A/N I still own nothing. Special thanks to SRAM, Frangerfiction, and bamadude for their excellent reviews.
***********September 6, 2015, 6:15 P.M. Pacific Time*************
Leonard1 quickly said, "I know this is strange, but I can explain."
Penny5 tried to recover, "Strange? That's all you have to say?" She took a deep breath, wondering what she could do. She could try to have Leonard shut the door and tell the driver to get the hell out of there, but she doubted he could or would do that. She could try to get out her side and leave Leonard there. They both could get out and run away.
She sighed, "Just get out, Leonard, and let me do the talking. You can try to explain later."
As they exited the Limo, they were greeted by cheers and murmuring in the crowd. Two reporters came up to them, the female describing Penny's dress. The male called out, "And now we have, Miss Penny Hayward-Hofstadter, who has been nominated for an Oscar for best actress, and her husband, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter."
As they came up to them the male announcer continued, "You look beautiful, Penny." He hesitated, "Interesting fashion choice, Doctor."
Penny managed a smile, "We thought it would be an interesting contrast. And besides, Leonard hates to get dressed up. Goes back to when he was a scientist."
The reporters seemed to accept that and after talking to them for a few minutes, let them go.
Penny hurried Leonard along, waving to the crowd. After they finally got to their seats, ignoring the looks they were getting, Penny sighed.
Her producer, David Braxton, sitting to her right, spoke up, "Well, you certainly know how to get attention. Whose bright idea was this?"
Penny turned to him, "I don't need you to get on me about this too. Let's just drop it."
Leonard stared around him, his mind running a mile a minute, Penny was nominated for best actress? And what was that she said, 'Goes back to when he was a scientist?
He was thinking he should say something to Penny but decided he should just stay as quiet as possible.
Penny wondered what the hell was going on. She actually was a little afraid. How could his clothes change like that? And there was something different about him. He seemed more like when they first met. Well, there was nothing they could do now. Somehow she felt she could trust him. He said he could explain. She smirked, 'that will be interesting.'
Soon, the show began and Leonard just sat there mesmerized, still stunned by what happened.
Then the nominations were announced for Best Actress. Leonard found himself wanting Penny to win. When the announcement came, Penny shrieked and got up. Leonard realized he was between her and the aisle and quickly stepped out into the aisle.
Without thinking, Penny grabbed him and gave him a passionate kiss before heading for the stage. Leonard stood there stunned, then quickly sat back down, suddenly realizing he had been viewed by millions.
When Penny reached the stage, she took the Oscar and gathering her breath, "I want to thank the Academy for this great honor."
She looked out at the audience, "I also want to thank my producer David Braxton and my director Harold Barden for their faith in me."
She hesitated, "But most of all, I want to thank my husband, Leonard. Not only for his support he has given me since I have known him, not only for his love that sustains me, but for his wonderful screen play."
As she left the stage and Leonard sat there stunned at what she had said about him, David turned to him, "Go ahead, follow her backstage."
As Leonard stared at him, he sighed, "Just follow the usher."
Leonard saw a man standing in the aisle. He quickly followed after him.
The usher led him in front of the stage to a side set of stairs. When he went up them, he saw Penny backstage, receiving congratulations and hugs.
As he came up to her, she smiled at him and gave him another kiss, again noticing his reaction to it.
Just then an actress Leonard recognized as one of the other nominees, Carol Hudson, came up to them, "Congratulations, Penny." She smiled, "I wish it had been me." She looked at Leonard, "But I don't have someone to write for me like you do."
She smiled at him, "If you ever get tired of this bleached blond, come and look me up."
Penny quickly said, "Back off, he's mine."
Carol just smiled, "By the way, nice outfit, Leonard. What are you trying to do, start a new fashion trend?"
Penny pulled Leonard off to the side, "I wish we could just get out of here, but I really should attend a couple parties." She hesitated, "I suppose you could go back to the hotel, but everyone would wonder where you were."
She sighed, "Besides, everyone has seen you now. You might as well come along. We'll head back to the hotel as soon as we can."
Leonard accompanied Penny to a couple parties, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He did take quite a bit of ribbing about his outfit, but surprisingly, also more than a few men told him they wished they had thought of it.
He was still astonished about people congratulating him on his writing, many saying they thought he should have got a nomination.
