Well, my long weekend is over and it's back to work. But, today I decided to sit down and hammer this down. Remember, Cliff Hanger always lurks in the shadows, eager to disturb the peace and quiet.
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appeared in the show.
"Dad?" Penny gasped and looked at the older man more closely in the dim light of the walkway lamps, finally seeing the similarities, though his dad had a thick beard and a receding hair line.
"Yes, this is my father." Leonard nodded. "Dad, this is Penny."
"Welcome, my name is Alfred." Alfred shook her hand. "You're the first woman in almost twenty years that Leonard has brought home."
"Dad." Leonard whined, his hand over his face. "This isn't a social call, actually."
"Oh?" Alfred looked at her. "Are you sure about this, young lady?"
"Yes, I am." Penny nodded resolutely.
"Why?" Alfred asked.
"Because I've seen the good Leonard does and I feel like this is what I'm meant to do." Penny told him sincerely.
"Okay." Alfred nodded after a few seconds of looking at her.
"Just like that?" Penny was surprised.
"Yes, you are sincere in your statement." Alfred said. "If you hadn't been, I'd have sent you away."
"Okay... good." Penny nodded, still a little bowled over.
"Let me show you to your room." Alfred said and turned around, making Penny follow with all her luggage, Leonard helping her with some.
He led her into the house and upstairs. Penny noticed the pictures on the wall of people she was sure were his family but she also felt a kind of sadness permeating the air, as if something horrible had happened. Once up the stairs, he turned right and stopped at a door on the right side of he hallway, opening it to reveal a relatively small, but comfortable looking room, a bed and some furniture rounding it out.
"This will be your room for the foreseeable future." Alfred said. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall, this will be completely yours, which means you're responsible for keeping it clean. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Penny nodded.
"No need to call me sir, Alfred is fine." Alfred smiled at her. "Now tell me, what is twenty-four minus eight?"
"Uh, sixteen?" Penny was confused with that question.
"Exactly." Alfred nodded. "For sixteen hours every day, you belong to me. Your days will be filled with training and eating the regular meals. The other eight hours are yours to spend however you want."
"Though I can tell you from experience, the only thing on your mind will be getting a shower or bath and then sleep." Leonard chuckled.
"Shut up, you." Alfred pointed at his son, a smile on his face. "Now, Penny, you get comfortable in here, get a shower and then some sleep. Bed sheets are in the cabinet on the left. Since it's quite late already, I will give you an introduction to what we'll do for the next few months in the morning."
"Yes, Alfred." Penny nodded, wanting to make a good impression.
"Leonard, you come with me, I need to talk to you." Alfred ordered.
"Yes, dad." Leonard nodded and looked at Penny. "Sweet dreams."
With a sigh, Penny looked around and grabbed some some bed sheets out of the cabinet that Alfred had pointed to to make the bed.
"Leonard, how are you?" Alfred asked his son when they were back downstairs.
"Fine." Leonard shrugged. "The bomb was a surprise."
"You got hit?"
"Yes, hip and shoulder." Leonard nodded, lifting his shirt so Alfred could look at the scar.
"That doesn't look like the work of a doctor." Alfred commented.
"No, I did that." Leonard said and pointed to the ceiling. "After her mother had pulled the metal splinter from my body."
"I see." Alfred nodded. "So, what's the story?"
"I met her in Los Angeles." Leonard recounted. "I needed a cover because I had to use a hotel's honeymoon suite for surveillance."
"And how did you find her?"
"She was a hooker." Leonard shrugged. "Thrust into the life by her former boyfriend turned pimp, she was the first I saw, so I hired her. Had to spend a week with her so we got to know each other."
"And how much did you tell her?"
"Some." Leonard said. "Nothing too concrete though she figured out what I did pretty quick when she saw my gear."
"How did you know you could trust her with that knowledge?" Alfred asked, not accusingly but truly curious.
"Gut feeling." Leonard shrugged again. "I could see that there was more to her than met the eye. She's also pretty observant."
"You care for her." Alfred stated.
"Yes, I do." Leonard saw no reason to lie. "She saved my life, twice."
"How?"
