Chapter 30: Leaving

"Yeah, I need to start cracking the window when I leave you in the car." - Penny

"So how was dessert?"

Carly gave Penny an amused look over her cup of coffee. They both were in her apartment, at the counter on the barstools she'd bought from IKEA upon moving in. "No foreplay or anything- just right to it."

"Well, you know me," Penny gave her a sheepish grin behind her coffee. "I can't stand the suspense."

Carly rolled her eyes with amusement. "You're ridiculous."

"Maybe. Now dish. What's going on with you and Doctor Whackadoodle?"

"Hey, don't call him that. He's not crazy. His mother had-"

"-Him tested, yeah I know. Stop dodging!" Penny goaded, seeing right through Carly's efforts.

"Fine. We... made out, that's it."

Penny stared at her blankly. "That's it? Sheldon's hair was messier than mine is in the morning and his buttons were all wonky. There's no way you just made out."

Carly blushed and took a distracted sip from her coffee. "I'm being honest. We may have done more but someone needed ginger."

Penny laughed. "Oops."

Carly ran a hand through her hair, thinking back on their date. "He's really getting more comfortable. The relationship agreement brought out a side to him I haven't seen before... it's," she felt dreamt thinking about it, "wonderful."

Penny saw the look she has on her face and laughed. "Oh, boy... someone's gonna have coitus soon!"

Carly rolled her eyes through her blush. "All right enough about me. How's work going?"

Penny sighed, her smile falling. "It's fine I guess." The way she looked down at her mug of coffee told Carly differently.

"Is it not what you were hoping?"

Penny pressed her lips together in somewhat anguish before confessing. "No, not at all. I mean, the money- it's great. I'm paying off my debt and that's a load off my back, but no... I hate it actually. Yet, I know I need to stick with it because there's no way I can get just as good of a job. I'd just have to go back to the cheesecake factory and I am definitely not doing that."

Carly bit her lip, regarding her miserable friend. "Well, maybe you just need to take a break? You could be burned out. You dived headfirst into the job."

Penny's eyes lit up. "Maybe. Maybe we could go to a retreat somewhere. One of my clients has a cabin up in Big Bear that she's offered to me on multiple occasions. We could go up there this weekend."

Carly tilted her head with an apologetic grimace. "I'd need to give Sheldon a seventy-two-hour notice before I go anywhere."

Penny furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Carly smiled shyly. "Relationship agreement."

Penny realized and nodded. "Oh.. well maybe we could convince the guys to come with us?"

Carly snorted. "I highly doubt Sheldon would agree to that. He hates the woods. He told me this story the other day about going camping with his dad when he was a child and he told me it still gives him nightmares."

Penny groaned. "It's fine... I'll just bring Leonard next weekend. It'll be a nice, romantic night in the woods. I gotta see if it's available." She grabbed her phone from her pocket and began texting.

Carly smiled at her friend. She hoped she felt better soon.

oO0Oo

2 weeks later

"Next Acceleration Night , can I borrow your noise canceling headphones?" Penny asked Sheldon over Indian food the next day at lunch. Carly had to go in for work for a few hours, so it was just the three of them.

Leonard couldn't help himself either, all of Sheldon's complaints over the years about his own sex life running through his head. "Yeah, next time warn us. It's bad enough I won't be able to get the sounds out of my head."

Sheldon glowered at them despite his thorough embarrassment. "I saw this coming," he stated flatly at their amused smirks. "And although in retrospect I do deserve your chide remarks, I'd appreciate it if you refrained yourself around Carly. She gets embarrassed easily."

"For her sake, fine, but only if you tell me how it feels to finally lose your virginity," Penny goaded, nudging him annoyingly with her elbow.

Leonard was also curious but thought it was a bit too nosy to just come out and ask it of his private roommate. "Penny... leave him alone."

Sheldon turned his baffled face to Penny. "You think we had coitus last night?"

Penny quirked an eyebrow while grinning. "Of course. I know what I heard. You can't deny it this time, Sheldon."

Sheldon was amused. The night before, there had been an unmistakeable tension between himself and Carly- led on by the fact that they'd been skirting around each other for two weeks, anticipating their next Acceleration Night. Truthfully, they'd been unable to wait until after dinner and had met each other toward the back of Sheldon's apartment and practically pounced on one another once inside his bedroom. Although they'd engaged in quite a lot of experimenting, they had not made the leap into coital exploits.

