Finally got off my ass and finished a new chapter ^^

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.


"I must say, your dad seemed to do a lot better during the second family gathering." Penny mentioned as they waited for midnight to strike and the celebration to start.

"Yes, but I doubt he'll ever be comfortable again in large groups." Leonard agreed.

"What about you?" she wondered, making him sigh.

"I have lived alone for over a decade now. It's not that I can't go into large groups but I probably will never feel comfortable in them. I never did even when my family was still alive." he replied. "When it comes to family gatherings, I will probably get used to them at some point, but it's not something that happens in a day."

"Ten, nine, eight..." he crowd began to chant, Leonard and Penny not joining in though.

"Three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!" the crowd finished, blowing through air horns and throwing confetti into the air while music began to blare from the speakers as the crowd started to sing.

"Happy new year." Penny smiled at Leonard and clinked her glass.

"Happy new year." he smiled back and took a sip of the champagne, Penny making a face when she tasted it, the liquid being a far cry from what she had gotten at the reception for which he had hired her what seemed a lifetime ago. "So, when do we leave?"

"Next Monday." he told her. "I don't wanna go there on the weekend."

"When on Monday?"

"After lunch." he said. "The flight takes about four hours and we don't have to be there before five. And since we're taking my plane, there's no need to go through security."

"So, we have four more days until we're separated again for weeks?" she asked, disappointed.

"Don't be sad, I'll visit depending on the kind of jobs I take during that time." he chuckled.

"It still sucks." she shrugged. "By the way, shouldn't we have looked for an apartment for me? Or am I going to live in a hotel?"

"Don't worry about that." he smiled that smile of his that told her that everything would be taken care of.

They danced a few times to the slower music during the following hours but both abstaining from any further alcohol intake while other guests drank a lot more and, as would be expected, got drunk. It even got a bit rowdy a few times but neither Leonard nor Penny felt any threat, given that both were sober and safe in the knowledge that any physical attack on them would be easily dealt with.

"So, your dad would be playing cards right now?" she giggled.

"Yeah, and they are probably three quarters of the way through a very expensive bottle of scotch." Leonard agreed.

"What kind of games do they play?" she wanted to know. "Poker?"

"No, they usually play Rummy and some other obscure European card games."

"Like?"

"Let me check." he said and took out his phone. "I can never remember their names."

"I thought you speak German." she chuckled.

"I do, but that's more for communication and not cultural references." he poked out his tongue at her. "One is called Doppelkopf, which translates to double-head and the other is Skat."

"No translation?"

"None that I know." he shrugged. "To be fair, they're not obscure there, but I don't know how to play those games."

"So, what do you do for fun?" she asked. "I mean, you did say that you to sports and play with your dogs but you also said that you sometimes meet up with some friends of yours."

"As my dad revealed, I'm somewhat of a nerd." he told her. "So, when me and my friends meet, we usually play board- or video games of some sort."

"Really?" she smirked at him. "Board games?"

"Don't knock those."

"Like Monopoly?"

"Oh please." he laughed. "I don't have that many friends, so I'd like to keep them. And a game of Monopoly is the surest way to lose them."

"So, what then?"

"For example Civilizations, where a game can easily take six hours, or similar games." he said. "We don't play kids board games."

"Alright, alright." she conceded.

"So, what do you do for fun with your friends?" he countered.

"Um..." she hesitated, realizing a sad fact. "Come to think of it, I don't really have any friends, not since I left for California. You don't really have friends among your fellow prostitutes, since you're also competitors."

"I'm sorry." Leonard took her hand and squeezed it.

"For what, you didn't do anything wrong, quite the opposite." she said. "You saved me from that life."

"And I put you into another that doesn't allow you to have real friends either." he argued.

"Again, I chose this." she pointed out. "And you have friends."

"Because when I got these friends, I wasn't in the business." he retorted. "I had done one personal job but then decided not to do it anymore and gone into science."

"Until you got thrown back in." she nodded. "Leonard, I'm fine with it."

