Shenny at the Movies: Groundhog Day Chapter 1, a big bang theory fanfic

A/N: I was cleaning out my hd when I came across this one. It's undergone a revamp and it's not complete (and I don't know when I'll get around to it since I'm not supposed to be doing this anymore [take the hint, Lynn!]), but here's the start. As it is a movie cover, I thought to add it to the 'Shenny At The Movies' challenge. *Lynn

Of course I don't own The Big Bang Theory. I just like playing in their world.

XXX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

"Good Lord," he breathed. Quickly he popped out of bed and threw on his housecoat before dashing into the living room. He hopped over the train tracks that lay to the left of the couch and grabbed the remote. Turning on the tv he switched to BBC America—Doctor Who had just started. "Drat." Granted he'd only missed the opening credits which were the exact same every episode of the current season but it was the principle of the thing. Every action on Saturday morning was precise so as to have an optimal viewing experience. So things would be different this morning. It couldn't be so bad, right?

"I am the master of my own bladder." As he watched Sheldon unconsciously crossed his legs. After a few minutes and with lips pursed he began walking backwards to the washroom so he could keep viewing the show as long as possible before darting inside. His business conducted, he rushed back into the living room and sat in his spot.

A twitch crossed his face. He began to fidget. With a disgruntled sigh he got up and angled the television screen so it faced the kitchen counter. Again he walked backwards until he reached the refrigerator. With precision he gathered the bowl, spoon, cereal and milk and assembled his breakfast without looking. He didn't have to—habitual movements aside he had an eidetic memory. Once learned, he never forgot a fact or phrase or location. Granted, he might not grasp everything but with an IQ of one hundred and eighty seven that amount was minute as far as he was concerned. So what if he was virtually clueless about sarcasm and emotional exchanges? They had nothing to do with particle physics so were irrelevant.

Cereal in hand, he returned to his spot after moving the television back to its original position. Now settled, he sighed contentedly and watched his program.

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker. The pot was empty. He groaned.

"Damn power outage." He switched on the coffee maker and slumped into the easy chair to watch the ending of Doctor Who.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate.

"You do realize you've ruined your future viewing experience by watching the climax of the story," he tutted.

"Not true," Leonard countered. "In fact it gives me the opportunity to appreciate the minor details which are usually overwhelmed by the plot."

Sheldon snorted. "Plot is paramount, Leonard. Nuances are like sprinkles on a sugar cookie—oh sure they may look nice but are irrelevant when it comes to overall taste."

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded. She had gotten up to use the washroom and nearly had kittens when she saw her alarm clock flashing. Since she wanted the evening off to go with the guys to see the July Fourth fireworks she'd taken an early shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

"Coming up," Leonard smiled. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare two cups.

Penny leaned against the counter. "Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty."

Leonard handed her a cup. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"Yes, why be silly enough to stay within the vicinity of Pasadena to watch fireworks when we can travel two hours and view a virtually identical light show?" Sheldon said dourly.

"Aww, what's wrong with you, Moonpie?" Penny asked.

Sheldon scowled. "Don't call me Moonpie. Only Meemaw calls me that."

"Be nice. There's a rule about breaking Sheldon before noon," Leonard said with a smirk.

Penny smiled in return. "Now you know why I start my day at eleven."

Sheldon frowned at the whole exchange. This day was getting worse and worse. First he woke up late for Doctor Who and now he had to deal with Penny. Later he'd be subjected to a two hour car ride with Leonard, Howard and Raj to some ungodly destination just so they could watch fireworks. All of this seemed a gross waste of time. What he'd rather do was work on his Higgs boson problem.

A thought came to him and he brightened up. "Penny, what time are you leaving for the fireworks?"

She leaned her back against the counter. "I'm hoping around three thirtyish so we can have dinner and look around before the show starts."

"Perfect. I have some work I'd like to complete this afternoon and three thirty would be an acceptable departure time." Penny nearly spit out her coffee.

"You're coming with me?" she sputtered.

