Chapter 28: New Year
"Let's not call it a problem. Let's call it an opportunity. To solve a serious problem." - Sheldon
When Sheldon returned to his apartment after Acceleration Night, he was startled by the intense stares coming from both Penny and Leonard who were snuggling on the right side of the couch, previously watching tv.
He paused, getting uncomfortable under the weight of their gazes. "Hello," he drew out slowly, giving them a look that clearly expressed his discomfort.
"How'd it go with Carly? You were only over there a little over an hour," Leonard asked, voice high as he was unable to keep the amused curiosity out of it.
"Oh that." Sheldon dropped his eyes to the ground and distractedly headed over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. His mouth was dry from all the oxygen he had inhaled previously and he needed to do something, anything, to get away from their prying eyes. "It went well."
Penny and Leonard exchanged looks, smirks growing on their faces.
The blond sat up straighter, giving him a smug smile. "How well?"
At her voice, Sheldon cut his eyes over to her, becoming irritated at the reminder of what she'd done. He snapped the bottle up in his hands and put it down forcibly on the counter before him. "I believe that's none of your concern, and while we're on the topic of what doesn't concern you; I am highly disturbed as to why you decided to blab to everyone in our social group about what I had planned for Carly this evening."
Penny ducked her head, guiltily. "Sheldon, it wasn't my intention to tell everyone. I just told Bernadette, since I knew she'd be happy for you guys. She's Carly's friend too."
Sheldon narrowed his eyes and Leonard quickly stepped in to defend his fiancé. "It was my fault. I told Penny about our conversation and I should have kept it between us. It's just that I was so surprised that you'd chosen to do such a thing after all these years of practicing kohlinar."
Sheldon bristled and made a face. "Yes well, I've learned my lesson. I won't be coming to you for advice in the foreseeable future, Leonard. Not if you immediately go caterwauling to your busybody betrothed."
"Hey!" Penny shouted, offended. "I'm not a busy body. I was just excited for you and Carly!"
Sheldon was undeterred and snatched the water bottle back up, done with this conversation. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the Nebraskan cornhusker's flappy jaws. "I stand by my statement. It was neither of your news to share and it's highly inappropriate, and embarrassing to both Carly and myself."
And with that said, Sheldon left the nosy couple to retreat into his bedroom to get ready for bed.
Out in the living room, Penny looked to Leonard with a look of shock, but he just shrugged, getting uncomfortable.
"Well you did tell Bernadette who told Howard, and who I know told Raj... so, what did you think was going to happen? I told you in confidence," Leonard told her and Penny scowled, crossing her arms and looking away from him.
"Yes well, you shouldn't have told me. You know I can't keep something this big away from my friends."
Leonard sighed and threw his arm around her. "We should probably apologize tomorrow when we see him. He's got a point. It probably was rather embarrassing for them. This is a new experience for both Carly and Sheldon."
Penny sighed and snuggled into his arms. "You're right. I'll have to apologize to Carly too. I... was just happy for them."
"I know," Leonard smiled and kissed his fiancé on the forehead. Then he thought of something. "I'm surprised that he didn't stay long though. Do you think he freaked out again?"
Penny considered his words. "Um, well I don't think so. He didn't seem like he was panicking. Maybe he left to stop it from going any further? You know how Sheldon is. He doesn't like doing more than he already has planned."
Leonard sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I know better than anyone that he always sticks to his schedules."
Penny nodded. "But this was a good thing, I think. Even if he's freaking out right now, this is progress right?"
"Most definitely."
oO0Oo
For New Year, the four inhabitants of Los Robles got together in 4A to watch a marathon of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy with popcorn and candy. Carly had even baked chocolate chip cookies like she and her grandmother always had on New Years growing up.
Raj and Stuart had formed a bond while Howard was away and so they'd decided to go to a bar together for the night, while Bernadette prepared to bring home her husband.
It was proving to be a wonderful night for all of them.
As it neared midnight, Carly felt her arm go numb as she'd been taken hostage as Penny's pillow since the beginning of "The Return of the King". She glanced down at her snoring friend and smiled slightly.
She looked over at Leonard who was curled up on the armchair, engrossed in the movie. "Do you think I should wake her?" Carly murmured softly to him as to not disturb Penny.
Leonard tore his tired gaze from the television and smirked slightly at the sight. "Probably. She'd get mad if she missed the countdown."
Sheldon quickly interjected, lazily putting a finger up. "There will be no countdown, Leonard. This apartment is not a bar, nor Time Square." He sounded tired while holding his head up by an arm propped up on the arm of the crouch.
