SRAM: I'm afraid I'm becoming a bit too predictable :D At least you got your wish ;)

Belial247: Never skim parts, what an outrage ^^

Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appeared in the show.

Disclaimer2: Using terribleWaitress's characters for Penny's family again, because I'm used to them.


"Leonard?" Penny whispered to Leonard who had been sitting quietly at the grave of his first girlfriend.

"Hm?" he looked at her.

"I think we should ask your dad to come with us to my parents." she stated.

"What?" he was confused. "Why do you think that?"

"Look at him." she pointed and Leonard looked at his dad, whose body was clearly shaking in the way of someone who was crying. "I mean, I know how strong he is, both physically and mentally but if I weren't knowing him, I'd be afraid he'd try to hurt himself when being left alone."

"I think you are reading too much into this." Leonard wasn't convinced. "He has cried like this every time we come here. And while that may sound insensitive, he never has shown any suicidal tendencies."

"But was he ever alone on a Christmas?" she retorted.

"Well... no, actually." Leonard had to admit. "I missed our dinner twice due to a job but I was home for the Christmas days."

"See?" Penny smiled. "Why not just ask him."

"Would your parents even be okay with that?" Leonard turned to her. "I mean, it's one thing for them to accept the man whose life you saved and who saved your life but meeting the man who agreed to train you?"

"I'm sure my parents will like him too." Penny waved off his concerns. "He's a decent man. And as you have seen, my parents are very observing about things like that. Well, at least my mom is."

"And your dad has guns." Leonard chuckled.

"Which I'm sure your dad would be easily able to get from him." Penny replied, also giggling. "Come on, lets do this. You still need to pack and buy a plane ticket."

"No, we're using my plane." Leonard shook his head. "I decided to follow my dad's advice and take my boys with me, I don't want to leave them alone again for a couple of weeks after leaving them for three months."

"What do I do with my ticket?" she asked.

"Cancel it." he shrugged. "Or did you already pay for it."

"Um, no." she thought about it, having only reserved it to be paid for on pick up.

"Then it's settled." Leonard nodded and got up, leading her back to his family's graves. "Dad, ready to leave?"

"Yeah." Albert nodded and wiped his eyes. "You can drop me off at home."

"Will do." Leonard agreed. "And then you're going to pack."

"Pack?" Albert stopped dead in his tracks, almost making Penny walk into his back. "Why? What for?"

"You're coming with us to her parents." Leonard stated.

"Why would I do that?" Albert was confused. "They don't know me."

"Given that you expect grandchildren from us..." Leonard chuckled and pointed at Penny, who blushed at the idea, this particular thought feeling a little too much right now. "... don't you think you should meet her parents?"

"But now?" Albert shot back. "You think they'll look kindly at the man who taught their daughter how to fight and kill?"

"They look kindly at Leonard who took their daughter away to be taught how to fight and kill." Penny said from behind him. "Because they don't hold you or Leonard responsible for a decision I made. And they will want to meet the man who took care of their daughter for the past six months."

"I don't know." Albert shook his head.

"Dad, you're coming, end of story." Leonard swatted his arm. "You told me to get over myself and go with her, now you can come with us."

"Defeated by my own argument." Albert sighed. "Fine, but I'm leaving myself the option of going to a hotel."

"If my brother is still in prison, you surely can take his room." Penny told him.

"Your brother is in prison?" Albert turned around to look at her. "Why?"

"Um, he cooked meth." Penny sighed. "But, he doesn't know about you or Leonard or what you do. And we certainly know not to tell him."

"So, your parents and your sister know but your brother doesn't?" Albert asked.

"Yes, my sister was there when Leonard came through the window and of course, we all were there when that other assassin tried to kill Leonard." Penny nodded.

"Keep it that way." Albert pointed to her, his attitude completely changed to business. "The last thing we need is a jailbird knowing about our business."

"He wouldn't know about it for long." Leonard added.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Penny asked.

"If you think he'd have a lethal accident, then yes." Leonard nodded.

"Jesus Christ!" Penny gasped.

"We told you, this business relies on its secrecy." Leonard said. "A drug-using meth cooker with connections to the criminal world would massively jeopardize that secrecy. Especially when said person has maybe financial troubles and wants to sell secrets. It wouldn't matter that he's your brother. You'd even be expected to silence him yourself."

"And if I didn't?" she asked.

"Then you'd either be required to make sure that he doesn't talk about it or someone else would do the deed and then you'd be censured by the rest of the organization." Leonard explained. "I'm sorry if that sounds terrible to you but it's the way it is."

