"Sheldon Swifties LII: "It Came From East Texas…"

Summary: Brief bits, not necessarily connected…Similar to my Buffyverse "Immortal Beloved" series…

Disclaimer: What's Chuck's is Chuck's…No infringement intended…

Part II…

"Hey buddy…" The image of Wil Wheaton on Sheldon's laptop… "Sorry I couldn't come over but we're in the middle of the pilot for our webseries animated version of Star Trek: The Animated Web Series Adventures of Wesley Crusher and I couldn't get away. So I hear you're having girl trouble?"

"That's right, buddy." Sheldon sighed. "All my friends and a couple of vague acquaintances including another former enemy now turned friend are here to help me deal with a threat to my very romantic existence…My brother George…Who even now is using his flashy skills to seduce my girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler."

"A real problem…" Wheaton nodded. "Hey guys!" he beamed as Sheldon directed the laptop round to give a view of the assembly. "Quite a support team you've put together, Sheldon."

"It's needed. George is the Devil's spawn…No offense intended to my mom and dad. He's everything you used to be, Wil, before you came to the Light side and wisely chose to be my friend."

"That is bad. Is that him…?" Glance to side viewing the image of a confident, poised George Jr in suit addressing a class. The students obviously enthralled…

"Yes. He teaches, of all things, History, and the history of Literature to boot. Can you believe it? I'm threatened by a history professor… Who can drop a deer at 200 yards and climbs mountains in India for fun while quoting Shakespeare."

"And made a fortune selling…Tires." Stuart groaned.

"Tires, I coulda sold tires. I coulda been somebody, a contenda. Managed a decent meal everyday…Had a real apartment of my own." Sigh.

"Stuart." Sheldon sighed. "Focus, this is my problem we're concerned about."

"Whoa. I had competition like that once. Community college professor who liked to sneer at Star Trek…" Wil's image, shaking head. "'Well, it can't compare to Tolstoy.' Had to get my girl a producer's job on Eureka to fight him off. Didn't do the series any good but sure saved my romance…"

"We're trying…" Leonard paused. "Wait…You sabotaged 'Eureka' in order to keep your girlfriend? I loved that show."

"Sacrifices had to be made, Hofstadter…Besides, she wasn't the only cause the show was cancelled…I think." Wheaton noted. "So what's the plan here? Do we per chance need a romantic script for our boy Sheldon to follow to win back the lady of his heart?"

"I don't care what Sheldon says, he's evil…He broke us up once…" Penny hissed to Leonard.

"And he took down 'Eureka'…You know I bet it was just because Fargo got Holly." Leonard fumed to her.

"Yeah…And what's really scary is that my knowing things like that bothers me less and less." Penny noted. "That's love, right? Say it's love, Leonard. Not infectious brain stuff…"

"Sure…Love." Leonard nodded.

"Well, really Amy is just trying to get a response from Sheldon, I'm sure." Bernadette noted. "I don't think we need to get too fancy, if he'd just make an effort."

"Not bad but no…Thanks for the input, honey. But let the experts deal…" Wheaton, dismissively…As Bernadette stared, wide-eyed progressing to wild-eyed… "So Shel? What have you got in mind? Have we got a campaign laid out…Cause I just happen to have the ultimate in romantic script scenarios that I was preparing for an episode of 'Star Trek: The Animated Adventures of Wesley Crusher'" Beam.

"I hope 'Wesley''s ready for an attack by Anonymous…" Bernadette hissed to Howard who stared. "I have certain friends in certain places." She noted.

"Oh…At this point I'll consider anything…" Sheldon sighed. "Lay it on me, buddy."

"If you need a rehearsal, with someone to play the recipient of your romantic moves…" Lesley noted eagerly.

"You mean, to play Amy Farrah Fowler…" Sheldon noted.

"Calling me Lesley would be more natural. Names are unimportant…It's the acting exercise…" smile.

"I'm beginning to wonder if 'total mobilization' was such a good idea." Leonard noted to Penny.

….

Pasadena Steakhouse…

"I hope you're not against eating meat, Dr. Fowler." Warm drawl. "I've just never quite been able to get through a meal without a good piece of beef or pork."

"No…I've eaten meat…" Amy eyed the huge plastic steer's heads scattered throughout the place. "Just never quite had it so driven home to me that I'm eating something with a face."

"I actually did try the vegan way when I was in Tibet…" George, in jeans, dress shirt, suit jacket with patched elbows, string tie, and, now lying off to his side, six-gallon hat.

"You were in Tibet? Sheldon never mentioned that."

"Well, never really came up between us. But then Shelly prefers to ignore anything that might suggest I'm not quite the loutish degenerate he likes to paint me."

"Really…"

"Of course I went to climb a couple of mountains and bring home a yak's head for my wall…" George noted. "But while I was there I decided to retrace the narrator's route of 'Seven Years in Tibet' and ended up spending a month at a Buddhist monastery."

"Wow." Amy stared. "That must have been quite a time. Did you study with the monks?"

"I did…It changed my life…Before then I killed animals for sport and never gave a thought to their suffering or to my effect on the lives around me." Solemn nod.

"And now…"

"Now I only kill the big ones who might get me…And I allow myself only one bullet to do it. Evens the score, you might say."

"I see…" Amy blinked… "And as to your effect on the lives around you?"

"Now I make sure I've always got a loaded weapon concealed on my person in case there's trouble. It may violate a few socialist laws in the more communistic states but that's the price a good man must be prepared to pay." He patted the left side of his chest.

