Homo Novus Prime Ch. 1

I Love The Characters of Sheldon and Penny.

As for the Show TBBT I own nothing.

AU and some OOC.

P-POV

Penny was an early bloomer at least that's what her family called her (not that big of a deal in a family of early every things).

When she decided to walk she just got up and did it, at nine months old. When she wanted her momma who was in the other room, she called for her "Momma I wanna go!" She was nine months old. When her Nana snatched her up from the playpen so abruptly, Penny was startled... her Nana's concerned surprise scared her so that she didn't speak a whole sentence again for 3 more months. The picture of Nana's face in that moment was etched in her infantile mind and associated with being "Suddenly" noticed.

She didn't like the feeling of such intense scrutiny and learned to avoid those looks for most of her childhood and teens by emulating those around her.

Karen, her mother, came to see the commotion with her mother in law and youngest but had not heard Penny and just put it down to a great-grand mother's pride.

Since every generation of McGill's were early bloomers, Penny's early walking was noted but relatively unapprised. After all her older sister Kylie had started walking at 11 months old and in Karen's proud mind what was two months less?

From then on she watched what her siblings and cousins did and copied them. She learned to slow down, to match their mental and physical pace. Her familial contemporaries outpaced the other kids at school and out on the playground. It wasn't out of the ordinary that she surpassed her classmates because that was expected from her family's background and standing in the community.

Penny strove not to bring undue attention to herself but Nana always seemed to be watching her. She loved her Nana but she always felt uneasy around her. When she showed that she had the same affinity and lack of fear for animals as he did, Penny's father Wyatt started training her for the Junior Rodeo. She was nine.

His only son Junior was into sports and animal art. He loved to draw animals but playing or working with them was sooo not his thing. Penny was Wyatt's "Little Slugger" and he adored her. She was fearless. There didn't seemed to be an animal she couldn't work with or get the upper hand on. When Junior showed no interest Wyatt taught her how to rebuild the tractor engine and, two weeks later, when she got the neighbors tractor up and running his pride grew further still. She was twelve.

Life on the prosperous family farm was loaded with chores and family participation in local and state fairs, 4H events and cattle auctions. There are 4 living generations and a passel of kids of all ages. Her Great grandma, her grandparents and their four grown children with their spouses and kids all lived and worked on the 5000 acres. McGills were known in their area of Nebraska as "the salt of the earth", good people. The McGill's, of either sex, where all healthy, strong and capable of what they put their minds and hands to.

An inherent ability to know who and what suited her best grew from watching everyone and her surroundings and herself control grew as she strove to fit in.

From a toddler, through school and 4H and her junior rodeo stint right up until now she always knew who or what she'd work well with. She always felt "a connection, a sense of rightness with her environment and the living beings in it. Penny had a loving and soothing presence to all around her. She was mischievous and playful to those of her social circle and polite to those who weren't. She had somewhat of a temper and nothing got it going faster than injustice or meanness. Anyone or thing that Penny cared for she thought of as hers…. and woe to anyone or thing that harmed or abused what was hers.

Despite her mostly open and loving nature, Penny was highly selective about her inner social circle. At home her mom and sisters called her "Picky Penny". She'd been called a "tease" or an "ice princess" by most of the guys she'd dated but it didn't matter. If he wasn't the one, he wasn't the one, and Penny wasn't one to be forced by names or words to change her course. Her Nana called her a chameleon. She just knew Penny was hiding how smart she was and told her she ought to be an actress.

When she was ready to get over her virginity she picked Kurt. He was a big and muscular and hot, and when she looked at him she just knew. She also knew that he'd be the one to move to Pasadena with so she could be an actress. He was a learning experience, 5 yrs older than her and a great teacher in bed but there wasn't much going on upstairs and, once she learned all she could, she let his cheating alter her course to being on her own. That's when she moved to 4b at 2311 N. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, California.

It really only took the first date with Leonard to let Penny know what she pretty much knew beforehand but he'd been so sweet and earnest she couldn't turn him down. But it was what it was and in the end they were friends. She quickly made a place for herself with her neighbors in 4a. She didn't see the need to inform them that they were hers and under her protection. She soon added Raj to her bailiwick and to a lesser degree, Wolowitz. Why bother them with the details? She knew it and that was the important part.

