The Big Bang Theory / Once Upon A Time

Crossover Fanfiction

The Evil Queen Meets Mr. Spock

Disclaimer:

"The Big Bang Theory" is owned and created by Chuck Lorre. "Once Upon A Time" is owned and created by the team of Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. And "Star Trek," of course, is the creation of Gene Roddenberry. I am just a hobbyist, and I own nothing. I'm just having fun with the characters from the various storyverses that I am using in this work of fanfiction.

I hope that this is a sufficient disclaimer.

Historian's note: This story takes place in October 2011, during Season 5 of "The Big Bang Theory."

In "Once Upon A Time," Mary Margaret Blanchard is just about to give Henry a book that she found in her closet; a book that will change the lives of everyone in the town of Storybrooke.

As an episode of "Once Upon A Time," the Title Card will depict the "Animated Atom" from "The Big Bang Theory" spinning in the center of the blue forest setting.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C. Clarke

Part One: The Mysterious Town

Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, Howard and Penny are in Maine to attend the biggest Star Trek Convention to be held on the Eastern Seaboard in decades, and the guys have gone all out! Upon their arrival at Bangor airport, they picked up the white minivan that they rented for the occasion, and added the magnetic stickers they brought along to make the van look like the USS Enterprise Shuttlecraft "Galileo 7." They then changed into their Original Series Star Fleet Uniforms, and set out to the site of the convention.

Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, wearing a Command Gold shirt, activated the GPS, and pulled onto the highway. To his right sat Howard Wolowitz, also wearing Command Gold. Directly behind them sat Dr. Sheldon Cooper in Science Blue with prosthetic pointed ears to make him resemble Spock as much as possible. Sheldon's expression was stoically Vulcan as he monitored the device that he brought along with him to work on for the Caltech Department of Physics. Sitting to Sheldon's right was Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, who wore an Original Series Klingon Uniform.

Behind them in the third seat was Penny. The pretty blonde was casually dressed in jeans and a red tank-top. Sadly for her, both Amy and Bernadette had to cancel at the last minute, leaving her alone with the guys, who were periodically chiding her for not dressing "appropriately" for the occasion.

After being on the interstate for less than half an hour, the GPS directed them to pull off the highway. Now they drove through a seemingly endless stretch of road in rural Maine, lined with trees and farmland that seemed to go on forever.

"The GPS says that we need to follow this road for about 45 minutes before our next turnoff," said Leonard.

"You mean that the navigational computer indicates that we need to continue on this heading for 45 minutes before our next coordinate change," said Sheldon as he continued to monitor the device that he brought along.

"Uh, yeah, Sheldon," said Leonard smiling. "Whatever . . . ."

"I can't wait!" said Howard with barely contained excitement. "Shatner, Nimoy, Koenig, Takai, Nichols . . . . Everyone is going to be there!"

"And we are all dressed for the occasion!" added Leonard. "Except for . . . ."

Howard shook his head, looked back at Penny, and said, "Would it really have killed you to put on something "Star Trek" related, Penny?" If not a Starfleet uniform; then why not consider wearing a nice little number from the William Ware Thiess collection?"

"Who is he?" said Penny, not looking up from one of the "US" magazines that she brought along with her to pass the time on the trip. "I've never heard of him, and I'm pretty sure that I know all of the latest fashion designers."

"William Ware Thiess was a costume designer for the Original Star Trek series," said Sheldon. "He was famous for coining the "Theiss Titillation Theory"—which claims that ". . . the degree to which a costume is considered sexy is directly proportional to how accident-prone it appears to be."

"Huh?" said Penny.

"In your parlance, it's "hot" if it looks like a "wardrobe malfunction" waiting to happen . . . ."

"Oh, I get it," said Penny.

"Here is a sample of his work," said Howard, passing his laptop to Raj who in turn passed it to Penny. "That's France Nuyen as Elaan of Troyus . . . ."

