Gah, I promised you lovely morsels a speedy update but life is so unforgiving. I've had the most amazing opportunity to work on a wonderful internship and I did such a great job that it was extended. It just recently ended and after this year I will officially be done with school. Holla! Sigh . . . I honestly forget about this story sometimes and then I happen to check my email and see the influx of reviews/alerts and I am instantly reminded. Plus, school and work is a bitch. I don't watch Big Bang Theory anymore. I think I stopped in 2012 or something. So, apparently Penny is working as a pharmaceutical rep and I heard them referring to Leonard as her husband-to-be. No. No. No. No. No! Let me know what you think about that. I am just finding out.

To those of you who reminded me of my end of the year goal, I am truly ashamed. I'm horrible at this update thing. But, I promise to get better. Much love!

Read Review Enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory but this plot and storyline is 100% mine.

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"Thanks a lot guys, I'll see you tomorrow night!"

Penny sighed in relief as she locked up the Cheesecake Factory. She was dead on her feet and so thankful class would be canceled for tomorrow. She didn't even get a moment to break for lunch because of the busy crowd. The plan was to go home and make a couple of sandwiches, plop down in front of the TV and catch up on a few episodes of Bones on Netflix, and then sleep for ten hours.

She made a mental note to call Katherine in the morning to tell her about the apartments she found. There were some really nice apartments not too far but she'd have to pay a little extra. She was waiting to hear back from the landlord to see if there were any vacancies in the building. The plane tickets were brought and their flight was for Saturday morning. She hoped Kat would be on time. They were both known for being late.

Her thoughts were on Sheldon as she drove home and hobbled to her apartment. He hadn't called for a ride or replied to any of her texts and that wasn't like him. She knew he had some type of important meeting for today and she hoped everything went well. After making a tray of sandwiches and grabbing some chips and a couple of soda's she headed over to 4A to see if he would come over. It was a sort of tradition for them to eat together every night now. She used her key, having not seen Leonard's car and was very surprised to see everyone, minus Sheldon.

"What's up guys?"

They all looked around, wondering if it was okay to answer or not. Penny rolled her eyes but smiled when Raj spoke up.

"Hey Penny!"

Penny smiled. "Have you seen Sheldon?" She started walking towards his door.

"We thought he was with you?" Howard spoke up.

Penny stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean?"

"We saw him getting out of your car this morning at work so we figured you picked him up."

"No, I mean, I told him to call me but he never did."

"Maybe he's working on something." Howard offered. "We barely saw him at all today. He's been locked inside of his office. He didn't even stop for lunch."

"But it's almost midnight." Penny couldn't understand how they weren't worried.

"He does this all the time. Before you moved across the hall, he stayed at work for three days."

"Yeah," Raj chimed in. "When he arose his office smelt like Howard's uncle's feet."

Everyone shivered.

"I'll stop by the school to make sure he's okay. Raj, will you call me if he managed to leave and catch a bus or something and he's back before I come back?"

"Sure Penny."

They turned their attention back to the TV and Penny wanted to punch all of them in the face. The small smile on Leonard's face really had her on edge. She zoomed down the road almost running a red light twice. He wasn't answering his phone and since their new found friendship, he always answered—no matter what he was doing. She breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled up and saw him sitting on a bench close to the doors.

She hesitated for a second before she got out. He looked positively devastated. She had never seen him look this sad, not even when the guys fucked up his experiment. She walked over to him slowly, as if approached a baby deer. He showed no sign that he even noticed her presence. She sat down next to him, not knowing what to say. After five minutes she started to get impatient.

"Seriously, Sheldon, what the hell is going on? Why are you just sitting out here?"

It was a while before he spoke, his deep steady breaths filling the silence.

"I was dismissed today."

Penny frowned in confusion. "Okay, what does that have to do with you sitting out here all night?"

"I had a meeting with Dr. Gablehauser today. I presented to him the research I've been conducting for the past year from my failed Arctic trip. He dismissed me. He didn't even look at my research, Penny. He said the board didn't want to hear anything more about my failed experiment. He said it was an embarrassment and a waste of resources. My chances of making it to Stockholm at the end of the year are very slim. I am no longer a respected physicist. I'm a laughing stock to the science community."