Carly wished to snuggle up to him and had been wanting to the whole night, being so close, especially after the previous evening- but she held herself back, knowing he didn't approve of PDA and even Carly didn't want to be the end of Penny and Leonard's jokes, despite being in all good fun.
"Sheldon, it's just a countdown. It's not like we're going to suspend a ball and drop it from the ceiling," Leonard chastised, rolling his eyes at his friend.
"God I'd hope not," Sheldon muttered grumpily.
Carly took that moment to gently shake her friend's shoulder and call her name softly. "Penny? Wake up."
Penny snorted once, coming to rather quickly, and blinked rapidly trying to remember where she was. When she sat up drowsily and saw the tv, she groaned. "It's still on? How long are these movies?" She complained, wiping at her mouth where a small amount of drool had collected.
"This one is four hours and eleven minutes," Sheldon recited, sitting up slightly in his spot to keep himself from falling asleep.
"We've been watching these movies since two this afternoon," Penny groaned and looked to Carly, slightly impressed. "How are you enjoying this?"
Carly gave her a sheepish grin. "I like these movies. I've read the books."
Penny sighed. "Oh right, you're a bookworm," she said sullenly.
Carly laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Five minutes till midnight," Leonard announced, sitting up in his chair and getting himself ready.
Carly felt her heart jump and glanced over at Sheldon watching the movie with droopy eyes. She'd be going into the new year as this man's girlfriend. Her whole life had changed, she thought. She had great friends, her grandmother had survived a stroke, her career was going well, and had a wonderful boyfriend.
Sheldon met her eyes when he saw her looking at her, his face softening. She smiled at him and was pleased to see him return it slightly.
"Three minutes," Penny said, suddenly gaining energy and jumping to her feet to go over to Leonard. He caught her by the waist and pulled her down happily to his lap where she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Neither Carly nor Sheldon took notice of them, too wrapped up in each other's eyes.
"Two minutes," Leonard stated, hands holding his fiancé to him.
Sheldon's heart jumped, realizing what Leonard was preparing and he broke the eye contact, to stand on his weak legs. He ran for the kitchen to grab a water bottle, downing it before Carly made her way over to him, her face full of sweet concern.
"Sheldon, are you okay?"
His eyes betrayed him and they dropped to her mouth as she spoke, almost choked on the water he was swallowing when she bit her plump bottom lip. He knew the protocols for New Years- he'd seen enough of tv and had friends who informed him thusly.
Would he be expected to... of course he'd kissed her before but not in front of his friends. Did she expect him to?
Realizing he hadn't answered her, he dropped his gaze and sat the bottle down on the counter, troubled with his thoughts.
"One minute!" Penny laughed from the chair with Leonard and Sheldon jumped.
"Stop with that stupid countdown! I can tell time," he snapped irritably and everyone looked at him in alarm.
He turned away from them and frowned, hating how things such as this made him feel. Like he was being backed into a corner. It was in these moments he wished he was normal enough to just be with Carly.
Alone, it had become second nature to him. In front of others, he was still uncertain.
Carly's hand found his that lay on the counter next to him and he tensed, surprised by the sudden physical contact. He spun his head to see her staring up at him with soft eyes.
She wasn't expecting anything, he rationed. At least he didn't think so. She was just worried about his behavior.
"Sheldon?" She whispered and he felt his heart jerk in her direction.
He faced her and entwined their fingers together then held their hands to his beating heart. She glanced down at them curiously and then met his eyes.
"I'm all right," he breathed, wanting to reassure her and himself. She smiled then, the one specific for him and his defenses fell.
In her eyes, he saw himself, her love for him, and how exactly she felt. It deeply touched him, still unbelieving that any woman would look at him in this way. Despite his previous anxiety over the protocols, he suddenly found himself wanting to kiss her. Not because of the clock striking midnight, but because he loved her. I truly, deeply love her.
He didn't tell her enough but he did.
This upcoming year would be completely different than the last, he was sure of it. Because this time, he'd be entering it with this little lady at his side. Where he hoped she'd stay for as long as she was willing.
Carly's mouth parted as his eyes changed and he beheld her with such fondness, fascination, and longing all at once. It was enough to leave her breathless. As if an invisible magnet was pulling them together, they were moving toward each other. Sheldon's head leaned down and she rose on her toes, her hand clutching his where his racing heartbeat pounded against them.
Her eyes closed as they were a breath apart and as soon as their lips brushed each other, Penny and Leonard cheered loudly behind them: "Happy New Year!"
Their excitement fell on deaf ears as Sheldon and Carly put all of their past misfortunes, loneliness, and heartbreaks behind them and brought forth their hopes, dreams, and love into what they had between each other.
