Chapter Twenty-Four

To Sheldon, admitting that aloud lifted a weight off his chest. A weight that had seemed to be there for a long time. Yes, he, Sheldon Lee Cooper, had feelings for Penny that went beyond friendship. Never had he felt this way about anyone and when they had first met, Sheldon would have never guessed that he would be feeling that way about Penny, his unorganized neighbor who had drank too much, in the beginning, and who couldn't seem to keep her apartment clean for more than a day.

Yes, those feelings were a shocker. A big one. Though, the hug Dr. Mueller gave him after the admittance almost topped it. No one ever hugged him except for his mother, Meemaw and Penny. Oddly, he wasn't repulsed by it. Dominik Mueller had been a friendly face when he first stepped foot on the University many years ago and continued to be a friendly face.

"I'm proud of you, son," Dominik said and took a step back. "Penny is a mighty fine woman."

"I know."

"When do you plan on telling her how you feel?"

"Actually," he started and glanced up to see Penny staring curiously at the two of them. He made sure to lower his voice when he spoke again, not wanting to ruin the surprise. "I'll be taking her to Paris tomorrow and hopefully, will find a time and place to do so, then."

"Paris!" Dr. Mueller exclaimed, thankfully in a whisper. "That's quite romantic of you, Sheldon."

"I know," Sheldon said, proudly.

"Afterwards, you must tell me how it goes."

"Of course, I will." From the corner of his eye, he saw Penny approach them and knew that they had better stop talking before she heard what they were saying. Blood rushed to his face at the thought of Penny finding out how he felt before he was ready to tell her.

"So," she said. "Are we going out for lunch or do you have a set schedule for the day, Dr. Cooper?" She smiled and winked. More blood seemed to rush to his face and he turned his back on her to finish packing his bag.

"We will be going to lunch with Dr. Mueller, Penny."

"Great! I was really hoping we would spend a little time with him before we leave." Sheldon noticed that her voice seemed to sadden towards the end of the sentence and he realized, not for the first time, that she really wasn't ready for them to leave and that it was upsetting her very much that they had to.

It almost made him tell her their plans for the rest of their stay, but he restrained. Penny liked surprises, unlike him, and Sheldon knew she would enjoy the surprise he would be giving her. He just wished she wouldn't be so sad in the meantime. Sheldon hated seeing Penny sad. It was one of the worst things he ever had to witness.

"Excellent. Now, come, follow me," Dominik motioned with a hand. "I'll take you to a nice little place I sometimes go for my lunch break."

With smiles, Penny and Sheldon followed him. However, Sheldon couldn't help but notice that Penny's smile seemed to be a little...forced.

The restaurant Dominik took them to was a quiet, small place almost like the one he had taken them on their first day there. There were only a few patrons at the tables and the three of them were led to a table in the back corner, where they would be able to have a conversation and not disturb the other customers.

"Many other professors, like myself, and students come here to eat and study," Dr. Mueller said in explanation. "Most of the time, it's as quiet as a library in here, but they will not mind if we talk."

Penny looked through her menu, trusty German dictionary by her hand. "It's very nice in here," she said, not taking her mind off the menu. Dr. Mueller and Sheldon already seemed to have what hey wanted picked out and she didn't want to keep them waiting as she decided.

When they got their drinks, Penny ordered a beer because Germany, they ordered their food and then, started to talk comfortably with one another. Not for the first time, Penny relished in conversation she knew wouldn't turn into an argument, like many of the conversations back home with the boys. Most times, things turned into competitions, as well.

It was nice to have a mature conversation with a mature German man and a somewhat mature physicist.

"So, Penny, Sheldon tells me that you're an actress."

Penny glanced over at Sheldon, surprised that he had told his old professor of her profession. Normally, he acted as if acting was a waste of time. "Yeah, I am."

"Any big roles, yet?"

"Uh...sadly, no. I did have one commercial and a lead role in a very small play. But that's it."

"That is too bad, dear." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "I bet you are very talented. One day you will get your 'big break', yes?"

"I...don't think so. I'm thinking about giving up on acting and maybe go to school. I haven't decided, yet."

"Why not do both?" Sheldon spoke up. "Don't give up on acting, but have a back-up plan just in case." It was clear that he was trying to be supportive of her and Penny felt her heart start to beat faster.

"I could, if only I would get parts." She sighed. "I guess we'll have to see what's in store for me when we get home tomorrow." Penny wasn't looking at either one of them, so she missed the look that passed between Sheldon and Dominik.

After they ate their meal and talked for a little while more, it was time to go. Dr. Mueller was needed back at the University. Penny had burst into tears as she hugged the older man and made him promise that the next time he was in California, they would all get together to catch up. She had come to love him.

As they watched Dominik walk down the street towards the University, Sheldon looked down at Penny. "What would you like to do, now?"

"Maybe we can just walk around," she suggested eyes misty. "See the sights one more time."

"That sounds like a good idea," he agreed and shifted the strap of his bag. "But, first, may we go back to the hotel, so I can drop off some of my things and change out of these clothes. I don't think they are proper walking attire."

Penny was going to miss the dress shirt and pants, but couldn't help but agree. The day was already growing warm and she knew, he'd sweat in the clothes he had on at the moment and Sheldon hated sweating.

"Okay, that's fine."

Together, they walked to the hotel. It was nice to have places to close to one another that they could walk. In California, she had to take her crap car everywhere. If she lived here, she definitely not have to worry about her car giving out on her in the middle of the road, that's for sure.

