Reference to: 'The Proton Resurgence'; 'The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation'; 'The Panty Pinata Polarization'; 'The Weekend Vortex'; 'The Zarnecki Incursion'; 'The Staircase Implementation'

xTBBTx

"…So anyways I didn't see much of your mother or Meemaw but when we get back I'll have to make up for that." Penny glanced at her walking companion but Sheldon was silent. She pursed her lips; it was so unlike him to be quiet for so long it worried her. She looked ahead at the seemingly endless path of the crag. After walking and talking about anything and everything under the sun—If there was one, she thought as she took in the white sky—for what she figured had to be a whack-load of miles she began to have the sinking feeling that the physicist was right in his assumption that the divide went on forever. Still, she'd never voice her doubt; the last thing she'd ever want to do was add to Sheldon's despair. Talking was the only thing she could do and so she continued.

"It was actually pretty trippy meeting Jane in real life. Completely different than what I expected. She was pretty hip and wasn't so bible-thumping like your mother. Not that I'm saying she wasn't religious just that she—"

"—Didn't wash my mouth out with soap for spouting evolutionary theory when I was six," he finished.

"Yeah. That." She hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. "So what is this place anyways? Raj said that where we were was more like the place of ancestors or something like that but this crack and the forest really doesn't fit into my idea of heaven."

Sheldon shook his head. "I don't know. I've experienced some truly wonderful things here but also things that were—not so good."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." He looked at his former neighbor. "I saw Missy in your hospital room before you died."

"Yup. We were roommates at your mother's house in Galveston."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why on Earth would you willingly go there?"

"It's not that bad, Sheldon. The beaches and the ocean were nice and the pace of life was slower than Pasadena which was good for these old bones. Well, when they were old," she chuckled. "I gotta say it's kind of a relief that I'm not spending eternity as an eighty four year old granny."

"You had offspring?"

"No. Just saying, you know, old women are granny types. Although I was a God-mother to Sandra's daughter, Shelly. Sandra's—"

"—George's youngest daughter."

"Second youngest. He had William Robert after that," Penny amended. Sheldon thought about it for a moment before he rolled his eyes.

"'Billy Bob'. Good heavens."

"I'm glad you said it." Penny smiled wistfully. "Actually, I can't wait for you to meet Shelly. She's so much like you it's scary."

"What do you mean?"

"I was reading her science stuff since she was four and did my best to make play-doh molecules and atoms just like Pop-Pop did with you."

"She sounds quite intelligent."

"Yup. She wasn't as young as you when she went to university but fifteen isn't something to sneeze at either."

"What did she ultimately do?"

"It was a tossup between genome research and astrophysics for the longest time but she settled for biology in the end. Shelly did keep up with the astrophysics though and got her Masters in it. Raj and her were Skype buddies so she never felt like she was missing out."

"That was nice to make himself available," Sheldon said.

"Yeah, well, we were close," Penny replied neutrally. "So it was no big deal."

"Believe me, Penny, if she was as intelligent as you say and she grew up under George's roof in 'good ol' Galveston' Rajesh was a 'big deal' to her. My childhood would have been far less enjoyable were it not for Pop-Pop and Professor Proton."

"Professor who?"

"Professor Proton. He had a children's science show every weekday at four pm. I watched him 'religiously'"—here he used air quotes with his fingers.

"The only guy I remember doing science was Bill Nye." The physicist snorted.

"He was too commercial. Pop science, indeed. No, Professor Proton had experiments to learn and informative songs sung by his puppet sidekick Gino the Neutrino."

"Sounds like quite the pal," Penny smirked.

"Professor Proton was my only friend," Sheldon said matter-of-factly. "So, yes, he was indeed a treasured companion so I'd prefer if you didn't make fun of him."

"Sorry," the Nebraskan mumbled.

"Apology accepted," he replied.

They continued their journey in silence.

XxX

Sheldon frowned at the sound of a rock skipping along the ground.

