I couldn't resist bringing in the Cooper women. :)


The next morning, Penny was just stepping out of her apartment to go do laundry when Sheldon stepped into the hall, looking nervous. After a moment she put down her basket by the door and silently wrapped her arms around his waist. Sheldon relaxed and hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Penny sighed and pulled back. "It hurts that you aren't willing to go to bat for us with your family, Sheldon. I don't know where we go with that."

Sheldon took her hand in his and drew her into his apartment. He stood silently by the door and watched her hopefully. "With my mother visiting, I took the day off. I did some redecorating, too. What do you think?"

Penny looked at him questioningly and he just looked toward the bookshelf. She followed his gaze and her heart began to beat faster. She walked around the couch slowly and reached out to trace a finger along the bottom of a new picture frame. Encased inside was a photo of her from the Sin City booth. She turned and looked around the apartment carefully. She spotted another picture on the desk. She walked over and picked it up. It was the two of them on the condo terrace. She knew it was one Anne had snapped with her phone. They were smiling widely, arms wrapped around each other. There was a third one on the fridge, held in place by a Penny Blossom with a magnetic back. In this one, she was asleep, curled up by Sheldon's side, while he and played Warlords of Ka'A with Wil and Howard. A fourth, them at Disneyland, graced the end-table by his spot.

Penny turned around to look at Sheldon. "What is this?" she asked carefully.

Sheldon walked over to her. "This is me going to bat for us," he said timidly. "When my Mom arrives, I want her to see you everywhere she looks. I want her to know how big a part of my life you are. This is me, trying to prove to you, Leonard, my Mom, to everyone that you are the most important person in my world."

Sheldon placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. "I love you, Penny. I am not ashamed of you. I am just worried that my Mom will not see how special you are."

Penny smiled slowly and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. Sheldon's arms went around her back and he picked her off her feet for a deeper kiss.

"Well now. This is certainly not the greeting I was expecting, but it is definitely one that interests me."

Sheldon spun to face the visitors. He gasped and almost dropped Penny on her butt. Luckily Penny caught the edge of the table and stayed upright. She watched Sheldon rush across the room to pull the woman in the middle into his arms.

"Meemaw!"

Penny quickly recovered and walked over to hold out her hand to Mary. "Hello, Mrs. Cooper. It's a pleasure to see you again. Hello, Missy. Welcome back to Pasadena."

Mary and Missy looked at her curiously. "Hello, dear," Mary said calmly.

Missy smiled slightly. "Howdy. I hope this isn't too personal, but why did my brother have his tongue in your mouth?"

Penny blushed bright red and bit her bottom lip. Sheldon slipped an arm around her waist. "Because Penny is my girlfriend," he said casually. "Penny, this is Catherine Lee Cooper, my Meemaw."

Penny held out a hand and studied the older woman carefully. Mrs. Lee was slim, medium height, with small round glasses that made her bright blue eyes seem like jewels. She was wearing a soft yellow sweater over a pale blue dress. "Hello, Ms. Cooper. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Meemaw gave her a small smile, shook her hand and turned back to Sheldon. "Moon Pie, according to your letters, your girlfriend's name is Amy. I thought this young woman was your roommate's girlfriend."

Sheldon nodded and drew Penny over to the couch. He sat in his spot and pulled Penny down beside him. Mary, Missy and Meemaw settled around them. "That was true up until recently. Penny ended her relationship with Leonard six months ago. I ended mine with Amy five weeks ago. Penny and I entered into a relationship together 9 days ago."

"Five weeks ago?" Mary asked. "Why are we just learning about this?"

Sheldon looked at Penny worriedly. "That is my fault," he said timidly. "I should have told you about us but I have been worried. I know how much you like Amy, Mom, and I fear you might not approve of the change in my social life."

"Moon Pie, I have to admit, I'm a bit concerned that you are keeping secrets from family," Meemaw said. "That's not like you. You usually tell me everything."

Sheldon blushed and looked at Penny. "Not everything, Meemaw. Or else you would know that I have been in love with Penny for quite a long time. Years, in fact."

Penny couldn't stop the slow smile that spread across her face, not that she tried very hard. She laid her head on his shoulder and looked at Sheldon's family. "I know you are all surprised by this, but Sheldon wasn't trying to upset anyone. I'm sure he would have told you all soon."

The front door opened and Leonard and Amy walked into the apartment. They grinned when they saw not just Mary Cooper, but the other women as well. "Hi, Ms. Cooper," Leonard said cheerfully. "Hello, Missy!"

Amy smiled and nodded to the women. "Mrs. Cooper, it is a pleasure to see you again."

Mary smiled and stood up to hug Amy. "Hello, dear. Let me introduce you around. This is my daughter Missy, and my mother-in-law, Meemaw. Meemaw, Missy, this is Shelly's girlfriend, Amy."