They didn't know what the new year held for them, but they knew to be what may, they'd take it on together.
oO0Oo
As January began, everyone settled back into the age-old routine. Howard was back from Space, Bernadette was happier and no longer depressed, Penny and Leonard were still engaged, Carly and Sheldon were as good as ever, and even Raj had found a girlfriend at the bar with Stuart on New Years.
Her name was Molly and she was a nutritionist. So far, Raj was hitting it off with her- as long as he continued to sip alcohol in her presence. He'd explained what his issue was and she had been very understanding.
The whole gang was rooting for him, although Howard had voiced his reservations once or twice, assuming Raj would mess it up at some point as he'd done in the past.
Sheldon had thrown himself into his work, intent on making a difference in his new field of study while also trying to block out the fact he'd have to teach young minds every once in a while.
He'd even apparently hired an assistant, to Carly's knowledge, and had been working with them to figure out if he'd made a breakthrough in his childhood journals he'd asked his mother to send him.
Carly had offered to help him, but he'd declined with the reasoning that although she had a working mind for the Dewey Decimal System, physics and the inner workings of the universe wasn't her strong suit.
She had to agree with him. It was fine though, she had the new year audits to attend to for the library. It was keeping her busy.
Knee deep in lists and files, one Tuesday morning, she heard her phone ringing. She sighed tiredly and grabbed her phone from her skirt pocket.
It was Penny.
"Hey, girl! Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you wanted to go have lunch with the guys today. I promise it should go better than the last time," she laughed into the phone and Carly smiled.
"That sounds wonderful. I really need a change of scenery," she replied, gazing around the office she was in with distaste.
Penny chuckled. "Yeah me too. I can only take so much of these stuffy doctor offices."
Carly grinned and made the plan with her to go see the guys for lunch. "Should I tell Sheldon we're coming? I don't want to disturb him."
"Yeah, he has been pretty busy lately. Go ahead and shoot him a call. I'll let Leonard know too."
"Okay sounds good."
They got off the phone and Carly dialed Sheldon's number, nervously listening to the phone ring. She hoped he didn't get upset with her for bothering him.
"Dr. Cooper's office. How may I help you?"
Carly froze. That was not her boyfriend's voice. "Who is this?" She asked, disturbed.
"My name is Alex Jenson. I'm Dr. Cooper's assistant. Who is this?"
Carly frowned deeply. She, of course, knew that he had an assistant and had been working late with them for a few nights now, but she hadn't known Alex was a girl. "This is Carly, his girlfriend. May I speak with him?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Dr. Cooper is busy working right now. He has asked me to hold all calls that are not Stephen Hawking, his mother, or himself from the future."
Carly gaped, stung by this news. She hadn't even made the list? Also, she didn't appreciate some woman working with her boyfriend into the late hours of the night. She had even been to his apartment! "Can you please tell him I called?" She tried to keep her voice as level as possible.
Alex had a sweet, polite voice which just made Carly feel worse. "Of course, Carly. I will do."
They hung up and Carly was left reeling. This was beginning to feel like John and Lexi all over again. Sheldon wouldn't do that to her, would he? Up until that point, she would have never thought it would be possible. Yet, with this new development and also Sheldon's new interest in sexual relations maybe things were different now.
Dread overtaking her, she collected her belongings and left for lunch, intent on getting to the bottom of this and why Sheldon hadn't told her.
As she drove, she reminded herself that they had a legal document stating they were together. He wouldn't have signed it if it wasn't a serious commitment.
Carly met Penny outside of Caltech and tried to muster a smile when she greeted her. However, Penny immediately picked up on her mood.
"What is it?" She asked Carly, her eyebrows furrowing over her eyes as they headed into the building.
"Well," Carly took a deep breath, glancing over at her friend, troubled. "I found out that Sheldon's assistant Alex is a woman."
Penny quirked an eyebrow. "And?"
Carly pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, trying to control herself. "And I'm having a hard time figuring out why he wouldn't have told me that his assistant was a woman."
"Maybe he didn't notice?" Penny wisecracked but Carly threw her a glance, making her compose her face. "Look, sweetie. Sheldon loves you. I highly doubt some girl helping him read through his disgusting poop journals will make a move on him."
Carly wanted to believe her, but the feelings of past pains were returning to her. Pains that she thought she'd dealt with and was over. "I hope you're right."
Penny gave her a sympathetic smile and squeezed her shoulder gently. "This is Sheldon, we're talking about. Before you, we didn't even think he had genitals."
Carly slumped. "Maybe that's why I should be worried. He does have them, and now he's using them. What if she just comes along and takes him from me?"
Penny stopped Carly outside of Sheldon's office, taking her hand. "Carly. Listen to yourself. There is no way that Sheldon would be interested in another woman. He only has eyes for you, and you know that."
