Penny couldn't help herself. At the very next opportunity, she would try to catch Sheldon alone. She knew she was not supposed to seek him out, but to hell with it!

The following night after work, she kept listening out for movement from 4a, as she watched TV. She heard Howard and Raj arrive just before 7pm. Not long after that someone left to go to the store across the road. She was lucky, from the light footsteps and faint conversation she could tell it was Sheldon. After he had gone down the stairs, she emerged from her apartment and she waited.

"Sheldon Cooper!" she called out, as he returned back up the stairs. He looked slightly flushed from the climb and rather handsome. She bound over and she threw her arms around his neck. "I know that I'm not supposed to see you. That I should be scorning and resisting but I couldn't help it," she said smiling at him, "That poem was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever written for me."

"Then you accept my courtship?"

"Yes."

He looked pleased. "Good, now you must test me. Set me deeds to perform."

"I don't know what to ask," she said.

"There must be something you require, something you desire. You have already set one task."

She gave him a confused look.

"To get our friends back," he explained, "I will endeavor to do everything in my power. I will not fail you."

"We have Bernie back already," she said happily.

"Oh, brilliant," he said placing his hands lightly on her waist.

Penny paused, taking in his closeness for a second. She stretched up and placed a firm kiss on his lips.

"Now! be gone with you!" she mocked, dropping her arms from his neck.

"Ooh, that's very good," he said.

"Is it?"

"Yes... but scold me further."

"Try harder! It's not good enough," she snapped.

He nodded obediently and then returned to his apartment. Leonard, Raj and Howard were all sitting around about to have Thai. They had their laptops with them and Raj was buzzing around handing out beers.

"Was that Penny?" Leonard inquired.

"Yes, it was."

"Aren't you going to have dinner with her?" Howard asked.

"No, a respectable distance should be maintained," he said.

"For this… courtship thang?" Raj asked.

Sheldon paused, putting down the batteries he had just purchased. "I feel deeply uncomfortable talking about this in front of you, Leonard. Isn't it a social convention, faux par, of some kind? I can never tell."

"It's fine, go ahead," he said.

"Very well," he said, "First, I must first win her favor. There's much to be done. Wooing, which will include learning to play the Hammer Dulcimer, jousting…"

"Jousting?" said Leonard with a smile. "You're going to race on horseback, at another guy… holding a lance?"

"Hmm well, I may be called upon to defend my lady at any moment, or sent on a quest."

"She may send you to the far reaches of the globe?" Howard said snickering.

"Ooh, like Indiana Jones," Raj blurted out excitedly. Howard and Leonard frowned at him.

"Perhaps…" Sheldon said thinking deeply to himself as he sat down in his spot.

"Sounds very complicated," said Leonard. "…and why chose the Hammered Dulcimer?"

"I decided the Theremin was a little too rock'n'roll for serenading."

"Nah, go with the Theremin" said Howard chuckling. "Chicks dig that funky sound."

"Well, it does make for super science fiction theme tunes," Sheldon said. "But the dulcimer is far more…"

"Medieval?" Raj asked.

"Precisely," said Sheldon, "Oh darn it, I'll need my headphones," he said taking off towards his room.

Once he was gone, the guys exchanged looks and smiled. "Dude, you have nothing to worry about," said Howard quietly.

Leonard smiled. "I really don't. Amy has taken her name off Sheldon's emergency contact form. She's given them Penny's details," he whispered.

"Boy oh boy!" said Raj.

"Yup, the brown stuff is about to hit the proverbial," said Howard.

"Why don't you just go and talk to Penny? She's probably dying to be rescued by now," Raj said.

"Urm, not quite yet," said Leonard with a grin as he heard Sheldon reappear from the bedroom.

Penny began to look forward to each morning because when she opened her door, there was a little gift sitting outside. It was never there when she got home in the evenings, no matter how late she arrived back. Yet, it was always waiting, the following day. A small red present, flawlessly wrapped with a gold bow on top, which had been secreted over in the dead of night. Sometimes it would be chocolates, or incense. Sometimes it was an odd one, like a little globe of the world. She hadn't seen Sheldon in over a week but she didn't mind at all. He was with her in spirit and she thought about him frequently.

