Penny lay awake in the early hours. She tried to sleep but kept going back to the argument with Sheldon. Her anger had ebbed away and left behind something worse; regret. Why hadn't she just let it go? she thought. Let him have a small moment of triumph. Wasn't rejecting him enough? All she wanted to do now, was say she was sorry.
Leonard stirred next to her, he reached for his watch on the bedside table and said "Morning."
"Morning," she replied.
Jumping out of bed he started towards the bathroom, then stopped and said "Oh, I have an appointment with my hygienist this morning, which means I won't be able to drive Sheldon to work. He'll probably ask you." He looked concerned.
Penny didn't say anything.
"Just make him take the bus," he said.
"It's okay, I'll do it,"
"Are you sure? Last night got … intense, the guys were ready to duck and cover," he said jokingly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay, it's makes a change from one of us," he said. "Everything is alright though, right?" he added.
"It will be," she said resolutely. "Tell him I'll drop him off on my way to work."
After Leonard left, she thought about what she would say. She would set the record straight as gently as she could and appeal to his sense of logic. He wasn't going to get her angry. She wondered who she would be greeted by though, angry Sheldon or sulky Sheldon. This time she was ready for him.
Knock, knock, knock, "Penny."
Knock, knock, knock, "Penny."
Knock, knock, knock, "Penny."
"Hello Sheldon."
"Hello Penny."
They made their way down the stairs in silence, once they were seated in the car, she turned and said,
"Sheldon, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about the fight last night. It got out of hand. Can we just forget it?"
"Okay," he said.
"Is that it? Aren't you going to say sorry, too?"
"Should I?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, then I'm sorry too," he said.
She started the car and pulled out, he was looking at the check engine light but didn't say anything. They drove in silence for a while and then she glanced over at him. He didn't look angry, or sulky. He looked just fine, happy even. Why is he not crazed? The things she had planned to say slipped from her mind.
"Do you want to play hookey?" she asked. It was an impulse that came from nowhere.
He studied her as if he was not entirely sure what she was asking. He hesitated and replied, "Is that a euphemism?"
"A what? No. It means to stay away from work… without permission" she joked.
"You mean to abscond?" he said.
"Yeah. Just blow it off."
"What does playing hookey entail?"
"Ice cream, wine, hanging out, watching films."
"Then no." he said.
"Oh come on, even Amy and Bernadette were game. We went to Disneyland," she said trying to make it sound appealing.
"You encouraged Amy to play hookey?" he said.
"Yeah, she's really good at it."
He shook his head.
"Suit yourself," she said.
Penny dropped him off and headed for the nearest store. She would play hookey on her own, she thought. Once she got in, she called in sick, changed into comfy sweatpants, opened a big tub of vanilla ice cream and flicked on the TV. This was the life.
Flick, flick, flick. Not much on. She tried a DVD instead, 'The Lake House'. She had forced Sheldon to watch it with her once. He didn't like it. She smiled and put it on. An hour later, she was bored. Something with Jennifer Anniston, she thought. On went film number two, but not long after that…
Bored…
She wasn't having the marvelous time she had hoped. Why?
Then it dawned on her. Sheldon wasn't there. Why had she not seen it? She asked him to cut work with her, for pity's sake! Never once thinking about her motives in doing so. Her eyes widened. Was she tempted? Did she want him?
Oh god, she sobbed. I want to have coitus with Sheldon Cooper!
She reached for the wine.
Several hours later Leonard and Sheldon were coming up the stairs after work.
"Tires must be only be inflated to 32 to 35 psi, Leonard. Excessive tire pressure can greatly reduce fuel economy and lead to premature failure."
"The tires are fine Sheldon!"
"Your assurance will be little comfort, when a blowout sends us into an uncontrollable death spiral."
"Oh Sheldon, will you give it a rest," Leonard moaned opening the door. "What time are the guys getting here?"
"One of the guys is already here," said Howard walking in the door with a big grin. "Raj is on his way, he's picking up nibbles."
"I have the new BioShock Infinite," said Leonard holding up the box.
"It's vintage games night, Leonard, no releases after 1995," Sheldon said pointing at both of them. They rolled their eyes and started unpacking the retro consoles.
Bernadette and Amy climbed the stairs to Penny's apartment.
"Do you think she is even in?" said Bernadette.
"I have no idea, I've been texting her all day and zip." said Amy. She knocked on the door.
