Penny was confident that she would be able to find her one true love easily. She would not be tricked or be cheated on, or anything like that. She would not be like her mother.

Penny wanted to be in love. For real, the kind of love they showed in movies.

And then Kurt came along. He said the right things, did the right things. The sex was great and so what if she had to pay for dates more often than not, love could defeat everything. A year of dating him, of great sex and fun dates and Penny was happy, she knew it wasn't perfect but what relationship was? Her parents could barely stand each other and they were still married.

She thought that she was in love.

And one day Kurt told her that they could make their dreams true. They would go to California, he'd be a bouncer before working his way up to becoming a club owner, and she would be a waitress before a producer discovered her and she became the next Audrey Hepburn. He would make sure of it, he just needed a little money.

Of course she believed him. Penny thought Kurt loved her. So she signed the papers for the bank loan. And the next day Kurt was gone, he didn't even bother to leave her a letter or a message.

Penny was left broken hearted and broke.

She could never pay back the loan, so she went to the bank and cried and begged. Of course they laughed at her, the silly girl that had ruined her life. The guy from the bank told her they would simply take her parents farm, and that would be it. She hated her parents but she would still not run in the middle of the night like a thief to let them deal with the fallout of her stupid choices.

Right before dropping out of college she confided in anyone that could listen, Penny just wanted to vent. And find a job.

A girl that she had seen around the dorm a couple of times pulled Penny aside and told her about what her mom did for a living, that if she needed good money fast then this was an option.

Penny was in a hole so deep and dark that the offer felt like a match had been lit. So she took it.

For a year and a half she did it. She was careful, never meeting anyone outside of the rooms. Truck drivers are a good choice, a face you will never see again. Make sure you see the money. Always bring your own condoms. Never accept any drinks or smoke anything they offer. Don't get drunk. Know your exits. Get tested every couple of months. Run if you get a bad vibe.

And of course, because things couldn't ever go her way. Her parents found out.

Penny doesn't want to remember that fight, it will most likely be the last time she ever speaks to either of her parents. Her mother called her all kinds of names, her father was made of granite and refused to talk to her. Tommy perhaps for the first time ever acted like a big brother and took her in.

She only had a couple of months more before she paid off the debt in full, so she crashed on her brother's couch… right until he was arrested for dealing meth.

Penny had to learn to live off a duffel bag, and when she finally made that final payment it felt like she could breathe again. Only to find herself broke again, not even enough left to pay for a goddamn ticket to California.

She pawned everything of value, she was left with nothing but it was still not enough. Penny had to sell her body, one last night, if she wanted to get away from here. She's sure that God finds it funny.

And then Penny met him. Sheldon.

She entered the crappy room already dreading it but instead of the usual customer there was a young man. He looked well kept and wasn't drinking or smoking anything, he was just reading on a chair.

He spoke and it reminded Penny of a doctor, his voice clinical and detached. And it turned out that he was an actual doctor.

They started talking and Penny felt for him. He was someone that didn't belong in this room. But because just like her, he refused to give up on the only parent he knew, he got screwed. But she can see the relief in him once he tells her that this is the last time he's doing this. His eyes are bright and looking somewhere she can't see.

Penny can't look away from him. 'He's so bright.'

Penny tells him her own story without knowing why. She can't help but laugh at her dream of being an actress, she had received offers to do porn before, it was an option.

But she wanted to keep this dream intact. Acting was her haven, the one thing untainted.

And then Sheldon offered to take her with him to Sacramento. Her chest filled with happiness and hope because she didn't want to keep doing tricks, she would rather go be a waitress or a saleswoman but no matter what, this night would be the last. She had regretted it the moment she was knocking on the door earlier.

But she didn't allow her face to reveal any of that hope. People weren't nice for the sake of being nice, she had been burned one too many times. Penny was no longer the naive girl she had been two years ago.

Penny asked him point-blank why he made the offer. If he thought or expected that she would be his squeeze for the duration of the trip then it was best to leave things clear now. He didn't give her a bad vibe, but she can't afford to not be careful.

Penny was not expecting the answer he gave her. Sheldon was really just being nice, she just met him tonight but at the same time she could see the same type of pain in him, the pain that also made her body its home. A part of her brain was telling her that this was a bad idea, this guy could be a serial killer or a rapist. The thought was dismissed just as quickly.

Sheldon paid for her time as promised and then they made plans to meet outside his truck. Before she leaves the room, she tells Sheldon her real name and then leaves, not waiting to see or hear his reaction.

