Chapter 32
Penny's TV show entitled "Parker & Ramona" was about a newly wed couple adjusting to their life in the suburbs as they had several difficulties living in the city. Penny will play a minor role as one of their neighbors. Leonard was very supportive of Penny's career and would always practice and read the script with her in their apartment. Penny was a little amused that Leonard would always get into character while they practice her lines. This has given them a new bonding experience in addition to Leonard sometimes visiting the set during taping. He would always make sure to bring Penny a bouquet of flowers and something to eat for her and their baby. The other women on the cast and crew was impressed at how supportive Leonard was to his wife and was surprised to find out that he was a famous scientist.
Penny was on her third month of pregnancy when Leonard fetched her from the set to go home for the day. They passed by a diner to eat lunch before going straight home. After eating, they drove home but Leonard took a different route than the one he usually takes towards the apartment.
"Honey where are we going? This is not the way home." Penny asked him.
"We're going to visit a friend of mine first and then we'll go straight home." he said. Penny didn't say anything and just sat and let her husband drive along the road. They went into a suburban area and drove for another ten minutes.
"Okay...we're here." he said as he slowed the car and parked it on the side of the curb.
"Is this your friend's house?" Penny asked as they got out of the car.
Leonard took her hand as they walked up the pathway. "Yeah. I'll just get some scientific journals from her." he said smiling at her as they stepped onto the porch. Leonard rang the doorbell and a middle-aged woman opened the door and welcomed them in.
"Ah Leonard!...and you must be Penny?….please come in!" she said as she welcomed the couple into the house.
"Honey this is Annie….she's collaborating in one of our projects at the university…." he said.
"Hi Annie!….your house is so beautiful!" Penny smiled as they shook hands.
"Thank you Penny…..please have a seat while I get those journals." Annie said as she led the couple into the living room. "Can I get you guys anything? Water? Fruit juice for the baby?" she asked.
"Uh no thanks...we're good!" Penny said as they sat down.
"Okay….I'll be right back." Annie said and turned around to go to one of the rooms. She came back carrying a bunch of folders and papers and set it on the coffee table. "Here you go Leonard." she said.
Leonard immediately took one of the folders and began to leaf through them.
"Come on Penny….I'll give you a tour of the house…" Annie said as she invited Penny.
Penny looked at Leonard. "Go ahead honey….I just need a minute to look at these." Leonard said. Penny got up and followed Annie. Annie showed her the bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen and even the backyard.
They came back after about ten minutes as Penny sat beside Leonard.
"Oh my god Annie….your house is so beautiful….it's just perfect." Penny smiled.
"Thank you Penny. I'm glad you liked it." Annie added. "Oh I almost forgot something….just give me a minute and I'll be right back." she said as she turned away. She came back and handed Penny a set of keys. "These are for you." she said.
Penny was puzzled. "Uh what's this?" she felt awkward as she held the keys on her hand.
"This is your house now!" Annie announced.
Penny was shocked and just stared blankly at Annie.
Leonard put the folder down and looked at his wife. Penny turned to him. "Honey….what's the meaning of this?" Penny said as her hands began to shake.
"This is our house." he smiled at her.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!…..is this for real!?" she began to tear up.
"Yes! This is ours!" Leonard smiled at her.
Penny screamed and hugged her husband tightly. "How did this happen? I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "I love you so much honey!….you are the best husband ever!" she said as she kissed him deeply. "Where did you get the money for this?" she asked.
"Well let's see….my life savings….the money from my North Sea trip….not to mention the money my dad gave me as a wedding present." he continued. "do you like the house?" he asked her.
"Oh my god I love it!….It's perfect honey!….Thank you so much!" Penny kissed him again.
Annie decided to butt in. "Oh and just to let you know….all the furniture here will be taken away by the previous owner so you'll have to buy new ones." she said.
"That won't be a problem….I can redecorate...right honey?" Penny asked Leonard.
