Chapter 26: Relationship Agreement

"That's so romantic." - Amy Farrah Fowler

After barreling through a church service first thing in the morning with Sheldon's family, they left for the airport to return home. The flight back to Pasadena was easier than the one to Texas, thankfully. Sheldon and Carly got into her car shortly after to return to their apartments. The Christmas weekend behind them, Carly felt saddened to return back to normal.

A life where she slept alone and in a completely different apartment than Sheldon. She'd enjoyed herself immensely with her boyfriend's arms tightly around her all night. He'd only complained once, telling her that their body heat mixed had been a little overwhelming but he'd just removed the thick duvet, leaving the thinner blanket over them. She was happy he still intended to snuggle her.

She wore the necklace Mary had given her, staying true to her word that she'd wear it from now on. At the sight of it, Sheldon had smiled wistfully, telling her how it brought out the color of her eyes.

She felt like their weekend together away had truly brought them closer. It was as if things were finally falling into place. She could almost see the walls start to lower around her heavily closed-off boyfriend and she couldn't be happier.

She sincerely hoped the relationship agreement would make it even better between them.

Monday came and Carly felt nervously excited the whole workday. Sheldon had told her he'd work on the agreement and the plan was to have dinner with the gang, and then when everyone had left they'd discuss it. She hoped it went over well.

His reaction to her proposal had been a surprise. After he'd agreed, he had thrown himself at her, showing her exactly how he felt about it. She wasn't sure if it was because he was looking forward to creating a document, as she knew he loved to do, or if it was because they'd be legally bound- but whatever it was, she had welcomed it.

Any time she could be the victim of his momentary slip of holding himself back, she would take it wholeheartedly.

That evening, Carly changed into more comfortable clothes. She kept her tights on, but put a looser skirt and a thin blouse on. She shook her hair out and took a deep breath, steeling herself for the night ahead of her.

She grabbed the bag of presents she'd kept for her friends and headed up to 4A.

Upon entering, she saw she was the last one to arrive and grinned when they all greeted her.

"Hey," she waved back, finding Sheldon in his spot. He smiled at her when their eyes met, their weekend together running through both of their minds.

"Welcome back!" Penny beamed, grabbing her into a hug as if she'd been gone for a week.

Carly laughed lightly and held her. "It was only a couple of days."

Penny pulled back and shrugged. "So I'm not allowed to miss my best friend?"

Carly's heart always melted when Penny referred to her as a 'best friend'. It still was surreal. "You can." She shook her head and then admitted, "I missed you too." She lifted the bag in her hand. "I come bearing Christmas gifts. I have one for Howard too but I'll give it to him when he comes back next week." It was a pair of space socks.

For Penny, she had bought a pair of leather boots that were similar to hers from Nordstrom's. The blond drooled over them immediately.

For Bernadette, she had ordered from Etsy mini watercolor prints that had Bacteriophage, different Viruses, and E. coli. Bernadette happily told her how she'd hang them up in her office.

Sheldon applauded Carly for finding pictures of disgusting bacteria that somehow looked appealing. Carly preened under his appraisal.

For Leonard, she had found a glassware set of 4 tall glasses that had different mathematical equations on them. Both Penny and Sheldon had been envious of the gift, for different reasons. Penny because she wished she'd thought of getting him something of that caliber, and Sheldon because he wanted the glasses for himself.

Even so, he snatched the one with Pythagoras constant, claiming dibs- to which Leonard rolled his eyes. "Ask your girlfriend for your own mathematical glasses, Sheldon," he'd told him. Sheldon ignored him, hugging the glass to himself protectively.

For Rajesh, Carly had found whiskey glasses with constellations, with the joke that he'd need them to talk to her. He grinned at her, thinking her funny, and accepted the gift.

When she was finished, she sat down next to Sheldon feeling ecstatic that they all had loved their gifts.

Leonard glanced at Sheldon, then to Carly in thought. "Your gifts were so thoughtful... I wish I'd gotten you more than just a cat mug." He sheepishly went over to his desk where a green gift bag sat. He and the others had exchanged gifts over the weekend.

Carly's eyes lit up. "Wait, you did?"

Sheldon narrowed his eyes, not liking how she was explicitly happy about a gift from his roommate. Leonard didn't notice and handed over the bag. "Raj and I picked it out for you... it's, nothing special really."

Carly couldn't stop the grin on her face and took a white ceramic mug, with little ears and a cute face on the side. Her heart swelled at it. "Oh my goodness, thank you so much," she breathed gratefully, her eyes looking from Leonard to Raj. "This means so much to me."