Carly took a deep breath, trying to believe Penny. Sheldon wasn't John. Far from it. She needed to give him more credit. "You're right. Everything's fine."
Penny smiled at her and then turned to knock on his office door. When no one answered, Carly, tilted her head and looked to Penny. "Well, Alex did say he was busy. Perhaps he's working?"
Penny took the initiative to open the door and they both looked inside to see the office empty of intelligent life, however many of the boxes Mary had sent Sheldon were littered around his floor as if they had been sifted through.
Carly met Penny's gaze. "Maybe he's already in the cafeteria?" The blond suggested. "I told Leonard we were coming so I'm assuming he must have told Sheldon, right?"
Carly frowned, not liking any of this. "Yes, probably."
Penny sighed. "All right, let's go then."
The girls made their way to the cafeteria and immediately saw their four male friends sitting around a table, eating.
"See? Nothing to worry about-" Penny began but stopped when she saw a dark-haired girl walk over to Sheldon, holding a frozen yogurt cup in her hands, then handing it over to him. Carly's heart stopped as she watched Sheldon take it from her with a smile, then share brief words with her.
That must be Alex, Carly realized. Why was Sheldon smiling at her? She didn't like it.
"Let's go and-" Carly was stopped by Penny's hand. The blond gave her a look.
"Wait... look," she pointed to them and saw the woman who she assumed was Alex bow her head and leave for another table, where a tray was sat waiting for her. "Okay, now we can go."
Carly still was bothered and she let Penny lead her over to the guys silently.
Leonard caught sight of the first and grinned, standing. "Hey! Glad you guys could join us!"
Howard and he grabbed chairs for the girls. Sheldon looked up at Carly and smiled, making her narrow her eyes at it. He froze, not understanding her reaction.
She sat down at the end of the table next to him and gave him a worried look. "Why didn't you tell me your assistant was a woman?"
Sheldon's eyebrows quirked. "Why would I? I don't tell you the genders of the other people I work with," he countered, unable to understand her animosity.
Carly felt scolded all of a sudden and bit her lip, feeling not only Sheldon's eyes on her but the whole table. Feeling like a fool for voicing her insecurities aloud, she stood up again, taking them off guard. "I'll be right back... I'm going to get food."
"I'll come with you," Penny announced, getting to her feet again. The girls left the table and Sheldon watched his girlfriend back with confusion.
When they were out of earshot, he turned to Leonard. "Am I missing something?"
Leonard sighed and put his drink down on his tray in front of him. "I'm assuming Carly's upset that you've been working with a woman and didn't tell her."
Sheldon frowned, still uncertain on how to take the news. "I didn't know I needed to tell her. Should I have?"
Raj gave him a look. "Dude, of course, you should have. Carly's been in an unfaithful relationship before you."
Sheldon blinked at him, not liking that his girlfriend's previous lover was being brought up all of a sudden. "What does that have to do with Alex? And how do you know about that?"
Raj put his hands up in defense. "We've talked." Sheldon gave him a look dripping with condescension.
Howard pinched his nose in exasperation. "Sheldon, she's worried you're going to have an affair with Alex behind her back."
Sheldon gasped, sitting back in his chair as if his lungs had been sucked dry at the news. "What? Why on - why would I- that's preposterous! I'd never do that to Carly."
Leonard smiled sadly up at him. "Buddy, I'm sure she knows that you wouldn't, but she's been hurt before by someone she trusted. The fact you're spending time with another woman is probably bringing up those memories."
Sheldon crossed his arms over his chest, clearly perturbed. "Alex is just my assistant. In all reality, she's practically my slave. Carly is my girlfriend. She has nothing to be insecure about. I have a written contract to prove it."
The guys exchanged glances between one other. Leonard leaned in. "You should probably make her feel better. She seems pretty upset."
"Oh, and next time you work with a woman, you should probably tell her," Howard added. "What if she suddenly was working with another man, and didn't tell you?"
Sheldon uncrossed his arms and leaned on the table before his tray of untouched food, his frozen yogurt from Alex starting to melt. "But she has told me about all of the men she works with. Mark and Owen are good people."
Leonard rolled his eyes. "You're missing the point."
Before they could continue their conversation, the girls returned, Carly looking worse for wear. She was beginning to think perhaps having lunch with her boyfriend would always be a bad day for her.
The silence at the table had Penny peering around, realizing the guys had been discussing something. More than likely about Alex to Sheldon.
She tried to lighten up the mood. "Guess what? You know that anti-depressant I've been pushing? Turns out, it makes you cry! How ironic right?" she laughed.
Leonard was the only one who smiled at her, patting her hand gently in appreciation.
