin crawl after he had pretty much ruined her for other men.
At least she had regular voice contact with him via phone and it was more fun than the one she had during the first day on their train trip to San Francisco when she had managed to infuriate Sheldon by reading the letters his grandmother had written him and she had made a mental note about how easy it was to freak Sheldon out just by calling him Moon Pie.
The rest of the phone calls were made only when Leonard was alone and it went usually in one direction. She also had fun snapping pictures of herself and sending them to him and she got him into some hot water when she made a video pleasuring herself and moaning loudly as she brought herself to orgasm just with her hand.
What she hadn't known was that at that time Leonard had been in the middle of a large room full of people listening to someone speak from a podium when he had absentmindedly clicked on the video. The loud moan had been, according to him, heard across the entire room and he had to quickly excuse himself since other people thought he was watching porn. It had given her a good laugh when he told her that story.
At least she had found one small thing to do in her spare time. Going off an idea she stole from a movie, she had bought some stuff and made herself a flower barrette to clip into her hair. It might be something for little girls but she thought she looked cute on her. And today, she had put it on before going to work.
"Hey Penny, that flower in your hair looks so cute." Linda said, one of the other waitresses.
"Thanks, I made it myself." she grinned back.
"That's so cool, can you make me one too?"
"Sure. Just give me three bucks and I'll make you one." Penny said.
"Three dollars?"
"Yeah. Covers the material costs and a few cents for my work."
"Sure, then okay." Linda agreed.
When Penny's shift ended, she had gotten orders from almost all the other waitresses for one or more blossoms, so she decided to stop at a shop in Old Town where homemade jewelry was sold. Penny knew that she'd also get the parts she needed for more Penny blossoms.
"Hello." she greeted the old woman behind the counter.
"Hello, my dear." came the reply. "How may I help you?"
"I need some plastic flower petals and about three dozen rhinestones."
"Coming right up. Would you by any chance be making more of what you have in your hair?"
"Yes, why?"
"Interesting. I would buy some to sell them in my store if you're interested."
"That's a great idea. I charge three dollars for each to cover material and work."
"That's fair. I'd take forty, if you can make them."
"Certainly. Is end of the week okay? I do have another job."
"Of course. See you then." the woman dismissed her and Penny left the store with the material.
She of course had bought some two hundred petals, since they were relatively cheap but she had just enough money with her to buy the rhinestones she needed. Come to think of it, ordering them over the internet would be cheaper since it would be a bulk purchase. After arriving home, the first thing she did was grabbing her phone to text Leonard.
Hey sweetie. Are you already on your way back?
No, we won't be home for another two days :(
What? Why?
There are a few events after the symposium and Sheldon really wanted to go. So, much like the train ride, we're going -.-
Why do you keep letting him dictate how you do things?
Because it's easier than arguing with him. It wasn't all bad, we met Summer Glau on the train
Summer Glau? The actress? Penny wrote shocked.
The very same. She was very nice and posed for pictures with each of us. Want me to send them to you?
Yes please!
Penny's phone chirped with several incoming messages, pictures attached to every one of them. She saw the truth in his claim when she clicked through the pictures of Summer Glau with each of the guys. Summer's facial expression differed in every picture and Penny felt her gut churn again.
How come Summer is looking so mad in the picture with Howard?
He pissed her off during the train ride after Raj lost his ability to speak once he realized that he was drinking non-alcoholic beer
Okay. And why is she smiling so brightly in the picture with you? Penny wrote with some trepidation. Not just the smiling, but he was the only one Summer had put her arm around. Imagining an accomplished and beautiful actress interested in Leonard, her Leonard!, was something Penny wouldn't be able to deal with.
I treated her like a person, not someone to put on a pedestal. I reckon she liked that
Will you see her again? Penny asked him and mentally slapped herself for being like that.
If she's riding in the same train we do and in the same carriage I imagine saying hello to her, as long as Howard doesn't piss her off again. Otherwise I will probably never see her again unless it's on TV :)
Okay, good ;)
Penny, are you jealous?
Yes! And lose that smile!
How do you know I'm smiling?
I know you!
Penny?
Yeah?
I miss you
I miss you too :-x
I want to sleep with you in my arms
And I want to sleep in your arms
Two more days, then I'll come home
Okay, see you then :-x
Penny put down the phone and headed into her bedroom to undress and then to the bathroom to take a shower. As she stood under the spray of water, she let the last few messages go through her head again and was marveled at how great it had sounded when he said he'll come home. Once again, she thought of him coming through the door of their apartment where they lived together.
One day. One day it will be like that. But first she had to tell him that she loved him. She had decided before his trip, during their stay in that hotel, that she'd do it at their one-year anniversary. She had no idea what they would do that day or if Leonard had some plans already, but knowing him he did already, but no matter if they only went out to dinner and a club or something more fancy, she would tell him that she loved him, hoping that he'd say it back before they'd make the most passionate love she could imagine.
Penny woke up on late Saturday morning after sleeping in. She originally had planned to have sex all night with a returning Leonard but after waiting until two in the morning, she got a message from him that his train had been delayed and went to bed, frustrated beyond believe.
At least she had managed to make the Penny blossoms her colleagues and the shop owner had ordered. And after she had delivered them, she had been happy to find out that she had earned a whopping hundred and fifty-six dollars for two days work. That was more than she earned at the Cheesecake Factory, although she had worked almost constantly, which had helped her take her mind of her missing boyfriend.
She got up, took a shower and got dressed in her flowery sweatpants and a yellow top with spaghetti straps with a yellow see-through overshirt. She went into the kitchen and brewed herself some coffee, looking around the mess that was her living room. She sighed at the thought of cleaning but when Leonard was gone for several days, she tended to let things slide. In the second the clock struck eleven, she heard the familiar knocking combination that indicated Sheldon standing in the hall, waiting for her to open.
"Hey, Sheldon." she greeted him after opening the door and the lanky physicist immediately held his hand over his throat.
"It's eleven am." he explains.
"I know. You're safe." she assured him, remembering her threat to him when it came to knocking on weekends.
"This package came for you this morning but you were most likely in an alcohol-induced coma." he said and handed her the box she had been waiting for.
"Oh, great, my rhinestones. Thank you." she said and grabbed the package. "And by the way, I wasn't drinking last night."
