So, I've figured it out. There are 6 chapters after this and then an epilogue...we're in the home stretch!

Thank you all for your reviews. You guys are wonderful.

Anybody who has ever gone on a trip with Sheldon Lee Cooper knows that he's a pain in the ass. He meticulously plans everything down to the second. He goes to excruciating lengths to ensure that everything is sterile and meets his extremely high O.C.D. standards. Okay, you know what? I can make this a little shorter.

Sheldon's crazy.

I know this. I accept this…and however much I may want to murder him, I brought this on myself by making myself his girlfriend. So, I really shouldn't be surprised when he lists every single thing we're taking with us to Texas and attaches a corresponding tag to the respective item.

And then, there's the part when it takes twenty minutes to get through airport security because, apparently, Shelly's got a Mexican Peso up his nose from when he was five. What the hell?

So then, we get to our terminal and there's a kid with a cough, which sends MoonPie into nervous conniptions as he mercilessly interrogates the child's poor mother as to where she's seated. Sheldon proceeds to pull out a face mask and put it on while I try to figure out how to melt into the tile on the floor and count down the seconds until I can get me a mini bottle of booze.

I let out a shriek of surprise when I feel something cover my face and realize that Dr. Whack-A-Doodle has now placed a face mask of hypochondria on me.

"Sheldon!" I smack at him, trying unsuccessfully to remove the offending object.

"Penny," his voice is soft, and though I can't see his mouth moving, his eyes are wild with desperation, "children transmit germs faster than any other source of contamination. I'm begging you: unless you wish to spend our trip singing Soft Kitty to me in my childhood bed, I suggest you wear this."

"This is crazy," I bite at him, glaring at him over my paper prison. "You owe me."

"How so?"

"Tonight. Kissing. No shirts," I answer swiftly, looking up as our flight is called and his eyes widen while his face turns that delightful shade of pink I've come to know so well.

"In my mother's house?" He squeaks, voice rising on the last word. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"We could do naked kissing," I suggest casually and hear him gasp; glad he can't see me bite my lower lip in self satisfaction, mentally patting my own back. It's too easy.

"Very well," He concedes quickly, standing as our seats are called. Luckily, the contagious child is at the back of the plane and we're closer to the front, so Sheldon allows me to remove my mask. (And by allows, I mean I tear it off and elbow him in the gut when he tries to stop me.)

After about an hour, I fall asleep with the help of my friend Captain Morgan and wake up three hours later in Houston, Texas. Before we can even make to get up, Sheldon tries to inflict his ridiculous face mask on me and I give him a warning look. Mrs. Cooper is waiting for us at baggage claim, which we (thankfully) don't have to deal with because Sheldon insisted on carry-on only.

"There's my little scientist," Mary grins, pulling Sheldon into a hug and kissing his cheek while he hugs her dutifully, "and his girlfriend."

Oh, here we go.

"Hi, Mrs. Cooper," I smile tiredly, still a little groggy from waking up after my two hour nap.

"You act like this is a new development in my life, Mom," Sheldon scowls, "if you recall, I dated Amy Farrah Fowler for five months."

"Sweetums, that wasn't datin', that was…well, I don't know what that was, but it wasn't datin'," Mary returns dryly, linking her arm through mine.

"We went on dates," Sheldon continues to argue, making me cringe as his mother links her other arm through his.

"Sweetie, just stop," I sigh, shaking my head and suppressing a snort. Because I know the big goof is never going to get it. Hell, if you didn't know us that well, you'd barely know we were dating. We don't do P.D.A.'s. We fight like it's our job. We pretty much do all of the same stuff we used to…with the added bonus of kissing.

It's just in private.

I'm still not too keen on lip locking in front of Leonard with his best friend, and I don't really like the idea of Amy being forced to watch her ex kiss her best friend when she couldn't get shit out of Sheldon for five months.

Jesus, this is still so jacked up.

Mary brings us to a shiny SUV, and I realize that we are going to come face to face with Missy and her fiancé, the possible abuser.

