A/N Thanks for your reviews. Each one is so important to me. I still own nothing.

As it turned out, Pierre and Marie decided to let the young people have the day to themselves, but asked that Warren be able to spend the day with them. Leonard readily agreed knowing how much Marie especially wanted to spend time with him.

They had a wonderful day with the meal at the end being a perfect ending to their trip. The next day they had an emotional send off as they boarded a plane to return home. They all promised to keep in touch.

Leonard spent the next few months completely rearranging his life. He stayed with Pierre and Marie, finishing up his obligations at Princeton while working from home, Marie again being ecstatic to be able to help out with Warren. Leonard also spent all his free time with him.

He was contacted by the other driver's insurance company with a sizable offer to settle. His own insurance company told him he could no doubt get more, but with the drunk driver also being killed, he just wanted to put it all behind him. With the addition of money he received from a life insurance policy they had on Monique; he had enough money to do what he had decided to do.

He moved out of Pierre and Marie's house into an apartment in Paris. He told them he planned to live there for another nine months before returning to the states. He was still considering where to live. Princeton was willing to have him return and work from home, but he still had ideas of joining the others in California.

One thing he knew, he was going to spend as much time with Warren as he could.

Back in Pasadena, things for the most part had returned to normal. It did become a regular ritual to Skype with Leonard every Sunday, with everyone but Sheldon joining in. They had all been surprised when Leonard told them he was going to quit working and spend his time with Warren, but then realized they should not have been. Penny was gratified to be included and had to smile when she saw Leonard and Warren together.

Penny was also thrilled when Leonard said he had seen the soap episodes she was in and how impressed he was. Penny told him they had actually decided to keep her character around and she could become a semi-regular. It still meant though she would only work about three days a week and the pay wasn't really that great.

Leonard quickly told her that it was still a big deal and could lead to bigger things.

Penny had decided she did not need to keep working at the Cheesecake Factory. Things between her and Sheldon had returned to how it was before the whole situation with Leonard. It appeared that they had both reached the conclusion they would each live their own lives. He was working even more hours and she found herself going out alone to movies or spending time with Bernadette.

Then she decided she would try again to take some classes. She realized she had not really been that serious about it before. She began to attend night school and was pleased to know she was really finding it interesting. Sheldon of course was contemptuous of her efforts, putting down her 'liberal art' classes as a waste of time.

She made friends with a woman named Sarah from her history class and started to spend some time with her. Sarah had been recently divorced because her husband cheated on her. Penny felt a little strange and guilty that she had been the one to cheat on Leonard.

Leonard had been in his apartment for a couple months and was sitting watching TV with Warren when there was a knock on his door. Assuming it was probably Gerard, he took Warren and went to open it. He and Gerard had continued to see a lot of each other.

He was stunned when he saw Claudette standing there. He had not talked to her since the funeral. She was as usual dressed to the hilt and was sporting a huge smile.

"Hey, Leonard. Surprised to see me?"

"Hi, Claudette. What brings you here?"

"Well, you could start by asking me to come in."

Leonard stepped aside, "Sorry, come on in."

She swept in and sat on the couch. Leonard sat in a chair opposite her holding Warren in his lap.

She smiled at him, "Pierre told me what you have done to be with Warren, it is so wonderful how you are with him; I know Monique would be proud of you."

"Thanks, Claudette, but it is no sacrifice. I love being with him."

She suddenly turned serious, "How about you, Leonard, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing all right. There are times when I really miss her, but I know she would want me to be strong. I also still have Pierre, Marie, and Gerard. They have been wonderful support. Then I have my friends in the states. I have kept in touch with them." He smiled down at Warren, "But mostly, I have this little guy."

Claudette smiled, "I could use a drink. Do you have any wine?"

"There's some in the kitchen." He started to rise, "Let me…"

She waved her hand and stood up, "Just sit, I can get it. Do you want a glass?"

