Chapter 13

Penny spent most of the afternoon napping. She had been exhausted from late night movies, make-out sessions on her couch and from work. She was off today and was anxious for Sheldon to get home, so she decided the best way to pass time would be sleep. And sleep she did. There were no limits for her nap. She stripped to her underwear, fluffed up every pillow and grabbed her extra comforter. She pinned up the darkest curtains she had to block almost all the light from her windows. This was gonna be intense. She propped her fan up on a chair, setting it on low so it would blow gently up her body, starting at the legs. That's how she liked it. With the conditions perfect (it happened to be raining outside) it took no time for her to slip into slumberland. She stretched and turned in her sleep, snoring softly. She had set her alarm on her phone to wake her up at 4pm so she could greet Sheldon and Leonard when they got home from work. She just didn't anticipate that she would sleep right through it.

*****

Sheldon knocked his usual knock on her door around 5:30. When she didn't answer he used the emergency key to let himself in. He knew she was home, her car was in the parking lot. The apartment was dark. She had all the blinds closed. He didn't see her anywhere in the living room. He heard the hum of a fan coming from her room. He stopped himself from going straight in there. There was no telling what she might be doing and to walk right in would be rude. He knocked gently. When he heard no response he slowly opened the door and saw her on the bed.

The first thing his brain registered was that she had no slacks on. His eyes followed the bare skin from the purple of her toenail polish to the light pink of her Hello Kitty underwear. The second thought was that she looked so peaceful, even if she was sprawled diagonal on the bed, hair completely disheveled and snoring. She should really get that checked by an otolaryngologist. He quietly closed the bedroom door and stepped toward the bed. He didn't want to wake her but her skin was too inviting to leave. He sat down gently on her bed and lay next to her. He wasn't touching her, just watching her sleep, slightly entranced by the movement of her chest as she breathed. He nearly jumped up when she suddenly let out a loud snore, turned on her side quickly, resting her arm on his chest. He couldn't understand why this didn't wake her up.

She snuggled up to him tighter and he just remained very still. It was slightly uncomfortable, having his arm pinned next to his body. If he moved it she would surely wake up. He could feel the slightly increased body temperature she emitted. She nuzzled her head against his arm and wrapped her very exposed leg around his body, her femur running adjacent to his waist line. To his horror, her pelvic region was now resting against the back of his hand at his side. He could feel something even warmer then. He compelled his highly improper thoughts to something else. Such as stopping all blood flow to that hand and paralyzing it. Like how nice the fan felt on his face. He would never sleep with one blowing on him though. The amount of germs and dust it ruffles up is alarming. Not to mention how quickly the air would dry out the sinuses. Perhaps that's why Penny was snoring. He would have to warn her about it when she was awake. Which would be soon, he was sure of it. He did not know how she might react to opening her eyes to him laying there, uninvited, in her room. He felt a little pain in his stomach. He didn't want to upset her. He would get up and just wait at his place for her to wakeup.

Come on, Sheldon. Get up. Why was this so difficult? He was sending the right instructions from his brain to his muscles. They just were ignoring him. Instead, he reached over and grabbed her comforter, covering the lower half of her body and part of his own since she was on it. He rested his free hand at his side, but wasn't able to resist the leg across his body. He ran his hand slowly up her calf, around her knee and (after taking a large gulp of air) up her thigh. The sound the escaped her was wonderful. He changed from having his palm flat to using just his fingertips. She made the noise again. Then she said his name. Was she dreaming about him? The idea made him smile. Wait, she was starting to stir. What did he do? It didn't matter what he agreed on, his body wouldn't let him move. She stretched and groaned next to him before finally fluttering her eyes open. He held his breath, ready for her to jump up and berate him. To his relief, when she looked up at his face she smiled.

"I'm sorry Penny. I came to check on you since it was 5:30 and you had not called or made an appearance at the apartment. I found you in here and I couldn't resist," he spat out quickly.

She wrinkled her nose and yawned, propping herself on her shoulders. She looked she was trying to solve an equation in her head. "What time is it now?"

He looked at his watch. It was almost 6:15. Had he really laid there for 45 minutes? It didn't seem like it. "Almost quarter after six," he answered.

She shot up quickly. She threw back the covers and looked down, just realizing how she had her leg around him. "My bad," she said and moved it so she could sit up.

"No worries. Truth be told I enjoyed it," he said, sitting up as well. "Would you like to have dinner with Leonard and I? We're ordering Chinese."

"Yeah. Let me throw some clothes on and I'll be over."

He frowned. "Do you have to? I know I wouldn't mind if you came over as you are. I'm sure Leonard wouldn't care either."

She hit him on the arm. "Whatever. Go and tell Leonard what I want. I'll be over in like ten minutes."

He stood up and headed for the door. He turned back to her, amused at how wild her hair was, yet still beautiful. "You have exactly ten minutes. Any more and I will forced to retrieve you myself."

She shook her head. "Remember our deal. That may seem a little suspicious. I'll see you in a few."

He nodded and went back to his place.

*****

Penny was in the kitchen with Leonard, getting a drink and some napkins when someone knocked on the door. She didn't think twice about it, assuming it was Raj and Howard, but was surprised to see it was actually Stephanie. She waved hello to her and continued pouring her soda. Penny really liked Stephanie. After their very awkward introduction and explanation of how Leonard and her were just friends, Stephanie warmed up a bit. Penny knew (because she was a woman) that she would always be a little leery of her but that was understandable. She didn't take it personal. She watched her kiss Leonard.

