Here There Be Dragons II
Missing
Pasadena, 2012
Penny sighs deeply as she takes two cans of diet soda from the ‘fridge. She shuts the door with her hip and spins around to face the couch. Pausing at the side of the kitchen island, she considers him sitting in his spot, his back straight like a wall. Sheldon waits for her; his chopsticks waving in the air impatiently.
Spending Friday nights with Sheldon was now a regular thing. Once they both got home, they relaxed for an hour by chatting with Amy, who is tanned and smiling from her time in Saudi Arabia with Feisal, on Skype (“Look bestie! I’m working on a case of melanoma!”). Next, Penny drives to pick up dinner and they eat, usually with Sheldon talking incessantly and Penny pretending to listen to him (though she does enjoy the inflections in his voice, even when she doesn’t understand what he’s talking about, whether the topic be physics or comic books). Finally, it is then time to select a DVD. They were supposed to take turns choosing, but Sheldon had veto rights (“I break all ties, Penny. You know this”).
Penny places the can of diet cola in her left hand on the island, "I don't want this."
Sheldon looks over at her, "Then get something else, you're standing right next to the refrigerator."
“No, this…” she waves her empty hand between the two of them, "I don't want to be Leonard, Sheldon."
“Penny, Leonard doesn't even want to be Leonard. Now, get your soda and come back here before your shrimp gets cold.”
She grips the side of the island to keep her voice even, “Sheldon, I know that with Leonard spending most of his weekends with Leslie…”
“I thought we agreed not to mention that woman’s name,” Sheldon interrupts her. His voice is tight.
“And you don’t like to be alone,” Penny continues, ignoring him, “no matter how much you protest.”
“Do you have a point?” Sheldon, clearly disinterested, stirs his tangerine chicken.
“I also think that you miss Amy,” Penny finishes.
Sheldon stops stirring. “We just spoke with her. How could I possibly miss her?” He motions to the spot next to him on the couch, “Penny, is this enough of the chit chat? The movie is about to start.”
Penny moves from the island with their drinks, placing his on the coffee table, and sits down with enough force to make Sheldon bounce slightly in his spot, causing him to emit a quiet squeak. She snaps open the can with a grimace, "This is exactly what I am talking about. How many times have we watched this movie?" Penny sweeps her empty arm towards the television screen, where Serenity is paused.
“Seven. But I chose one that I know you like! Certainly you must, according to your past scribbling on your napkin of ‘Mrs. Penny Fillion.’”
"Sarcasm, Sheldon! God, when will you catch on to that?” She flings her hands up and soda splashes out of the can onto the floor.
"Good Lord, Penny, what's gotten into you?” Sheldon scolds, putting down his tangerine chicken to mop up the mess. "Are you upset? Should I make tea?"
“I don't want tea! I want…” Penny lets out a frustrated growl, “I want to go out. I want to leave.” She jumps up quickly and leaves with a slam of the door.
Sheldon jumps slightly from the sound and then considers the closed door, the television with the paused movie, his box of tangerine chicken and his drink on the table, before his gaze drifts over to her dinner.
Not one minute later, Penny comes back without making eye contact with him, and takes her shrimp, diet cola and fortune cookie back to her place, but with full hands, the door only closes softly behind her.
~
Sheldon sits with his journal propped up on his knees in bed, after watching his movie, attempting to eat cold tangerine chicken (micro-waving it left it sticky) and fielding a call from Raj looking for Howard.
Penny is upset with him. She hasn’t answered the text he sent her (Is my calendar off? Are you experiencing a high influx of estrogen?). He is trying to puzzle out his recent social interactions with her to see what can be done to remedy her current dissatisfaction with their friendship. He taps his pen on the page before him. Thus far, for this evening’s entry, he has written:
Penny arrives, as usual, at 7pm. After arriving home from her dinner shift at the Cheesecake Factory, she leaves the room for a refreshing shower and I order our Chinese. Next, I load up Skype on my laptop, so that Penny and I can have our weekly chat with Amy. We chat for exactly 30 minutes, as always. Amy offers no revolutionary information that would upset Penny, (“Sheldon, he says if I actually marry him, he’ll fund my research for a decade! What do you think? Do the pros outweigh the cons? ”). She then leaves to pick up the food.
I choose the evening’s movie, Serenity, and place it in the Blu-Ray player, watch the trailers, then put it on pause. Penny brings the food in with her. It smells delicious as always. Penny smells like jasmine, which I find curiously enticing, as always. I set out our food on the coffee table and wait for Penny. Penny goes to the refrigerator for our drinks, as always.
Penny then has some sort of emotional breakdown.
Query: Has Penny’s hormonal cycle changed? She should not be irritable for eight more days according to my calendar.
Sheldon taps his pen once more, and writes:
Addendum: Apparently, texting above query to Penny was not the appropriate response, as she has not returned my text.
Addendum 2: During Penny’s soliloquy, she noted that I might be missing both Leonard (in this, she may have a point. With both Leonard and Howard focusing solely on their significant others, there has been less time for Paintball, Klingon Boggle, Chess, Jenga, Battlestar Galactica and other ways we would enjoy our time. Halo night is sacred, however, and both Howard and Leonard are always participants in this activity), and Amy, (which I do not believe has merit. I suppose we chat online less, with her being in the Middle East and the time zone differences, not to mention that she seems to enjoy Feisal’s attentions and research grant money). I suppose I might feel slighted when Amy spends more time speaking of her experience in Saudi Arabia, and less time focused on me.
P.S. I am unable to sleep, as I continue to mull over what has upset Penny, though the more important question, at the moment, is why does this upset me enough to interrupt my REM cycle?
~
The Tardis, date unknown
“Rose, I think a trip to Earth is in order - what’cha call it? A vacay?”
“A vacay?” Rose’s interest is piqued, “Not just a visit to London to see Jackie and Mickey?” She smiles widely, “You mean a “pack our bags and go somewhere warm and have some fun” vacay?”
“Yes!” The Doctor jumps up to the Tardis controls, “That’s exactly what I mean, Rose!” He grabs her hand and pulls her to him; making brief contact with her warm body, before he places her hand on the control. “Hold that…” and he runs to the other side of the control deck. He pulls, turns and kicks at his controls, and then the Tardis lurches, “Where d’ you wanna go Rose?”
