A/N: And so we reach the end. I want to thank everyone for their lovely support and how well they've received this story. It's really cool to be able to put something out there that people enjoy.

I'd just like to point out that I'm working with a slightly more emotionally evolved Sheldon here. Which I guess is another way to warn that he's definitely OOC.

The poem that Sheldon attempts to recite in this chapter is "The Good Morrow," by John Donne. Its usage was suggested by CSI Ames, and I was more than happy to take up the offer! This chapter is also dedicated to CSI Ames, who I hope enjoys it!

In case I do not get to say it in time for the appropriate date, I hope everyone has a very happy Valentine's Day!

Chapter Four: Canzoniere

It was Valentine's Day. Penny was pacing nervously around her living room. Leonard and Sheldon had left so that Sheldon could pick up his supper before Leonard went to dinner with Stephanie. Penny knew Sheldon would order enough to feed her as well; she just wasn't sure if she would be going over to 4A or not.

The last couple of weeks had been awkward. Not bad, exactly, but awkward. On Thai food night, Penny had accidentally touched Sheldon's food. He hadn't freaked out. On Halo night, he had begged her to be on his team and had even done a victory dance with her after they had annihilated the others. She had thought that he didn't dance. Then, the last time they had gone paintballing, he had not only taken a bullet for her, he had allowed himself to fall to the ground in her defense. He did not like dirt.

Otherwise, though, his behavior hadn't really changed at all. They still snarked at each other, they still had their sweet little moments, and he was still just Sheldon. She loved him for that, but it was doing nothing to help her confusion. Would he, could he, ever feel the same way she did?

On top of all that, she was still getting absolutely nowhere with finding the identity of her mystery man. She hadn't received another note, and the three she had didn't provide her with any substantial clues.

She growled and tore at her hair in frustration.

Just then, there was a telltale whoosh of paper sliding on the floor. She lunged toward her door and yanked it open, but there was no one there, just another envelope with her name on it.

She went back inside and tore open the small packet, her eyes devouring the words hungrily.

Dearest Penny,

Happy Valentine's Day! You are probably wondering who I am. I will give you a hint: Look for me in the capitals.

Canzoniere, Sonnet 61

Oh blessed be the day, the month, the year,

the season and the time, the hour, the instant,

the gracious countryside, the place where I

was struck by those two lovely eyes that bound me;

and blessed be the first sweet agony

I felt when I found myself bound to Love,

the bow and all the arrows that have pierced me,

the wounds that reach the bottom of my heart.

And blessed be all of the poetry

I scattered, calling out my lady's name,

and all the sighs, and tears, and the desire;

blessed be all the paper upon which

I earn her fame, and every thought of mine,

only of her, and shared with no one else.

--FrancesCO PEtRarca

Penny sat down, chewing her lip.

"Ok. The guy loves me. Great." She tossed it onto the coffee table. "Who the heck is it!?"

She kept mulling those words over in her head: Look for me in the capitals.

Well, he couldn't mean the capital. Penny had never been to Sacramento. And besides, he had said capitals.

She got up and took the other notes down from her bookshelf. There had to be some connection or connections between all of them. She fanned them out in order on the coffee table and stared hard at them.

She looked at the titles: "Love's Philosophy," "Love's Alchemy," Astrophil and Stella, and Canzoniere.

There didn't seem to be any meaningful connection between them.

She read each poem again, out loud and clearly.

Again, nothing really connected with capitals.

Then she looked at the poets' names.

She smacked her forehead.

"Oh my God! The 'capitals'! Duh, Penny!"

There was some funky capitalization going on in every single poet's name!

She grabbed a pen and paper and looked at the first poem again: Percy SHELLEY.

Obviously, it was the last name that was different, so she wrote that down and went on to the next: John DONNE.

Same thing there.

Next: Sir PhiLIp SIdney. That one took her a moment, but then she figured that the "S," "P," and "S" were capitalized for grammar's sake and just copied down "LII."

Finally, she came to the poem she had just received: FrancesCO PEtRarca. She dismissed the "F" right away, but the "P" gave her pause. It looked like it was part of a sequence, but she may have just been overanalyzing it…

She shrugged and just decided to include it. Besides, if it totally screwed her up, she'd just get rid of it. She wrote down "COPER."

She looked at the entirety of what she had just copied down: SHELLEYDONNELIICOPER.

"What the frack is that supposed to say!?"

She read it out slowly.

"SHELLEY…DONNE…LII…COPER…SHELLEY…DONNE…LII…" she smacked her forehead again. "Holy crap on a cracker!"

