Chapter 10

Raj returned to the bathroom several minutes later holding a glass of water in one hand, his other hand clasped shut; his fly down. He gave Penny a timid smile and moved to hand her the glass and pills in his clasped hand. "Thank you." Penny replied curtly. Once the pills and glass were handed off, Penny downed them in one quick motion. Raj lingered for a moment, casting nervous glances towards Howard and Leonard before he fixed his gaze on the floor and moved to walk out of the bathroom.

On his way out, he brushed past Howard and he felt his friend watch him leave. Howard felt Bernadette's eyes bore holes in his back and he shuffled uncomfortably, his eyes never leaving Raj's back. A thick, heavy tension between Howard and Bernadette hung in the air and seemed to make everyone squirm with discomfort. Several moments past and Bernadette grew even more anxious, waiting for a reply from her boyfriend.

"Howard!" Bernadette's shrill, angry voice filled the small, cramped room. She only raised her voice to get his attention. "Yes Ma… Ma Bernadette!" Howard nervously replied. He had almost called his girlfriend his mom, but he hastily fixed his reply but she seemed no less angry with him. Her tone softened when she noticed that Howard was actually paying attention to her. "Howie, what's going on?" Howard opened his mouth, ready to shoot a reply back to her, hoping that it would avoid her question, but Leonard spoke up before he got a chance.

"Bernadette, I think I may know the answer to that." He stated, his tone unusually condescending. Pursing his lips, he turned towards Howard and crossed his arms. Bernadette gave him a puzzled look which he saw out of the corner of his eye and he continued. "I think that Howard is jealous that I helped you when you were drunk and he didn't. He's probably a little insecure that a girl like you would leave him since he doesn't know how to take care of someone who's drunk," Leonard gave Howard a tiny smirk and made his way back over to Penny. Bernadette's face seemed to radiate her confusion and disappointment as she turned to Howard. "Howie, is this true?" She asked in her usual innocent voice. Howard showed obvious signs that he was trying to steer all the unnecessary attention away from him but in the end he sighed and grabbed her hands in his.

"Yes, Bernie, it is. But what was I suppose to do?" He let out a little nervous half- laugh towards the end of his sentence but Bernadette was not amused at all. "Look, Howard." She said in a firm voice, clearly displaying her anger. "Leonard doesn't deserve you being mad at him. He was only trying to help." Her voice softened a little towards the end of her sentence but her voice never lost any of its firmness.

Upon hearing his name, Leonard felt extremely self- conscious. He looked towards Penny who was clearly focused on the drama happening right in front of them. He drew in a sharp breath and chose to speak up. "Uhm, guys." He said. His words fell on deaf ears as Howard and Bernadette continued to argue. "I don't care; it's not fair to him!" Bernadette continued to defend her case. "Hello? I'm standing right here you know." Leonard said, again being ignored. "What? So what are you saying?" Howard asked in a condescending tone that was dripping with nervousness. "Enough!" Penny yelled. She had heard Leonard's struggle and decided to help the situation before it went out of control.

Penny shot Bernadette a look of irritation to which she complied with, grabbing Howard's ear and dragging him out of the bathroom and out of the apartment, all the while Howard was grumbling under his breath. Glancing out into the living room, Penny found that Raj had gone as well. Turning slightly, she shouted over her shoulder "Thanks Leonard! I'm going to change then go home." There was a slight muffling noise from inside the bathroom and Leonard emerged a moment later.

"Oh, okay. B-by Penny." he knew they were taking things slow, and he wasn't really sure if they were dating or not, but he just wanted to hold her close to him and kiss her again. As if Penny read his mind, she leaned over and planted a sweet, gentle kiss on his cheek, giving him a grin after and walking away. Leonard's cheek tingled and he raised a hand to it, gently grazing his finger tips over it. With pleasant thoughts full of Penny, he walked to his room to go to bed, and failed to notice a very nervous Sheldon come into the apartment after him.

Fast forward to about 2:30 A.M. and a very restless Sheldon stood in the kitchen, a glass of milk in his hand. He made his way over to the microwave and set the glass in it. When his back was turned, Leonard came out of his room, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had woken up from an amazing dream about Penny because of the stupid microwave. As he was about to ask Sheldon what he was doing, the microwave sent a beeping noise through the air, and Leonard backed away out of sight in the shadows, but still within ear shot of Sheldon.

Back in the kitchen, just as Sheldon had drank half of his warm milk, the phone rang. Leonard shuffled in his spot near the wall, unsure of whether to answer the phone or not. Before he could make a decision, Sheldon dashed for the phone, his milk still in his hand. He picked up shortly after the first ring and the moment he answered, he looked like a little kid before taking a huge exam. (Totally nervous)

Leonard listened intently to Sheldon's progressing conversation on the phone. He always claimed to have Vulcan hearing from being beaten up so much, but he doesn't realize that he wasn't the only one and Leonard had pretty well hearing as well. He moved closer to the entry way, still hidden in the shadows and pressed his ear up to the wall. At first all Leonard could decipher from the conversation was a bunch of mumbling but then Sheldon's voice became slightly steadier.

