A/N Noting much to tell you here. So, I guess it's time for a disclaimer. I don't own any of the characters, except for Geoff. Leonard, Penny, and Raj belong to Warner Brothers, Chuck Lorre, and Bill Prady. Jeanie belongs to the author of the story this is based on.

Chapter 81

Headington, UK 3:00 PM Tuesday January 1st 2013.

Leonard was laying on the bed, trying to take a nap, and failing. He had been upset the previous night, because of a skit that had been on the New Year's Eve show they had been watching. It had been on just after midnight, causing Leonard to excuse himself, claiming being tired, so he could go to his room. The skit was about a guy, who had gone to a New Year's Eve party, and found his ex-girlfriend there, with her new boyfriend. And how sad he felt, even though his ex looked embarrassed about kissing her new guy, at midnight. It had reminded him of the New Year's Eve, in the comic book store, causing him to think of Penny. How she was with Zack that night, but that look of embarrassment she had, after Zack had kissed her, at midnight, and how sad Leonard had felt.

These thoughts, and others about Penny, kept Leonard tossing and turning most of the night, so he hadn't gotten much sleep. Not only that, but he was awoken early, by singing, outside his window. He had put on his robe and went down to the kitchen, got a cup of coffee, then joined Geoff and his wife, at their front door, listening to what appeared to be a children's choir. While Leonard drank his coffee, Geoff had explained it was a tradition for children to go around the neighborhood, singing on New Year's Day. They enjoyed the singing and afterward, Leonard offered to cooked some eggs, sausage, and toast, for breakfast. Geoff helped by cutting up some tomatoes, and poured some orange juice.

There was nothing really planned for the day. Geoff and his wife were planning on just watching the New Year's Day Parade in London, on TV, then doing some reading. Geoff urged Leonard to watch the parade with them, as they usually had several bands from US high schools. At noon, the parade started and as they watched, Leonard saw a band from near where he grew up in New Jersey. Leonard had enjoyed watching, until, near the end, they announced a band that came from Pasadena. Leonard choked up at that, but hid the rest of his reaction. He soon excused himself, explaining that he had not slept well and wanted to take a nap. He had been in bed for an hour now, and he simply could not fall asleep, thinking about Pasadena, and Penny. It took another thirty minutes, before he finally nodded off.

Raj's Apartment, 10:30 AM Tuesday January 1st 2013.

Raj, groaned and rolled over. He opened his eyes and regretted it instantly, as the sun was shining through his bedroom window. He struggled out of the bed, going to the bathroom. He searched through the medicine cabinet, and not finding what he needed, stumbled out to the kitchen. His head was throbbing, and he was aching all over, Where is that aspirin? he thought, looking on top of the fridge. Ahhhhh, there it is. He reached for it, opened the container and took two of them, swallowing them dry. He moved over to the coffee maker and turned it on, then grabbed a bottle of water and sat at his table.

As he drank large gulps of water, he tried to figure out what had gone wrong last night. The beginning of the night seemed to go fine. The beer he drank at home, allowed him to talk to various women, throughout the night. But, he didn't have any luck. When first meeting the different women, they would start talking to him, but soon would move on to someone else. As the night went on, he drank more, and most would leave before he could introduce himself, and those that did stay, walked away earlier and earlier. He couldn't figure it out, but last night, and even this morning, he had started feeling as if it was him, who was the problem.

He now decided that the last thought, was the booze, last night, and his headache, this morning, talking. After all, he remembered spending the night being gracious to everyone he talked to, and who was the host anyway, to ask him to leave? It wasn't his fault that women mistook his intentions, when he stumbled and accidentally grabbed the women's breast, and when he tried to brush the crumbs off of her sweater, she slapped him. The coffee was ready, and he finished the bottle of water and poured a cup of coffee. His head was still pounding and he decided he wouldn't be going anywhere today, no one seemed to want him anyway. He took his coffee, sat on his couch and turned on the TV, hoping to get through the day.

Apt 314, NY, 11:45 AM Tuesday January 1st 2013.

Jeanie returned from her apartment, after her shower, to find Penny, with her head on the arm of the couch, sobbing. Coming up and sitting down next to Penny, she said, "What's wrong?"

Penny continued sobbing, and pointed to the screen and said, "That's what's wrong."

Looking at the screen and seeing what was on, Jeanie asked, sounding puzzled, "A parade?"

"Jeanie," said Penny bitterly, "that's the Tournament of Roses Parade, in Pasadena. I could see that parade go past my window every New Year's Day. The Cheesecake Factory, where I used to work, is about three blocks from the place you see here. Jeanie, I'm so homesick," as Penny broke down into sobs again.

Jeanie gathered Penny up in a hug and just let her sob, while she patted her back. After a while, Penny sat up, and said, "I'm sorry, Jeanie, I'm just so useless."

"It's OK, Penny," said Jeanie.