Penny had been staying in one of the shittier rooms in the rest-stop, it was lent to her out of pity. She had to barricade it every night and even with that she was unable to get any restful sleep. Her habit of being a heavy sleeper gone, the fear of waking up to a knife on your neck was all the motivation she needed to wake up at the slightest of sounds.

Quickly changing out of the tube dress and into jeans and her brother's bomber jacket Penny put everything she owned in the duffel bag, which wasn't much anymore, she was only able to keep one of her favorite Care Bears, her mother threatening to burn all of her things.

A baseball cap and her ratty sneakers and she's out the door, hopefully forever.

Finding Sheldon's truck is easy. But there are no signs of him. Just as her anxiety was getting the best of her she heard footsteps and looked up to see Sheldon approach her. As a greeting he gave her a brisket sandwich and told her to get on.

Penny devours the sandwich, the last time she ate was that morning and it had been 3 shitty granola bars, they didn't even have dried fruit in them.

The cabin of the truck was incredibly clean, almost brand new. The only thing out of place was the bobble head doll sitting behind the steering wheel. It was pointy eared and was wearing a blue shirt, the gang sign it was throwing seemed familiar.

Looking at the back of the cabin showed the pretty large bed, of course just as clean. Putting her duffel bag in the back she turned to Sheldon. He was going through some sort of checklist and she remembers it as part of the 'Learn to drive' checklist that all newbies get in driving lessons.

"Uhh, Sheldon, didn't you say you've been doing this for seven years now?"

"That is correct."

"Then what's with the newbie checklist thing going on here?"

And off he goes, he tells Penny about statistics of accidents due to carelessness and how proper procedures will ensure a smooth experience and Penny thinks that Sheldon is just a tiny bit particular. 'Wackadoodle'

It's late, almost 10 in the evening if not later if she had to guess, her wristwatch had been pawned for food money long ago. Penny is exhausted, they're on the road now and she's feeling safe, her body starting to shut down, so she asks if she can use the bed. "Hey Sheldon, do you mind if I crash in the back? I've been sleeping on couches for a long time and need some real sleep."

Sheldon tilts his head and looks at her like she just spoke in a different language and he's trying to remember 5th grade Spanish, he takes long enough that she's about to speak again but he interrupts her.

"You meant to say that you wish to sleep on the bed in the back of the cabin because you have only been sleeping in places that offer no lumbar support?"

"Errr yes?"

"Fantastic! It only took me a moment to decipher the local slang. I am getting better at this. And yes, you may use the bed to sleep."

Smiling and not really sure why Penny moves to the back, she takes off her shitty sneakers and the jacket. She's under the covers in a second.

Sheldon talks to her but doesn't turn "Penny, I will drive for 9 hours. At which point we'll arrive at Salt Lake City where we'll refuel the truck and take the chance to purchase food and snacks. If you're still asleep when we arrive I will wake you up once I have located appropriate parking. Is this plan to your satisfaction?"

"Thank you Sheldon, yes it is."

"Excellent!"

Penny is sure she has never met someone like Sheldon. There's an innocence to him that makes her want to protect him, of course he is taller and has more muscles than her. But the point stands. He had talked about doing this for several years and hadn't missed the way his knuckles looked once the gloves came off. Other men acted proud of their battle scars, as if they were something that would truly impress her, but Sheldon seemed to actively try and hide them. 'He's cute.'

The sound of the engine was lulling her to sleep. Here she was, lying down on a proper bed without someone expecting her to open her legs. Sheldon didn't turn to look at her even once as he drove, he put on classical music at a low volume. Penny wanted to keep watching him drive (and also in case he tried anything funny) but the exhaustion was too much. The bed is large and soft and the covers are warm.

Penny feels safe.

The sounds of the cabin relax her and the next thing she knows Sheldon is shaking her awake. They're in Salt Lake City.

Sheldon drags her still groggy ass to a Diner, this place looks much more upscale than the one back in Nebraska. The restaurant is huge and even the napkins have the diner's logo and name printed on them 'Sapp Bros."

Sheldon orders tea and a roast beef sandwich and she gets the strongest coffee they have alongside eggs and pancakes. And it's in the middle of their breakfast that Sheldon's phone pings. He takes a look at it and because he's in front of her she can see the sag of his shoulders, he even drops the phone on the table, he has a smile on his face and for lack of a better word, he looks liberated.

Penny knows she shouldn't, but she peeks at the phone in the middle of them. It's a rather short message. 'Pa is gone. -Georgie'

Sheldon finally got his freedom back.