Penny shot awake with a start. She had completely forgotten about girls night. The wine had gone down too fast and she just thought she'd close her eyes for a second and must had passed out. She staggered to a standing position and went for the door.
"If that's a new fashion craze, I don't like it." Amy said, taking in Penny's crumpled appearance and ice cream stained sweat top.
"Hey girls, come on in" Penny said.
"Are you okay?" asked Bernadette.
"Sure, never better," she said holding her hand to her head. "Take a seat ladies."
The girls walked in and looked around. They would take a seat if they could find one. The place was a mess. They tentatively cleared themselves a space, and sat down. Penny wobbled to the kitchen, steadying herself on the counter. Whoa!
"I'll get you wine" she said "…and water for me."
"Your apartment resembles a hyena den," said Amy.
"Yeah, sorry," she said passing them glasses.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to stay? Maybe you should be in bed,"
"Nooooo, it's fine" she lied. Bernadette continued to look worried but decided to change the subject completely.
"So Amy, are you ready to resume your experiments on Sheldon," she asked.
"No" said Amy gloomily. "At this rate, I might just slip some Viagra in to his cocoa."
"Don't do that!" Penny said rather too quickly. The girls looked at her. "You know… drugs ..." she trailed off. "I've got to hurl," and she ran to the bathroom.
The guys were still setting up when Bernadette and Amy walked in.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Howard asked.
"Girls night's a bust," said Amy
"Penny's drunk," said Bernadette.
"She's what? said Leonard.
"She's had a skinful," Amy said.
"We thought we'd better let you know," said Bernadette
"She wasn't at the Cheesecake Factory this morning. I popped in to try Sheldon's famous barbecue bacon cheeseburger," said Amy.
"Good choice," Sheldon said. Amy grinned.
"She wasn't at work?" said Leonard, looking at Sheldon angrily.
"She played hookey."
"What?! Why did she do that?" Leonard asked, agitated.
Sheldon thought for a moment. "She wanted ice cream," he said.
"She's drinking, she's skipping work… and she had a massive row with Sheldon the other night. Hell, knows what that was about." Leonard said.
Sheldon dropped his eyes.
"Her place looks like it's been hit by a blizzard," said Bernadette.
"That's it, I'm going over," he put down his controller and matched across to Penny's apartment.
He found her in the bathroom, slumped over the toilet.
"Penny."
"Leonard" she said groggily.
"You are drunk, what the hell is going on? Sheldon told me you didn't go into work."
"Sheldon, that ratfink," she said.
"It's not his fault," said Leonard.
"Oh but it is," she said.
"Penny, you're acting crazy."
"I am crazy," she laughed.
"I can't talk to you while you're drunk. I'm putting you to bed," he said helping her up. He pulled her upright and helped her to the bed. Placing a glass of water by the side, he left her to sleep it off.
Early the next morning, Sheldon took Penny's spare key and made his way to her apartment. He lightly crept across the hall, opened her door and closed it behind him. Taking in the devastation in front of him for a moment, he began to tidy.
Sometime later, she woke to see a figure moving about her room, in rubber gloves. "Sheldon?"
She watched him for a few seconds and then said, "Tell me something?"
"All the time we have known each other, it's always been you who was crazed over every little thing, every routine change, every raised voice but... this… I don't understand. How are you fine with all these things you have been saying to me?"
He gazed down at her and said nothing.
"Why am I the crazy one?!" she said, bringing her hands up to her face in despair.
"Penny", he said quietly. "I've known for 6 years that I was attracted to you. You've only known two weeks."
"…but you never."
"No, I chose science."
His eyes were warm as he looked at her, "Hug me," she said, holding her arms outstretched.
"You need a shower,"
He was right, her hair was sticky with ice cream. She stood up and made her way to the bathroom, looking back as she closed the door.
"Thanks," she said.
"You're welcome."
When she got out he was gone. A pile of bedding in her laundry basket told her, he had changed her sheets.
Sheldon had got back to the apartment to find it empty. Someone had left two cups on the coffee table. Darn it! He couldn't leave them. As he picked them up, he heard the door open. He turned to see Penny walk in, her hair still slightly damp. She walked right up to him, closer, then closer until they were almost touching. He didn't move.
"Sheldon?"
"Yes, Penny."
"Why is supersymmetry so important?" she asked, so close she could feel his heart start to pound.
"Physicists considered that there was an undiscovered physical principle," he said softly.
She kissed him.