"Hmmm," said Penny. "Not bad . . . . It kind of looks like something that Nicki Minaj would wear on stage. But I'm not going to wear something like that in public!"

"But you'll look out of place in what you have on!" said Howard. Raj leaned forward and whispered something in Howard's ear. "Yes, I suppose that Penny could say that she is a visitor from the 21st Century . . . ."

"Guys, I agreed to come with you to the convention," said Penny. "But I did not agree to dress like a slut from the 25th Century . . . ."

"Actually, the Original "Star Trek" series was set in the 23rd Century," said Sheldon, still preoccupied with his device.

Curiosity got the better of Penny. "What is that thing that you brought with you, Sheldon?"

Although Penny was definitely not a "Star Trek" fan, she did have an eye for fashion and accessories. The device that Sheldon was so pre-occupied with looked high-tech enough. But stylistically, it looked out of place next to the toy phasers, tricorders and communicators that her friends carried with them as part of their costumes.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you, Penny," said Sheldon, not looking up.

Penny leaned forward, smiled and said, "Try me, Sheldon."

"If Sheldon won't try you," said Howard smiling from the front seat. "I'll be happy to . . . ."

"Dream on, Howard . . . ." Penny rolled her eyes, turned to Sheldon and said, "But I'm really interested, Sheldon. I mean, you seem so engrossed in whatever it is that you are doing, but it doesn't look, uh, "Star Trek-ish."

"Well, you don't look "Star Trek-ish" either, Penny," said Sheldon. "Not that I am complaining, mind you, but you really should have dressed for the occasion . . . ."

Raj leaned forward again to whisper something in Howard's ear. Howard said, "Yes, I think that Penny would look smokin' hot dressed as Nona the Kahn-ut-tu from "A Private Little War," or as Shanna the Drill Thrall from "The Gamesters of Triskellion."

"What are you talking about now?" said Penny. Raj pulled up pictures of Nancy Kovack and Angelique Pettyjohn in their "Star Trek" costumes on his iPad, and then handed it to Penny.

"Oh," said Penny, pointing to the photo of Nancy Kovack. "This one looks like something that Kim Kardashian might wear . . . ." She then raised her eyebrow at the other one. "You've got to be kidding about this one, though. Not even Lady Gaga would wear that!" She gave the iPad back to Raj.

"Will you all please be quiet!" said Sheldon. "I've just detected some anomalous energy readings on my QAD! I've never seen readings like this before, and I need to concentrate!"

"What's a QAD?" said Penny.

"A Quantum Anomaly Detector," said Sheldon. "I'm testing it out for the Caltech Physics Department and . . . guys, I'm getting some very strong readings here!"

"What kind of readings, Sheldon?" said Leonard.

"Unusual fluctuations in space-time," said Sheldon. "I'm going to switch from passive to active scanning mode. I'm sending out a phased, charged tachyon pulse to see if I can . . . ."

Leonard slammed on the brakes, stopping just in time before he rear-ended a black Mercedes at a stoplight. A thirtysomething woman with dark hair, who wore a 1980's style Yuppie "Power-Suit," got out of the Mercedes and was at Leonard's window in seconds, banging hard on the roof of the van until he lowered the window.

"Why don't you watch where you are going?" said the woman in a commanding voice. "You almost hit my car! You should pay more attention to . . . wait a minute! Who the hell are you? I've never seen any of you people in my town before . . . !"

"I-I was watching the road, Ma'am," stammered Leonard. "I don't know what happened! I never took my eyes off the road! One moment we were driving down a stretch of rural road and the next thing that I knew we were in the middle of a . . . a town?" Leonard glanced at the GPS. The screen was blank.

"I saw it too, Leonard," said Howard. "Somehow the woods turned into a town!"

"That's impossible!" said Penny. "Maybe we were so engrossed in our conversation about what I should wear at the convention that we just didn't notice that we drove into a town?"

Raj whispered something into Howard's ear, and Howard said, "Raj said that he just checked his iPad, Penny. He says there are no towns in this part of Maine on Google Earth!"

