Time to reveal the ring!

Chapter 38

I could not understand why Penny believed there was something extraordinary in assisting my siblings. As a man of logic and intelligence, it was my duty to advise my brother and sister on how to improve their lives. And if that advice also required my intervention to be implemented, that would also be my duty.

The unfortunate part is that many choose not to heed my advice, so much the worse for them. The world would be a much better place if all followed my lead.

But I digress.

However, I was interested in impressing Penny. Despite the fact that she had accepted my proposal, there was still the chance that she would become disillusioned with me and decide that marriage was not a viable option.

I had found in myself an unalterable need to have her in my life. If I lost her, I was not sure I could continue with my normal routine, as she had become an intrinsic part of it.

(from the personal journal of Sheldon Cooper, PhD)

Later that evening the family gathered for a welcome home dinner for Mary. They planned a large party for the weekend that would encompass the extended family and friends, but that night was just for Mary and her immediate family. Missy invited Gary (the physical therapist) to join them, but he had to work. They had a good dinner, even though they didn't let Mary cook, Meemaw made the fried chicken and potato salad and Sheldon was in heaven.

After they finished dinner, they all went to the front porch to have dessert. Little Billy sat on his mother's lap and ate cake and ice cream. George sat beside his wife with his arm draped casually over her shoulder. He looked like a man who was lucky to have been given a second chance. Mary was seated with lots of pillows around her and a tea tray to hold her beverage and dessert since she was still a bit wobbly. Meemaw was on the rocker, with Sheldon and Penny on the loveseat beside her. Missy sat on the top step.

As everyone finished eating, Sheldon rose cautiously and cleared his throat. "May I have everyone's attention?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at him curiously. Penny licked her lip nervously. She saw the slight pink in his cheeks and knew what he was going to say.

"Thank you. As you know, we have gathered here to celebrate my mother's homecoming and relative return of her good health. And since the immediate family is here, I thought this would be an ideal time to make an announcement."

He hesitated and swallowed hard, growing a little pinker. "A few weeks ago, the lovely woman who sits beside me agreed, albeit belatedly, to become my wife."

He had to pause as everyone immediately started talking excitedly. Missy jumped up to hug Penny. Sheldon held up his hand and waited again until they once again were silent.

"At the time that it was decided, I had not the opportunity to procure a symbolic representation of our engagement. I have since rectified that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box. He went down on one knee, opened the box and presented it to Penny.

"I am asking this again, officially. Penny, will you marry me?"

"Oh, of course I will!" she said, then looked at the ring. "Oh, my God! Sheldon, it's beautiful!"

Missy, sitting beside Penny, peered at it. "Wow, it is. Shelly, did you pick that out?"

"Yes, of course I did."

"What kind of stone is that?" his sister asked, as she watched him slip it onto Penny's finger.

"It's an emerald."

"Why didn't you get her a diamond?"

"I selected an emerald because that stone is green, just like Penny's eyes."

There was an audible 'awww' from the women.

"And what's the ring made of?" Missy queried.

"It's rose gold, which has a slight copper hue. Copper …for Penny." His cheeks were visibly red now, as he avoided looking at anyone.

The women gave another "awww" and George rolled his eyes. Penny couldn't speak as tears were rolling down her face. She jumped into Sheldon's arms and almost knocked him over in her effort to kiss him.

George just shook his head. "Figures. My brother waits all this time for a girl and not only gets a knockout, he shows us all up with the romantic stuff."

Beside him, Cheryl linked her arm with his. "You giving up drinking and taking care of your family is the most romantic thing I can think of. I don't need fancy jewelry, I just need a man I can count on."

He smiled at her and kissed her.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for the party. Mary was not permitted to stand, so she sat at the table and decorated cupcakes and cookies. Meemaw and Missy did most of the cooking, although relatives and friends were all bringing food as well. Penny wasn't much of a cook, but she positioned herself in the kitchen to wash pots and pans as they finished with them. George was enlisted to set up tables and chairs outside.

After Sheldon had annoyed everyone with his comments and 'helpful' advice (sarcasm noted by all except him), they put him to work cleaning the rest of the house. Note: the rooms that the women were NOT working in.

