The Big Bang Theory: The Fan Fiction Affliction
Epilogue
Leonard and Penny finished unloading the car after arriving home from Las Vegas.
Penny said, "Why don't you put your bags in your apartment and come over so we can spend a quiet Sunday evening together before Sheldon and Amy get back?"
"That would be great," Leonard said. "I'm glad we stopped for supper."
A few minutes later, Leonard and Penny cuddled on Penny's sofa as they watched Once Upon a Time.
"I can't get over how Hamish and Robert Carlyle, who plays Mr. Gold and Rumpelstiltskin, are so much alike they could be twins," Penny said. "He is so hot."
"You said he was hot when you had me watch Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School," Leonard said. "Ever since I saw him and Marissa Tomei getting busy on the restaurant's kneading board, I get aroused every time I see someone with flour on their pants."
"Well there is something appealing about shorter, scruffy men with IQs through the roof," Penny said. "I love his Scottish accent. We're going to have to order the Hamish Macbeth TV series he did for BBC-Scotland from Netflix."
Leonard said, "Sheldon seems to be enjoying fan fiction now that you helped him over that rough patch."
"Sheldon's big problem," Penny said, "continues to be that he isn't willing to be terribly creative. Everything he writes is just a re-working of plots he has seen on TV or the movies. He doesn't take any chances and try new ideas."
"At least he is getting positive reviews for a change," Leonard said. "We can all thank you for that. Now he's whining about your success as a professional writer and how it's not fair that a waitress is having this success and he, an award-winning theoretical physicist, is stuck writing fan fiction. Speaking of that, look at you, you big-time writer, working on David Bolt's new TV series pilot and having Hamish Mankiller as a writing partner-and getting paid six figures for it."
"I can't wait to start this week," Penny said.
"Is working on the pilot going to interfere with your finishing the course?" Leonard asked.
"I don't think so," Penny said. "Hamish said that, since I only have one other course to finish so I can graduate in the spring, he really wants me to do it and not drop out. I'll be taking his advanced writing course, so we can take care of both writing for the series and fulfilling my course requirements at one time."
Leonard and Penny watched the Once Upon a Time episode. "That was a sweet scene between Mr. Gold and Belle," Penny said. "She is so beautiful." She looked at Leonard and asked, "What? Why are you grinning?"
Leonard said, "I know how he feels. When you've met your soul mate, you know it."
"Leonard," Penny said. "You know I love you, right?"
"I guess," Leonard said.
"You need to do more than guess," Penny said. "Leonard I've been trying as hard as I can to show you how much I love you ever since that night when I was afraid we broke up. Leonard, have you noticed anything unusual the past few days while we were in Las Vegas?"
"Like what?" Leonard asked.
"Oh, a few things," Penny said. "I haven't had a drop of alcohol in weeks, I've been avoiding soft drinks and coffee, and I've been eating like a horse."
"You've always had a healthy appetite," Leonard said.
"Leonard," Penny said, "Maybe, as soon as the show is over, we need to walk to the 24-hour pharmacy on Colorado."
"Why? Are you all right?" Leonard asked.
"I'm late."
"Late? For what?" Leonard asked.
"L-a-t-e," Penny said.
"Late for w-h-a-t? Penny? Late for what?"
#
Author's Note: That's it, all she wrote. Thank you for indulging me to the end of the story. I promised a short story from the outset, and I've written all I had storyboarded. To be honest, I don't have anything else planned to post at the site for the moment. I'm not saying I'll never post again, I just don't have anything planned out right now. I know I have left two stories hanging. Maybe I'll finish posting them at some point, or maybe I'll just delete them: I really fell in love with Emily and want to see her as she grows. I'm continuing to write the chapters for those two stories, I just don't see there's enough interest in them to continue to post them right now. Maybe my wife, who just got 300+ reviews on her latest story for another show, will suggest another plot as she did this one, and maybe I'll post a one-shot or two. I'll have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed writing the Promotion Commotion. I do have a completed story, the first fanfic I ever wrote, I've never posted because it's a tragedy involving TBBT. I started writing it the night Penny broke up with Leonard at the bowling alley after he told her he loved her, and I was furious with the show's writers, so I showed them by doing something unthinkable with one of the characters. I've just never thought it would be good to inflict something so sad on unsuspecting readers: Everyone who has read it has cried. On a lighter note, writing and posting fanfic did light a fire under me to pick back up the novel I had set aside a couple of years ago and try to get it in shape to submit to an agent, and that's rather exciting. My agent, who has stuck with me on a number of books on neuropsychology, special needs, and the psychological evaluation process, only handles non-fiction, specifically medical writing, so he can't help with fiction.
Please don't be a stranger. I've become very close to a couple of folks and intend to keep in touch, so please don't hesitate to PM me. Take care.
By the way: The troll review "U suk. . . ." was a verbatim review I have gotten on multiple occasions from the Shenny crowd who were furious when I put Leonard and Penny together as a couple.
OK, I'm really ending this time.
May the force be with you.
May you live long and prosper.
Mitakuye Oyasin.
May your shoes always be loose.
To the stars through bolts and bars.
-Joseph Aniwaya