A/N: Once again, a big thank you to all those who read and reviewed. Here's chapter 6 of this story. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from The Big Bang Theory. I don't own any of the characters.

CHAPTER 6

Penny's soft crying stopped after a while. Leonard looked at her and saw, that she had fallen asleep. Struggling to keep his own tears at bay he closed his eyes and fell asleep a few minutes later as well.

With a start Leonard woke up from a dream he immediately forgot as soon as he had opened his eyes. He watched on his phone and saw it was only 4.30 a.m. He looked over at Penny, but couldn't see and feel her next to him. He was a little bit confused, then he turned around and saw her dark silhouette standing in front of the window of the hotel room, streetlight falling through it, which let the room appear in dark shades of grey and blue.

He got up, put on his glasses that lay on the nightstand next to his phone and walked towards Penny. In the pale light that came from outside he could see, that she was crying. She looked at him, her eyes full of sadness and hurt. Tears were running down her face. It broke his heart.

Leonard wrapped his arms around Penny, pulling her close to him. She buried her face into his shoulder and let her tears freely roll on to Leonard's shirt. After a while he felt her trembling as she started to sob now. Holding Penny tight, Leonard now couldn't stop his own tears from falling. "We will see each other again", he croaked with a shaking voice. "I promise." His sight blurred because of the tears in his eyes, Leonard tenderly cupped Penny's cheek with his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "Penny, I promise. It won't be long until we'll see each other again."

Penny looked at him, an unstoppable stream of tears welling up from her eyes. "I'm gonna miss you so much," she said amongst sobs in a breaking voice. "So, so much. I don't know how I can get through this time without you." Penny's sobbing increased. "And when will we see each other again? When Leonard? When?" She was barely able to speak. Her sobbing began to convulse her body.

Leonard hold her tighter. "I don't know. But please believe me, I will leave no stone unturned. It will be as soon as possible. I promise, Penny. I promise."

Penny didn't say anything. She just wanted to be held. After a few minutes Leonard's tight embrace began to have a calming effect on her. Her sobbing stopped, but tears were still rolling down her cheeks. "As soon as you're back in California you have to call me. Will you do that?"

"Of course. I will call you. From today. Every. Single. Day," he assured her. "And again, I will leave no stone unturned. We will see each other again in no time."

Looking into his wonderful brown eyes, all her thoughts were focused on how much she would miss him. She would miss everything about him so much. His face, his voice, his smile, his eyes...his hair. She run her fingers through Leonard's soft and curly hair. Yes, I'm even gonna miss his hair. She looked at him with a sad smile. "Promise!" she demanded almost in a whisper.

Both had more or less stopped to cry by now. He brushed the remaining tears on Penny's face away with his thumb and smiled. "I promise," he said in a soft voice.

They stood in silence by the window, embracing each other, not wanting to let go of the other. After a few minutes of silently holding each other, crying so hard finally took a toll on Penny. She was exhausted and almost fell asleep with her head leaning against his shoulder. Leonard gently stroked her back, his head buried in her hair, inhaling the infatuating apple scent of her shampoo. The silence was interrupted when the alarm on Leonard's phone suddenly started. He had set the alarm for 5 a.m. They wanted to leave the hotel at 6 a.m. to have enough time to drive the 17 miles to Newark International Airport, where Penny's flight to Omaha would depart, and arrive the airport with enough time left for checking in and going through the security screening.

Nobody wanted to move. They wanted to hold each other like this forever. Penny felt safe and secure in Leonard's embrace. But unfortunately time doesn't stand still. Reluctantly they moved apart. "I have to go to my room and get ready," Leonard said. "Take all the time you need to get ready. I'll meet you at six, then we'll drive to the airport, okay?"

Penny nodded and gave him a tender kiss on his lips. "Okay."

While Penny went into the bathroom, Leonard got dressed and walked back to his hotel room. It was dark inside the room and Howard and Raj were still sleeping. Sitting for a moment on a chair he took a deep breath, before he went into the bathroom and took a shower. After finishing the rest of his morning wash, he stepped out in the hotel room again. He switched on the light and started to dress, which prompted Howard and Raj to wake up.

"Hey Leonard. Where were you last night?" Howard asked.

"I bet, he bedded Penny," Raj chuckled.

Leonard just looked at them not answering Howard's question and ignoring Raj's comment. "Penny's flight back to Omaha is at 8.30. I'll drive her to the airport in Newark. When I'm back we can check out and drive to JFK for our flight to Los Angeles."

Howard and Raj just nodded, seeing the obvious sadness in Leonard's face. They both recognized there was something serious going on between him and Penny and it wasn't the time for making inappropriate comments.