"Ex," Sheldon said loudly. His cheeks become flushed as everyone looked at him, except Penny (who was studying Amy with a closed off expression). He cleared his throat nervously. "Amy and I are no longer in a romantic relationship," he reminded them all. "Penny is my girlfriend."

Amy's eyes flashed angrily for a moment before she managed to smile calmly. "Yes, Sheldon broke up with me for Penny weeks ago. There have been a lot of changes lately because of that. I don't see much of Sheldon anymore, even though we were supposed to remain friends, but I understand. He really likes Penny."

Leonard nodded with a smirk. "He's even shared a bedroom with her, so it must be love."

Meemaw, Mary and Missy spun to look at Sheldon with shock. He turned red and tried to think of something, anything, to say. Leonard and Amy smiled smugly to one another. Penny calmly stood and walked around the coffee table. Before anyone could make a move to stop her, she reared back and slapped Amy hard enough to send the brunette's purse flying across the room. Then she quickly turned and punched Leonard, breaking his nose.

Penny turned and looked at the astounded Cooper clan. "Normally I would say it's none of anyone else's business, but the last thing I want is Sheldon upset. We shared a room. That's it. A few kisses and some hand holding is the extent of our physical relationship."

Leonard quit his moaning from his position on the floor long enough to glare at her. "I don' beweive it! You nevah go wif'out sexth!"

Sheldon stood quickly and moved to stand in front of Penny. "That's it!" he growled. "I want you out, Leonard. I am no longer willing to put up with your snide remarks, your crude insults and your vile attitude toward my girlfriend."

Leonard jumped to his feet angrily. "You can' do tha'! I get twirty days!"

Sheldon nodded once. "Yes, you do. And not a minute more!" He grabbed Penny's hand and stormed out of the apartment. In the space of two breaths, he was in Penny's apartment, the door closed, and his arms wrapped around her tight.

After a few minutes Penny drew back from him and looked up at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Sheldon looked surprised. "You know, I do believe I am. I feel like I do when I solve an equation. I am relieved. Peaceful, even."

Penny smiled up at him just as the door opened behind them. They both turned to find Sheldon's family watching them. "If you're gonna kiss, could ya wait until I close my eyes. I really don't wanna see Shelly with his tongue in your mouth again," Missy said with a grin.

Sheldon turned bright red and Penny rolled her eyes. "We aren't going to kiss," Penny assured her.

"We aren't?" Sheldon asked gloomily.

Penny shook her head with amusement and moved away from him. "I am sorry about what happened across the hall. You see, Amy and Leonard have not been very happy about Sheldon and I."

Meemaw settled on Penny's couch and nodded. "Apparently not. If it's not too much of an invasion, would you care to explain exactly how all this happened?"

Penny took a deep breath and nodded once to herself. "I broke up with Leonard 6 months ago because we were not good together. I was very unhappy, and depressed. After a few months, we tried to renew our friendship, but Leonard was just biding his time, sure we would get back together. A couple of months ago, Sheldon began to have feelings for me…"

"Actually, I already had these feelings. I just did not realize it was love until recently. I have felt like this about Penny for a very long time," he interrupted.

She gave him a soft smile and turned back to Meemaw. "Well, Sheldon broke up with Amy, because he felt like it was wrong to date someone when he loved me. Then he told me how he felt. Last week, we agreed to date each other."

"Why did you wait so long to begin dating?" Mary asked.

"Because of me," Penny said. "I've been making a lot of changes. My job, my friendships, my life in general. I didn't want to hurt him, so I made us both wait until I was more settled."

Sheldon placed an arm around Penny's waist. "I am glad she did. Because the time we waited only reinforced my certainty that Penny is the woman for me."

Meemaw suddenly smiled. "Moon Pie, I've never heard you sound so content. You seem very sure that this is the right thing for the both of you. Now, I am an old woman. I tire very easily. So, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to go to the hotel and check in. Then we can get some lunch."

"You aren't staying with me?" Sheldon asked with surprise.

Mary shook her head. "I was going to, but then Meemaw and Missy decided to surprise you. We booked a room at the Westin hotel. So, we'll go check in and then eat."

Penny bit her bottom lip. "I would love to, but I can't. I have to do my laundry, and finish my term paper. I have to submit it today and I haven't finished double checking it."

"Surely that can wait a few hours," Mary said with a frown.

Penny looked indecisive, so Sheldon spoke up. "No. Penny is right. She has worked very hard on these papers and she has to finish them. We will have lunch together, Mom, and then when Penny is finished, she can join us for dinner, tonight."

Mary still looked a bit upset but Meemaw nodded quickly. "That sounds like a wonderful plan. Lunch with my family and dinner with Penny, who I am looking forward to getting to know. Excellent."

A few minutes later, Sheldon escorted his family out of the apartment. Penny leaned against her door and sighed deeply. She had known dating Sheldon would be an adventure. She never suspected it would be a roller coaster.