A/N Again thanks for the reviews. They do keep me going. I still own nothing.
When Penny and Leonard arrived at Bernadette's apartment and she let them in. Penny immediately gave her a hug.
"How's Howard? Has anything changed?"
"No, he is still in the bedroom. I have left him alone like you suggested."
Penny turned to Leonard, "Why don't you see if he will talk to you?"
Leonard nodded and went to the door of the bedroom as Penny sat next to Bernadette and put her arm around her shoulders.
When he knocked on the door, Howard answered, "I told you I wanted to be alone."
"It's me, Leonard. Let me talk to you."
"Leonard, what are you doing here?"
"Bernadette called us; she's really upset. Just let me talk to you."
After a long pause, "It's unlocked."
When Leonard went in, Howard was lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. It was apparent he had been crying.
As Leonard went and sat on the edge of the bed, Howard turned his head, "If you here to try to talk me out of going back home, you can save your breath."
"That's not why I came in, that is between you, Bernadette, and your mother."
He paused, "It's what I said at the door. Bernadette is really hurting. She wants to help but says you are shutting her out."
He went on, "Remember, she loves Debbie too. She needs for you to be there for her as well."
Howard sat up, "it's my fault, Leonard. Don't you understand that? I have failed everyone. I never should have left home."
"I think I understand how you can feel that way, but I don't believe for a second that things would be any different if you had stayed home."
"But you can't be sure of that."
"No, but you don't know either." He caught Howard's eyes, "What matters is that you are no longer alone. You have a woman who loves you, one you told you loved. You need to think of her. She wants to help and she needs you to be there for her."
He got up, "Why don't you let me send her in?"
Howard stared at the wall. Finally, he said, "Okay."
"Thanks, Howard, I'll tell her."
As he opened the door, Howard said, "Thanks, Leonard."
Leonard smiled and nodded, "You would do the same for me."
Leonard gave Bernadette the good news and she hurried off to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Penny came over and hugged Leonard, "I love you. That was a good thing you did."
"I love you, too. I just told him what he already knew."
They stood there for a while. Penny finally said, "Do you think we should go?"
"Maybe we should stay for a little bit."
They had just about decided to go when the door opened and Howard and Bernadette came out holding hands.
Bernadette spoke up, "Thank you guys so much for coming." She looked at Howard, who smiled back, 'I think we will be okay now."
They told Bernadette and Howard they were there for them and to keep them posted. They also told them that Amy had said the same. After a tearful group hug, they said their goodbyes and left.
Mona and Barb arrived at the motel. Barb took a huge sigh of relief when she saw the bike was there.
Barb told Mona to wait outside and went in to find Wayne sitting on the bed. The TV was on, but it was apparent he wasn't paying any attention to it.
He looked up when she came in and managed a smile, "You're back."
Barb smiled, "So are you."
He got up and hugged her as she returned it, "I am sorry for what I said. When I came back and noticed you were gone…"
"Didn't you see my note?"
"Not until I had panicked."
"I'm sorry for the way I acted."
She stepped back, "Mona is outside."
He stared at her, "What is she doing here?"
"After I told her everything, she said she wanted to talk to you."
She opened the door and let Mona in, "Hi, Wayne, do you mind if we talk?"
Wayne nodded and sat down on the bed. Barb sat down next to him and took his hands in hers.
Mona found a chair, "When Barb told me the whole story, I admit I was shocked at first. But when she told me what efforts you had made to find out about your Father and half-brother, I was impressed. But what really was important to me was listening to how Barb talked about you.
Even more than her words about how she felt for you, it was how she said them, that made me realize how strong her feelings are for you."
She paused and looked fondly at Barb, "I love Barb like she was my sister. More than that I know she is a good person. When I realized how she felt about you, I knew you must be a good person as well."
"I didn't have much time to talk to Steve, but I know my husband feels the same way about Barb that I do. We want what is best for her and we trust her. She has made me believe you are worthy of that love and trust."
She smiled, "I don't know how it will work out between you, but I came with Barb to let you know that we would be proud to have you be part of our family."
She went on, "I cannot speak for her Mom and Dad, but I am sure they will feel the same."
Wayne was stunned, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He suddenly realized what it meant to be part of a loving family, of the trust between them. He finally managed to get out, "Thank you, Mona. I know now why Barb so deeply respects you." He took a deep breath and managed a smile, "I am just beginning to believe I might be a good guy after all."
Barb and Mona both smiled happily as Barb said, "That's what I've have been trying to tell you."
After a pause, Mona got up, "Well, I better go back and catch Steve up on everything."
She gave Barb a hug, "Don't forget you said you would join us for supper tomorrow."
"We'll be there."
She stepped back and looked at Wayne, He hesitated and then came forward and gave Mona a hug which she returned as Barb found herself tearing up a little.
Mona stopped at the door, "Someone should talk to your folks. Do you want Steve and me to call them?"
Barb looked at Wayne, "I think that might be best. Tell them I will call them later."
Mona nodded, "Good night."
Wayne said heartfully, "Thanks again, Mona."
She smiled, "There is nothing to thank me for." She paused, "You two take care of each other."
After she left, Barb turned to Wayne, "Are you still sleeping on the floor?"
He answered by taking her in his arms and moving over to the bed. She smirked and started to say, "I just realized, we haven't eat…" but his mouth stopped her.
Both Bernadette and Howard had spent time with Debbie at the hospital, but with the Doctor telling them she needed to rest, they had just talked of how happy they were she had survived and some other mundane subjects.
