A/N Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. They are so special and important to me. I profusely apologize for how long it has been. I couldn't believe how much time had passed. I still own nothing.

Leonard and Penny spent much of the rest of the weekend together, but did not make love again and each slept in their own beds. They decided they wanted to do the offsetting dates once more. They knew they wanted to be together and they knew they would always encounter some things that one of them would want to do that would not be comfortable for the other, but they discovered they enjoyed being stretched a little and looked forward to doing it twice more.

Monday morning Leonard reported to Dr. Siebert and immediately discovered he had not thought through what agreeing to working on Asymmetry entailed. Siebert made it clear that he was to start on it immediately and give all of his attention to it.

That meant that he was being taken off the work he had been doing with Alex. He thought of asking if he could work on both until he could wrap up the one with Alex, or at least not make the change so sudden. Siebert informed him that he had already removed Leonard from the project and turned it over to Leslie Winkle.

Leonard realized it was out of his hands and agreed to get to work immediately. As he headed for his office, he knew he needed to talk to Alex. He knew she was probably understandably upset. He had already hurt her deeply when he chose Penny and now he had stabbed her in the back again. He knew that Leslie did not always have the deepest regard for grad students.

Entering the lab, he saw Leslie and Alex by the lasers. When they looked up and saw him, he saw the hurt and maybe a little anger in Alex's eyes. Leslie looked up and smiled, "Hey, Leonard, hear you are going to help dumbass with his project. Guess congratulations are in order. Don't worry about this job, I'll get it done even if I did have to inherit your work and my 'colleague'."

Deciding arguing with Leslie would do no good, he just asked, "Could I speak with Alex for a few minutes?"

Leslie looked surprised for a moment and then said sarcastically, "Yeah, go ahead, I'm sure I can get by without her somehow."

Leonard asked Alex to come to his office and she joined him there. After they were seated, he started, "I'm sorry Alex. I didn't realize when I took this new assignment what it would mean for our working together."

"If you had known, would you have turned it down?"

Leonard was a little taken back. He realized she was right; he would not have been willing to give up the chance. He looked into her eyes and said, "No, No I wouldn't have."

Seeing the look on her face, he wanted to say something but didn't know anything that would help.

After a long silence, Alex spoke up, "I do understand, Leonard. You had to take this opportunity." She smiled ruefully, "I know I would have jumped at it."

Leonard managed a smile, "I am really going to miss working with you." He hesitated, "Maybe it will be okay with Leslie."

Alex raised her eyebrows, "Really? At least Sheldon for the most part didn't even realize I was there unless he needed something. DOCTOR Winkle constantly reminds me of my station in life."

After a few more minutes, she started to get up, "Well, I better get back." She looked at Leonard, "It really is okay, Leonard, I will live through it. Don't beat yourself up too bad, maybe we can work again in the future." She hesitated, "I know you think you have hurt me again, but this just happened."

As she started to leave, Leonard called after her, "Wait just a minute."

She turned back and looked at him inquisitively, "I was just thinking. This new project looks like it will take a lot of work. I will need someone to work with me." He smiled at her, "I can't promise anything, but I could ask Doctor Siebert to have you transferred to work on this project." He frowned, "But, you would most likely have to go back to not being a colleague."

Alex smiled and came back to her seat, "That would not be a problem, I would much rather be called an assistant and treated like a colleague than be called a colleague and treated like a slave."

Leonard smiled but then said, "I can't guarantee that he will agree."

"I understand, but I really appreciate you wanting to do it."

"I am doing it for me. I really want your help."

It turned out not to be a problem. Dr. Siebert was taking no chances on screwing up the chance for a Nobel. He had been told by Dr. Gablehauser how well they worked together and he had seen the report of their first project himself. He had also read Dr. Hofstadter's glowing recommendation of Ms. Jensen's ability. And any possible suspicions that there was something going on between them had been squashed when he had seen Hofstadter's date at the fund raiser.

Leonard broke the good news to Alex and they started to get to work immediately.

Penny felt good about herself when she realized she was pleased when Leonard told her he and Alex were continuing to work together. It also reminded her what had happened at the fund raiser between her and Alex. She decided to have a girl's night and invite Alex. She also needed to figure out something for another date with Leonard.

