Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Cooper go to Omaha. Time for Sheldon to meet his in-laws.

They stepped out of the rental car and looked at the large farmhouse. Sheldon was pleased with the homey look of the sprawling house. The porch was wide and wrapped around one side of the home. Baskets of orange begonias hung every five feet. The beds in front of the porch were a riot of color. Around the yard were cherry and pear trees. Off in the distance he could see fields of corn and a large barn. The front door opened and an older version of Penny stepped out.

Penny smiled widely and raced up the walkway. They came together at the bottom of the steps in a tight embrace. Sheldon grabbed the two suitcases from the trunk and followed more slowly. By the time he was near, Penny was shaking her head at whatever her mom had said. She turned to him and smiled.

"Sweetie, this is my mom, Elaine Queen. Mom, this is Sheldon, my husband," she said confidently.

Sheldon set down the luggage and held out his hand. Penny's mom shook her head and smiled. "Thank you, dear, but Penny just told me that you don't like to be touched. I appreciate that you were willing, though."

Sheldon looked at Penny with gratitude. "Penny is always taking care of me," he said softly.

Penny blushed and took one of the suitcases. "Come on, Moon Pie. I'll show you where my old room is." Mrs. Queen led the way inside and told them she would have lunch ready in a bit.

Sheldon stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the bedroom. He paused when he saw Penny's dad leaning against the wall. "Are you waiting for me, sir?"

Wyatt nodded. He looked at Sheldon for a few seconds. "Do you love my little girl?"

Sheldon nodded. "Yes sir, I do. I know this was very sudden. I understand that you are concerned, but the truth is, Penny and I have known each other for 5 years. We have always been attracted to each other. We have fought each other, we have helped each other, and we have an innate connection that draws us together. I will always do my utmost to ensure Penny's happiness. Penny means more to me than I can adequately express. We want a family and home together."

Sheldon hesitated a moment. "Sir, I will make mistakes. So will she. Penny and I will not always get along. We'll fight, we'll make up and we'll never quit on each other. Penny and I will always do whatever it takes to make this marriage work. To do otherwise would be to abandon all the principles we both hold dear."

Wyatt stared at him silently, searching Sheldon's eyes. After a long moment he nodded and relaxed. "I love my daughter. I only want her to be happy, to be safe, and to be loved. Watching the two of you today, hearing the way you talk about her, I can honestly say I'm relieved. You just treat her with respect. Like an equal. That's what makes a marriage. Not lust or common interests. The willingness to stand together and handle whatever comes as a unit. Welcome to the family, Sheldon."

Sheldon was stunned by the warmth that spread through him. "Thank you sir," he said sincerely, "I will." Wyatt nodded and headed down the hall. Sheldon walked to the bedroom and put away his shaving kit.

Penny looked up from the laptop and smiled at him. "Did you get lost?"

Sheldon shook his head. "Your father wanted to speak with me. He was concerned about how swiftly we wed."

Penny frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"

Sheldon slipped into the bed beside her and smiled with admiration. "I tell you that your father is worried and you are more concerned with me?"

Penny sighed. "You are my husband, Sheldon. Of course I'd be more concerned for you. I love my dad and mom. They have been my support all my life. Even when I screwed up, they never gave up on me. But you are the man I will spend my life with. You are the man who I will have children with. We can't succeed if we don't have each other's back."

Sheldon felt a spike of hope rush through him. Was this a sign that Penny cared for him? He turned slightly to say something and Penny leaned in to kiss him. Sheldon reached for her and drew her across his lap. Penny's arms encircled his neck. He released her lips and pressed his forehead into the crook of her neck. One of her hands moved down to rub his back comfortingly.

"Penny, I am uncertain of protocol here. I do not wish to insult your parents by engaging in intercourse under their roof, but I do not wish to forgo the chance of conception." He blushed slightly and looked at her with sincerity. "Also I enjoy our encounters and would like to proceed. What is the acceptable thing to do here?"

Penny smiled and kissed him gently. "Sheldon, my parents aren't going to be upset by us 'engaging'. In fact, I'd bet they are, at this moment, shoving cotton into their ears so they don't have to hear it."

He thought about that for a moment and then smiled. He laid back, pulling Penny on top of him. He reached for the hem of her nightie as she reached over to turn out the light.

Sheldon cringed as a group of toddlers ran past him, water guns held high. He wasn't comfortable with the entire Queen clan surrounded him. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews as far as the eye could see. There had to be almost 150 people here!

A soft touch on his arm drew him around. A plump woman with salt and pepper hair was looking at him with a stern expression. "I would like to speak to you, young man. Please come with me."

Sheldon swallowed the lump in his throat and followed with a mixture of curiosity and concern. They made their way to a bench under a willow tree. The woman sat and faced him.

"My name is Thomasina Reece. I am Elaine's aunt. I am not embarrassed to say Penny is my favorite niece. Everyone here knows it. So, I want to know why she married you. Why you married her. I want to know, what makes you good enough for my Penny?"

Sheldon wanted to flee. This woman was a bit too forward and confrontational for his liking. He decided to be as upfront as he could be and hope for a quick end to this conversation. "Ma'am, I am a well respected physicist. I will win a Nobel Prize someday. I have a good income, and a stable job. I am honest, loyal and dependable."

Sheldon took a second to organize his thoughts. "I always considered relationships a diversion from what was important, my work. Then I met Penny. When we became friends, and I grew closer to her, I found myself beginning to want the very things I always considered unnecessary. Affection, support, love. I never wanted those things until she came into my life. But I want them with her. I want her in my life. I have never been what's best for Penny. She should have someone who can openly and freely tell her how he feels. Someone who can show her how special and exquisite she truly is. I will never be that guy. I understand very little about human nature. Emotions befuddle me. In the years I have known Penny, she has had to help me navigate through the social situations I do not comprehend. But I do love her."

Thomasina stared at him for several minutes. Finally she nodded. "Well, I will be honest with you. I have never thought that any of the boys Penny dated were good enough for her. They were meat headed imbeciles only after her body. As a result, I have watched her self confidence dwindle with each and every disappointment. When she came home to visit for Thanksgiving, it broke my heart to see the depression in her eyes. Her last boyfriend was different from her usual ones. He, too, was a scientist. But he was clingy and whiny. Every time her attention wasn't completely on him, he was like a child. When Elaine called to tell me Penny was bringing home her husband, I feared the worst, that she had given in and married that man."

Thomasina looked across the lawn at the large group. "When I die, almost everything I own will go to Penny. None of them know this." She looked back at Sheldon. "I don't trust you. I don't think you are telling me the truth. I don't know how you found out about Penny being my heir, but I can assure you right now, that you overplayed your hand. I'll change my will. You won't profit by conning my great niece."

Sheldon jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, but relaxed swiftly as he looked up at Penny. She leaned down and kissed his cheek briefly before turning to her great aunt. "Aunt Tom! I was afraid you weren't here! Mom said you were coming, but I didn't see you arrive." Penny leaned down and hugged her warmly.

Thomasina smiled and patted Penny's arm. "I was just getting to know your gentleman, sweetie."

Penny rubbed Sheldon's back soothingly and grinned. "Aunt Tom, don't try to scare him off. I made sure to marry him before you could."

Thomasina shook her head and looked at Penny's hand on Sheldon's shoulder. "Penny, you know I love you and only want what is best for you. Be careful of this man. I don't think he is sincere."

Sheldon started to speak out, but Penny squeezed his shoulder to silence him. "Aunt Tom, there are few people in my life that I trust completely. You, Mom and Sheldon top that list. Have you ever known me to be taken in? You know I can see through bull. I'll tell you something that we aren't telling anyone else."