What they hadn't thought of while they were necking, was the fact that both Penny and Leonard had heard every noise or word they'd made.

Glad to find a fault in her logic, he straightened and derisively regarded her. "Not that it's any of your business, but no, we did not engage in coitus last night. We did however accelerate our intimacy by twofold- and that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

With that, he turned back to his food , dropping the subject. "Now, onto other topics of discussion: did you know that an ostrich submerges it's head under the sand to look for water- but during a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, not one was reported to stick their head in the sand?"

Penny rolled her eyes and grabbed for her phone next to her on the couch.

"That can't be right," Leonard told Sheldon, glad to have the discomfort in the room lifted.

"It's true," Sheldon confirmed then caught sight of Penny texting furiously on her phone. "That better not be Carly."

Penny didn't look up until she had hit send. "I can text my best friend, Sheldon. You can't control who I text."

He narrowed his eyes at her, unease settling in the pit of his stomach. "I'm not controlling anything. You said you wouldn't harass her."

Penny threw a hand up. "Relax, I'm not harassing her. I just wanted to plan a girls night."

Leonard looked at his fiancé in amused disbelief. "So you can get details out of her," he assumed and she put her finger to her nose, much to Sheldon's chagrin. "Don't you think it's a little disturbing how interested you are in Sheldon and Carly's sex life?"

"Once again, we did not have sex!" Sheldon snapped, clearly irritated by his friends. He stood and went for the fridge to grab a drink.

Penny shrugged at Leonard as if Sheldon hadn't said anything. "How can I not be? A year ago I didn't even think Sheldon was capable of having sex, now he's got a girlfriend, fooling around, and is having sleepovers. I'm sorry if I'm impressed with this whole situation."

Leonard rolled his eyes and went back to his lunch. "Suit yourself, but give him a break would you? This is new for him and he doesn't need us giving him a hard time."

Penny narrowed her eyes. "You were just joking about it a minute ago."

Leonard sighed with a glance over at Sheldon as he poured himself milk in a glass. "Yeah but then I let it go. You should too."

Penny wrinkled her nose. "Fine."

Leonard eyed her suspiciously. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"

She grinned wickedly at him. "Not a chance." Her phone dinged as Sheldon returned to his spot next to her on the couch.

"What did she say?" He asked her through narrowed eyes.

Penny picked her phone up again and read the message before frowning up at him. "You didn't tell me she was going to be gone for a whole week."

Sheldon froze, staring at her as if she hadn't spoken English. "Gone? She isn't going to be gone. She never said anything-" Sheldon hastily turned and grabbed his phone from the end table next to him and pulled up his email, seeing nothing from her in regards to their relationship agreement.

"Well she is," Penny told him, her eyebrows knitted together.

Sheldon felt like he was going to have a panic attack and tried to calm himself down. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Maybe it was just planned?" Leonard offered helpfully. "It's probably work related."

"You don't think it's her grandmother again do you?" Penny asked, worrying them all.

Sheldon shook his head. "No, this can't be right. I need to go talk to her- Leonard," he looked at his friend. "Can you drive me?"

Leonard furrowed his eyebrows. "Won't she be getting off in an hour? Why don't you just wait till she gets home?"

Sheldon shook his head, unable to wait even an hour. "No I need to know now."

Leonard eyed his friend, considering him for a moment. Sheldon was really troubled with this revelation. Even so, he knew that if he didn't bring him to the Pasadena Library, that Sheldon would be very difficult. "All right buddy, let's go."

oO0Oo

Carly took a deep breath and fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror. After waking up in Sheldon's arms, eating breakfast with him, and then being wrapped up in his bathrobe to leave for her apartment before their friends came around, Carly had been on cloud nine. Being this in love with Sheldon was just so invigorating. It was like a dream.

He was finally coming around too. He barely winced anymore when she touched him. He kissed her frequently, held her hand... and did other things that she refused to think about at work in fear of getting all flushed again. He was like a different person.

Not that he wasn't Sheldon anymore, just that he was more relaxed around her. It was wonderful.

She had to admit she was also relaxed around him. She felt like she could tell him anything, do anything- she was on top of the world.

Even so, the fact that she'd be gone for a week was pressing on her mind now. Upon arriving at the library that morning, she'd been informed that they were moving up the ALA conference to February because the convention center in Chicago would be needed in the coming months.

It was sudden and she didn't know how to bring it up to Sheldon. He wasn't a fan of things changing all so unexpectedly but perhaps he'd be okay with knowing it was just for a week.

