A/N Just so you know, Friends moved from Netflix to HBOMax on May 27, 2020, about two weeks before the dates in this chapter, you'll see why I mention this. Still managing to stay far enough ahead to keep posting every week.
Chapter 78
Tuesday 9 June, 9:00 AM
Leonard had gathered the team and was laying out the plan for the experimental run. They would finish checking the wiring today, do the power checks tomorrow morning, and do a test run tomorrow afternoon. All this was in preparation for the full run on Thursday. He settled on this schedule, so if any problems came up, they could run it on Friday. There was some good-natured grumbling about having to do the wire checks. The undergrads did most of the manual work, but with them out today, for finals study and then out for the rest of the week, due to the actual finals testing, the grad students would have to do the checks.
After going over everything with the entire team, Leonard told Keith and Tom to stop for coffee with him in the cafeteria, as he was buying. The three of them walked to the cafeteria and after getting their coffee, they found an empty table, sat down. Leonard looked at both of them, then started right in, "As you both know, sometime next month, my wife is due, so I don't plan on being here at the end of the summer term. We do have some work to do and some of our grad students will be getting grades for the summer term, which runs from next Monday until September 1. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of the two of you."
Tom and Keith looked at each other and grinned.
"What?" said Leonard.
Keith nodded at Tom, "Go ahead Tom, this was your idea."
Leonard looked over at Tom.
"Make me do it, huh?" he said with a grin. "Okay, Leonard, we knew you wouldn't be here at the end of the term, so I thought about it. I talked it over with Keith and here's what we came up with. I'll have my team working on analysis, using that new material to do some new calculations, to try to figure out why we are getting more entangled photons. Keith will be doing the refurbishing of the machine, so we can test a few things in the fall term. So, we went to Gablehauser and asked if we could split the grad students into two classes this summer. The analysis group will be under me, and the operations group will be under Keith. That way, we're only having to do grades on those we're working with."
Leonard looked at both of them, in shock, "Why didn't you come to me for it?"
"Well, you've been busy," said Keith. "We just figured we could do all the leg work, so you wouldn't have to. And, to be honest, with everything you have going on, we didn't think you'd mind."
Leonard thought for a minute, he actually didn't mind. As a matter of fact, he felt proud of the two of them, finding something to be done, and taking the initiative to do it. "You didn't think I'd be mad?"
"Not really," said Tom. "You haven't been mad at anyone for anything, that we've seen. Much less, someone who saw something that needed to be done, and went ahead and did it."
"True," said Leonard. "And Gablehauser already knows?"
"Yes, he does," said Keith. "He was going to need the names of the class and the instructors. Remember, a couple of weeks ago, it was just a TBD, so this just made it easier for him."
"Okay, well thanks, to both of you," said Leonard. "You know, if either of you needs a reference to become a lead on a research team, just let me know."
They looked at each other, but this time it was Keith who spoke, "Actually, we're good for now. We talked about that also, and it will be the end of next year, or the year after before we think we'll be ready. So, we're just going to stay here and learn from you."
Leonard grinned at them, "Okay, that's fair. Just to let you know, Penny's been put on modified bed rest and she'll be home alone. So, if she needs something, from now until she delivers, I may need to run home."
"If you do, just let one of us know, and we'll take care of it," said Tom. "If that's all, I have to get back to my group."
"And I have to get back to the lab to make sure the grad students don't need me," said Keith.
Leonard waved goodbye to the both of them as they left and Leonard started toward his office.
Tuesday 9 June, 2:00 PM
Penny had made the changes Dan had suggested, saved the documents, then printed a few out and sent the others out as file attachments to the three district managers who would be helping her, along with all of Penny's eight salespeople, so they knew who to report to. She was puzzled as the only two who hadn't replied were Rachel and Karen, the two who were usually right on top of things. She tried calling them, but she was sent to voicemail each time.
She had spent the rest of the morning clearing out her desk and some items on her credenza. She would take these home and bring them back, once she returned to work. She had called Bernadette around ten AM, to see if she wanted to go to lunch. But, Bernadette had said she would be busy and wouldn't be able to go.
At 11:30, Dan called and told Penny he would take her to lunch at 12:30. Afterward, she could come back to finish clearing out her stuff and then go home. After the call, she giggled, she wouldn't need to finish, she was already done, so she surfed the web for an hour, waiting for Dan. He showed up at 12:25 and drove Penny to one of the restaurants upper management tended to use.
She had enjoyed lunch, Dan reminding her how she had started. She mentioned the reason she started and they both laughed. They briefly discussed when Penny would be back, but that would depend on exactly when she had the baby, so they thought sometime around the end of November. There was some minor talk about what Dan would be doing with her salespeople, with Penny mentioning that Karen and Rachel hadn't gotten back to her. After they finished, Dan paid for lunch and they started back to the office.