"Excuse me."
"Apology accepted."
"No, you have to sign this." he said and held a clipboard with a paper out for her.
"What is it?"
"When I signed for the package, I was deputized by the United Parcel Service and entrusted with its final delivery. I now need you to acknowledge receipt of the package so that I'm fully indemnified and no longer liable."
"Sheldon, it's just a box of rhinestones."
"Well, the contents are irrelevant. A legal bailment has been created. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"It means nothing to anybody. Come here, let me show you what I'm doing."
"Bailment describes a relationship in common law where a physical possession of personal property, or chattels, is transferred from one person, the bailor, to another person, the bailee."
"Yeah, yeah. Look! I started a business."
"Obviously, not a cleaning business." Sheldon remarked, looking around her messy apartment.
"No, I'm making flower barrettes. See? I call them Penny Blossoms. I made one for myself, then all the girls at work wanted one. Then I showed some to this lady who runs a shop in Old Town. She sells cards and homemade jewelry. She said she wanted to sell them. I said okay, and in two days, I made a hundred and fifty-six dollars."
"Good for you. Sign here." he congratulated and held the clipboard and pen out again.
"Sheldon, don't you get it? If this takes off, I won't have to be a waitress anymore."
"But then who will bring me my cheeseburger on Tuesday nights?" he inquired, his voice going into the whining category again.
"Another waitress." she replied.
"What's her name? And you're going to let her handle my food?"
"Does it matter? Have you any idea how many people handle your food before I bring it to you?
"I think you're just making that up."
"Sheldon, I just don't want to be a waitress for the rest of my life." she sighed. "So, what do you think? I mean, this could be a business, right?"
"How many of these can you make a day?" Sheldon asked her, turning one of the barrettes in his hand.
"About twenty." she replied proudly.
"And how much profit do you make per Penny Blossom?"
"I don't know, like, 50 cents. I'm not sure."
"No, of course you're not. All right, ten dollars a day times five days a week times fifty-two weeks a year is two thousand six hundred dollars." he said, doing a quick math in his head.
"That's all?" she asked, shocked. She really thought it would be more.
"If you took advantage of modern marketing techniques, and you optimized your manufacturing process, you might be able to make this a viable business."
"And you know about that stuff?"
"Penny." he said, looking down at her with that I-know-better-than-you look. "I'm a physicist. I have a working knowledge of the entire universe and everything it contains."
"Who's Radiohead?" Penny asked and, with some satisfaction, saw his face starting to twitch.
"I have a working knowledge of the important things in the universe. Good luck." he said and turned to leave.
"Sheldon, hold on. Will you show me how to make more money with this?"
"Just to be clear here, you're asking for my assistance."
"Yes." she agreed.
"And you understand that will involve me telling you what to do?" he inquired further.
"I understand." she replied, knowing that this will probably end badly.
"Good. Let's begin with the premise that everything you've done up to this point is wrong."
"Oh, imagine that."
"Another rule. You can't use sarcasm." Sheldon ordered.
'Great. Now he begins to understand sarcasm.' "Fine."
"The first thing we should do is find out how long it takes you to make one of these. You start and I'll time you. Go!"
Penny grabbed the petals and the hot glue gun and started to glue them together to create the flower and with that the base for the rhinestones. She blew air against the glue to fasten its cooling before putting on another layer of glue and attaching the rhinestones.
"There. Done." she said proudly and he clicked the watch.
"All right. 12 minutes and 17 seconds." he proclaimed.
"Pretty good, right?" she said. It was pretty good for her.
"That's four point nine Penny Blossoms per hour. Based on your cost of materials and your wholesale selling price, you'll effectively be paying yourself… five dollars and nineteen cents a day."
"A day?" she asked him, not quite believing the result.
"There are children in a sneaker factory in Indonesia who out-earn you." he commented offhandedly.
"That just can't be right." she muttered to herself but he took it as a criticism to himself. Luckily she was able to stop him from going into a diatribe.
"Just please tell me what to do about it."
"All right, are you familiar with the development that resulted from Honoré Blanc's 1778 use of interchangeable parts?" he asked her and she only looked at him confused. "The assembly line, of course."
"How are we supposed to set up machines and conveyor belts in my apartment?"
"You're thinking of the moving assembly line, an understandable but not excusable mistake. No. The moving assembly line, that was introduced by Henry Ford in 1908. That innovation is what made possible our modern consumer culture by enabling a low-unit cost for manufactured goods. I guess that isn't one of the topics discussed on your Radiohead."
"This class is boring." she groaned and put her hands on her ears.
"If you want my help, you need to be educated."
"Sheldon, all I want to know is how to optimize the process so I can make more of these blossoms in a day."
"Fine. Are you familiar with the concept of the drumbeat work?"
"What?"
"Back in ancient times when men crossed the Mediterranean sea, they used galleys like biremes and triremes, which means they were rowboats with two or three levels for the oarsmen to sit and work. And to facilitate that their rowing was done at the same time, they used drummers to provide a beat, since the oarsmen in the upper row didn't see the ones below them and so on."
"So, you want to beat a drum to make me work faster?"
"Don't be silly, I don't have time to beat something just so you can work. Although an automatic drum or a metronome would be a good idea." he mused. "No, in this case, I propose using the old pirate tricks for rowing. You see, pirates and other sailors usually sang shanties and their beat provided them with a basis for their rowing, if they had to do it."
"You want us to sing?"
"Yes. Lets try Good Morning Ladies All first." he suggested and started singing. Unfortunately Penny didn't know the lyrics and while Sheldon sang, she tried to work in beat of the song. "Okay, this isn't working good, the beat is too slow."
"Wanna try Blow the man down? I know the lyrics to that one." Penny suggested.
"Very well. I will time us."
They started singing and Penny started working, Sheldon doing the same. She made a blossom in eight minutes and a second in six minutes, grudgingly acknowledging that Sheldon's idea had merit. They kept singing and making more barrettes in less and less time until suddenly her apartment door opened and her boyfriend and the others from the group entered.
"Hello?" Leonard asked to which they replied the same in unison. "What's going on?"
"I assume you're referring to the sea shanty. It's a rhythmic work song designed to increase productivity." Sheldon explained.
