The Financial Permeability

Claire was sorting through her mail when she heard Sheldon and Leonard enter the lobby of their apartment building, just coming in from work. She hadn't had classes that morning, just one in about an hour, so she'd gotten some errands done while Penny was working a shift at the Cheesecake Factory, and was just checking the main before she headed out. As always, the topic of conversation between Sheldon and Leonard was an interesting one to overhear.

"You know, I've given the matter some thought, and I think I'd be willing to be a house pet to a race of super-intelligent aliens," Sheldon was saying.

"Interesting," Leonard murmured, not really paying attention as he moved to their mailboxes, "Hi Claire."

"Hello Claire," Sheldon greeted once they were nearer, before turning back to Leonard, "Ask me why."

"Do I have to?" he groaned.

"Of course. That's how you move a conversation forward."

"I would ask," Claire offered Leonard, "But I already know the answer so we'd just end up with a lecture about redundancy."

Leonard sighed, rubbing his head, "Why?" he gave in and asked Sheldon.

"The learning opportunities would be abundant," Sheldon answered surprisingly simply.

"And Shelly likes getting his belly scratched," Claire added, reaching out to playfully tickle Sheldon in the stomach, making him squirm and laugh before he stepped away.

"Hey, Penny!" Leonard called when he spotted Penny coming in from work as well, thankful for the change of topic, "How was work?"

"Great," Penny murmured, striding past the boys and over to Claire as she waved the mail at her, handing over the ones addressed to her along with a small box, "I hope I'm a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory for my whole life!"

Sheldon frowned at her tone, "Was that sarcasm?"

"No," Penny answered, in an equally sarcastic tone.

"Was that sarcasm?"

"Yes."

"Was that sarca…"

"Shelly, the first two statements were sarcastic," Claire helped out, seeing Leonard getting a bit annoyed.

"Oh, yes," Penny smiled as she opened up her package, "It's the beret I ordered…" she looked up suddenly, glancing between the three of them, though her gaze appeared to linger more on Sheldon as she continued, sounding more like she was giving excuses than just sharing information, "A couple of months ago. It was back-ordered."

"I remember," Claire nodded slowly, "You were complaining about wanting to wear it to your one audition."

"Did you know the beret is an example of piece of women's fashion adapted from male military uniforms?" Sheldon asked, "Another fascinating example is the epaulet."

"He's not lying," Leonard told Penny, "He does find that fascinating."

"Ok, whatever," Penny seemed to just grow more tense, "It's not like I'm running up and down the streets just buying myself berets. I bought one, like, a month ago, and it was back-ordered, look, it finally arrived, alright?"

While the three of them were all looking at her, confused over her ramble, Sheldon was the one to answer with, "Alright."

"Oh, my God, would you just get off my case?!" Penny shouted, storming off.

Claire glanced at the others, though she spoke to Leonard, "I'm not the only one that found that weird, right?"

Leonard nodded, not having expected such an outburst from Penny over a hat either.

"Oh, good," Sheldon smiled, "That was an unusual interaction. I wasn't sure."

"Did either of you guys have an argument with her?" Leonard looked between Claire and Sheldon.

"No," they both answered.

Leonard nodded, he didn't expect Claire to have caused any sort of irritation with Penny, the two women seemed to get on really well. Sheldon, however, was a different story. He sighed and looked at the man, "Well, you clearly did something to aggravate her."

"I'm at a loss," Sheldon stated honestly, "If you like, you can review my daily log of social interactions and see if there's a blunder I overlooked."

"Claire?" Leonard looked to her for help, really NOT wanting to have to listen to Sheldon recount all his social interactions.

Claire nodded, patting Leonard on the shoulder as she looked at Sheldon, "Just answer this, Shelly. At any point in your recent interactions with Penny did she make an outburst that confused you while she walked away suddenly or forcefully?"

Sheldon considered it, "No."

"Then you ain't the thing getting her in a huff," Claire determined.

"Huh," Leonard remarked, "For once it's NOT Sheldon."

"Statistically it was bound to happen," Sheldon stated, shrugging his shoulders and heading for the stairs.

Claire let out a sigh and turned to Leonard, "I'll try to talk to her after my class, see what's upset her."

Leonard smiled, "Thanks, Claire."

She nodded and headed for the door.