Sheldon was becoming even more irritable by the second. He wished that his stupid friends hadn't bought her anything.

"I have a gift card too," Bernadette mentioned, grabbing her purse from her feet and taking a Starbucks gift card out, then handing it over. "So you can indulge yourself."

Penny put a hand up. "I already gave you mine," she told her with a wink. Carly held back a blush, her nose stinging from tears threatening to fall.

She looked down at her gifts, not realizing her boyfriend was working himself up into a tiff next to her. "I... don't know what to say. Thank you... I, well, I've never been included like this before. Thank you."

Her friends smiled warmly at her. After a moment, Penny looked to Sheldon. "So what did you get her, Sheldon?"

He flinched at her question and became defensive, feeling as if she was attacking him. "We aren't partaking in that nonsense of gift-giving," he told her sternly, his disdain for the whole situation heavy in his voice.

It was then that Carly noticed his discomfort. Her smile fell from her face and she sat the mug and gift card down on the coffee table in front of her. "I feel like this weekend was the best gift I could have asked for," she said, not really caring that their friends could hear her.

Sheldon stilled and turned his eyes to her in surprise. The previous ill thoughts disappeared and he felt his heart skip a beat at her words.

Penny and Leonard exchanged glances, wondering what on earth had happened between the two of them?

"Well, let's eat! I'm starving!" Penny changed the subject and grabbed for her carton of Thai food.

The tension dissipated as they ate their meals, watching a movie on the tv. Afterward, Raj and Bernadette left for the evening. Leonard and Penny helped clean up after their dinner and then decided to go to Penny's. Leonard had already been informed that Sheldon had wanted to have a conversation with Carly after dinner that night, so it was all planned.

Penny made Carly promise to fill her in afterward, already scheduling another girl's night before Howard returned. They both figured Bernadette wouldn't want to give up her nights with her husband once he was back.

Carly, of course, already knew what Sheldon wanted to speak with her about and promised Penny with a grin. At least she'd tell her enough to satisfy her overly curious friend.

Once alone, Carly found herself standing at the counter watching Sheldon make them a cup of tea. He had already laid out the thinly stacked 'relationship agreement' in front of her but she hadn't touched it.

She was waiting for him.

She stared down at it with both trepidation and enthusiasm. She had so much faith in this idea, but she hoped that it wouldn't cause them more problems.

She knew how the agreement with Leonard tailored mostly to Sheldon's needs and wants, tipping the majority of it in his favor. What if the relationship agreement was also this way?

She gulped, watching him turn with the kettle and pour water in the waiting mugs with tea bags in them. Sheldon glanced up at her, finding her troubled expression alarming.

"Are you all right?" He asked her gently, placing the kettle back down on the stove then returning to her.

He sat down on one of the stools and she took that moment to as well, across from him. "I... guess I'm a little nervous. I don't know what to expect," she admitted shyly, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth.

Sheldon regarded her a moment and then looked down at the agreement in front of them. "Because of this?" He gestured to it.

She nodded weakly.

"Have you changed your mind?"

Carly shook her head hastily, not wanting him to think she was having second thoughts because she wasn't. "No, of course not."

Sheldon focused his attention on sliding her mug of tea over to her before taking the agreement into his hands. "Well, this covers everything from what would happen in case of an apocalypse to being physically intimate together. I've given it a lot of thought, and... I hope you'll be agreeing to it. If not then, well... we can call this off now."

Carly swallowed thickly and took a hesitant sip from the hot tea in front of her, hoping it would calm her nerves. She sat it back down in front of her and then met his eyes. "Okay, let's begin."

Sheldon nodded and then straightened in his seat, flipping the front page to begin, becoming professional. The first part of it was just explaining what the agreement stood for. It went over what was expected of them as boyfriend and girlfriend, ranging from taking care of each other when they were sick or injured to how long of a notice they'd need to give one another if they needed to take a trip somewhere. Carly wondered if his decision in adding that particular part was due to his sudden departure in August.

In any case, she appreciated it.

Carly had to admit she was impressed with how thorough it was. It left her with nothing to feel insecure about, which was exactly what she'd been hoping for. It also surprised her that it wasn't focusing solely on his needs. He had even offered to take her out on a date once a month.

The last part though, the intimacy section, amazed her.

