That evening, she set her alarm for eight AM the next morning, which no longer seemed quite so early. Since dating Sheldon, she didn't go out drinking and clubbing until the wee hours of the morning. After she got dressed in grubby old clothes, she tackled her apartment, trying to look at it through Sheldon's eyes. Then she got to work, cleaning, vacuuming and disinfecting everything. She ordered a label maker and drawer dividers online. Sure, she had no idea what she was doing when it came to organization, but she would figure it out. Next, she printed out a registration form for a remedial physics class at a community college. There was no way she would ever be able to understand his work at the level he did, but she could at least try to learn the difference between a Boson-Higgs particle and a black hole.**

The next day, she started in on her closet. It was clear that all too often over the years, she had bought clothes or shoes she couldn't afford, for the temporary boost it gave her ego. She grabbed some trash bags and started filling them with whatever clothes she hadn't worn in a while. When she was done, she actually liked the look of her closet much better. It was a lot easier to see what clothes she had now. It was harder for her to sort through her beloved shoes, but after a few hours, she had one pile to keep, and another group that she hoped she could sell online. Most of the shoes in the latter group had been only worn once or twice. It was hardly like she could wait tables in five-inch designer pumps anyway.

When she was done, she sat back on her heels and surveyed her progress with a sense of satisfaction. Then her smile faded. As far as she knew, Sheldon still hadn't come back to his apartment. She needed to find out how he was. He had to know that she didn't want them to break up. All this time, she had stubbornly refused to consider the possibility that they were finished for good. Maybe if he just heard her out, he would be willing to give her a second chance. She tried to call him again but got sent straight to voicemail. Sighing, she hoped he hadn't blocked her number.

After several more days, she was starting to get worried. Sheldon had never cut her out of his life before, no matter how upset he had been. She refused to leave any more messages; obviously, he had no intention of responding to them. Instead, she called Leonard. He agreed to meet her for coffee to discuss the "Sheldon situation", but when he showed up, he wasn't alone.

"Priya! I didn't know you were coming, too," Penny said pointedly, baring her teeth in what could be construed as a smile.

Priya's smile didn't reach her eyes either as she replied in a saccharine tone, "I'm just here to lend moral support."

They found a booth tucked in a quiet corner. The three of them ordered their drinks, although Penny knew her cup of coffee mostly just acted as a prop. If she wrapped both hands around the mug, she was less likely to fidget. She was loath to let Priya see how much the break-up had affected her.

"How's he doing?" she asked once the harried-looking waitress dropped off their drinks and left.

Leonard frowned. "He's been back at work all this week. You know, he actually called in sick for three days after you broke up. I have no idea what he's working on now; for all I know, he's just scribbling nonsense on a whiteboard, but at least he's showing up to work. And he's eating, at least a little. We take turns bringing him food at lunchtime. He won't come to the cafeteria yet. I think he's afraid he'll run into Leslie Winkle or Kripke. You know how much they both love to give him a hard time."

"Did he say anything to you about what happened?" she asked in a low voice, glancing over at Priya. She needn't have worried; Priya had her head turned away, watching the other coffee shop patrons with a bored expression on her face.

"Not much," Leonard replied with a helpless shrug. "He said he repeated my mistake. He didn't say what he meant by that, but a couple of months ago, he told us that, uh… that he was very serious about your relationship. From what he's said, I guess you weren't any more ready for 'serious' with him than you were with me."

Priya shot her a quick, hard glance that was brimming with hostility.

"It's complicated," Penny said quickly, unwilling to explain further. "Besides, he deserves someone better, someone more like him."

"Are you kidding me?" Leonard cried loudly. He didn't see the antagonistic glare Priya shot at him. "When we found out you were dating, none of us could believe it, and it wasn't because we thought he could do better. It was because we thought you could. I mean, if you and I couldn't make it work, what chance did a crazy bastard like him have anyway?"

Penny tensed. "He's not crazy," she snapped.

Leonard held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I don't get what's going on between the two of you. He broke up with you, but he's the one who's acting like he got dumped. You sound like you still have feelings for him." He sighed and shook his head. "If you want my advice - and I'm not sure you do - leave him alone. Give him time to get back into his old routine and his schedule. He never had a girlfriend before, and he needs time to adjust to being single again."

Penny stared at him, stricken. "He's not," she murmured.

"Uh… sorry? Not what?"

"He's not single," she said slowly. "I've been looking at this all wrong."

Leonard tilted his head to the side. "I'm not following you," he said, squinting at her in confusion.

Her eyes widened. "I get it now," she said. A huge smile spread across her face. "I know what to do. Thanks, Leonard, you're the best. Gotta go!"

Priya was also watching her with a blank look of surprise, but Penny ignored her as she grabbed her purse and dashed out of the shop.

Priya turned to her boyfriend. "What was that all about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in a supercilious manner.

He stared after Penny and slowly shook his head. "I honestly have no idea."

