Saturday rolled around and Carly and Sheldon had not seen each other at all. Maybe it was because Carly hadn't gone up to his apartment to see him or the guys the rest of the week or maybe it was because she felt like he was avoiding her. Either way, they had plans that morning and she was beginning to wonder if he would show up at all.
Carly had woken up with mixed feelings: anxiety and excitement. She didn't know if she should get her hopes up but then again she felt that she knew Sheldon enough that he never made a plan he didn't intend to keep. So she started her day as if he would be showing up and dressed in jeans and her Batman shirt he had bought her. She hadn't worn it since he had handed it to her Wednesday night after watching both Batman movies and she figured that it fit that she wore it today. She honestly didn't know if he would like where they were going to go, but she hoped that it didn't cause him too much grief.
She had eaten breakfast already and was checking her watch frequently as the time ticked closer to 9. A knock on her door made her heart jump to her throat and she threw down the Geographic magazine she had been pretending to read to go open it. She flattened her hair that hung loosely around her shoulders and pulled her shirt down to adjust it.
"Hi!" a bright voice that definitely didn't belong to Sheldon spoke, making Carly breath in relief. She hadn't realized how anxious she really was until she saw Penny.
"Hey, Penny, what's up?"
"You thought I was Sheldon, hunh?" Penny asked, biting her lip.
"Yeah but it's okay, come in," Carly said with a smile, opening the door completely and letting the blond in.
"I won't stay long because Sheldon should be arriving soon—Leonard told me," Penny explained when she saw Carly's questioning look. "But I wanted to know what was going on with you two? I haven't seen you since Wednesday? I hope everything went okay."
Carly crossed her arms over her chest uneasily. "Well everything was fine and we were watching Batman together and then he asked me if Stewart had asked me out while at the comic book store. And I said yes he did, and then I asked him why. And then he said that he wanted to warn me about Stewart. And I asked him why. And he said because a girl like me shouldn't go out with a guy like Stewart. And I asked him why again. And he said because he is a theoretical physicist and Stewart owns a comic book store. And then I asked him what if I wanted to be with someone who owns a comic book store, and then he said that a woman like me should be on the arm of someone like him. And then I said that there wasn't someone like him. And he agreed." She took a long deep breath and Penny stared at her amazed at how long Carly could talk without breathing…and how fast she was.
"Wow," Penny said.
"I'm sorry, when I get upset, I ramble," Carly said with a blush.
"No, no, don't worry about it. So do I," Penny waved her off. "But what I meant was, wow. Sheldon kind of admitted to liking you."
Carly widened her eyes and nodded. "Yeah I guess he did."
Penny grinned. "Well that is great! I can't believe I am saying this, but yay for Sheldon."
Carly smiled slightly but then began to worry again. "Well I am not sure if it's a good thing. I think he is avoiding me."
Penny pursed her lips and frowned at her in sympathy. "Don't worry honey. I think he is just confused by what he is feeling. Up until now, I think he didn't even know he could feel anything towards another person. And it's scary to feel that for the first time. I remember I was."
Carly nodded in comprehension. "I am a bit scared as well," she said with a small laugh.
Penny smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Aw sweetie, don't worry about it. Everything will work out like it should. If Sheldon is the right one for you, you will know."
Carly smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks Penny. You're a great friend."
Penny pulled back and grinned. "I know!" She teased and then let go of Carly to hurry to the door. "I gotta go. Have fun with Sheldon today."
"How do you know he is coming?" Carly asked, following her to the door and letting her friend out.
Penny turned as she walked, "I saw him getting ready before I came down. Good job by making it a surprise by the way. He is dying with suspense," she said with a wink and then headed down the stairs towards the lobby.
Carly grinned after her, feeling much better than before. She closed the door and walked over to the mirror that hung on her wall next to the door, checking her appearance over. If Sheldon really was coming like Penny said he was, she needed to make sure she was as presentable as she could be….
There was three knocks and she heard from outside the door, "Carly." Three more knocks. "Carly." And then three more knocks. "Carly."
She grinned at the sound of Sheldon's voice, wondering why he felt the need to knock like that but accepted it as another thing that made him Sheldon. She cleared her throat before opening the door and seeing him stand in front of her, wearing purple pants and a red flash t shirt with a brown long sleeve shirt underneath, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. In her opinion he looked overly handsome.
"Hi," she said to him, his eyes looking at her uneasily.
"Hi," he murmured.
She smiled brightly up at him, "Ready to go?"
He nodded and she grabbed her keys from the hook next to the door and locked her apartment before they descended down the stairs together. She was starting to feel the excitement of the trip.
"Can you tell me where we are going now?" Sheldon asked, clearly impatient.
Carly laughed, "No, Sheldon. It's a surprise."
"I didn't make it a surprise when I had you watch Batman," he pointed out as they walked out the apartment and towards the parking garage where she had parked her car.
"I know, but if I told you what we are going to do then you might back out," she explained, pressing the button on her key ring, hearing the doors unlock to her car. They both climbed in and put their seatbelts on.