"The monks must be proud…" she stared.

"Yeah, they felt they'd done a good job in showing me the Way…Told me one day I'd learnt all I was ever gonna learn there and did the ceremonial washing of the hands…"

"They did? I've never heard of that ceremony in Tibetan Buddhism…I studied it in college."

"It's a special ritual… They all line up and tell you in Tibetan they wash their hands of you…And show you the door, representing your future path. Yes, sir, I loved those little bald-headed freaks…Communists though they are." George nodded.

"Uh-huh." She nodded…"And how is your seminar on English Literary History going?"

"Well, not too bad…The students seem to be having a good time…My class on Shakespeare's roots in Continental and Russian Literature went well."

"It sounds very interesting…Though I've never been one for the Liberal Arts per se, I do love Shakespeare. I understand your lectures have been very popular."

"It's a joy to trace the growth of World Literature and while of course I keep politics out of it, I find it always good to show the Commies they stole everything from the Anglo-Saxons…" he nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Miss…Sir…" a waiter stopped by. "Might I ask as to whether you'd be having something to drink first?"

"If I may, Dr. Fowler?"

"Uh…Sure…"

"A bottle of the Duclaux Côte-Rôtie La Germine, 2006, please…" George commanded, scanning the list. "It's very good with red meat." He smiled as the waiter nodded, heading off.

"So you know wine?" Amy asked. "I've been learning about wine from my bestie, Leonard's girlfriend, Penny?"

"It's something I picked up along the way." George nodded. "My daddy was a bourbon-and-water man, often little or no water…But while I still enjoy a good glass of hard liquor, a well-toned wine is a thing of beauty. I'm part owner of a vineyard over in Napa Valley now. So what has Ms. Penny taught you?"

"Well…I know there's red and white…Red is good with red stuff and gets you drunk a little faster…White's for whitish things like chicken. And there are some fruity kinds that tickle your tongue." Shrug… "I guess not very much." Sheepish look.

"Well, shoot, then, Miss Amy…" he grinned. "You've learnt all you really need. All the rest is just picking the ones you like the best…And not letting them cheat you with fancy labels and prices and such."

"George…Why did you want me to come to dinner?" she eyed him. "Is it to hurt your brother?"

"Is that why you came?" he replied. Pausing as the waiter set glasses, showed him the bottle, and poured a small sample from the bottle for each of them.

"Try a snoot full first…" he urged, taking glass. "But sniff it first, to get the smell…That's part of it…Just like this…" he swirled the glass, sniffed, and sipped.

"Oh…Wow…" Amy blinked as she sipped. "That's amazing."

"Not a bad one…" he nodded.

"I was a little mad at Sheldon…" she sighed. "Ordering me to stay away from you…But look, George? Why do you bully Sheldon the way you do? Don't deny it…I've seen you do it, even if you're easier on him when one of us girls is around."

"I do, a bit…Don't you think the boy deserves it, a little? He is pretty full of himself, Amy."

"Maybe a little…But he deserves to be proud of his genius…He really is one, you know."

"Lord, girl…No one knows my lil' brother is one of the world's great geniuses more than I." rueful smile. "But being a great genius doesn't give him the right to lord it over the rest of the world…Over his family and friends…Our daddy."

"You?"

"No, never me…Or Missy…And never our Momma…Oh, he's tried but we never let him get away with it, much as we all loved him. And in a way I owe him what success I've had. But I can't quite forgive him about Daddy."

"You owe him…?"

"I grew up determined to show that lil' genius brother of mine…Who scorned everything and everyone around him but Momma, Pawpaw, and Meemaw…That I could do more than just beat the tar outta him. That I wasn't a stupid oaf with no future. That even if I couldn't make it to grad school by 14, I could earn my own doctorate and make a success of my life."

"Oh…"

"If I sound a little bitter…Well…You know my brother…And I do love him, or I try to."

"He never speaks much about your father…Though I get that it was rough for both of them." Amy, carefully.

"Daddy loved Sheldon dearly, Amy. He didn't understand him but he loved him…And he was afraid, I'd say, rightly, that he was being made to grow up too fast and having too much pressure put on him. Daddy wasn't able to put it into proper, fancy words but he could see that Shelly was growing up into an isolated boy…Afraid of people but too arrogant to admit it…Not able to deal with the world. He wanted Sheldon to slow down and learn there was more to life than books and Science and Star Trek. Momma didn't agree…They fought about it."

"Sheldon's mentioned that." Amy sighed. "He wasn't happy about it, the fighting."

"I know." George nodded. "But he hurt Daddy…Dreadfully. Rejected him. And Daddy never got over it. I blame Sheldon for that. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I blame Momma, too, a bit. I suppose kids side with the parents they're most like. Missy kinda ended up right down the middle."

"It's hard to believe Sheldon is most like his mother."

"It's hard to believe my brother is like any human being…Sometimes."

"So…? Is this to hurt him?" Amy eyed George.

"Are you that much in love with him? With my 'interesting' brother?" he replied.

"Yes." Amy, simply.

"Why?" careful look.

"I don't know…We're so alike in some ways…In others, so different…" she paused, shaking head…Firm look…

"No…I do know…Because I think he's helped me…And I think I can help him…I want to. He needs me and I need him." She eyed George carefully.

"And that's why I'm here? You wanted to know…You do love him, don't you?"

"Maybe…And maybe not…" George, calmly.