Word Count: 777
Summary: This story is written out of my love for concerned Penny. Scene from S12E09.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.

When Leonard showed up home by the end of his conversation with Sheldon and Amy, he took out his inhaler and put on a new cartridge for his inhaler, since the afternoon spent on the library doing "busy work" emptied his inhaler.

Penny immediately asked what he was doing, knowing very well that he had replaced it just the day before.

"I had to use it a lot today, when I was at the library." He told her that with such ease as if it was nothing, but she didn't think of it like that.

"Why?" She had been on her tablet while sitting on the couch, so she closed it and got up, waiting for him to answer.

"There was a lot of dust there." Leonard finished putting the cartridge and was now going to the fridge to get a water. "Want one?" He asked.

She ignored him. "Why did you stay?"

"Well, Sheldon and Amy asked me to go. So, I did. Raj was there, if something bad happened he would do something about it." He looks up as if he was thinking. "After freaking out about it, of course." He laughs, slightly.

She stares at him. "It's not funny. You are not supposed to be around dust or things that make you have attacks."

"I was just being a nice friend."

"Yeah, I'm sure that Sheldon would've sat in the library the entire afternoon doing your work." She sarcastically said, crossing her arms.

Leonard just takes a breath – and then continues. "I'm sorry, but what was I supposed to do?"

"Uh… I don't know. Ever heard the word no?" Her arms are still crossed, and she's biting her lip, only a bit not to be noticed.

But it was noticed by her husband that is instantly with his arms over her shoulders. "Yeah, I've heard that word before. I just don't like telling people no. I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Maybe I'm overreacting, okay? But I take this very seriously Leonard. I worry. You know, it's not exactly easy seeing the person you love not being able to breathe." He throws her a smile, but she just continues. "I have an inhaler in my purse just to make sure that if you run out of that little powder you can still breathe. Just, don't do this again. Please." Penny begs, and he smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I promise not to make you freak out like that again. I'm sorry." He feels her arms going around his back and his smile grows a bit more.

"Can you also try and stop saying I'm sorry so many times?" She laughs a little, and he does too.

When they let go, Leonard asks.

"You really have an inhaler in your bag?"

"Yes." She admits. "Just in case." She then shrugs her shoulders, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Don't worry. I'm used to this. I've been using inhalers since a child. I know what I'm doing."

"Saying that won't make me feel better, Leonard. Was it hard? Growing up with that?"

"Kind of. I was always scared whenever I forgot my inhaler back at the house. I started having one at my locker, but then someone stole it."

"What?" Penny is not shocked. "They took your inhaler?"

"Yep. More than once, actually." He's looking at her the same way she looked at him when she said it wasn't a big deal that she had one of his inhalers in her bag.

"That's terrible!" But then she looks at the ground, ashamed. "I would've probably done the same though."

"Probably." He admits, and she glares at him. "But now you carry an inhaler around with you. It doesn't change the fact that you were a bully, but you aren't as bad as a lot of them are." She smiles at him.

"Want to watch a movie?" She asks him, plumping in the couch, with her husband immediately by her side. He nods, and she chooses the movie.

She doesn't watch it until the end, though. She ends up falling asleep curled up against her husband's chest, feeling his chest going up and down as he breaths and hearing his heartbeat. He smiles when her breathing shifts, and carefully took her to their bed. He smiles when he sees her bag on top of the bed. Leonard notices the inhaler – since the bag was wide open – and his smile grows bigger.

"You really do love me, don't ya?" He chuckles softly, pulling the comforter up and kissing her cheek. And in her sleep, Penny smiles.

The End

I don't know what to say about this episode. Only that I loved Leonard and Raj at the library, Raj calling for Leonard all the time was so sweet – but this is a comedy, right? Maybe the writers forgot about that, because I didn't laugh.

Also, in the last scene, with Bernadette and Leonard's water bottle. Funny, I might've chuckled.

Other than that, I felt bad for Shamy, enjoyed Howardette, and missed Lenny. That was the episode. I went and saw The Good Place, and that was when I actually laughed – thank you TGP! It's because of episodes like this that I sometimes don't mind that the show is getting canceled. Which is sad…