Penny was a bit puzzled as Dan had left the elevator with her, instead of going to his floor, but as they turned the corner of the corridor, she saw a group of people and when she looked at Dan and saw him smiling, she knew what was happening. All of her salespeople were there. The other district managers, along with Tim and a couple of other vice-presidents, including Bernadette were also there. She could see punch, cake, cups, plates, and utensils on her table and several cards were on her desk. She was almost in tears as Bernadette came up to hug Penny. Dan pointed out that Karen and Rachel got everything for the little party, which is why Dan explained, she couldn't contact them this morning.
Penny cleared her throat and everyone fell silent. She said, "I just want to thank you all for this. I didn't expect anything, it's just…just…I…don't know what to say." Penny's eyes started tearing up, so she stop to dab them. "Excuse me, I don't mean to cry, I'm just so touched. If you would have told me six years ago, any of this would be possible, I would have laughed. I was a failed actress, with no self-confidence. I have to thank Bernadette, Dan, and Tim for having the confidence in me, and the other DMs and my salespeople for teaching me, assisting me, and working for me. Thank you."
There was some nice applause which led to Penny cutting the cake and passing it out. When she got her piece, Tim came over to talk to her, telling her not to worry, everything would be taken care of, and would be ready for her return. She needed to rest and have the baby. The three DMs who were to cover her territory told her not to worry, they would make sure everything was set. The rest of the DMs and salespeople came up to her, offering words of encouragement and congratulations.
She talked to Karen and Rachel, thanking them for setting all of this up, before opening the cards, some funny, some serious, but there were five gift cards at various baby stores in the northern LA area. She hadn't talked to Bernadette, but she came over saying she had to leave for a meeting and would talk to her tomorrow night. They hugged and Bernadette left. After that, everybody started leaving, they still had work to do thought Penny.
She looked at all of her things and she realized it was going to take a couple of trips to get all the stuff she was bringing home, out to her car. Karen said to hold on until after everything was cleaned up. Dan, Karen, and Rachel cleaned up and put the rest of the cake in the box, and Penny's office was quickly cleaned. Rachel left, saying she had a sales stop to make. Karen left but said she'd be right back.
That left her and Dan. She looked at him and said, "Thank you, Dan."
"For what?"
Penny shook her head, "Karen told me it was your idea to have this. Not to mention, you hired me originally and pushed for my promotion. So all of this, I owe to you."
"That's not true, Penny," said Dan. "You earned this. Yes, hiring you was a leap of faith, but that's our secret. But, everything else, is due to your work. You led the district in sales, you led two teams with successful launches of products. You've done a great job with the new idea for discounts on prices based on sales. That's all you."
Penny looked down, blushing, "Well, still, I will always thank you."
"As I've been saying, go home, take it easy, and take care of the babies," said Dan. "You get four months, but we'll look at when you deliver, and we'll figure out where to start you back then, either November 1, 15 or December 1."
"I'll keep in touch," said Penny.
Just then, Karen came back in with a cart and said, "We can load everything on here, I'll go with you and you can drive up to the entrance, and we can load it into your car."
"Thank you, Karen," said Penny. Penny, Karen, and Dan loaded everything onto the cart, then Penny walked over and hugged Dan.
"Thanks again, see you in a few months," said Penny.
"Take care Penny, and stop by after the birth," said Dan. "Bring us some pictures."
"I will," said Penny.
The hug ended and Dan left for his office. Karen and Penny took the elevator down to the first floor and then to the main entrance. Penny went and got her car, then she and Karen loaded everything up, and Penny left for home.
Tuesday 9 June, 7:35 PM
Penny was still telling Leonard about the party at work while they waited for Dr. Samuels to arrive for the lactation class. Finally, Dr. Samuels entered the room, followed by another woman. They both walked to the front of the room.
"Hello, everyone, sorry I'm late," said Dr. Samuels. "I have a patient in labor, but the early stages. She doesn't need me yet, so I'm here for the class. In case they do need me, I brought along the hospital's Lactation specialist, Paula Boyd."
The other woman stood up and nodded.
"Actually, she will be doing most of the teaching tonight anyway," said Dr. Samuels. "Since tonight's class is on feeding the baby or babies," as she nodded toward Leonard and Penny. "And, since our Lactation specialist is out, you all know why, Paula here will be there just after the birth, to help you with your first feeding. So, without further ado, here is Paula Boyd."
Paula smiled and said, "We'll get started right away. The first thing tonight is how to hold the baby."
Wednesday 10 June, 1:05 PM
Penny was feeling bored, this was her first day and she was already tired of being in the chair. She at least could walk to the bathroom, and had made her lunch; soup, cottage cheese, and half a sandwich smiling when she recalled Sheldon's argument about it. At least while she ate, Leonard had called during his lunch, so there was a nice 30 minutes of talking to him.