"It's just I miss everyone out there, but I miss Leonard most of all. When I broke up with him last time, we stayed friends. Oh, it was weird, at first, but we made it work. But, now? He's gone, and I'm never going to see him again, and it's all my fault and I…I…I…" Penny didn't finish, she started sobbing again.

Jeanie just held on to her, until she stopped. Penny finally sat back, then rose, saying she'd be right back. She was back within 30 seconds, after getting the tissue box from the bathroom. She sat down, saying, "I'm such a mess, all I do is think about how much I miss him. Then think about how I've screwed my life up, when I couldn't bring myself to talk to him, because I was afraid of telling him what had happened."

"Penny, you had a rough couple of months," said Jeanie, "and now you know you've been raped, so you really shouldn't think that it's your fault."

"Not the rape, Jeanie," said Penny, "But how I screwed up by avoiding talking to Leonard, or not being able to tell him what I originally thought had happened. Not to mention the stupid thing I did by breaking up with him."

"Penny, I don't think there's anything you can do about that, now. You know I'm going to be here to make sure it gets better for you. I'll help you get through it, and you've been home, with nothing to do because we haven't been shooting. Tomorrow, we'll get our scripts, so we'll go back to work, so you won't have time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself."

Penny looked at Jeanie, with some fear in her eyes, "But, Brent will be there too, and I'm still not sure I want to go back, maybe just quit the business."

"We'll figure something out," said Jeanie, "to get you past that. Getting you to a therapist, to help you, with all of that, that's what we need to do."

Penny looked up and Jeanie could see a hopeful look on Penny's face, "I can always depend on you."

"Yes, you can, but, I have to tell you this," said Jeanie. "My parents are coming back from Florida, and they will be spending tomorrow night, so I won't be here tomorrow, after around 3 PM. You can come with me, and spend time with them."

"No," said Penny, "you should spend the time with them, not me."

"Are you sure?" said Jeanie, "are you going to be all right?"

Penny looked at Jeanie, and gave her a half smile, "Yeah, I'll be able to make through."

"OK, then," said Jeanie, "for now, I'm, going to run back to my apartment, start some laundry, and I'll be back. I'll bring some movies with me and we can spend the rest of the day here, watching movies, and then order some Chinese food for dinner, how's that?"

Penny smiled weakly and nodded.

Room 308, Lindemann Building, 10:00 AM Wednesday January 2nd 2013.

Geoff had first taken Leonard to the Kettell building, and they had each taken one piece of Leonard's luggage, up to his rooms. Afterward, Geoff dropped him at his office building. Leonard wanted to put away those things he had left in his office a few days ago, before going back to his rooms. He finished putting the last things in his desk drawer, closed and locked it. He looked around and realized it would look more like his office, when he got his two crates, with most of his books. He would have to call today, to set up an appointment to deliver those crates.

He left the building, where his office was, to walk to his rooms carrying his now empty suitcase. He walked along Parks Road and while had his coat on, it wasn't as cold as he expected. This won't be too bad. It had been colder, on some days in Pasadena, and it was even sunny today. Although, Geoff's wife recommended Leonard should get a heavy coat. She insisted, and Geoff agreed, that today was unusual and when the expected colder weather arrived, Leonard would need a heavier coat, then he had.

He got to the entrance to Trinity College, on Broad Street, opened the entrance and went to his rooms. He dropped off his suitcase, used the bathroom, and then looked at the clock, deciding it was time for lunch. He went back out the Broad Street entrance, turned to his left and went to The White Horse pub. He looked at the menu and ordered fish and chips, with a side salad, along with an ale. As he waited for his food, he thought about putting away all of his things. He had three suitcases, one was now empty, one he hadn't opened since he left the US, and the final one, which held the clothes he had used on his trip over here. His salad was brought out, and he quit thinking about his things, and concentrated on his food.

Apt 314, NY, 12:30 PM Wednesday January 2nd 2013.

Penny and Jeanie were finishing up their lunch. They had both gotten up at 9 AM, Penny was still down about missing Pasadena, and Jeanie had tried, for two hours, while they had their morning coffee, to cheer her up, and failed. Jeanie then tried to get Penny's mind off of things, by asking what she thought would be in the new script. That seemed to work, as they went back and forth, discussing what had happened in the previous episodes. Jeanie started making lunch, and asked Penny to help, while they continued talking about the script. When their soup and salads were ready, they continued talking about it, while they ate. After they were finished eating, they cleaned up, washed, dried and put away the dishes, then got some tea, waiting for their scripts to arrive.

It was just after one, when there was a knock on the door, and upon answering it, they found the messenger, requesting their signatures. They signed and took the scripts into the apartment and spent the next several hours going over their parts, reading lines for the other and making their choices, for their characters. Finally, around three, they put their scripts down. Jeanie had to get ready to leave to pick up her parents. She again urged Penny to come with her. Her parents liked her, and she was taking them out for dinner tonight, before they spent the night in Jeanie's apartment. Penny again declined, as she felt Jeanie should spend time with her parents and she didn't need her tagging along. Jeanie again asked if she was going to be all right by herself, and again Penny assured she would be fine. Penny told her she needed to pick up some food for the next few days, then planned to go to the Indian restaurant and pick up some food for her dinner.