Penny expected him to maybe cry a little, or jump from joy but after a few minutes Sheldon just went back to his breakfast. The only difference was now the small smile on his face. He had mentioned that he had already mourned the man his father had been, so it makes sense that this is not a sad moment for him. He is most likely all cried out.

Her heart ached for the man in front of her, she had no idea how deep his pain went but she thought that he deserved to smile like this a lot more.

"Penny, I would like to sleep. I usually try to get 9 hours of sleep. However, I find myself wanting to reach Sacramento in haste. Thus, I think I will go back to the truck and sleep for only 6 hours. Do you have anything that you'd like to do during that period of time?"

"Hmmm, I suppose that I need to do laundry, I saw a sign for the laundromat they have here and it looks okay. I would also like to buy some sneakers and then maybe browse the bookstore section of the store. So yeah, go to sleep, I'll entertain myself."

"I believe they also have a movie theater so you can also watch a film. Once I have woken up I'll call you, can you give me your number?"

Penny cringed "Sorry, no phone. I had to pawn that for food."

Sheldon frowned at her but soon his face cleared and he nodded. "I'll come find you then."

Penny went back with Sheldon to grab her duffel bag but before going to the laundromat she decided to hit the bookstore first, that way she'd have something to read while waiting for her clothes to be done.

Even after all the punches life had thrown her way, Penny refused to stop believing in romance. Books were an excellent way for her to indulge in that. She picked up a random book from the romance section, 'A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux's', she quickly paid for it and moved to the laundromat.

Shoving everything into a washing machine she cracked open the book and started reading. Hopefully the book will be good.

The book was amazing! It was torture for Penny to stop reading to move her clothes to the drier and then once it was done she basically shoved it all back into the duffel bag in order to get back to her book.

Penny was thinking about when it would be her turn to get a Knight in Shining Armor when Sheldon's voice interrupted her.

"Ready?" He didn't look any different and looked rested enough, even if his clothes were a little rumpled.

Penny winced. "Sorry, haven't gotten my sneakers, got caught up in a book."

The look Sheldon gave her made her feel like a chastised student. Quickly going to the shoe section Penny grabbed the first pair she liked while Sheldon went to buy water and food.

One snack run later and they were back on the road. He had gotten her another brisket sandwich, she was starting to think that he had a thing for them.

"Hey Sheldon, where are you from?"

"I'm from Galveston, Texas."

"Ohhhhhhh Texas, so that's why you have a thing for Brisket?"

"It's…non-optional in Texas." Now that she paid closer attention Penny could hear the slight twang in some of his words.

"You gotta let the accent out to play more often Tex, it's cute."

"No, thank you." Sheldon squirmed in his seat and Penny couldn't help but smile, he really was cute.

Sheldon quickly changed the subject "It'll take us 9 hours to arrive to Sacramento."

Sheldon didn't look as high strung as before, Penny had to admit that she liked this relaxed version of Sheldon…well, as relaxed as he could get.

"Once there I need to deliver the load which should take only 1 hour. I will then return the truck to the headquarters, this should give us plenty of time to visit a used car dealership, take the car to be professionally washed and cleaned while we eat something. And by that same evening we should be on the road to Pasadena."

Penny was honestly flabbergasted, she thought that Sheldon was dropping her off in Sacramento and cleaning his hands off from her. She was moved to tears, this man was nicer to her than even her own family had ever been.

"Sounds great Honey." Penny knew her voice was watery but she couldn't fight back the smile breaking her face. She couldn't remember the last time she cried out of happiness.

They talked for a couple of hours. Sheldon had plans, working at Caltech and also obtaining a second PhD, he loved Physics and from what she was able to gather, he seemed to think that he had been born for it.

Penny was also able to hear some of his less painful memories, his mom chasing him around when he thought germs were going to kill him. His Meemaw's illegal casino. Poor Snowball. Mandy and Ceecee. His time in Germany. Missy, Georgie. Meemaw's cookies, his mom's spaghetti with hotdogs. She also got to hear about the man George Cooper had been before alcohol took him away, he sounded like a decent dad, she was glad that Sheldon had good memories of him. Penny was able to get a much clearer idea on who Sheldon Cooper was, she liked what she got.

Penny also told him about trying to be a good son for her dad and never being able to be good enough. Her slugger nickname. Junior Rodeo. Her love for Care Bears. Cheerleading. Getting drunk for the first time on peppermint schnapps in her best friend's basement. Finding out that she loved Acting thanks to losing a bet and having to be Juliet in their High School's play, it had been a joke, after the first rehearsal it was no longer a joke to her.

It felt nice to be able to just talk. Sheldon became a better friend in 24 hours than her childhood friends had ever been.

