Sheldon Swifties XLIV: "The Thai Dinner at the End of Time…"
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.
Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…
"Sheldon?..." Leonard, glance across the coffee table to where Mary Cooper, fresh in from Texas to, as she'd put it, have a set down with her son's significant other, a beaming Amy heartily encouraged by this mark of favor, coming on top of a vague indication by Sheldon that her four year marital plan was, as he'd put it to her rapturous joy "not utterly inconceivable"…
"Don't you think you and Amy and your Mom ought to be going out tonight?...A nice restaurant, instead of Thai-take out while we play Dr. Who role play?..."
"But there's only a week till the new season, Leonard…" Sheldon, puzzled… "Time streams will start to set immediately next Saturday…Our choices in role play increasingly constrained by the fictional reality the BBC presents…No longer would our respective whimsy guide us through the labyrinth that is the Whovian multiverse…"
"Right…" sigh… "But this is your mom, your whatever Amy is now…Don't you think Who play could wait for another time?..."
"Spoken like a ruthless Lord President Rassilon, Leonard?...Are you by any chance seeking a weaker regeneration of the Doctor to cross swords with?..."
"I still don't see how we can be bringing Rassilon back?..." Raj, shaking head… "Everyone knows he got blasted and Gallifrey was returned to the Time Lock by the Master and the Tenth Doctor…"
"I dunno know…The Lord President's survived a lot worse…" Leonard, shrugging… "And Gallifrey's still there to be rescued…It's not impossible and I called dibs on being Lord President after Sheldon grabbed the Doctor spot…Ummn…" he gasped at a violent nudge from Penny next to him…
"But it's still rude to your mom and Amy…" he concluded, a bit lamely…And gasping….
"Au contraire, Leonard…" Sheldon, firmly… "I'm convinced your character will return and Gallifrey endure…"
"Would be a pity to lose Romana for good…" Raj sighed…
" …And further au contraire I say to you, sir, as to this offending my mom and my girlfriend-advanced-to-a-critically-significant-but-not-absolute stage…Namely Amy Farrah Fowler…They wanted a dinner at home, right ladies…"
"Sure as Jesus will bring the sun up tomorrow, sweetie…As long as Amy here is ok with it…" Mary nodded… "I'd like to have a family night with you and your friends…And I kinda fancy that Brit doc with the bowtie…He's a sweetie and not too hard on the eyes while usually in no rush to sin with his girlfriends…"
"That may change with this one…" Howard, beaming…
"You wanna explain that one, Mister?..." Bernadette, glaring…
"It's not me…And come on, Clara's incredibly cute…"
"Hmmn…Just watch it bud, or I may sign us up for Saturday night dance lessons.." she eyed him...
"That's a disappointment…" Mary cut in… "I thought the boy was finally settled down and married…To a nice, mature lady…"
"River got killed and her mind stored in a computer even before the current doctor came in…" Leonard explained… "It's a little complicated…"
"Uh-huh, the Library…I'm not stupid, Leonard…" Mary frowned… "And I was watching over the Doctor before you were born…"
"Watchin' over?..." Penny chuckled…
"Well, over my own doctor, watching the Brit…" Mary corrected…Pat of Sheldon's arm…Glance to Amy… "But I think the lady will be back…She's a fighter…"
"Well, he has a whole new story with Clara now…" Raj, discretely keeping napkin round glass…Not that Mrs. C wasn't aware he was imbibing a little for social purposes, just that around this lady it seemed the right thing to do…
"You did all agree that Clara could be River, regenerated…" Amy, suddenly… "I know if it were me, I'd find a way back to my doctor…And that's how I want to play her here…"
"Yes, by all means, lets do what we can to confine the 'romance' to as few additional characters as possible to get that sort of thing out of the way…" Sheldon, off-hand wave…
"Sounds nice to me…Sweet…" Bernadette noted…"Though how do you make it work, Amy?..."
"This is Dr. Who role play…People come back all the time…Clara's back from the dead, we know that, so why shouldn't River use her as a way back to dodge her regeneration problem?..."