All the way to the airport Leonard and Penny remained silent and for their liking they arrived at the airport way too soon. They parked their car and picked a luggage trolley for Penny's baggage. Without speaking a word they walked to the departure terminal. Because of their early arrival there was no line at the ticket counter of Penny's airline, so she could check in immediately. Given their mood, the exaggerated kindness and the artificial looking smile of the airline staff behind the counter appeared strangely misplaced to Leonard and Penny. They were certainly not in a smiling mood. They had some time left until Penny's boarding call. Leonard took the sports bag, which Penny determined as her hand luggage and slung it over his shoulder. Holding hands, they slowly began to walk towards the security area. With each step they came closer to this area both of their stomachs turned.

Standing in front of the security area, where their ways had to part, Leonard turned to Penny, took both her hands and looked at her. "Umm...okay, this is really hard for me." Tears began to form in his eyes. "Damn, I don't want to cry."

Penny smiled, also trying hard to hold back her tears.

Leonard took a deep breath and blinked the tears away. "Penny, these two last weeks were the most wonderful time in my life. I..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, because Penny couldn't hold back her tears anymore and started to cry. Leonard immediately put his arms around her. "Please Penny. Don't cry."

"I'm sorry, Leonard," she apologized. "I wanted to stay strong, but I...I can't."

Leonard looked deeply into Penny's eyes. "You can, Penny. We can." Leonard cupped her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Remember, as soon as I'm back in California I will call you. From today I will call you at least one time every day," he reassured her. "I will call you so often, you'll feel annoyed by my intrusiveness," he chuckled.

Still crying, Penny couldn't help to smile at Leonard's last remark.

"Was that a smile?" Leonard asked mischievously.

Penny pursed her lips, tears still rolling down her face. "Maybe."

Leonard chuckled softly and looked deeply into her eyes again. "Penny, we'll find a way to see each other again as soon as possible. Trust me. Okay?"

"Okay." Penny nodded and took a deep breath. "Leonard, for me these last two weeks were the most wonderful time in my life too. I know, I've already said it numerous times. But thank you. Thank you for taking me along with you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to escape from my life in Omaha. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome Penny."

For a few minutes they just stood in their embrace, holding each other tightly. Way too soon Penny's flight was called up by a loudspeaker announcement.

Penny sighed. "This is my flight."

Leonard nodded. He let go of Penny, knowing that if he didn't let go now he never would. With his thumbs he wiped the last remaining tears on her face away. "I will miss you Penny."

"I will miss you too, Leonard. So much."

"Have a safe flight. And remember I will call you, as soon as I'm back in California."

"Okay," Penny smiled and put a hand to his cheek. She leaned forward and kissed him. "Goodbye, Leonard."

"Goodbye, Penny. See you soon."

She hugged Leonard one more time and gave him another quick peck on his lips. Taking her sports bag from Leonard, she walked towards the gate of the security area. Shortly before Penny arrived the gate, she turned around and waved at Leonard with a smile on her face. He beckoned back, smiling as well. Then she went through the gate and was out of sight.

Feeling numb inside, Leonard walked back to his rental car and returned to the hotel in Brooklyn. Once he was back on the parking lot of the hotel, all pent up emotions forged ahead. Sitting in the car, he started to cry like never before in his life. Not having Penny at his side in this moment, felt like his heart was ripped out. Tears streamed down his face and there was no way it would stop anytime soon. Crying became sobbing and he wanted to bray out all the sadness and despair he felt. It took almost twenty minutes to regain his composure again. He went back to his hotel room, where Howard and Raj had already finished to pack. Not much was spoken. Howard and Raj knew, bringing up Penny wouldn't be a good idea. An hour later they checked out of the hotel and drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport. After turning in their rental car, checking in at the ticket counter and going through the security screening, they were waiting to board their flight back to California.

Penny's plane landed in Omaha dead on time. After getting her baggage in the arrival terminal of Omaha's Eppley Airfield, she called her parents, as she needed someone who would take her home. Thirty minutes later she sat on the passenger seat next to her mother. Apart from a short unemotional greeting, they remained silent during the whole time they drove to Penny's apartment. She just stared out of the window. Her mother Susan immediately sensed that Penny was in an emotional turmoil, but she knew she couldn't talk with her right now. Penny would just shut down. Once they had arrived, Susan helped her daughter to bring the baggage into her apartment. She offered her a lunch at the farm, but Penny declined. Not wanting to put any pressure on her, Susan hugged Penny, gave her a kiss on the forehead and bid good bye to her daughter.

