Time Chapter Two last up-date 01/11/2011
Just as Amy was entering the hospital room, three large men were leaving, forcing her to step off to the side. She stared at them curiously as they walked away. They looked like the type that should be in a James Bond movie. Finally going in, Amy closed the door behind her.
"Sheldon," she asked, "where are they going?"
"Simply a precaution, Amy," he responded, not quite answering the question. She stared at him as he lay in bed, and his right eye started to twitch-a clear sign of the strain he was under. His next words made her shiver. "She rejected my proposal. What choice do I have?"
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Before leaving the hospital, Penny had called her office to let them know she was taking the rest of the day off. Driving to John's office, she thought about what had happened over the day; she had always known her past would catch up with her. Just not right now.
It had all seemed so simple, then—convincing herself that the nights alone while Sheldon was working did not matter. Even if it was in the early hours of the morning, he always came back to her bed. She knew his work was important work that he was unable to share with her.
Then the baby came along.
This little thing inside her, that was barely showing, changed everything in her life—but not Sheldon's. If anything, he seemed to spend even more hours at his lab. The day she was due to give birth to little Lee, Sheldon had sent his assistant ahead to the hospital. He had been close to a breakthrough, he'd said, and could not leave his work. He had finally arrived just as the baby was born, staying just long enough to see his son and give detailed instructions to the hospital staff on the care of the infant.
When Penny arrived home for the first time with baby Lee, no one was there to meet her. Looking around the cold apartment, she made her decision. She quickly packed a suitcase, and then with it in one hand, while holding Lee in her arms, she closed the apartment door for the last time. It had been a simple matter of jumping into a cab headed for the airport.
The entire ride there, Penny had looked for a reason not to leave. As she took her seat on the plane, though, with Lee asleep in her lap, she still had not thought of a single reason.
Her first stop had been to see her sister; she had not gone home, knowing her mother would never have let her leave again. After looking up a friend in Ottawa, it was on to New York and the fateful chance meeting with John. How would she explain all this to him? But her fears had been unfounded. He had taken them in, married her, and considered her son his own.
As Penny walked into her husband's office, his secretary was on the phone. She held up her hand, mouthing "wait".Penny stood tapping her foot; she had never been keen on his secretary-she was way too attractive for Penny's liking. She knew the type.
Finally, after hanging up, the secretary looked up at Penny.
"I'm sorry," she began. "John, I mean, Mr. Flynn is on a conference call. He left instructions that he was not to be disturbed." Undeterred, Penny moved toward his door. "The doors locked," the secretary said, smiling. "You're welcome to wait, but he could be some time."
Penny's dislike for the secretary was now bordering on hatred.
"Tell him I'll see him at home," Penny said. With that, she stormed out of the office.
Meanwhile, John Flynn was at his desk, looking at a large monitor on the wall. The image on the screen was of a man who, by his bearing, was clearly military. By John's expression, it was evident he was receiving unwelcome news.
"John, you always knew we would pull you out eventually. This event at City Hall just brought the timing forward."
"So I am covering... Cooper?" John sighed. "I had always wondered."
"Look, Neil," the man continued. John started to laugh, however the man on the screen could not see the humor; as the deputy director if operations at Langley, he didn't get paid to tell jokes.
"What the hell's so funny?"
"Sorry sir," John apologized. "It's just that it's been some time since anyone's called me by my real name."
"Yeah, ok, well you'll have your own life back soon-a day or two, tops."
"It'll be a little strange after all this time," John said with some reflection. "Five years is a big chunk of a man's life."
The deputy director looked worried: his voice grew severe.
"Neil, it's almost over. Don't do anything stupid."
John nodded. "Of course not, sir. I'll check in again later."
The deputy director nodded once then John cut out. Sitting in his fourth-floor corner office in Langley, he cursed his luck as he turned off the video screen.
"Damn it to hell," he muttered. He was all but sure that John was going to blow it. He opened his cell-phone and dialed a number; the call was answered immediately. "That list of loose-ends you're clearing up? I have another name to add." While the man on the other line scrambled for a pen and paper, the deputy director turned to look out of the window over the cityscape outside.
"Damn it, Cooper," he mumbled to himself, while letting out a big sigh. "This better work."
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Penny was standing outside of Lee's school, where she had the strangest feeling of being watched. She shook her head, putting it down to the craziness of the day.
Meanwhile, men in a black SUV that was parked at a discreet distance, kept Penny and, more importantly, her son in sight.
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Sheldon had discharged himself from the hospital against his doctor's orders. To say that the hospital had hardly put up a fight would be putting it mildly; he was not a very good patient.
After moving into a downtown hotel's penthouse suite, while his people had the two floors below, Sheldon felt more at ease than he had for some time. One of his assistants knocked at the door; Sheldon called for her to come in.
"Sir," she began," pointing to the phone on his night stand, "you have a call coming through. It's the White House."
Sheldon sighed. He looked around; making sure everything was in its proper place. He hated these calls; what did they want to hear? "Yes, it's finished. Turn it on"?
Sheldon picked up the receiver; he so disliked using the phone. He sighed. "Hello Mr. President... Yes I'm well. Thank you." Sheldon listened, growing more annoyed by the minute. Who were they to question him? "No, the project will be finished on time as I said it would... Yes, yes, we'll speak again once I get to Colorado... No, thank you, Mr. President."
