Chapter 47 - Change of Plans
Saturday was nice, warm and sunny, so Leonard got to go outside a little and was treated with watching Penny ride a horse around in the field, while he sat in a lawn chair, in the shade, drinking lemonade. Leonard never saw Penny on a horse before, so watching her handle the huge animal, like she was born in the saddle, was amazing to him. She seemed so happy riding, she would keep looking his way and waving to him, which made him feel really good inside and happy watching her so happy.
Penny stopped riding after about an hour and was walking her horse back to the barn, when her father took the animal from her, to put away, and to allow her to go back to Leonard. Leonard was standing up from his chair when he saw her quickly heading his way, slowly removing her helmet, then shaking her hair out as she approached him, a definite spring in her step. "You know you are amazing."
Penny smiled, "Sweetie, you don't have to butter me up, I'm yours already you know." She then closed the distance between them and kissed him, slowly backing her face away after a little while till she was nose to nose with him. "But a girl always likes a complement from her husband."
Leonard chuckled, "Is there anything you don't do well."
Penny smiled a little more, she loved his complements they made her know she was special to him. "Honey, you are so blinded by love, you even think I'm a good waitress."
Leonard kissed her nose, "That's because you're not a waitress, you're an actress."
Penny bit her lip, his words making her realize how much he was there for her. She ran her hands though his curls and looked deeply into his eyes, she loved him so much. "Honey, do you mind going inside now and just resting and holding me for a little while in our bedroom?"
Leonard gave her a little nod, "I'd like that." They both then headed back up to the house.
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In Pasadena, Howard and Bernadette were just saying goodbye to their realtor, they had seen three houses that day and Bernadette was a little tired. Bernadette's latest bonus gave them the additional money they needed to put a good down payment on a house and with a new Wolowitz on the way, they needed a lot more room than a one bedroom apartment offered. Also, the thought of having their own home, to raise their family, made both of them happy, it was the thing normal people did and they just wanted to be normal people, after everything that had happened to them.
"Hungry?" Howard asked as he held the car door for Bernadette.
Bernadette giggled, "Howie, I'm always hungry, since junior started to poke his way out." She rubbed her baby bump for emphasis.
"I guess, I should have said, what do you feel like eating." he chuckled.
"Well since you put it that way, I have been having a craving….."
Howard shook his head, he loved her, but he hated watching her eat the stuff she craved.
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Saturday ended for Leonard and Penny with them on the porch swing, Penny snuggled up to Leonard with a blanket over both of them, gently swinging in the cool night air. "I really like this." Penny quietly said.
"Yeah, this is nice, I could really get to like this every night." He gave her a little squeeze that just made her snuggle closer to him.
They were just taking it easy that night by spending some time on the porch, Penny's parents coming out to join them for a little while to talk before bedtime. It was so relaxing, just sitting there and talking, not really having any responsibilities at the moment, except to each other, giving them content feelings inside and making it a perfect ending to their day. So after they went to bed, the day outside and all the fresh air made them both fall asleep quickly, wrapped in each others arms, like the night before.
The next day, Sunday, was a little sad, everyone knowing that Leonard and Penny would be going back to the hospital that day. It was after lunch before they really had to get ready to leave, both of them hating to go, and Leonard started to think if maybe it was unfair to take Penny away from this. He wondered if it would be better for Penny to stay with her parents a while, she seemed so happy here, and it made him look at her several times while they packed their suitcases for the trip back. Leonard sat on one side of the bed packing his suitcase, while Penny stood on the other side packing hers, the thought of what to do occupying his mind.
Penny had seen him staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking. "Leonard is something bothering you."
"No….but I was just thinking." Penny now stopped to look at him.
"Thinking about what, Sweetie?"
"Before you get mad at me, just listen to me for a moment, okay?" Penny now stared at him intently, giving him a slight nod. "It is just, I was thinking, being here is so much better than the hospital and you are so happy here."
Penny's arms just fell to her sides and she stopped everything and just stared at him, "No Leonard."
"Penny….." He stopped when he saw her start to breathe heavily, like she was about to either be mad or cry.
Penny stared at him a couple more seconds, then softly "No Honey, I am going with you, you are stuck with me…. period. Nothing you say is going to change my mind, so finish packing so we can go."
"I just thought…."
"You thought wrong." Penny was still breathing heavily, looking at him, then she walked around the bed and sat next to him, reaching over and taking his hand. "Would you prefer me to sit in this room, all day, crying, while you are at the hospital without me, because that is what I'm going to do if you leave me here."
Leonard shook his head, "No." He kissed her hand, seeing her relax a little, and they started packing again.
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The next week Leonard worked out hard building strength in his arm and leg, making moving around on crutches easier and making getting around the hospital easier too. Penny and him would go out of the hospital every night for some fresh air, either to the patio on Leonard's floor or out in front of the hospital, to sit on a bench. They would eat many of their meals away from the room too, making them both feel less confined and bringing home the feelings that Leonard was actually going to get better and go home soon.
