"Please let me use your apartment for New Year's Eve?" Raj whined to Leonard and Sheldon two days before what he hoped would be a festive evening.

Sheldon shook his head, "We don't have parties. Why can't you do this at your apartment?"

Groaning, Raj pleaded his case yet again, "Your apartment is bigger. It's more centrally located, allowing everyone who joins us to have shorter, and safer, trips home after midnight. And it's not a party. It will be the four of us, Kripke, Bert, Stuart, and Penny, if she's available."

"I'm bringing a date, so Penny won't be the only girl there," Howard chimed in. "We can let everyone know they're welcome to bring a date if they want. You gonna find a date, Sheldon?"

"I don't date," the physicist rolled his eyes. "Although, I would be interested in being there when Raj tries inviting Penny.

Settling into the armchair and lifting his plate from the coffee table, Leonard paused before chiming into the conversation, "If Penny says she can't come or doesn't want to, don't pressure her. You know she's been working a lot and she's got a lot going on right now. She might not feel up to spending the night with us, listening to us talk about things she's not interested in."

"I'm starving. Please say you have extra food," Penny announced her presence in the apartment, interrupting the plans for the holiday."

"Yeah," Leonard replied as he jumped up. "I'll grab you a plate. Sit down." Turning around after having retrieved a plate, he found Penny was now occupying the seat he had just vacated. "That's not quite what I meant when I said to sit down, but I guess that's fine."

Penny smirked at her neighbor before beginning to fill the plate she'd been handed with food from the containers in front of her. "What's going on?"

Leaning over to Howard, Raj whispered into his ear, "Penny, Raj wants you to know that we're having a small get-together for New Year's and he wants you to come."

"I'll come," Penny answered between bites, "But he has to ask me himself. I don't want you to be his translator."

Raj panicked before spying his best friend's beer bottle in front of him, swiping it, he took a drink as Howard protested. "Penny, will you celebrate New Year's Eve with us?" Staring at the bottle in his hand, a surprised expression crossed his face, "Wow. I've heard alcohol can help with social anxiety, but I was not expecting it to actually work."

"I'm scheduled to work until ten, but I'll stop by when I get home."

Two days later, Penny reached the fourth-floor landing and heard what sounded like a dying cat coming from her neighbor's apartment and assumed they had reached the karaoke portion of the evening. She let herself in after dropping her purse in her apartment. Raj was the first to notice her, "Penny! We've got sushi and champagne. Help yourself to whatever, we've got other drinks if you want to save the champagne until midnight."

"I ate before I left the restaurant, but maybe later? Thanks, though," Penny replied, scanning the room. Not seeing the man she was looking for, she grabbed a bottle of water and sat next to Sheldon on the couch. "Who are these people? I didn't know you guys had this many friends."

"They aren't my friends. More like casual acquaintances and co-workers. That's Barry Kripke and Burt. They work at the university. Barry's a physicist and Burt's a geologist," Sheldon pointed at the pair of men standing in the kitchen. "The one doing karaoke with Wolowitz is Stuart. He owns the comic book store. Koothrappali is talking to Howard's cousin. You didn't hear this from me, but she's the one Howard lost his virginity to. Wolowitz convinced her to come as Koothrappali's date for the night. The women over there are Kripke and Wolowitz's dates."

"You didn't get a date for tonight?" Penny was still trying to figure out what Sheldon's deal was.

Shaking his head, Sheldon informed the blonde, "No. I've never seen the appeal of dating. All that awkward small talk? No, thank you."

"Interesting. So, where's Leonard and his date?"

"I don't know where he is, but he didn't invite a date. Something about not wanting to be distracted tonight. He likes you, Penny. You're all he's talked about since you moved in." It was then that Sheldon noticed his roommate appear from down the hallway. "There he is."

"Thanks for pointing everyone out for me. I've gotta talk to Leonard," Penny quickly stood from the couch and stepped around the coffee table, approaching the bespectacled man. "Hey, can we talk? In private?"

Nodding, Leonard looked around the room and saw Sheldon was the only one watching the pair, "Yeah, we can talk in my room."

Penny followed him to his bedroom and silently inspected his belongings. "This is both exactly what I thought your bedroom would be like and not at all like I thought."

"You've thought about my room?"

"Don't get too full of yourself," chuckled Penny. "You didn't tell the guys about what I told you the other day, did you?"

"No," the physicist shook his head. "You asked me not to."

"Do you think you could maybe drive me to the doctor again next Tuesday?" She shyly asked, avoiding eye contact.

Agreeing immediately, he questioned her, "Is your car still not working? I thought you were taking it to the mechanic?"

Remaining quiet, Penny shook her head, "No, my car is fine. Turns out you need to put gas in it for it to work. The doctor's office kind of won't let me leave after my appointment if I don't have someone to drive me home and make sure I'm alright the rest of the day. I didn't know who else I could trust, so I put you down as my emergency contact."

"I don't mind taking the day off work, but you really didn't have anyone else you could put down? One of your friends from the restaurant or acting class, maybe?"

"No, I couldn't ask any of them to do this because I'd have to tell them why I'm not allowed to drive after. They don't know about my situation and I kind of don't want them to know. And I'll have nothing to tell them after Tuesday," Penny admitted.

It was only then that Leonard realized what her appointment was for and quickly agreed to play chauffeur, "I can definitely take you on Tuesday. Do you need anything?"

"I just need a friend who won't make a big deal out of this," Penny began to silently cry. Without thinking, Leonard reached across the space between them and took her hand in his, tugging her closer. He pulled her into his chest and wrapped both arms around her back. Slowly, her arms wrapped around him. The pair stood next to his bed for a few minutes before Penny spoke again, "Thank you. I needed that."

Probably gonna get some hate for this chapter, but I appreciate you taking the time to read it.