After she'd told Penny that she'd be gone, she immediately began writing an email to Sheldon - in respect of their relationship agreement, but was unsure how to word it. After their night of passion, and how he'd sounded so unsure of his findings, she was worried that it would seem like she was running from him. She didn't want him to think that.

It was just a work thing, she reminded herself. He'd understand.

Carly's phone went off and she looked down at the message from Penny.

"Sheldon's on his way to you. I thought he knew you would be gone when I mentioned it to him and now he's freaking out. I'm really sorry!"

Carly paled. Well, that wasn't good.

"It's fine. I was getting ready to tell him anyways. Don't beat yourself up."

Carly took a deep breath and tried to calm herself before exiting the bathroom to wait for her anxious boyfriend.

When she got to the front desk, she spotted a familiar person standing there but it wasn't Sheldon. Heart jumping, because her jealous boyfriend would be there any minute, she rounded the desk to confront Tom.

"Hey, what brings you here?" She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She glanced at the front doors in paranoia.

Tom smiled, not noticing her discomfort. "Hello Carly. I wanted to give this to you. I met with your Grandmother yesterday, and she wanted me to pass it along."

Carly looked down and saw a small box in his hand. She took it from him curiously and opened it. "This is..." she breathed, unbelieving her eyes.

Tom, interested from her reaction looked down into the box to see what it was. "A pocket watch?"

Carly nodded numbly, her fingers caressing the cool metal engravings. "It's my fathers..." she whispered in awe of it.

Tom nodded, realization dawning on him. "That makes sense. Your grandmother said that she found it while going through some old boxes and she thought you'd like it."

Carly felt her eyes well up in tears and she closed the box quickly to try and keep herself composed in front of Tom. The last thing she needed was Sheldon appearing while she cried in Tom's presence.

"I do, thank you for bringing it to me," she told him with a clear of her throat. "I'm sorry, Tom. I'd stay and chat but I have a lot to do before I leave so..."

Tom smiled in understanding and nodded once. "Don't worry. I just wanted to pass it along. Have a good day!"

Carly smiled and waved him off, her fingers holding the box tightly in her hands as she watched him leave with relief that Sheldon hadn't seen him. As she was turning to go back around the front desk, she heard him.

"Carly!"

Heart skipping a beat, she spun around to see Sheldon rounding on her with a determined look on his face.

"Sheldon! You got here quickly," she said, trying to sound casual at his sudden appearance.

"Leonard drove me," he breathlessly told her before frowning at her. "Wait, how did you know I was coming?"

"Penny told me," she admitted and then took a step to him. "She told me that you know I'm going away for a week."

Sheldon's eyes flashed in hurt and she suddenly felt guilty. "Why didn't you tell me? When do you leave? It's clearly stated in our relationship agreement that you must tell me seventy-two hours in advance!"

Carly put a hand out and took him by the arm, stopping him from panicking further. "I was getting ready to tell you. I have the email written out and everything I just haven't sent it yet. I just found out this morning that the Annual Library conference and exhibition is set for February third till the eighth. It's in Chicago."

Sheldon's jaw tightened and he looked like he was forcing himself to calm down with her explanation. "So you'll be leaving, for a whole week."

Carly nodded sadly, squeezing his arm comfortingly, peering up at him worriedly. "Yes. Is... are you going to be all right?"

Sheldon paused for a couple of beats, staring down at her, before collecting his expression and removing himself from her hold. "Will I be all right? I... It's just a week. It's not like you're leaving for good."

Carly swallowed thickly. His words were true but he sounded uncertain. He was withdrawing into himself, she could plainly see it. It didn't reassure her. "I'm not. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

Sheldon nodded distractedly, looking away from her. "Good," he murmured lowly and she bit her lip nervously at his reaction.

Normally he was the one to leave her. She'd never given him an opportunity to experience the other way around. She had no idea how he'd be without her. "I don't leave until Tuesday so we have two whole days together before I go."

Sheldon nodded again silently. After a long moment, his eyes trailed back up to hers warily and she held her breath. "Can I ask you a question?"

Carly smiled at him, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Of course."

Sheldon's eyes narrowed slight as he spoke in a strained voice. "Why did I see Tom leaving the library? Does he come here often?"

Carly's heart shrank at his question, taken off guard. "No, not at all. In fact he hasn't come here since I was sick that one day. He was just giving me something from my Grandma."