"Kinda like body-snatching, isn't it?..." Raj, carefully…"As the White Guardian here, I'm not sure I can let this one pass without imposing severe and plot-lengthening moral penalties…Though it would befit River Song's somewhat ruthless character…"
"Gee…" Penny eyed Amy… "I didn't think you cared all that much for sci-fi?...You've thought this one out?..."
"It's science fantasy, which I prefer…And like my…" gasp…Grin…Slight choke…
"Breathe, baby…" Mary…Patting back…
"…Potential future momma-in-law…I fancy the latest doctor…"
"That's good…" Mary, beaming…Glance Sheldonward… "Cause he's a little dense as to romance but in the end, I think I can say he'll come through for you…."
"Mom…" Sheldon, frowning… "While it's always been nice that you and I met on some Whovian level, there's no need to make leaden metaphors to match to my relationship to Amy…"
"Whatever, sweetiepie…Now…Pass some of that oriental cuisine from the benighted lands where Jesus' name is not yet known this way and if you boys don't mind, I've done a bit of writin' for my own role…"
"Your role?..." Penny blinked…
"She's Mom…" Amy explained…
"The guy has a mom…?"
"Human, according to some accounts…" Howard noted… "She showed up to help the doc just before Gallifrey nearly knocked Earth out of existence when Leonard tried to bring the Time Lords back…"
"Oh…" Penny nodded… "Well, aren't you a ruthless little dude…?" she grinned at Leonard who smiled…
"Timothy Dalton played me then…I was pretty awesome…" nodding grin… "But just tryin' to save my people, ya know?..."
"And that's laudable but still not what Jesus would do, Lord President…Well anyway, sweetheart…" Mary smiled to Penny… "I'm here to protect my boy in his disguised state and make sure my daughter-in-law doesn't bend the rules too far in her quest to stay with him."
"And we escaped the Gallifrey Time Lock, how, ma'am?..." Howard, eyeing her…
"An appeal to our descendants, an even more omnipotent species…" Mary smiled… "And thanks, Q…"
Howard, shrugging smile… "Not a prob, letting just a few of you leak out, ma'am…"
"But that was my argument…" Leonard sighed… "We Gallifreyians have to escape the Lock to become the Q…The Universe is going to end one day, no matter how many times we Time Lords or that goofy son of yours saves it…All I did was try to make sure the species merge into Eternity is controlled by a decent species, not the Daleks and co…"
"But by pushing it as you did we would've been the only survivin' species…And that's not what Jesus would want…" Mary frowned…
"God, you two…" Penny grinned… "So cute how you get into it…"
"But the real concern is with River/Clara here…" Mary frowning at Amy… "Child, you know what you're risking making deals like you did for all this…"
"It wasn't fair…" Amy, frowning… "We never had a decent chance…And he's all alone so often…I was kidnapped, robbed of my chance to regenerate with him…Why shouldn't I take a risk or two?"