Rose raises her voice to be heard over the commotion of the Tardis starting up, “Surprise me!”
They both take a second to grin foolishly at one another and then the Doctor shouts, “Now Rose…pull your lever!”
She does, and her world tilts.
~
Pasadena, 2012
Rose follows the Doctor down the platform of the Tardis, her tote bag slung over her shoulder. They stand at the door and look at each other. Rose breaks the silence, “Aw, c’mon, tell me where you’ve brought us!” She digs her elbow into his side.
“Rose, I’ve brought us to,” He swings open the Tardis door with a flourish, “Warm, sunny California, in the good ol’ U.S of A!”
She peers out the door, “Uh, Doctor?” Rose points at the dark room in front of her.
The Doctor walks out of the Tardis and steps into a darkened room. His eyes adjust and he sees that this isn’t sunny California. He glances back at her, “You must’ve pulled that lever wrong, Rose!”
“Me? You were the one who was kickin’ at the controls!” Rose drops her bag. Vacay over before it even starts.
The Doctor taps the side of his nose. Why has the Tardis brought them here? Rose and the Doctor, by habit, begin to investigate their surroundings. The Doctor strides straight to the various whiteboards strewn about the room, while Rose goes to poke about the toys that seem to be in every spare corner. The Doctor pulls out his glasses and focuses on one of the whiteboards. “No, it can’t be…”
Rose puts down a Batman figurine and walks over to where the Doctor is pressing his nose up to a whiteboard with strange symbols covering it. “Doctor, is it an alien language?”
“No. No aliens this time. It’s…”
The Doctor can’t finish his words, because presently, there is a tall man in plaid, slowly coming towards them, brandishing a glowing stick. Rose whispers to the Doctor, whom she is taking refuge behind, “Are you sure we aren’t dealing with aliens?”
The tall man in plaid speaks, “If you are here to steal our valued collectibles again, I…I’m going to stop you.” The voice has the tone of a man who would rather do anything than stop an intruder from stealing his valued collectibles. He waves the glowing stick, which also makes a sound, at the pair of interlopers in this room.
The Doctor puts his hands up then nudges Rose when she doesn’t do the same.
“It’s just a toy, Doctor. A light saber from the film: “Star Wars.”
The Doctor puts his hands down, “Of course. Right.” He observes the tall man before him, whose left eye is twitching and the glowing stick in his hands is shaking, “Hello. Doctor Cooper, I presume?”
“How…” Sheldon powers down Leonard’s light saber, “do you know who I am?” He tosses the light saber on the armchair and turns on the lights. In front of him, is a young woman (a relative of Penny’s?) and a tall, skinny man with a shock of light brown hair, wearing a wrinkled, long coat and dirty sneakers.
The Doctor removes his glasses and considers Sheldon in front of him. He nods to the whiteboard, “By your work of course.”
“This is my work - beautiful, isn’t it?” Sheldon turns to his whiteboard, covered with equations of his model of Euclidean space, with a look of affection, “However, it is not yet published.”
“It will be.” The Doctor smiles widely.
Rose clears her throat loudly, “Ahem!”
“Right-o, introductions.” The Doctor claps and rubs his hands together, “Doctor Cooper, this is my friend Rose, and I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor who?”
“That’ll do then,” the Doctor says.
~
Penny sits on her couch, her shrimp cold and untouched. Goddamn! Why does she continually beat herself against his craziness? It’s like continually hitting one’s head against a wall. Sheldon is a giant, immovable, stubborn brick wall. Penny growls in her throat. She is still frustrated that she let herself into this situation. She’s Sheldon’s friend, but a big part of his routine? Penny doesn’t do routines.
Penny pokes at her shrimp. She really doesn’t mind spending time with him. Usually he amuses her, but it is coming at a cost to her. She doesn’t want to be a replacement for Leonard, or for Amy. She wants to be appreciated for being Penny. Is that so much to ask?
“Apparently,” she says out loud. There is no one to hear her, except maybe the luminous fish, named Brad, swimming in his bowl on her kitchenette. It is a Sheldon gift that is currently the centerpiece of the table. Penny snorts a laugh. Good God! He is everywhere! Sheldon would like that. The man loves being the center of attention. She sighs and bites a shrimp, chewing slowly.
I’ll go talk to him tomorrow morning, Penny muses. I just need a Sheldon night off, she agrees to herself, nodding while she chews. That’s all. Even the guys, who knuckle under more often than not, occasionally have to go out without him. She understands that need better now. It isn’t like she is really going out. Bernadette is busy with work and trying to placate her husband’s sense of inadequacy. Amy is in Saudi Arabia. And where are her old friends? Well, they’d dropped her like a rock when she first started spending too much of her time with Leonard then, hanging with the boys and girls of - Geeks’R’Us. Penny laughs at herself: I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Her old friends are, if a bit on the flaky, self-absorbed side, at least easy to be around. Like going out for drinks and dancing the night away on heels that usually give her blisters the next day. And that’d be it. No stubborn man-child to get frustrated over.
Her phone buzzes on the coffee table, and she picks it up. It is a text from Sheldon, of course and, oh God! He’s trying to figure out what’s wrong. Damn! Going for the first thing that women have that make them, well not men: their hormones and female parts. She tosses her phone on the couch. He’ll have to come up with something more original than that to have her respond.
Penny gets up off her couch and stretches. She is ready to give up on her shrimp and put them in her ‘fridge. Her bed sounds like a good idea right now; or maybe a movie? That she wants to see like: The Lake House! Penny grabs the DVD off of her shelf on her way back from her kitchen and curls up on her couch as it starts.
Keanu Reeves can soothe her soul after hitting her head against the brick wall too often.
~
“So let me get this straight,” Sheldon begins his eyes narrow and calculating, “You have a time machine…”
“A Tardis.” The Doctor corrects.
“A time and relative dimensions in space, yes.” Sheldon is incredulous and folds his arms across his chest, “How is this technology possible? I mean in theory yes, I’ve written papers on it, but in reality…?
“Oh, Doctor Cooper, the technology is alien, like me.”
Sheldon doesn’t know whether to offer him his laugh, his look of derision, or attempt cynical aloofness. He settles, through no real choice on his part, on dropping his arms and letting his mouth hang open slightly, “What?”