Sheldon eyed her intently, searching for something that made her uncomfortable. "Is that it?"

Carly blinked, not expecting him to suspect her for something she wasn't doing. "Of course that's it, Sheldon. I told you before that there's nothing going on between us."

"Well how can you be so sure? He's constantly in Pasadena and he lives in Burbank! He doesn't even work with your Mee-Maw anymore."

Carly crossed her arms defensively over her chest, holding the box firmly in her hand. "He doesn't live in Burbank anymore. He got a new job here in Pasadena, he told me that the other day at the grocery store when I saw him. It surprised me to see him- and he's fond of my grandmother. They still correspond from time to time."

Sheldon's eyes widened at her words and he spluttered. "You saw him at the grocery store? When? Why didn't you tell me?"

Carly winced. "I didn't think to tell you. It was on our date night. I was picking up the ingredients for our food when I saw him."

Sheldon gaped, disbelief on his features. "You didn't think to tell me that you ran into someone who is obviously interested in you at our local supermarket?"

Carly was getting offended. "I didn't want to ruin our date night with news about my grandmother's nurse, Sheldon. I don't care about him like that and I knew you'd get upset about it."

"You're damn right I'm upset about it! What else have you not told me? Do you also have his phone number and call him when you're not around me?" Sheldon accused angrily, his face turning red.

Carly glared at him, feeling her nerves get the better of her and tears well up in her eyes. "You should know me better than that! Do you not trust me?"

Sheldon crossed his arms over his chest, looking down his nose at her. "At the moment? No. I don't."

Carly felt her heart break because she didn't even understand why it mattered so much to him about Tom. "I told you, Sheldon. Tom means nothing. Besides, you and I have a binding contract entailing our love for one another. What else am I supposed to do to prove it to you?"

"Well, for one- don't keep information from me about a man who has feelings for you!" He retorted bitterly and Carly felt like she had been slapped. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Then fine, Sheldon. I don't have anything else to say to you since you've obviously made up your mind," she sniffed and turned away from him. "Goodbye Sheldon."

She ran away, clutching her fathers pocket watch to her heart and ran for the new age section of the library- knowing he wouldn't ever set foot in it, and dropped down to the ground to cry softly.

He didn't go after her, that was apparent because thirty minutes went by and he hadn't found her. She realized her shift was up and made herself stand, her eyes puffy and her heart hurting.

She didn't understand why he was so hellbent on Tom having feelings for her. He was just a friendly nurse who took care of her grandmother. There was nothing weird going on. Didn't Sheldon realize that she knew how it felt to be cheated on- why would she ever do that to someone? Someone she loved with all her heart.

Sheldon was an intelligent man. Brilliantly so. Yet, he was so clueless when it came to emotions. He'd come a long way since she'd met him, but he was still struggling. She didn't know what to do about it.

Carly grabbed her purse from the office, sliding the small box with the pocket watch into it, and told the other workers goodbye before leaving. Sheldon was no where to be found so she expected him to have left.

Yet, there he was, standing next to her car- waiting for her.

She stopped on the way over before he noticed her, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to talk to him right then. It would just turn into another argument and she didn't want to deal with it.

It seemed either he didn't want to let it go or that he didn't have a ride home and didn't want to take the bus. Both were possible reasons.

Carly took a deep breath. She wouldn't be able to avoid him forever. She loved him and hated fighting.

When she approached him, Sheldon straightened and stood still, his face a mixture of anxiety and shame.

"What are you still doing here?" She forced herself to ask him.

He winced at her words. "I... was waiting for you. I need a ride home. I told Leonard when I got out of his car to go ahead without me," he explained awkwardly and she sighed. He could have called Leonard to come pick him up, but it was obvious he wanted to ride home with her.

"All right. Get in," she conceded softly and moved around him to open her car door. Moments later they were seat belted in and on the way home.

They sat in tense silence for a long while before Sheldon spoke up again, his voice unsure and shy. "Did you... cry?"

Carly shifted uncomfortably in her seat and adjusted her hands on the steering wheel, feeling vulnerable. "Yes."

At her simple answer, Sheldon looked down at his hands, beginning another long round of silence. Carly hated this feeling- this smuggling, tense, suffocating feeling. How had they had such a wonderful night and morning, and then end up where they were?

As they neared the apartment, Sheldon turned to her again. "Carly," he called her name gently and she glanced at him, finding him staring at her in trepidation.

"Yes?"

