A/N: Thank you so much to all those who have reviewed my story. Thanks also to those who have put it on their favorite and follow lists. If you could I would love to get feedback from all of you. So many have asked when Amy will come into play. I see her coming around chapter 4 or 5. Please be patient, I want to paint a picture of this Sheldon. Also remember this Sheldon is from the unaired pilot. Several things may seem OOC for him but they were not in that episode. Feel free to let me know what you think of this version of him.

A special thanks to my Beta, Boys3allC, for taking the time to read over this and add some thoughts. I really appreciate it.

As always I don't own it at all:

As predicted Leslie had broken Leonard's heart. Sheldon felt really bad for him. He knew what it was like to be dumped like that by her. He decided that it was high time he come clean to Leonard about the dalliance he had shared with Leslie years before.

"Women, huh? I guess some are just love em' and leave' em like Leslie."

"What would you know about that?" Leonard says dismissively

"Leslie loved me and left me too." Sheldon tells him.

"What are you going on about?"

"A couple years ago, after Comic –Con, Leslie and I um, 'hooked-up' for lack of a better term." Sheldon said making disgusted air quotes.

"You had sex with Leslie?" Leonard said shocked.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I am telling you, right now." Sheldon said confused.

Leonard was angry at first because he hadn't been warned but realized it was not Sheldon's fault. He had been unaware of Leslie's true intention when she invited him to play as part of the quartet.

The weeks after the incident went by quickly and things seemed to get back to normal. Leonard was still pining for Penny especially after she kissed him at her Halloween party. She was drunk so Leonard was a perfect gentleman about the whole thing. Sheldon enjoyed the party but didn't find anyone worthy of talking to.

Sheldon wanted to find someone there with a spark of intelligence who would understand his costume. This being a party thrown at Penny's place he knew that was not going to be likely. Sheldon did find a woman dressed as some sort of hippie, who while lacking in the brain department; did however possess an amble and attractive posterior. Sheldon attempted to engage her in conversation after pretending to bump into her so he could get a better look at her backside.

"Oh! Hello! What are you supposed to be?" she asked smiling brightly, eying his long lean body up and down appreciatively

"Let me show you." He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, undulating his hips and body. "Niyoowww" he said making the noise.

"A choo choo train?" She guessed looking at him, her smiling waning slightly

"No but close!" He says excitedly hoping she at least understood the basic principles behind the Doppler Effect. Spurred on he made the noise and the motion again.

"A brain damaged choo choo train?" She asked. He just shook his head and walked away. Attractive and ample posteriors aside, he simply could not converse with someone lacking so lacking in intelligence. Sheldon credited the education system in the country, as to why he couldn't find anyone who understood his costume.

A few weeks after her Halloween party, Raj was going a bit of a crisis with his parents, who had decided it was high time for him to meet a nice woman and get married. They had arranged for him to meet an old family friend's daughter who was attending dental school at USC. As Raj was unable to speak to women, he had no idea how he was supposed to take her out on a date. Penny was given an opportunity to tend bar at The Cheesecake Factory and she needed the guys help. So Penny invited them all over to her apartment to try out her bartending skills. While Leonard and Howard jumped at the idea, the rest of the guys balked. Raj had never drank alcohol before and Sheldon did not hold his liquor well. However distraught over his parents meddling Raj decided it was high time he take up a vice. Sheldon finally agreed to go, deciding a few drinks would not kill him.

When the guys walk through Penny's door they see her already behind her kitchen island with all manner of bottles spread out.

"Okay, what will everyone be having?" Penny asks excited.

"I have always wanted to try a tequila sunrise." Leonard says and Penny claps her hands excited.

"Great that is a hard one!" she says getting out all the ingredients mixing it and handing it to Leonard who takes a sip.

"Okay who is next?" Raj?' Raj leans over and whispers to Leonard.

"He says what do you recommend?"

"Ooh how about a grasshopper, I make a mean grasshopper." Penny recommends and Raj shakes his head yes.

"Sheldon?" Penny asks him

"Cuba Libre, please."

"Cuba, Libre, Cuba Libre..." Penny said trying to remember the drink "Sheldon that is just a rum and coke, why couldn't you just say rum and coke like a normal person." She finally stated

"Because it is not just rum and coke a Cuba Libre has a lime wedge and a little umbrella in it."

