There are 500+ of you patiently waiting on this so I won't delay your reading. I haven't had time to write, but I finally sat down and it poured out. There may be some OOCness (obviously) as well as conflicting episode info, but it should be good anyway. Next chapter: lemons!

I OWN NOTHING THAT I DON'T OWN!

Raj's eyes darted between Penny and Sheldon before he finally managed to form a sentence. "Uhm, you mind catching me up here buddy?"

Sheldon realized the question was directed at him and a distant memory was stirred up like an accusation. He searched the extensive banks of vocabulary he possessed and came up short. There were things he wasn't done processing and he couldn't explain.

To buy time he shot back with a question of his own. "Doesn't anyone knock anymore?"

"I tried, but the door was open," Raj asserted.

Sheldon retraced the events of the evening and did indeed notice a lapse. He'd been so distracted by Penny's presence he'd left himself vulnerable – in every sense of the word.

His panic levels rose perceptively. This was unacceptable. He needed time to think.

A voice broke through the static of his cortisol levels.

Penny noticed the tick starting in Sheldon's jaw signaling he was on the verge of some kind of core meltdown.

"What brings you by?" Penny asked pulling on every ounce of calm she could muster. Best to do the talking and guide the conversation.

"Are we not going to talk about – about" he gestured wildly at both of them "this."

Whelp, that didn't work at all.

"I don't know what to tell you, Raj." She crossed her arms pulling them in close to herself.

Raj closed the door then turned back to the two. "The only question I have is how?"

"Unfortunately, that is one of a long list of unanswerable questions."

He looked thoroughly unconvinced, but it was as close to the truth as she could get. She was just very glad they hadn't gotten any further than making out.

Making out. On Sheldon's desk. In the living room. The thought made her simultaneously embarrassed and anxious.

Penny turned to Sheldon who was still looking shell-shocked. Reaching out she put a hand on his arm. He looked down at her visibly swallowing, so she gently guided him to his spot. Best to give him some semblance of normalcy. The consequences of moving too quickly were becoming very real. The least she could do was handle the questions and try not to completely destroy his life in the course of a few weeks.

Sitting next to him didn't seem like the best option so she sat on the other end of the couch as Raj took the armchair.

"Is this because of …?" he started to ask looking incredibly uncomfortable to be doing so. The unspoken name hovered in the room and instead of pain, Penny felt anger.

Penny had already expended too much energy answering that question. "Absolutely not. This is … complicated, but it has nothing to do with that. And! This-"she gestured between herself and Sheldon pointedly "is private."

A look of understanding crossed his features then he leaned back comfortably. "Okay, good enough for me, are either of you interested in seeing a movie? Stewart is hosting a screening of Sharknado 2."

The complete anti-climactic response of Raj made Sheldon uneasy. The events from the past week had been so out of sync with reality a cat scan might be in order. Maybe he had already had a breakdown and was suffering schizophrenic episodes the likes of which would put John Nash's to shame. Either way he was quite finished with the evening's events. He was about to say so, but Penny once again beat him to the chase.

"Actually, we just ordered Thai and I'm trying to get caught up on Doctor Who."

Raj seemed taken aback, which was enough to be comical.

"You've been watching Doctor Who?!"

"Uh, yea. Sheldon got me watching it. Although I'm pretty upset that Rose is gone."

"Whoa, give it time. You'll love it I promise! I totally ship ten and Rose. Anyway, I won't keep you from a Who marathon. I'll catch you later."

Raj stood up to leave and Penny followed quickly, glad to have gotten off the hook so easily. The door was open and he was almost out, but he turned half way to the top of the staircase stopping Penny from closing the door. Penny noticed nervous look as though what he was going to say wasn't going to be pleasant for either of them.

"Go ahead," she said bracing herself for whatever was going to come.

"I won't be the one to tell anyone about this, I will pretend to be absolutely shocked if anyone tells me, but someone has to tell Amy."

Penny had told herself that plenty of times, but hearing it from Raj was another matter. She thought of the girl, whose entire world was now built up on the new friends she had made. Amy would be devastated, her new happiness might even fade in the face of what Penny had done.

"You're right. Thanks, Raj." Penny muttered closing the door with one last grim half smile.

She closed the door, locking it with extra flourish and turned back to meet Sheldon's eyes. She couldn't read his expression, something between "I expected that" and "I didn't expect that at all". He looked younger somehow though, his hair mussed and an openness that hadn't been there before. Penny sighed and leaned against the door. Did she really know this man that well? She felt like she was reading him in a way she couldn't before.

"So…" she said slowly. "What next?"

Sheldon shook his head, "I have no idea."

They had been on the verge of what Sheldon was sure could have been a very exhilarating coupling, but the mood had definitely vanished, especially when he heard Amy's name from the other side of the door. He half expected Penny to leave, as she would probably be ridden with guilt like he was at the moment.

He felt the moment creeping towards the one they had put off until now with trysts and distractions.

"I suppose we need to talk now, huh."

The words slipped out of her mouth so quickly he almost thought he'd imagined her saying it.

"I suppose," he replied.

She sighed then moved slowly towards the couch and sat in the spot on the opposite side from him. She fidgeted, tucking her legs under her, then shifting this way and that. For a second he imagined a teenage Penny, shifting exactly that way in a classroom, under pressure to answer a difficult question. It was endearing to imagine.

"Should I start, or would you like to?" he asked.

"How about we switch off. You ask one, I ask one and we go until we sort this out?"