“He’s an alien, from a planet called Gallifrey,” Rose pipes in.
“You know,” Sheldon begins as he recovers his equilibrium, “I watch hours upon hours of science fiction. I spend months of my own time attempting to create equations to support time travel and inter-dimensional travel along the space time continuum.” Sheldon pauses and motions to his guests, “But somehow, in the infinite possibilities I can imagine, a blue telephone box and a man, who looks no different than I, declaring himself an alien, with a time machine,” Sheldon shakes his head, “seems a little farfetched even for me.”
“You mean a blue police box,” Rose corrects.
Sheldon turns to glare at the Penny look-a-like with the British accent, “And I suppose you are an alien as well?”
Rose considers Sheldon and says, “No. I’m as…human as you are, Doctor Cooper.”
Sheldon looks her up and down. He sees a girl in jeans and a pink hooded sweater (he suspects Penny has one just like it), “Of course you are.”
The Doctor is pacing, tapping his nose again, “What I want to know is,” his gaze goes back and forth between the Tardis and the room which they are in, “how did we end up here?”
“Yeah,” Rose agrees, “not exactly our vacay destination.”
“Right, but we are in…” The Doctor looks to Sheldon for confirmation.
“Pasadena, California,” Sheldon supplies.
The Doctor grins widely at Rose, “See, I was close!”
Rose shakes her head and mutters, “My lever...my ass!”
“I also would like to know,” Sheldon commands their attention, “why an alien, a human and a blue time machine interrupted what little REM sleep I was having?”
The Doctor jumps slightly, “Yeah…yes…uh…right back!” And with that, he turns back to the Tardis and opens the door to enter.
“Doctor?” Rose inquires, following him.
“Right back,” he replies quietly to her, and with a smile, he closes the door.
The Tardis starts up with a loud whine and slowly moves through time and space.
Sheldon watches, “Fascinating.” He turns to Rose, “Does he do that often, just disappear like that?”
“Yeah, but I always go with him,” Rose says, her cheeks are burning and she’s blinking too fast to stop the stinging in her eyes.
Sheldon, noting again the similarities with Penny (short, blonde, attractive, overemotional), does what he always does for Penny when she is upset, “Would you like a hot beverage?”
Rose smiles weakly, “Tea would be lovely.”
As Sheldon crosses from the living room to the kitchen, a loud whine enters the apartment again and, shortly after, the Doctor walks out of the Tardis, “A spot of tea would be perfect, thanks!” He wraps an arm around Rose’s waist as she smiles up at him. They follow Sheldon to the kitchen. “I told you I’d be right back,” he whispers in her ear before they sit on the stools by the island.
The kettle is on and the mugs are awaiting the hot water, but Sheldon is impatient, “Well?” His arms are crossed again and he is very nearly vibrating where he stands. The Doctor raises an eyebrow, and lowers another to give Sheldon his mock puzzled look. Sheldon tries again, “Why or, more specifically I suppose, where did you go once you understood why you were here in my living room at 2 a.m.?”
The kettle whistles and, while not taking his stern gaze from the Doctor, Sheldon deftly reaches for it and fills their mugs. Both the Doctor and Rose pick theirs up and blow on them almost simultaneously and the Doctor takes a hesitant sip. He puts his mug down to return Sheldon’s gaze, “The question should be: when did I go?”
“When did you go then?” Sheldon is both irritated and fascinated by this man. Alien, he reminds himself, although he only has his and Rose’s word on this. For all he knows, these people are stark raving mad. But, it is highly unlikely, and though Sheldon often, very often, scoffs at Penny’s supposed intuition, he, in turn, has the distinct intuition that this pair is telling the truth. Not to mention, he saw the blue police box disappear with him and return in front of his very eyes.
Rather convincing.
“I went,” the Doctor picks up his mug again, “to your future, Doctor Cooper.”
Sheldon’s tea is forgotten, “My future!” He places his palms flat on the island and leans his face closer to the Doctor’s, “When do I win the Nobel?” His voice wavers, but he speaks quietly and reverently.
The Doctor takes one long drink from his tea, and again puts the mug down. He stands and Rose gives him a questioning look, but he only touches her hand briefly before he addresses Sheldon, “I can’t tell you that. You must know that if I told you what your future holds, it may not occur.”
Sheldon nods, his head bobbing enthusiastically, “Yes, a time paradox. Of course I am aware of the ramifications, but then why go to my future specifically?”
“I can’t tell you that,” the Doctor repeats and he holds Sheldon’s gaze again, “I can, however, show you things that will knock your socks off.”
His breath catches in his throat and his eyes travel to the blue box in his living room. Rose is in a similar state of shock, “You mean to bring him,” her thumb jerks towards Sheldon, who is still speechless, “with us?”
“Not…exactly.”
Rose catches his look, “You’re leaving without me, aren’t you?”
The Doctor lay a hand on hers again, “I did promise you a Californian vacation.” His eyes look down at her bag, on the floor by the couch where she dropped it earlier. “I’ll be back, I promise,” he says again in her ear. “Trust me.”
“Excuse me,” Sheldon’s voice again commands attention, “You are proposing I go with you in,” he points a long finger at the Tardis, “that?”
“Yes. Time. Space. C’mon, you aren’t a little interested in putting your theories into practice?”
Sheldon moans, “Oh Lord, you sound like Leonard.”
“Sounds like a smart man, that Leonard,” he slaps Sheldon’s right shoulder. “Are you in?”
Sheldon winces and glares at the Doctor for 4.2 seconds, looks in the general direction of 4B for 5.1 seconds, then mutters, “I’m in.” He turns on his heel and heads to his bedroom for his emergency bag.
While he is gone, Rose stands, bringing her body in front of the Doctor’s. She places a hand over one of his hearts, “Why are you leaving me here?”
The Doctor makes a failed attempt to look away from the hurt in Rose’s eyes, “Rose, we need...I…you need a break from all,” the Doctor spreads his arms wide, “the crazy. Go, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy your Mum and Mickey, enjoy...” he puts a hand to her cheek, “being normal.”
Rose’s grin is lopsided and bitter, “What’s so great about being normal?”
“Sometimes I wish...I wish...” The Doctor’s voice is quiet. Rose throws her arms around his neck and jumps. He catches her, as always. His arms hold her tight for a quiet moment.