"Like the Master?..." Mary, quietly…
"Sheldon's saved…Uh…The Doctor's saved the Universe a hundred million times…I've saved it a few times too…Doesn't that count for anything?!" Amy, rising to feet… "He's out of the Time Lock with a second chance…" frown at Leonard… "And he was a power-mad dictator…"
"I wasn't…'power-mad'…Exactly..." Leonard, shrugging… "I got a bad press…I was cast as evil…I was just tryin' to save Gallifrey after we'd fought to save the Universe. Come on…I've been very nice these past years…Kept my rather famous temper in pretty decent control…Been an excellent, caring boyfriend and friend… I think I deserve a little break…"
Penny blinking…
"I have, right?..." he eyed her…
"Uh, sure…" giggle…
"You only became his friend because you sensed it was him…" Mary frowned… "I admit, your record's been a little exaggerated by the TV show and you've behaved yourself recently…But lets be honest here…"
"Guys, you are great…" Penny chuckling… Sheldon and Bernadette a bit perturbed…
"Mom?...You really have been following the show…" Sheldon…
"Fine….I admit I guessed it was him…But I made a deal with Q like you and I've kept it…" Leonard, hard stare at Mary…
"Right?..." Glance to Howard…
"I tell no tales, whatever Jean Luc says after my visits…" he replied…
"He's kept his end up…" Raj nodded…
"So?...Does Gallifrey get a second chance?...What's the verdict?..." Leonard asked…
"This thing with River is a little…Perturbing…" Raj noted…
"But she's not even a Time Lady…Fully, anyway…No offense…" Leonard, to Amy…
"None taken, Lord President…"
"Bwhaha…" Sheldon, beaming… "You two are good…And you, too, Mom…"
"I mean the Universe is perturbed, not me…" Raj explained… "Dear, you didn't really think the consequences when you made this deal with the Daleks and the Silence and the Dark Guardian…"
"If I'd paused to think…" shrug... "We'll deal…" Amy, insistent… "I didn't put everything into their hands…"
"Bernadette?..." Penny, a bit lost… "You're up on this stuff, fill me in…"
"Deal with the devils…" Bernadette replied…"Guys, I think you're all great but…"
"I think we'll have to have a full review, folks…" Raj, shaking head…
"I'm open…" Leonard, shrugging…
"I'll hear you out…But I promise nothing…" Amy, insistent… "The Doctor and I are staying together, long as my current bod holds out…"
And beyond that…If the android transfer thing works out…
"What's a 'full review' entail?..." she asked… "You don't have to wake him?..."
"Sweetheart…" Raj, sighing… "There's a lot at stake here…"
"Trillions of lives…The future of all species…" Leonard noted, firmly… "And there's not even a risk of killing life on Earth this time…Well, not much life…"
"What I care about is our lives…" Amy glared… "Together, at last…Being ruined when I'm on the brink…I have a four year plan and he's sorta willing to go along…" sigh.
"No…" Amy shook her head…Fierce stare now… "I won't do it…I know him…It'll be all…'Duty' this and 'Needs of the many' that…Blah, blah, blah…Mom?..." she turned to Mary… "How many times has he died, alone?...How often has he been alone for centuries?..."
"Sweetheart…" Mary patted her… "I know…I understand…Heck, I've had a whale of a time here too…I hadn't seen him in oh, so long…Not since he ran away…He wouldn't even visit me when he had to come to Gallifrey.."
"He was afraid you were disappointed in him…"
"Now how could that ever be?..." smile…
Long stare at Amy…
"Trust in your love, sweetheart…And Jesus…A very nice boy I met once…" wan smile…
"I do.." Amy sighed… "Fine, ok…"
"Q?...Are we ready?..." Raj eyed Howard…
"They are so great…I can't believe it…" Penny to Bernadette…
"Yeah…Uh…"
"If we must…" Howard shrugged… "But whatever you folks decide, the Continuum will endure…" smug look…
"Please…" Leonard frowned… "You've got as much riding on this as us…You're our descendants just as we're that of the humans of Earth…Take us out of history and you're fated to spend Eternity screaming 'Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!'…Quite a waste of omnipotence…"
"Fine…" Howard put up a hand… "Ok, everyone…Hands on the table, start drumming…"
"Excuse me…?" Sheldon staring…
"You know how to do this Sheldon…Just like with those bongos…" Amy, helpfully…
Uh…Penny eyeing Bernadette…As the others, Sheldon, rather reluctantly, began drumming on the coffee table…
"Tell us your name, sweetheart…" Mary turned to Amy…
Sheldon now looking puzzled but…Troubled…
Penny and Bernadette in total 'what the frack?' mode…
"My name is Amy…Clara…River…Melody…Rose…Sarah…" Amy began…As dramatic music began and the room dissolved…She reeling off names…As the drumming intensified…
"Guys?..." Penny tried…
"Watch me…Run…" Sheldon mumbled suddenly…Blinking…Looking round wide eyed…
"Mother?..." he stared…Feeling his face, hands, chest… "Lord…I've even less upper body strength…Any chance I'm ginger?..."
"The Doctor is in…" Mary smiled at Penny and Bernadette…They staring round…The room reforming all about them…
"Doctor…" Amy began…
"Whoa…" Howard put up a hand…Finger to lips…
