"Are you sure about this?" Percy asked. "I know I'm asking a lot of you."
Dr. Reese shrugged. "I have the chance to see history in the making. Even if this research is never publishable, you and I will still have discovered something previously thought to be impossible. That's enough for me."
"Thank you," he said fervently.
The older man smiled and clapped a hand on Percy's shoulder. "No, thank you for giving me the opportunity. And I promise I won't tell anyone on the forum about your age, by the way. In case you were worried."
The thought hadn't even crossed his mind but he appreciated it all the same.
The two of them agreed to keep in touch after Dr. Reese got more information both about his father-in-law and scheduling the operation. Percy ended up leaving the professor's office feeling more hopeful than before.
So close. He was so close to getting this all figured out and getting his Penny back.
He couldn't deny he was worried about the other Penelope messing things up somehow if this ended up taking longer than he thought. If the surgery couldn't happen until the end of the semester or even if coming up with an actual solution took longer than he hoped once they got the data.
She would be coming home from that advertising conference soon. If she wasn't able to keep the act up and did something horrendously out of character…
Should Percy threaten her again or let things be? He didn't want her to turn against him completely in case he needed her cooperation again later.
The next few days of waiting were going to be terrible but there might be some real progress after that. He could figure out what to do with her when she got back.
===
Penelope was thoroughly enjoying everything she was learning at the conference but she also found herself wishing she was back home. Not home in her world, home at Roman's house, which was strange because the place had only stressed her out previously because she knew she would have to interact with him.
He had been texting and calling her every day while she was gone and sometimes she even found herself looking forward to talking with him. She wondered why that was. Maybe because he was more familiar to her than these people she was stuck with were.
Maybe it was a sign that she was wavering about what she wanted. She had finished that digital art piece two days before the conference was going to end but she no longer felt like she was handcuffed to her alter self.
Being able to dive more fully into Penelope Cross's job had made her realize a few things about her situation. It would be stupid to turn down the chance she had been given to have a better life.
She had already been here for a few weeks with no signs of anything changing. Sitting on the fence hadn't gotten her anywhere.
Being afraid to make any waves here had been stifling. She had mentally chastised her other self for not fully appreciating what she was given but hadn't she been doing the same thing? She had been given a chance to have everything she wanted. There was no real reason to hesitate.
Her one hang up was playing with Roman's feelings. To do what Percy wanted, she would be lying to him. She could either feel bad about it or throw herself into it completely and try to make things better between the two of them.
The Crosses had already been having problems for a while. She could easily fix them—at least some of them—as soon as she got back.
She wouldn't be able to get pregnant any time soon (and she didn't want to either!) because she was still recovering from surgery on her stomach. But she could give Roman some more attention and get a pet with him so he could be satisfied for now.
That wouldn't be too much trouble. He would be happy and she would be able to enjoy being doted on by a handsome man she could see herself having fun with if she let go of her inhibitions. Win-win.
Penelope made it through the rest of the conference with that in mind and told herself that she needed to be resolute in her decision when she made it back. It wasn't hard because she didn't even have to make the first move.
Roman picked her up from the airport and did one of those romantic reunion scenes straight out of a chick flick. He picked her up and spun her around before holding her tightly against his chest.
"I missed you," he said in a husky voice.
"I missed you too," she said truthfully. In a strange way, she had.
He kissed her and helped her with her luggage.
Even though the conference ended Tuesday night, they hadn't been able to get a flight back until Wednesday morning. Everyone was given the rest of the day off and was told to come back to the office on Thursday to report in on what was learned.
Penelope had taken plenty of notes as instructed. She told Roman about all of this as they walked to the car. After the half-day last week, she had driven home from the office and taken a taxi to the airport so she didn't have to leave her car in long-term parking.
She could afford it here but Roman had wanted to pick her up from the airport, taking the day off of work to do so. She had a feeling he was using it as an excuse to get out of the job he hated. No one could begrudge someone picking up a family member in need of a ride.
He smiled fondly at her as he listened to her talk excitedly about what she had seen. Penelope realized she was monopolizing the conversation and was sure to ask him about his week while she was gone too.