Sheldon returns to the living room dressed, his bag slung over his shoulder and catches the scene in front of him. Huh. He clears his throat, “Ahem.”
The Doctor grins and he disentangles himself from Rose’s embrace. “Sheldon,” The Doctor claps his hands together, “Ready?”
“I have some phone calls to make, and a note to write.”
“No details, Doctor Cooper,” the Doctor warns.
Sheldon nods, and picks up the phone.
Rose wraps her arms against her stomach and glares at the Doctor, “Where exactly am I supposed to stay while here in sunny Pasadena?”
The Doctor hems and haws until Sheldon hangs up the phone after leaving messages in Texas, “You may stay here, if you like. My roommate Leonard very rarely sleeps here these days. Do stay out of the first room down the hall to the left, however. That is my room.”
“Yeah, so what? It makes sense for me to stay there as you’ll be away.”
“Perhaps, but no one is allowed in my room.”
Rose turns to look back at the Doctor and rolls her eyes, “I’ll just take the couch for now until I call my Mum.”
“Acceptable.” Sheldon sits on the couch, in his spot, and sighs. 0,0,0,0. He experiences a flash of anxiety and wonders if he can take it with him. Sheldon takes a deep breath and picks up a notepad and pen from the lamp table. After he finishes his note, he folds it, leaves it on the coffee table and addresses Rose, “If you happen to meet the woman who lives across the hall, and looks similar to you, will you make sure she gets this?”
Rose nods, and moves towards the Doctor, “You’re coming back, yeah?”
“Of course. We just...you just...need some time. Go visit Jackie and Mickey after your vacay here, of course.”
“We were supposed to have a vacay.” Rose’s voice is quiet and full of emotion.
“We will, Rose.” The Doctor kisses her forehead, and Rose does her best not to cry. He’ll be back. Rose repeats this mantra in her head until she is certain. “Keep all of this...crazy...to yourself here. The fewer who know...”
“Yeah, I know.” She leans up, holds his shoulders, and kisses him, “Take care of yourself. Who knows what kind of companion he’ll be.”
“Certainly, not comparable to you,” he says quietly. The Doctor opens the door to the Tardis with a flourish, “After you, Doctor Cooper.”
“You know, it seems a small box to fit us both comfortably,” Sheldon walks up to the open door and peers in. His jaw drops. “It’s...it’s....
“Bigger on the inside? I get that a lot,” the Doctor beams proudly.
Sheldon steps through the door and looks back, “This is improbable.”
“Don’t you mean impossible?
“No,” Sheldon states, “It is obviously possible as the evidence is right before me. It is, however improbable that a blue box is that big on the inside.”
The Doctor shakes his head, and smiles. “Come on then! Time and tide wait for no...Well, they actually wait for me, but let’s go!”
Sheldon clutches his emergency bag strap on his shoulder, takes a deep breath, and walks into a time machine; a real one. Oh, won’t Leonard be envious! The Doctor follows him, listening to Sheldon mutter about finding his sanitizing wipes. He gives a toothy grin to Rose and closes the door with a quiet “See you soon.”
The whirring fills the room again, and Rose sits down on the couch heavily. “Bye.” The room is empty, and she isn’t even sure if she says this out loud.
~
Penny stops by 4A on her way for her breakfast shift with the hope of both finding both Sheldon and some coffee. The door is locked, so she knocks three times, before she begins to fish their spare key out of her purse. The moment her hand feels the metal of the key, however, the door opens, and a mirror image of her answers the door.
Penny is stunned into silence, almost misses the girl’s “Hello.”
There is a strange woman…in 4A. Penny knew Sheldon had been alone when she stormed out last night, and in the interim he brought home a woman? This woman who looks quite a bit like her? “Um, who are you?” Penny crosses her arms across her yellow uniformed chest and gives the girl her best intimidating look. Perhaps another grad student followed Sheldon home from work Friday? Was she waiting for Penny to leave?
“I’m Rose and I’m...I’m a little lost. Are you Penny?” Rose views the woman, who as Sheldon had said, looks a little like her. They were most likely the same age, height and with the same coloring.
Penny looks at her warily, “Ye-e-s...”
Rose stands by and lets her in, “Doctor Cooper, um, Sheldon left you a note.” She points to the coffee table.
Penny walks in and grabs the note, opens it and reads:
Penny,
An opportunity has presented itself to me. Don’t sit in my spot while I’m gone.
Sheldon Cooper.
Penny holds the note in her hand; tight enough that it starts to crinkle at the lower right edge. “What the hell is this?” Penny’s purse falls from her shoulder to the floor with a thud.
Rose takes a step back from the blonde woman whose face is quickly going from pink to flushing red cheeks and replies, “A note that Doc - Sheldon left for you.”
Penny is instantly suspicious, and folds her arms tight across her breasts, with the note crumpling further in her hand, and tries to look intimidating again, “And you are?”
“Rose Tyler. A friend...dropped me off here. He and Sheldon left together.”
“To go where?” Penny notices her accent and guesses, “England?” Sheldon had been there before after all.
“I honestly don’t know. All I know is that Sheldon offered me the use of the sofa until I could make other arrangements.”
“So you actually don’t know Sheldon?”
“Not very well, no,” Rose admits carefully. The Doctor had asked her to be vague. “Although he did say I couldn’t use his room if I’m gonna stay.”
“That sounds like Sheldon.” Penny relaxes her stature so not to seem as threatening to the woman in front of her. However she’d arrived here, Penny has the feeling that this Rose is as lost as Penny feels at the moment. Sheldon is missing. What about Halo? Laundry Night? Next Friday? Penny angrily crumples up the note and sticks it in her apron. “How long is your friend gone for?”
Rose tries to express her own confused nature of the Doctor’s and Sheldon’s time together in order to be clear to Penny, “I don’t know. Sorry.”
Penny taps her foot. Sheldon can’t seriously be gone too long. His head will explode or something without his spot, his routines, and his comic book collection. She smiles cautiously and addresses the strange girl, “You like coffee?”
“I could use some tea.”
Penny grabs her purse and Rose’s hand, “Come with me. I think Starbucks has exactly what we need.”
Rose allows herself to be taken by her. She somehow finds herself trusting her implicitly.
It seems they are both short one friend already.