She sighed, now realizing she couldn't do much of anything and so she started looking through Amazon, HBO, and Netflix. HBO had Sex in the City, but she had rewatched that show quite a bit. Flipping through, she saw that Friends was now on HBOMax, and as she hadn't seen those in several years selected the first show. She was getting ready to start it when her phone rang.
Accepting the call, she said, "Hello?"
"Hello, this is Mrs. Merck, I'm looking for Penny Hofstadter."
"This is her," said Penny.
"Ahhhhh, Mrs. Hofstadter, I with Nannies Now," said Mrs. Merck. "I'm calling to tell you your contract, with Louise Pickering is ready. If you could, please pick it up and let us know when you like to have Ms. Pickering there to sign, and we'll have a notary there."
"I'm on bed rest and I'm not sure when my husband will be off," said Penny. "If he has to, can he pick it up tomorrow, and then we can talk about a time to sign the contracts on Friday or Saturday."
"That will be fine," said Mrs. Merck. "Is there anything else you need or do you have any questions?"
"No, I think I understand everything," said Penny.
"Okay, then I'll speak with you on Thursday."
"Okay, talk to you then," said Penny"
They both hung up, then Penny started dialing Leonard's number.
Wednesday 10 June, 9:05 PM
Leonard, Bernadette, and Amy were in the kitchen, cleaning up, washing the dishes, and putting things away. In the living room, Penny, Howard, and Sheldon were watching Halley and Michael and were talking. Actually, Sheldon was talking, the other two were listening, or pretending to listen.
Penny was pretending, as she was thinking about her day, the first one of her modified bed rest. Leonard had come home just after two, because, he said, "They had gotten done early and he wanted to make sure she was okay." This surprised her, as she had just talked to him, and he hadn't said anything about coming home. Actually, he admitted later, he had come home, to make sure she wasn't running around the house because she had said she was bored. Besides, he had picked up the contract, so they could look it over. While she hadn't expected it, she was glad he had come home, as bored as she had been.
At five, he had left to go to the comic book store, just after Bernadette came over. Amy soon joined them and they talked about the party the day before. Amy seemed disappointed that she wasn't there, but Penny pointed out it was for her work people, not her friends.
While Sheldon droned on, Penny looked over to the kitchen and saw Leonard, Amy, and Bernadette huddled together. It was several minutes before they broke up and came into the living room. At that, the other two couples said their goodbyes before leaving. After they left, Leonard locked the door and waited a few minutes before turning off the outside lights. He walked over to the couch and asked Penny if she wanted to watch any television.
Penny gave him a wolfish grin, patted the couch next to her, and said, "Come here and sit down with me."
Uh oh, thought Leonard as he sat down next to her. "What's up?"
In a playful voice, Penny said, "What were you three talking about in the kitchen?"
"What three?" said Leonard
"You know what three," said Penny "You, Amy, and Bernadette were huddled together."
"We were?" said Leonard, his voice rising on the last word.
"Yes, you were, and I know you know," said Penny sternly. "Your voice rose there at the end of the sentence, and we both know what that means."
Damn it, thought Leonard. "Well,…see…it really…I mean," said Leonard trying to think fast.
"Come on, Leonard, spill it."
An idea came to him, "Well, we were just talking about seeing if one of us could be here with you all the time. You know, just in case something happened."
"Oh, jeez, Leonard," said Penny sounding exasperated. "If anything happened, you could get here in plenty of time. You are just worried I'm going to be running around the house, doing things I'm not supposed to do. Hell, I can't even waddle anymore, much less run, so you three can just relax."
"Are you sure?" asked Leonard.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Penny.
"Okay, then I'll tell them not to worry about it," said Leonard, breathing a silent sigh of relief she didn't push it. "Is there anything on TV you want to watch?"
Penny now was smirking, "Is there something else you can think of, you might want to do? Penny said, reaching over and rubbing him between his legs."
"Uh…are you sure, Dr. Samuels…"
"Dr. Samuels said no vaginal penetration," said Penny. "If you remember, I asked a rather specific question."
"Um…I…well, of course…are you sure?" said Leonard, sounding unsure.
"Leonard, help me up," said Penny. Leonard helped Penny up. "Now, walk with me to the stairs," said Penny.
They walked to the stairs and Penny turned to Leonard and kissed him. She broke the kiss and said, "Here, I'll warm up while I'm walking." She sensuously moved her tongue out of her mouth, licking her top lip as it went back into her mouth. She then stuck her finger in her mouth and started softly sucking on it, before turning and starting up the stairs.
Leonard watched her and when she got to the landing, she turned, took her finger out of her mouth, and said, "You can go turn off the lights, check the doors and meet me on our bed." She put her finger back into her mouth and continued up the stairs.
Leonard hurriedly went to check the doors and started turning the lights off, before running up the stairs.