Although Bernadette and Howard had been there for each other, Howard was still determined he needed to return home. Bernadette decided she needed to not push him to stay with her.
After Debbie had been home a few days, Howard decided it was time to let her know what he had decided. Soon, they were all sitting in Debbie's living room.
Howard spoke first, "Mom, I have waited to talk about this until you felt better. I just want to say how sorry I am that I wasn't there when you needed me." He looked at Bernadette, "I have decided I am moving back home to take care of you. I never should have left you alone."
Debbie stared at him. Then she shocked both Bernadette and Howard when she said, 'Don't you think you should have thought about what I think? When you moved out, I told you not to plan on coming back home. You belong with Bernadette. I will be fine." She hesitated, "Howard, this attack had nothing to do with you. We all know I have been negligent about my health. I need to make some changes."
Howard managed to get out, "Are you sure you want to be alone?"
"I'm sure."
Penny took a deep breath as she exited her car. It was her first day at the studio to begin shooting her commercial. Now that the moment had come, she was extremely nervous.
But, after meeting with the director and actually getting ready to go to work, she began to relax. She was thrilled to find she was enjoying herself. So, when she messed up her lines on the first go through, she remained confident. The rest of the shoot went well, and they told her they would release the first commercial to get reaction from a control group but that from what they had seen, she should plan on there being more commercials.
When she got back to the apartment, she was disappointed that Leonard wasn't there to celebrate with her but he was at work, finishing up his tests.
Priya still had trouble believing what she knew she felt for Sanjay. She found herself at his door. When she knocked, he didn't answer but she could hear noises inside.
Glad she hadn't returned his key, she cautiously opened the door. She was stunned by what she saw. Sanjay was lying on the floor. There were bottles all around him and he had apparently thrown up, some of it on his own clothes.
Fighting not to gag, she moved over to him. To her relief, he looked up at her, and in a slurred voice, "It's Priya. Hi, Priya. Come and join the party."
"My God, Sanjay, what are you doing? We need to get you in the tub." With him helping a little, she was able to get him to his feet. They made it to the bathroom where Priya managed to get him in the tub, clothes and all.
She turned on the shower, keeping the water on the cool side. He sputtered and complained but she kept him in there.
Finally, she turned off the water and managed to get him out. She removed all his clothes and dried him off. She helped him to the bedroom and putting him on the bed found some shorts to put on him. She got some pain killers and water and got him to take them.
All the time he was mumbling about how he loved her and was sorry he had got mad. Then he rolled over and fell asleep.
Priya covered him with a blanket and kissed him softly on the cheek. She then put his clothes in the washer and worked to clean up the mess in the living room. She finally collapsed on the couch. It was then that she noticed the papers on the table. She was stunned to see the name of her law firm on one of them. Picking it up, she saw it was a letter addressed to it. It appeared Sanjay had been planning to tell them all about her cheating and how she planned to say it was Leonard who cheated.
She sat back and sighed. For the first time, she faced how she had been acting. How she had let her ambition drive her life. The only redeeming factor was that Leonard was now with Penny.
What to do about Sanjay? If she told him she loved him, would he believe her or would he just think she was afraid of what he might do? No, if they were to have a chance they needed to get it all out in the open between them.
She didn't think he would want to admit he was a cheater, but if he did feel the need to get it all out, she would not try to stop him. It might be time for her to take some responsibility for what she had done. She had been playing with people's lives.
Thinking he would need some coffee when he woke up, she decided to get some ready.
In the next couple months, some long-time situations moved forward.
Mona and Steve had talked to Barb's parents and although they were shocked at first, they trusted Steve and Mona and Barb as well. When Barb talked to them, they told her they were happy for her and would look forward to meeting Wayne.
For the first time in his life, Wayne Walker felt good about himself. He and Barb decided to take a trip up to San Francisco. While they were there, Wayne finally faced up to something he had known for a long time but had not wanted to believe because of his belief that he was not right for Barb. He loved her. When he finally got the courage to tell her, she was overcome with joy.
After telling Steve and Mona, Barb decided she had no reason to return to her life in Omaha. After they had rented a small one-bedroom apartment near where Steve and Mona lived, they flew to Omaha to take care of matters there.
It became much easier than they thought when Monica decided she loved living in the house and with the help of her parents, purchased it.
After the papers were signed, Wayne and Barb emulated Penny and her Dad, renting a truck and setting off for California towing her car behind.
Leonard finished up his tests and published his papers, proving Sheldon and Amy's Theory.
Steve and Mona of course were disappointed but upon reading Leonard's paper, realized they had taken a different approach. Utilizing some information gleaned from Leonard's paper that helped them with the roadblock they had hit, they went ahead and published their own paper, thus providing additional proof of the theory.
Penny was thrilled when she was told there would be five more commercials, one for each of the models of her sponsor. The first commercial also began to air on national television.
With Leonard having proven their theory, Amy wondered if she should approach Sheldon with the idea of starting a family. They had once talked about it, deciding to wait until they had finished with Asymmetry. Maybe she should wait to see if he would bring it up.
Debbie Wolowitz made good on her promise to change her lifestyle. She drastically changed her eating habits and walked diligently each day.
On her route, she walked past the house of David and Edith Bernstein. Edith's brother, Samuel Steinberg, had come to live with them after his wife died. Samuel had watched for a few days as Debbie walked past. Finally, one day he said, "That is quite a woman."
Edith spoke up, "You should follow her example. You know what the Doctor said at your last physical."
Samuel was only half listening, "Yes, quite a woman."
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