Chapter 24 - Gradual Calming
The news traveled through the group almost as fast as the time when Sheldon and Amy made up that story she was pregnant. Howard told Bernadette, who called Amy, who told Sheldon on the way home that night, even Emily knew about it that afternoon when Raj told her in a conversation they had about their plans that weekend. The story being passed that Leonard had left for his offer at Cambridge, Penny being left alone again and heartbroken. Amy and Bernadette trying to contact Penny all afternoon Friday sort of confirmed to them that Penny was really upset and only allowed the gossip to self validate itself that Leonard and Penny were over.
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Penny's phone was still on vibrate, from when she had been in the studio, and as her and Leonard walked along the beach, her phone laid on the bed, in their room, that phone being the last thing on Penny's mind. Penny was too busy watching her fiancé as they walked barefoot through the sand, he hadn't shaved that day and had facial hair shadow covering his jaw line. He was also wearing his bathing suit and had an unbutton shirt over his chest, which had been getting harder since he had been working on trying to do pull ups to impress her, he done one and was now working on doing two in a row. Finally he was wearing prescription sunglasses making him look…hot, and Penny was getting aroused just being around him, like he was now.
He was also being incredibly sweet to her, she loved walking barefoot on the beach near the waterline, her feet squishing in the sand as the water washed up against her toes. It was obvious to her he was taking care of her, keeping her happy in her pregnancy, spoiling her and loving her. It was just like she dreamed being pregnant would be some day, a loving man who treated her special because she was carrying their child. Then a pang of guilt washed over her, it would have been perfect if the child was his, the knowledge of it probably not being his made her feel ashamed.
Penny felt Leonard squeeze her hand and she quickly turned to look at him to see him staring at her with concern. "Penny, I think I lost you for a moment. Can I ask what is bothering you?"
"Nothing Leonard." she said too fast and too defensively, she could see by his look he knew better and as she kept looking at him she felt he was reading her mind. That and the need to be honest with him made her confess, "It's just this is so perfect, it feels like a husband and pregnant wife walking down a beach in love, it is just…."
"Penny, new start together, remember." he softly said
"But Leonard…I'm so sorry." she responded turning her head away, his stare too intense for her at that moment.
He stopped, which made her stop, then he took her into his arms, since they were both about the same height and shoeless they naturally came together, as Leonard slid her arms under her bathing suit cover up, then around her waist, and she warped her arms around his neck. They just stood there for several minutes, the water lapping over their feet as the tide came in, it was extremely soothing for Penny and she found herself relaxing fully into him, a feeling of extreme contentment consuming her. He didn't have to say a word to her, his embrace said it all, everything was going to be okay, he was promising her that and she loved him for it.
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Sheldon had been listening to Amy off and on since they got back to the apartment, his mind being distracted by the thoughts of Leonard being gone and with him gone, how Penny now would be more susceptible to his influence. Penny with Leonard had been a torn in his side every time they were pair bonded, they drew strength from each other, when they were together, to oppose him in every decision. He thought about the Switzerland trip, their constant violation of the apartment noise rules, that stupid table they tried to push on him and how she would defend Leonard when Sheldon had to scold him for some roommate infraction. With him gone that was now over, things would finally go the right way, his way.
"Sheldon?" Amy's voice made him turn to look at her, scolding himself for being so distracted.
"Yes Amy." he tried to sound like he was in complete control
"What were you thinking about, you seemed lost in thought for a moment." Amy still looked at him confused.
He knew he had to give her an answer, but he didn't want to tell her exactly what he was thinking, so he changed it in his mind, modifying it so it wasn't exactly a lie and his lie ticks wouldn't give him away. "I was just thinking how distressed Penny must be because Leonard has left her."
"Really, you care how Penny feels." Amy asked in shock.
"She is carrying my child, and as the baby container, I want her to be in optimum condition to succeed in that task. She has never excelled in anything, but nature has given her the hearty genes to produce children, so this will give her the opportunity to finally succeed in something." Sheldon explained.
As a professional woman, Amy couldn't help being a little offended for her bestie, Sheldon actually thought Penny was only good for producing children. It made her think back to when her and him talked about having a test tube baby, she remembered he had suggested they rent Penny to carrying it. Then she also remembered the napkin story and how he wanted to use Penny's eggs and womb to clone Leonard Nimoy. He always said Penny's only skill was coitus, and that if Leonard could get over that feature of her, he would dump her quickly. Sheldon didn't even understand the love between them or the chemistry they had, even Stuart noticed it, but then she shook her head when she remembered that the love was probably gone now and that is why Leonard was leaving.
Amy shook her head, even though his reasons where self centered, helping Penny would still need to be done and she wanted to help her bestie. "Well we will have to try to help her get over this."
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Bernadette came over late Friday night and after knocking on Penny's door for several minutes, was joined by Amy who heard her blonde friend after the knocks got louder. It wasn't long before they both were frustrated standing outside Penny's door, just looking at each other. Bernadette turned to Amy, "Do you have any idea if she is home?"
