Author's note: Final chapter! Hope you all enjoy it Thanks SO much to everyone who has supported this story and continued to give feedback- you've been awesome. It's been so fun to write but I'm looking forward to getting started on the sequel- really hope to see you all there! I haven't decided on a name for it yet so keep your eyes out for it. Thanks again xx

It had been four days since Penny and Sheldon arrived home from their trip to Texas. Memaw was thankfully getting better by the day, and although she was still in hospital the doctors had assured that she would be home soon. Penny had found the remainder of the trip to be pleasant and quite relaxing— comforting home cooked meals, conversation and cups of tea, and the occasional touristy outing with Sheldon, Mary and Missy. It was nice to get to know Sheldon's family better, now that they were…involved. She wasn't even entirely sure if one could call it that. Whilst Sheldon hadn't been obvious about his feelings for Penny whilst they were in the presence of his mom and sister, Penny received more and more of his shy yet sweet smiles. She also seemed to receive less of his snide remarks and wasn't sure if he simply made them less whilst he was around his family, or if he was finally becoming more tolerant of her quirks. She found herself strangely pleased however that he hadn't done away with them entirely.

The four of them had visited memaw every day and brought her flowers and books and stayed with her for quite some time. It warmed Penny's heart to see how much memaw's eyes lit up at the sight of her grandson especially. Sometimes she, Mary and Missy would leave the two of them alone to talk whilst they went for a coffee in the cafeteria or did some shopping. Penny could tell that Sheldon was really going to miss his memaw when they went back home, even though she knew he wasn't a huge fan of Texas itself. She suspected he would also miss his mom and sister, though he would never admit it.

Leonard had called them each day they were there and spoke to them both to get an update on the situation and as a show of his support. Penny was glad to see that he seemed to be coming to terms with the growing relationship between her and Sheldon and was talking to them both almost normally again. She hoped that it would continue, as the last thing she wanted was to come between their friendship. Leonard had picked them up at the airport when they came back after just over a week in Texas, and thankfully there had been minimal awkwardness. Things seemed to be returning somewhat to normal at apartment 4A.

But over in 4B, Penny was standing in her room, admiring the new dress she had bought in Texas. Tonight was her first date with Sheldon, and she was a little surprised to find herself so nervous. Since they had gotten back, it seemed as though Sheldon had been working up the nerve to ask her something, and yesterday he had finally done it. Although she had considered asking him herself, she knew that it would be better if he made that call with no pressure from her. She had no idea what they were doing or where they were going, but felt a huge sense of relief that their relationship did indeed seem to be going somewhere and that it wasn't just her who was excited about it. He had been so adorable standing nervously just inside the doorway to her apartment, somehow managing to get the words out and ask her to join him for "a social, or often romantic, engagement known as a date". She had of course immediately accepted, trying to hide just how excited she really was. He had refused outright to say where they were going, and Penny had reluctantly agreed on the proviso that he gave her some guidelines as to how to dress. Finally, he had told her simply to dress up and had left it at that. She had given him an exasperated look but was secretly quite thrilled by the mystery of it all.

She had taken her time getting ready— ensuring for once that she had enough time to get everything just right. She had applied her makeup carefully; making sure that it wasn't too subtle to be casual but that it wasn't caked on either. She had the distinct feeling that Sheldon was a fan of a more natural look. With this in mind, she had let her hair fall naturally, encouraging its curliness only slightly with a few large rollers and a mist of hairspray. Her dress was the most gorgeous shade of periwinkle blue and she had fallen for it instantly, conveniently ignoring the fact that its price tag was well beyond the budget of a casual employee who hadn't worked for over a week. That's what credit cards were for, right? Besides, she had bought it knowing that Sheldon liked the colour, and thinking that it would match his eyes. Of course, she hadn't said any of that to Mary, who had been shopping with her at the time and had thankfully questioned her no further about the relationship between her and Sheldon. Penny studied herself critically in the full length mirror, making sure that everything was perfect. The dress sat beautifully on her slight frame— it was a flattering cut that was neither too low nor too high, and dropped into an elegant flowing skirt. She had paired it with her highest pair of silver heels, always aware of how much taller he was than her. These should help to even us out a bit.

