Chapter 22
It was weeks after the party before there was any more development on the alter problem.
Penny and Sheldon had returned to Texas, but with extracted promises to not only call more, but to come see them more often. Penny had loved the time she spent with Sheldon's family. They were loving, quirky, and all around Texan. Plus, when Sheldon was in Texas, his drawl was more defined. It was with sadness that they left Texas to return to California.
However, Penny had her hands full when she got back. The transition from love interest to actual boyfriend was an endeavor that Penny was fully amenable to helping flourish. They had not moved anywhere from kissing, but Penny felt as if they were making leaps and bounds. Sheldon had actually grabbed her hand when she made him watch "The Strangers" with her. His reasoning was "I wanted to remind you that it was fiction, and that you did not have to be perturbed by the movie." Penny would have believed him if he hadn't shrieked when the villain was in the background. It was the slowest moving relationship Penny had been in since she was 13, but she found it sweet. Sheldon's Texan charm came to the forefront when it came to chivalry. Opened doors, pulled out chairs, and presents were soon a daily part of Penny's life. The most recent bout of flowers were in a vase on her coffee table.
However, the lull in alter issues only served for more planning on Penny's part. She had bought herself a whiteboard for her apartment, which had all the alters' names on it (except James, who was crossed off since he'd been assimilated), and her plan of attack for all of them. The board was full of potential ideas of their creation, and plans for assimilation back to Sheldon.
Sheldon was working again, but it was via internet interactions. He was on both the Harvard and MIT payroll, as both a practicing Theoretical Physicist, and a professor for some online classes for both schools. Both universities had jumped at the chance of having Sheldon as a part of their faculty, and were more than willing to work with the issue that he lived in California. For now at least. They were already discussing the idea of Sheldon moving out to one of the schools' locations when he decided which one he would rather to work for permanently.
Penny tried to not to think of Sheldon leaving, but with apparent interest in his work she knew it was inevitable. 'We'll cross that bridge when we get to it', Penny thought as she continued to make waffles. Penny liked to force Sheldon out of routine, not only to shake him up a bit, but to see his small smile when one of her endeavors was actually a good idea.
The scent of waffles lured the both the men in the apartment to the kitchen. Leonard had been more then supportive about her relationship advancement with his roommate. "Just don't have sex in the living room" was his only remark on the matter. Sheldon had then gone off on the semantics of 'living room sex' that left both Leonard and Penny feeling more than a little bit awkward.
"Good morning guys! How'd you sleep?" Penny beamed at them as they made their way into the small kitchen. Leonard merely grunted as he walked directly to the coffee maker. Sheldon, however, made his way beside Penny, and after a moment of contemplation, he kissed her on the cheek. Penny's smile brightened at his display of PDA. No matter how small, it was progress. Sheldon nodded in return before making his way back around the kitchen island. With a small hum, Penny resumed her work on finishing the waffles.
Penny handed out the waffles to guys, turned off the stove, and made her way over to the couch. Since it was Saturday, and Penny forced Sheldon to Tivo the new "Dr. Who"s for her, they spent a leisurely morning catching up on the newest episode. Penny leaned up against Sheldon on the couch, and smiled when he put his arm around her.
She looked over to Leonard and saw that he noticed. He winked at her, and turned his focus back to the screen. 'I need to find Leonard a sweet girl. Hmmm' Penny started to go through her list of nice girls she knew. Sadly, it was rather short list, but there was one girl that she thought could be perfect. She was a little brusque on some issues, but normally quite sweet. 'I'll call her later' she thought before turning her attention back to the screen.
An hour later, Penny extracted herself from Sheldon's loose embrace but planted a sweet kiss on his forehead. Gathering the plates, she remarked to the boys about her plans for the day. "Well, I'm gonna go shopping with a few girlfriends. I need some new shoes."
"Penny, I do not believe that you need more shoes. I believe the word you should be using is 'want.' You want new shoes." Sheldon remarked, as he sat down at his laptop. Penny rolled her eyes at this, before turning her gaze to Leonard.
