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This chapter is the week after Penny's therapy session
I have added a little bit of drama/angst as I like that sort of thing
It was very late on Wednesday evening and Sheldon realised that Amy's birthday was coming up in two weeks time, so was looking for ideas on the internet when the perfect thing came up, he booked it then went to speak to Amy about it who was sitting on the sofa watching a monkey documentary on TV that she had recorded and sat down next to her
'Amy for your birthday, do you know what you would like to do?
Amy paused the TV and turned to Sheldon
'Well having worked so hard recently with setting up more addictions studies for the future as well as teaching some classes and my own lab work, I will be taking a well deserved day off' replied Amy
'OK that works with me, I have arranged for us to spend the weekend of your birthday at the Langham Huntington Spa hotel here in Pasadena'
'Oh Sheldon that sounds perfect, I have never been there, what days are we going? Asked Amy as she kissed him happily
'Well as your birthday is on the Friday I have arranged for us to leave here on the Friday at midday and we will be picked up by Limousine and the Limousine will also take us back here when we return on the Sunday afternoon
Amy squealed and hugged Sheldon in delight
'I also have a list of treatments here that are available so pick any that you like' said Sheldon as he passed her the list
Amy looked at the list and noticed something
'You do know there is a Gentleman's Retreat listed here as well?
'Yes I was thinking that whatever you choose to do I could have something similar done as they all appear to take up a couple of hours or more and I would be bored on my own doing nothing!'
'Well I like the Lady's Retreat spa and the |Deep Tissue Massage'
'Well you can have both' are you sure there aren't any others you might want to do? Asked Sheldon
'Sheldon this is plenty and I can see the prices and I don't want you to spend too much money on me when we are supposed to be saving for a house'
'Amy it's ok because I have a contingency fund which I always use for things like this and you are more than worth it' replied Sheldon
'Oh you are lovely' said Amy then she noticed another treatment available
'Did you know there is a honeymooners retreat here as well, maybe we can come here for a couple of days after we marry' said Amy
'Maybe we shall see, also I was going to book the room that comes as part of the spa package deal but I found a much better room than the one that was being offered and I want you to relax and enjoy yourself' said Sheldon
He showed Amy pictures of the room he had booked which had a king sized four poster bed with a separate living area and a luxury bathroom suite and patio doors onto their own private space overlooking the hotel gardens
'You really are spoiling me Sheldon and I love you for that' said Amy as she reached over to him and kissed and cuddled him
'You deserve to be spoiled and I have booked us in for Saturday afternoon tea with a selection of cakes, sandwiches and pastries, although there is a large selection of teas and hot chocolate flavours so whatever you want you just say'
'Wow what did I ever do to deserve such a generous boyfriend like you Sheldon'
'Well as I say you deserve everything, you put up with me for a long time when I was avoiding all forms of physical contact and as I have mentioned before we can now reap the rewards' said Sheldon
'I didn't put up with you in the way you say it Sheldon, I was always interested in you and I may have tried to push you along a bit but ultimately the wait has sure been worth it' said Amy as she leaned against Sheldon who put his arm around her and kissed her passionately
Sheldon stroked Amy's cheek and was looking into her eyes when he spoke
'I love you Amy and I want you to have the best birthday ever'
'I think that is guaranteed' laughed Amy as they kissed again
At that point Leonard then returned after his date with Alice, they had been out twice now and Leonard was taking things slowly, he didn't want to get hurt again
'Hi Leonard, how was your date? Asked Amy
'Very good thank you, Alice is a lot of fun and that's just what I need right now'
'Well you have been through a rough time Leonard' said Sheldon
'Did you hear that Penny and Raj have gone into business with the Penny Blossoms? She is going to go for an audition at the home shopping network but Raj has set up everything for her already and Penny is giving Raj half the profits as he is the one funding the whole thing' said Amy
'That's nice, I hope they are successful and that's very generous of Penny to offer so much profit' said Leonard
'Yes she mentioned that Raj was quick to say yes to helping and that made Penny decide it, they are looking into renting or buying space to do the manufacturing process so that everything is in place should the audition go well'
'Raj hasn't said anything to me about it but I will wish him luck when I see him at work tomorrow' said Leonard
'Leonard just to let you know 2 weeks from Friday, Amy and I will be away for the weekend celebrating her birthday so you will have the place to yourself at least until the Sunday afternoon
'Oh where are you going?