"I don't have lime wedges or little umbrellas." Penny tells him through gritted teeth, fixing him a rum and coke and sliding it over to him.

"You call this a bar and you do not have little umbrellas?" Sheldon says eying his unadorned glass with disdain.

"It is not a bar. I am practicing bartending, so shut up and drink your damn drink."

"Bartenders are supposed to have people skills." Sheldon tells her taking a big swig from his glass.

"Oh Penny where did my life go wrong?" Raj moans as he downs his drink.

The guys were surprised to find out that Raj could speak to women when under the influence of alcohol. It was decided that he would take the girl to The

Cheesecake Factory when Penny was bartending so she could keep an eye on him.

The night of the date, Raj was really nervous. He hadn't seen Lalita Gupta in years and the only memory he had of her was when she would kick him in his samosas and call him untouchable. He was beginning to think the whole idea was a mistake and then she walked into the restaurant. She was beautiful and had lost a lot of weight. The couple was shown to a table in the bar area where Penny was working. She immediately had their waitress take a grasshopper over to him. Lalita ordered a glass of wine. The night started well but then Raj had one too many grasshoppers.

"I can't believe I'm sitting here next to little Lalita Gupta." Raj said to her for like the tenth time, causing Lalita to roll her eyes annoyed.

"Well, you are." She answered him yet again the fake smile straining on her face.

"Little Lalita. That's kind of fun to say. Little Lalita, Little Lalita, Little

Lalita, you should try it." He said giddy the alcohol making his mood ebullient.

"No, it's okay." She said exasperated.

"You have lost so much weight! That must have been difficult for you because you were so, so fat! Do you remember?" He asked.

"Yes, I do." She replied beyond annoyed, shutting the door on that chapter of her life had been hard for her. She did not like it being bought to her attention again.

Leonard, Howard and Penny were watching in disbelief. They could not believe how obnoxious Raj was being with this woman. They asked Penny about giving him a drink that could make him less obnoxious but Penny said alcohol didn't work that way. Sheldon showed up late because he really had no interest in

Raj's love life or anyone's love life, even his own. The thought of spending the night watching Raj make a fool of himself while Leonard attempted to woo Penny and Howard hit on anything that moved was less than appealing. However he was hungry and the thought of spending the night alone in the apartment was not any more appealing so he decided to head out and watch the spectacle while enjoying dinner.

"Sorry I'm late." Sheldon said as he walked into the bar.

"What happened?" Leonard asked him concerned.

"Nothing, I just really didn't want to come. Penny can I get a rum and coke?" he says making sure to ask for it the way Penny had told him.

"Sure." She said to him, happy he said rum and coke and did not make any ridiculous demands.

"In a tall glass, with a lime wedge and a tiny umbrella I know you have tiny umbrellas here." Sheldon said to her raising his eye brows as she turns to make the drink.

"Oh, I'll wedge it right in there." She replied.

"So, how's Koothrappali d…. oh my Lord." Sheldon said looking over at the table where Raj was seated with his date.

"What?" Leonard asked

"That's Princess Punchali." He answered staring dreamily at the woman with Raj.

"I'm pretty sure her name's Lalita." Leonard corrected him.

"No, no, Princess Punchali from The Monkey and the Princess." Sheldon

said.

"Oh, yeah, I tried to watch that online, but they wanted a credit card."

Howard added.

"It's a children's story." Sheldon said disgusted.

"Oh, no it isn't." Howard said.

Sheldon ignored him continuing to stare at the vision before him, she had it all the waterfall of ebony hair, the smooth dusky skin, and the teeth like pearls in her mouth.

"When I was a little boy and got sick, which was most of the time, my mother would read it to me. It's about an Indian princess who befriends a monkey, who was mocked by all the other monkeys because he was different. For some reason I related to it quite strongly." He said wistfully.

"I know the reason." Penny commented.

"We all know the reason." Leonard laughed and then continued. "Sheldon, what are you getting at?"

"That woman looks exactly like the pictures of Princess Punchali in the book. How often does one see a beloved fictional character come to life?" Sheldon asked.

Howard commented that they see them every year at Comic Con and every day at Disney. He also made some off handed remark about how you can hire

Snow White to come to your house but it helps if you have children. Raj then came over to introduce Lalita to the guys. Sheldon was taken by her beauty, his heart beat rapidly as he looked upon her. It was all he could do to keep from reaching out and stoking his finger down her cheek.

