A/N Remember when I said Amy would have her own troubles with Leonard and Penny leaving? Well, that starts here, although I don't delve too deeply into it in this chapter. To offset that, I have a bit of fun with Leonard and Penny. I referenced some bits from older episodes, in a couple of scenes. Also, 845 appears on the front of Howard and Bernadette's house, throughout the run of the series. The particular street is not named, so I looked for a street in Altadena, with an 845 address, and then looked for the number, of the house, next to 845. Sorry this is a couple of hours late. I'm publishing this as my wife drives down Interstate 4, on our way back home from our Anniversary week trip. 44 years this past Thursday, with my version of Penny. Enjoy
Chapter 60
Wednesday 22 April, 9:30 AM
Keith and Leonard were going over the changes that had been made to the machine. All of them based on Leonard's idea, with a bit of input from Keith, and they were making sure all the changes were completed. Leonard wanted to run the test tomorrow, to see if they could get 10 entangled photons.
As much as he wanted to push it to 14 or 18, he needed to make sure that the machine could get to 10, as that was what the machine was originally designed to produce. He had agreed that his changes would still allow the machine to make the ten photons for which it was originally designed.
Keith wasn't too sure about module number four, but Leonard had discussed the changes with the guy who had done the work, and he was satisfied. Keith finally agreed, noting that if it didn't work, they could start there, as they had until fall, so there was still plenty of time.
Leonard agreed, and they both went back into the schematics to see if they needed to check anything else. There were a few things they thought about checking and they both agreed that they would run the checks in the morning, before running the test.
Wednesday 22 April, 3:30 PM
Leonard was still going over the schematics when his cell rang. He absentmindedly accepted the call and said, "Hello."
"Hello to you, Mr. New-homeowner," he heard.
"What? Who is this," Leonard asked petulantly.
"This is Patsy, Leonard," as he recognized the voice.
"Oh, sorry, what now?" said Leonard.
"You sound a bit out of it," said Patsy.
"Yeah, I may be, I've been going over schematics of the electronic part of my experiment," said Leonard. "We're getting ready to test it tomorrow and we want to make sure we can get the number we orig…but, as I explain this, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about and don't want to hear the explanation. What's up?"
"I got the inspection results back and they look good," said Patsy. "There were a few minor things, a screen's ripped, a screen door's mechanism not working, but nothing major and our crew will have it all fixed within a week. The house is sound, the plumbing appears good, the heating and air conditioning are good, as is the roof. Overall, the house, actually, is in really good shape."
"Well, that is good news," said Leonard.
"And, the house value came in at $1,050,000," said Patsy.
"Oh, that was close," said Leonard.
"Not necessarily," said Patsy. "If the price has been agreed upon as this one has, and the guy doing the valuation determines the house is worth at least that, he will normally put it over, but close to the price agreed upon. That way, the bank approves it, and the seller doesn't feel cheated. Confidentially, he thinks the value is closer to 1.2 million."
"Oh, that's good for us then," said Leonard.
"Yes, it is, but you can't say anything," said Patsy. "The only thing we have to wait for is for the title to clear. But, since it cleared when the previous owner bought it, there should be no problem with it now."
"So, when would we close," asked Leonard.
Patsy said, "If things go as they should, we should hear back about the title search Friday. That means we would get notified of a clear title on either Monday or Tuesday, and we can schedule the closing for the first week in May."
"So, we should start planning to move our things, calling for movers?"
"Yes, you should," said Patsy. "Oh, I got another call coming in, I'll call you when I hear about the title search, bye."
Leonard heard the call disconnect and thought he should call Penny. As he was listening to the call go through, he realized he was smiling.
Wednesday 22 April, 6:30 PM
The women were at Howard and Bernadette's, waiting for the guys to arrive with dinner. Penny had had trouble keeping the news to herself, with her and Leonard planning on telling everyone tonight.
Leonard himself was also struggling with keeping it in. It was more difficult when the four of them were at the comic book store. Now, that he was with just Sheldon, he really didn't feel the need to tell Sheldon and, besides, he and Penny agreed that they would eat and clean up, before telling everyone.
The guys came in, and the women had all the plates and utensils ready. The food was put in the dining area, Howard and Penny got the kids their food, with Bernadette and Leonard getting the food for Howard and Penny. The rest got their own plates before moving into the living room.
There was small talk about work, research, and classes as they ate. When everyone was finished, Amy, Penny, and Raj cleaned up and soon everyone was in the living room. Leonard and Penny stood, and Leonard said, "We have an announcement."
The rest of the gang looked at them in anticipation, as Leonard continued, "It looks like we bought a house."
