Chapter 27 - Waiting
Amy was just finishing up her Tuesday morning work, so she would be able to go to lunch, when she found herself distracted by her phone ringing and she almost hurt herself trying to get off her surgical gloves to answer it, when she saw the call was from Penny. It wasn't a long a conversation but at least it gave Amy some relief from her worry about her friends. It also did something else, it gave her a lunch date for that afternoon, she was going to meet Penny for lunch, at the Cheesecake Factory, before Penny started work that day.
-TIN MAN-
Penny sat at the table in the Cheesecake Factory, drinking her Diet Dr Pepper and thinking about seeing Amy. Penny had a hard time keeping secrets, but the threat of Leonard going to jail, would make her take his secrets to her grave. However, what did she tell Amy, she didn't want to lie to her, she was her friend, as a matter of fact, Amy and Bernadette had become her best friends. No, Penny had to tell her the truth, just not tell her about the things she couldn't, and ask her to accept she couldn't know the rest.
Amy showed up to the Cheesecake Factory, surprised to see that Penny had a table and was waiting for her. It was unusual for her Bestie to be on time or even early, so Amy sat down, not knowing if it was good or bad omen for their little meeting. However Amy quickly deducted that things were not good, her friend seemed distant and her demeanor seemed very serious. "Penny it is good to see you, I have been worried. Are you okay?"
"Sorry Ames, it was a busy weekend for me."
"Yes for me too, but I have to wonder where is Leonard. Sheldon says he hasn't returned yet."
Penny thought about what she could tell Amy, she had made her wait a day to even talk to her and she had to be very careful, as she spoke, to not give any secrets away that she wasn't suppose to. So she decided to tell her the things the Army people told her she could tell everyone around her. "Leonard is in the Army."
"Leonard is in the Army?" Amy looked at Penny confused. "He's there now?"
Penny nodded, "Yes."
"Why would Leonard join the Army?" Amy was now more confused, things were not making sense to her.
Penny sighed, "He just had to."
"Okay." Amy thought Penny was holding something back. "But why would the Army want to make Leonard a soldier?"
Penny looked at her friend, the words Major Gray told her coming front and center in her mind. She sort of knew Amy would want to know more, but she couldn't tell anyone what actually happened because if she did Leonard could go to jail. "I can't tell you why Amy, I can't tell you anymore details. Please don't ask me."
Some things were coming together in Amy's mind, so softly she whispered. "Penny is this because of the nuclear bomb you told me about Friday and what happened with the Army and the terrorists that night?"
Penny eyes went wide, staring right into Amy's, startling her, Penny's eyes also looked a little wild as she spoke. "Amy you can never say anything about that, never. Promise me you will forget that and never say a word to anyone. Promise me!"
Amy nodded still looking into Penny's eyes, she seemed possessed at the moment. "I promise." Amy had hoped that would have appeased Penny, but as she kept looking into Amy's eyes, Amy though she was searching.
"Amy who did you tell?"
Amy swallowed, "I told Sheldon, but no one else. I just told Howard's mother that we were going because Howard and Leonard said we needed to, to be safe, so I didn't want to scare her and we picked up Raj last so I told him the same thing."
"Oh my God, Sheldon." Penny now looked away, putting her head in her hands, she knew Sheldon could not keep secrets, even if his life depended on it.
"Penny, Sheldon thinks you and Leonard pulled a prank on us all, because nothing happened and you guys never showed up." Amy said in her defense.
Penny quickly looked at her again. "That's it. Yes, we pulled a prank on you all." Penny just nodded at Amy, "I am so sorry Amy, now that I think about it, it wasn't funny. Please accept my apology." Penny looked at Amy her mind was almost pleading for Amy to understand and not question her, Amy was really smart and she had been there that night, she knew it wasn't a prank.
Amy and Penny just stared at each other and Amy saw another thing in Penny's eyes, desperation. "Your right Penny, that wasn't funny at all. I am greatly offended, but I will accept your apology, though I don't know how Sheldon will react when he decides to punish you all."
