A/N: Hello all ! Here's the latest chapter! Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and the like, they make me a happy writer indeed! Please keep them coming and enjoy!

Sunlight streamed into the room almost cheerfully as Copper awoke. She blinked a few times, stretching her legs until her feet met the resistance of the couch. Her back arched off of the cushions with a series of loud pops and she sighed. A slender hand ran through the tangled mass of curls, pushing them out of her eyes. A glance at her cell phone's bright screen on the coffee table told her it was a little after ten o'clock. She sat up, the thin blanket sliding to pool around her waist as she braced herself on one arm. The door to Penny's room was still closed.

When she had stuck her head in the front door last night, she had noted with a wry smile that neither Penny nor Leonard were visible in the dark living room. The door to the bedroom had been closed then too. Frankly, Copper was just grateful that they had quietly gone about their business after she had tiptoed to the sofa and lay down for the night.

"Thank the Lord for small favors," she muttered to herself as she cracked her knuckles with a happy moan.

Just as she stood up to gather her stuff to check on her own apartment, the door opened and Penny padded out wrapped in her robe. Copper raised an eyebrow at her friend's startled look.

"When did you come in?" Penny asked as she moved around the kitchen island to make coffee, attempting to appear casual.

"Oh, about the time that Leonard let out that orgasmic shriek," Copper deadpanned, bending down to place the now neatly folded blanket on the arm of the couch.

"Crap, you heard that?"

"No, but it's nice to know my intuition is still as sharp as ever."

She dodged the barrage of dish towels thrown at her head with a peal of laughter, ducking behind the couch.

"That's not funny, Copper!"

"Yes, yes, you're right," Copper agreed as she peeked over the back of the sofa, lips twitching like mad, "It's feckin' hilarious."

There was another wave of ammunition sent flying in her direction, oven mitts this time, and she dove back down, giggling like a teenager. Leonard picked that moment to walk out in his undershirt and batman boxers, socks hiked up to mid calf. He blearily looked down at Copper's hunched form, blinking a couple of times behind his thick glasses.

"Hey, Copper, when did you-"

"Don't ask her that!" Penny's shrill protest cracked across the room like a whip and Copper dropped to her belly, crawling around the sofa towards the remains of Penny's initial assault.

Grabbing a hand full of fabric, she hopped up and flung the soft missiles back across the room. Penny easily caught them, but it was the distraction Copper needed. As soon as the blonde woman lowered her arms, she was pelted dead in the nose with an assortment of pillows. Grunting from the impact, she grabbed the offending fluff with a growl, but by the time she had pulled her arm back to throw, Copper had bolted out the door, curls streaming behind her.

"That's right, hit and run, you coward!" she heard Penny's shout all the way down the stairwell.

When she stopped at her own door, one floor down, and bent to retrieve her keys from her overnight bag, her shoulders were still shaking with mirth. Sliding her key into the lock, she heard the steady tread of footsteps coming down towards her. She looked up and spotted Leonard, who had apparently thrown on a pair of jeans. He was shaking his head with a smile and Copper tilted her head at him with an inquisitive expression. He held out her phone to her and she grinned.

"Ah, thanks. I was going to get you to bring it down to me after a little while. There was no way in hell I was going back into that war zone this morning. I'm brave, but I don't have a death wish."

Leonard smiled at her, rubbing the back of his head.

"She'll cool off after a while, she's just embarrassed."

Copper smirked. "Why do you think she was attacking me with dish rags?"

Leonard gave her an incredulous look.

"You do have a death wish."

Copper shrugged, an evil glint reflected in her grey eyes.

"Nah, it's fun to poke the bear when you know you can outrun it."

He shook his head again. "Well, I have to deal with the aftermath, so thanks for that."

"You're welcome, doll. If it makes you feel better, you can always hide out here until the storm passes over."

He gave her a grateful look.

"You have no idea how much better that makes me feel," he muttered and she put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

"Yeah, I do."