"How long are you going to continue that infernal racket?" he asked. Penny shrugged.

"It's not like there's a lot to do to kill the time." She kicked the rock forward. "I mean it's not like we're talking or anything."

"Point."

What the hell, let's ask. "So how long were you at my 'mirror' anyways?"

"A while," he said neutrally. "'It's not like there's a lot to do'."

She smirked. "Point. See anything interesting?" She tried to keep her voice light even though she felt a tad nervous.

"For the most part the scenes took place at my apartment and consisted of the usual group social gatherings and individual conversations."

"That's a relief," sighed Penny. "Usually dreams are supposed to be whacked."

Sheldon cocked his head. "Well there were some confusing elements"—shapely legs wrapped around his hips as her breasts jiggled with every thrust—"like seeing my blue jay."

"Kinda funny since I only saw its picture."

"Speaking of 'kinda funny' I also noted that Leonard had quite a bit of success since my demise."

Penny bit her lip. "You mean the proton thing, huh?"

Sheldon mulled for a moment before he took a breath.

"Penny I realize it isn't polite to speak ill of the dead but as I'm the one who's deceased, not Leonard, I feel I should tell you that—"

"I know it's your paper, Sheldon." She regarded her friend. "Everyone knows."

A twitch passed over the physicist's face as he absorbed the news.

"I see," he said slowly. "And by 'everybody' you mean…?"

"Meemaw gave me the puzzle box you sent her and Raj and I opened it. He's the one who found your paper. I gave the whole kit and caboodle to Alex Jensen and she published it."

Sheldon stopped and closed his eyes. He turned to Penny and gave her a heartfelt "Thank you."

"Don't thank me quite yet," she said. "Raj and I didn't open it for nearly a decade and before we turned it over we sat on it for two years." Sheldon looked at her inquisitively. "We wanted to give time for Leonard to come clean and then we got busy with our lives and so we kind of—"

"Forgot."

"Yeah," Penny said sheepishly as they continued to walk. "Although once I got my priorities straight I went to Alex right away. Leonard lost his award and his job. Alex went over his work and found other 'borrowings' in his later papers." Penny sighed. "What a mess."

"Indeed. Still, you rectified the situation. I'm in your debt."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time you're a pain in the butt," she said with a little smile.

"Shouldn't it be used to make up for what you do to me?"

"If there's anything I learned being an old woman it's that guilt works much better than apologizing. I'll just make you feel like crap when you mess with me so you won't do it again," she winked.

"As opposed to amending your behavior. Ingenious."

"Thank ya."

Sheldon was silent before he let out a snort.

"You know how difficult it is envisioning you as an elderly person?" he said, amused.

"Happens to the best of us, um, you know what I mean." If she could blush she would.

"Not that I recommend dying prematurely but at least I never experienced cognitive decline," he shrugged.

"Not to mention getting up two to four times a night to take a pee."

"Penny!" he tsked. She laughed.

"God, I missed you. I almost forgot what a prude you are." He pursed his lips. "And that glare!"

"You're still impossible," he scowled at her pumpkin grin.

"At least I'm consistent." For emphasis she again kicked a rock.

Sheldon sighed.

XxX

"Wow, the landscape sure doesn't change much," said Penny as Sheldon and she strolled along the edges of the crag.

"It's relatively uniform, yes. From my perspective on the mountain top I saw nothing but trees and the light from the crag," replied Sheldon. A thought came to him. "Odd that the redness from the crag doesn't color us even though we're walking right next to it."

"There's a lot of funny things about this place," she grinned. "Actually, you know what a cool one is? I now have a memory like yours." Sheldon raised an eyebrow.

"So you recall everything?"

"Well most things," she amended. The Nebraskan cleared her throat. "'Let's go out tonight'," she sang. "'I have to go out tonight; You wanna play? Let's run away; We won't be back; before it's Christmas da—'"

"You've made your point," Sheldon interjected loudly.