"No, I'm fine."

She walked into the kitchen. Leonard looked after her and wondered what this was all about. He remembered what Gerard had said about her, but she had been Monique's best friend and he knew they had been close.

She returned with the bottle and a glass and took a sip. She looked a little surprised and said, "This is quite good."

Leonard had to smile, "You shouldn't be surprised. After all, I have learned something from Gerard."

He saw a shadow pass over her face, but it was quickly gone. "How is Gerard? I haven't seen him since the funeral."

"He's good. He's gotten a promotion at work."

"Good for him." She took a few sips as she seemed to be thinking about something. "You know that he I were pretty serious once."

Leonard's guard came up, "Yes, Monique told me."

"Did she ever tell you why he and I broke up."

"No, she said neither of you wanted to talk about it."

She finished off a glass and poured another. "What would you think if I told you it was because I cheated on him?"

Leonard was stunned and not sure what he should say, "I'd say it was none of my business. I didn't know either of you then." He hesitated, "I am sure you had your reasons."

She took a bigger drink, "What if I told you I cheated with someone that was dating Monique at the time?"

"I am sure Monique would have been shocked and angry with you. But knowing her, she would have probably forgiven you."

She looked into his eyes, "There has always been something a little wrong with me. I have had more than a few lovers but I have always shied away if it became serious. I just am afraid of any sort of commitment."

She smiled ruefully, "I really did love Gerard, but he wanted something from me I could not give."

Leonard was shocked. Why was she telling him this? Then he realized she was describing what had happened between him and Penny.

"Claudette, why are you telling me all this?"

She finished her second glass, "There is one person though that I did love. One person that I needed, one person that was necessary to me." She looked up and said, "That was Monique."

Seeing the look on his face, she laughed, "No, not in that way. She was my friend, my confident, the one person I felt close to. When I cheated on the man she was going with, I think it was because I didn't want her to be involved with anyone else."

She sat back, "I was always afraid she would find someone who would take her away from me."

"Then, she met you."

"I should have hated you, resented you, like I did the rest. But I couldn't because I immediately realized with you it was different, that there was something special between you. When she talked about you, I couldn't help but be happy for her."

She smiled, "She loved you so much. For the first time in my life, I envied her. For the first time, I wished I could love someone like she loved you, to be loved like you loved her."

"Somehow, instead of driving us apart, it made us closer. She was just so happy."

She smirked, "I wasn't happy though when you took her with you to the states. I missed her a lot."

"When I heard she was dead, I hated you. First you had taken her from being with me and then you had taken her from me forever. But then I remembered how happy you two were and knew she would have never traded that for anything."

Leonard continued to wonder what this was all about. Maybe she was just trying to find closure. Maybe this was her way of saying goodbye.

He finally said, "If it helps, I know Monique thought a long time about us going to New York. One of her main concerns was leaving you. You were her best friend. She did it because she knew it was important to me." He hesitated, "And sometimes, I wonder that if we had stayed here, maybe she…"

Claudette surprised him by reaching out and touching his arm, "Don't ever think that, Leonard. You have nothing to be guilty about."

Once again she seemed to be deciding about something, "I know this is going to come out wrong. I know what it could sound like." She hesitated, "But I wonder if we could spend some time together. I know it seems strange, but I have always felt like I know you. I really think Monique would like us to be friends."

As Leonard stayed quiet, she went on, "You don't have to decide anything now. Here's my number. If you ever want to talk or maybe go out and relax a little, give me a call."

Leonard knew he should just tell her he wasn't interested, but she had been Monique's friend and she was undoubtedly hurting too. But then he knew it was much too soon.

"I really am not ready to go out, but if you want to talk, I would be glad to listen."

She got up, "I understand. You are a good man, Leonard. I would like to keep in touch."

He got up and escorted her to the door. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Thank you for listening, take care."

"You too, Claudette."

She said, "Goodnight, Leonard", as she left.