A/N This was a struggle getting out. I'm having major pain issues, limiting my time at the computer, and the time I do have has to be used for a couple of projects I'm working on. As a result, I am now only three chapters ahead. I plan on taking a break from those projects and concentrate on writing next week. Wish me luck.

I used several different comments, conversations, and scenarios in several different episodes of the actual show, in Leonard and Penny's conversation with the owner, Andy(in the story). I looked for actual houses in and around Altadena using Zillow and this one matches my thoughts about the house. I hope my description, does it justice.

While it is now off the market, it was recently sold and I used the pictures, from Zillow, in the description. I'll note the actual sales price will be used here. Other than that, enjoy.

Chapter 54

Monday 06 April 3:00 PM

"What?" said Leonard in surprise.

"I saw the sign on Saturday," said Penny. "When you didn't come right out, I went over and looked at it. I thought we could come back today, after my appointment. I called the number this morning and asked about stopping by this afternoon."

"So, they know we're coming?"

"Yes, they do," said Penny. "The guy is selling it on his own, so we'll probably need to find a realtor of our own, to help us out."

"So, what does this one have? And, where do we go to find a realtor?"

"It's two stories and has a two-car garage, four bedrooms, three full baths, and a living room/dining room combination, with a big kitchen. As for a realtor, I don't know, but I spoke with Dan and he used one when he bought his house. I'll talk to him and get the realtor's number and call her tomorrow."

"How much is this house going to be?"

"I don't know," said Penny. "You said we had up to 1.5 million."

"That's the biggest loan we can get," said Leonard. "That doesn't mean we want to go that high."

"Well, then, we'll just have to see," said Penny, as they walked up to the front door. "If it's too much, we'll pass, but looking around this neighborhood, I don't think it will be that much more than one million."

Leonard knocked on the door and they waited. A large smiling man answered the door. Leonard looked and saw he was as tall as Zack, but heavier, "Yes?"

"Hello Mr. Ash," said Penny. "I'm Penny Hofstadter, and this is my husband, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. I talked to you this morning."

"Ah yes, just call me Andy, and come on in," said Andy, jovially.

"You can call me Penny, and this is Leonard," said Penny. They walked into a large room, about fifteen feet wide, and thirty feet long. The room was tastefully decorated, with a dining table by the far end of the room, just before entering the kitchen. This entire section of the house was an open design, there were no walls between the front wall and the back wall of the house.

"So, I'm sure you're here to look at the house," said Andy.

"Yes, we are in a small two-bedroom apartment," said Penny, and she raised her arms, "And, as you can see, we're going to need some more room shortly."

Well, you saw the garage was to the left of the door you came in," said Andy. I'll show you the inside of it before we go upstairs, as the door is right by the staircase."

He started walking to the back, explaining how great it was with the open floor plan. There was a TV on the wall to the left with some electronic equipment on a shelf just below the TV. A couch and chairs, with a coffee table in front of the couch and an end table, were on the right. On the front wall was a loveseat with an end table on each side. Just before getting to the kitchen, there was a six-place dining table, with room for another two places, and it was lit with a low hanging light.

In the kitchen, to the right, was about a twelve-foot counter, with a large sink and cupboards and drawers. Near the sink was a dishwasher. On the back wall were an eight-foot counter, more cupboards, and drawers, with a six-place gas stove in the center. On the left was a small desk, built into the wall, with storage above. Past that was a refrigerator, with ice and water, and more storage above that. There was more counter space, with storage, beyond the fridge, before getting to a door to a pantry, and beyond that was the back door. In the center of the kitchen was a three by six-foot island, with a prep sink, storage, and a place for stools on one side, to enable the use of that side of the island as a place to eat.

Andy showed them around the kitchen, where they talked some, and Leonard mentioned how spacious the house was. Andy smiled, then led them out of the kitchen, and turning right they faced a flight of stairs straight ahead. To their right was a full bath, with a doorway next to that, leading to a small bedroom. To the left was a door, that led to the garage. Andy took them out to the garage. It was a two-car garage, although there was only one car in it right now, his wife was at work. Andy showed off the cabinets he had built along the back wall before bringing them back into the house.

