Invasion of Privacy!

Chapter 4: Clarification

Sheldon commits an unthinkable breach of trust and Leonard is through with him.

Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.

Disclaimer 2: I don't own TBBT or their characters. To clarify, I OWN NOTHING.

Saturday, Sheldon's Apartment

Sheldon sat in his spot deep in thought, trying to make sense out of his suddenly topsy-turvy upside-down world. Leonard has moved out and refuses to talk to him. He now has to get a ride to and from work with Amy. His after-work schedule is in shambles as Amy has told him, in no uncertain terms, that she is not his chauffeur and will not be driving him around like one.

Howard doesn't come over for meals or game night anymore which automatically means Raj and Bernadette don't come over either. Sheldon doesn't believe it's any great loss with Howard abstaining from coming over as he doesn't have a doctorate and is beneath him and Bernadette was just along for Penny. He didn't think that Raj's field of study was actually science worthy either but at least he had a doctorate and would be able to understand some of what Sheldon was saying.

In desperation, he had even gone as far as knocking on Penny's door. She wasn't even close to a monkey's intelligence but she could be used for basic mindless tasks like driving him around and going to pick up his food. Even that had met with failure as she never seemed to be home. He used the emergency key, she had given Leonard, to let himself into her apartment. Surprisingly, he found that the apartment was neat and tidy but it looked like no one had been there in days.

Making sure he locked the door; he left Penny's place and went back across the hall to his apartment. He sat in his spot to do some more thinking. After a very thorough examination of the situation, Sheldon came up with the only sure-fire solution to get his universe back into its proper place. He would call Leonard's mother.

Later that evening, Leonard was relaxing at home in the overstuffed easy chair Penny had picked out for him. He had come to love this particular piece of furniture. He especially liked when Penny was over and she climbed into his lap to snuggle with him in this chair. He smiled as he remembered the times he and his love had engaged in other amorous activities in this chair. Yes, the thought, this was without a doubt, his favorite piece of furniture in his new place.

Leonard was broken out of his pleasant reverie by his cell phone going off. Leonard knew it was his mother calling by the ring tone. For his mother, he had thought it fitting to choose the ring tone from the opening sounds of the old Dragnet series. Leonard's entire disposition changed as he was in no mood to be put down by his mother. He thought about ignoring the call but his sense of duty, as a son, wouldn't allow him do it.

"Hello Mother" Leonard answered calmly.

"Hello Leonard" Beverly responded. Never one to waste time on idle chit chat or pleasantries, Beverly got right to the point. "Sheldon tells me you have moved out of your shared living abode for no apparent reason and won't have anything to do with him. Is this true?" Beverly asked.

"Yes mother, its true; I have moved into my own apartment and contrary to what Sheldon has told you, I have several reasons for moving out and wanting nothing to do with him." Leonard answered.

After a lengthy pause, Beverly began speaking again.

"Well Leonard, I'm waiting."

"What exactly is it that you are waiting for mother?" Leonard asked.

Beverly gave a deep sigh.

"I'm waiting for you to tell me your reasons for moving out and isolating yourself from Sheldon." She stated.

"I'm sorry mother but as that is none of your business just as this whole conversation is none of your business, I don't need to and won't be sharing that information with you." Leonard informed his mother.

Beverly took the phone away from her ear and looked at it in surprise. She was trying to figure out if the person on the other end of the line was actually her son. She brought the phone back up to her ear to continue the conversation.

"Leonard, I'm your mother; of course it's my business when you make rash decisions. Now I think you need to apologize to Sheldon and see if he will even take you back as a roommate."

"No mother; that's not going to happen. Now listen carefully mother; I'm going to advise you on three things and then I am going to end this meaningless conversation and this phone call." Leonard stated authoritatively.

"First, as I said before, this is none of your business. As I am an adult in full control of my faculties, you have absolutely no say in the decisions I make for my life. You being my mother does not give you some sort of carte blanche to interfere in my life. Sheldon calling and whining to you because he is not getting his way still does not make it your business and I will not discuss it further with you."

"Second, there is no need for me to apologize to Sheldon as I haven't done anything to him to apologize for. Just as it was my choice to move in with Sheldon, it was also my choice to move out. It is also my choice whom I decide to be friends with and who I don't."

"Finally, I do not need to ask Sheldon to take me back as a roommate as I don't want Sheldon as a roommate. I want nothing to do with him neither now nor in the future, hence, me moving out."

"In the future mother, please stay out of my business. What I do with my life and the decisions I make are mine to make. I don't want to cut you out of my life over this but I will if you continue to push me on this. You were never a loving mother or a mother at all to me but the fact remains that you are my mother so I have no choice but to give you some decorum of respect for birthing me. But I warn you mother; if you continue to call and harass me, your actual son, about a person who is not even related to you, then I will have nothing further to do with you.

