AN: Happy December everyone. My birthday is on the 5th and as a challenge to myself, I thought I'd post a story and go through the exciting motions here with you guys.

This is a Shenny story and picks up in Season 4 Episode 17: The Toast Derivation. Completely AU and the timeline was obliterated.

I hope you like it.

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

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Penny was never one to dwell over failed relationships. Anyone who wasn't willing to be with her and not her assets, was a cheating dog, or didn't respect her wasn't worth her time. She could pick up the shattered pieces of her heart, staple them back together, and move on quicker than her Aunt Sue could down the Christmas eggnog. But, she was so caught up over her final break-up with Leonard that it was becoming sad.

It wasn't really her break-up that bothered her, it was the end results.

The first time she broke up with Leonard, he sulked for weeks, played his melancholy music but when the next girl flirted with him it was as if she never existed. She preferred it that way. It was easier to be his friend. Maybe she broke him this time. Leonard was never an aggressive person. He was always sweet tempered and even when he did get annoyed, it boiled over quickly and he'd settle down. That all changed when they broke up the third and last time. He became angry and controlling.

He told their friends not to talk to her anymore, that they couldn't see her. It was a bitch move that she expected from Kurt, not him. The part that surprised her was they actually listened. She was supposed to have girls' night with Amy and Bernadette a few days later but they didn't show. In fact, when she called them to see what was the holdup they didn't answer. No one returned her texts and Bernadette stopped talking to her at work on a personal level, only when she needed to. Normally, she'd say screw them all, she didn't need them. Heck, they weren't her normal type of friends anyway.

But . . . she had grown to really like them.

This wouldn't bother her as much as it did if she had not done a complete three-sixty to keep her relationship with Leonard going strong. None of her other friends liked him and they often invited her out. So to keep him from feeling any more insecure than he already was, she declined each one until they eventually stopped calling. It was shitty and she promised her Nana that she'd never change herself for some boy like her older sister did but she'd forgotten all about it. Maybe it was the fact that Leonard was the smartest guy she'd ever dated. Her life was going up in flames and he felt like the only accomplish she could hold on to. She was 25 years old, had been in California for six years, had busted her ass going from audition to audition but she had nothing to show for it but a hemorrhoid commercial. She had a shoe addiction that kept her from having real food in her house and made her late on her bills. She needed something, anything to make her feel like the past six years weren't a complete waste.

After the last go around, she began to see how lackluster their relationship was. She didn't feel anything for him beyond friendship and she found herself indulging in alcohol more when they were together. She was just tired. She was tired of that stale feeling her life had. Every day felt like déjà vu. She wanted excitement and romance. She wanted more for her career. She just . . . she wanted better than this for her life. One day, she'd like to have kids and a husband and an awesome career she was proud of and she didn't see any of that happening while dating Leonard.

So, she decided to do a complete overhaul on her life, starting with the man she was involved with. Next, she decided to take her acting career seriously. She called up her dad and begged him to let her have access to her college funds, an account that was set up for her since she was little and was added to yearly by her mom, dad, nana, and aunt until she was 20 years old. She hadn't had access to it since her failed Community College days. Her father was adamant about that money going untouched unless she was going to school. So she called him up with a plan to reset the order of her life. On one of her last botched auditions, she made friends with a tall, pretty brunette named Ann who told her about this amazing school she was going to for acting lessons. Penny felt she didn't really need acting lessons, experience had taught her all she needed to know, but it didn't hurt to have some actual lessons.

She also rearranged her working schedule at the Cheesecake Factory. She was offered a manager position and she accepted. She now works Monday through Thursday evening shifts bleeding into late nights. It was better pay and she was allowed to have a three day weekend. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she would have class and any time between would be spent going on as many auditions as possible.

She had to make a lot of admissions to make this work and to be happy with it. She didn't drink anymore, not hard liquor at list. She would occasionally have a small glass of wine with her dinner when she could splurge for a really good home cooked meal. She absolutely had to become a morning person and so the eleven o' clock rule was abolished—although she had no one to break that rule. It was hard but not impossible to accomplish. Exercising always made her feel energized so she took to waking at seven every morning and going for a run. Since she started being more responsible with her spending, she no longer needed to borrow food from her neighbors so she would follow her morning run with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and a cup of coffee. If she didn't have to go to class, she'd spend her time going back and forth to auditions, going home and breaking for lunch, and then squeezing one or two more auditions in before it was time to get ready for her shift.

She also started spending more time with her manager, Jane, so that she could gain some perspective into the type of roles she was looking for. They'd meet and have lunch twice a month between phone conversations to talk about what was new in the land of acting. Jane, for the most part, was surprised and excited for the change. She always thought Penny had potential. She was glad she was finally bringing her A-game.