He paused thoughtfully before continuing. "Do you remember when you had lunch with me at Caltech?"

Carly stilled for a moment, wondering why he was bringing it up. "Of course. Which time?" Both stood out for painful reasons.

"The most recent, when you found out I had a female assistant."

Carly took in a ragged deep breath, realizing what he was referring to. "Yes."

"I didn't understand why you were so upset about me not telling you that she was female because to me... she was just an assistant to help me with my work, but you didn't like that she was a woman and that I was working with her."

Carly pulled into her parking spot along the road outside the apartment building. "I was more upset that you had been spending time with her than with me and didn't tell me she was a woman," she corrected him.

Sheldon nodded. "Exactly."

Carly turned the car off and finally looked over at him, catching his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

Sheldon took off his seat belt and turned completely in his seat to face her. "What I'm getting at is that even though I didn't have romantic feelings for my assistant, you still were suspicious enough to get upset with me. Don't you think you'd understand better than anyone how I am feeling right now?"

Carly stared at him wordlessly because, he was right. He really was right. Perhaps she hadn't given him as much credit before.

Sheldon met her gaze just as seriously, waiting for her to come to terms with what he was saying.

"I..." she trailed off uselessly and looked down at the steering wheel guiltily. "You're right. I didn't think of it that way."

Sheldon exhaled greatly, visibly relieved that she was understanding. "With that said though, I do apologize for what I said before. I was caught up in my emotions and said things I didn't mean. I do trust you Carly. It's just that, I have never had someone I've cared for this much. The idea of some repellant character swooping in and taking you from me is enough to kill me."

Carly's heart clenched painfully and she felt another round of tears spring to her eyes. "Sheldon," she breathed and looked over at him.

He stared at her carefully, unsure of what to do next.

She bit her lip in anguish, feeling more guilty than she'd ever had before. She unbelted herself to face him. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. I... should have thought of your feelings."

Sheldon looked down briefly, his tongue darting out to lick at his bottom lip nervously. "You're forgiven. I... I'm not really one to talk."

She shook her head and looked back down, feeling a tear escape her eye. Without notice, Sheldon reached over and took her hand and she stared down at it with surprise.

"I don't want you to go," he confessed suddenly and she looked up at him in alarm. He back-peddled. "Not that I don't want you to go. I know it's for your work and you were fine with me going to that lecture at Berkeley with Leonard but... I'm so used to you being around, you know? At some point, I began depending on you to get me through the day and... I don't want to give that up, even for a week."

Carly was touched by his words, if not a bit startled because he was never this unguarded with his emotions. She'd gotten glimpses of it before but it was in this moment that she realized just how much of an impact she had on him.

Carly placed her other hand over his, and squeezed gently. "I feel the same. Trust me that I do."

Sheldon nodded idly, worry etched on his face. "You'll text me the whole time right? And we can Skype at night before bed?"

Carly smiled then. "Of course I will. That's a given. You're my favorite person to talk to."

Sheldon returned the smile, pleased with her response. "Although you'll be two hours ahead of me in Chicago. So we will have to act accordingly."

Carly laughed lightly, making his eyes soften. "Indeed."

They stared into each other's eyes, emotions high between them.

After a good long moment, Carly took a breath. "We should probably go."

Sheldon nodded, unable to take his eyes off of her as if she'd leave him right then and there. "You're right," he murmured.

Neither made a move to get out. Instead, Sheldon's eyes dropped to her mouth, making her heart jump wildly in her chest.

Before he could, she met him in the middle and kissed him gently. He rose a hand to her cheek, holding her there as he slid her bottom lip into his mouth, sending hot tingles down her body.

He caressed her cheek with his thumb, showing her with his actions just how much he loved her. How much he would miss her.

When they pulled apart, he met her heavy lidded eyes with his own. Carly took in a staggering breath, blown away by his emotion filled kiss.

"How am I going to survive without that for a whole week?" She whispered in awe and he smirked fondly at her.

"I'll make sure to remind you of what you're missing," he teased and she couldn't help but laugh, widening his smile to a grin.

"I'm sure you will."

oO0Oo

The two days till Carly left went by faster than the couple would have preferred. Sunday had been the only full day they'd been able to spend together and it had been filled up with their friends. Mrs. Wolowitz had invited them all over for a large dinner that left them bloated and in no form to do anything else but lay down and sleep it off. Monday they had work so they briefly had dinner together, again with their friends, and then that was it.

