A/N This is it, the final chapter. I'll let you get to it, except to say THANK YOU TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS.
Chapter 52 Bon Voyage
The climb up the stairs had also been quiet, and after closing the door to the apartment, Leonard turned to find Penny's lips crashing against his. He was surprised but responded. The kiss lasted for a half a minute, then Penny broke the kiss, grabbing his hand, and led him to the couch.
They both sat, Leonard looking uncomfortable, Penny resolute as they stared at each other for a few seconds before Penny said, "First, you have to promise me something Leonard."
"Promise you what?"
"Promise me that you will be going, no matter what I say," a tremble in her voice.
No matter what… oh my god, she is pregnant , he thought, but managed to get out, "Why?"
"Just promise me Leonard," she said. "I'm not going to continue, until you promise me."
"OK, I promise," he said lightly with a shrug of his shoulders.
"NO," she snapped, "this is serious. You have to promise me, seriously, please Leonard," she begged.
Leonard look at her lovingly, for a few seconds, and then said in a steady voice, "OK, Penny, I promise you I will go."
Penny swallowed and nodded, "Thank you, sweetie."
She looked uncertain and scared, not knowing how to start, the silence last for several seconds, Penny kept trying to start.
Leonard noticed her looking scared and became uncomfortable. He wanted to let her tell him, but he couldn't keep it in, and suddenly he blurted out, "It's OK Penny I know your pregnant and I…"
Penny's mouth dropped open and said in disbelief, "WHAT?!"
You're trying to tell me your pregnant, right?
"NO…what?…," The confusion in her voice was very evident. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, you were nervous," Leonard said. "You had something to tell me and Bernadette told me I needed to talk to you, you look scared and now you're making me promise to go…" He noticed the shock on her face and paused. He decided he better try to get out of it the best way he could. "No, no," he hesitated, "I was evidently wrong, continue with what you were going to say."
Her eyes narrowed, "Bernadette?" she asked. "When did you talk to Bernadette, and how did that lead you to think I was pregnant?"
He stumbled trying to talk, "ahhhh…well…, it was this morning. She called and told me to make sure I talk to you, it was important. She was so insistent, almost begging me. The only thing I could think of was that you were pregnant."
"No, Leonard, I'm not pregnant." She smiled at his nervousness.
Leonard now looked uncomfortable and embarrassed, but he managed to get out, "I just couldn't think of anything that I would need so desperately to talk to you. Then, when I got home, you were so preoccupied, that just reinforced the idea. Sorry, let's forget that. So what's up?"
She quit smiling, she had been thinking about this moment since she realized she was going to have to talk to him, but she was still uncertain. She took a deep breath, looked right at him and plunged in, "Leonard, you know I've been telling you how important this is, how I would go if I got an acting job, how I want to support you?"
"Yes"
She broke from the gaze, looking down. "Well, it's been a lie. I've been upset, I've been depressed, and I've broken down crying thinking about you being gone. I don't want you to leave. I have been struggling with the thought of not seeing you for four months and it's been depressing. I've been a mess thinking about this."
She paused, "It's been terrible. "I've been terrible. I've been lying to you about how I feel, I've been lying to you about where I've been, and how I felt. But, please understand, I've been doing it to try and keep you upbeat and ready to go."
Leonard looked surprised, but he said nothing and let her continue.
"A couple of day ago, I told you I had to go in early," she explained. "I didn't. I said that so I wouldn't have to stay with you and start crying in front of you, which would force me to tell you how I felt. I stayed for an extra shift, because I was afraid you'd be here and I would break down. I was awake when you came home that night, but played like I was asleep, because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep from crying or telling you.
"Last night I didn't go into work, I went to talk to Bernadette. When you came out to get me last night, I wasn't crying because I was thinking of you turning into Kurt, I haven't done that for over a week. The reason I was crying last night was I was thinking about you leaving and being gone. How I felt when you were gone at the North pole, all of that."
She stopped and looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, "But I want to make sure you understand, you have to go. It doesn't matter what I'm feeling. As bad as I feel now, about you leaving, I'd feel much worse if I was the cause of you missing an important opportunity in your career."
Penny got up from couch, walked to look out the window. Leonard could hear her softly sobbing. He got up from the couch, walking over to her and upon getting there, put his arms around her, hugging her."
She almost whispered, "Can you ever forgive me?"
As he pulled his arms tighter around her she leaned her head back against his shoulder, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"It's OK Penny," he said softly, "Come on." Still holding her hands, he gently pulled her around and led her back toward the couch. Getting there they both sat, still holding hands, Penny couldn't bring herself to look at him, looking down at their hands.