It soon became apparent that Leonard and Alex were planning to put in long hours. They both were dedicated to getting it done but had discovered how daunting that task could be. They did decide however they needed to take some time off and decided not to work Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

Penny had come to a decision on the date. She had wanted to try something physical and outside, knowing those were definitely outside (no pun intended) Leonard's comfort zone. She had been torn between horseback riding and the beach. Deciding there was more of a chance he could get hurt with a horse than drown in the ocean, she chose the beach.

When Leonard heard her choice for a date, he wondered if perhaps it was really so bad not having a girlfriend. Then, he chided himself, what could really happen? That was quickly answered by drowning, bugs, sun, physical exercise. It did not help when Sheldon brought those same items to his attention when he told him plus bringing up the specter of bullies.

So, Saturday afternoon, they set out for the beach. Penny was wondering about her choice when Leonard appeared covered in suntan oil and armed with a beach umbrella. It turned out, at least for Leonard, a blessing that they had chosen less than a perfect day, so the beach was not as crowded as it could have been.

Penny finally got him out of the car and locating a place to sit, got situated under the umbrella. Leonard was struggling not to complain about having to sit on a blanket on the ground and how hot the sun was. He also noticed how several tall, handsome men, shamelessly dressed in swim trunks, were ogling Penny.

For her part, Penny was thrilled they were there. She was proud of Leonard. She knew he was uncomfortable but he was hanging in there. As for the men, she never noticed them, after all, that was nothing new.

When she took off her sun suit and revealed her bikini, Leonard decided maybe this wasn't so bad after all. He also was relieved that she seemed to take no notice of the men trying to get her attention. He even got comfortable enough to go get them some refreshments.

When he took off, Penny looked after him. He was still overdressed but she decided she would take it slow, one step at a time. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him. She knew by normal standards he didn't match up physically to the other men, but to her he was by far the sexiest.

When Leonard came back, he was surprised to see Penny talking to a good-looking guy. When he reached them, Penny turned and said, "Good, you're back. Leonard, this is Dave Brown, he was in several of my acting classes. Dave, this is my boyfriend, Doctor Leonard Hofstadter."

Dave smiled at him, "Glad to meet you."

Leonard put down the drinks, "Nice to meet you, too."

Penny flinched a little when Dave went on, "Did Penny ever tell you about the love scene she and I did together? We had the class on the edge of their seats."

Leonard managed, "No, she didn't mention it."

Dave turned back to Penny who was trying to catch Leonard's eyes. "So, Penny, Leonard doesn't look like he's planning to go in. What say we go for a quick swim?"

Penny's voice turned cold, "No thanks. But you go ahead."

Dave smirked, "All right, what the hell is going on? You can't really be serious about this guy. What did you do, lose a bet?"

Penny started to get up, her eyes blazing, when Leonard stepped between them, "You heard Penny. Why don't you go for a swim and cool off?"

Dave sneered at him and looked like he was ready to hit him, when a lifeguard came up behind them. "Is everything all right here?"

Penny spoke up, "Everything's fine. Dave here was just telling us he was ready to go for a swim."

Dave glared at them both and then stomped off.

Penny turned to the lifeguard, "Thanks."

"No problem. Looked to me like you guys were handling the situation. Have a nice day."

Penny turned to Leonard, "I am so proud of you. Thank you for standing up for me."

Leonard blushed, then smirked, "You know I wouldn't have stood a chance against him, don't you?"

She leaned forward and kissed him, "No, I don't know that. He was just a bully." She smiled, "Besides, he would have had to take us both on and I fight hard for what I love."

They sat down and kissed more passionately. Then Leonard gathered his courage. "Do you want to go in the water?"

Penny was surprised but pleased, "Are you sure? Can you swim?"

"A little bit. But maybe we could just walk along the shore?"

"I'd like that."

Hand in hand, they walked along, oblivious to anyone else, occasionally wading into the ocean.

At one point, Leonard said he needed to rest a moment and they found some rocks to sit on. Penny noticed that they were by a small inlet that had carved out a small pond like area, surrounded by rocks. She realized that it was normally well hidden from the beach and could only be seen from where they were. She at first rejected the crazy idea that came to her head but then said what the hell.

