Chapter 48 - Dazzle Me
Bernadette stopped the car, at the drop off point, then turned to look at her husband. "Howie, you sure you don't want me to park the car and come in with you?"
Howard shook his head, "No, I will worry about you going back to the car by yourself, this way I know you are already in the car, safe. Also, I'm only going away for a couple of days, so no real big fuss."
"Howie, I will be okay, I'm not going to break, Honey. I know you want to protect me, but women have been having babies for thousands years without problems."
"I know, but this is the first baby for my wife and me, so I'm going to protect you both anyway I can. I'm sorry but I can't be any other way."
"I love you Howie." Bernadette leaned over and was met half way by her husband, the kiss they shared increasing in passion until they were both squeezing each other in their arms. It left them both breathless.
"I need to go." Howard said quietly. "I love you Bernie, please be careful while I am gone."
"I promise, I will." Bernadette also said quietly, staring in his eyes. "Promise to not do anything dangerous yourself."
Howard nodded. He leaned over and gave her another short kiss, putting his hand on her belly while he kissed her, then slowly broke the kiss, to open the car door and get out. They both looked at each other and waved as he walked to the terminal doors, until they closed behind him, he was gone. It took Bernadette a couple seconds to get over the extreme loneliness she felt as she lost sight of him, and she was barely able to keep from crying as she pulled her car away from the curb to go to work.
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Leonard had just finished his morning weight lifting when the young airman walked up to him. "Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter?" Penny looked at Leonard, a little bit of worry on her face, it was the first time someone came for him during physical therapy.
"Yes, that's me." Leonard responded.
"Sir, you have a phone call at the nurses station." the young man then pointed where Leonard should go.
"Thank you." Leonard then looked at Penny and grabbed her hand leading her to where the young man told him to go. As he approached the nurse, he noticed her holding the phone, "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter. Do you have a call for me?"
"Yes sir, you can take it in the room behind me, if you want some privacy. The blinking light will be the line." She then said into the phone, "Sir he is here, I'm going to put you on hold for a second."
Leonard went to the room, pulling Penny along with him, closing the door behind them. It was hard to walk with crutches while pulling her along, but he had saw her face and he was not going to keep her nervous with concern, besides, no one said she couldn't be with him, so he wanted her to be close and not worried. Leonard picked up the phone, "Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter, may I help you." Leonard's eyes went wide when the other person spoke. "Yes Sir…I'm doing fine Sir…..Thank You, Sir." Leonard was quiet for the next two minutes just listening to the person on the other end, nodding to himself as he listened. "No Sir, I can do that tomorrow…..Yes Sir, I'm fine to do that, it won't be a problem…0900 tomorrow morning, Yes Sir I got it….I'll look for them after 0800 then, Sir…..Yes Sir…..Thank You Sir…..Yes Sir, I'll talk to you tomorrow…Goodbye Sir." Leonard took the phone away from his ear and looked at it for a second before he hung it up. He sat there thinking for a second before feeling Penny's hand squeeze his, they had been holding hands the whole time, making him look at her, and shake his head.
Penny didn't know what to think, something was obviously going to happen tomorrow and she could only think the worse. Of course the worse was that Leonard was leaving somewhere and leaving her. "Leonard what's happening." The cracking of her voice was because she was on the verge of breaking down in tears.
Leonard noticed her voice and look, so he gave her a smile, then leaned over and kissed her. "I'm not going anywhere." He could visually see Penny relax and little.
"They want me at the command post, here, on base, to participate in a video conference, that's all. I should only be there an hour or two, then I'm coming right back, I still have Physical Therapy to do tomorrow. He then gave her a funny face to emphasize that he wasn't getting out of anything tomorrow.
"Why, Honey. You're suppose to be recovering" Penny was still a little tense, but not as bad as before.
Leonard joked, "I think the doctor ratted me out and told them I could still talk and have meetings." He chuckled, but he noticed Penny was not smiling, so he got serious again. "Honey, I can't tell you why."
Penny nodded, she knew why, that damm thing again, it could only be that. "You won't….."
"No I won't. I will go to the video conference tomorrow, then when I am done, I will come back to the hospital. General Turner, just wants me on the conference to answer questions, that's all. Penny he even asked me if I was up to it, it was not an order."
"But then why…" Penny stopped as she looked at him, she actually knew why he was going, he felt it was his duty, he always did things for people when they asked him. She just wished he would be selfish for once, he was still healing and he needed to get better and let her take care of him. Tears started to drip down her cheeks as she was thinking about it, he was hers not theirs, why did they keep taking him.