Missy is grinning from ear to ear, and I nearly shriek, because she's chopped her hair all off into a bob that comes to the bottom of her chin. Her beautiful, shining dark hair. Gone. Good Lord, she looks like Sheldon with short hair. And the thing is, even though she still looks gorgeous, she looks wrong. Her smile is too big.

"Hey, Sheldon!" She exclaims in a very excited, if not subdued voice. Cautiously, she moves forward to embrace her brother while he reluctantly hugs her back. I notice her let out a breath that she seemed to be holding and relax into Sheldon's arms for a moment before pulling back to look at him. "You look happy, Shelly."

"Of course I'm happy," Sheldon insists in his usual tone of arrogance (oh, how do I resist him?), "I have been approved for a research trip that will possibly change the course of my career and earn me a Nobel Prize. And…? Guess that's my cue.

"And he's dating an actress," I interject dryly, stepping forward and bumping Sheldon aside so I can hug Missy. This is my own little experiment. I'm gauging her reaction to my touch, and Bingo! She tenses as soon as my hands touch her back and I feel my heart begin to race, quickly pulling away and smiling up into her beautiful face. "Congratulations, Missy."

"It's Melissa now, actually," Missy answers in a quiet voice, though that pseudo smile lingers on her lips. Sheldon's lips.

"Melissa, sweetheart," A smooth tenor voice comes from nearby, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your brother?"

"Of course, Darling," she nods, reaching out to him and I finally turn to look at the infamous Ben. Who is nothing like I expected. I was expecting some tall, muscular guy with maybe a unibrow and a grunt.

Okay, so maybe I was expecting a slightly prehistoric looking Kurt, but this guy is so not. This guy is Brad Pitt. Hell, this guy is an improvement on Brad Pitt and that's saying something. I hated Jennifer Aniston the entire time she was married to him. It wasn't until they were divorced that I realized she's awesome. Now I hate Angelina. Skinny bitch.

"Sheldon, Penny, this is Ben. My fiancé," Ben puts an arm around her and brings her close to him, kissing her cheek tenderly. Well, he certainly doesn't look like the abusive type.

"What an honor to finally meet you, Sheldon," Ben says, holding his hand out for Sheldon to shake, which of course, he doesn't, "Melissa has told me so much about you."

"If she referred to me as a 'rocket scientist,' I can assure you that is a gross understatement," Sheldon mutters, giving his twin a pointed look. Ben chuckles and shakes his head.

"No, she didn't," he replies pleasantly, "she's very proud of you, though. As, I'm sure, is this lovely lady." Oh balls, now he's looking at me. This guy is good, but he's too good. He's bullshitting. I can smell a fake a mile away. I smelled it on Alicia, I smelled it on Priya and I can smell it on Ben.

"Ben, this is Penny, Sheldon's girlfriend," Missy says, gesturing to me. I manage a fake smile of my own.

"Pleasure," Ben answers, charmingly. If I wasn't so used to people lying to my face at pretty much every audition I've ever been to, I probably would have fallen for that. If I hadn't watched Kurt come out of the basement with his friend's wife and tell me that I was overreacting, then I may have believed Ben was a good guy.

But I'm not. And I don't. And I notice the way Missy's summer sky eyes flit between Ben and her brother, almost as if she's praying that neither says anything to set the other off. And I notice the way she kind of carefully carries herself now. The collected, effortless confidence from four years ago is gone and replaced by someone who is timid and tired looking. She moves like she hurts. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but my instincts are screaming at me that I'm not.

Shit.

Mary, Sheldon and I cram into the back seat of the SUV and everyone falls silent, while Ben continues to regale us all with charming tales of how he organized a fundraiser at the church that raised over ten thousand dollars for the homeless. About how he was interviewed on some Christian radio station. About how he saw Missy serving soup to the poor and fell head over heels for her.

Gag me.

And Mary doesn't seem to notice the off putting, overly nice façade he's showing all of us. So, it's up to me, I guess, to sniff the bastard out. Sheldon is brilliant, but he's not really good at judging people. I mean, the guy has a mortal enemies list (that I've been on about four or five times in the past five years). The ride is about an hour long, which is kind of excruciating when Ben turns on some backwoods Christian radio station that's basically spewing out garbage about how gay people are the instruments of the devil and blah, blah, unwed teenage mothers are a sign of the end. Sheldon is barely holding his tongue as it is, I can tell he's literally twitching with the need to ridicule, but I have a death grip on his knee.

