Chapter 45 - Howard's Work
"Howard, I am disconnecting for five minutes to give you…I am disconnecting for five minutes." Leonard then disconnected the Skype session.
Penny looked at Leonard, starting to giggle until she couldn't hold it any longer and buried her face into his shoulder, to stifle her laughs. Leonard couldn't help but chuckle either, both because of how embarrassing it must have been for Howard and Bernadette and because he was enjoying Penny laughing, for the first time since he woke up, weeks ago. "Penny, I feel bad, we should really feel sorry for them."
Penny pulled her head off Leonard's shoulders, whipping the tears out of her eyes from laughing so hard. "Sweetie, I do feel sorry for them, but it was funny. The thing is, I was imagining if that was us, in the same situation, we would have probably have been worse."
Leonard nodded, "Yeah, you have a point there." He began chuckling again as Penny wrapped her arms around his neck putting her head on his shoulder giggling.
Howard loosened his grip on his wife, "The computer is off now." But now he felt Bernadette giggling into his shoulder, which made him start to laugh.
It was about a minute before Bernadette lifted her head to look at him, a big smile on her face. "Did you see the expressions on their faces, I never seen two more shocked people before in my life."
Howard chuckled, "Don't worry, Leonard will never say a thing."
Bernadette shook her head, "Penny will probably never let me forget it." Bernadette then got up off Howard's lap, taking her shirt completely off, leaving her nude from the waist up, while she stared at her husband.
Howard found himself a little tongue tied, "Umm, don't you want to put something on?" She was beautiful and Howard just now wanted her back on his lap.
Bernadette just smiled, "I just want you to remember where your place was, when we resume later." Then she turned to the bedroom, wiggling her hips in an exaggerated way as she walked away.
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With a little nervousness Leonard connected to Howard again and to his relief Howard and Bernadette were sitting next to each other, Bernadette now in a sweat suit. Leonard stared at them for an awkward minute trying to find words to start the conversation, until Penny saved him. "I missed you guys."
"We missed you too." Bernadette responded and their conversation began.
They had been talking for almost 20 minutes when the conversation turned towards Amy. "I feel so bad, I haven't talked to Amy since I left Pasadena." Penny confessed.
"I caught her up, on you guys, but I really haven't seen too much of her." Bernadette responded.
"Are her and Sheldon doing okay?" Penny knew Sheldon had been upset about her moving Leonard out and she really hoped he didn't take it out on Amy.
"I know Sheldon is still upset about Leonard leaving, he still keeps whining about it, at work." Howard now added. "But since I haven't seen him in his bus pants, I have to think Amy is driving him to work each day."
Penny sadly nodded, "If she is driving that much all day, I really feel sorry for her." Everybody agreed with her.
It was another 20 minutes before they finished their session and Leonard hung up looking at Penny, who he could tell was thinking. "What are you thinking about."
"Can we call Amy?" Leonard nodded and started typing on his laptop.
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Bernadette got up from the couch while Howard shut down his laptop, Howard turning his head to find her gone when he was done, but also finding a trail of clothes leading to the bedroom. She had been wanting him all day and their make out session on the couch had sent her desire through the roof, so now she needed him, needed him bad. She laid on the bed nude trying to look as seductive as she could, making sure her best assets, her breasts were prominent for him to see. However she gasped as Howard came in the door removing his shirt, the first of his clothing, to join her in bed. She knew he had been working out regularly, since he finished Army training, but she wasn't really prepared to see the forming of a six-pack on her cute husband. He wasn't skinny anymore, she would describe him now as lean, with definite muscle tone across his whole body, she suddenly found herself a little needy as she lusted for the man now walking to her.
Howard slipped into bed with her, immediately putting his hand to now forming baby bump, caressing her and the child within her, like he had been doing more and more since they came home. Bernadette pressed herself against him, his skin touching hers, made her shutter, her needs for him already escalating out of control. The next hour was filled with passion, their bodies always in contact, extreme feelings of lust, excitement and climax being shared by both of them, until both of them found themselves relaxed in each others arms. They just laid there for several minutes, comfortable in each others arms, the touch of the other the only thing needed by them both.
