A/N: Thanks so much for all of the kind reviews! I really appreciate every one. I'm glad people are sticking with the story and hope it doesn't disappoint.

As always, special thanks to my awesome beta Delucababe who has been so essential to this story.

Note- In this story, Penny does not have a sister only a brother so her nephew is his son. After this chapter Penny's family won't appear again anyway.

The hours after Penny received the news of her parents death were all a big blur to her. She remembered Sheldon being there, picking up the phone that had slipped through her lifeless fingers and speaking with her sister-in-law. Then the shivering started.

She remembered the warmth from the hug he gave her and though he spoke several words, she couldn't comprehend them. It felt like he was speaking a different language, but she was too tired to care. She could only vaguely recall the panic in his voice when she wouldn't respond.

One moment she was on the couch hearing Sheldon panic and then suddenly she was in her bed wrapped in warm blankets. Sheldon was encouraging her to drink the chamomile tea he brought her while he sang, 'Soft Kitty'.

She 'awoke' again some time later to hear Sheldon and Leonard arguing over skype, but couldn't really follow the conversation.

An eye blink later she found herself in the kitchen alone. A quick glance at the microwave clock told her it was almost three am.

The routine was so practiced that she had a glass of ice, diet coke, and had pulled out the bottle of vodka before she even realized what she was doing. If she hadn't felt so tired, it would have bothered her that she hadn't made a conscious decision to have a drink before she began making one.

The fact was the numbness and shock were beginning to wear off and Penny wasn't ready to deal yet. There would be time for sober reflection and mourning when the sun rose. For now, Penny wanted to not feel.

She had no idea how much she drank before Sheldon joined her at the table nursing a glass of warm milk.

His eyes narrowed at the liquor but he remained quiet.

"I got fired today," she said, her voice sounding rough with almost twelve hours of disuse.

"Fired? How could you have been fired if you don't start until Monday?" he asked.

Penny nodded toward the half-empty vodka bottle.

"Apparently it was a drug and alcohol screening I took. I didn't pass," she returned glaring at her drink for a second before shrugging and taking a big gulp.

Sheldon leveled a piercing gaze on her. "You have a drinking problem, Penny. You know that."

Penny snorted. "Yeah, well everyone has problems."

"You need help with yours," he insisted.

She glared at him. "This is not the time for that conversation, Sheldon."

He glared right back, crossing his arms. "Oh yeah. When is the time then?"

"I don't know. A week ago, when things were actually starting to go well for once?"

"Penny..."

"No, Sheldon! I am not talking about this right now!" she yelled, standing up.

He frowned. "Where are you going?"

She picked up her drink and the vodka bottle. "My bedroom. I don't want to deal with your judgment right now."

He followed her, but she ignored him. She placed her drink and the vodka bottle on her bedside table and climbed into bed propping herself up on pillows. Sheldon watched her from the doorway for a few minutes before climbing in the bed on Leonard's side and getting comfortable.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm not here to judge you, Penny. I'm pretty sure the last thing you need is to be alone right now."

The truth of that statement brought forth the tears she had been refusing to cry for months.

"Leonard should be here," she whispered and let Sheldon pull her up against him as she fell apart.

"Yes, he should."

When Penny finally did get to skype with Leonard a few days later, he informed her he would be speaking at what he believed would be the most important symposium of his entire career the day of her parent's funeral. Penny told him it was okay. It's not like he really knew her parents. He had met her dad once, and though they had planned to visit her family last Christmas, that had fallen through. She held it together until the call was over and would have broken down again if Sheldon hadn't been there with a drink.

"Now you're enabling the alcoholic?" she asked, but quickly snatched the drink out of his hands before he could change his mind.

Sheldon sighed in defeat. "I want to help you, but I don't know how. I'm working on it though. We fly out tomorrow for Nebraska. I booked us a hotel near the funeral home, though your sister-in-law offered her guest room if you would rather stay there."

