Reference to and dialogue from: 'The Lunar Excitation'; 'The 21 Second Excitation'; 'The White Asparagus Triangulation'; 'The Wheaton Recurrence';
xTBBTx
"I informed you thusly," growled Sheldon as the guys looked at the long lineup at the theater entrance.
"Relax Sheldon, we've got tickets," said Raj.
"What about the seats?" Sheldon said excitedly. "What chance do we have of finding the acoustic sweet spot when most of the seats will be already taken?"
"Let's just get in line before we end up sitting in the front row," sighed Leonard.
"Then there's the problem of saving a seat for Penny," Sheldon continued as they walked to the back of the line. "This is an unmitigated disaster." His eyes narrowed as he recognized a particular individual in a group that was walking towards them on the sidewalk.
"Hello Sheldon," said Wil Wheaton amiably.
"Wil Wheaton," the physicist replied crisply.
"I see you're out for the Star Trek midnight showing."
"Why else would I be in line?"
Wil looked at the length of the line.
"Should have been here sooner," he said.
"Yes, well, we're ahead of you so perhaps you should have been her sooner," sniffed Sheldon.
"Actually we've got a pass to go in early," grinned Wil. "It's nice to grab the popcorn and a good seat ahead of the crowd, y'know?"
Just then Penny came to the group.
"Man, good thing we got tickets," she whistled.
"Hi Penny," said Wil brightly. "Congrats on the new show. It's awesome!"
"Thanks," she replied. "It's been a blast."
"You seeing Star Trek, too? Didn't think you were a fan."
"Eh, it's Anything Can Happen Thursday so what the heck," she shrugged.
"We're going in early," Wil said. "You can come with us if you like."
"Penny's with us," Sheldon said firmly.
Wil cocked his head at Sheldon and they stared at each other.
"What the hell, they can come too," Wil said with a smile. "More the merrier."
"Awesome!" Leonard cooed.
"No thank you," Sheldon said stiffly.
"What?" Howard gasped.
Sheldon folded his arms across his chest. "To accept a 'gift' from my arch nemesis"—here Wil chuckled— "is completely—"
"Anything Can Happen, Sheldon," Penny said with a light bump to his bicep.
"And in the spirit of that we accept," said Leonard and the two groups went to the front.
"Hey Wil," said the security guard. "These guys with you?"
"Hardly," snorted Sheldon. "He's the Green Goblin to my Spider-Man, the Pope Paul the fifth to my Galileo, the Internet Explorer to my Fire-"
"We're with him," Penny said loudly and then grinned at Sheldon's scowl.
The group walked into the theater and went directly to the refreshment stand and ordered. After picking up his Icee and Red Vines and her diet Coke from the counter Sheldon and Penny made their way to the cinema.
Penny marched down to the center of the room before realizing Sheldon wasn't with her.
"Ha!"
She turned to see him sitting near the top.
"Ha!" He called again and then got up and went to another row and sat. "Ha!"
"What are you doing?" Penny asked.
"Finding the acoustic sweet spot," explained Leonard as he came to stand beside her.
"Does he always do this?" she asked as she watched Sheldon continue his quest.
"Be thankful he didn't bring his toy xylophone."
"Here we are!" Sheldon exclaimed and Penny went to join him.
"Happy?" she asked.
"I'm not un—" He caught her 'yeah right' smirk. "I'm satisfied."
"Good. So what's the plot anyhoo?"
"I don't like spoilers," Sheldon replied. "I've been avoiding the Star Trek forums for weeks so as to make this moment all the sweeter."
"Fair enough."
"I also don't like people talking during the film so please refrain from chatter."
"Anything else?" Penny chuckled.
"If you have to use the washroom cut by Leonard. I don't want to miss a moment of screen time."
"Yes boss." She took a sip of her pop.
"I must say, this Anything Can Happen Thursday is working out quite splendidly," Sheldon said cheerily. "When we get the dvd I can point out all the inaccuracies."
"Looking forward to it," Penny said diplomatically.
"Have some faith," Howard said from Sheldon's right. "I mean this won't beat Wrath of Khan, the best Star Trek movie ever, but it'll be light years ahead of—"
"Excuse me, The Voyage Home was far better than Star Trek II," countered Sheldon.
"And First Contact was the best of all," said Wil from behind Sheldon.
"You're prejudiced," scowled Sheldon.
"Oh yeah? What about—"
Penny slunk down in her seat and pulled out her phone.