Seeing Leonard had recovered, she grabbed his hand and let him into the pond. Before he could say anything, she took off her top. Leonard just stared, "What…?"

"Get your clothes off."

Leonard knew he should object, wondering what had gotten into her, but when she slipped her bikini bottom off, he quickly undressed. Penny kissed him passionately and pulled him down into the water. To be honest, it didn't last long, but the surroundings and the thought of getting caught made it exciting and memorable.

Afterwards, Penny had to smirk, "Guess your not just an indoor guy after all."

Leonard smiled, "That was incredible." He leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. "You are so good for me, Penny, I love you so much."

Penny teared up just a little, "It is so much fun to do these things with you, and I love you, too."

After going to the bath houses and cleaning up, they drove along the shore until they found a seafood restaurant where they ate looking out at the ocean.

It was late when they got home and they kissed goodnight and went to their respective apartments.

With the hours Alex was working, Penny had arranged a girl's night for Sunday night. When everyone was seated and fortified with a glass of wine, Amy turned to Alex, "So, how is the work going?"

Penny was about to say that wasn't what was usually discussed on Girl's Night, but realized she was dealing with a unique group here.

Alex smiled, "It's going good. I don't have to tell you how complicated it is, but when I feel a little lost, Leonard comes through with an idea." With obvious admiration in her voice, "He is just so smart, it is exciting to see."

Bernadette and Amy glanced at Penny, but she just looked back at them. Truth be told, it still did bother her a little when Alex showed how much she admired and liked Leonard, but then she just felt proud of Leonard.

Bernadette spoke next, "I hear you and Leonard went to the beach. How did that turn out?"

"It was a little struggle at first, but then Leonard really got into it. This guy I know from my acting classes came over and got a little nasty, but Leonard stood right up to him."

Bernadette and Amy looked surprised, but Alex just smiled.

Penny decided not to mention what had transpired in the pond, especially with Alex there.

But then Alex shocked her by asking, "Well, Penny, have you and Leonard done it yet?"

Penny wasn't sure how to react. What was this about? Why was Alex asking that question? Deciding that since she didn't know what was going on, she would just answer honestly.

"Yes, we did it after the fund raiser. It was such a turn on to watch him interact with the Nobel Prize winners and everyone."

Alex smiled to herself. She knew that Penny wondered why she had asked and was probably suspicious, but Alex had just wanted to know how they were progressing. She had discovered that she sincerely wanted them to succeed. She loved Leonard and really wanted to be Penny's friend.

Bernadette had been surprised at the question too, but asked, "Well, were we right about his foreplay?"

Penny blushed a little, but smiled broadly and said, "Oh, yeah."

Alex was curious what exactly they were talking about but decided not to push her luck.

After a couple more glasses and more mundane conversation, Amy suggested they play a game. Penny really didn't want to risk Truth or Dare, a little afraid that Bernadette or Amy were tipsy enough to suggest something that could cause problems between her and Alex. She quickly suggested Never Have I Ever.

Amy started off with an easy one for her, "Never have I ever had sex."

As they took a drink, Bernadette and Penny looked at Alex, but she also was drinking.

Penny took the high road and did an easy one too, "Never have I ever graduated from college."

Bernadette was next, "Never have I ever been over five foot three."

The others complained that wasn't fair, but then shrugged and took a drink.

Alex smirked and then wondering about Amy and Doctor Cooper, "Never have I ever been Sheldon Cooper's boyfriend."

She was shocked when both Penny and Amy took a drink. Penny had been Sheldon's boyfriend? When was that? How serious had it been? Did they have sex? What had Penny ever seen in that obnoxious, arrogant ass? Just for a moment she wondered if Penny was messing around with these guys. Had she been wrong about Leonard and Penny? No, she quickly dismissed that, she knew they loved each other. Sometime though she would have to ask Penny about Sheldon.

She was also a little surprised when Amy used her turn to say, "Never have I ever kissed Leonard Hofstadter" and Bernadette also took a drink. There was another question she wanted to ask Penny.

As everyone mellowed out, they began to talk about their pasts. Alex was intrigued by Amy and her relationship to her mother. The rest of them seemed to have pretty normal childhoods.

As the evening came to an end, everyone was pleased with how it had gone and especially how things had gone with Alex.