"Well, obviously the site you are on needs to be updated," said Sheldon. "Because this is definitely a town!"

Leonard leaned out the window to ask the woman where they were, but she was speaking briskly into her cellphone.

"Uh, guys?" said Penny nervously. "A cop car just pulled up behind us!"

Everyone looked back to see a man in a Sheriff's uniform get out of his car and walk over to the woman with the Mercedes. Penny had to admit that the man, who was rockin' a neatly trimmed beard and moustache was attractive, but this did nothing to assuage her nerves. She could have sworn that they had been driving in a wooded area that seemed to extend as far as the eye could see . . . .

"Sheriff Graham, these people nearly rear-ended my car," said the woman.

"But we didn't!" protested Leonard. "We stopped in time! We didn't hit your car!"

The Sheriff nodded, and with just a trace of an Irish accent, said, "Good afternoon, sir. May I see your license, registration and proof of Insurance, please?"

Leonard complied, handing the officer the documents he requested. "Excuse me, but could either of you tell us where we are?"

The woman gave him a hard look, and then said, "This is the town of Storybrooke. And I am the Mayor. My name is Regina Mills. And you all are in more trouble than you know . . . ." Mayor Mills spoke briefly again with the sheriff, then got back in her car and drove off.

The Sheriff of Storybrooke then instructed Leonard to follow him in their minivan to the Town Hall, where they would all meet in Mayor Mills' office to discuss the incident. When they got there, Mayor Mills was already sitting behind her desk. She rose from her seat when they were all in her office.

"Sheriff Graham," said Mayor Mills. "Leave us. Wait outside my door." The Sheriff executed a barely perceptible bow, and did as he was told. Mayor Mills scowled as she looked Leonard straight in his eyes. "Now, who are you people, and how did you get into my town?"

Leonard said, "Well, My name is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. This is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, Howard Wolowitz, and Penny –"

"Are you all medical doctors?" said Mayor Mills.

"Uh, no," said Leonard. "I'm a Doctor of Experimental Physics. Sheldon is a Doctor of Theoretical Physics and Raj is a Doctor of Particle Astrophysics. Howard is just an engineer –"

"With a Master's Degree in Engineering from MIT!" said Howard quickly.

Leonard rolled his eyes and continued, "And this is our friend, Penny."

"And I suppose that you are a doctor of some kind as well, young lady?" said Mayor Mills.

"Ah, no," said Penny. "I'm a waitress at the local Cheesecake Factory where we live."

"That's all very interesting," said Mayor Mills dryly. "Now, tell me: how did you people manage to enter Storybrooke?"

"Well, that's just it, ma'am," said Leonard. "We don't know. You see, we were driving down a rural road one moment, and then all of a sudden we found ourselves in the middle of a town that isn't on our GPS."

"So, you weren't looking where you were going . . . ?" said Mayor Mills. "You were all talking amongst yourselves and did not notice that you had entered my town?"

"No," said Leonard. "I mean, yes, we were all talking amongst ourselves. But my eyes never left the road."

"And neither did my eyes," added Howard with a dash of pride. "One second we were surrounded by trees and fields as far as we could see and then all of a sudden we were in an urban setting. We mere engineers do have eyes for details, you know . . . ."

"But what we cannot figure out is how it happened," said Sheldon. "I was monitoring my QAD at the time, so I did not see what actually did happen. I had just detected some unusual space-time fluctuations in the area that we were driving through, and I sent out a phased, charged tachyon pulse from my QAD –"

"It was like that scene in "Back to the Future," interrupted Howard. "You know, when Marty got the DeLorean to 88 mph and the flux-capacitor discharged. One moment he was in the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall and then suddenly he was in a farmer's field. The transition was pretty abrupt; just like someone had changed channels on a TV!"

Mayor Mills raised her eyebrow. "And what is this "QAD" that you are speaking of?"

"The "Quantum Anomaly Detector," or QAD," said Sheldon pedantically. "Is a device used for measuring anomalous fluctuations in the space-time continuum. Just prior to our entry into your town, I had detected some very unusual readings and was attempting to analyze them by sending out –"

"Stop right there . . . ," said Mayor Mills holding up her hand for silence. She then called Sheriff Graham back into her office, and instructed him to bring her the device that Sheldon described to her from the gang's minivan. Moments later, he returned with Sheldon's QAD, setting it on Mayor Mills' desk.

"So, this is the device that you used to enter Storybrooke?" Mayor Mills examined the device, which looked like a modified laptop computer, before locking it in her desk.

"Hey, that's mine!" said Sheldon. "Or, more accurately, it belongs to the Caltech Department of Physics!"

"Not anymore . . . ," said Mayor Mills. She looked the group over. Except for the cheesecake serving wench, they all wore costumes from that insipid television show, "Star Trek." Nerds, thought Regina dismissively. But if this sorry bunch could find their way into Storybrooke with a tarted-up laptop computer, then so could other natives of this world . . . . "For now, the five of you will remain here in Storybrooke."

Penny could not believe that this was happening. "Wait; are we under arrest, or something?"

"Or something," said Mayor Mills. "At least until I figure out what to do with the five of you."

"You can't do that to us!" said Penny. "We haven't done anything wrong! You can't lock us up because we almost hit your damned Mercedes!"

"Oh, that's not my reason for wanting to keep you here, Dearie," said Mayor Mills. "You see, we don't get many visitors here in Storybrooke. In fact, we don't get any visitors at all. And the fact that the five of you are here makes me feel . . . threatened."

"And I think that I know why," said Dr. Cooper in a slow, East Texas drawl. "In fact, I think that we both know why you feel threatened by our presence here in Storybrooke, Mayor Mills."

"Oh, is that so . . . ?" Regina smiled thinly, and instructed Sheriff Graham to once again wait for them outside of her office. When the door closed behind him, Regina turned back to Sheldon, and said, "Well then, Dr. Sheldon Cooper . . . . You claim to know why I feel threatened by your presence here in Storybrooke? Please enlighten me . . . ."

Sheldon said, "We all know what we saw. We were driving down a rural road flanked on either side by trees and farmland; a view that extended for miles ahead of us and behind us. Then, inexplicably, we found ourselves in the middle of your town; a town that is not on our fully updated GPS. And this happened at the exact moment that I initiated the phased, charged tachyon pulse to actively scan the space-time anomaly that I had detected."

Mayor Mills raised an eyebrow. "Go on . . . ."

"I have deduced that you and your townspeople are not from around here."

"And . . . ?"

"I believe that you are not from our world."

"I . . . see," said Mayor Mills evenly. "And where, Dr. Cooper, do you suppose we came from?"

Sheldon said, "I believe that you and your townspeople are from a parallel universe. A universe whose inhabitants have fully mastered the applied quantum-based technology that allows you to travel between different locations in the multiverse as easily as our people can fly across oceans in jet airliners."

"Well, Dr. Cooper," said Mayor Mills. "I see that your degree in Theoretical Physics was well earned. Most of what you have said is essentially correct." The gang all blinked in surprise at the mayor's directness. "But if you think that I used technology, quantum-based or otherwise, to accomplish this, then you have no idea just how wrong you are . . . ."

Regina gestured all around her. "I am a very powerful witch. I brought this entire town and its inhabitants from my world to your world by using a spell called "The Dark Curse." Contrary to what you might think, the technology in my home world is rather primitive compared to yours. Our technology is at what you might call a "Medieval" or "Renaissance," level. But who needs mere technology when one has the power of magic to get what they want . . . ?"

Nobody spoke for the next few moments. Sheldon was the first to break the silence.

"There is no need to patronize us," said Sheldon indignantly. "Though your technology would obviously make our Large Hadron Collider look like Stonehenge, it is not necessary to claim to have "magical powers," which we all know is scientifically impossible. Now, would you be so kind as to tell us who you really are and why you are here in our universe, on our world?"

