Chapter 2

The car ride back seemed to have Leonard's head full of questions- why did Sheldon seem so embarrassed to be around him? Why did he need to talk to Amy? Why had to miss lunch and gotten barely any work done?" His thoughts bothered him so much that he almost got ran over by a semi truck and he almost had a heart attack. He pulled over to the side of the road, quickly used his inhaler, and pulled back into traffic. To distract his thoughts in order to avoid another almost collision, he turned on the radio. The black eye-d peas were playing and he happily sang along in his little raspy voice. Once the song was over, Leonard had made his was into his own parking lot in front of his apartment. Nearly jumping out of his car, he ran towards the entrance and up the stairs, forgetting his key in the ignition, and he burst through Penny's apartment door without knocking. He gasped when he found Penny lying on the floor, covered in vomit. Looking around for something to clean her with, he also gasped when he found Bernadette a few feet away from Penny in the same condition. He wondered how Amy got home- if she was home. He also wondered why Howard hadn't come to get his wife and why on earth he was working now instead of spending time with her.

Shrugging at the thought, he lightly shook penny and Bernadette awake. "Come on guys, it's late in the afternoon and you guys should really get cleaned up." Penny was unresponsive but was snoring, whilst Bernadette attempted to sit up and groaned when she couldn't. She also had tried to open her eyes but when the light hit her, she mumbled and snapped her eyes back shut. Sighing, Leonard got up and made a stride towards Penny's kitchen to get the woman each a glass of water and a pain killer, only to find that Penny had no dishes clean. He contemplated grabbing two dishes out of the sink and washing them, but he feared the sound might hurt the two hung over woman so he made his way back to where Penny and Bernadette lay he gently he said "Penny, Bernie, I'm going to go across the hallway to get you two some water and pain killers, I'll be right back." He received a slight moan from Penny, whilst Bernadette only mumbled something that Leonard could not understand. Quietly, he made his was towards her door and let himself out so he could walk over to his apartment. When he got to the apartment, he found it locked and he jammed his hand into his pockets, searching for his keys. Cursing, he realized that he had forgotten his keys in his car ignition. Mumbling something, he reluctantly made his way back down the stairs and exited the building once more, only to find that his car was gone. Sighing louder this time, he could feel tears in his eyes. Someone had just stolen his car, this was just great. Well, now at least he didn't have to go pick Sheldon up. Deciding it was a matter he would have to figure out later, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911 to inform them that his car had been missing. Once he had given them all his information and hung up, he made his way back into the building and back up the stairs.

While he was walking up the stairs, he remembered that he had given a key to his apartment to Penny, so gently letting himself in her apartment once more, he made his way over to her counter to search through her bowl of keys. It was then he heard Penny call to him. "Leonaaaaaaaaard. Where are my pain killers? Aaaaahhhhhh." "Yeah, well here's the thing Penny." He started while moving toward her. "I needed your spare key to get into my apartment because somebody stole my car." "Oh… Well… Yeah, Amy… Amy had those…." "Oh great, and Amy's at her apartment with Sheldon. How am I supposed to get into my apartment now?" "Oh honey." Penny replied with. "Oh honey, honey, honey…" She drifted off to sleep and Bernadette groaned whilst rolling over. "She's not… She's not at her apartment. Oooow." Her eyes snapped shut and she rolled back over, groaning into the floor. "Then where is she?" Leonard demanded. Bernadette waved her hand in the air towards the direction of his apartment. She went in there earlier today, to see Sheldon. I haven't heard from her." Sighing, Leonard thanked the girls and told them that he should be back shortly with their pain killers.

He walked over to his apartment and jiggled the knob, only to find it still locked. He didn't want to hurt Amy by knocking on the door and possibly waking her, but he had to. *Knock Knock Knock* "Amy!." He called. He heard grumbling and the faintest "What?" come from his apartment. "I need you to open up the door for me. I'll take care of you, Penny and Bernadette." He waited for a reply for what seemed like hours. "Why can't… Why can't you just… Come in?" She questioned from inside. Sighing, Leonard replied with "Someone stole my car and inside my car were my keys to the apartment." He heard shuffling inside and moments later, a disheveled Amy, covered in vomit, hair askew, crooked glasses and bags under her eyes. She groaned. "Come on in Leonard." "Why are you here?" He asked her. She made her way over to the couch and plopped down on her stomach and groaned some more before replying. "I'm here to see Sheldon." Filling up the glasses as quietly as he could, he grabbed pain killers and walked towards Amy who was still occupied in his living room. "That may be a problem. Sheldon asked me to drive him over to your apartment so he could discuss some things with you. He sounded pretty serious. At the rate this is going, he should be calling me any moment asking for a ride back and I will have to explain to him that my car had gotten stolen and I cannot pick him up." Sighing, he handed the now sitting up Amy a glass and a pain killer. She seemed grateful and took it almost immediately. "Give me my key back and come with me over to Penny's apartment so I can take care of you guys. Without a word, she got up and followed him to the door, but stopped abruptly once there. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Oh, nothing. It's just… Sheldon's bed, you may want to… clean it… before he gets back." That's all she said and she left Leonard curious as to what she had done to his bed.

