The Paradigm Alteration

Chapter Fourteen

Crash. Curse.

Penny jerked awake. Opening her eyes, she watched wearily as Leonard stumbled next to the coffee table, glasses askew and pants around his knees.

"What are you doing?" Penny shook her head and watched as he hastily pulled his pants up and hopped to the front door at the same time.

"Nothing," he replied quickly. Too quickly.

"Hold it!" Penny sat up on the couch. "Explain," she ordered, finger pointed in his direction.

"I'm...late," he said quickly, eyes darting back and forth between the hallway and the door.

"You're not la,-"

"Leonard!" Penny heard Sheldon cry from his room, and then heard the muffled sounds of coughing.

Penny's eyes widened. "Oh no you don't!" She jumped up and grabbed Leonard's sleeve, preventing him from moving anywhere.

"Penny," Leonard whined as his cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up. "Yeah. Yeah. Confirmed. Uh-huh. Got it. Well, there's a tiny problem with that..."

"Don't you dare leave me here," Penny leaned in and yelled into the phone, knowing full well that it was Howard on the other line.

Leonard moved his head further away so that she couldn't yell into it again. "Uh-huh," he continued talking. "Yeah. Got it," Leonard moved the phone off his ear and turned to Penny. "Okay, we have a proposal..."

"Nothing you can say right now will make me want to stay here all day and miss work,-"

"We'll each throw in fifty bucks for you to stay here and cover for us all day," Leonard cut in.

"Oh balls," Penny dropped her hand from his coat. Yep, a hundred and fifty bucks would buy her time. Though she wasn't too thrilled about having to take care of a sick Sheldon. Damn them for exploiting her financial situation.

"Okay thanks, bye!" Leonard quickly waved and left the apartment before she could say anything else, the door shutting behind him with a decisive click.

"Penny?" She heard Sheldon call from the hallway, his voice muffled and clearly congested. "I'm sick."

Penny sighed and turned around. He was in the hallway with his comforter around his shoulders. She felt a mild twinge of sympathy as she looked him over. He really did look awful. His skin was paler (if that was even possible), his nose was bright red from tissue use, and he looked exhausted.

"Aw, sweetie," she sighed and took a few steps closer. "You don't look so good."

"I want soup," he managed to get out in between sniffles. "Are your limited cooking abilities able to handle chicken soup with little stars and homemade croutons?"

First back-handed insult of the day, Penny thought to herself and rolled her eyes. "Campbell's chicken soup and toast," she counter-offered dryly.

"Well," he sniffed and she saw his face tilt a bit higher. "If those are the only options available to me..."

"They are," she replied firmly. "Now go back to bed."

"I don't eat in my bed," Sheldon sniffed and walked over to the couch, sitting on her pillow, which was in his spot.

"Woah, woah," Penny threw a hand in the air. "You want soup now?" She asked, incredulous. "It's seven in the morning!"

"Yes, and I've been awake for four hours," he replied as if that explained everything.

"But Sheldon," she whined. "I'm tired."

"Please, please, please, please, please," he replied, and Penny was suddenly reminded of the first time she had helped Sheldon when he was sick.

"Sheldon," she sighed, then closed her eyes. She was exhausted. She had only slept for a few hours, as she had a difficult time falling asleep. The realization that she might have feelings for Sheldon had both shocked and scared her all at the same time.

Last night she had come to the conclusion that something was definitely going on with Sheldon. She couldn't explain why she felt that way, but there was no denying the fact that she was seeing him in a totally different way. It didn't seem romantic. It didn't even seem sexual. Whatever it was, it felt good. She enjoyed being around him.

Unfortunately, she had also come to the conclusion that there was no way in hell Sheldon was ever going to have the same sort of feelings about her. He was so...analytical. Particular. Seemingly beyond any sort of sexual interest.

Penny decided that it was best to just not think about the situation and just act normally around him. Well, as normal as she had been for the past week or so. While there was no point in thinking about anything happening with Sheldon, she was quite happy with how close they had been. Why should she deny herself that closeness?

Yes, she would just let the matter go and let things simply take their course. A small part of her kept thinking that the only reason why she was feeling this way about Sheldon was because she hadn't dated in quite some time. The closeness was something that she craved, and that had to be the reason she was suddenly interested in him.

Penny opened her eyes and stared at a pitiful-looking Sheldon on the couch. He really was in bad shape.

"Fine," she sighed and walked into the kitchen. She opened a cupboard and pulled out a can of soup. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," she grumbled.

…

Oh yes, I regret this.

"...py kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr," Penny finished the song as softly as she could, hoping just one rendition would be enough to put him to sleep.

He coughed, and that hope fell flat on the floor. "I need the baster labeled 'mucous'," he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

"Oh, gross," Penny exclaimed, disgust written all over her face. "I am not getting you a baster so you can...ugh! Just blow your damn nose like the rest of us, Sheldon," she leaned over and put her hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down on the bed.

"My nose hurts," he protested, allowing himself to be directed back down on his pillow. "Can you get me some Vaseline?" He asked, clearly still congested.