The weekend was something they really looked forward to, because again they were allowed to leave the hospital, so they spent another weekend at the farm. That weekend Penny rented a convertible and all the Saturday, she drove him around their area, showing him all the places she grew up around. They even stopped at an ice cream place, where they both had popsicles, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day and weekend for the both of them.
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Howard's week was very busy too, with the mobility tests done, Steve and him hooked up the laser system, going through tests by the end of the week. However this time, Howard had installed a safety system into the suit, if there was an electrical radiator failure, he was not going to have anything happen again like he saw with Leonard, he promised himself, never again. Howard had made it so the that the electrical discharge could now be emergency dumped into the suits electronics and the metal exoskeleton, it would fry the suit electronics and maybe damage the exoskeleton but it would save the wearer. Howard, also put a battery backup system in the suit under the breast plate, it was specifically protected from the rest of the suit by isolators, and it would provide 10-15 minutes of backup power, which wasn't much, but it would prevent the wearer from maybe dying, like Leonard almost did in the hotel fountain when he lost all power. It was sad that Leonard had to almost die, twice for these systems to be installed, but Howard was making sure what happened to Leonard didn't happen to anyone else.
The suit was ready for a demonstration that General Turner had set up for the next week, to demonstrate the strength, protection and laser systems. Seeing the suit and the video from Leonard's accident, Turner thought would really impress the appropriations committee, and get them the special funding they needed to accelerate the program. Howard and Steve started packing up the suit on Saturday, for shipping to the test site, the test would be at a classified test site, Major Lee operating the suit while Howard making him ready for the test, everything was on schedule, and the suit was ready.
The two men just had to pack up the suit, in its special case, and then it would be picked up for shipment that afternoon, it would only take them less than a hour, at least that is what they thought. Lifting the suit off the maintenance rack, by using the overhead hoist, had been something they had done several times, so they were not prepared when the lifting system brake failed. The brake held the hoist cables in a locked position, so when it gave out, the cables started to slip out of their take-up reel, letting the suit drop. Steve was underneath it and couldn't get out quickly enough as it fell on his leg, almost a half ton of suit and equipment, breaking his leg in three places while pinning him, putting the man specifically trained to operate the suit out of the commission. Howard hit the emergency alarm system, resulting in guards immediately sealing the facility and a security team dispatched from the Air Base, converging on the facility. It took the security team and Howard a half hour to get Steve safely from under the suit to the waiting ambulance, then with help from the security team, another hour to secure the suit.
It was almost 9 PM that night, after spending a couple hours in the hospital making sure Steve was okay that Howard was finally in the Air Base command post having a video conference with General Turner. "Howard, how is Lee?"
"Fine sir, but the doctor said in will take a couple of months for his leg to heal. They had to put two plates plus screws in it." Howard sighed, he was tired.
"I'm glad he is going to be okay, he is a fine officer. Howard was the suit damaged?"
"No Sir, we secured it and it is in its case and here at the base now."
Turner nodded, "Howard, Lee told me you have operated the suit during testing and you designed it, can you do the demonstration this week?"
Howard looked at Turner is surprise, he didn't know Steve was reporting things to Turner, it made him feel a little violated. "I am able to operate the suit, but Sir, Major Lee was the one that really trained for this. I am not trained, Sir."
"Howard, we need to get this project going, taking months to get someone else up to speed will delay this program a while. All I am asking you to do is walk around in it a little and fire the laser, dazzle the committee a little, nothing more."
Howard nodded, it really wasn't too much, like Turner said, "Okay Sir, I can do that. I will need some help though."
"We'll send the technicians that you used in Texas to help, will that be okay?"
Howard nodded again. "Yes sir they will do with some direction from me."
"Good. We'll see you Tuesday at the site then. Rest now Howard, you had a hard day."
"Yes Sir, Thank You." Howard watched the Captain shut down the video conference. He was then led out of the command post to a waiting car and driver for his trip home.
It was almost 11 PM when Howard got home to find Bernadette waiting for him, the adrenaline he had been running on all day now gone, making him incredibly tired. "Hi Honey."
"Did you get all the extra work you had to do done finally?" Howard had called her to tell her he had to work late to finish up after they had gotten Steve off to the hospital.
"Yeah, everything is done. It was a long busy day. I am really tired." Howard gave her a little smile.
"Well why don't you get ready for bed and I'll rub you back so you can sleep." Bernadette gave him a sweet smile.
"Thanks that would be great." Howard gave her a kiss and headed to take a shower.
Howard and Bernadette went to bed immediately after Howard showered and got his pajamas on, he was finally able to relax after getting in the bed with his wife. Bernadette did as she promised and rubbed his back for him, relaxing him even more, letting the sleepiness start to take over his mind, while his wife ran her hands over him and nuzzled him. Howard, thought about what Turner asked him to do, he had been nervous at first but now as he thought about it, it really didn't seem that bad, plus with his new safety systems what could wrong. With that thought Howard finally fully relaxed and just as quickly fell asleep.