"Forgive me your highness, for I am but a monkey, and it is in my nature to climb. I did not mean to gaze upon you as you comb your hair." He said to her looking down imitating the illustration of the monkey in the book.

"I'm sorry?" She asked him.

"You are the living embodiment of the beautiful Princess Punchali." He said looking up at her shyly and nervously licking his lips.

"Oh, no kidding? Oh, who is that?" She asked him happy someone was appreciating for the beauty she had become not the little fat girl she had been.

"A beloved character from an Indian folk tale." Sheldon answered still gazing at her appreciatively.

"Oh. Us Indian, or "come to our casino" Indian?" Lalita asked.

"You Indian. The resemblance is remarkable. I can practically smell the lotus blossoms woven in your ebony hair." He said.

"Thank you. I imagine you smell very nice too." She blushed suddenly taken with this tall pale stranger standing before her. Normally he would not have ben her type, but something about the combination of a terrible date with Raj and his extreme flattery was endearing him to her quickly.

"I shower twice a day. Animals don't trust me because I have no scent at all." He answered.

Raj who was witnessing the whole exchange finally weighed in.

"Back off Sheldon." He said to him.

"What?" Sheldon asked him.

"If you do not stop hitting on my lady you will feel the full extent of my

wrath!" Raj said to him trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"I'm not hitting on her." Sheldon said. "I am just pointing out how much she resembles the character in a book." Answering truthfully, his original intent was not to steal Lalita away from Raj.

"And I am not your lady." Lalita said insulted at his words.

"And you have no wrath." Howard said to him.

"You are my lady. Our parents said so. We are for all intents and purposes one hundred percent hooked up." Raj said desperately, He hadn't wanted to be set up but now that Sheldon was hitting on her, he wasn't going to stand by and watch as he took his woman.

Lalita was angry. She only agreed to come on this date to pacify her parents. She didn't believe in the old school crap of arranged marriages. This other guys seemed very interesting, and a lot nicer than her date was. Lalita decided she wanted to get to know him a bit more.

"Okay, let's get something straight here. The only reason I came tonight was to get my parents off my case, I certainly don't need to be getting this old world crap from you." She said to Raj.

"Exactly the kind of spirit with which Princess Punchali led the monkeys to freedom." Sheldon smiled at her.

"Oh, screw Princess Punchali." Raj was angry.

"Hey, you can't talk to me like that." Lalita said to Raj

"But you're not Princess Punchali." He said to her.

"Luckily for you, she could have you beheaded." Sheldon said to him.

Lalita had had enough. "Sheldon, are you hungry?" She asked him.

"I could eat." He answered, food being the primary reason he had come in the first place.

"Let's go." She said and they walked away from the rest of the group who stood stunned at what they had just witnessed.

"That geeky bastard." Penny says impressed watching their retreating backs.

"I can't believe I am considering asking him for dating tips." Howard says in awe.

"Can we please stop focusing on them and focus on the most important thing, my broken heart." Raj says tearfully resting his head on the bar.

"You did not even like her. We had to force you to go on this date. You only started liking her when you saw Sheldon with her." Leonard said judiciously.

"And now I want her more than anything!" Raj wails.

Lalita and Sheldon got a table in another part of the restaurant. They ordered an appetizer to share and each ordered an entrée. Sheldon never had an issue sharing his food, especially with a woman as pretty as Lalita. Plus he figured she had excellent hygiene being a dental student.

"I can't believe Raj thought I was his lady." She said to him. "That is the last

time I allow my parents to meddle in my love life." Lalita says attempting to engage him in conversation. He had been very quiet since they sat down.

"If I may, your parents probably don't consider this meddling, while arranged marriages are no longer the norm, Indian parents continue to have a greater than average involvement in their children's lives." Sheldon observed.

"Not you too. Just because some parents still feel that way does not mean their children feel the same way." She said to him annoyed that he felt it appropriate to comment on her culture, a culture he was in no way involved in. She really was thinking he might be a good catch. He was certainly good looking enough plus he thought she looked like a princess. It also helped that he rescued her from Raj.

"Oh I didn't mean to insult you. I was just observing that your parents along with Raj's felt the need to set you up." Sheldon said.