Space
Pasadena, 2012
Penny sighs deeply as she takes two cans of diet soda from the ‘fridge. She shuts the door with her hip and spins around to face the couch. Pausing at the side of the kitchen island, she considers him sitting in his spot, his back straight like a wall. Sheldon waits for her; his chopsticks waving in the air impatiently.
Spending Friday nights with Sheldon was now a regular thing. Once they both got home, they relaxed for an hour by chatting with Amy, who is tanned and smiling from her time in Saudi Arabia with Feisal, on Skype (“Look bestie! I’m working on a case of melanoma!”). Next, Penny drives to pick up dinner and they eat, usually with Sheldon talking incessantly and Penny pretending to listen to him (though she does enjoy the inflections in his voice, even when she doesn’t understand what he’s talking about, whether the topic be physics or comic books). Finally, it is then time to select a DVD. They were supposed to take turns choosing, but Sheldon had veto rights (“I break all ties, Penny. You know this”).
Penny places the can of diet cola in her left hand on the island, "I don't want this."
Sheldon looks over at her, "Then get something else, you're standing right next to the refrigerator."
“No, this…” she waves her empty hand between the two of them, "I don't want to be Leonard, Sheldon."
“Penny, Leonard doesn't even want to be Leonard. Now, get your soda and come back here before your shrimp gets cold.”
She grips the side of the island to keep her voice even, “Sheldon, I know that with Leonard spending most of his weekends with Leslie…”
“I thought we agreed not to mention that woman’s name,” Sheldon interrupts her. His voice is tight.
“And you don’t like to be alone,” Penny continues, ignoring him, “no matter how much you protest.”
“Do you have a point?” Sheldon, clearly disinterested, stirs his tangerine chicken.
“I also think that you miss Amy,” Penny finishes.
Sheldon stops stirring. “We just spoke with her. How could I possibly miss her?” He motions to the spot next to him on the couch, “Penny, is this enough of the chit chat? The movie is about to start.”
Penny moves from the island with their drinks, placing his on the coffee table, and sits down with enough force to make Sheldon bounce slightly in his spot, causing him to emit a quiet squeak. She snaps open the can with a grimace, "This is exactly what I am talking about. How many times have we watched this movie?" Penny sweeps her empty arm towards the television screen, where Serenity is paused.
“Seven. But I chose one that I know you like! Certainly you must, according to your past scribbling on your napkin of ‘Mrs. Penny Fillion.’”
"Sarcasm, Sheldon! God, when will you catch on to that?” She flings her hands up and soda splashes out of the can onto the floor.
"Good Lord, Penny, what's gotten into you?” Sheldon scolds, putting down his tangerine chicken to mop up the mess. "Are you upset? Should I make tea?"
“I don't want tea! I want…” Penny lets out a frustrated growl, “I want to go out. I want to leave.” She jumps up quickly and leaves with a slam of the door.
Sheldon jumps slightly from the sound and then considers the closed door, the television with the paused movie, his box of tangerine chicken and his drink on the table, before his gaze drifts over to her dinner.
Not one minute later, Penny comes back without making eye contact with him, and takes her shrimp, diet cola and fortune cookie back to her place, but with full hands, the door only closes softly behind her.
~
Sheldon sits with his journal propped up on his knees in bed, after watching his movie, attempting to eat cold tangerine chicken (micro-waving it left it sticky) and fielding a call from Raj looking for Howard.
Penny is upset with him. She hasn’t answered the text he sent her (Is my calendar off? Are you experiencing a high influx of estrogen?). He is trying to puzzle out his recent social interactions with her to see what can be done to remedy her current dissatisfaction with their friendship. He taps his pen on the page before him. Thus far, for this evening’s entry, he has written:
Penny arrives, as usual, at 7pm. After arriving home from her dinner shift at the Cheesecake Factory, she leaves the room for a refreshing shower and I order our Chinese. Next, I load up Skype on my laptop, so that Penny and I can have our weekly chat with Amy. We chat for exactly 30 minutes, as always. Amy offers no revolutionary information that would upset Penny, (“Sheldon, he says if I actually marry him, he’ll fund my research for a decade! What do you think? Do the pros outweigh the cons? ”). She then leaves to pick up the food.
I choose the evening’s movie, Serenity, and place it in the Blu-Ray player, watch the trailers, then put it on pause. Penny brings the food in with her. It smells delicious as always. Penny smells like jasmine, which I find curiously enticing, as always. I set out our food on the coffee table and wait for Penny. Penny goes to the refrigerator for our drinks, as always.
Penny then has some sort of emotional breakdown.
Query: Has Penny’s hormonal cycle changed? She should not be irritable for eight more days according to my calendar.
Sheldon taps his pen once more, and writes:
Addendum: Apparently, texting above query to Penny was not the appropriate response, as she has not returned my text.
Addendum 2: During Penny’s soliloquy, she noted that I might be missing both Leonard (in this, she may have a point. With both Leonard and Howard focusing solely on their significant others, there has been less time for Paintball, Klingon Boggle, Chess, Jenga, Battlestar Galactica and other ways we would enjoy our time. Halo night is sacred, however, and both Howard and Leonard are always participants in this activity), and Amy, (which I do not believe has merit. I suppose we chat online less, with her being in the Middle East and the time zone differences, not to mention that she seems to enjoy Feisal’s attentions and research grant money). I suppose I might feel slighted when Amy spends more time speaking of her experience in Saudi Arabia, and less time focused on me.
P.S. I am unable to sleep, as I continue to mull over what has upset Penny, though the more important question, at the moment, is why does this upset me enough to interrupt my REM cycle?
~
The Tardis, date unknown
“Rose, I think a trip to Earth is in order - what’cha call it? A vacay?”
“A vacay?” Rose’s interest is piqued, “Not just a visit to London to see Jackie and Mickey?” She smiles widely, “You mean a “pack our bags and go somewhere warm and have some fun” vacay?”
“Yes!” The Doctor jumps up to the Tardis controls, “That’s exactly what I mean, Rose!” He grabs her hand and pulls her to him; making brief contact with her warm body, before he places her hand on the control. “Hold that…” and he runs to the other side of the control deck. He pulls, turns and kicks at his controls, and then the Tardis lurches, “Where d’ you wanna go Rose?”