Penny took a deep breath and looked down at Sheldon with a slight smile. "Sheldon and I care a great deal for each other. We are best friends. But no, we don't love each other romantically. We married because we intend to start a family. His Meemaw is dying and she expressed a regret that she would never see her grandkids settled."

Thomasina looked at them both shrewdly. "So, he has married you so you can be a baby factory."

Sheldon shook his head, his temper getting the better of him. "No. I married Penny because she is the only woman I could be happy with. We care about each other, we respect each other and we both know what we can expect from each other. I am not an affectionate person. I am not comfortable with the easy expression of emotion that most others so casually indulge in. Penny and I are married. I don't give a damn about your will," he said, standing up. "I am one of the most sought after minds in the world. I can go anywhere and get a job in an instant. Keep your inheritance. Penny is the only thing I want from your family."

Penny took Sheldon's hand in hers and she looked at her great aunt sadly. "Aunt Tom, I love you. But I love him, also. Maybe it's not the type of love you think it should be, but it's the love born of years of friendship, years of having each other's back, being friends and companions. It's a love I trust, because I trust him. Sheldon will never cheat on me, never abandon me, never harm me, never forget me. I will always do everything I can to make him happy. I will support him, care for him, and defend him."

Sheldon looked at the pain in Penny's eyes and decided to try and make peace. "Penny loves you. She has been looking forward to seeing you so much. I understand that you do not approve of our marriage, and I accept that. But you will have to accept that it is a done deal. If you can't approve of me, at least bear in mind that we will have children. Do you really want to miss out on their lives?"

Thomasina's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you will ban me from these children's lives if I don't leave my will as is?"

Penny brushed away a stray tear threatening to fall. "Aunt Tom, if I have to chose between you and Sheldon, you won't like my choice. We aren't after your money. Keep it. Give it to charity. Have it buried with you. But please, if you love me, give Sheldon a chance. Get to know him. Because he's my husband and I'm committed to him."

Penny turned and pulled Sheldon along with her. They slowly made their way back toward the house. They were greeted along the way by various family members, but eventually they found themselves back in their bedroom. Sheldon sat beside Penny on the bed as she pulled off her shoes. She laid back and tugged on his hand until he laid down beside her. He wasn't comfortable laying there in his regular clothes and shoes, but he placed an arm around her anyway.

"Sorry," she whispered softly. "I never thought it would go like that. Can we just take a nap? We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow."

Sheldon nodded and rubbed her back soothingly. Once she fell asleep he stood up and headed downstairs. He poured a glass of sweet tea and watched the last car pull out of the driveway.

"Please don't worry about Aunt Tom," Elaine said as she joined Sheldon by the kitchen window. "She never approved of Wyatt, either."

Sheldon looked at Penny's mom curiously. "Does it bother you? Our marriage?"

Elaine shook her head. "For 6 years, Penny would spend half her letters, or phone calls complaining about you, or bragging on you. She wrote me an 11 page letter about you trying to teach her about physics. I was not surprised one bit when Leonard called to tell us you two had married. I always suspected there was more between you two than just friendship."

Elaine smiled wryly. "I know you two married for some reason other than love or desire. I don't care what it is. It doesn't matter. Because whatever reason you have for marrying, I know without a doubt that you and Penny truly care for each other. You love my little girl, even if you don't realize it. And she loves you. I am satisfied with your marriage, Sheldon. You are part of my family now."

Sheldon felt humbled by his mother-in-law's open-armed acceptance of him. "Thank you, ma'am," he said softly.

Elaine lightly patted his arm. "Get some rest, sweetie. You have a long trip tomorrow. I'll have breakfast ready at 6:30."

Sheldon nodded and rinsed out his glass. He went back upstairs and gathered his pajamas. He showered quickly and joined Penny on the bed again. He watched her sleep for a long time. He never would have expected her to take his side over a beloved family members. He had not given her nearly enough credit for her loyalty. He drew her closer and kissed her forehead lightly before closing his eyes. She really was a marvelous woman.