"I haven't heard anything from her apartment all day, but to be fair, her and Leonard kept themselves away from Sheldon pretty good this week." Amy then shrugged.
"Do you guys still have her spare key?" Bernadette said hopeful.
Amy shook her head, "Sheldon put it in her mailbox after that night and said he didn't want anything to do with her." Saying that made Amy think, Sheldon had changed, not because of any caring for Penny, but because of the baby.
"Maybe we should call the manager and have them open the door? I mean I don't think anything happened but you never know." Bernadette now looked at Amy hoping she had a better answer to where Penny was.
"What if she went home again?" Amy suggested.
"You think so!" Bernadette looked at her phone, then up to Amy. "I can't call her parents, if she is not there it will worry them."
Amy nodded, "Try calling her again." it was all she could think of now.
"She hasn't been answering all day." Bernadette looked at Amy, a helpless expression on her face, "Oh what the hell." she then hit Penny's number on her speed dial.
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Leonard and Penny had just gotten out of the shower so they could dress and go out for a late dinner. The shower they shared was probably the most intimate she had ever experienced, they didn't have sex, they just held each other and kissed a little, but Penny felt they had given each other their souls in those moments. They had stood under the shower just holding each other, Leonard's warm naked body pressed against her, made her feel so secure, peaceful, content and happy that she couldn't remember ever feeling that way before. She never knew it could feel like this, loving a person who you knew loved you as much or even more, this was the real love that she never found with any other man, even Kurt or Mike, who she actually thought at one time she loved.
Penny now felt Leonard's arms surround her from behind, a small smile coming to her face as she felt a hand over her belly, it made her naturally lean back against him. She closed her eyes as the warmth spread through her, how could his hand on her belly make her feel so good, but it did and she immediately went to her good place, that place where she was happy ever after with Leonard. Her phone vibrating on the end table, broke her out of her trance, and she wouldn't have answered the phone just because of that, but she could see it was from Bernadette.
"Sweetie, maybe I should answer that, it is Bernadette calling." She just said that before Leonard's lips contacted the back of her neck, her not able to contain the moan that escaped her lips, as her mind made Leonard the higher priority over the phone.
Leonard then stopped, nodding, "Maybe you should, it could be important." he then moved toward the end table with her, not letting her go.
They walked a little funny those couple of steps, but Penny was glad he didn't let her go. She leaned back against him as she put the phone to her ear, again the feeling of him against her occupying most of her mind. "Hi Bernadette." she said softly, almost a whisper.
"Yes I went out of town…..I needed to get away this weekend…..yes I'm okay…..why don't we get together Monday night, just the three of us…okay see you then…..Honestly Bernadette, I'm doing fine…okay, I promise, see you Monday." Penny then hung up her phone.
"Is everything okay?" Leonard asked as he held her.
Penny responded to him in the same soft steady voice. "She is worried about me. She really helped me a lot the last couple of months."
Leonard now felt bad, "I'm sorry."
A small smile formed on Penny's face, then she let out a little chuckle. "A wise man told me, that when you start a new, we forget about what happened before. Do you know who that wise man was."
Leonard, nodded. "Me. You're right, I should live by what I preach."
Penny rotated in Leonard's arms and her smile got bigger, just looking into his big brown eyes was enough to melt her, she immediately kissed him hard. It was shortly after they came up for air, Penny's dilated eyes almost black, she wanted him so bad, but they had to eat first, she was eating for two now. "Sweetie, I'm pregnant and you just walked me up and down the beach making me starved, you need to feed me."
Leonard chuckled at the serious tone in her voice. "Your wish is my command, my love."
Penny giggled, "Lets go someplace not to fancy and where we can eat reasonably quickly, I have plans for you later, after dinner."
Leonard looked at her in fake seriousness, "Don't we have to wait an hour after we eat, after all we are at the beach?" He got a light punch on the arm from Penny as she giggled and took his towel off his nude body which resulted in her towel being grabbed by him. There was then a few minutes of tickling before Penny was almost peeing herself from laughing so hard and then, after they calmed down, they finally got dressed for dinner.
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Bernadette looked at her phone, not knowing what to think, Penny said she was fine, but her voice was so quiet and it was not like her to be so subdued. However she did say she was out of town, so she probably went home again, that was what she was doing when things got too much for her. Bernadette believed her when she said she would be back to talk on Monday, so they would just have to wait to see what happened then. Bernadette looked up to see an expectant Amy, still waiting to hear what happened on the phone.
"She is out of town and will be back Monday. She wants to have a girls night with us then, so that is good. She also says she is okay, but I guess we will have to wait till Monday to really find out." Bernadette now sighed.
Amy sighed too, "Hey she is okay, we should be happy about that right?"
Bernadette nodded, "Well I'm going to go home, I'll let you know if I heard anything else."