"Penny, there's nothing to forgive," Leonard started. "To be honest, I've thought about dropping out ever since Sheldon mentioned how well things were going between us. But,…"
Penny looked up, shocked, and started to talk, "No! You have…"
Leonard continued, "But this was such a fantastic opportunity, that I simply couldn't just drop out. As much as I was going to miss you, I had to go. I was also worried that if I didn't go because of how well we're doing, in a few years I'd resent you, even if it was my decision. But, I thought how much I loved you, how hard we've worked over the last year and figured we're in such a good place that even if I went, we could get through this."
Penny looked down at their hands again.
Leonard said, "You've been so supportive about it. Encouraging me so much that you struggling with it didn't even cross my mind. You did such a great job hiding how bad you felt Now, I feel bad because I didn't recognize how this might make you feel."
A slight wry smile appeared on Leonard's face, "One thing that's saved me, is that I've been so busy getting my stuff ready, getting the equipment ready, getting all the medical stuff taken care of, that I really haven't had a lot of time to think about it. When I was with you I concentrated on that, not thinking of being gone. Now, I find out that you weren't OK with it, you were struggling with it, and I didn't see that. I…I…wasn't…there…for…you…"
The catch in his voice finally caused Penny to looked up, and she saw tears streaming down Leonard's face. She couldn't hold back any longer and she leaned over, wrapped her arms around him and they both hugged, sobbing into the others shoulder.
They stayed that way for over twenty minutes, until they were both cried out. Leonard pulled back first. Penny looking at him said, "You would have been there for me, if I hadn't been hiding it. So get that out of your mind, OK?"
Leonard nodded, "We'll get through this, right?"
Penny smiled, "We will." There was a few moments of silence, then she said, "I feel better knowing you know, and are still going."
"What did Bernadette tell you?" said Leonard, "And where did you see her, you were at work last night."
"I called off. I had to talk to her and I couldn't very well talk to her at The Cheesecake factory, so we met at The Olive Garden."
She was thinking about yesterday, "I didn't know what to do, I was so messed up, I figured she had gone through the same thing last year with Howard, and she may know what would help me. The big thing she told me was to talk to you. I was surprised when you said you were feeling bad about being away from me. But, Bernadette told me that you might feel that way, but I didn't see it. I guess it was like you not seeing my worry, it was something that I didn't think about."
"After talking to her, the one thing that kept coming back to me was how I didn't say anything when you were leaving for the North Pole," she reminisced. "Then, you weren't my boyfriend, and I didn't think I had the right to say anything. I'm still not sure if I have the right now, since there isn't any actual commitment, but since you are my boyfriend, I thought I at least owed telling you how I felt. But first I wanted to make sure you wouldn't back out because of me, before I said anything."
Leonard nodded. "I guess that's why Bernadette called me this morning, to make sure I talked to you this morning.
They spent a few seconds just looking at each other. Penny finally stood, pulling Leonard up, and they walked to the bedroom. Initially they started kissing tenderly, but their foreplay became more frantic and finally, their lovemaking became more desperate. They finished, both gasping for breath, laying next to each other on the bed.
Two hours later, they were still in bed, his arm under her head, still with their fingers entwined. They had talked more about their feelings, about being apart. Finally Penny asked Leonard, "How do you think you'll handle being away?"
Leonard thought about it for a few seconds then said, "I think with learning about the ship, working to have everything set up, getting know everyone and actually starting the measurements, I'm going to be too busy the first couple of weeks to really think about it enough to feel bad. Once the day to day routine sets in, I'll probably have too much time to think about it and it will all catch up to me."
"When we went to the North Pole, the first few weeks weren't that bad, as we were busy. The last few weeks weren't that bad as I was looking forward to leaving. It was that time right about the middle that things got bad. How about you?"
Penny looked serious," When you first left last time, I would forget you were gone. I know that sounds silly but I expected you to come over, or I'd go across the hall and knock on your door before I'd remember you weren't there. I expected to see you coming up the stairs or in the laundry room. As tough as that was, after a few weeks, those feelings went away."
Something suddenly occurred to her, "I saw that happen with my mom, when my dad had gone to various farm conventions. She would call out, thinking my dad was there." She looked down, "After breaking up with Kurt, I'd expect to see him walk into the restaurant or I'd wonder where he was when I got home, even though it wasn't the same apartment." I mean, after four years, I just expected him to be there."
She looked up and smiled at him, "Now, it's been even longer with you, I'll probably expect to see you for longer. But I should be able to get help from Amy and Bernadette. Bernadette understands as she had gone through it with Howard, Amy just wants to help where she can."