"Dr. Cooper, despite what you may want to believe or think that you know, I did use magic to bring Storybrooke into your world," said Regina, stepping out from behind her desk. "Now, as for why I am here, it is to have the happy ending that has been denied me for so long! It is my turn for happiness, and if I cannot get it in my own world, then I shall have it in this world!"

Raj whispered something to Howard, who said sotto voce, "Oh, yeah, Raj. I'd like to give her a "happy ending," too . . . ."

Regina gave Raj and Howard a hard look, and then continued, "And if you truly want to know who I am, then I will tell you that, as well. I am The Evil Queen from what is known in your world as the legend of "Snow White." Regina spat out the last two words with an extra helping of bitterness.

Again, for several moments, no one said anything. Suddenly, Howard brightened, turned to the others and said, "Oh! Oh, let me handle this one, guys! I'm dressed for it. Oh, this is just too good to pass up!" He then turned to Regina and said, "Could you please repeat what you just said for me, Madame Mayor . . . ?"

Regina rolled her eyes, sighed impatiently, and said, "I said that I am The Evil Queen from your world's legend of "Snow White!"

Howard cleared his throat and in his best Walter Koenig imitation said, "And I am the Tsar of all the Russias!"

"Oh!" said Sheldon. "Nice "Who Mourns for Adonis?" reference!"

"Sorry, Mr. Spock," said Howard, still in character. "But I have never met a Fairytale character before . . . ."

"And you haven't yet," Said Sheldon. "But to be absolutely accurate, the reply to Ensign Chekov's statement in the episode that you are referencing was spoken by Captain Kirk; not Mr. Spock."

"I-I knew that . . . ," said Howard.

"You think that I am joking?" said Regina, her expression sharpening. "Well, you won't be laughing when I have you all locked up until I decide how I should best deal with you!"

"Y-you can't do that to us, lady!" said Penny incredulously. "You have no right to lock us up! We haven't done anything wrong! Why are you being such a bitch?!"

"You dare . . . ?!" Regina rounded to Penny, eyes flaring. "I'll not be spoken to in such an insolent manner by a mere cheesecake-serving wench! I am a Queen!"

"Yeah?" said Penny, planting her fists defiantly on her hips. "Well, you may have been a queen in whatever part of the multi-various-wherever-it-is that Sheldon said you came from, but you're in our world now, sweetie, and I think that you are nothing but a big bully! You may control this town and have everyone else here intimidated, but I'm not falling for it! You can't talk to us that way, much less push us around! Now give Sheldon back his computer and let us go or you and me are going to have us a little "misunderstanding." And just so you know, "queenie," I'm from Nebraska, and we know how to deal with bullies there!"

"Oh, is that so?" said Regina shrugging. "Well, then . . . ." The Mayor of Storybrooke went back to her desk and unlocked the drawer where she had just put Sheldon's QAD.

Penny smiled. "That's how you deal with a bully, guys; you stand up to them and they back down."

But instead of taking out Sheldon's QAD, Regina removed a black, silk glove with a red heart embroidered on its cuff from the drawer and put it on her right hand. She then returned to face Penny. I'd been saving this just in case a moment like this ever happened, thought Regina. It can only be used once, and I hate to have to use it on this little cheesecake slut, but needs must . . . .

"Because this is a Land Without Magic," said Regina evenly. "You obviously have no idea of who you are dealing with and what I am capable of doing. So please allow me to give you all a little demonstration . . . ."

Before anyone could react, Regina plunged her hand into Penny's chest, catching the Nebraska girl by complete surprise. But what happened next was even more of a surprise. Regina held her hand there for a moment, to let what she had done sink into everyone's mind. Then she pulled her hand out and was clutching a red object that looked like a human heart surrounded by some kind of glowing energy field.