Raj and Howard felt horribly awkward with Carly poking at her salad and Sheldon staring at her intently. To relieve the tension, they began talking about random things.
As they neared the uneasy end of their lunch, Sheldon finally broke the peace, unable to hold it back any longer.
"Carly, you're my girlfriend. Why on earth would I want to lower my standards to a measly grad student?"
His words made them all go silent and Carly looked up at him in alarm. She placed her fork down on her empty plate and steeled herself to answer him levely. "You didn't tell me your assistant was a woman and you've been working late with her for several nights now. She's even been to your apartment, while you told me to stay home because you were doing research and wouldn't have time to spend with me. What else am I supposed to think?"
Sheldon gaped, not expecting her words and panicking that she was mad at him. Quickly trying to salvage the situation he rounded on her. "You didn't ask me if my assistant was a girl and I didn't think to inform you. It's not like I was having an affair with her behind your back!"
Carly blushed darkly at his correct musings of her assumptions. She was horribly embarrassed in front of their friends. She shouldn't have said anything. "I didn't say that you were," she told him lowly, her eyes avoiding his upset face. She needed to get out there.
She stood.
"Where are you going?" He asked her in panic.
She looked away from him, holding her crossbody leather purse to herself. "You've heard of the flight or fight response... well, this is flight," she told him thickly with emotion and then made a beeline out of the cafeteria.
Sheldon stood hastily, watching her disappear as his heart lurched at the fact she was running from him. He glanced to Leonard and Penny. "Do I go after her? What's the protocol?"
Penny gave him an annoyed look. "Just give her space right now, Sheldon. She needs to cool down otherwise you'll just argue."
Sheldon didn't like that idea and his eyes went to the door again longingly, before slowly falling back into his seat in a heap. He felt like he needed to talk to her, to explain, but he didn't even know what he'd say. He felt guilty for something he hadn't even done and didn't understand what was happening.
"Maybe you should go talk to her," Leonard suggested to his fiancé. "You always can calm her down."
Sheldon sulked further, realizing that at this moment, he was the reason she was upset.
"Yeah you're probably right," Penny said and then stood, glancing at her sad, tall friend. "Are you going to be all right, Sheldon?"
He just looked away, not wanting to answer any of them.
Penny pressed her lips together and looked to her boyfriend who tried to give her a reassuring smile. Penny leaned down and kissed his cheek in farewell and left.
A few minutes of silence later, Alex appeared nervously at the table, having noticed the tension at the table. "Is everything all right, Dr. Cooper?" She asked meekly.
Sheldon snapped his gaze up to her, suddenly feeling animosity towards the grad student. "No, everything is not all right. I'm afraid I'm going to have you let you go, Alex. Thank you for your work up until this point but I no longer require your assistance."
Alex and the rest of the guys all looked to Sheldon in shock.
"What? Did I do something?" Alex asked Sheldon in alarm.
Sheldon crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her with contempt. "Yes, you were born a female."
Alex blinked, unable to comprehend what he was saying. "You're firing me because I'm a woman? That's awfully sexist of you," she replied, becoming offended and a little hurt.
"Not at all. In the words of Zachary Spence, it's not me, it's you."
Alex crossed her arms angrily. "You realize I gave up an opportunity at Fermilab to work with you."
Sheldon was undeterred, giving her a look of condescension. "And you realize that I dismissed you moments ago and yet you're still standing here," he retorted with a hand gesture as if to say "viola".
Alex, completely offended- scoffed and left the cafeteria, allowing Sheldon to breathe in peace.
"That was rude, Sheldon," Leonard scolded, taken aback by his roommate's words and actions.
Sheldon looked over at him. "I know right? It's a good thing I let her go when I did, and besides- her corduroy pants she wore today were so loud when she walked, I couldn't hear myself think."
"I can't believe you fired Alex because of Carly," Raj shook his head, impressed with Sheldon.
Sheldon said nothing of the matter and stood. "If you'll excuse me gentleman, I need to get back to work. Those boxes aren't going to go through themselves."
Leonard sighed, feeling sympathy for the man after the show of getting rid of his assistant because of his girlfriend. "Sheldon, I'll help you."
Sheldon threw a look at his roommate in surprise. "But I thought you didn't want to? I asked you before."
Leonard stood, grabbing his tray. "I know but, if you really need help. I'll do it," he told him, and then quickly added, "I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it."
"That's all I ask," Sheldon said happily, brightening substantially. "Okay, meet me after work in my office and we'll get to work immediately. I have five boxes I haven't even opened yet."
Howard, taken aback by all of this, stopped Sheldon by standing. "Wait, are you really going to just work late again tonight when you've upset your girlfriend?" He asked in disbelief.