Sitting in the solitude of her little apartment without Leonard at her side was hard to bear. She looked at the clock in the kitchen area. It was half past twelve, time for lunch, but she wasn't hungry. The only thing in her mind was Leonard. In about five hours he would arrive in Los Angeles. Not knowing what to do to bridge the time, she went to her bedroom and lay down on her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she relived every moment with Leonard since the day she met him in the restaurant. Every time she closed her eyes she could see his face. It was so close, but she couldn't touch it. The constant thought of not having him here by her side inevitably brought back tears to her eyes, which ran down on the sides of her face. Penny didn't know how long she lay on her bed, wrapped in thought of Leonard, but eventually sleep overpowered her.

During the whole flight, Leonard wasn't able to think about something else than Penny. Even when he closed his eyes, he saw her. At one point he had fallen asleep and had a vivid dream of Penny and him making out in a wheatfield. The kissing felt so real, when he woke up he had serious difficulties to come back into reality. Realizing that he was sitting in a plane heading towards Los Angeles without Penny, hit him so hard, that sadness and despair came back with a vengeance. A single tear rolled down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away, before Howard or Raj, who sat in the same row, could see it.

While Leonard slept, Howard and Raj had a quiet conversation.

"Dude, I think Leonard has fallen in love with Penny," Raj whispered.

"Yeah, I think so too. Have you seen how devastated he was, when he came back from the airport in Newark. Pain of parting at its best," Howard replied.

"Let's make a deal," Raj suggested. "Leonard is our friend. There is definitely something going on between these two. So, neither of us will hit on Penny, if we'll see her again. Agreed?"

"This is difficult for a Wolowitz man. But...yeah...Agreed!"

Leonard, Howard and Raj arrived in Los Angeles at 5.30 p.m. Three-quarters of an hour later they stood in front of the terminal. Leonard managed to find a relatively quiet corner and called Penny, as promised.

Penny was still sleeping when her phone rang. She slowly opened her eyes, not realizing at first she was hearing the sound of a ringing phone. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh my god, it's Leonard." She practically fell out of bed and stormed into her living room to her sofa, picking up her phone to answer the call. "Hi, Leonard!" She smiled, slightly out of breath.

"Hi, Penny! Here's my call, as promised. I arrived in Los Angeles safe and sound."

"It's so good to hear your voice again."

"You can't imagine how much I missed yours."

Penny's voice began to show unambiguous signs that she was about to cry. "I miss you Leonard."

"I miss you too," he said softly. "But please, don't cry. Or I have to cry as well."

"Okay, okay!" Penny calmed herself. "No crying! I try to pull myself together."

They talked for a few minutes, before Howard and Raj started pushing him to end the call. After Leonard ended the call with an emotional good bye, that didn't go unnoticed for Howard and Raj, they hailed a cab to finally get home. First Howard was dropped off, followed by Raj. Finally the cab stood in front of the apartment building at 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California. Leonard was home again.

Sighing that he had to use the stairs, because the elevator in the apartment building was broken, after it was damaged by one of his experiments involving rocket fuel, he started to climb up the steps with his baggage. A few minutes later Leonard opened the door to apartment 4A, the place he lived.

His roommate Sheldon sat in his special spot on the couch watching TV. "Hi Leonard," the lanky theoretical physicist greeted him.

"Hi, Sheldon. I'm back."

"I can see that," Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

Leonard put down his baggage, walked to his armchair and flopped down on it. "What's new?"

"What's new?" Sheldon asked flabbergasted. "New in what context? Physics, Trains, Movies, Video Games? Please be a little more specific."

Leonard specified his question. "Okay, what's new here in our apartment building?"

"See, this is a specific question. Sometimes I wonder how you can work scientifically, when you're not able to ask expedient questions. But then again, you're an experimental physicist. You're not doing scientific work, anyway," Sheldon condescendingly said. Getting a glare from Leonard, he continued. "Well, to answer your question, our neighbor in 4B has moved out last week."

Leonard immediately listened attentively. "The big man, who loves to wear women's clothes?"

"Yes, the two hundred pound transvestite with a skin condition. Do you know any other?"

Leonard jumped up from his armchair and ran into his room. Sheldon just shook his head and continued watching TV. Inside his room, Leonard yanked his phone from one of the pockets of his hoodie and dialed Penny's number. After just two seconds he heard Penny's lovely voice.

"Hi, Leonard. I didn't expect to hear from you again so soon," she said enthusiastically.

"Hi, Penny. Well...umm. There's something I need to tell you."

She was really excited now. "I'm all ears."

"Okay, here's the thing." Leonard explained, what he just learned a few minutes ago and what it could mean for him and Penny. "Our neighbor across the hall has moved out last week and his apartment is free now. Umm...you could move in there. I...I can take over a guarantee for you. I will do that. Absolutely! And I will help you to find a job, so you can pay the rent. What do you say?"