"Penny," he whispers to me, "you have to do something."

"Me?" I hiss back through my teeth, plastering on a fake smile.

"I can't take it. I'm being driven to insanity. I feel less intelligent just listening to this."

"Sheldon!" Mary scolds softly, making sure Missy and Ben can't hear us. "Zip it. We're almost home."

"But Mom!" He whines, and I kick his foot in warning, shaking my head slightly.

"You want no shirt and no pants?" I threaten into his ear. He puts on a pout and stares out the window like a forlorn Labrador. I snort, rolling my eyes and looking back at his mother, who is wearing the exact same expression that I am.

It's going to be a long weekend.

When we arrive back at Mrs. Cooper's house, MeeMaw is already there, bustling about the kitchen and making what smells like some kind of cookie. She's exactly the same as she was a couple months ago.

"Shelly!" She cries, moving spryly around the kitchen counter and rushing over to her still grumpy grandson. Yet again, just like the time before, Sheldon's spoiled brat attitude melts completely away and he becomes everyone's favorite six year old.

"MeeMaw, you wouldn't believe the trip we've had," he complains in a voice that makes me cringe when Missy and Ben look questioningly at me. "There was a sick child on the airplane and we were forced to endure a baby crying and coughing and they made us watch a movie called Mr. Popper's Penguins."

"Is he okay?" Missy asks, leaning toward me. Glancing up, I meet her eyes and shrug.

"Oh, yeah. He's just crazy."

"I heard that!" Sheldon's voice interrupts, "And I'm not crazy. Mom had me tested. Tell her, Missy."

"Okay," Missy agrees, turning back toward me. "Shelly's crazy." We both snicker, before she sobers up immediately. "And don't call me Missy, Shelly. It's Melissa."

"Since when?" MeeMaw challenges sweetly, stooping to check the cookies in the oven before she looks at me. "Come here, Penny, so I can give you a kiss." Eagerly, I move toward her and let her pull me into a hug.

"You look adorable! I see y'all been gettin' some sun," She adds, noticing my tan from the fourth of July barbeque that neither of us has recovered from quite yet. It had been a long, uncomfortable evening which had culminated in Raj passed out on the back lawn, and everyone had pretty much left after dinner so that Howard could deal with his brother in private.

"I guess you could say that," I agree, smiling at her as another tall figure enters the room. I have never met him, but I recognize him immediately, because he's Sheldon…kind of. He's an older, rougher, sicker, broken Sheldon.

This must be George.

His skin is pale like his brother's, but his handsome face is slightly bloated (probably from all of the drinking), and the dark circles under his eyes make it seem like he hasn't slept in months, years even. I notice his eyes narrow on his sister and her fiancé for a second before moving to Sheldon.

"Shelly," he says, sounding tired and weak. Not at all like the childish bully I had imagined him to be.

"George," Sheldon acknowledges his brother cautiously, eyeing him with accusing eyes. I watch as Mrs. Cooper eyes her eldest child with a silent look of defeat, obviously waiting for the shoe to drop.

"You look…different," George murmurs, obviously noting the changes in his formerly stick thin little bro.

Remember when Sheldon looked like a praying mantis? Yeah, he doesn't so much anymore.

"I could counter that your look has differed as well, George," Sheldon answers, but it doesn't sound like he's mocking his brother. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would think Sheldon sounded worried. But that's impossible, because that would mean that Spock was showing human emotion and we all know…

Maybe I'm rubbing off on him.

"Yeah," is the only response George gives as Mary ushers us all into the living room. Missy and Ben excuse themselves to go home so that they can get ready for the engagement party tonight.

"Boy, she's acting weird," George mutters when they're gone, glaring at the door that their sister and her fiancé just disappeared through.

"Somethin's not right," MeeMaw agrees, brushing past her daughter and placing a plate of cookies in front of Sheldon and I.