Penny shook her head. "No, I... Wait, we? You are coming with me?"

"Of course I'm coming with you. You are my best friend and I'm not letting you go alone," he stated as if it was an absolute fact not to be questioned.

Penny blinked back tears and sipped at her drink.

"Leonard should be coming with me," she whispered.

"Yes, he should," Sheldon agreed.

The funeral was awkward. It had been several years since Penny had been home, and though she remembered most of her parent's friends, they all seemed so different. Her family was different as well. Other than an obligatory hug and greeting, her brother didn't have much to say to her. Her sister-in-law was very chatty, but would frequently have to stop and cry a little when she became too emotional. It hit Penny that this woman had known and loved her parents more than she had. It made her feel like a failure as a daughter on top of everything else.

It had been almost six years since she had seen her nephew, who was now nineteen. He was much taller and looked a lot more like Penny's father than he had the last time Penny had seen him. He studied her warily for a moment before moving to hug her and she wondered what he saw in her.

Penny's hair was longer than it had been when she and Leonard married, but she had kept it at a bob and she felt like her nephew had trouble reconciling her new self with the bubbly fun Aunt he used to know. His hug was quick, but he patted her back a few times before stepping back to stand at the side of another man about his age that Penny had never met. She watched in surprise as they exchanged an intimate look and held hands. Her nephew turned back to her, a mixture of defiance and vulnerability gleaming from his eyes, as if he was afraid of what her reaction would be. She gave both the young men a genuine smile and they visibly relaxed. Still, the whole interaction just reminded her of how long she had been gone and how many things she had missed out on.

There was also the fact that everyone seemed to automatically think Sheldon was Leonard. After a while, she got tired of correcting them. Due to the several recovering alcoholics in her family, there wasn't a drop of alcohol at the reception. Penny held on as long as she could before excusing herself and Sheldon.

On the cab ride back to the hotel, Penny was happy to see a liquor store within walking distance. And while Sheldon put on gloves and stripped the beds, putting his own linens on them from home, she decided to 'take a walk'.

She bought a bottle of vodka, splurging on Grey Goose in honor of her parents, and several small bottles of Smirnoff she planned to hide in her luggage. She stopped by an old pizzeria that had been there since she was in elementary school. She remembered eating there with a few different dates when she was in high school and was irritated to feel her eyes sting with tears as she waited for her order.

When Penny made it back to the hotel room, she was pleasantly surprised to see how 'homey' Sheldon had made it. The linens were all familiar and smelled like their laundry detergent. He had even replaced the LED bulbs in the bedside lamps with the incandescent ones that gave a softer, yellowish light he favored. A few framed pictures from home, including one of her and her parents at her high school graduation were placed throughout the room. A wallflower scented the room with the aroma of pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon instantly bringing the feel of Autumn to mind, Penny's favorite season. He even had a familiar old table cloth on the small table and two of their glasses from home filled with ice beside a two liter of Diet Coke.

It was unexpectedly touching and Penny blinked back more tears at the thought of Sheldon going through so much trouble to take care of her.

"Sheldon, this is... Thank you," she said in a shaky voice.

He smiled and gestured for her to sit across from him at the table.

"I knew you would bring back refreshments. I'm not really sure what the correct protocol for this is, so I just thought about when I lost my Pop Pop and what would have helped me feel better," he said.

Penny smiled and sat down, making both of them a drink and opening the pizza box, while Sheldon opened a small case. He set a deck of 'Warlords of Ka-ah' cards on the table and smirked when Penny frowned.

"Just kidding," he said, putting the cards back and pulling out a deck of regular playing cards.

Hours passed as they played Go Fish, Gin Rummy, War, Crazy Eights, and a slew of other card games they had both obviously learned as children. It was an enjoyable experience in the middle of what was probably the worst week of her life and it was all thanks to Sheldon.

The more they drank, the more they giggled and allowed their legs to touch under the table. Penny's mind kept bringing up images of the night they had been together over a year ago. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself to think of it as it usually made her feel sick, but right now, it didn't. Right now, she wanted to do it again.