"Why not? It allows me to work on my project and gives you the added benefit of companionship on the drive." Sheldon gave a twitchy smile. Penny closed her eyes and drank deeply from her cup.

Leonard did his best to suppress his smile. "Well if you're sure that's what you want to do." A whole day without Sheldon. He couldn't believe his good fortune.

Penny sighed. "Counting the seconds, Sheldon."

Sheldon got up and headed towards the sink. "Did you know that the 'second' as an international unit of time is defined in terms of radiation emitted by caesium atoms?"

"Can't say I did."

"Well it's not surprising given your upbringing. I imagine time was something measured by the sowing and harvesting of crops, the crowing of a rooster and your menstrual cycle."

"Excuse me?" Penny gasped.

"While Pasadena lacks the crop rotation and the call of Gallus gallus domesticus your menstrual cycle has been extremely punctual as can be seen on the apartment calendar." Sheldon paused as he rinsed out his bowl. "I suppose this has more to do with birth control medication than natural rhythm." Penny looked to Leonard in shock. "However, given your life choices birth control is a sound idea."

"Life choices?"

Sheldon put the bowl and spoon into the drain rack. "Your penchant for picking up a multitude of strange men in bars for the purposes of coitus."

"Goodbye Sheldon," Penny snapped as she made for the door.

"I'll expect you between three fifteen and three thirty," Sheldon managed to slip in before the door closed.

Leonard shook his head in disgust. "You're something else."

"What?" Sheldon asked, puzzled.

"First you ask her for a ride then you bring up her menses cycle and sexual practices." Leonard put down his mug and made for the bathroom.

"I was merely attempting to engage Penny in conversation. You said in the interest of social conformity I'm to make my requests sound less like demands," Sheldon replied. He really didn't see where Leonard was going with this.

"The only thing you're engaging is her temper," Leonard warned.

"Which according to the calendar shouldn't be volatile until the twenty second."

Leonard didn't dignify that with an answer and shut the bathroom door.

XxX

Sheldon leaned back in the seat and held his breath as Penny changed lanes to pass the sedan.

"'Resume breathing, Scotty.' 'Aye, aye, Captain,'" she chuckled. Sheldon pursed his lips but his wide eyes didn't leave the road until their vehicle returned to their lane.

"The driver's manual states passing left of a centerline is not permitted thirty meters from a viaduct, tunnel or in this case, bridge," he said in a shaky voice.

"How many feet is thirty meters?"

"Ninety eight point four three."

Penny's tongue plucked the side of her cheek. "Yeah, ok, I'd say we were within a hundred feet. Huh. Now I'll know for next time."

Sheldon was incredulous. "'Now you'll know?' What kind of driver training did you receive in Nebraska?"

"I drove a tractor and pickup truck before I was sixteen. I'm a good driver," Penny replied.

"That we haven't died in a ball of fire doesn't mean your driving skills are sound. Besides passing before a bridge you changed lanes without signaling, crowded another vehicle's bumper and continue to drive ten to fifteen miles over the speed limit," Sheldon cited.

Penny took a moment to glare at her passenger. "You want to walk, Sheldon?"

A twitch passed over his lips. "In case the question isn't rhetorical I'll answer 'no'."

"Then zip it."

The car was silent.

"Leonard and I play games in order to pass the time," Sheldon said in an enthusiastic tone. "We could revisit the periodic element game where you say an element and I try to say another using the last letter of your—"

"No thanks," Penny said.

Again the car was silent.

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Two atoms were walking across a road when one of them said, "I think I lost an electron!" "Really!" the other replied, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I 'm absolutely positive."" Silence. "An atom without an electron is electrically positive."

"Ah."

"Here's one in the spirit of our little expedition: Heisenberg went for a drive and got stopped by a traffic cop. The cop asked, "Do you know how fast you were going?" Heisenberg replied, "No, but I know where I am."" Sheldon laughed. He looked to Penny who was shaking her head with a smirk on her face.

"I'm surprised you know the Heisenberg uncertainty principle," he said.

"The what?"

"The Heisenberg— Good Lord, Penny, the joke. Why were you smiling if you didn't get it?"

Penny shrugged. "I was smiling at you. It's not often you laugh without sounding smug. It's nice."

Sheldon paused as a flush brushed his cheeks. "According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, you cannot simultaneously know both your position and speed. Hence the driver couldn't know how fast he was going since he knew where he was."

"That's clever," Penny said with a grin.

"Indeed."

"Got any more?"

Sheldon glanced out the side window. "There's no point in telling jokes if you don't get them."

Silence in the car.

Miles passed before Sheldon turned to Penny. "Maybe we'll engage in frivolous chit-chat instead. So how was your day?"

Penny sighed. "Brutal. Lots of customers. Lots of demands. Little to show for it, tip-wise. God, I'll have to borrow rent money from Leonard again. I just can't seem to get ahead in my bills, y'know?"

Sheldon gave a smarmy smirk. "Well that's what you get for not pursuing post secondary education."

"Not everyone's a genius like you," Penny muttered.

"I'd have to lose IQ points to rank as a genius, but I agree with the sentiment."

She rolled her eyes. "And don't forget humble."

"I'm not bragging," Sheldon said earnestly. "My achievements are both merited and expected given my superior abilities."

"Well it sure sounds like bragging," Penny smirked. "Must be a tone thing."

"It might sound like bragging to you because you've never done anything of significance," Sheldon said with a shrug. "I imagine achievement in any form must seem a massive undertaking." Penny turned on the radio. "I don't like country music."

"I know."

Sheldon glanced at Penny before turning his head to look out the side window.

XxX

Sheldon frowned as the car began to slow down. The trip, complete with its country music serenade, was already long enough without stretching it further.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm not doing anything."

He looked out the window. "We're slowing down."

"I know we're slowing down, ok?" At the sound of Penny's panicked voice Sheldon felt his heart rate increase. Quickly he looked for a clearing on the side of the road.

"You can pull off in about fourteen meters," he said.

Penny checked her mirrors and put on her hazard lights as she angled the car off the roadway. The car came to a stop and Penny put it into park. She looked at Sheldon and pressed the accelerator; the car sounded anything but healthy. Fearing to do any more damage she shut off the engine and sat back in her seat with a groan.

"Unbelievable."

"Hardly unbelievable. This is the direct result of you ignoring your 'check engine' light for months on end," he tutted.

"Yeah but why now?" she growled as she undid her seatbelt. Both occupants got out of the car.

"Why not now? It was only a matter of time before this occurred." He paused. "What is truly unfortunate is that I have to be here."

"Amen, brother." Sheldon scowled at her. "Ok now shush. I'm calling AAA."

Sheldon sighed as he pulled out his phone and texted Leonard the news. Waiting for a response, he thought back to the last interchange sign on the highway. As far as mileage they were just over half way to their destination so it seemed logical they'd be towed to the nearest service station as opposed to home.

Leonard texted back whether they wanted him to pick them up. Sheldon said no—they had to stick with the vehicle until they knew where it was going. Once he knew where it was they could make plans for Leonard to retrieve them.

"Crap on a cracker," Penny said as she hung up her phone. "We've got at least an hour and a half before a truck arrives."

Sheldon sighed. This day was just getting better and better.

XxX

"I thought we'd never get home," Penny sighed as Sheldon and she made it to their landing.

Sheldon dashed to his door and quickly entered his apartment. He hurried to his whiteboard and began scrawling out a formula. Leonard heard the door shut and came out of his bedroom.

"Glad you got back. How's the—"

Sheldon held out a finger to shush his roommate as he continued writing furiously. Once finished he stepped back and smirked as both he and Leonard read over the formula.

"That's brilliant," gushed Leonard.

"The headlights coming in the opposite direction got me thinking about how to better determine the mass of the Higgs boson. Since it has a number of indirect effects in the Standard Model using something like the Fermi constant to effect precision measurements of electroweak parameters should be able to constrain the mass of the Higgs."

Leonard slowly shook his head. "Amazing."

"Isn't it?" Sheldon said with a grin.