~8~

Claire literally dug into the Chinese food the guys had ordered later that night. While she'd been running her errands earlier, she hadn't felt hungry, so she'd skipped lunch, which was a mistake. She'd felt a headache coming halfway through her class and had been about to stop for a quick snack in the cafeteria after it was over to help with it, but Sheldon had texted her that he had taken the liberty of ordering her Chinese food which should be ready by the time she got back to the apartments. So she'd held off, and now she was starving!

"Thanks, Leonard," she mumbled from behind her hand, wanting to be polite and thank him for getting the food, but too hungry to wait till she'd swallowed.

He chuckled, "No problem," he waved it off, moving to pass out the rest of the food, "Here you go, Howard," he handed the container over to him, "Oh, you owe me another two dollars. The price of mu-shu pork went up."

"It's getting tougher and tougher to be a bad Jew," Howard remarked.

"Here you go, Penny. Shrimp with lobster sauce."

"Thank you, Leonard," Penny smiled as she took her food, "What's my share?"

"Don't worry about it. It's my treat."

Claire shook her head, that probably would have worked had it not been for the fact that he'd just told Howard he owed him money, indicating it wasn't his treat unless it was JUST for Penny. She realized she probably hadn't helped anything by handing Leonard the ten dollars her food cost and making grabby hands while saying 'gimme.' Penny had clearly seen everyone else paying him what they owed.

"No, really, how much?" Penny insisted.

"It's, whatever. Ten, eleven dollars."

"Well, which is it, ten or eleven?"

"Fourteen fifty, but it's no biggie, you'll get the next one."

Of course, just then Raj leaned over to whisper something to Howard that had the man laughing under his breath.

"What?" Penny asked, unamused.

"He was just wondering if he wore skintight jeans and a tank top if he'd get his shrimp lo mein for free," Howard remarked for Raj.

"What are you saying?" Penny frowned, sounding completely offended, maybe just a bit more offended than she normally would have been, "That I'm using my body to get dinner? That I'm some kind of Chinese food prostitute?"

Even Howard seemed to notice how irate Penny had gotten, and not even over something HE had said, and turned to Raj, "Yeah, Raj, what are you saying?"

"Cause let me tell you something, buddy," Penny continued, focusing on Raj, her voice growing louder and louder, "I pay my own way in this world, ok? I don't rely on anybody!" Raj suddenly up and hurried towards the bathroom, "What was that about?"

"He has a nervous bladder when he's stressed out. Kind of like a puppy."

"Pen," Claire began, managing to swallow a mouthful of food, "Are you alright, sugar?"

"I'm fine," Penny stated, though it sounded more like a snap, grabbing some money out of her pocket and counting it, "Here, Leonard, ten, eleven, twelve, uh, fourteen dollars."

"It was fourteen fifty," Leonard began, remembering how demanding Penny had been about paying back the exact amount, but seeing Claire shaking her head at his words, he quickly added on, "But it's ok."

"Oh, good," Sheldon's voice called out as he entered the room from the bedroom hallway, "Dinner's here."

"Yes, dinner's here," Penny huffed, "And I'm having some. I'm having takeout food."

"Ok."

"You're damn right it's ok!" Penny nearly shouted, "I've been having leftovers at the restaurant for like four days, and I wanted something different. So sue me!"

"Forgive me, Penny, but that would be the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit."

"Sarcasm, Shelly," Claire tried to tell him, but Penny was on a role.

"Sheldon, look, I will pay you back as soon as I can. You just have to give me more time."

Claire blinked, "Is that what this is about?"

"Oh, wait, you lent her money?" Leonard realized at the same time.

"She needed money," Sheldon shrugged as he sat down in his spot, and looked at Penny, "You seem under pressure. Did I not lend you a sufficient amount? Because I can give you more."

"Oh, you know, you would just love that, wouldn't you?" Penny huffed, "Yeah. You would just love to open up your little snake can and throw some money at the girl who can't pay her bills!" she pushed herself up and started to stalk towards the doors.

"Where are you going?" Leonard called.

"Going home, where I won't be interrogated like a criminal!" she was out the door, but returned a moment later to grab something off the table, "I forgot my fortune cookie," and was out the door again.