XxX
"We've finished our discussion," Sheldon said
"'Kay, just a sec," said Penny as she continued to write.
"You can send LOLcats later. The movie's about to start." Sheldon glanced at Penny's screen, noting that she was texting 'Gwen', who had asked if Penny was out at the movies with Ben.
Penny sat up and put her phone away.
"So I take it I can look forward to more 'discussion' at home?" she teased.
"Is there really any doubt?" said Sheldon, making Penny chuckle. The physicist chewed on his bottom lip as he stole a glance at Penny.
"So how's Ben?" he asked evenly.
"He's okay." Pause. "We decided not to see each other."
"Ah," nodded Sheldon. "Is that why we're friends again?"
"No," Penny said firmly. "We're friends again. That's why Ben and I split."
"I see," said Sheldon as the lights went down.
As the screen lit up with a Jolly Ranchers commercial Sheldon leaned close to her ear.
"About time you came to your senses," he said and then straightened in his seat.
Penny leaned over to him. "Whatever Shelbot." She settled into her seat to watch the movie.
The Nebraskan smiled as his breathy "Touché" ticked her ear.
xTBBTx
"Okay, so Original Trek over Next Generation but Picard over Kirk," Penny said slowly as Leonard turned off the dvd.
"That's correct," he said. "But that doesn't mean that Next Generation is bad."
"At least the girls didn't have beehive hairdos," Penny chuckled.
"But they did have the mini dress and go-go boots so you take the rough with the smooth," winked Leonard.
"Never knew you were a leg man, Leonard."
"Actually I prefer my breast friends."
"You know if you tell Stephanie that she'll knock your block off." They both chuckled. "So are you nervous?"
"A little," said Leonard. "This time Stephanie and I are going to ease into the relationship." Here he smiled. "You know, no joint bank accounts and moving in together on the second date."
Penny took a sip from her bottled iced tea. "You sure about this?"
"Well, she didn't use me for sex or defect to North Korea. That's a plus."
"True."
He smiled shyly. "She really likes me. She's smart and pretty and funny and—"
"Just no more bird sweaters," Penny warned.
"Or wool pants."
"Although it's a quick way to get you out of them," Penny winked.
"Believe me, with Stephanie that's not a problem." Again they laughed. "So what about you and Sheldon?"
"We're doing okay," said Penny.
"So are you actually dating?"
"Depends on what you mean. If by dating you mean flowers and goodnight smoochies, then no. But if you mean going to Legoland then we're rocking."
"You really are amazing," gushed Leonard.
"It's meeting each other half-way," Penny said seriously. "Speaking of which, Kidnapped Sunday's coming up and I wanna take Sheldon to Disneyland."
"Great!" said Leonard. "I'll pay for the tickets."
"I've got money now, y'know," said Penny.
"It's alright. I promised to take him for his Christmas present. I'm sure spending the day with you instead of me won't dampen the spirit."
"Okay, thanks." Penny leaned back on the couch. "I really can't believe how this year's going. Mythbusters is a hit and Alex wants me out doing more p. r. work during the down time."
"So goodbye Cheesecake Factory?"
"Jamie's taking me on at his shop." Penny smirked. "He figures me 'capable' of doing things without killing myself. It's actually pretty cool because I'll be learning how to do everything from welding to driving robots."
"I can't believe I'm friends with a geek," chuckled Leonard.
"Yeah, yeah, smartass," Penny laughed.
xTBBTx
"Damn, we missed the train," said Penny as she checked the schedule.
"That's alright. It was the C.K. Holliday. The next one's the Ward Kimball," Sheldon said excitedly.
"As long as we get to sit down it's all good. I keep forgetting how big Disneyland is."
"Sixty five hectares," said Sheldon. "Did you know that the Ward Kimball breaks the Disneyland Railroad's tradition of naming engines after Santa Fe officials?"
"So who is he?"
"He was an animator, part of Disney's Nine Old Men. He also founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two in which he played—"
"Focus, Sheldon," Penny prompted. "Disney. Animation."
Sheldon's mouth twitched. "Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows in Dumbo; Tweedledeum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland; the Mice, Lucifer the Cat and Bruno the Bloodhound from Cinderella; and Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. He also received an Academy Award for the short animated cartoon It's Tough To Be a Bird."
"Cool."
In the distance came the sound of a train whistle and Sheldon grinned.
"You're in for a treat," he said excitedly. "The Ward Kimball is a 2-4-4, serial number 20925, built by—"
"Remember our deal: no talking about trains until we're actually on it," said Penny.