Penny didn't know what to say. Sheldon's work meant the world to him. Next to his Meemaw, she was sure it was the most important thing in the world. Acting gave Penny freedom of expression, a chance to be more than the dumb, busty blonde that everyone thought she was. Acting for Penny wasn't the same as science for Sheldon. Science gave Sheldon's life validation and meaning. Penny was positive she would be able to move on with her life if acting didn't turn out how she hoped but she wasn't so sure the same thing would happen with Sheldon. Fucking stupid guys and their jokes, she cursed internally. They really didn't know how badly they ruined things for him.

Penny bit her lip deep in thought. Sheldon was never one to ask Penny for advice on something other than dating and emotional stuff. He wasn't really asking now, but, she just knew whatever she said in this moment would be taken very seriously by him.

"Sheldon, it's not like you to give up so easily."

He opened his mouth to say something but she quickly cut him off.

"Being an actress is my dream. I know you think it's not as important as being a physicist and winning one of those Nobel prizes but it's my dream and I won't give it up. When I go on auditions, people look at me and see big boobs and blonde hair: the type you put in a porno or who screws the director to get a part. I've had idiots show me their dick before they ever show me a script. It's hard and it cuts like a knife but I don't let it stop me. I punch the loser in the nuts and I leave and move on to the next casting. Maybe you should punch Caltech in the nuts and move on."

His face was beet red and Penny had to cover his mouth from trying to interrupt her again.

"What I mean is, if Caltech won't take you seriously, leave. There are a lot of science-y schools in California and you're my beautiful mind genius guy. I'm sure they'll be tripping over themselves to have you. Everyone knows your experiment was tampered with so not everyone is going to think you failed. Find a school that will except you for you and then show Caltech what the hell they'll be missing out on."

Penny didn't know much about Sheldon's work or these schools but she did know that along with a Nobel Prize came a large sum of money to the community where they awarded party works. Caltech will be madder than a rabid dog over the loss of that grant money. She took her hand off his mouth so that he could speak.

"Penny," she could barely make out his raw voice.

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"Do you have any idea how many bacteria live on the surface of the human hand? My mouth is now a cesspool of Penny germs along with everything you've touched today assuming you haven't been frequently washing your hands and I don't have any antibacterial disinfectant."

She gave him a gently scolding look, knowing this was just his way of deflecting. He was horrible at emotionally expressing himself, more so than the normal man.

"What if it doesn't work?"

He sounded so small and broken that Penny momentarily forgot that he was a 28 year old man and not a child.

"Sweetie, trust me, okay. Things will work out. I promise." She stood up and dusts off her butt. "Now, we're going back to my place. I made sandwiches and I have chips and Mountain Dew and leftover caramel cheesecake from work. In the morning you're going to call into work and take the rest of the week off. We'll figure out a plan from there. I don't have to work at the Cheesecake Factory tomorrow but I do have some things I need to take care of." She reached out her hand for Sheldon to grab. "Come on, let's go home."

Trust was something Sheldon rarely placed in others. Whenever he did, it was broken in the cruelest of ways. The only people who hadn't were his Mom and Meemaw, even his brother and sister had lost the most valuable thing he could ever give. As he stood there trying to find a reason not to take her hand, to ignore what she said, he realized that Penny was one of the very few people who never let him down. He was terrified, an emotion he was quite familiar with, but his shivering hand in Penny's warm one gave him comfort. He knew she'd try her best to help him. He wasn't good at relying on others but he would trust Penny.

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Bernadette loved the sterile smell of the doctor's office. It was quite reminiscent of her lab and it eased her stiff shoulders—the only calm in her storm at the moment. She was suppose to sit down with both her mother and Howard's and look at wedding dresses tonight and while she loved them both she didn't exactly feel like listening to their bickering. She wanted to go shopping for dresses with her girlfriends and her favorite aunt not trying to force herself to keep her breakfast down.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, Ms. Rostenkowski. My assistance was needed elsewhere."

She was so wrapped in her thoughts she didn't hear the click of the door opening and closing. "I'm just fine."

"You look a little nervous. Will this be your first child?"

