Penny stumbled into her apartment and was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol, 'Sheldon!' she cried out, 'Baby where are you?' She turned on the lights and called out his name again when there was no response. Checking the bedroom to see if he had gone to bed, she saw that the bed was untouched and his suitcase was gone. Stumbling to the kitchen, she saw the note lying on the side. Picking it up, she read it over, blinking so she could read the words properly.

Dear Penny,

I have decided to return back to Pasadena until your behaviour has rationalised and you've decided to be the Penny I fell in love with again. I don't like the new one at all, New York has changed you. I will call you when I deem it necessary.

Sheldon

Penny slowly placed the note back on the surface and blinked in confusion. The note was so abrupt, so uncaring… just like she had been on the phone when he had tried to apologise. Sighing, she poured herself a glass of wine as she realised her behaviour had caused him to leave three days early and she had therefore lost valuable time with him. She wiped away a small tear that had trickled down her cheek and took out her phone and called him. The dial tone rang twice before switching to voicemail, which meant that he had rejected her call.

'Hey Sheldon, uh...I got your note and I just want to say I'm sorry. I was totally in the wrong and I shouldn't have spoken to you like that when you were just trying to make amends. Look… I'm gonna head to bed. Maybe I'll try you again tomorrow. I know you said you would call me, but uh...I'm just uh...I just really want to hear your voice. So, um… why don't you just send me an email and let me know uh...let me know when it's good for you to talk. Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Bye.' Penny sniffed before burying her face in her hands and starting to cry. Why did she have to screw everything up? He was right, she had changed and the stress of the distance only added fuel to the fire. Sheldon was right. New York had changed her.

The next morning, she woke with a splitting headache and feeling extremely hung over. 'Ugh,' she moaned, touching her head lightly. Looking around at her surroundings, she realised she had fallen asleep in the kitchen and memories of last night came back to her, her night out, the kiss, Sheldon leaving, her voicemail to Sheldon… Penny's jaw dropped. She had kissed someone last night, someone who wasn't Sheldon; and that someone happened to be Leon, 'Oh God…' Penny whispered. It hadn't meant anything, she knew that… when she was younger she used to drunkenly kiss people all the time so technically it was OK, well in her mind it was. Penny decided that she would not tell Sheldon about it and if Leon enquired, she would say she couldn't remember. Luckily their kiss had been inside their hired limo and not seen by anyone. Deciding to follow a classic British hangover remedy, she cooked herself a bacon sandwich to help cure her hangover and hungrily tucked into the dish when suddenly her phone rang and her heart skipped a beat when the caller ID stated "Sheldon Cooper"

'Sheldon!' she cried, 'I'm so sorry, I really and truly I am! I was a total bitch to you, please forgive me!' she started to cry.

'Calm down Penny, I just called to tell you that I've just arrived back in Pasadena.'

'Oh, um… how was the ride?' she asked and she heard him sigh over the phone.

'To be honest, it was boring and I missed you.' Sheldon sighed and Penny smiled.

'I missed you more. I'm so sorry Sheldon, I was drinking and you are right, New York has changed me I promise it'll never happen again.' She said solemnly and there was silence down his end and she thought that the line had gone dead and was about to hang up and redial when he spoke.

'And I promise I won't take off again. I should have waited for you to come home so we could have a rational conversation. I can't help but feel that our relationship is far more strained due to the distance between us and as a result, we are arguing over petty things. We were both at fault; I made a mountain out of a molehill about the pause you left between me asking you were you attracted to someone else and you made a mistake in suggesting I see other people whilst we're not together. So I'll accept your apology if you accept mine. I am yours and you are mine remember, and I am your mystery man according to the journalists of that TMZ trash you like to read.'

Penny laughed, 'If it's so trashy, how come you read it?'

'Well, I had to make sure what you were reading was appropriate,' Sheldon stuttered, knowing he'd been caught out.

'Yeah right, you enjoy it!'

'I do not believe in frittering my time reading incoherent magazines based on other's lives.' Sheldon said snoopily and Penny chuckled.

'Pull the other one Sheldon. Anyway only a few more weeks to go until you finally are awarded your Nobel Prize!' Penny squealed and he laughed.

'I know and I'll have the most beautiful girl on my arm there. All the other guests will be jealous. Anyway, I need to go. I have to do my weekly shop,' Sheldon sighed and Penny nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

'Ok, I'll call you later. I love you,' she said softly.

'I love you too, bye.'

'Bye,' she hung up the phone and a small smile reached her lips. She was so glad that she and Sheldon had reached the stage where they could have a mature conversation and she realised how much of a man Sheldon had developed into. She finally felt like she was in an adult relationship.

Penny had declined her cast mate's requests to go out partying every day for the past week and instead, she concentrated on spending time with Sheldon and her friends from Pasadena by talking to them over the phone, via Skype or via FaceTime. It was 7pm and she was on her iPad talking to Sheldon over Skype whilst eating some takeout Chinese.

'So I got a new roommate today,' Sheldon said as he worked on his computer at the same time as chatting to Penny.