She had landed a few commercials here and there, including a ten commercial contract deal with JCPenny. It wasn't the big leagues, not by far, but it kept her bills paid on time, she was able to have her own wi-fi and cable, and she was also able to keep her fridge stocked with fresh, delicious, non-instant food. She knew how to cook from growing up on a farm but she never realized how much she would miss and enjoy having a home cooked meal. She was even well on her way to buying a new car. She may have to dip into her college funds, however. She really loved her wagon but on some days it couldn't handle the back and forth drives to auditions and it would be costly to repair it. Besides, she wanted to look more professional and a new car does that instantly.

Today was a very lazy day for Penny. It was Friday so she woke up and went for a run. Today she was feeling amped so she ran three miles. She came back and decided to have French toast with her eggs and bacon and put her coffee in her thermos to go. Class was really fun today and she was really getting to know Ann and a few of the other girls and one really cute guy named Jeff. He was her type but she really wasn't in the mood for dating. When she told him, he took it well, opting to be friends. She only had two auditions lined up for late afternoon so they all went for an early lunch, made plans to catch a movie Saturday night, and after her auditions she went to the market to get the ingredients that she didn't have to make lasagna. She was feeling fairly Italian for dinner.

Her car was sputtering a few blocks from home and her plans became resolute to buy a car next week. She grabbed both bags in one hand and happily jogged her way to the door, excited about the two pints of Ben and Jerry's and caramel sauce in one of the bags. She was fully intent on checking her mail and floating up the stairs but stopped short when she ran into Leonard.

For a moment he looked shocked. She had made it her business to avoid any of them to save from having an awkward moment. It was hard to do and sometimes she found herself spying on them from beyond her door. She'd learned that Priya and Leonard were back together and going strong, Bernadette and Howard had gotten engaged, Sheldon and Amy were over, and, after a fling with Penny's ex-boyfriend Zach, Amy was now dating Raj. She was hurt that she missed so much, especially Bernadette's and Howard's engagement announcement, but she was truly happy for them. She didn't hold grudges and she wouldn't make them feel bad for their decision to be loyal to Leonard. She did feel bad for Sheldon. He was the oddity to their group, more than ever now that everyone was paired off. Penny got this sick feeling that the dynamic in their group had shifted, leaving Sheldon all by himself—courtesy of Leonard.

He stared at her for a moment, his shocked expression quickly melting into a mask of anger.

"Hi, Leonard, how are you?" The stubborn Big ol' Five that she was, she wanted to stir his anger and speak to him. She figured she endured in silence enough. Leonard was such a sucker for attention that, even though he was angry with her, he would stay and hear what she had to say—if only to get a word in.

"The same as I was when you broke my heart." He ground out with a bitter, sour expression. She wanted to laugh at his childishness.

"Really," she said sagely. "I was jogging a few days ago and saw you kissing Raj's sister, Priya, in the parking lot. It sounds like you should be pretty happy to me." She didn't acknowledge him to see the plumped, redness of his cheeks and his sheepish expression. She got her mail and did a whoop when she saw a check from one of her completed commercials as he stomped angrily out the door. She did hear frantic steps down the stairs followed by Leonard's name in the only way Sheldon could say it. He stopped, poised by the stairs as he looked at Penny.

He cleared his throat several times. "Good evening, Penny, I hope you are well."

"Hiya Moon—" she stopped short as the familiarity of his Meemaw's nickname for him almost fell from her lips. She felt her eyes prickle at her lost relationship with Sheldon. She had considered him her best friend. Sure, he drove her crazy, but he also challenged her intellectually and they really got along well. She must have imagined the twinkle in his eye at the beginning sounds of her usual endearment. "I'm just fine, Sheldon. What about you?"

He shuffled awkwardly on his feet and looked down at the floor. "My work is progressing nicely and I have made leaps and bounds in my failed Arctic experiment. I have been going over it extensively to salvage some of the wreckage. I believe I will find something of value relevant to my work when the task has reached completion. My health is not suffering and I am having regular bowel movements."

"That's great, sweetie, I'm so happy for you." She really meant it. Sheldon could be a crazy bunch of bananas to deal with but deep down he was a teddy bear . . . well, one that didn't like to be hugged, or touched in general. That failed Arctic trip really messed up his career and although he didn't say much about those three months, she could see the pain in his eyes.

"You are?" He asked in confused wonder.

Now Penny was confused. "Of course I am, Sheldon. Why wouldn't I be?" Her arms sagged and she was reminded of the weight in them and the ice cream in her bag. "Do you mind if we finished this in my apartment? I have ice cream, milk, and cheese in my bags."

He nodded and gestured toward the stairs. They fell in step together, synced as if they've never stopped walking up the stairs together. When they got to her door, Penny set her bags by the door and Sheldon held her mail while she fished her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door.