Penny nodded, an understanding had just passed between them, Amy would keep this to herself, and she would make sure Sheldon still thought he suffered a prank from Penny and Leonard, which would probably result in him never saying anything to anyone to avoid embarrassment.
Amy had promised to keep Penny's secret, Amy knew Penny was not now going to tell her anymore, so now she decided to change the subject. "Sheldon said you said that you and Leonard are married?"
Penny had been looking at Amy but now looked down at her hands, nodding. "Sunday, we got married this Sunday." Suddenly Penny felt funny, it seemed like she had been married longer to Leonard than just two days ago, and slowly she realized they should be on their honeymoon, not separated like this.
"You two really got married. Oh Penny I am so happy for you both." Amy was a little excited, her previous confusion and uneasiness now replaced with some joy, as she smiled at Penny.
Penny couldn't muster a smile back, "We should be on our honeymoon now, but the Army thing took him away."
Amy dropped her smile, it was obvious that this was part of the reason for Penny being this way. Something had happened, the quick marriage, the Army and this very serious state Penny was in, and Amy knew she would never know what had happened, she had been sworn to secrecy by her friend. "How long will he be gone?"
"They said a few weeks. He went to some Army officer's school. Then they said he will be a Lieutenant Colonel when he comes out, whatever that is."
Amy whistled softly, immediately grabbing Penny's attention. "That is a rank in the Army, Penny, and a pretty high one at that."
Penny just nodded, she didn't care what rank he was, just as long as he was safe. "Okay."
Amy again changed the subject, "I was worried about you and Bernadette, I tried calling you both and no one answered."
Penny's mind finally thought about something besides Leonard. "You called Bernadette too?"
Amy nodded her head slowly, "Is she back too. Is Howard with her?"
"No, Howard is in the Army too."
"Howard!" Amy looked at Penny incredulously.
Penny again nodded. "He is with Leonard, they are both at that school to be that Colonel thing."
Amy stared at Penny, trying hard to put all the information together she just told her, but it wasn't enough, there were too many data gaps to try and understand what happened to her friends. How Howard and Leonard went from being at the university, Friday night, to now being at Army training was nothing short of amazing, then add to that, Penny and Leonard getting married that weekend, sort of made the whole thing almost impossible to believe. But there sat, Penny telling her it was all true, and Amy believed every word she said, which just made her wonder for the second time that week, 'What the Hell happened last weekend'?
-TIN MAN-
Leonard and Howard had just finished showering and were going for a late lunch, they were both tired and knew they would be hurting tomorrow morning. The had spent all morning with trainers, Howard a physical fitness trainer from the post gym and Leonard a physical therapist from the hospital. Leonard was getting better from the injuries he suffered that Friday, but the Army wasn't taking any chances with him, so they made sure he had a trainer with medical training taking care of him. They both were shown how to stretch and prepare before exercising, then went through weight training, and cardio vascular workouts that included a little running. For two scientists that were not use to this type of workout, it was hell, but they didn't have much choice, Major Martin told them it was mandatory for the training they started next week.
It was after lunch and the discussion Leonard and Howard had about the tortures they both had to endure that morning, that they found out what the Army expected from them the rest of the week. They were both taken by Major Martin to a secluded part of the post where a special compound was located. After being photographed and badged, Leonard and Howard were brought to a large lab room where they were joined up with all their equipment, Major Lee and Tin Man. The suit was hung on a rack, much like it had been at the university, the sight making Howard and Leonard just stare at it and then back at each other.
"Gentlemen, I will leave you with Major Lee." Martin then turned and left the room as both Leonard and Howard looked at Lee.
Lee smiled and held out his hand to them, "My name is Steve."
"Leonard." Leonard shook his hand.
"Howard." Howard did the same.
"Well Leonard, Howard, our orders are to get the suit functional again. The Army wants to demonstrate it to some Congressmen to get special funding, so they want it working as soon as possible. Also they have some improved parts they would like you to put in, like advanced battery packs, that NASA isn't even using yet." Lee looked at Howard and smiled.