"I kind of understand it, though." Penny said, as much as it pained her that her own brother really wasn't trustworthy enough to know about Penny's new life.

Leonard led them back to his car and they piled in, the two dogs wagging their tails from their place on the backseat. Penny ran her hand over Tyson's head as Leonard drove them back, the town receding into the distance. Thirty minutes later, Leonard stopped at his dad's house to let him out and Penny joined him, given that her clothes were still in her room in Albert's house.

"You wanna spend the night at my place?" Leonard asked.

"Gladly." Penny smiled, having hoped for this. "I just pack a few things, okay? It's not that much stuff."

"Pack all of it." Leonard told her. "You won't be coming back here for a while."

"What? Why?"

"Because after New Years, I'll take you to Pasadena, remember?" Leonard winked.

"Right." Penny remembered and hurried into the house.

She went upstairs into her room and grabbed the two bags she had come with, throwing all of her clothes into them before zipping them up. As she was about to leave the room, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, looking at the space that had been her home during the past seven months. The bed she had lain on with a hurting back, unable to walk but throwing a rubber ball at the ceiling. With a smile, she looked up and saw the impact points, the slight discoloration evidence of what she did.

"Penny?" Albert stopped her just as she was about to go downstairs.

"Yes?" she turned her head to look at him.

"Do your parents prefer something as gifts?" he asked her.

"Um, my dad never says no to a good drink." she joked. "My mom never really expected gifts for Christmas, so I don't really know what she'd like."

"Does your mother have siblings?"

"Yes, she has a sister."

"Does she care about her looks?" Albert asked. "Wait, that sounded wrong. I mean, what would she say to a day in a spa or something?"

"I think she'd find that great." Penny nodded.

"Thanks." Albert smiled and started typing on his phone while returning to his room to continue packing.

Penny went downstairs and found the room empty. She saw Leonard outside, playing with his dogs and she joined him, receiving a red ball from him while he held a green one. He held up the green one and both dogs looked at it but when he threw it, only Major sped after it, Tyson obediently continuing to sit.

Penny threw the red ball and Tyson shot away, his head craned up to follow the flight path. Before the ball could even hit the ground, Tyson jumped up and caught it with his mouth, running back to Penny with what looked like a proud smile on his face. Penny repeated the exercise several times, Tyson sometimes unable to catch the ball but always bringing it back.

"What's the significance of dogs bringing the ball back?" she turned to Leonard. "Is there one?"

"Of course." he nodded. "It means that the dog trusts you with it."

"Still here?" an appearing Albert asked.

"Yes, I waited for Penny." Leonard nodded. "Penny, when do you want to arrive at your parents' house tomorrow?"

"I think for dinner is enough, why?" Penny wondered.

"Why did you make me pack tonight then?" Albert protested with a laugh. "The flight only takes four and a half hours with Leonard's plane."

"Well, we still have to get through security, that takes a while." Penny argued.

"No, we're using my plane, no need for security checks." Leonard threw in. "We can easily leave at one o'clock and arrive on time in Omaha."

"Really?" Penny had forgotten about Leonard's plane.

"It's also because of my dogs. When using an airline, I'd have to put them into cages. In my plane, they can sit on the couch." Leonard nodded. "I didn't even ask, are your parents okay with me bringing them?"

"I told them you'd be bringing to dogs and they said it's no problem." she shrugged. "They don't have a pet themselves, only the cows and pigs. Do your dogs attack cows and pigs?"

"No." he laughed.

"Then you're fine." she grinned.

"So dad, wanna meet up for lunch tomorrow before we leave?" Leonard turned to his dad.

"We can do that." Albert nodded. "I'll cook spaghetti."

"Nice!" Penny whooped. "With meatballs?"

"Of course." Albert winked at her. "Be here at eleven."

"We will." Leonard nodded and turned to Penny. "Ready?"

"Yep." she nodded and grabbed her bags while Leonard whistled for the dogs to come with them to the car.

She looked forward to see her family again.


"Can I ask?" Penny wanted to know as they walked towards the plane. "What kind of plane is that? It looks a bit different than the one we used to come here."

"It's a King Air two-sixty." Leonard told her. "It was brought to market just this month. Had my eye on it since they announced it."

"How much did it cost and what did you do with the old one?" she asked.

"This one cost six point seven million dollars but I got a rebate for returning my old plane." Leonard shrugged as he pressed a button on a remote he was carrying, the door opening and the stairs coming down. "Of course, in the past two weeks, I had it retrofitted a bit."

"How?"

"Well, for one, the remote needs a finger print before it works." Leonard smiled. "And of course a few hidden compartments with weapons and other equipment as well as workstations."