"I will get you the Vaseline if you promise to put it on yourself," Penny replied, nose wrinkling. Feelings for the man or not, she was not rubbing Vaseline on his snot-covered nose.

"Of course I'll put it on myself," he replied. "I don't need any more of your illness-inducing germs, now do I?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

Penny stopped short as she was about to take a step away from his bed. "What?" She turned to him, eyes narrowed. "You're blaming me for this?"

"Of course," Sheldon answered with his usual condescension, which sounded ridiculous with his stuffy nose. "Your sudden unexplained behaviours recently have led to an increase in our physical contact, which has brought an exchange of potential sources of infection and disease, which my body has no immunity for."

Penny blinked. "Excuse me?"

Sheldon sighed, then said simply, "You keep touching me. I do not possess any 'cornhusking' antibodies. I am now sick." He gripped the tissue in his hand tightly as he tried to clear his throat.

"'Cornhusking antibodies', hm?" Penny's eyes narrowed once more. She then she leaned forward, grabbed his arm, pulled down his sleeve, and ran her tongue from his elbow to his wrist.

Ignoring his horrified gasp, Penny leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest. "There. If that doesn't allow for plenty of 'cornhusking antibodies', I don't know what will." She leaned forward after a pause. "You're welcome," she said sarcastically.

Sheldon stared at his arm as if it were a separate entity, a horrified expression fixed on his face. "You...you licked me," he finally spat the sentence out. He looked between Penny and his arm several times, a lost expression slowly creeping up on his face. "You...licked...me."

"That I did," she nodded, satisfied. "And I'll do a lot worse if you don't lie down and shut up for the next hour or so while I take a damn nap."

"What could possibly be worse than,-" Sheldon immediately shut up as Penny leaned forward, her face a mere centimeter away from his. A slow smile curved her lips and she watched as his eyes darted from the side to her gaze, and back again several times. He swallowed, and she watched as his jaw worked through that motion.

"Sheldon?" She asked, her voice low.

He automatically licked his lips and Penny felt her tongue mimic that motion on her own bottom lip. That small action caught Sheldon's eyes, and he looked down to her lips. The muscles around his eye started twitching lightly. He immediately looked back up again.

She then noticed that he had set his jaw and straightened slightly. He seemed to suddenly catch on to the power struggle that was at stake here. "Penny," he answered, although with his cold it came out 'Peddy'.

"Sheldon?" She called out again, barely a whisper.

"Penny," he said again, firmly this time.

Penny leaned in closer to his face and laughed as he jerked his head back, eyes wide in shock. "Take a damn nap, Sheldon," she said as she stood back up and started walking out of his room. Turning around slightly, she gave into her impulses and winked at him as she sauntered out, leaving the door open slightly so she could hear him if he needed her.

Not that he would be needing her anytime soon. No, after that little debacle, she wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to her again. She sighed sadly. What was she doing? Why was she acting this way? Why was she feeling this way? This wasn't right. It just...wasn't right to feel this way about Sheldon. It was Sheldon for crying out loud. There was no future, there wasn't even a possibility of one. Why was she trying? Was she trying?

Shaking her head, Penny reached up and held her forehead, her fingers brushing over the scab where she broke the skin during her fall last week. This was too much. This was just too weird.

She needed to sleep.

A nap was definitely in order.

Then...then she would tackle the big questions.

…

An hour later, Penny was woken up for the second time that day. This time to the gut-wrenching noises that were coming from the bathroom.

"Oh, sweetie," Penny jumped up from the couch and rushed into the bathroom. She stopped short and felt her head shake in sympathy as she watched Sheldon's body heave over the toilet, tissues still clenched firmly in both hands. She took a step forward and placed her hand on his back, rubbing in circles through the robe. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Sheldon replied as he lifted his head wearily. His lips were white, and he was sweating profusely.

"Oh my god, Sheldon," Penny whispered. "I don't think this is a cold."

His head lolled forward once more. "My temperature has been rising steadily for the past couple of hours."

Penny stood slightly, reluctant to move her hand from his back and break the physical connection. She leaned over as far as she could to the sink. Turning it on, she grabbed the nearest face cloth and wet it. Wringing it out as best she could with only one hand, she turned the water off. Rubbing his back once more, she softly asked him to lift his head. He complied, and she carefully dabbed around his face.

"Feel better?" She asked.

"Adding moisture to one's face does not assist in curing an illness, Penny," Sheldon replied, clearly irritable.

"I meant are you finished throwing up?" Penny bit out, closing her eyes. It was hard to feel sympathy for someone who was well enough to attempt insults.

"Oh," he blinked. "Yes, I believe so," he replied, then dropped his used tissues into the trash can. He shifted, and Penny could sense that he was about to stand. She wrapped her arm around his waist and tried to help him. Stumbling together, he in his weakness, and she because of his added weight, they slowly made their way to the sink. Penny knew he would want to immediately brush his teeth.

"Thank you," she heard him mutter as they arrived at the sink. She smiled as he reached for his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth.