"It's awesome. I remember every word to 'Rent'—even parts that weren't my own." She brightened. "You never got to see my production. If we get bored I can always do the Mimi parts for ya."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," the physicist said hurriedly, causing his companion to pout. "After all, we have a lot of things to catch up on," he amended.

"I suppose." Pause. "Actually, I do have a question for you. When Raj and I went through your flash drive we noticed along with your physics stuff you had a lot of files about, uh, bodily stuff." Penny felt the warmth even if she couldn't blush. "You know, like poop measurements and how much food weighs and how many steps it was to the bus stop. Why did you do that?"

Sheldon shrugged. "I don't know. It just seemed to make sense to me. To control my baser bodily functions so that I could maintain intellectual purity."

"Yeah, but it had to take up a lot of time graphing and measuring and whatnot."

"I wanted to be precise." He looked ahead at the landscape. "It gave me a sense of control," he said at last.

"Huh," said Penny. "Why did you need it?"

"My parents fought. Pop-Pop died. Neighborhood and school bullies always tormented me." Pause. "I just wanted to be left alone." His friend snorted.

"Not a chance, sweetie. You came into your own hanging out with us."

"My encountering you was accidental."

"I say lucky." Now it was Sheldon's turn to snort.

"Gaining friends almost cost me my career and my legacy. Leonard not only misappropriated my work but also masterminded the plan to tamper with my findings in the Arctic to which Wolowitz and Koothrappali were complicit." He shook his head. "I should have learned from Carl Franks in grade two that people will ultimately betray me."

"I didn't," Penny snapped.

"Who told me that I was overreacting to the betrayal, saying that it was like the Star Trek movie?"

"Sorry," she said quietly, feeling chastised. "I didn't really understand what happened."

"Your hormones spoke for you. It was natural you took Leonard's side." Pause. "You almost always did," he said in a disappointed tone.

"It's not like you weren't difficult, Sheldon. It was like moving a mountain to get you to do something."

"You went behind my back to my mother," he scowled.

Penny grinned. "That wasn't betrayal that was preventing a homicide, sweetie. You were being unreasonable."

"Me?" squawked the physicist. "Who sabotaged laundry night and touched my food?"

"Oh yeah," giggled Penny. "I forgot about that." She looked at her friend. "Those were good times."

"Exasperating times you mean."

"Eh, potato, potAHto."

Silence came between them as they walked. Penny remembered Amy saying that a 'magical' date according to Sheldon was the night they spent five hours together without speaking. Like I even have anything half as interesting to say as Amy. All at once she felt self-conscious; she'd attained her goal of finding the physicist but now she was unsure what to do except keep walking. There wasn't anything around with which she could build a walkway across the crag much less find a fallen tree. Absolutely useless, Penelope. Here was her friend, stuck here for who knows how long and all she could think of doing was sing songs and—

"I missed you, too," Sheldon said softly.

Penny beamed. "I'm buried in your spot, y'know."

"My spot is at 2311 N. Los Robles Ave apartment 4A. I somehow doubt you're beneath the floorboards," the physicist replied.

"I mean your cushion. It's under my coffin."

"It's only a cushion. Before I had the couch I was perfectly content with a lawn chair," he sniffed.

Penny rolled her eyes. "It's symbolic, Sheldon."

"I see." He licked his lips as he paused. "So you're saying I have to put up with you sitting in my spot for eternity?"

"Queen Penelope—for the win!" the Nebraskan shouted with her arms raised.

In spite of himself Sheldon laughed.

XxX

"—And so anyways the Federation agent turns out to be Khan!" squealed Penny.

"Hardly a secret," Sheldon sniffed. "The internet was swirling in rumors about Khan playing the adversary."

"Only he wasn't the only adversary since—"

"Penny, I don't like spoilers." She rolled her eyes before gesturing to their surroundings.

"And just where are you going to fine a Sheldon-approved movie theater here?"

Sheldon pursed his lips. "Point." He kicked a rock which curved over the edge and into the crag. "Dying sucks."