There was silence. Leonard was a bit concerned. "Penny?"

"Wow, Leonard." She needed a few seconds to process the information Leonard just gave her. "This is like a dream come true. I could really come to California and live in an apartment right across the hall from you?"

"Umm, yes. Sorry, I spring with this on you," he apologized. "Well, I promised I would make sure that we could see each other again as soon as possible. So, I...I just thought..."

"Leonard, sweetie, I don't want to stay here in Omaha. There's nothing left for me in this town. You said I should hold on to my dreams. My dream since I was a little girl was to go to California to become an actress. But I could also go back to school to get a degree. But the most important thing. I could be with you."

"Does this mean you really take this into consideration?" Leonard asked.

"Yes, Leonard. I want to be with you."

A feeling of incredible happiness shot through Leonard's body. She really wanted to be with him. Not just for a visit, but for the long run. They continued to talk for almost two hours, discussing the procedure that would be necessary and already making plans. Leonard could hear that Sheldon already had gone to bed, when their telephone conversation drew to a close.

"I can't believe this is really happening. This is so exciting." Penny said.

"It is, isn't it?"

Penny yawned. "Yep!"

"You're tired. You should go to bed."

"Yes, I'm really tired." She yawned again. "I send you a thousand kisses."

Leonard chuckled. "Received."

"Good night, Leonard," she smiled, which he couldn't see of course.

"Good night, Penny."

For Leonard and Penny it was impossible to think of sleep in that night. Several hours earlier both of them only felt sadness and despair, because they believed it would take a really long time until they could see each other again. And now at the end of this day they felt joy, hope and confidence.

The next day, Leonard called the landlord and asked if apartment 4B was still available. To his great joy he got a positive answer and said he would know someone who could move in. After explaining he would guarantee for the new tenant, the landlord assured Leonard he would keep the apartment free. He immediately called Penny and told her the good news.

From now on everything took its course. Because of some deadlines Penny had to stay in her apartment in Omaha till the end of October, which gave her enough time to arrange everything, especially the shipment of her furniture from Omaha to Pasadena. There was no turning back. Penny would move to California and she would live in an apartment across from Leonard.

Leonard and Penny spoke to each other on the phone several times a day for the next three and a half weeks until Penny would arrive in Pasadena. For the remaining time in Omaha, Penny earned some money by taking care of some horses at a farm near her parents farm. It wasn't easy for her to convince her parents that moving to California would be the right thing to do. Eventually it was Leonard, that made them accept Penny's move. She spoke so highly of him, always with a joyful sparkle in her eyes. They didn't want to stand in her daughter's path to happiness. The way Penny spoke of Leonard, told Wyatt and Susan there was something really special going on between them.

Penny's furniture arrived in Pasadena shortly before the end of the month. With the help of Howard and Raj, who still couldn't believe that Penny would move to California, Leonard brought her furniture into apartment 4B. Given that the elevator was broken this was a really difficult and exhausting task. They wanted to pass a furnished apartment on to Penny. The final touch was up to Penny of course. Needless to say, that Sheldon didn't help the three men at all, as he couldn't understand all this fuss because of a girl.

Standing in the door, Sheldon observed the bustle inside of apartment 4B. "Leonard, you are dragging this girl along. It's your obligation to take care of her."

"Oh no!" Leonard replied sarcastically. "Does this mean, you don't give me advice in girl matters?"

"No, I don't think so," Sheldon answered in his typical matter-of-fact style.

"Damn!" Leonard said in a fake annoyed tone.

Howard and Raj giggled. Sheldon turned to them and then to Leonard. "Sarcasm?"

"Think about it." Leonard replied with a bright smile on his face.

"Drat! I really have to learn to recognize it." He sighed and walked back to apartment 4A.

On the last night before she would leave Omaha and become a California girl so to say, Penny lay on a mattress in her more or less empty apartment. After her bed, TV and kitchen appliances were on their way to California, she moved in with her parents again for a few days, but the last night before moving to Pasadena she wanted to spent here.

Staring at the ceiling she couldn't believe the luck she had to met Leonard. She looked at the pictures she took of him on her phone and admired his fascinating smile, his soft and curly hair and those wonderful brown eyes. In addition there was his kindness, his warm-heartedness, his selflessness. Leonard was the whole package. She also thought back to the night they made love in New York and his amazing tenderness. She couldn't wait to see him again, to feel him again. With thoughts of Leonard she drifted off to sleep, having a wonderful dream of her new life in California.

To be continued...