Jennie reminded Penny that her parents would be picked up around 8:30 the next morning, and Jeanie would come by as soon as they left. Penny told her she would be ready, and maybe they could go in a bit early. They hugged before Jeanie left, then Penny went into her room and changed, to go to the store. Once there, she picked up several days of food, some milk, and was getting ready to leave, when she came across a display with her favorite wine. She hesitated, then decided she had been doing well enough, over the last few days, that she would be able to handle a glass or two, so she picked up four bottles, paid for all her items and left the store. She stopped at the Indian restaurant, paid for her food, and left for home. Penny put away her cold things, then sat down to eat, pouring herself a glass of wine. While she ate, she went through her script again, until she was finished eating. She did her dishes, then poured a glass of tea, then sat down to watch some television.

Kettell Hall, 8:30 PM Wednesday January 2nd 2013.

After lunch, Leonard had walked back to his room, and opened up his suitcases. Before starting to put things away, he called to arrange the delivery of his crates. Both would be delivered here to his room in the morning, and after pulling out the non-office items, the movers would bring the rest of his things to his office. He had also called to book breakfast and dinner at the Dining Hall for the next day. He spent the rest of the afternoon putting most of his things away, leaving only one suitcase to go, when Goeff came by to bring Leonard to his home, for dinner.

Dinner was pleasant, as was the hour afterward, while Leonard, Geoff and his wife talked. Geoff wanted Leonard to stay longer, and presented Leonard with two bottles of wine. Leonard was appreciative, but he wanted to get back, so he could finish putting his things away. Leonard got back to his rooms at 7:30, and started on his last suitcase. This suitcase was all clothes, so he removed them and started hanging them in the wardrobes. He was almost finished, when he came upon the jewelry case. He took that and put it in the bottom drawer of his nightstand, then went back out to what he thought of as his living room. He looked at the last item in his luggage, the blue blanket, with sleeves. He started choking up, thinking of Penny and when she gave it to him. His eyes were filling with tears, and a loud sob escaped him. He went into the other room, he laid down on his bed, holding the blanket tightly to him, crying.

Apt 314, NY, 6:30 PM Wednesday January 2nd 2013.

Penny was still watching TV, but the news had come on. She kept watching, when there was a segment on the previous day's Rose Parade, explaining all the different flowers and plants found on the floats. There were also some shots of various places around Pasadena, reminding her of Leonard, and her friends, and Penny became upset, her eyes starting to fill with tears. Although she tried, she couldn't get the memories of Leonard out of her mind, and she started crying.

She thought about calling Jeanie, but she didn't want to bother her, while she was with her parents. Finally, wanting not to think about those things, she went to her fridge, and poured another glass of wine, and brought the bottle to the coffee table. She felt that it was going to be another rough night for her, and without Jeanie to keep her occupied, she would need the wine to help her forget about things.

Kettell Hall, 8:00 AM Thursday January 3rd 2013

Leonard had just gotten back from the dining hall. His alarm had gone off at 7 AM, and he had gotten up with a headache. He had cried, holding the blanket for a bit, then he had started drinking the wine Geoff had given him, finishing one of the bottles. He was trying to not think about Penny, however, it did allow him to finally get asleep. Now, he took some aspirin, drank some water, and then went through his usual morning routine, although it was strange for him, doing this in his rooms for the first time. He had gotten dressed in one of his suits, as he was pretty sure it wasn't appropriate for a member of the faculty to wear tennis shoes, jeans, and t-shirt, to the dining room, even on his day off. With school still off, there were only two or three people in the dining hall, and Leonard hadn't talked to anyone.

Now, he had come back and changed into his jeans, t-shirt and hoodie, while he waited for the movers. At 8:15 AM, there was a knock on his door. He rose and opened his door, finding the movers there. They gave Leonard the paperwork to look over, while they went to bring the two crates up. They brought the first crate to near the door in the hallway and removed one side, then went to get the other crate. While they were doing that, Leonard was removing things that would be going into his rooms here, putting them in the room, and leaving things going to his office, in the crate. He was just finishing the first crate, when they brought up the second crate. They opened that and Leonard went through it, finding everything that was to go to his office, and all of it was put in the first crate. The movers put the side piece back on, then took the first crate down to the truck, as Leonard started taking the rest of his things out of the second crate, scattering them throughout his room.

The movers came back, and watched Leonard finish putting the last of his things in the room. They took the second crate back down to the truck, while Leonard got ready to go. Walking down to the truck, he gave them the building and office number, telling them he would meet them there, in about a half hour, then he started walking. About 25 minutes later, he met the movers at his office, and it took about 10 minutes to remove everything from the crate, again scattering the things he removed, across the room. When it was empty, the movers took the empty crate, had Leonard sign the paperwork, and they left. Leonard looked around the office and realized he had four or five hours of work ahead of him. I better get started, he thought, then started opening one of the boxes.