Sheldon was not paying much attention to Leonard, Howard and Raj as they walked into the comic book store. He hadn't seen Penny since Sunday morning and was beginning to get a bit worried. Stuart looked up from the counter and smiled at the guys. His droll "hello" grated on Sheldon's nerves for some reason.
"Why is Penny not here?" he asked
Stuart shrugged. "No class this week, so she's not working. Which actually suited her since she was feeling down with that cold."
Sheldon turned to Leonard. "Take me home."
Leonard frowned. "Sheldon, we just got here."
Sheldon turned to Raj. "Take me home."
Raj opened his mouth, shaking his head, but Sheldon just huffed and walked out the door. The bus it was, then.
Penny stumbled to the door and tripped on the blanket. She fell against the couch with a groan. The tapping on her door grew louder. How many rounds had he knocked? Four? Five?
Knock knock knock Penny?
Knock knock knock Penny?
Knock knock knock Penny!
She sighed as she hung her head, trying to quell the dizziness. "Gimme a minute Sheldon!" She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.
The next thing she knew, she was laying on her bed, half naked. And she was cold.
Penny opened her eyes and gingerly rolled over. She shrieked as she fell on the floor. Immediately she felt the bed behind her bounce and then Sheldon was kneeling beside her. She looked up at him in confusion.
He tsked twice before helping her sit up and lean back on the bedside. "Really, Penny. If you needed to get up, you could have said something."
Penny looked around the room as if it held all the answers. "Sheldon? What are you doing here? Why am I undressed? Why the hell are my care bears yelling at me?!"
Sheldon tilted her head back and looked into her eyes. They were still glazed, but her fever seemed down some. He picked up the bottle of water on the night stand and held it to her lips. She drank it greedily. After half the bottle, she slumped towards him again. Sheldon slid his arms under her knees and behind her back and picked her up. He wasn't a muscle bound ape, but he was wiry from paintball, Wii sports and walking up and down several flights of stairs multiple times a day. He laid her back on the bed and checked her temperature again. 100.4°. Not perfect, but much better than it had been when he had let himself into her apartment 3 hours ago.
He brushed back her hair and raised her eyelid to check her eyes again. Her skin was clammy so he pulled a thin blanket up over her. She had been delirious and her skin had been burning up when he found her on the living room floor, unconscious. He had gotten her back into bed and stripped off everything except her underwear. When Leonard and the others had shown up an hour later, he had sent Leonard to the druggists for anything with electrolytes to help replenish fluids and a humidifier. Her fever had been 103.0° at the time. He had no idea how long she had been sick, or how high her fever had gotten. However, she was dehydrated, slightly delirious, and from the acidic smell in her bathroom, she had vomited at least once.
Sheldon felt another surge of anger. Why hadn't she called? She was ill, and she hadn't told him. How was he to take care of her if he didn't know she needed him? A knock on her bedroom door made him turn. Leonard was standing there, shifting from one foot to the other a bit eagerly.
"Sheldon, you should come eat. I can watch over her for a while."
Sheldon shook his head. "Not necessary, Leonard."
Leonard narrowed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you are just saying that to make me leave? Don't you think I can watch over her?"
Sheldon turned back to Penny as she shifted in bed. "Leonard, it is no secret that you desire Penny. You are constantly flirting or hitting on her. I do not think she would appreciate it if you were inappropriate while she was ill."
Leonard gasped. "Sheldon! Are you saying I would take advantage of Penny?!"
Sheldon turned and looked at Leonard sternly. "Can you honestly say you could resist looking at her? Even the slightest bit?"
Leonard's face turned red and he stomped away. Sheldon sighed. He was disappointed in his friend. Even now, with her so ill, all Leonard could think of was finding a way to "hook up" with Penny. He walked to the bathroom and grabbed a clean washcloth and run it under the cold water. He moved back into the bedroom in time to see Penny thrash a bit and moan. He hurried over and laid the cloth over her forehead.
Her eyes opened at the touch and she looked up at him. Her green eyes were over-bright but more lucid than before.
"Sheldon?" she said softly.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.
"Must be sick still," she mumbled, "or else you have two mouths."
Sheldon quirked an eyebrow at her. "You see two mouths?"
Penny giggled. "Yep. Two mouths. Four lips. All so kissable looking. How do you do that? Look so damnably cute, yet still seem so distant?" Penny's eyes fluttered closed. She turned onto her side and sighed. "Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon. Why do you make me want things I can't have?" she said in a soft voice.
Sheldon stared at her in shock. He must be misunderstanding her. Penny couldn't mean what it sounded like. It must be the illness. She had been delusional before. He replayed her words when he first found her. "My knight in Sheldon armor. Why are you only in my dreams? Want you to be really real."
She had been delusional. Right? Sheldon reached out and lightly touched her cheek. She smiled in her sleep and turned toward his touch. He was absolutely certain he imagined the whispered "BMG". Fairly certain.