Sheldon glanced at the others in the room, sans Claire, "In case either of you have larceny in your heart, you should know that I've moved my money out of the snake can."

"But if you're ever short, there's always a couple of fifties in Green Lantern's ass," Leonard remarked.

"May want to find a new hiding spot, Shelly," Claire teased. She knew he often kept his money stashed in different places.

Sheldon nodded.

"Say, Claire," Leonard asked after a moment, "You're a girl…"

"Yes…" Claire replied slowly, not sure where he was going with this.

"Penny's upset, is it a girl-reaction to being lent money, or a Penny reaction?"

Claire thought about it a moment, "I know I ain't never reacted that way to Shelly loaning me money a time or two. I'd go with a Penny-reaction."

"So it would be acceptable for me to go talk to her?" Leonard continued, "It's not a girl-talk moment?"

Claire smiled at his concern, "I think that's be fine. But I can go with you if you think it'll help?"

"Would you?"

"Sure!" she nodded as she stood up with her food, "She's my roommate too, I was gonna talk to her after class anyway. Let's go. Be right back, Shelly."

~8~

Claire peeked into her apartment, spotting Penny sitting not on the couch, but on the floor in front of the couch, her laptop open, a pile of papers, bills, next to it, poking at her food but not eating it, "Pen?" she called, "It alright for me to come in?"

"You live here too," Penny reminded her.

Claire took that as invitation and stepped in, Leonard following her. She moved to sit next to Penny, "Wanna tell me what's going on?" she asked the woman.

Penny sighed, "I used Sheldon's money to pay my part of the rent, the water and electric bill, then I had like fourteen dollars left over."

"Fourteen dollars, huh?" Leonard began to reach for his pocket where he'd put the fourteen she'd give him only moments ago.

"Put it back in your pocket, or I'll find some other place to put it," Penny warned him.

"Back in the pocket it goes," Leonard murmured.

"Pen, if you were short the rent, I could have covered it," Claire told her.

"That wouldn't be fair," Penny shook her head, "We both live here, we both split it. I just didn't think I'd end up borrowing money from Sheldon to do it."

Claire gave her a small smile, "He really doesn't care about the money," she told Penny, "So long as he gets it back before he's old and gray, he'll be fine. He's been making a habit of looking at finances since he was a teenager. He knows how to budget, save, and invest his money, he's not gonna be strapped for cash any time soon."

"It's actually one of the few idiosyncrasies that doesn't make you want to, you know, kill him," Leonard offered.

"Yeah, well, that's not really my big problem," Penny admitted.

"So you're a little behind on your bills. Everybody gets behind on their bills."

"Yeah, I know, it's just, this wasn't the plan, it wasn't supposed to go this way."

"Well, what was the plan?"

"Um, waitress for six months and then become a movie star."

"Pen…" Claire began cautiously, "You had to have known it wasn't gonna happen just like that, right?"

"I guess," she sighed.

"So what was plan B then?"

"…TV star?" Penny sighed and rubbed her forehead, "But neither of those things happened, they cut my hours at the restaurant, my car broke down, and I'm swamped with bills," she gestured at the piles of papers.

"It's probably not as bad as you think," Leonard tried to help, moving around the coffee table to sit on the other side of Penny and reaching for the bills, "Let's take a look. Maybe we can find some corners to cut."

"Oh Pen," Claire looked at her, "Why didn't you just tell me you were having a hard time this month?"

"I don't know," Penny shrugged, "I just…I moved out here to make it on my own and, I guess, I just thought if I couldn't even make it with help from a roommate and friends, then I was just making a huge mistake being here anyway. I didn't want to admit that. Better to hold onto a crumbling dream than have no dream at all."

"Well, for the sake of keeping the dream alive, we'll just buckle down and try to find ways to save."

"Like what?"

"How about food?" Claire offered as Leonard began to go through the stack, "I mean, we don't have to get name brand things. Flour is flour, sugar is sugar, tomato sauce is tomato sauce. We could both agree to aim for the store brands as much as we can."

"I guess," Penny considered it.

Leonard flipped through one or two bills before he found something, "170 dollars for acting classes?"

"Oh, no, I can't give up my acting classes. I'm a professional actress."

"You've had an acting job where you got paid?"

"That is not the definition of professional."

Leonard glanced at Claire for that, the woman shaking her head to let that go, both knowing that actually WAS the definition of professional.