"Once after the explosion, she and her sister picked me up and brought me to their home to take care of my wounds and then when Caspar tried to kill me again." Leonard told him. "She shot him when he was about to kill me."
"Caspar got the better of you?" Alfred looked surprised.
"Hip and shoulder wound." Leonard gave Alfred the same four word explanation he had given Howard.
"True." Alfred had to accept. "So, what made you agree that she could learn what we do?"
"She's convincing and very stubborn." Leonard chuckled.
"Not to mention pretty." Alfred smiled.
"That too." Leonard admitted. "Though that had no impact on my agreement to bring her here."
"Are you sleeping with her?"
"Yes, I do." Leonard nodded. "Though quite frankly, I have no idea if it goes any deeper."
"For her, it does." Alfred pointed out. "And for you too, you're just not admitting it to yourself yet."
"Dad, what we do is dangerous." Leonard sighed. "You taught me how it could affect relationships."
"Son, remember why you went into this business?" Alfred looked at him as he poured two glasses of very expensive scotch, handing Leonard one.
"Of course, I wanted revenge." Leonard nodded.
"Son, your mother and I may not have had the most loving relationship, and she had been quite distant to you as well." Alfred said. "But when she, your siblings and the others died, all you wanted is to kill the people who took them from us."
"I know that, why are you telling me this?" Leonard wondered.
"Do you think Beverly didn't know what I was doing for a living?" Alfred asked rhetorically. "She accepted it. So before you make any decision about Penny, you should take into account what she thinks about it. And the fact that she wants to become part of the business says a lot. The least of which, that she'd be able to take care of herself if someone ever came for you."
"Again." Leonard chuckled, referring to his encounter with Caspar. "You may be right, dad."
"Of course I'm right." Alfred grinned. "I always am, I'm your dad."
"I remember that lesson." Leonard laughed and clinked his glass with Alfred's, taking a sip.
"Did you tell her the consequences of not passing the trials?"
"Yes, I did." Leonard nodded. "She apparently doesn't care."
"Even the ultimate consequence if she doesn't find another role?"
"Yes." Leonard nodded once more.
"And are you fine with it?" Alfred looked poignantly at him.
"No." Leonard finally shook his head. "I'd prefer you not kill her if she doesn't pass and has no other use for us."
"You trust her that much?"
"Yes."
"Then I won't." Alfred stated. "But you will be responsible for anything that might happen."
"I understand." Leonard accepted.
"Now, I know that you probably want to go home and that Major and Tyson miss you terribly, but you should stay here tonight." Alfred said.
"Dad, I live twelve miles away, it's not as if I would fall asleep at the wheel." Leonard chuckled.
"Not what I meant." Alfred winked at him and pointed up.
"Dad?"
"Son, you won't see her for a few months, so don't you think you should get in one last romp?" Alfred suggested.
"Jeez, dad!" Leonard gasped.
"Go, son!" Alfred ordered.
"That will be fun." Leonard laughed as he got up. "Penny, my dad ordered me to have sex with you."
"You may not want to open up with that." Alfred gave him a gentle slap on the arm. "Or mention it at all."
"I got it." Leonard shook his head in exasperation as Alfred left for his bedroom.
"And tell her that breakfast is at eight, she should be up by then." Alfred mentioned just before Leonard was at the stairs.
"Will do, dad." Leonard nodded and walked up the stairs, turning right and stopping at her door.
"Come in." Penny called out after Leonard had knocked. "Oh, hey."
"How are you settling in?" Leonard asked.
"It's okay." Penny smiled. "A bit smaller than my room in my parents' house but I don't complain, since I'm a guest here."
"Good, good." Leonard nodded, not quite knowing if he should ask her about sex at all, not wanting to appear too needy or have her see him as just wanting her for her body.
"Is there a special reason for you to be here?" Penny tried to suppress a smile, able to guess about why he was in the room.
"My dad ordered me to tell you that breakfast is tomorrow at eight." Leonard said. "If you're not there, you won't get any breakfast."
"He won't even let me have a snack?" Penny wondered.