With auditions and working at The Cheesecake Factory Penny kept pretty busy. It helped her evade Leonard's not so silent crush, and pay the bills, barely. A couple of years had flown by when the chance for Sheldon's String theory research had all four boys heading down to the Arctic Circle for 3 months.

When she took them to the Airport in Mid-May it was with a heavy heart and a sad smile.

"Don't forget to pick up the mail and sort it in chronological order and please open the windows and air out the apartment twice a week." Sheldon handed her the keys to 4a.

"Check,check" she takes the keys,"and check!" she says with a smile.

"I think she's got it Sheldon. You've only told her every day for 2 weeks, not to mention you gave her that laminated 'To Do List' last night." Leonard said condescendingly. Leonard was tired of always having to maneuver around Sheldon and his OCD to get to Penny. Why couldn't he just leave him and Penny alone? And why was she always nice to Sheldon? Sure it was fun to watch Penny push Sheldon's buttons but she was the first one to put Leonard or Howard in their place if they were less than patient with him. Then again she hadn't lived with Sheldon for seven years either.

Penny knew that Leonard was still upset because she turned down his request for a last hurrah in the sack before leaving for 3 months. She was relieved and sad all at once that they were going.

"Hey, don't hog Penny" Howard says as he reaches out to her for a hug/grope good bye.

"That's not a hug! That's my ass your grabbing!" Penny nailed Howard in the arm and he yelped and laughed as he tried and failed to jump out of the way of the oncoming punch.

Penny turned to Raj. "Try and keep them from killing each other, will you?" Then she kissed him on the cheek and laughed. He blushed giving her a nod and a wink. "I'll have a grasshopper waiting for you when you get back" Penny hugged her arms to herself as she said "I'm going to miss all of you, but I'll hold the fort 'til you get back. I've got your e-mails and you can text right?"

"Texting maybe iffy but we can send and receive e-mails" piped up Howard from the other side of Raj, while Leonard added with a nod, "we'll let you know when we get there". He hugged her hard and she had to push away before he let go.

"Good Lord!" Sheldon quipped. "We're going to miss the plane if we stand around here any longer pacifying Penny's need for drama!"

"Yep" she said popping the "p". "I'll miss you to, Moonpie"

"He's right though, you guys better get a move on." She reached up on tip toe and gave Sheldon a quick peck on one cheek as she pat the other one. "Don't worry Sheldon. Everything here will be just as you left it, waiting on your return"

Sheldon reached up to grab at Penny's hand with exasperation, "Penny, Please, I postulate that you find yourself sad due to our departure and your approaching loneliness... but that still is no reason... to... invade... my personal space!" He gave her hand a squeeze and didn't let go until the end of his luke warm rant.

The other three didn't notice, they were used to Sheldon and Penny's bickering and they were gathering up what gear to carry on the plane. So they don't see Sheldon turn pink or the thoughtful and surprised look Penny was giving him.

"Call me, and let me know when to come get you." She waved until they passed through the gate and down the corridor out of sight, boarding the plane.

She woke up later that night startled out of a dream-memory of the look in Sheldon's eyes while he held her hand. It was only for a moment but he didn't toss her hand down. He held it and squeezed it gently. What the hell? There was no bite to his words and his eyes... his eyes were puzzled and startled and she could swear he looked confused.

LPOV

"Damn it Sheldon" Leonard thought spitefully. Now the last picture of Penny in his head included that lanky know it all. She wasn't smiling down at him but up into Sheldon's face….. Touching Sheldon's hands… Making Sheldon blush…. He wasn't so sure any more about the last part. Sheldon was asexual. He didn't react to women though they reacted to him. Women and undergrads at Caltech (albeit psychos) flocked to him.

'Including Penny!' whispers the mean little voice in his head.

"arghhhhhhh"

"Do you have any idea how much stress planes are repeatedly subjected to, with the increase and decrease of air pressure on the structure from within and without?" Sheldon randomly freaking wondered out loud. God…how long was this flight again?

Howard interrupted him, "Hey Sheldon, We know that you have an IQ of 187 but I'm an engineer. It's my job to know these things and both Raj and Leonard can also run the data and do the math...

