Chapter Eight

"What do you mean you're not Sheldon?" Leonard walked around the island, looking more lucid then he had a moment ago.

"I mean I'm Lee! Sheldon didn't take over like he normally does and he is still closed off from me." Lee started to pace around the living room, pushing his hair back in frustration. "This has never happened before. Sheldon has always come back, after he has rationalized what he should do next. He never leaves for more than a day." Penny hated to see Lee so distressed. It made her heart wrench for Sheldon that he couldn't stand coming back to reality. That he was so depressed that couldn't manage to face the world.

"Well, it hasn't been an entire day yet. You still have about" she checked the clock on the microwave "four hours, right? Maybe he'll show back up then" Penny saw a little of the stress seep out her boys shoulders. Leonard smiled encouragingly at Lee.

"See? Penny's right. Sheldon is not someone we should be rushing. He'll just rebel against it on principle." He clapped before wincing. "On that note, I am going to go try and sleep off this hangover. You weren't even there most of the night Lee and I still got wasted. Where did you guys go?"

Penny blushed at the thought of last night. The thought of Sheldon's glistening abs...no! Lee, she meant Lee. Sheldon was the whackadoodle that lived across from her. Lee was someone she could be with. But Lee was a facet of Sheldon. Did that mean…

"Never mind. I probably really don't want to know anyways. I'm going to go into the soothing darkness of my room. I'll see you later Penny" turning to Lee, he clapped him on the shoulder. "Once again, it's been fun Lee but I hope I won't be seeing you later. No offense." Leonard walked to his room and Penny heard the door shut lightly. Turning back to Lee she noticed how nervous he still looked.

"How about we go get some breakfast? You can't start the day without the proper nourishment. Sheldon would probably have an aneurism if he knew how off his schedule he is." Lee cracked a small smile at her joke, his appreciation at her attempt to placate him was evident in his eyes. Was Sheldon this expressive with his eyes? She had never taken the time to really look Sheldon in the eye to notice.

"I'm go change and then we're gonna head out ok?" Penny asked while back pedaling out of the apartment. Lee nodded before heading back to Sheldon's room. Penny hurried through getting ready. She didn't have much time left with Lee and she wanted to make the most out of it. Pulling her hoodie of the chair, she walked out the door to see Lee waiting for her next to the stairs.

"Ready to go, milady?" Lee smiled charmingly.

"Yep, let's hit it" Penny bounced down the steps with Lee following at a much more sedated gait behind her. They fell into a companionable silence, after deciding to eat at the small bistro a few blocks down.

While walking to the bistro, Penny kept thinking about how weird it was going to be to keep this a secret from Sheldon. To pretend that she hadn't seen him bumping and grinding on the stage last night. To pretend that there wasn't another personality dwelling in his subconscious.

"Penny. It's going to be hard but keeping it from Sheldon will be easier then you think" Penny started at his statement. How did he know what she was thinking? He smirked at her before tapping his skull. "I'm still a certified genius, Penny, even as a different personality. There were few things that you would be thinking of. I merely guessed at the most probable." They had made it to the bistro by the time he had finished. The hostess gave an appreciative look at Lee before sending Penny a nasty one. Penny responded in kind.

They were sat outside on the terrace and were left with the menus. Penny was thinking about what she wanted when a notion came to her.

"What happens if Sheldon doesn't come back in " she checked her phone "three and a half hours?"

"I'll take over the world and keep you as a concubine" Lee remarked nonchalantly, without looking up from his menu. This startled Penny before she saw the grin Lee was hiding behind his menu.

"Jerk! Be serious!" she smacked him with her menu while he laughed at her.

"Seriously tho, I really don't know. Sheldon has never not come back. He always has after one of his episodes. His mind works too fast for him to not to decide on a course of action fast. He will" it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself more than her so Penny let it slide. She reached across to squeeze his hand to support him. He gave a small smile before throwing himself into maintaining small talk. He kept it at anything that couldn't be taken back to the 'Sheldon Issue' but they were both still thinking about it.

They headed back, after deciding on watching a movie at the guys' house. Incase Sheldon showed up anytime; they wanted him to be in familiar surroundings when he came back. Penny sat in her normal spot with Lee sitting in Sheldon's. They put in "Dr. Who" even though both of them had seen it multiple times. This led to both of them starting to drift off. Penny noted that Lee had fallen asleep before she decided to close her eyes. 'Just five minutes' she told herself. She didn't notice that she had leaned against Lee and that he had pulled her closer to him.

When Penny woke up, they were laying with their legs entwined, with Penny on top on Lee's torso. 'We must have dozed off for a sec' she thought as she stretched a bit. Penny then noticed Lee's eyes flickering open. 'Well, Lee will be gone soon. Might as well get it out of my system.' Smiling lazily, she leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't until she noticed he wasn't reciprocating that she realized something was wrong. Pulling back she saw the shock, confusion, and something she couldn't quite place.

"Penny, I must ask that you desist with your advances. That and I would appreciate it greatly if you could tell me why we are in such a position to begin with. I don't recall any reason for you to be in such close proximity with my person"

'Uh oh!' is all Penny could think before she darted off of him and out the door.