Penny was a lucky girl.

Arriving in Sacramento early in the morning, Penny could see that Sheldon was just as excited as she was. He was basically vibrating in his seat.

Just as he had predicted, leaving the truck, signing the paperwork and then walking out of the headquarters of his company had been super fast. She'd be amazed if it took longer than an hour.

They soon were in the lot of a place called 'CarMax', it was huge and the selection seemed impossibly large. But Sheldon was Sheldon and he already had a very specific set of parameters of what he considered acceptable. Not even an hour had passed since they arrived and they were already driving away in a Silver Toyota Camry.

While they waited for the car to be washed and cleaned they had lunch in a very nice cafeteria. Penny was drinking some pretty good coffee when Sheldon once again surprised her.

"Would you like to be my roommate?"

Sheldon had quite enjoyed the company of Penny. She was chatty and overly excitable but he had to admit that it was appealing instead of being annoying.

It was nice to have company while driving. Without meaning to, he had included Penny in his new plans, but she was happy to come along.

Thinking about his future plans lead to Sheldon thinking about living arrangements. He didn't want a studio apartment, after living in close quarters for so long he wanted a large apartment, a place where he could have a living room, a kitchen, a bath (He still remembered a time when the thought of baths would have made him jump in fright, but after countless cold rest-stop showers he was ready to give baths an honest try), and maybe getting some shelves as well, so he could start collecting things.

Maybe Penny would like to be his roommate.

So he asked her.

After choking on her coffee Penny was able to breathe again and she glared at Sheldon. 'He's trying to kill me.'

"I'm not saying no, but I'm also not saying yes. I need you to explain why you made the offer." Penny didn't want charity, if he was asking because of some misguided sense of wanting to protect her then she would walk away right now. She was no one's pet.

"Well, because I want to." And he explained what he meant, he wanted to live in a place that he could call home. Oh he said a hundred words more, but Penny had to wonder if Sheldon realized how…normal his dream was. Penny herself was looking for a home. A place that would be safe from the harshness of the world. Where she could relax and sleep.

And having a bigger place would be great, Penny didn't have a lot of money, a roommate would go a long way for her.

This could be a mistake.

"Okay Honey, let's be roommates."

Then again, it could be great.

The smile that Sheldon gave her was pure joy and Penny felt more confident in having said yes.

Sheldon had a thing for driving at night she thinks. They were on their way to Pasadena and Penny was feeling pumped even though it was 2 am.

"Are you sure that you don't need to check the map?"

"I already memorized it Penny, there's no need."

"Wait, for real? So you have a photographic memory?" That would be so cool.

"No. I have an eidetic memory. I can remember everything, not just images, but I can recall sounds, sensations, emotions etc."

"Oh…Does that include bad memories?" Maybe it wasn't so cool after all.

Sheldon just nodded but she noticed that his grip on the steering wheel was tighter than it had been a moment ago.

'Well…crap.'

"Let's make some good memories then Sheldon."

A small smile directed her way is all the response she needed. He had her back and she had his. They were going to kick Pasadena's ass.

Pasadena is not quite what Penny imagined, she thought it would feel different. Famous maybe? But it's just another city. And yet this is where her dreams can come true.

They arrive very early in the morning, it's barely 6 am. Sheldon drives them to a Denny's and while they wait for their food Sheldon is using his phone to look for apartments. He wants something that's close to Caltech but not crazy expensive.

When Penny is done with her pancakes Sheldon shows her what he thinks will be an ideal choice. Los Robles 2311.

The apartment is on the 4th floor but there's an elevator and Penny has a feeling about it. She can see Sheldon and herself living in it.

It's only a 10 minute drive to Caltech from the apartment building. They go check it out and both agree that it's a good place. The elevator is working and the building doesn't have any weird smells. They have their own laundry room in the basement.

Driving there showed that the neighborhood was pretty nice. The landlord was a no-nonsense kind of guy and just showed them the apartment right away. It was just as great as Penny expected, so much room. The rent was a little steep even divided in two, but after checking with the landlord how much a single bedroom would cost Penny had to admit that they were getting a deal.

Single room -850 USD
Two bedrooms -1300 USD

So Penny shut up and was thankful that it was only 650 for her rent. They also split the safety deposit of 1000 USD.

Penny now only has 20 bucks to her name. But they now have an apartment. A place to start anew. No chairs, no beds, no TV. But they were ready to start living their lives now.

How quickly can things change? 'Mrs Cooper, Sheldon's Meemaw. Thank you for raising him.'

Penny is sure that the both of them are really proud of Sheldon.