She felt…she felt…well, she wasn't quite sure how she felt! For one thing, she was thrilled! Sheldon loved her, or, at least, liked her a whole lot! On the other hand, she was surprised. He had given her almost no sign of how he felt, going so far as to even scoff at the love letters she had been getting.

"Although, he was probably trying to cover up that it was him," she mused. She wondered at how much effort it must have been costing him to keep his face from twitching every time he had looked at her the last few weeks and chuckled.

She picked up the poems again, and now their sender seemed so obvious!

Love's Philosophy. Leave it to Sheldon to try and apply logic to something like seduction.

Love's Alchemy. Sheldon hadn't "deeply digg'd love's mine," and of course he would suggest that the whole thing was quite possibly hokum.

Astrophil and Stella. He had planned for her to walk in on his stargazing escapade all along! Then she blushed, remembering what he had said about "Evangeline": It has no special name or place in history, yet it is persistently the brightest and loveliest in the sky.

She blinked away sudden tears. "He meant me…" she whispered. She let the tears fall now. They were joyful ones anyway.

Then she came to the last one, from the Canzoniere, and really read it carefully this time.

"OH. MY. GOD." She shot to her feet and did a happy dance around the apartment. He did love her! And had for a long time! Maybe even as long as she had been living across the hall from him!

She caught sight of the clock and stopped mid-dance. Sheldon had to be home by now. Maybe he was even waiting for her.

She ran into her room and threw on a cute red sundress before hurrying back over to the coffee table and scribbling something on a piece of paper. She folded it up and marched across the hall to Sheldon's door.

Knock knock knock

"Sheldon."

Knock knock knock

"Sheldon."

Knock knock knock

"Sheldon."

. . .

Sheldon had been pacing around his own living room, waiting for Penny. He kept wringing his hands, hoping that she wouldn't take too long to solve his little riddle.

When she imitated his knock, he gave a little nervous laugh and went to open the door.

He stopped short at the sight of her. She was wearing a very nice red dress and her hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining as she looked up at him. He had never seen anyone look lovelier.

"Hello, Penny," he breathed, stepping aside to let her in.

. . .

Penny's first thought was only "Whoa." Sheldon had gone all out. The table by the sofa was all gussied up, and he had sprung for some delicious looking Italian food. She knew he didn't like candles (they were a fire waiting to happen), so she fully appreciated the luminous goldfish he had used instead.

"Sheldon! Sweetie, this is wonderful!"

He smiled shyly and invited her to take a seat.

"There's something I have to give you first," she said, holding out the paper she had scribbled on a few minutes ago.

. . .

Sheldon took the paper and carefully unfolded it.

It certainly took you long enough, he read. He spluttered, his heart rate accelerating to an alarming frequency.

She feels the same. She…she really loves me!

He shuffled from foot to foot and ran a nervous hand through his hair, feeling at a complete loss for words for the first time in his life.

. . .

"Just one question, sweetie."

Sheldon nodded.

"Who was your accomplice?"

"Leonard," he choked out.

She just smiled. Well, at least that took care of any potential awkwardness there!

"Just so you know, your letters were really beautiful Sheldon. No one's ever done something so romantic for me before," she gushed.

He was very quiet.

Penny was getting worried. He hadn't really said anything much; he had just turned very red and stood there. Had she been wrong? Was this just a friendly thing?

She was about to ask if he was alright when she spoke.

"My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears, and true plain hearts do in the faces rest. Where can we find two better hemispheres…"

She stopped him by putting a finger up to his lips.

"No honey. Your words are what I want. Just you. Just Sheldon."

. . .

Sheldon gulped. Penny lowered her finger as he nodded.

He stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek in his hand. He put the other hand at the back of her neck and freed her hair from its clip, combing his fingers through her waves as they fell about her shoulders. He traced her collar bone and his fingers trailed off of her skin as he reached her sternum.

Penny was staring raptly at him. Her cheek was warm beneath his palm.

He took a deep breath.

"I love you Penny. I've loved you since we met. Granted, it took me quite some time to sort through the emotions that you've inspired in me, but I've come to realize that you've moved me and changed me from the moment our eyes first met." He paused and then went on, blushing. "Penny…you're my Evangeline."

She didn't say anything; she just threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

He froze only briefly and then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and kissing her until they were both breathless.

When they eventually broke apart for a bit of air, he rested his forehead against Penny's. Blue eyes met green and he felt himself drowning in them.

Her eyes crinkled in a smile and she whispered "I love you too, Shelley Donne Lii Coper."

THE END (Happy Valentine's Day!)