*Thank you all for continuing along this journey with me! I appreciate each and every one of you. I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long. I sort of got stuck, and it took me a while, but I'm unstuck now! Hopefully this will be worth the wait. As always, I do not own anything of the Big Bang Theory. I also love reviews! Thank you!
*Chapter 10*
Penny followed the directions that Sheldon gave her to get to the Heather House. Missy and Meemaw had dropped them off at a local car rental shop on the way and said they would meet them there. Sheldon picked out a brand-new Chevy Malibu, paid for the week, and spent a bit extra to add her as an additional driver so he wouldn't have to drive. She'd tried to pay for part of the rental, but he refused, and when she argued with him, he gently reminded her that she was doing him a favor by agreeing to drive him around and help with his mother's surprise party. She didn't want to argue with him in public, so she decided to wait until later to give him hell. Penny took a breath to calm herself, and decided some neutral conversation was the way to go.
"Meemaw said the Heather House is on your approved places to stay while in town, do you stay there often?"
"Yes and no. I usually stay with my mother, but if there's other family staying with her, I stay at the Heather House. I have another back up hotel if the Heather House is full, but I've never had to use it. Charlene always finds a way to ensure my room is available when I need it."
"Is Charlene the owner?"
"Yes, she's Meemaw's Goddaughter." He thought for a moment "You know, besides Missy, Charlene is one of the only relatives of our generation that didn't go out of their way to bully me. Missy and Charlene were always close, so I'm sure Missy had a hand in it."
"Oh, so she's your cousin?" Penny was still trying to sort out how everyone was related. She'd discussed some of it with Missy over the last week since many of them would be attending the party this weekend, but it was a large extended family, so it was hard to keep track of who was related to who and how. She wanted the down-low on everyone so she could make sure everything went off without a hitch.
"Not quite, her Meemaw and my Meemaw were best friends, they'd known each other their whole lives. They were born in the same month, and their mothers were friends, so they grew up together like sisters. Charlene's Meemaw -Aunt Sam- used to run the Heather House, but she passed away in 2001. Aunt Kathy -that's Charlene's mother- didn't want to take it on, so Charlene took over." He paused "We were raised as family. As Meemaw likes to say, 'family is who you make of it'."
She took a moment to digest that. Growing up out in the country herself, she understood the sentiment. Hell, if Howard and Bernie ever had kids, she would consider them family, and she would be the best damn aunt. Same went if Raj ever met someone and had kids, and even Leonard for that matter. When it came down to it, her 'boys' as she liked to call them, were her family. She wasn't sure when it happened, but there it was. Penny couldn't control the chuckle that escaped her lips. She didn't want Sheldon to think she was laughing at him, so she rushed to explain.
"You know, it's funny. I never really thought about it before, but I've managed to make my own family with you all. If any of the guys have kids, they'll be my nieces and nephews."
Sheldon pondered her statement. "I suppose you are right. While they are not my brothers, Leonard, Raj, and Howard are my family. I will need to add progeny clauses to our friendship agreements once we return to California."
Penny couldn't help but shake her head and smile. "Wackadoodle."
Sheldon hesitated, but knew it needed to be addressed. "Penny, I hate to mention this so soon after our update to our own agreement, but I feel confident in stating that you would most likely be displeased with me if I didn't consult you before drafting up our own clause. How do you feel about progeny?"
She sputtered "Progeny? As in…." she waved her hand frantically between them "like us? Having kids?"
"Well, children, as 'kids' are goats, and not humans, but yes."
She took a deep breath "Sheldon, sweetie, don't you think it's a bit early to discuss children?"
"No, not at all." He said matter-of-factly "I'm not saying I want progeny right now; I still have a lot to do before I'm ready for that, but we should at least discuss whether or not we want them, and the timeline involved."
She huffed out a breath. "I guess that makes sense. I really haven't given it any thought. I'm still pretty young, and kind of always saw children as some vague possibility out in the future somewhere."
"I can respect that, although a little planning ahead would do you wonders. I find your whimsical way of floating through life to be enchanting, but some structure and order could help you achieve your dreams a bit faster."
She reached over and squeezed his leg and smiled. "Awwww! You find me whimsical?" She quickly pulled her hand away to avoid being subjected to a lecture on driving without both hands on the wheel.
"Well of course I do, why else would I find you so fascinating?"
His disgruntled tone made her giggle. Sheldon was the only one she knew that could make a compliment sound like an insult. "Maybe we can spend a little time thinking about it, and we can discuss it further once we've both had a chance to consider our wants and needs?"
"I agree. How about we take a month to evaluate our respective wishes, and we can confer before drafting a progeny clause."
Penny rolled her eyes and smiled "I think that's a wise idea."
