I started this chapter earlier today and I could not stop writing! I find that weird since last night I watched an episode of the new season of The Big Bang Theory and didn't really like it, at all. You would think after seeing Penny and Leonard talking about getting married*gag* would turn me off the fandom for good, but I guess it hasn't. I'll just stick with writing this fic and not bother with the show, anymore.

Sorry for the wait and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 18

Together, Sheldon and Penny wound down from their hectic day and enjoyed a quiet meal. Sheldon had ordered them bratwurst, which was one of the most popular foods in Germany. Penny enjoyed the meal and despite the deterrent from routine, Sheldon seemed to enjoy it as well.

"I think you will enjoy what we will be having for dessert, Penny." Sheldon placed his empty plate on the table and dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Penny had yet to finish her meal, but the lure of a dessert was too much.

"Oh! What is it?" She placed her plate on the table and reached for other still covered platters. Sheldon moved the plate out of her reach and she pouted.

"Aren't you going to finish your dinner?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at the food still left on the plate.

"No. You said there was dessert and now, I want that." Penny clapped her hands together in eagerness. "Is it German chocolate cake? That's one of my favorites."

"Penny," Sheldon said in a tone that meant a lecture was going to happen. "Contrary to popular belief, German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. Instead the name comes from the American chocolate maker, Sam German, who created the cake in 1852."

"So," she started slowly. "What you're telling me is we're not having German chocolate cake for dessert?"

Sheldon sighed, again. "Honestly, Penny, is that all you got from my lecture?"

She shrugged. "Pretty much."

"To answer your question, Penny, we are not having cake for dessert." He lifted up the silver dome. "We are having something called Wiener Apfelstrudel. Its apple strudel drizzled with vanilla sauce and it's delicious."

Penny's mouth watered at the sight of the dessert. "I love apples!"

Sheldon smiled. "I know you do. That is why I ordered this particular dessert. Now, may I cut you a piece?"

"Yes!" Penny eagerly shoved a plate in Sheldon's direction. He took it with a slight smile and cut Penny a generous piece of the strudel, then cut himself one. Between the two of them, they had already eaten over half the strudel with their two pieces.

Penny took her first bite and moaned. She didn't think she had ever tasted something so good and was already thinking of ways she could smuggle some into her suitcase when they left.

"I am assuming that you are enjoying the strudel," Sheldon said after swallowing a bite of his dessert.

"I love it!" She said through a mouthful and ignored the look Sheldon gave her. "We should have this every night."

"Germany has many more things to offer in terms of dessert, Penny. I'm sure there are plenty other things that you will enjoy. We won't be able to try them all in the time we are here, but I was thinking that we could try the best this country has to offer."

Penny saw in the way he spoke, that he had obvious love for Germany and she was glad that he had an opportunity to visit the place, again. Tears sprang to her eyes, unexpectantly, when she remembered that it could have very well been Leonard who would have been chosen to go on this trip and he would have asked her to go. She would have turned him down, of course, knowing that he would try to make it some kind of romantic get away.

"Penny, is there something wrong?" Sheldon looked alarmed as he placed his plate down to look at her fully.

"Uh no." Quickly she wiped away the tears. "This strudel is just so good that it brought tears to my eyes." She had to wince at how horrible that lie sounded. Sheldon had told lies better than that!

"I see." Sheldon, of course, didn't believe her, he had an IQ of 187, after all, but surprisingly, he didn't pursue the real reason why she was crying. Instead, he picked up his plate and finished the rest of the meal. Penny did the same and forced herself to not think about how close Sheldon had been to not being able to be here.

~S-P~

Sheldon had known that Penny hadn't been crying over the strudel. It was delicious, but not that delicious and Penny didn't easily cry. Something had upset her and Sheldon had wished he were better equipped to deal with emotions. He was getting better, but he had yet to master it. Penny was important to him and he found that it hurt to see her upset. It was like her tears had caused a stabbing pain in his heart and if he hadn't visited his doctor before their trip to Germany, he would have thought something was wrong with his health.

Looking over at his friend, he saw her take the last bite of her strudel and yawn loudly. Their day had been a long, exhausting one and Sheldon was feeling the effects of it now, as well, even though it wasn't yet his bedtime.

"Are you ready to retire to your sleeping quarters, Penny?" He asked and stood, gathering up all the plates and placed them on the try the deliveryman had left for them. He wheeled the thing out of the door, where they would gather it and take it back down to the kitchen. He, however, saved the rest of the strudel, knowing that it could be eaten for breakfast.

"Yeah, I'm pretty beat." Penny stood and stretched.

"Well, then, I will bid you good night and I will probably not see you until tomorrow afternoon, as I will be getting up very early to head to the University."