"That seems logical enough," he murmured longing for water as his mouth was feeling unpleasantly dry. More than ever he wished there was a specific set of parameters for relationships. A set mold and formula to follow. Then there would be no need for unpleasant conversations and questions with daunting and unnerving answers.

He searched for a question that could outline what he needed to know but came up blank as he watched Penny biting her nails. He focused on that instead.

"What was your favorite subject in school Penny?"

Penny blinked at him. "What?"

"Besides theater – which is the obvious answer – what did you enjoy studying?"

"That's a random question, I meant asking questions about … you know … the last few days."

"This is semi-relevant. Random questions would be completely sporadic like, 'what is an obtuse triangle?' or 'what is the capital of Missouri?'"

Penny rolled her eyes at him and he felt a smile surfacing, but he buried it before she could see. She was giving him an annoyed smile of her own.

"You know what I mean Sheldon." She asserted.

"Yes, but I think the question is valid. In tense situations isn't it appropriate to ease into the discussion?"

"Yea… it is I guess, but –"

"Favorite course. Go." Sheldon turned to face her better.

"Um, I don't know, being in a class was always so boring. Ooh! Actually I liked government. Not because of the material – I don't remember anything –

"Obviously."

She gave him a warning look and he muttered an apology. "But" she continued, "I liked debates. Arguing was pretty easy for me."

Sheldon opened his mouth to repeat his last outburst, but Penny held a finger up in warning and he decided against it. Instead he said, "Interesting. Have you ever considered –"

"Nope," Penny cut him off, "it's my turn to ask an off-topic question." She bit her lip for a second and his eyes flickered to the movement. He knew the conversation was important but he was getting anxious.

"What do you think I'm good at?"

It was Sheldon's turn to blink in surprise. He expected a question about himself, but he thought about it and spoke.

"Well, you're proficient in many things. For example, you're personable most days and definitely a fiercely loyal friend. In addition, I think you're a great delegator when it comes to your profession. You're good at playing off the strengths of others and complimenting them with your own."

Penny was smiling at him now, but he could detect a hint of something else, sadness?

"What?" Sheldon asked her. Penny chose her words carefully.

"You know. I've asked that question a few times. You're the first person not to mention anything – well, bedroom related."

Sheldon felt his skin warm, "well, there's been very little data for evaluation."

Penny laughed softly, "That's not what I meant . . . Just, thank you. It means a lot that you think I'm proficient in other things."

She sidled a bit closer putting her feet on the floor and closing the distance. The serious questions she had were bouncing around and she couldn't bring herself to ask them, so she waited for him to ask. She waited for a moment before turning to look at him.

"Anything else you want to know, Sheldon. My favorite color? My first pet's name?"

"Why did you kiss me on the roof?"

Taken aback she stumbled for a foothold. "Well, why did you take me up to the roof in the first place?"

"Why did you choose me to accompany you out of the café?" He shot back.

"Why didn't you ask me out before Leonard?" She blurted out.

"What?"

She hadn't thought it through, but it was out there now. She needed to know. "You had plenty of opportunities. The times he and I had broken up, you were still around, there were times I almost thought you wanted to, but it never happened. Why not?"

He cringed and faced away, moments ticked by. Penny expected him to say exactly what she felt, that Leonard had staked his claim, that he never had a chance without ending that friendship.

"There are a great many things I'm good at, Penny. Social interactions aren't exactly my forte. I've been rejected by girls like you enough times to know how it felt."

Penny felt the words "like you" more than heard them. Many times in casting calls she had been rejected within five seconds. In one particular casting call a talent scout had scathingly remarked, "Oh look, another bubble gum blonde waitress slash actress – NEXT". She knew the image she held, and she could understand his assumption. Back then she probably would have rejected him, but then there had been Leonard, just so persistent and different – so she thought. He had brains sure, but that was clouded by his lust until he just turned into another meatbag.

Penny met his gaze and found it was intense as he continued. "Then you were around all the time, you became a constant. At some point I nearly panicked wondering what would happen if you ever left. It was inevitable of course, but I avoided thinking about it. I could no longer plan my days without adjusting for your random outbursts . . . but I didn't plan for this."

She felt the air in the room change as all her emotions rushed to the surface. She knew he was waiting for her response, but her breath was stuck in her throat. Whatever she chose, she was now responsible for hurting this man if it went south.

A loud knock sounded on the door and they both jumped apart their last fiasco fresh in their minds. Sheldon stood to get it and Penny was grateful, letting out the trapped breath she had been holding. She tried to get her thoughts in order, staring at, but not seeing Sheldon conversing with the delivery man. What did she say? Could she really do this? What would happen if she told him she felt the same way?

Sheldon put down the food on the coffee table, muttering about the poor thermal conservation of takeout containers and Penny stood to help. They managed to set out all the food, but when their hands touched at the soy sauce, she held his hand afraid to lose her nerve.

"I didn't plan for this either, but I'm not one for plans anyway. I kissed you because I needed to see what it was like, then everything fell apart and you were still here. You had always been here, but now I know what it's like to kiss you, to touch you –"she reached out to put her other hand on his bicep. "So, I can't go back to the way it was before."

He was already closing the distance between them, "Hmm, a paradigm shift."

The kiss was slow and soft and was over quickly. Penny drew back feeling like that kiss was far more innocent than the others.

"I more than anyone can understand that once an experiment yields favorable results, how exciting it is to continue to test your hypothesis," Sheldon said. "However, I am starving and we're losing valuable Dr. Who time."

It was a little rushed, but I'm hoping the next one is longer. . .