"If you say so." he sighed and stood up. "Care to dance?"

"You can dance?" she giggled and took his hand.

He led her to the dance floor and they danced to the slow song that the restaurant was currently playing through its jukebox. She laid her head on his shoulder and just swayed, other couples around them doing the same. When the music changed to a faster song, Leonard didn't miss a beat and switched his lead, pushing and pulling Penny to the music.

She had never learned to dance beyond swinging her hips to certain beats in clubs she went to when too young for them. But somehow, Leonard led her through the moves, even making her twirl around twice before pulling her into him, her back to his chest. The other couples were even making room for them, whooping as they went around the dance floor and Penny just let go.

Suddenly, she was not moving anymore and she could dimly hear applause. For the first time in several minutes she noticed how out of breath she was, while Leonard held with his right arm, grinning at the crowd before lifting her back up. He led her back to the seats and she flopped down, feeling somewhat exhausted but wondering if she had blacked out.

"That was fun." Leonard chuckled after he had joined her, the other couples back on the dance floor.

"I don't even remember us dancing beyond a certain point." she admitted.

"I noticed." he laughed. "You kinda zoned out."

"Did I really dance like that?" she pointed to a couple who did similar moves that Leonard had done with her.

"Yeah, only with a little more athletics. Us knowing martial arts helped."

"Jesus!" she cursed under her breath.

"How did you experience it?"

"Like I was under water." she tried to describe it. "The music became muffled, people around us almost non-corporeal."

Dismissing the experience for the moment, Penny enjoyed the festivities and started to drink alcohol. It had been a long time since she had last celebrated New Year's, her time in Los Angeles never really something to celebrate in the first place and also because Kurt often made her work at the time, thinking, and being right way too often in that regard, that they would get a lot of clients around that time.

She wondered if she would meet anyone that she knew or had met when they went back. Some of her former fellow prostitutes could recognize her or even some clients, which would either become awkward or exasperating. There had been some clients who had appeared to prefer her for one reason or another and they could ask for her services again and maybe even become forceful in their demand when she tells them that she was out of the game.

They stayed in the restaurant until three in the morning before leaving, Leonard getting behind the wheel of the rental car since he hadn't drunk any alcohol while Penny did get herself some, creating a strong buzz. She almost fell asleep during the drive home and Leonard had to almost carry her to bed, trying to help her change into her sleep clothes but giving up in the end and simply putting one of his dress shirts around her again.

He freshened up and brushed his teeth, Penny already asleep. He joined her in bed and she rolled over to snuggle against him, her body seeking out his. He looked at the outlines of her face and his heart began beating faster, sweat appearing on his forehead. He saw Jenny's bullet-ridden, bloody body again and began to shake. He focused on the fact that Penny wasn't Jenny, despite the similar name, and that he never actually saw her dead body and he managed to calm down without waking Penny up.

Leonard was astute and aware enough to know that he suffered from post-traumatic stress, which, given what had happened to him, was not something considered uncommon. But only since getting serious with Penny had it actually affected him. The reason might be their similar hair style, their facial structure or body type, or maybe just his fear of losing her but he compartmentalized the information away to deal with later when she was in training and he had more time to deal with it.

But for now, he would enjoy the time with her.


"Dear lord in heaven, what are you two doing to yourselves?" a shocked Bridget asked when she saw Penny and Leonard.

The two were perched on two parallel horizontal wooden beams four feet above the ground, both doing a perfect split and keeping their bodies upright by doing minute adjustments with their upper body musculature. To Bridget, seeing someone like Leonard doing it was an even more impressive feat than seeing Penny doing the same. If she didn't know how trained he was, she would have never imagined him being able to do that.

"It's called retention training." Leonard explained, not moving otherwise. "Doing something so your body doesn't forget how to do it."

"Doesn't that hurt?" Bridget winced.

"Not anymore." Penny shrugged, herself facing Leonard in the very same position he was in.

"How did you learn to do a full split?" Bridget wanted to know.

