"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."

-Leo Buscaglia

Sheldon woke up to the aroma buttermilk pancakes and crispy bacon in the air. The one thing he loved about his mother visiting is all the delicious meals she would cook for him. He quickly got out of the covers and slipped on his plaid robe before exciting out of his bedroom. Once he reached the kitchen, he saw his mother turn around, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good morning, Sheldon. Trusted that you slept well last night?" Mary said, placing the fried bacon on a platter for her son as well as two pancakes.

"I did, mother, especially after the dinner you made for me." Sheldon accepted the plate and went to go sit on one of the stools. "Has Leonard left already?"

Mary nodded. "A little over an hour ago, dear."

"You know, you could stay at a hotel instead of sleeping on the couch."

"I am planning on checking into one later on. If you think I'm going to spend another night on that couch, I may have to get you retested."

Sheldon smiled and poured maple syrup all over his pancakes. Taking a bite, he savored its taste. "Mother, I must compliment you on your cooking skills. These pancakes are delectable."

"Thank you, Sheldon," Mary said as she drank her coffee.

There was a knock on the door, and Sheldon excused himself for a moment to answer it. Once the door opened, he mouthed Penny hello before allowing her to enter the apartment. Penny could smell the mouth-watering breakfast, and she wondered if that was all of Sheldon's cooking.

"It smells like an IHOP in here!" Penny's eyes were fixed on the stack of warm pancakes on the kitchen counter as well as a woman with her back against her and Sheldon. Penny whispered, "Who is she?"

"She's my mother," Sheldon gestured the blonde to follow him as they both approached Mary who was just turning the stove off. "Mom, this is Penny."

Mary turned around and waved at Penny. "Hello, Mary Cooper. You are?"

"Penny. I'm a friend of Sheldon's." Penny offered Mary her hand to shake.

"Hang on, are you that woman who saved my baby's life?"

"That's how I met him."

Mary moved around the kitchen isle to give Penny a big hug. "Thank you, sweetheart! Sheldon and I owe you so much."

"It's nothing. I'm just glad Sheldon's finally healthy."

Sheldon stepped in after an awkward silence. "Um, Penny, why did you drop by?"

"Oh, I was gonna tell you that Tyler and I broke up last night."

He sighed and patted her shoulder gently. "How are you feeling?"

"I miss him, but the split was totally amicable and there were no harsh words exchanged."

Sheldon nodded. "Would you like some tea?"

"That sounds great, but I just had coffee."

"Are you sure?"

Penny smiled. "Yes, Sheldon, I'm sure."

Mary looked at both of them. "Well, honey you are more than welcome to dig in. Shelly, I'm going to take a shower and then we'll be on our way."

"Wait, I can't drive," Sheldon informed his mother.

"Still?" Mary asked.

Sheldon gazed down. "Yes."

"I could drive you guys if you want," Penny suggested. "I have to work the dinner shift at like 7pm, but I'm happy to do it."

"Are you sure, Penny? We don't want to be a hassle."

"It's alright, Mrs. Cooper. No problem at all."

Mary reached over for her hand and gave a soft squeeze. "Thank you, darling."

"You're welcome Mrs. Cooper."

Sheldon's mother started to walk down the hallway, but turned around for a second. "Penny, darling?"

"Yes?"

"Call me, Mary."

Mary loves prying into her children's life, especially Sheldon's. She was intrigued that her son had made a new friend, and after meeting Penny, she knew he has finally found a friend that he could trust. She watched the two interact all day, and they were very comfortable with each other. Mary was seeing a side of Sheldon that had been locked away for many years. Penny always made Sheldon laugh in some way, and Mary knew what they have is special.

It was almost as if Penny slowly dragged Sheldon out of his world that only included science, and now sees that there is more to life than that.

Penny also reminded Mary of herself growing up and having dreams, and she was confident that the ambitious blonde will be a successful actress one day.

In addition, Mary was fond of Penny, and Sheldon was surprised that the two women had some things in common. They both had an affinity for yoga and tennis matches. They both enjoy watching local productions of plays. There were more things, but Sheldon was disinterested in female jibber jabber, talking about nail polishes and handbags.

What was embarrassing, like to many others, was that his mother began telling Penny stories of Sheldon's life growing up in Texas. She did not leave out any specific moments such as how his sister applied her make up on his face as he slept, causing an irritation and pink eye for almost a week and a half.