TBBT
"How do you two expect me to wait until Saturday evening to see them?" Mary's frustration easily reached through the speaker on Missy's cell phone.
"Mary, you knew the plan going in. He can't even catch a whiff of our deception, or he'll run for the hills." Connie replied patiently. Sometimes her daughter couldn't see the forest for the trees.
"Missy, I want you to document everything, and snap pictures whenever possible. I want to have record of my Shelly with a girl. A beautiful, sweet girl, that's going to give me beautiful, sweet grandbabies." Mary's dreamy tone had Missy laughing, and Connie rolling her eyes.
"I'll do my best mama, but like Meemaw said, we gotta be sneaky."
"Now you listen up young lady, none of us ever thought we'd see the day where Shelly developed feelings for a girl, and we certainly never thought we'd see the day that those feelings were reciprocated, so I want to plaster my house with those pictures. Make sure you get some good ones." Mary responded in a stern voice.
Missy looked at her Meemaw, and they both shook their heads in amusement. "Yes, ma'am."
"That's better. Now, let's go over the details of this weekend again. I don't want to leave anything to chance."
Connie looked at her granddaughter before smiling a smile as wide as Texas itself "Well now, Mary. I have and ace up my sleeve. I invited Billy Bob…"
TBBT
Amy walked next to Leonard. They had left the hotel and were headed for a day of touring the local historical museums. They were numerous along the main road, so they decided it would be better to walk. It was much chillier in Gettysburg than it was in Pasadena, but they were bundled up and enjoying the nice crisp air.
"I know I've mentioned it before, but this has been lovely trip. Thank you for inviting me along."
Leonard turned to her and smiled "You know what? I'm really glad you came. I don't think I would be enjoying myself half as much without you."
Amy blushed "Flattery is unnecessary, Leonard."
Leonard frowned. He knew she had some self-confidence issues, but he didn't realize they were this deeply rooted. He stopped in his tracks and waited for her to turn towards him. "Amy, it's not flattery. I'm stating a simple fact. If I had come alone, I would still be wallowing in self-pity. Instead, I've spent the last couple of days exploring Gettysburg with you. I'm sincere when I say that I'm glad you came along."
Amy's blush deepened. "Thank you, Leonard."
They both turned and continued walking. They were almost to their destination when something caught Amy's eye. She grabbed Leonard's arm and started pointing frantically. "Leonard, look!"
Leonard looked to where she was pointing and read the sign "Support from the home front, an in-depth look at the importance of quilting during the Civil War." He turned to her "Is that something you'd be interested in?"
"Of course! It puts two of my favorite things together, quilting and history. It says its open all week at the Gettysburg Heritage Center, do you think we could make time to go see it tomorrow?"
Leonard smiled at her enthusiasm. "Why wait? Let's go now!"
Amy hesitated. "But we have a full schedule, if we go, we'll have to bump something else."
He shrugged "So, we bump something else." Leonard said as he grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of the museum.
Amy wasn't used to spontaneity, but she found herself smiling as he led her down the street.
TBBT
Sheldon carefully put away the last article of clothing from his suitcase into the dresser drawer and placed the suitcase in the closet. Charlene had always kept her king suite for him, and it was worth the extra money he paid for it. With a king-sized bed, sitting room with desk, and a full-sized bathroom, Sheldon had everything he needed to be comfortable away from home.
He'd spent the afternoon with Penny, Meemaw, Missy, and Charlene in the parlor discussing the surprise party. Eventually Penny had noticed he was flagging and sent him upstairs to check in with their friends to make sure no one's plans had changed. He'd been grateful for the reprieve and had quickly made his escape. He'd sent off text messages to the group, then began to unpack for the weekend. He was thankful that he'd taken a variety of "star rated" clothing. Since he didn't have enough notice to plan everything out accordingly, he packed for any occasion that might pop up. He picked out a pair of his usual chinos, yellow long sleeve shirt, and his blue "73" tee. He just needed to get out his daily wear pocket watch. He kept a separate small travel case with all his accessories, and when he opened it, he found a small, wrapped object with a note. He put the gift aside and tore open the envelope.
Sheldon,
I thought you could add this to your wardrobe. Wear it out with Penny, it makes a great conversation piece. I know plain and simple directions work best for you, so here I go. Give her thoughtful compliments. Don't go for the simple "You look nice tonight" make it more personal, "That dress really brings out the color of your eyes." If you don't like what she's wearing, find a different way to compliment her, "I really like your hair like that" or something similar. I'm sure you can figure it out. Don't talk over her, girls hate that. Really listen to what she has to say and respond appropriately. Even if what she is saying doesn't interest you. If she's talking about shoes, find a way to hold the conversation. Tell her about why you like and choose your footwear, maybe ask for her opinion on a pair of shoes you've been considering. Then the conversation will naturally end, and you can switch topics. This will show her you respect her and her interests. The more you interact with her, the more comfortable you will be with it, so get cracking! Alice assures me that penny has feelings for you, but she is being cautious, so stick with it, and keep showing her that you have staying power. Have fun on your trip!