They fell silent, and after a few moments, Penny choked out, "So…you leave on Sunday…"
Leonard rubbed her hands, "Yeah, I figure to leave here around 11:30 or so in the morning as the flight leaves at 2:45 PM. I even got an upgrade to first class, Steven said something about wanting me rested, because I have to start working right away. We land at Heathrow at noon on Monday, London Time…"
"What time is that here?"
"Let's see….were in zone 8, but it's daylight savings time, so that would be seven hours, so….make it five in the morning here."
She grinned at him. "It's against my principles to get up before eleven, but I guess I can get up then, if you want to call."
He grinned back, "Nah, I'll let you sleep…of course I don't know when I'll get another chance to call you, but I don't want to compromise your principles, so you just sleep and…"
She slapped his chest lightly, "You better call when you get to London or…"
Leonard said with a grin, "Don't worry, if I have time, I'll call. I have another flight after that. Leaving from London to Edinburgh and we're supposed to get in there at three PM, Monday, that would be…eight in the morning here. So you only have to get up three hours early."
She chuckled, "That rule of not waking me up until eleven only applies to Sheldon. For you, I can handle getting up to take a call, even at five in the morning. Promise me you'll call."
"I will call when I get to Scotland, I promise. If I can, I'll call from London." He pulled her in for a kiss, then said, "How about we take our time and get a shower and get dressed and then go out for dinner. We can check to see if Amy and Sheldon want to come."
Sweetie, said Penny with a smile, "Amy is having dinner at Raj's tonight. Remember, she's meeting his new girlfriend? What's her name…Lucy…Lacy? Whatever, Amy won't be here.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. We have my going away party tomorrow too."
Penny's smile quickly disappeared, which Leonard noticed, "Are you going to have a problem every time someone mentions I'm leaving?"
"It's going to take some time Leonard," she said sadly. "I do feel better about it since I told you, and finding out you feel the same way helps. But, I can't just get over it that quickly, OK? Yes, I'm upset about you leaving. Yes, I'm going to struggle with it, but you promised you would go, so I feel like I don't have to hide it. I don't want to hide it, it was a lot of stress for me to hide it, so please don't make a big deal about it, unless I ask."
Leonard smiled at her, "OK, if you react, I'll just smile, maybe that will help you. So, for dinner, how about we go to that Italian place, down on Sunset?"
"Sounds good, you up for another round, before we get our showers?"
Leonard just grinned, "What do you think?" Reaching out he gently fondled her left breast.
...
Penny felt lips on hers, as she slowly woke up. She opened her eyes and saw Leonard looking down on her. She smiled at him, "Hey you."
"Hey. Just letting you know I'm leaving."
"What time is it?" she said with a yawn.
"Almost nine."
"So, what are you doing today?"
"Let's see," he thought for a second. "All my equipment is getting picked up today, then I have an errand to run. I should be back by noon or one."
"That's fine. I'm taking Sheldon out for lunch and then to the store, to pick up some things for the party toni…."
"Wait, isn't Sheldon going into work today?"
Penny smiled, "Nope, you weren't going to take him in because you were going in later, Amy couldn't take him in, she had some sort of meeting this morning, and he didn't want to take the bus, so he took the day off."
"I offered to take him to lunch," she giggled and rolled her eyes, "he agreed, as long as we go to some hot dog stand in Studio City…he also said something about a train. Anyway, we're also going to talk about getting him to work, and taking him around while you're gone."
"Just don't let him push you to take him wherever and whenever he wants to go."
"No, I'm laying out the rules and if he wants more, he'll have to talk to Amy, unless I consider it an emergency. We should be back around one also. That should give us all afternoon to lay in bed, right?" she said hopefully.
"Well, I have to finish packing, but I think I can do some of it tomorrow, if you're willing to help."
She smiled and nodded. Leonard leaned over and kissed her again. Straightening up, he said, "I love you, see you this afternoon."
"I love you," said Penny.
Penny heard the door close, she thought about him leaving and started feeling bad. So she forced herself to think Steven Hawking, asking about Leonard, about his getting noticed and those feelings turned to pride over him. She wasn't completely over it, but it was bearable now. I've got another two hours before I get Sheldon, she thought as she rolled over to get back to sleep.
...
Forty-five minutes later, Leonard was sitting in his office, waiting for the cartage crew. He had gotten a cup of coffee from his coffee maker, he was donating it to Howard while he was gone. With nothing presently to do in the lab, he remembered something and picked up his phone, looked at contacts and pushed a number and a few seconds later he heard the high pitched voice.
"Hello, Dr Rostenkowski-Wolowitz"
"Hi Bernadette."
"Hi Leonard, how's everything?"
"Much better, thanks."
"For what?"
"For talking to Penny," said Leonard. "She talked to me yesterday afternoon, I didn't even have to say anything." He didn't say anything about his thoughts.
