Title: Her Greatest Blessings
Fandom: The Big Bang Theory
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Leonard/Penny, Sheldon
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: The storm and a very welcome intruder wake Penny and make her reflect.
Word Count: 1,036
Written For: Fan FlashWorks 400: Did You Hear That? and 100 Ships 45. Midnight
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.








"Did you hear that?" Penny whispers fervently, clutching Leonard. She doesn't know why she thinks Leonard can protect her -- she's far more likely to protect him and has on a number of occasions --, but it's a habit, perhaps, of always reaching for a man when her world suddenly seems like it's in danger. She lifts her blonde head from their shared pillows as lightning illuminates their room again. There's definitely somebody in their living room!

"It's probably just Sheldon," her husband murmurs without opening his eyes.

Sheldon's footsteps don't often sound as heavy as the intruder's are currently, however. Penny's sits further erect when there's a loud banging noise. The wind whistles outside. Something scratches at their window. It's the perfect night for watching horror movies, but not for sleeping.

Leonard flips over, away from her, and snuggles deeper into his pillow. "Come back to sleep," he murmurs.

Penny quirks an eyebrow at him. "People usually say go back to sleep," she mutters, slipping out of their bed.

"I meant come back to sleep," Leonard insists. "You're all nice and quiet and warm and snuggly in my dreams."

Penny rolls her eyes at him. She'd almost call him a momma's boy, but no one could be that close to Beverly. Besides, Leonard is very much her boy -- her man, she corrects herself. She leans quietly down and silently draws her baseball bat out from underneath their bed. She balances its weight in her hands for a moment before edging her way to their doorway. She jumps as thunder blasts just as she's about to open the door. Somewhere, something gets hit, and there's less light shining into their room from the city streets.

Opening the door, Penny continues to edge forward until she spies a lump on their couch. Instantly, she feels a weight drain out of her in a great, swooping motion. Lowering the bat, Penny watches over Sheldon for a moment. He seems so sweet and innocent, laying there and cringing on the couch. Another blast of thunder makes his body jump to the point that she thinks perhaps he is actually still awake, but his eyes are tightly closed though he's trembling.

Stepping closer, she finds herself sweeping her fingers over his thin, brown hair in a maternal gesture and whispering to him his favorite song. "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur! Happy kitty, sleepy kitty! Purr, purr, purr!" His trembling has ceased by the time she finishes the song, and for a moment, Penny just stands, gazing down at him. How has her life come to this? she wonders, not for the first time? She frequents between feeling like her husband's wife and like a better mother to him, and somehow, they've managed to come to have a grown son! Yet she knows darn well she'll never give either up for anything, not even a room filled to overflowing with gold or alcohol.

Lightning flashes again, and thunder roars a seeming protest. With her hand still on Sheldon's head, she can feel that he is too deep asleep now to be bothered by the storm. She glances from him to the fridge and then back down to him. He seems unfazed by the storm at all now, and she can always check on him when she comes back around the couch. Besides, what kind of alcoholic would she be to waste a chance to get some more during the midst of a ravaging storm?

She slips into the kitchen, pours herself a drink, downs it, and pours another. She's still sipping on the second glass of midnight wine as she passes back by the couch, glancing over Sheldon to make sure he's still down deep and pausing to pull the blanket further up over his body. He mumbles something in his sleep about his mother, but Penny just smiles and lets it go as she pads back to her husband. Shutting the door behind her, she finishes her wine and leaves the emptied glass on her bedside table as she slips back into bed with Leonard.

Wrapping her arms around him, she reflects again over the two men who have become the most dominant and important figures in her life. She remembers back to the first time she met Leonard, and the beating he took for her when trying to retrieve her TV. She'd been such a young fool then. She's learned so much since, including how to tell a really great guy from just another loser. This man has fought for her, she thinks, holding him close, and although he's certainly not the first to fight for her, he is the first to fight and not stand a chance of winning. Except that, of course, he did. He's won her complete love and devotion over the years since, and Penny knows that whereas she might handle most of their physical altercations, Leonard would do anything for her.

He turns in his sleep, wrapping his pudgy arms around her, but they feel a thousand times better than any muscular arms ever have in her entire life. This is the man she loves, and although he may not look like he's got the strength to back it up, Penny knows that he would fight anything or anyone for her. He is her hero, and she is safe with him, and too with whatever might try to come through their front door. Sheldon couldn't fight a cat out of a wet, paper sack, but he'd certainly try if he thought it was the only way to keep her safe. She is safe, because she is loved and cherished, and no storm, neither made by God or by man, can ever take that away from her.

The building shakes again with another roar of thunder, and Penny glances toward the window to the outside world where the ferocity of the storm has increased. "Well," she whispers, grinning, "You gave them to me." And she feels confident as she kisses Leonard and her eyes slide closed, that no matter what else may come or go in their lives, He will never take from her the two greatest blessings He has bestowed on her.





The End