"Of course….this is our house now….you can do what ever you want!" he said.
"Thank you honey….I love you so much!" she kissed him again. "So I guess you're not really a scientist huh?" Penny asked Annie.
Annie smiled. "No. I'm the real state agent for this house." she added. "You guys actually had a good deal with this house!….the utilities are well maintained and no buildup of molds in the basement." she said.
"I'm so excited!" Penny told Leonard.
"Well I guess my job is done here." Annie said as she shook the couple's hands. "You two take care of that baby alright?" she smiled at them.
Penny hugged Annie. "Thank you so much Annie!" Penny said. Annie went out and left the couple in their new house.
"I gotta say Hofstadter….you really are pulling out all the stops huh?" Penny said as she put her arm around her husband.
"Well if you want….we can lock the doors and test our new bedroom…" Leonard winked at her.
Penny bit her lip and grabbed Leonard's hands. "Come on." she said as she led her husband into the bedroom. "Until our baby is born….we will have sex in every corner of this house!" Penny teased him.
"Even in the backyard?" Leonard asked as he followed his wife.
Penny turned around. "Especially in the backyard!" she winked at him as she slammed the bedroom door shut and began to undress her husband.
Leonard and Penny spent the next week shopping for new furniture and redecorating their house. Penny hired an interior decorator to give the house a new paint job and wall papers. Since they haven't found out if they were having a son or a daughter, Penny chose to have the baby room painted with a shade of light green. The couple were at Penny's apartment looking at interior decorating magazines when Leonard had to stop his wife from going into overdrive since it might be harmful for the baby.
"Honey you need to slow down on the house….it's not good for the baby if you get stressed." he said.
"I just want everything in our house to be perfect." Penny said.
Leonard looked at her. "Who are you and what have you done to my wife?" Leonard jokingly said.
"What are you talking about!?" Penny asked.
"Well….when we first met….you are the epitome of organizational skills! I mean, this apartment was just so well organized and so neat all the time!" Leonard said sarcastically.
Penny stared at him. "Is it really a good idea to make your pregnant wife angry?" she said as she folded her arms. "Don't forget, we're in this mess because of you!" she said referring to her pregnancy.
"Hey it takes two to tango remember?" he smiled at her.
Penny glared at him. "You're lucky my hormones are acting up or else you'll have a black eye right now!" she said.
Leonard moved closer and kissed her cheek. "What do you wanna do now Mrs. Hofstadter?" he teased her.
Penny sighed and pulled him towards the bedroom. "Come on. We still have a few weeks in this apartment so we'll make good use of it." she said as closed the bedroom door.
After an hour of making love, the couple went across the hall to 4A and found the whole gang already unpacking the takeout food. Penny immediately sat on her chair while Leonard went to the fridge to get her some water.
"So Penny how are things on the set?" Amy asked.
"Oh it's so good! We've already shot half of the episodes and we're doing some re-shoots of some of the scenes." Penny smiled.
"So I guess you'll be doing some interviews and press before the show is released huh?" Howard asked.
"Yeah. The producer assured me that it will be before I give birth….they want the whole cast present for the interviews and stuff." Penny said as Leonard stood beside her.
"And don't worry guys, you don't have to pay for my wife's autograph!" He smiled. Penny laughed.
"Don't worry, we only want Penny to get us backstage passes so we could meet the other actors." Bernadette said.
"That's not funny Bernie." Penny said.
"Leonard I remember that we agreed to me taking Penny's place and the two of you moving in here. Are you planning to do that after Penny gives birth?" Sheldon asked.
Leonard faced him. "Oh you can forget about moving Sheldon. Penny and I are moving in to a new place. I don't want her climbing up and down the stairs while she's pregnant. It won't be good for the baby." he said.
Sheldon immediately became agitated. "What? But where are you going? What about me? Does that mean I'm going to live here on my own? What if there's a criminal in the building? Nobody's gonna scare them away now that Penny's moving out!" Sheldon asked becoming slightly hysterical.
