This is my first TBBT fanfic I'll be writing. I'm not sure if I'll write more in the future.
I probably will have a few ooc moments with some of the characters, but I try.
I don't own anything I'm writing about except for Tanya. She's all mine :)
Have fun.
The silence at the middle table in the CalTech cafeteria room had a pleasant change of pace for Leonard Hofstadter today. Sheldon Cooper was on the parallel side of the table to Leonard, eating his ham sandwich in silence, which was the reason why Leonard was having a pleasant lunch.
Leonard was about to take a bite out of his own ham sandwich-which was lacking cheese and mayonnaise due to his intolerance to dairy products-when the silence was annoying interrupted by a chuckle on Sheldon's part. "What's so funny?" Leonard asked.
Sheldon looked up from his lunch to converse with his friend and roommate. He placed the sandwich down on the blue plate resting on the tray. "My mind is a thrilling place, Leonard," he said.
"I'll bet it is," Leonard said with a nod before he took a bite of his sandwich.
Sheldon clasped his hands together, leaning his elbows against the table. "Take this into thought," he said, not bothering to ask if Leonard still wanted to know what was on his mind. "There are at least three different universe in which Penny prefers myself over you romantically."
Leonard stared at him, not sure how to grasp this particular conversation. "You're right," he said. "Your mind is thrilling."
Sheldon grinned, lowering his arms and returning to his food. "I told you," he said, going silent once again.
Seconds later, their friends and co-workers, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrapali, joined them at the table, sitting on either side of each other, placing their trays of food down, almost in perfect sync.
"Did you hear what Dr. Fraiser did over the weekend?" Howard asked, leaning forward against the table, almost speaking at a whisper.
"No," Leonard said with a shake of his head. "What happened?"
"Well, Saturday, he reportedly came here to do some type of testing on a new theory of his," Howard said. "But, in reality, that testing was not a theory but on Dr. Bell who's visiting from Washington, hooking up in the radiation showers."
"Dr. Bell is a nice man," Raj added, pointing at Howard with his fork. "I think they make a cute couple."
"Oh!" Sheldon exclaimed, looking up from his food once more. He looked at Leonard. "Four."
Howard ignored Sheldon's interuption and continued on. "Good news, I'll be getting my doctorate," he said. "This time next month, you'll be referring to me as Dr. Howard Wolowitz, Ph. D."
"That's great, Howard," Leonard said with a smile, congratulating the engineer. "But what does that have to do with Dr. Fraiser?"
"Nothing," Howard said with a shrug. "I just thought that would be an amusing anecdote to make conversation with."
"That's a tad redundant," Sheldon said, turning his head to look at Howard.
"Pardon?" Howard asked.
"Redundant," Sheldon said. "It means 'the same as'. An amusing anecdote is a redundant sentance." He put his sandwich down once again. "An anecdote is defined as a short story with an amusing or interesting nature." Howard continued to just stare at him. "Ergo, an amusing anecdote is grammatically redundant."
"I don't care," Howard said slowly as if he were annoyed. "That's besides the point. The point, my friend, is this: you can't talk down to me anymore for not having a Ph. D."
"Oh, there are still plenty of reasons remaining as to why I can still treat you the same," Sheldon said. He looked at Leonard. "Five!"
"What is he talking about?" Raj asked.
"The number of times I want to kill him every day," Leonard said, returning to his food.
"Oh, well, in that case," Sheldon started. "The number will be increased to six."
"Why?" Leonard asked.
"Because in most movies, the dame falls in love with the victim of the story, not the villian," Sheldon said, grabbing the tray as he stood up.
Sheldon and Leonard entered the apartment later that evening, Leonard carrying a bag of Thai food. Sheldon closed the door behind him as he removed the bag from around his shoulder. "Oh, I forgot to mention," he said, placing the bag on his desk chair. "Tanya Carter from back home in Texas is coming to intern at CalTech under me for a month."
"Little Tanya Carter?" Leonard asked as he entered the kitchen. "The one that calls you Shelley-Belly?"
"The same one," Sheldon said, taking his tan jacket off. He hung it on the chair, joining Leonard in the kitchen as he grabbed two sodas from the fridge. "She'll be interning until she has to graduate next month then return to work in my field if she proves herelf worthy."
