(Sheldon begins to discover he's not as alone as he thought. He has Penny, he has friends, and he has more strength and determination than he knew.)
Leonard moved out within a week. He was spiteful about it, too, even going so far as to demand his fair share of the food in the fridge. After the fourth argument over who owned what, Penny stepped in. Sheldon was one 6 foot twitch by then and she had had enough of Leonard's petty, whiny ass. She shooed Sheldon back to her apartment, then called over Howard, Raj and her old pal Zack. Penny knew Zack wasn't smart, but one of Zack's best qualities was loyalty. He may not have seen the guys since the rooftop fiasco, but he remembered that Sheldon had greeted him first. Sheldon was Penny's friend, and Penny was Zack's friend. That made Sheldon his friend, also, and his friend needed support.
So, Leonard was faced with an incredibly angry Penny and a steadfast Zack. Howard and Raj knew the apartment intimately, and knew what belonged to who. Was it any wonder the packing went much, much quicker when Leonard had Zack standing over him? After Leonard carried out the last box Penny ordered a couple of pizzas for everyone. Sheldon was slowly walking through the apartment, staring glumly at all the empty spaces on the shelves, the spot where Leonard's desk had sat, and finally the now empty bedroom. He was standing in the doorway when Zack walked over to tell him the pizza had arrived.
"You know," Zack began slowly, "I have this buddy. He's a smart guy. I mean, way smarter than me." He smiled at Sheldon. "He had this other buddy who was always picking on him. Treated him like crap. Always blaming stuff on him. Well, my buddy was a nice guy, and he put up with it. He didn't want to make his buddy mad because then he'd have one less friend. He didn't realize friends help one another. They don't hold them down."
Sheldon looked around the empty room. "What did your friend do?"
Zack shrugged. "Don't know. What are you going to do?"
Sheldon looked over at Zack in surprise. After a minute he nodded. "I'm going to have pizza with my true friends." Zack smiled happily and clapped Sheldon on the shoulder, almost knocking him down. When they walked back out to the living room, Penny looked up from serving out the pizza and smiled at them. Sheldon felt that same warmth he had felt from her kiss at Meemaw's house settle in his stomach. Fascinating.
It had taken longer for her to move into 4A than it took Hannibal to cross the Alps. Penny sighed. Okay, maybe not quite that long, but long enough. Sheldon insisted on packing everything perfectly, even though it was only going across the hall. Then he insisted on disinfecting it all before it could be put away.
"Lord only knows what cornhusker germs you're bringing into my domain," he groused at least twice.
Then he had a list of rules, since Penny adamantly refused to sign a roommate agreement. In fact, her words when he suggested it were,"Sheldon, I love you dearly, but if you shove a stack of papers at me, I'll beat you with them. No more contracts between us. You and I don't need one. You should know by now that you don't have to write something down to forge a bond between us. We already have one. And if you keep insisting, I'll walk into your room and lick one of your comics. Just one, and you won't know which it is."
Rule number one was that she had to keep her Penny Blossom supplies in her room. One speck of glitter on his couch would give him a stroke. Rule number two was that she could not enter the bathroom while he was in there, nor could she speak to him while he was in there. Rule number three was that she could not bring a guy to the apartment for coitus, without giving him 24 hour notice. After that, Penny just ignored the rest of the rules, despite their prominent placement on the door of the fridge, and a second copy gracing the wall of her bedroom by the door.
What did it matter? Sheldon had already given her about 2 bajillion strikes over the last 4½ years. She ignored those, too. Penny did make sure she never left a mess in the common areas, and that she abided by the first three rules. Well, the first two anyway. The third one was moot, since she hadn't been on a date in almost a year.
Penny liked her job. Technically Clara Hudson was her boss, and they got together twice a month to go over the books and inventory, but for the most part, she was in charge. She set the schedule, she did the hiring and firing, and she set the menu. Of course, it wasn't an extensive menu, just scones, donuts, and sandwiches for the most part, but she was in charge. It was a huge boost to her confidence.
Sheldon was working harder than ever. He felt like he was on the verge of a major breakthrough. There had been some interest in his initial negative results from the arctic trip, and he had been reviewing that data. Things that had been overlooked before due to the sabotage were turning out to hold a wealth of information.
Despite his initial misgivings he was beginning to really benefit from the therapy sessions with Dr. Wolowitz. It wasn't that he was overcoming his phobias and quirks, but he was beginning to understand why he had them. He found himself becoming more comfortable with his friends. He was never going to be outgoing or comfortable with people. Some things were beyond his capabilities and always would be. Still, he was pleased with his progress. He was content.
Then Penny met a guy at work.
Howard, Raj, Zack and Sheldon were gearing up for Halo when Penny walked out of her room and into the living room. Bernadette looked up from the kitchen table where she was scooping out ice cream and giggled. The guys turned and four jaws dropped. Penny turned in a circle slowly, and smiled.
"Well? How do I look?" she asked.
Zack gave her a thumbs up, Raj whistled and Howard leered.
Sheldon swallowed convulsively. He was having a hard time focusing on her face. His eyes kept dragging down to her legs. The dress was peach colored. It was strapless and stopped about two inches below her bottom. A wide black belt cinched in her waist alluringly. Her hair was pinned up, exposing her neck, and she was wearing black heels that added 4 inches to her height.
