If you get a reviewer who blasts your story for the pairing, take heart. You struck a nerve with someone, and however much they may deny it, they know deep down that your story is plausible. And it burns them up.

I don't own the Big Bang Theory.

No one told Stuart they spiked the punch. Since Stuart didn't know, neither did anyone else except the perpetrator, who was long gone, after getting a call from his parents to come home because he was past his curfew. Sheldon, meanwhile, was on his seventh cup. He was finding the drink refreshingly tasty. And it helped with the dry mouth he had every time he caught sight of Penny in that cop costume.

He looked around the room and spotted Amy talking to Raj. Her Raggedy Ann costume clashed with Raj's Indiana Jones look. Leonard was missing, but Penny was speaking to Stuart dressed as the Mad Hatter. Sheldon could hear Bernadette and Howard in the back room arguing. He was upset his friends were tired of him talking about space. Bernadette was tired of him pouting. Sheldon was just tired. He grabbed another cup of punch and walked over to speak with Captain Sweatpants.

He buried his nose in her hair and slipped his hands under her shirt. He caressed the soft skin and groaned as her teeth nibbled at his neck. He pressed his erection up against her and was rewarded with a very feminine moan.

He wasn't sure how they got here, or even when, but he didn't care. He was laying on his bed in nothing but his boxers. He kept his eyes tightly shut. He imagined the long hair cascading around him was golden, not dark. The eyes above him were green, and not brown. And the hips he was pressed between were tanned, not pale. He pushed her shirt up and squeezed her breasts gently.

Her lips found his and he gasped. Sheldon may be drunk, wasted even, but he still remembered every pair of lips he had ever kissed. Debbie Brighton in 1st grade, Carol Henney in Germany, Beverly Hofstadter two years ago, and Amy. Sheldon was positive he had never kissed these lips before. His eyes drifted open and he found himself staring into beautiful green orbs.

"Penny?" he whispered cautiously.

She pulled back a couple of inches. ""Do you want to stop?" she asked hesitantly.

Sheldon sobered up immediately. Penny's eyes were clear, her voice not slurred at all. She was completely sober also. She was here, on his bed, with him. And she was looking at him with desire.

It wasn't enough. He had to hear it. "Do you want to do this with me?" he asked softly.

Penny slowly ground her pelvis into his. "Yes, Sheldon. I want this. With you."

He felt as if the universe slipped out of place and went spinning out of control. He pulled her back down and crushed her to him. No one and nothing else mattered. He didn't care about Leonard, or Amy, or his mother's views. All he cared about was Penny. He had wanted her for so long. He had needed her for even longer. He reached down and jerked her tiny skirt up her hips. Her hand slipped inside the opening of his boxers and stroked his length. Sheldon growled and rolled them over and ripped her panties down her legs urgently.

He pushed her hand away and shoved his underwear off. He couldn't have waited for anything. He pressed forward. Her hand guiding him to her entrance. Sheldon slammed into her without delay. He paused to catch his breath. Penny reached up and pulled his mouth to hers. "More, Sheldon," she begged him. He began to move, giving her what they both wanted.

He watched her sleep, curled up on her side. His body was exhausted, and he knew he should sleep. He continued to watch her though. His fingers slid down her arm and over her hip. He traced every line, every curve. He brushed his thumb over the soup tattoo and smiled. Penny purred lightly in her sleep and he grinned.

He knew there would be hell to pay tomorrow. Leonard and Amy were going to be hurt and furious. And rightly so. But in this moment, with Penny laying beside him, he didn't care. Six years worth of desire, denial and love had built up and exploded. He would cherish these few hours with her. He leaned over and kissed her neck tenderly. His hand slipped around to pull her back against him.

When he woke up she was gone and he knew instinctively what that meant. Neither of them ever mentioned that night again. Not when she broke up with Leonard a week later. Not when she moved out of the building the next year. Not on the day he married Amy. Not even when she came to see him receive his Nobel. The closest they came was the night she stood before the huge crowd, holding her SAG award.

"There are many people who helped me along the way. Producers, co-stars, agents, directors. But there is one person who I have to thank. You were my best friend. You pushed me to be better. You encouraged me to follow my dreams. You showed me more love and tenderness in one night than I have ever known in my life. I love you, and I will never forget you."

Sheldon sat at her table in the Shrine Auditorium and listened to Amy, Bernadette, Howard, Raj, Leonard and his fiancée Leslie Winkle speculate about who Penny was talking about. And he knew. He knew that somewhere along the line he had missed a fork in the road. He had chosen the wrong path. One path had led to this life. The other would have led to the Shenny, as he liked to call it in his mind. He hoped that in a different reality he chose the other path. Maybe in a universe where he danced.