Bernadette was the first to break the silence. "Howie can you take off Thursday afternoon, in two weeks."
"Yeah sure, what's up."
"I have an ultra-sound then."
"Great, you want me to pick you up to go there?" Howard was now excited.
"Maybe, we'll see when it gets closer." Bernadette bit her lip, "Howie they will probably be able to tell us if it is a he or a she."
"Really." Howard looked at his wife. "To tell you the truth, I sort of would like to know."
Bernadette gave him a smile then a long kiss, finally pulling very slightly away to look in his eyes, "Me too."
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Penny just looked at Leonard, surprise still in her eyes, "Can you believe that, can you believe that actually happened?"
Leonard chuckled, "Everything changes, even though the great Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper, forbids it. I'm just glad he just accepted this change."
"I have never seen Amy happier, I really believe she is nesting already." Penny was now smiling, which made Leonard smile, he loved her smile it was infectious.
"Poor Sheldon, he'll never know what hit him." Leonard chuckled.
"I know Honey, are we bad for pushing Sheldon to Amy?"
"Honey, I've never seen Sheldon do anything he didn't really want to do. So do you really feel bad?" Leonard gave her a quizzical look.
Penny smiled back and shook her head, "Naw." Then she started to giggle as she gave Leonard a big hug as they then both laid down to go to sleep.
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Physical Therapy was exactly like Dr Thorne had promised, pure torture and Leonard ended the first couple of days, in more muscle pain than he had imagined. Penny hovered over him all the time, when he was back in the room, rubbing crème on him to help with the pain and fawning over him every minute he was there. He knew it wasn't just tough on him it was hard on her seeing him in pain again, so he did everything to convince her that it was good pain, as it was making him stronger, however confessing to himself that no pain was good pain.
After a few days though, he had to admit it was getting better, he came back to the room in less pain and he did start to feel a little more strength in his arm and leg. His feeling better, had an affect on Penny too, as she seemed to be very sensitive to his condition, and as he was feeling better she seemed to be less tense. By the weekend he was feeling good enough to start snuggling with her again instead of just laying there in pain.
The next week he really got into the physical therapy, he knew if he could move around on crutches they were going to let him go for the weekend and he really wanted to visit Penny's home so she could be somewhere other than the hospital for a couple days. Penny had been his rock since he started physical therapy, helping him get through the pain and being there while he worked out, even helping him some, so he wanted her to get out of the hospital and them to be normal for even just a couple days.. They told him he was recovering quickly but he really knew it was Penny that made that possible, she was his motivation for getting well as quickly as he could. He dreamed of the days when they could just be Leonard and Penny again, living their normal lives and sleeping in their own bed together again, those thoughts being a great motivator for him to work harder every day.
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Howard walked into the special lab Monday morning, security was not completely automated yet, so almost all the checkpoints were manned by Department of Defense guards, later it would be mostly computers that would check their credentials and there would only be one human guard overseeing everything. "Hey Max, how are things going today?"
"The same Howard, how is your wife doing with her pregnancy?" the guard asked as Howard filled in the log and passed his badge to Max for a badge exchange.
"She wants to eat the weirdest things anymore. Sometimes I can't be in the same room with her, while she is eating it." Howard confessed.
Max laughed, "Yeah the misses was the same. You think they would get sick eating like that but they seem to love that stuff."
Howard shook his head, "I know. Well I plan to working all morning today, so we'll see you at lunch time, okay."
"Sounds great." Then Max thought for a moment, "You and Steve want to split a pizza again today."
"I think so, if Steve says its okay, when he comes in, I'm good, so go ahead and order it."
"Great, I'll make sure I ask him. Don't work to hard Howard, see you at lunch." Max said as Howard gave him a little wave and went through the door Max now buzzed him through.
Howard went to the cipher lock and put in the code, thinking 'Oh Max if you knew the fun I'm having in here you would be jealous'. The door popped open, after Howard's code was accepted, and Howard walked into the room a big smile on his face, he loved his job.
No sooner that he walked in the lab, Howard eyed the new suit, it sat up in the maintenance rack looking even deadlier than the one they made before. Its material was made by equipment Leonard had set up before the accident and they had made enough material, to build it, two weeks after that day. The space suit manufacturing facility setting up a classified section and put the suit together, doing a much better job than Leonard and Howard had ever done, their suit just being functional, this suit functional and good looking. It was actually less bulky and looked more like armor, because the Army decided to put ceramic plates on the outside to protect it from shaped charges. It didn't look like a space suit anymore, it looked more like the storm trooper Howard envisioned, the Army having already named it MASS, Mobile Armored Soldier System. Howard smiled the Army helped put the suit together and now he had to make it work, it was a challenge he knew he was going to enjoy.
Major Steve Lee showed up a short time later, a box of donuts in hand, which got lighter as he passed each guard station. He always brought more than he and Howard would eat, the guards were good guys and treated them well, so they treated them well too. He had signed in with Max and exchanged badges when he saw Max eying another donut after he took the first one. "Max did you not eat breakfast again?"
"Yeah, was running late today again." Max sadly said.
"Well take another, it can be Howard's, he is getting fat anyway."
Max chuckled, "Howard fat, that will be the day." He quickly grabbed another donut before Steve changed his mind. "Steve you in for pizza today?"
"Does Howard want in?"
"He said he's good if you are in."
"Okay, but I want extra pepperoni on it."
"Got it, see you at lunch." Max said before he buzzed Steve in, thinking how great a job he had, while he sipped his coffee, bit into a donut and started to read the paper. He probably would not see another person till noon, when the pizza came.
Major Lee walked into the lab, to see Howard running the start up checks on the equipment, Howard always seemed to beat him in every morning and he always seemed happy. Steve put down the donuts and went to the freshly brewed coffee, Howard had also started when he got there, thinking that maybe getting there after Howard wasn't too bad after all, as he took a sip, while grabbing a donut. "So Howard, what are the plans today."
"I want to finish the installation of the rest of the servos and then we can start the movement check process." Howard said while staring at his laptop.
Steve groaned, this new suit was sized to him, which also happened to be Howard's size, because Major Lee was now going to be the test pilot for this thing and do the demonstration. General Turner thought that having a man with small stature showing how dangerous he was in the suit would really impress the classified appropriations members, plus he told Lee he wanted someone smart to operate the suit, which was some serious ego stroking of Lee, and made it so he couldn't refuse. However the movement check process was long, tedious and mind numbing, especially for someone in the suit, and Lee remembered when Leonard went through it, he though the man just wanted to end it all by the time they were done. But there was nothing he could do, so he sighed and accepted his fate. "Sounds like a plan, Howard." He saw Howard nod his head in agreement.
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Friday was significant for both Howard and Leonard, for Howard it ended the mobility tests of the suit, it had been very long days working though all the movement control and Steve had been so brain dead by lunch every day, that they did something different. Since the suit fit both of them, they spilt the time in the suit which made the testing not so bad. It actually helped Howard to understand problems with the movement when he spent time in the suit and he soon felt the unique feeling, that Leonard could never explain, on how it felt to be part of this machine.
That night before he left, Howard looked at the suit thinking how it must have felt to be in it and part of it, when Leonard did all the things he did. It truly was like getting super powers and for a moment Howard thought that would be amazing, but then just as fast he thought about the people Leonard had to kill, sure they were all bad and deserved what they got, but it still bothered Howard. He didn't think he could do that, especially now, with Bernadette having a life in her, life suddenly was more precious to him. So Howard rationalized it was better that Steve Lee was the one, he was a real soldier, not like him, he knew what to do and wouldn't hesitate to do it. Howard wasn't the one, and maybe that was better in the long run, so he just patted the suit as he walked out of the lab, turning out the lights and locking the door, removing his thoughts about the suit and turning to more important stuff, like his wife and child.