Leonard and Penny - The Big Bang Theory

[Lilyama]

Hello I've recently got into the Big Bang Theory and I wanted to write a caretaking fic where Penny takes care of Leonard. Please note I may not have all the plot points or timelines correct because I haven't watched it all chronologically, but I've tried the best I could, hope you enjoy.

 

Leonard sighed in relief as he had finally made it back to the apartment complex. He had had the most awful day, waking up with a terribly congested nose and sore throat. He had managed to get dressed and go to work, but in his lab, he sneezed so forcefully his glasses fell off, and when he took his first step after, as luck would have it, he stepped on them and broke them. He stumbled through the rest of the day, literally, blundering into objects and people left right and centre. As well as this, at lunch, he made the mistake of sneezing twice in front of Sheldon. He was condemned to eat his tasteless food (the food was always tasteless, made worse by his illness) on his own, and afterwards Sheldon insisted that Raj drove him back. Leonard asked Howard to drive his own car back as his sight was compromised, leaving him to take the bus. A lot of people made disgusted noises at his sniffling and sneezing, making him feel worse. He had gotten back to the the ground floor of his complex, the only casualties being bumping into a few people, but Leonard was tired even thinking about going up 4 flights of stairs. He pressed his forehead against the cold metal of the out of order elevator and let tears of exhaustion well up in his eyes. 

'Leonard?' 

Leonard turned to his left. He couldn't see very clearly but from her soft voice, vague blonde hair and blurry yellow uniform he could infer it was Penny. He turned away from her quickly to wipe his eyes. Penny put her hand gently on his shoulder. 

'What's wrong? Are you OK?' 

Leonard was shocked. He heard something in her voice he rarely heard ever. Concern. Growing up, his mother had been cruel along with calculated. She didn't see the point in coddling her son while ill, often leaving him to his own devices. After moving in with Sheldon, that stayed the same, as any time he had the slightest sniffle, he was banished, forced to stay at Raj or Howard's. His and Penny's relationship was quite new, so he hadn't expected sympathy from her so early on. 

'It's - snf - notbing - I'bs - heh' he started, turning away as he pinched his nose and stifled 'hnggggxt! I'bs probabby just allergies, that's all. I broke by glasses and I'b getting reaby to stumble ub the stairs.' Leonard tried to phrase it as a light hearted joke, but even that sounded sad. 

Penny gave him a sympathetic smile. 'Let me help you. I've got  farm strength after all.' she said, putting his arm around her shoulders and her own around his waist. 

In other circumstances, Leonard being out muscled by a woman may have embarrassed him a bit, but Penny's reassuring, leading grip gave him a sense of safety and security. On the stair walk up, Leonard told Penny about his day, and her heart swelled with compassion. She had no idea how hard it had been for him and commended him for keeping it together the whole day. When they finally got to their floor, Penny led Leonard to her own apartment instead of his. 

'Ubm, Pedby? What are you doibg?' Leonard asked. Normally, if he got a free pass into Penny's apartment, he'd take it no questions asked. However, this time, he was too tired to think straight and all he wanted to do was pass out on his bed. Except... 

'We both know Sheldon. He's not exactly going to be thrilled being around you while sick is he?' Penny asked, to which Leonard nodded. 

'Come on in then.' Penny said, opening the door. 

She set him down on her sofa and fluffed a pillow for him to lay his head on. All his muscles untensed as he relaxed. Penny found a thermometer in her cupboard. She took Leonards temperature then turned away from him to read it. 

'100.4F. Well, Leonard, it's not allergies, you're definitely sick-' 

She turned around to see a fast asleep Leonard. She tiptoed out the door and shut it as silently as she could. Deep down, she was panicking. She'd never had to take care of one of her partners before, especially one she loved so much. Not that she was ready to say it yet. As she paced down the stairs, she googled every possible remedy for colds and the flu. 

Within an hour, she was armed. Not literally, of course, but she had various different types of medicines as well as Nyquil, tissues, lozenges and other sick friendly foods such as oranges, honey, tea, toast, bananas as well as cream of chicken soup and key lime cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. She may have gone a tiny overboard and her bank balance may hate her later but she wanted to do this right. 

Last stop was going to be tricky, even though it was the closest. She knocked on the door. 

'Sheldon?' she knocked. There was  no answer yet she heard rustling. Sheldon was obviously there. 

'Sheldon?' She said, in a strained voice indicating her urgency. After a few moments, he yelled out to her to come in. 