"Now mother, as I informed you earlier, this conversation is over as is this phone call. Bye mother."

After bidding his mother goodbye, Leonard disconnected the call.

Beverly stood in absolute shock. She was sure that Leonard had to have an abnormality in his brain to speak to her this way. She was preparing to call him back and let him know that he would not speak to her like that and she wanted to schedule a brain scan for him right away. She then thought back to what he had said. Even though Leonard was not the son she wanted, he was still her son and she did not want to be cut out of his life.

Beverly put her phone down and made a mental note to give this some serious thought when she had time. She picked her phone up again and called Sheldon.

"Hello Dr. Hofstadter; I take it you have had the displeasure of speaking with your son." Sheldon remarked.

"Yes Sheldon, I have spoken with Leonard." She answered.

"Thank you, Dr. Hofstadter. I don't know what has gotten into him lately but it is totally unacceptable. When is he coming by to apologize to me and beg for his room back?" Sheldon asked while thinking of all the ways he would make Leonard's life miserable for daring to think he was on the same level as he.

"That is the reason for my call; he is not coming by neither to apologize nor ask for his room back." Beverly advised in her monotone voice.

"What," Sheldon exclaimed in surprise. "But you spoke with him; he always does what you tell him to do."

"Yes, I know this was the case in the past but apparently something catastrophic has happened to change his outlook on life. He claims he has several reasonable justifications for moving out, though he would not share them with me, and he is adamant about not wanting to live with you again. He also stated he would not be apologizing to you as there was nothing for him to apologize for. Now I have important work to attend to." Beverly finished before hanging up.

Sheldon sat in his spot in shock. He was not shocked that Beverly had hung up him as he knew she was a very busy woman and much like him, had little time for unnecessary pleasantries. No, he was shocked that Leonard had not obeyed his mother as he had always done. This definitely surprised Sheldon as that was not like Leonard at all. Sheldon sat in his spot the rest of the day trying to figure out how he was going to get Leonard back under his control.

Leonard was still sitting in his easy chair but he was not able to reclaim the tranquility he was enjoying before his mother's phone call. As much as he hated to admit it, it still made him feel like a worthless piece of crap that his mother preferred Sheldon over him, her own flesh and blood son. He also couldn't understand why it continued to hurt that she was disappointed in his career and his achievements. He had actually achieved more in his career than Sheldon had in his but it still wasn't good enough for his mother; it was never good enough for her.

Penny, who had found a shopping mall that was close to Leonard's apartment, decided that after a full day of shopping, she was in no mood to drive all the way back to her lonely boring apartment. She quickly made up her mind to go give Leonard a surprise visit. Penny stopped and picked up some take out for the both of them before heading to his apartment.

As usual, she got a thrill out of using her gate card to get into the private parking area. Her smile became bigger when she saw Leonard's car parked in one of his two spots. After she parked, she thought about leaving her purchases in the car but then it occurred to her that she spent more time over here than at her apartment. She thought about what she had bought and giggled as most, if not all, of her purchases were things she wanted Leonard to see her in. She grabbed all of her bags along with the food and headed to the elevator.

When Penny opened the door to the apartment, her smile instantly turned to a frown as she saw the expression on her loves face. Leonard tried to hide the sad look before Penny saw it but he was too late. Penny came into the apartment, dropped the bags on the floor and immediately went and sat in Leonard's lap. She gave him a kiss and then just snuggled with him for a few minutes before speaking.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Penny asked.

"It's nothing; don't worry about it. How was your day of shopping?" Leonard asked trying to change the subject.

Penny knew what he was doing and she was not going to let him get away with it. Leonard had to be nicest person she had ever met and she hated it when he wasn't his normal cheerful self. Something had happened to put him in this funk and she needed to know what it was in order to help him get past it.

"Leonard, you know that is not going to work with me. Please tell me what has you feeling so down?" Penny asked.

"It's really stupid Penny; I don't want you thinking I'm some whining little boy. Don't worry about it; I'll get over it." Leonard replied sadly.

Penny was not to be put off. Something was bothering her man and she was determined to help him. She knew it had to be something really hurtful going by the look on his face when she walked in.

"Leonard, I love you. There is nothing about you that makes me think of you in any way other than the loving compassionate man that you are. You're my man and I'm your woman. We're supposed to be there for each other."