'Really? What's he like?' Penny asked, popping a mouthful of noodles into her mouth.

'Well first off it's a she. She's amiable, she passed the tests and she works as a chef so she can cook too, though tonight is Chinese food night, so she's gone to get my order. It's secretly a test though to see if she can remember to get my food right,' Sheldon said and Penny couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that her boyfriend had a female roommate, 'Of course, she's nothing on you and she knows that upon your return she will have to find a new means of accommodation.' Sheldon said and Penny nodded her head, still unconvinced.

'Hey Sheldon, I got your order,' a female voice said as Penny heard the door open. She watched Sheldon turn around and speak to his new roommate.

'Did you remember to ask for the chicken to be diced, not shredded?'

'Yes.'

'Even though the menu deliberately specifies shredded?'

'Yes.'

'Brown rice not white.'

'Yes.'

'Did you stop at the green grocery and get the good hot mustard?'

'Yes.'

'Did you pick up the low sodium soy sauce from the market?'

'Yes.'

'Good.' Sheldon nodded and Penny watched a slender arm reach forward and hand Sheldon his take out, 'Sorry Penny, this is Lani… my new roommate.' Sheldon said and Lani sat next to Sheldon, giving Penny a large toothy grin.

'Hi!' she grinned and Penny almost choked on her food. She was stunning! Far prettier than herself by far! Lani had long dark hair, the perfect body, her ass to breast ratio was spot on and her smile… she was perfect! And on top of that, she had managed to get Sheldon's order to correct.

'Um, hi.' Penny said, waving awkwardly.

'You must be Penny! I must admit when Shelly told me that he was going out with a Broadway star, I didn't believe it!' Lani laughed and Penny nodded.

'Yep, that's me… it's nice to meet you?'

'Nice to meet you too… I'll give you two some privacy. Sheldon, if you need me I'll be in my room' she grinned before waving goodbye to Penny.

'Why did you get a new roommate?'

'I like to live with someone, I didn't like living alone and she fit everything that I required. She even signed a roommate agreement.'

'But she's gorgeous Sheldon!'

'Is she?' Sheldon frowned, 'I would think you're far prettier.'

'Well you're wrong there.'

'Penny, you are the only woman for me so if you fear infidelity, I can assure you it won't happen. I am very different from Leonard. Just relax and think… Soon we will be in Sweden and accepting my Nobel Prize!'

Penny nodded, perhaps she was just being a bit paranoid because she had kissed someone whilst drunk. She should've known better. Sheldon was still pretty clueless about a majority of things that came with a relationship so of course he wouldn't think that inviting a severely attractive woman to live with him would upset her. He saw her as someone who fit the bill, someone who could pay rent and he could just live with and if she was totally honest, there was no way a girl like that would ever go for a guy like Sheldon. Lani was way out of his league. She smiled to herself before a feeling of dread washed over her. It had suddenly occurred to her that once she was that girl who would have been considered way out of Sheldon's league. Shaking her head and closing her eyes, she tried to purge the thoughts of Sheldon and Lani.

'…. And then you can eat it whole. Penny were you even listening to a word I said?' Sheldon asked and Penny blinked at him.

'Er, sorry I must have blanked out… you'll have to forgive me, I'm just… tired.' Penny said quickly and Sheldon sighed.

'I'll let you go then. I don't want you to be sleep deprived because of me.' Sheldon smiled. Her jaw dropped when she saw Lani walk in wearing pyjama bottoms which could be classed as knickers an a very tight mickey mouse top.

'Shelly, I bought the new digitally re-mastered Star Trek: The Next Generation. Do you want to watch it with me?' Lani asked and Sheldon smiled.

'I'll be right over, be a doll and stick some popcorn on.' Sheldon laughed and Penny felt her blood boil. This girl was bad news. Big time.

'I'll see you later Sheldon.' She said before logging off. After clearing up she tucked herself into bed and laid there, staring at the ceiling. For some reason though, she just could not stop thinking about Lani and Sheldon. She knew he wouldn't cheat but after Leonard… she was still feeling a little insecure. Penny felt a single tear fall down her cheek as she thought of her boyfriend watching Star Trek with another woman and before she knew it she was sobbing herself to sleep.

Thank you so much for your reviews guys! I hope you enjoyed it… with regards to a couple of the reviews, what I'm trying to do is show the effects a long distance relationship can have and I know some of you have found it too angsty and I'm sorry if you do but from what I've experienced with LDR's trust is always an issue, even with the strongest of couples, the stress of not seeing each other, work, growing apart… it's a lot of work so of course it's gonna be a bit angsty (which is why this story is labelled under it) but I promise it won't be for too much longer. Relationship's aren't perfect and it wouldn't be right to make Sheldon and Penny happy all the time because that's not real life… plus their personalities are so different that it's bound to cause arguments. Also, when I decided to create Lani's character, I got my inspiration for her looks from the beautiful actress Michelle Keegan so to me that's what Lani looks like :] anyways, hope you enjoyed it, thanks for all your input and next chapter will be up soon! xx