'The Langham Spa' said Sheldon
'Very nice, I hope you enjoy it' said Leonard
'We have not had Chinese and vintage video night for a couple of weeks, I think this Friday would be perfect to do it' said Sheldon
'Sure why not, I'm in' said Leonard
'I will text the others then to see if they want to come' said Sheldon
'That's fine now it's getting late so I will see you both in the morning, good night' said Leonard as he got up from his chair and walked to his room
'Do you think he's ok? Asked Amy
'How do you mean? replied Sheldon
'I don't think he's over Penny, he changes the subject a lot when her name comes up
'Well there isn't much we can do about it for now, from my very limited knowledge of relationships it would appear some people take longer than others to get over people, maybe he's dealing with it in his own way, said Sheldon
'Yes you might be right but I think in a few weeks when he's ready I might have a chat with him, as a neurobiologist I can get into peoples minds and get them to open up'
'Like you did with me, vixen! Said Sheldon
'Of course, come on lets go to bed' said Amy as she leaned over to Sheldon and kissed him
Friday night
Sheldon and Amy along with the rest of the group were waiting for Leonard to arrive with the Chinese food and were chatting in general
'So Penny do you know when your Home Shopping audition is yet? Asked Amy
'Yes it's going to be next month but thanks to Raj's great work modifying the website, we have had a quite a few sales already'
'Oh that's great' said Bernadette
'Yes Raj and I decided to splash out on some champagne to celebrate so please take a a glass, I wont be having any, we know what alcohol does to me' laughed Penny
'Penny I don't think it's a laughing matter' said Sheldon sternly
'Yes sorry you are right' said Penny
Just then Leonard walked into the apartment with the food followed by Alice
'Hi guys this is Alice, Alice this is everybody' said Leonard as he set the food down on the coffee table
The group introduced themselves to Alice including Penny who was shaken to see her there
'That's a cute flower in your hair Penny, where did you get it from? Asked Alice
'Oh I make them' said Penny trying to be polite
'Really? Could I buy one from you? I like quirky things' asked Alice
'You don't have to buy one from me, I can give you it for nothing as you are a friend of Leonard's, I have a selection of colours so whichever one you would like just say and I can go get it for you'
'Oh I don't want you to go to any trouble' said Alice
'Its fine, I just live across the hall, what colour do you want?
'I like your colour' said Alice
Penny went back to her apartment closely followed by Bernadette who could see Penny was upset
'How could he do this to me Bernie, he's bringing girls back here when we have only been apart less than 2 months and she's gorgeous'
'Penny did you really expect him to sit around moping for you? And besides it is his apartment said Bernadette
'Its like he's showing off in revenge for what I did to him'
'Oh don't be silly, Leonard would never do that and Alice seems nice enough and they have only been on two dates not counting this one'
'Yeah for now, let me just get her a blossom and we can go back'
Unfortunately for Penny it got worse when she went back into 4a as Alice and Leonard were sitting in the armchair together flirting and touching, Penny felt like she was physically in pain just from watching
'Here you are Alice, I hope you enjoy it'
'Thanks, hey Leonard why don't you put in for me' asked Alice
'Sure why not' said Leonard as he gently moved her hair away from her face and put the blossom in.
Alice stood up and showed it off to everybody while Penny quietly seethed inside, she knew that should be her hair that Leonard should be playing with and she hated herself for what she had done to him
'See' said Leonard to Amy and Sheldon 'I told you she was a lot of fun'
'Your not wrong Leonard' said Amy 'Alice do you want a drink?
