I am on a roll! Where I found the free time this week, I will never know. Luckily for you, that means fast updates this week! Reviews are always appreciated and encouraged. I'm doing this for free, remember ;)

Enjoy!

Penny woke with a start. Her head pounded with congestion and her entire body ached, right down to the tiniest of hair follicles. She tried to get up, but failed. After listening to Sheldon finish his round of knocks, she dragged her body out of bed and swallowed at the painful lump in her throat. Her illness must have come from moving to California in the winter. She was used to snow, she wasn't used to being warm and being able to wear minimal clothes.

"I'm coming!" Her voice was nasally and raw. She wrapped her comforter around her body and slowly made her way to the front door. The effort it took to unlock the deadbolt was astounding, and it even gave Sheldon time for one more round of knocks. Penny opened the door and tried to mask her illness, but her attempt was pointless. Sheldon looked her over and quickly brought the collar of his t-shirt over his nose and mouth. He took a step back and his eyes raked over her blanket-wrapped body.

"Penny, I told you that you should have gotten anti-biotics!" Sheldon scolded. Penny rolled her eyes at him. She tried to breathe through her nose but she couldn't. She re-wrapped herself in her comforter and moved back into her apartment.

"I'm fine Sheldon, I just need to take a shower and we can go." Penny said in an attempt to convince him she was healthy. Sheldon shook his head, refusing to come into her apartment. Penny flopped down on the couch giving her tired legs some rest.

"You most certainly are not 'fine'. I'll be right back." He said as he closed her door. Penny sighed. He was probably right. She felt bad because she had an awesome date planned for them and now she was going to be stuck at home. Sheldon came back moments later wearing a surgical mask with a small emergency medical kit and a journal tucked under his arm. Penny began to laugh, but started coughing instead.

Sheldon set the medical kit on the coffee table and lifted Penny's legs off of the couch and as he sat down he draped them over his lap. Penny was shocked at his bravery. She was sure he was going to quarantine himself in his apartment and make her provide him with crazy throat cultures. Sheldon unzipped the medical kit and pulled out a digital thermometer. He pulled a Lysol wipe out of a small package in the kit and disinfected his thermometer. Even though he had just disinfected it, he snapped on a pair of latex gloves as he studied his subject.

"I don't want to play doctor, Sheldon." Penny joked. She was sure he was giving her a look of bemusement, but she couldn't tell what his expression was under his ridiculous mask. He offered her his hand and she reluctantly took it. She wasn't sure she liked being treated like someone who had an outbreak of tuberculosis or something.

"Penny I need to take your temperature if I'm going to monitor your symptoms. Please sit up." He explained, his voice was slightly muffled. Penny resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sat up with some assistance. Sheldon stuck the thermometer in her ear and waited for it to beep. He read the temperature and quickly wrote it down in his journal. Penny laid back down because her head began to spin.

"Can you please describe your symptoms for me." Sheldon said in a very doctor-like tone. Penny huffed, he really was taking this too far. She sat up, flung the blanket off of her and stood up. She had to grip the couch to make sure she wasn't going to collapse onto the floor. Penny looked him over.

"I don't need to you to take care of me Sheldon, I'm fine." Penny firmly said. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. Sheldon stood up, picked up her comforter and wrapped it around her tank-top and shorts clad body. He was firm with her as he sat her back on the couch. She wasn't going to admit it to him, but she liked take-charge Sheldon. He began writing in his journal again.

"Patient is suffering from irritability and may be delirious, be sure to monitor…." Sheldon said as he was writing. Penny frowned and snatched the journal from his hands. She took the pen and began writing down her symptoms. Penny didn't really notice his hand writing before, but it was very precise and neat. Penny ensured her writing was bubbly and she even drew little hearts over her I's and J's. She gave him back his notebook and flipped on the tv.

"Have you eaten anything?" Sheldon asked. Penny shook her head. She was feeling a little bit hungry. Sheldon got up off the couch and searched through her cupboards. Penny was actually grateful that he was taking care of her. She turned the channel to an NFL playoff game and waited for Sheldon to come back with some nourishment. George snuggled up on the blanket next to Penny, he probably just wanted to be close to the body heat that her slight fever was emitting.

Sheldon came back with two bowls of chicken noodle soup for their lunch as it was past noon. Penny didnt realize she was starving until she could physically see the soup in the bowl. He set their bowls down and assisted Penny up. She took the hot soup in her hands and ate. She looked over at Sheldon who seemed to be in a slight predicament, he couldn't eat his soup through his mask. Penny smiled.

"It might help if you take off that mask." Penny offered up the obvious solution. Sheldon shot her a look that said 'You think I didn't think of that?'. He sighed and adversely tore off the mask. Penny smiled at the little imprints that it left on his cheeks. The two ate in silence as they watched the football game on mute.

Sheldon took their empty bowls and rinsed them in the sink. Penny wished her dad was here to make his home remedy for her. He was always the one to take care of her when she was sick and it was pretty much like how Sheldon was taking care of her, minus the mask and medical kit.

"Sheldon?" Penny asked as he seemed to get carried away cleaning her kitchen. He walked over to her and she tried her best to not look desperate.

"Can you make me a sick tea?" Penny asked. Sheldon furrowed his brow at her.

