AN: Made some minor revisions to a few chapters, biggest in Chapter 1. Nothing substantial just changed the description of Penny's computer to be a little less specific.

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Sheldon barely made it through work the next day. As it was, he was twenty minutes late for the first time in years. He stared at his white boards spilling over with equations but could not bring himself to focus. He had barely slept again the night before, endlessly going back and forth between the emotions of fear and anger. He was angry over his own reaction to Penny's impetuous behaviour and terrified of having to endure her presence, which when he was home was of course impossible to avoid without doing something rash and calling attention to himself. The whole situation was dangerously out of control and he was concerned he might do or say something he would regret.

Just as he anticipated, when he arrived home that evening Penny was seated on the couch with Leonard who was just finishing up showing her how to use one of the programs on her new computer. Sheldon closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steel himself against the anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions rising inside him before closing the door behind him. Both his friends turned upon hearing the door shut and smiled up at him.

"Hey Sheldon." Leonard said. Penny's smile grew.

"Sheldon thank you so much again, I love my computer." She said, standing up. "You can be so thoughtful when you want to be."

Sheldon's eyes went wide as she started to come toward him and he turned away, afraid she might try to hug or touch him in some way again. He pretended to be preoccupied with the items in his messenger bag.

"It's fine. Whatever keeps you from constantly badgering us for our tech skills." He hoped she didn't notice the somewhat strained quality to his voice. Insulting her wasn't helping as it usually did, instead leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

Penny was unaffected however and merely smiled as she stopped her approach and said with a sigh, "Leave it to you to put a person down for showing you gratitude Sheldon." She shook her head.

"You can hardly deny its what you do..." Sheldon couldn't help but retort.

Leonard, who must have been sensing a battle of wits brewing between the two, stood up and went to grab his keys from the bowl.

"Okay, Howard and Raj are going to be here soon. I'm going to go get dinner. You two have fun."

Sheldon's head shot up and he turned sharply. If Leonard left he would be alone with Penny and that was not acceptable in his state. He looked stricken as Leonard opened the door.

"Leonard, wait!" He called out. Leonard stopped but didn't turn around. He rolled his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I know, Sheldon - dill pickles not sweet, individual relish packets, onion rings, extra breading and if they say no protest vociferously, okay? I'll be back as quickly as I can, good bye." He walked out then, leaving Sheldon staring after him in horror.

Sheldon looked around fearfully before warily turning his attention to Penny. She didn't seem to notice anything was amiss, even giving him a pleasant grin as she moved back to the couch and began to pack up her computer.

"Well anyway, Sheldon," she said, "you might be a an arrogant ass, but I still appreciate this.

Sheldon fiddled with the strap on his bag. He still hadn't found the courage to move from his desk.

"Yes, well you certainly made that clear when I gave it to you." He said, avoiding her gaze.

"Oh yeah," she said with a sheepish grin, knowing to what he was referring. "Sorry about that."

"As well you should be." He bit out, more hastily than he intended. He fidgeted as Penny slowed her actions of putting her computer in its bag and eyed him suspiciously. Did she know what he was feeling? He was too busy inwardly panicking (and also far too ignorant of the subtle nuances of human expression) to notice her visage change to one of mischief.

"I denno, Sheldon," she began, standing from the couch, "you just seem to bring that stuff out in me."

"Stuff?' He questioned, genuinely confused. He finally risked putting his bag on the chair and walking to the kitchen while mentally willing Leonard to hurry back or better yet, Penny to leave.

"You know what I mean." Penny said coyly. Sheldon tried to ignore her, sticking his head in the fridge to search for anything to distract himself from the agony that was his current circumstances.

Penny continued, moving over to him. "And I don't know about you Sheldon, but...I kinda liked doing it."

"Doing..." Sheldon trailed off as he began to grasp what she was getting at. He stood slowly from the fridge. His throat had become unbearably tight and he tugged at the collar of his t-shirt as he moved to evade Penny's advance. She was too quick for him though and he found himself trapped between her and the kitchen island.

"That's right." She said, her words dripping with feigned seduction (the feigned aspect going right over Sheldon's head). "It was actually a lot of fun. Almost makes me...wanna do it again." She leaned in closer.

Sheldon caught a whiff of her vanilla perfume and gripped the counter behind him to remain standing. He had no idea how to respond and anyway his throat was now so tight that he could only choke out a high pitched "Oh?"

"Yeah, I think it would be great." Penny leaned in, delicately placing a finger on Sheldon's chest. "What do you say Sheldon?"

Sheldon said nothing at first. He decided that he must be dreaming. Whether it was a good dream or a nightmare he wasn't sure, but it was the only explanation that made sense in this completely surreal situation he found himself in. He had no choice but to give over to the absurdity of it all and found himself finally replying in a near whisper.

"Okay."

Penny, who'd been playfully stroking the emblem on his shirt, shot her eyes up to his. At first she thought he might be joking.

"What?" She said with a small laugh, almost impressed that he even understood how to play the game. But upon further contemplation it occurred to her – when did Sheldon ever recognize anything even remotely false or sarcastic? She realized that he must be being sincere. Her grin faded as her face fell.

"What?" Sheldon echoed, startled back to his surroundings by her question. He straightened up a little as Penny hastily dropped her hands and took a step back.

"Oh my God, Sheldon you're...you're serious."

Sheldon looked around in confusion, as if only now understanding the implications of what he had said. He slowly reached out into thin air.

"Did...did I just say...'okay'?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"Look, I was only joking Sheldon, I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

But he didn't hear her. He stepped cautiously away from the counter as if afraid the ground would open up beneath him. The gears ground visibly in his head.

"I did. I said...'okay'!"

He sounded almost frantic. Penny felt very unnerved and immediately began planning an exit.

"You know what? It's all right. Let's just...pretend this never hap-"

They both jumped as Howard and Raj entered. They stood at the door looking between Penny and Sheldon with puzzlement.

"We're just here for dinner, guys, not to ransack the place at gunpoint. What's going on?" Howard asked.

"Nothing." Penny said, moving to collect her things. Sheldon remained still and silent, staring at the wall across from him.

"Right...well then, will you be joining us tonight Penny? Bernadette might stop by."

"Actually, I'm not feeling so well. I'm going to make it an early night, but maybe some other time. Bye guys."

Penny slung her bags over her shoulder and rushed out the door. Howard and Raj looked at Sheldon.

"Sheldon," Raj sighed, "what did you do now?"

Sheldon slowly turned his attention to the duo, though he didn't really seem to be seeing them at all.

"I said 'okay'." He breathed. Without further explanation he walked in a daze out of the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom.

Back in the living room, Raj fixed Howard with a knowing look.

'Oh please, that means nothing." Howard said, though he didn't sound convinced. "You're not getting fifty bucks."

"We'll see..."