"Yeah, it's crazy, but it totally works. Look, we made this Penny Blossom in under three minutes." she proudly showed him.
"Terrific, but that kind of raises more questions than it answers." Leonard countered.
"Penny's making hair accessories. I'm helping her optimize her manufacturing process." Sheldon explained to Leonard before turning back to Penny. "All right, break's over."
"Hold on." Howard interrupted. "What are you using as a bonding agent?"
"Hot glue." Sheldon replied.
"You're kidding. Any of the Cyanoacrylates would do a better job."
"It won't work, the flower's too porous."
"What if we infused the bottom layer with silicone-RTV to provide a better mounting surface?" Leonard threw in as Raj whispered something into Howard's ear.
"Good question, what are you marketing and distribution channels?" he relayed.
"Well, there are the waitresses at my work, and this cute, little shop in Old Town."
"Hush, hush." Sheldon stopped her. "Virtually non-existent. I'm thinking that we set her up with a hosted turnkey e-commerce system to start."
"Why not eliminate the middle man? We could install a small server farm with a static IP in her bedroom." Howard suggested and Penny had again no idea what he was talking about.
"She'd need some kind of industrial cooling system." Leonard interjected.
"Of course, but before we set up a marketing and distribution infrastructure, we should finish optimizing the manufacturing process. To start with, she has a terrible problem with moisture-induced glitter clump." Sheldon said.
"Yeah, it's a bitch." Penny added, just to be a part of the conversation.
"Uh, I've seen this before." Howard started. "It's a common stripper problem. They dance, they sweat, they clump."
"Are you thinking about adding a desiccant like calcium sulfate?"
"Actually, I'm thinking about this one stripper named Vega. But sure, calcium sulfate could work."
"Let's think out of the box for a moment. How about a molecular sieve?" Sheldon suggested and the appreciative Ohs from the guys told her that his suggestion had some kind of merit.
"I've got a spaghetti strainer in the kitchen." she told them, getting a look from all of them.
"Hey, we could liberate some micro-porous charcoal from the chem lab." Leonard pointed out.
"Oh, great." Sheldon agreed. "Raj, why don't you and Howard go get the charcoal? Leonard, why don't you start working on some preliminary website designs. I'll make some space in our apartment so we can move the manufacturing process."
"Hey, what's wrong with my apartment?" Penny asked, feeling left out already.
"It's not my apartment." Sheldon replied dryly and turned to leave.
"Wait, what am I going to do?"
"Hey, it's your business. Do whatever you want." Leonard said and left with the others, eager to begin working, leaving her standing alone in her apartment.
"Oh, okay, cool. I'm going to take a nap." she said to herself and headed into her bedroom.
Her nap was ended when a hand with very soft skin gently shook her awake. Penny opened her eyes and looked into the smiling face of her boyfriend, a smile she couldn't help but return.
"Hey." she said softly, leaning into his touch.
"Hey yourself. I wanted to let you know that I'm done with some preliminary website designs. I already launched it online in case someone looks for flower barrettes, we can still tweak it if it becomes necessary later."
"Are the others back yet?" she asked him, getting slowly awake and turning to her side, bringing her face directly in front of his crotch.
"No, why?"
Instead of answering, Penny's right arm shot forward, quickly opening the zipper of his pants and the buttons of his easy access shorts to whip out his manhood. A few strokes were enough to make it harden rapidly, his girth growing between her fingers and making her moist between her legs.
"Boy, I have missed that thing inside me." she said and kissed the tip. But as she opened her mouth and put her head forward to take him into her mouth, a familiar knocking combination announced the arrival of Leonard's roommate.
"And of course, CBS has to return right now." Leonard sighed and stepped back, trying to calm himself to get his cock back into his pants.
"CBS?" Penny asked as she got up.
"Cock Blocker Sheldon." Leonard deadpanned and walked out into her living room.
She laughed hard as she followed him and opened the door to a confused Sheldon who saw her almost in tears from the laughter, which became even harder when she laid her eyes on him.
"I see you're in a good mood." Sheldon said. "Is Leonard here? We are back with the materials."
"I'm here Sheldon. I just woke Penny after putting the page online."
"You already launched it? Without showing it to me beforehand?" Sheldon asked.
"You? What about me?" Penny asked. "I'm the one selling that stuff."
"Of course Penny." Sheldon said reassuringly, although Penny couldn't decide if he was genuine or condescending.
"Lets go, I'll show you." Leonard said and led them into the other apartment where Howard and Raj were standing in front of his desk. Leonard sat down and Sheldon stepped behind him, forcing Penny to stand to the right of Leonard.
"So, show us." Sheldon ordered.
"I'm still tweaking things a little bit, but this will give you the general idea of the website." he explained and switched his browser to the site. "So, what do you guys think?"
Penny didn't know what to say when she saw the site. She loved that man but what he put online looked like something a child would draw to hang on the fridge of the parents who would only put it up there to placate the kid.
"Uh, pretty much any way I say that is going to hurt his feelings." Howard said after Raj whispered something into his ear.
"Okay, what's wrong with it?" Leonard asked.
"What's wrong with it?" Sheldon repeated.
"Not you. I wasn't asking you. Penny?" Leonard clarified.
"Uh, well, it's a little... juvenile." Yeah, that was the best word she could choose. "I mean, it kind of looks like the MySpace page of a thirteen-year-old girl."
"No, it doesn't." Leonard countered.
"Please. Dateline could use it to attract predators." Howard threw in.
"Penny, this is your enterprise, so it's ultimately your decision, but based on the quality of his work, I'd strongly recommend that we let Leonard go." Sheldon said.
"You want to fire me?" Leonard inquired.
"What I want is irrelevant. This is Penny's decision." Sheldon answered. "Penny?"
"Are you crazy Sheldon? I'm not firing Leonard. I'd rather fire you." she almost shouted.
"Excuse me, but if I did such a bad job then why do we already have orders?" Leonard said smugly. "Look. Mrs. Fiona Fondell from Huntsville, Alabama has ordered two."
"No kidding. Two?" Penny looked excited at the screen and saw a comment below the order. "Thank you, Penny Blossoms. These will be perfect to cover my bald spot. Aw, that is so sweet."
