Had this chapter hit me while packing. Penny/Missy plotting in next chapter.

Friday I'll be back. Maybe. Yeah, Friday. I'm posting this from my phone so if the thing don't work, don't hate me.

Reparata

Chapter 14

"Sheldon, help me! Help me! I've got a cramp!"

He heard her splashing in the pool near him but when he swam over to where he thought she was, she called for help from another direction. "I'm coming, Penny…I'll save you…"

He swam toward her voice but again she called out to him to save her, that she couldn't…and then there was silence except for the loud beating of his heart. His wife…had drowned and he hadn't been able to save her because he couldn't find her, couldn't see her and so he couldn't save her.

Because he was blind.

Penny woke with a start when Sheldon dumped her out of bed and onto the motel room floor, sat up and scream-chanted 'Danger! Danger!' He hadn't done that since the first time they'd slept together back in Pasadena and she could feel his body quaking with the force of his sobs.

He was dreaming and whatever he was dreaming about terrified him.

She crawled up onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him and whispered that she was here and had him safely in her arms and that she loved him. She repeated it like a mantra until his sobs ending in hitching breaths and he pulled her down beside him in the bed and wrapped himself around her.

"Shel, want to talk about what got you so upset?"

He shook his head and drew lazy circles on her lower back. "Well, have you had this dream before?" Again he shook his head. Penny noted that his body was still rigid and that he'd perspired a lot and he smelled – like fear.

"Sheldon, would you feel better, cleaner, if we took a quick shower? The warm water will help you relax, okay? I'll run the water and you come in when you're ready." He nodded and sniffed and she kissed his sweaty head and padded over to the bathroom to run the water.

Sheldon sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, with his face in his hands.

It had been so real and I was so helpless. What if something like this happened for real and I…let her die because I couldn't see?

Penny grabbed his wrists and pulled him up into another hug and then led him to the shower. It was an enclosed stall with a separate bathtub. She made a note to always stay at Best Westerns when they traveled in the future. The stall had rails on the sides, screwed into the tile so he could grab hold if he got dizzy.

"Shel, do you want me in there with you or would you rather I sat on the throne in case you get dizzy?"

He reached out to her and she allowed him to lead her into the stall. He fumbled around for the body wash but Penny took the bottle and replaced it on the ledge. "You grabbed the conditioner by mistake, sweetheart. Here's the body wash." She felt more than heard him sigh. She didn't know what had spooked her whackadoodle but she meant to find out.

The shower head was fixed so there was a lot of maneuvering around in the small stall but they finally got rinsed off and she went through her totally unnecessary ritual of drying him off with a towel. It was a turn-on for her and she loved doing it for him.

"Okay, gimme a minute to dry off and it's back to bed, baby."

"I couldn't find you." He didn't speak loudly but she heard him. "Pardon? I was right there in bed beside you."

"No, in the swimming pool. You called my name out in panic. You had a cramp and you called for me to save you but…but I couldn't find you, Penny. I swam towards your voice but you kept moving around and I couldn't find you. I dove down time and again but I couldn't find you…you drowned and it was my fault, Penny. I feel so useless…"

"Sheldon Lee Cooper – you are not useless. Stand up. Get off your ass and stand up, Sheldon!" She went to their bags and found the swim suit she'd bought him and then knelt before him and said, "Put these on. I'm right here so don't worry about falling. Just – just put them on."

When he had the trunks on Penny went to her bag and pulled out her bikini and slipped it on.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Penny – what are you doing?" He tried to stand his ground but she was determined to go through with what she planned. He wasn't useless and she would prove it – or die trying.

She opened a metal gate and then pulled him to her and closed the gate behind them. "Okay, Shel. You know I can't swim, right? Well, I'm going swimming and you – my not useless, never useless – lover are going to come in and save me."

She turned away and walked to the edge of the pool. She was terrified of the water but was more terrified of seeing Sheldon broken by a dream.

"One – two – three!" She jumped off the edge of the pool into six feet of water. And promptly sank to the bottom, her arms flailing and her body screaming at her for air.

She pushed herself off the bottom and gasped for air. "Shel – " She sank again and again she pushed herself up off the bottom of the pool and dragged in a breath and screamed "Sheldon – " and went down again…for the third time.

She was growing tired and dizzy and then panic set in. He couldn't find her and she'd drown…and he'd never forgive himself. She was fighting the urge to take a breath when strong arms went around her from behind and then she broke the surface and could breathe!

Sheldon couldn't believe her. She was nuts. He dove into the pool and then waited for her to make a noise, anything that would lead him to her. He treaded water and waited for what seemed an eternity before he heard his name called "Shel – " and he headed off in that direction, using a breaststroke. He stopped and treaded water again and heard "Sheldon – " followed by splashing and then silence.

He dove down and started feeling his way toward where he thought the sound came from, waving his arms around, hoping to touch her body, her hair, any where.

He felt a wisp of hair against his fingers and lunged forward, arms extended, and wrapped her up in his arms and pushed off the bottom of the pool to the surface.

They were back in their motel room and Sheldon was sitting on the commode lecturing her, pissed off beyond belief. She was in the shower, rinsing the chlorine out of her hair and occasionally going "Okay, Sheldon" or "You're right, Shel" but then he quit talking and stepped into shower stall and just wrapped her in his arms and held her.

