Chapter 1

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NEWLYWEDS –

The Gang's Perspective

It's Friday night in Apartment 4A and Penny and Leonard are getting ready for dinner.

"Wow," exclaims Penny as she keeps pulling take-out containers from the bags Leonard brought home. "How much did you order?"

"Just the usual," shrugs Leonard.

"Usual for who?" asks Penny. "Jabba the Hut or the Flash?"

Leonard smiles. She's so cute when she tries, he thinks. "That's cute when you try, but your mixing franchises."

"And you're mixing decades with that outfit but who cares?" smirks Penny. She loves teasing her man.

"Ha, Ha" says Leonard. "Seriously, is it too much?"

"Yes!" she says. "I know its Friday but no one's coming over tonight." Penny sighs. Between Amy and Sheldon's new marriage and Bernadette and Howard's newest baby the gang just didn't get together as much as they used to in the old days.

"There is no way we can't eat all of this by ourselves" she says. "It will just go bad."

Leonard thinks for a moment. "Well, let's go ask Sheldon and Amy if they will join us for an impromptu dinner date."

Penny hesitates. "I don't know. They're both not much on impromptu… or dates" she jokes.

"Come on," says Leonard. "They're newlyweds now. I'm sure they're good with at least dating." Actually Leonard is not sure of that at all. He has never understood Sheldon and Amy's relationship. He's always just assumed theirs was one mystery better left unsolved. Leonard takes a chance though and leaves the apartment and walks across the hall to Apartment 4B to invite Sheldon and Amy to dinner. He knocks on their door.

"Sheldon? Amy? You guys home? Penny and I have extra food if you'd like to join us for dinner."

After waiting a while, Leonard tries the door knob and the door opens. He slowly opens the door while calling "Sheldon? Amy? Anybody home?"

That's odd, Leonard thinks. It appears no one is home but the door is open. Maybe they're just in the other room. He moves towards the open bedroom door to yell out again but stops just shy of reaching past the couch.

"Um, Oh, well," he says to the empty apartment. "I guess they aren't here." Leonard leaves quickly and closes the door behind him.

Leonard crosses the hall back to his place and quickly goes inside.

"Did you ask Sheldon and Amy? Are they coming over for dinner?" Penny asks from the kitchen when she sees Leonard has returned.

"Um, no. They weren't home" he says but Penny notices his voice is muffled.

Penny stops what she is doing and stares at Leonard and sees he has removed his glasses and is rubbing his face with his hands. "You okay?" she asks.

"Um, sure" he says. "Let's just eat what we can tonight and then maybe we can ask them over for leftovers tomorrow."

Penny nods in agreement and goes back to her task of arranging the food. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Leonard take a quick puff from his inhaler.

"Or maybe we won't" he says in a breathy voice.