The tears on her cheeks and her look made Leonard stand up and take her into his arms, holding tight as she grasped him hard, trying to get as close to him as possible. He gently rubbed her back, as he kissed the side of her head, cursing himself for making her like this as he felt her slightly tremble. They stayed that way for over a quarter hour before she was finally able to leave with him to go back to the room, her hand gently touching his arm and crutches all the way back.
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Bernadette sent text messages the whole time Howard was in the air, so when Howard powered his phone back up, after the plane landed, he found five from her:
Howie I miss you already
I'm safe at work, Honey, don't worry
Let me know when you get there
Be careful, Honey
I love you Howie
Howard smiled as the plane made it's way to the gate, typing his own message:
I just landed and the plane is going to the gate. I love you Honey. I will let you know when I am in my room.
Howard hit send, then leaned back in the seat, wishing she was with him, he missed her badly, no he missed them both, he corrected himself. He knew it would be hard to be away from her once he found out she was pregnant, it was always hard to be away from her for more than a few hours, but now it was torture. He closed his eyes so he could see her face in his mind, then he imagined her standing there with the little bump on her belly, God he thought, she is so beautiful, and he adored her.
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Tuesday morning seemed to come much too early, and Penny dreaded every minute from the time they got up to the time they were suppose to come get him. She helped him shower then watched as he shaved, then got dressed in his uniform, the uniform made him look so handsome and incredibly masculine, but she wanted to cry because it reminded and scared her that he was a soldier, now. They then had breakfast and as it got closer to his pick up time Penny got quieter.
Leonard had watched her get happier and happier the last couple of weeks so her drawing into herself now was so obvious. "Penny." he looked at her. "Penny, please." She finally looked at him. "I'm only going to be gone for a couple of hours, that's all. There is nothing to worry about."
She knew the answer but she had to ask, she couldn't help it. "Can I come with you?"
Leonard now knew what she meant a couple of weeks ago when he suggested she stay at her parents. She was so upset now he was only going away for a couple hours, if he left her there at the farm, she would have been a basket case. He sighed, then slowly shook his head. "They won't let you in the building."
"I can wait outside."
Leonard could hear the rain falling outside right now, but he knew she was serious, she would wait in the rain if he let her. He shook his head again. "No Honey." he saw her slouch even more in her seat, in defeat. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better, and as he racked his brain, the sergeant walked into the room.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter?" Leonard looked up and nodded, "Sir I'm your escort to the command post."
Leonard nodded again, then took Penny's hands to force her to help him stand up. Once up he took her in a tight hug, then kissed her for a few seconds, pulling away and looking at her, "I will be back in a couple hours, promise." She nodded then grabbed his crutches to hand to him.
Penny watched him leave the room stopping in the doorway to look at her and give her a smile she knew was just for her, then he was gone. Suddenly Penny felt the loneliest she had felt since she first came to him when he was first hurt, she had lost complete control of him, he was gone and there was nothing she could do. She sat there, unmoving, not knowing what to do with herself, she felt so helpless and alone.
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Leonard sat at the consol with a headset and microphone on, while watching the briefing, the camera facing him turned off until he was needed. The briefing started out with Howard briefing the suit to the three Congressmen, which Leonard found very interesting, finding out the modifications Howard had made and the improvements in safety. Then a movie was shown of the suit being walked around the lab, it again surprised Leonard that some of the footage showed Howard in the suit. Finally General Turner showed them the video from the test lab, when the suit blew up on Leonard, which made him feel weird and suddenly vulnerable, he had never seen the video before. He saw himself on the screen, then watched all the events that took place till the point of the explosion, it sent a chill down his body and made his arm and leg ache as he watched. He actually saw himself being pushed into the wall, by the explosion, before the camera was destroyed and the scene went black, it made him look down at his hands and wonder why he was still alive.
It was quiet in the briefing room after the movie ended, so Leonard jumped when he heard General Turner's voice suddenly come booming over the headset, obviously taking to the Congressmen. "The operator in the suit survived that explosion, the suit's protection was the only thing that saved him."
Leonard listened while one of the Congressmen responded, "Surely you are joking, that explosion was terrific, wasn't the man and suit blown up."
Turner smiled. "No Sir, the suit stayed together and hardened saving the operator….Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter, are you on the line?"
Leonard, his hand the on switch to the camera pointed at him, turned it on, "Yes Sir. Gentleman, I am Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter." Leonard could see the three Congressmen looking at him in disbelief, the before explosion video showed a good picture of his face, so he knew seeing him now only confirmed he was the man in the suit.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter, you are a brave man." The same Congressman stated, "Were you hurt badly?"