"Yeah, well, could be worse," Penny said cheerily causing her friend to look up. "Imagine if it was pre-Star Trek Penny: you wouldn't know what happened at all until you met up with Raj."

"If I meet up with Raj."

"When you meet up with Raj," Penny said with a meaningful stare.

The physicist acquiesced with a nod. "So you said there was another villain?"

"The ultimate guy, yup," agreed the Nebraskan. "Anyways it turns out that he's…."

XxX

"I need a break," sighed Penny.

"Penny, it's not like our bodies suffer from fatigue," Sheldon chided lightly.

"Maybe it's not as exciting walking for a zillion miles without an occasional bear claw," she shrugged and proceeded to sit down. "Come have a seat."

Much to her surprise he did although he first swept away any loose debris where he ultimately plunked his keister. Sheldon caught her look.

"Given the lack of proper seating I've sat on the ground several times."

"I guess." Here she smiled. "It's just different having you less 'stiff'." Penny piled her hair on top of her head before lying down. "Leonard always called you 'Pinocchio'."

"Yes, well, I have yet to smoke a cigar or be swallowed by a whale," Sheldon scowled.

"Don't take it personally."

"How am I not supposed to? Pinocchio, while going on to be a beloved Disney character, is ultimately the story of a wooden puppet who became a 'real' boy because he proved himself 'worthy'. I reject the notion of having someone judge me or my actions."

Penny rolled her head to regard her companion. "That's not it. You don't like being called Pinocchio because you always were a real boy. It's just that most people didn't see that—or treat you like that."

"I've always been different," he said slowly. "People have been jealous or fearful of me for as long as I can remember. I was peculiar, not like other children, and so was picked on and ostracized."

"Is that why you came up with the 'homo novus' thing?"

"I am homo no—" He paused. "My advanced IQ and eidetic memory made me a formidable scientist and Star Trek aficionado."

"I wish I could have been good at something like you when I was a kid. I—Ooo! There's a dog!" She pointed to the sky.

"There's only whiteness," Sheldon replied as he looked up.

"Over there. It looks a whiter shade of white."

"Good Lord," he sniffed.

"Get down here and see for yourself," she chided.

"Penny, I hardly think it makes a difference whether I'm sitting or prone."

"What happened to that scientific curiosity thingie?"

With a roll of the eyes Sheldon lay on the ground.

"As I foretold, there's no difference in my perception or a canine in the sky."

"That's because you've got no imagination," Penny mock-huffed.

"You think physics comes from raw intellect alone?" the lanky man said incredulously.

"Okay, I'll bite. So how come you're all imaginative with physics but you can't get sarcasm?"

He shrugged. "A quirk of personality, I suppose. Numbers are what they say they are. If something's wrong it's my fault either in gathering data or calculating my formulas. Perhaps I assume that everything else is straight forward as well."

"But we're not."

"Especially you."

"Yeah, I am pretty special," she said with a pumpkin grin. "You know, I remember this time back in Nebraska when this girl, Sally—she was on the cheerleading team but, really, who was she kidding? It was her mother on the PTA that got her the position.—Anyways, she was all into my brother and…."

Sheldon closed his eyes as he did his best to separate her cadence and tone from her speech. He found that the majority of what Penny said didn't interest him however her enthusiasm was infectious and he found himself quite pleased when he added to her joy.

"…It was so frustrating. I was pretty enough for the Corn Queen's court but not to be the queen. I worked my ass off for the junior rodeo and finished third. It's like I'm made to be not bad but…."

As she continued to talk Sheldon looked at her, the paleness of her skin in this world gave her a delicate quality that was so contrary to her fiery disposition. Her shoulders were strong and she had adequate muscular development in her arms and legs without appearing disproportionate. In fact if memory served him correctly—and it always did—Penny had enough flesh to her to suggest a roundness to her buttocks and then there was the delightfully intriguing mix of firmness and softness as he grasped her right breast—

Penny turned to her friend. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" she said with an amused smirk.