After grabbing a quick shower and changing into his pajamas Sheldon made himself a sandwich and watched the last half hour of Deep Space Nine before retiring to his room. He turned off the light and settled into his bed; his hands smoothening out the sheets before resting on his chest. While this had all the makings of being an absolutely dreadful day tonight's revelation more than made up for all his trouble. Sheldon sighed peacefully as he closed his eyes. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

"Huh. Two days in a row at exactly the same time." His mind clicked into gear and calculated the odds as he got up and attended to his bathroom needs. Afterwards he prepared his cereal and sat in his spot to watch Star Trek on TiVo.

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the living room. He stopped in his tracks when he saw what was on the television.

"How come you're not watching Doctor Who?" he asked.

"Why would I?" Sheldon replied as he stared at the screen.

"Because it's Saturday and you've watched it every single Saturday for as long as I've known you," Leonard said as he went towards the coffee maker. The pot was empty. He groaned. "Damn power outage." He switched on the coffee maker and slumped into the easy chair to watch the ending of Star Trek.

"Last night's fireworks must have caused a seizure. If your confusion doesn't subside I'd consult a doctor. And no, I don't mean a Time Lord."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Whatever Sheldon." This was way too early for him to put up with one of Sheldon's tangents. "You don't want to watch Doctor Who, that's fine."

Sheldon pursed his lips as he grabbed the remote. "You're in sore need of a Pope Gregory the Thirteenth to correct your Lunar calendar. While the eleven minute error accumulated into roughly three days every four centuries yours seems to have spontaneously accelerated to—" He casually clicked over to BBC America and saw Doctor Who. It took him a moment to sort out what he was seeing. "This is the same episode as yesterday. I didn't know they repeated the same episode twice on the weekend."

Leonard regarded his roommate. "What are you talking about?"

Sheldon fidgeted in agitation. "This is the one where the Doctor encounters the Rutans near the end of their war with the Sontarans."

"Have you been reading the Doctor Who blogs again?"

"Of course not," Sheldon said indignantly. "You know I don't like spoilers. In this case my information doesn't constitute an unauthorized divulgence of detail because the episode has already aired."

"Oh yes. 'Yesterday'." Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Why do you seem so skeptical of the idea?"

"Probably because we were at work yesterday. You drove me nuts at lunch when you completely trashed my experiment. You continued to badger me all the way home, during which time we had to stop at Pottery Barn to exchange your Star Wars towels and the Hobby Shop to pick up your railroad crossing signs."

"I had to return the towels. I couldn't bear wiping my hands on Darth Vader and I refuse to dry my face on the accompanying Jar Jar Binks towel," pouted Sheldon.

"Why not reverse them?" Leonard stretched as he let out a yawn.

"The Jar Jar towel wouldn't wear evenly as all my attention would be on trying to rub out his picture. Besides, Vader doesn't like getting wet."

Leonard grinned. "And you'd get anagrammed all over your face. You know, Sith." Sheldon scowled in response as he got up to wash his cereal bowl.

"As for the crossing signs, they had to be purchased as soon as possible to prevent an accident in the living room. I'm sure the last thing you'd want is blood on your hands, Leonard."

"I still don't see why you couldn't have gotten the stuff on Sunday," Leonard yawned.

Sheldon rinsed his bowl and put it in the drain rack. "Because the Hobby Shop's closed today."

"Everything's closed today," corrected Leonard. "I said Sunday."

"Leonard—"

"Never mind. I forgot it's 'Sunday'."

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded.

"Coming up," smiled Leonard. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare two cups.

"Not watching Doctor Who?" said Penny as she leaned against the counter.

"It's on Saturdays Penny," tutted Sheldon.

She started to say something but stopped. "Too early for crazy, Sheldon." She took the cup of coffee from Leonard. "Anyways, I'll be finished at three so I'll be there around five thirty."

"Another outing? Your manager is being reasonable letting you change shifts two days in a row," Sheldon said as he watched the tv.

Penny turned to Leonard. "What's he talking about? "

"Today's Sunday didn't you know" Leonard smirked. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed. Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Aww, what's wrong with you, Moonpie?"