At precisely seven thirty pm, Penny heard the familiar triple knock on her apartment door. Her stomach fluttered slightly but she ignored it and gave her reflection one final glance before she picked up her small silver purse and made her way to the front door. She opened it with a smile that she hoped didn't look too nervous. However, once she saw him, all thoughts of that were obliterated. He looked…sexy. He stood before her, dressed in black pants and shiny black shoes that he'd paired with a button up shirt, with the endearing smile that she had come to treasure so much. He had chosen a dark blue shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes beautifully. It was one of only a handful of times she had seen him in something other than his usual two shirts and plaid or tan pants and she had forgotten the effect that Sheldon all dressed up tended to have on her. He was looking at her in a similar way, taking in her appearance with his breath catching ever so slightly in his throat. She could feel that she was blushing so she lent in towards him and gave him a soft kiss. When she pulled away his eyes were slightly hazy, but the small smile was still on his face.

"Hi," she greeted him softly. She was standing almost pressed against him and looking up into the eyes that seemed impossibly blue tonight.

"Hi," he echoed in tones barely above a whisper. "You're looking rather enchanting tonight, Penny."

She blushed, if possible, even harder.

"You look amazing," she confessed, her voice still low and soft.

He nervously reached over to brush a strand of hair from her cheek and held his hand there for a moment, just looking at her.

"I suppose we should be on our way," he said after a moment, clearing his throat.

Penny nodded her consent and allowed him to take her arm and lead her down the stairs.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Penny asked playfully as they reached the front doors of the ground floor foyer.

"You'll find out soon enough," he told her stubbornly as he ushered her through the door.

Penny was slightly surprised to find see a very expensive looking car just in front of the entrance to the building. It wasn't as though they lived in an overtly rough neighborhood, but it was still a far cry from Beverly Hills, so she wasn't accustomed to seeing such fancy cars around their apartment building. She was even more surprised when the dark tinted window slid down slightly and Sheldon walked towards the car, addressing the well dressed man in the driver's seat. Sheldon then opened the back door to reveal the beautiful leather exterior and gestured for Penny to get in.

"What's all this, Sheldon?" she asked slightly incredulously, but with a broad smile on her face, as she walked towards the car. He never ceased to surprise and amaze her.

Sheldon gave her one of his small, shy smiles.

"Well since I do not currently own or operate a motor vehicle and I hardly considered it appropriate for you to drive us on your own date, I decided that hiring someone to drive us was a viable option."

Penny smiled and climbed into the car, relishing the feeling of being in such a luxury vehicle.

"You're certainly full of surprises, Dr Cooper."

Dinner had been lovely. Sheldon had apparently spent the past few days doing research to find an appropriate first date restaurant that he approved of, and Penny had to give him credit for his choice. It was slightly out of town and was neither too busy nor too quiet, its décor tasteful and elegant. The food was of course delicious…Penny could never fault Sheldon's impeccable taste when it came to such things— the man knew what he liked. Sheldon found that he thoroughly enjoyed her company, having long since become accustomed to her animated and enthusiastic manner of speaking. They spoke about Sheldon's family back home and Penny was pleased to hear that memaw would be able to leave the hospital in the next couple of days and would be staying with Mary for the foreseeable future. Sheldon even managed to talk about his most recent developments at work in terms that Penny at least somewhat understood, and didn't get frustrated or bored by. Penny told Sheldon about an audition that her friend Michael (who had gotten her the George Lucas panel discussion tickets for Sheldon's birthday) had set up for her. It was a small part in an upcoming science fiction movie but Sheldon's eyes lit up at the premise of it, and he eagerly promised Penny to help rehearse her lines for the audition.