"What if law enforcement were to search your plane for whatever reason?" Penny wondered.

"Hence the compartments being hidden." Leonard laughed and whistled, his dogs running up the stairs first.

Leonard went up first and placed his luggage into the plane before returning and helping Albert with his while Penny had no problem carrying her own. She placed it into the overhead compartments, where the carry-on in an airplane would go though these compartments were larger than in a commercial airliner.

Albert and Leonard joined her, putting away their luggage, and Albert sat down on one of the armchairs. Penny marveled at the luxury in the plane, the area spacious with a toilet in the back while the other side housed the cockpit where Leonard sat down in the pilot seat after closing the door.

"Is Leonard going to fly the plane?" Penny asked surprised.

"Yes, he's a licensed pilot." Albert nodded. "You didn't know that?"

"No." Penny shook her head. "When we flew here to you, he had two pilots in the other plane. Also, why is there no second pilot? Isn't that the law?"

"Only for planes that require one." Leonard said from his seat in the cockpit, having overheard the exchange. "This one can be flown by a single pilot."

"And just in case, I can fly a plane too." Albert chuckled. "Just relax, Penny."

"Okay." she nodded, hearing the engines start up, the two propellers gaining speed.

"Did you talk to your parents about me coming with you?" Albert asked.

"Yes, I called them last night, they're thrilled to meet you." Penny nodded excitedly.

"And what about them?" Albert pointed to the dogs.

"They know about those two as well." Penny told him. "As I told Leonard yesterday, my parents don't have any pets, only the cows and pigs."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking." Leonard's voice came out of the speakers. "Please fasten your seat belts, we're taking off in a minute."

"Leonard, you sound like an idiot." Albert yelled and laughed.

"Will the passenger in the cheap seats please shut his mouth?" a chuckling Leonard's voice came out of the speaker again. "Take a lesson from the stunning blonde woman sitting close to you."

"Yeah, yeah, gang up on me." Albert huffed. "After everything I taught him, he abandons me for what?"

"He gets sex." Penny shrugged, playing along.

"I get sex." Leonard's voice came again, at the same time as hers.

"Ugh, you even think alike." Albert threw up his arms. "When did sex become more important to my boy than his old man?"

"After I hit puberty." Leonard shouted from his seat, without the speakers this time.

Penny grinned and leaned back, feeling the plane move faster and faster and then she felt the tilt of the plane as it gained height until it leveled off again. Leonard told them that they could unfasten their seat belts and when Penny could move her body again, she looked through the open cockpit door, seeing Leonard with his feet up the co-pilot's chair.

"Hey, who's flying the plane?" she asked after getting up and walking into the cockpit.

"Autopilot." Leonard shrugged. "It's a neat thing."

"I bet." she chuckled and pushed his legs off the second chair so she could sit down on it. "Wow, I never witnessed flying like this."

"Never were allowed into the cockpit?"

"No, when I was a kid, we never traveled anywhere by plane." she shook her head. "And when I was older, they wouldn't allow anyone in there anymore. And I wasn't interested in becoming a flight attendant just to get into the cockpit."

"Why not?" he chuckled. "Short skirts, asking people if they want a drink or a blanket."

"Yeah yeah." she rolled her eyes. "Getting groped by the pilots and verbally abused by the passengers is more likely."

"Are you sure that your parents will be fine with my dogs being there?" Leonard asked her again.

"They look forward to meeting them." Penny smiled sheepishly.

"Did you tell them what kind of breed they are?" he became suspicious.

"I may have omitted that fact." she winked. "I thought they should meet them without any prejudice."

"That'll be interesting." Leonard chuckled.

"By the way, how do we get from the airport to my parents' farm?" she wondered.

"I rented a car already, it'll be waiting for us at the airport." he explained.

"With a driver?"

"No, I have the car for the entire time, so I'll drive it myself."

"Man, it must be great to be rich." Penny giggled.

"Rich through hard work, but yes, it allows me to live my life on my own terms and not be slave to a work schedule" he shrugged. "And need I remind you, you are rich too."

"Right, the almost five million." she nodded. "I hope my parents have hidden it well, so my other relatives don't find it."

"Other relatives?" Leonard sat up straight." How many people besides your parents will be there?"

"Um..." Penny counted in her head. "Two aunts and uncles with their spouses, their children and a few grandchildren plus my sister and her husband. So, not counting my parents, maybe seventeen?"

"Jesus." he cursed quietly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm... not good with large groups of people." he admitted.