"No one's gonna come here to hurt you Sheldon. If you want, you can get a new roommate. Maybe Amy will be willing to move in here?" Leonard said.
"Amy and me living in the same apartment? Are you high?" Sheldon asked Leonard.
"No Sheldon I'm not high!" said Leonard.
"But where are you gonna live?" asked Sheldon.
"Oh I bought a house." Leonard said casually while Penny smiled at the rest of them.
"What!?" the whole gang was surprised.
"Yeah. Even I was surprised….it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and maybe half an hour away from here." Penny said.
"Where did you get the money Leonard?" Sheldon asked.
"Uh gee I don't know Sheldon….maybe I robbed a bank using my ray gun." Leonard said sarcastically. "It's my life savings with some help from my dad." he said.
"Yeah. Alfred's been so generous." Penny added. "Anyways, I'm gonna throw a housewarming party as soon as we're done redecorating it and I expect you all to be there." Penny said.
"Oh my gosh this is so exciting! I can't wait to visit your house." Bernadette said.
"If you want, I can help with the interior design." Raj said.
"Thanks Raj but we already hired an interior designer." Penny said.
Sheldon sat on the couch and pouted. "How could you do this to me Leonard? I thought you were my best friend." he said.
"You are my best friend Sheldon. Do you really want to argue with my pregnant wife?" Leonard said. Penny glared at Sheldon. "Why don't you ask Amy if she wants to move in here with you?" Leonard said.
"And why would Amy move in with me….I'm not even sure if she will pass the test." Sheldon said.
"Hmmm let me see….Amy is a scientist which ticks off one box….she already knows all your 'quirkiness' which will scare all other potential roommates….she's willing to chauffeur you around…..and I think she can be agreeable to your bathroom schedule….right Amy?" Leonard turned to her.
"Yeah sure….we're already familiar with each other Sheldon, which means your obsessive compulsive behavior which others find detestable, I find cute as a button!" Amy said to Sheldon.
"Then I guess it's settled then, Amy will move in with Sheldon." Leonard said while Sheldon didn't protest. Penny gave Amy a high five.
"Good job honey." Penny kissed Leonard on the cheek. "Let's eat! My baby is starving." Penny announced.
Later that night, Penny snuggled up to her husband as they lay on the bed. "Do you think Sheldon would actually allow Amy to live with him in the apartment?" Penny asked.
"I don't know. He'll probably come up with a cockamamie excuse of not letting Amy live with him." Leonard said. "I feel a little bad for him, always relying on someone else just to function properly." he said.
"This is for the best honey. We can't keep holding his hand." Penny continued. "He has to grow up." she said.
"I know. I'm just worried he might do something stupid and get himself into real trouble." Leonard said.
"Then he has to own up to his decisions." Penny said. They stayed quiet for a while.
"How's our baby? Are you feeling okay?" Leonard said as he touched Penny's belly.
"The baby's doing fine honey. I just feel sleepy most of the time….and hungry." Penny said.
"Well you have to eat so both of you will be strong and healthy. You two are the most important people to me." Leonard kissed her on the head.
Penny sighed. "I can't believe my life would turn out like this." she said as she hugged her husband.
"Me too. Who would have thought that an asthmatic nerd like me would be married to a TV star and have my baby." Leonard smiled.
Penny shifted and looked at him. "I know right? How many times did we break up and got back together? I think I lost count already." she said.
"Well it just goes to show that you can't really resist me!" Leonard proudly said.
"If I wasn't pregnant and hormonal I would have probably punched you right now." Penny looked at him.
Leonard kissed her. "Well, do you wanna?" he smiled at her.
"Leonard I can't get more pregnant." she said.
"We'll see about that." he said as he moved on top of Penny and began kissing her again. Penny laughed as she pulled her husband close. They start to undress each other while Leonard pulled the sheets over them as they begin to make love.