A/N I've been thankful this week for some happy Lenny stories, writing this kind of story can wear you down. If you haven't already, give Terriblewaitres a look. As usual, I'm 20 chapters ahead in first draft. I was even able to skip a week of writing. Things were busy here, and I just didn't get to it. Actually, I figured out I could write one new chapter a MONTH, going forward, and still not delay putting out a chapter a week. But, even with skipping a week of writing, you'll be glad to know, in chapter 77 I've finally tied the story back to the first class lounge, at JFK, that we encountered in the prologue. Four more chapters, after 77, to go, plus a short epilogue.

Chapter 57

Apt 314,9:00 AM Wednesday Nov 21th 2012

"How…when…why…," Jeanie sputtered. She was looking at Penny not knowing what to say, but Penny was now looking at the floor. Finally she reached out and took Penny's hand. "Tell me what happened, I won't judge."

Now that someone else knew, Penny felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. She still felt like one of the worst people in the world, and felt she deserved all the crap she was feeling, but now, thinking maybe Jeanie could help her, somehow comforted her.

Penny continued looking at the floor, because she couldn't bring herself to look in Jeanies eyes, but she squeezed Jeanie's hand, and said, "Thank you. It happened the taping night you were in Boston, with your mother."

"The previous week and even during the pre-shoots, Jim, Kelli, Steve, even the editing guy, talked to Brent and I about how our scenes looked off. They said I wasn't reacting with my body language as I should be. I figured it had something to do with how we started, how creepy he was."

"But, he had been fairly normal, even helpful for a while prior to that. I was even starting to get along with him, started feeling better about him. Well, the new script had a lot of scenes between Brent and I. They had told me I should work with Brent, run lines, get more comfortable with him."

"We got out of the taping early that night, because of all your pre-shoots, and we were at Jake's. We had gotten the scripts and he asked me to come over to work on our scenes. Everyone had said we should work on it, so since I was early, I said yeah and we went to his apartment."

"Wait, did Jim or Kelli or anybody tell you to go to his apartment?" asked Jeanie, sounding surprised.

"No, just that we should work on it," said Penny. "But, when he mentioned it, I felt like everyone was looking at me. I mean, I guess I could have waited until the next day and ran the scenes at the studio. But, I…I don't know, with them looking at me, I didn't feel like I could tell him no. So, I had one glass of wine at Jake's, and we left."

"I remember I had one glass of wine, at his place, but I don't remember anything else, until I woke up the next morning. Hungover, n-n-naked and…and…in…his…bed." Penny had started to sob as she started the last line, and when she finished she was crying, hard, with large sobs.

Jeanie pulled her chair over next to Penny, wrapped her in a hug and just held her while she cried. After a few minutes Penny's sobs subsided and Jeanie released Penny. Looking at her she asked, "Are you sure you slept with him? I mean you could have just ended up in bed…"

"No, I did," said Penny, sounding disgusted. "I don't really want to talk about how I know right now, OK?"

Jeanie nodded.

Penny continued, "I got out of there as fast as I could. I took a cab, but how I got home as messed up as I was, I don't know, it's all kinda foggy. I was so hungover, groggy, nauseous, my eyes were blurry, I was a mess. Once I got home, I cried myself to sleep. I was lucky I woke up in time to get a shower and get to the studio."

"It was a very tough week for me working with Brent," said Penny. "Remember how I ask you how do you work with someone you hate?"

Although Penny didn't see it, Jeanie nodded.

"Well since then, I've been afraid to talk to Leonard, I've been avoiding his calls, his texts, his emails. I mean, I don't even deserve to look at his picture, much less talk to him. I feel like such a slut. Also, I'm afraid I'll accidentally say something, and it would break his heart."

"Brent's been giving me snide little comments about that night, I've been trying to avoid him. But, some of the crew, the ones that hang around with Brent are also making comments, so I suppose he told them." Penny sighed, "With what I did, I deserve to get talked about like that."

