:Photographic Wooing:

Sheldon stared at the photo in the silver frame with shock. Suddenly he was caught up in a memory 15 years old.

Sheldon Lee Cooper was 12 years old. He took his seat in the first class section of the plane and carefully placed his messenger bag on the seat beside him. He was very nervous about the next 15 hours. It wasn't the first time he had flown, but it was the first time he'd been out of the country.

"Howdy."

Sheldon jumped slightly and looked over at the little blonde girl standing beside him. "Hello," he said shyly.

"I'm Penny. I'm nine. Wanna be my boyfriend?"

Flabbergast, he looked around the compartment, but they were alone. "Ummmm…"

"Well?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Do ya?"

"I don't know you," he managed to mumble.

Penny rolled her eyes and sat down on the seat beside him. Sheldon hurriedly moved his bag.

"Look," she said with authority, "my mommy is a stewardess, but I ain't supposed to call her that anymore. Now she's a flight 'tendant. Daddy broke his leg on the horse and so Momma brought me with her. Mr. Salyers, the pilot don't mind, cause I'm sweet. Bobby Jo Wilson back home wants to be my boyfriend but he picks his nose. So, I need a boyfriend. How about you?"

Sheldon wasn't sure if she was sane or not. She seemed friendly, and he didn't blame her for not wanting to date a nose-picker. "What would I have to do?" he asked warily.

"Nuthin' I guess," Penny answered. "Just let me call you my boyfriend. That way, Bobby Joe can't date me."

Sheldon thought about it for a moment. "I guess I can do that. My name is Shelly, by the way."

"Cool," Penny said hopping off the seat. "I better get back 'for Momma has a fit."

Sheldon quickly stood, polite manners deeply ingrained in him. "Wait," he said suddenly. He opened his messenger and pulled out the Polaroid camera his Meemaw had given him. He looked at her shyly and held it up.

"Maybe we could each take a picture for us to show our families?" he suggested hesitantly.

Penny's eyes went wide and she looked at him hopefully. "Really?" Sheldon nodded and she threw her arms around him in a hug. "Thanks!"

Sheldon stood frozen for a second before tentatively hugging her back. He held out the camera at eye level and took two pictures.

Penny took one and smiled at him again. "Thanks Shelly."

He watched her go before resuming his seat. He looked at his photo and a smile spread across his face. She was smiling widely, her arms around his waist. He looked a bit stunned, himself, but not unhappily so. He buckled up and waited for the flight to begin.

Penny mumbled in her sleep and rolled over, breaking Sheldon out of his memory. He placed the photo back on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath and reached out to wake her up.

Penny popped up immediately and screamed as she swung her fist.

"Shh!" he said quickly, grabbing her wrist. "It's me! Sheldon!"

After a second Penny stopped fighting him. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She looked around wildly. "In my apartment? At night!"

Sheldon pointed to the picture. "That is you, isn't it?"

Penny grabbed the frame and held it to her chest protectively. "Yeah, so?"

Sheldon reached out and tapped the boy in the picture. "That is me," he said softly.

Shock crossed Penny's face and she turned the photo to look at it. After a long moment of silence she looked up at him. "You're my Shelly?" she whispered.

He blushed and nodded. "You were my first girlfriend."

She smiled slowly. "You were my first boyfriend."

He cleared his throat nervously. "My only girlfriend," he mumbled.

She looked embarrassed. "I've had a few."

Both of them were silent for a long time. Then Penny reached out and placed her hand in his. "So, now what?"

Sheldon looked at her, feeling confused, a little afraid, and (surprisingly) a lot hopeful. "I do not know."

Penny grinned teasingly. "You know, we never really broke up."

Sheldon expected to feel the urge to jump up and run away. Surprisingly, he decided to stay right where he was. "It would appear you have cheated on me, then. You owe me an apology."

Penny bit her bottom lip and nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry, Sheldon."

"Now what?" he asked curiously.

"Usually a couple would kiss and make up," she teased.

Sheldon's eyes dropped to her mouth and he blushed. "Is that a non-optional social obligation?"

Penny wasn't absolutely sure what that meant, but she nodded anyway.

He swallowed nervously. "I suppose I could do that."

Slowly they leaned closer until their lips brushed together.

When the others found out they each reacted differently. Raj burst into happy tears and whispered into Howard's ear that it was like a fairy tale. Howard quickly called his Mom to ask if he had ever had a girlfriend as a child and if so, was she still single. Leonard grumbled for a few days but there was no way for him to deny Sheldon saw her first.

A few days later a new photo of the two of them appeared on the nightstand beside the old one. A couple of years later a wedding photo was added to the mix. A year after that all three photos were moved to the dresser to make room for the baby pictures.