Sheldon stared warily as the biggest bane of his childhood leered at his girlfriend. George Jr. looked a bit like a taller, heavier version of himself that the ladies of the town swooned over.

"Hello George, pleasure seeing you," he managed to say quickly.

"Oh, don' be such a prude, Shelly."

Smirking, he stood and engulfed his younger brother in a bone-crushing hug. He set him down after a minute, then turned to Lily with an outstretched hand. A strange look, similar to that of concentration, fell upon his face. She shook his hand firmly and retreated to Sheldon's side.

"An' you mus' be Lily. Meemaw told me you were a pretty one, but I di'nt realize how pretty."

"Thank you very much."

"Say, you look familiar."

"Well, she is a model. You probably saw her in an ad."

"Yeah, that mus' be it. It'll come ta me later."

He wandered into the living room to watch football and they went to his room to put away their purchases. Then they watched Star Trek: Nemesis for the remainder of the time before dinner. When they left the room, Missy was waiting on the couch with a baby in her arms. A tall, muscular man with blonde hair sat beside her. She eyed Lily warily, scowling when her boyfriend eagerly standing to greet Lily.

"Hey there little lady, I'm Brett."

"Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

The group headed into the dining room where a large spread was set out at the table. Meemaw made her plate, then allowed them to go wild. Lily attempted to wriggle her way in and was tossed aside like a runt. Smiling apologetically, Sheldon helped her by pushing her to the front and standing behind her like a shield. She fit so perfectly under his frame that her rested his chin on her while he made his plate, arms reaching around her with ease. His sister glared disdainfully at their closeness. Fortunately, she held her tongue. They headed back into the living room to watch football once they were finished. While the game went on, the women (with the exception of Lily) clucked amongst themselves.

"So, Lily," Missy said saccharinely, "What is it you saw in my successful, doctor of a brother anyway?"

"Missy…"

"I'm being serious here, Shelly. She is a model, so why in the world would she want to date you."

Lily smirked and he knew that something was about to go down.

"Didn't you know, Missy? Pretty people stay together."

"What are you talking about?"

Sheldon looked at his girlfriend and saw a mischievous glint in her eye. He bit back a laugh, excusing himself to the restroom so he wouldn't be dragged into any argument that may occur if he did chuckle. On his way back to the living room, he was pulled roughly into his brother's old room. George immediately shoved a magazine in his face.

"I figured out where've seen 'er."

He looked down at the magazine that was now in his hands and his hear dropped. There, as the centerfold, was Lily. She wore a white nightgown with a fluffy white skirt that reached mid-thigh. The top was almost completely transparent and trimmed with feathers. She was draped over a chaise lounge with a large lollipop in her head, eyes staring lustfully into the camera. If he wasn't so livid, Sheldon probably would've had to meditate intensely to discourage any unwanted bodily functions.

"Miss April 2009."

"Why are you showing me this?" he hissed, holding his head.

"So you know just who you're with. With that said, when can I have a-"

Sheldon's hands were around his throat before he could finish. Now, George was much larger and stronger, but he was no match for his brother's intelligence. He swung and the younger moved, grabbing a lamp as he did. Before he could register what was about to happen, it was brought down on his head. He yelled in pain and the women rushed in.

"What the heck is goin' on in here?!"

"Sheldon! Get offa him!"

He turned to look at them, eyes immediately landing on Lily. Her eyes were locked on the discarded magazine. Sheldon scrambled to get off of his brother and she took off. Ignoring his mother's calls, he chased her to his room. She was hurriedly packing her duffel bag, her back to him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I need to go."

"Alright, I'll advance our tickets."

"No! No, I'll go quietly," she half-whispered, voice cracking at the end.

Slightly confused by this development, he turned her around. Her eyes were filled with tears. He held her to his chest and she sobbed, going limp. Sobs wracked her frame as she cried hard, soaking his shirt. Sheldon just held her, swaying gently. Inside, his mind was almost shorting out from then emotions he was feeling. Agony, embarrassment, sympathy- things he had rare experience with if any at all.

"I-I was in college. My parents wouldn't help me and I n-needed money. It was only a one-time thing."

"Shh, it's okay. I've done things I'm not proud of either."

