The Man-Flu Occurrence

Penny entered Leonard and Sheldon's apartment with ease, using the key that had been given to her. Sheldon had insisted when they had given her it, that it was only to be used in emergencies, and she was certain that her current situation fell under that category; she had left her phone charger in their apartment, and her battery was in the red. Yes, that was definitely an emergency.

She stepped inside the door, then gasped and jumped back in shock when she saw Leonard lying on the sofa. He wasn't supposed to be here, it was Wednesday and it had only just gone one o'clock; he was supposed to be at work.

"Jesus Leonard, you scared the crap out of me!" Penny said as she closed the door and took a few deep breaths to calm the adrenaline that was now chorusing throughout her body.

"You do realize this is my apartment?" Leonard replied groggily. "It's you that's breaking in."

"I left my phone charger here," Penny said holding up her phone, spotting instantly that something was wrong with him. She walked over to the couch, sat on the coffee table, and immediately saw how pale he looked and how puffy his eyes were. "Sweetie, are you okay? You don't look so good." She asked with concern at she put a hand out to his forehead. "Oh my God, you're burning up." She said when she felt the heat from his head and the few drops of sweat that had formed around his hairline.

"I'm sick." He said sadly. "There's a bug going around the university and I caught it. I went to the nurse at work and she told me to go home. So… here I am."

"Oh, honey." She said sympathetically, and then gave him a sweet smile, "Looks to me like you have a bad case of man flu."

"Man flu?"

"Uh huh." She said with a nod. "It's just like regular flu, except because you are a guy, it is much, much worse." She smiled, "I'd say that lots and lots of T.L.C and sympathy from Nurse Penny will help you get better in no time."

Leonard gave her a half smile, nodded and then let out a pathetic cough. "Yeah, I think you're right." Leonard stuck out his bottom lip and gave her the best puppy dog expression he could muster. "Will you take care of me Nurse Penny?"

Penny chuckled and gave his hot forehead a kiss before taking a hold of his hand. "Of course I will sweetie. Come on." She said as she led him out of his apartment and over to hers.

As soon as they were in Penny's apartment, she led him to the sofa where he lay down in the same way he had in his own apartment. Penny then headed to her bedroom and returned with two arms full of pillows and sheets.

"Oh my God." Leonard said with a chuckle as he noticed her struggle to manoeuvre herself around the apartment and over to the sofa.

Penny dumped the bundle on the floor, then rummaged through them until she had two pillows in her hand. "Okay, sit up and I will put these behind your head."

Leonard did what he was told and Penny put the pillows behind him before touching his shoulder to ease him back on to them. She then picked up the sheets from the floor, threw them over him and then tucked him tightly in.

"How's that?" Penny asked as she sat on the edge of the sofa and ran her hand through his hair.

"Great." He said quietly as he sunk his head further into the pillow.

Penny smiled and gave him another quick kiss on the forehead, before getting up and heading out of the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Leonard asked.

"Just to your apartment. I forgot to get my charger and I need to get a few other things." She smiled and then grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "Here, you can have full reign over the television, watch whatever nerdy stuff you want." She giggled and put the remote in his hand and then headed over to his apartment.

Penny returned about fifteen minutes later to Leonard fast asleep on the sofa; he hadn't even bothered turning on the television. She gave him a sincere look of sympathy before letting out a whispered, "Aww." She quietly shut her door behind her and went to her bedroom to drop off the phone charger, box of tissues, Leonard's pyjamas, slippers and robe; that she had gotten from his apartment.

Leonard was awoken about an hour later, by the smell of food cooking around him. He opened his puffy eyes and tried to sit up but the movement made his muscles ache and he let out a quiet groan as he lay back on the pillows.

"Hey sleepyhead, you're up." Penny said from the kitchen when she saw him waking up. "Just in time too because Nurse Penny has made you some tea and soup."

Penny put the bowl of soup on a tray along with a boiling hot cup of Lemon and Honey tea. She sat the tray on the table while she helped him sit up, puffing up the pillows behind him so he was comfortable and sat the tray on his lap.

"I tink I'll hab to be sick more often." Leonard said, the short sleep making his chest and nose congested, altering his ability to speak properly. He took a hold of the cup of tea with both hands and brought it up to his nose. "Ahhh." He said with a goofy smile.

Penny giggled and touched his cheek, "You're so cute." She cooed, "Now eat up all your soup while I run you a nice hot bath."

"Mmkay." He replied as he cautiously sipped on his tea.

About ten minutes later Penny returned and sat on the arm of the sofa. "How's my sick little homunculus doing now?" She put her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"All done." He said as he lifted his empty bowl and let out a small cough. "Anb I told you bot to call me bat."