"Wow," Leonard said, impressed. "Only seventeen and might have you as her boss?"
"A bit old to be getting her doctorate, I know," Sheldon said. "She was forced to wait a year before going to grad school for family reasons. But, she is very smart and more advanced than a lot of the physicists we work with."
"She's more advanced than me," Leonard said.
"Don't act surprised, Leonard," Sheldon said, opening the bottle in his hand. "It doesn't take much to be more advanced than you." He walked over to the couch. "Everyone in her school knows she's smarter than you." He turned around as he sat down on his spot of the couch.
Leonard had learned long ago to ignore certain comments from the egomaniac that is Sheldon Cooper. He sat down in the tan chair. "Well, where will she be staying?" he asked.
"Here, of course," Sheldon said, reaching forward and grabbing the tv remote. He looked at Leonard. "You'll have to sleep on the couch. I couldn't possibly make Tanya sleep here for a month."
Leonard nodded his head. "I understand that," he said. "It won't be too hard. I can do that."
There was a knock on the door before it opened and Penny walked in, uninvited, carrying her pink laptop. "Sheldon, did you change the Wi-Fi password again?" she asked.
"Come in, Penny," Sheldon said before turning his head to look at the blonde. "Good evening, Penny. The password is now I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-the-password-this-time-so-get-your-own-Wi-Fi." He looked forward then back at Penny. "No spaces."
Penny stared blankly at the tall, slender man for a few moments before looking at Leonard. "Is he serious?" she asked. "You know I can't tell. And you promised I wouldn't have to figure it out."
"No, that's the actual password," Leonard said with a nod of his head.
"Great, thanks," Penny said, nearly closing the door.
"Wait," Leonard said, standing up and walking over to the door.
Penny pushed the door open once more. "What?" she asked. "I have a pair of shoes on Ebay with my name on them and only thirty seconds left."
"It can wait," Leonard said, waving his hand in front of him.
"No, it can't," Penny said. "So, just hurry and get to the point."
"Well, Sheldon has an old friend coming to stay for a month," Leonard said. "And I don't really want to sleep on the couch. So, I was thinking, how about I stay at your place? And we can see where our relationship stands after that."
"You want to move in with me?" Penny asked.
"It's only for a month," Leonard said. "And it's not really me moving in. It's more of a, uh,... a test-run. Just like our relationship started again." He shook his head. "You know what, nevermind. I can just sleep on the couch."
"Leonard," Penny said, balancing her laptop on one arm as she placed her left hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him. "I think it's a great idea. And it could be good for our relationship to take this next step... or test the next step."
A smile slowly grew onto Leonard's face, showing how happy he was. "Cool," he said. He pointed at the door to her apartment. "You can go buy your shoes now."
Penny looked down at her computer screen. "Too late," she said. "Time ran out." She closed the laptop, looking at Leonard with a smile. "But it was worth it." She gave him a kiss before she closed the door, returning to her apartment.
Leonard walked back over to the chair, the smile still on his face. He sat down. The smile slowly vanished as he felt Sheldon staring at him. He turned his head to look at the other man. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Sheldon said, leaning back and looking at the tv. "The number increased to seven."
Sheldon and Amy stood in the crowded airport, waiting to pick up Tanya after she landed and got her bags.
"I appreciate this, Amy," Sheldon said.
"Well, you'll be staying with this girl in your apartment for a month," Amy said, sounding slightly bitter about the subject. "It was the least I could do."
"Amy," Sheldon said, turning to look at his girlfriend. "I assure you, it's nothing like that." He normally wasn't good at picking up what his friends were upset about, but since meeting Amy, he had grown better at it. "She has a boyfriend back in Houston, and has always viewed me as an older brother. Besides, I only have eyes for you."
Amy smiled, liking what she heard. "Thank you, Sheldon," she said. "That really means a lot to me."
Sheldon gave her a smile before turning in time to see Tanya approaching them. "Oh, there she is," he said.
Walking up to them was a some-what tall young girl with a brunette pixie cut, sporting a spring dress and flip flops, complete with a pair of glasses, pulling two black suitcases behind her. "Shelley-Belly!" she greeted, wrapping her arms around Sheldon in an embrace, who, surprisingly, actually returned the gesture.