"From here on out, the last Friday of every month will be Acceleration Night. As we progress in our relationship, physical or otherwise, I'd like to continue the experiment I began months ago," he told her, eyes firmly on the paper and unable to meet hers.

Carly held back a gasp, unable to believe what she was hearing. "But isn't Friday vintage video game night?"

Sheldon finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. "It is, however, I will be rescheduling it to Thursdays to adhere to the new day."

Carly stared at him. He was changing his routine to explore their intimacy? She was absolutely speechless.

"Is that agreeable?" He questioned, his voice a little off from her reaction and also the specific topic they were discussing.

Carly choked a little and tried to compose herself. "Oh, yes. Of course, Sheldon. It's... agreeable."

He licked his lips nervously and looked back down at the paper in relief. "Well... that is the agreement. Do you have any further questions?"

Carly shook her head, still mystified by him.

"Good. I'll grab a pen," he said distractedly placing the agreement down and stood to step over to his desk.

Carly shook as she stared at the papers in front of her. Once a month, from now on, she and Sheldon would engage in some sort of physical activity. She gulped and her body felt heavy. This was incredible but nerve-wracking at the same time.

Sheldon returned and clicked a pen, then flipped to the last page where they would sign. She watched him sign his name in beautiful penmanship, then straighten, look over at her and hold the pen out. "Your turn," he goaded.

Carly bit her lip, meeting his eyes briefly, and took the pen. This was it. They'd be legally bound to one another after this. The fact that Sheldon was moving his schedule around, his life really, to accommodate her and progress their relationship, deeply moved her. Moreover, he was committing to her in a way that seemed even more binding than just being boyfriend and girlfriend.

It felt so... serious.

Sheldon watched her raptly, unable to read her expression. The sole purpose of creating this agreement was for each of them to feel secure and closer in their relationship. He was nervous as well, especially about Acceleration Night but he knew he wanted this. For both of them. As he had written it out, he'd thought over everything he ever wanted to do with her. How he wanted to spend his time with her. At first, he'd had trouble with it- finding the idea of doing any of it daunting but he reminded himself that this was Carly.

His Carly. Once he'd remembered that, it had been easy.

When Carly finally let loose a breath from her parted lips, slid the agreement over to her, and signed her name neatly under his, he breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment there he'd felt like she may back out, or perhaps it had just been his paranoia. This had been her idea in the first place.

She set the pen down on the counter and gave him the smile she reserved for just him, melting his heart. "All right. Signed and agreed to."

Sheldon's lips curved upwards, feeling better already. "Indeed. I'll send you a pdf to your email so you have a copy."

Carly grinned at him. "Sounds perfect. Oh, wait I do have one question."

Sheldon paused as he picked up the agreement, his heart stilling as well. "Yes? But keep in mind, you already signed and there's no backsies."

Carly laughed lightly, confusing him further. "No, it's nothing like that. I was just wondering if we should hold Acceleration Night in my apartment. To... ensure privacy."

Sheldon relaxed at her question. "Oh, of course. The last thing we need is Leonard or Penny walking in on us."

Carly nodded in enthusiastic agreement, a shy smile overtaking her. "Oh, and regarding date night... I'm glad you added that in. I love going on dates with you."

Sheldon blushed lightly at the tone in her voice and he licked at his bottom lip nervously, taking a hold of his mug of tea. "Well, I thought it appropriate. We are dating of course."

Carly grinned and took a sip from her tea. The air felt clearer between them, now having what they needed all along laid out for them. It took out all the guesswork.

They chatted lightly about their first day back at work as they finished their tea, and then it was time for Carly to leave.

He walked her to the door, her hands holding the mug with the gift card inside of it. Sheldon glanced down at it, feeling a ping of indisposed guilt jab him in the heart.

He held the door open for her and she turned, giving him a sweet smile. "Goodnight, Sheldon."

Sheldon tried to return the smile and nodded. "Goodnight, Carly."

They hesitated, both staring into each other's eyes, telling each other things their voices couldn't. After a moment's breath, Carly slid up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

Sheldon turned at the last minute, claiming her lips with his own. She gasped lightly and he smirked as she fell back to the balls of her feet. He found he liked surprising her.

She gazed up at him in wonder and he grinned, patting her head affectionately. "All right, get going little lady."

oO0Oo

On Wednesday, while the guys went to the comic book store, the girls decided to go out for a movie. Bernadette was in high spirits as Howard was flying in on Sunday so they'd finally be able to live as newlyweds.