"Wait, I don't understand." He stated. There was a short pause and Leonard grew very curious. "Why would you want to do that?" Sheldon's voice seemed to grow 8 octaves and it cracked at the end of his sentence. Leonard could hear a female's voice on the other end attempting to ease Sheldon's nerves, but he couldn't tell for sure. "It appears that we have reached an impasse then." Sheldon stated in his usual emotionless voice. Leonard moved his head out and saw that Sheldon was pacing while holding the phone to his ear. "Alright, proceed." Sheldon said after a moment's silence.

"I… I… Why?" Sheldon cried. "What's wrong with it?!" He almost sounded desperate. 'What's wrong with what?' Leonard thought. "Amy!" Sheldon cried again, this time in a more accusing tone. Leonard could hear laughing from the other person and Sheldon seemed to calm down a tiny bit. For a moment Leonard thought that he saw Sheldon crack a tiny smile as well. "Amy." Sheldon repeated, now in a voice that reflected how tired he was. "It's almost 3 A.M. and unless this is a life or death issue, you could be on your way to a strike." Leonard rolled his eyes; typical Sheldon behavior. A pause, then a mumbled "You're right." came out of his mouth.

"Good night Amy Farrah Fowler. We will continue this conversation on Tuesday." A short silence hung in the air and then Sheldon hung up the phone and moved to go put it away. Leonard ran a hand through his hair and made himself yawn to make it appear as if he had been sleeping before he walked out to join Sheldon in the living room. When Sheldon saw Leonard, is eyes bulged and he looked like a deer in head lights.

"You okay, Buddy?" He asked. Sheldon's expression changed to display how tired he was. "Yes Leonard, I am fine." He stated his tone slightly shaky. "Are you sure?" Leonard continued to pry. "Uhm, yes." Sheldon replied. "What are you doing up this late?" Leonard asked, his tone seeming to drip with curiosity. "I was going to the bathroom." Sheldon hastily answered, whilst avoiding eye contact with Leonard. He knew right when he said it that it wasn't a very good lie because he didn't think it though and he began to panic slightly. Leonard could see Sheldon's eye twitch and he attempted to make Sheldon crack. "In the kitchen?" he asked, masking his tone of curiosity with one of confusion.

"Uhm, yes." He replied. Leonard saw his eye twitch some more, but he hastily added "Leonard, if this conversation is done, I'd like to go back to sleep now." Actually, he hadn't slept at all and he probably wasn't going to but he needed the quiet that his room provided. He was also getting very tired of Leonard's questioning. Leonard eyed him curiously but let him pass before going into the bathroom to grab some I.B. Profen for his headache that was starting. He convinced himself that he was dreaming of Sheldon because he was to tired to think about it and he swallowed his pills with water he got out of the bathroom sink. He then returned to his room to continue his deep slumber.

The next morning was a Monday morning and Sheldon got out of bed feeling more nervous than before. He hadn't even slept now and he was getting up 20 minutes before he was scheduled to. He sure hoped that Tuesday went well. Groaning from lack of sleep, Sheldon slumped into his robe and slipped his slippers on. Then he walked to the bathroom and started his usual shower routine, just 20 minutes early. Shortly after he had gotten in the shower, Leonard came out of his room and looked surprisingly at the closed bathroom door. It was his scheduled time after all.

As surprising as it was to him, he shrugged and moved to the kitchen to prepare coffee for himself. 10 minutes and 2 cups of coffee later, Leonard heard a shuffling sound come from the bathroom and turned to find Sheldon stepping out of the bathroom, hair wet and slightly askew. "Aren't you gunna brush your hair, Buddy?" he asked. Sheldon mumbled something and made his way back into the bathroom. Leonard stifled a yawn and moved about in the kitchen, pulling a couple of packets of oatmeal out of the cupboard. Following that, he got out a pot and a bowl and left it all on the counter for Sheldon. He seemed like a nervous wreck and Leonard didn't want to be the one who made him explode.

"I'm going to Penny's to use her milk!" Leonard called over his shoulder. Sheldon came out of the bathroom then, hair fixed and nodded towards Leonard while moving into the kitchen to prepare his meal. Upon seeing the oatmeal and things laid on the counter, he realized that food right now sounded very repulsive to his nervous stomach. Sighing, he put the items away and moved into the living room.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" She shouted in his face. "I-I, I just wanted milk." He stuttered. "But I can see you're busy so I'll just go." He stated. Penny raised her hand and massaged her temple while sighing. "Leonard." She said. "Don't go. As mad as I am at you right now for waking me up, I miss you." She moved and embraced him tightly. He returned the hug and rested his chin on her shoulder, smelling her hair. His hands were placed on her hips and he relished the feel of her curves in his hands. He had her hands wrapped around his neck and her head rested in the crook of his neck. They stayed in that position for at least 5 Mississippi's before Penny pulled away, tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Leonard asked. ""Y-you… you're going to leave me… like Kurt d-did… a-and… I… I h-have… a head… ache…" Penny said between sobs. "W-w0why w-would you think that?" Leonard asked her in complete shock. Penny couldn't reply because she was sobbing so hard and she moved t hug him again. After a short while, Penny's sobbing subsided and Leonard pulled away.

Penny looked at him with sad eyes and moved back towards him. "Penny, I have to go to…" Penny cut him off by pressing her lips gently onto his and when she pulled away, he said "Or I could take the day off and spend it with you." Eagerly, Penny nodded and he pulled away. "I'll be right back." He told her and ran across the hall. "Sheldon, I can't bring you to…" he called but then he realized that Sheldon was not there. Looking around, he also realized that he had neglected his meal.