Once they had made their way back over to Penny's apartment, Leonard had made his way over to Bernadette, shook her gently and handed her a glass and pain killer once she had sat up after groaning. Then, he quietly walked over to Penny, shook her gently and woke her as well. She had been reluctant to sit up, but complied and took the glass and pill provided to her by her best friend. After leaving the girls for a moment and tidying up, he had made his way back to where they were still sitting and Amy started to sob.

"What's wrong Amy?" He asked her. Penny and Bernadette had also seemed to notice Amy's sobs and they turned their attention to her, before lying themselves back on the ground. "You said…. You said that Sheldon… You said that he… Had some things… He wanted to… He wanted to talk about…." Leonard nodded and waited for her to continue. "I pushed him…. I pushed him and now… And now… And now he's going to… He's going to break up… With me…" Leonard was so confused and Penny and Bernadette didn't seem to notice or care. They still lie on the ground, unmoving. "Wha…" He questioned her. "Why would you say that? How did you push him?" At this point, he was expecting the worst. "Can we… Can we not talk about this right now?" She asked him between sobs. "Yeah, sure… Okay." He said, and he moved away from her to go and collect things in Penny's apartment to help clean the girls up. "Does anyone still need to vomit?" He asked the room full of girls. They answered no almost in sync and he nodded to himself. "You guys are all full of vomit. You need a quick shower." With that, he walked over the Bernadette who was now sitting and craning her neck towards him. " I don't think I could…" She hiccupped before continuing. "I don't think I could shower myself… I'd slip and fall and break my neck…" She giggled and hiccupped once more. "Would you mind bathing me?" Leonard turned scarlet and she quickly added "Just don't tell Howie." Whilst giggling again. He couldn't refuse, after all he had offered to take care of them. Sighing, he told the girls he would be right back and he made his way into the bathroom. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Howard's number. He answered rather quickly.

"Yeah?" Howard answered. Leonard could hear people in the background. "Okay, look Howard. Bernadette has a hangover and I offered to take care of her and Penny and Amy while you and Raj were at work. Is that okay?" He paused for a moment. "Yeah Leonard, that's find. I'm going to pick Bernie up tomorrow after work, as Raj and I have some stuff to do and I'm sure she wouldn't mind spending more time with Penny, as they both have to work early tomorrow anyway." "Okay Howard, just making sure." He replied, and then hung up.

Grabbing two clean towels from the cabinet in the bathroom, he draped both of them over the shower. Then, he stumbled back into the living room to retrieve Bernadette, only to find her lying down now, in a pile of vomit. Penny was still lying on the floor, and Amy had joined her now, and they both appeared to be sleeping. Upon hearing Leonard enter the living room, Bernadette sat up and giggled. Leonard sighed and grabbed Bernadette under her knees and her neck, picking her up. Then he carried her all the way into the bathroom. He sat her on the toilet seat and told her to wait a moment while he got the water running for her shower. She complied and giggled some more. Then, once the water was running, he turned to Bernadette, "Do you want me to… Uh… Help you… You know…. Undress… Or do you… Do you want… Do you want to do it yourself?" Leonard could feel his cheeks turning flushed and Bernadette giggled some more. "Help me!" She cried in her high pitched voice. Leonard hesitated for a moment before proceeding to help her tear her clothes off. He was now looking at one of his best friend's wife and it felt extremely awkward.

Once he had helped her into the shower and helped clean the vomit out of her hair and body, he turned the water off for her and helped her out of the shower. She nearly slipped on the tile floor and fell into Leonard's waiting arms. She giggled again and for the hundredth time that night, Leonard felt his face flush once more. "Bernadette, do you have your clothes for work tomorrow? Do you have something you can change into?" HE asked her. "Yeah, yeah, silly." She replied with, sounding tipsy. "My bag is in Penny's room… and it's purple…" She giggled a bit and Leonard told her to wait on the toilet with the towel wrapped around her hair and body while he went to grab her bag from Penny's room. Once in her room, he found that it was a complete mess, much like the rest of her apartment. He told himself that once he had gotten them all showered, he would clean up her apartment a bit for her. He would do anything for her, even if she had just recently rejected him telling her than he loved her. With the velvety bag in his hand, he made his way over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and handing the bag to Bernadette. She assured him she would be fine to change herself, and she walked out into Penny's room. Leonard followed her and stood in front of Amy and Penny. Penny was still sleeping and Amy groggily lifted her head so her gaze was on Leonard's face. He raised a questioning eye brow towards her, as if to ask "Do you need help showering too?" and she seemed well enough to get the message and she answered his thoughts rather quickly, leaving him to sigh with relief. "Don't worry Leonard. I can assure you I am well enough to shower myself. I am in no need of your assistance in this aspect of cleanliness. Although, after I will request that you maybe make me some food, as I have not eaten for quite a while now."