They climbed the stairs, they were set up like their building, with a landing halfway up, before the stairs turned. Upon reaching the top, there were two bedrooms, with a full bath in between them to the left. Andy pointed out the louvered doors in front of them held the washer and the dryer. He then took them into the bedroom, to the right. It was large, with a California king bed, along with a dresser, and two nightstands. There was a window on the front wall, and a pair of French doors on the side, but no balcony. Andy led them to the left, and a large full bath. Upon entering, there was a three by six-foot shower, to the left, and a toilet with its own door, to the right. Past the toilet was a claw-footed whirlpool tub, and on the back wall, was a counter running the length of the wall, with two sinks, a mirror above each, and another, larger, mirror in the middle. Past the shower, was a large walk-in closet. Penny whispered to Leonard that the closet itself was twice as big as their apartment bathroom.

After seeing everything, they walked back downstairs, and Andy took them outside, to see the backyard. It was all fenced in, with a concrete patio, and the rest was grass. Andy asked if they had any questions, and he indicated they should sit down on the patio.

Leonard said, "Why are you moving?"

Andy said, "Well, bought the house about three years ago. When we bought it, we wanted to put a balcony off of the bedroom. So, we built it, put lights on it, but, someone complained about it."

"Your neighbors?" asked Leonard, innocently.

"No, the guy that complained was named Sheldon Cooper, and I don't even know him."

Leonard and Penny tried to keep their faces neutral. Then Penny said, "I can't believe someone you don't even know reported you."

Andy continued, his smile gone for the first time, "I don't know why he complained. The only Sheldon Cooper I've found lives in Pasadena. So why would he care about this?"

Leonard and Penny shrugged.

"Anyway, it wasn't within code, so we had to take it down," said Andy. "We were trying to get the paperwork done, so we could build it, but we couldn't get it approved, due to it being too close to the property lines. So, we decided to build another house, just the way we wanted it, and sell this one."

Penny got a smirk on her face, "Is there anything we should know about the neighbors?"

Leonard looked at Penny, but she was looking at Andy, who said, "The guy can be kinda weird, has a stupid hair cut and claims he was an astronaut on the Space station. The wife seems nice, but she has this high squeaky voice. And be careful looking out your bedroom window, they lay around on the deck, in the nude, and have sex there or in the hot tub. That squeaky voice gets even higher." Andy shuddered.

"Finally, they have this gaunt-looking guy that lives with them, makes me think of the song, A Whiter Shade of Pale. Come to think of it, he's also been naked in the hot tub, but I haven't seen him around lately. The people on the other side I've never even talked to, much less seen them."

Penny was struggling to hide a smile, while Leonard looked at Penny trying to hide his grin.

Penny ignored Leonard and said, "So, what are you asking for this one?"

"I'll be honest with you," said Andy. "We want 1.2 million. Zillow says it's not worth that much, but I haven't seen sales prices for around here, so we'll see what kind of offers we get."

Leonard and Penny looked at each other and nodded. Then Leonard said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Ash…"

"Please, call me Andy," said Andy smiling. "Even if we don't end up working through a sale, I want to keep it friendly."

Penny asked if she could go see the washer/dryer again, and Andy pointed to the stairs, saying, "Go ahead."

Leonard watched Penny go in, then smiled and said, "Okay…Andy… We'll talk about it, talk to a realtor, or a lawyer, and get back with you, in a couple of days, with an offer."

"That sounds fair," said Andy. "And thank you for stopping by, and I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well."

"Thank you," said Leonard, rising, and starting to walk to the back door. "We'll talk to you in a few days, hopefully

They entered the house and met Penny coming down the stairs and Penny and Leonard walked to their car and started home.

Monday 06 April 4:00 PM

"So, what did you think," said Penny, as the car pulled away.

"I liked it," said Leonard. "It was roomy. It had the feel of the apartment, but bigger, and there were enough bedrooms. Although, if we have a live-in nanny, we would have to share one of the other bedrooms, as our workplace."

"I think I could use the little built-in desk there, and leave the bedroom to you," said Penny. "And, that walk-in closet, think of the shoes I could put in there."

"I could leave some space for you, in the bedroom," said Leonard. "Like one bookshelf, and your own filing cabinet."

Penny grinned, "What about the yard?"

"It looks to be just the right size," said Leonard. "It'll be big enough for the kids when they're small, and that's all we need. It won't take much for someone to come in and cut it." He paused for a second, "You know, the front yard is plants and rocks, so we won't need to cut it. I might give it a try, and if I can't do it, having a kid come in and cut …"

"Leonard, I want it," said Penny. "It's perfect for us."

"I don't know, Penny," said Leonard. "Don't you think we should look around some more?"

"No, I think we should make an offer," said Penny. "Before someone else does."

