Hey guys, just another quick update, in preparation for another tough chapter coming up! :3

Hope you enjoy it!

P.S: The reviews I got yesterday were amazing! I was absolutely overwhelmed that you guys liked it that much (Still am :L), especially as I was so unsure about it, anyway just thank you so much guys! It meant the world to me! :D

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, not 'The Big Bang Theory', nor 'Fade to Black'/Metallica or anything associated with either party.

Penny 4

His half of the bed was cold. It had been that way since he'd left, but it had never been this empty and chilling. All that was left of him was the small velvet bag that lay where he once did.

Penny pulled her duvet off of herself, and rolled out of bed, only just landing on two feet. With the support of her hands, she pushed on the side of the bed and heaved herself up. Walking over to her closet, she reached into the bottom draw of her cabinet, reaching right towards the back where she kept his shirts. She pulled out the first shirt she found and slung it on over her tank top, she lifted it up to her nose and inhaled, for a moment she forgot everything that had happened and spun round to face her bed, half expecting Leonard to be lying there asleep. After the wave of disappointment and sorrow had faded she crawled back into her bed, on his side, and pulled the duvet up to her ears. There was no way she was going to work today, she didn't even have the energy to phone in sick, let alone get out of bed and haul her work clothes on. Assuming the foetal position, Penny just lay there, weeping and screaming into her pillow calling out to whatever God there was to bring Leonard back to her. It had been a week since she'd been at the hospital, they'd managed to revive Leonard, and re-oxidise his blood, enough to keep him in a temporary vegetative state, they hadn't been able to wake him up since, and had no time frame for how long he'd be asleep. Bernadette had tried to reassure her, she had told her that his breathing had been steady, and that there hadn't been any major worry about whether or not he'd return from his hiatus on consciousness. She'd also heard that Sheldon hadn't left Leonard's side, he was like a dog, and no matter how much Amy would plead him to rest or take a shower, he refused, he simply sat by Leonard's side, and talked to him about the world of science, and according to Amy (who had been texting Penny every thirty minutes for the last week), Sheldon had actually praised Leonard on his work with Helium-Neon lasers and Bose-Einstein Condensates. He'd even called his mother, asking for her church back in Texas to bring Leonard home safely.

But no matter how much positivity came from her friends, Penny couldn't bring herself to smile, couldn't bring herself to be enthusiastic about Leonard's survival, because as long as he wasn't there with her, she was lost, without a way home.

She longed for the day that he came home, she'd step out from her apartment after waiting up all night for him to get back, open the door, and surprise him like she did when he got back from the north pole four years ago, then she'd lead him into their new apartment. She'd decided that she'd wanted to live with him as soon as she'd left the hospital, that she wasn't going to keep waiting for time to bring them back together, she'd spent the last six years trying that, and it hadn't happened, so she wasn't going to take any more chances, she was going to show Leonard what they could have, she wanted to be with him, live with him, become 'Mrs. Leonard Hofstadter', and she wanted to grow old with him. Some may say it was too little too late, but Penny knew that what she was willing to give to Leonard was far greater than anything she would be willing to give to anyone else. Commitment was tough for her, love scared her, growing older scared her. But losing Leonard? Penny couldn't even fathom how much it petrified her. She just prayed that he'd be willing to try being with her again. She knew how devastated he'd been every time she'd crushed his heart. But she was going to lay it all on the line, if he accepted her, she'd spend every day of her entire life trying to show Leonard how much she loved him; but if he refused her, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering about what could've been, and most likely spending many a night crying through until morning whenever Leonard brought a girl back to his apartment that wasn't her. But she deserved it, right? She'd driven him too far, she didn't deserve him.

Penny started to sweat, suddenly her resolve to win Leonard back dissipated, leaving her shaking violently once again. A buzzing from her phone brought her back from her own world; she lifted the phone to her ear and hit 'Accept Call'

'Penny?' The trembling voice of Bernadette came through the speaker. Penny's heartbeat started to gain pace.

'Mhhm?' Penny replied, afraid of her next words.

'He's woken up,' Penny cut her off before she could finish.

'Oh my God! Leonard's awake! He's really awake! I'll be right there Bernadette, I just need to move a few of his things over to my apartment.' Her plan to surprise him was thrown to the wind; the overwhelming urge to see him overtook any logical or romantic thought in her head.

'Penny, he's woken up, but Leonard's requested that we say our goodbyes, in case what happened to him before happens to him again.'

Absolute silence. Penny's world stood still for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, so close, but so far.

'Wha-what?!' Penny practically wailed into her IPhone.

'Penny, look, it's not going to happen again, but Leonard's just being overly cautious, you know him. It's going to be fine, I promise you honey, he'll come home safely. Move his things over to your apartment, just like you were going to, and then come down here, and just listen to what he has to say, don't tell him about what you're going to do, I know that sounds terrible, but when he gets home, he'll see that you love him if you're willing to move in with him, I just know it. Give him a chance to say what he wants, and just nod along. Please Penny, don't panic, like I said, everything's going to be ok.' Bernadette sounded confident in herself, although distressed, and Penny decided that she was right. Without warning she hung up the phone and placed it onto her table.

~Thirty minutes later~

Penny still hadn't dressed, but she had gone across the hall and collected a few of Leonard's personal belongings, and put them in a small cardboard box. She'd picked out a few of his posters, some of his comics, half his wardrobe, his pillows, and some other Sci-Fi and science memorabilia and then headed back to her apartment to start 're-decorating'.

Although she was still aching on the inside, Penny pressed on; she needed to do something positive, even if she herself felt like giving up. It took Penny less than fifteen minutes to decorate Leonard's half of the bedroom, and just over ten to rearrange the wardrobe. After she'd finished she pulled out the first clean clothes she could see and ran into her bathroom to shower and get dressed. After just five minutes under the hot water she dressed herself, brushed her teeth and threw on some makeup.

As she locked the door to her apartment, she took a deep breath. In the past hour she'd been more productive than she had all week. Penny almost smiled to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to. She hadn't the slightest clue on what Leonard would say to her at the hospital, but she sure as hell wasn't going to find out just swaying on her tiptoes just outside of her door. So with that in mind she almost threw herself down the stairs and out of the door.

Penny had to fight, fight to keep Leonard as hers. And she was going to do just that.

So the second half is pretty much just filler, the first half isn't really, but I just needed to get at least 1200 words down, and I suppose ending it on a more mundane note means that the next chapter will hit you harder! ;P

See you all soon! :D