With that, he trotted back up the steps and Copper opened her door, dragging her bag behind her. The apartment smelled fine, if a little like exhaust since the windows to the street were all open. She plopped the big duffel bag on the floor in front of her couch. When she had latched the windows back, she made her way to the bathroom. She plucked up her bright blue toothbrush and thoroughly cleaned her teeth before hopping into the shower. The heat of the water soothed her cramped muscles, sore from having to cram her body onto that tiny sofa. The scent of peaches was still mixed with the steam from her shower when she stepped out again, scrubbing a towel through her hair. Wrapping the damp towel around herself, Copper grabbed her brush and opened the door to air out the now muggy atmosphere. She walked into her living room and let out a sigh. It was so nice to not have anything pressing on her mind for the day.

She moved towards the island, where she had a little bag of hair ties. Flipping her hair, she bent over, beginning the painful struggle with the knots that always formed whenever she washed the mass of curls. Grunting with effort, she let out a tiny yelp as she tore through a large nasty one close to her roots. At that moment there was a rapid knocking at her door. Figuring it was Penny come down to rant at her, she just called over her shoulder.

"It's open!"

She heard the door open behind her.

"Hey, sorry if I embarrassed you this morning. You know I was just teasing right?"

When there wasn't an answer, she straightened and twisted her upper body. When her gaze met blue instead of green, she felt heat rush to her cheeks.

This wasn't going to be her morning.

Sheldon had risen that morning with the intention of implementing the next phase of his master plan. Last night had been a major step towards his goal, but he knew that if Copper was given enough to time to think about it, she would realize what he was up to. So, he needed to act quickly. He remembered that she and Penny had been discussing her apartment's fumigation last night and that she would be returning to it this morning, so there was no need to hurry. Instead, he settled himself into his spot with his bowl of cereal and turned on the television, though he kept an eye on the clock. After he had showered and brushed his teeth, he once again returned to the couch, merely killing time. Leonard popped in a little after ten, wearing the same ridiculous expression he always had after he and Penny engaged in coitus. Sheldon had resisted the urge to shake his head at his friend. The man just never learned.

Deciding that an appropriate amount of time had passed, he rose and retrieved his satchel. He plucked up his keys from the bowl by the door and made his way down to Copper's apartment. His mind was so occupied on just how he was going to approach his dialogue with the redhead that he did not call out her name, as was his habit. He heard her acknowledge that the door was unlocked. It made him frown a bit as he opened the door; that was an entirely unsafe practice.

Any chastisement he had intended to say never made it passed his lips.

Sweet Jesus, were her legs always that lovely shape? And that long? His gaze traced their contours up, pausing at the edge of the towel and the disappointment that he felt once his eyes landed on the material surprised him somewhat. Her body turned somewhat as she spoke, but he didn't hear the words, mightily distracted by the curve that was hinted beneath the bright, fluffy fabric. The hem of the towel was raised just a fraction higher, giving him a peek of one gorgeously rounded cheek. When she straightened, his gaze followed her spine's movement, noting with interest that the only thing that hid the rest of her body from his wandering eyes was a little knot tucked just under her arm. The location naturally tugged his attention to the mere glimpse of the slopes of her breasts as she turned to face him.

Sheldon was finding it harder to breath the longer he looked and his pulse rate was hitting a point that he knew he should have been concerned about. Sadly, his talented mind just wasn't up to par at that moment. Fortunately, by that point his eyes had come to rest on her face, which was flushed a pretty shade of pink.

Fascinating.

Pulling himself together at a blinding speed, he kept his face as neutral as possible, his mental facilities moving into hyperdrive. This was a good thing; the more appealing he found her, the easier this was going to be. He needed to get closer to her; physical contact may be necessary and he may have to set aside his concerns about personal hygiene. Having rationalized his reactions into neat compartments of denial, Sheldon cleared his throat and averted his eyes.