Rose raises her voice to be heard over the commotion of the Tardis starting up, “Surprise me!”
They both take a second to grin foolishly at one another and then the Doctor shouts, “Now Rose…pull your lever!”
She does, and her world tilts.
~
Pasadena, 2012
Rose follows the Doctor down the platform of the Tardis, her tote bag slung over her shoulder. They stand at the door and look at each other. Rose breaks the silence, “Aw, c’mon, tell me where you’ve brought us!” She digs her elbow into his side.
“Rose, I’ve brought us to,” He swings open the Tardis door with a flourish, “Warm, sunny California, in the good ol’ U.S of A!”
She peers out the door, “Uh, Doctor?” Rose points at the dark room in front of her.
The Doctor walks out of the Tardis and steps into a darkened room. His eyes adjust and he sees that this isn’t sunny California. He glances back at her, “You must’ve pulled that lever wrong, Rose!”
“Me? You were the one who was kickin’ at the controls!” Rose drops her bag. Vacay over before it even starts.
The Doctor taps the side of his nose. Why has the Tardis brought them here? Rose and the Doctor, by habit, begin to investigate their surroundings. The Doctor strides straight to the various whiteboards strewn about the room, while Rose goes to poke about the toys that seem to be in every spare corner. The Doctor pulls out his glasses and focuses on one of the whiteboards. “No, it can’t be…”
Rose puts down a Batman figurine and walks over to where the Doctor is pressing his nose up to a whiteboard with strange symbols covering it. “Doctor, is it an alien language?”
“No. No aliens this time. It’s…”
The Doctor can’t finish his words, because presently, there is a tall man in plaid, slowly coming towards them, brandishing a glowing stick. Rose whispers to the Doctor, whom she is taking refuge behind, “Are you sure we aren’t dealing with aliens?”
The tall man in plaid speaks, “If you are here to steal our valued collectibles again, I…I’m going to stop you.” The voice has the tone of a man who would rather do anything than stop an intruder from stealing his valued collectibles. He waves the glowing stick, which also makes a sound, at the pair of interlopers in this room.
The Doctor puts his hands up then nudges Rose when she doesn’t do the same.
“It’s just a toy, Doctor. A light saber from the film: “Star Wars.”
The Doctor puts his hands down, “Of course. Right.” He observes the tall man before him, whose left eye is twitching and the glowing stick in his hands is shaking, “Hello. Doctor Cooper, I presume?”
“How…” Sheldon powers down Leonard’s light saber, “do you know who I am?” He tosses the light saber on the armchair and turns on the lights. In front of him, is a young woman (a relative of Penny’s?) and a tall, skinny man with a shock of light brown hair, wearing a wrinkled, long coat and dirty sneakers.
The Doctor removes his glasses and considers Sheldon in front of him. He nods to the whiteboard, “By your work of course.”
“This is my work - beautiful, isn’t it?” Sheldon turns to his whiteboard, covered with equations of his model of Euclidean space, with a look of affection, “However, it is not yet published.”
“It will be.” The Doctor smiles widely.
Rose clears her throat loudly, “Ahem!”
“Right-o, introductions.” The Doctor claps and rubs his hands together, “Doctor Cooper, this is my friend Rose, and I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor who?”
“That’ll do then,” the Doctor says.
~
Penny sits on her couch, her shrimp cold and untouched. Goddamn! Why does she continually beat herself against his craziness? It’s like continually hitting one’s head against a wall. Sheldon is a giant, immovable, stubborn brick wall. Penny growls in her throat. She is still frustrated that she let herself into this situation. She’s Sheldon’s friend, but a big part of his routine? Penny doesn’t do routines.
Penny pokes at her shrimp. She really doesn’t mind spending time with him. Usually he amuses her, but it is coming at a cost to her. She doesn’t want to be a replacement for Leonard, or for Amy. She wants to be appreciated for being Penny. Is that so much to ask?
“Apparently,” she says out loud. There is no one to hear her, except maybe the luminous fish, named Brad, swimming in his bowl on her kitchenette. It is a Sheldon gift that is currently the centerpiece of the table. Penny snorts a laugh. Good God! He is everywhere! Sheldon would like that. The man loves being the center of attention. She sighs and bites a shrimp, chewing slowly.
I’ll go talk to him tomorrow morning, Penny muses. I just need a Sheldon night off, she agrees to herself, nodding while she chews. That’s all. Even the guys, who knuckle under more often than not, occasionally have to go out without him. She understands that need better now. It isn’t like she is really going out. Bernadette is busy with work and trying to placate her husband’s sense of inadequacy. Amy is in Saudi Arabia. And where are her old friends? Well, they’d dropped her like a rock when she first started spending too much of her time with Leonard then, hanging with the boys and girls of - Geeks’R’Us. Penny laughs at herself: I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Her old friends are, if a bit on the flaky, self-absorbed side, at least easy to be around. Like going out for drinks and dancing the night away on heels that usually give her blisters the next day. And that’d be it. No stubborn man-child to get frustrated over.
Her phone buzzes on the coffee table, and she picks it up. It is a text from Sheldon, of course and, oh God! He’s trying to figure out what’s wrong. Damn! Going for the first thing that women have that make them, well not men: their hormones and female parts. She tosses her phone on the couch. He’ll have to come up with something more original than that to have her respond.
Penny gets up off her couch and stretches. She is ready to give up on her shrimp and put them in her ‘fridge. Her bed sounds like a good idea right now; or maybe a movie? That she wants to see like: The Lake House! Penny grabs the DVD off of her shelf on her way back from her kitchen and curls up on her couch as it starts.
Keanu Reeves can soothe her soul after hitting her head against the brick wall too often.
~
“So let me get this straight,” Sheldon begins his eyes narrow and calculating, “You have a time machine…”
“A Tardis.” The Doctor corrects.
“A time and relative dimensions in space, yes.” Sheldon is incredulous and folds his arms across his chest, “How is this technology possible? I mean in theory yes, I’ve written papers on it, but in reality…?
“Oh, Doctor Cooper, the technology is alien, like me.”
Sheldon doesn’t know whether to offer him his laugh, his look of derision, or attempt cynical aloofness. He settles, through no real choice on his part, on dropping his arms and letting his mouth hang open slightly, “What?”
