Final Chapter

They ate lunch at Murline's Diner and Penny enjoyed seeing some of the people she'd met at the big Labor Day Picnic. Other than a few autograph requests, people left them alone although one older rancher tried to talk to Lee about 'breeding up' the Longhorns and the discussion got into territory that left Penny in a daze.

"Sorry about that, Penelope. Sometimes the most interesting discussions and deals happen here over lunch. Now, tell me all about your 'death' and what it means to us. I hate that you're being written off the show, Penny. I know how much being an actress has meant to you. If you need money…"

She reached across the table in their booth and put her fingers on his lips, smiling. She knew he'd do anything for her and this was just an example of why she loved this man so much that it hurt.

"Lee, how would you feel about letting me move in with you for about the next, oh, I don't know, 40 or 50 years?" For the billionth time she wished she had a camera to capture the look on his face.

"Wha – what?" His eyes got big and a smile started to split his face, not one of those creepy Joker-smiles like in Pasadena but a real smile like he'd given her back at the Library Lounge and again so many times since that weekend.

"Lee, I'm taking a really big chance on something. I'm going to produce and star in my own dramatic series and it'll be filmed right here, baby, right here in this 'wide spot in the road'. It's all about a woman whose marriage fails and her career falls apart and so she comes home…to Texas. I've got to find a building to convert into a soundstage and then meet with the investors who are flying down to see how things look before letting go of their cash but…"

"Here? Here in – " He was so overwhelmed that he couldn't string words together. She'd thrown away one sure thing for a chance to be here with him and still have her dream. It was humbling and he felt so undeserving of her and so proud of her.

"Are you disappointed, Lee? Say something!" He was looking out the window of the diner and seeing something far away and deep in his own mind.

"You can stay with me forever and a day, Penny. Are you sure this is in your best interests, Penny?"

"It's definitely in my best interests. I get to act, have a say-so in my own future, spend quality time with my boyfriend who I hope will change that status to something more permanent, and the NBS people are onboard so…yeah, Moon Pie…yeah, it's in my best interests…our best interests, Lee."

He pulled out his cell and scrolled down his list of contacts and made a call.

"Tammi, if you can peel Raj off you, can you answer a quick question?" He laughed when he heard his friend mumble something about 'too early' but blushed when Tammi told Raj she'd wake him up 'right and proper' in the shower.

"Shoot, Lee. Raj is taking a shower. I can't thank you enough for introducing us. He's…he's not like anyone I've ever met before and guess what? He's taking me to India to meet his mother and father!"

"That's nice. Yeah, he's unique all right. Now, does your daddy still own that refrigerated warehouse out near the rail spur?"

"Oh, yeah. That's an albatross around his neck. He was bitchin' up a storm just last night when Raj and I went over there to dinner. Says it's killin' him."

"Will he sell or lease it?"

"Why?"

"Call him and tell him someone wants to lease it if the price is right and the terms are fair and equitable. Also tell him that if he plays his cards right, he might get on the TV, just like JR on Dallas – of course it would be just a walk-on..." Her father owned half the county and had an ego so he just appealed to his weak spots, money and fame.

"I'll call you right back…well, after I shower. In a couple hours."

Penny looked across the table at him and tried not to glare or spoil the mood. She didn't want to fight but Lee knew nothing about what she needed, nothing at all.

"Eat up, my Queen, drink your lemonade and then let's head out. I think a heavily insulated and isolated building with plenty of square footage should do fine as a sound stage or studio. I just lit a fire under Raj's new girlfriend, Tammi, the T-Mobile girl I introduced you to at the picnic…she's kept Raj busy for 3 days. Poor guy probably hasn't…well, anyhow, he's taking her to India to meet the folks."

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She tried not to feel resentment but it was hard. He knew nothing about her craft and…

"Penny, if we wrap this up before dinner, I'd like to drive down to Galveston and do some shopping."

"Let's go check out the plant and then talk about us and what plans you have. A TV program right here in 'Flyspeck, Texas'. Fascinating. Tell me about the story line again on the way out to the Flats."

"Flats? Everything around here is either rolling hills or marshland."

"An Interstate was supposed to go by here and some developers back in the late 80s bulldozed the hills and filled in the swamps and marshes and built an 'industrial park' but the interstate never came through here and the railroad just ran a spur up here so yeah, it's called The Flats."

They took Penny's car and the drive took them through town, past the 3C and out about a mile or so and there stood a long line of warehouses and abandoned railcars all sitting out in the flat ground. Penny's eye took in the building Lee must have been thinking about and she hated to agree with him on this but – it looked perfect.

Tammi's father had spoken with his daughter and rushed out to meet Lee and the 'TV Executive' from Hollywood. He even shaved and changed into something more appropriate than his t-shirt and Bib overalls. He wanted to make a good impression.

He unlocked the doors to the 'office area' and the heat and smell of years of being closed off from anything resembling fresh air hit Penny like a hammer and she almost lost the chicken and dumplings she'd wolfed down at Murline's.