"Tanya, this is my girlfriend, Amy," Sheldon said, smiling brightly as he introduced Amy and Tanya.
Tanya and Amy shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Tanya said. "Mrs. Cooper talks about you all the time. Too bad Sheldon doesn't communicate with me. I bet I could have heard some great stories about the girl he actually refers to as his girlfriend for a change."
"What do you mean?" Amy asked.
"It doesn't matter," Sheldon said. "We should get you to your home for the next month before it gets too late."
"Oh, great!" Tanya said. "Will Amy be staying with us? I'll bet she makes some great breakfast."
"Why would she bother doing that?" Sheldon asked. "She has her own home, no need to stay with us just to cook us breakfast."
"We have the best relationship on the planet," Amy said with a smile.
"I strongly concur," Sheldon said, grabbing the handles of Tanya's suitcases, pulling them towards the door.
"He still doesn't get sarcasm?" Tanya asked.
"Yeah, this is my life," Amy said as they turned and followed Sheldon out the door.
Leonard and Penny sat in her-their-apartment after they had just finished moving Leonard over for the month. They sat in silence, both drinking a glass of red wine, staring out in the open, almost avoiding eye contact with each other.
"Well," Penny said, breaking the silence first. She looked at Leonard. "It's an official test-run, huh?"
"Yeah," Leonard said with an awkward nod of his head, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence once again.
"What now?" Penny asked, placing the almost-empty glass on the coffee table in front of them.
"Well..." Leonard trailed off. "It's Halo night over at Sheldon's place."
"Great," Penny said. "And me and Amy and Bernadette could go watch a movie or something. Girl's night. Maybe invite Tanya to tag along."
"Yeah," Leonard said once again, nodding the same awkward nod from five seconds ago.
"Yeah," Penny said slowly, leaning forward and picking up the glass once again. She lifted it to her lips, downing the remaining wine before placing the glass back down. She heard voices outside the door. "Oh, I think they're here. Let's go meet Tanya."
"Yeah, let's do that," Leonard said, both of them standing up at the same time. Penny opend the door and the duo exited, meeting Sheldon, Amy, and the obvious Tanya in the hallway.
"Oh, perfect timing," Sheldon said when he noticed Leonard and Penny. "Tanya, this is Leonard and Penny. Leonard and Penny, this is Tanya."
"Oh, you're so cute!" Penny exclaimed, walking over to Tanya. "I'll help you unpack and maybe we can hang out later." She took one of Tanya's two bags and the three women went into the apartment.
"She is cute," Leonard said, taking a step closer to Sheldon. "Is this a good idea? What if she develops a crush on you?"
"Oh, not to worry," Sheldon said. "We had this conversation on the ride here from the airport. She is very loyal to her boyfriend and views me as her-and I'm paraphrasing here-very off-putting older brother."
Leonard nodded his head. "Off-putting is pretty accurate," he said as he followed Sheldon into the apartment.
"Shelley," Tanya said, walking over to the two of them. "I'm to understand tonight is Halo night. And Penny asked if I should join her and her friends for a night at the movies. What should I do?"
"Well, you could go to the movies with the girls and risk changing from this amazing person you are to a normal teenage girl from exposure to the kinds of them," Sheldon said. "Or-and this is the better choice-you could stay and play Halo 3 with us." He tilted his head towards Leonard with a smile.
Tanya smiled brightly. "Great," she said. "Just one more follow up question: what is this Halo 3 you speak of?"
"You should go to the movies with Penny," Sheldon said.
The following day was Tanya's first day interning at the university, and Sheldon chose this morning to show her around, taking a break for lunch and joining the others at their usual table, Raj pulling up a chair for Tanya.
"So, how do you like CalTech so far?" Leonard asked, stabbing his fork into the pasta. Well, what the cafeteria staff claimed was pasta.
"More simple-minded scientists here than I had previously expected," Tanya said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But in comparison to the likes of Sheldon or me, I'm not that surprised."
"Well, I was meaning the university itself and not the workers, but ok," Leonard said, looking down at his food.
Tanya then proceeded to act like the other three weren't even there and looked at Sheldon. "I have a question for you," she said.
