A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? But, like I said in The Pauli Exclusion Principle Disproval, I've not abandoned this story. It's way too much fun to explore their relationship evolving in this alternate universe.
Penny's happiness that she'd felt all week following their vacation had completely vanished by the end of the weekend. Not because of anything Leonard had said or done, or something that had happened. But just now, Penny had suddenly come to the realization Andy would be leaving in less than two weeks. "Be right back," she said to Leonard, as she stood up and made her way up stairs, towards Andy's room.
She knocked on the door, knowing he had only been there for a minute or so, and couldn't possible be asleep already. "Sweetie? Can I come in?"
"Sure, mom," came the reply within a second, and Penny opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Wordlessly she grabbed her son and pulled him in close, holding on tightly.
"Mom?"
"I just needed this," Penny said. "Just... holding my baby boy before he has to go and learn a lot of very complicated things."
"Mom..."
It seemed Andy had not yet realized fully he'd be leaving soon, the emotion in his voice making it very obvious it made him very sad. "I wanna see if we can spend some time together, just the two of us," Penny said. "Just you and I, doing some normal mother and son stuff."
"Like what?"
Penny couldn't help a tiny smile from forming, happy to hear he didn't seem to care about being seen hanging with his mother by his friends. "I don't know, go out for lunch, maybe go see a movie together. Just something we both like."
Leonard looked toward the stairs when he heard Penny come back down. She'd been up there for at least fifteen minutes, and Leonard was pretty sure it was because she had needed to be with her son for a while. He could certainly understand that, despite his own mother never even shown the tiniest bit of sadness at the prospect of him leaving home to go to university.
Unlike his own family, Penny and Andy loved each other, loved their family, and were not afraid to show and express their love. Sure enough, once Penny entered the living room, he could see redness in her eyes, and remnants of tear streaks on her cheeks. Wordlessly he held out an arm, inviting her in for a cuddle, an offer Penny seemed happy to accept as she quickly nestled into him.
"I'm gonna miss him so much," she said after a few minutes. "I mean, I'm proud of him, of course, and I know this is the best thing for him, but he's still my little man, you know?"
Leonard nodded but, except for a gentle squeeze, didn't respond, not quite sure what he could say that would make her feel better about it.
She sighed. "I wish he'd picked CalTech."
Leonard smiled. "Even though I work there, Princeton does have a better physics program, at least educationally."
Penny chuckled. "That's what Andy told me when he said he'd preferred going there if he'd get accepted to both. Mostly because his physics hero had gone there."
Leonard tensed slightly.
"Relax, I'm not blaming you," Penny said, clearly feeling his reaction. "Though I can't promise I won't throw that in your face every now and then when Andy's on the other side of the country."
Leonard grinned, relaxing at the obvious teasing tone. "I think I can handle that."
A few more minutes passed in silence, before Penny spoke again. "I told him I wanted to do some normal mother-son stuff, while he's still here. I'm taking him out for lunch on Friday, so I won't come by for our weekly fun in your lab."
Leonard chuckled. "I think I can go without one or two visits."
"Already tired of sex with me, Dr. Hofstadter?"
Leonard shook his head. "Have you had sex with you?"
"Sadly, I have," she replied. "It's not bad, but couldn't hold a candle to what you and your buddy can do."
Leonard chuckled. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if you need to have a night in with Andy, I could probably crash at Raj's place for a night or two."
"Leonard, you don't have to do that."
"No, maybe it's good to just have a night or two were you two can be together without me being the third wheel who gets in the way."
Penny's head lifted away from his shoulder where it had been since she'd joined him on the couch. "You wouldn't be in the way! You're part of this family now."
Leonard placed his lips against her forehead. "Thank you, but I really think it would be a good idea for you two to have a quiet night at home."
Penny was watching Leonard sleep, her mind going a mile a minute. He really was a sweet man, but she was having doubts about agreeing with his proposal to stay at his friend's apartment for one or two nights. Of course she was looking forward to just be home with her son, just the two of them, but Leonard was her boyfriend. The place in her heart reserved for him was equal in size to that of Andy.
But then again, Andy would be leaving, wouldn't be close by for a few years, except for holidays. She was going to miss him a lot, and being able to spend some time with just him was very appealing. They'd often had had nights in, playing video games, watching T.V., or even just talking, evenings she would treasure forever. Evenings she had missed ever since Leonard had entered her life, she had to admit. Had she been neglecting her own son? Was she a bad mother for trading in so much time with her son to spend with Leonard instead?
Keeping her frustrated 'ugh' inside, she quietly stepped out of of bed, not exactly sure of her intentions, but suddenly feeling that being with one of the two most important men in her life was unfair to the other during this internal struggle. Quietly she padded to the other side of the hall, to the ajar door of her son's bedroom. Carefully she eased the door open a little further, wincing at the slight squeak, before sticking her head inside and watching her son's sleeping form.