His mother also shared the time when Sheldon was about one year old and he removed his diapers and swung it around, the contents spilling out and spreading everywhere, including himself. Penny never laughed so hard, but made it up to Sheldon when she told his mother how kind and caring Sheldon was to her.

Once Mary was settled in her hotel, Sheldon and Penny headed out to the lobby. Penny checked her phone and realized that her shift was starting in ten minutes.

"Sheldon, I can't drop you off and I don't have that much time to get to work. Is it okay if you stay for an hour and I'll drive you home during my break?" Penny asked.

"Okay, but I'll stay with you throughout your entire shift."

"Really? You do know my shift ends when the restaurant closes."

"I do. It doesn't affect my decision however."

Penny smiled. "You're really sweet. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Sheldon nodded and they both made their way to the Cheesecake Factory.

Sheldon watched from a far as Penny served a family of three with burgers and fries. He noticed some of the men sitting in the booth ogling Penny as she passed by them. They even tried flirting with her, but she quickly dismissed them. When they wouldn't stop, Penny threatened the men to leave her alone or have them thrown out of the restaurant. It didn't do any good since they ended up complaining to the manager about Penny's attitude, and it infuriated Sheldon.

He was mustering enough courage to confront and tell them to leave Penny alone, but was intimidated by their strong and muscular built. Penny had an idea of what he was trying to do. When she handed his strawberry lemonade that he ordered, Penny told Sheldon that everything was fine. He reminded her that he will wait for her until her shift ended and she thought it was very sweet of him.

The customers in the restaurant began to dwindle, and then there were only two tables left for Penny to serve before her closing time. The remaining waiters had already left, and there was only her, Sheldon, and three busboys clearing the tables. The manager had asked for Penny to lock up for him which she had agreed to do.

After the last customer left the establishment, Sheldon approached Penny who was counting her tips over at the computer. "Made $150 in tips," Penny said with a wide smile. "Ready to go home?"

"Yes." Sheldon said with a slight nod.

The two walked through empty parking lot with only street lamps illuminating their path. The manager requested all of the employees to park farther away from the entrance, allowing the paying customers to use the parking spots closer to the doors. Because of that, Penny and Sheldon's walk to the car took awhile.

"How are you?" Penny asked, uncomfortable with the awkward silence.

Sheldon glanced down to the shorter blonde. "I'm good, you?"

"Same. I have filming all day tomorrow again which means I'm not gonna be able to hang out with you." Penny frowned. She looked forward to spending time with Sheldon and getting to know him even better. He offered her a lot of advice in life, and in return, she gave him some. What Penny surprisingly enjoyed doing was learning physics from Sheldon.

He never called her stupid when she fired up tons of questions at him. Penny never finished college, and she doesn't understand half of the things Sheldon taught her. It was unexpected for Penny to get drawn to physics. She wasn't a huge fan of math, but understanding physics can lead to the answers for the unsolved mysteries about life itself.

"There's always the day after that," Sheldon reminded her. He was regaining most of his knowledge in science and he was ready to resume his work at Caltech. Dr. Gablehauser was more than pleased when he was informed that Sheldon would be returning from medical leave. His first day back would be on Monday, and Sheldon was anticipating on standing in front of whiteboards full of equations again.

"But I was looking forward to the movie we planned on watching." Penny pouted.

"We can view it on Sunday evening after my doctor's appointment, if that's fine by you."

She sighed. "Working the lunch and dinner shift again on Sunday."

Sheldon sulked. He hated when Penny worked long hours.

"Why not hang out with Leonard, Howard, and Raj? You know, patch things up?" Penny suggested, earning a glare from Sheldon. "Sorry, you're still not talking to them, huh?"

"I am. But not as frequently with you."

Penny stopped in the middle of the parking lot, almost halfway to her car. "Sheldon, do you ever see yourself forgiving them?"

"I don't see a reason why I should."

"Okay. I know you guys didn't just get into a tiny spat. It was something more and I don't blame you for being mad at them. Here's another life lesson Sheldon, they can do the most horrible things to us, but we have to move on. I'm not saying forgive them and return to the last place where everything worked up. What I want you to hear is that we can't hold grudges. I respect your decision if you wish not to talk to them again, but you can't spend the rest of your life being mad at what they did."

Sheldon placed a hand on her shoulder and gazed down at her as Penny gave him a comforting smile.

The two sharply turned their heads simultaneously when they heard heavy footsteps approaching their direction. Emerging from the shadows was a large brawny man leering at them.