Penny felt she owed Leonard a debt of gratitude, because she thought she finally understood what had gone wrong in her relationship with Sheldon. She'd started dating him almost reluctantly, as if she were just waiting for things to fall apart, while in his mind, they were married. He had been treating her as if she was his wife. The changes in his routine, the compliments, even the steamy makeout sessions, were all his way of showing her his commitment to her. And she'd been so afraid of their relationship failing that she never did anything for him in return. It was no wonder he'd gotten frustrated, no wonder he thought she didn't love him. But she did. It was why she hadn't been interested in dating anyone else after waking up in Sheldon's bed. It was why she had lied to try to keep him in her life. And it was why she now knew she would do whatever it took to convince him that she loved him.

Sheldon surveyed his surroundings with a grimace of distaste. He was indebted to Leonard for letting him "crash" on the sofa. Breaking up with Penny was something he never imagined he would do. Since he had also never imagined he would fall in love, get married, or have his heart broken, perhaps he had merely come full circle. He was still trying to come to terms with the failure of his marriage. The best approach seemed to be for him to bury himself in his work. Unfortunately, staying over at Leonard and Priya's apartment only exacerbated what was already a miserable situation. In his opinion, Priya delighted in making his life a living hell. She refused to follow his meal schedule or his bathroom routine. He was sure she deliberately seduced Leonard some mornings, just to leave him waiting by the front door. He would clutch the strap of his messenger bag and scowl at their bedroom door, wishing he had earplugs. The final insult was that the couch was too short to properly accommodate his six-foot frame.

He had to go home; it was time. The problem was that he lived right across the hall from Penny. He had no idea how he was supposed to act around her. How could they return to mere friendship? He was certain he could no longer see her date someone else with equanimity.

Bending down, he picked up a sheaf of papers that were lying on top of his packed bags. He had printed the documents online this morning. Although Leonard still had no idea about the marriage, he had been surprisingly gracious about the break-up. Despite his predictions, not once had he said, "I told you so". Also, if he was planning to try to win Penny back, he hadn't said anything about it. For the first time, Sheldon wondered if Leonard had experienced any sadness or pain when his best friend started dating his ex. It had never occurred to him before. If Leonard dumped Priya and got back together with Penny… he bit his lip, hard. His father always told him that only sissies cry. He'd never understood that statement, but as a child, he'd gotten the lesson literally pounded into him that excesses of emotion were only for women. He supposed that of all the people Penny could date, in some regards, Leonard was the least objectionable option. Yet his fist tightened on the papers in his hand, creasing them. He wasn't the complacent man that his best friend was. There was no way he could calmly step aside and watch Penny and Leonard resume their relationship. Maybe MIT was in need of a theoretical physicist.

"Ready to go?"

Speak of the devil. The phrase from Sheldon's childhood came unbidden to his mind. Quickly, he shoved the papers into his bag and faced his friend. The shorter man's face was creased with something that Sheldon suspected was concern. He regarded Leonard for a long moment.

"Are you planning to resume your relationship with Penny, now that I have terminated our association?"

Leonard's eyebrows shot up. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"Some would call it poetic justice. I had no idea how you would be affected when Penny and I…" He stopped and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "You told me as much. You said she was your backup plan."

Leonard glanced wildly around the apartment. "Come on, that was months ago!" He stepped closer and said in a low voice, "Look, when I first moved in with Priya, we had some problems. You're not the only one who has a hard time with change, but now, we've worked it out. Priya and I are really serious about each other. We've been talking about getting married, although neither of us are sure we're ready to take that step."

"Trust me, it would be a mistake," Sheldon was quick to interject.

Leonard scowled at him. "That's what you said when I was dating Penny, too." He sighed. "I don't care what weird hang-ups you have. We're always going to be friends, even if we both had feelings for the same woman. So I'll promise you this: I won't pursue a relationship with Penny, even if things don't work out with Priya."

"Thank you, Leonard," Sheldon said quietly. He rarely expressed grateful to anyone, but now that he understood how Leonard must have felt, he appreciated the show of solidarity.

Leonard shrugged. "You know what they say about the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Penny and I had lots of chances to make it work between us, but she just didn't love me the way I loved her. Priya's beautiful and intelligent, and she wants to marry me."

"Then why don't you propose?"

"I'd say it's not that simple... but I guess I can't really think of a good reason not to." He paused, reached out and patted Sheldon briefly on the shoulder. "I'm sorry you got hurt. I was always skeptical about you and Penny, but I never wanted you to suffer."

Casting an oblique glance at him, Sheldon asked quietly, "Didn't you?"

Leonard's brow furrowed. If Sheldon could have read his friend's mind, he would have been surprised. For Leonard, theirs was a complicated friendship, tainted by a one-sided rivalry more than a decade old that was fueled by Leonard's inferiority complex. Now that Sheldon had been humbled, he felt he was in a position to be magnanimous. "Not like this," he finally replied. "I never imagined you of all people could have your heart broken." Another pause. "Can I ask you something? If you loved her, why were you the one to end things?"

Sheldon's expression turned bleak. "History repeated itself. She didn't love me the way I loved her either."

Leonard bent down and shouldered his friend's bag. "For what it's worth, I know exactly how you feel."

**A/N: Penny refers to a "Boson-Higgs particle", but actually it's a Higgs boson particle. She called it that because she's still rather ignorant of physics.