When Penny finally decided they could leave, they took a Limo back to the hotel. When they reached their suite, Penny told him she was going to change. She sighed, "When I envisioned my winning, I looked forward to ravaging you when we got back here." She paused, "Something tells me we need to talk instead."
She picked up a bag and went into the bathroom. She soon came out wearing a top and shorts.
She sat back down and looked expectantly at him.
Leonard took a deep breath, "Penny, have you ever heard of parallel universes?"
Penny stared at him and stood up, "What's going on?" She looked concerned, "Are you all right, Leonard? You know we talked extensively about them when we considered using them in a script." She smirked, "Then I had to listen to Sheldon go on and on about what we were doing wrong."
Before Leonard could go on, she stared at him, her eyes widening, "My God, are you saying? Are you…?
"Yes, Penny, I am from a parallel universe."
She tried to absorb that. But then she put her hand over her mouth, "If you're not my Leonard, where is he?"
Leonard got her to sit down and went through everything. That this was his fourth different universe, about how he transferred every twenty-eight days, how they theorized that her Leonard would then return.
After he finished, Penny was quiet for some time. Then she rose, "I need a drink, can I get you anything?"
"I'll take a beer if you have one."
She nodded and soon returned with one for each of them. She handed his to him and took a deep drink of hers.
"You don't really know if my husband will return do you?"
"No."
She sighed, "I think I want to, need to, believe it."
Then she realized something, "What about you? Do you have any idea when you will go home?"
"No. But I also have to believe I will at some time."
She sat back, surprised how comfortable she felt around him. After all, he could be considered a complete stranger but at the same time she realized he was still Leonard.
She asked, "So, why don't you tell me about your world? Do you know me there?"
He smiled, "Yes, we are married. But my Penny did not have your success as an actress, she works for a pharmaceutical company as a salesman."
Before she could say more, he went on, "I heard you tell that reporter something about when I was a scientist. And all those people were congratulating me on my writing. What does your Leonard do?"
"He's a script and screen play writer. He did most of the work on the script of the movie that won me this Oscar." She took another drink, "He once was a physicist at Caltech."
"That's what I am." He hesitated, "You mentioned Sheldon. Do you know Amy too?"
"Of course, they're married. They are still at Caltech." She finished off her beer, "The last time we saw them was when they won the Nobel prize."
Leonard stared at her, "They won a Nobel? What was it for?"
But then, before she could answer, "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. If I do ever get back, I would want to tell Sheldon and Amy and I don't think that would be right."
She was surprised but smiled, "That's good, because I didn't really understand what it was all about."
She suddenly stretched, "It's been a long day. I need to turn in." She smiled, "Tomorrow you will have to tell me about yours and those other worlds."
Then she looked at him and surprising herself, "I know that you are not my husband and I am not your wife, but we are married in a way." She paused, "Would it be possible for us to celebrate my win by making love?"
She went on, "After all, I will probably never experience this again."
At first, Leonard of course was stunned and was ready to tell her it was out of the question, but it had been a long time. It was a special occasion…
But then he berated himself and said, "I am sorry, but I am just not ready to cheat on her." He looked at her, "I don't know if I ever will."
Penny quickly said, "Oh God, what was I thinking? I would never cheat either." She reached out and touched his arm, "Thank you for being strong."
Leonard nodded but realized how close he had come to saying yes.
She smiled, "I suppose you should try to sleep on this thing they call a couch, but there is a king-size bed. Do you think we can restrain ourselves?"
Leonard smiled, looking at the couch, "I am willing to risk it."
Leonard5 was stunned to see Sheldon1 and Amy standing there looking at him. He got out, "What are you guys…" when he noticed his surroundings. "Where the hell was he, it looked like his old lab? Where was the Limo? Where was Penny?"
Sheldon quickly spoke up, "Listen to me. We know this is all strange and doesn't make sense. You need to trust us. We can explain everything. Just come with us back to the apartment. Penny is waiting there."
Leonard was about to object but something about Sheldon made him hesitate. Also, he needed to see Penny. He finally said, "Alright, but this had better be good."
They drove to the apartment in silence, Leonard trying to imagine what could have happened. Did he have a heart attack? Did he somehow lose his memory?
When they reached the apartment and after Leonard and Penny hugged, they all found seats, Penny sitting next to Leonard. Sheldon told him the whole story. When he finished Leonard just sat there stunned. Finally, he managed to get out, "You are saying I am the fourth Leonard this has happened to?"