Penny smiled, "call you what?"

"Humbumbublus."

Penny couldn't hold in her laughter at his attempt at saying the word. "Okay sweetie, I won't call you a humbumbublus." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek when he looked at her with an unimpressed frown and moved the tray away from him. "Come on, your bath is getting cold."

Leonard obediently followed Penny to the bathroom, and began to shiver as his body adjusted to not having the blankets around him anymore.

Leonard grinned when he entered the bathroom and the scent of honey and lemon filled his senses, it was just like the tea, but much, much better. Penny helped him out of his clothes and into the bath that was full to the brim with boiling water and covered in bubbles.

"Oooh, bots bat I can beel?" He said as he slid his body under the water.

"Bath salts." She said as she crouched down and leant on the edge of the bath, "I bought a whole bunch a couple of days ago, they are so relaxing and since you are sick I figured they might help you out more than me."

"Awww." He said with a heartfelt smile.

Penny smiled and scrunched up her nose. "There are more over there," She pointed to the other side of the bath. "So you can put them in when those ones stop dissolving, if you want."

Leonard laid his head back against the tub and nodded. Penny stood up and was about to leave, "Bere are you goinb?" Penny looked at him blankly, then to the door and back to him. "Stay. Balk to be."

Penny grinned. "That's going to be hard when you are talking like that."

"I canb helb ib!" Leonard protested.

"I know sweetie." She said with a hint of a giggle as she sat down on the floor beside the tub, "but it's still funny."

Leonard took a handful of the bubbles that covered the bath, and threw them at Penny. "Hey!" She giggled as she jumped back, "You can't be mean to your nurse or else she will stop looking after you!"

"Boo bere beinb bean boo be." Leonard replied making Penny giggle even harder.

Leonard shook his head and smiled as he lay back in the tub again. Penny sat up on her knees, and leant over the tub to grab a handful of bubbles, which she then began to put around Leonard's jaw and hair. Once she was finished she broke out in giggles again, "You look like Santa Claus."

Leonard frowned, "I bink boo are baking adbanbage ob a sick berson."

"You're right, I'm sorry." She said, pouting her bottom lip.

"Boo are borbiben."

Penny grinned and shook her head slightly, trying her best not to laugh again. She put another bunch of bath salts in the water and watched as his face relaxed and his eyes closed.

Penny sat there for a few moments before walking out and bringing all the bed covers and pillows she had put on the sofa, back onto the bed. She laid out Leonard's pyjamas and sat the box of tissues on the table at his side of the bed, before filling up two hot water bottles and placing one under the covers at the bottom on the bed, and leaving the other one on the table, for Leonard to decide where to put it.

Penny headed back into the bathroom a while later, and smiled when she saw he was still as she left him. She knelt down in front of the bath again and touched his cheek to wake him up. He opened his puffy eyes and Penny tilted her head, "Sweetie, do you want to get out now? I have a feeling you might come out resembling a prune if you stay in there any longer."

He smiled and slowly nodded, the tiredness clearly showing in his face. Penny grabbed a towel and handed it to him as he carefully stepped out of the water. She led him out into the bedroom then helped him get dry and into his pyjamas, before directing him to the bed. She puffed up his mountain of pillows before getting changed herself and getting into bed beside him. It was only six o'clock, and she wasn't tired, but she didn't want to leave him on his own. She picked her laptop up off the floor and sat it beside her with the intention of watching something on it once Leonard had fallen asleep.

Leonard rolled onto his side, wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and rested his head on her chest. He sniffled and coughed while Penny ran her hands up and down his back, trying to soothe him into a deep sleep.

"Bere is by bone?" He asked.

"In the other room, why?"

"I beeb boo seb by alarmb for bork."

Penny took a second to understand what he had said, before shaking her head, "No you aren't going to work," Leonard was about to say something else, but Penny put a finger to his mouth. "I've already called and told them you aren't coming in, and I have already told Sheldon that I will be taking him to work tomorrow. He wasn't too pleased about it though, as you can imagine." She said with a smile.

Leonard looked up at her for a few seconds with a silly grin on his face. "If I basnb sick, I bould kiss bou right bow."

"I think I'll risk it," She said before giving him a kiss on the lips. "Now, go to sleep, honey."

Leonard nodded and rested his head back down on her chest as he tightened his hold around her. He focused his senses on the soothing feel of her moving her hand in circles on his back, before moving it up to run through his hair, gently massaging his scalp as she moved. It didn't take long for him to drift off, with one thought in his head; I hope I don't get better any time soon.