When Penny went in, she saw an afraid Sheldon. He was standing the farthest away he could from her, dawning a face mask, his hands glistened with Purell. She would've rolled her eyes had she not seen genuine fear in his. 

'Sheldon, I mean no harm. I'll go soon, I swear. I just want to get Leonards pyjamas, spare glasses, toiletries and some of his favourite DVDs. Is that OK?' She asked kindly

He still looked afraid, but he was able to nod to indicate yes. As she was about to leave after having gotten them, she heard a faint, 'Thanks for taking care of my friend'.  Penny didn't look back, but she smiled to herself as she left. Maybe someday, Sheldon would get over his germaphobia when he needed to take care of someone. Maybe. 

Penny didn't expect what she saw when she came into her apartment. Leonard had hard, laboured breathing and sweat had visibly stained his white work shirt. 

'No, no!' Leonard yelled out, clearly having a fever dream. He awoke properly with a start, clearly disoriented. Penny dropped all her shopping and ran to Leonard, putting both her hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes. 

'It's OK, Leonard. You're here with me in my apartment. You're safe, I promise." she said. When he had gotten a grip on his surroundings, he drew her into a hug, his breathing syncing with hers. She rubbed his back in circles reassuringly. They stayed in this comforting embrace for a while until Leonards nose encountered an unavoidably strong itch. 

'Hnngggxxxttt! Hnnnnggggxxxtt! Hnnggxt! I'b so sobby.' he stifled, letting go of Penny to pinch his nose. 

'Way to ruin the moment.' Penny said, but gave a light chuckle to show she was joking. She gave him a tissue from the box she'd recently bought, which he blew his nose with gratefully. 'Come on, let's get you sorted out.'

She helped Leonard out of his work clothes and into his pyjamas. She put his glasses on him and made him drink a lot of water before he took his medication and lozenges. She smeared Vicks on him and prepared two cups of lemon and ginger tea. 

'How does soup and a Star Wars movie sound?' Penny asked

She regretted it almost as soon as she said it. She didn't completely love or understand Star Wars, but looking at Leonards genuine happy smile made it all worth it. However, it was almost as though he was allergic to her gaze as, as soon as she looked at him, he pitched forward and stifled three sneezes. 

'HNNNGGGTTT! HNNNNNGGGGGTTTT! HHHHHHNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGTT'

Penny winced a little at their increasing intensity. 

'Excubse mbe' said Leonard, sniffling in shame a little. 

'No problem, but why do you always hold them in like that?' Penny asked as she handed Leonard a tissue. 

He blew his nose and then spent a few seconds in thought. 

'Habbit, I guess. I'b not useb to people caribg about me wheb sick. I dobt want to worry peoble.' 

Penny pulled him in close to her so his head could rest on her shoulder. 

'I'm always going to worry about you, that's just what happens because I care about you. And I'd worry less if you didn't hold them in, dummy. I thought a smarty pants like you knew how dangerous holding them in all the time can be. But I get it.' Penny said, kissing Leonard on the cheek.

'You're the best, you know that right?' Leonard whispered as he settled down to sleep. 

Penny smiled at him fondly as he slept, and whispered in his ear, 'I love you.' before winding her arms around him and settling down to sleep herself. 

 

Well, that's it, hope you enjoyed. I could possibly do a part 2 where Penny gets ill as well but we'll see. Please let me know what you think and what I can improve on, thank you

 

 

 

 

[Alabaster]

I think this is so sweet 😊

[2SHY222]

This is adorable. It reads just like the show. 🥰 please do more 

[ichixshiro14]

I would love a contagious part two! You write them really well ❤️

[Lilyama]

Hi, sorry for the wait, had a bit of writers block, but please let me know what you thought of this final bit and what else you might like me to write

 

Leonard woke up a bit disoriented. He was confused by his unfamiliar surroundings, but when he turned to his side and saw Penny, all his anxieties were immediately put to rest. His memories came rushing back, he was sick and Penny was taking care of him at her apartment. He took a few moments to admire how beautiful she looked and how peacefully she slept. Leonard was  interrupted, however, by an emerging tickle in his nose. Oh no, he thought. The last thing he wanted was to wake Penny up by sneezing. Whenever he sneezed around his mother the only interest she would ever take was if observing him could contribute to a new chapter in her book. Sneezing around Sheldon was slightly better, however he'd always be forced into isolation, causing him to feel overwhelming loneliness. Leonard knew Penny wasn't like either of them, but deep down he still couldn't shake the bad feelings. 