"Unless you have it in your room and wolf it down before going down, no." Leonard shook his head. "He's very strict when it comes to time tables he sets and it's also a way for him to teach discipline."
"What can I look forward to tomorrow?"
"He'll tell you how your training will be structured, what you will do and so on." Leonard told her. "This twenty-four minus sixteen thing he did is true, for sixteen hours a day, he will own you."
"And how long will this training be?" she asked. "I mean, when will I be ready for the next step?"
"That's for him to decide." he replied. "He will evaluate your progress every day and once he things you're ready, he will give you your final test. If you pass, he'll call me and I'll pick you up and take you to the next trainer for the more theoretical things."
"What's the final test?"
"Again, that's for him to decide. And even if it was the same one I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"Okay." she accepted. "Was there anything else?"
"Well... uh... no, not really." he stammered, for some reason suddenly unsure of himself and moved to turn around for the door before feeling strong hands on the neck of his shoulder and getting pulled backwards and tripping against the bed, falling on it. "What the hell?"
"Seriously, Leonard, do you think I haven't realized why you came up here to tell me something your dad could have told me?" Penny grinned and moved towards him, running her hands over his legs towards his abdomen.
"Well, I didn't want to ask or presume." he shrugged. "I didn't want to give you the impression that I..."
"Leonard, shut up." she giggled and pulled down his pants and underwear.
Without much pause, she grabbed his manhood and took it into her mouth, feeling it harden inside her mouth, a tactic she used to use during her years of forced prostitution to get her clients off as fast as possible. For a moment, she had a flashback to that time before remembering that she was with someone else this time, someone who made her feel like a woman again and not like a piece of meat. Someone who would want to give her the same pleasure she was giving him.
She stopped for a moment to straighten her upper body in order to take her shirt off. Since she had already dressed for the night, she didn't have to take off a bra and she simply went back to what she was doing. While she blew him, she stood up, her body bent forward to keep him in her mouth and she pushed down her pajama bottoms. Before she could kneel down again, Leonard sat up and grabbed her by the hips, lifting her far enough that her legs left the floor and he pulled her around and over his head.
When his tongue got into contact with her folds, she gave a groaning squeal. Since he was the first and only man ever to do that with her, she had no idea if he was good, great or just average, but it felt like heaven to her. Unbeknownst to her, what Leonard was doing was also relatively new to him, having had only one real relationship beforehand when he was still sixteen. After that, he was thrown into his current life and every other woman he slept with after had been part of a job.
He had no idea if the job he was doing was good or not but the sounds Penny was making and the way she moved spurred him on to continue what he was doing. He grabbed her butt cheeks and spread them slightly, pushing his tongue deeper into her and was rewarded with a squeal, followed by a shaking of her entire body.
"Oh, this is heaven." she keened, releasing him and pressing her lower body harder down.
"Did that feel good?" Leonard grinned once she had calmed, the question both rhetorical since he felt her pleasure but also genuine since he was inexperienced in the way of foreplay.
"Oh yeah." she chuckled as she got up. "How's the hip?"
"A bit better." Leonard said, looking down at the stitches holding the skin together.
"Good." she giggled and swung her leg over him to mount him.
Still careful due to his wound, she slowly rode him, feeling empowered by the position. She was in control of speed and strength, using that control to either move forward and back or grind in position. Whenever she had done this position in the past during her bad years, it was on the wish or order of the client, not of her own volition.
But now it was she who decided, she who controlled and she who allowed him to turn her around or take her from behind if he desired to. And she knew that despite his strength, his control, he would never force her to do anything she didn't want.
And right now, she wanted to feel him.
She wanted him to wriggle under her, she wanted to hear his moans and groans of pleasure and above all, she wanted to feel the euphoric wave of an orgasm rushing through her body. She sped up her movement more and more, almost violently riding him, her hands on his, holding his arms down as she moved forcefully on him.
She panted harder and harder, hearing his groans but for Leonard, this wasn't quite the fun it seemed to be for her. In her ecstasy, she had apparently forgotten that he still labored with an injury and the only thing he could do right now was to press against her arms so the pressure on his hip was limited.