This morning she found a larger parcel outside her door. She texted Bernadette, as soon as she opened it, as she had done every morning since the gifts began to arrive. "Today it's a Japanese tea set."

"That's lovely, can't wait to see it." Bernadette replied.

Penny carried the gift to her kitchen and placed it on display.

Later the day, Sheldon was sitting in his office with a small red present in front of him. He was concentrating hard on folding the paper identically on both sides, when Kripke walked into his office.

"Cooper!" he said.

Sheldon didn't look up.

"What's that you got? Gifts fow the girlfwiend?"

"A gift for my would-be girlfriend" Sheldon corrected him.

"Whoa, not fow Amy then" he said smiling cheekily.

"No."

"You have anothew one on the go?" he said shocked, "You'we a dog, Cooper!"

Sheldon looked up puzzled. He wasn't unsure how the canine comparison was relevant. "It's for Penny," he said.

"Penny?" Kripke asked, "…you don't mean blonde? Hot! Cutew than a speckled pup in a wed wagon, Penny?"

"Yes."

"Leonawd's Penny?" he asked, still not convinced.

"Well, she was Leonard's Penny, but as things have transpired, she will be my Penny."

"Oh man, you're wobbing his giwlfwiend?!"

"No, not robbing. She approached me, I am merely requesting her pledge in two and a half months from now."

"That confident huh?"

"She would have become my girlfriend immediately, but I suggested a courtship."

"You'we making hew wait?!" he barked.

"I suppose I am."

"Man Cooper, I undewestimated you! You'we an ubew-dog!"

Sheldon looking even more confused.

"We awe going out, you and I." he said pointing back and forward, "I need a wingman like you."

"But, I'm not really the going out type."

"No buts, this is happening," Kripke demanded, continuing to point in Sheldon's direction. He then dropped a report on the desk and left.

Sheldon placed the wrapped present in his top left draw and picked up the report. It was entitled "Cryogenic Dark Matter search, Soudan." He'd been waiting for these results. Not only for the inspiration nuggets they may contain, but this presented the perfect opportunity to visit his astrophysicist friend.

"Hello Raj," Sheldon said, as he entered Raj's office.

"Oh, hello Sheldon."

"Thank you for the Soudan Mine results, Kripke just dropped them off."

"No problem," Raj said.

Leaning against Raj's desk, Sheldon opened the report and began to silently browse. "Hmmm" he said after a while.

"Anything?"

"It's very exciting," he said, "but the connections are not flying yet. Although, I am a little weary today."

"Is that because of Penny?" Raj asked.

"No," said Sheldon engrossed in the report. After a while he put it down, walked over to on Raj's whiteboard. "Do you mind?" He asked.

"Go ahead." Raj said and Sheldon started to scribble symbols on the board.

"The Higgs boson," Raj said in awe.

"Indeed."

They both paused.

"So light," Raj said breaking the silence.

"Too light."

"She's upset the apple cart, that errant little flyaway."

"She has."

"Just call her Penny," Raj said casually.

Sheldon didn't respond, he was staring intently at the equation. "Our elegant supersymmetry may be obsolete," he said gently.

"Like last years top model?" Raj sighed in agreement.

"Well, it's at times like these, when great minds are called upon to question assumptions and challenge traditional theories."

"That's what I love about physics," said Raj.

"Yes, the unexpected turns."

"Like you and Penny?"

Sheldon turned and looked at him, "You keep mentioning Penny."

"No, I don't!"

Sheldon frowned.

"Well, since you brought it up," Raj said, "How is all that going?"

"Oh very well. She has accepted my courtship and I have initiated a campaign to affirm my worth. Yet, there it still the matter of my friendship with Leonard to consider," he said. "That is why I stopped by Raj, I thought you could be of assistance to me in this plight."