Leonard paused as Sheldon considered his words. "Howard's right. You've been working late for the last week and you've barely spent time with her. Maybe you should take her out or something tonight."
Sheldon screwed his face up. "But today's not date night. That's the fourteenth of every month. It says so in our relationship agreement. If I start taking her out willy nilly then our contract would lose its credibility."
Leonard gave Sheldon a look. "So you're fine with just letting her be upset with you while you stay here looking through your potty training journals?"
Sheldon was offended. "They're not just potty training journals! But, I do see your point. Perhaps I could swing something for her," he said, biting his lip as he looked into middle distance in thought.
"What about taking her to that new hibachi place on June Boulevard?" Raj suggested, getting to his feet as well. "I was thinking of bringing Molly there sometime. It looks really nice."
With the new subject at hand, the guys grabbed the trays from the table, disposed of them, and walked out of the cafeteria together.
Meanwhile, Penny found Carly outside of the building, staring up at the sky. She was surprised to see her there, as she expected she'd have left.
"Oh, hey. I'm glad you're still here," Penny greeted, coming to a stop next to her. Carly glanced over at her glumly and then looked down at the ground.
"Yeah, I felt like a fool getting all upset like that. I wasn't sure if I should just go back in there or not."
Penny smiled sadly at her. "It's okay to be upset, Carly. It's true he didn't tell you and was insensitive to what you've been through before him."
Carly shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "No, he didn't think about it because he assumed I was over what happened with John. To be honest so did I..." she took a deep breath. "Until now. What I feel for Sheldon is so much deeper than I could have ever felt for John. The idea of him leaving me for another woman- a smart woman that's interested in physics and can understand him when he talks about science... it hurts. Really bad."
Penny felt tears burn her eyes as she resonated with Carly's feelings. "I totally understand what you're saying. I've been cheated on before too. Many times. It hurts and you think you've gotten past it but that insecurity still creeps up on you. It makes you feel unworthy and unlovable. I get it. But Sheldon does love you. And you're more than worthy, Carly. Everyone loves you. I included."
Carly bit her lip and looked away, wishing she didn't feel this way but relieved to hear that she wasn't the only one who went through it. "Do you ever feel that way about Leonard?" She murmured curiously.
Penny laughed bitterly. "All the time. You know for a while I thought it wouldn't bother me, him being so smart. But the truth is, it does. It's something I absolutely adore about him but I could never match a woman as smart as him. Or just smarter than me. It bugs me sometimes more than others, but at the end of the day, I know he chose me and I have to be content with that."
Carly nodded and processed Penny's words. She was right. There was nothing she could do about her brain, but the fact that Sheldon did indeed love her and wanted to be with her had to be enough. She also needed to have more faith in him and more confidence in herself.
This wasn't his fault, not really. Sure, he could have told her but the result would have been the same. She needed to remember that there were going to be times that he worked with women and she'd have to get over it. This was his career, his passion, and she didn't want to disrupt it more than she already had.
She took a deep, cleansing breath and glance at Penny who was staring at her in worried silence. "Thanks, Penny. I... I really appreciate it."
Penny smiled and pulled her into a hug. Carly melted into it, loving her best friend so much. When they pulled away, Carly knew she needed to go and apologize to Sheldon for her behavior.
"I'm going to go talk to Sheldon," she told Penny. "I'll catch up with you this evening."
She nodded. "Of course, sweetie. I gotta get back to work anyways."
They parted ways and Carly headed back into the building with bated breath. She stopped by the cafeteria, wondering if they were still there but when she saw that they weren't she turned around to go to his office.
His door was open this time and she hoped that it wasn't Alex that was in there. She didn't think she could take it.
Thankfully, the woman wasn't in there after all. Instead, Sheldon sat at his desk, typing on his computer. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.
At the intrusion, Sheldon looked up aimlessly and then stilled upon seeing who it was. "Carly."
"Hi Sheldon," she greeted shyly, her nerves overtaking her.
He stood from his desk and rounded it to stand in front of her. "Are you all right? I thought you'd left. Did Penny talk to you?"
His worry touched her and she felt like crying. She nodded weakly. "Yeah, she came outside. I didn't want to leave with this tension between us," she confessed and began wringing her hands. "I wanted to say... I'm sorry."
Sheldon's eyebrows knitted together and he regarded her for a couple of beats trying to decide why she'd apologize. "For what?"
She bit her lip and then let out a puff of pent-up air from her lungs. "Forgetting upset with you over nothing."
"But it wasn't nothing," Sheldon corrected, confused by her. "I didn't tell you I was working with a woman. If it were the other way around and you were working with a man behind my back, I would be livid."
