"Um, F……Eight."
Sheldon looked up from his board to the blonde seven year-old across the table from him. "You just randomly name letters and numbers, how do you keep doing so well?" The young boy opposite him merely shrugged. "Yes, hit," Sheldon finally conceded.
"Yes!" his nephew answered, pumping his fist in the air. "One more and I win."
"We shall see," Sheldon shot back menacingly. The child giggled in response.
"You're so weird, uncle Shelly."
"Mason!" a voice called from the kitchen. "Did you really leave the table without finishing your lunch?" The boy's eyes got comically large before he bolted toward the kitchen.
"Another victory," Sheldon noted to himself as he rose to his knees. He started pulling plastic ships from his board.
"And then you let your uncle clean up after you?" the same voice came from the doorway. Sheldon looked up at his sister-in-law, Rachel.
"I wasn't planning on cleaning up his pieces, only my own," he informed the blonde as she approached him.
She sat on the couch behind him. "Glad to hear it."
"How does he play so well?" Sheldon asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Well," Rachel answered, cocking her head to the side in thought. "He plays with his father a lot."
"I can understand how he could beat him, though."
Rachel leaned over so her forearms rested on her thighs. Her face was almost level with his now. "Also, he's seven, so it's possible he's cheating."
Sheldon nodded his head. "Ah, of course."
"Yes," the blonde replied. "He's a bit of an evil mastermind in training." She paused. "In that respect, he actually takes after his uncle." Sheldon smirked at this. "So, have you guys been…having fun?"
"He's an odd sort of child," Sheldon noted, "but not in an wholly unpleasant way." He looked at hands, clasped atop the coffee table. "I'm not really sure how to act around him."
"Well, you haven't seen him since he was three years old."
Sheldon wouldn't look at her, but could feel her eyes on him. "Has it been that long?" he finally asked.
"Your dad's funeral," she answered softly. Sheldon grimaced at this. "Shelly, it's…. Kids are resilient. Right now, you're his best friend. He's still young enough that you can leave and he'll forget." His mouth quirked up on one side and Rachel chuckled. "It's good you get a chance to learn this stuff now, before you get to be a dad yourself. Charlie was completely unprepared."
Sheldon furrowed his brow and turned his head to finally look at her. "What makes you think I have any intentions of procreating?"
"My gut," she answered, watching him carefully. Sheldon felt uncomfortable, like she could read his thoughts. He knew he'd been exceedingly careful over the last week or so. He kept his face as neutral as possible, calling her bluff. Finally she sighed, giving in.
"So, how much stuff is there still to go through at the house?" she asked, rising to pick up her son's 'Battleship' board.
"Not much," Sheldon responded as he watched her work. "Everybody's taken what they want I presume. Anything else will be put up on auction in the spring with the house." Rachel's eyes darted towards him. "What?"
She carefully lidded the box and sat back in the spot she'd just vacated. "Shelly, I wanted to talk to you about that."
"What is it?" turning his body toward her slightly.
"Well," she started awkwardly. "…I…" She trailed off.
"Rachel," Sheldon said, his voice low.
"I've been saving up some money," she stated, looking at him. Sheldon's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I… it's just that Charlie loves that house."
"Really?" Sheldon asked, still surprised. He'd had no idea. "So, what's the problem?"
"We, I mean I want to make an offer on the house before it goes up on auction," Rachel explained. "I don't have that much saved up, but….I want it to be a surprise to him."
Sheldon carefully rose to the cushion next to his sister-in-law. "Why are you telling me?" he asked, confused.
Rachel gave him a look. "You're the executor of the will, Shelly."
Sheldon waved his hand. "That's merely a formality."
"Formality or not, you're the one I need to ask," Rachel said, shrugging. She shook herself for a moment. "So, I've noticed you texting quite a bit the last few days."
"Yes," Sheldon responded coolly.
Rachel scooted herself closer to the tall man. "And you seem pretty happy when you get the texts."
"And?"
"And who's the girl?" the blonde grinned.
"What makes you think there's a girl?" he asked her robotically.
"Shelly, I am a married woman with two children. I know how this stuff works." She did in fact have a knowing look on her face that made Sheldon feel uneasy. "Who is she?"
Sheldon watched her for a few moments. "I don't know what you're talking about," he finally stated.
Rachel sighed. "Okay, be that way."
"Rachel," he said, turning his knees toward her. "That house is just as much mine as it is yours. The only reason there was talk of selling is because I thought no one was interested in it." He clasped his hands in his lap. "Simply stated, if you want the house, it's yours."
Rachel looked at him in shock. "Shelly, you're not serious."
"Of course I am," he answered in an offended tone.
"Don't you need to talk to everyone else before you make this kind of decision?" she asked quietly.
Sheldon frowned. "As you just pointed out, I'm the executor. Mom doesn't want the house, and neither do Missy or I. If you and Charlie want it, I see no reason you shouldn't have it."
The next thing he knew, Rachel had launched herself at him full force, throwing him back against the couch cushions. He very gingerly patted her back once before clearing his throat. She straightened up immediately before kissing him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Sheldon."
"Getting fresh with my wife, Shelly?" came a deep voice from behind them. The two turned in tandem to see the large frame of his older brother Charlie, lumbering into the living room.
"Hardly," Sheldon scoffed.
