Penny surprises Sheldon. Not only had she NOT laughed at his need for order, but she had accepted it without hesitation.

Sheldon turned off the water and pushed back the shower curtain. He lifted one leg to step out of the shower and froze. His jaw worked a few times before he found his voice. "LEONARD! LEONARD, HELP!"

Leonard threw open the bathroom door and gawked. Sheldon was peering around the shower curtain, looking angry and embarrassed. "What is she doing in here?" Leonard asked, looking at Cat who was covered in shaving cream and tugging on the bottom of the curtain with a giggle.

Sheldon glared at him. "How should I know? Do something, Leonard!"

A frantic knock sounded at the door and Leonard went to answer it. Sheldon screeched for him to come back. Leonard opened the door for Penny and held up a hand. "She's here. Come on in."

Penny relaxed visibly. "Thank god. I swear she's going to grow up to be an escape artist. You turn your back for a moment and she's gone. She woke up before me and dragged her little stool to the door so she could reach the locks. The landlord is supposed to come by later and put a new lock at the top of the door for me. I was so worried she would have gone down the stairs."

Leonard led her back to the bathroom. "I ran out for some milk, and left the door open a bit. She must have seen it and wandered in." Leonard opened the door and then slammed it shut. But not before giving Penny a good view of Sheldon's full monty. Leonard grimaced with embarrassment and looked down. Slowly his eyes followed the little dollops of shaving cream that trailed down the hall. Right into Sheldon's bedroom.

Horror filled him and he sped down the hall. Penny followed, her cheeks a bright pink. They rushed into Sheldon's room and Leonard slumped in defeat. Cat was sitting on the bed, smears of white foam all over the bedspread. She grinned happily, one hand clutching an Expo marker, the other holding Leonard's small light saber pen. "Leopard!"

Penny walked over and took the pen and marker from Cat's hands. "Little missy, you are in so much trouble!" she said sternly.

"Oh sweet sufferin' Jesus!" Sheldon looked in horror at his bed.

Cat laughed and clapped her hands."Oki!"

Penny looked at her sternly. "Caitlyn Beatrice Queen! You owe Sheldon a huge apology!" Cat looked up at her mommy and burst into tears. Sheldon looked appalled, Leonard noticed. Penny turned to Sheldon with a contrite expression.

"Sheldon, I am so sorry! I cannot apologize enough. I'll clean up the mess immediately!" she said gently.

Sheldon frowned at Penny. "She's crying, Penny. Comfort her!" He pushed between Penny and Leonard and knelt in front of Cat. He gingerly patted her head, careful to avoid the foamy residue. "It's alright, Cat. I'm not mad, okay?" He turned to Penny. "Accidents happen, Penny. Please do not concern yourself with a little mess."

Leonard's jaw dropped and he took off his glasses to clean them, just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

Cat crawled off the bed and Sheldon jumped back. She toddled over to Penny and held out her arms to be picked up. Penny lifted Cat onto her hip and bit her lip lightly. "I really am sorry, Sheldon. I'll make it up to you somehow." She turned to Leonard and thanked him before leaving the apartment quickly.

Leonard grinned at Sheldon. Sheldon looked at him questioningly. In a sing-song voice, Leonard teased. "You liiiike her!"

Sheldon twitched and glared. "I have no idea what you mean."

Leonard grinned wider. "You like Penny. You threw a fit and tried to banish my sister when she visited and my nephew spilled milk on the kitchen table. Cat drew on your walls, and got shaving cream everywhere. You pat her head and tell Penny not to worry about it."

Sheldon blushed and turned away quickly. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I just don't trust Penny to clean everything to my specifications."

Leonard thought about teasing him more, but knew that if you push Sheldon, he clams up and shuts down. He walked out of the room and headed to the bathroom. He'd have to talk to the guys and see what they thought of the situation.


Howard's expression was one of stunned disbelief. Raj just nodded knowingly. Leonard placed their orders and looked around the restaurant. They had never been here before. A restaurant for cheesecake wasn't exactly somewhere they were bound to run into Sheldon. They could talk pretty freely here without any worry of alerting Sheldon to their plans.

"So you're saying that Sheldon has a deal?" Howard said finally. "I mean, sure we teased him when she moved in, but he REALLY likes Penny?"

Leonard nodded. "He gets flustered around her. He apologized to her. He is nice to Cat, who I think he likes being around, too."

Raj nodded. "And when you guys came into Penny's apartment, he made a beeline for her."

Howard frowned, deep in thought. "You know, maybe she likes him too. At the very least, she understands him."

Leonard and Raj looked surprised. "You think so?"

Howard nodded. "Listen, all bravado aside, I know women. I've spent my life watching them. She understood about the books. Remember how she rearranged the cookies? You said she blushed when you two looked in the bathroom and he was au naturel, right? And we all saw the way that she smiled at him after he said goodnight to Cat that first day. She thinks he's attractive."

Raj nodded wisely. "So, we need to find ways to throw them together, without being obvious, and without allowing Sheldon to open his mouth and ruin it."

Leonard groaned. "Easier said than done!"


Penny looked up from the inventory she was working on as Bernadette slipped into the room. "Hey. Need me on the floor?"

Bernadette shook her head. "Your short neighbor is out there with his friends. The little Beatles one and the cute little foreign one."

Penny tilted her head. "Just them?"

Bernadette nodded with a smile. "Yep. And they're talking about you."

Penny's eyes widened. "Oh no! Not crushing, are they?"

Bernadette grinned wider. "Nope. They are plotting on how to get you and the other one, Sheldon, together because apparently, Sheldon liiikkessss you," she said in a singsong voice.

Penny blushed a deep red. "You're kidding!"

Bernadette shook her head and drew Penny out of the stock room and out onto the floor. They made their way over to the salad bar where they could hear the guys clearly without being seen very well.

Howard's voice floated toward them. "Well, maybe we can find some things they both like to do and get them together as a group. Let's see, Sheldon likes kite fighting and trains. What else?"

"Well, paintball, comics, and movies," Leonard said slowly. "Oh, and video games."

Raj sounded excited. "Maybe Cat likes kites! She's a kid."

Howard scoffed. "She's tiny. A kite would carry her off!"

Penny and Bernadette looked at each other in amazement. They really were planning to get her and Sheldon together. Penny walked around the corner and stood beside Raj. The guys looked at her with alarm and then embarrassment.

Penny crossed her arms and looked around the table. "You know, if you're going to plot, you might not want to do it where the person you're plotting against can hear you." The three men stuttered and blushed for a few seconds before Penny smiled. Bernadette appeared beside her and waved. Penny cleared her throat and looked innocent. "Well, since I have no interest in this conversation, I'll just go finish my work. B, isn't it time for your break?"

Bernadette smiled. "Why yes, it is."

Penny walked away serenely and Bernadette sat down in the empty chair. "Okay, listen up, because I only have 15 minutes."