The train came into sight.
"Fortunately I have one point five miles in which to 'babble' to my 'heart's content' as you so eloquently phrased it," he replied.
Penny chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't exactly think this one through."
"And now you're attached to another object by an inclined plane wrapped helically around an axis." Penny gave him a quizzical look. "Screwed," he said with a twinkle to his eyes.
"Sheldon!" Penny laughed as she swatted his arm.
"Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in nineteen oh two," Sheldon continued albeit with amusement in his tone. "For the Laurel Valley Plantation of Louisiana, the Ward Kimball was later—"
XxX
"That was awesome!" Penny gushed as Sheldon and she exited the theater.
"Industrial Light and Magic is world renowned for its special effects," he replied.
"Adam showed me pictures of some of the models he made for Galaxy Quest. Pretty cool stuff."
"I'm hoping that Jamie will introduce you to the finer points of animatronics so we can utilize your new-found knowledge on next year's entry into the Southern California Robot Fighting League Round Robin Invitational."
"The revenge of M.O.N.T.E." Penny exclaimed.
"Two point oh," Sheldon amended. "I've taken your suggestion and will use some of M.O.N.T.E.'s parts to—"
"Excuse me," said a guy in his twenties wearing a double helix symbol on his t-shirt and glasses. His buddy stood beside him with silly smile. "But you're Penny from Mythbusters aren't you?"
"Man, how many people watch Discovery anyhow?" Penny chuckled. "Yeah, that's me."
"That was so cool when you covered that myth about launching a guy with a bottle rocket," said the shorter guy wearing a sweater vest and khaki pants.
"Do you mind if we take a picture?" glasses guy asked.
"Sure," Penny replied amiably.
"Here," glasses guy said to Sheldon as he handed the physicist his phone.
The two men snuggled around Penny and Sheldon took the picture.
"Thanks so much," glasses guy gushed as he took his phone.
"You're welcome," Sheldon replied.
"I meant Penny for taking the picture with us."
"No problem. Thanks for watching," Penny said and lightly nudged Sheldon to get him moving.
"Didn't expect getting that out here," she said as they walked. "I mean conventions, sure, but at Disneyland?"
"Geeks are everywhere," Sheldon replied evenly. "Considering that California is home to Silicon Valley, special effects studios and ComiCon you shouldn't be surprised if you garner more recognition as the show continues."
"Speaking of recognition, there's Goofy!" Penny said excitedly.
Sheldon stopped dead.
"No Goofy," he said seriously.
"Okay sweetie," Penny said gently and the pair turned and went in another direction. "So where do you want to go?"
"I'm peckish for something sweet," said Sheldon.
"How 'bout we get some churros?"
"That's acceptable." His eyes widened as a thought came to him. "Then we can go to Space Mountain!"
"Whatever floats your boat," Penny grinned.
XxX
"Oh boy!" said Sheldon excitedly as he stepped into the Mad Hatter hat shop. Penny wiped the bottom of her shoe outside the door before following.
"Besides the railroad hat I don't think I've seen you wear anything on your head," she said as she took a Donald Duck hat off the shelf and put it on Sheldon's head. "Now you can be a sailor!"
"Hardly," he replied as he took it off and put the hat back on the shelf. "Especially since there can only be one hat to get when one is at Disneyland."
They went to the back of the store where the embroiderer was busily working away.
"Have a hat in mind?" the man asked.
With a smile Sheldon handed him Mickey Mouse ears.
"Print your name on the card." Sheldon obliged and then the man began his work scribing Sheldon's name in gold thread.
"Never took ya for a Mickey Mouse man," said Penny.
"Actually I'm more of a Loony Tunes fan but how can one resist the big mouse ears?"
The man handed Sheldon the ears and immediately the physicist put it on.
"You know they actually suit you?" Penny chuckled.
Sheldon was pleased and the pair went to the cash.
"Is that everything?" asked the cashier.
"Let me get it," said Penny as she opened her purse. "You are way too adorable to be paying for your own ears."
"Why thank you Penny," Sheldon replied happily. "I—" His eyes widened. "They have Mickey Mouse hands!"
Penny switched her money for her credit card.
"Go get 'em," she said and like a shot Sheldon was off.
After paying she went to Sheldon, who stood by the door wearing his Mickey Mouse hands and ears.
"The fireworks will be starting soon," he said.
"After you," she replied and the pair began to walk in the direction of the Castle.