That night, Sheldon had walked Carly to her apartment door and they'd spent a reluctant, long emotional kiss before parting ways.

Penny drove Carly to the airport the next morning, the only one able to because of her shift, and they said sad farewells before Carly entered the airport.

As soon as Carly had checked in and gotten through security, she found her gate and sat down to check her phone while she waited. Sure enough, Sheldon was already texting her.

"Did you make it to your gate okay? Tell me before you get on the plane- and if you see anyone sneeze or cough, come home immediately."

Carly's heart swelled and she grinned at his worry for her. He was the best boyfriend she could have asked for.

"I just got to my gate. I'll let you know before I get on. So far so good. Everyone seems healthy."

It didn't take long for him to respond, he was obviously glued to his phone which made her smile at the thought. "Good to hear." Then a few seconds later he texted her again. "I miss you already."

Carly felt like crying. She usually enjoyed the conference, yet this time she couldn't say she would, being away from Sheldon.

"I miss you too. So very much."

Later that night, when she was in her pajamas, sitting on her hotel bed, she Skyped Sheldon. Heart beating wildly in her chest, she waited for him to answer, a nervous but excited thrill running through each time it rang.

Finally, he answered and his handsome face appeared on the screen of her laptop. Heart jumping, she grinned stupidly at him.

"Hello," she breathed happily and he easily returned her smile.

"Good evening, Carly. How are you settling in?"

She bit her lip and glanced around her hotel room. "It's fine. A little too fancy for my liking. They pull out all the stops for this type of thing."

Sheldon nodded with understanding, surprising her. "I've read all about the American Library Association Conference and Exhibition. Being among all those authors and exhibitors! I must say, Carly, I'm envious that you get to experience it."

Carly wrinkled her nose with a smile. "It is pretty exhilarating. I've attended two previously and they're a lot of fun, not to mention insightful. Although I have to admit I'm a bit worried about the new system they're going to be introducing. They say it's supposed to make things easier but I really like the one we have currently."

Sheldon nodded knowingly, his lips turning upward. "Change can be intimidating."

Carly wanted to laugh at that, he was the expert on not accepting change, but she held it in. "Well, enough about me. What about you? How was your day?"

Sheldon straightened in his computer chair, obviously sitting at his desk in the living room of his apartment. "It was fine. Dinner was a little bleak, but what do you expect?"

Carly bit her lip, stifling her giggle. "Does that mean dinner isn't interesting to you without me there?" She teased and he rolled his eyes.

"I never said that," his slight southern lilt she found charming, gracing his words.

She grinned, her heart light. "But you didn't not say it."

"And you're using double negatives, little lady."

Carly laughed, making him smile. It trailed off, realizing there was far too much distance between them. "I miss you."

Sheldon's smile faltered as well. "And I you."

Carly felt like she could cry but she didn't want to upset him. "Six more days..."

Sheldon nodded. "Indeed..." They sat there silently for a long moment, lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, he looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Did you know, kissing stimulates twenty nine muscles and chemicals that cause relaxation? Could you imagine how relaxed we'd be right now if you were here?"

Sheldon's playful quirk of the eyebrow made her wrinkle her nose at him. "I doubt we'd be relaxing, if our previous kisses are anything to go by." Sheldon had the decency to look caught and she smiled. "Nice try though."

"Yes well... you can't do this!" She watched as he rose his hand in front of the camera, kissing his palm and giving her a look of triumph.

She rose her eyebrows, realizing what he was doing. He had said he'd remind her of what she was missing. Two could play that game. "You're right, I can't... but I can do this." She rose her own hand and kissed the palm, a little slower, with her eyes firmly on his as she did so.

His smirk fell and he stared, his lips parting slightly in an almost gape. He suddenly cleared his throat and crossed his arms, leaning on his desk. "Who wants to kiss hands anyways? Who knows what sort of airport germs you have at the moment."

Carly grinned, knowing she'd won. "Sure sure." She caught sight of the time and sighed. "I should get to bed. I have a long day tomorrow."

Sheldon's shoulders slumped at her words and he immediately looked depressed. It hurt her heart to hang up on him. "Oh, you're right. You'll have jet leg too. Do you have your alarm set?"

"I do," Carly nodded solemnly, sadly. "I hope you have a good night, Sheldon."

"You as well, Carly... sweet dreams."

Her heart fluttered and she smiled softly at him. She had to force herself to hit end, the last thing she saw was his sulking face.

The week was going to be so difficult.