Sheldon sliced his hand down in front of Leonard towards Howard effectively cutting him off.

"And yet you all still fly..."

"You cannot take a train to the Arctic, Sheldon. This is the only route there is to get you to your samples and data" Raj interjected.

Why had they signed on to this expedition? Was it Prestige? To have the honor of their names being associated with the GREAT Sheldon Lee Cooper PhD, PhD, Ma, ad nausum? He hated to admit it but, Sheldon was truly a genius' genius and it was common knowledge that Caltech wanted the Kudos of associating and sponsoring a future Nobel laureate.

Leonard wandered if Howard brought a few bottles of his mother's Valium,'...ah damn... the things he would do for a little scientific recognition.

SPOV

Three weeks into the expedition and my excitement should know no bounds, it has ever been thus when intellect is seduced by the allure to understand the unknown.

That being as it may I find my gratification, marred with as of yet unnamed ailment. Symptoms include aching joints, restlessness and ill humor with bouts of insomnia. I thought at first I was experiencing stomach cramps, but increasing my intake of calories has exposed said symptom as hunger pangs. My REM's cycles are interrupted by intense sexually charged dreams and on three occasions night emissions have occurred. I am unable to give the physical matter to much contemplation as most of my focus is on my research.

June 12th, 2009

I awoke again from flashes of golden blond hair,nibbling lips, green eyes ,warm skin, phantom hands that roamed and though I've awoken spent again there is no satiation. There is just this unsatisfied predilection and a broken REM cycle. I have compartmentalized my sudden preoccupation with all forms of coitus and dare I say…. Penny. I have had to schedule time in the evenings 2hrs to meditate on these new and terrifying emotions. My eidetic memory bombards me with pictures and senses of her. I can feel her hand in mine as surely as if I held it this instant. I can smell her cherry blossom and almond lotion as if she was standing before me. I can hear voice as if she just called me Moonpie.

Every kindness, every little touch comes readily and unbidden to mind. Her irritating habits are interlaced with all of it. I used to think of Penny as a true and dedicated friend of worthy note. A very messy, very dramatic friend of worthy note. How can I go back to that now? It seems a…..romantic idea….. but for some reason Meemaw's favorite quote comes to me "never to be wasted the miracle of another human being".

Now as to why that quote surfaces... well, I'll leave that for future contemplation.

Through Kohlinar, I relive our farewell in order to comprehend and become one with these new emotions and sensations. I have thoroughly recounted this anomaly 2312 times and am no closer to sagacity than I started. I am having better results with my research on monopoles some promising data is becoming more prevalent and I may prove my theory sooner than I thought.

I've already begun to outline my premise and so I can get back to Pasadena where I believe I will find my answers... Good Lord! I have to have those answers I must be able to control myself. I've got to get hold of myself, my focus is fractured, only my intellect and my self-discipline will see me through to winning my Nobel Prize. I will not win it if reflections of Penny randomly intrude upon my awareness like this as I bend my intellect to proving String Theory.'

June 25th, 2009

'I am most pleased to report that I have had yet another quantum leap in thought and conclude that I must speak with Penny. She is the logical choice her being a self-proclaimed "Big Ole 5" and should be able to provide insights I lack in this area of my development. Upon reaching a solution I close this avenue of thought and remand myself over to calculating Maxwell equations while reconciling Dirac's monopole solution for half an hour hindered by a further lack of data. I must now bring myself to review new and unsettling data of my physical being. We have conducted the mandatory mid-term physicals and my results are disconcerting at best my premature death at worst. I must confess that at first I had thought that Leonard, Wolowitz and Koothrapali had been pranking me by shortening my pants and taking in the seams of the rest of my clothing. I was mistaken. I have gained 35lbs of muscle. I surmise that this is due to my workout regimen and physical exertion out on the field. There is also the increase in of calories mention previously. It's more than I expected but nothing can account for the two inches growth in height nor the added inch in length and 3/4 in girth of my penis. I related this confusing and distressing news to my Meemaw in an e-mail. I wouldn't want her to be struck low by my sudden demise, better to give her some warning.'

