Knockknockknock….."Penny".
Knockknockknock….."Penny".
Knockknockknock….."Penny".
Penny thought she was dreaming, at first. She hadn't seen Sheldon since the morning after she got out of hospital and had interpreted it as the end of their…well, whatever it had been. She wasn't really surprised. Things had gotten way more intense than she had ever imagined and he was so new at this stuff. She figured he was probably having trouble dealing with it. So she gave him some space to figure it out.
She realised the knocking had stopped, but she could hear him shuffling outside, could almost picture him raising his hand to start another round.
"Come on in, Sheldon" she called from the sofa. She had pretty much not moved since she had seen him last, actually. She was surrounded by the debris of a week's supply of chocolate, wine and ice cream. Still, she couldn't help but smile at the look of horror on his face when he saw it.
"Penny, I came to tell you oh my word what have you been doing?"
"Nothing, Sheldon, I just haven't felt much like tidying this week." She tried to glare at him pointedly but he continued to survey the wreckage of her living room.
"Well it's a good job I came over then, since you apparently don't care about the risk of vermin infestation and subsequent spread of disease you have created." He walked to her sink and pulled on her pink rubber gloves, then began clearing up around her.
She smiled as he she watched him clean, then sat up so he could squeeze his long frame onto the sofa beside her. "Finished?" she asked him. "For now." "Good. So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh. Well, I wished to gauge your reaction to the possibility of recommencing our prior relationship." He saw a flash of surprise and doubt cross her face and added "Leonard has signalled his acceptance of such a relationship."
Penny went red. "Oh, so you guy's have been talking about this, then?"
"Not exactly. Apparently he could see that I was unhappy without your company, and decided that my misery was unacceptable to him." Sheldon looked a little uncertain about this.
"You…were unhappy without me?" Penny thought she must have misheard.
"Well, yes. I love you, Penny. I believe distress at a loss of proximity to a loved one is a normal reaction. As is distress at the loss of a child, or even potential child." He reached out and placed his hand on hers. "I'm sorry I was not here to…help."
Penny's mind whirled as she tried to take in everything he had just said.
He loved her.
He had missed her.
He was upset about the baby.
Three feelings from Sheldon - the emotionless, logical, analytical scientist - all in one sentence.
She gaped at him for a minute, and then threw herself onto him. She straddled him and caught him in a bear hug, burying her face in his hair so he couldn't see her crying and misinterpret it. He made an 'umphh' noise as she crushed the air out of his lungs. His hands rested lightly on her hips, his thumbs lightly caressing the bare skin above her pyjama bottoms. Then she pulled back and quickly pressed her mouth against his, kissing him desperately at first, then slowly and deeply as he responded. His hand went to her hair, brushing it back away from her face and tucking it behind her ear, then burying his hand in the golden mass at the back of her head. The fingers of his other hand were gently tracing patterns under the elastic of her bottoms.
He pulled back, trying to breathe. "Are you sure about this, Penny…?"
"Shut up, sweetie" Penny grinned at him and gently bit his bottom lip.
He took that as a yes. He stood up, taking her with him as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Still kissing her, he manoeuvred them to her bed.
She could tell he was trying to be gentle with her, and she loved him for it. He fumbled with the buttons on her pyjamas then kissed his way down her exposed flesh, from her neck down to her belly button. She reached down and pulled his multiple t shirts off over his head. She had always loved his lean frame, and particularly his taut forearms and long, dextrous fingers. He pulled off her pyjama bottoms, covering the inside of her thigh with tiny kisses, then came back up to kiss her as he delicately teased her with those incredible fingers, making her gasp. She could feel him hard against her leg and loved how turned on he was by doing this to her. He kissed along her jaw and down to the sensitive spot on her neck, nibbling it as he had that first morning. Her hips were moving of their own accord, encouraging him on. Her hands reached out to his belt, undoing it breathlessly. Just as she was about to peak she felt the last barrier of clothing between them disappear, and he was poised over her, his eyes asking a question. She kissed him her assent, and then he was inside her. She watched him as he buried himself inside her, the look of bliss on his face making her feel almost superhuman. He kept the rhythm slow and gentle, still scared of breaking her. It was too much for her to bear and she came hard, hands clawing at his back. Finally he lost himself in the moment and thrust harder, moving one hand to her hip to hold her beneath him. Panting hard, he croaked her name. "Oh…Penny…"
He collapsed on top of her, kissed her neck. She reached down, pulled his chin up so he was looking her in the eye.
"I love you too, sweetie. Thank you."
One year later
The shop assistant glanced up and smiled at the young couple. The girl was stunning, long blonde hair and a definite glow about her. The man was tall and dark, and looked exhausted. But the assistant saw how he looked at the girl when she wasn't watching, and wished she had someone to look at her like that. Strapped to the mans chest was a baby sling, and she strained to get a look at the tiny bundle within. It was clearly a girl, with a soft mop of dark brown hair clipped with a little pink flower. She could just about make out the writing on the front of the baby grow:
"My Daddy's a Rocket Scientist!"
