Still Knocking three times

knock knock knock

"Penny"

knock knock knock

"Penny"

knock knock knock

"Penny"

She opens the door, eating cereal, "Sheldon, I've given you a key. Why do you have to keep doing the whole knock three times thing?"

"I always do it to prevent surprising anyone." he says, walking in and taking his spot.

"Why, is a surprise so bad? I know you don't like them, but it's not so bad for most people" she says, returning to lounging on the sofa.

he pauses and looks around dramatically before leaning closer to her "May I tell you something in complex confidence?"

"Of course, you know you can trust me"

"When I was 13 I came home early one Sunday when my mother was at Bible study. I walked in the house expecting to find it empty, and I heard an unexplained sound coming from my parents' bedroom."

Penny looks aghast, as she can guess what's coming next...

"When I opened the door, I saw my father having relations with another woman."

"Oh, that's awful!"

"I know. It's why I never open a door without knocking three times. I mean, the first one's traditional, but two and three are for people to get their pants on."

"Ok, your craziness is starting to make a whole lot more sense now." Something clicks for her. His memory, how he remembers, how things recur for him" You remember that every time you open a closed door?"

He gives a stiff little nod.

"Well I can't see an easy way of defusing that little bombshell honey."

"Oh, I know the ratio of number of closed doors I've gone through in total vs. the ones I wish I hadn't is very low but I prefer to cautious, its only polite"

"Does anyone else know?"

"No, and I'd rather I keep it that way." He sits up straight "Anyway, smoothly changing the subject the test results have come back and I've determined the ideal contraceptive implant for you , the ideal medication for your body chemistry which should function as birth control and make your cramps more bearable."

"That's good news. kind of weird over breakfast but good" She stops, lost in thought for a moment. Then she shyly gives him a sidelong glance. " But you're still going to have to keep treating them personally, aren't you? just in case?" she asks, a pleading tone in her voice. She hates to admit it but she's got quite a taste for the tingling sensations

He looks at her blankly but nods "just in case? of course"

for once she's glad he's in an oblivious mood as she squirms on the sofa, pressing her thighs together, remembering the feel of the shocks.