Penny got faster and faster and her moans more high-pitched as she neared her orgasm. Leonard had to work had to prevent his own, the feeling of her insides squeezing him hard to ignore even with the pain coming from his side. With a final yell, Penny collapsed on top of him, breathing hard as he unloaded into her.
"Fuck, that was amazing." she sighed as she rolled off of him to grab a tissue which she pushed between her legs.
"I agree." he said, not wanting to alert her as he took a tissue himself to press against his side where some blood was seeping from the reopened wound after some of the stitches had torn.
"Will you be here when I get up?" she wanted to know, even though she knew the answer.
"No." she denied, confirming her expectation. "From tomorrow onward, my presence would be a distraction for you."
"So you won't even visit?"
"Unless I need to see my dad, it's very unlikely." he told her.
"That sucks." she sighed and turned on her back, flipping the switch of the lamp on the nightstand and plunging the room into darkness.
"I know." he agreed and got up, walking around the bed and pressing a soft kiss onto her lips. "Goodbye Penny. Good luck with your training."
"Thank you." she smiled into the dark room as she watched his silhouette moving towards the door and leave the room after he had put on his pants and took his shirt into his hands.
"Good night, Penny." Leonard said as he stood under the door frame. "Sleep well."
"I wish you could stay." she whispered after he had gone and tried to get some sleep, her insides churning from the anticipation of what was to come.
Meanwhile, Leonard was walking downstairs, looking down at his hip which was bleeding freely again. He was about to ask his dad for a needle and some thread when he was surprised at the presence of another person he hadn't seen in a while.
"Doctor Winston." Leonard said, positively surprised.
"Ah, young Mister Hofstadter." the doctor smiled. "I can see why your father called me at this late hour."
"As soon as I heard the banging of the bed, I knew you would be needed." Alfred joked to the other older man.
"Jeez, dad." Leonard blushed hard.
"Come on, young man, sit down on the chair." the doctor ordered. "And I told you that you can call me Albert."
"Sorry." Leonard shook his head. "I can't. It's too weird."
"What happened here?" Albert asked as he inspected the wound.
"Ah... the stitches tore." Leonard replied. "If what my dad says is true, you know why."
"I mean, what caused the wound in the first place?" Albert inquired more closely.
"A splinter from a fragmentation grenade got through my gear." Leonard explained. "The mother of the woman upstairs pulled it out and I sowed it shut. As well as the shoulder wound."
"The shoulder looks good." Albert commented, checking the other wound. "We can pull the stitches from that one in a day or two."
"Go ahead." Leonard leaned back.
Albert took a bottle and applied some icing spray, numbing the area around the wound. He took a sealed bag from his pack and broke it open, retrieving a needle and some surgical thread, knotting the latter onto the former. He began to work, first pulling the old stitches and then quickly and deftly closing the wound properly this time while Leonard felt no pain thanks to the cold on his skin. It took less than five minutes for the doctor to finish, cutting the thread and tying it off.
"You need something for the pain?" Albert asked.
"No, it's manageable." Leonard shook his head. "And if I need something to kill the pain, I still have some at home."
"Will you get home okay?" Alfred wanted to know.
"Dad, it's only twelve miles." Leonard chuckled. "I could walk that far."
"Take care, son." Alfred said as Leonard took his jacket and turned to leave. "Try to come visit once in a while."
"I don't want to distract her from her training." Leonard argued.
"Leonard, I'm going to give her a day off once in a while." Alfred winked. "I'll call you beforehand and if you're in the area, come over."
"Thanks, dad." Leonard stepped towards his dad and hugged him. "And take care of her, will you?"
"Of course." Alfred said. "When I'm done with her, she'll be the weapon she wants to be."
"Thank you Albert." Leonard turned to the doctor and offered him a coin.
"It's on the house." Albert refused it. "Take care of yourself."
"Thanks, doc." Leonard smiled at the man and left the house to go home.
The next morning, Penny woke up at seven-thirty to an empty bed, just like Leonard promised. For some reason, she had hoped, against all odds, that Leonard would return to the bed while she slept to give her a pleasant surprise in the morning but alas, it wasn't to be. She got up and walked into the bathroom, washing up and brushing her teeth. Since she would be training anyway and not going out, she didn't bother with makeup and got dressed in comfortable underwear, a sports bra and a sweater combo before heading downstairs at eight o'clock sharp.