After so much back and forth, Howard had informed his mother that he'd be living with Bernadette and there'd been enough time for Mrs. Wolowitz to come to terms with it. To say the small woman was over the moon with excitement, was an understatement.

Penny had declared they go see a movie, then go get dinner from a Mexican restaurant. Once seated around a booth, Bernadette next to Carly and margaritas in front of each of them, Penny took the moment to round on Carly.

"All right, dish," she demanded and Carly laughed, amused with her friend's neediness to know details.

"Hang on, let me text Sheldon back," Carly told her, finishing her text and hitting send. She sat her phone in her lap and took her drink.

"Speaking of which, why did you have to text him before ordering your drink? He's not controlling you now, is he?" Bernadette quirked an eyebrow.

Carly laughed, her cheeks tinting pink at the implication. "No, of course not. I just needed to tell him I'd be drinking tonight. Just one, of course."

Penny crossed her arms. "Okay... since when do you need his permission?"

"He didn't permit me. It's in... our relationship agreement that we tell each other when we drink alcohol, so the other is aware," she explained, her words turning rushed and worried for their reactions.

The woman stared blankly at her and she began to feel awkward. Perhaps they wouldn't understand.

"Relationship agreement?" Bernie repeated, unsure if she heard Carly right.

"Like the roommate agreement Leonard and Sheldon have?" Penny asked in suspicion.

Carly nodded, threading her fingers together around her glass. "Yes. Exactly like that. Well, I mean, not exactly I guess - but you get the idea."

"No, I do not get the idea! What did he make you sign?" Penny asked in a panic, clearly worried for her friend as she knew how Sheldon was about that stupid roommate agreement.

Carly was startled by Penny's ferocity and blinked a couple of times before answering. "He didn't make me sign anything. It was my idea."

"What?!" Bernie and Penny exclaimed in unison. Carly jumped and glanced around, catching a few eyes to turn in their direction.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," she muttered, uncomfortable now with the conversation.

Penny put a hand down on the table in front of her. "Carly, be reasonable with us. This is Sheldon we're talking about. You don't just jump into a legal agreement with him, willy nilly. He'll take advantage."

Carly frowned deeply at Penny's words. "I'm being reasonable. As I said, this was my idea. Both of us were feeling insecure in our relationship and so to feel safer, I had him draw up an agreement that helped us. That's all."

Bernie and Penny exchanged looks of concern. The smaller of the two placed a hand on Carly's shoulder.

"Carly, is this because he left? Is that why you're insecure?"

Carly looked away from them and bit her lip.

Penny crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, it sure can't be that she thinks Sheldon will cheat on her. I mean, he doesn't even acknowledge other women are women."

The fact that she'd been cheated on before did poise a certain air of insecurity in her, but she was more concerned about how her current boyfriend would run away from her if she touched him when he wasn't prepared.

Carly shook her head. "No, it's because we both have insecurities about each other leaving and... this agreement is also about progressing our relationship. To get closer."

Penny dropped her chin as she looked over at her. "How close?"

Carly blushed and grabbed her drink, taking a sip of it before she answered. "Pretty close."

Bernie and Penny gaped, before squealing happily.

Carly jumped again and gave them meaningful glances. They just grinned.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe Sheldon wants to... you know, have coitus with you," Penny gushed, using the term Sheldon had used for sex in previous conversations.

Carly threw her warm face into her hands. "I can't believe I'm telling you guys this."

Bernie laughed and patted her shoulder. "This is what we do. We pry, we plead, we poke fun."

Carly dropped her hands, giving her friend a playful glare. "You guys can't tell anyone this okay? If Sheldon found out, he'd probably be embarrassed and I don't want it ruining it. I have a lot of hope riding on this."

Penny grinned. "Scouts honor."

Bernie put a hand over her chest. "Me too!"

The girls laughed and carried on, chatting happily as they ate.

oO0Oo

Meanwhile, at the comic book store, Sheldon stood across from Leonard at the boxes of dollar comic books. He was troubled, unable to make up his mind or come up with anything.

He was at a loss.

"Leonard?" He called to his best friend and roommate, always feeling like he could go to him in case he needed something.

Leonard looked up at him from above his glasses. "Yeah?"

Sheldon fidgeted and frowned, his worries overwhelming him. "If I were to get Carly a gift, which one do you think she'd appreciate more? A cat or an orgasm?"

Leonard choked, sounding strangled for a second before composing himself. "Wait, what?"