"I know when you first told me you had moved out, my initial reaction was childish, selfish and one of the worst mistakes of my life. I'm deeply ashamed I reacted that way and I wish I could take it back. I know for a fact that if the situation was reversed, you would have welcomed me to your place without a second thought. You have always been there for me so please allow me to do my part in this relationship and be there for you." Penny finished as she looked unflinchingly into his eyes.

Leonard still did not want to tell Penny what had him down but he didn't want her to think it was because he didn't love and trust her. It just seemed so childish to him that his mother, who had never been a mother to him, was still able to hurt him. That even with all his accomplishments, she still preferred his siblings and even Sheldon over him. He was a grown man now with a successful career and a beautiful girlfriend who he hoped would be his wife in the future and he still had mommy issues. He just felt ashamed. Even feeling this way, he knew Penny was right. He had to be honest with her or it would prove that their relationship meant nothing to him.

"My mother called" Leonard started.

Penny was instantly incensed. That woman had this brilliant kind man for a son and she treated him worse than a step child. Penny attempted to get her temper under control so she could think clearly and help Leonard get over whatever he was going through

"What did she want sweetie?" Penny asked

Leonard gave a big sigh.

"She wanted me to correct my, so called, rash decision of moving out of Sheldon's apartment, apologize to him and beg him to take me back as a roommate." Leonard stated.

"Leonard, I know for a fact that one of the best decisions you have ever made was moving into your own place. Maybe now would be a good time for you to catch me up on the reason you moved out. It took every bit of willpower I had not to ask you before but I wanted to give you time get everything sorted out first. So, what made you move out and basically cut Sheldon out of your life?"

Leonard gave a big sigh before speaking

"Sheldon hacked into my email account and read the email from my doctor about my surgery and then told my mother about it."

"WHAAATT" Penny shouted sitting upright on Leonard's lap. "What in the hell is wrong with that guy? I know he's an egotistical narcissist whackadoodle who has trouble distinguishing between right and wrong but come on; even he has to know that hacking into someone's private email is waaaaaay past wrong." Penny exclaimed.

"Yeah, I agree but when I confronted him about it, he acted as though it was completely acceptable for him to not only hack into my private email but to also discuss it with my mother." Leonard said sadly.

Once again, Penny had to reign in her temper so she could concentrate on helping Leonard through this. It was not about her right now; just Leonard. She understood that what Leonard had just explained to her was definitely more than sufficient enough to upset him to the point where he would just pack up and move out. She also understood it was more than enough for Leonard not to want anything else to with Sheldon. Penny knew there was something more. Knowing Leonard the way she does, nothing he had told her so far would be enough to put that sad hurt look on his face she saw when she entered the apartment.

"Ok sweetie, here's what's going to happen now. Sometime in the near future, we're going to have a long talk about not keeping important things from each other like surgeries. Later on, I will be giving you a good fussing out for not telling me about this surgery you have either had or are going to have. As for right now, I need you to tell me what you left out. There's nothing Sheldon can say or do to put the look on your face I saw when I came in. What else happened?" Penny asked looking directly into his eyes.

Leonard was trying to think of anything he could so he wouldn't have to tell her the rest but looking at the concern in her eyes broke him. A tear slid down his cheek as he started to talk.

"I just don't know why she hates me Penny" Leonard said in a broken voice. "I have excelled in everything she has wanted but it has never been enough. My whole life, I grew up being the third unwanted child. She brags about my siblings constantly but I'm a disappointment. When I finally move away and get out from under the shadow of my brother and sister, she meets my whackadoodle roommate and instantly she prefers him over me. She would rather have him as her son than me. No matter what I do, I just don't measure up to her expectations."

"I'm a grown man with a successful career and the woman of my dreams as my girlfriend; why does it still hurt Penny? Why is it still possible for her to hurt me this way?" Leonard asked sadly.

Penny's heart broke for Leonard. Even though she was supposed to be strong so she could help him, she couldn't stop the tears rolling down her face at the anguish in his voice. At the same time, Penny couldn't remember ever being this angry in her life. Beverly had hurt her man and in Penny's book, that was just about the worst thing you could do. Leonard was too good of a person to be hurt by anyone, let alone his own mother.

Penny leaned back down into Leonard and put face on his chest as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. She felt his arms come around her holding her just as tight as they cried together. They stayed this way for a while just taking comfort in each other. No words were necessary; it was them against the world. They were able to soothe each other just by being in each other's arms.

As they were holding each other, Penny had an epiphany. It finally dawned on her that as much as she knew she loved and needed Leonard, he loved and needed her just as much. They needed each other to make one another whole. With this epiphany, she found that her fear of moving in and living with Leonard had vanished. As a matter of fact, an excitement was taking hold of her at the thought of actually really starting her life with Leonard.

