Chapter 14: He Cannot Unsee it.

Sheldon makes a BIG mistake.Will there be hell to pay?This chapter focuses entirely on Sheldon Cooper and a something he does that rocks Leonard to his core.

Sheldon took a seat across from Heather Powers in what he had begun to think of as 'their place', the little coffee shop she had taken him to for strudel the night they had met.

He apologized to her as he took his seat in the booth, "I hope I'm not too late. Leonard was nattering on about a few things and I was delayed leaving. I do hope you're not too upset."

Heather Powers threw him a manufactured smile, which was completely lost on her companion, "Not at all, Sheldon. I know you are a man of your word. These kinds of things happen to all of us occasionally."

Sheldon mentally compared her placid reaction to the temper and sharp words his wife used with him when things went counter to her expectations. Heather was a much calmer, more rational, person than Niki and he found himself enjoying her company more and more as time went on. "I'm so glad you understand. Some people would not. Anyway, I settled things with Leonard and so, here I am." He picked up a menu and began to study it, "Now, what should we order?" he asked her in an eager voice.

She reached out and patted his arm reassuringly, "When you were running late, I took the liberty of ordering us both the vegetable soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I thought we would try some good old American food for a change."

Sheldon did not move his arm and merely nodded happily, "Good choice. May I say you have very discerning taste Dr. Powers."

Her eyes narrowed and she reminded him, "Now, now. Did we not agree on Heather and Sheldon?"

"That we did. My apologies. Ahh, here comes our food. Well, Bon Appetit!"

When they had finished their lunch, Heather brought up a tricky subject. "Sheldon, I've called my friend and we discussed going to Cambridge to meet Dr. Hawking. She told me that Dr. Hawking will be on campus next weekend, not this coming one."

He was quiet for a moment then responded in a resigned voice, 'That is fine. I suppose this means I can still go to Paris with Leonard."

"You don't sound very enthused about the idea, Sheldon."

He took a long sip of his tea and then answered her with, "Oh, I am. It's just that we promised to bring our wives back some souvenirs, perfume, handbags, and the like. For the most part, I detest shopping for a woman."

Dr. Powers then made a cutting remark that she hoped would hit home, "They both sound a bit entitled."

Sheldon countered her pronouncement with a heartfelt, "That is not a word I would use to describe either of them. But Niki has exquisite taste in perfumes and purses, so Paris is the ideal place to shop for her presents."

Heather leaned forward and eagerly asked him, "What is she like, your wife?"

Sheldon stared into space and vaguely rattled off, "Very intelligent, very humorous, and very temperamental."

Dr. Powers gave the slightest of chuckles and responded with, "She sounds like a handful."

"She can be. But she is also kind, compassionate, and a great mother." Sheldon felt like he must try to defend his wife to this woman, and he also knew he had to be honest, lying wasn't his style.

Heather then dropped a bombshell with, "How is she in bed?"

Sheldon's eyes went wide and his mouth popped open in surprise as he blurted out, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Sheldon. Is she good in bed? Most fiery people are."

He decided to tell the truth. The woman had asked for it, after all, "Yes, Niki is a very enthusiastic and uninhibited lover. I have no complaints in that department."

She arched an eyebrow delicately and asked him in a probing way, "You do have complaints in others?"

Sheldon sighed, he felt a bit disloyal, but he was glad to have someone to air his problems to, "She can be stubborn and sarcastic at times, though she means nothing by it. Her tempers are like a fast approaching storm; you can see them coming and they pass by very quickly."

Heather studied the contents of her coffee cup and pretended to change the subject, "How interesting. Now, back to Cambridge. Is there somewhere we could go to talk further about this visit? I find a coffee shop a bit too public."

The physicist's countenance brightened considerably and he offered, "Well, we could always go back to my apartment. This is Leonard's day to lecture solo, so he should be gone for most of the afternoon. Is that all right with you?"

Dr. Power's smile was blinding as she greeted Sheldon's suggestion with, "That sounds like a splendid idea! We can have a cup of tea and sit down to discuss our going to Cambridge."

