She knew it shouldn't have happened. She knew she shouldn't have gone in to his room to re-read those letters from his Meemaw when he wasn't home, using the spare key still in her possession. She couldn't help it though. Over the last year she had begun to see the human side of Sheldon more and more; when he locked himself out of the apartment when the rest of the boys went to Vegas, when she slipped in the shower and he came to her rescue, even his friendship with Amy Farrah Fowler. She couldn't deny the usually very sharp edges of one Sheldon Lee Cooper had started to blur.

As much as she wasn't ready to admit it to herself, Penny was attracted to the lanky theoretical physicist across the hall from her. Nothing made her see the human part of him quite like those letters from his Meemaw. From calling him Moonpie, to questioning him about some of the more technical aspects of his work, to chastising him to find more balance in his life, Penny could see the love the older woman felt for her grandson. It made Penny's heart ache wishing she had someone like that in her own life, and equally being so happy that Sheldon had her in his, because if anyone needed that staunch support, it was him. She had slowly begun to understand why he held himself apart from the rest of the group, especially after the horrendous things that happened to his research while they were in the Arctic. It really spoke to Sheldon's trusting and almost childlike nature that he was still friends with the other men, though Penny was thankful for the depth of his friendship with her since that time and was proud to call him her best friend.

The incident happened at 1:28 on a Tuesday afternoon. Normally Sheldon would be at work for another three hours and two minutes. But on that day, a Code Milky Green had gone into effect and Sheldon was brought home by Raj, who couldn't stand to be locked in the same office as him for the rest of the afternoon. Raj unlocked the door to the apartment and sent Sheldon in ahead of him.

"I'll make you a cup of tea while I keep trying to get in touch with Penny." Raj informed him. "Go get settled in to your room, and if you argue, I'll tell Penny"

"How will you tell her? You still can't speak around her." Sheldon grumped at Raj.

Since the first Code Milky Green after Penny had moved into apartment 4B, whenever Sheldon got sick, she was the one he wanted to take care of him. She understood the importance of "Soft Kitty" and would make sure he was taken care of properly. Sheldon also knew she wouldn't put up with any of his crap, nor would she hesitate to go all "Junior Rodeo" on him, sick or not.

"I'll text it to her or write her a note. Now stop arguing and go get settled in."

Penny was sitting on the edge of his bed, her back angled away from the door. She was so engrossed in the letters that she didn't hear the door open behind her.

"No one's allowed in my room!" shouted Sheldon.

Penny leapt into the air, startled, she had not been expecting anyone to be in the apartment. By now, they all knew that Sheldon being sick could lead to any situation being ten times worse than in normally would have been, so she was terrified for what was coming next.

"You've broken the sacred covenant of friendship and my trust by coming in here when I was at work and going through my things. Leave now. You're banished from this apartment for six months, Penny."

"I'm so sorry, Sheldon," Penny stuttered, as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. "Please don't banish me. It was a mistake, I never should have been here, and it'll never happen again."

"Leave, Penny." Sheldon spoke in a much softer tone.

She turned toward the door, tears gathering in her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder to see Sheldon standing there waiting for her to leave. The tears began streaming down her cheeks as she dashed from the room down the hall and out of the apartment, past a very confused Raj, in the kitchen still working on the prickly doctor's tea.

"Where's my tea, Rajesh?" called a much more sullen sounding Sheldon.