"Camouflaging bald spots. That's primarily a male concern. Perhaps we could expand our market." Sheldon suggested.
"How are flower barrettes going to appeal to men?" Penny asked, trying not to laugh at the image in her head of the guys wearing flowers in their hair.
"We add Bluetooth!" Howard said excitedly.
"Brilliant. Men love Bluetooth." Sheldon agreed.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, you want to make a hair barrette with Bluetooth?" Penny asked.
"Penny, everything is better with Bluetooth." Sheldon explained, completely serious.
"Holy crap. Someone just ordered a thousand Penny Blossoms." Leonard piped up.
"Get out!" Penny said shocked, looking at the screen. "Who needs a thousand sparkly flower barrettes with rhinestones?"
"The Fifth Annual East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance Luau." came Leonard's answer.
"Oh, another market to expand into, balding gay men." Sheldon said.
"And I'll bet lesbians love Bluetooth." Howard added.
"We should get to work." Sheldon said and moved away towards the couch.
"Wait, why does it say one-day rush? Since when do we offer a one-day rush?" Penny asked when she saw that option.
"Amazon offers one-day rush." Leonard offered as explanation.
"Yeah, but they don't have to glue the books together. How the hell are we going to make a thousand Penny Blossoms in one day?"
"Don't yell at me. I'm not manufacturing. I'm just web design."
"Okay, well, I'm gonna have to call them and cancel the order." Penny said.
"Excuse me, but was this not your goal? Financial independence through entrepreneurial brilliance and innovation? My brilliance and innovation, of course, but still." Sheldon interjected.
"I just don't see how see can pull this off."
"Penny, your gross receipts on this one order will be over three thousand dollars for one night's work." Sheldon said pointedly.
"You guys get started." she ordered.
"What are you doing?" Leonard asked as she sat down at his laptop.
"Going online to buy shoes!" she answered excitedly and started to browse through the list on the site she had found the shoes on she had wanted to buy the last time her own laptop froze.
"One pair." Leonard said into her ear.
"What? Why one pair when I'm earning three grand?"
"Because one, you have a lot of shoes already and two, while we are willing to help you with this order, since it's partially my fault, we're not working through the night just so you can blow all your earnings on shoes. Save some for later."
"But..."
"We're having an anniversary coming up in a few weeks." he whispered into her ear and went to his armchair.
With a curse, she closed the site and moved to the couch as well. Shoe orders could wait and while it was close, she loved Leonard more than her shoes. She grabbed some flower petals and a bowl of rhinestones and started working, using the stuff Howard had recommended instead of hot glue. If he had simply said that these cyanoacrylates were simply different forms of super glue, she wouldn't have been so confused.
After four hours of constant work, she and Sheldon were sitting on the couch, singing another song to keep the beat and put together one barrette after another. The other three guys were taking a break, standing in the kitchen with coffee cups in hand and talking in hushed tones with each other.
"I believe I'm hearing some negativity on the factory floor." Sheldon said to her in an equally low tone.
"So?" she asked.
"Penny, the labor force is a living organism that must be carefully nurtured. Any counterproductive grumbling must be skilfully headed off by management. Observe." she said and turned to the guys. "Hey! Less talk, more work!" he shouted, making the guys look at him.
"Nicely done." Penny admitted.
"Thank you. You hear any union talk, you let me know."
After a few more minutes, the other guys came back and continued to work. Going with the example that her and Sheldon set, they started singing along with them, working in the beat of the songs. They produced one flower barrette after another, putting each into separate bags and noting the amount on their clipboards.
"How many have we made now?" Penny asked, looking out the window and seeing the darkness outside.
"Six hundred and twenty." Leonard said from the kitchen where he, Raj and Howard were bagging more barrettes to prevent any from getting damaged.
She and the guys except Sheldon had been drinking cups of coffee in an almost dangerous amount, trying to stay awake and concentrated enough to continue to make the barrettes. At least they were already past half of the needed amount.
She saw the guys almost falling asleep were they stood and she herself didn't feel much better. Sheldon on the other hand was sleeping in his spot, his head on the armrest next to him and soundly napping. As much as she would like to let him sleep, because he wasn't talking then, they'd need his help to finish the order.
"Sheldon? Sheldon, wake up!" she said loudly and slapped his leg, making him wake and sit up. She had to laugh when he pulled a barrette from his face that had stuck itself there. "Honey, do you want some coffee?" she offered him.
"No, I don't drink coffee."
"Come on, but if you don't stay awake we'll never finish in time." she argued.
"I'm sorry, coffee's out of the question. When I moved to California, I promised my mother that I wouldn't start doing drugs." Sheldon replied and got up.
"Leonard, help." she whined.
"Sheldon, we still have three hundred and eighty of these things to make." Leonard threw in.
"I have complete faith that you will make them. Good night." Sheldon said and moved towards his bedroom.
"But Sheldon, without your insight and leadership this entire enterprise will surely fail." Leonard added sarcastically.
"You're right, of course." Sheldon took his remark at face value and moved back to the couch.
"Here, this will help." Penny said and handed him a cup of coffee.
"Very well, but if this leads to opiates or hallucinogenics, you're going to have to answer to my mother." Sheldon told her and took a deep gulp.
They kept working for another hour, with Sheldon drinking an entire can of coffee in that time. While he was rapidly producing the flower barrettes, he was getting more and more agitated, the fact that he never had caffeine in his life before becoming very apparent.
After his second can, he couldn't sit on the couch anymore. He grabbed the cup he was nursing currently and started walking around the apartment, constantly muttering to himself about something she didn't understand. Suddenly he almost appeared next to Leonard, cup in hand and crazy look in his eyes.
"Look at Planck's Constant." he started. "People say it's arbitrary. It could not be less arbitrary. If it varied even slightly, life as we know it would not exist. Bam! Now, now, let's reconsider the entire argument, but with entropy reversed and effect preceding cause, so you are thinking of a universe that's not expanding from the centre, no, it is retreating from a, from a possibility space. Bam! This is a space where we are all essentially Alice through the looking glass, standing in front the Red Queen, and we're being offered a cracker to quench our thirst. Bam!" he shouted and walked in front of them, still muttering to himself. "Of course, in another universe, let's call it universe prime, there's another Sheldon, let's call him Sheldon prime…"
"We should have let him go to bed." she whispered to Leonard, who was sitting next to her. She was inclined to put her head on his shoulder for a second but she knew that she'd probably fall asleep as soon as her head was something other than vertical.