And now they were back in the car headed to another place unknown— Sheldon once again full of the mysterious vibe that he had embodied all night. A while later, the car stopped outside what appeared to be a large hall, and Penny studied Sheldon curiously, wondering what he was up to. He got out of the car and turned to help her out, keeping her small hand within his larger one as they approached the tall double doors. Upon entering, Penny realised that it was a dance hall, and gazed in wonder at the beautiful people sweeping gracefully across the polished floor.

"We're going dancing? I didn't know you could dance," she exclaimed in a delighted tone, squeezing Sheldon's hand slightly in her excitement.

"I am adequately proficient in certain forms of dance, yes." He paused. "When I was growing up in Texas, all young men and women were required to participate in the strange social ritual of Cotillion, which of course necessitated professional instruction in various forms of ballroom dancing," he explained lightly, but Penny was still incredibly impressed despite his nonchalance.

"May I have this dance, Penny?" he asked her, offering her his hand and gazing deeply at her with eyes the bluest of blue.

She took his hand and suppressed the urge to giggle. This new and chivalrous side of Sheldon made her feel like she was experiencing a school girl crush— everything was cute and exciting, and she couldn't have wiped the smile from her face even if she had wanted to. It turned out that Sheldon was more than 'adequately proficient' at dancing— they floated around the room with a graceful elegance that was nothing short of remarkable. It didn't even seem to matter than she didn't know the steps— Sheldon led her confidently and made it look like the easiest thing in the world. She gazed into his blue eyes, lost in their depths and aware of no one and nothing else, and wondered how she got so lucky.

Eventually, after several hours of dancing, Penny and Sheldon arrived back at Penny's apartment. The spring evening was pleasantly warm so they had walked home, stopping for gelato on the way. Now Penny was fumbling in her small purse for her keys, the nervous butterflies suddenly returning with unnerving vigor. Should she ask him into the apartment? How was this night supposed to end? She knew how things would have gone, in a previous time that now felt a million years away, after such a perfect evening…but this was Sheldon. Things were going surprisingly well and the last thing she wanted to do was scare him away. She had all but made the decision to say goodnight to him at the door, so as to not put pressure on him, when he turned to her, gently touching her arm.

"Perhaps we could have some herbal tea in your apartment, Penny?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile that hid her surprise, and let them both into the apartment.

Sheldon sat in the spot he had long since chosen in Penny's apartment whilst she made tea in the kitchen. She watched him from the corner of her eye as she did so, trying to gauge his feelings about the situation. He looked nervous too, she thought. She finished making the tea and bought the two mugs over, setting them down gently on the coffee table. She sat beside him on the couch, taking both of his hands into hers.

"Sweetie, I just want you to know that there's absolutely no rush with us. I'm happy to take things as slowly as you want and I'd never ask you to do anything you weren't ready for."

He nodded and licked his lips nervously.

"Thank you, Penny. I appreciate your willingness to, as you phrase it, take things slowly. I know it's not what you're used to…"

He stopped himself, immediately knowing that he had said the wrong thing. Penny raised her eyebrows and was about to open her mouth to defend herself when he lent in and kissed her. She was trying to decide between pushing him away to tell him off and melting into the kiss, when he pulled back, stroking her hair lightly.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to offend you," he told her earnestly, anxiously.

He sighed and dropped his hands to his knees.

"I…I'll try to get better at this," he promised quietly, eyes cast away from hers.

And Penny knew it was true that he didn't mean to upset her. But at least this time he knew that he'd done something wrong. It was a lot, for him. He looked so oddly vulnerable, so unguarded, so…human. Another small glimpse into a vastly complex but wonderful person. She cracked a smile and titled his chin up to meet his eyes.

"I think you're doing pretty okay actually."

And then she lent in to kiss him once again. Sure it was a world gone mad, but she couldn't remember when she'd ever felt so happy.

The End

Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you all enjoyed the final instalment. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and apologies that this story was so g-rated but I promise it will get 'more interesting' in the sequel, so stay tuned!

Edited to add: The first few chapters of the sequel are now up under the title 'The Penny Sheldon Continuum' :-)