"Sir, I had some broken bones. Leg, hip ribs and arm, from going through the wall, but I am going through Physical Therapy now and they plan on releasing me in a couple of weeks."
The Congressman shook his head in disbelief then turned to his associates for a short conversation, finally turning back to Leonard, "Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter, since you were the one who went through that, what is you opinion of the suit?"
"Sir it saved my life, I can't explain how much trust I put in it, but it works and it will keep people alive." Leonard watched the Congressmen nod.
"Thank you Lieutenant Colonel Hofstadter, and we hope you heal quickly, the Army needs men like you." The Congressman looked at Turner, "I think we have seen enough of the briefings and videos. We would like to see the actual suit."
"Yes Sir, we have set up a demonstration after lunch gentlemen. If you follow me, we have lunch set up for you." Leonard watched the Congressmen leave the briefing room followed by Turner, who before he left the room turned to the camera Leonard was watching and nodded, a small smile on his face.
Leonard sat there for a few seconds till the screen went blank, then took off the head set, standing up and getting his crutches, as he looked for his escort. "Can I go back to the hospital, now?"
Leonard walked into the room, on his crutches, to find Penny laying on the bed her eyes wide open. She came off the bed so fast and was hugging him before he knew it and it felt so good to hold her, especially after the last couple of hours, he had really missed her. He squeezed her tight, as she did him, and suddenly he knew why he was still alive, he was alive for her .
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The afternoon demonstration went on without a problem, the suit performed flawlessly and the Congressmen were impressed, actually dazzled. For safety reasons, they wouldn't shoot live ammo at Howard, but they did shoot a demonstration chest panel of the suit, with a 50 caliber aircraft gun, showing how the bullets could not penetrate the fabric. Howard then showed how the exoskeleton gave the wearer increased strength as he moved large backing plates, the same that Leonard moved in the video, for the Congressmen, like they were feathers, the new suit much stronger than the first suit. Finally Howard locked on and cut down three 5 inch metal poles with the laser, then walked up to the Congressmen to explain some of the other features while he pointed them out in the suit. He knew he impressed them because when he approached them two of the men backed away slightly as he got close. They eventually touched the suit and asked him questions after he took the helmet off and didn't look so scary.
Turner was pleased when he came back into the test support building from sending the Congressmen on their way. "Howard, good job, really good job."
Howard nodded, "So they liked it. Do you think they will approve the money, Sir?"
Turner smiled. "Before they left they asked me how much are we going to need this year. Yes Howard, I think we got the money."
"That's good to hear Sir." Howard was happy, he liked working on this project, so knowing it was going to be fully funded meant he was going to work on it for a while.
Turner nodded, "I swear Howard, between you and Hofstadter, I think you could have sold those men the Brooklyn Bridge today." Turned chuckled at his own joke.
Howard chuckled, "Sir our duty is to serve."
Turned laughed, patting Howard on the back. "Well you served with distinction today, Lieutenant Colonel Wolowitz, you served the Army and your country well."
"Thank you Sir." Howard then watched as Turner reached out his hand to him, which Howard immediately took and shook, then Howard stepped back and gave Turner the smartest salute he could do. Turned quickly saluted back then nodded and smiled, turning and leaving Howard to finish his work.
Howard slowly finished up his work securing the suit, a feeling of real accomplishment running through his being. He never felt man enough or good enough to be in NASA, much less the military and today, he was told he was doing a great job by a respected General Officer, to say it didn't make him feel good, would be a lie. He looked at the sleeve of his uniform, he still couldn't believe he was an Army Lieutenant Colonel and that the Army was happy to have him.
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In a classified facility, over a thousands miles from where Leonard and Howard were right now, the senior analyst stared at the two satellite photos again, checking for about the twentieth time that what she was seeing was correct. Their office had been searching for it for weeks, devoting almost all their man power to this one search, and now that they thought they found it, they needed to be certain. However, every time she looked at the satellite picture, it only confirmed what she saw, she really had no doubt. She turned to her boss who had been standing off to the side, not to close to crowd her, but still close enough to watch, she nodded her head to him, making him rush over to her.
"You agree, that's what we are looking for?" Her boss was both excited and concerned.
She smiled, "Yes Jason found it, I confirm his finding. The visual looks like the object and the thermal matches the pattern that was sent to us. I say the confidence level is above 95 percent."
Her boss smiled, her 95 percent confidence level was like saying it was a sure thing, "Thanks Karen, we need to tell the Department of Defense this information immediately."