He scowled. "Don't call me Moonpie. Only Meemaw calls me that."

"Be nice. There's a rule about breaking Sheldon before noon," Leonard snorted.

Penny smiled in return. "Now you know why I start my day at eleven."

Sheldon frowned as his friends completed their exchange.

"Well isn't this strange. I seem to be experiencing a repeat occurrence. We had this conversation yesterday." He paused to think before turning to Penny. "Of course given your limited knowledge base and the number of times Leonard has engaged you in chit chat there's a possibility you've run out of something new to say and I can look forward to many more moments of repeated dialogue." Both Penny and Leonard gave him a dark look. "It was only a matter of time."

Sheldon got up and headed towards the sink. "As you recall from yesterday the caesium atom defines the 'second' as an international unit of time. This refers to the atom at a temperature of 0 K or absolute zero in layman's terms. As I doubt you're aware absolute zero implies no movement and therefore zero external radiation effects."

"Whatever, Sheldon," Penny replied before stopping short. "Wait a minute I didn't see you yesterday."

"Of course you did. We were off to see the fireworks only your alternator blew so we spent time at a garage before returning home." Penny looked to Leonard for help. "Well it's not surprising you lose track of days given your lifestyle. I imagine time is a rather vague reference in a near constant state of inebriation."

"Excuse me?"

"While you manage to hold down a job, albeit menial, your penchant for alcohol consumption as a means of recreation dangerously parallels the lifestyle of someone addicted to said alcohol." Sheldon paused as he rinsed his glass. "I suppose this has more to do with growing up in a farming community. Given the limited prospects for having a meaningful life, alcohol provides a comfort."

"Meaningful life?" Penny growled.

Sheldon put the glass in the drain rack. "Surely you can't be deluded enough to think the world revolves around your shifts at The Cheesecake Factory."

"Goodbye Sheldon," Penny snapped as she made for the door.

Leonard shook his head in disgust after their neighbor left. "You're something else."

"What?" Sheldon asked.

"First you essentially call her stupid then you say her life's meaningless." Leonard put down his mug and made for the bathroom.

"I was merely attempting to engage Penny in—" Sheldon looked at his whiteboard and noticed his equation from last night was absent. "What happened to my formula?! Leonard, someone touched my board!"

Leonard stopped in the hall and hung his head. He walked back to the whiteboard. "It looks the same to me."

"No, last night when we got home I wrote down my solution for determining the mass of the Higgs boson. You said it was brilliant"—at this Leonard started walking down the hall—"and I said I got the idea from watching the headlights and—"

"Sheldon," Leonard said as he turned the corner. "Like Penny said—too early for crazy. It was all a dream, ok? Today's July Fourth. We're going to see the fireworks tonight."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you keep insisting it's Saturday. Your prank has been a failure from the outset thus does not merit a continuance."

Needing to reset the dvd and vcr clocks Sheldon turned on the television to get the correct time from the virtual guide.

"July Fourth. Seven forty three am. Odd," he murmured to himself. He shifted the channel to CNN—'Saturday Express' was on the air. He clicked the remote again and again: CBS This Morning—Saturday; Fox Morning—Saturday.

"Must have been a dream," he said, stunned. He'd never had one so vivid before. The last one that came even close involved Meemaw baking cookies. When he woke he could have sworn he could smell them in the air. He heard Leonard in the hall. "Apparently you were correct. Today is Saturday."

"Glad we have that settled," said Leonard with a towel over his shoulder. "The last thing we need is bat-ass crazy Sheldon on the loose."

Sheldon scowled. "I might not know the day but I'm definite in stating you have seventeen minutes in the washroom before my prescheduled bowel movement takes place."

XxX

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

"What a surprise, Penny's late," he murmured to himself as he stared at his formula on the whiteboard. She couldn't even keep time in his dreams much less manifest this ability in the physical. He opened his apartment door and put on his windbreaker before returning his attention to his board.

Penny opened her door and saw the guys' door similarly open. She took up the baseball bat she kept beside the door and went across the hall.