"I'll be out for the better part of the day. I'm gonna make a stop at the grocery store if you need anything."
Both guys politely declined her offer, and Penny made her way back to her apartment. 'It's good thing I am going out. I love the guys, but sometimes I need to be with my girls' was her last thought on the issue before she jumped in the shower.
A few hours and couple hundred dollars later, Penny, Bernadette, Tara, and Bree were sitting around drinking coffee, and discussing their lives as of late.
"He's just so smart and sweet. That and he has such a great style" Bernadette rambled on over her cup of coffee. Penny smiled encouragingly, didn't remark on the 'great style' remark, and tried to wrap her head around the whole Bernadette/Howard thing. She knew that it was her fault for introducing them, but that they would actually hit it off was bizarre. 'If she's happy, I am' was her final thought before she moved her attention to Tara.
"Tara, how's life a PA to a famous person?" Penny was trying to be polite, but normally Tara made her want to scream into a pillow. She was very uppity and thought herself to be better than the other girls. The only reason she was on the outing was due to the fact that she had invited herself along.
"It's fine" Tara sighed, "I am constantly given expensive gifts from my employer, and we travel the world. I would tell you more, but I wouldn't want you to get jealous" Penny ground her teeth at this comment, but Bree didn't have such reservations.
"Well, then you can cram it up your cram-hole. No one wants to hear about you and you're secret life. I'd rather hear about Penny and her new beau!" Bree was from New York City so she had no reservations about putting people in their place.
"Just cause you are not a…"
"What? An escort? Please, honey, we know what you actually do. You are not fooling anyone here" Bree's remark, while true, was something that they were trying not to bring up. Penny had seen Tara's picture in one of Howard's old magazines he had left. Escort for the rich and famous. Not exactly a PA, but L.A. is a fickle mistress.
Tara gave an indignant scoff, grabbed her purse, and made for the door. Bree looked after her with a look between boredom and smugness. 'She was equal parts bitter and sweet', Penny noted, as Bree finally turned her attention back to Penny.
"So, Penny. How is this genius guy that you are getting with? Apparently, you are into the smart guys as of late. Something you'd like to share with the class?" Bree smirked over her coffee, and looked at Penny expectantly.
"He's wonderful. He has problems, but who doesn't. Sheldon doesn't try to change me. Either in sweat pants or miniskirt, he thinks I'm beautiful. It's nice not to have to be something that I'm not to please a man." Penny flushed a bit at the thinly veiled cover-up she was working with. They didn't need to know about the whole alter issue just yet. It wasn't her secret to tell.
"I really like that Penny. Wish I could find a guy like that. Maybe I should start looking at the smart guys."
Penny noted her opportunity and struck, "Well, he does have this friend. I dated him briefly, but it just didn't work out. He's really sweet, nerdy, but really cool. I think you'd really like him. He's a little short but so are you" Bree snorted at this due to the fact that she wasn't even 5ft. "If you want, I could introduce you. I.." Penny was cut off by the sound of her phone getting a text. Smiling apologetically to the girls, she checked it and blanched. The test read as such: Altr issue. U may wnt 2 come back soon but its just J.
On her feet in an instant, Penny made her apologies and bolted for the door. She jumped in her car, cranked the engine, and sped off to the apartment. 'J? James was back? But I thought he had assimilated back into Sheldon! Was it a lie?' thoughts continued to race through Penny's head as she screeched into the parking lot of the apartment complex. She raced up the stairs, and bursting into the guys' apartment, hair in a mess and panting. It wasn't what she expected to see.
Lying on the floor, play with LEGOS, was Leonard and Sheldon. They were diligently making a large tower. They both turned around the door slamming open. Leonard smiled at her knowingly. Getting up, he brushed off his pants. "Penny, I didn't think you'd get here so fast." He motioned to Sheldon's form, who was trying to hide himself behind Leonard's legs. "I'd like you to meet Johnny."
***Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think! Much Love!***