She stood up from the table and walked over to him, only swaying slightly. He blinked up at her in surprise, mouth opening to question her when she cut him off by straddling him in his chair and pressing their mouths together. He stiffened but didn't push her away. She deepened the kiss, hands threading themselves into his hair and he tentatively allowed his hands to fall to her waist.

Penny rolled her hips and smiled into the kiss when she felt him respond. She trailed a hand down his chest and placed it on the bulge in his pants.

"No!" He stiffened again, and caught her wrist to pull it away.

Penny had never had a man tell her 'no' before and it shocked her out of her lust-filled haze. She scrambled off of his lap and looked down at him in shame. They were both breathing heavy.

"I-I'm sorry, Penny. I just can't... I don't want..." he trailed off, looking up at her like a scared little boy.

The guilt hit her then and she dropped to her knees and looked up at him apologetically.

"No, I'm sorry, Sheldon. I shouldn't have... I was lost in the moment and forgot myself. I swear it won't happen again," she promised.

He looked down on her quietly for a moment and she watched the fear leave his eyes. "I know we did some... very intimate things that night, and I while I can't say that I regret the experience, it's not one that I wish to repeat."

Penny nodded. "I know. Sheldon, please don't think that I would ever push you to do something you weren't ready for..." she trailed off as his expression turned pained.

"That's just it, Penny, I'm not sure I'll ever 'be ready' for something like that. I couldn't make that promise to Amy, and I can't make it to you."

"That's okay, Sheldon. I mean it. I love you. You are my best friend and nothing is going to change that."

He was quiet for a long moment.

"Penny, please get back in the chair. I wasn't able to bring a vacuum so the floor is probably not clean enough to sit on," he said, finally.

Penny sighed in relief and quickly went back to her own chair across from him.

They resumed drinking and Sheldon shuffled the cards a few times before starting a game of solitaire.

"You never did tell me what happened that night with Amy," she said after a few minutes of silence.

He closed his eyes briefly and then resumed playing his game while talking.

"I was able to... satisfy her like you showed me. But that wasn't enough. She wanted actual intercourse. I tried, but just wasn't able to..." he trailed off with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie," Penny said, sympathetically.

Sheldon looked up in surprise.

"I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No. Amy was unhappy with the relationship we had. I loved Amy, but thought as long as she seemed happy everything would be fine. I'm not an idiot. I know she wanted more from me, but it always seemed like it was just a joke. You know I'm not good at reading people and understanding social situations. I was relying on her to put a stop to things when she couldn't handle them. As long as we continued on the way we did, I never knew there was a problem. At least, not as big a problem as it turned out to be."

He gave up on his game and just started shuffling the cards again.

"She needed more than I could give her." He stopped shuffling and suddenly looked up to meet her eyes. "I guess I'm just waiting for the day you decide you need more than I can give you and leave me too."

It suddenly occurred to Penny that though Amy had done a lot of good for Sheldon, there was a good deal of damage she'd left behind as well.

A minute later, Sheldon was still staring at her.

"I did all this for you," he said, gesturing to the room.

"I know. Can I give you a hug?" she asked and smiled when he nodded and stood up.

While he hugged her, Penny's eyes landed on the picture of her with her parents. The grief reared up inside her and her arms tightened as she tried to hold back the tears.

"It's okay, Penny. You are allowed to cry," he said gently, tightening his own hold.

"Are you s-sure?" she asked, breathless. The last thing she wanted to do was push him out of his comfort zone again.

"Yes. I've got you," he promised and she let go.

She cried for hours, barely noticing when Sheldon lowered her to one of the beds and climbed in with her. He held her close and when the tears finally stopped he sang her 'Soft Kitty'. She couldn't even protest that she wasn't sick, because Penny was starting to think she really was sick and had been for a while.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Just a heads up that the next chapter may be posted a few days later than normal.