"Sheldon, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Waiting for you." He capped his marker and put it back on the ledge.

"Me?" Penny's mouth dropped as comprehension came to her. "You mean you're coming with me?"

"As we're already fifteen minutes behind schedule I can only hope we're leaving," Sheldon replied as he slung his messenger bag across his shoulder.

Penny rolled her eyes. "And to think I've got two hours of 'vintage Sheldon Cooper whimsy' to go."

"Relativity in the making as time will seemingly pass at a faster rate than it actually is," Sheldon replied as he locked the door. They began walking down the stairs.

"I'll be happy if it passes at its actual rate."

Sheldon looked at her wide-eyed. "It does pass at its actual rate. There's only the illusion that—Penny were you even listening to me?"

Penny smirked. "From time to time—relatively speaking."

There was a pause as he looked at her in surprise.

XxX

"Unbelievable."

"Hardly unbelievable. This is the direct result of you ignoring your 'check engine' light for months on end," he tutted.

"Yeah but why now?" she growled as she undid her seatbelt. Both occupants got out of the car.

"Fascinating," said Sheldon.

"What is?" asked Penny as she dialed. "Just a sec." She held up a finger as he began to speak. "Calling AAA."

Sheldon pulled out his phone and texted Leonard the news. Waiting for a response, he gazed at his surroundings and was amazed at how similar they were to his dream. Every detail from the last interchange sign on the highway to the marshy strip next to the car was nearly identical. A nagging voice told him it was identical but Sheldon dismissed it. It couldn't be identical although the chances the scenario would play out as uncannily as it had to his dream were already slim.

"Crap on a cracker," Penny said as she hung up her phone.

"An hour and a half?" Sheldon asked.

"Yup." She got into the car and rolled the window down. Sheldon did the same.

Penny sat in dejected silence until she heard her friend's gaspy laugh. "What?"

"It's nothing," he replied. "Well unless you're familiar with the concept of Newtonian Time."

"Might as well spell it out, Sheldon. If there's anything we've got it's time."

He settled back in his seat. "According to Newton, time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe where events occur in sequence. Time travel is therefore possible since time exists like frames of a film strip. One merely has to access a particular frame and events will repeat themselves."

"So what brought this on?"

"I had what appears to be a very detailed dream last night and I'm finding that similar events are occurring in real life."

"Ah, like déjà vu," Penny nodded.

Sheldon snorted. "Déjà vu would imply I'm certain I'd already experienced a current situation. If there's anything I'm 'certain' of it's that déjà vu is an anomaly of memory giving the false impression that an experience is being recalled."

Penny reclined her seat. "So you're saying you think you experienced this before but really you didn't?"

"According to psychologist Edward B. Titchener déjà vu is caused by a person getting a brief glimpse of an object or situation prior to full conscious perception, resulting in a false sense of familiarity."

"So what things are you repeating from your dream?" she asked.

He took a moment to think. "I recall hearing exact dialogue and I knew your car would break down thanks to a broken alternator."

"Wow," Penny breathed. "You know you're right, this isn't déjà vu. It's a psychic dream."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Good Lord."

XxX

"I thought we'd never get home," Penny sighed as Sheldon and she made it to their landing.

Sheldon dashed to his door and quickly entered his apartment. He hurried to his whiteboard and began scrawling out a formula. Leonard heard the door shut and came out of his bedroom.

"Glad you—"

Sheldon held out a finger to shush his roommate as he read over his formula.

"It's brilliant," Leonard gushed.

"It is, isn't it?" Sheldon smirked.

After grabbing a quick shower and changing into his pajamas he made himself a sandwich before retiring to his room. He turned off the light and settled into his bed, his hands smoothening out the sheets before resting on his chest. There was no doubt the day was unsettling. His mind recalled the multitude of duplicate moments—although he had the sneaking suspicion it would be easier counting the moments of diversion from his 'dream'. Sheldon sighed as he closed his eyes. Hopefully tomorrow would give him some answers.

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

He knew he was in trouble.

XxX

Wikipedia: Newtonian Time; Déjà Vu