A/N: Spoiler Alert if you haven't seen the January 7, 2016, episode 9x12. Most of the story takes place afterward but references are there, and you've been warned. Enjoy and review if you get a chance please and thank you.

-ONE-

Funny, Penny thought it wouldn't be such a big deal to pitch those meds to that shrink. Probably wouldn't have been if the doctor was a man. She always had a gift for getting guys to do her bidding, but women were a different story. That was why she thought the best course of action was to send her husband in pretending to be a new patient. With all his battle scars, Leonard would have no trouble acting like he needed professional help.

He did. With a mother who used him as some perpetual psychological experiment, Leonard could spend the rest of his life in therapy and possibly only scrape off a layer or two of the onion that was his psyche.

What Penny didn't expect was that her husband would find his session to be so liberating. She was so focused on getting the sale that she frankly didn't care too much about any breakthroughs he might have had. And for that, she was feeling a bit guilty.

But the second thing that she did not see coming was how much she wanted to talk with this doctor about herself. She never professed to be into psychobabble unless it involved mediums, tarot card readers or astrologers. Freud, Skinner, and Jung were men she had never heard of, and most likely wouldn't have cared what they had to say about her feelings anyway.

Once she was on the couch, Penny's thoughts and feelings just seemed to pour out. Did she think she was Leonard's mother? No, not really. But there were some similarities between the women. Both were strong, formidable women whom Leonard loved and whom could influence Leonard's actions like no other woman has ever been able to. The thing was that Penny had never used her strength of character to influence a man before. Her figure, her eyes, her dazzling personality – yes those influenced many a man. But her character? Hardly.

It wasn't that Penny was overly superficial exactly, but delving deep inside herself for insights into her psyche was never a consideration for her to spend time on. Maybe it was facing 30, and feeling that her looks and figure were not going to last very much longer. Maybe it was getting married which was a huge and sincerely probably the scariest endeavor she had undertaken. Maybe it was feeling that there was something missing in her life that she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

When she got home, she seemed distant to Leonard. He tried to approach her on it, but she waved him off. Penny said she was going to her apartment to take a long, hot bath. Leonard asked if he could join her.

"I did something crazy today," he said excitingly wanting to share it with his wife.

"Oh honey, I just want to relax," she replied. Leonard was sad but tried not to let Penny see his face. He watched as she left his apartment.

His apartment? Her apartment? Since when do married people have separate apartments DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER? Leonard plopped down in the chair he always sat in and sighed. So much for the elation, he felt earlier.

To Leonard, talking to a psychiatrist was like going home. He figured out a long time ago that since his mother mainly used him as a symbol of who not to be or what no to do in life, his self-esteem was non-existent. Talking with Dr. Gallo got his feelings concerning himself and his relationship with his mother out of the basement at the very least.

Yeah stopping at that house to jump rope with a few tweens was a silly idea, and he wasn't sure many would understand why he felt compelled to do it. All his life, he felt like he had to do the right thing in the right order at the right time. Ridicule or disappointment was ever present, and Leonard was starting to realize that maybe this was not his character flaw. Maybe there was just no pleasing his mother and that was a reflection on her and not on him. How enlightening! Maybe he should jump rope more often.

An hour or so later, Leonard went over to Penny's apartment with Chinese food. He set the dishes out on the coffee table and called to his wife. He heard a type of growl come from the bathroom. He yelled that he had gotten dinner since it was late and he thought she might be as hungry as he was. He heard another growl and then movement in the bathroom. Penny came out a couple of minutes later; her hair wrapped up in a towel and an old robe tied tightly around her.

"Haven't seen that robe in a while," Leonard said pouring her a glass of wine.

"My favorite is at your place."

"Doesn't that sound stupid?" Leonard said sitting down and grabbing some rice.

"What?"

"Having your place and my place when we are a married couple."

"Well we were trying to be nice to Sheldon," Penny said with little enthusiasm.

"Yes remind me why we are doing that?" Leonard asked seriously.

"Because we're nice people?" She half asked, half stated. Sheldon's annoying personality outweighed at times any endearing qualities he might have, but he was going through a very rough and newly emotional time. But things were better with Sheldon and Amy, so he was in a much better place now.

"How long are we going to have to be nice?" Leonard said showing a mean streak that he didn't always let out.

"Sheldon and Amy are back together and have taken their relationship to the next level. Maybe he's ready for us to move out," Penny said taking a bite of the chicken. "The question though is are you ready?"

"Me? I was ready to move in here the day I met you," he said smiling sweetly at his wife.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

"Do you think I don't want to live with you?" Leonard asked confused.

"No, not at all. But you have to agree that you and Sheldon have a weird relationship. You hate him most times, yet you fiercely defend him. You say he bothers you, yet you will stay awake at night worrying if he's going to be alright."

"Dr. Gallo wasn't sure he was real," Leonard said.

"She mentioned that to me also. I called him our man-child who gives me a fine for using too much toilet paper."

"Things like that make him sound unreal," Leonard replied.

"Maybe, what is more, unreal is how we stick around for the abuse he dishes out most of the time."

"So should we just move in here totally?" Leonard asked ignoring the insinuation that he had some attachment to Sheldon that he wasn't ready to sever.

"The apartment isn't big enough for all our stuff. Your Star Wars collection will take up most of the bedroom. And then there's the Star Trek gadgets and the comic books," Penny said looking around. "Where would we put it all?"

"It would make it easier for us if Sheldon would just move in here and give us the two bedroom apartment."

"I don't think he would ever go for that. Besides, I think that Amy will move in soon. At least, if she does then it would make it easier for us to be here full-time," Penny said.

"What about looking for a house?" Leonard asked somewhat seriously. Penny looked at him surprised. "Between the income from both of our jobs, I think we could find something in the same neighborhood as Howard and Bernadette."

"What would Sheldon say?"

"I say we stop asking that question when it involves our future," Leonard suggested.

"Wow Dr. Gallo sure helped you to man up," Penny said with pride. Leonard looked a little dejected, but thought about it and shook his head in agreement.

"She helped me to see how I'm trying too hard to win everyone's approval. Sort of in place of the approval I never got from my mother."

"She is really good and doesn't make you cry like your mother," Penny replied. "I would like to continue seeing her."

"I was thinking the same thing," Leonard replied. "It might mean we have to postpone buying a house for a while. Therapy can be expensive."

"I don't have to see her," Penny said sadly. Leonard shook his head.

"No, you should do what makes you happy. You came home today looking upset. I don't like to see you like that."

"I just have a lot on my mind, and it's overwhelming," Penny said putting down her plate.

"So keep seeing the doctor and maybe she can help you feel less stressed." Penny smiled and slid over towards her husband looking for a hug. Leonard put his plate down and gathered her in his arms. They leaned back and snuggled, fitting perfectly together.

"I was thinking that there might be another good reason not to look for a house right now," Penny said after a while. Leonard opened his sleepy eyes.

"What's that?"

"I think I want to quit my job and try acting again."

TBC