Penny entered her house, feeling oddly uncomfortable. She saw Leonard sitting on the couch, watching a science show on the TV. She sighed, walking past him.

"Penny." He said. "You're here."

She shrugged. "It's still my house."

"Were you at apartment 4A?" He asked.

Penny sighed again. "Yes. How did you know that?"

"Sheldon went here and told me he found you in the apartment crying," he replied.

"Yeah, well." She replied, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Leonard looked at her. "I guess I owe you an apology?"

"You guess?" Penny replied, taken aback. "Really? Just a hunch?"

Leonard was silent. "Well..."

"Well for a smart guy you aren't very smart," Penny replied, not caring if she made sense. "I have work today. See you sometime." She didn't wait for Leonard to reply.

She felt another bunch of tears threatening to fall, but she managed not to cry out there in the porch. She loved Leonard... or did she? All she knew at the moment was that her marriage was on the rocks, like the alcohol she was planning to consume that night.

"Why?" Penny asked as she stormed into apartment 4A.

Sheldon looked up from the tea he was making and took in Penny's angry facial expression and her tense body language. "'Why' what?" He asked innocently.

She stepped in front of Sheldon and crossed her arms. "Why did you Leonard what you did?"

He sighed, relieved. "Oh, that. I was trying to help you."

"Why?" Penny repeated. "I am a grown woman, Sheldon! I can fix my problems myself!"

Sheldon scoffed. "Well you're not fixing your problems the right way." He said stubbornly.

Penny internally screamed. "Why do you care so much anyway?" He shrugged.

Penny closed her eyes. "Sweetie, you're gonna have to stop caring for me. I am fully capable of taking care of myself, you know." She was still mad, but she knew that she was mad not at Sheldon, but Leonard.

Sheldon shrugged again, then looked at her. "In all my years of existence I have never cared for something-let alone someone-until the day you moved into the adjacent apartment."

"No," Penny muttered.

Sheldon's Vulcan hearing heard her mutter but chose to ignore it. "And yes, I care so much. Not just about you, physically, but mentally and emotionally."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Mentally?"

"And that means I care about your relationships. All..." Sheldon was doing math in his head.

"I get it, Sheldon." Penny sighed. "No need to compute the number of men I've been with." She smiled softly, hating that he can make her forget why she was screaming at him in the first place.

Sheldon fell silent. "I thought marriages were supposed to... well, last forever." Penny said.

"Nothing really lasts forever, Penny." Sheldon replied.

"I know, but..." Penny bit her lip. "I have to go."

Sheldon put his now empty cup on the sink. "All right."

Penny started walking to the door, but she stopped mid way. "Do you want to know something?" She asked.

Sheldon walked over to where she was, then he nodded. Penny smiled and looked at her feet before whispering, "I really, really care about you a whole lot too. Also from the moment I saw you from my open door." She replied then walked out.

"Wait," Sheldon walked after her and caught her arm. He pulled her into his own arms and felt her head on his chest.

For a person who gets uncomfortable with even the slightest human contact, hugging Penny was a struggle. But Sheldon did not let his phobias overcome him. Penny was there in his arms, and that was all that mattered.

Okay, so Penny had lied. She didn't have work tonight. She had a "meeting" with Howard, Raj, and Bernadette.

"Looks like you've got yourself in a pickle there," Raj said, and he was met by Penny's glare. "Well, duh." She replied.

Howard stood up. "What is happening to you and Leonard?" He asked.

"Hell if I know, Howard," Penny replied. "I don't even know what I'm feeling."

Bernadette stepped in. "So you're saying you love Leonard but he's a pompous ass so that's kind of a turn off."

"Yeah." Penny simply replied. "I mean, he just told me that he never knew I was actually gonna become an actress! How could I have been with someone who doesn't even believe in me?" She sighed. "And this isn't even the first time he hurt me."

They all went silent. "So why are you still with him if he keeps hurting you?" Raj asked.

"I don't know... because I'm afraid I'm never gonna find someone better? Or good enough, at least?" Penny replied.

Bernadette patted her on the back. "That's ridiculous! There's someone out there who loves you and respects you and believes in you. Your soulmate."

Penny raised her eyebrows. "Soulmate?"

"You know... The one person you're meant to be with. The one you'll have the best, most meaningful relationship with, besting all the other relationships you've ever had." Bernadette replied, looking at Howard.

Penny stared at her. "Well I've gotta look for that person, whoever that is."

"Oh, you'll find him," Bernadette, Howard and Raj had huge grins on their faces.

AN: Hey guys! 14th chapter's up. We're almost there!

Please review, you guys! There's always room for improvement. :-) Thanks, everyone!

I don't own anything! :-)