Leonard, Howard and Lee then spent the next six hours doing an inventory of the suit and putting together a list of new components they would need. Most of the electrical logic components were burnt out from the emergency discharge, so their replacements were at the top of the list, but there were many other components that needed replacement too, many from the damage caused by the heavy machine gun fire. They had some pizza for dinner, so they wouldn't have to leave, but even with that, the afternoon and early evening flew by and Lee put a stop to their work, knowing they would need their rest for tomorrow morning's training.
Martin picked them up and drove them back to the officer's quarters, both Leonard and Howard finally feeling the effects of the day once they stopped moving, now sitting quietly in the car. Now that their minds could rest, both men had the same thought, their wives and both men now were in a hurry to get back to their laptops and write them an email of their day, at least the morning part.
"Oh by the way, here you go." Martin passed cell phones to them both, getting immediate a 'Thank You', smiles and nods from both men.
The addition of phones, to their communication choices, made both men thank Martin for the ride as they both rushed to their rooms, the thought of talking to their wives now their primary thought. Leonard didn't even take off his uniform, before he laid on his bed and dialed Penny's phone, the thought of talking to his new bride, the most important thing he could even imagine at the moment. He didn't even realize Penny could be at work, as she took a food order quickly, the feeling of her phone vibrating in her apron, suddenly making it hard to even concentrate on writing down her customer's order.
Her phone was still ringing, when she went back to the break room and she was confused when the number shown for the caller was unknown to her, but she quickly answered anyway. 'Hi Beautiful.' was the first thing she heard and she had to lean on a locker to keep from falling over. "Sweetie, is it really you?"
"Yes, they gave us cell phones, so mark this number as me." Leonard softly chuckled, he knew she would do it without him telling her.
"I will Sweetie. How are you doing? Are you having fun? Is everything going okay? Are you still sore? Are they treating you okay?…."
"Penny slow down, Honey."
"Oh Leonard, I'm at work, I don't have much time. I hate this, why did I have to be at work, when you called."
"It is okay, we can talk later when you get off. Just call me when you are off work, but not when you are driving. Call me when you get back to Bernadette's so I know you are safe with her."
"But Sweetie, but I want to talk to you now, I miss you so much."
"Honey, I miss you so much too. Everything is fine here, they are taking good care of me, don't worry, I'm fine. Penny, I love you very much and I can't wait to see you again. Just relax, we'll talk again later, just call me when you get to Bernadette's tonight, okay."
"Okay Sweetie, I will call you as soon as I get to Bernadette's. I'll try to hurry there so I don't keep you up too late."
"No Penny, listen to me. You take your time and drive home carefully, I will be here when you call, no matter what time. You take care of yourself, alright? I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you, so like you told me before, you have a responsibility to take care of yourself for me, okay."
Penny nodded, a tear falling down her cheek. "I will Sweetie, I promise. I will call you when I get to Bernadette's and I will be careful. You be careful too, okay."
"I will, I promise. Honey I will let you go so you don't get in trouble. I love you and will love you always, Honey. Talk to you later, okay."
"I love you too Sweetie and always will. Talk to you later."
Penny stared at her phone a moment, after they hung up, then went to recent calls to label his number and put it in her contacts. She then forced herself to be calm and looked in the mirror to fix her makeup a little, her cheeks having little lines where the tears had fallen. Penny finally left the room to go back to work, looking at the clock as she left and knowing she would be doing that all night, until her shift ended.
Bernadette was home when the call came, even though she had worked a couple extra hours at work, she was still there making soup when her phone rang. She had been thinking about work at the time, how instead of being mad her bosses had been concerned for her well being when they saw the doctor's note. They had even offered her to go home early or work only part time that week, whatever she needed to fully recuperate from her sickness, it made her feel guilty for deceiving them and good inside that they cared so much about her. The day didn't seem too bad after that and she felt that she was among friends the whole time she was there, but now her phone was demanding her attention.
