Thank you again for all your reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are wonderful. As for the fast pace of posting, after not being able to end one of my stories to my satisfaction, I decided to write it out completely before posting. That means a chapter a day. That would make me happy as a reader, I hope it's ok with all of you guys too.

After that night Sheldon and Penny settled into a friendship of sorts. Sheldon believed that it was mainly due to the control that he slowly regaining day by day. He no longer ran to his room when she entered their apartment. He was beginning to accept the fact that sometimes her emotions would nibble at his shields, but he hoped it would soon get to where they wouldn't break through. Sheldon could now tolerate being around Penny, he was even starting to enjoy her company.

And then he got sick.

Sheldon hated getting sick for more than the normal reasons. From a young age he discovered that there was no way for him to control his condition when he was ill. Everyone and everything hit him full force. Or it would go the opposite way and he would feel nothing. No one would be able to inflict their emotions and feelings on him. Sheldon didn't know what was worse: feeling too much or not at all.

Just in case it went the way of feeling too much, over the years Sheldon had conditioned all of his friends to stay away. Everyone felt a little bit needy when they got sick, but Sheldon had developed it into a science. He made sure that once his friends caught wind of him feeling off that they would go running for the hills. It was a system that worked.

Until Penny.

Sheldon had caught a bug of some sort and had already managed to scare away Leonard and Howard. It was getting quicker every time. Sheldon smiled to himself once he heard the front door shut. A quick phone call to Raj ensured that no one would be entering the apartment for at least twenty-four hours.

Alone at last.

In nothing but a pair of jean shorts and a plain white tee Sheldon headed into the kitchen and made himself some tea before settling on his spot to watch FireFly. Even though he was sick, in this moment he was wholly himself. There were no pretenses, no false behaviors to keep people at bay, just Sheldon the way Sheldon wanted to be.

Knock, Knock, Knock

Before he had a chance to run for his room Penny opened the door.

He really needed to start taking her into account when he got sick. It was hard to figure her out though.

"Sheldon, Leonard told me you were sick so I grabbed some soup at work, and what are you wearing?"

Well Sheldon no longer had to guess which way things were gonna go. Her concern for him and then getting smacked with her confusion made him a little bit speechless.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." It was the honest truth too. Penny's confusion was so strong that it was affecting him more than normal.

Penny stared at him for a moment and Sheldon could almost hear the thoughts running through her head. It was like quiet murmurs in the background, begging to be listened to and understood.

"You sick?" She asked him.

Needing to put some distance between them and hopefully send Penny running for the hills he responded, "Your grasp of the English language never ceases to amaze me. Yes, I have contracted a disease of unknown origin. Any further questions or are you willing to let me die in peace?"

Penny rolled her eyes at him. "You're not gonna die. And I talk like normal people, not stuck up physicists who need a good punch to the throat. Since you're sick, I'll hold off for now." She placed the soup on the kitchen counter. "I guess I'll just let ya be sick on your own. Sorry I tried to help."

Don't know why I even try sometimes. It's not like he even cares.

Sheldon's head shot up. That couldn't have been Penny could it? He wasn't touching her, wasn't even looking at her.

Should have just stayed home.

"Don't leave." He practically begged in his normal Texas voice, all hints of robot Sheldon gone.

What?

"What?" Penny asked. Sheldon groaned. He hated it when that happened. It was like getting feedback from a speaker system.

"Don't leave." He whispered again. Sheldon couldn't tell you why, but for some reason her leaving was suddenly went from the first to the last thing he wanted.

Carefully she headed back to the couch and sat down in the middle cushion. "Ok." she whispered. "I won't go."

As she settled next to him the feeling of safety and comfort that he felt from the first day he sensed her came back in full force. Without his permitting it his hand found hers and he tangled his fingers in with hers. Letting her pure essence wash over him, Sheldon felt himself falling asleep.

Sheldon was stirred out of his sleep when Penny tried to move.

"No." He told her in his half-awake state.

"Sheldon, I need to get up and you need to get to your bed and get some rest." Penny said gently.

He sleepily shook his head. "Don't wanna. Wanna stay here. With you."

Bemusement rained down on him and caused him to smile. "Sheldon, you need a bed."

"I need a Penny." He said, still in the happy space Penny provided for him.

She gave a throaty laugh, "You're sick."

"You're cute."

Surprise and shock shot out of Penny and flowed right through Sheldon.

What the hell?

"Sheldon," Penny began gently, "You're sick and you don't know what you're saying." Her surprise now held an undercurrent of concern.

"I'm sick." Sheldon said, holding on to her concern, "But I always know what I'm saying."

Penny gave him a soft smile for that, and the secure feeling she gave intensified. There was something else there though, something that Sheldon had vast experience with when it came to Penny. He always contributed it his friends' feelings bleeding into his, but they weren't here as an excuse this time.

Lust.

Desire.

Whatever you wanted to call it, it was back and it was beckoning him, along with something else he was scared to put a name to. Sheldon turned his body towards her, refusing to break eye contact with her. He couldn't tell if the anticipation was from Penny or himself. What he did know was that the urge to kiss her and hold her, to possess her in every way a man could was over-powering his need for self-preservation. He heard Penny's breath hitch as realization struck.

At the last moment he changed his trajectory and instead of her lips he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Don't want you sick." He whispered to her as she searched his eyes. Warmth and affection swirled around him and he closed his eyes and a soft smile graced his face.

"Sheldon?" Penny asked him quietly, "What does this mean?"