Yours,
Dirk.
Sheldon placed the note aside and picked up the small gift. He carefully unwrapped it and opened the small box. Inside was a beautiful handmade belt buckle. The Flash lightning bolt. He could tell by the craftsmanship that Dirk had spent a while making this on his forge. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed; Dirk picked up on the second ring.
"I figured you'd be calling anytime now."
"Hello, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, is this Dirk Stevenson?" Sheldon heard an amused chuckle on the other end of the line.
"Yes, Sheldon it's me, and you don't need to tell me who you are, I have caller ID."
"Yes, but that doesn't tell you who is calling, just which phone number the call is coming from. What if Penny had borrowed my phone to call you?"
"I suppose that's true, but you don't need to say your full name, you're the only Sheldon I know."
"In that case, I will change my future greetings when contacting you by phone. I wanted to thank you for the gift, the belt buckle is truly a fine piece of craftsmanship."
"You're welcome. I was inspired." There was amusement in his voice.
"As for the advice…. I have a few questions."
"I figured you would."
TBBT
Sheldon tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep. Metaphorically of course, since he only sleeps in one position. It was an hour passed his bedtime, and he couldn't pinpoint what was keeping him awake. He pulled up an imaginary white board and wrote out a checklist of everything he had planned on accomplishing throughout the day and checked them all off one by one. He erased the list and replaced it with the last formula he was working on before he left Pasadena, and double checked his work. Nope, nothing wrong there. (Not that he expected there to be anything amiss, after all, it wasn't Leonard's formula.)
He replayed the conversations at dinner in his mind, but nothing stood out. They all had a lovely time. Missy and Penny got along famously, which was wonderful since he loved Missy, even though she drove him crazy. He would hate it if they didn't get along. In addition, Meemaw seemed to adore Penny almost as much as she adored her grandchildren. They all had a lovely evening, and he couldn't think of anything that might be causing his lack of sleep. He pulled up a mental image of Penny and thought about their relationship. Everything seemed to be going according to plan there, so that certainly wasn't it.
What could it be? Why couldn't he sleep? Sheldon got out of bed, fixed all the blankets, got back in, and settled into place. Nope. Not that either. Nothing had changed in the room since the last time he stayed at the Heather House, so it wasn't that. He tried counting sheep, reciting pi, and recounting sheep using old Celtic sheep counting, and still nothing. He did a full body scan, his bladder was void, his stomach was quiet, his heart rate was slightly elevated, but he knew that was due to getting up and resettling back into bed since it had almost settled back into its normal rhythm. Everything was fine there as well. Something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Finally, he turned to outside influences, he quieted his thoughts and focused on listening for noises that might be a contributing factor. He listened for a good few minutes before he sat abruptly up in bed.
"That's it!"
TBBT
Penny hung up the phone and plugged it into the charger on the nightstand. She loved her mother but hated talking to her on the phone. No matter what she did, it was never good enough for her parents. Her sister was in and out of disastrous relationships on a daily basis, and her brother was in and out of jail. Penny was known to get into a bit of trouble now and then, but nothing serious, so her parents had high expectations that she struggled to meet. It was like her parents took their dreams for all their children and tried to pour them all into Penny without thinking about her dreams at all. When she told her mom about her new acting career, she asked when Penny was going to give up on that "silly dream" of hers and settle down into a stable job. They seemed pleased when she told them about her relationship with Sheldon, but her mom also sounded skeptical that it would last.
"No offense dear, but you don't have the best track record with men, and then when you finally had one that we approved of, you dumped him. We just want you to be settled and happy, so really try this time, okay?"
Penny flopped back on her bed. Why couldn't her mom ever just support her? She didn't ask for much, just a little faith. She shook her head and picked up her computer. She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep until she found a way to relax. She pulled up Netflix and was scrolling through the options when she heard a creak down the hall. She'd left her door open since the place was empty, she didn't like sleeping with the door closed in an unfamiliar place. She waited until Sheldon stepped in front of the doorway, an adorably confused look on his face.
"Go ahead, sweetie, it's fine."
He gave her a small smile.
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
"Come on in." Penny smiled and swung her legs to the side of the bed as she closed her laptop and placed in on her nightstand. "What's on your mind, Moonpie?"
She stifled a giggle as she saw his eye twitch. "I know it's in the agreement, but if you still want to tell me that only Meemaw calls you Moonpie, I won't hold it against you."
He smiled "Thank you. Penny, only Meemaw calls me Moonpie." He tilted his head "You know, I do believe that is 'our thing'."
