The next three weeks had seen a return to her and Dr. Evers's friendly but impersonal daily interaction. He continued to go out with Celeste on the evenings that he had off and it meant that he was barely ever at home, and when he was home he was always locked away in his study with the door shut to the rest of the world.

Penny continued to run the house as seamlessly as possible and, thankfully, Celeste was happy to let her continue on as she always had. The woman was actually chipper in her manner towards Penny and Penny continued to keep her serene appearance firmly in place.

Sentry had grown and was no longer small enough to fit into her pocket, but she was a good cat and kept to the kitchen and her room, content not to wander into the rest of the house. As far as she knew Celeste was unaware of her presence.

Her group study sessions had moved to a local coffee shop and everybody was making the best of the situation. Penny hadn't felt comfortable inviting everyone back into Dr. Evers's house. She knew Celeste would be unhappy with it and she wasn't sure that Dr. Evers would back her up if it was needed.

The biggest change was that she not only called Sam, Dr. Evers, she had also gone back to thinking of him as Dr. Evers as well.  She found that it caused a lot less confusion in her mind. It was nobody's business that at night, after she had turned out her light and before she fell asleep, she let herself remember his kisses and shed a few tears at the fact that she would probably never have another one.

She sensed that he was unhappy and tired but it wasn't her place to say anything about it. He had made that clear to her with his rejection. So she kept her mouth shut and did her job, doing her best to keep her covert and longing looks to a minimum, and she never noticed that Sam would give her a similar look when no one was watching.

Plans for the party, which was the following day, were in hand and everything would, hopefully, go smoothly. Celeste had insisted on hiring caterers but wanted Penny to keep everything and everyone organized during the party.  Penny had spent the last week deep cleaning the house and her hands were cracked and dry from all of the scrubbing that Celeste was insisting on having done.  Who was she to say that people wouldn't be looking for spots on the crown molding and on top of the ten foot door trim?

Now she was sitting in the coffee shop with Carla, Marie, and Jason as they were winding up their study session with a few jokes about the teacher and tips for the next test. Marie quickly made her getaway and Carla went to get another coffee for the road, leaving her and Jason to finish packing up their stuff.

"Can I walk you to your car?"

"No thanks, it's not necessary," Penny said as she stood up swinging her bag over her shoulder making for the door as quickly as possible. Jason had gotten more brave and a lot more handsey in the last few weeks, so Penny had been doing her best to avoid him.

As she pushed her way through the door and landed on the sidewalk outside he threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. Penny tried to move away but his arm was like a steel band as it wound around her shoulders.

"Oh, look over there, isn't that the man you live with? Who's that with him?" Jason asked it in her ear as if he was whispering secrets and it gave her the creeps.

She looked at the square across the street from where they were standing and saw Celeste and Dr. Evers talking to another man. Celeste spotted them and waved tugging on Sam's sleeve and pointing in their direction. Sam looked over at them nodded and turned back to the man he was talking with.

"Let go of my shoulders Jason or I'll scream!" she said firmly, wrenching herself away from him as hard as she could. She almost fell as he released her.

"You really are a little prude," he said as he followed her across the street.

Penny walked as quickly as she could to get away from him but he was able to easily keep up with her short stride. She was on the opposite side of the square from Dr. Evers and Celeste but she had forgotten about them in her haste to get away from Jason. 

She ignored his comment and that seemed to anger him more as he grabbed her arm and stopped her, pulling her around planting a hard kiss on her lips. He pressed his lips so hard against hers that she cut the inside of her lip with her own teeth. She struggled to pull herself away from him and as soon as she was free she slapped him.

"What's wrong? Are you suddenly not interested since your primary target is watching us?"

Penny hadn't heard or sensed Dr. Evers coming up behind her. "What are you talking about? I've never been interested in you Jason and I never would. You give me the creeps so back off!"

He reached for her arm and he was blocked from grabbing it by Dr. Evers who stepped between the two of them.