Sheldon's frown deepened at his friend's reaction. "Well, I wanted to get her a book of her liking, but her Mee-Maw sent her a first edition copy of Canterbury Tales so I don't feel like I should get her something she already has- and even I know it's a cop-out to get a librarian a book."

Leonard stared at his friend, unsure of how to process this information. "So you went with cat or..." Leonard cleared his throat, unable to continue.

Sheldon nodded vaguely. "I know, it's a little much, isn't it? It's just that, we did decide to not give each other gifts but, it dawned on me the other night when you all exchanged gifts that... perhaps I should get her something. She... deserves it."

Leonard blinked. Was he hearing this right? Out of all the years, he'd known Sheldon, he'd never gone out of his way to buy a gift for someone. The only thing that could have come close was all those baskets of soaps and body washes he'd bought Penny, but even that didn't fully count. He had only bought them for insurance purposes.

"What do you think I should do?" Sheldon asked him, looking up at him with his eyebrows knitted together- clearly troubled.

Leonard shifted in his shoes. "Well, do you know if Carly wants a cat?"

Sheldon tilted his head, thinking the words over. "Not necessarily. I know she loves cats and I don't think she's ever owned one. The way she lit up at the animal shelter that one time tells me that she'd probably prefer to have one."

Leonard pursed his lips, trying to think of something to help Sheldon. All he could think of though was the other option and how Sheldon had spoken so casually about it in the middle of the comic book store. "So the other option would be sex?"

Sheldon straightened, giving Leonard a startled look. "Heavens no! We aren't ready for that, Leonard."

Leonard frowned in confusion. "Okay, then what did you mean when you said 'orgasm' then?"

Sheldon sighed. "I could see where you could get confused. No, let me explain." He shifted and leaned in closer so no one would overhear. "I was thinking of bringing her to orgasm with my hand."

Once again, Leonard choked but tried hard to stifle it when he saw Sheldon give him a look of concern. He struggled to look him in the eyes. "Um, I'm going to have to go with the second one. I'm pretty sure she'd want that."

Sheldon leaned back and thought about it. Perhaps Leonard was right. He didn't know for sure if Carly would appreciate a pet, even if she did love cats, but he did know that she'd enjoyed it when he had touched her over her clothes at the movie theater. There also was Acceleration Night and he was taking the experiment seriously. It was in writing after all.

"You're probably right," Sheldon mused thoughtfully, then gave Leonard an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Leonard."

Leonard swallowed awkwardly. "No problem, buddy," he muttered, thinking that Carly was going to have a shock of a lifetime. A sudden thought plagued him and he looked up at Sheldon from under his dark eyebrows. "Do you even know how to do that?"

Sheldon shot his eyes up to Leonard, surprised that the conversation was still going. "What, make her orgasm?"

Leonard nodded, glancing around and worried people would hear them. He never thought he'd be having the sex talk with Sheldon.

His tall roommate gave him a look of derision. "I have a working brain capable of mapping out the crevices of the universe- I think I'd know how to make a woman orgasm."

Leonard quirked an eyebrow. Sheldon sounded rather clinical about the process. "You realize that it's different doing it than reading about it, right?"

Sheldon blinked in confusion. "Why would it be different? I learned how to swim by watching tutorials on YouTube."

Leonard sighed, now thinking Carly may be disappointed in this new revelation from her boyfriend. "Sheldon... this is different. Each woman is unique. You'll have to learn just what does it for Carly."

Sheldon pondered Leonard's words and looked away from him for a moment. "I suppose you do have a point."

Leonard swallowed and eyed Sheldon, wondering what the man was planning. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just... let her guide you. You're a quick learner."

Sheldon nodded, visibly relaxing, and threw a smile at Leonard. "Good thinking. Thanks, Leonard. That's helpful."

Leonard gave him an awkward smile. "Sure thing."

Just then, Raj came up to them, holding up a flashpoint comic book. "Found it," he said happily and then caught the weird look Leonard was giving Sheldon, who was oblivious to it as usual.

"Oh, hey since I have you both here," Sheldon began, giving them both a look. "Friday's are no longer vintage video game night. I'm going to be spending the last Friday evening of each month with Carly from now on in her apartment. We'll have vintage video game night on Thursday's so it won't interrupt our schedule."

Leonard and Raj stared at Sheldon, shocked by the news.

"That's a drastic change," Raj commented, weirded out by it.

Sheldon shrugged. "Well, I have a girlfriend now. I'd have to move things around to accommodate her eventually, wouldn't I? Just be lucky I haven't kicked you out of our social circle. You know I only prefer a small knit of friends, and with our number growing to seven, it's beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic."

