Chapter Seventeen

Sheldon planned for them to leave the next week for Texas, and Penny was ready. She already contacted Missy to help her with the master plan. Missy seemed more than willing to help her out. It was just a matter of getting to Texas now to execute it.

Penny was sitting in the boys' living room watching Sheldon type away on his laptop. His focus on whatever he was working on was always fascinating to Penny. 'What would it be like to have his focus directed entirely on me? Well, if my plan works I'll be finding out real soon.' Smirking mischievously, Penny flipped through her Glamour contentedly. An article made her stop to think about the trip.

"Hey Sheldon" she called over to test and see if he was listening. Sometimes he'd be too focused to notice.

"Yes Penny?" Sheldon replied not looking away from his screen or stopping his fingers from flying across the keys. 'Figures' Penny snorted.

"Well, I was just wondering. Am I going to be meeting any more of your clan?"

"As my family is not of Scottish genealogy, we do not refer to ourselves as a clan."

"Smart-ass. Will I be meeting anybody new from your family?" Sheldon pushed away from his desk, and turned towards her. She could see him to the assessment in his head by the calculating look in his eyes.

"Well, you have met my mother and my sister. The only other two people of significance you would be meeting would be my Meemaw and brother. Everyone else is of little consequence to me."

Smiling, Penny put down her magazine, and leaned back into the couch. "I get to meet the infamous Meemaw! That's exciting."

Sheldon's smile got softer at the mention of his Meemaw. "Yes, Penny. You will indeed get to meet Meemaw." Penny smiled at him before another realization hit her.

"Wait. You have a brother?" Penny was wracking her brain trying to remember when he might have mentioned this tidbit of information.

"Yes, Penny."

"What's his name?"

"His given name is Trevor Bowie Cooper, but he goes by Trey. Apparently, he finds his given name embarrassing in nature."

"Do you have a picture of your family? That way I am not completely hopeless when I meet them"

"Indeed, I do Penny." Clicking something, he beckoned her closer. "This is the most recent picture we have partaken in together."

Penny got up out of her seat, to head over to see the picture, and leaned over Sheldon to see the picture. She almost laughed when she saw it. It was a family picture, that was to be sure, but everyone looked as if they had just finished playing paintball. Sheldon was glaring at Missy, who was staring back smugly. There was another man, who looked a lot like Sheldon, with his arms slung around the two twin's shoulders, and smiling broadly. Sheldon's mom was standing next to an elderly looking woman that looked entirely out of place. That is except for the fact that she was handling the gun with air of expertise. The two guys had a lot of pink paint covering them, while the women only had a few spots of blue on them.

"Sheldon! This is the best family picture ever! What happened?"

"My family and I decided to partake in a competitive game of paintball. Missy proposed the idea of women against men. We were all in agreement and had two different paints for differentiation: blue for the men, and pink for my sister, mother, and Meemaw. It seemed to be a good idea until we actually started playing. I could not bring myself to shoot my mother or my Meemaw. However, they did not have such qualms. They delighted in shooting our persons, until we surrendered. My brother found this to be quite humorous and demanded that we should 'commerate' the day with a photo."

Penny had tears streaming down her face, due to all the suppressed laughing she was doing. The story was just so cute! 'Who knew that Sheldon was such a softie?'

"My father was the one to take the photo. He was covered in the most pink paint out of all of us and couldn't bear to be memorialized as that."

Blinking, Penny turned her attention back to Sheldon. He looked almost wistful. She didn't want to pry but her plan made her push.

"When was this taken?" she asked softly.

"Approximately two months before I met you. He died shortly afterwards"

"How?", again speaking softly. She didn't want something to trigger an alter.

"He died of a heart-attack. Penny, I'm not entirely comfortable discussing such personal details with you." Sheldon pushed away from his desk and made to stand up

Knowing better then to push, Penny moved back so he could have more room. Not enough, however. He turned and his entire body was flush against hers. Breath catching in her throat, Penny craned her head till she was looking into his eyes. She was hoping that a repeat of what had happened weeks prior would be in the mix. Getting ready to step closer, she gauged his reaction. The lost look in them was enough to make her step back. She wouldn't push his boundaries more than necessary today. Fragile was never a word she would have used to define Sheldon, but, as of late, it seemed more then fitting.

"Well Moonpie" he frowned at her use of the nickname again before she continued on "I have to go get ready for work, but I'll see ya later tonight. Vintage video game night, right?" His small smile was answer enough that he had stepped back from the fragile line.

Leaning up, she kissed him on the cheek before heading out the apartment. She had more information to help with her plan. Hopefully, it wouldn't blow up in her face.