She looked at him skeptically as if doubting the sincerity of his words. Smiling softly, he whispered in her ear.

"When I was in college, I would write papers for other people in exchange for money to buy comic books. I was once given 500$ to write a tenure proposal for a professor."

"That's not as bad as what I did."

"Lily, you did the same thing I did – you used your assets to get people of lower intelligence to give you money."

"True… Isn't it still bad to take advantage of them?"

"How so? They're happy, we're happy, where is it bad?"

Giggling, she hugged him around the waist. He held her close with a small smile. There was a small knock at the door and they glanced over to see Meemaw watching them passively. Before Lily could begin another torrent of apologies, the old woman hugged her tightly. She hugged her back shyly. When the hug was over, she held the younger woman out with a grin.

"Ma'am, I'm so-"

"Oh hush now. I honestly could give a rats behind about that magazine. The past is the past. I'm just so happy about what you've done for Sheldon."

"What?"

"You gave him the strength to stand up to his biggest bully and win! Now, I don't condone fighting, but George Jr. has needed that for a long time."

Smiling, Sheldon wrapped his arm around Lily, pulling her close. Meemaw nodded in approval.

"I don't care what my daughter says, you two are perfect together and I approve."

He grinned proudly, grabbing his grandmother in a hug. She smiled and hugged him back tightly.

"Alright," She chuckled once he set her down, "Let's go back to the living room so we can settle this nonsense."

The couple followed her to the living room where everyone was waiting. George Jr. scowled, holding a bag of peas to his head while Missy glared at them. Sheldon's mother stood up, frowning at her youngest son.

"Shelly, how could you hit your brother with a lamp?"

"He had it coming!"

"For what? Exposing your hussy's dirty little secret."

He felt Lily tense and held her hand a little tighter. She looked up at him remorsefully. Taking a deep breath, stepped forward.

"Mother, I would appreciate it if you didn't refer to Lily that way."

"And I would appreciate if she didn't hide things that could jeopardize your career. What if you win the Nobel Prize and it gets out that you're dating a porn star?"

"Then I'd be hailed as the luckiest winner of all time," he said simply.

"Don't get smart with me."

"You want to see me getting smart with you? I'll show you smart, you hypocrite."

"Whatever do you mean?'

"You preach good faith and morals, yet you're just as bad as anyone. You had a failed, bitter marriage that only ended because dad had a heart attack. And that happened because, after the doctor told you that he would be dead in a year if you kept feeding him fried food, you fed him twice as much!"

"Are you trying to say I killed your father?"

"You sure didn't try to prevent it. Face it, you're a bitter old woman who is only acting like this because you're jealous. Jealous that your son has a happier relationship than you ever did with a girl more attractive than you ever were."

Mary's eyes filled with tears and he knew he had gotten to her.

Good…

He turned to Meemaw and she nodded, obviously understanding what was coming next.

"Lily and I will be going home to Pasadena now. This was a lovely visit and I hope to see you soon, Meemaw."

"Of course Moonpie. I'll give you a lift to the station."

"Thank you."

With one last curt nod to his family, Sheldon led Lily back into his room to pack. As he packed, he felt her arms circle his torso and her palms lay flat on his chest. He relaxed a little under her touch. She nuzzled his shoulder gently, the stress from everything weighing heavily upon her. Sighing, he turned around to hold her. His fingers combed her dark tresses gently. Her hands moved to his back and pulled him closer. They stayed like that for a while before going back to packing up. Once they were finished, he placed the bags in Meemaw's trunk and got in the car. Meemaw hopped in and started toward the train station.

"I really hope my daughter didn't give you a bad impression of the family. I loved having you."

"No worries, she didn't. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine."

Sheldon smiled softly at their polite banter. The only other woman whose opinion he valued liked his girlfriend and he was over the moon. Their friendly chatter continued until they reached the station. There, they both gave Meemaw a huge hug and left for their train. It was half an hour before boarding, so they settled down in their seats to wait. He smiled at her apologetically and she giggled.

"If waiting bugged me, I never would've found you."

So sorry it took so long. I've had back to back essays and tests to do. I hope you all enjoyed reading!