"Albert sat back to back with me and pulled my legs apart until the tendons were stretched enough, then pulled some more." Penny explained. "Took sixteen days until I could do the splits without problems."

"Holy crap." Bridget commented. "What I find even more impressive is how you keep your balance like this."

"You wanna see balance?" Leonard chuckled and looked at her, then swung backwards, his upper body going horizontal and then vertical to the ground before coming back up and ending the movement when he was upright again, just a few more inches farther away from Penny.

"Jesus Christ!" Bridget gasped at that feat. "Penny, can you do that too?"

"No, and I won't even try." Penny shook her head.

"How do you get down from there, anyway?" Bridget asked. "How did you get up for that matter?"

"Down is easy." Leonard said and showed her by doing the same backward swing as before, just this time not coming back up but reaching down with his arms, closing his legs into a handstand and from there getting into a normal standing position.

"So, I have to do at least half of it." Penny sighed and copied what Leonard had done, letting herself fall backwards until she was head down and could reach the ground with her hands. "Huh, wasn't so bad after all."

"Told you." Leonard chuckled.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Penny asked her sister.

"What, I can't see my sister one last time before she disappears again for months?" Bridget rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." Penny apologized and went to hug her sister. "But we're leaving tomorrow after lunch."

"Well, I'll be at work then, so I thought coming over on Sunday would be better for that." Bridget shrugged. "So get dressed, or stay in those sweats, and you and I will head out for a little shopping."

"Fine." Penny giggled and gave Leonard a kiss before heading into the house to change.

"So, tomorrow, huh?" Bridget turned to Leonard.

"Yes." Leonard nodded.

"How long will she be away for?"

"Not for me to say." he shrugged. "If she learns the theory as quickly as she did the combat, then she'll be back this year."

"Can't she take a vacation?"

"Of course she can." he nodded. "This isn't like her combat training, where daily training is key. If my dad had lived here in Omaha, it would have been like going to work for her and Penny could have been home every evening. The question becomes, will she take a vacation or if she does, will she come here?"

"You're right, my guess is she'd rather visit you to get some of that sweet assassin love." Bridget grinned.

"Um..." Leonard blushed, not knowing what to say.

"Ready." a returning Penny proclaimed before seeing Leonard and turning to Bridget. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing." Bridget smirked. "Lets go."

Bridget dragged Penny towards Wyatt's truck until they were stopped by Leonard's whistle. He threw them the keys for the rental car and Penny caught them, getting behind the wheel of the comfortable vehicle, Bridget having to accept riding shotgun.

"Wow, this car is amazing." Bridget commented, sinking into the soft seats. "Is it Leonard's?"

"No, it's a rental he got after we arrived." Penny shook her head.

"Did you already buy your tickets for tomorrow or will you get them at the airport?" Bridget asked.

"No need, we'll take Leonard's plane again." Penny replied.

"Wait, what?" Bridget gasped. "Leonard owns a plane?"

"Yes, it's sitting in a hangar at the airport." Penny confirmed.

"Just how rich is he?"

"He has a huge property close to the Canadian border and he and his dad own an entire forest together."

"Jesus!" Bridget ran her hand over her face. "Penny, never let him go!"

"What?" Penny laughed.

"Come on, not only is he an assassin and has a body to die for, he also is rich?" Bridget almost yelled. "Why would you ever let him go?"

"Who says I intend to do that?" Penny rolled her eyes.

They drove along with idle chit chat until they stopped at the same mall where Penny had originally met Leonard the second time, which had led to the events that had him bleeding on her bed later. She exited the car with a bit of apprehension, wondering if she would run into Steve again and if she did, what his attitude would be now that he literally had no balls, unless they had surgically reattached them to his body.

"What's the matter?" Bridget asked, noticing her hesitation to go in.

"This is the place where I met the guy who later tried to rape me." Penny revealed.

"If he's in there, tell me, so I can kick him in the balls." Bridget proclaimed.

"That'll be hard to do." Penny chuckled. "Leonard cut them off."

"Eh?" Bridget looked confused.

