"Sheldon Swifties III: "Physics II…Master Class"…
Summary: Brief bits, not necessarily connected…Similar to my Buffyverse "Immortal Beloved" series…Possibly related to the idea that sooner or later I plan to pit Sheldon against junior adult fiction's greatest inventor…
Disclaimer: What's Chuck's is Chuck's…No infringement intended…
"Penny?..."
"Hey…" smile… "Leonard's not here, right?..." Glance round the living room from the open door…
"Working this weekend, yes…How was your trip home to see your father?..."
"Oh, great, great…Full of Nebraskan folksy goodness…Yeah…" she sighed…Smiling again, a bit wanly…
"You seem tired…And somewhat lacking in that perpetual and dependable, if sometimes annoying, perkiness that is your nature…" Sheldon eyed her…
"A little pooped…Long trip, lots of folks to see…Need a vacation from the vacation, ya know?...And of course they all want to know what's up with me and my work…"
"And you having so little to show for it, yes…I can see that…" he nodded…
"Thanks…" bright smile, frown…
"Since you expected Leonard to be away, Amy not coming over till tonight, and I'm not ill, what possible reason could you have for coming here?..."
"Again, Sheldon…Thanks…"glare… "Couldn't I just want to say hi…We are, in a bizarre sort of way, friends, aren't we?..."
"I suppose so…" he pondered… "'Hi'…" Wave… "Was that all?..."
"Always a joy to connect with you, sweetie…" she sighed… "No, Sheldon, I need your help…I want…"
"Money?...Foodstuffs?...I think Amy would seriously object to your obtaining sexual gratification from me, even if she does consider you her best non-boyfriend-friend…"
"Sheldon!...No…" sigh… "I want another physics lesson…" sheepish look, shrug…
"Another physics lesson?...Penny, I can't consider you having completed the first…Why do you want another?...Didn't your vapid regurgitation of that brief summary of the Dutch experiment Leonard ripped off satisfy your bonding needs?..."
"No…Well, he was impressed… But…Sheldon, this is a critical time in our relationship…Howard getting married, you and Amy…Doing whatever it is you do…"
"Does this mean you're seriously considering Leonard's marriage proposal?..." he stared…
"I don't know…Not right now…Maybe…Someday…Sheldon?...For once can't you just accept that I know what I need to do and that right now I need a little help without endless talk about it?..."
Hmmn…He eyed her woebegone face…
"Well…I suppose I should appreciate that you're willing to make another try…Have a seat…" he pointed… Immediately moving to his whiteboard… "It's a warm summer evening…"
"No!...Not Greece again!..." she put up a hand… "Sheldon?...Just what Leonard is working on…Now…" she took a seat… "Please…I'll do my best to get it straight…"
"What he's working on, now?…" Sheldon, carefully…
"Penny…That's classified, in part…"
"Classified?..." she stared… "You mean, secret?..."
"Indeed…"
"Whoa…I didn't know Leonard did stuff like that…"
"Indeed…" slight hardening… "I thought you knew about his rocket fuel project, which was classified…"
"Oh, yeah…That…The North Korean girl…Geesh I didn't think about that…Well…" she grinned… "You know me…Zip it, lock it…Put it in your pocket…"
But slight urgency somewhere underneath…
"It's important, Sheldon…For us…Leonard and me…That I know a little about his work, you know…"
"I could give you the non-classified details…He's still involved with studying the movement of subatomic particles as with the Dutch experiment…"
"And now he's doing something more…?"
"Classified…" coolly…
"Uh-huh?..." waiting… "That must seem a little odd to you, you always saying his work is so unimportant and trivial…"
"In the greater scheme of understanding the universe, yes…" hard stare now… "Besides, it would hardly be good for the world or they themselves to know just how important Leonard's and my other friends' projects are…And just how brilliantly creative they are…"
"What?..." Penny, staring…
"Just as Leonard's work in rocket propulsion was revolutionary…Howard's technical wizardry almost single-handedly is keeping America at the cutting edge of space technology…Raj's work is surely leading to the discovery of Earth-like exoplanets…Leonard's latest work could lead to a practical antimatter-matter containment system…Revolutionizing energy production…" Sheldon eyed her…
"But…You always treat them like…" her eyes narrowed… "Sheldon?..."
"My work is on a level all its own…But won't have practical applications for decades, if ever…Excepting the teleportation project, which also is classified…Though perhaps I have exaggerated my scorn for my friends' work…Perhaps for their own good?..." he eyed Penny…
"And isn't it interesting that just as Joyce Kim failed in her mission, a beautiful, sweet, perky actress-waitress without a scientific bone in her head showed up on our doorstep…Fascinated by the four creative geniuses who liked to meet and discuss their lives across the hall from her new apartment…" he eyed her coolly…
Hard stare on her part…
"Sheldon?...You mean you're not…?"
"Oh, contraire…Of course I am…One of the world's most brilliant particle physicists…But, my work being so esoteric, it has left me free to pursue a side career in which I can help to protect my brilliant if naïve friends…Including the woman I love…From a dangerous world…"
Eyes locked…She blinking first…
"I love Leonard…And all of you…" she said, almost whispering…Pleading…
"I know that…" he nodded… "Otherwise, given our respective skills, one of us would be dead or we would be having this conversation in an underground high-security bunker in Colorado…Not to mention…" honest smile…
"No one but my mom sings 'Soft Kitty' like you…"
"I've put them off for years…But Father…He really is my dad…Told me I had to have something to give them…" she eyed him… "After all…We're allies now…Sorta…"
"And people think the KGB packed up shop…" he smiled… "Well, I'd suggest you get Dad to visit and you both have a meeting with my friends at this number…" he scribbled a number on a post-it note…
"And then we forget we ever had this conversation…Do svidanya tovarich…Пенелопа" he grinned…She blinking…Finally taking note, with grateful stare…
"Anyway, Penny…It's a warm summer's night in Greece…" he began…