She stood there for maybe a minute before she slowly made her way downstairs. She didn't bother with the lights, and just sat down on the couch, pulling up her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs. Two men she loved equally, if in a different way, were now, in her head, opposing each other, seemingly ready to battle for her love. Penny snorted at the ridiculous thought, then quickly became quiet as she listened if either of them were awoken by it.
Penny thought back to the night she found out she was pregnant. She'd been scared to death. Scared to tell her parents, but even more scared about becoming a mother. She wasn't ready to be a mom, wasn't ready to take care of someone else, especially since she couldn't even take care of herself. Yes, her parents had yelled at her, had told her they were disappointed she hadn't been more responsible. A slight frown appeared, as Penny suddenly realized that neither had yelled about her even having had sex. She hadn't realized it then, but her parents were a lot more disappointed about her lack of using proper protection, than anything else.
Shaking her head to remove the thought, she refocused her thoughts on Andy. Scared as she'd been about telling her parents, about the responsibility that would come her way, nothing could compare to how scared she was when she'd gone into labor. Penny could still vividly remember how she felt once her son was placed in her arms, the love she felt for this tiny person nearly overwhelming her. Yes, she now had a responsibility, but at that moment, to her, it didn't feel like a chore, something that would weigh her down. She was willing to do anything for him, no matter what.
And that feeling had never gone away; for more than eleven years, Andy had been the center of everything to her. He had motivated her to continue her education, to become the financially stable woman she was today. She knew that if she hadn't had Andy, she most likely wouldn't have finished college, if she'd even gone. Most likely she'd gone to LA, trying to become an actress, but undoubtedly ending up in a waitressing job, desperately trying to make ends meet.
A slight frown appeared. Andy was also responsible for her relationship with Leonard; without Andy, there would've been zero chance of her attending his presentation. She would've missed out on being with the most amazing man she ever met, not counting Andy, who had been in the number one spot for years, uncontested. Knowing herself and who she'd been, she'd most likely would've dated some macho guy or, more likely, a string of macho guys. Easy on the eyes, but lacking any intellect or compassion. Those relationships would most likely be based on how good they were in bed, not love.
Would she have ended up with Leonard, assuming she'd ended up in the LA area and just happened to have met him? She wasn't too sure about that. It certainly wouldn't have happened quickly. Hell, he'd probably have to try for years to even get an "I love you" out of her, let alone getting a "yes" to a proposal! She gasped, suddenly realizing that if Leonard would ask her, she was very likely to say yes. It brought a smile to her face, the virtual battle between her son and her boyfriend over, both contestants without so much as a scratch on them. With a satisfied nod, she got up and went back to bed.
"Dude, you're so lucky to have Penny."
Leonard looked at Raj, sitting on the couch. He grinned widely. "I know. She's amazing, you know. Having taken care of her son for so long, all by herself. She's apparently also the office's unofficial match-maker. And she's funny, sweet, caring, compassionate, passionate... she's just... amazing!"
Raj nodded with a sad smile. "I wish I could talk to women. Do you know how hard it is, not being able to have a woman in your life? I can't ask anyone out on a date, except via texts, and then we'd have to go somewhere where talking is not possible. But even that sucks, 'cause, for instance, if we go to a movie, there's talk time waiting to get in, or even walking her home afterward. And there's only so much you can do on a texting date, and yes, I have tried that."
Leonard nodded thoughtfully at his friend's heartfelt statement. He knew he couldn't do much about it, but he did feel sorry for his predicament. "Have you tried any kind of therapy?"
"Just once."
"And?" Leonard prompted when Raj hadn't said anything for a few more seconds.
"It was a female therapist."
Leonard couldn't help the chuckle from escaping, but quickly put up his hands in apology. "Sorry, that's not appropriate..."
Raj shrugged and smiled. "No, I guess it is kind of ironic."
"I heard there's a new group practice that just started up, only a block away from CalTech. Maybe you should contact them? I'm sure they have a male therapist."
"Yeah, most likely they have female receptionists."
"Write them an e-mail, explain the situation, including your previous experience with a female therapist, and I'm sure things can be worked out from there." Leonard watched Raj as he thought this over until he slowly started to nod.
"Yeah, that might work. Thank you, Leonard, for supporting me. You know, Howard usually makes fun of me and my problem."
Andy had surprised her. She had figured he'd ask for his favorite take-out, but instead asked if they could make something together. Neither of them were cooks, but luckily Andy had selected something relatively easy, judging by the recipe they'd looked up together. Penny glanced at Andy, who seemed very content to go for some grocery shopping with his mother.