"Yeah, Leonard caught up to me and them and he... punished these guys severely for trying to rape me."

"Fuck!" Bridget gasped, causing a nearby woman to stare when her curse came within earshot of the woman's young daughter. "Well, I guess if they tried again, you can do the same to them now."

"Yep." Penny grinned. "And I can do that while looking fantastic."

"Yeah, yeah, flout your ripped body." Bridget waved her off. "Doesn't the sex get painful when those hard surfaces slam together?"

"Nope." Penny poked out her tongue. "Seriously though, it's not as if our bones crash together when we're doing it."

"Yeah, it's just his bone going into your pussy." Bridget laughed.

"Bridget!" Penny hissed when several heads turned to look at them.

"Sorry." Bridget said, clearly not sorry. "So, what kind of clothing will you need?"

"It's southern California." Penny pointed out.

"So, thongs, skimpy bras, sexy pajamas, two-piece bikini, hot pants..."

"Bridget, stop." Penny said. "I'm not going on vacation and Leonard won't stay there after he drops me off."

"Pff, fine." Bridget blew a raspberry. "Choose."

"I don't think I should buy a lot of clothing here anyway, it'd be easier if I just buy it when I'm there, less stuff to carry." Penny pointed out before her eyes fell on the shoe store. "Then again..."

"Why am I not surprised." Bridget laughed and followed Penny into the store.

Penny went through the place like a kid through a candy store, spending several hours trying on shoes and boots until finally deciding on buying two pairs of comfortable sneakers and some high leather boots that hugged her legs like silk and she could already imagining herself wearing a short skirt with those.

"Can you finish up here?" an exasperated Bridget asked. "I didn't plan to spend our day together in a shoe store."

"Sorry." Penny apologized. "Got a little carried away."

"No kidding." Bridget scoffed, holding her purchases. "I already paid for mine."

"I'll take these." Penny said and pointed to her three choices.

"You sure?" Bridget wondered. "The boots alone are eight hundred bucks."

"Yep, I'm sure." Penny nodded and took the three pairs to the checkout where she paid with cash.

"Just how much cash are you carrying around?" Bridget wondered.

"Not that much, only two grand." Penny said quietly. "Wanna grab some coffee before heading home?"

"How about we get some coffee, shop some more and I'll call mom if we should buy some dinner before heading home." Bridget suggested. "Then she doesn't have to make anything."

"Fine by me." Penny shrugged.

"I'll get us something." Penny said, getting in line and buying two coffees and two bear claws while Bridget did the phone call.

"Uh, bear claws." Bridget grinned after sitting down next to Penny.

"That took long." Penny commented.

"Yeah, I already called the restaurants for the order, so we don't have to give them later."

"Wait, restaurants as in plural?"

"You know dad, he never wants Chinese." Bridget pointed out.

"Right." Penny admitted. "So, you ordered Chinese for us and something else for dad?"

"And as for mom, she gets stomach troubles when she eats Chinese food, so I ordered her some Italian."

"So we have to stop at three different places?" Penny asked.

"So? It's not as if we have to pay for the gas." Bridget giggled.

"Seriously." Penny rolled her eyes.

After finishing their coffees, both women continued through the mall. Penny saw an advertising at the hardware store for a set of power tools and walked in, deciding to buy them for her dad who she knew didn't have some of those. Bridget grumbled about having to carry some of them but did it nonetheless as they continued their stroll but not buying anything else.

When the hour reached five, they decided to leave. After putting all the stuff into the car trunk, Penny started driving to the first restaurant where they had to wait a few minutes for their order to be brought to them. Two more trips to other restaurants later, they had all the food Bridget had ordered and were on their way back, Penny snaking her way through traffic until they reached the farm.

"We're here." Penny proclaimed their arrival, being greeted immediately by a dog with a distinctive fur patch over his left eye. "Hey Tyson."

"Not for you." Bridget scolded him when Tyson aggressively sniffed the bags, almost biting into them.

"Down!" Penny ordered and Tyson stopped immediately.