Penny looked pleadingly at Jeanie and said, "What am I going to do? I've fucked this up so badly. I'm just a terrible person." She finally looked up at Jeanie, tears were forming again, "I cheated on Leonard."

Jeanie really didn't know what to say. This news was a huge shock, and she didn't know what to say. But, she was due to leave for Boston in three hours, and she didn't want to leave Penny alone.

"Get your suitcase," said Jeanie.

"What?"

"I said get your suitcase," said Jeanie. "You're coming with me to Boston for Thanksgiving. I have to leave around three, so we have just enough time to get you packed and get to the train station to get you a ticket."

"I have to be back on Saturday, so it's only a couple of days. But I am not leaving you here alone. Not after the way I found you this morning. I'm worried you may get drunk and go out and do something stupid, if I leave you alone. So, go pack, I'll help."

"But…"

"No buts," said Jeanie sternly, "pack your damn suitcase for three days, and we'll go. I don't want to hear any arguments. Move your ass."

Penny didn't know what to say, so she simply went to her bedroom to pack.

Apt 4A, 6:00 PM Wednesday Nov 21th 2012

Leonard was watching TV with Sheldon. Well, he wasn't really watching, he was thinking. He had spent most of the day, at work, thinking about Penny, and what he could do to help her, with whatever was bothering her. And what he could do, to keep her.

It was frustrating as he really couldn't think of anything he could do, until he knew what kind of problem she was having. Not knowing what the problem was, and her seemingly avoiding him, had him feeling frustrated, sad, and like the whole relationship was slipping from him and he didn't know why.

Bernadette had called in the afternoon, telling him she hadn't been able to get in touch with Penny. She had called several times and it always went straight to voice mail. After the fifth time, Bernadette had left a message, and then called Leonard, so he knew she was trying.

Different things kept running though his head, was she ill? Was he doing something wrong to cause her not to want to talk to him? But worst of all, for him, was the thought that she found someone else. Maybe, someone working on the show or at the studio? He didn't know, so he couldn't help her, or think of a way to keep her, which frustrated him even more.

What he wanted was to be alone. So he got up, took his glass to the sink and started walking up the hallway.

"Leonard?"

"Yes, Sheldon," said Leonard stopping and turning around.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room," said Leonard, "I want to be alone for a bit."

"Does it have to do with Penny not contacting you?"

Though surprised at how perceptive Sheldon was, he answered, "Yes, Sheldon, it does. But how do you know about that?"

"Leonard," said Sheldon condescendingly, "it was obvious from your phone call from Bernadette. After all, you've been moping around here for the last couple of weeks and you've been muttering about not talking to Penny."

"Was it that obvious?" asked Leonard. "I thought I hid it rather well."

"Well," said Sheldon, "I suppose someone else might not notice, but I hear you muttering, see how your are acting and so forth, and with my intelligence, I suppose it was easier for me to tie it all together. Are you worried about Penny dating someone new, and dumping you?"

"Why would you say that?" said Leonard sounding exasperated.

"Well, you're an average guy," said Sheldon "so right off the bat, there are almost two billion men that are better than you."

"I'm above average in intelligence."

"Perhaps, but you are below average in height, lactose intolerance, asthma, and…"

"OK, OK," said Leonard, "I get the point. I'm trying to work this out on my own, so I would appreciate you not saying anything," said Leonard. "I'm trying to figure things out and until I do, you are not to say anything to anyone else, got it?"

Sheldon looked worried, but nodded, "You know I have trouble with secrets."

"Yes," said Leonard, "but, unless someone asks you about me, directly, you don't have to talk about it, right?"

Sheldon thought for a few seconds and nodded. Leonard said, "Thank You." And turned to walk to his bedroom.

South Boston Station, 9:30 PM Wednesday Nov 21th 2012

The train had come to a stop, and Jeanie and Penny gathered their purses and small carryon bags, then exited their train car. They were looking around when suddenly Jeanie called out, "Hi dad, over here," and began waving.