"I swear, Penny, I don't know how you handle my brother." Missy told her.

"Yeah, he can get a little annoying."

"A little annoying?"

Penny laughed. "Okay, a lot. But that's what makes him…him." She shrugged. "And I love the guy with all the crazy included."

The three women looked at her and smiled.

"Darlin'," Mary said, "You don't know how happy I am that Shelly found someone like you to take care of him. Amy was a nice girl. But she never would have kept him grounded like you can."

Meemaw gave her a quick hug. "We're all happy. And we know you're gonna make him happy. That's the most important thing."

Penny could feel more tears coming. Sheldon's family was so great to her.

On the day of the big party, Penny selected a sunshine yellow sundress that fell to just above the swell of her breasts. It was trimmed in bright blue and she placed a Penny Blossom of the same blue in her hair. And she made Sheldon wear his 'club' outfit. The blue shirt matched the flower in her hair and that color made his eyes shine.

Missy whistled when she saw him9 "Who knew Shelly would clean up so good?"

Penny shouldn't have been surprised at the number of people that filled the house and yard. She grew up in a farm town and knew how close and friendly people could be in those small towns. There were relatives from both sides of Sheldon's family roaming about and friends from the town and Mary's church as well. She was introduced to what seemed like a million people and couldn't remember any of their names or who was who.

So she just grabbed a soda and wandered around, smiling at everyone.

She was surveying the scene when she heard voices behind her saying, "Whoa, baby!"

She turned around and saw two men. They were in their thirties, with dark hair and their resemblance to each other told her that they were related, maybe even brothers. And the very slight resemblance to Sheldon and his brother told her that they were probably related to her fiancé.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"I don't know where you came from, darlin', but I am glad that you did."

"Now, bro, I saw her first."

"No way! I saw her from across the yard!"

They started to argue with each other and she started to slip away, but one of them noticed and grabbed her arm. "Hey, where you goin'? We're just getting to know you. What's your name, darlin'?

She moved so that she was no longer in his grasp. "I'm Penny. I'm with Sheldon, actually…"

They both burst out laughing. "Sheldon? Ain't no way that Shelly brought a doll like you here."

"Yeah, that's the funniest thing I ever heard! Sheldon!"

Her eyes narrowed, as she realized these two were probably part of the reason that Sheldon's childhood had been tortuous.

"And who would you be?" she asked them.

"I'm Ralph and this is my brother Fred."

"We're Sheldon's cousins. Our daddies were brothers."

"And you're about the prettiest little thing we've seen in a long time, ain't that right, Fred?"

"It sure is. Why don't the three of us go find us someplace that's more fun?" Ralph said, putting his arm around Penny.

She shrugged him off and said, "I just told you, I'm here with Sheldon."

Ralph's eyes widened. "Whoa, Shelly must be making a lot of money to get a babe like you."

Her anger boiled and she was ready to show her Nebraska roots to these clowns. "And what is it the two of you do?"

"Well, I'm a roofer." Ralph said.

"And I'm an automobile technician." Fred added.

"No, you're not! You work at the filling station." His brother said.

"Well, sometimes I change the tires and check the oil."

"That don't make you no technician!"

"Yes, it—"

Penny cut him off. "Sheldon is a world famous scientist who will change the world someday. You two are losers that have the nerve to accuse me of being a golddigger and imply that the only way Sheldon could get a woman would be to buy one. Let me tell you, Sheldon Cooper is not only the smartest man on earth, he is the kindest and the sweetest and the best person I know. "

They laughed and tried again to pull her with them, until she heard someone cough behind her and turned to see the man in question standing there. His face was unreadable, but his blue eyes were shining.

"I see you have become acquainted with my cousins." Sheldon said. "The two of you will please remove your unquestionably germ-ridden hands from my future wife's body."

"Your what?" Ralph asked.

"My future wife."

"Hey, Shelly, good going! She's a hot piece of ass." Fred told him.

Penny saw Sheldon's lips constrict in a way that told her he was very angry. When he finally spoke, his voice was deep and dark. "You will unhand her and you will apologize for speaking of her in that manner."

"Yeah, right, what are you gonna do about it? Hey, Ralph, remember how you, me and George would beat the shit out of Shelly?"