Carly blushed lightly at the intensity of his words and threaded her fingers together. "Well, I still feel like I shouldn't have been that upset. It's not like you cheated on me or anything."
Sheldon stared at her, dissecting her with his brain, searching for something. When he finally found it he frowned deeply. "This is because of your ex-boyfriend, isn't it? The guys mentioned that this might have brought up painful memories."
Carly felt even more embarrassed and sighed, looking to the side in shame. "Unfortunately yes. But like I said, it isn't your fault. It's mine. I thought I was past it, but finding out there was another woman in your life doing things I couldn't do for you, who was spending more time with you than I've been, it was just too much and I-"
She broke off when Sheldon suddenly went to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She gasped and hid her face into his chest, throwing her arms around him and clutching at his flash shirt. "Why are you hugging me?" She asked shyly, still feeling horribly guilty, and didn't think she deserved his special moment of sweetness.
"You're crying. This is what I do when you cry," he told her simply and held the back of her head softly with a hand. "It's also in the relationship agreement, so now it's non-negotiable."
Carly frowned. Crying? Was she crying? She pulled away slightly and saw the slight wet mark on his shirt. She was, wasn't she? She hadn't even noticed but he had, and took action. How remarkable of him.
"I'm sorry," she cried into him, letting herself feel and sob. "I'm so sorry." She didn't even know what exactly she was apologizing for at that point, just that she wanted him to know that she was.
He held her gently to him and allowed her to cry, even though she knew he was always uncomfortable with her emotions. That made her cry harder. How did she deserve him?
Finally, after what felt like a mountain of emotions were released, she sagged against him weakly as the sobs ended. Shyly, she peeked up at him and he met her eyes immediately.
He did look uncomfortable, but it was more worry than anything. He slid his hands to her shoulders and she released his shirt to loosely hold his waist, not quite ready to remove herself completely from him.
"I'm sorry," she said once more, but this time she was referring to her sudden breakdown.
Sheldon shook his head. "Don't be. I'm sure that was a traumatic experience for you."
Carly was surprised by him. He was better at empathy than he used to be but it still was fascinating to hear him use it.
She looked down at the wet patch on his shirt. "I ruined your shirt," she grimaced.
He gazed down at it and then took a breath. "It'll dry," he told her softly.
Carly's eyes lifted back to his and they held the contact for a long drawn-out moment, coming to terms with what was happening between them.
"I... want you to know that I let Alex go," he told her suddenly and she blinked rapidly in surprise.
"What?" She whispered in disbelief.
Sheldon finally released her and stood to his full height. "I find myself no longer wanting an assistant and Leonard said he'd help me from now on with my journals."
Carly glanced at the many boxes around his office, then turned her eyes back to him. "This has to do with me, doesn't it?"
Sheldon wrinkled his nose and shrugged. "Not exactly. I find new people in my life to cause me distress and... she isn't important to me."
He held her gaze as he spoke and she felt her heart run away from her. He barely spoke about his feelings and when he did, she truly felt them like he was expressing them to her all over again.
She swallowed thickly. "You didn't have to do that. I would have gotten over it."
Sheldon shook his head and gave her a look. "Didn't you hear me? It's not because of you."
Carly wanted to smile but she couldn't. She felt guilty for putting him in that sort of situation. She wanted to apologize again but she felt like she was using up its value with how many times she'd said it already.
"No I heard you," she spoke softly to him.
Sheldon seemed relieved and he relaxed into an easy smile. "Good. Now, I wanted to propose something to you."
Carly was startled by the sudden change of subject and she straightened. "What's that?"
"I know tonight isn't date night but Raj suggested the new hibachi restaurant and I thought we could go for dinner."
Carly stated at him, stunned. "But... Tuesday you have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory."
Sheldon shrugged and then gave her a shy smile. "I know but... we haven't spent time together since the new year and I'd like to do this."
Carly felt her heart soar and she grinned despite herself. "I'd love to."
"Perfect. We'll go at seven," he told her simply.
Carly nodded happily. "Sounds wonderful."
oO0Oo
Carly sat across from Sheldon in a booth, away from the tables that the chefs used to cook in front of you. Sheldon didn't trust them and he was afraid of them asking him to catch food in his mouth. Carly couldn't argue. She didn't like it either.
He'd ordered something basic, just chicken fried rice while Carly got a bowl of authentic Japanese ramen. It was the perfect comfort food for the end of an emotional January day.
Carly appreciated the gesture, knowing Sheldon had gone out of his way to take her out specifically to make her feel better. She caught herself smiling at him frequently, while simultaneously kicking herself for thinking he'd ever get with someone else.