"Bam." Leonard muttered and threw the blossom he was currently bagging on the table.
At some point, Sheldon came back to the table, their last can of coffee with him. He again started to furiously attack the parts for the flower barrettes, putting them together in motions almost automatic while his face contorted in something resembling complete overload.
Penny did her part, making more flower barrettes, as did Leonard and the other two but she could see that they were at the end of their endurance. Except Sheldon, who continued to make one blossom after another as if his life depended on it. His urgency reminded Penny of the times she rode Leonard with the same force and was painfully aware of the fact that they hadn't had sex for over a week, since Leonard was at that symposium before they started with these barrettes.
Suddenly Sheldon jumped up after finishing the current blossom he had been working on and ran into the bathroom. Considering the amount of coffee he had consumed, she wasn't surprised. And since they should be almost done with the order, she wasn't even mad that Sheldon went directly into his bedroom instead of coming back.
"I can't believe we actually did it." Leonard groaned after bagging the barrette he had been working on.
"One thousand friggin' Penny Blossoms." Howard concurred and threw his last into the carton on the table.
"I just want you guys to know I am really grateful for your help, and for every dollar I make, I'm going to give you 20 cents." Penny offered.
"That's your entire profit margin." Howard told her.
"Oh. Then never mind." she quickly said.
"I'll print out the shipping label." Leonard said and hauled his exhausted body to his desk. "Uh-oh." he said as he looked at the screen.
"What?" Penny asked. "Did they cancel the order suddenly? That would really suck after we put so much work into it."
"We got an e-mail from the East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance." Leonard told her, making her heart sink at his voice. "They want another thousand Penny Blossoms."
"Really?" she asked. That was much better than the alternative.
"One-day rush. I really need to take that off the website." Leonard said and walked away from his laptop.
"Okay, well. Guess we'd better get started." Penny said and looked for more petals and rhinestones.
"You can't be serious." Howard stopped her.
"Come on. What about the living organism of the workforce and the American spirit?"
"Even the greatest spirit needs to rest, otherwise the living organism dies." Leonard muttered and put his head into his hand.
"I know that, okay? I'm tired, I've had like 18 cups of coffee. The point is, if we all just pull together, we can do this. Who's with me?" she asked but saw no enthusiasm, not even from the man she loved.
"Penny, although you may find it hard to believe, we do have lives." Howard said, got up and walked out, Raj quickly following him, leaving her alone with Leonard.
"Leonard?" she asked hopefully.
"Sorry. My apologies to the gay community of East Rutherford, New Jersey." he replied and walked towards his bedroom, leaving her alone. Frustrated and more than tired, she let her head fall back on to the back of the armchair and closed her eyes.
"Zoom, zoom, zoom!" Sheldon loud voice ripped her from her almost sleep. She looked at him and saw him standing close to the kitchen table, dressed as the Flash. "Where's the coffee?"
"We're all out." she replied.
"No problem. I'll be back before this banana hits the ground." he said and let the banana drop before running out the door as fast as his legs could carry him, shouting zoom zoom as he ran.
She got up and went towards the door to return to her own apartment when she realized that she was alone in the apartment with Leonard since Sheldon had run out the door. Smiling, she turned around and headed towards his bedroom.
She quietly opened the door and tiptoed into the room, seeing her sweetie lying on his bed, one arm under the blanket and the other over his head, his face illuminated by the dawn light coming through the uncovered window. He was snoring lightly and Penny thought it was the most adorable sound she ever heard but that might just be the tiredness talking.
"I love you so much." she whispered. "I just hope I will have the courage to tell you when we celebrate our anniversary because you surely have already planned something."
She walked around the bed and got into it next to him, putting her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. His arm that was over his head automatically came down to wrap itself around her and pull her tighter to him and Penny enjoyed this subconscious display of affection immensely.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Leonard mumbled.
"Shh. Go back to sleep. I didn't want to head over to my lonely apartment. Is it okay if I sleep here?"
"Of course." he replied and closed his eyes again.
"Leonard? You know what in three weeks is?"
"Yeah. Our anniversary." he said without missing a beat.
"Do you have something planned?"
"Of course."
"Will you tell me?"
"No, it's a surprise. But it would be great if you can take the weekend off. Friday to Sunday."
"Oh, I will. Believe me. Where are we going?"
"Nice try."
"Come on, give me a hint."
"Pack a bag and don't forget your bikini." he said and settled back into his cushion but before they could fall asleep, his door burst open and Sheldon, still in his Flash costume, barged in.
"I got the coffee." he shouted and dropped two bags of coffee onto the floor.
"Great Sheldon." Leonard said tired. "Now go to bed."
"No. We can't go to bed now." he said and looked directly at them as if seeing what was in front of him for the first time. "Why are you two in bed together?"
"I was too tired to go to my place." Penny replied. "And if I had got into yours, you would have blown a gasket."
"That's true. Now come on, more coffee!" he shouted and ran out of the room, shouting his zoom sounds as he ran.
"When he crashes, it will be ugly." Penny said, and only a few seconds later, they heard a loud bump.
"What now?" Leonard asked and fought himself upright, Penny following him.
"I think he just crashed." Penny said and they went into the hallway.
They found Sheldon lying in the doorway to his bedroom, his legs moving as if his body tried to keep walking. Penny had to grin at Leonard's crazy roommate, seeing him in the throes of a mild caffeine shock since his body wasn't used to it and got a very strong dose of it.
"Leonard, I have fallen and can't get up."
"Come on buddy, lets get you to bed." Leonard said and with Penny's help managed to get Sheldon upright and into his room proper.
"But I'm not tired." Sheldon protested.
"Says the man who just collapsed to the floor." Penny threw in.
"Okay, but I'm not tired enough to go to sleep."
"Just get into bed and close your eyes until you fall asleep. Use your sleeping mask." Leonard said and handed Sheldon the mask from the nightstand, putting it on Sheldon's face after removing the Flash mask. "Believe me, you will need the sleep."