"I will be happy to answer it," Sheldon said, confident he could answer any question she had since he knew basically anything.
"Amy and I got to talking last night," Tanya said, causing the trip that is Leonard, Howard, and Raj to put all their attention to her. "This is a question involving your love life."
"Oh, this should be good," Howard said, getting too into a conversation that he wasn't even involved in.
Sheldon continued the conversation, also acting like his friends weren't sitting right there. "I have nothing to hide involving my relationship with Amy," he said. "What is your inquiry?"
"Please be 'why haven't you slept with her?'" Howard pleaded.
"Why doesn't she know about Miranda?" Tanya asked.
"That's new," Howard added as the three of them then put their attention on Sheldon, who was still waiting for a chance to give his response.
Once it was silent again, Sheldon answered her. "We were not romantically interested in each other," he said. "I didn't see it necessary."
"So she meant nothing to you?" Tanya asked. "Even after these last ten years?"
"Tanya, your sister was only a friend to me, and I her," Sheldon added, pleading his case. "I admit, her absence was alarming after all this time, but Amy is the girlfriend I have ever and perhaps will ever have."
"Question," Leonard said, lifting a finger.
"Shh!" Howard interrupted. "I want to know how this turns out."
"How can you say that?" Tanya asked. "She meant more to you than 'just a friend'. I know that from watching you two together."
"I'm finished discussing this topic," Sheldon said. "If you would change it, I would be much appreciative."
"Fine," Tanya said.
"But it was just getting good!" Howard complained.
Sheldon looked at Tanya, lowering his fork. "Did you tell Amy?" he asked, ignoring his own request.
"No," Tanya answered. "I have too much respect for you as a person and physisct to do that to you. No, you'll be telling her after work. She'll be expecting you at five o'clock."
"Tonight?" Sheldon asked. "I was hoping this conversation would wait another five, six... twenty years."
"Well, if you're done here," Leonard chimed in. "Care to explain to the three confused scientists?"
Sheldon looked at him. "No," he said. "There are two confused scientists and one confused engineer who thinks getting a doctorate degree will change things." He put his attention else where as he always did when he made a revlation. "Eight."
"Focus, Sheldon," Leonard said, snapping Sheldon back to his attention. "Who's Miranda?"
"Alright, I'll tell you," Sheldon said. "But you must promise me to never tell Penny what I'm about to tell you."
"I swear," Leonard said.
Sheldon doubted he meant it, but decided to continue anyways. "We met when I was in grad school," he started.
Penny sat on Amy's couch as the other paced back and forth in front of the door, counting-audibly-the minutes until Sheldon is supposed to walk through that door.
"Amy, calm down," Penny said. "You're starting to make me nervouse."
"Sorry," Amy said as she stopped her pacing. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Penny. "This isn't easy."
"What isn't?" Penny asked. "A steady relationship that doesn't need sex to stay healthy?"
"You know what I mean," Amy said, bitter to Penny about a certain subject. "The possibilty of Sheldon having been in a previous relationship and not bothering to tell me about it."
"Maybe he forgot," Penny said with a shrug.
"Please," Amy said, knowing Penny should know better. "He has an eidetic memory. He never forgets anything."
"Damn that eidetic memory of his," Penny said. She was already feeling buzzed and she had barely had anything to drink. She stood up, walking into the kitchen to refill her glass of wine. "Drink with me, it'll calm your nerves."
"Sorry, but I must decline," Amy said. "I wish to be completely sober when I talk with Sheldon."
"Sweetie, trust me," Penny said, pouring two glasses of wine. "This upcoming conversation is gonna require at least two glasses of wine and maybe some schnapps."
"But I don't have any schnapps," Amy said.
"Then, you should consider getting some," Penny added, holding the glass out to Amy.
Amy took the glass, but didn't move to drink any of it. "Do you think he had a girlfriend?" she asked.
Penny grabbed the bottle of wine. "This girl isn't a scientist or a... whatever you are," she said. "She grew up practically the same way Missy did. There is no way in Hell Sheldon dated this woman." She took a swig from the bottle, lowering it as she swallowed. "On purpose."
"That's a good point," Amy said. "Perhaps he either didn't date her or was unaware he was in a relationship with her. Either way, I can't be mad at him."