"That's true, but wouldn't this count as kidnapping since technically you aren't letting me make my own decision to do this or not?" he asked as she turned the car on and immediately turned the AC on as it was super-hot inside.
Carly laughed at his words and he adjusted the vent in front of him. "Not unless you call it willingly being kidnapped. You didn't have to agree to come."
Sheldon snapped his mouth closed, realizing she had a valid argument but wanted to pursue it further he said, "I had to agree. You did something for me now I have to do something for you. It's a social protocol between friends."
Carly quirked an eyebrow at the word, 'friends', but said nothing on the matter. "Exactly, but it's up to me whether or not I want to make it a surprise. And I am making it a surprise."
Sheldon huffed as they drove but discontinued the argument. Carly smiled as she drove, reveling in the fact that they were going to have a good time and that she could smell him from the driver's seat. He must have taken a shower before arriving at her apartment and he smelled heavily of men's soap. She bit her lip, not being able to place the scent but liked it nonetheless. It did something in her body that she wasn't used to, making her bite her lip harder.
Sheldon couldn't hold silent for long though. "Can you give me a hint, then?"
Carly glanced over at him, holding in a laugh at how much of a childlike plead he was holding in his expression towards her. "Um…where we are going holds something inside of it. And you have told me you like this something."
Sheldon gasped. "The model train store?"
Carly shook her head with a grin, "Nope."
"Drat," Sheldon slumped in his seat but then tilted his head with a nod. "That wouldn't be right anyways, considering you said this is one of your interests and you don't know much about trains."
Carly laughed.
He then perked up but then slumped again, apparently going against his idea without revealing it. Carly was definitely amused for the next 30 minutes as they drove back to her hometown.
Carly pulled in and Sheldon stared at the building blankly. "Burbank Animal Shelter?"
Carly nodded enthusiastically and hopped out of the car and Sheldon followed her, still staring up at the building confused. "You drove 30 minutes to come to an animal shelter? This is your hobby?"
Carly smiled and led him to the door. "Yep, I used to come here all the time when I lived here. Now that I live over in Pasadena, I haven't stopped by in a while."
Sheldon looked wary. "I am not sure I want to do this, Carly. What if they have an extremely sick animal in there? What if it jumps species? What if I die because of this?"
Carly rolled her eyes and took his hand, which reflexed away from her touch but she held it firmly to pull him along. "Don't be silly, Sheldon. Trust me. It's fine."
Sheldon glanced inside the window with anxiety but looked down at Carly who smiled reassuringly at him. He nodded slowly and she brightened, opening the door and leading him inside.
"Hey sweat pea! Long time no see!" A woman slightly taller than Carly exclaimed with a heavy southern accent from behind the counter. She had dirty blond hair that was held back in a ponytail and her overly tanned skin held laugh lines on her face. She looked about 40 and she was super happy that Carly was in there.
She stopped on her way over to see her though and looked up at Sheldon. "Well my, my. Who do we have here?"
Carly glanced behind her to see Sheldon glancing around the room uneasily as if looking for a reason to leave. Carly looked back at the woman with a blush, "Bea, this is Sheldon Cooper. He lives up 2 floors above me."
At his name, Sheldon looked down at the woman called Bea and she raised her eyebrows from him back to Carly again.
"Not even there a full month girly and you already got a boyfriend? The city did wonders for you sweetie," Bea said, sizing up Sheldon. "You got yourself a tall one too. Good pickin'."
Carly blushed and Sheldon looked uncomfortable. "Uhm, no we aren't together. Just friends," Carly explained, looking down for a moment through her smile.
Bea didn't look sorry but she apologized. "Well, come here honey. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."
Carly laughed and embraced the woman before they pulled back from each other. "It's only been a couple weeks. Although how much damage has been done without me?" she teased.
Bea laughed a hoarse laugh and Sheldon frowned at it before he watched Carly move towards the counter, peering over it with a grin. He became curious so he followed her and her gaze to see a pin where a temporary habitat was set up for a pure white bunny. He couldn't help but let a smile appear on his face at it. It was adorable, after all.
"Oh girl! You know we do better with your tender touch around here. Hoppy there has been missing you," Bea said with a laugh, walking over to the pen and petting the bunny behind his ears.
Carly grinned and glanced back at Sheldon. "Do you want to go see what I brought you here for?"
Sheldon took a step back, realizing he had been caught smiling at a rabbit and frowned, but nodded wanting to restore his masculinity. "I suppose. But I must say Hoppy is a rather stereotypical name to give a rabbit."
Bea raised her eyebrows at his condescending statement and Carly blushed and looked at him uncomfortably. "I thought it was a good name."
Sheldon snorted. "Sure, if we lived in the late 1800's."
Carly frowned and pressed her lips together, her shoulders slumping and began to lead him to the back of the building.
"Sweetie, you don't have a clue do you?" Bea asked Sheldon as he started to follow Carly. He stopped and looked at the woman, frowning at her.