While Leonard got Sheldon to bed, Penny went into the kitchen and got two bottles of water out of the fridge to put on Sheldon's nightstand for when he would wake up. She knew from experience how it would feel after getting an overdose of caffeine.
'Damn, will it be like that when Leonard and I put our kids to bed?' she wondered in her head and almost dropped the bottles when she realized what she had just thought. She had decided a while ago that she would bear Leonard's children one day but when these thoughts came, it still was a shock to her at how easy she could imagine them as a family.
She turned the corner into the hallway to the bedrooms and handed Leonard the water bottles, who put them on the table next to Sheldon's bed. He closed the door and they waited for a few seconds to listen to any sounds. As if he had known, Sheldon started to moan, sing and talk in his attempt to sleep.
"My place?" Penny suggested.
"Yes please. Let me grab my night clothes and robe." he replied and went back into his room, grabbing his shorts, shirt and robe before heading back out and following Penny into her apartment.
"Get comfortable." Penny said and took him into her bedroom and went into the bathroom, leaving him in the other one.
She didn't bother to close the door and went to her sink, using her cotton wipes to remove the make-up from her face. She watched in her mirror as Leonard undressed and changed into his sleeping attire, the sight of his naked ass making heat pool between her legs. Unfortunately, he pulled his sleeping shorts on way too soon for her liking.
He came into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush, an action she mirrored after throwing away the make-up wipes. She had to smile at this display of domesticity and at the sheer ridiculousness of the fact that brushing your teeth with her boyfriend made her so happy.
"What are you smiling at?" he asked her before he rinsed his mouth.
"Oh nothing. Just happy I guess." she replied and kissed his cheek, giggling when she saw the toothpaste she left on it.
He returned to the bedroom before her and went into the bed. She followed him after turning off the light and took off her pants and shirt before grabbing her pajamas. Turning directly towards him, she unclasped her bra and let the garment fall to the floor, quickly followed by her panties. She stretched her arms over her head and enjoyed his look of pure adoration before climbing onto the bed.
"Not now honey, I'm tired." he stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Wait, wouldn't that usually be my line?" she asked him confused.
"Penny, as much as I want you, I'm bone tired after twenty hours of gluing flower barrettes together. And we can't sleep that long or we won't make it to the post office. Remember, these things are one-day rush."
"Leonard! We haven't had sex in over a week because of your stupid symposium." she whined, making her wonder when she had turned into a woman that had to beg her boyfriend for sex, while at the same time cursing him for being so good that she actually begged him for sex.
"And I want to have sex with you but what good will it be when we both almost fall asleep doing it. Let us sleep for a few hours and then we can do it before heading to the post office." Leonard said and settled himself under the covers.
"Fine. But I won't wear any pajamas and I want you to sleep naked too. The less we have to take off when we wake up, the better. And if you don't have an erection in the morning, I will make one and use it." she ordered and he complied with a grin, sitting back up and taking off his sleeping attire before settling back under the covers once more.
With a huff, Penny got under the covers as well, pressing herself into his body and wrapping his arm around her waist. She pulled the comforter over both of them and lifted her head so he could push his other arm under her neck. She intertwined the fingers of her right hand with his left that was under her neck and settled herself and although she believed they could have had sex before going to bed, she fell asleep almost immediately.
At around noon, Penny woke up again and was surprised at being the first awake, something that happened very rarely. During their sleep, Leonard had turned away from her onto his back, his left arm still under her neck. She fought to get upright and dragged herself tiredly into the bathroom to relieve the pressure on her bladder.
She splashed some water on her face and went back to the bedroom, planning to lie back down and sleep some more in Leonard's arms. Then she remembered what he had said, that they had to get to the post office at some point to send out the packages with the flower barrettes they had made. She also remembered the other thing, the one she promised and she had no intention of breaking it.
"Leonard." she whispered into his ear after dropping down next to him. "Wake up."
"Five more minutes." he mumbled in his sleep and turned his head into the cushion, making her smile.
"Doctor Hofstadter, you are cordially invited for sexual intercourse." she purred but he still wouldn't wake up.
Penny grinned down at his body and carefully lifted the comforter away from his body. Her mouth and center watered at seeing his naked form on her bed, even with his limp manhood, indicating that he wasn't even remotely awake, since waking up would mean morning wood.
She moistened her thumb and fingers in her mouth and then gently grabbed his flaccid member, carefully stroking it and running her thumb over the tip, feeling it harden immediately. She placed a feathery kiss to his forehead, to his nose, his lips and his chin before moving her lips down his body, pausing at his chest to gently suck at his nipples, which caused more sleepy moaning from him but his even breathing still told her that he was still asleep.
She continued her downward movements, running her tongue along his skin towards his navel, gently circling it around and darting her tongue in quickly like a snake before going further south. As she reached his abdomen, his manhood was quite erect though not as hard as she liked. She put her left ear to his abdomen and watched his penis as she stroked it, feeling it getting wider to the volume she loved to have inside her.
She bend forward and kissed his shaft, running her lips in still feathery kisses upwards until she reached the tip. She gently ran her tongue around it and heard his breathing change, seeing his eyes open slowly. She continued the circular motion with her tongue until he was awake enough to realize what was happening.
"Penny?" he asked sleepily and with a grin she wrapped her lips around his manhood and pushed down. "Oh god!"
"Does my doctor like that?" she asked playfully after releasing him and continued kissing the tip.
"Oh yes nurse Penny, very much so." he grinned and bucked his hips in an attempt to get himself back inside her mouth.
"Well, then I think I need to continue, don't I?"
"Please."
She took him in again and pressed her lips together, giving him the maximum amount of friction possible. As soon as she was completely down, she swallowed, knowing that he loved that feeling. She stayed down as long as possible and slowly lifted her head back up, moving her tongue rapidly around the tip.
Leonard stretched his arm and grabbed her thigh, pulling it closer. She got the hint and got closer, lifting her leg onto the bed, allowing him to put his hands on her hips and lifting her over him. She realized what he was planning and settled herself before pushing herself back onto his face until his mouth connected with her center.
As soon as his tongue touched her folds, she moaned throatily, causing him to buck his hips when the vibration in her throat gave him even more pleasure than anything else. She felt her coil tighten immediately, his skillful tongue doing things to her she still could barely believe were possible. His arms went around her waist and held her down tightly, preventing her from getting off him.