Amy took about the same amount of time in the shower as it had taken him and Bernadette to. While she was in the shower, Leonard had used the time to tidy up Penny's apartment slightly before awakening the hung over blonde so she would be somewhat awake when he had to ask her if she needed help showering. While most couples would find it weird that they were spending so much time together after they had broken up, Leonard was extremely over joyed with the idea. He was always nervous when he got around her and now was no different. His stomach was churning and he felt a million different emotions. His thoughts about Penny however abruptly stopped when they returned to his conversation he had with Sheldon earlier in the car. He had to inform Penny on what she called 'The Shamy.' It all just seemed too much and honestly, he thought that if Sheldon ever lost Amy, he would never find anybody else and he would have to deal with him getting all those cats again. He did not want that.

Once Amy had gotten out of the shower and dressed herself, she stumbled into the living room and found Leonard standing there with Penny waiting for her. "So, did you say that Sheldon was at my apartment? Should I go then? He's expecting me isn't he?" "Uh, yeah Amy. I said I would take care of you, but you seem to have it all under control, so if you're feeling well enough to drive, you may leave." Amy paused for a moment before continuing. "Thanks Leonard." She flashed him a smile and turned towards the now dressed Bernadette and the sleepy Penny. "Bye Bernie, bye Bestie. I'll talk to you guys soon." And with a wave of her hand and a bright smile, she made her way out of the apartment and down the stairs.

"Okay Penny." Leonard said. "What do you say I help get you cleaned up?" He was talking to her as if he was talking to a little kid and he didn't want to scare her away. Truthfully, he didn't want to scare her away. He wanted to stay and help take care of her and hold her and let her fall asleep in his arms. He knew he couldn't push her though, he had to give her time. "Yes Leonard. I would love that." He had guessed that the pills had helped her some, but not totally. "Do you need me to help you shower…?" He could hear Bernadette giggling when he asked her. "I think I'm fine." Leonard was obviously upset about this, but in some ways relieved. He wanted to make sure that she was safe and didn't slip in the shower again, but he was so nervous about seeing her naked again that he didn't know what to do. He had everything planned out in his head that if she needed his help, he would help her. If not, he would go into her kitchen and help prepare a meal for her and Bernadette. "If you think so, then go ahead." He replied, uneasiness catching his voice. Just as Penny got up off of the floor to go into the bathroom, she tripped and almost fell flat on her face, if Leonard hadn't been there to help her. "Shhhh, it's okay Penny." He told her in a quiet voice when he could see the tears welling in her eyes and the stress pulling at her cheek bones. "You sure you can do it? I'd be more than happy to help." He offered. He hoped that she would say yes, that she needed his help, that she needed him to be with her. His face lit up when Penny replied with "Yeah, I guess I do need your help."

Bending down and helping her stand again, he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the bathroom. He could hear Bernadette chuckling behind him. Once he had made it to the bathroom, he placed Penny the same place where he had set Bernadette and got her shower ready. Once it was ready, he turned his attention to Penny, who was gazing up at him, with her big, blue eyes. "What?" Leonard asked her. "Oh, nothing." Penny replied with, her voice cracking. Leonard noticed this and asked her something that he had on his mind. "Do you need me to help shower you and you know… get your clothes off?" He felt uneasy asking her, like he was waiting for her to reject him in the worst possible way, as if he expected it. She noted this, and decided to reassure him on everything he felt uneasy about. "Yes Leonard, I would love that." He seemed taken aback with her statement, as he paused for a moment before moving. He felt like the world had abruptly stopped spinning and he couldn't grasp his thoughts that seemed to wander away from him, as if out of his control. He heaved a heavy breath and stifled a random yawn. "Alright." He told her. He felt his face visibly turn crimson and he felt arousal pushing his limits. This would make the situation even more awkward. Penny seemed a little hesitant at first as well, but she quickly regained hr confidence and pulled her shirt above her head, revealing her bare chest. She realized she had forgotten to wear any undergarments, and she felt herself blush. Next were her pants, which she slipped off just as easily. They reeked of vomit and she tossed them in the corner. There she was, standing in front of him and Leonard was in awe. He missed her so much, but tonight wasn't about his needs, it was about helping her, and being an amazing friend. So, he took a big breath and gestured towards the shower, and felt somewhat relieved with a hint of disappointment when she stepped in. She had claimed that she could wash her hair and body by herself, but when Leonard asked her if she wanted him to leave the go prepare food, she had told him that she wanted him to stay in the bathroom just incase she slipped or needed help. Leonard complied, and he felt dazed as he pictured her naked in the shower, washing herself. The woman that he loved was right next to him, naked, and only a shower curtain separated them.

a/n So, do you guys like it? Sorry for any errors, I tried.