"Sorry about your shoe," Sheldon said.
"It's okay. Now we know: churros and Space Mountain don't mix," smirked Penny. It took a handful of napkins and Sheldon's antibacterial wipes but she was sure she got most of his vomit off her shoe. Still, there was a bit of an odor so the shoes were most definitely going straight for a soaking when she got home.
They got to the bridge but it was full of people and so they went over by the trees to watch the fireworks.
"Thank you for today." Sheldon glanced at his companion. "It was f-u-n."
Penny chuckled. "I'm glad."
A noise and then a giant blue explosion filled the night sky followed by red and yellow. Penny was watching the colored showers and circles and spinners when she felt a soft bump against her hand. She looked to see one of Sheldon's Mickey Mouse fingers just as it poked her hand again. When it did so a third time she grabbed it before flashing Sheldon a grin. To her surprise he was already looking at her. He gave her a slight nod and then returned to the festivities.
Hand in 'hand' they watched the fireworks fly.
xTBBTx
"So what should the teams be?" asked Leonard as the gang assembled at the bowling lanes.
"We could be couples," Bernadette suggested.
"Or guys versus gals," said Stephanie.
"I'd prefer mixed teams," said Sheldon. He turned to Penny. "In this case your lack of femininity will work to our advantage."
"Oh, I think it's definitely guys versus girls," the Nebraskan replied with an evil smile.
"Very well," said Sheldon as he clasped his hands behind his back. "However I feel I should inform you that I was the co-captain of the East Texas Christian Youth Holy Roller Bowling League championship team. Seven to twelve-year-old division."
For her part Penny marched over and picked up a ball from the rack. She paused a moment to aim before letting the ball go. The pins collapsed in a strike.
"Game on, Moonpie," Penny smirked.
"Don't call me Moonpie!" Sheldon shot back as he took up a ball. He aimed and then threw a strike. "Only Meemaw calls me that," he said haughtily.
Penny and Sheldon glared at each other for a moment before as one they turned from each other and went to their perspective teams.
"We are so doomed," Howard murmured to Leonard.
XxX
"Oh damn!" squeaked Bernadette as her ball hit the remaining pins. A moment and then they were down. "Yes!"
"A common spare," tsked Sheldon. "The Miss Congeniality of the bowling pageant."
"Sheldon, keep in mind I could very easily merge the Ebola virus with the common cold," Bernadette warned.
"I have cow brains that were affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy," piped in Amy.
"I have access to lethal drug combinations," Stephanie offered.
They all turned to Penny. She winked at Sheldon as she cracked her knuckles.
"Now I remember why I quit bowling," murmured Sheldon.
XxX
"Say, is that Stuart?" Raj asked Howard.
"I believe so and, hey! That's Wil Wheaton!" replied the engineer.
"Yeah, Wil plays in the card tournaments at the store."
Howard waved at Stuart, who came over.
"Hey guys," he said amiably.
"Nice to see you out of the comic shop," grinned Raj.
"Yeah. I figure I could just as easily not make money here as opposed to staying open and lose money," Stuart said in his usual self-deprecating tone.
"Strike!" Penny called out from the lane. "Eat that, sucka!"
"I see Penny's here," the comic book owner continued. "I've seen her show online. It's pretty neat. You think her and her cast-mates could do a signing at the store at some point?"
"That'd be cool," said Raj. "I'd love to meet Jamie. Actually Penny's working for him now so we're hoping for an after work party or barbecue to meet him."
"Meet who?" asked Wil as he and his two companions came over.
"Penny's cast-mates."
"That'd be awesome," said Wil. "I've been at Robot Wars a couple of times and people there still talk about Blendo."
Sheldon ventured over to the group with a frown on his face.
"Gentlemen," he said formally. "Wil Wheaton." He turned to the engineer. "Howard, you're next and you're not limbering up. Get with the game, man!"
"Yeah, yeah." Howard and Raj went to the lane.
"I'll go ask Penny," said Stuart and he went over to the seating area.
Sheldon raised an eyebrow as he watched Stuart say hello to the Nebraskan. "Ask Penny what?"
"If she could bring Adam and Jamie to the comic shop sometime for autographs," said Wil.
"Ah."
"Still, it's nice she's spending time with you guys before you drift apart."
"We're not 'drifting apart'," Sheldon countered.