“He’s an alien, from a planet called Gallifrey,” Rose pipes in.
“You know,” Sheldon begins as he recovers his equilibrium, “I watch hours upon hours of science fiction. I spend months of my own time attempting to create equations to support time travel and inter-dimensional travel along the space time continuum.” Sheldon pauses and motions to his guests, “But somehow, in the infinite possibilities I can imagine, a blue telephone box and a man, who looks no different than I, declaring himself an alien, with a time machine,” Sheldon shakes his head, “seems a little farfetched even for me.”
“You mean a blue police box,” Rose corrects.
Sheldon turns to glare at the Penny look-a-like with the British accent, “And I suppose you are an alien as well?”
Rose considers Sheldon and says, “No. I’m as…human as you are, Doctor Cooper.”
Sheldon looks her up and down. He sees a girl in jeans and a pink hooded sweater (he suspects Penny has one just like it), “Of course you are.”
The Doctor is pacing, tapping his nose again, “What I want to know is,” his gaze goes back and forth between the Tardis and the room which they are in, “how did we end up here?”
“Yeah,” Rose agrees, “not exactly our vacay destination.”
“Right, but we are in…” The Doctor looks to Sheldon for confirmation.
“Pasadena, California,” Sheldon supplies.
The Doctor grins widely at Rose, “See, I was close!”
Rose shakes her head and mutters, “My lever...my ass!”
“I also would like to know,” Sheldon commands their attention, “why an alien, a human and a blue time machine interrupted what little REM sleep I was having?”
The Doctor jumps slightly, “Yeah…yes…uh…right back!” And with that, he turns back to the Tardis and opens the door to enter.
“Doctor?” Rose inquires, following him.
“Right back,” he replies quietly to her, and with a smile, he closes the door.
The Tardis starts up with a loud whine and slowly moves through time and space.
Sheldon watches, “Fascinating.” He turns to Rose, “Does he do that often, just disappear like that?”
“Yeah, but I always go with him,” Rose says, her cheeks are burning and she’s blinking too fast to stop the stinging in her eyes.
Sheldon, noting again the similarities with Penny (short, blonde, attractive, overemotional), does what he always does for Penny when she is upset, “Would you like a hot beverage?”
Rose smiles weakly, “Tea would be lovely.”
As Sheldon crosses from the living room to the kitchen, a loud whine enters the apartment again and, shortly after, the Doctor walks out of the Tardis, “A spot of tea would be perfect, thanks!” He wraps an arm around Rose’s waist as she smiles up at him. They follow Sheldon to the kitchen. “I told you I’d be right back,” he whispers in her ear before they sit on the stools by the island.
The kettle is on and the mugs are awaiting the hot water, but Sheldon is impatient, “Well?” His arms are crossed again and he is very nearly vibrating where he stands. The Doctor raises an eyebrow, and lowers another to give Sheldon his mock puzzled look. Sheldon tries again, “Why or, more specifically I suppose, where did you go once you understood why you were here in my living room at 2 a.m.?”
The kettle whistles and, while not taking his stern gaze from the Doctor, Sheldon deftly reaches for it and fills their mugs. Both the Doctor and Rose pick theirs up and blow on them almost simultaneously and the Doctor takes a hesitant sip. He puts his mug down to return Sheldon’s gaze, “The question should be: when did I go?”
“When did you go then?” Sheldon is both irritated and fascinated by this man. Alien, he reminds himself, although he only has his and Rose’s word on this. For all he knows, these people are stark raving mad. But, it is highly unlikely, and though Sheldon often, very often, scoffs at Penny’s supposed intuition, he, in turn, has the distinct intuition that this pair is telling the truth. Not to mention, he saw the blue police box disappear with him and return in front of his very eyes.
Rather convincing.
“I went,” the Doctor picks up his mug again, “to your future, Doctor Cooper.”
Sheldon’s tea is forgotten, “My future!” He places his palms flat on the island and leans his face closer to the Doctor’s, “When do I win the Nobel?” His voice wavers, but he speaks quietly and reverently.
The Doctor takes one long drink from his tea, and again puts the mug down. He stands and Rose gives him a questioning look, but he only touches her hand briefly before he addresses Sheldon, “I can’t tell you that. You must know that if I told you what your future holds, it may not occur.”
Sheldon nods, his head bobbing enthusiastically, “Yes, a time paradox. Of course I am aware of the ramifications, but then why go to my future specifically?”
“I can’t tell you that,” the Doctor repeats and he holds Sheldon’s gaze again, “I can, however, show you things that will knock your socks off.”
His breath catches in his throat and his eyes travel to the blue box in his living room. Rose is in a similar state of shock, “You mean to bring him,” her thumb jerks towards Sheldon, who is still speechless, “with us?”
“Not…exactly.”
Rose catches his look, “You’re leaving without me, aren’t you?”
The Doctor lay a hand on hers again, “I did promise you a Californian vacation.” His eyes look down at her bag, on the floor by the couch where she dropped it earlier. “I’ll be back, I promise,” he says again in her ear. “Trust me.”
“Excuse me,” Sheldon’s voice again commands attention, “You are proposing I go with you in,” he points a long finger at the Tardis, “that?”
“Yes. Time. Space. C’mon, you aren’t a little interested in putting your theories into practice?”
Sheldon moans, “Oh Lord, you sound like Leonard.”
“Sounds like a smart man, that Leonard,” he slaps Sheldon’s right shoulder. “Are you in?”
Sheldon winces and glares at the Doctor for 4.2 seconds, looks in the general direction of 4B for 5.1 seconds, then mutters, “I’m in.” He turns on his heel and heads to his bedroom for his emergency bag.
While he is gone, Rose stands, bringing her body in front of the Doctor’s. She places a hand over one of his hearts, “Why are you leaving me here?”
The Doctor makes a failed attempt to look away from the hurt in Rose’s eyes, “Rose, we need...I…you need a break from all,” the Doctor spreads his arms wide, “the crazy. Go, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy your Mum and Mickey, enjoy...” he puts a hand to her cheek, “being normal.”
Rose’s grin is lopsided and bitter, “What’s so great about being normal?”
“Sometimes I wish...I wish...” The Doctor’s voice is quiet. Rose throws her arms around his neck and jumps. He catches her, as always. His arms hold her tight for a quiet moment.