Raj rolled his eyes and Leonard sighed. "Let's just go. We still have Halo to play."

Sheldon narrowed his eyes. "And how on earth are we supposed to play Halo when we only have three players? Both Wolowitz and Carly are indisposed."

Leonard shrugged. "We can take turns."

Sheldon wrinkled his nose in disgust at the idea. "Take turns? Why don't we just stand out on the corner and beg for money while we're at it?"

Raj and Leonard rolled their eyes and left him there to go buy their comic books. Sheldon was left to follow them, still upset about the fact that they'd only have three players.

In the end, they invited Stuart- much to Sheldon's dismay. He still hadn't forgotten how he'd not only hit on his girlfriend but also had stared at her at the Halloween party. But, as he'd stated before, they did need four players to make it even and a fair fight.

He supposed he could live with it.

... For a few days until Wolowitz came back.

oO0Oo

"They're picking on him?" Carly asked Bernie in deep sadness, waiting for Penny to return from the lady's room.

Bernadette nodded, miserable with the fact. "He's going insane up there. His anxiety is really bad and he just wants to come home. I can't wait till Saturday so he can come back."

Carly nodded, understanding. "That is still so sad though. I mean, it's always been his dream to go to space. Now that he's up there, the experience is being ruined by some bully astronauts. How awful."

Bernadette sighed and took another drink from her margarita. "I know. It's heartbreaking."

Carly bit her lip and put a hand on her shoulder. "Howard's lucky to have such a sweet wife like you looking out for him."

Bernie smiled, tears glittering in her eyes. "Thank you."

Penny returned and slid back into the booth. She grabbed a chip and dipped it into the bowl of salsa in front of her before she looked up at them. "What I miss?"

Bernie shook her head. "Just talking about Howard. Speaking of husbands though, how was your Christmas?"

Penny shrugged. "It went fine. Kind of boring, I won't lie. Had wine. Listened to Christmas music, since Sheldon was away. Nothing fancy. You?"

"It went well. Raj came with me to my parents for Christmas Day and my mom prepared a meal. I was surprised that Raj was on his best behavior. It was probably only because Howard wasn't there though."

"True. They're ridiculous when they're together," Penny shook her head then looked over at Carly. "You ever gonna spill what happened with you and Dr. Whackadoodle while you were away?"

Carly blushed and bit her lip anxiously. "It was great. I met his sister and her husband, and of course Mee-Maw. They're all lovely. Especially Mee-Maw. Oh, and Mary gave me this-" she broke off to finger the necklace on her, showing it to the girls.

"Ooh, that's pretty. It looks vintage," Bernie commented, eyeing it with a smile.

"It was Mary's. Sheldon's father gave it to her. Sheldon told me she used to wear it all the time when he was younger."

Penny gaped. "She just gave a family heirloom like that to you?"

Carly nodded shyly. "I know right? It surprised me too."

"They must really have faith in you and Sheldon," Bernie mused.

Carly tilted her head. "I suppose so. I hope they do. I don't have any intention of leaving Sheldon... unless he wants me to," she said, bitter by the end of her sentence.

Penny shook her head. "Please, that man won't leave you. He's head over heels in love with you and this whole 'relationship agreement' is evidence enough that he wants to keep you for a very long time."

"It does sound serious," Bernie said thoughtfully, putting her chin in her palm. "You'll probably be married before Leonard and Penny."

Penny and Carly both gaped at Bernie, for different reasons respectively.

"What? That's not true. We'll get married when the time is right. We're fine just being engaged for now," Penny defended, feeling attacked by the jab.

"And I don't think Sheldon even thinks about getting married, so I highly doubt that," Carly added seriously.

Bernie rolled her eyes at her friends. "Yeah yeah, okay."

The girls enjoyed the rest of their time together, laughing and carrying on before finally calling it a night.

When Penny returned to Leonard for bed, she smiled tiredly. He returned it but couldn't help but look like he was struggling with something.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked, worried, as she climbed under the covers with him.

He turned to face her, welcoming her into his arms and pressing his cheek to her hair. "You'll never believe what kind of conversation I had with Sheldon today."

Next chapter is the first Acceleration Night! Can you wait? It's gonna get extremely warm up in here. I'll be posting one chapter every day until I have all the chapters up. Get yourself prepared! ;)

Let me know what you thought about Sheldon's "gift"? Haha. He is such a silly boy.