He tried to sniff as quietly as he could, but to his dismay, that only made the itch stronger. 

'Heh - hih - heh!' he hitched

Penny gave a light moan and winced as if to show she was stirring. As a last attempt, Leonard pressed his forefinger under his nose hard. As luck would have it, the tickle subsided, and Penny started lightly snoring. Leonard waited a minute to make sure the tickle was gone, and then exhaled quietly in relief. He got up from the bed as silently as he could and tiptoed his way from the bedroom to the kitchen. He wanted to make hot tea for both of them, so he opened the cabinet where Penny kept her mugs. 

Leonard wasn't sure what made the tickle come back - rogue dust maybe - but it returned with a vengeance, and without time to think, Leonard stepped back from the cabinet and pitched down at the floor. 

'HAAATCHOO! HEHHTCHOO! HAH - HAH - HAAATCHOOOO!' 

Leonard winced at his build up, not realising how loud his sneezes actually were. A little tired, he put both hands on the counter and leaned on his arms. A few moments later he felt arms being wrapped around his waist and Penny's head on his shoulder. 

'Bless you, Sneezy.' she said giving him a cheek kiss. 

'Was that a short joke?' Leonard asked as he sniffed miserably, feeling awful about waking Penny up. 

'Maybe a little. But see, you sneezed in front of me and it wasn't the end of the world. Actually, in a weird way, I feel closer to you.'

Leonard thought this to be a little strange, but suddenly felt another really strong tickle.

'HAH - HAH' he started, turning his head from Penny so he didn't sneeze on her.

'Hatchoo! Hepchoo!' 

Leonard opened his eyes, realising his sneezes were softer. Then realising that that was because Penny had been holding a soft pink handkerchief to his nose and mouth. He would've thought this level of intimacy would be scary for him, but he had to admit the hankie felt good on his red raw nose, and his heart felt like it was going to burst knowing that Penny cared this much. He took the hankie and blew his nose, not even wincing when the congestion caused gurgly noises. 

'Thank you.' Leonard said, kissing her on the lips. It was a signal he felt fully comfortable with her and at home with the situation. She smiled gladly. 

Penny started making both of them tea while Leonard made banana pancakes. Penny initially wanted to do them herself, but couldn't argue that when it came to cooking Leonard was admittedly the better, or rather only choice. 

Penny felt a tickle in her nose. She tried to ignore it but it just grew more and more strong. She'd never had experience in holding back sneezes, so she just tried to cup her hands to make them sound quieter. 

'Hitchew! Hih - hitcheww!'

They had been quiet, but not enough for Leonard to not hear. 

'Are you sick?' Leonard asked

'No.' Penny said unconvincingly, as it was followed by two hearty coughs and another 'hitchew!'

'You are. I made you sick.' Leonard was immediately racked with guilt. 

'Okay, maybe I am. But it was my choice. I wanted to be with you and take care of you. So don't you dare feel bad okay?' 

Leonard smiled but took the thermometer and popped it in her mouth. 

'Higher temperature than me. That means it's my turn to take care of you.' 

'We'll take care of each other, okay?' Penny said smiling as she drew Leonard in for a hug. 

Leonard held her tight. He could live with that he thought. And so, after breakfast, they spent an incredibly pleasurable day together reading to each other (Leonard with his comic books, Penny with her beauty magazines) and watching each other's favourite movies (Spiderman and The Notebook). Leonard even taught Penny how to play chess by the evening. He was looking forward to actually playing a full out game and winning, which never happened because he would always play Sheldon. He was so close to winning, when suddenly an unexpected itch occurred. 

'HAAAAAATCHOOOO!' he sneezed loudly without warning, it being so forceful it knocked most of the pieces off the board. 

'Yes! By default that means I won!' Penny exclaimed. 

Leonard grunted in frustration as he flopped onto the sofa. Penny curled up next to him and started playing with his hair. 

'Should we go to sleep?' Penny asked

'I'm not really tired.'

'You might be after this.' Penny started

'Soft kitty-' 

Leonard looked at her with amusement. 

'Really? Sheldons sick song?' 

'Yeah I know, but after singing it to him for so long it kind of sticks in your head.' Penny chuckled

'Soft kitty, warm kitty' 

'Little ball of fur.' Leonard started singing 

'Happy kitty, sleepy kitty.' Penny smiled back

'Purr, purr, purr.'. They both sang, nuzzling close to each other as they fell asleep. 

                         End