"That's good, How's she doing?"
"Pretty well. I expect her to still feel bad, at times, but after talking to her yesterday, I think she'll get through it."
"You know, Leonard," Bernadette said with concern, "she has Amy and I to help her through it."
"I know and I appreciate you two looking after her."
"Not a problem Leonard, I'll see you tonight."
"I'll be there," he said with a smile. "Thanks again."
"You're welcome. Bye."
"Bye Bernadette."
He hit disconnect, and looking at the phone, smiled.
It took another hour before the crew got there, he spent the time going through some of his notes and some minor files and putting the ones he was taking in his shoulder bag.
When the crew got there, he went over procedures to needed to protect the crates with them and then watched, as they loaded all the crates on the carts, listing them on the paperwork. He signed the papers, and was given one of the copies and then watched as the crew rolled the carts out of his lab.
He poured a final cup of coffee, shut off the pot, unplugged it and he washed out the carafe. He sat at he desk for the final time, going through the papers, organizing them, so he would know which crates to unpack first. Finishing that, he packed his laptop and shipping papers in his bag, and grabbed his coffee pot. He walked out of the door, turned and took a last look at his bare lab and closed and locked the door, heading for Howard's lab, to give him the coffee maker.
It was almost 11:30 when he finally left the university. He had one stop to make before getting home and only five minutes after leaving he found a parking spot right in front of the building he was going into. Walking in he talked to the receptionist and was told to wait. Which he did for another five minutes, before a middle aged woman called his name and took him back to an office.
"I'm Ms Denton," she said extending her hand. "Mr…ah Hofstadter, what…"
As Leonard shook her hand he said, "Doctor."
"Excuse me?"
"It's Doctor Hofstadter."
She looked at him, and with a slight smile said, "Cal Tech?"
Leonard smiled and nodded.
"So, Dr. Hofstadter, what can we do for you this morning?"
"Well, I'm leaving for four months on a research trip in a couple of days, and my girlfriend isn't the most…ahhhh, see she doesn't…" Leonard paused, "She's an actress and works as a waitress to make ends meet. She doesn't always make enough and I help her out some."
"However, with me gone, I don't have a good way to get her money, if she needs it. She has her accounts here, and I want to be able to transfer funds from my bank, to her account. Is that possible?"
"Well, we can't do transfers like that, from other banks, unless you are on the account."
"Hmmmm," Leonard was thinking, "since I'm not on her account, that won't work. Should I set up an account here, then I could transfer from my bank to my account here, then transfer it to hers?"
"I have another suggestion."
"What?"
Mrs Denton explained, "Why don't you just open a new account here and add her to it? That way you could transfer the money to the joint account and she could just get the money from there. I can fill out all the paperwork right now."
"But she's not here."
She continued, "You can take it home and have her bring it in after she signs it . We're open until 1 PM tomorrow and I'll be here, all next week. I can give you the forms and just have her sign them and bring them in. Have her ask for me and I'll help her."
"That's sounds great, OK, do you have the forms for me?"
...
An hour later, Leonard entered 4B. He was happy to see that Penny still wasn't back. He hurried over to 4A, and pulling the box with the locket in it out of the bottom drawer of his dresser, he carefully wrapped it, then put it back in the drawer. With that done, he started packing the two duffel bags he was allowed.
Thirty minutes later, Leonard heard Penny and Sheldon come in. He walked out of the bedroom to see them both loaded down with bags containing various bottles of alcohol and different types of snacks. He helped them both put everything away, and then said, "Ready to go back across the hall?"
"Not yet, you told me you'd help me do some packing."
"But, I want…" she stopped, Sheldon was still in the room.
"Yes," said Sheldon, "you want have coitus, so please take it across the hall."
Leonard grinned and nodded, walking over to her, he grabbed Penny's hand and led her through the door and into 4B. Sheldon shook his head and as he walked over to the door called out, "You could have at least shut the door, so I don't have to hear it. And don't forget the party starts at six." Shaking his head, as he closed the door and as he walked to his bedroom thought, At least I won't need my noise canceling headsets for the next four months.
...
The next morning, Penny woke slowly, feeing Leonard's arm over her. It was so nice to wake up with him still in bed. She laid there, feeling warm and safe. As she did, Leonard woke up. She turned to face him.
"Morning you," he said sleepily.
"Morning to you too." said Penny. "Did you enjoy the party."
"Yes, I did. Thanks"
Penny thought back to the party. The devastation of Raj, Leonard saying goodbye to Raj, Howard and Bernadette, and them wishing him luck, before they left. Penny and Leonard cleaning up, and putting everything away. Leonard saying goodbye to Amy, and then going across the hallway, to 4B. Penny smiled at the memory of what happened after that.
