A/N: I really wish to apologize about the long time between chapters but I have a real problem ending stories and sometimes it makes me write endings that are rushed because of it. I have rewritten this chapter several times and still am not happy with it so instead of giving you another large chapter, I'm not happy with, I'm going to give you several shorter chapters to the end.
Chapter 50 - Penny's Life Catches Up With Her
The situation Leonard and Penny now found themselves in was completely new to them and with that it was also confusing and scary. So Leonard just had to turn and look at Penny for a second to see both the stunned expression and fear on her face, before he came out of his own surprise and reacted. Over all the years he had known Penny the need to protect her had been a part of Leonard's life, this need becoming much stronger over the last few months, so now, with her being his wife, this need to protect her was in overdrive. That confused expression on her face, a look of pleading to him and a wanting of him to help her, was all he needed to determine what to do next and it set him into immediate action. Leonard turned and looked at the reporter and her camera man, then immediately put himself physically between them and Penny, effectively shielding her from them. Then in a low dangerous voice, a voice that just by its sound let them know he was deadly serious, he asked, "What do you want?"
Penny quickly positioned herself behind her husband, even though she was still confused and worried, a huge sense of relief passed through her as Leonard put a barrier between her and the source of her worry. It was funny, how at that moment, she wasn't surprised that Leonard put himself between the threat and her, she knew he really loved her, would protect her and would never hurt her, and it made a feeling of pride wash over her that he was her husband. She didn't think she could love him anymore than she did, but it seemed as her time with him got longer he would do things like this that would make her love him even more. It made the next thing she did seem only natural as her hands reached to touch her husband, grabbing his jacket and pulling herself closer behind him, the closer she got to him made her feel safe, because she knew deep down that as long as she was with him and had him close she would always be okay.
However, what Leonard just did to protect his wife didn't register to Courtney Lewis and she was not to be deterred, she had worked to hard, after the story broke about this TV personality's show being canceled, to find Penny in Nebraska, then convince her boss to let her pursue this story. She had even pleaded shamelessly to get even the one cameraman she had now and she was not coming home without a story. "Sir could you please move so we can interview Penelope."
Leonard, of course, had no intention of letting this woman get anywhere close to his wife and stood his ground, "No." now glaring at the pretty young woman. He could now feel Penny's hand grab a bit of his tuxedo jacket, placing herself even more behind him, and the feeling of her now even closer to him only encouraged him to be even more protective of her and stand his ground against this woman with the microphone in front of him.
So for what seemed like forever, but was actually only a couple of seconds, the reporter and Leonard just stared at each other, Courtney trying to figure out her next move to get close so she could question Penny for her story. Leonard though was doing the opposite, quickly trying to figure out a way to get him and Penny out of this situation. They should have not bothered, because after those few seconds the whole encounter was decided for them when Wyatt, Steven, Henry and Tommy showed up to support Leonard and Penny, two each lining up on each side of Leonard, dwarfing him.
Wyatt just looked at Leonard, very seriously stating, "Son, we can handle it now."
"We got you back, brother." Steven quickly adding, a serious expression on his fact, too.
"It is now a family matter, cousin." Henry flatly stating.
Tommy just smiling at Leonard and nodding, then looking at the reporter and cameraman, mumbling to himself. "No one messes with family."
Leonard now knew exactly what to do as he backed up, the men closing up the gap left by him leaving, effectively putting a wall up between the reporter and both Leonard and Penny. Leonard didn't waste any more time either as he started to move a very willing Penny to the front door of the reception building, the wedding party now surrounding them, while the four men kept themselves between them and the reporter and cameraman. It all happening so fast that Courtney couldn't even react, one second these four men showed up like bodyguards and then next second Penelope was disappearing in the building, it made her just stand there dumbfounded.
Wyatt now was the first to speak, "This is a private party and you were not invited, so I would leave before you regret it." breaking both Courtney and her cameraman from their stunned state.
"Are you threatening us?" the cameraman responded almost in a challenge.
Wyatt smiled, "You take it anyway you want, but I know the sheriff personally and he knows Penny, so he would be glad to lock you all up on trespassing charges, if you step inside that building and I call him" then Wyatt stopped for a second to make his last point to them, "till Monday when you could see the judge."
The cameraman saw the seriousness of the man's statement, he had been working as a cameraman for 8 years and he knew things in small towns worded differently than in cities, so he started to really believe that this man would follow through with his threat if him and Courtney didn't leave. "Let's go." he said to her.
