Word Count: 739
Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Bang Theory or any of the characters!

Penny jolted awake at 5 a.m., a weird feeling gnawing at her. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it right away. She reached out to the other side of the bed, hoping to feel Leonard's warmth, but the sheets were cold. It didn't even look like he'd been there at all. Her worry kicked up a notch. She remembered asking him last night when he was planning to work next, especially since he'd been so wrapped up in his experiments lately. He had told her it wouldn't be anytime soon. So, where the hell was he?

She slid out of bed, her feet hitting the cool floor as she started searching the apartment. Maybe he was in the living room, working late or watching some old movie because he couldn't sleep. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind, reminding him that she'd told him to wake her up if he ever had trouble sleeping. They could've talked until he felt better. But the living room was empty. Every room she checked was the same. The growing silence felt oppressive.

By now, it was 5:30. She thought about calling someone, but who? And at this hour? She didn't want to wake anyone up just to hear them groggily mumble that they didn't know where Leonard was either. She considered going out to search for him, but the rain was coming down in sheets. She sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets, and that's when she felt her phone.

"Of course!" she thought, almost smacking herself on the forehead. "I could just call him."

Meanwhile, Leonard was sitting on the cold, wet floor of the building's roof, where he'd been for over five hours. He had barely slept, not even an hour, when his phone rang just before midnight. It was his brother Michael. Leonard knew something was wrong the moment he heard his brother's voice. Michael never called, and when he did, he certainly never sounded like this—like he'd been crying. Leonard had only seen him cry once before, years ago when they were kids and Michael got a B+ and had to face their mom, Beverly. So when Leonard answered and heard that shaky, broken voice, he knew it was bad.

"Leonard... I have something to tell you," Michael began, his words almost lost in a choked sob. "Mother has died."

Leonard felt like the world had stopped. "My mother is dead," he thought, numbness creeping over him. "I'll never talk to her again. I'll never see her again."

Despite everything Beverly had put him through, she was still his mother. It hurt. The conversation with Michael didn't last long—just a few more minutes. Leonard promised he'd come to New Jersey as soon as he could, but Michael told him there was no rush. The doctors didn't know what had caused Beverly's sudden death, so they were going to perform an autopsy. After hanging up, Leonard had walked to the roof, needing space, needing to be alone with his thoughts.

He hadn't moved since, even when the rain started. The downpour had drenched him, but he didn't care. The sound of rain always had a way of calming him, making him feel like everything would be okay, even when it clearly wasn't. And right now, Leonard desperately needed to feel alive, to believe that somehow, things would be alright.

That's when his phone rang, the familiar tune of God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You by NSYNC playing—Penny's favorite song. It was Penny calling, but he just let it ring, hoping she'd go back to sleep and not worry.

"Damn it, he's not answering," Penny muttered to herself. "I'll call again."

Leonard sighed as the phone started ringing again. "She's calling again. It must be important," he thought. "Maybe she's heard about Beverly." He stared at the screen, debating what to do. Finally, he decided to send her a quick text, something to keep her from worrying. He typed out a message saying he was fine and at work. It was a small lie, and he hated lying to Penny, but he wasn't ready to face the truth—not yet.

End of Chapter 1

I'm going to try and finish this story, but first, I need to rewrite what I've got so far. It's not as bad as I thought, but it could definitely be better. I hope everyone likes the updated version!