There were a couple of gasps, and the rest looked on as Leonard continued, "We got a loan, looked at houses, and talked to a realtor, but we didn't want to say anything until we were sure we had a house. Well, today I got a call from our realtor, and we found out the inspection and valuation all were good, and she expects the title to clear."
As far as Penny could see, everyone seemed excited as Penny and Leonard told them about the house, number of bedrooms, garage, etc. Finally, Raj asked, "Where is it?"
Penny said, "839 West Eaton Ave, here in Altadena."
There was quiet, while the others tried to figure out where it was, but Howard and Bernadette looked puzzled. Finally, Howard said, "Wait a minute, we're 845, are you telling me you bought the house next to us?"
Penny and Leonard were grinning while they nodded.
Howard and Bernadette became really excited, and questions started flying, about the house. For the next 45 minutes, that was all that was talked about. Penny left to go to the bathroom, and when she came back, Sheldon and Amy were gone.
"Where did Amy go?" asked Penny
"It was getting close to nine, and she said she and Sheldon needed to get home," said Bernadette. "But, she seemed rather abrupt and snippy."
"Yes, and I noticed she didn't really say anything after you announced you bought the house," said Raj.
Penny suddenly remembered Amy had brought up talking to Bernadette and forgetting about her, during their discussion the previous week. Penny could see that, in Amy's mind, moving next to Bernadette would just make it easier for Amy to think Penny would forget about her.
"Yeah, I'm going to have to talk to her," said Penny. "She talked about me being her best friend and she was worried that I would forget about her. She even mentioned me talking to you more and more, and forgetting about her."
"Well, I can kinda see why she might think that," said Bernadette. "I don't think you would, even with me right next to you, but she might."
"Did Sheldon seem upset," asked Penny.
"I don't think so," said Bernadette. "But, he did tell Howard that he was excited to have his own workspace back. Are they really moving back into 4A?"
"Yes, we promised that to them," said Penny. "And, our movers will grab some things they have in storage and bring them to 4A. We need to find someone to sublet my old apartment, that was also something we agreed on."
"Well, I don't know how you are going to explain this to Amy," said Bernadette.
"I don't know either," said Penny. "She said it wasn't going to be easy with us moving out. But, I don't think she understands how hard it's going to be for me and Leonard. I've lived there 12 years and Leonard for over 15. But, I kinda get that she had a different set of priorities, about our moving, than I do. I'll have to come up with something."
"I certainly don't envy you on that," said Bernadette.
"Yeah, neither do I," said Penny.
Leonard and Penny started cleaning up, before preparing to leave. They said their goodbyes, and then walked to their car. As they drove home, they were quiet, until Penny said, "How are we going to deal with Amy and Sheldon?"
"I don't know," said Leonard. "Surprisingly, it doesn't sound as if Sheldon will be a problem. But, Amy could really be hurt."
"So, what's the solution?"
"I don't know Penny," said Leonard. "All we can do is be sensitive to her issues, which I think are mostly being afraid of you abandoning her."
"But, I wouldn't do that," said Penny.
"I know you wouldn't," said Leonard. "But, moving next to Bernadette and Howard, will sure make it look that way, if you spend a lot of time with them, and less with her. I think you may have to spend more time with Amy, at first, to get her to see you won't abandon her."
"I'll have to come up with something, and that does make sense, as an idea," said Penny.
After that, they both became quiet with their thoughts. They were almost home when Leonard gasped, "Oh jeez Penny," as he pushed the button to open the window."
"Hey, I'm sorry," said Penny, giggling. "But, remember, Dr. Samuels said it was normal."
"That smell was not normal," said Leonard. "And, you could have at least warned me."
Penny chuckled, "Nah, it was more fun seeing your reaction and besides, with the windows down, it's just peachy, right? At least that's what you said."
Leonard just shook his head, "And you said it wasn't peachy, remember?" Suddenly, Leonard heard a sound and groaned, "Oh no, not again."
Penny grinned, "Think of it as I'm…oh, say, lactose intolerant and I've mistakenly drunk milk."
Leonard leaned his head out of the window.
Thursday 23 April, 7:30 PM
Penny had been home for a couple of hours. As seven PM passed, she began to get worried, and as 7:30 PM approached, she thought about calling Leonard. Before she could grab her phone, she heard his key in the door lock and the door opened and he walked in, looking completely defeated and sad.
Penny went to him, "Oh, sweety, what's wrong?"
He didn't say anything, just took his bag to his desk, then walked to the couch and collapsed into it.
"What's wrong, Leonard," said Penny. "Come on, tell me."
Leonard looked at Penny, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes before saying, "The experiment today was a disaster."
"What do you mean," said Penny.
"We made the changes to the equipment," said Leonard. "Remember, this was my idea and it was supposed to get us to fourteen entangled photons. Today's test was supposed to make sure we could do ten, what it was designed for, but we couldn't even get one out of it. Hell, the way the old machine was configured, we got fourteen."