"Good morning." Alfred greeted her and waved her to the kitchen, where breakfast was spread on the kitchen island. "Sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you, Sir." Penny nodded.
"I told you to call me Alfred." she was told. "I didn't know if you were a coffee person, so I only made tea."
"I drank a lot of coffee but after talking to your son, I decided to cut back." she said. "So tea is fine."
"Alright." Alfred nodded. "This is Matcha green tea, and it will help you getting through the day."
"How?" she wondered, gingerly sipping the hot liquid.
"I could give you a list of its advantages or you could just believe me." Alfred smiled.
"Where do you get it from?"
"I order the leaves straight from Japan." Alfred told her. "My contacts there make it easy to get."
As she kept sipping the drink, she ate breakfast, consisting of eggs, some bacon and toast. She had no idea if it was the kind he was used to or if he gave her that in order to fuel her body but she ate it all, the taste very nice and worlds apart from the crap she used to eat when she was still working for Kurt.
"So, you are certainly wondering how your days will go from now on." Alfred spoke up.
"I do, yes." Penny nodded.
"Today, I will show you around and test your stamina." Alfred began. "From tomorrow onward, your training will begin at six in the morning and go on until ten at night."
"Will breakfast be earlier than that?" she wanted to know.
"No, breakfast will still be at eight." Alfred shook his head. "Lunch is at twelve-thirty and dinner at six. Your training will be worked around it."
"Is training on empty stomach a good idea?" she was curious, never having done it.
"You will see." Alfred chuckled and Penny accepted it, remembering Leonard's advise about being respectful.
"One more thing. You can ask me any question you want." Alfred continued. "I may not answer some of them, and I'll even tell you never to mention it again, depending on what it is, but I value a thirst for knowledge."
"Understood." Penny nodded but decided not to ask questions about Leonard's past right away.
She finished eating and Alfred cleaned the table, putting the dishes into the dishwasher. He led her outside and led her around the property, showing her the gardens and a few other things. A few people were on the property, caring for the plants and the fruit trees and Penny wondered what kind of fruit was growing in this climate.
"What fruit is that?" she asked, pointing to the trees.
"Apples." Alfred replied.
"And they grow up here?"
"Sure, we have warm summers." Alfred shrugged. "They're harvested in early September, so unless it's a freak year in terms of temperatures, there's no problem."
"How big is your property?" she looked around, seeing no fence line except the front gate where she and Leonard went through to get onto it.
"You see that forest over there?" Alfred pointed to the right.
"Yeah." Penny nodded.
"I own that one with Leonard."
"Jesus, how big is your property?" Penny gasped.
"The non-forest area is a bit over twelve acres." Alfred told her. "It's a rough rectangle a bit over six miles in length and a bit over three miles in width. The forest adds another thirty acres. My property line ends two miles before the border to Canada."
"Holy shit!" Penny held her hand over her mouth in shock. "Question, why are you owning a forest?"
"To protect it." Alfred told her. "I allow some people in to hunt and they can only shoot a specific number or type of animal. I also allow people in to go on a walk or jogging but they also have to clean up after them."
"How do you prevent someone from simply going in to hunt?" she wondered. "Or from loitering?"
"I have cameras everywhere for animal observation anyway. And the official walkways are monitored as well." Alfred explained. "I also have people working for me that take care of the forest. As for punishments, some people decided to be stupid and I had them arrested, that took care of anyone else who thought that the rules didn't apply to them."
"Wow." she whispered, getting a view on just how wealthy Leonard and his father appeared to be.
"So, now to your morning training." Alfred proclaimed. "Start warming up and then get running."
"Where to?" she asked.
"Anywhere you want on my property. If you decide to run through the areas where my people work, stick to the designated walkways, other than that, you can run wherever you want." Alfred explained.
"Okay." Penny nodded and began some stretching exercises.
Alright, chapter ends here. Hope you liked it :D
Review please :)