He rose and snatched the bill from the table before Heather could get it and replied, "Very well, let's pay our bill and get going. I have a lot to ask you about how you friend knows Dr. Hawking."

Thirty minutes later, Sheldon opened the door of his and Leonard's apartment with the key card and motioned Heather to step past him and go inside. After closing the door, Sheldon motioned for her to take a seat on the couch while he went into the kitchen and reappeared shortly holding two bottles of water instead of the aforementioned tea. He took a seat next to his friend and handed her one of the waters, eager to continue their discussion from earlier in the coffee shop.

So," he asked her, "how does your friend know Dr. Hawking?"

Dr. Powers looked slightly uncomfortable as she replied, "She works in the same department he does, only she isn't a world-famous physicist. Cari is more of a transcriptionist. She takes what Dr. Hawking has in his notes and puts them into lecture formats. She's quite good at it and has worked at that position for many years."

Sheldon was confused. How would a mere transcriptionist get him an audience with his idol? He felt he needed to say something in response to his friend's pronouncement, so he decided to fake some enthusiasm, "Fascinating. But she isn't an actual physicist herself?"

Heather worked quickly to clarify her earlier statement, "She has the degree, but never used it in any way but this. I don't believe she ever had the confidence to do research or teaching on her own." At this point, Heather leaned in closer to Sheldon and cooed, "Not like you. You have carved quite a niche for yourself in the physics world and I admire that."

Sheldon sat back and thought for a moment, then proceeded with, "I understand not wanting to teach, my wife does that part time and I have never been able to comprehend her intense love for the profession."

Heather was losing her patience, so she leaned in to Sheldon and interrupted him, "Enough about your wife. Why don't we talk more about us?"

Once again, Sheldon found himself confused and in need of more clarification from Dr. Powers, so he asked her, "What about us? Would you like to talk more about physics or our trip to Cambridge?"

Heather gently guided Sheldon's head close to hers and before she let her lips meet his, she answered him in a low, husky voice, "How about this?"

Sheldon's mind began to scream, What is she doing?She's kissing me, that's what!Friends don't kiss each other like this.However, it does feel nice to be wanted.Niki has been so cold lately.I know I haven't been very pleasant to speak with, but I am lonely, confused, and unhappy.Surely she knew this and should have at least attempted to soothe me.But she didn't.Still, I am uncomfortable with this action.

Heather's mind was going down a completely different track, Why is he being so wooden?He hasn't seen his wife in almost two weeks.Surely, he must be needing a little physical action from a willing female.I know, I'll let my hands explore him a bit.That always gets their motors running.Sheldon may be a bit odd, but he IS a man and men love sexual attention.

Dear lord, now her hands are going under my shirt.This sort of attention belongs only to my wife!Niki and I may be having our differences right now, but I do love her very much. This woman is almost a total stranger to me.She doesn't kiss like Niki, either.Nor like Amy.Their kisses were loving as well as wanton.This woman's kiss feels like it is part of a game.A game I am going to call a halt to immediately.I do not play games with my sexual feelings.Those are strictly reserved for the woman I love, and I don't love this woman at all!

While The Kiss was going on, Leonard Hoffstadter exited the elevator of the apartment building and headed down the hall to the housing unit he shared with Sheldon. He had been more than a tad disappointed when his solo lecture had been cut short by an emergency faculty/student meeting regarding some discovered student plagiarism. He sighed deeply. His lecture had been rescheduled to the next week, but he had very much been looking forward to speaking that afternoon. He had finally decided to go back to the apartment and hang out with Sheldon. They hadn't done that in a few days and his mood began to lift at the thought of spending the afternoon playing Halo with his good friend. He inserted the key card in the door, opened it, and saw his best friend entwined on the couch with Dr. Powers, sharing a passionate kiss and more.

Before he could take in that Sheldon was being very passive in the embrace, he shouted the first thing that came to his mind, "What the fuck are you doing, Sheldon?Have you gone insane?" With that, he stormed out of the room and down the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Anger, disbelief, and bewilderment were all simultaneously racing through his mind.

Uh oh.I think our boy is in deep trouble.