"So, who's your friend, Shelly?" George asks, leaning over and reaching for a cookie.

"This is Penny," Sheldon replies simply, taking a cookie for himself and offering no other information. Leave it to Sheldon to completely ignore the unspoken questions.

"Penny's Shelly's girlfriend," MeeMaw cuts in brightly, seeing the need and patting my hair.

Have I mentioned I adore Sheldon's grandmother?

"Girlfriend?" George brightens slightly and gently taps Sheldon on the arm, "Who woulda thought, eh?"

"Who would have thought what?" Sheldon returns, glancing at me in confusion.

"Ya just…ya never seemed all that interested in girls or…anything," George tells him, taking a bite of his cookie.

"That's because I wasn't," Sheldon retorts quickly, "Up until recently, I saw no need in my life to make provisions to 'date' or to engage in any sort of unnecessary social relationship."

"Sheldon finally hit puberty," I quip, smirking and grinning sweetly at his glare.

"Hmm, yes, Penny has a delightful sense of humor and a charming way of being completely obtuse." I can feel my eyes furrow at his sideways look. "Though, I daresay, her folksy humor and tough exterior do hold a certain corn fed appeal."

"Corn fed?" I ask, wondering if I've just been insulted or complimented…or both?

"Alright, that's enough chit chat boys," Mary says, distracted, "we got a few hours till the party, so we need to get movin' here, kids. Penny, you can get ready up in the guest room. Shelly, why don't you go on to your old room?"

"Mom, what's the deal with Missy's fiancé? He seems as little…what's the word?" George begins and Sheldon gives him a blank look.

"Moronic?" Sheldon offers dryly and I smack him.

"Too good to be true?" I add, feeling MeeMaw's hand on my shoulder.

"I'm with this one, Mary. Somethin' 'bout that boy rubs me the wrong way," she chirps. "Missy hops around him like a chicken with 'er head cut off. Nervous as a whore in church—"

"Momma!" Mary cries as I bite my inner cheek to keep from cracking up.

"I'm just sayin', Darlin', I don't think Ben's as perfect as he's tryin' to make you believe," she finishes, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

"You don't know that—"

"Penny thinks he's abusing her," Sheldon chimes in, making me want to disappear into the floor. I cover my face with my hands as it goes silent. If I could do that mind exploding thing, I totally would do that to MoonPie right now. I am mortified.

"Is that true?" Mary asks in a hushed voice, and I shrug helplessly, giving Sheldon a look that tells him he broke social protocol.

"I…" I begin, swallowing slowly and trying to think of something to say. "I spoke to her on the phone recently and the way she was acting was—" I shake my head, stopping and changing directions, "I was in a slightly abusive relationship for four years. I know the signs and…well, Missy was definitely showing some signs of abuse. She's very nervous, the whole 'Melissa' things, the haircut, and the fact that she's so defensive of Ben…it's almost like she's trying to convince herself."

"I don't think Ben's like that!" Mary insists, "He's such a presence down at the church. People who are so close to Jesus, are—"

"You mean like them priests that rape little boys?" George snips curtly at his mother. "Or daddies that beat their sons?"

"George Cooper!" Mary cries in horror. "After all the sinning you been doin'—"

"Don't even talk to me about sinning, Mom," George thunders back, looking a little bit like he's been slapped. "After the shit I had to deal with as a kid, the least I can do for myself is having some drinks."

"Please stop fighting," Sheldon pleads quietly, making me swallow and look up at MeeMaw, who just shakes her head as if to say 'let them have at it.'

"Do you know what he used to do?" George fires at his mother, "When he got drunk, if you weren't around, he'd look for me and the twins. Half the time he couldn't tell me and Shelly apart, even though there's three years between us. Well, I'll tell you, Mom," George's blue eyes are wild and full of I don't know what. He looks deranged, terrified.

"George, stop," Sheldon begs. I can't help it; I grab his hand to keep him from flailing. This is the thing I never wanted to hear, but I guess I'm going to hear it.