"Me?"

"Yes, you have a certain expertise in these matters."

"How do you mean?"

Well, you managed to maintain your friendship with Leonard even after a failed attempt to court her?"

"I-I…I"

"Raj?"

"That was different."

"Yes, you were unsuccessful," said Sheldon looking off into space.

"But-t…"

"Raj you seem off you game today. Are you sure you are well?"

Raj gathered his thoughts, "I hate to tell you this Sheldon, but you will have to let her go. If you want to save your friendship with Leonard that is."

"But I can not relinquish her."

Raj looked at him in utter disbelief "…b-but you're Sheldon Cooper."

"I am aware of that. If you could be a little more helpful…"

"… you said it yourself, you don't require human connection. You're the robot man. You're above…"

"Not anymore," said Sheldon with genuine depression.

Raj looked at him suspiciously, 'Have you been experimenting with… lanterns? How do you react to the color yellow?"

Sheldon paused, then he replied, "I'm not possessed!"

Raj moves closer, staring intently into one of Sheldon's big blue eyes. "Tell me a sad story from your childhood," he said.

"Nor am I, a Replicant," he said flatly.

"Hmmmm," said Raj, reaching over to give Sheldon's arm a little squeeze.

"I'm not an Android, Simulant, Biomechanical or Cyborg either."

"I had to check."

"Of course."

Raj walked around him staring intently. "Well then, you explain it. Leonard is your best friend and Penny is sort of... your enemy. How can this be real?"

"I can't explain it Raj."

"You're serious?" he said aghast.

"I am. It came crashing to earth like the meteor."

"What did?"

"Love."

This struck a chord in Raj, he faltered in his examination momentarily. Then not being entirely persuaded, he continued, "Prove it!"

"Very well, ask me anything."

"What if, Penny insisted that every time you have Thai food, she must have the last dumpling?"

"That would be acceptable."

"What if, Penny set you a quest on a Saturday morning and you were prevented from watching Dr Who?"

"I would concede and download it," he said.

"What if, she poured shampoo into your Iron Man Mark III helmet and you can't react?"

Sheldon's lips began to tighten. "I have the funds to purchase a new one."

"Hmmm." Raj said pacing slowly. "What if, you swore to protect her, but Godzilla attacked Pasadena and you couldn't get back to the apartment to save her."

"I would never have left the apartment without her. If there were another nuclear explosion sufficient to unleash Godzilla, I would know!"

Raj walked around his desk and sat down mulling over his next question. "What if…" he said, looking triumphant. "Penny demanded that for one of your trials, you must crawl through a filthy pond to collect pennies which she had dropped in? …deliberately."

"I'd wear a hazmat."

"You can't wear a hazmat."

"Rubber gloves?"

"No!"

Sheldon visibly flinched. "I must fulfill my pledge or surrender her forever?" he said becoming visibly distressed.

"Yes," said Raj, "and there's dirty socks in the pond!" he said raising his eyebrows.

Sheldon shot him a firm glare of determination. "Then with the utmost terror and disgust, I would put cotton wool in my ears and nose, and wade in holding my breath…"

Raj slumped back into his chair. "You wouldn't…" said Raj.

"… and my devotion would be affirmed. Only to succumb to a massive protozoan infection brought on by Cryptosporidiosis and other water-borne parasites. Perishing shortly afterwards, which would be an abhorrent blow to the future of mankind and all…"

"Sheldon stop!" he said.

Sheldon fell silent. "I don't believe you could manage that feat, but you have proved your point. You love Penny."

"I told you," he said, gloomy.

Raj looked over at his troubled face. He leaned across the desk, with his hands linked together and an excited glint in his eye. "Tell me everything," he asked brightly.

Thanks again for all the amazing reviews. I never get tired of them and they are very helpful in assessing if the story is OC and if it works. I have tried to write these characters, as I think they would react to a Sheldon and Penny romance, if it happened on the show :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory.