THE USUAL DISCLAIMER I OWN NOTHING

Just wanted to say a big thank you to inwhatuniverse for her advice and help on the story

The Road to Commitment

Set whilst Leonard is away at sea, primarily Shamy with some Penny

Penny's apartment and POV

It was two weeks after Leonard had left and she was missing him very much and though they were skyping every other day, it just wasn't the same but she had kept to her promise that she would look out for Sheldon and had been taking him to work and shopping whenever she could and to her own surprise and confusion found that she was enjoying talking to him when she drove him to work, even if she didn't understand when he spoke about his work, he had however done something very nice by taking her car to the garage and paying for it to be fixed and for her to have a hire care while she waited, Sheldon had said he was doing both of them a favour because he "didn't want to travel in a death trap". To thank him she had invited him over for dinner.

Sheldon POV

Sheldon was often thought by most people to be arrogant and ego centric with no care or notice of other peoples feelings but recently things had started to change and that was down to Amy and how happy he was in her company, they had spent a lot of time together recently due mainly to Leonard being away and he wanted to show her just what he meant during D&D and hoe he thought that they were "extremely intimate", he did however notice that Penny was being very cheery and happy towards hum when she was driving him to work which confused him because usually all he got from her was sarcasm and rude comments, this evening he was due to go over to hers for dinner and he had an uneasy feeling about so decided to take Amy with him.

Later that same day

Knock knock knock Penny

Knock knock knock Penny

Knock knock knock Penny

'Hi Sheldon, come on in, oh hi Ames' said Penny with some surprise

'Hey bestie, thanks for inviting us over'

'No problem' said Penny deciding not to correct her, after all this was Sheldon's doing!

The three of them had an enjoyable dinner together as Penny had made Sheldon's favourite, spaghetti with little pieces of hotdog cut up, but Penny was hiding how she was really feeling as she had wanted it to be just her and Sheldon and for once he was not unaware that something was going on with her

Around 10pm Sheldon and Amy left and went back to Sheldon's apartment where they spent a little time together, hanging out chatting and watching a documentary about monkeys in the wild, Sheldon chose to show Amy just how far he had come by scooting closer to her and putting his arm around her shoulders and caressed her shoulders and back, Amy leant forward slightly enjoying the touch of Sheldon and he was so close to her that he could smell her hair and the lovely vanilla fragrance of her perfume, he found himself hugging Amy tighter to him

'Amy you know I want to do more but I have to take this a pace I am comfortable with'

'That's ok Sheldon I understand, you know I won't push you and I am very happy to be with you and even more so after our d&d role play!'

They both smiled at each other with the memory of "that" particular evening, Sheldon could see it was getting late and suggested Amy stay over in Leonard's room and she agreed, so she went to get changed into an oversize t-shirt that Sheldon had given to her whilst Sheldon made up the bed in Leonard's room, he then kissed Amy on the cheek and they both went to bed

Sheldon woke early the next morning before Amy and choosing to abandon his usual breakfast routine and made bacon and eggs for him and Amy and they had a lovely breakfast together before leaving the apartment and Amy taking Sheldon to work

Several days had passed and Penny found herself still being angry at Sheldon for bringing Amy the other night and angry because everybody else was too busy to spend time with her, this anger made her spend two nights running drinking on her own causing her to have confusing feelings about why she was angry and whether any of it actually mattered.

The next day she was due to drive Sheldon to work but he noticed straight away she smelt of alcohol and refused to go with her, instead taking the bus to work, leaving Penny feeling embarrassed she had put herself in that situation.

Later the same day

Penny heard Sheldon come home and walked straight over and let herself in and raided his fridge for juice and went to help herself to the Thai food Sheldon was setting out on the coffee table until Sheldon stopped her

'No Penny that's not for you, Amy and I are having a date tonight and she's had a busy day at work and we are just going to relax here and she will be here shortly so if you could find your own way out that would be good'

'Oh come on Sheldon, you always share and you owe me after your stunt bringing Amy the other night when she wasn't invited'

'What are you talking about, I thought you liked Amy and that you were besties'

'We are but oh do you know what, never mind', said Penny feeling frustrated

'Look why don't you come over tomorrow night, we are having Chinese and its vintage video game night and everybody will be here' said Sheldon struggling to understand what was going on

'Oh fine, whatever' said Penny as she stormed out muttering to herself that nobody understood her

Sheldon had texted Amy that morning to bring a change of clothes with her so she could stay the night again and she had agreed, they were having a pleasant evening, watching telly and playing counterfactuals and cuddling on the sofa when suddenly there was banging on the door and Penny was demanding to be let in and stay in Leonard's room because she missed him.

Sheldon could see she was drunk, so with Amy's help took her back to her apartment and left her in bed there before returning but then Amy suggested taking Penny some of Leonard's clothes to see if that would help her so Sheldon did that and using Penny's spare key let himself in but what he wasn't expecting was Penny's reaction.

'You know Sheldon you can be very sweet sometimes, maybe im looking at the wrong guy after all' and with that she pulled Sheldon down onto the bed and took his face in her hands, Sheldon struggled to get away, eventually doing so and left a bucket next to Penny's bed in case she was sick and a glass of water on her bedside table and left the apartment feeling very uneasy.

The next day Penny woke up with vague memories of the night before and tried to get hold of Sheldon but he was ignoring her calls, Amy however did text to ask how she was doing and that she was looking forward to seeing her that night and catching up

Knowing she was due at vintage video night and wanting to catch up with her friends, Penny got herself ready and went over to Sheldon's when she heard Sheldon and Amy arrive together

Amy greeted her when she arrived

'Hey bestie, how you doing after last night, are you feeling better about missing Leonard'?

