Penny's visit went better than Sheldon dared hope. She has told him that she loves him, and they have finally moved into a more physical relationship. Now Sheldon needs to focus on the upcoming presentation.

Penny smiled as she watched Sheldon pace in a small circle. He was mumbling to himself while Raj fidgeted with his tie. Penny walked over and pushed Raj's hands away. She loosened his tie and re-knotted it. She was smoothing his lapels when Sheldon's arms wrapped around her from behind. He turned her and walked her back across the room. Penny looked up into his intense eyes and laughed with surprise.

"Sweetie, I was just fixing his tie. He's our friend. You look so jealous," she said.

Sheldon frowned down at her. "I am not jealous." His left eye twitched slightly and Penny grinned widely. Sheldon blushed and looked down. "It's just that you touch the others so easily. With me you are still sometimes hesitant."

Penny snuggled in close and laid her head on his chest. "Sweetie, it's easy to touch Raj or Howard. It means nothing to me other than friendship. It's harder to touch you because sometimes, it's almost impossible to stop. It means more to me. You mean more to me."

Sheldon relaxed and placed a kiss on her head. "I am a very lucky man," he said.

Penny pulled back and placed a kiss on his lips. "Almost show time, Sheldon. I'm going to go sit down. Bernadette and Howard are saving my seat." Sheldon nodded and released her.

"I love you," he said softly.

Penny smiled softly. "I love you, too."

She didn't understand a word of what Sheldon and Raj were saying. Instead she focused on the audience and the panel. Penny was a fairly good judge of facial expressions. She felt proud of Sheldon and Raj. The audience was riveted. The panel was impressed. Everything was going really well. Then came the Q&A portion. The first few questions were fairly simple for Sheldon to answer. He was on top of his game. Then Leonard stood up.

"Dr. Cooper, considering your history of making scientific assertions, and then recanting later, how certain are you of your findings this time?"

Howard immediately grabbed Penny's arm tightly to prevent her from getting up. Penny's eyes zeroed in on Sheldon, and she held her breath. Sheldon had turned a bit pale and he shuffled the papers on the podium. He cleared his throat and looked at her anxiously. Penny nodded encouragingly. He smiled slightly and faced Leonard.

"I assume you are referring to my contention almost four years ago that I had proven string theory while in the Arctic. I assume this since you were part of that trip." Sheldon looked at Leonard blandly. "I freely admit that I was incorrect then. The entire trip was a disaster. But, like any good scientist, I learned from that mistake and moved forward. I make no assertions with this presentation. I am merely presenting my theories and results so far. Others will have to judge if it is worthwhile."

Someone else stood and asked a question, and Leonard walked stiffly out of the room. A few more questions and the presentation was over. Penny stood with Amy and Zack while Sheldon spoke with the panel and with a few other scientists. Zack rubbed Amy's back as she fumed.

"I can't believe Leonard would try something so underhanded!" Amy exclaimed. She looked at Penny and reached for her hand. "I owe you a huge apology for all the times I encouraged you to stay with him. Until I read your letter, I had no idea how harmful that had been. I don't know how you ever managed to forgive me."

Penny gave Amy's hand a squeeze. "Amy, there was nothing to forgive. I love you. You are one of the most important people in my life. You always wanted what was best for me. I'm an adult. My unhappiness was my own fault."

Penny placed a hand on her head and sighed. "Listen, it's pretty crowded and stuffy in here. I'm going to step outside for a bit of air. Want to go with me?"

Amy nodded and looked over at Sheldon and Raj. She waved to get their attention and pointed to her and Penny and then to the doors leading outside. Sheldon nodded with understanding. Amy smiled and walked with Penny to the doors.

They moved out into the small garden area and found a bench. Penny leaned back and rolled her head back and forth. Amy watched her with a smile. "You look tired. It was wonderful of you to come back so soon and support Sheldon. Was the flight bad?"

Penny shook her head. "Six days on a cruise ship, a mad dash to the airport, a three hour flight, and then a mad dash to Bernadette's apartment so I could get showered and dressed. I'm just a bit worn down." Penny looked at Amy sheepishly. "I am sort of hoping Sheldon just wants to cuddle tonight."

"That's a switch. I remember you being very eager in bed." Leonard stepped out of the shadows. He smirked. "With me you were always interested in sex, no matter how tired you were."

Penny gripped the seat of the bench to keep from jumping up and hitting that smug face. "Actually it was more like sleeping with you meant I didn't have to talk to you. It was easier than listening to you whine."

Leonard's expression turned angry for a moment. Then he grinned nastily. "What could you and Sheldon have to talk about?"

"Life, science, family, friends, movies, music, and our future together," Penny said calmly. Amy noticed Sheldon, Howard and Raj in the doorway, but secretly motioned them to stay silent. "Leonard, I am truly sorry you are angry. I wish we could have parted under better circumstances. We gave it our best shot. We weren't happy together, Leonard."

He stepped closer. "I was!"

Penny shook her head. "Were you really? You were happy with someone you didn't trust? You were happy with someone who was miserable? I was falling apart, Leonard. I hated everything and I was starting to hate everyone. I drank like a fish, I had ulcers, and I spent most of my time wishing I was someone else, somewhere else."

Leonard clenched his hands. "I treated you like a princess," he argued. "How could that make you unhappy?"

Penny stood up. "That was part of the problem," she said. "You never treated me like me. You treated me like some fantasy girl that you could take out and play with whenever you wanted. I was never real to you. From the moment we met you focused on my looks and you built me up in your head to some ultimate goal. Some grand prize. I'm more than my looks, Leonard. I'm more than sex."

Penny looked over at Sheldon and smiled softly. "Sheldon showed me that. He likes me. Sure, we are good in bed, but we're just as good out of it. We talk. We share our lives with each other. We don't have a lot in common. But we still talk about the things we don't share an interest in. We don't always agree, but that doesn't mean we can't find common ground."

Penny looked back at Lenard's disbelieving expression. "I don't know what's going to happen between Sheldon and I, but I feel completely accepted with him. I'm not an ornament on someone's arm. I'm not just a body to keep someone warm at night. What I feel, think and want matters to Sheldon. He doesn't treat me like a princess. He treats me like a person. He gets frustrated and tells me. We have a problem and he works with me to fix it. And when I'm sad or angry, he lets me talk to him about it, without taking offense. Without making it all about him. That's what real couples do, Leonard."

Leonard shook his head. "If you think he's not going to get bored with you, you're delusional. He's too egotistical. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He never has." Leonard spun on his heel and stormed off.

Sheldon walked over and placed two fingers under Penny's chin. He tilted her head back to look at him. "Penelope Queen, that was the most impressive speech I have ever heard." He smiled softly And pulled her close with his other arm. "I love you. Let's get out of here. I have a surprise for you. I found an apartment."

Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "That sounds wonderful, sweetie." She turned and looked at Amy. "About what I said earlier regarding that cuddling thing," she winked and grinned, "I changed my mind."

Amy laughed as the men looked at each other with confusion. Penny pulled Sheldon down for a quick kiss. They said their goodbyes and left the university.

And to my dear guest reviewer who hates this story so much. Thanks for letting me get under your skin. It's made writing this story so much sweeter to know you just can't stay away from it. Your reviews have provided me with more laughs than season 6 of the show has.