Before he could decide what he wanted to say, there was a knock on the door. Penny walked over and opened it with a smile. She stepped back and her date walked in. Sheldon was shaken by the animosity he felt.
"Everyone this is Travis. Travis, these are my friends." Penny introduced him around and he smiled or shook hands. Moments later, they were gone. The rest of the night was a disaster for Sheldon. Zack and Howard destroyed him and Raj at Halo. The ice cream was tasteless, and even worse, Penny didn't come back until after midnight.
Sheldon knew this because he was lying awake in his bed, listening for her. The only bright spot of the night was that she came home alone.
Penny laid back on her bed and tried to focus. For two days Sheldon had been impossible to live with. He found fault with everything. He had also worked through lunch on Thursday and Friday. She knew he was working on something huge, but that didn't mean he could take his frustrations out on her.
She sighed and rolled over on her side. She shouldn't have yelled at him. They were in the laundry room, and he was complaining about how one of her socks had gotten mixed in with his clothes. Finally it was just too much. Too much criticism, too much of his annoyed look, too much of his condescending voice. She had snapped at him and called him a condescending ass. Then she had stormed out like an idiot, leaving her laundry behind. It wasn't the first fight they had had since she moved in, but this one was different. There was no reason for the fight. It was almost as if Sheldon had picked a fight simply to ave a fight. Penny sniffed and wiped away the last of her tears. She'd just have to wait until he came back and then go get her things. She wasn't ready to apologize and she definitely wasn't ready to hear any more lectures.
Knock, knock, knock. Penny?
Knock, knock, knock. Penny?
Knock, knock, knock. Penny?
She sat up and looked at her door. She rubbed her eyes and crossed her legs. Looks like she wasn't getting out of that apology.
"Come in, Sheldon," she said softly.
The door opened and he stepped inside. He set her laundry down by the dresser. "I finished it for you," he murmured. Sheldon twisted his hands together. "I'm sorry for my behavior, Penny. I never meant to upset you."
Penny slid off the bed and moved over to him. "I'm the one who should apologize," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know you're working on something important and I should be more understanding."
Sheldon hugged her close and shuddered. He was silent for a long time. "Penny? What if I said I wasn't upset about work?"
Penny looked up at him with confusion. "What do you mean, sweetie?"
Sheldon's courage abandoned him and he shook his head. In an instant he was gone. She stared after him for a moment before following. Penny stepped into his bedroom and found him sitting on the floor beside his bed looking at the window.
"Sheldon? What's wrong?"
"Stop!" Penny froze near the other side of the bed. Sheldon took a deep breath. "I can't say it if I have to look you in the face," he said softly.
Penny waited patiently as he got control of himself. Finally, after a couple of minutes he began to speak.
"The day we met, Leonard laid claim to you. And I let him, despite my initial attraction to you. Because I didn't understand the way you made me feel. It was new, and overwhelming, and scary. So, I pushed it, and you, away. Then we became friends. And I still tried to maintain that distance, because you still scared me. My life was dedicated to physics. That was the only thing I had ever wanted. To solve the mysteries of the universe. The day you asked me to go away, I was shattered. Finally I had what I had always told myself I wanted. A Penny free existence. And it was horrible. It was empty. I missed you more than I could have thought possible." Sheldon paused and took a few deep breaths. "The night Amy…that night, I was terrified. But in a small corner of my mind, I was grateful. Because you were back. You were with me. When I woke up and you were gone, I thought it was a terrible nightmare. That you had left me alone again."
Penny choked back a sob and sat down on the end of the bed. Sheldon leaned his head back on the mattress and continued.
"When you stepped into that tub, I knew then I couldn't let you go again. I needed you. I needed to hold onto you, because if I let go, you would disappear again. I think Dr. Wolowitz is right. In the beginning, I thought of you as a savior. A hero who had rescued me. But that changed in Galveston. You weren't my hero anymore. You were back to being my friend. But inside, in me, you were more than that. You were beginning to mean something very different to me. I was back to that first day we met. I was back to being confused and scared because I was attracted to you. I no longer just need you in my life, I desperately want you in my life. I am a genius, Penny, but for all my intelligence, I'm not brave and I don't know how to be. I wouldn't be telling you this now, but as scared as I am of telling you how I feel, I'm more scared that you will fall in love with that idiot you went out with. Or some other man will come along. I can't stand it, Penny."
Sheldon stood and turned to look at her. "I can't risk losing you to someone else because I was too afraid to tell you that I love you."
Penny looked up at him, her vision blurred by the tears pouring down her face. "Sheldon, I don't know what to say," she whispered. "I care for you so much. You're my best friend. "
Sheldon moved around the bed and knelt in front of her. He licked his lips nervously and kissed her gently. The instant his lips touched hers he knew he was lost. She was the only woman in the world for him. And she wasn't responding. His confidence shattered and he pulled away with a sob. Before he could run, though, Penny grabbed his upper arms. He looked at her with pain filled eyes.
Penny leaned forward and touched her forehead to his. "Don't," she whispered. "Don't give up on me. I need time to figure out what this is."
Sheldon closed his eyes tight. Was there hope then? Was it possible that she might return his feelings someday? "As long as you don't give up on me," he answered softly.
After a few minutes Penny pulled him up onto the bed. They lay side by side, wrapped in each others arms. Neither spoke, and they eventually fell asleep.