"Penny?" Sheldon said, a little uncertain.

"Yes? Is there something wrong?"

"No." He shook his head. "I just want to say that I'm sorry we have to leave Germany tomorrow. I know how much you loved it here."

"Don't be sorry, sweetie," she said and squeezed his bicep in understanding. "I should be thanking you for even bringing me here in the first place. This has been the best week of my life!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"And you didn't mind that you spent this week with me?"

"Of course, not! In fact, I'm glad it was you. I really am." Penny wanted to slide her hand down his arm and grasp his hand, but didn't want to feel the disappointment of Sheldon slipping from her grasp. So, she kept her hands to herself.

"I'm glad to hear that."

It was two a.m. on a Wednesday morning and Raj and Howard were wasted. They had just returned to Raj's apartment after a night on the town and were sipping at bottles of beer and watching late night reality TV.

"I wonder how Sheldon and Penny are doing," Howard slurred and slumped further down in the couch.

"They're doing fine," Raj answered. "Penny texted me."

"I bet's she already met some German man to take to bed with her," Howard continued lewdly, as if he didn't hear Raj.

"She'd never do that. Not with Sheldon there!" Raj exclaimed, scandalized.

"Then, she'll go to the guy's place." Howard shrugged and picked up to flip through the channels.

"Penny is in love with Sheldon!"

"HA!" Howard laughed and then, chocked on his beer. "Let's say, for a second, that that's true. Sheldon would never return her feelings. He doesn't do that, remember?"

"He wanted her to go to Germany with him! He even wrote down her na-" He slapped a hand over his mouth before he could continue. However, it was too late. Howard's interest had been peeked and now, he was leaning close to his best friend.

"He even wrote down...what?"

Raj sighed, knowing that he had no choice. Howard wouldn't leave him alone until he told and if he didn't do it, now, he might wait until they were with Leonard to bring it up. Leonard was the last person Raj wanted to know about this. He knew his friend would do something drastic and possibly even ruin the good time Sheldon and Penny were having.

"You can't tell anyone," he whispered, as if there were other people in his apartment beside the two of them. "I mean it, Howard. No one."

"Got it." Howard seemed to sober up at the thought of learning what seemed like a very important secret.

"You know how Sheldon picked names out of a hat to decide who would go to Germany with him?" Raj continued to whisper.

Howard nodded.

"Well, they all had Penny's name. Except for one. That one had my name on it," he finished smugly.

"No way! So, you're saying he wanted Penny to go with him?"

Raj nodded. "He did. Have you noticed all the time they've been spending together?"

"I have," Howard said. "And it's only a matter of time before that rockin' body of Penny's breaks Sheldon down."

"I think Penny is the only woman who would be able to break Sheldon down. Ever."

Howard thought for a moment and then, agreed. "You're right. If Leonard where to kn-"

"No!" Raj shouted, startling his friend. "I said no one, especially Leonard. Do you have any idea what he would do if he were to find out? Think Arctic Incident, but worse."

"Do you think he would be capable of that?"

"With Penny involved, I truly believe he's capable of doing anything. Sometimes I don't think Sheldon is one step away from being a super villain. I think Leonard is."

Howard remained silent after that, but he didn't disagree with his best friend.

Penny and Sheldon spent the rest of the day and part of the night on the streets of Heidelberg. For dinner, they stopped at, what looked like pretty popular place to eat, and enjoyed their last German meal of the trip. Penny didn't know that soon they would be enjoying French cuisine.

Afterwards, Penny was reluctant to head back to the hotel. So, they caught a glimpse of the night life. They passed a few clubs and though Penny looked longingly at some of them, she didn't ask Sheldon if they could go inside. For which he was very grateful.

Finally, she seemed to have her fill of all the sights and together, they made it back to the hotel. However, she wasn't ready to head to bed, so she suggested they watch a movie. Digging through her already packed suitcase, she took out one of the movies she had brought. The Princess Bride.

She waited for Sheldon to argue the choice of movie, but when he didn't she shrugged and placed the disc in the player. Then, she went and flipped off the lights in the room before settling on the couch very close to Sheldon. So close, she was practically sitting on his lap. He didn't move or shove her away, so Penny counted that as a win.

The movie started and they watched as it played out on the screen. Penny loved the movie; it was one of her favorites. But her mind wasn't really on Wesley and Buttercup at the moment. They were on Sheldon and how, after tomorrow, things would go back to normal between them and they would have three big obstacles to furthering their relationship.

Raj, Howard and Leonard.

Leonard would be the biggest because Penny knew that the moment she stepped off the plane in California, he would adhere to her side, once more. She wasn't ready for that. Especially not after having such a good time with Sheldon.

Through the rest of the movie, Penny tried hard to pay attention to it and when it finally ended, she turned to Sheldon with a smile that felt a little fake. "So, how did you like it?"

"I will admit that it was not as bad as The Lake House. It was...acceptable."

"I'm glad." Penny stood, disconnecting from the side of Sheldon's body. "Well, I should probably head to bed, now." She felt like crying and didn't want to do it in front of him. "What time should I be ready to leave?"

"The train will be departed at seven in the morning, so I would like to leave here no later than six. Is that fine?"

"Yeah." She nodded, even though it wasn't fine. "I'll be up and ready. Goodnight, Sheldon." Unlike the night before, she didn't stoop down and kiss his cheek. The tears were coming and she needed to hide behind the safety of her door.

"Goodnight, Penny," Sheldon said to her retreating back.

Next chapter...Paris!

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