Penny smiled back "I think you're right, but back to the question, what's going on in that big brain of yours?" She patted the spot next to her, knowing full well he wouldn't sit until he found the perfect spot. Unfortunately for him, her room had limited seating. There was the bed, a chair at a small table that could double as a desk, and the floor. She watched as he sat down next to her and bounced a bit on the bed, then got up and tried the other side of the bed, then the chair, before returning to sit next to her.
"I suppose this is the most optimal place to sit." He frowned slightly "Penny, I can't sleep."
She patted his leg in sympathy "I'm sorry, Sweetie, I know how important your schedule is."
"I've stayed here many times before, and never had an issue with attaining my usual REM cycle. I've determined that the problem is that I'm not used to being here when the place is empty like this."
"Oh, well that shouldn't be an issue, I'm right here down the hall. Technically, it's not empty."
Sheldon practically groaned aloud "Yes, I know that, but it's too quiet! The building is fairly settled and sound, so there isn't any creaking, or noises. Normally there is a whole host of people, and there are usual sounds of activity and life." He turned slightly to look her in the eye "Penny, I can't sleep like this."
"What about a radio? You could play some music or turn on a station with static and keep the volume low."
"No, that is not acceptable. I cannot listen to music while I sleep. I've decided to make an exception to my rule, and you are going to have to come sleep in my room." He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to speak "We can pull the trundle bed set up for Raj into my room, and you can sleep there until our friends arrive." He stood "Please pack your clothing and toiletries for the morning, I'll go fold up the trundle, and procure additional bedding. Don't forget your pillow."
She grabbed his arm "Sheldon, wait." She used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose "I just need a minute to process this." She closed her eyes for a moment so she could think. She felt him sit back down on the bed next to her. "I know I've broken the 'no one is allowed in my room' rule many times, but Sweetie, if I stayed in there all night…" she shook her head "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
He looked at her earnestly "Penny, in the relationship agreement, you said we would do things at my pace. I want to make this work, and this is a part of that. I've already thought it through, and to be honest," he hesitated "I find myself…." he searched for the right word "uncomfortable with the idea of being apart from you right now."
Her heart melted "Awww, Sweetie, are you saying you're lonely?"
"Hmmm. I suppose you're right, but more to the point, I seem to crave your company specifically. I don't think if Leonard was here, I'd be asking him to come sleep in my room."
She smiled "Sweetie, that is typical in a relationship. I crave your company as well."
Sheldon stood once again "Good, if that's settled, I'll go get started. I'll see you soon?" He asked with a raised brow.
She nodded and waited until he left the room to start gathering her things, all with a huge smile on her face.
TBBT
After Sheldon had unsuccessfully attempted to get the trundle moved into his room, Penny had stepped in to help. Between the two of them, they were able to get it moved and all set up. She used the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She walked back into the room to see Sheldon all settled into bed. "I'll just be another moment, Sweetie, then I'll turn out the light."
"Thank you, Penny." He watched as she reached into her bag and pulled out her hairbrush. She carefully pulled her hair out of her 'messy bun' and began to brush her hair. While he grew up with Missy, he had never watched a woman brush her hair, outside of on television and the big screen of course. There was something so graceful and intimate about watching her. His fingers itched to run his fingers through her tresses. Before he knew what he was doing, he walked over to her and held his hand out. "May I?"
Penny's eyes widened "Sure, Sweetie." She handed over the brush and held her breath as he sat down behind her. Her eyes closed as she felt him gently run the brush through her hair. She hadn't had anyone other than her stylist, brush her hair in a very long time. Amy tried once at a sleepover, but Penny was terrified of the obsessive look in her eyes and grabbed the brush away before she could. She did her best to stifle a moan, why did this feel so good?
Sheldon couldn't believe he was actually brushing her hair. Why did it feel so good? He knew her hair was soft, he tended to tangle his fingers in her blonde tresses when they kissed, but this was different. The green apple scent of her shampoo was a welcome assault on his olfactory system, and the little sound she made in the back of her throat made him want to turn her around and kiss her. He tried one day, to list and categorize all the things she did and how they made him feel, but in the end, he determined that it…. just was. Penny was Penny, and Sheldon was Sheldon, and that's all he really needed to know. Once the last tangle was out, he wasn't sure what to do, so he stopped and waited until she turned around and he handed her the brush.
Penny felt like putty. She took the brush from him, feeling a bit exposed and even a little shy. She took a shuddering breath, then looked up into his eyes. He raised his hand and carefully tucked a loose strand behind her ear. "Thank you, Sheldon." She whispered.
"The pleasure was all mine." He replied in a low voice. His eyes fell to her lips, and his lips followed suit. He kissed her gently, then pulled backed. "Good night, Penny."