As Jenny, Wyatt, and Leonard entered the house after the dance, Wyatt announced, "I'm going to bed. See you guys in the morning."

"Goodnight, Wyatt." Jenny and Leonard offered up at the same time.

"Leonard, would you like a cup of tea?"

"Sure, chamomile if you have it. If not, whatever you have will be fine."

As Jenny handed Leonard a hot cup of chamomile tea she said, "So, who's the new friend you met tonight?"

"You mean Isabel? Her name is Dr. Isabel Fortunato and she is doing post-graduate work at the University of Nebraska."

"She has a doctorate? How old is she?"

'She's twenty-four. She got her PH.D. in biochemistry when she was twenty-two."

"So, she's a genius like you."

"Honestly, she probably has a higher IQ than me."

"It certainly looks like she likes you. You were the only one she danced with tonight."

"I think she was just being nice. Besides she is going to be working with me on the organic farming projects I'll be doing with some of Wyatt's friends."

"She seems like a lovely young woman."

"She is. I think you'll really like her. She'll be by tomorrow morning to pick me up so we can get started on those projects."

"So, do you want to talk about Penny now?"

"Sure."

"Leonard, do you love Penny?"

"At one time I thought so, but now I'm not so sure."

"Is it because she broke up with you when you told her you love her or is it the fact she slept with one of your best friends?"

Honestly, it's a lot of things, but getting drunk and sleeping with one of my best friends in my bed is the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Do you think you can ever forgive her?"

"I honestly don't know. Could you ever forgive Wyatt for something like that?

"Probably not, but it's different because we're married."

"I thought Penny and I might get married some day and have kids. Right now that dream sounds like an impossibility. Even if I wanted to forgive Penny, I'm not sure how."

"If you really love Penny, you can do it. I believe forgiveness is an act of will, something you consciously decide to do, not just once in a while but daily. I think you'll just have to ask yourself if you can ever see yourself with anyone else for the rest of your life and could that person make you as happy as Penny. If you're honest with yourself you'll know what to do."

"Thanks, Jenny. You're a very smart woman. Wyatt's one lucky man."

Goodnight, Leonard, and thank you."

"Goodnight, Jenny."

Isabel was right on time the next morning. Leonard saw her drive up and walked outside and got in her truck.

"Morning, Isabel."

"Morning, Leonard. Ready to get to work?"

"Yes. I already talked with John Akers this morning and he gave me directions to everyone's farms. I suggest we start with John first and then we'll go see Sean McCloud, Chris Aronson, and Ben Silvera."

"They had been to two farms, collected soil samples and other pertinent data when Leonard suggested they take a break for lunch.

"Lunch sounds good right now. I'm starving." Isabel said as her stomach made its agreement known.

"Wyatt said there was a good place to eat just down the road a few miles. Turn right here and then go straight for approximately two mile and it should be on the right."

Leonard and Isabel found the restaurant easily and went inside. As they sat down a waitress appeared, handed them menus, took their drink orders, and said she'd be right back.

Isabel stared at Leonard as he perused the menu. She obviously hadn't known Leonard long, but she was already deeply attracted to him. Who wouldn't be? She could definitely see a future with one Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, but she was getting a little ahead of herself. She had just met the guy last night and she didn't really know that much about him. She knew about his academic background and was impressed that someone with a Ph. D. in physics knew so much about biochemistry and organic farming methods. What she really wanted to know however was why he was really here, so: "Leonard, why are you really here?"

Leonard heard her question, but scrambled for an answer. He wasn't sure how much he should really reveal so he said, "It all started with a girl."

"Don't all great love stories start that way, Leonard?"

Leonard couldn't help but laugh at that and for some reason decided he could trust Isabel with the story of him and Penny.

Isabel's face was a jumble of emotions as Leonard finished his story. She felt compassion and sadness for Leonard and anger and contempt for Penny. If that Penny character was here right now, she would throw down on her in a second.

"'She really broke your heart, didn't she?" Isabel quietly asked.

"Yes."

"And yet, even after all that, you still love her, don't you?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know."

"The problem is you still love her, but you don't know how to forgive her and you're afraid she'll break your heart again."

"Yes. As pathetic as that sounds, that's true."

"Leonard, loving someone and looking for a way to forgive them even when they've hurt you really badly is not pathetic. It's sweet and it's noble and it's just who you are. Listen. You are a good man and you deserve to be happy in this life. Life is too short to be miserable, so you have to make a decision. Either truly forgive Penny and try to work things out with her or as difficult as it seems right now, move on. I want you to know that if you decide Penny isn't the one that there are other people who care for you and would be thankful to be loved by you."