They gathered the needed items for their dinner, along with some snacks and drinks for the movie night they were going to have at home, and in virtually no time at all, they were driving back home. "You know where the fire extinguisher is, right," she asked teasingly.
Andy didn't miss a beat. "Yup, even checked it was still good to use before we left."
Penny giggled. "I know you're teasing, but for some reason I think you actually did check."
"Well, not today, but last night I did and it's another five months before the next check-up. Probably will need to be refilled in two years, though."
Penny nodded, storing the information in her memory. "Good to know. I'll add a reminder on my personal calendar when we get home."
"I think Dr. Hofstadter has checked it, too."
Penny nodded, a soft smile on her lips. Of course Leonard would do that. Probably seconds after she'd told him she was a terrible cook.
"You really enjoy being with him, don't you?"
Again Penny glanced at Andy. "I do. You don't mind, do you?"
Andy shook his head. "No, he's a nice man, and I'm actually relieved you're not going to be alone once I'm at Princeton."
"Oh, sweetie, you shouldn't worry about me. Even if Leon... Dr. Hofstadter wasn't there, I wouldn't be all alone." Penny could feel Andy's eyes on her and she risked another quick look. "What?"
"Your work colleagues don't count, unless you hang out with them after work. Besides, I know you. You would bury yourself in work."
Penny smiled, albeit a bit reluctantly. He was right on both counts. Beside the occasional get-togethers in the neighborhood, there really wasn't anyone she would hang out with. And she was very sure that if Andy hadn't been there, she would've made much longer days than she did now. There was a real chance that would've happened if she hadn't met Leonard. "You're too smart for an eleven year old."
"That's what got me into Princeton."
Penny giggled and parked the car in front of the house. "And you'll have to cook for yourself there. Maybe I should just let you do all the cooking this weekend."
Leonard quickly retrieved the glasses he'd just put down on the table. He then picked up his phone and saw it was indeed his girlfriend having sent a message just as he was ready to lie down to sleep.
I'm sorry to tell you, but I had a great evening with a very handsome young man.
He grinned, immediately realizing she meant Andy. He quickly typed his reply. He's not smart, is he?
Of course. I only go for the smart, handsome and cute ones.
Leonard thought for a second, but didn't know how to keep pretending. Did you have a good time?
Oh, yeah. All afternoon and evening. He's out for the count now, though.
Leonard realized he'd accidentally continued the pretense and chuckled at the response. He was thinking how to continue, when a call came in. "Hey," he said quietly, mindful of Raj sleeping feet away in his bedroom.
"Hey yourself," his girlfriend's voice came back, somehow causing him to relax even further. "Just needed to hear your voice."
"So, you and Andy had a good time?"
"Mm-hm. We went grocery shopping, cooked a meal together, ate said meal, played a game or two, watched a few movies, and lots of cuddles."
Leonard smiled. "Good, I'm glad you two have this chance to spent some quality time together." He just prevented adding the before he leaves, knowing it would probably upset her.
"Yeah, me too. I miss you, though."
"I miss you." They were silent for a few seconds. "Wait, you cooked?"
A giggle came back. "And ate the result afterward. It was pretty good, actually. Not hard to make at all."
"Ooh, look at you becoming all home-y."
This resulted in a snort. "Right, I think I'll stick to take-out, thank you very much." They were both quiet for a bit. "Sooo, whatcha doin?"
Leonard frowned, not quite understanding why she asked. "Well, uh, I was just about to go to sleep when you messaged me."
"Hmm, just boxers, no T-shirt?"
Leonard only barely kept his 'oh' of understanding in. "Uh huh. What about you?"
"I have this new set on," she started, clearly getting into it. "A navy blue bustier, barely covering the peaks and ending above the hips."
Leonard swallowed, his mind having no trouble creating the image for him, based on her description.
"And a crotchless pair of panties," she continued.
Leonard groaned at the now complete image. "You're killing me," he growled softly, still mindful of his friend only feet away from him, thankfully a closed door between them.
"Oh no, I need you alive," she replied. "I have every intention of wearing this the first night you're back in bed with me, where you belong."
Leonard grinned. "Looking forward to it." They were both silent for a bit, but it wasn't awkward. "I love you," he said, suddenly feeling like he needed to tell her again.
"I love you, too. Very much." Again a short period of silence. "'Night, Leonard."
"Good night, Penny."
A/N2: It's increasingly likely there will be an 'after dark'-type companion story to this (anyone with an idea for a proper title; I'm hesitant to name it Test Result Inversion - After Dark, but I have no other ideas). I'm currently working on their first night (so that would fit in between chapters 5 and 6), working on round 3 of that night.
Also, an update to the Alphabetical Love Enumeration should be posted as you read this.
