9 weeks previously….

"I don't care if she stripped naked, oiled herself up and begged you for it, Josh! I thought we were serious!"

Sheldon winced slightly as he heard Penny scream at her latest meat-headed and apparently adulterous boyfriend across the corridor. He began the meticulous process of closing his applications and shutting down the laptop. This was a familiar routine; unfortunately Leonard was at a conference and so Sheldon would take the brunt of the 'why are men such bastards?' speech alone.

"Just get out! You cheating bastard. I hate you!"

*SLAM*

Exactly 8 minutes later Penny burst into the guys' apartment. Sheldon let her rant for a few minutes as he pulled out some glasses for the vodka she had brought with her. As much as he had promised his mother he wouldn't take drugs, he found listening to an inebriated Penny quite difficult without the alcohol as a social lubricant. Offering support in times of emotional distress did not come easily to him, but the alternative – instructing Penny to leave until Leonard returned – had proved impracticable based on several prior experiments. She would only return in the early hours of the morning and come into his bedroom – knowing full well his rules on people being in his bedroom – and persist in talking to him as he tried to sleep. Better to get it over with now.

On a purely logical level, Sheldon could appreciate Penny's attractiveness. Her facial symmetry and perfect hip to waist ratio made her a very desirable female from a biological standpoint. What he could not comprehend was her insistence on dating men who had an IQ lower than mud and who inevitably behaved inexcusably towards her. His previous experiments had also revealed that attempts to elicit the reason for this were not always appreciated, and had resulted in her becoming curiously angry and occasionally violent with him. Leonard had tried to explain to him that no one liked to have their faults pointed out to them, particularly when distressed, but then how did they ever expect to be able to change?

He was aware that as he had been contemplating these things, Penny had appeared to have burnt herself out of her rage and was slumped on the sofa crying. He noted though, that even in her distress she had avoided sitting in his spot. The observation made him feel a little funny, and he filed away the information for further study later.

He sat next to her and handed her a drink containing exactly twice the amount of alcohol his own contained. She downed it in one go. Anticipating this he had brought the bottle over, and refilled her glass as she held it out. He took a quick sip of his own and winced at the taste (how did people find this pleasurable? he wondered). To his surprise, Penny suddenly lent over and rested her head on his shoulder. To his even greater surprise, he found he didn't mind. His brain worked overtime as he ran through his list of socially acceptable things to say in these situations, before settling on one that seemed appropriate.

"You know, he didn't deserve you, Penny."

He realised it wasn't just a meaningless platitude; he meant it. Penny must have picked up on that fact, because she pulled back so she could scrutinize his face. He pulled back slightly so he could keep her in focus. Even blurry, she was beautiful. She sniffed and wiped a hand across her puffy eyes. "Sheldon…are you drunk?"

"Drunk? Not at all…Well, I believe I may be categorised as slightly 'tipsy'. But I remain fully in control of my faculties."

She appeared to have finished appraising him.

"Good."

She grabbed the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair, then pulled him into her as she pressed her lips against his.

Something was very wrong. Every morning Sheldon could ever remember, he had woken staring at the ceiling. Alone.

This was not presently the case.

He lay completely still as he evaluated the situation. His arm was draped over a warm body with a mass of blonde hair, which all available evidence suggested was Penny. He couldn't see her face, however, as they were lying in what he believed was referred to as the 'spoons' position.

Her hair smelt of oranges and tickled his nose.

He glanced at his alarm clock. It was 0635. He would be missing Dr Who. Penny stirred against him, and a part of him stirred against her in response, and then she sleepily pressed back against him and he decided maybe some things were worth missing Dr Who for.

Well…he had it set to TiVo, anyway.