"It's a bit stuffy, Ms. Penny, but air it out a bit and fire up the A/C and it'll be right nice. It's dry and tight and there are several feet of insulation in critical areas that will help with sound & temperature control. The floor is concrete and it's never been used so it's as clean today as it was 20 years ago."

"How much to lease for 2 years? Are the taxes current? How about utilities?" 'Business Penny' surprised Lee and he hid a smile behind his fingers and stepped back to watch his Queen weave a spell around Austin Jeter, probably the richest man in this part of Texas.

"Ah, well, I'd have to ask my CPA about taxes. Utilities won't be a problem. You can get 'lectric and water within a couple of days once deposits are put down. Anything else might take a week or more."

He watched Penny haggle and back Jeter into a corner and then ease off and allowed the man to save some face and then slam the door on the deal. She got the building, use of the immediate paved lot for trailers for cast and crew and somehow convinced Jeter that it was in his best interests to buy the trailers and lease them to her production company as part of the main lease.

Jeter left thinking he'd made a killing on the slick 'TV Exec' but Lee had been doing the math and she'd slipped in so many neat add-ons that she ended up getting the building and everything for far less than planned.

"Penny, I need you to come with me the next time I buy a car. They'll end up paying me to take it before you're done with them. Where'd you learn…"

"My agent gave me a crash course in negotiating. Now, let's head out to your place so I can unpack and unwind. Do you know how long it's been since we've been together?"

"You want the hours, the minutes, or the seconds?"

"It's been forever, sweetie, at least it seems like it to me. Fiji was so beautiful and I have NO tan lines, Lee, but I missed you everyday and those few times we talked were poor substitutes for my lanky Texan, y'know?"

"I have an approximation of your levels of frustration, Penny. Believe me when I tell you that the hot water tank at the house got NO use except for laundry night. Cold showers, Penny, lots of cold, cold showers."

She couldn't stop herself. She didn't want to stop herself. She felt so happy to be finally at the one place she felt was 'home' but so sad that they'd lost so much time together. Penny let go of all her inhibitions and within just a few minutes they were naked and sweaty and the rental car windows steamed up and Penny was certain she'd have to pay some sort of penalty when she returned the car. The smell of raw sex would never come out of the upholstery.

Penny didn't get unpacked until Lee left for school the next morning. She didn't get dressed until later in the afternoon after he'd come back and said 'hello' in the only way she wanted. He said 'hello', and then he said, 'Hi' and then he finally said, "Get dressed, Penn. I'm taking you out to dinner. I have something to talk to you about. Go. Clothe thy nakedness in fine raiment whilst I return the mattress to its proper place."

Penny laughed and kissed him and then danced out of his grasp. Sheldon Cooper might have been traumatically asexual and emotionally withdrawn, but her Moon Pie was a walking erection and never seemed to get enough of her. The fact that the mattress was half-on and half-off the bed frame was proof of that. She'd lost track of how many times she'd cried out his name and how many times she felt his hot seed spill into her.

Just the way she always dreamed things would be when she found her soul mate.

Epilogue [of sorts]

Novo Sibirsk Antarctic Research Station

Leonard was teetering between thoughts of suicide and thoughts of murder. Every time he looked out the triple-paned thermally-sealed window of the small research station at the nothingness of the South Pole he had these thoughts.

'A year? How in the hell am I going to survive a year here with just my work for company?'

He'd just arrived and already he was miserable. And cold. He missed Winkle even if she did betray him.

The door of the small station opened and someone brought in his luggage and equipment from the plane. He'd been so damned cold he had just left it where it had been dumped by the crew of the small plane that had brought him and hustled inside the small station.

"Leonid, I am Olga Simonovich, the senior researcher here at the Russian Winter Research Station. Welcome."

"Uh, hi, I guess. What is there to do around here besides our research?" He couldn't even tell what this 'Olga' woman looked like except that she had on considerably more clothes than he thought possible.

"Well, Leonid, we drink vodka, tell each other lies, try not to kill each other and, of course, we fuck like bunnies to stay warm."

She started peeling off layers of clothing and soon looked like a human being with long reddish brown hair, green eyes and a body that Leonard knew he'd never get tired of.

'Sheldon, I take it all back, buddy, every nasty thought and I hope someday you'll forgive me. But right now…'

"Um, I think I'll like it here just fine."

Three years later
Los Angeles, CA

"C'mon, Lee. She'll be fine with Missy. You worry too much. Now, remember, stay on my right side and smile sweetly – not like you're going to your own execution."

"She's only 2 and we've never really been away from her for this long…I'll call her and check up on her."

"Jenny will be fine. Let me fix your bow tie. Sheldon Lee Cooper, take your lips off my neck and your hands off my ass! If you make us late for the Emmy Awards, I'll superglue these legs together and…and…oh, Hell, they give out Best Actress last anyhow. Lose the clothes, Lee, and let's give Jenny a brother!"