"You didn't know why your father gave the car to your brother even though you did more work around the farm."

"Exactly." She snuggled herself firmly on her back and tucked her arms behind her head. "And even worse he didn't even…."

A frown came to Sheldon's brow as he realized that the scrapes on Penny's body even extended to the underside of her arms. In all her wounds were less violent in coloration than before with some having faded altogether. It still didn't remove his feeling of guilt that she had been injured in the first place.

And yet there was a rush of excitement every time Penny went into action on his behalf whether it was to extricate him from a near-death situation in Halo or else pop off a pair of geologists in paintball.

The moment she kicked Zarnecki in the balls she was larger than life. For all of Sheldon's talk about superheroes or delving into 'Age of Conan' when it came to human interaction—particularly in the form of confronting bullies—he found himself ill-equipped to handle the situation. Not Penny. She turned that car around and retrieved Sheldon's things lickety-split and returned home like she'd done nothing out of the ordinary. All in a day's work. She was a doer, always pushing Sheldon to react whether it was in the form of a glare or else hanging her clothes on a telephone wire.

He remembered the smile on her face as she looked at his whiteboard for the first time and realized that it was one he'd experienced countless times since and had taken for granted. Most people laughed and smiled at him; she smiled for him. He was her 'whackadoodle'. She was his—what? Not a blond monkey.

She was his hero.

And the hero always peeks.

That's why she put up with him no matter how idiosyncratic he got.

She'd seen the real boy.

"…God, I've talked your ear off," Penny said, embarrassed.

"A physical impossibility but your sentiment is noted."

She laughed. "Gee thanks."

"You're welcome, Penny."

"Sarcasm, Shel— Oh! There's a truck!" she said as she pointed to the sky. "Over near the trees to the left. See the wheels?"

"I'll take your word for it," he replied evenly.

"You're not even trying," she mock pouted. "Just put your brain in neutral and go with it."

He regarded the whiteness. "I see an electron configuration for tin."

"Oh yeah, right next to the bunny."

Sheldon opened his mouth to question her knowledge of the atomic structure but stopped himself.

"Yes it is," he said with a slight smile.

Time was meaningless as they lay under the sky talking and laughing and dreaming.

XxX

"You really met Einstein?" Penny gasped.

"And Heisenberg and Oppenheimer and Feynman and—"

"Heisenberg! As if!"

"You have no idea who Heisenberg is, do you?" smirked Sheldon.

"Not a clue," she replied cheerily, kicking a rock as they walked.

"Well, let's just say that I met Schrodinger and Newton."

"Did you tell him about the cookies?"

"Penny, this is one of the preeminent fathers of physics," he tutted.

"That sucks. I would have been pleased as punch to have a cookie named after me."

"I told you before the cookies are named after Newton, Massachusetts."

"Wow you guys must have been a bundle of chuckles in that room," she snickered.

"We were, actually. I'd never had more thrilling and completely satisfying conversations in my life. To delve into the heart of matters without having to explain myself first was exhilarating." Sheldon smiled at the memory. "Feynman and I 'clicked'. Actually we made great strides in refining his path integral formula to calculate pseudoscientific discourse—an insult to pure mathematics but instrumental in providing a means of leaving the room."

"No kidding," Penny said.

"It was all quite fascinating," Sheldon continued in a chipper tone. "First of all Dr. Feynman had mapped out his own interpretation of Schrodinger's Equation and…."

The Nebraskan had no idea what Sheldon was talking about but wouldn't dream of interrupting him. This was the Sheldon Cooper she knew: arrogant in his certainty. While it was annoying when he did this about everyday things she had to admit that it sounded so right when it came to science. Leonard always had to raise his voice to defend his work. Sheldon was a matter of tone and inflection, an insistence he was right like it was the inevitable conclusion. Penny glanced at her friend. He looks so relaxed. Happy.

All at once Sheldon stopped talking.

"What?" asked Penny.