June 30th, 2009

My Dearest MoonPie,

I know it sounds highly improbable but the symptoms you wrote in your last e-mail ... well, son, it sounds like you're going through puberty a second time. If the blood work doesn't show any pathogens, then I would remind you what your Papaw taught you about "Occam's Razor". Your great uncle Ezra remarked on something close to what you have told me a few family reunions ago. So I got hold him last night and gave him the low down on your check-up. He says the same thing happened to him about age 33. He didn't even have hair on his chest 'til then, that's right about when he met your Great Aunt Sarah. I had to change the subject Honey. He's taken to drinkin' since she past, so there's no tellin' how accurate his memory is. I would have put it down to a sweet old man's alcoholic story tellin but your news may point to it a family quirk. Try not to over think this, MoonPie. Hopefully you will let this piece of family trivia ease your mind a bit until you get back to the states for the full medical work up I know you'll insist on. your Mommas doin' fine and your sister, well you know your sister. She's keepin body and soul together and the drama that follows that child would give old Bill Shakespeare a run for his money. I love you, MoonPie, I've always known you're gonna change the world. I will talk to you soon. I've sent you a care package let me know when it arrives.

P.S.
Honey, are you and Penny fussin' at each other again. I noticed you haven't mentioned her since you got down there. iffen you are, remember friendships need tendin' even when you're not there in body, She must be awfully lonely since you all packed up to the Arctic.

Head Hand & Heart
All my love,
MeeMaw.

HPOV

'It's not my imagination, Sheldon has gotten taller! His plaid pants are sitting above his ankles, and yesterday his khaki pants are too short. Even Sheldon doesn't wear high waters. Lately he has a secretive gleam in his eyes. I'm thinking he suspects us... He comes into the common area, stares at us like he's got something to say, just to abruptly turn back to his lab muttering under his breath... and what the hell is that about ... Sheldon articulates precisely, enunciating each syllable of every word so his intended victim has no doubts as to Sheldon's intent. He's too meticulous to have let his clothes shrink... my clothes all still fit...

I'm starting to regret going along with Leonard's plan to sabotage Sheldon's research by playing with the Can opener. Sheldon seems calmer thinking that this is proof his theory is correct but then he'll tear off and not be seen again until it's time for our scheduled experiments and then he's his old dictatorial self. I still think we could explain his death by exposure... Mother is nagging me from Pasadena... Better the devil you know ...hah... my tuchus out of the frying pan and into the fire... ahh here's Raj

"Hey Raj which way did Leonard go..."

"He saw Sheldon heading out. I think he's positioning himself by that blasted can opener again. You know there are not enough strikes that will make up for this when Sheldon finds out... and he will find out... Dude... I think he's been away from his routines and his 'spot' his programming has a glitch..." Raj's words come out rapid fire in his panic, "Dude we have to stop this or we're the ones that are going to be found dead by hypothermia and he's...

"RAJ" Howard shouted, breaking through Koothrapali's panic attack. "Look man, we can't back out now... first of all, Leonard will never allow it and second, I want more room to run when Sheldon is apprised of his false findings...

" Howard I do not want to be on Evil Sheldon's hit list... he's going to make us wish our grieving mothers never bore us... and did you see his test results from the mid-term physicals? According to the numbers, he's gained 35 lbs and has seemingly grown 2 more inches... like 6'2 wasn't tall enough... Leonard thinks it's a typo..."

Howard broke into Raj's rant "No man it isn't a typo, all his pants are to tight and to short and he's starting to look like The Hulk right before he splits the seams of his clothes! And I've got a theory about all this never ending day light coupled with the stronger magnetic field. It increases the Homo Novus male's size so that it fit's his enormous ego he can take over the world." Wolowitz grinned when he said it but his eyes belied his words.

'Dude, we are so screwed..." Raj pinched the bridge of his nose and said a small prayer.

"Oh, Lakshmi, Granter of all good luck... I beg you... please let my little brown butt get back to civilization in one piece and I will stop pestering you about my parents!"

I would like to thank all the fans that commented on my first two chapters!
You all helped me realize that I wanted this tale to be better that what was first submitted. So here is the revision of Ch.1. Ch.2 is almost finished and Ch.3 has been a challenge but should be uploaded by the end of this week. I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, I just thought you deserved better than mediocre!