Sheldon returns to the living room dressed, his bag slung over his shoulder and catches the scene in front of him. Huh. He clears his throat, “Ahem.”
The Doctor grins and he disentangles himself from Rose’s embrace. “Sheldon,” The Doctor claps his hands together, “Ready?”
“I have some phone calls to make, and a note to write.”
“No details, Doctor Cooper,” the Doctor warns.
Sheldon nods, and picks up the phone.
Rose wraps her arms against her stomach and glares at the Doctor, “Where exactly am I supposed to stay while here in sunny Pasadena?”
The Doctor hems and haws until Sheldon hangs up the phone after leaving messages in Texas, “You may stay here, if you like. My roommate Leonard very rarely sleeps here these days. Do stay out of the first room down the hall to the left, however. That is my room.”
“Yeah, so what? It makes sense for me to stay there as you’ll be away.”
“Perhaps, but no one is allowed in my room.”
Rose turns to look back at the Doctor and rolls her eyes, “I’ll just take the couch for now until I call my Mum.”
“Acceptable.” Sheldon sits on the couch, in his spot, and sighs. 0,0,0,0. He experiences a flash of anxiety and wonders if he can take it with him. Sheldon takes a deep breath and picks up a notepad and pen from the lamp table. After he finishes his note, he folds it, leaves it on the coffee table and addresses Rose, “If you happen to meet the woman who lives across the hall, and looks similar to you, will you make sure she gets this?”
Rose nods, and moves towards the Doctor, “You’re coming back, yeah?”
“Of course. We just...you just...need some time. Go visit Jackie and Mickey after your vacay here, of course.”
“We were supposed to have a vacay.” Rose’s voice is quiet and full of emotion.
“We will, Rose.” The Doctor kisses her forehead, and Rose does her best not to cry. He’ll be back. Rose repeats this mantra in her head until she is certain. “Keep all of this...crazy...to yourself here. The fewer who know...”
“Yeah, I know.” She leans up, holds his shoulders, and kisses him, “Take care of yourself. Who knows what kind of companion he’ll be.”
“Certainly, not comparable to you,” he says quietly. The Doctor opens the door to the Tardis with a flourish, “After you, Doctor Cooper.”
“You know, it seems a small box to fit us both comfortably,” Sheldon walks up to the open door and peers in. His jaw drops. “It’s...it’s....
“Bigger on the inside? I get that a lot,” the Doctor beams proudly.
Sheldon steps through the door and looks back, “This is improbable.”
“Don’t you mean impossible?
“No,” Sheldon states, “It is obviously possible as the evidence is right before me. It is, however improbable that a blue box is that big on the inside.”
The Doctor shakes his head, and smiles. “Come on then! Time and tide wait for no...Well, they actually wait for me, but let’s go!”
Sheldon clutches his emergency bag strap on his shoulder, takes a deep breath, and walks into a time machine; a real one. Oh, won’t Leonard be envious! The Doctor follows him, listening to Sheldon mutter about finding his sanitizing wipes. He gives a toothy grin to Rose and closes the door with a quiet “See you soon.”
The whirring fills the room again, and Rose sits down on the couch heavily. “Bye.” The room is empty, and she isn’t even sure if she says this out loud.
~
Penny stops by 4A on her way for her breakfast shift with the hope of both finding both Sheldon and some coffee. The door is locked, so she knocks three times, before she begins to fish their spare key out of her purse. The moment her hand feels the metal of the key, however, the door opens, and a mirror image of her answers the door.
Penny is stunned into silence, almost misses the girl’s “Hello.”
There is a strange woman…in 4A. Penny knew Sheldon had been alone when she stormed out last night, and in the interim he brought home a woman? This woman who looks quite a bit like her? “Um, who are you?” Penny crosses her arms across her yellow uniformed chest and gives the girl her best intimidating look. Perhaps another grad student followed Sheldon home from work Friday? Was she waiting for Penny to leave?
“I’m Rose and I’m...I’m a little lost. Are you Penny?” Rose views the woman, who as Sheldon had said, looks a little like her. They were most likely the same age, height and with the same coloring.
Penny looks at her warily, “Ye-e-s...”
Rose stands by and lets her in, “Doctor Cooper, um, Sheldon left you a note.” She points to the coffee table.
Penny walks in and grabs the note, opens it and reads:
Penny,
An opportunity has presented itself to me. Don’t sit in my spot while I’m gone.
Sheldon Cooper.
Penny holds the note in her hand; tight enough that it starts to crinkle at the lower right edge. “What the hell is this?” Penny’s purse falls from her shoulder to the floor with a thud.
Rose takes a step back from the blonde woman whose face is quickly going from pink to flushing red cheeks and replies, “A note that Doc - Sheldon left for you.”
Penny is instantly suspicious, and folds her arms tight across her breasts, with the note crumpling further in her hand, and tries to look intimidating again, “And you are?”
“Rose Tyler. A friend...dropped me off here. He and Sheldon left together.”
“To go where?” Penny notices her accent and guesses, “England?” Sheldon had been there before after all.
“I honestly don’t know. All I know is that Sheldon offered me the use of the sofa until I could make other arrangements.”
“So you actually don’t know Sheldon?”
“Not very well, no,” Rose admits carefully. The Doctor had asked her to be vague. “Although he did say I couldn’t use his room if I’m gonna stay.”
“That sounds like Sheldon.” Penny relaxes her stature so not to seem as threatening to the woman in front of her. However she’d arrived here, Penny has the feeling that this Rose is as lost as Penny feels at the moment. Sheldon is missing. What about Halo? Laundry Night? Next Friday? Penny angrily crumples up the note and sticks it in her apron. “How long is your friend gone for?”
Rose tries to express her own confused nature of the Doctor’s and Sheldon’s time together in order to be clear to Penny, “I don’t know. Sorry.”
Penny taps her foot. Sheldon can’t seriously be gone too long. His head will explode or something without his spot, his routines, and his comic book collection. She smiles cautiously and addresses the strange girl, “You like coffee?”
“I could use some tea.”
Penny grabs her purse and Rose’s hand, “Come with me. I think Starbucks has exactly what we need.”
Rose allows herself to be taken by her. She somehow finds herself trusting her implicitly.
It seems they are both short one friend already.
Space