Her father walked over to them, and gave Jeanie a big hug. After breaking she said, "Dad, you remember Penny?"

"Of course I do," as he wrapped her in a hug.

After they broke the hug, as they started walking to claim their baggage, Jeanie whispered to her father, "She's got some personal problems and I didn't want her to be alone on Thanksgiving. Mom usually has more food than we know what to do with, so I asked her along. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he said. "Let's get your luggage and head on home." He took each of their carryons as they walked toward the baggage claim.

Penny and Jeanie had to trot to catch up, but they had soon gotten their luggage, and fifteen minutes later, they were headed to Jeanie's parents house.

One the way, Penny checked her messages on her phone. She saw two calls from Leonard, and five from Bernadette, and a voicemail. She went to her voicemail and hit play, then held the phone to her ear,

"Hi Penny, this is Bernadette. Leonard's been trying to get a hold of you, and he says you haven't been answering. If you don't want to talk to him for some reason, give me a call and let me know what's wrong, OK? Hope to talk to you later, bye."

Penny looked at the time. I really didn't want to talk to anyone from California tonight and I'm not gonna call on Thanksgiving, I'll wait until Friday to call Bernadette. Penny deleted the voicemail, and put her phone away for the rest of the drive to Jeanie's parent's house.

Apt 4A, 10:00 PM Wednesday Nov 21th 2012

Leonard was already in bed, when he got the last call from Bernadette. She him she had left messages with Penny, and hadn't heard back. She would be busy tomorrow, with Thanksgiving dinner, so she told Leonard she would try again on Friday.

Bernadette insisted Leonard come to dinner, and she wasn't taking no for an answer. Leonard chuckled as he agreed. After all, Sheldon and Amy were going to the aquarium, and were going to have Thanksgiving dinner at the cafeteria there, so he would be alone.

They both said their goodbyes and both said, "See you tomorrow," before hanging up. Leonard put his book down, and turned off the light. He wanted to watch the parade tomorrow morning. Although he suspected Penny wasn't being honest about coming home, if she wasn't in some way involved with the parade, or even got interviewed, that would be just one more piece of the puzzle for Leonard. He rolled over and closed his eyes.

Boston, 8:30 AM Thursday Nov 22th 2012

Penny woke up, It's kinda nice not feeling hung over, she thought, as she stretched. She got up, went to the bathroom and washed her face. She put on her robe and went down the stairs to the kitchen.

She found Jeanie and her mom talking, while she helped her mom prepared the food for later today. It smelled so good to Penny, bringing up memories of Thanksgiving when she was small. Jeanie pointed at the coffee pot and Penny got a cup, and sat down at the table. There was some small talk, then Jeanie's mom left to get dressed.

Jeanie was looking at Penny, who felt uncomfortable under that gaze. Finally Jeanie walked over to the table, sat down, and said, "You know, we have some more talking to do."

Penny took a sip of her coffee, nodded her head and said, "I suppose so. But can it wait until tomorrow?" "I want to watch the parade, I want to relax for a change, and your mom said the dinner would be around two. I promise, we can talk, just let's enjoy the today, is that OK?"

Jeanie looked at Penny with pity, "OK, I suppose you have been through a lot." Her voice became stern, "But we will talk, I don't want you even thinking of not talking some more about it."

Penny nodded and asked, "Can we go watch the parade now?"

Jeanie nodded, rose and walked toward the living room, and the TV. Penny followed.

Wolowitz House 8:30 PM Thursday Nov 22th 2012

Leonard was getting ready to leave the Wolowitz house. He had come after watching the CBS broadcast of the parade, and he didn't see Penny. He wasn't surprised, as he felt she had lied to him about coming home anyway, but without her appearance, it just confirmed it to him.

Fortunately, the group had been enjoyable, Bernadette had fixed a wonderful dinner, and the conversations after the dinner had also been fun. Watching Bernadette's father and Howard's mother interact was a show all by itself.