"Hello Penny. How are things?" Stephanie asked, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Oh you know. Work, sleep, work some more. Same as always," she responded.

"Really? Nothing new at all?"

Penny heard a hint of accusation in her voice. "Not really. Why?"

"You just seem to have this glow about you. I figured maybe something exciting had happened."

Uh oh. Woman's intuition. If anyone would notice it would be Stephanie. She had not thought about that. She just smiled and shook her head. "Not yet."

Sheldon was already in his spot working on separating orders. Stephanie walked over to the couch and sat right next to him, leaving the end open for Leonard who was still in the kitchen. Sheldon snapped his head up and looked at her. "That's where Penny sits."

Stephanie just stared at him. "What? Has she gone crazy like you now?"

Penny had to think fast. "Oh god no. I'm just going to take the chair."

Sheldon looked hurt. "But you always sit next to me when the couch is fully occupied."

"Yes, when it's just us and the boys. But I'm sure Stephanie would like to sit next to Leonard," Penny said, attempting to telepathically warn Sheldon.

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Penny could have sworn she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. Stephanie, however, was now looking back and forth at her and Sheldon, an odd expression on her face. She didn't say anything and just took her food. Leonard sat down next to her and they ate in almost silence while watching the World Nightly News.

"So, what have you two kids been up to?" Penny asked.

Leonard swallowed his food. "We went to see Revolutionary Road."

"Was it any good?" she asked.

"Yes," Stephanie said.

"Not at all," Leonard said.

Stephanie turned to Leonard. "Oh whatever! You just didn't like it because there were no explosions, or robots, or super powers involved."

"By the sounds of it, I wouldn't like it either," Sheldon chimed in.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "It was a total chick flick. And you know it."

Stephanie huffed and turned back to Penny. "It was good. Very gripping."

"Stephanie, do you know any good otolaryngologists?" Sheldon asked, completely changing the subject.

"For general check-up? Or for a specialist issue?"

"Perhaps both. It's to test for sleep apnea," he said.

"Jesus, Sheldon. You do not have sleep apnea," Leonard said, rolling his eyes. "You don't make a sound when you sleep. You lay really still and look like Dracula."

Penny laughed. She had heard many stories and witnessed a few herself about Sheldon when Stephanie is around. He was constantly coming up with ailments he could potentially have and asking Stephanie to check it out. He could be quite the hypochondriac.

"Leonard, Dracula is often portrayed by a very strong, pale skinned man with long, black hair. Aside from my somewhat fair complexion, I share none of those attributes," Sheldon quipped. "Besides, I wasn't asking for me. I was asking for Penny."

Penny shot a quick look at him. He wanted her to see a doctor? What for? What was it he said, odor-enjo-ologist? What did they do?

Stephanie looked at Penny. "Have you been having signs of possible sleep apnea?"

Penny wasn't sure what to say. Before she could think of anything, Sheldon answered. "Possibly. She was snoring loudly. I theorized it could be that. She did, however, have a fan blowing toward her face so it could've been just dried out sinuses."

Leonard shot a weird look to Sheldon. "How do you know that?"

Sheldon looked at Penny. She was horrified, unable to say anything. "When I went over earlier to ask her about dinner, she was asleep. I noticed it then," he said.

Penny saw nothing in his answer that could be interpreted otherwise. That was a nice answer, technically true but it was still enough to give her a mini panic attack.

"I would put money on the fan being the cause. Have you ever been prone to snoring before?" Stephanie asked her.

"Not that I am aware of."

"Then I wouldn't worry about it."

Penny wasn't worried in the first place. Sheldon obviously was and she thought it was sweet. She glanced over at him to see him looking back at her. They quickly looked away. She needed to change the subject.

"Sheldon, what happened to your neck?" Stephanie asked suddenly.

Sheldon instantly sat his plate down and put his hands to his neck, panicked. "What? What is it?"

Stephanie pulled at his collar a bit, exposing deep purple marks toward the base of his neck and onto his shoulders. Marks that Penny had made. Shit. She closed her eyes and said a silent pray and hoped Sheldon could think of something. When she opened them back up, Sheldon was looking at Stephanie, his expression blank. Shit! That's when Leonard became interested.

"How did you that?"

Sheldon's mouth was open but no words were coming out. Shit!!!

"They look like hickies." Stephanie said.

Leonard started laughing. "Right. Sheldon, did you fall on a vacuum hose or something?"

Penny laughed nervously. She was hoping her face wasn't blushing. Stephanie looked at her and back at Sheldon, who then turned to Penny and looked helpless. "Sheldon, do you think that's what happened when you ran into the cabinet the other day?"

He nodded and turned back to Stephanie. "Oh right. I was putting dishes away while listening to a lecture on my ipod and hit my neck and shoulder on the corner. It didn't really cause that much pain, but I tend to forget how easily I bruise. It's not Willebrand disease, I've checked. My blood clots normally. It's due to my inadequate layer of body fat."

Stephanie was still looking at his neck. "Why is it covering both sides?"

He started blinking very fast. "I hit both sides."

Stephanie let go of his collar and gave a knowing look to Penny. There was no way she could know. Leonard excused himself to the bathroom. Sheldon walked to the kitchen for something else to drink. Penny couldn't look at Stephanie. She had a terrible poker face.

"Very strange," Stephanie said, low enough that only Penny could hear. "I saw teeth marks."