Amy nodded, "Me too." she then hugged Bernadette and watched her walk down stairs, before walking back into 4A.
"What was that about?" Sheldon asked in greeting.
"Penny is out of town, but seems be doing reasonably okay. So I guess things are good for now." Amy responded.
Sheldon visibly relaxed, "That is good to hear, I hate dealing with weepy women with relationship issues." Amy just looked at him and shook her head.
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The weekend ended much too fast for Penny, she could have stayed on the beach for weeks with Leonard by her side. The only time the whole weekend they hadn't been together when was one of them used the bathroom, otherwise they were in each others company the whole weekend. Penny loved it, it had made her feel more secure in their relationship and it seemed to energize her, her feelings about everything seemed to visibly improve to even her. So when Monday morning rolled around, Penny woke up with a big smile on her face, waking up in Leonard's arms as he spooned her, and immediately rotating in his arms to see his big brown eyes.
Leonard couldn't help smile at her big smile as she turned to face him. "Morning Sunshine, you seem happy this morning."
"Well I had a great weekend with this hot guy, I am going to move into this great apartment in a few weeks, and I am going to work as an actress this morning. Yeah a little bit."
Leonard chuckled, then gave her that smile that was just for her, "Good."
Penny got up that morning when Leonard went into the shower, starting the coffee and getting out of her freezer a microwaveable sausage and egg croissant for Leonard when he came out. It was only 15 minutes later they were both sitting at the kitchen island, quietly talking, while Leonard ate, it being so domestic that Penny couldn't help the warm feeling that filled her that she could at least feed him before he left to work. She knew she would go to work later today, by herself now and she was ready, but looking at Leonard's eyes made her want to keep him again like she had all weekend.
"You know you can sleep-in, you don't have to make me breakfast." Leonard said while looking at her eyes, too.
Penny just smiled, "I'm actually enjoying this and you sort of have me on your schedule now, so I feel fine getting up this early. I will just take my time getting ready, then take a leisurely drive to work and spend some more gossip time with Carol." she giggled at the last part.
Leonard chuckled, "Well as long as you have a plan."
Penny's plan almost fell apart when she kissed him before he left, the feeling of his body against hers and his kiss almost breaking her resolve to let him go. But she knew she had to and as she broke the kiss she looked into those deep brown eyes, "I love you Leonard, please take care of yourself and have fun today." she then hugged him hard as she tried not to cry.
While in the hug he whispered back to her, "I love you too, honey and you have fun today too, okay?" Penny nodded and let him go, stealing a small kiss on his lips just before he turned and left. It suddenly felt so empty in her apartment, now that he was gone, but at least she had things to do, so she headed to the bedroom to get ready for work.
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They had actually aired out Leonard's new office really well over the weekend, so he began his morning unpacking his things into a office that was over twice the size of his old one. It was simple work unpacking and placing things around his new office so it gave him time to think as he worked, think especially about their weekend. He smiled, Penny had visibly brightened over the weekend, it was really evident this morning when she let him go to work without pouting and she seemed happy to be going to work herself. It was definitely a big change, she was being herself again, the pain he caused her seemed to finally be going away.
He knew the weekend at the beach had done the trick, Penny loved the beach, she always seemed happy there and that is why he had searched for that place after he found out about her being cast for a sitcom pilot, several months ago. It was to be a celebration weekend for her, her career as an actress starting to take off and he had wanted to do something special for her. But going this weekend had been more therapeutic for her, it had been the perfect place for her to relax, especially after they got over that first day walk on the beach, where she slightly regressed. That evening he took her to a very romantic restaurant with a small dance floor, even though they originally only planned on a quick dinner. They ended up staying for a couple hours, eating then dancing to some of the slow songs, her happiness that evening making it a wonderful night for both of them.
The next day when he took her to a nearby spa, it had excited her more than he imagined, especially since he booked a couples package, so that he was with her the whole time. He lost count how many times she told him 'thank you' or the small kisses she gave him that whole day, and even if he did have to suffer through a pedicure, her happy expression that day again made it all worth it. That evening after another nice dinner, they again walked on the beach, then watched the sun go down sitting together on their deck, just holding each other. Even Sunday they had fun, going swimming and laying in the sun most of the morning and early afternoon, after rubbing suntan lotion over each other's bodies which almost ended with them getting carried away kissing on the beach, just catching themselves before they did something embarrassing. It made him feel great how happy she was as they drove home that late afternoon, her smile seeming permanently fused to her face, and her again repeating over and over what a great time she had.
Leonard suddenly realized he had stopped working, he had been so lost in his memories of that weekend and how happy Penny had been, he had stopped unpacking. Luckily he was almost done, because that afternoon there was going to be a department meeting and Gablehauser was going to announce Leonard's new position. He was excited to get settled in and begin work again, while he still knew he would be happy to leave each day too, to see Penny in the evening. Leonard started to put things away, as he whistled, another freedom he was beginning to enjoy since his cutting of the umbilical from Sheldon.