"What should I do until then?"

"You can do whatever you like, Penny. See the sights. Maybe go shopping some more. The hotel has an indoor pool, if you brought along a swimsuit."

"Well, I don't want to do any sight-seeing without you, so I may just have to visit the pool and maybe learn some more German while I'm down there." She flashed him a smile and for some reason, his heart began to race at the sight. He had to; once again, remind himself that there was nothing wrong with his health and that Penny had been doing this to him for a long time.

"I am sure you'll enjoy it." Sheldon smiled in return.

"I guess, this is goodnight, then."

"Yes, I suppose. Goodnight, Penny."

"Goodnight, Sheldon." They stood there staring at one another for a while and Sheldon wondered why Penny had not moved to go to her room. She was obviously tired.

At that moment, Penny moved and had leapt to wrap her arms around him in a hug. Sheldon tensed, but she held him tighter. "It's just me, sweetie," she mumbled into his shirt.

"But what is the occasion?" He asked, and his arms remained glued to his sides.

"This is me thanking you for bringing me to Germany. It's been wonderful, so far."

Slowly, he allowed himself to hug her back. "I am glad you are here with me," he said, honestly. They stood in the embrace for a couple minutes and it seemed like neither one wanted to move away. Sheldon didn't know what to think about that.

"Well," Penny was the one to break their contact. Surprisingly. "I should head to bed. Good luck with your class; tomorrow and I'll see you later." Penny, once again, surprised him when she went on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. Before he could say anything, she had already retreated to her room and had shut the door.

An hour later, Sheldon lay in bed, unable to sleep. His cheek still tingled from where Penny had kissed him. If it had been several months, earlier, he would have said it was tingling because of the germs, but he was different, now. Penny had kissed his cheek and he had liked it. Immensely.

~S-P~

8:00am(Germany)/11:00pm(Pasadena)

Sheldon was surprised when his cell phone began to ring on his way to the University. None of the guys had even bothered to text, let alone, call him while he had been gone. It stung a little to know that they wouldn't miss him. Sheldon was anything but stupid.

Looking down, he saw that it was Raj's number. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sheldon. How's Germany?" The Indian's voice came clearly through the phone's speakers.

"Germany is doing well," he said with slight suspicion. There was no Raj had just wanted to have a friendly chat. Something was going on here. "Is there a reason for your call, Raj?"

"Actually there is. Earlier this evening, I was over at your apartment with Leonard and Howard and I found something behind your garbage."

Sheldon's eyes bugged out. "Oh, dear God, what was it? Mold? A mouse?" He was trying hard to stay calm.

"No, nothing like that. I found three slips of paper..."

"Leonard must have missed the garbage, then. Honestly, that is no reason to call me."

"Leonard didn't miss. You did."

"Oh, please, R-"

"All the papers said 'Penny'."

Sheldon stopped walking and held his phone in shock. There was no way Raj had found out. Did that mean the other guys knew as well? How could he have been so careless?

"I think I get it, now," Raj continued to speak. "You wanted her there with you and I don't blame you."

"I did." Sheldon had no reason to lie.

"This is a great opportunity for you, Sheldon."

"I know. Dr. Mueller has said that I may ev-" He started with excitement, but Raj cut him off. Which was very rude of him.

"I didn't mean academically."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the pieces of paper, but if you need help or just need to talk to someone about...things, then call me. All right? I know I haven't treated you the best, but we're still friends."

Raj had always been the kindest out of the three guys to him and Sheldon had considered replacing Leonard with him in his rank of friends several times. Well, now, he made it official. Behind Penny, Raj was now one of his closest friends.

"I will. Thank you, Raj."

"No problem, Sheldon. Now, I need to get to bed. It's late here and I have work in the morning."

"Wait, don't go." When Raj didn't hang up, he continued. "You said you only found three pieces of paper?"

"Yes. Just three. The other one must have made it into the garbage."

"And you said they all said Penny's name?"

Raj sighed, getting annoyed, now. "Yes."

"Well, if it's any consolation, but the other slip of paper had your name on it. You were the only one out of the three of you whom I wanted to accompany me."

"Really?" Raj's tone changed to a happy surprised.

"Yes." And Sheldon was glad Raj was halfway across the world and couldn't see his face twitching.

I love Raj and I think I'm going to give him a bigger part in this story. I hope you all liked the ending. Personally, that was my favorite part of this chapter. There will be more Shennyness in future chapters, I promise and I promise that things will be speeding up a bit, too. I just have to sit down and outline everything I want to happen. I would also promise that the wait for the next chapter will be shorter, but I always break those promises. Unfortunately. :( I'll write when inspiration hits me and I hope that's very soon!

Thanks for reading!