CH. 7 - "A-a year?"

A/N: Uber, uber short chapter, but as I'm transitioning to "The Office" as my main fic, and those are about 3,500 words a chapter average, it's taken a lot out of me. And plus I wanted to gauge your opinion on this plot-line before going too deep. Yes or no, let me know. Enjoy.


If there was one thing Penny hated about the holidays it was the traffic, particularly the traffic going in and out of malls. Maybe, a bit more explanation is needed. Ever since she began dating Sheldon, for any major event, like birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, etc. she would go online to buy her gifts rather than go to the mall, like she used to.

The reason for this is that Sheldon was able convince her that while a mall have 80 stores and offer sales periodically, if she bought her gifts online she had thousands of sites and any number of them had better deals then their mall counterparts. So for their second Christmas together she went online on cyber-Monday and bought all of her gifts in just over a hour, a new personal record, Penny mused right after.

However, her friends at work apparently didn't get her or decided at the last minute to just buy any off-the-rack blouse or jeans from Macy's, JcPenney or Old Navy and gift that for Christmas. she accepted, since it would be rude not to, but because she didn't like them and that they were bought it at the mall, here she was, stuck in traffic heading into Glendale Mall on the 26th. Or more commonly known as "Return's Day" by mall employees. What will suck once she does get in, is that she'll spend 45-minutes to an hour, if lucky, to find a damn parking space.

Her one consolation is that she dragged Sheldon with her, by bribing him with a trip to the comic book store and two comics, on her, as well as laundry sex. Although that was as much for her as it was for him. She and Sheldon discovered the joys of public sex during laundry night two weeks before Christmas. And well, for someone who is a huge mysophobe, Sheldon had no problems with the laundry room and it definitely had no effect on his performance.

The one thing that has surprised and worried Penny a bit, was Sheldon's lack of complaints.

"Sheldon, sweetie, why aren't you talking?"

"Because I have nothing to say," Sheldon responded flatly.

"Really? Because you always, and I mean always have something to say, about anything and everything," she said surprised, "Are you sure you don't want to complain about my 'Check Engine' light?"

"No thank you."

"Are you mad because I dragged you to the mall, because—"

"No, your offer of comic books and and public coitus, was quite the offer, which was why I came. Otherwise I would have asked for more or out-right refused."

"Then what is it?" Penny snapped. She was already stressed from having to return gifts and really didn't have time to deal with her boyfriend's roundabout way of speech.

Apparently that was enough to make him spill the beans, "If you must know, Gablehauser is sending me to a teaching fellowship—"

Penny beamed, "Sheldon that's great! We should—"

He interrupted, "I'm not finished it's in Switzerland and I would be gone a year."

The smile that graced her face a second ago dropped like a rock, "A-a year?" Her voice a combination of sadness and pleading. "I assume that you can't change or decline it now?"

He shook his head 'no'.

Penny took a deep breath, "When do you leave?"

"After New Year's."

That awfully soon, why didn't he tell me, Penny thought, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to see you upset."

He tried to spare her feelings, Oh God, I do love this man. Penny smiled a little at the thought.

Suddenly she made a snap decision, she can wait to return the clothes, right now she needs to spend as much time with Sheldon as possible. Seeing that the light was green she made a U-turn instead of turning into the mall.

"Penny, you missed the mall."

"No I didn't, between now and when you leave it's going to be all about you, and we're going to start with those comics I promised you."

Sheldon smiled, "Thank you, Penny."