"Yep, those were the days." His brother said.

"I'm not twelve years old any longer." Sheldon said.

"And he's not on his own anymore," said a voice from behind them. Penny and Sheldon turned to see George standing there.

"Come on, George, you used to have as much fun with him as we did."

"You're right, I did. But I was a jerk back then. Shelly's my brother and it's my job to stand by him. It shoulda been my job then to do that, but I didn't know any better. Now I do. And I know my little brother is a good man. So, unless the two of you think you can take Sheldon and me—"

"And me!" Penny chimed in, glaring at Sheldon's cousins. George smiled at her, Sheldon just shook his head.

"Okay, unless you can take the three of us, I think you'd better head on home."

They looked at George and Sheldon, then at Penny and with a glance at each other, they nodded and took off.

Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief. While he appreciated his brother and Penny's support and realizing that he had to stand his ground against those bullies, he did not hold out much hope of success against them.

"Thank you, George." He told his brother.

"No, you got no reason to thank me. It's what I shoulda done a long time ago. Can you forgive me for that?"

"You're my brother. Of course I forgive you."

George nodded, then walked off to join his family. Sheldon stared after him for a few moments, then turned to Penny.

"I trust you are not suffering any ill effects from your encounter with those Neanderthals."

"I'm fine, sweetie. I just can't believe you're actually related to them."

"Nor can I. It was quite the mystery to me as I grew up." He stared at her, then said, "Penny, were you sincere in the words you expressed about me to them?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't you think I was?"

"I have just never heard anyone, well, about my intelligence, yes, of course, but you said that I was kind and sweet and…"

"You are. You are everything I said and more. Why do you think I love you so much?"

He shrugged, but she could see his blue eyes shining, as he began to comprehend how much she truly loved him.

"And I didn't even get a chance to tell them what a great lover you are."

"Penny!"

She giggled and pulled him down for a kiss. "You know, Missy said we could use her apartment."

"Use it for what?"

"For some you and me time." She waggled her eyebrows to illustrate her point.

"Oh! I don't know, Penny, Missy has never been a very good housekeeper and…"

"She told me she changed the sheets. It'll be fine. Unless you'd rather stay here and talk with all of your relatives?"

He glanced around the yard, then back to her. "Let's go."

Penny got the keys and address from Missy and borrowed her car. Sheldon directed her to the duplex where his sister rented half of the first floor. It was small, but very cute and decorated in an easy style.

Sheldon immediately inspected the tables for dust and the kitchen for dirty dishes, but Missy had left it clean. Penny grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bedroom.

She pulled back the quilt and said, "See? Nice, fresh sheets."

"Hummph." He said, then walked into the bathroom to check the conditions there. As he started out, he said, "I would prefer to scrub this tub and toilet myself before we embark…"

He stopped because lying across the bed was his fiancé in her underwear, which consisted of a pair of pink lace panties and matching bra.

He swallowed hard as he looked at her.

She smiled. "Come here, sweetie. We haven't had a chance to consummate our engagement."

"Penny, one consummates a marriage, not an engagement. And even if one did, we have engaged in intercourse since you accepted my proposal."

"But not since our OFFICIAL engagement." She waved her hand with her ring at him. "So, come over here so that I can ravish you."

He was going to correct her, but his libido stopped him from talking and he went to her and pulled her up into his arms, kissing her with passion.

In a low voice, he said, "Thank you for defending me."

"Always, sweetie, always."

Okay, I want to give you my philosophy about something that I saw in a response to a comment I left: Someone said why didn't the writers see the chemistry between Sheldon and Penny. First of all, I don't think they intended their be that kind of chemistry between them. I think they just wanted a friendly adversorial relationship. I believe it was the actors that made it something else with the way they are together. Next point: Do I think Sheldon and Penny belong together? Hell yes! Do I want the writers to put them together now? Hell no! Not until the last few episodes of the final season of the show. If you want to know why, I can only refer you to my House fandom. To those fans, I need only say two words: Season 7. If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky. And let's keep the sexual chemistry going on as long as we can between these two unless you want to see the series end.

Okay, done with my ranting. Thanks for all of your reviews and support!