'Not really' said Penny choosing not to say anything else regarding that

Sheldon had remained silent during this exchange and busied himself sorting the food whilst the others arrived

Penny livened up during the games but Sheldon barely spoke to her, keeping a wary distance, this of course did not go unnoticed by various members of the group but nothing was said

Penny left before everybody else and then returned once they had all gone home

'Hi Sheldon, I take it Amy is not here'

'No she has gone and I am waiting for skype call so in know she's arrived home safely' again Sheldon noticed that Penny was a little tipsy and was wondering what Penny wanted

'That's fine Sheldon but I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night'

Sheldon interrupted her when his skype rang and told Penny to go home and he would speak with her later.

'No' shouted Penny, 'you need to hear what I have to say'

'Fine just give me a few minutes whilst I talk to Amy'

Penny went home and waited trying to think about what to say to Sheldon but by the time Sheldon had finished she had fallen asleep on the sofa and couldn't hear Sheldon knocking so he went back to his apartment to plan going to the Zoo tomorrow with Amy

The next day Penny decided she had to speak with Sheldon about what happened and was not taking no for an answer

'Hi Sheldon, you really need to hear what I have to say'

'Fine come in and sit down and go ahead'

'I think the reason I came onto you was because I am missing Leonard and I know being drunk caused a lot of that and I would like to apologise for my behaviour'

'Apology accepted but this will never happen again' said Sheldon

'You know Sheldon one thing I don't understand was your reaction the other night, like you were scared of something happening between us'

'I was scared!'

'Of me, why?'

'Because I didn't know what to do when you did that and I know it's because you were drunk'

'Would you react different if I wasn't drunk and I really did want you instead of Leonard? We could work, you are a very handsome and intriguing man'

'No absolutely not'

'Why?' Pressed Penny

'

'Because I'm not attracted to you'

'How is that even possible' said Penny arrogantly, which Sheldon noticed. 'Tell me why it wouldn't work', she knew she was putting herself out there for trouble and rejection but something couldn't stop her

Sheldon tried to let her down gently but firmly

'Look let me tell you this once and once only and you need to understand very clearly, you and I will only ever be friends, I am very happy with Amy and Leonard is my best friend, I would never betray either of them and I want you to know here and now that I have never been attracted to you or will I in the future, no matter what is going on in that brain of yours, Amy and I have a deep level of commitment, respect and undemanding towards each other and we are intellectual equals and we like a lot of the same things, face it Penny you and I have nothing in common but Leonard!'

Penny stared at Sheldon in shock, not just at the length of the speech but how passionate he was talking about Amy, even so she still dared herself to ask one more question

'If Leonard and Amy were not around, would you date me then?'

'No because as I said before, I am not attracted to you, I am attracted to Amy however and I only think of you as a motherly/friend figure who gives reasonably good advice and is sometimes good at video games, I know you are missing Leonard but this has to stop right now and I will be telling Amy about this conversation and about what happened in your room the other night, we have no secrets from each other'

'What! No Sheldon you cant do that, she will be devastated and hate me'

'Penny I think you will be surprised with Amy, she will understand more than you will ever know' and with that he escorted Penny out and got ready to meet Amy

They had a great day at the Zoo and it was while they were eating ice cream that Sheldon told Amy what Penny had said and done and to his own pride, Amy reacted positively

'I think what Penny needs is us girls to spend a bit more time with her and to stop her feeling so sad and lonely about Leonard'

'Good idea'said Sheldon

Amy then texted Bernadette and Alex to meet at Penny's for 8pm but made sure she was there early so that she could speak with Penny alone

'Hey bestie, how you doing'?

'Hi Ames, im guessing Sheldon told you what I did and said to him and I don't understand how you are not mad or wanting to drop me as a friend, after all I almost betrayed you!'

'Listen Penny you are obviously missing Leonard your feelings are confused because Sheldon has been looking out for you like you have with him and he's doing nice things for you while Leonard is away and perhaps there was stuff lost in translation, but I feel no hatred towards you but as Sheldon said this must never happen again because Sheldon and I are solid and nobody can break that'

'Yes he made that very clear this morning' said Penny testily

'Why so angry though Penny, I don't want to be harsh but is it because you want what you can't have? Something solid and worth waiting for'?

'Oh I don't know and I wont know until Leonard comes home and that's not for ages, anyway how can you be happy with Sheldon and he wont even give you what you want'? Said Penny bitterly

'Oh bestie, there is a lot you don't know and will never know about our relationship, Sheldon and I are moving forward and we talk about what we want, especially more so after yours and Bernadette's little d&d intervention'

'What do you mean?'

'Lets just say that I learnt a lot about Sheldon and that's the way it will stay, for too long people have been judging and mocking our relationship and we have both decided that has to stop and not let anybody get in the way of that every again, not even you bestie!'

For the second time that day Penny was in shock from the Shamy, she was surprised by this assertiveness that they both had and realised that Amy especially had grown and matured so much since she first met and how forgiving she was

'Amy you are right, I will never interfere again unless you ask me and I apologise profusely'

'That's ok bestie, now lets get to work on getting you into a happy place and not so 'much drinking on your own and being sad over Leonard'

'Amen to that' agreed Penny!

Hope you enjoyed that

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Chapter two will be up in a few days