"M-my heart . . . !" Penny gasped as she staggered backwards. Leonard caught her before she fell over. "She has my heart! That Evil Witch just took my heart!"

"N-no, Penny," said Leonard. "No, she didn't! She hasn't! L-look at your chest! There is no wound or blood! It's gotta be a trick of some kind . . . !"

"Exactly!" said Howard. "Just like the trick that I do when I pull a quarter from behind your ear!"

"And Ms. Mills is most definitely not a witch, Penny," admonished Sheldon. "We have already established that she is an advanced alien being from a parallel universe."

"It's just got to be an illusion, Penny," said Howard. He stepped forward, right palm outward. "Uh, Penny, let me just feel your chest for a heartbeat . . . ."

"Back off, Perv-owitz!" snapped Penny. "I know exactly what you want to feel for . . . !" Penny brought her hands to her chest, and felt a small amount of relief when she did, indeed, feel her heart pounding within her. But Regina definitely did something to her; took something from her. And Penny never felt so empty inside . . . .

Regina smiled triumphantly. "As you can see, I do, indeed, have the little cheesecake serving wench's heart and I shall be keeping it as assurance that none of you will leave my town until I say so, if ever I do.

"And should any of you try to leave Storybrooke without my permission, or offend me in any way; then I shall do this . . . ." Regina gave the glowing heart a light squeeze, making Penny gasp in pain, clutching her chest as she clung to Leonard for support.

"P-please stop!" begged Penny, sobbing. "It hurts so badly! Please stop! PLEASE STOP!"

Regina laughed at the sight of Penny's tears. "Not so tough now, are we, Nebraska girl . . . ?"

"A-alright, Mayor – Queen! Queen Regina!" said Leonard quickly. "You have us! We won't try to leave Storybrooke without your permission! Please stop hurting Penny!"

Regina loosened her grip, relieving Penny of her pain. But before anyone could say anything else, Sheldon's cellphone rang. Sheldon checked it and said, "It's my, uh, girlfriend, Amy Farrah-Fowler."

"Don't answer it, Dr. Cooper," said Regina, still holding onto Penny's heart.

"I'd better answer it, Mayor Mills," said Sheldon. "Otherwise, our friends might try to find us."

Regina thought for a moment, then said, "Very well, Dr. Cooper. But use the speaker app on your phone so I can hear everything that is said, and be very careful what you say . . . ." Penny winced as Regina gave her heart a slight squeeze to emphasize her point.

Switching to speaker, Sheldon said, "Hello Amy, how are you."

"I am well, Sheldon," came a somewhat feminine voice from the phone. "Is my bestie with you?"

Sheldon looked over to Penny, and nodded. Penny said, "Uh, yeah, Amy. I-I'm here and I'm . . . fine . . . ."

"Excellent," said Amy. "How is the Star Trek Convention, bestie?"

"Uh, it's Star-Trek-y enough . . . ," said Penny.

"Very good," said Amy. "I hope that the guys did not try to talk you into wearing some slutty, Original Series female- guest-star outfit."

"Uh, no slutty outfits, no . . . ," said Penny, all the while watching Regina's hand ready to squeeze her heart. "Is, ah, Bernadette there? Howard wants to say, hello . . . ."

"Sorry, bestie," said Amy. "She had to step out for a moment. But guess who is here? You'll never guess who . . . ."

"Uh, please tell us," said Penny. "Our battery is getting low."

A man's voice came on, and said, "Hey, Sheldon, how are you and the gang enjoying the convention?"

"W-Will?" said Sheldon. "Will Wheaton, Is that you?"

"Yeah, it is," said Will. "Hey, listen, if you see LeVar there, could you tell him . . . ?"

"Sorry, but we have to go now, Will!" said Sheldon, maybe a little too abruptly.

"Is everything alright, Sheldon? You don't sound so good."

Sheldon looked over at Regina, who mouthed; "End this call, now!" as she held up Penny's heart or whatever it was that she took from the poor girl to show that she meant business.