"Do you want to go see a doctor?" She asked hesitantly, unsure of what do to at this point. It was probably just the flu. In Sheldon's mind, though, it was probably some unknown disease that would require a team of doctors to cure. She smiled to herself. Knowing Sheldon, he probably probably had throat cultures and books filled with notes to help them along.

"I see no reason to expose myself to a plethora of new diseases," he replied wearily as he finished brushing his teeth.

"What?" Penny frowned, confused.

He sighed again. "Hospitals are full of sick people. I do not wish to contract another illness."

"Yeah, I got that," Penny rolled her eyes. "But you went to the hospital when I was there last week," she pointed out, frowning slightly.

"That was different."

"How?" Penny asked, still confused. When he didn't answer, she pressed on. "I just don't understand why you would avoid the doctor's office when you're this sick."

"I just explained, -ohhh, I'm too tired for this," Sheldon turned and started walking out of the bathroom.

"Okay, sweetie, let's just get you back into bed," Penny pat his back slightly, following him.

"Your wording is amusing," he replied as he allowed himself to be directed back into his bedroom.

Penny was surprised that he was still allowing her to touch him in any way. He had just mentioned that she was the reason why he was sick. Plus, there was that little situation between her tongue and his arm.

He must be really sick, Penny thought to herself.

"Do you want anything right now?" She asked, waiting until he was situated in the bed before pulling the covers over him.

"Grilled cheese sandwich."

"No, you'll just throw it up again," Penny shook her head. "I'll make you some tomato soup."

Sheldon sighed and settled in. "If I must."

Penny nodded and quickly made her way out of his room and down the hallway. As she entered the kitchen, she immediately reached for the nearest cupboard and located a can of tomato soup.

Okay, sweetie, let's just get you back into bed.

Your wording is amusing.

"Wait, what?" Penny's face screwed up in confusion and she dropped the can of soup onto the counter. Did...did Sheldon just made a joke?

Did Sheldon just make a sexual joke?

Good lord, Penny thought to herself. He must be REALLY sick.

Flabbergasted, she shook her head and went about finding a pot to warm up the soup.

"Penny!" She heard her name. It still sounded like 'Peddy'.

Putting the can back down on the counter, Penny ran back into his room. "What's wrong?" She looked around, confused.

"Can you rub this on my chest?" He held out a small container of VapoRub.

"Sheldon," Penny whined and threw her head back. Of course. She should have known this was coming. "Damnit," she took a step forward and jerked the container out of his hand. "Sheldon I don't understand. You're a grown man. Surely you can handle,-" she trailed off as Sheldon lifted his shirt and stared at her expectantly.

Oh. Right. His chest.

"Um, Sheldon, maybe I shouldn't,-"

"VapoRub makes my hands smell funny," he sniffed.

"Yeah, I got that from the last time," Penny replied, eyes screwed shut.

Okay, she thought, I can do this.

It was just rubbing VapoRub on his chest. She had done it before. Why did it suddenly feel so intimate?

Sighing, she dipped her fingers into the container and rubbed the cream over her whole hand. She set the container back down on the bed and reached out, placing her hand in the middle of his warm chest.

"Your fingers are cold," he protested.

"Your chest is hot," she countered, then flushed. Yeah, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Counter-clockwise," he reminded her, clearly not catching on to her mistake.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, then began rubbing circles on his chest. Light chest hair tickled her fingers as she slowly rubbed around. Sighing inwardly, she berated herself for enjoying the feel of skin on skin. This was Sheldon, for crying out loud. Why was she getting so excited about feeling his chest under her hand?

Unable to stop herself, she began rubbing in wider circles, starting from the sides of his ribs, lightly brushing over his navel with her palm, and running back up the other side. When he said nothing, she continued, scooping out a little more VapoRub and rubbing circles on his upper chest, fingers delving under his pulled-up shirt and brushing the underside of his collarbones. Looking up at his face, she saw his eyebrow twitch, and decided to play it safe by simply continuing in circles over his sparse chest hair.

"You're really pale, you know that?" She murmured, uncomfortable with the silence as she touched him.

"I do not care to expose myself to skin cancers," he corrected, his voice low.

Shivering slightly, Penny jerked her hand back. His skin. His voice. Yeah. She should stop now.

"Okay," she cleared her throat. "We good?"

Sheldon looked down to his chest and sniffed once more. "I suppose," he replied, and pulled his shirt back down slightly. Penny watched as skin disappeared under dark plaid flannel, and shook her head. "I'm sleepy," he said, eyes already shut. "Now go away."

Snorting, Penny stood up and tossed the container of VapoRub on his nightstand. "You're welcome," she stressed and waited for a response. When none came, Penny shook her head and walked away. Feeling her nose tingle, Penny reached up and rubbed her nose. Getting a whiff of VapoRub, Penny shivered again.

Oh yes. She was definitely in trouble.

And she was never going to be able to smell VapoRub again without feeling a ghost of warm skin under her hand.

Shaking her head, and ignoring the warm feeling she felt in her body, Penny walked toward the couch. "Nap. Again."

00000

N/A: Sorry it took so long for an update, guys. These 12-hour work days are killing me. I'll try to keep updating every couple of days.

Reviews are love. :)