His goal became apparent when she climaxed with a squeal and her body again tried to get away from him to ride it out but his arms prevented her from doing it and he licked her even harder, his tongue moving rapidly inside her and lapping up her juices. She felt her thighs twitching uncontrollably as she came which kept going because Leonard didn't stop his ministrations.
Although she wanted to enjoy him much longer, she knew that they didn't have time to do it for an hour, since they needed to send out the packages and she also had to go to work in late afternoon. So with a heavy heart she disconnected herself from his mouth and manhood and scooted forward to align his manhood with her center. But before she could sink down and finally feel him inside her again, a familiar knocking combination again announced the arrival of Sheldon.
"You've got to be kidding me!" she groaned and got up, donning her robe and going out into her living room, closing the bedroom door beforehand. She heard Leonard moving, probably getting dressed quickly and opened the door to reveal a horrible looking Sheldon.
"Hey CBS." she greeted him, finally seeing that Leonard's description fitted. "You look horrible."
"I'm dying." he said almost in tears, only sparing a second of confusion at her greeting.
"No, you're not." she replied.
"Is Leonard here? He needs to drive me to the hospital."
"I'm here." Leonard said, coming out of her bedroom fully clothed.
"What are you doing coming out of her bedroom?" Sheldon asked.
"I was using the bathroom. We got up a few minutes ago."
"You two were sleeping in Leonard's bed when I saw you last. Why are you in this apartment now?" Sheldon inquired.
"You kept talking in your sleep." Penny stated, truthfully enough.
"And that's when we decided to sleep here." Leonard finished.
"You chose her hard couch before me mumbling in my sleep?"
"Any day."
"What do you want Sheldon?" Penny asked exasperated.
"I told you, I need to go to the hospital. I'm dying here." Sheldon whined.
"No, you're not." Leonard said.
"Leonard, my head hurts, I have blurry vision, my heart's racing and I can't stop my hands from shaking. I probably have a brain tumor."
"Sheldon, you just have a caffeine overdose, drink lots of water, eat something and go back to bed." Leonard counseled.
"How can you say that? Are you a doctor?"
"Yes, I am."
"Not that kind of doctor." Sheldon yelled. "Why didn't you become pair-bonded with Doctor Barnett when you had the chance."
Penny had to bite her tongue when Sheldon involuntarily reminded her of the entire Doctor Stephanie saga and his attempts to pair Leonard off with her just because he wanted to have a doctor in their group.
"Sheldon, you don't need to go to a hospital, all you need is bed rest." Penny said. "Trust me, I had caffeine overdoses too in my life. Your body needs to break it down."
"No, I can't stand this feeling. I need something to clean my body." Sheldon stated, leaning against the door frame. "Penny, you said you had this before, don't you know some medical remedy?"
"Sheldon, why don't you go drink some water and go back to bed. Me and Leonard will send out the packages with my barrettes and on the way back I'll bring you some medicine, okay? Oh, and eat something." Penny replied.
"I can't eat anything, my stomach feels like it's turning in on itself."
"Eat some hardtack." Leonard suggested. "There's some on the fridge."
Without further words, Sheldon dragged himself back into his apartment and Penny closed the door as Leonard flopped down on the couch in frustration. Penny shook her head and followed him, dropping down next to him and putting her head on his shoulder.
"Want to continue?" she asked.
"After that bucket of ice water? You know what will happen if we're not out the door in a few minutes."
"Yeah, he will come back." Penny sighed and got up. "Okay, I'll get dressed." she continued and moved towards her bedroom and took off her robe, revealing her naked backside to him and heard him groan.
"That's not fair." he whined.
"You had your chance." she said, poking out her tongue at him and closing the door before getting dressed.
Inwardly she cursed his roommate to hell and back for interrupting them. Since he went to that symposium and was back again, they had had no chance for any sexual contact apart from the foreplay a few minutes ago. And while he must be almost overloaded with pressure, she at least got an orgasm from it.
She went back out, fully dressed and found Leonard coming back into the apartment, grabbing another set of boxes. Apparently he had already begun to take the boxes downstairs and into one of their cars. She grabbed the last two boxes after he took two more and followed him downstairs, depositing them into the trunk of his car.
"When do you have to start to work?" he asked her as he closed the trunk.
"In about two hours, why?" she asked, checking her watch and finding it being almost after two in the afternoon.
"I thought we go for a late lunch after bringing the packages to the post office. And if you take your uniform with you, we can save a little time and enjoy it longer."
"Great idea! Let me run up and I'll get it." she said happily and did as she told, grabbing her uniform and putting it into a bag before running back down again.
They got into his car and he drove them to the mall where a post office was situated. They walked into the room and up to the counter, placing the packages and handing the shipping labels to the lady.
After learning that everything was in order, they left the post office and Leonard pulled them to a nearby drug store. Leonard walked directly to one of the workers and asked him something she couldn't hear but kept walking after getting an answer. She followed him until they got to the back of the store, where a young woman was unpacking boxes into the shelves.
"Hey Lucy." Leonard greeted the woman, igniting a spark of jealously inside Penny.
"Oh, hello Doctor Hofstadter. I told you before, I hate it when people use that particular short form of my name." the woman, Lucy, greeted back.
"And I told you, Lucretia, out of the classroom it's Leonard." he said, calming Penny immediately.
"Sorry, you're so much different than other lecturers we have. None of them would allow us to call them by their first name."
"It's okay."
"Do you need something?" she asked.
"My roommate is once again a hypochondriac and he has a caffeine overdose."
"Then she should just drink water, eat something and rest." Lucretia said to Leonard.
"Yeah, we tried to tell him that, he wants medicine." Penny threw in, just to be part of the conversation and emphasizing the WE, not liking the way Lucy was looking at Leonard. It could be her imagination but to her it seemed like every good-looking woman was ogling Leonard as if they knew how good he was as a boyfriend and lover.
"Yeah." Leonard added. "Do you have an empty Vivadone bottle lying around somewhere? I could fill it with water and tell him to take it, sort of like a placebo."
"Yeah, I think I have something, wait here." Lucretia said and headed into the storage room, rummaging around there before coming out again and handing Leonard a small and empty bottle.
"Thanks Lucy. I owe you one."