"Remember, it was Sheldon who suggested it. So,what's planned for today?"
"Nothing, just stay here with you, except for lunch and dinner. And I have to get my stuff, bring it over and finish packing." He started getting out of bed
"Can that wait for a bit?" She said with a grin, grabbing his arm. "I have an idea to start the day."
He grinned back at her, "Do I have to guess."
"You get three guesses and the first two don't count." She laughed, then leaned in to kiss him and thought. Yeah, today is starting off really good.
After they finished, Penny got her shower, while Leonard started the coffee, then switched places while penny got the bagel toasted. The rest of the morning was spent at the table, talking about the party, about Raj, about anything except Leonard leaving, looking at each other, reaching out and touching each other.
As noon approached, Leonard suddenly remembered something. He walked over to his shoulder bag and pulled out the paperwork he had been given the day before. Bringing it over to Penny, he placed it in front of her.
She looked at it and said in a puzzled voice, "Leonard, why are you giving me these forms from my bank?"
"I opened an account there yesterday."
"Why?" she said. "Why do you need one there?"
"Because I wouldn't have any way to get you some money without it."
"What do you mean?"
"You know how I chip in when your a bit short?" he started. "Well, I opened an account there yesterday. These forms will allow you to get money out of the account. If you run short, just E-mail me and I'll transfer some money to the account and you can get it. You need to turn these in to a Ms Denton, and in a week or so, you should get a card for the account."
Penny felt herself tearing up, and leaned over to hug him. "I didn't even think of what would happen without that little bit you give me to get me through every so often."
"Good thing I thought of it, huh?" he said with a smile. "Come on, lets get dressed and go to lunch."
After getting dressed, they walked over to 4A, picking up Leonard's bags and the things he hadn't packed yet and took them over to 4B. Then went to a small cafe for lunch and after returning, Leonard tried to pack the two bags, but Penny was right there overseeing the process.
Penny took everything out of each bag, going through each item, and removing several of his T-shirts. After she was done, she walked across the hall and picked out several sweaters. After that, she went though all his paperwork, first making sure he had his tickets and passport, then questioning all the other paperwork in his folder.
With the packing finished, Penny looked at the clock. There were only three hours before their reservation at the restaurant, she had less than twenty-four more hours with him and she was going to make sure she got enough of him to last her for four months. She pulled him to the bedroom, and before they got to the bed, she was already thinking of her plans for him later that night.
...
Penny was still awake, it was almost 3 AM and Penny remembered that Leonard should call at this time tomorrow morning, when he gets to London. There was so much to think about.
Leonard was leaving. She felt that she was at peace with that, but she was sure it would be too much on occasion. But, all she could do now was to try to do what Bernadette suggested.
She was also worried about Raj. After finding out the girl he was dating broke up with him, he had ran into the bathroom, effectively ending the goodbye party the night before. It took almost a half hour to convince him to come out. She had tried to console him, but he wasn't paying attention. I should stop on the way home from dropping off Leonard and check on him.
Penny thought it wonderful, that after the desperation their sex had had earlier the day before and today, tonight was tender, caring, and slow. After finishing they both cleaned up and spooned as they always did before falling asleep. But, while Leonard fell asleep quickly, it took Penny until almost 4 AM before falling asleep.
Penny could feel the hand on her shoulder, shaking her when she heard, "Come on sweetie, time to get up, it's nine o'clock."
"Do I have to," she groaned as she stretched.
"Well, you wanted to go to Marston's, so you have to get up so we can get there and get back."
She looked up at him with a sad look on her face. "I know, let me get up and get ready."
Surprising Leonard, it only took Penny 30 minutes to get ready and they were at Marston's before ten allowing them to have a leisurely brunch. Penny remembering that Sunday, that seemed so long ago, during their long talk, and marveled at how far things had come for them.
They arrived back at the apartment just before 11. Leonard check his bags, put some of his medications in his shoulder bag, along with his computer, then again went over his checklist. Finally he said, "I want to leave in about 15-20 minutes. Time for me to go say goodbye to Sheldon." I also have to get the little package out of my dresser.
"Go ahead," said Penny, kissing his cheek, "you don't need me there." She watched as Leonard nodded and walk out the door. It was ten minutes later when he came back. Penny looked up as he came in and said, "How'd he take it?"
"Seemed like he took it well. It was a bit strange, it was like he didn't want to talk about it. Like it was nothing. Very matter of fact."
"That doesn't sound like him at all."
"Yeah, it does when he's hiding something. Will you look in on him when you get back?"
Penny smiled, "Yeah, I can do that. You ready?"
