Chapter Two: "I Could've Danced All Night"

A/N: From here on out (and it has happened already too, to an extent!) Sheldon's gonna be heading to a place that is OOC. I'd like to think that he's growing.

Thanks to everyone for their support and lovely reviews! I really appreciate it!

I own nothing, sadly.

. . .

The curtain went up and the overture began to play. Penny was shaking with nerves. This could be her big break. She took a deep calming breath, telling herself that what would be, would be.

Sheldon was already onstage. She had to admit, she was worried. Sure, he knew his part (he had run lines with her time and again), but she was unsure how he would react to singing in front of a large crowd. She just hoped he managed to keep his eye twitches to a minimum.

Her cue came, and she got a firm grip on her basket of violets and marched out onto the stage. Penny's concerns would have to take a back seat. For now, she was only supposed to be Eliza.

. . .

Sheldon was having a difficult time of controlling his facial tics. Although it was a Herculean effort, he kept picturing Penny's shining, happy face when he had agreed to act with her tonight. For reasons his otherwise brilliant mind could not comprehend, he found that thinking of her gave him the strength and courage to enunciate his lines clearly and, when he began to break out into "Why Can't the English," the ability to carry the tune well and keep the melody.

As the song progressed, Sheldon found to his astonishment that he was enjoying himself. When he reached the portion of lyrics that were to touch upon the derelict condition of Eliza Doolittle, he turned to face Penny.

Her costume was ragged and patched. Her face had been smudged. Her hair had been thrown up into what Sheldon could only describe as a mess. But, when their eyes met, hers were shining. He had been getting much better recently at interpreting her looks, but he could not decide if it was pride or simply the adrenaline rush that was making her eyes gleam.

Sheldon struggled to contain the now all too familiar burst of warmth that he felt spreading through his chest. He channeled the confusing influx of emotion into the snark he would have to exhibit as Professor Higgins. The rest of the scene passed swimmingly. He very much enjoyed the sparring between his character and Penny's. To his extreme puzzlement, however, the warmth in his chest did not diminish. As he moved to the backstage area to make way for Penny's opening number, he made a mental note to schedule an EKG at the first possible opportunity.

. . .

The heart palpitations began when Penny started singing "Wouldn't it be Loverly." He couldn't help noticing the similarities between Penny's and Eliza's situations. They were both caught in a struggle to keep their lodgings and were looking for someone to take care of them. Sheldon could only assume that the man " 'oo would tayke good care" of Penny or Eliza would have to do so both financially and emotionally. He noticed how quickly his heart was beating only when it crossed his mind that, in his own way, he had been taking care of Penny. It was at that moment that he began to suspect that perhaps there was something else at work in his friendship with her. He had no whiteboard with him though, and so any attempts to reason through his conundrum would have to wait for later. Right now, he had to go play professor to Penny's Eliza.

. . .

Penny couldn't believe how well things were going. Her performances thus far had gotten some pretty enthusiastic applause and the audience really seemed to enjoy the dynamic between her and Sheldon.

She felt funny though. Especially when she was sharing a scene with Sheldon. Their eyes would lock, and suddenly she'd feel butterflies. She kept trying to write it off as adrenaline, but she didn't quite manage to convince herself.

When he had first looked at her earlier, she had felt her heart glowing with pride. Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the man of a thousand quirks, the man who stuck to his schedule with a near religious fervor, the man who let very few people into his life in any kind of meaningful way, was singing to her in front of a large number of people he didn't know, in addition to being dressed up like a Victorian professor. And he was doing it for her. She blushed again just thinking about it, as she had earlier.

Now, she was going to dance with him. They were going to sing "The Rain in Spain" and they were going to dance together.

She felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest in the moments leading up to when he had to put his arms around her.

He did so with a lovely flourish and Penny's heart stayed right where it was supposed to be. Her stomach was doing flips now though. His hand was warm in hers and the arm he had snaked around her waist felt firm and strong. He clearly had no idea how to really waltz, but he led her around with the confidence of the man he was playing. She felt giddy and lightheaded. She looked up into his face, laughing as Eliza was expected to, and her breath nearly failed her.

Sheldon's eyes were crinkled in a gentle, genuine smile as he twirled her around. She had never seen him look at her that way, like she was the only woman in the world. Like that smile was just for her. She knew a real pang of regret when the time came for him to let her go.

As she moved into "I Could've Danced All Night," Penny found herself really meaning the words that she was singing. Her mind kept returning to Sheldon's beautiful smile. She just couldn't get over how handsome he had looked at that moment. As the final note soared from her throat, she knew that there had to be something more to her friendship with the enigmatic man from across the hall