"Won't we need a realtor?" asked Leonard. "I mean, I have no idea what to do. How do you make an offer? What's a fair offer? What if there's something wrong with the house? I don't know about any of that."

Penny looked thoughtful, "Yeah, you may be right. I'll get the number from Dan in the morning."

"And before we make an offer, maybe look at a few more houses?" said Leonard.

"If you want to, yeah, okay," said Penny. "I'm sure if we get a realtor, they'll have some ideas. But, I want it. I like it better than Bernadette and Howards, it's more open. And, they'll be next door, that has to be a selling point of the house, right?"

"Yeah, it is," said Leonard. "It would be handy having them so close. We could trade off watching each other's kids if either of us needs to go somewhere."

Penny got a wolfish grin, as she said, "Just don't start thinking about looking out the doors on a naked Bernadette."

Leonard looked at Penny and started grinning, "And, don't you start thinking about looking at a nude Howard."

Penny shivered in disgust.

Tuesday 07 April 5:00 PM

Penny had just shut her computer off for the day. She was smiling to herself, as today was her first full day being a DM, and things went rather smoothly. She had completed the forecast before going to the doctor, yesterday, but she had been in the office all day today. She had contact with several of the salespeople that worked for her today, solved several minor problems, and had talked to Dan, who said her solutions were spot on.

She had also asked about his realtor and he gave Penny his realtor's name, address, and phone number. Penny had called, then set up an appointment at 5:30 this afternoon. She had called Leonard and he would meet her there. She was now packing up and getting ready to leave.

Tuesday 07 April 5:15 PM

Leonard was leaving his office to meet Penny at the realtor. He had had a busy day, going over the plan to analyze the data runs. Keith was leading that, with two teams, one postdoc and one doctoral candidate on each team, doing the actual analyzing. The morning had been spent going over the plan with Keith, then explaining it to the four that would be doing the analyzing. For now, two were in one office, and the other two were in another office. They were analyzing the data separately, to be a check on each other.

After lunch, Leonard was in the middle of planning how the next stage of data analysis should proceed when he received a call from Eric. He was again having trouble trying to send Sheldon to another facility. This time, to the Brookhaven National Laboratory. That lab was the one originally responsible for finding broken symmetry, and they wanted to speak with Sheldon, to better understand what types of experiments would be needed for super-asymmetrical detection.

Leonard reminded Eric about telling Sheldon it was a social requirement for Nobel winners. Eric mentioned that he had done that, but was worried about Sheldon offending the people there. Leonard told him he would talk to Sheldon the next day and also get Amy to speak with him. Eric thanks Leonard but ask that he call, after speaking with Sheldon. Leonard agreed and finished the plan, before sending it to Keith just before 5 PM. Leonard checked his emails and voice mails, shut his computer off, before leaving to meet Penny

Tuesday 07 April 7:00 PM

Leonard and Penny were riding up the elevator, they still weren't quite used to it. They had met with a realtor, Patsy Morgan, and explained they had looked at the house, and were interested in making an offer, but didn't know anything about buying one. Patsy smiled and explained everything that a realtor could do for them. From finding other houses, setting up inspections, helping with finding mortgages, finding title insurance, and setting up closing for them, among other things.

Leonard and Penny were both confused, but Patsy gave them a brochure, and a website, to explain all the terms. She promised to look into the neighborhood, and come up with a fair offer, but she also asked if they would like her to find other possible houses.

Leonard asked how much everything would cost, and she explained that as the buyers, they would not have to pay her, that would come from the seller. Leonard and Penny then explained what they were looking for, and where they wanted her to look.

They looked at a couple of houses she had, but weren't satisfied with them, she promised more tomorrow. Leonard and Penny left, stopped to get some Thai food for dinner, and were now almost home. The elevator arrived on the fourth floor, and the door opened.

As they left the car, they heard Sheldon say, "Amy, you are impossible. I asked you nicely to move your work off the bed, so I could use it and you refused."

"Yes, I did," said Amy. "I need my work there, and just because you asked nicely, doesn't mean I have to move it."

When Leonard and Penny heard Sheldon start to respond, they hurriedly opened their door, entered the apartment, and then closed and locked the door behind them.

Leonard looked at Penny, "You know, telling them is going to be a problem, right?"

"Yes, I know," said Penny. "Sheldon is going to see this as being abandoned, and Amy probably won't be all the happy about it, either. She won't be able to come across the hall to see me. She'll think I'll be replacing her with Bernadette as my best friend."

"So how are we going to tell them?" asked Leonard.

"I don't know," said Penny sadly.