"It occurs to me that this is above your level of comprehension. We should discuss something else."

"Sorry," she said softly.

"It's not your fault. Given your educational background I shouldn't expect you to grasp my work." He raised an eyebrow. "Heisenberg and Schrodinger had difficulties and they're both Nobel Prize laureates."

Penny was silent and Sheldon felt at a loss. He thought changing the subject would rectify the situation as he noted her involvement in the conversation had dwindled to nothing.

"Please talk to me," he said at last.

"I thought you liked silence?" she replied evenly.

"Only when it's companionable. Even I know this is awkward and that's the last thing I want us to be." He turned his head to his friend. "Our relationship has never been about science so I hardly expect us to start now."

Penny shrugged. "But it's such a big part of you. Normally when you're all enthused about something like Star Trek or trains you're like a kid." Here her voice dropped, suddenly shy. "When you babble on about science there's this energy to you, this passion, and in that moment you really are a beautiful mind." She shrugged again. "I just wish I could share it with you."

"Do what I do when you gush with emotion over things I find baffling."

"What's that?"

"Share a mutual satisfaction in your joy. You're happy. I can't tell you why you should be but I recognize that you are and in that I find myself content."

Penny laughed. "I thought I was annoying?"

Sheldon sighed. "Penny, I find everyone 'annoying' to one degree or another. You, at times, happen to be refreshing."

Now the Nebraskan was really amused. "I'll have to remember that the next time you say I'm 'exasperating'," she said using her fingers as air quotes.

"It's alright," he said with a twinkle to his eyes. "I've learned to put up with most of your idiosyncrasies."

"Mine? Hello, Mr. I-Label- Days-Of-The-Week-In- My-Underwear!"

His mouth dropped. "You shouldn't have been in my dresser!"

"Someone had to clean it out." Suddenly she understood. "I threw your magazine in the trash long before anyone got home. No one saw it," she assured him.

"I've always tried to be discreet." Sheldon chuckled after a moment. "Thank goodness my mother didn't see it. I already 'creeped the bejeezus' out of her as it was so I doubt she needed to see She-Hulk in a thong bikini."

"Yeah she really had a killer body."

"You make it sound as if yours is not attractive."

"Eh, I tried but I could never get the rock-hard abs I wanted no matter how many crunches I did or miles I ran." She snorted. "You'd think since I'm now young and in heaven that I would have lost that final three pounds I'd been trying to get rid of forever. Ah well, what's Penny without a few flaws?" She noted Sheldon's frown. "What?"

"Why did you put yourself down?" Sheldon asked seriously. "I made an observation, perhaps a tad biased, but sincere nonetheless."

Penny took a moment to think. "I don't as much as I used to," she began slowly. "God, I was a neurotic mess when I was with you guys. Not that I'm saying you brought me down. It's just that everything wasn't working out the way I wanted it to so I began to avoid life. I quit doing what I liked and hung out with you guys." She immediately clamped her mouth shut as Sheldon turned his gaze to the sky. "I'm not saying I didn't like hanging out with you it's just that I used to have my other friends over for football games and I'd—"

"—Go to the beach and rollerblade and karaoke, yes I'm aware."

"All I ever seemed to do was drink, watch movies or screw." She smiled grimly. "Not exactly a 'relationship of the mind'."

"I'll admit to watching movies—although there are several I'd give my eye teeth to forget—and I've imbibed alcohol—taking note of the fact that it's only been in your presence—but we've never engaged in coitus."

"Talk about a miracle. On my part, sweetie. I mean that I practically screwed everyone but Howard and—"

"Me. I see," he said stiffly.

"Ugh. Sheldon, I'm not saying you aren't attractive. I just mean that I made all my relationships about sex—except for you and Howard—and Howard is out completely for the creepy factor."

He turned to her, genuinely surprised. "You think I'm attractive?"