"I'm actually surprised you think you need those classes," Claire remarked, drawing Penny's attention back to her, "I mean, Pen, if you got the heart of an actress, the passion, the soul, I don't think there's much someone else can teach you that you don't already know or can't work out from observing others. You know?"

Penny considered it for a minute, "That is true…why the hell am I spending hundreds of dollars on classes when I already know what they're teaching me?" she nodded, "Yeah, I'm definitely cutting back on those. What else?"

"Umm…" Leonard scanned some more bills, "Whoa, what's eighteen hundred dollars to the Los Angeles County Superior Court?"

"Oh, that's nothing."

"What did you do?" Claire gave her a look, "Rob a bank?"

"Well, remember Kurt?" Penny asked.

"Your ex-boyfriend?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah. He got arrested for taking a whiz on a cop car."

"What?"

"He was drunk."

"I'm honestly not sure if that's better or worse…" Claire remarked.

"Anyway, he had a bunch of outstanding tickets and a bench warrant, so I, you know, I paid his fines."

"Oh sugar, you should never pay someone else's fines," Claire shook her head, "Rent, bills, maybe, but fines mean they've already done wrong and if they can't pay for something they're responsible for doing wrong, then chances are they ain't worth covering."

"Did he pay you back?" Leonard asked, in agreement with Claire.

"No," Penny admitted, "But he will!"

"And that's based on the inherent credit-worthiness of people who get drunk and urinate on police vehicles?"

"And who can't pay their own fines for their screw-ups?" Claire added.

"Look, I'm not gonna call up Kurt and ask him for money," Penny stated.

"Then HOW exactly is he going to pay you back?" Claire asked, looking at the bill, "This is from a while ago and he hasn't even tried to give you any increments. He ain't gonna pay you back unless you make him."

"If you're not gonna get Kurt to pay you back, what are you going to do then?" Leonard tried to help push her to see it was her own money she was owed.

"I don't know," Penny sighed, "Find a cheaper place to live?"

"No," Leonard said a bit too quickly, "I mean, you don't want to do that."

"Why not?"

"Yeah, Leonard, why not?" Claire asked, though she seemed more amused by Leonard's clear reluctance to have Penny move away than wanting Penny to move away herself, which she didn't.

"Well…" he tried to find excuses, "Moving is a big deal. You have to go to the supermarket and get boxes, and if they're not clean, then your books smell like melons, and it's just, like…" he shook his head. He couldn't even suggest she get a roommate, she had one, Claire, and Penny was still struggling to pay her bills.

"Look, Pen," Claire took pity on him, "If it wasn't for your car and Kurt, you woulda had enough for the rent, right?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Then this is probably just a one time thing, a snag," she explained, "A bump in the road. Your car is fixed, you can get to work, that's important. You say Kurt will pay you back, and maybe he will, and that'll help. Next month you'll be able to pay the rent without borrowing money, cos you won't have the extra expense of the car working against you. And we'll go through more of your bills, work out places to cut back so you can start saving to pay Shelly. Sound good?"

Penny nodded, smiling, a little more reassured, as she looked between Claire and Leonard, "Thanks guys."

~8~

Claire stepped out of her apartment, excusing herself from sorting through Penny's bills, when she heard the door to the guys' apartment open and their voices in the hallway. They all had their jackets on as they headed for the stairs.

"Shelly," she called as she moved to catch him just before he could head down the stairs after the other, "Just gotta borrow him a sec," she told Leonard, who nodded and continued down the stairs.

"Does Penny need more money?" Sheldon asked her, a logical assumption given his last conversation with her.

"No," she shook her head, "No, I think he'll be alright, we're going through her finances now to see where she can cut back."

"A worthwhile endeavor," he remarked.

"I don't want to hold you up too long, Shelly, I just wanted to say thank you, for helping Penny out earlier. That was real nice of you."

"Of course," he nodded, "It is the hero's duty to help those in need, and…I suppose Penny is a friend. It is even more important to help friends."

"I agree."

"And she is your roommate, and your friend. Her inability to pay her portion of the rent would negatively impact you for this month."

Claire blinked, "You helped Penny because it would help me?"

"That was a large percentage of it, yes," he admitted easily, "I will always help you, Claire-Bear, like you always help me."