"Again with the Lucy. But you can pay me back by telling me what will be on the exam next week." Lucretia quipped. "I mean, I know it's Professor Talman's class and he makes the test but you should know something."
"Lucretia, I'm shocked." Leonard feigned outrage. "You know I can't tell you that you should concentrate on thermodynamic flow rates in enclosed spaces."
"That's too bad." Lucretia grinned and went back to stacking the shelves.
"Leonard, that was sneaky." Penny said as they walked out of the store.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." he said innocently and they kept walking through the mall. "So, what are we going to eat for late lunch?"
"Hm, there is this Chinese place upstairs. We could have sushi." she suggested.
"Okay, why not eat raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed."
"Ha ha, come on, sushi tastes great."
"I doubt it but for you, anything."
"Aw, you're so sweet." she said and kissed right in the middle of the crowd, not caring who saw them.
They took the stairs to the top floor of the mall and walked towards the restaurant, the time of the day making it rather empty, which got them a table immediately. The waitress took their drink order and Penny ordered a portion of Makizushi so Leonard could taste it, but instead the waitress brought them a single piece instead of the usual six free of charge.
"Wow, that does taste great." Leonard said after eating the piece. "What is in that?"
"This piece is made with salmon." the waitress replied with a heavy Asian accent. "In the menu are all the variants we offer."
They looked through the menu and Penny had hers picked out immediately but Leonard took a bit longer. After five minutes, the waitress returned to place their drinks and dishes in front of them and to take their orders but before Penny could tell her what she wanted, Leonard interrupted her.
"Honey, what if we take one of the two-person platters on page four?" he suggested, making her leaf through the menu.
"They have forty pieces on it."
"Yeah, but I'm hungry and I reckon you are too so why not? Also, there's a lot of selections on it."
"Well, I'm game." she said and the waitress noted it on her notebook. "What's on that platter?"
"Several Makizushi pieces with salmon, tuna, some with cucumber and those pieces with salmon roes on the outside."
"Leonard? First doubtful about eating sushi at all and now going for the fish eggs?" she grinned.
"Hey, it's not like I ordered those Nigirizushi with cuttlefish on top." he quipped back.
"Ew. Seriously, when it comes to creatures with tentacles, I'm drawing the line."
Before Leonard could say anything, the waitress brought them their platter and Penny's mouth watered at the sight in front of her. Leonard's statement that she was hungry was confirmed when her stomach rumbled loudly, emitting a laugh from both the waitress and Leonard.
They put soy sauce into the bowls that were inbuilt into the plates and broke the chop sticks open and started eating. Leonard moaned in delight at the taste, not quite believing that rice and raw fish could taste that good.
Penny had the same thoughts, enjoying something she loved with the man she loved even more and seeing him enjoying it too. Also, this meal was the first time she tasted those things with the roes around them but she had to admit, it tasted great as well. They both ate twenty pieces each with him surrendering his cucumber pieces in exchange for her tuna and when they were done, Penny was quite full.
They both leaned back into their chairs and enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach, with Penny unable to prevent a small burp coming out, making Leonard laugh. He mentioned for the waitress to take away their dishes and bring them the bill.
It took only few minutes for the waitress to return and bring them the bill plus the complementary Umeshu. Leonard paid and lifted his glass and she mirrored his position. They clinked their glasses while looking into each others eyes and slowly drank it, the sweet taste of the drink a welcome ending to this amazing late lunch. And although they drank liquor it was a small enough amount of it for him not to be unable to drive.
"Come on, we need to go." Leonard said and got up, holding out his hand for her.
"Do we have to? I'm so mellow right now." she whined.
"Penny, it's three-thirty. Your shift starts in thirty minutes." he told her and she let him pull her up.
"Already? Damn, we have been sitting here for more than an hour?"
They went back into the mall and down the stairs before heading out to his car. She got into the passengers seat and buckled up while he did the same. He started the car and drove her the short distance to the Cheesecake Factory, his hand constantly on her leg when he didn't need it on the stick shift.
After twenty minutes, they arrived in front of her workplace and before she got out, she leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips, shoving her tongue into his mouth and tasting the liquor they had after their lunch. Their kiss was interrupted by a knock on the driver's side window. She broke away from him and saw Cheryl standing next to the car, grinning like a cat and already dressed in her uniform.
"Hey, if you want to have sex in the car, you should park behind the restaurant." she said, laughing. "Otherwise, Penny, you need to get out because our shift starts in two minutes."
"Goddammit, why does time fly like that?" she cursed, realizing that she and Leonard had kissed for eight minutes. "I need to change first."
"Have fun with your shift." Leonard said and pulled her in for another quick kiss before she got out of the car. "I'll go home and fill the medicine bottle with water and a bit of mouthwash before giving it to Sheldon."
"Wait, how am I gonna get home?" Penny asked.
"Call me and I'll pick you up. Or I could just come over a few minutes before your shift ends."
"Or I can drive you home." Cheryl suggested. "Or to my place for a girls night. We hadn't had that in a while."
"We'll see. Leonard, if I need you to get me, I'll call you ten minutes before ten. If I don't, Cheryl takes me, either home or to her place."
"Fine." Leonard agreed and Penny bent down to give him one last kiss before heading into the restaurant with Cheryl in tow.
"You look a little frustrated." Cheryl stated. "Trouble in paradise?"
"Stop sounding so hopeful. No, there is no trouble, we just hadn't had sex in ten days because Leonard was at a symposium for a week and after it we got interrupted every time we could have."
"Ah well. A girl can only hope." Cheryl said and poked out her tongue at Penny, who went into the ladies room to change into her uniform.
While she was doing that, she hoped that she would get a few hours with Leonard in her bed soon, otherwise she would start bouncing against the walls because of her need for him. And also, she had to look for a dress for their anniversary, making Leonard's insistence about her not blowing the money she earned today on shoes quite prophetic. Now she had enough in the bank to afford a mind blowing dress.
Although she didn't know yet what he had planned, he had told her that she should take the weekend off and pack a bag, which meant that he was planning to take her somewhere. And she wanted to be ready for everything before she could finally say that she loved him. So much that it hurt sometimes just being away from him.
And there is that. You will have to hold out a little longer :D
Review please :)