"We really have to go, now," said Sheldon. "And it may be a while before we are able to call you back. But don't worry, everything is fine with us."

"Are you sure?" said Will sounding more concerned. "You don't sound fine. Listen, Sheldon, if you guys are in any trouble of some kind . . . ."

As nervous as Sheldon was, he could see that Regina was getting even more nervous, and whatever it was that she was holding, Regina was most certainly holding Penny's life in her hands. And she was getting impatient.

"We're alright Will," said Sheldon. "Honest. Condition Green, all is well."

"Wait, what, Sheldon?" said Will. "Are you saying . . . ?"

"I'm saying that we are all alright!" said Sheldon. "Do I have to spell it out for you? I said, Condition Green, all is well! Now please let us get back to our convention. Say goodbye to Amy and Bernadette for us. But we gotta go now!"

Then Sheldon ended the call. A long moment of silence followed, and then Regina said, "Very good, Dr. Cooper . . . .

"Now I think that it might be a good idea if you all hand over your cellphones to me, right now!" Regina again brandished Penny's heart, and the five friends scrambled to put their phones on Regina's desk.

Regina locked Penny's heart in her desk drawer along with Sheldon's QAD and the gang's cellphones. She then called Sheriff Graham to come back into her office.

"Sheriff Graham, I want you to escort these people to Granny's Bed and Breakfast. They will be staying there as my "guests" until I have decided what I should do with them. I also want you to search them and their van thoroughly before you leave and confiscate any electronic device that might be used to contact anyone outside of Storybrooke.

"I'll call Granny's to let them know that these people will be arriving and that they are to make no long-distance calls on their room's landline." She then lowered her voice so the sheriff could not hear, and added, "I trust that the five of you will be no trouble, now that I have Little Miss Cheesecake's heart to guarantee your cooperation . . . ?"

Still in shock by what had just happened, the guys and Penny followed Sheriff Graham out to their minivan with Regina bringing up the rear. No one said anything as Leonard helped Penny into the front passenger seat of the minivan while Regina watched with satisfaction.

"Kindly follow me," said Sheriff Graham. "Granny's Bed and Breakfast is not far from here."

Before Sheriff Graham could get into his Patrol Car, a young boy about nine or ten who was wearing a school uniform came up to the mayor, and said, "M-mom? What's going on here? Who are these people? I've never seen them in town before." The boy tried to get closer to the minivan to get a better view of its occupants, but Regina put her hand on the boy's shoulder, restraining him. The boy looked up at Regina, and said, "And why are they dressed like that . . .?"

"These people will be staying with us in Storybrooke for a little while, Henry," said Regina. "And while they are here, you are to have no contact with them whatsoever. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

"Y-yes, mom."

"Good. Now please get cleaned up. You have your first session with Dr. Hopper today and I don't want you to be late. And then afterwards, we'll have our dinner at Granny's Diner. You'd like that, wouldn't you, Henry?"

"Yes, mom."

"As for our . . . guests; they were just leaving," said Regina. She nodded to Sheriff Graham, who got into his car and drove away, the minivan following closely behind him.

Back in Pasadena, Will Wheaton said, "They're in trouble, Amy."

"W-what do you mean, Will?"

"Sheldon said, "Condition Green." In the Original Star Trek Series, this was a Duress Code used by Starfleet that means a Landing Party is in trouble, but that we are to make no attempt to assist them at the moment."

"But we have to do something," said Amy. "Shouldn't we call the police?"

"And tell them what?" said Will shaking his head. "Sheldon told us that we should just sit tight for the moment, and wait for him to contact us. And that is just what we are going to do.

"As soon as Bernadette comes back, we need to tell her what just happened," said Will. "We need to have our phones ready and monitor our email accounts until Sheldon contacts us."

"What then?" said Amy. "What do you think happened to them?"

"Who knows?" said Will. "The only thing that I can say with any certainty is that they are not being held captive by hostile aliens . . . ."