"Always," she promised.

"If Penny were to be evicted, you might be forced to go with her, and I don't like it when you move away."

"No, you never did," she agreed, recalling the few times they were separated due to moves.

"Thank you," he offered her now, "For always keeping in touch, and answering my letters and emails and texts. It was…difficult to be away from you, the letters helped."

"You are my best friend, Shelly, of course I'd respond. I missed you too," she smiled, but glanced at the stairs, knowing they'd been a while now, "I should let you get back to your quest," she teased lightly, "But thank you again, Shelly."

"You're very welcome," he replied, before turning to head down the stairs after the others.

Claire waited till he had disappeared around a corner to murmur, "My hero."

"I heard that!" Sheldon's voice called up.

Claire laughed at his Vulcan hearing, "Knew you would!" she shouted back down, before shaking her head and heading back to the apartment. Penny certainly had racked up some debt over the last few years, it was going to take a while to sort through.

She had been in a similar strait once though, growing up the way she did, she'd had to rely on scholarships just to get to college. And even then it didn't cover everything, books, supplies, other expenses. She'd had a part time job while in college, two of them, and classes and studying and homework. And after she'd gotten out she'd had barely any savings. It had been really hard and she'd struggled to find work and stability. She'd ended up working in a bookstore café just to make ends meet, just a place to save up until she could get her permanent job.

Worst decision ever as she had no impulse control when it came to the books. And buying so many books meant she needed bookshelves. And trying to cook in her dingy little apartment because she couldn't afford takeout and couldn't stomach another microwaved meal, only meant destroying pots and giving herself food poisoning.

If it hadn't been for Sheldon helping her, loaning her a little here and there when she really couldn't afford food after her rent was paid, she wouldn't have been able to make it. He'd even helped her with her resume, had been a person of reference on applications.

She attributed her success with finally getting a teaching position to him.

She'd gotten one at a small community college near her apartment, and that had given her enough experience to finally apply to Cal-Tech, and get in. Sheldon had given her a glowing review when he'd been contacted. About her patience, her ability to identify problem areas in students, her success in making things relatable and easy to understand. But her firmness with not allowing any slacking, holding students to high expectations but doing everything she could to ensure they reached them.

She had been able to pay Sheldon back for his help, so she knew exactly what Penny was going through and she knew exactly how to help

~8~

"They should be home," Claire remarked when Penny knocked on the guys' door. Usually they could just walk in.

"I know, but after what happened with Dr. Stephanie, I'm trying to be a bit more considerate," Penny told her. Trying being the key word.

"He's not dating anyone right now," Claire pointed out.

"It's good practice," Penny shrugged.

"Hey," Leonard greeted as he opened the door to see them. Claire's gaze drifted up when she saw him wearing a beanie hat.

"Hey, is Sheldon here?"

"Yeah. Hang on. Sheldon!"

"What's up with the hat?" Claire asked as they slowly made their way into the apartment.

"It's kind of a fashionable look these days," he defended.

Claire nodded slowly, before looking at Penny, "Is it?" she whispered, though Leonard could still hear her.

Penny smirked at their role reversal, usually it was HER asking Claire about things, "Maybe if you're working on a tuna boat."

"Hello, Penny," Sheldon greeted as he entered the room, "Claire."

"Hey, Shelly," Claire returned.

"Sheldon," Penny smiled as she approached him, holding out a small amount of bills to him, "Here is your money. Thank you very much. It helped a lot."

"…sarcasm?" he asked.

"No," Penny frowned.

"Darn. I can't seem to get the hang of that."

"Hey," Leonard stepped over to Penny, "I know it's none of my business, but where did the money come from?"

"Well, Claire helped me cut back my expenses like you suggested and picked up a few more hours at the restaurant, but the biggest thing was, out of the blue, Kurt shows up and gives me the money he owes me."

"Really? Did he say why?"

Claire looked over at Leonard, he did not seem quite as surprised by that event than she thought he might. She knew SHE was surprised when that random guy showed up at the door asking for Penny and offering her almost two thousand dollars.

"Yes," Penny smiled, "He said he was feeling guilty and wanted to do what was right."

That seemed to make Leonard frown, "That's it? Did he give any reason as to why he came to this moral epiphany?"