"Why?" she looked confused at him. "You and I were among a hundred people at that reception when you hired me, remember?"

"That was for a job and my mind was busy." he said. "But I never really, since my family was killed, had a social gathering."

"Never?"

"Only the dinners with my dad." he sighed.

"Come on, it won't be that bad." she smiled in support and touched his leg. "Just sit there and let it wash over you."

"You may see me sitting with my back against the wall." he prepared her. "And my dad won't be much different."

"Albert?" Penny called out, receiving no answer. "Why is he not answering?"

"He's asleep." Leonard told her after craning his neck to look at his father. "I'll tell him once we land, or you can."

They spent the rest of the flight in quiet conversation, the hum of the plane's engines not loud enough to be disturbing but always present for her to know that it was still working. From time to time, Leonard made some adjustments to their course but all in all, the flight was really boring, the sightseeing aspect of it wearing off quickly.

Four and a half hours later, Leonard's touch woke her, Penny having nodded off. After getting told to strap in again, she returned to the cabin to wake Albert up, the older man nodding and putting the seat belt on, Penny doing the same after sitting down. She felt the change when they went down and it continued until she felt the bump when the wheels hit the ground, Leonard breaking and then turning off from the runway to the space that was designated for his plane.

"Everyone got everything?" Leonard asked when they stood in front of the door, their luggage hanging from their shoulders.

"Yep." Penny nodded.

"Everything's out." Albert confirmed, doing a last check in the overhead compartments.

"Then lets go." Leonard said and pressed a button, the door opening and the steps lowering. Leonard went down first, then his dogs, both canines walking down slowly to avoid slipping. Albert went next and Penny last, Leonard pressing the button on his remote again to make the steps retract and the door close, the lock audibly clicking shut.

"Where's the car?" she asked.

"It's waiting outside the airport." Leonard replied after checking his phone.

He led them through the airport, both dogs leashed to follow the rules, Penny leading Tyson while Leonard held Major's leash, both dogs obediently walking besides them, not straining or trying to go to the side. Once they were outside, Leonard looked around until he spotted the car he had rented, a man standing next to it holding a sign with his last name. They walked over and Leonard received the keys, giving the man a generous tip before opening the trunk and stowing his luggage into it, the other two repeating what he did.

Albert sat down on the passenger seat again, making Penny sit in the back once more with the dogs, not that she minded, patting Tyson's head as it rested on her thigh. Leonard drove the route by memory, never having to ask her of the onboard GPS for information. Since the farm was on the outskirts of Omaha, the drive took a while, especially given the Christmas traffic and an hour later, just before six, he parked the car on the curb in front of the property.

"How many people are there?" Albert asked worried, seeing the commotion behind the window.

"Penny, I thought you told him?" Leonard looked at her.

"Um, I forgot." she apologized. "Excluding us and my parents, seventeen, if everyone who planned to came."

"Jesus." Albert winced. "Did you know this?"

"She told me on the plane." Leonard nodded. "I feel the same way you do."

"Oh my god." Albert sighed. "That will be... interesting."

"Come on, you two, it won't be that bad." Penny huffed and went outside, the two dogs jumping out of the car right behind her.

"PENNY!" Bridget opened the door and ran towards her sister after seeing her through the window but her feet dug into the ground and she screeched to a halt when Tyson placed himself between Penny and Bridget, growling and barking at the unknown attacker.

"HEY!" Leonard yelled and Tyson immediately backed down, squealing as a beg for forgiveness.

"Jeez, what is that?" Bridget pointed at the two dogs.

"Those are dogs." Penny smirked and went to hug Bridget, her action telling Tyson that this person is okay. "He's a little protective."

"A little?" Bridget scoffed and turned to Leonard. "My guess is they're yours?"

"Yes." Leonard nodded and closed in on Bridget, who, to his surprise, also enveloped him in a hug.

"Are they okay with people?" Bridget was concerned. "We have young children in there."

"Yes, as Penny told you, he was defending her, given that they didn't know you and you more or less charged at her."

"Hmpf." Bridget huffed. "I hope so."

"Bridget, this is my dad." Leonard introduced his father. "Dad, this is Penny's sister Bridget."

"Nice to meet you." Albert shook her hand.

"Likewise." Bridget smiled at him. "Come inside."

"Guys, behave." Leonard ordered them and walked in front of them as Bridget and Penny led them inside, Albert taking the rear.

"Holy shit." Leonard cursed when they got inside, the noise like a walking into a wall.

"Leonard!" Meryl came over and hugged him. "It's so nice that you came."

"Hello, Meryl." Leonard hugged her awkwardly back. "This is my dad."