The tears had stopped but they were still wrapped tightly in each other arms. Penny didn't want to move as being in Leonard's arms was her haven. Leonard wasn't big or muscular but only in his arms did she feel safe and secure. Even though she didn't want to move, she knew she had to be looking into his eyes when she made her next statement. Penny began sitting up, forcing Leonard to loosen his hold on her. When she was sitting straight up, looking into Leonard's eyes, she said what was on her heart.

"Leonard, I love you with all of my heart and I want to live here with you."

Fresh tears started rolling down both their faces as Leonard grabbed Penny and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. She felt a shudder go through his body and it took her a minute to shamefully realize what she had unwittingly been doing to Leonard all this time. She also realized it answered his question as to why his mother still had the power to hurt him and why he had stayed and put up with Sheldon all this time.

Penny tightened her arms around Leonard as more tears poured out of her. These were not the tears of joy due to the realization that she did want to live with Leonard. These were the tears of a woman who had, unintentionally, been hurting the man she loves for way too long. These were tears of sorrow knowing that she had, in part, been responsible for Leonard's misery. The reason for Leonard's sorrow had finally clicked in place for Penny. In Leonard's mind, he didn't have anybody.

Beverly was an emotionless non-maternal mother but she was his mother so he kept holding out that one day she would show an ounce of interest in him. Sheldon, an egotistical narcissistic pompous ass, was still someone who kept him from being alone. Finally, herself, the person who proclaimed to love him but never gave any indication that she was in the relationship for the long haul. The person that had broken up with him on more than one occasion with very flimsy excuses. The person that had never given Leonard any reason to believe that they had a future together, thereby, forcing him to hold on to Beverly and Sheldon so he would have someone in his life when she eventually left him.

Penny was flat out bawling now. She cried so hard and held Leonard so tight that he was starting to get worried about her. At first, he thought her tears were tears of joy like his, but this was gut wrenching sobbing now and she was holding onto him as though she was afraid of letting him go. Leonard didn't know what had changed. He had no way of knowing she was blaming herself for his misery. He had no idea what was going on but if she needed to hold him like this, then he would sit here all night long if that's what it took to make her feel better.

The two of them sat holding each other for what seemed like hours. Penny was finally able to stop crying and pull herself together even though she still did not release Leonard nor move from her position. She did think about the vow she had made a while ago to make sure Leonard knew every day how much she loved him. She also wanted his healing to start right away. Not only did she want his healing to start right away but she also wanted their new life together to start right away.

Penny finally sat up and looked deep into Leonard's eyes. Leonard was looking just as deeply into her eyes. She leaned forward to kiss him and he met her half way. The kiss went on for a while as they were pouring out their love for one another with this one kiss. When they were finally forced to come up for air, Penny smiled at Leonard and spoke the first words that had been uttered between the two of them in quite a while.

"Let's go get my stuff and get me moved in here."

The huge smile that came across Leonard's face, immediately let Penny know she had said exactly the right thing. Leonard pulled her down for another kiss before letting the chair back up into its upright position and pushing Penny off his lap and hurrying her to the door. Penny was giggling the whole time at Leonard's obvious haste to get her moved in as quick as possible. She didn't mind one bit as she was just as eager to be moved in immediately.

They took both cars so they wouldn't have to make multiple trips. As it turned out, Penny was a little embarrassed to find that they were able to fit everything, except furniture, into the two cars in one trip. Penny hadn't realized that most of her clothes were already at their now shared apartment. It had totally escaped her notice that after taking some of her things over the first time, she had steadily been leaving more and more stuff over there as she rarely stayed at her place anymore.

They decided they could worry about the furniture later as Penny's rent was paid up through the end of the month. They also decided Penny could put her stuff away the following day as that would be Sunday and they both were off. They put everything on the bed of one of the spare bedrooms. They were now sitting down enjoying the take out Penny had brought before. As they ate, they continually looked at each other with a growing hunger for something other than food. They made quick work of the take out and raced each other to the bedroom.

They made love for the first time as roommates and found it exhilarating. They made love, intermittently, throughout the rest of the night. They would fall asleep in each other arms and whoever would wake first, would wake the other for another round. Each time they fell asleep, they both had big smiles of contentment on their faces.

When morning came, they didn't even notice as they slept late, exhausted from their carnal activities throughout the night. Without conscious thought, they had somehow settled into their normal sleep position of Leonard spooning Penny with one arm around her waist and the other arm under her head as a pillow.

They both slept deeply. It was as though a great burden had been weighing them down and now it was gone. Maybe in their slumbering state their subconscious knew what they weren't able to comprehend when they were conscious. That maybe they were finally with the soulmate they were supposed to be with forever.