"Well, how about that Penny? Your little plan to get his attention worked like a charm." Had Jason stopped there Celeste might have won, but Jason was so angry that he lost his cool and continued when he shouldn't have. "She told me you were a little slut and that you liked to play games. I never guessed you were that big into them. You're the worst sort of woman there is, you're a tease Penny."

She felt the frustration of the last few week finally bubble over and Jason was the target for all her anger to land on. "What have I ever done to encourage you Jason?" she spat out as she tried to get around Dr. Evers to get in his face, but he was easily holding her back with one arm. "I've done nothing Jason, I've never even been alone with you, so when would I have had the chance to tease you? It's all in your sick mind and whomever she is, she lied to you about everything!"  Penny was too upset to try to figure out who she was. Her primary concern was making sure that Dr. Evers didn't believe what Jason was saying, and making sure that Jason never bothered her again.

Had she been watching Sam she would have caught his quick glance at Celeste and Celeste's strained smile at scene they were making, but both Penny and Sam were oblivious to the people who were stopping to watch.

*******

"If I were you I would leave before I let go of her," Sam warned, as he looked down at Penny with a tense but amused smile while she continued to press against his arm so that she could get to Jason. What she was planning to do if he let her go was beyond him, but he was tempted to find out since this was a whole new side to her.

Jason looked at them both one more time then shrugged. "Whatever," he said before he walked away as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Sam still had his arm wrapped around Penny's waist and he was holding her close. He had noticed that she was trembling and, although he would like to think it was because of their closeness, he had a feeling that it was due to her anger.

He waited patiently, enjoying the way that she felt in his arms.

He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders at her revelation that Jason gave her the creeps. It was obvious that he had been making decisions that were based on false information and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He had little doubt that he had, once again, been duped into believing a lie, and he had little doubt as to whom was to blame.

He let his glance wander over to Celeste who was standing next to his lawyer, he noticed that her good humor had suddenly left her and had been replaced by impatience. Sam, however, only let the thoughts give him a moment's pause since his attention was focused solely on the woman in his arms.

"Penny," he said softly, pulling her a little closer and holding her a little tighter.  He was amazed at how much he had missed her during the last few weeks.  He had done his best to stay away, under the false impression that she wasn't interested, but now he realized he might have been wrong.

He had the wild and amusing thought that he might have to buy her a puppy to be forgiven this time.

Penny had frozen in place when she had heard him say her name. She wasn't saying anything, and since she wasn't fighting to be released as he held her close, he took it as a good sign. Why this woman should keep forgiving him for his idiocy was beyond him, but he was thankful that she had, and hoped she would forgive him one more time.

"Where are you parked?" His first goal was to get her away from inquisitive eyes and somewhere private, so he could talk to her and maybe kiss her senseless.

"I walked," she said softly.

He couldn't afford to walk her all the way home and then walk back, he had to take the meeting with Celeste and his lawyer. He would kiss her right this minute and in front of everyone if it wasn't for Celeste. Thinking of her reaction, he forced himself to step away from Penny.

He couldn't afford to lose what little headway he had made with Celeste, it would put him back to square one.

"Be careful going home," he said as she turned to look up at him. "I would walk you but I have plans." He smiled down at her, his heart hurting at how warily she looked up at him.

"Sure, it's fine." She gave her calm smile, the one she gave when she was hiding how she really felt.  She was a master at it. He had been glad to see her relying on that smile less and less prior to their trip to the hospital, but since his stupidity that day, the smile was back in full force once again.

"No, it's not fine, but it's necessary." His eyes held hers and he prayed she could see the sincerity in his. "Please Penny, be patient and forgiving of me just a little bit longer."

Her smile was still in place and she nodded. "Sure Dr. Evers. I'll see you at home."

Sam watched her as she turned and walked away, her small form quickly being swallowed up by the tourists as they moved through the square.