"I was hoping that you would be so kind as to take me by the classic games store? I would like to peruse their selection. I heard a delightful rumor that they may be in possession of a rare purple Rayman 2 cartridge and I am quite keen to purchase it if that proves to be the case."

When she didn't answer, he looked up only to find that she had disappeared from the room. Bewildered for a moment, he stepped from the doorway and towards the couch, leaning over to peer down the hallway. He heard a slamming sound and concluded that she had retreated to her bedroom in order to put on more appropriate attire. More's the pity, he thought, then promptly squelched that line of thinking. There was hardly any need to become ridiculous about the entire debacle.

Instead, he placed his hands in his pockets and allowed his eyes to roam about the room. Her taste in furnishings was admirable, he silently admitted. She had an earthy color-scheme, complimented with pictures of soft blues and greens. Several dragon statuettes had been placed on various shelves and tables, usually near a small set of books. Sheldon moved towards the shelf where he had placed all of her science fiction DVDs, scanning the titles even though he had them memorized. Finally, he heard her footsteps approaching from behind and turned his attention in her direction. He repeated his request and she gave him a small smile.

"Certainly, Sheldon, as long as you don't mind giving me directions. I'm still not entirely sure where everything is around here."

He nodded and opened the door for her as she picked up her keys and wallet from the coffee table. Two weeks ago, she had purchased a beautiful used blue Monte Carlo with money that she had been saving for some time. He liked to ride with Copper best because of her car's spacious interior; not to mention she always let him choose the radio station when she gave him a ride. As she breezed past him, the gentle scent of peaches wafted past his nose. He breathed it in, finding the aroma light and pleasing. She turned to lock up her apartment and he took the opportunity to study her unobserved.

She had donned the worn black Batman t-shirt she wore when they first met and a snug pair of jeans; they drew the eye to the intended places. It made Sheldon consider what reasons Copper may have had for choosing them. Then he dismissed the notion as irrelevant. Her flip-flops showed off her colorfully painted toenails, a deep, almost navy tint today. Perhaps blue was a favorite color?

Shoving her wallet into a back pocket, she spun on her heel, her key ring spinning around her finger as she bounced down the stairwell, whistling a light and airy tune. He dutifully followed her out to the street, waiting patiently as she stepped around her car and unlocked the passenger side door. Sheldon slid inside and promptly buckled his seat-belt, his good mood dampening slightly when he watched her turn the ignition without securing herself.

"You should buckle up before we pull into traffic."

"Oh, right."

That was surprising. He had expected her to argue the point, but she just shot him another tiny smile. Something had flashed behind her eyes when she had looked over at him and he concluded that she must have still felt somewhat embarrassed from earlier that morning. They rode for a while in silence after he had informed her of the quickest route to the store, his hands neatly folded in his lap as she concentrated on driving in the heavy midday traffic. Finally, he turned to her as they approached a stop sign.

"You know, nudity is not something that you should be embarrassed about Copper. Your embarrassment stems from both a sense of self-consciousness as to your whether or not your body is aesthetically pleasing to a potential mate, as well as being caught in a moment of unguardedness that may have exposed some vulnerability on your part. But since you were not entirely naked and I really had not taken much notice to your lack of proper dress, you have nothing to worry about. Also, I'm sure there are many men out there that would have sexual congress with you based on just your physical characteristics."

She hit the brakes a bit too hard at the stop sign, but he didn't make any suggestions about her driving. She had turned to look at him blankly for a few minutes before muttering,

"Thanks, Sheldon, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those men in the future."

He was privately pleased with himself. He had given her both reassurance and she had thanked him for it. This was better progress than he could have hoped for.