"Well, yeah," she said, now embarrassed. "I mean you are less, uh, filled out than I usually go for—"

"I.E. I lack defined muscles." Pause. "Leonard, from a body mass index perspective, is physically worse off than I am and yet you involved yourself with him."

"Hel-lo, you're the smart one in this relationship," Penny chuckled. "You always said that Leonard and I's relationship was doomed."

"It was obvious you were both in denial," the physicist sniffed. "I have no idea why you married him."

"I didn't."

Sheldon's heart seemingly skipped a beat.

"I see," he said as evenly as possible.

"It was a big ol' mess. Leonard proposed and I stupidly accepted and we were supposed to go to Boston and then I—" Penny shook her head.

"Then you?"

"I couldn't do it. I had a career in California." Here she straightened up. "Hem, hem, an executive assistant who later became office manager."

"Excellent," Sheldon said approvingly.

"But it was more than the career. I realized that I'd changed over the years and not for the better. I lost who I was." Penny smirked at her friend. "Leonard was the wrong kind of inertia." Sheldon nodded, obviously pleased. "You did so much for me and I never had the chance to say thank you."

"Believe me you more than made up for it by keeping me company albeit unbeknownst to you. You were my link to the physical world and whenever I sat in my spot in your imaginary apartment 4A it allowed me some measure of comfort."

"Me casa es su casa." Sheldon raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You know Latin?"

"I'm a bundle of surprises, bub," she said with a wink. Her bit part in 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' came with complimentary Latin phrases to learn.

"I must say I'm impressed."

"That's 'cause you impress easily."

Sheldon snorted. "Oh yes, muh down home folksy nature makes me susceptible tuh yuhr big city sophistication." Penny laughed.

"God, I don't know if anyone's ever told you but when you go all Texan you're majorly sexy."

"I always thought I sounded unsophisticated." He turned to his companion. "You never mentioned I was, at any point, 'sexy'."

Inquisitive blue eyes staring at her from the hall before shyly looking away. "Maybe it was a bad case of denial," she said thoughtfully.

"About what?"

Penny tried to read her friend's face: he was curious but that was all. "Nothing I guess."

Silence.

As they walked Sheldon kept stealing little side glances at Penny. She wore the same attire as she had the first time he ever saw her. Who knew how transformative a simple 'Hi' would be to his life? Blunt cut hair and green eyes. How a farm girl from Nebraska overwhelmed a man with multiple doctorates. Singing 'Soft Kitty'. Snuck by his defenses until she'd become—what? His jaw tightened. Perhaps it wasn't a question of 'what' but 'how' to say what he felt because at this moment he—

"What were you going to say to Amy?" Penny asked.

Sheldon blinked. "About what?"

"She said you emailed her the night before your accident. That you were bringing the relationship to the next level since you kissed and stuff."

"That kiss was a catalyst but not for progression," he assured her. "I was going to terminate the Relationship Agreement and hope that Amy would reinstate our friendship."

Penny was stunned. "Wow. Ames sure got that wrong." She eyed her friend. "So why did you kiss her?"

"Social protocol. Amy said it was required and so I complied." He pursed his lips. "It was unsatisfactory."

"But she's kissed you before, why the turnoff now?"

"Our previous encounters were by happenstance. This was planned and I didn't like that I wasn't consulted. I was fine with the way things were."

The Nebraskan rolled her eyes. "You were too fine, Sheldon. If you had it your way you'd never move and that's not healthy."

"No, what's 'not healthy' is being forced to move in a direction I don't wish to go," Sheldon scowled. "I've always had difficulties with contact and I didn't appreciate the pressure placed upon me to 'perform'. I'm not a trained seal."

"You hugged me," she said simply. Sheldon looked away. "You helped me get dressed and we were all sweat bunnies when we hunkered in that hole at the paintball field and—"

"That was different. You didn't have expectations for me."

"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "I had tons of expectations: I expected you to get your ass in gear and get me to the hospital; I expected you to suck it up and take my damn Christmas present; I expected you to keep hidden so you didn't give away our position." A little smile crossed her face. "The only one that slipped by me was when you hugged me in the laundry room. Didn't expect that one."