Rachel shot over the back of the couch and hugged him tightly. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. Sheldon felt something shift in his chest painfully as he watched them. He averted his eyes a moment later and rose from the couch to give them some privacy. One step outside of the kitchen., Sheldon paused. His mother and sister were clearly in the middle of a conversation.
"-and you know how he gets, mama."
He heard Mary sigh. "Yes, Missy. I know. But you have to take-"
"-take your time with Sheldon," Missy parroted. "I've been taking my whole life with him, you know." Sheldon dropped his hand from the door frame, listening intently. "Mama, you know as well as I do that the only person Shelly has ever connected with has been Meemaw."
"I know, darlin'."
"And you know that he's watched her die for the last nine years," his sister continued. Sheldon felt dread fill his stomach,
"Melissa." Mary's voice was getting an edge to it.
"Mama, there's a chance he will never be able to care about anyone."
"Missy, he cares about us." Sheldon chanced a look around the door frame. They were both seated at the kitchen table. "He's just not good at showing people."
"Except for grandma," Missy included.
"Except for grandma," Mary echoed.
"He's…finally coming out of his shell with the kids and treating us like we're human. We can't make him stay here with us?" Missy asked quietly.
Mary sighed. "I have no idea how we would do that, sugar."
Just then, Charlie's daughter Madison came walking through the kitchen past the two women and paused when she met Sheldon in the doorway. She fidgeted for a moment before acknowledging him. "You want to play 'Heart and Soul'?" she asked quietly, not meeting his eye.
Sheldon swallowed and glanced over at his mother and sister before answering the young girl. "Alright."
He allowed the ten year-old to lead him to the family room where the old piano stood. Sheldon pulled out the bench and watched as the girl settled herself. "I want to be the top part," she informed him shyly.
"Okay," he responded before sitting carefully to her left on the bench. His placed his fingers on the cold keys before starting the song. He hadn't played the tune in fifteen years, but still somehow remembered every note. After a moment, he looked down to the right, watching as Maddy played with concentration. Her tongue slipped out between her lips as she stared the keys. Sheldon felt a smirk pulling at his lips as he watched his niece. They finished together with a flourish. The sound of applause made them each turn and look behind them. There stood the rest of the family, all having slipped into the room to watch the grown man and the young girl play together.
"Beautiful, kids," Mary announced, still clapping. Madison rose from the bench and curtsied before her father scooped her up in a bear hug. An instant later, Mason burst through the crowd and ran at Sheldon full speed. The young boy threw himself at Sheldon, who instinctively covered his genitals with one hand. Mason was hugging him around the waist.
The physicist looked to his brother for help. Charlie mimed picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder. Sheldon mimicked what he saw and the boy, lighter than he looked was soon squealing in delight from somewhere behind Sheldon's shoulder blade. Dr. Cooper felt very aware of everyone's eyes on him. Despite this, he grinned at his brother.
"Shelly, you left your phone on the kitchen counter," Missy stated as she stepped forward to hand him his cell phone. "You got a new text message."
"From who?" Rachel piped up.
"Whom," Sheldon corrected, taking the phone from his sister.
"Penny," Missy responded to Rachel.
"Penny?" Mary spoke up. "Leonard's Penny?"
"She's not 'Leonard's Penny'," Sheldon muttered to his mother. "And you," he continued, turning his eyes to his sister, "had no right to look through my phone."
"So, Shelly stole his best friend's girl?" Charlie asked, chuckling.
Sheldon felt his cheeks pink up. He carefully placed Mason back on the floor. He was very conscious of his limbs and his facial expression and had no idea how to proceed. The concept that he would 'steal' Leonard's girlfriend was preposterous, but he knew there was little point in explaining that to his family.
He had been texting her quite a bit for the past week or so, but it was just that. She'd been crazy and irrational and flown off the handle in regard to what had happened on Thanksgiving. He'd been scared to respond to her directly, and had instead sent a message through Leonard. Since then it had seemed a natural part of his day, one he expected, even looked forward to. But he wasn't delusional enough to think it was anything more than that, especially to her. Penny's break up with Leonard had nothing to do with him, and thinking anything different was foolhardy to say the least.
Sheldon now knew the reasoning behind his anger toward Leonard and Penny's relationship might have been tainted with his own interest. He'd purposely pushed her away, tried to keep her at arm's length in order to protect his neuroses. He'd told her he didn't want to be her friend.
He knew he was happy every time his phone chirped at him, with a message letting him know that Captain Sweatpants had asked about him or that Alicia had taken to stomping around all the time just because he was no longer in the state and couldn't do anything about it. Delving into the why of it was a dangerous area though, and Sheldon was terrified of dwelling on it. Despite all of this, he had admitted something to himself.
He missed her. Terribly.
And the truth was, he was becoming ever so slowly sure that he maybe didn't want to be her friend.
Sheldon's stomach clenched painfully at this realization and a moment later he noticed everyone was still watching him. He flipped open his phone to read the text in question.
Watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Wish you were here.
Why was she telling him about a Charlie Brown cartoon? He hadn't seen one of the television specials in years. At least not until…..
Oh.
He couldn't breath. He'd had enough anxiety attacks in his life to know what the onset of one felt like. She was…was she somehow referring to their…..kiss? Reminding him that they had kissed and then telling him she wanted him there?
With her?
He needed to sit.
"Shelly," Mary said in a concerned voice. "What's wrong?"
"Mom, I need the keys to the house. There's something I need."