"We had a hiding place up in the crawlspace above my closet," George confesses, "They were so little, especially Shelly. So I made sure they were up there with their toys…or, in Shelly's case, his books and science stuff. But, Daddy would take that old willow switch from above the mantle and—" George cuts off at his mother's choked plea to stop. I'm still holding my breath and gripping Sheldon's hand so hard, I'm surprised I haven't broken any of his bones. "So, don't you ever tell me I'm a sinner! I deserve to enjoy a little sinning. And so do the twins. But let me tell you somethin', Momma," George goes on, sounding fully Texas, "if I find out that that pretty boy piece of religious shit is hurting Missy, I'm going to fucking murder him!"

With that, George storms out of the room and the only sound is the reverberating slam of his bedroom door while the rest of us stand around in stunned silence.

"Shelly, is that true?" Mary asks quietly, holding her temple. Sheldon looks like a deer in the headlights, but he knows he's trapped between me, his grandmother and his mother. Slowly, he nods.

"Yes," he finally says, "everything George admitted was true."

"And you all never thought to tell your Momma?" MeeMaw asks gently, reaching out to smooth Sheldon's hair.

"There was nothing to tell. By the time it had gotten worse, I'd already left for college in Austin," he explains.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper," Mary's voice is slow and determined, "Did your father ever beat you with that willow switch?" I squeeze my eyes closed, unable to watch his face, because I'm too afraid of the answer. But I already know. I've seen the look in his eyes before. So, even though I'm not surprised by his answer, it still kills me.

"Yes."

All three of us let out a collective breath and I open my eyes, staring at Mrs. Cooper, who looks like she's been blindsided.

"And you never told me," Mary goes on. I am floored by how fierce she is, because if that was me…I'd be a sobbing mess.

"I never saw a need," Sheldon replies, sounding calmer than he looks, "the damage had been done."

"It could have been done a lot sooner if I'd known somethin' was goin' on there, Sheldon Cooper," Mary growls at him, looking like she may faint. I leap off the couch and grab her elbow when I see her sway.

"George took a majority of Dad's abuse to spare Missy and myself," Sheldon explains, "though he was not always successful."

"Good God," Mary sighs, leaning into me. I kind of want to shrink into a little ball and sleep for about a year. "No wonder y'all are so screwy."

"I think if we continue to recapitulate the events of the past, then we are no better off. The current predicament that Missy has herself in is the important issue," Sheldon insists, looking more like a thirty-two year old than I've ever seen him look, "the main query we must answer, is whether or not Ben is, in fact, hurting her."

"Sheldon's right," I hear myself say in a scratchy voice, "it doesn't do anyone any good to go flinging hollow accusations. If we're wrong, then Missy's mad and that's no good."

"Say that again," Sheldon says, barely suppressing a minute smirk. I frown at him, agitated.

"I said, it doesn't do any good to—"

"Not that part…the former," he insists, making me look to MeeMaw, who is now sitting in an armchair.

"I said…Sheldon's right?" I answer slowly, before focusing a glower on him. Of course he would want to stroke his inflated ego in the middle of a serious discussion! I let out a growl of frustration, but involuntarily smile a little, knowing he got me. Little shit. "Butthead," I tell him.

"Enough of this heavy talk," MeeMaw says firmly, "these poor kids just flew all the way from California and drove an hour to get here, Mary. Why don't y'all go unpack and maybe rest a little before ya have to get ready for the party?"

I tentatively let go of Mrs. Cooper and nod, gesturing toward the door and stooping to grab my suitcase.

"Shelly, show Penny where the guest bedroom is," Mary instructs her son. I feel him beside me and turn to look as he leads me out of the living room and up the stairs to the guest room. I start to move inside when I feel his hand on my shoulder and pause.

"Penny."

"Sheldon?"

"We need to be ready by five-thirty, so please don't dawdle. Please be prompt and ready. You do have a tendency to take your time with your appearance," he rattles off quickly, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Do you want it to be no shirt and no pants?" I ask, crossing my arms and looking up at him.

"You're impossible," he snaps at me, making me smile.

"I can't be impossible because I exist. Therefore, I'm improbable," I fire back at him in satisfaction. He looks like he might argue with me for a moment, but then it happens.

We both grin.