"Well he was not for me. I mean first, he was so boring. He kept asking me if I remembered what it was like being fat. It is not something one forgets. I certainly didn't need the reminders. Second, he was drunk. Who gets drunk on a first date?" She asked.

"Well to be honest, he would not have been able to speak to you without the alcohol in his system." Sheldon said.

"Really? Why?" She asked tilting her head to the side intrigued.

"I am not sure why because we just found out the other day. Up until then he was completely unable to speak with a beautiful woman." Sheldon answered. "Penny, my neighbor made him a drink and miraculously he started talking to her."

"Oh well that explains a lot. I guarantee you I want nothing to do with him now. I can't have a husband that needs to stay drunk to be able to speak to me."

She said her heart swelling once again that he had casually labeled her a beautiful woman.

"Understandable." Sheldon answered. The appetizer arrived and they shared the mozzarella sticks in relative silence. He was okay with sharing the appetizer with her but not thrilled when he saw her double dip the stick in the sauce. He chose not to dip his after that.

"So Sheldon what do you do for a living?" She asked him while they waited for their entrées.

"I am a Theoretical Physicist studying string theory at Cal Tech." He answered.

"That sounds interesting." She said being nice.

"Oh, it is" Sheldon said as he begins to explain all about his work and the research he is working on. Sheldon cannot help but notice her eyes glaze over as he talked. So to be polite he decided to change the subject to one she might enjoy more." I hear you are a dental student at USC. What made you decide to go into that field?" He asked.

"Well my parents were pushing me to become a doctor but I can't really stand the sight of blood. I thought by being a dentist, I would not see nearly as much blood." She answered.

"That makes sense. Were you correct in your analysis?" He asked.

"Not really. I see quite a few bleeding gums everyday but I guess it is better than a gaping wound." She answered.

They continued their conversation throughout dinner. Sheldon tried again to explain exactly what he was working on in his field but she didn't quite understand it all. Lalita was bright, certainly to be a dental student you would have to be, but her mind defiantly was not on par with his. She lectured him about the link between gum disease and heart attacks, all information that he was already familiar with.

As the night ended, Lalita had really thought she found someone she could conceivably date. Sheldon walked her to her car and bid her a goodnight.

"I had a nice time." She said to him leaning against her car stalling getting in, hoping he would kiss her.

"Me too. You are a very smart woman. I hope you find happiness in your field of study." He answered his arms crossed behind his back.

"Well goodnight." She said biting her lower lip and giving Sheldon her best come hither eyes.

"Goodnight." He answered oblivious to her charms.

"Um Sheldon." She called as he was walking away. She was confused. She thought that he had liked her and that dinner had gone well.

"Yes." He turned back to her.

She walked up to him placing her hands lightly on his hips to steady herself.

He was so tall she had to get on her tippy toes as she kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

She said looking at him expectantly hoping for a return of the favor but she was disappointed.

"You're welcome." He answered and walked away leaving her standing at the car staring longingly after her would be suitor.

When he got home, he was attacked by Raj and Leonard who told him that one should never leave with a friend's date. He said he never would have if she hadn't thought he was that Raj was boring. Leonard asked if they were going to see each other again and Sheldon replied that he already had a dentist and didn't need another one.

"So she wasn't the one?" Leonard asked after Raj had left. He had known that Sheldon seemed interested or never would have agreed to dinner with her.

"No she was intelligent but not as much as I would have liked. She could not have told a boson from a fermion, and she double dipped her mozzarella stick." He answered.

"Well just remember next time not to hit on your friend's dates." Leonard said pointedly.

"Noted." Sheldon said. "Well goodnight."

"Goodnight." Leonard said to him.

Sheldon went to bed that night thinking about the date he just had. In Howard's vulgar terms Lalita had been good to go. A few more kind words and he conceivably could have had an Indian princess sharing his bed tonight. Yet he had backed down, he did not just want anyone sharing his bed, he wanted someone he really liked, someone who could hold their own with him intellectually. He then thought back to the night Penny told him that there was someone out there for him. He was beginning to think she was right but Lalita wasn't the one. He had never been opposed to the idea of dating but right now all he wanted to do was win his Nobel Prize, then he could think about finding love.

So Sheldon is open to love but wants his Nobel first. Well a few more women will come into his life before a certain bespectacled neurobiologist pontificates her way into his heart.