"Yeah, that's what I was going for," Penny said.
There was a three-time knock on the door, followed by the familiar voice of Sheldon Cooper saying, "Amy." It was repeated twice more before it stopped.
"You should get that," Penny said.
Amy put the glass down on the counter then walked over to the door, opening it to let Sheldon in. "Hello, Sheldon," she said.
"Hello, Amy," Sheldon said as he walked inside. "I think it's time we talk." He stopped mid-stride and mid-sentence when he noticed Penny in the kitchen. "Hello, Penny," he said to her.
Penny took another swig of the wine before leaving the bottle on the counter. She walked over to Sheldon. "Hello, Moon-Pie," she said with a wide grin. "So, you're gonna have 'the talk'. Would you like privacy or company?"
Sheldon turned his head to the side, clearly considering which option would be better. "Privacy," Amy answered for him.
"Alright," Penny said, though she would prefer to stay and watch. But she would have to hear about it from Amy later. She stopped next to Amy on her way out. "I want details," she whispered before leaving.
Sheldon knew Penny would never learn he could still hear her whether she was whispering or not. And he knew Amy would end up telling Penny everything. He preferred she hear it from Amy rather than Leonard anyways. He removed the bag, placing it on the floor as he sat down on the couch.
"Can I get you something refreshing to drink?" Amy asked. "Perhaps a soda or iced tea? Schnapps?"
Sheldon turned his head and looked up at her. "No, thank you," he said. "I am quite refreshed." He patted the couch next to him. "Come, sit down."
This wasn't like him. Amy wasn't entirely sure of what she would do. Upon his request, she joined him on the couch, sitting down next to him. "How should we start this?" she asked.
"I met her in my last year at grad school," Sheldon said, ignoring her question and wasting no time in getting to the point. "I was fourteen and on the verge of graduating at the top of my class. No surprise there. She was fifteen, visiting from the local high school. Though not as smart as me, I enjoyed her time. Much like I do with Penny. She had to grow to my liking, but it didn't take so long."
"So, you never dated her?" Amy asked.
"Well, we did go to dinner alone a few times," Sheldon said. "But she never called it a date and I would never had considered it a date. So, therefore, it was not a date. Therefore, we never dated."
"Then why havne't you ever mentioned her before?" Amy asked.
"Well, when I left Texas to come here, she went to college in New York," Sheldon said. "We went two different diretions and just weren't friends anymore after that."
"Something isn't adding up, though," Amy said, feeling like something was missing in what Sheldon was saying. "Sheldon, please don't leave anything out. Don't keep things from me."
"Very well," Sheldon said before growing silent. He removed his jacket, folding it in have and laying it neatly on the back of the couch. "Roughly ten years ago, she was hit by a car," he said. "Putting her into a coma."
Amy hadn't expecting anything like that. It took her a few minutes to recover. "That must have been hard for you," she said.
"Why do people think that?" Sheldon asked. "It hardly was. We had known each other merely two years full years before we parted ways. I had always been closer with Tanya than I had Miranda."
"Is she still..." Amy trailed off, unable to find the right words.
"They pulled the plug last year," Sheldon answered. "The odds of her waking up were slim. They had held on for too long."
"Sheldon, I'm sorry," Amy said, standing up off the couch.
Sheldon stood up shortly after Amy did. "What for?" he asked.
"I was angry at you for nothing," Amy said. "You had valid reason to keep this from me. I shouldn't have asked."
"But she meant little to nothing to me," Sheldon said. "I should have made mention to you before for that reason. I tell you everything. I never dated her. She was never my girlfriend, nor did she want to be. I didn't love her. I love you."
The room grew very silent at the exact moment those words exited his lips. Sheldon stared at Amy. Amy stared at Sheldon. Neither of them knew what to do. Neither of them knew what to say.
"What?" Amy asked.
Sheldon leaned over, picking up his jacket and bag, holding them both in one arm, not bothering to put them on. "I have to go," he said. "Good day, Amy." Without another word, and not giving her a chance to say more, he turned around and left the apartment.
Like I said, first chapter and it's already getting good
And it'll only get better.
Leave reviews, suggestions, and constructive criticism. It's always appreciated.