When Leonard had gotten up to go to the bathroom, a repeat of Penny's show had come on, and Bernadette had quickly turned the TV off, before Leonard returned.

When Leonard got back, he went and got his jacket and started saying his goodbyes to everyone. Then walked toward the door, with Bernadette walking with him. She said, "I'll start trying to call her around noon, is that all right?"

Leonard nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. I just need to find out what's going on, so any information you can get will be appreciated."

"I will try," said Bernadette. She stood on her tip toes, and gave Leonard a quick kiss on the cheek. "Take care Leonard."

"I will," said Leonard. "And, thanks for dinner. Bye."

"Bye," said Bernadette, as she turned to go back into the house.

Boston, 9:00 PM Thursday Nov 22th 2012

Penny and Jeanie were in the living room, her parents had gone up to get ready for bed, leaving Jeanie and Penny alone.

Jeanie, started looking through the guide on the TV, "What do you want to watch?"

"Ohhhh, Friends," said Penny, seeing it on the guide. Jeanie nodded and selected the channel that had friends.

Penny said, "Thank you for not pushing me to talk today. It felt so relaxing just to not worry about anything, and knowing that I don't have to do this alone. I should be ready to answer most anything you ask."

Jeanie smiled at Penny, "Thank you. I wish you would have come around earlier. We might have had this all worked out by now. But, at least we can start working on it now. However, there is one thing I want you to think about."

"What's that?"

"You said, you cheated on Leonard and you also said, you don't remember anything, which means you must have been quite drunk."

"Yeah, so?"

"Penny," said Jeanie, "if you were so drunk that you can't remember, it more than likely means you were too drunk to give permission."

Penny shook her head, "No, Jeanie, I got drunk, so it's my fault."

"Penny, if you couldn't give permission, that may mean you were sexually assaulted by Brent."

Penny looked horrified, she hadn't thought about that before. But, knowing she had benn drunk and had sex before, she couldn't bring herself to believe it was anyone else's fault but hers. "How can it be his fault, and how would I know?"

Jeanie looked at her, "If you are too drunk to say yes, that almost always counts as a no. I'll know more after we talk tomorrow."

Penny just nodded and looked thoughtful.

Wolowitz House 10:30 AM Friday Nov 23th 2012.

Bernadette had gotten up earlier, calling into work. She was getting information on the petri dishes that had been left out, over the holiday, for the latest experimental results on a new drug. Since this was a holiday weekend, her group had assigned different people to go in each day, she was going to have to go in on Saturday herself, to check on the petri dishes. However, for today, all she needed to do was call and get the numbers.

After talking to a coworker, and getting the results from the petri dishes, she thanked the other worker and pulled up the spreadsheet for the experiment, to enter the numbers. It had taken her about an hour to get and enter everything, then check the numbers before she closed the link to her work. After closing the link, she noticed she had an alert, about an article on Penny, as she had set up her alerts to notify her of any article on Penny. She opened her email and clicked on the link to EHNews.

The link came up, and Bernadette was faced with the headline from the article:

"STARS FROM NY TV SHOW DATING?"

Below that was an article claiming Penelope Jensen and Brent Crawford had started dating. There also was a picture, that the article said, had been taken at a bar called Jake's, a couple of weeks previously. The article claimed the picture caught them, just before they kissed.

Looking at the picture, Bernadette could see both Penny and Brent leaning in, looking like his arm was around her back. She had a smile on her face, and her eyes were closed. To Bernadette, as she looked at the picture, it did appear that they were about to kiss.

Bernadette was shocked by the photo, she couldn't believe what she was looking at. She wanted to yell at Penny, but she wasn't there. Then, she thought of what Leonard had said, that she wasn't talking to him, that she seemed to be avoiding him. At that, Bernadette, in a sad and angry voice, said, "Oh Penny, what have you done?"