Bernadette was also confused when she saw the number, just like Penny, but after missing a call from Howard before, she was not going to take any chances now. "Hello?"
"Hey Honey, its me Howard."
"Oh my God, Howie!" Bernadette was now breathing heavy and trying to calm herself so she could talk.
"They gave us phones, so guess who the first person was I wanted to call." Howard softly chuckled at his own joke. "Bernie are you doing okay, Honey?"
"Now I am Howie. It is so good to hear your voice. I am so sorry about yesterday, I hated that I missed your call."
"That was yesterday, but now you have me all you want. Bernie, did you get my email."
"Yes, did you get mine?'
"Yes. Honey I promise I will change, I don't want to hurt you like that again. Things will be better when I get back, I promise."
"Howie, don't worry about it, just take care of yourself, okay. Honey, everything you do is who you are, maybe we can control some things better in the future, but those things you do are what make you happy."
"Bernie, you make me happy. I'll give up everything for you. I don't want to loose you."
"Honey, you will never loose me. You are stuck with me forever, like it or not."
"I love you Bernie, and we will work something out, so it never gets as bad as this again."
"I love you too, Honey."
Howard and Bernadette talked for another two hours, and even after two hours it was hard for them to hang up. It was Bernadette who was the strong one, she knew by what Howard described about his physical training, he would need all the sleep he could get and she didn't want him being too tired and hurting himself. After they hung up, Bernadette put his new number in her contact list and made herself a pot of decaf coffee, it was amazing how much more relaxed she felt after talking to him those couple of hours. This wasn't as bad as him being in space, he would be sleeping in a bed, in a building on earth, now up in space where a piece of space junk or micrometeorite could kill him in the night. The physical training was also good for him, his family had a history of heart problems so doing cardio vascular training was just what he needed and she would try to get him to keep it up when he got back. So although she missed him horribly, she thought she might make it, he wasn't in any apparent danger and he was coming back to her in a few weeks, 'Yes' she thought, 'I might just make it'.
Penny drove the speed limit and watched her driving carefully, she had promised Leonard she would be safe and take care of herself and she wasn't going disappoint him. Bernadette was already in bed when Penny got in at 11 PM, so Penny quietly got ready for bed and crawled under the sheets before she called Leonard. It was only two rings before he picked up. "Hey Sweetie, I hope I didn't wake you up."
"You did, but I planned this on purpose, I took a nap for a couple hours so when you called I could talk to you for a little while."
Penny smiled, "So you are in bed like me."
"You are in bed too? Good. It makes me feel better you are safe and in bed. Work wasn't too hard tonight was it?"
"Sweetie, it is the Cheesecake Factory, it sucks every night, but I am use to it."
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Sweetie, you don't have to say you're sorry all the time."
"I know, I'm sorry." Leonard heard Penny sigh. "Damm, did it again." He then heard Penny giggle. "I'm sort of new at this, so you will have to set me straight when I screw up, okay."
Penny giggled, "I promise to correct you whenever you screw up. Count on it Dr Hofstadter."
Leonard chuckled, "Thank you Mrs Penny Hofstadter."
Penny bit her lip, "Leonard say it again."
"Say what?"
"My Name."
Leonard smiled, "Mrs Penny Hofstadter, Mrs Penelope Hofstadter, or if we go somewhere where both of us are introduced, Dr and Mrs Hofstadter.
Penny giggled, "I like it, it just sounds right."
"Yeah, I agree."
"Leonard, I wanted to get ready for bed and then call you, so I could just close my eyes, cuddle my pillow and think you were with me, the only problem is I can't kiss you."
Leonard sighed, "I know, I miss that too. You are a great kisser."
Penny giggled, "I think you are biased, but thank you and you will never find out if anyone is better anyway, because I'm a very jealous wife."
"Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into." He then chuckled. "I'll remember that."
Penny giggled again. "Sweetie, you always make me feel better." They talked for the next hour, before finally hanging up. Penny closed her eyes, a smile on her face and a warm feeling in her heart, she was asleep moments later.