'Oh beer please if you have any'
'Sure' said Amy as she went to the fridge and passed Alice a beer
The rest of the evening passed quickly with the games but Penny noticed that Leonard and Alice had gone to his room and she could hear them laughing and talking
'I'm going to need a double therapy session next week to get over this' said Penny to the room in general
'Why? Asked Amy' I thought you were dealing with certain things'
'Yes but I didn't expect this to happen, it's not fair'
'Penny nobody forced you to stay and if you want to stay then I suggest you stop moaning or go home, you know I have no time for any of this nonsense' said Sheldon
'I wouldn't expect you to understand Sheldon, you never had your heart broken' replied Penny
'Penny have you got a short memory or something because it sure looks like it, you are the one that caused all the problems you are currently experiencing so don't bring them up here and then try to blame others, Leonard is entitled to do whatever he wants without your permission' said Sheldon
'Come on Penny let me take you back to your place before things are said that can't be taken back said Bernadette
'Sheldon I'm sorry' said Penny as Bernadette dragged her out of the door
'Penny just go' said Sheldon
'Penny what the hell is wrong with you, why are you being like this? Asked Bernadette back at Penny's
'Its just hard seeing Leonard with somebody that's all and I know I was just out of order there but he seems so comfortable with her' said Penny
'Look Penny, Leonard is just having some fun with a cute girl, there is nothing wrong with that, you don't know if its going anywhere and neither does he so stop worrying about it and focus on yourself, that's what the therapy sessions are about are they not?
'Yes I have to work out my problems for me before I can focus on anything else'
'Well then, look lets go out tomorrow for some retail therapy, you have got a bit of extra money coming in now so you can treat yourself without getting into debt like before'
'Ok thank you for being a good friend'
'Your welcome' said Bernadette smiling at Penny
'I need to apologise to Sheldon, can you get him for me, I don't want to go back over there' said Penny
'Sure' said Bernadette and went to get Sheldon leaving the door open for Sheldon to come straight in which he did
'Sheldon I'm so sorry for kicking off back there, I know I caused the problems and I'm trying to deal with them but its hard'
'That's fine Penny but just sort yourself out and don't ever bring that behaviour to my apartment again' said Sheldon
'Wow since when did you become so forceful' said Penny
'Oh just since I stopped letting people walk all over me, Leonard is good people Penny and soon enough you will realise that, now if that is all then I bid you goodnight' said Sheldon as he left
Saturday
Penny rounded up Amy, Bernadette and Alex to go shopping with her and got a suit to wear for her audition and some tops she really liked and she was realizing she was glad to have the girls with her and how close she had come to losing her best friend in Amy
Leonard had agreed to meet Alice again who was coming to his apartment for the afternoon and arrived in the lobby at the same time as Amy and Penny walked in, there was a slight unease as the three of them walked up the stairs
'Hi Alice, how are you doing' asked Amy
'Yes good thanks, Leonard is going to show me his comics, he has some that I don't and we talked of doing a swap' said Alice showing them the bag she was carrying
'That sounds like fun for you then' laughed Amy 'Comics don't interest me, I leave that all to Sheldon and Leonard
'What about you Penny, do you like them? Alice noticed Penny was very quiet
'Not particularly' said Penny as they reached their floor 'I will see you tomorrow Amy for breakfast, bye Alice'
Amy and Sheldon were going out for dinner so Leonard and Alice had the apartment to themselves and Alice decided to bring up the topic of Penny
'Leonard what's the deal with Penny, I notice things and yesterday she was very polite to me but it almost seemed forced'
'We dated on and off for 6 years and I broke it off with her a couple of months ago and she's not dealing with it very well, but to be honest I didn't notice anything wrong' said Leonard
'Of course you wouldn't notice, you're a man' laughed Alice 'Why did you break up anyway?
'Do we have to talk about this? Leonard wanted to change the topic and quickly
'No but it might help to talk, 6 years is a long time to be with somebody and I know you don't get over them that quickly'
'Ok I went to work on a boat in the North Sea on a project for 4 months but Penny tried to seduce Sheldon and failed while I was away, she told me about it when I returned but she doesn't seem to think she had done anything wrong and since I finished it with her, we have barely spoken' said Leonard
'I see and am I the first girl you have dated since?
'Yes' said Leonard shortly
'Lets be honest here, you are not over her are you and she's the same'
'Alice I really don't know how I feel but the few times we have gone out I have been happy and I meant it when I said to Amy and Sheldon that we have fun together and that's all I want at the moment'
'I'm not a rebound then because if I am then maybe we should stop right now before either of us gets in too deep'
'No of course not'
'Good now lets go get these comics to swap' Alice smiled at Leonard and gave him a hug, she sensed that Leonard was vulnerable and decided not to push him anymore on the subject of Penny
Cheers for reading
Short chapter I know but I have more things lined up for the next 2 chapters which include Penny's audition and Amy's birthday weekend