"Albert." Albert introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Meryl." Meryl shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. Come on inside."

"Hello everybody." Penny shouted over the din, the crowd quieting down and looking at the newcomers. "This is my boyfriend Leonard and his father Albert."

"Hello." Leonard waved at the crowd.

"And these two are Major and Tyson, Leonard's dogs." Penny showed the two dogs, who looked intently at the crowd.

"Don't worry about them." Leonard said. "Could you do me a favor and put one of your hands down like this?" he added, holding his hand downwards, palm up, waiting for everyone to follow his request.

He gave a complicated whistle and both dogs began moving, walking towards the first family member and sniffing the hand that was presented. They repeated it with every person, even the three-year old whose mother hold the hand down so the dog could sniff it.

"Alright, thank you." Leonard smiled once the dogs were back at his side. "Now they know your scent."

"What would have happened if they didn't know our scent?" one of the men asked.

"That's my uncle Theo." Penny told him.

"These are Belgian Malignois." Leonard explained. "They are trained to defend myself if needed and if one of the children for example were to run at them to pet them, they could under certain circumstances see this as an attack. But by giving them your scent, I told them that everyone here is okay and not an enemy."

"Good to know." Theo was hesitant.

"Don't worry, they're sweethearts once you get to know them." Penny giggled, rubbing her hands over Tyson's head, the dog given that particular breathy snarl that denoted his enjoyment of the gesture.

"Um, I'm a little lost here." Albert threw in. "Do you always have a family gathering the day before Christmas Eve?"

"Yes, it's a family tradition." Wyatt came forward, extending his hand. "And since they seem to have forgotten about the rest of us, I'm Wyatt, Penny's dad."

"Albert." Albert greeted him back, impressed at the firm handshake.

"Alright, to the introductions." Wyatt said and began to point at the people from left to right. "My brother Theo and his wife Nancy, their children Kevin and Eleanor with their wife and husband Lisa and Tom respectively and their grandchildren Martin and Jennifer of Kevin and Lisa and Eleanor's children Martin and Brian."

"Two Martin's?" Leonard chuckled. "Doesn't that get confusing?"

"Sometimes." Kevin nodded.

"Then my wife's sister Louise and her husband Theo, their son Aaron and his wife Karen along with their daughter Barbara." Wyatt continued. "And last but not least, my other daughter Bridget and her husband Josh. I have a son too but he's in prison."

"Nice to meet you all." Albert waved into the crowd. "I apologize in advance but I will most likely forget some of your names during the evening."

"That's okay." Tom laughed. "It's a lot to take in at once."

"Well, alright, for those who haven't heard it yet, I'm Albert and this is my son Leonard." Albert introduced them to everyone before sitting down. "So, what about this tradition?"

"Our family has the tradition of meeting on the twenty-third for a belated Thanksgiving dinner, since we rarely can get together on Thanksgiving day." Meryl explained. "Then, every family spends Christmas Eve among themselves and we all meet again on the twenty-fifth, when we have the Christmas geese and exchange gifts. And on the twenty-sixth, we're all in our respective homes eating the leftovers."

"Huh, never heard of anyone doing it like that." Albert admitted.

"So, Albert, what about your wife?" Wyatt asked, Albert and Leonard both going quiet. "What?"

"Um, my wife and my two other children died a long time ago." Albert said, visible sad.

"Oh no." Meryl gasped. "Can I ask what happened?"

"We were in a horrible car crash." Albert lied. "We were standing behind a truck in a traffic jam and a another truck crashed into our car. The entire car's right side was crushed."

"Oh my god." Eleanor cried. "How did you survive?"

"Barely." Leonard took it up. "I was in the hospital for six months, another year for physical therapy."

"It must have been very difficult." Theo wondered.

"I died twice on the operating table." Leonard nodded. "But we shouldn't talk about this, not today."

"I agree." Kevin nodded, the mood around the table quite somber after the revelation.

But within twenty minutes, the mood was back to jovial, thanks to a few jokes told by Theo. Penny could see that both Leonard and Albert were a little apprehensive, their unfamiliarity with large groups visible in their body language. She hoped that they would be able to relax as the rest of the evening went along, knowing that nobody here would attack them.

At least their dogs were not as apprehensive, both playing with the young children, doing the jumping around dogs often do when asking to play. Penny grinned and gave them the two balls, telling which ball belonged to which dog and the kids rushed to get dressed in order to get into the backyard, where they proceeded to throw the balls, the dogs rushing to get them.


So, arrival in Omaha done. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where their vacation continues :D

Review please :)