"Yes, actually it came at quite a shock. My fiancé and I are in the middle of planning our wedding."

"Congratulations on your engagement and don't worry. We see this often in first-time mothers. First the nerves; then the excitement! Come on over here and we can check on the baby. You're about six weeks and we generally do a sonogram so you can see your baby at nine weeks but we can check on the baby's heartbeat."

Nothing about this was particularly exciting to Bernadette. In fact, her doctor's usually infectious personality was making her nauseous. The cold gel on her stomach made her shiver and she listened with reserved resignation as she heard the steady, strong beat of the baby's heart. The doctor's voice was far away as she described what she would expect in the coming weeks. The doctor stopped short and Bernadette looked over.

"What is it?"

"There is an irregular pattern in the baby's heartbeat."

Despite her feelings Bernadette felt dread well and press so tightly against her chest she couldn't breathe.

"What does that mean?"

"It can mean several things but it is too early to tell. We usually wait until nine weeks so that we know the baby's heart is strong and fully developed. I'm going to give you a prescription for your prenatal vitamins and schedule your appointment in a couple weeks. We'll be able to fully determine if it is something to worry about then."

The doctor excuses herself from the room for a moment and Bernadette was left alone with her thoughts. Her chest was tight and her heart was heavy with dread and guilt but even now she didn't want to have a child. Panic and anxiety were overwhelming her at the very thought of having a baby but at the same time she didn't want anything to be wrong with it. She thought again about getting an abortion and it made her want to vomit. She just couldn't bring herself to do that. And worst of all, she was bound to start showing. She would have to tell Howard sooner or later and the unmistakable joy she would surely see in his eyes made her feel all the more horrible for how she was feeling.

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Penny loved to sleep. Truth be told, it was her favorite part of the day. Relaxing in her comfy queen sized bed—a splurge she could not pass up—was the cherry on top of a busy day. When she opened her eyes, she was sure she'd see her bedside table, lamp, and alarm clock but instead she saw her television and a hand haphazardly thrown across her waist. She sat up and saw that both of them were scrunched up on her tiny couch.

With all his talk about touching and germs and lumbar support, he sure looks comfortable. She smiled before grabbing a pillow and afghan so he'd be more comfortable. After a quick shower and a few phone calls, she was making breakfast and Sheldon was finally waking up.

"Wakey wakey eggs and bakey."

He looked around a little dazed. "Penny I fell asleep on your unaccommodating sofa."

"Yeah, you were pretty tired."

"My back is not hurting for inadequate lumbar support. I require a shower and a change of clothes. I shall notify the University of my leave of absence today and the rest of the week."

Wack-a-doodle

Sheldon came back carrying his laptop just as Penny was setting the table.

"In light of our conversation last night, I have been considering employment at Harvey Mudd College. Its science department is not as good as Caltech but it has improved considerably over the last decade."

"I've never heard of that school. Where is it?"

"Harvey Mudd College is located in Claremont, California."

"Sweetie, that's like 45 minutes away. You'll definitely need to speed things along with your driving lessons and purchase a car. Do you think you're ready for lessons today?"

"I do believe my considerable amount of logged hours have prepared me enough to move my lessons to an actual car."

"Good for you, Moon Pie."

"Only Meemaw can call me Moon Pie."

"Sweetie you keep trying to get that to stick but it's not going to work. Let's eat! I have some errands to run and you've got some things to do as well. So, how about we go at for a few hours before dinner?"

"That sounds acceptable."

"Oh, I'm expecting something from the apartment manager today and I told him if I'm not home to give it to you. Is that okay."

"Honestly Penny. Have you read our Friendship/Neighbor Agreement? You're supposed to give me at least 24 hours notice before accepting any mail, letters, or parcels in your stead. You have been a courteous friend as of late so I will overlook this grievance."

"I thought you were going to give this hippy dippy lifestyle a chance?"

"Let's not get carried away."

Sheldon tried to frown at Penny's boisterous laughter but he found it hard to keep a straight face.

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AN: *Ducks and covers from angry mod because of almost 10 month long hiatus* Um . . . I love you? Ahem, in other news I changed my name. Info on my profile! I'll see you soon. (I mean it this time)