Copper eased into a parking space near the back of the little lot. She hadn't thought that a grown man could be so naive, but she didn't doubt the fact that he had been genuinely trying to cheer her up. Unbuckling herself, she pulled out her keys from the ignition and stuffed them in her pocket, hitting the lock button before she closed her door. Sheldon was only a step ahead of her, but his long legs ate up the distance and she had to walk fast in order to keep up. The blast of air conditioning that hit her as soon as he opened the front door sent goosebumps over her body, but it still felt wonderful. It was that time of year where the summer's heat may have lessened somewhat, but it lingered. Soon it would be getting cooler and Copper couldn't express how much she was looking forward to that.

Sheldon immediately went to the counter to ask about the cartridge and Copper was left to her own devices. She wandered over to a set of piles near the back of the small floorspace. Squeezing between two mountains of stacked game cases, she found herself standing in the middle of what seemed to almost be a pyramid of games, herself on the inside of it. That was when she spotted a game title that caught her eye. It was near the top of a set of rickety looking shelves, near the very end of a row that was almost touching the back wall.

She turned her head left and right, searching for some kind of stepping stool. When she poked her head between the 'entrance towers' as she had dubbed them, she could see that the young man behind the counter was in a deep, heated discussion with Sheldon. That wasn't going to end anytime soon. Letting out a sigh, Copper returned her attention to the game's silent siren call. Copper stood on her tiptoes, reaching far over her head, but she couldn't even brush the spines of the cases with her fingertips. Grumbling under her breath, she tested the bottom shelf with her right foot. Satisfied that it would hold her weight for at least the amount of time it took to reach the video game, she gingerly stood on its wooden surface.

It wobbled a bit under her, but it held. She reached up and towards her left, growling in frustration when she still couldn't wrap her fingers around the damned thing to pull it down. She stepped up another shelf, this one creaking ominously. Copper pointedly ignored it's protest and that of her calf muscles as she strained towards her goal. Just-a little-more-

"Copper?"

"Over here, Sheldon!" she called, tottering precariously on the shelf before crowing her victory as she grabbed the game from its perch.

She held it aloft in triumph, basking in the glow of accomplishment

"Copper! What are you doing? That's not safe!"

The question screeched near her right elbow startled her so much that she over corrected herself, her purchase on the wood lost. Copper let out a yelp of surprise and fear, her arms windmilling frantically in the air. Bracing herself for the hard impact to her rear, and possibly the back of her head, she felt her back connect with something solid sooner than anticipated. Sheldon let out a whoosh of air with a grunt and she felt his long arms wrap around her middle to keep them from both toppling over. They slipped up as she kep going backwards, the squeak of his shoes on the concrete floor reaching her ears.

Copper's feet scrambled wildly as she tried to find her balance, her body writhing in his arms as she tried to upright herself. His arms tightened around her and he hissed into her ear,

"Hold still, you wriggling wildcat!"

She froze, the warmth of his fingers splayed across the bare skin of her stomach, now exposed from her shirt having ridden up, registering past the mild panic of her tumble. Her head had been scrunched forward and she leaned it back, trying to at least pull herself somewhat up, but she ended up just bumping under his chin with the top of her curls. He stepped backwards carefully and her back slid up his chest. The back of her shirt now coming up and the heat from his chest seeping into the now bared skin of her lower spine.

"I said hold still!"

Copper obeyed with a scowl, her cheeks hot. The soft twang of his Texas accent had come to the fore and the sound of it coupled with the reverberation of his speech, which she could feel through his chest at her back, made a shiver want to chase itself up her spine. She resisted, barely. Finally, he shifted her in his arms and set her on her feet, though his hands lingered at her waist. He leaned around her shoulder, his brow furrowed.

"Are you hurt?"

Copper shook her head, not trusting herself to speak just then. He nodded and gently released her. Changing gears, she twisted around and held up her new game. Thankfully, she had also rediscovered her voice.

"I found something I wanted. Mind waiting a bit while I get it?"

Sheldon shook his head and she promptly darted out of the suddenly all too tight space.

God, why was this just not her day? And why did the agoraphobic Dr. Cooper suddenly decide that touching her was perfectly fine?