Leonard sighed and nodded, "I guess, you want to grab one of the bags? I'll grab the other and take my shoulder bag."
They each grabbed a bag, with Leonard taking his other bag and walked out of the apartment, Leonard turning for a last look, before Penny locked the door. They walked down the stairs, out to Penny's car, where she opened the trunk. Penny and Leonard had just got his bags in the trunk, when Sheldon suddenly appeared.
"What is it Sheldon?" said Leonard. "We just said our goodbyes earlier."
"Well…" He paused. "I was worried that Penny might be upset and have trouble driving after dropping you off, so I thought I should go with you, so I could be there for her."
"Really?" said Leonard, a bit sarcastically. "When have you ever worried about Penny?"
Sheldon sounded offended, "I drove her to the hospital when she hurt her shoulder, I took care of her when she had the flu and you were gone to Switzerland. There have been many times."
"If she has trouble driving, you don't drive, so what good are you?"
"I can sooth her and keep her calm…"
"More like get her even more upset…"
"Leonard," whispered Penny, closing the truck and pulling him off to the side, "Let him come, he worried about you and how he will get along without you."
"Penny, I can hear you. I said I'm worried about you, why would I worry about Leonard? I will get along just fine," he said defensively.
Penny looked at Leonard and smiled. Leonard smiled back, nodded and said, "OK, Sheldon, you can come. But, you're riding in back, I'm riding next to Penny."
Sheldon looked like he wanted to say something, but with both of them glaring at him, he just nodded and got in the back seat.
Everyone was quiet on the ride to the airport, Leonard kept his hand on Penny's knee the whole time. Penny followed the directions, and pulled up to the terminal and she pulled forward to the first open spot, stopped the car, and turned to Leonard.
"Well, here we are," Penny said sadly.
"Yep. I'm really gonna miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you, too," said Penny
Sheldon broke in, "Penny, we're in the red zone. The white zone is for loading and unloading. We're breaking the law."
Impatiently Penny said, "Okay, there's no space in the white zone, so…"
Leonard said, "Anyway, we can e-mail, and I think the phone connections are pretty good."
Again, Sheldon broke in, "All right, you have to get out of the car right now. I'm not going to jail for you."
Leonard was short, "Would you just relax?"
Sheldon looked back and said, "Oh, I see a space in the white zone. Quick, circle the airport."
Ignoring Sheldon, Penny thought of something and asked worriedly. "Did you bring enough inhalers?"
"Yeah."
Thinking, she said, "And, uh, extra Dramamine? You remember what happened on It's a Small World."
Leonard nodded, "I'm covered."
"Okay."
Sheldon said excitedly, "Oh, dear Lord, a police officer's glancing in our direction. We've been made."
Leonard looked irritated and said, "Calm down. I'm getting out." He reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out the small gift box, "I have something I want to give you."
Penny was overwhelmed, "Oh, Leonard…"
Sheldon sounded frustrated, "It's just a heart-shaped locket with a picture of Leonard's face in it. He got it at the mall on clearance. Now move, move, move."
Penny's voice cracked, "I love you."
"I love you, too," said Leonard, his voice cracking in turn.
The both leaned over, wrapped their arms around each other and kissed.
Sheldon tried to sound reassuring, "Don't worry, Officer. They just love each other. We're not smuggling drugs."
They both broke from the kiss at the remark, and after rolling their eyes, they pulled each other tightly into another hug. After a few seconds Leonard broke the hug and started to pull back. Penny looked at him sadly, but nodded.
All three got out, Leonard shook Sheldon's hand, then Sheldon got into the front seat, pulling out his sanitizing lotion. Penny and Leonard walk to the back of the car, where Penny unlock the trunk. Leonard reached in and pulled out his bags, walking over to place them on a cart that was on the sidewalk.
He heard the trunk close, and turned back to Penny and before he could say anything, her arms wrapped around him pulling him into a hug. Leonard held on for a few moments, then started to break away, Penny didn't let go. He started counting and got to "seven Mississippis" when Penny broke.
"That's almost exactly like the hug you gave me before I left for the North Pole, just longer, he said smiling at her"
"I know," she said with a smile I didn't say anything last time, we weren't together, but I will now. I love you, and I'll miss you. Like before, I don't want you to go, but I know you have to, and I'll get through it."
He was looking at her, wondering, but she was clear eyed, concentrating on him.
"I'm going to miss you too, I love you. At least this time, we can talk on the phone."
Penny nodded, then kissed Leonard. Leonard held on and after a few seconds, she broke, hugged him tightly and stepped back. He smiled sadly at her, and as she smiled back he turned abound and pushed the cart through the doors.