"But…." Courtney started to say until she saw her cameraman shake his head seriously.
"You can't keep the press away forever." she told Wyatt, her one last attempt at defiance, before she turned and followed her cameraman back to their car.
However, Wyatt just smiled, as he watched them both get in the car, before he turned to the other three man, "She'd be surprised what we can do." getting nods from them all.
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Penny, Leonard and the rest of the wedding party were no sooner in the building when they moved over to the side of the entrance way so that they wouldn't be visible through the doors. Penny immediately being apologetic to her friends, sister and husband, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what that all is about."
Lindsey who had been looking at her smart phone since she heard the reporter mention her sister's show now spoke up. "Sis, it is about that your name seems to all over the internet right now. It also seems a lot of people are pissed you got removed from your show and have been complaining to the network about it".
Now almost everyone in the wedding party had their phones out, except Leonard and Penny who didn't have theirs on them. It says here that some producer guy is being blamed for you being removed from the show…by some reliable sources, it says." Raj now stated, he was standing next to Lindsey and looking between his phone and hers, Lindsey making sure she was close enough to him so he could do that.
Penny and Leonard moved to the other side of Lindsey to see what she was reading, while the rest of the wedding party, still surrounding him, tried to find out more about what was going on. It was dead quiet for a few seconds before Penny spoke, "I really don't understand why this is all happening?"
"Wow Penny, I think part of it is because you sure have a lot of fans, it says there was over a million hits on the network's site, complaining when you were first missing from an episode, and it only got worse each week after." Howard now remarked.
"Penny you are a TV star." Amy blurted out, making Penny just stare at her, not sure how to process her remark.
Penny still was having trouble believing what was now happening, it was almost overwhelming, but then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, making her lean back against her husband. "This is all so strange." she softly said to him as soon as she was comfortably against him.
"Yeah, I guess it would be a lot for me to take in if it happened to me too, but really nothing about it is exactly bad is it?" he asked her.
"No, I guess not." she shrugged.
"Penny this story has been going on for weeks in the entertainment news and it doesn't look like it has lost any steam since it started. Everybody seems to want to talk to you and get your side, so that reporter was probably here for that." Howard now said.
"Penny didn't your agent warn you about this?" Bernadette now asked after her husband's last remark.
"Maybe." Penny said with guilt.
"What do you mean by maybe?" Bernadette now asked in confusion
"I haven't opened her emails." Penny confessed.
"Why?" Amy asked
Penny shrugged then looked at Leonard, actually speaking to him but saying it loud enough for them all to hear, "I guess I was just happy the way things were the last month, so I didn't want anything to ruin it."
Leonard smiled, then nodded, moving his lips towards hers to give her a kiss, which lasted longer than a short peck on the lips. "I love you." both of them saying, at the same time, after they broke the kiss, making them both smile at each other.
"Awww." Both Amy and Bernadette also said at the same time, Amy then adding, "That is so romantic."
They were still looking at each other for several more seconds before Penny spoke again, "Can we just forget this for now and enjoy ourselves" she asked Leonard but said it loud enough for all the wedding party to hear.
Leonard smiled and nodded, "Of course, it is our wedding, so we will do anything the bride wants." he gave her a little chuckle and the end.
Penny now giggled too, "Good that is just how it should be." she then gave her husband another short kiss, hearing her friends and family agreeing to forget the whole thing and just enjoy the reception.
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"Well that was a bust", Courtney pouted.
"Seriously, I thought it went better than your original plan." her cameraman said while putting his equipment back in the cases.
"How can you say that, I didn't get a single comment from her." Courtney said pouting at him.
The cameraman chuckled, Courtney was a real piece of work, good thing she was pretty, because she didn't even understand what they had. Then he got an idea, maybe he could work this so that Courtney was really grateful later that night. "Hey Courtney, how would you like to make this into a bigger story than you originally hoped for?"
Courtney looked at him with suspicion, "And how could that possibly be."
"Well with the footage I did get I know a way you could get a great story."
He teased her.
"Really, how?"
"Well it would probably take a little late night editing, but I think you would really like it." he suggested.
Courtney knew a line when she heard it, but sleeping with guys to get ahead was not something new to her, her even suggesting it when it was to her advantage. "I am always willing to put in the added effort for a story, but only a GOOD ONE."
The cameraman nodded. "Oh this one will be good believe me." he smiled inside thinking about after Courtney saw how good she would probably be very appreciative.