"Nope. I just think he's really changed. We're having dinner tomorrow night, and I get to wear my new beret. Bye, guys."

"Bye."

Claire let out a breath, waiting till Penny left, before she looked at the guys, "She's having dinner with him to say thanks," she told them, "But I'm getting the feeling she'll be thanking the wrong people?"

"You would be correct in that assumption," Sheldon remarked, "Leonard bears the proof of it."

"What?" Claire looked at him.

He sighed and lifted the top of his beanie up so she could see 'I owe Penny $1800-Kurt' written on his forehead with marker.

"Oh, sugar," Claire moved over to him, giving him a brief hug, "Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover should do the trick."

"Really?" Leonard briefly touched his head, "Thanks."

"And I'll talk to Penny about Kurt," she added, "Make sure she doesn't make a mistake of thinking he did this out of the goodness of his heart. She'd probably believe he did it to get something else out of her and, from what she told me of the guy the other night, he's gonna mess up this dinner all on his own if she's on the lookout for a pickup."

"You won't tell her it was me, will you?" Leonard asked.

"I won't if you don't want me to," Claire offered.

"No," he shook his head, "I don't want her to know that I ended up with this on my forehead."

"It might help remind her what a jerk Kurt is but if you…"

"Do it. Tell her, tell her everything."

"Oh, Leonard," Sheldon shook his head, "That would invalidate your status as the hero of this quest!"

"What?" he shook his head at Sheldon.

"The true hero doesn't seek adulation, he fights for right and justice simply because it's his nature."

"Sheldon, Penny in danger of hooking up with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend and I have indelible ink on my forehead!"

"That's your badge of honor, your warrior's wound, if you will. I was wrong, minstrels will write songs about you."

"Great."

"There once was a brave lad named Leonard, with a fi-fi-fiddle-dee-dee. He faced a fearsome giant, while Raj just wanted to pee."

Claire let out a laugh, patting Sheldon on the arm a moment, "That has some real promise, Shelly. I'll leave you to your composing and go try to reason with Penny."

Leonard looked over at the door when Claire disappeared through it, thoughtful, "I really like her."

Sheldon turned to him, exasperated, "You should. She's Claire."

It wasn't till Leonard began to smile that Sheldon paused and stiffened, frowning at Leonard, feeling a discomfort settle in his gut, before he shook his head, it must just be the trauma from encountering Kurt again rearing its head.

Leonard liked Claire, he should, she was wonderful.

There was no way Leonard liked her in the same manner he liked Penny.

…right?

He nodded his head, answering his own question, of course he was right. Leonard exhibited none of the same signs he did around Claire as he had when he had first found himself infatuated with Penny. It was preposterous. Leonard was merely starting to realize Claire's many other endearing qualities.

Leonard and Claire were just friends.

But, then again, so were Leonard and Penny 'just friends' now and the man was clearly still interested in Penny.

He shook his head, he needed some Pepto Bismol to settle his stomach.

A/N: So far, no, Leonard does NOT like Claire the same way he likes Penny. But it's interesting to see Sheldon slowly starting to come to the realization that other people could like Claire too, in different ways ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm not a bit Kripke fan either ;)

There may be a few moments to come between Claire and Leonard, but what they are, what THEY think they are, and how others view it, we'll have to wait and see ;)

There are so many little things Sheldon says that hint to his childhood and let us wonder what it was like, before the Young Sheldon show came out, that it's really great to have Claire around to let us delve into it more :)

I'm curious how the original pilot would have gone too if all the characters made it to the main series :) I'm actually really glad those moments stick out. There's definitely a growing mutual respect and friendship between Claire and Leonard. It actually makes me sort of feel like a real writer for a show, because we always see like this one couple but then there are interactions one part has with another character that leads some viewers to prefer that half of the relationship with that other character. And it's always just so cool to witness because one person may see the interaction as platonic, where others see a sort of tension between them. To hear that readers are starting to see Leonard and Claire either as really great friends or something more makes me feel like if I ever wrote a show, I'd be at least decent at it lol :) I am really looking forward to Leonard and Claire's own friendship-relationship growing and them sort of finding where they fit with everyone :) The relationship Claire has with everyone, the ways she sort of is able to help them, is really going to be important later in the series, but I can't say how just yet ;) I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far :D