"And I paid for it," he grunted.

"Hey, as a bright side we got to spend Valentines Day together."

"Point."

"Like you said to Meemaw: good couples bring out the best in each other."

Sheldon snorted. "We were hardly a 'couple'. You were dating Leonard at the time."

They walked in silence.

"As I recall you're the one who 'liked me' first as I hadn't even realized we'd shifted paradigms from 'neighbors' to 'friends'," Sheldon said nonchalantly.

"Yeah but Meemaw said you moved mountains to accommodate me into your life," Penny teased.

Sheldon stopped in his tracks.

"She told you that?" he sputtered.

"Not told me told me," she said in a placating tone. "She sent me some of your letters and—"

"You read my letters?!"

"Just a few. Nothing about the Caramilk secret I swear." She took in his unimpressed stare. "Sheldon, it wasn't that bad."

"They weren't for you." He squared his jaw. "Obviously I'll have to have a word with Meemaw."

"If it helps she was already dead. She put the letters aside for me in the estate." Penny smiled warmly. "It was so cool reading things we did from your perspective: me driving you crazy; you trying to figure out if you liked me or not." The physicist stared straight ahead. "Sheldon, it's okay that you like me. I like you, too."

He turned his gaze to his companion; there was no other way to describe Penny. Granted when he first encountered his Nebraskan neighbor she was a conundrum. Then she became tolerable and ultimately integral to his routine and overall sense of wellbeing. Now after spending a lifetime with Penny aiding her as best he could given the limited nature of the mirror Sheldon knew that their moments were intimate even if unbeknownst to her. He'd come to appreciate Penny in new ways; surprising ways, really, as quirks he would traditionally see as annoying like her penchant for sarcasm and endless prattle were a source of both amusement and comfort. She was zest and life and he knew that somewhere between the dreamscape and the endless miles they'd traversed along this infernal crevice a paradigm had been altered.

"You do?" he said happily.

"Sure sweetie. Actually It was nice to read the letters because over the last couple of years we kind of lost touch and I thought maybe you didn't want to be friends anymore and—"

Sheldon's face fell and he needed a moment to compose himself and so started walking at a fast clip.

"What? Sheldon, what's wrong?" Penny tried to bolster her voice even as she sped to catch up.

"I don't want to talk about it," Sheldon seethed and increased his pace.

"Sheldon, I—"

"Leave me alone!" He jogged ahead about twenty feet and kept walking.

Penny didn't catch up. She was too busy trying to get the foot out of her mouth although she had no idea why it was there. Why was Sheldon surprised that she liked him? They'd been great friends for three years before Amy came into the picture. She frowned. He was treating his friendship with Penny like it was something taboo. Why's it so bad being friends now? She stared at Sheldon's form as he walked. By her own clock Sheldon had been dead fifty eight years. He could have stayed with the other scientists or else went looking for his Meemaw but instead he spent his days with her. Watching. Did he know that she wore his t-shirts to bed? That she visited Mary and family every summer? She kept his couch and even plopped her coffin in his spot. The question was why.

In all she'd known Sheldon Cooper nearly six years—a drop in the bucket given her eighty four year lifespan—and yet in that time she'd had so many new experiences from Star Trek Shakespeare to Halo night. Singing 'Soft Kitty' to nearly wringing his neck when he strung her clothes on the telephone wire.

The arguments. The constant password changes to the wifi. His gibber jabbering. Sheldon was the most frustrating man she'd ever met and yet when it came down to it he was always there for her.

Lost in blue eyes. 'I want you to stay.'

And she did. Without hesitation. No thoughts of Leonard or Amy.

Only the man who demanded she be nothing less than Penelope.

Penny's eyes burned as she stopped in her tracks.

Sheldon wasn't disputing their relationship.

'Being friends' just didn't cover it.

xTBBTx

Rent musical song: 'Out Tonight'