"What's a sick tea?" He asked. Penny remembered when he explained soft kitty to her. This felt like the same thing.

"It's warm milk with a pinch of cinnamon and honey. It helps me feel better when I'm sick." She explained. She felt a little bit embarrassed that she let that piece of information slip. She didn't like being seen as vulnerable or weak, but there she was pleading for a drink that would definitely make her feel better.

"I can." He replied. Penny smiled.

"You have to heat the milk, but not in the microwave, you have to do it in a pot or else it won't taste right." Penny explained. Sheldon nodded at her request and left her on the couch again. Penny was almost asleep when Sheldon returned with her 'tea'. He handed her the mug and draped her legs over his as he sat beside her on the couch.

"You know that's not really tea. Tea is made by pouring boiling water over cured Camellia Sinensis plant. After water, it is the most consumed beverage in the world. Herbal teas don't actually use the Camellia Sinensis plant, it is made often with a mixture of dried herbs and fruit." Sheldon rattled off. Penny smiled into her mug.

"Is this like your Soft Kitty?" Sheldon asked. Penny pressed her lips together and set her mug on the coffee table. She didn't like to open up to people. Sheldon was people. Sheldon was also Sheldon. There was no reason she couldn't open up to him, but she still felt like she had to keep her cards held to her chest. For a long time, she didn't show her hand. Even with Leonard, though he didn't expect her to as long as he was getting laid.

The question Sheldon asked still hung in the air. Though the question seemed harmless, it also seemed deeply personal. Penny searched his face. It was soft and innocent. He wouldn't get where she came from. Penny sharply inhaled because she forgot to breathe for a moment. She quickly nodded her head. Not wanting to fully let him in, she picked up her mug and buried her face in it.

"Was it something your mom did for you when you were sick?" Sheldon implored. Penny didn't really like thinking about her mom. She had spent years trying to forgive her for not loving and supporting her the way her father did. Forgiveness was sometimes hard to come by. Penny shook her head.

"No, it's something my dad did for me. Sorry, I don't really want to talk about it." Penny softly told him. Sheldon nodded as he rubbed at her legs.

"I actually taught my mother Soft Kitty. It is originally a children's song called 'Warm Kitty', written by Edith Newlin, but I didn't like how it sounded." Sheldon divulged. Penny felt guilty that he could so easily share tidbits of his past with her. Penny couldn't. She felt too embarrassed coming from a family of crazy people. Her dad was really the only normal person in her family, but he still treated her like a boy. She didn't want to tell Sheldon that her mother is an alcoholic, her brother cooks meth and her sister had a baby at sixteen with a total chauvinistic redneck, though she was sure he already thought that with the way he hated on Nebraska.

"Sheldon will you sing me Soft Kitty?" Penny asked. She turned around and laid her head in his lap. She looked up at Sheldon who had a soft smile plastered on his face. Penny couldn't help but smile back. She took his hand and gently placed it into her hair. Sheldon began singing.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur." Penny interrupted him.

"You have to play with my hair." She said. Sheldon obliged her request and began running his hands through her hair. Sheldon cleared his throat. He always had to start from the top.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur." He sang. Penny closed her eyes and focused on his hand running through her hair.

"Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr." Sheldon finished. Penny kept her eyes closed, she was beginning to feel sleepy.

"Thanks for taking care of me." Penny sleepily said. Sheldon just continued running his fingers through her hair and eventually she drifted off to sleep.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Penny woke up in her bed and Sheldon was gone. She looked at the clock, it was 9:30 pm. Time had gotten away from her. She was feeling a little bit better so she got up out of bed and flicked on the lamp on her table. She saw a note, a glass of water, and some cold medicine. She peered out into the living room, Sheldon had apparently done her laundry and disinfected her apartment. It looked like a dark Ikea catalogue spread with a basket of clean clothes on the floor beside the couch. After quickly going to the bathroom, and washing her hands, she hurried back to her note. She hastily opened it up and began to read.

Penny,

Please drink the water and take some of the cold medicine I left alongside this note. I will be back in the morning to monitor your temperature and symptoms.

Sheldon

Penny smiled and clutched the note to her chest. She had really underestimated him. After taking some medication and drinking the water down, she picked up her phone and sent a text to Sheldon.

Come back :(

He quickly texted back.

You need to rest.

Penny frowned.

Can you come and play with my hair again?

Penny didn't receive a response from him. Instead she heard her front door being unlocked, opening and being locked again. A set of keys were being set on the bookshelf beside her door and the sound of footsteps padding toward her bedroom made her stomach flutter. Sheldon appeared in her bedroom doorway, the soft light from the lamp flooded over him. He was wearing a pair of red flannel pyjamas and a pair of slippers. Penny smiled at him and patted the empty spot on the mattress next to her. Sheldon gave her a quick smile and made his way to her bed. Sheldon moved the blankets aside and got into Penny's bed with her. She quickly snuggled up to him as he got comfortable on the mattress.

"I'm only agreeing to this because you're sick and I'm leaving back to my own bed after you've fallen asleep." Sheldon said as he placed his long fingers in her hair. Penny grinned against his chest and nodded her head. She listened to his heart rhythmically beat under his ribcage and she let her head bob up and down as he steadily inhaled and exhaled. The two cuddled in her bed as he lulled her back to sleep. Sheldon never made it back to his apartment.