"Hi, I'm Penny. I'll be your server today."

In the next month, Penny made strides forward in her life on Earth. She concentrated on her job at the Cheesecake Factory and became quite proficient at it. While the other waitresses were glad to see her succeed, they were actually a little resentful of how quickly she had reached and even in some ways exceeded their abilities.

She continued to spend time with Leonard, Sheldon, and the others. She was amazed how comfortable she was among them and how she looked forward to seeing them.

Then one day she was working the noon shift, waiting on three men who were extremely vulgar, constantly making innuendos about her and her body, even often touching her.

Not wanting to make a scene, she had avoided them for the most part and was now bringing them their check. She was definitely not going to try to sell them something to keep them around.

As she was approaching the table, she heard one of them utter the word robbery. She would have thought no more about it except how the others reacted when they saw she was close.

She saw them relax when she showed nothing but just gave them their check. One of them then made a final try when he stuck a business card into her pocket.

She quickly left the table and after they were gone, discovered they had left a big tip.

For the rest of her day and as she left for home, she thought about what had happened. She knew she should just forget about it but she just had the feeling they were planning something.

Wondering what the hell she was doing, she went out an bought a black wig. After changing clothes, she found herself driving to the address on the card.

All the time she was driving and reaching the apartment, she kept telling herself she should turn around and go home.

Wearing the wig, she buzzed the apartment. When a man's voice answered, she said it was Penny from the restaurant.

She could hear the surprise in his voice but he quickly let her in.

She was gratified to not meet anyone on the way to his apartment.

When she knocked on the door, it was immediately opened and she almost turned and ran away when she saw the gloating and lustful look on his face.

"I'm glad to see you came to your senses." After a moment, "What's with the hair?"

She smiled at him and moved into the room, "Just decided to show you a little different look."

Shutting and locking the door behind him, "It looks good." But then he smirked, "But I won't be looking at your hair."

Overcoming a tendency to gag, she smiled at him, "That's good, because I didn't come here to have you look at my hair."

He moved up and touched her shoulder, "Can I get you a drink?"

She turned to him, "Let's not waste any time, we both know what we want."

Looking a little surprised, he quickly smiled broadly, "Yes, we do."

He moved forward and putting his arms around her, pushed his lips against hers, his tongue seeking entrance.

Penny opened her mouth and kissed him for a moment but then pulled away and began to unbutton her blouse.

He stared at her for a moment and then began to undress himself.

When they were nude, he led her into the bedroom. Seeing he was ready for her and not wanting him to touch her, she surprised him by quickly turning him on his back and mounting him.

He started to say, "Easy, Baby, we got…", but she quickly put him inside her. As soon as they were joined, she put her palm on his forehead, freezing him as she had done with Sheldon and Leonard.

Taking a deep breath, she entered his mind.

She soon found herself shocked and disgusted. She had been right, they were planning a bank robbery. But as she dug deeper, she found they had already committed a series of robberies and had killed four people during them.

Going back further, she found a long list of criminal activity, including two more murders.

Fighting the anger and sadness that was trying to overwhelm her, she continued to pry. She discovered that he had a history of heart trouble.

When she had decided to visit him, she had not really known why. She had some idea of trying to find out if they were planning something and had the idea of anonymously alerting the police. But she now knew she needed to prevent them from continuing what they were doing and being sure they would never hurt anyone again.

Looking deeper, she found the names and addresses of the other two men. Then, steeling herself, still not quite believing what was happening, she applied pressure to specific points that caused extreme stress on his heart. He was soon gasping and suffered a major stroke.

She held him down until his motions ceased. She then lifted off him and checked to be sure he was dead.

She then found a washcloth and cleaned him up. She then got him dressed and left him on the floor in the living room.

She got dressed herself and thinking of everything she had touched, wiped them off.

She then went over to a window and was gratified to see that it led out to a fire escape. Using the cloth to open the window, she quickly made her way down to the ground and returned to her car.

Now determined, she drove to the second man's address. As a precaution, she took a pair of gloves out of her purse.

Again gaining entrance, she quickly caused him to have an aneurysm, the way she had planned to kill Sheldon if she had been forced to.

This time she had to leave by the door; this left it unlocked but she doubted that would raise any suspicions.

With all of her doubts about what she was doing gone, she drove to the last address. As she drove, she wondered how she was going to deal with the last man. She could give him another aneurysm, but realized how the authorities might wonder how they would have such two deaths in such a short time, especially if they found the two men knew each other. Of course, it was highly unlikely it would ever lead to her, but she didn't want to take any chances.

When she again found herself in a man's apartment, having no one see her enter, she decided what she wanted to do.

She realized she needed to vent her anger. Killing the others in the ways she had left her with a feeling of unfinished business. She surmised it was the blood of her ancestors flowing through her, the savagery they required to live.

She quickly picked up a statue and struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious. She went to the bedroom, stripping the bed and returning to the living room, laid the sheet by his body.

She went to the kitchen and found a large butcher knife. Returning to the living room, she covered herself with the sheet and using her left hand, drove the knife deep into his chest using a great deal of force. She stabbed him three times. Then, determining he was dead, threw the sheet over him and dropped the knife next to him.

She then made her way to the door. She knew the next few moments were the most crucial. Listening through the door, she took a deep breath and exited into the hall. She made her way down the stairs, gratified that she encountered no one.

Upon reaching her car, she discovered she was shaking. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax. She then drove away, taking off the wig.