"Thanks, Isabel for listening and for the advice. I guess we'd better head out. We have two more farms to go to today."

It was a little past 2 p.m. when Penny arrived at her parent's home. She didn't bother knocking, she just went in. She walked through the kitchen and the living room calling for her mom but there was no response until her mom came down the stairs with a laundry basket under one arm.

"Penny, what are you doing here?"

"Trying to mend my relationship with Leonard."

"It's obvious you flew here, but how did you afford it? Getting a ticket on short notice is very expensive."

"Oh, I used my frequent flyer miles. Well not my frequent flyer miles but those of all my friends. They all gave me their frequent flyer miles so I could make the trip."

"Wow. That was very nice of them. You have some really good friends."

"Yeah, I do."

"So, Mom, is Leonard here? I really want to talk with him."

"No, Leonard's not here right now, which is good because we need to talk."

"Mom, I feel bad enough about what I did without you and dad piling on. I've always known that Leonard is a good guy, but it wasn't until recently that I completely realized how big a mistake I made breaking up with him. The feelings he brought out in me were so overwhelming that I didn't know how to handle them. So, I did what I always do. I ran and tried to pretend that I was okay. I dated other guys and he dated other girls and we both tried to move on. The only problem is that Leonard moved on without me. Leonard started dating Priya, Raj's sister, and she's everything I'm not. She is smart, beautiful, well-educated, and she has a great career. Seeing Priya and Leonard together broke my heart because I realized what I'd thrown away because of my stupid fears. I selfishly thought that Leonard would always be there waiting for me. Finally, I got the news that Leonard and Priya were moving in together and I did one of the most stupid things I've ever done. I got drunk and slept with Raj. I didn't know that same night that Leonard and Priya broke up. The next morning, when Leonard saw what had happened, he broke Raj's nose and left without telling anyone where he was going, when he'd be back, or even if he'd be back. Mom, what do you do when you lose the most important thing in your life and you don't think you can ever get it back?"

Jenny looked at her daughter with compassion and said, "You do what's right. You try and fix the problem by acknowledging that you were wrong and how sorry you are. Then, no matter what the results, you move on with your life."

"Mom, I know what I did was wrong but I just don't understand Leonard's reaction. Leonard and I weren't dating. Raj and I are single adults. We're free to do anything we want. That's none of Leonard's business."

"Oh, Penny. Sweetie. You are so naïve. One, Raj broke one of the most important man rules there are. You don't date or sleep with your friend's ex-girlfriend no matter what. Two, Leonard acted just like every man in the world when it comes to women and sex. When a man has sex with a woman, whether men want to admit it or not, it creates a bond between the two. When the two continue to have sex, that bond grows stronger and stronger. If they are engaged in a monogamous relationship, the man becomes possessive of the woman in a positive way. The man becomes very protective of her and wants to take care of her and shield her from any and all harm. It's something that's built into men's DNA. They can't help it and thank God they can't. If that relationship ends, the man just can't get rid of those feelings overnight. When he finds out he's been betrayed by those closest to him, and that's what he feels, betrayed, he will lash out at them. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Not really."

"Penny, Leonard still loves you or he wouldn't have acted the way he did. Now, whether he can forgive you or not is another matter. Leonard feels betrayed by you and Raj and he doesn't know if he can trust you again. I think he wants to, but he doesn't know if it's worth the risk of getting his heart broke again."

"Mom, I would never do anything like that again. I love Leonard and I never want to hurt him like that again."

"Then you're going to have to figure out a way to convince him of that."

Penny's attention was drawn away from her mom as she heard a truck pulling into the driveway. "Maybe that's Leonard right now."

"Penny, I need to tell you one more thing."

"Not right now, mom. I really need to talk with Leonard."

"Penny."

Penny never heard her mom call out her name as she was already out the door. She couldn't wait to talk with Leonard. She had to tell him how sorry she was. She had to ask his forgiveness. She had to tell him she loved him. She had to tell him he was the one.

Penny watched Leonard exit the truck with someone she'd never seen. As they made their way up the driveway, Penny's heart was in her throat. She could tell something was going on between the two as they bumped shoulders with each other and laughed. Whoever this someone was, she was gorgeous and she was probably a genius and she was going to steal Leonard from her and they were going to get married and have kids and live happily ever after. This someone she had never met was going to live the life she was supposed to have with Leonard. Damnit!

Watching the whole scene unfold was Penny's mom and all she could think of was, "Oh, Penny."