When Sheldon nodded, he suddenly thought of something and to the shock of all of them started to laugh. After he got control he spoke up, "Sorry about that, it's really not funny. I just realized that if a Leonard replaced me, he probably feels a lot out of place."
He sighed, "And Penny is in for a shock."
Seeing their looks, "I assume you've noticed how I am dressed."
Amy nodded, "I was going to ask about that. You look quite impressive."
"Thanks." He smiled, "I was sitting in a Limo with Penny about to get out and walk down the Red Carpet at the Oscars."
Even Sheldon was speechless, "Then Amy got out, "You mean Leonard…"
"Yes, some poor Leonard is at the Academy awards dressed in regular clothes with reporters and a large crowd waiting to see him and his wife who's dressed in an elegant gown."
Sheldon recovered, "Why would you be at the Academy Awards? And aren't they in February or March?"
"On my world, they are now. As for why we were there, Penny has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress."
He sighed, "I guess I won't be there with her."
Penny stared at him, "Your Penny is an actress and she is up for an Oscar?"
When Leonard nodded, Penny was stunned and sat back.
As Amy and Sheldon also struggled to absorb it, Leonard asked, "How about your Penny and Leonard?"
Penny still stunned, "We are married. Leonard is an experimental Physicist at Caltech and I work for a pharmaceutical company."
Leonard accepted that, "How about you two?"
Amy spoke up, "We are married and are at Caltech also."
Leonard nodded, "I was once at Caltech too. You guys are the same on my world."
He then shocked them, "Did you win a Nobel Prize here too?"
By the look on their faces, it was apparent they hadn't. Amy finally got out, "We won a Nobel Prize? What was it for?"
Leonard was about to explain when Sheldon interrupted him, "No, don't tell us." He paused, "If we are to win one, it must be on our own merits not on their success."
Amy was about to protest, but realized he was right.
Leonard smiled, "I am proud of you Sheldon." He smirked, "It would be something like breaking the Prime Directive."
Amy rolled her eyes but Sheldon nodded.
Penny spoke up, "You said you were once at Caltech. What do you do now?"
"I write scripts and screen plays." He smiled, "In fact, I was the main writer on the script for the movie she is being nominated for."
Once again they all just stared at him, Penny eventually managing, "How did all that happen?"
"It was really kind of a fluke. While I was at Caltech and married to Penny, I got it in my head I wanted to try to write a nonfiction novel. I ended up writing this mystery novel where a detective solved a crime using scientific principles. Although it sounds like Sherlock Holmes, it involved an entirely different use of science having nothing to do with his deductive reasoning."
"After I wrote it, I got the usual rejections but then a publisher took a gamble with it." He looked at them, "To everyone's surprise, especially me, it was a huge success. Penny and I were stunned when someone wanted it for a movie."
"I was about to jump at the chance when I thought of something. I told them I would settle for much less money if they would offer Penny the part of the heroine. That unless she was obviously a failure, they would give her the role. I also insisted on working on the screen play."
"It turned out that they agreed and Penny turned out to be a great actress."
"After that, we decided with the money she had earned we could quit our jobs and work together. We've made three more movies together, the last one being the one that got her the nomination. We live in New York now."
They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Amy spoke up, "Sheldon, I think we need to go get something to eat." She turned to Penny and Leonard, "Shall we bring something back for you guys?"
Leonard looked at Penny. She shook her head and he said, "No, thanks, we'll be all right."
Amy nodded and saying they would see them the next day, headed out the door.
Now that Leonard was alone with Penny, he noticed how sad she looked. He suddenly realized what she was going through. Meeting Leonard after Leonard, never knowing if her Leonard would ever return. He knew the same thing could happen to him and his Penny, but he did have the hope he would return home in twenty-eight days to hang on to.
He realized he wanted to do something to make her feel better. Not sure how she would react, he sat down next to her and held out his arms. She hesitated for a moment and then moved into his arms laying her head against his chest.
They stayed that way for a while before Penny moved away. She looked at him gratefully and said, "Thank you."
He nodded. He then asked, "Do you live in this apartment with Leonard?"
When she said yes, he said he was going to change. She pointed out their bedroom and asked if he wanted something to eat; that she could make them a sandwich.
He told her that would be fine and after changing, came back out.
They finished off the sandwiches and Penny said it had been a long day and she was going to turn in. She told him he could sleep in Sheldon's old bedroom.
After saying their good nights they both went to their rooms.