Penny continued to watch him through the glass as he maneuvered through the terminal. As she did, her eyes started filling with tears. When she finally lost sight of him, she whispered, "I love you Leonard," then sat on her bumper, sobbing.
Sheldon stuck his head out of the window calling out, "Penny, he's gone. Come on, lets go home."
Penny's anger flared up. Walking quickly to the drivers door she opened it and as she got in she said tightly, "I know he's gone Sheldon, I'm upset about it, and if I hear another comment about him leaving from you, I'll take my baseball bat to you when we get home. Now shut your pie hole."
Sheldon sounded contrite, "OK. Gee Whiz, why is everyone so testy lately?"
It was quiet on the way home, until she told Sheldon she was going to check on Raj. He started to object, but a sharp look from Penny stopped his objections She had felt bad for Raj Friday night as he had been devastated, by the break-up.
The realization that he could now talk to Penny without alcohol had amazed them both. She had stayed with him, talking with him, trying to cheer him up, until Sheldon came knocking on the door, and Raj told her she could go as he would be fine.
Sheldon and her were quiet on the way home, on the walk up to the fourth floor and as they turned toward their doors, Penny stopped and said. "I'm sorry Sheldon, I'm upset, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm going to miss him."
Apology accepted. "Penny? Are you going to miss him, or miss the coitus?"
"Goodbye, Sheldon," Penny said, turning and walking into her apartment and closing the door.
Although it appeared the same, the apartment felt empty, knowing he wasn't going to be there and she felt the tears starting. She tried to hold them back, tried the tricks Bernadette told her about, but she couldn't stop them. She went to her bedroom, fell on the bed and just let them come.
A couple of hours later, the sun was setting, as Penny looked out her window, sipping on her wine. The pizza box was still on her table as it still contained half a pizza and that was going into her fridge.
She was thinking about the last 24 hours. Tears would start, every time she thought about Leonard, but she was able to fight them off, doing what Bernadette told her to do. Seems that last good cry had helped. She had cried for about twenty minutes, and as she laid in bed afterward, sleep overtook her.
She had woken up, about forty-five minutes later, feeling refreshed, and surprisingly to her, not feeling bad about Leonard, but she was hungry and had ordered a pizza. She had been concentrating on something that struck her after she woke up. During their talk, when explaining her fear of marriage, she remembered telling Leonard she wanted to be more like her mother.
She thought about how her mother sounded when her dad would leave to attend the farming conventions or to leave to find companies to buy what they had grown. Her mother would worry about the travel, always making sure he had packed everything, making sure he had his medications and toiletries.
Now, thinking about what happened yesterday and what happened in the car at the airport, she was wondering what it all meant. Penny realized that she had sounded just like her mother. She had made sure he had his tickets and passports together, looked into his bags, pointing out some things he should take, and ensuring he had his inhaler and dramamine, and wondered about this.
As much as she would get angry about being compared to her mother earlier in her life, in this, she knew she was hopeful and would think about it the whole time Leonard was gone. The question was going to be; was she enough like her mother? There was no doubt Leonard had the patience her father had, but for her, there was more to it than fussing after him before he left, and she wasn't sure.
She knew she wasn't going to figure it out now, and her thoughts turned to Leonard. As she thought about where his plane was, she started feeling the tears start, so she shifted her thoughts to thinking about him working, the other people working with him treating him like the people did at the memorial. A small smile started and she walked over to the couch and turned on the TV.
...
Leonard had just exited the jetway, he was looking for directions to get through customs when he noticed someone standing near the exit, holding a sign with "Dr Hofstadter" on it. He walked toward the sign.
"I'm Dr Hofstadter."
The man held out his hand, Leonard grasping it to shake it, "Ahhhhh, Dr Hofstadter, so good to meet you. I'm Dr. Page."
Leonard remembered the voice over the phone, giving him all his information. "I'm so glad to meet you Dr Paige."
"Please, call me Alain."
"And please call me Leonard."
"Very good, Leonard," said Dr Page. "I hate to rush you, but your plane was late and with a storm coming, our 1:40 flight may not be able to take off. As a result, we are taking a different flight that leaves in about 45 minutes. I've been able to arrange having you expedited through customs, but, we have to hurry."
"Ahhhhh, would I be able to call my girlfriend and let her know I've arrived?"
"I'm sorry Leonard, we have to hurry…you'll get your phone when we get to the ship, you can call her then."
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed, but then thought…I hope she's not waiting for my call . He was too busy trying to keep up with Dr Page to think about it further.
...
Penny woke up sitting up she reached for her phone. It was almost five in the morning, and although she was groggy, she knew Leonard was supposed to get in at 3, and it was two hours after that. Thinking she might have slept through the call, she looked at her recent calls and felt better when she didn't see one from Leonard.
