I NEED YOU part seven
Later that night in bed as Penny lay snuggled into Sheldon's side, she know he wasn't asleep. Propping herself up on her elbow, she gently stroked his arm, "What's wrong Sheldon?" knowing all too well what it was but she had to ask.
Sheldon sighed before sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. Penny was slightly taken aback when he reached over and pulled her closer to him placing his arm around her, "Penny, I'm sure you already know what is keeping me from my REM sleep."
Penny started to stroke his chest, a saucy grin on her face "So what to fool around?"
Sheldon laughed before kissing her forehead, "Penny you really are incorrigible,"
Sighing as she looked up at him, "No but I live in hope." Penny was quiet for a while, before quickly getting out of bed moving over to the bathroom door. Penny just stood in front of the door. Sheldon knew she was fighting back tears, "Penny come back to bed," he tried his best to make light of it, "like to fool around?"
Penny turned seeing the red blush that ran across his face. She tried in vain not to smile at him. Her smile however quickly changed to a scowl, " Sheldon what I want is to get all the ass-holes you work with put them in a room and kick the crap out of them, that's what I want."
Sheldon stared at Penny before a smile spread across his face, "PENNY! That's brilliant, yes that's the answer."
She walked over to sit next to a still smiling Sheldon, "Look sweetie, I don't have a problem kicking their ass's but that's my way not yours you sure?"
Sheldon wrapped his arms around Penny holding her close to him. His voice was muffled as he breathed in the sweet scant of her hair, "Oh, Penny this is why I love you, you've given me the perfect solution to my problem. Although if they were to suffer a little physical harm…" Penny however was not listening; she was in a daze the words 'I love you' kept repeating over and over in her head. "…are you alright Penny?"
She realized Sheldon was staring at her, "yeah, I'm fine…so you have a plan that's good right?"
As they settled down for the night Penny could not shack off what Sheldon had said. Had it just been a slip of the tongue? She kinda hoped he'd say it one day but it was so unlike him.
Penny cuddled in closer to him, just as sleep finely took her she whispered, "I love you to."
"I know Penny," Sheldon quietly answered.
Sheldon arrived at his office bright and early the next morning, his first order of business a number of e-mails to members of his staff. Never let it be said that Sheldon was a vindictive man, but he could not help smiling as he pressed 'send'.
Later in the morning Sheldon looked up as someone knocked on his door, Doc Gablehauser looked around the door, "Do you have a moment Professor Cooper?" Sheldon stood up waving to a chair, "Of course please come in," once both men were seated Doc Gablehauser looked across at Sheldon he'd made the mistake of underestimating him once before he was not about to do it again.
"That was an interesting e-mail you sent out Professor Cooper," a smile crossed his face, "have you had any response?"
Sheldon shook his head he was a little relieved by the way his boss was smiling. "I realize that I should have talked to you first, but time is a major factor."
Gablehauser was still smiling as he answered. "I don't have a problem; I will however be very interested to see how the rest of your team respond."
As if on cue the office door was almost taken off its hinges. Judging by the murderous look on Leslie Winkle's face she had read her e-mails this morning, "Cooper you son of a b…" the words died on her lips on seeing Gablehauser. He stood and turned to look at Leslie, "Is this how you normally enter an office Doc Winkle?"
As she left she could be heard kicking every door on her way down the corridor. Gablehauser turned and smiled at Sheldon, "It promises to be a lively meeting…1-30 right; I may look in if that's alright?" He gave Sheldon a questioning look.
"Happy to have your input Doc Gablehauser," Penny really seemed to be rubbing off on Sheldon.
The meeting didn't turn into the blood bath that everyone had feared. It seemed the presence of Doc Gablehauser took the fight out of Leslie.
Of the other two members of the new team Leonard sat quietly hardly making eye contact with anyone else in the room, while Kripke stared off into space in the hope no one would ask him anything.
As Sheldon finished speaking he looked around the room, "Are there any questions?" Leslie held up her hand, "Yeah, Professor Cooper," even with Gablehauser standing behind her she could not keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice, "I have a question, who's in charge of this marry band?" She waved her hand around the room.
Sheldon finished arranging his notes before putting them in a folder, only then did he look at Leslie, "I believe this was clearly outlined in your notes…if you had taken the trouble to read them. Doc Hofstadter will head this team he in turn will report to Doc Gablehauser or myself however the day to day running of the team is in his hands."
Gablehauser had moved away from the back wall to the centre of the room, "Let me make this very clear people this needs to work," he took a moment for his words to sink in as he looked around the room, " It's your last chance you all need to make this work remember that."
As he made his way to the door he turned, "Professor Cooper I'd like to see you in my office when you're finished here."
After a still angry Leslie and a totally bemused Kripke had left, Leonard finally looked at his former friend, "Why are you doing this?"
The room was quiet as Sheldon took a moment to compose himself, "It may be difficult for you to understand Leonard, part of me wanted you to fail for you to feel the sole destroying pain of failure as I did on our return from the Artic… but then I would have been just as guilty as you. Make no mistake Leonard nothing I've done is done out of friendship. I simply require you to carry out this task, it may in some part repair the damage you've done to your career.
Your future is entirely in your hands."
As Sheldon walked to the door he turned, "A little advice Leonard which may help you with your team. Just because their smiling with you doesn't always mean they're on your side," with that Sheldon was gone.
Leonard stood for a moment before following him. As the painful realization of just what he'd done to his onetime best-friend washed over him.
How had he allowed himself to sink so low? Tightly closing his eyes trying in vain to hold back the tears, the tears he knew were not for him but for the friendships lost.