When Sheldon walked inside after her, making sure to shut the door, he was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of Penny's apartment. It wasn't his standards of clean but it was a remarkable change in the usual duress of her apartment. He sat in his self-proclaimed spot and watched as Penny pulled food out of the bags and put them away. Some things she left on the counter and he surmised that it would be for her dinner tonight. She took out pots and filled one pot with water and put it on the stove under a medium-high heat. She collapsed the brown paper bags and put them and the plastic bags away before turning toward Sheldon.

"Would you like something to drink, sweetie? I have water, white milk, chocolate milk, coke, and orange juice."

"I'll have a coke, please."

"I have limes, honey, would you like me to make it a Virgin Cuba Libre?"

He pursed his lips in serious thought.

"I believe I will. What's life without a little whimsy?"

She poured his coke in a tall glass and cut a wedge of lime and stuck to the side of his glass and gave him a straw. She just grabbed a water bottle and walked over to the couch.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

"I take it by your stocked fridge and pantry and the ingredients on your counter that you've found yourself in a better financial setting?"

"Oh no, I don't think so buster. No questions for you until you answer mine. Why wouldn't I be happy to know you are doing well?"

"When you and Leonard terminated your relationship, I understood that things would become tense between you. This was only further cemented when Leonard made the grand announcement that we were not allowed to speak to you." She watched his brilliantly blue eyes roll toward the ceiling. "That man has more angst than a teenage melodrama. In the months that followed I have tried to speak to you, as I am not an idiot and will not listen to Leonard and his idiotic demands, but each time found little to no success. I have come to your apartment door on the weekends after 11 o' clock, as per your rule, but you have never answered. You have neglected to show up for laundry night and I have also found your presence absent on my Tuesday outings at the Cheesecake Factory. I was forced to come to the conclusion that you were avoiding me."

"Oh, sweetie," she didn't really know what to say. She never thought Sheldon would seek out her company after Leonard's angry outbursts, preferring to keep a hold on his tattered friendship with Leonard instead. She didn't think he would ever come knocking on her door. "I haven't been ignoring you. I've just been busy."

She sighed staring at his shinning, crystal blue eyes and she could see reflected back how much they both missed their friendship.

"I've been pretty unhappy with how my life was turning out. My fridge was always empty, my bills were always late, and I wasn't going anywhere with my career so I did a little revamping with my life. I still work at the Cheesecake Factory, I just don't work the floor as often. I was offered a manager position so I'm usually in the office, going over paperwork, working the front desk, or managing the kitchen and bar. I don't waitress anymore. I haven't been ignoring you. In fact, I thought you were staying loyal to Leonard and ignoring me like the others."

"It seems we both reached the wrong conclusions. I consider Leonard to be a great friend in my life but I would never listen to his ludicrous demands. He only has one PhD and his IQ pales in comparison to mine."

Penny laughed, enjoying the joyful sound and the way her belly tickled. She hadn't laughed like that in a while.

"So what's on the agenda for today? Isn't today Vintage Video Game night and Chinese food night?"

"You are correct, Penny. You haven't been a part of the group for three months, two weeks, and six days but you have managed to remember. Since Leonard has began another relationship with Raj's sister, Priya, he and the others have opted to abandon tradition and spend all of their time at Priya's new apartment."

"Priya has an apartment? I thought she was staying with Raj."

"Yes, well, Priya has resolved to stay in the United States and revert to only visiting India. Although I hate having my schedule altered in such a manner, I believe I dislike Priya as a person even more. So, the exchange is welcomed."

She couldn't help smiling as she looked at Sheldon. She had gotten back one of her friends and she was quickly making new ones at her class. That lonely feeling was slowly started to ebb away.

"I know you usually eat Chinese food and play your video games but you could join me for dinner and afterwards we can watch a movie and eat some ice cream with caramel sauce. You can even pick the movie and I'll make you another Virgin Cuba Libre." She gestured towards his empty glass. "You can even ask all the questions you want. Deal?"

"Very well, Penny, that sounds like a superb idea."

Penny turned to the kitchen to get started on dinner and Sheldon went to his apartment to get a movie. He knew Penny wasn't in the mood for his normal movie choices so he settled on Sherlock Homes and Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows. Penny was happy with his movie selection and he helped her make a salad, not once complaining about her cooking methods.

After dinner, Sheldon helped Penny put the leftovers in containers and clean the dishes. They had two helpings of ice cream and watched both movies. The Carrie Diaries played in the background as Sheldon fired off question after question about Penny's life for the past three months. She felt an odd type of excitement fluttering in her chest when she went to sleep that night. All she could think about was warm, sweet coffee, bacon, and mini-golf with Sheldon tomorrow.

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A/N: Well, what did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts so drop me a review. Please excuse any errors if I missed some.

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