Penny knew they were in trouble.

The stranger started to clench his fists together. "Now, look who we have here in the middle of the night. Are you two lovebirds lost?"

"Lovebirds?" Sheldon asked, walking backwards as the burly person stepped closer. Penny gripped on Sheldon's arm as he came nearer.

"Pretty lady like you shouldn't be with this bony wuss," he said as he twisted Penny's hair on his cold finger.

Penny snapped and pushed his hand away from her. "Get the hell away from us."

"What are you going to do? This kid ain't got the muscles or the guts to beat me. What's a sweetheart like you gonna do?" he taunted.

Sheldon pulled Penny behind him and stood face to face with this man. "Leave her alone or we'll call the police!"

"Like I'm afraid of the fuzz." He bluffed.

Without warning, the man grabbed Sheldon by the front of his t-shirts, lifting him up from the concrete. "You're messing with the wrong guy here." Sheldon was then thrown back down on the ground as the man began to chuckle. "Bastard can't even hit."

Penny watched as Sheldon attempted to pick himself off the concrete, only for the man to kick him, causing Sheldon to tumble. She heard him groan in pain, before she felt the man's large hands grasping her arms.

"Your turn, sweetheart."

Before he could try anything with her, Penny swiftly and harshly kicked the man in his crotch. He yelped and loosened his hold on her. Instincts took over Penny and she quickly seized his left arm, pulling it over his head then putting him in a choke hold. She used all the strength in her to keep him in place until she was able to knock him out by giving him one of her well-known jab with her fist.

Penny managed to lift Sheldon up as he watched him pass out from Penny's blow. "That was-"

She cut him off, wiping the blood that seeped through the fresh cut on his cheek. "Shhh..."

"I'm fine, Penny. It's just a scratch and maybe a few bruises on my body, but how did you do that?" Sheldon asked, pointing at the unconscious man still lying on the floor.

"Junior rodeo, Sheldon. Learned it growing up and it's been a big help for me ever since."

Penny reached for her purse that she had dropped and took her phone to dial the police.

Once help had arrived, Penny and Sheldon were questioned as they observe from a far the police placing handcuffing their now wide-awake attacker, and assisted him into the back of the police car. Afterwards, Sheldon was seen by one of the medics. She informed him that he received two minor cuts on his neck and cheek, as well as a bruise on his torso. He was fortunate that the man didn't kick him any harder, or else it would have caused damage.

It was past midnight when the adrenaline in Penny dissipated, and she was driving Sheldon back to his apartment. They drove in silence, having no words to speak after what had happened.

"My mother will ask me about this." Sheldon finally spoke, lifting his hand up to his cheek and feel the bandage on his cut.

"Why don't you want her to know what really caused that?"

"I don't want her to worry. In addition, she might force me to relocate after being in two altercations under a short period of time."

Penny nodded in agreement. "Okay. Well, Pasadena hasn't been treating you nicely lately, huh?"

"I guess."

The car stopped in front of Sheldon's apartment. "Do you need help getting upstairs?"

Sheldon smiled. "No thank you."

They sat in silence once more. "Isn't it weird how you were the one who got hurt during both altercations and I ended up being the one to save you?"

"With all the movies I have seen, isn't that supposed to be the man's job? To rescue the damsel in distress?"

Penny laughed. "It's a different story for us."

"It sure is," he chuckled under his breath.

"Well, goodnight. Don't hurt yourself walking up the stairs. Man, they really should get that elevator fixed."

"I am considering on informing them about that situation."

"Good. That way I don't have to walk up four flights of stairs just to get to your place. One day, you have to tell me how the elevator broke. I remember you mentioning about how you were involved in it."

"One day, I will. Thank you for driving me home, even after an eventful night." Sheldon opened the car door and climbed out.

"No problem, and thank you for waiting for me till my shift ended."

Sheldon began to walk to the entrance, before running back to the car and going around it so he was standing in front of the driver's side door. Penny lowered her windows when Sheldon gestured her to.

"Anything else?"

Sheldon debated for a moment whether to proceed or not.

He darted his head forward and kissed Penny's warm cheek. He could feel himself blush madly, and tried to cover his face. "Thank you for rescuing me for the second time, Penny."

"My pleasure, Sheldon."

As he inserted the key into the front door of the building, Sheldon watched as Penny drove away.

It was a very eventful night, indeed.

A/N:

I feel bad whenever I hurt Sheldon in my stories, but it's part of the storyline for later.