"If you are referring to what you are talking about, no. I don't," he replied.
Bea placed her hands on her hips. "Sheldon, isn't it? Well Sheldon, look. If you are going to be around that young lady you better start being more considerate of her feelings. Couldn't you tell that she was upset when you insulted her choice in naming this bunny?"
Sheldon's eyes widened, realizing that Carly had been the one to name the rabbit and he instantly felt guilty. "Not until just now, no," he said honestly.
Bea raised an eyebrow and took a step towards him. "That girl in there is sweet, caring, and loving. Now if you guys have anything going on then you best be watching out for her, including paying closer attention to her feelings."
Sheldon didn't know what to say to that. This woman called Bea vaguely reminded him of his own mother. But she wasn't and he was going to call her out on it but then he wondered something. "Do you care a lot for Carly?"
Bea was not expecting his response. "Yes, why of course I do. She is like a daughter to me," she said.
Sheldon nodded understanding, knowing Carly must have latched herself to the woman since her parents died a long time ago. "Well then I can assure you I will be more careful with paying attention to her feelings."
Bea seemed to accept his answer and that was a good thing considering Carly returned and looked between them expectantly. "Sheldon, are you coming?"
Sheldon nodded and followed her. "Yes of course and I think Hoppy is a wonderful name for a rabbit, especially that one."
Carly blinked and looked over at Bea who grinned and winked at the young woman. Carly shook her head with a smile before leading him into the back and opening a door to the right of them.
"I opened all their cages so be careful to not let any of them out," she warned as she carefully opened the door and looked in, before moving herself through the door and grinning as he did the same.
He turned around after closing the door and saw so many different kinds of cats that he had trouble keeping up with his thoughts as he said the names of them in his head. "Wow."
Carly beamed at that and looked around, finding a small white and black cat and scratching it behind the ears. "I have volunteered here for a few years now. All these cats are adoptable and there is nothing wrong with them so you don't have anything to worry about, like diseases jumping species or biting you to turn you into Catwoman," she teased as she watched him freeze and tense up as cats brushed themselves up against his legs.
He glared up at her. "I never said anything about turning into Catwoman. And if we are being technical here I would be a Catman and Catwoman was never bitten by a cat. She just saw herself feline like," he said, struggling to stand on his tiptoes as he tried to move away from the cats.
Carly frowned. "I thought you liked cats."
Sheldon looked at her in panic. "I do. I just don't trust them."
Carly rolled her eyes with a smile and took a treat bag out of a cupboard. All the cats came running to her at the crinkle of the bag and Sheldon sighed in relief as he was now standing alone in the room. He started examining the cages and how clean they were while Carly fed the cats treats. She glanced up at him.
"Sheldon, do you want to feed them treats too?" she asked him, causing him to stop scrutinizing and look at her and the cats with slight panic again.
"I…I dunno. I think I'm okay," he said, shrugging and waving her off.
Carly sighed. She stood after feeding all the cats a treat except the small white and black cat that was now pleading with her at her feet. She picked him up and brought him over to Sheldon.
Sheldon's eyes widened and stared down at the cat with fright. He tried to back away but she caught his wrist and held him still. "Carly, I do not think that this is a good idea."
Carly sighed, "Sheldon give me your hand."
Sheldon stuck out his chin. "No."
"Sheldon, come on."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Now, Sheldon," she said, getting frustrated with his persistence.
He almost stomped his foot and she bit her lip as he held his hand out to her. "Fine, but you could have asked nicely."
Carly ignored him and took his hand and placed the treat on his palm. "This is Oreo. He's my favorite. I found him in a shoebox behind the dumpster outside. He was just a kitten."
Sheldon carefully picked the treat up with his fingers and held it out for the cat that was desperately trying to get to it. Surprisingly Oreo didn't eat his fingers as well and was satisfied with the treat and Carly set him down to let him wander with the other cats.
"You named him Oreo?" Sheldon asked, his voice and face hinting he was about to say something condescending.
She raised her eyebrows up at him and he looked down as if he was a kid being caught in the cookie jar. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked around at all the cats. "I thought you would like this."
"It's nice…but what am I going to get out of it?" he asked, cutting to the chase.
Carly rolled her eyes. "Is that the only reason why you wanted to come?"
Sheldon looked aghast. "Of course not! I was just curious."
Carly laughed and turned to return the cats to their cages. She had two in their cages when she saw Sheldon staring at her. "Would you like to help?" she asked him with a smile.
His eyes wandered around the room, looking at each cat before shrugging. "Why not?" he said, before helping her.
Soon they were saying goodbye to Bea and then were on the road again back to Pasadena. Sheldon had admitted that he enjoyed himself although he had been wary of the health of the animals, but after closely examining the cages, he agreed that they were well taken care of.
"So what do I get?" Sheldon asked as he looked out the passenger window.
Carly pressed her lips together. "Hang on," she said as she turned the steering wheel and drove the little ways to the mall.