"So what's this mean?"
"It means, my idea may be no good," said Leonard. "All the work we've put in over the last month, all my calculations, all the changes, may all be for nothing."
She sat down next to him and put her arm around him. She felt him sigh, and then lean into her, and she just held on for several minutes before saying, "Is there anything you can do?"
"Yeah, we're checking all the wiring," said Leonard. "Then we'll check what the changes are doing. So we could find something out. But, I'm just really down about it."
"Well, I'll tell you what," said Penny. "You just sit there, relax, and I'll make dinner. Just take it easy tonight, don't think about it, and get back working on it tomorrow."
"How am I going to relax?" said Leonard. "All I've thought about for the last few hours is how bad this failure is."
Penny pulled Leonard tighter into the hug, and for the next half hour, Leonard just leaned against her, with his head on her shoulder, sighing every once in a while. He tried to keep from thinking of the failure and finally, he seemed to straighten up and stand, before walking to his desk. Penny then got up and walked to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Friday 24 April, 2:30 PM
As he had been doing all morning, Leonard was pouring over the results and the schematics of the machine used in the experiment. There has to be something we did wrong, he thought. Something we missed. We may have to go over the cables, wire by wire, and then…
His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He continued looking at the schematics and reached for his desk phone and said, "Hello."
His cell phone rang again, and he looked at the phone in his hand, with a puzzled expression. Once more, the sound of the ring on his cell phone went off. He shook his head, picked up his phone, and accepted the call saying, "Hello."
"Hi, Leonard," he heard Patsy say. "I've got good news."
"What is it?"
"The title search is complete," said Patsy. "I got a call, and the guy said we should have the title paperwork by Monday. Once we get that, we can schedule the closing. If we get it Monday, we can schedule the closing for the Monday after, how does that sound?"
Leonard was stunned. Closing on the house in a week? He shook his head to clear the schematics from his mind. "I guess that sounds good."
Patsy sounded puzzled, "You guess? You still want to do this, right?"
"Yes, yes, we still want the house, it's just moving so fast," said Leonard.
"That's a good thing."
"Yes, yes it is," said Leonard. "Yeah, a week from Monday would be fine."
"Well, I really can't confirm the date, until I get the paperwork Monday," said Patsy. "I've worked with this guy for years and I'm quite sure we'll be good, but I have to wait until I get the actual paperwork. This is more or less just trying to get an idea if you would be okay with that date."
"No, I think we both would be good with a week from Monday if the paperwork comes back good," said Leonard. "So, plan on that. Oh, but Penny has her doctor's appointments on Mondays, just schedule it for around 2:30 or 3:00 PM."
"Okay, I'll look for that," said Patsy.
"And when would we be able to move in?" asked Leonard.
"Anytime after we sign the paperwork," said Patsy. "After all, once you sign it, it's yours. So, absent of any other paperwork saying they can stay, and how much they would pay you while they stayed, you could start moving in that day."
"Well, I don't think we'll be able to do that," said Leonard. "Maybe set things up to move in over the end of the week or the weekend after. Thanks, Patsy, I'll let Penny know,"
"Okay, hope to talk to you Monday," said Patsy. "Goodbye."
"Bye," said Leonard, then they both disconnected.
Friday 24 April, 7:30 PM
Penny and Leonard had gone out to eat, and Leonard explained what Patsy had told him. The title search, the time for closing, when they could move in. Leonard was puzzled about why Penny had smiled when he told her about exactly when they might close, but didn't say anything.
After getting home, with Penny looking nervously at 4B as they entered, they unpacked their things. Penny then got a couple of bottles of water while Leonard sat on the couch. She brought the bottle over to him and sat down.
He looked at her and said, "Why did you smile when I told you we could close a week from Monday?"
"You didn't look at a calendar, did you," said Penny.
"No, I didn't," said Leonard. "Why?"
Penny chuckled, " Oh, Leonard, it's good luck for us."
"What do you mean?" said Leonard.
"The fourth will be with us," said Penny, smiling.
"What are you talking about," said Leonard.
"Leonard, a week from Monday is Star Wars day," said Penny. "May the fourth be with our house."
Leonard at first looked stunned, then his face slowly relaxed into a smile. "You're right, it is good luck for us. Remember that Star Wars day five years ago? When you proposed at Arthur's funeral? We've come a long way." He looked at Penny and with a large grin said, "A girl that can give me quotes about Star Wars, and bear my children, I love you, Penny."
"Thank you," said Penny, deadpan. Leonard rolled his eyes and gave a little shake of his head, as Penny's face broke into a smile, and she said, "I love you too, Leonard," before kissing him.