"He listens well to you." an appearing Leonard said and took the bags from them so they could take off their shoes.

"Hey dad, got you something." Penny announced, handing her father the tools.

"Nice!" Wyatt commented upon seeing the boxes. "What's the occasion?"

"The set was on sale and I know you need some of them." Penny shrugged.

"That's true." Wyatt conceded. "Thank you, girls."

"No problem." Penny said as Wyatt hugged both of them before eyeing the bag with the Chinese food cartons. "Your mom told me you ordered dinner?"

"Yes, don't worry, the Chinese is only for us young folk." Penny grinned. "Mom got Italian and you got a steak dinner."

"Nice!" Wyatt said again and took his bag.

"Before they sat down to have their last family dinner before Penny and Leonard left, Leonard opened the last two cans of dog food, putting the contents into the two bowls and placed them on the foot stools. That was yet another new thing Penny had never known about dogs, that it is better for their shoulder and hip bones when they ate from bowls that were high enough for them not to have to bow down.

"Penny, did you pack already?" Meryl asked as they ate.

"No, I can do that tomorrow morning, since we don't leave before noon." Penny replied.

"Leonard, can she at least visit this time?" Wyatt wanted to know.

"I told Bridget already, but yes, she can." Leonard nodded. "This is really just like school and there are holidays in school too. And she will have the money to buy airplane tickets."

"Will you come visit again too?" Meryl asked him.

"If I'm not on a mission or about to go on one, then sure, I can join her once she visits." he told her.

With the mood somewhat subdued, they continued to enjoy their last family dinner for a while.


"You got everything?" Meryl asked.

"Yep, I think so." Penny nodded. "If I forget something then I can simply buy a replacement once I'm there."

"Don't forget the bag with the money." Meryl counseled.

"Already here." she patted the bag sitting on the bed.

"Everything ready?" Leonard asked as he came in.

"Yes, we can leave." she nodded and grabbed two of the bags, Leonard grabbing the one with the money and a third with clothes. The dogs were already downstairs, Wyatt running his hand over their heads and sides, giving both some last pets before they left.

"I'm gonna miss these two." Wyatt said as they approached. "Maybe we should get a dog for the farm."

"Really, Wyatt?" Meryl looked at him.

"Maybe not." Wyatt conceded. "We'll talk."

After a heartfelt goodbye, Leonard and Penny got into the rental car and drove off, Leonard driving them back to the airport. He returned the vehicle to the rental car lot and got their bags out of the trunk before they walked to the hangar where his plane was located. Once they had secured their bags, Leonard got into the pilot's seat and initiated the procedure for takeoff, waiting for the tower to give him clearance.

Twenty minutes later, they were in the air, Penny joining Leonard again as he lounged in the chair, letting the autopilot fly the plane. They spent the four hours with idle chatting, Penny getting more nervous the closer they got to California, not just because of her upcoming training and separation from Leonard, but also since it was the place she spent four awful years in.

After getting clearance, Leonard landed the plane and followed the airport car to the hangar spot he had rented for the day. They left the plane and walked out of the airport, Leonard hailing a cab large enough for their luggage, the dogs and them and gave the driver the address. An hour after suffering through Los Angeles traffic, they arrived at their destination, a five-story apartment block looking like every other on the street.

"So, this guy lives here?" Penny asked after the cab had dropped them off.

"Yep." Leonard nodded and fumbled in his pockets for a set of keys.

They entered the building and Penny was surprised by seeing another door blocking access to the stairwell and elevator, this one a big security door with the only thing accessible being the mailboxes, few of which had names on them, denoting several empty apartments. Leonard used his key to open the security door and they entered the elevator, Leonard pressing the button for the top floor.

"So, which one?" Penny asked, looking at the two apartment doors on the left and right.

"This one." Leonard said and knocked before simply opening the unlocked door.

"What are you doing here?" a voice came from the inside.

"Hey Sheldon." Leonard smiled and gave a whistle.


And chapter ends here.

Review please :)