"What if we reduce the angle by –"

"You're wrong."

"I wasn't done talking, Sheldon."

"Yes, but whatever you were about to say is wrong, so I saved you the trouble of saying it."

"It's my birthday!"

"And I'm sure that doesn't eliminate the possibility of you being wrong."

"Sheldon—"

"Oh, give it up Leonard! He's Sheldon. God forbid if someone has a better idea than him."

Howard said, exasperated.

Penny watched them from the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee. During Leonard's birthday breakfast, Sheldon had started grumbling about something or the other, and now all of them were gathered about the whiteboard, their beautiful brains working on something that Penny had no hope of ever understanding. She had meekly suggested that perhaps Leonard would like to do something fun on his birthday, but he had brushed her off with,

"Oh no Penny, this is fun."

So there she stood, sipping coffee in her brainy friends' kitchen, still in her pajamas even though it was almost lunch time. She hated herself then, just a little. Hanging out with the guys reminded her of just how hopeless she was. Her thoughts turned to the brochures hidden in her underwear drawer. She had picked up brochures for a few colleges last week. Had secretly pored over them at night, the bedroom door locked. She wanted to enroll. But a small voice in the back of her mind snidely reminded her that she was the dumbest person in her friend group. And looking at the quarrelling scientists, she felt a hot lick of shame that she didn't understand anything they were talking about. Chest constricting, she put down her coffee mug and slid out of the apartment and entered her own. Natasha was nowhere to be seen, and Penny didn't bother locking the door of her bedroom as she climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Twenty minutes later, a loud bang startled her, followed with Sheldon's indignant cry of,

"I'll thank you not to slam the door, mister!"

Rolling her eyes at that, she settled down again. But the disruption had taken away all hopes of falling asleep, and she shifted restlessly.

A long, hot shower is just what I need.

She thought to herself as she got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She luxuriated in the foamy goodness of the soap for a while and then lathered her hair with a coconut scented shampoo Natasha had recommended. As she rinsed it off, she sniffed appreciatively.

Expensive, but totally worth it.

She thought. As she moved forward to grab the conditioner bottle, her foot slipped on the wet, soapy floor and she fell, wildly throwing out her arms to break her fall. A sharp stab of pain went through her shoulder as it connected with the side of the bathtub. An involuntary scream escaped her as the pain blackened her vision for a second. Drawing in a big gasp of breath, she looked at her shoulder, assessing the extent of the injury. There was no blood, but her shoulder was sticking out oddly, and she determined that it was dislocated. Before she could get up, the bathroom door burst open, and Sheldon popped in. Seeing her naked, he quickly shielded his eyes with his hands.

"I heard you scream so I came in."

He said.

"I slipped in the tub. I think my shoulder is dislocated."

"Not surprising. You have no safety mat or adhesive stickers to allow for purchase on a surface with a low coefficient of static friction."

"What? Sheldon, I'm hurt. Can you help me up?"

"Of course."

He said, but then shifted uncertainly.

"Well?"

Penny asked.

"You're—you're not wearing anything."

He pointed out.

"Hand me that towel."

He groped around blindly and passed it to her, and she covered herself as best as she could. Awkwardly he helped her out of the bathroom. She sat on the bed, wincing in pain.

"I need to go the ER. Can you ask Leonard to drive me?"

She asked, adjusting the towel around herself.

"Leonard isn't here."

He huffed.

"They decided that they didn't want me pointing out their foolish mistakes so they went to Raj's place."

"Will you drive me then?"

"I don't drive."

"Sheldon, please."

"All right. Let it never be said that Sheldon Cooper ignored the pleas of a damsel in distress."

"No one is saying that. Help me get dressed."

He opened the drawers.

"These are surprisingly well organized."

He said, as he picked out some clothes.

"Don't sound so surprised. I'm not a pig."

Wisely, Sheldon decided not to comment on that.

As he tried to help her with her t-shirt, his hand brushed her breast. It was just a slight touch, but both of them stiffened.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

He said, his jaw hardening.

"It's alright Sheldon, lets get to the ER fast."

He looked at her indignantly.

"You have already injured your shoulder. I don't wish to be involved in another accident."

Penny rolled her eyes at him.

"As fast as you will go, then. Come on."

As he closed the door of her room behind them, he glanced briefly at the drawer, where he had seen the college brochures hidden between Penny's lacy underwear.

A/N: No, Sheldon didn't knock. Even he would know not to waste time knocking after someone screamed in pain. Reviews make my heart sing, so please hit that little button and let me know what you think :D