"Not yet. But it'll happen." Here Wil sighed. "There was a group of friends I was close with before my career took off. Then with the shows and interviews and conventions I got busy. I mean it wasn't like I was trying to avoid them. It just got harder for us to connect, y'know?"
"Penny's show isn't mainstream."
"Yeah, but she's hot and funny and can hit a target at a thousand feet. All she needed was a chance and believe you me producers will be looking her way." Wil clapped a hand on Sheldon's shoulder. "Just enjoy this while it lasts."
Sheldon stared at Penny. Watched her hands wave as she talked. The way her hair moved across her shoulders.
'Just enjoy this while it lasts.'
Feeling his panic rising, Sheldon raced from the room.
XxX
From the rooftop of 2311 Los Robles Sheldon picked out Mars in the night sky. It was snuggled in close to the-her lips soft and he wanted-and its ruddy reddish color distinguished it from Saturn. He remembered the first time he saw Mars from his telescope back in Texas. How he wished he could see it firsthand. Be away from his parents' yelling and—'It just got harder for us to connect, y'know?'—his siblings' teasing.
Alone.
Only this time he didn't want to be.
"Wishes an' horses, Moonpie," he murmured in a heavy accent reminiscent of his Meemaw.
He took a breath and slowly let it out his mouth before heading down the stairs to his apartment. Sheldon dug into his pocket for his keys and unlocked the door. Inside his goldfish darted their colors in their bowl until he turned on the light—and found Penny sitting on the couch.
"You're in my spot," he said quietly as he slipped off his shoes.
"You took off without saying goodbye," she replied. "Gotta quit doing that, sweetie."
"I needed time to myself."
"That's fine. Just tell me next time." Penny cocked her head. "Wanna tell me what's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?"
"March first, two thousand and six. You said hello to me."
"Best thing I ever did," Penny smiled.
"I had no desire for friendship but you wouldn't take no for an answer," Sheldon said.
"And here we are." Penny waited but Sheldon said nothing. "You're not sorry we're friends are you?"
"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "Before I met you I was alone and seemingly content but then you came into my life and nothing's been the same. Chaos. Uncertainty." He snorted. "'Anything Can Happen' whenever you're here, third Thursday of the month or not." Pause. "I never know what to expect from you and that unnerves me. And yet you brought me Comic Book Wednesdays and my couch. Paintball. Putt-putt. Leonard."
"Rough with the smooth," she agreed as she stood.
"I hope I've been a positive influence."
Penny smiled. "Sheldon, you've been amazing. I wouldn't have gotten the show without you. Or understood what I was talking about."
He nodded. "So I've fulfilled my end of the Agreement."
"You're making it sound like a job," Penny said, her smile fading. "Just because I'm going places doesn't mean I'm gonna leave you behind."
"Newton's First Law of Motion: An object at rest stays at rest." Sheldon gestured with his hands. "This is my place. My apartment. My routines. You're an object in motion. I'd impede your flight." Pause. "Boldly Go, Penny."
"Like Hell," she growled and crossed the room in three strides in order to grab Sheldon and pulled him into a fierce kiss. His lips were hesitant but for a moment before they began to move with hers. Sheldon rose to his full height, arcing Penny's neck even as he pressed close to her body in order to maintain contact.
As one they parted lips but stayed in each other's presence.
"I love you, Dr. C.," Penny said. "And someday I'm going to hear that back from you clean and clear and it'll be awesome." She smiled. "But this is pretty cool, too."
"Penny," he said slowly. "I don't know if I can be what you need."
"You already are, genius. Like I said before, I'll take you any way you'll let me."
A moment and then he nodded and she dove into a hug. Penny took in everything from the way her hands bunched his shirts to the smell of talc on his body. Then his hand lightly patted her back and she let her heart drum to its beat before letting go.
"Sorry about that," she blushed.
"Never apologize for being you," Sheldon said. His mouth twitched. "You've irrevocably altered my life."
"For the better, hopefully."
"For the better," he agreed. He cocked his head. "Query, what did you mean I should say I love you 'clean and clear'?"
Penny chuckled. "Well, you already said you loved me but I'm not sure it counts since you were in the middle of a nervous breakdown."
"Ah. So either I was debilitated by mental illness or else I do love you," Sheldon said contemplatively.
"Something like that."
He clasped his hands behind his back and regarded Penny although his eyes crinkled in amusement. "You know my mother had me tested. "
She grinned.
xTBBTx
Wikipedia: Ward Kimball; Disneyland Railroad
physicsclassromcom: Newton's Laws of Motion