When she reached the parking lot, she shoved the wig in her purse and made her way to her apartment. She then put the wig in the garbage. After taking a long shower, she found she was exhausted and quickly feel asleep.

Detectives Stevens and Nelson stood next to the body and listened to the Medical Examiner.

"You are looking for someone extremely strong. You can see how deep the wounds are. From the angle of the wounds, I would also assume he is left handed."

Stevens spoke up, "You said he?"

She looked at him, "I suppose there could be a woman capable of this but she would have to be extremely strong."

Nelson asked, "What if she was fired up on drugs or extremely angry?"

"Again, that is possible, but then I would expect that there would be more wounds. Whoever did this was in control of their emotions."

Two weeks after Penny had killed the three men, Bernadette told her at work they were going to have a girl's night at Cheryl's and invited her to come.

Although Penny was looking forward to being with them, she had ascertained that drinking wine was a big part of the experience.

Since every planet had some equivalent of alcoholic beverages, Penny had come to know that she was not a great drinker. Of course, it had not been dangerous for her to become intoxicated in the past.

She decided to test herself. She went out and bought a bottle of wine and alone in the apartment drank a little at a time. Unfortunately, she found she had a very low tolerance level. Even after two glasses, she felt light headed.

So, what was she going to do? She decided it would be better to proclaim herself a non-drinker rather than just nurse one drink all night. Although it might backfire, she decided she would try to explain her actions by saying her father had been a recovering alcoholic.

When they were all seated, Penny was pleased they had apparently accepted her story.

Cheryl turned to Penny, "So, Penny, how are you finding life in California?"

"I like it. It has been a lot different than life in Nebraska, but I have been really lucky to have made so many friends."

Bernadette broke in, "Penny, one thing I have wanted to ask. Why did you ask about Leonard and Sheldon the other day? How do you know them?"

"I live across from them." She hesitated, "They have been really good to me, making me feel at home."

The others were surprised; Kim spoke up, "That doesn't sound like Sheldon."

Penny nodded, "I admit I was surprised when you all said he was a problem but I also admit, as much as I like him, he can be a little obnoxious at times."

Cheryl smiled, "At least they go to your section now."

Bernadette smiled a little mischievously, "Have you noticed how Leonard acts around you? I think he has quite a crush on you. Not that I blame him."

Penny was a little caught off guard. She had continued to put off talking to Leonard. Her trepidation in confronting him had been exacerbated by the stunning realization that she could feel something for him as well. She did not want to contemplate what that could mean.

She stalled by taking a drink of her water, "I guess I really hadn't noticed, I think of him and Sheldon as both being my friends."

The others didn't look convinced but Kim broke in, "Speaking of men, how are you and Dan doing, Cheryl?"

"It's been good." She hesitated and took a sip of her wine, "He asked me to move in with him."

Bernadette quickly said, "What did you say? Are you going to?"

"I told him I needed to think about it. But I have decided I am going to say yes."

Kim spoke up, "That's great. How about your apartment?"

"I still have four months left on my lease." She smiled, "I think I will keep it just in case."

Penny thought about what they were saying. She knew the living together was a big step in Earth relationships. She wondered what that would be like. For Celarians, marriage was the only way anyone would live together. For all her love for Kurt, she would have never considered such a possibility.

After talking more about their current and past men, Penny creating a few boys from her past, they spent some time sharing tales of working at the Cheesecake Factory. Cheryl suggested they play Never Have I Ever. Although Penny was a little worried at first, she realized she could just lie and realized she was curious about it would reveal of the others.

Cheryl started it off by saying, "Never have I ever slept with a black man."

No one was surprised when Kim, who was black, took a drink, but the others smiled when Bernadette took one.

She smiled, "His name was Greg and it was a long time ago."

Kim went next, "Never have I slept with a woman."

Both Bernadette and Cheryl took a drink. They both smiled and said, "It was a long time ago."

Penny was a little surprised. She herself had sometimes wondered what it would be like. She had to smirk to herself. When she had taken the mission to seduce Sheldon, she had been asked if she could do the same with women. She told them it was the penetration that caused their minds to open.

Bernadette went next looking at Penny, "Never have I kissed Leonard Hofstadter."

As the others looked at her, she realized the others were not convinced there wasn't anything between her and Leonard. She had to smirk to herself, she had actually slept with Leonard. Finally, she said, "I am not taking a drink. As I said, we are just friends."

Realizing it was her turn, she was at first at a loss. She finally said, "Never have I ever been proposed to."

The others hesitated and then Kim and Cheryl took a drink. Kim said, "We were both way too young."

Penny noticed Cheryl was thinking about something. Then, caused by perhaps too much to drink, she then shocked them all, "He asked me because I was pregnant. I knew he was just doing it because he felt guilty." She took a deep breath, "I decided to have an abortion."

While the others told her how sorry she was and they were sure she had done the right thing, Penny was speechless. To a Celarian, where all life was so precious and where a birth was a miracle, she could not conceive of terminating a pregnancy. She knew she was not on Celara and she had no right to judge another species but she could not escape her feeling of horror. Seeing the others looking at her, she finally got out, "I am sure you did what you felt was necessary."

They soon broke up after that. After they left, Penny tried to come to grips with what she had heard. As unfair as it was, she knew it would be difficult to not feel differently toward Cheryl.

But then she had to look at herself. What would Cheryl and the others think if they knew she had murdered three men and had stopped Earth from going to the stars? She thought of a Celarian saying, "Those who judge must also be judged."