"Did you know that each time you use a chopstick, you're engaging around fifty muscles and joints, including the fingers, wrist, arm, and shoulders? Talk about a workout," Sheldon mused to her thoughtfully as he eyed her use of chopsticks to bring the long thin noodles to her mouth.
She smiled up at him. "Wow, I should use these more often. Could you imagine how ripped I'd be?" She teased and he smiled. "I'd be able to type two-hundred words per minute."
"Well, what's even better is you could decrease the risk of osteoporosis."
Carly felt her heart flutter as his eyes twinkled at her. He was so adorable. "True. Perhaps you should try them out."
Sheldon gave her a look of derision at the suggestion. "You know I'm more of the brain exercise type," he said, tapping a finger to his temple then gave her a smirk. "Besides, I don't need chopsticks to work out my hands. Do you know how much of my time is spent writing extensive equations?"
Carly grinned at her mathematical boyfriend. "I have an idea." She looked down at his food. "How's you're rice? Is it to your liking?"
Sheldon glanced down and gave her a thoughtful smile. "Yes, it's fine. Would you like to try it?"
Carly raised her eyebrows, surprised by his offer. He hadn't ever shared his food. "Oh it's okay, you don't have to share-"
"Here." Sheldon reached over to her, took the extra spoon from her napkin, and used it to shovel rice from his plate.
Carly watched in shock as he held the spoon out to her face. She stared at it and then lifted her eyes to see him looking at her expectantly.
"Sheldon, are you... feeding me?" She croaked, unbelieving her eyes. "Isn't that a romantic gesture?"
He faltered and looked down, embarrassed. He dropped his hand, his ears burning. "Well I was attempting to ignore that fact, but since you brought attention to it, let's just forget it."
Carly realized she had made him uncomfortable and scrambled to save face. "Sorry. I, I'll try it. Here-" she opened her mouth to encourage him and he stared at her briefly in surprise.
Sheldon looked around uneasily, worried what other people would think, and hurriedly spooned another pile of rice onto the spoon, then awkwardly put it into her mouth. She smiled, closed her mouth, taking the spoon from him.
"Mmm, that is good," Carly told him gratefully, feeling breathless from the fact her mysophobic boyfriend had just fed her.
"Good," Sheldon rasped, turning his eyes back to his food, deciding he would never do that again. Not only was it highly uncomfortable and embarrassing, the way she had looked at him when she moaned in delight at the taste caressed him in places that shouldn't be affected in a public place.
They finished their meal with companionable conversation and silence, before leaving the restaurant together.
On the way home, Carly looked over to Sheldon. "Thank you for the meal, Sheldon. I... I missed you."
Sheldon turned from the window and caught her shy smile. His lips curved upwards as his heart was touched by her words. "I missed you too," he told her honestly. "I'm sorry I've been busy lately."
Carly shook her head, the smile not leaving her face. "Don't apologize for working. I know how important it is. If anyone's going to make a difference in the world, it'll be you."
Sheldon stared at her, mystified by her appraisal of him. Did she really believe that? It moved something in him. He swallowed thickly with emotion. "I, thank you, Carly. Your words mean a lot to me."
She met his eyes briefly, her smile widening in the darkened car. "Of course, Sheldon, and I mean them."
He knew she did. It made him feel invincible when she spoke to him like that. Like he could do anything. Suddenly wanting to work, he became antsy until they got back to Los Robles.
He walked Carly to her door and stopped to give her a goodnight kiss. It lingered, and he found his arms wrapped around her, hers tightly wound around him. He'd never get over how she truly consumed him. He broke apart from her, pressing his forehead against hers.
Their eyes met and his heart skipped a beat. She always regarded him with such emotion. "Think about what you want to do for our date night," he murmured, already looking forward to spending more time with her, one on one.
Carly smiled prettily at him. "I will send you an email."
Sheldon grinned, glad she remembered their contract in such detail. "Perfect."
They still held each other, staring into each other's eyes. Sheldon couldn't help it, he kissed her once more, drawing out the moment and keeping as close to him as possible.
When he finally released her, she looked up at him through disoriented, hazy eyes. He smiled at his handy work. "I should go. I have work to do."
Carly smiled dreamily at him, releasing him. "Of course. I... I'll see you tomorrow for dinner after you get home from the comic book store."
Sheldon smiled. "Of course. Oh, and get ready to beat Koothrapali and Wolowitz at Halo. Since he's come back from space, Wolowitz has become annoyingly cocky."
Carly giggled and nodded happily, putting her thumbs up between them. "Well, I already worked for my hands out tonight so they'll be on their A-game tomorrow."
Sheldon laughed lightly at her antics. She was adorable. He couldn't wait to be with her again. Unable to help himself, he reached over and patted her on the head affectionately, making her blush.