A/N: Hello there everybody! Many may know me from the True Blood/SVM area, and I'm just starting to dabble in the Big Bang Theory fandom. I have like a million stories going right now that I need to finish, but this idea was just nagging at the back of my head the past few days. This is just a trial run to see how a Big Bang/True Blood story goes over.

Just a little warning ahead of time, as the story progresses, Sheldon will be extremely OOC. He's taking Eric's place.

So please please please review and let me know if you enjoy the premise!

Penny woke up early, surrounded by sheets soaked through by sweat. The Louisiana heat was unforgiving, and her air conditioning had gone out the day before. Since she was low on money, she was having to get by using floor fans, ceiling fans, and leaving the windows open. This summer was going to be a bitch.

She slowly got out of bed and padded into the bathroom to take a nice, cool shower. The cold water felt wonderful on her skin. She wasn't used to the humid heat in the south, seeing as she had moved to San Francisco when she 13 when her parents divorced. She only came back now because she had lost her job, gotten dumped by her boyfriend, Leonard, and her grandmother had died, leaving the huge farmhouse to her only granddaughter—Penny.

Penny didn't know how she felt about being "home". She had always vowed to herself that she would never return to Louisiana, that there was nothing for her in the dead end, closed minded little town, however, here she was. When she decided to return, she had called her childhood best friend Sam Merlotte, and he had offered her a job waitressing at his little diner. She couldn't say no to a job offer, especially when she needed the money.

But there was one more reason she had been wary about when returning to Bon Temps—the vampires. The year before, the vampires had come out of the coffin when the new synthetic Tru Blood hit the market. And true to stereotype, vampires had always swarmed to Louisiana for some reason. Maybe it was the history of the state, or maybe it was the "magic" in New Orleans that drew them.

After speaking with Sam on the phone, he had assured her that there were no vampires in Bon Temps to his knowledge, which made her feel better.

So there she was, on Monday morning getting dressed in black short shorts and her white Merlotte's t-shirt. She sighed at herself in the mirror. She always wanted to make something of herself. Maybe be an actress. Sometimes, though, dreams just don't come true.

She ate a small breakfast before walking out to the sweltering heat outside and getting in her old yellow VW bug. The poor thing was about to die, and the check engine light was stuck on. She knew she was going to need a new car, but she was hoping to save a little money before her faithful yellow death trap finally died.

She drove the 25 minutes to the diner, looking at the town of Bon Temps the whole drive there. Not much had changed in the last 10 years. The same businesses were still open, the same people still lived there—and did double takes when they saw her drive by—and the atmosphere was still the same.

She parked in the back of the diner and was greeted by a grinning Sam.

"Penny," he said, with a huge smile on his face. He pulled her into a bear hug, almost smothering her, he was so enthusiastic.

"Sam, I'm glad to see you, too!" she said, laughing at her old friend's greeting.

"You look good, Cher. California treated you well," he said, holding her at arms length so he could get a good look at her. She was tanned, and had her normally dark hair dyed honey blonde. It looked good on her.

"You too!" she couldn't help but notice that the 16-year-old boy he had been was no more. He was a man grown.

"Alright, well you said you've got some experience waitressing so I'll leave you to it today. If you need any help, just holler," Sam said, walking her into the building. "You can leave your purse in my office if you want."

Penny nodded gratefully and walked into his office, taking note of the random dead, stuffed animals that littered the walls. She was definitely back in the south.

The first part of her shift passed uneventfully. She got to know the other waitresses Arlene and Dawn, the chef Lafayette, and got the hang of the computer system. It was nearing the dinner rush when she took her first break, heading to the kitchen to order a burger for herself from Lafayette. She went and sat down at a table in the back of the bar when her food was brought out to her. She had just begun eating when she heard the front door to the bar jingle, signaling somebody walking in. None of the other waitresses were anywhere to be found, so she huffed, threw her burger away, and walked over to greet the customer.

"Hi there, how many this evening?" she asked the man, putting her best waitressing smile to work.

"Just one," he said, looking down at her. He was over six feet tall, with brown hair, and icy blue eyes. He was muscular, but not in a bulky way.

"Alright, well if you'll just follow me," she said to the man, trying not to blush. He had totally noticed her checking him out. Normally, she didn't mind being forward. After all, she was a big ol' five according to one dating site's sexual rating section. There was something about this man that unnerved her, though.

"What can I get you started to drink?"

"I'll have a Tru Blood," he said. "AB positive."