Maybe he didn't get a chance call, what was the later time he would be calling. She thought about it and then remembered it was 8. She still had three hours, but not wanting to miss it, she set the alarm on her phone to 7:30 AM, and tried to get back to sleep.
...
Leonard was trying to catch up to Dr Paige. The man could move and Leonard's short legs, and carrying a two bags, made it hard for him to keep up. He felt as if he had been running all afternoon. First getting to customs, then trying to stay with him as they headed toward their flight. The first thing he did, after getting on the plane, was to use his inhaler. During the flight, Dr Page had gone through some changes to the experiment's schedule. Leonard noticed they would be getting done several days earlier than planned.
After landing, Leonard felt as if he was running again, as Dr Paige led Leonard to the baggage claim area, then to the cab, and now at the harbor, along the dock to the ship. Dr Paige show Leonard to his berth, it appeared he would be sharing the cabin with one other person.
As he started to unpack, he realized he hadn't called Penny yet. He was looking for Dr Paige, when he found him talking to someone with a clipboard. Dr Paige nodded at Leonard, signed the papers on the clipboard then, turned to Leonard and said, "Your equipment it here, can you follow this gentleman and look over your crates?"
"Dr Paige, I'd like to call my girlfriend and let her know I've arrived."
"Oh, of course, silly of me to forget." Turning to the guy he said, "Do we have time?"
"Well," he said, "we have to open the container and get them out, so yeah we have some time, have him come to the dock."
"Good," said Dr Paige, "Come with me Leonard."
Leonard followed Dr Paige to what Leonard assumed was the communication room. Dr Paige opened a cabinet, pulled out a phone and handed it to Leonard. He filled out the paperwork, which was signed by both to them. Leonard took the phone heading for the dock. Once there, he entered Penny's number and waited.
...
Penny had been up for over an hour and a half, waiting for the call. She had been tapping her fingers on the table, trying to read one of her gossip magazines, but she kept looking at the time, either on her phone or on the wall. She was getting her third cup of coffee when the phone rang. Running to her table, she picked up the phone and not recognizing the number, slid her finger across the glass, accepting the call.
"Hello," she fairly screamed into her phone, "Leonard is that you?"
"Hi Penny"
"Oh, Leonard what happened? You didn't call earlier24, and you were late with this one, I was so worried…"
"Penny, calm down," he said soothingly. "I've got less than five minutes. My equipment is here and I have to look it over."
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine, our flight hit headwinds and we were late, my phone doesn't work here, so I had to wait until I got one of theirs. How you doing?"
"Fine Leonard," she said. "I was actually able to use some things Bernadette told me when i started feeling bad. I thought of how I felt at the memorial when all those people came to you asking all those questions and you had answers for them, I was so proud of you."
"Well here, write this number down…"
"Hold on, let me get some paper," said Penny, running to one of the bookcases, to grabbed a post-it and a pen. "OK, go ahead."
As Leonard gave her the number, she wrote it down. As she finished she heard someone say something to Leonard and his answer of "All right".
"Penny, I've got to go," he sounded despondent.
Penny felt her stomach flip over, and said sadly, "OK, I miss you."
"I miss you too. I call you later tonight for me. Around four your time."
"I'll be waiting, Oh, Leonard, I love you."
"I love you too Penny, bye."
"Bye Leonard." Penny said. While she had tears in her eyes, there was a slight smile on her lips as she realized she was going to be OK.
Bon Voyage
A/N The title of this chapter has a double meaning. Obviously Leonard is leaving. But, so is the story, which makes me sad. When I started this, over a year and a half ago, I hadn't written any fiction before. This is definitely not the great novel, but it seems to have brought some enjoyment to quite a few people and for that I'm extremely happy. And I want to thank profusely those who have read, reviewed and enjoyed this story. The kind reviews have, as I said in another A/N and to paraphrase Penny "warmed my twaddle."
When I started this, WeBuiltThe Pyramids and SRAM looked over the rough draft of the first 6-8 chapters. Their comments were helpful, considerate, and were encouraging me to continue. Zhalen565 and .Molly looked over some of the earlier and later chapters and were again encouraging. TerribleWaitress was kind enough to say a scene I had written just prior to her publishing a very similar scene, was different enough to allow me to use it. She also offered some younger female perspective I needed for several scenes. I know there are probably several people I am forgetting, but I'd be remiss in not thanking ATOB, a Shamy, who has read the entire story and gave me some perspective on Sheldon in her stories. And again, to all those who have read, reviewed and enjoyed it, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I've got ideas for a couple one shots and one for a longer piece I've already outlined and have notes for, I'll be back.
Tensor
1/18/15