"You saved me, Sheldon Cooper. You are not useless. Far from it." She leaned back and let him hold her close. Disaster averted.

They were about an hour from Galveston and so far Sheldon hadn't said more than two words to her and she had to ask questions to get him to speak. He'd held her tightly all night and didn't speak to her then either. If this was Angry Sheldon, his hizzy fits in Pasadena back before they got together were nothing in comparison to his – his damned silence.

She pulled off at an exit and followed the signs for a Burger King. She hadn't eaten at all and she could hear Sheldon's stomach growling occasionally.

"We're going to eat and talk, Sheldon. I can't take another mile of your sullen silence. Yell at me, curse me but don't shut me out, okay?" She pulled into the drive-thru and placed their order and then drove to a secluded part of the lot and parked.

She tossed his burger and fries in his lap and then got out and walked over to a picnic bench. Two could play this game. Whatever was bugging her boyfriend needed to be discussed, not ignored.

I don't understand what crawled up his ass and died!

Sheldon ate a French fry and unwrapped his cheeseburger and took a bite. Everything tasted like cardboard and he had no appetite at all. He would never understand how someone who professed to love him could do that to him. The dream was bad but the reality was far worse.

He fumbled around and got the door open and heard her call him. He walked over and felt the picnic bench with his hand and sat down. He took off his sunglasses and stared up at the sun. It was easy to find where it was in general because of the heat differential. The bright sunlight made his eyes water even if he was blind. He didn't blink, just stared at the sun, food forgotten.

What's he doing? His eyes…is he crying? Oh, shit, he's crying!

She was up and around the picnic bench and had her arms around him and told him not to cry, that what ever was wrong, they could fix it.

"I'm not crying. I'm making a point. I can't see. I'm blind. Suppose I failed to find you last night in the pool? Suppose I couldn't revive you if you'd drowned? Suppose…"

"But you didn't, Shel. You saved me. You used your senses and you found me. You're not useless. I proved that last night."

"Damn you, Penny! What if I failed? What if you drowned? How am I supposed to live without you? What's the point of living without you?"

She could see his point of view. It was a stupid thing to do but she trusted him and knew he wouldn't let her down.

"Shel, you needed a real life demonstration that you are useful, that there's nothing you can't do if you just use what talents you have. I'm sorry I scared you and I'm sorry I didn't think it through but that's why I have you, to think things through."

"Finish eating, Penny. It's getting dark." She smiled and put her hand on his and said, "Sheldon, it's always dark according to you."

They were okay.

They were staying at his grandmother's house. Sheldon had called her to make plans and she told him that he and 'his girlfriend, finally,'' were staying with her and no bones about it, they could sleep with or without each other but it didn't matter at all to her. Times changed and she needed to accept those changes.

"Moon Pie, you know your momma will drive you crazy with healers putting hands on you and her damned Prayer Circle chanting in the background. Now, I respect her for her faith but damn, boy, she needs to learn some moderation!"

Missy was in town and had been calling Penny hourly for progress reports. Sheldon finally took the phone from her and recited the accident statistics attributable to cell phone use while driving, told her they would see her 'when we see you' and she shot back with 'fat chance you'll see anything, bat…' and then there was a painful silence before Sheldon flipped the phone closed, ending the call.

He sighed and turned to look out the window. Penny grabbed her phone from his hand and called Missy. "Hey, you better watch your mouth around your brother, Melissa Cooper. You might not be as smart as him but you're a damned sight crueler! You owe him an apology and if he doesn't get it, I'm going to kick your ass until you do. And if that doesn't work…I'll tell Me Maw and she'll fix you right up!"

Penny looked at the gas gauge and cursed. She took the next exit and stopped at a gas station. Sheldon sat in the car while she pumped gas and yelled at Missy on the phone for a while.

"I'm sorry, okay? He just always gets my motor running and I keep forgetting to keep my big mouth shut. Look, any hope of him regaining even partial vision?"

"We won't know until later, maybe August. He's still healing and his eye doctor won't operate until he's healed so we just don't know."

"So, how's my brother in the sack, Penny?" There was dead silence and then Penny started to giggle.

"That bad, huh? Well, maybe he just needs some pointers. I got a few websites I can recommend…"

"He's wonderful, Missy. He exceeds any woman's expectations."

"Ewww, I was just kidding, Penny. I don't like to think of you and my bro getting it on. I need brain bleach. The scarecrow and Barbie just don't fit in my mind."

"It's not your mind he's been sending into orbit almost every night. You have no idea…ewww…I don't want to even talk about it with you. You're his sister."

Missy decided to have some fun at Penny's expense and Sheldon's, of course.

"Penny, Penny, Penny…we're from Texas. You know how brothers and sisters are down here. Close, real close…after all, I did spend 9 months with my legs wrapped around his head…"

"Missy…I…you…he…" She'd had her fun. "NO! I was just funnin' with you. God, no. He's so dorky…"

"Not anymore he ain't, Missy. He's changed. He's different. You'll see."

A/N: NOW you'll see plotting!