Hanging up, Sheldon was exhausted. He was still in pain, plus the effect of talking to lesser minds always drained him. He sat back in his chair, just as Amy walked in to the room.
"Sheldon, Faisal and I are flying home tonight. I wondered if there was any news."
He answered without meeting her eyes. "Nothing. For now."
Moving over to look out of the window, she could see his reflection in the glass. "You need to talk to her again. Tell her the truth-all of it. You owe her that much."
Sheldon finally turned to Amy, speaking to her reflection. "Don't I have the right to want my family to be safe?"
She didn't answer at first, and was by the door when she finally turned. "Only you can answer that, Sheldon."
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Penny was in the kitchen, when she heard the front door open. Popping her head around the kitchen door, she called out.
"Sorry, dinner's going to be a little late."
When no one answered her, she walked out, drying her hands on a towel.
There in the middle of her sitting room, was Sheldon Cooper PhD, sitting in a wheelchair. The shock of seeing him quickly turned to fear for her son; she turned and ran down the hall yelling.
"Lee, where are you?" she called.
Moments later, she walked back into the sitting room, closely followed by a black suit.
"You bastard!" she screamed, hysterical. "What have you done with my son?" She made a run at Sheldon but was held back by two very strong arms.
Sheldon could barely keep the annoyance out of his voice. "For, goodness sake, Penny, do you really think I would harm our son? He's perfectly safe with my people in the car."
Writhing against her captor, Penny glared at Sheldon with fury in her eyes. "For a man who never wanted kids, the words 'our son' seem to come easy to you."
The corners of Sheldon's mouth turned up ever so slightly, "Sarcasm, Penny?"
"No, thinly valid contempt, Sheldon."
Penny walked over to sit on the couch, all too aware of the man in the black suit standing by the door.
"Penny, you cannot begin to understand how hard this has been for me, knowing that the woman who should have been my wife was with another man. Knowing my son…my son Penny, called other man father," Saying this aloud cleared any lingering doubts Sheldon once had about the fate of her husband.
The strain of the previous few hours was etched on Penny's face; her normally clear and healthy complexion was pale and drawn.
"Sheldon, in almost five years you never wrote, never called or anything. How can you even begin to think you know us?"
"Penny." Sheldon shook his head. "Do you really think, I would leave the upbringing of my son to chance? I've carefully overrseen each stage of his development. Although, I could not have direct involvement in your lives, I took it upon myself to give you both every possible advantage."
Penny's eyes had started to sting, "Sheldon, why all this?" She waved her arm around the room. "Why come back into our lives now?"
"The, answer as to why I've declared my feeling now is simple-the work is finished. The reason why I kept away is a totally a selfish one. A number of groups disapproved of what I was doing. I could not give 100% to my work and still keep you safe. So knowing you would never leave me, I had to drive you away. Penny you may never be able to forgive me, but, believe me, when I say doing that was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life."
Penny looked down at her hands resting in her lap. She looked up, and shared at his face. Trying to find the faintest, the smallest clue as to what he was thinking.
"I'll never fully understand what made you push me away, but just tell me one thing: was it all worth it?"
Sheldon thought for a moment, "It's really an enigma, Penny; it will only have been worthwhile if it is never used."
They both sat for a while, deep in thought.
Penny was the first to speak, "So what now? I'm sure you'll have a plan."
"My, plans, Penny, are dependent on you; you may choose to stay here in New York. I have a new life waiting; I hope you will want to be part of it."
Penny felt a chill run through her; not once had he mentioned her son Lee. She sat quietly, trying to think of some way out, when a sudden thought made her stand.
"God, What about John? He'll be home soon; how am I going to explain this to him?"
"Penny, please sit down. I have something to ask you." Sheldon felt uneasy-any romantic feelings she may have developed for her husband would be a... He looked at his watch sighing; her husband's tardiness would be a problem. "This man, do you have feelings for him? Do you love him?"
Penny thought for a moment, before answering, "No, I don't think there was ever love. We just seemed to need each other." She stared at him and then the look of realization crossed her face, "Don't tell me you organized that too?"
"I needed someone close to look out for you. I hope you understand."
Penny stood looking at the floor.
"Sheldon, you've just told me my whole life for the last five years has just been one big lie, and you hope I understand?"She looked Sheldon in the face. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
Sheldon looked at Penny, not a hint of emotion on his face.
"It's just going to take you a little time to adjust, but we have lots of time now."
Penny felt trapped, not even knowing where the man she called her husband was. She didn't dare think how Sheldon would react if she said no to his proposal. Would she ever see her son again? The full weight of the situation came crashing down around Penny's shoulders. She felt numb; Sheldon was talking to her, but it was just noise-nothing made sense anymore. She slipped into the blessed relief of unconsciousness.
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Penny, slowly become aware of her surroundings; she was in bed!
"Ah, good you're awake; you gave us all a fright."
Penny was fully awake now. A woman wearing some kind of uniform was bending over her. "Here drink this, you'll feel better."
She took the offered glass. The woman stood up, "I'll inform the Doctor you're awake."
Penny looked around, she was in a simple hospital room it seemed, a room with no windows. Just then Sheldon walked in.
"I hope you're fully rested Penny?" He said smiling.
Penny's head still felt fuzzy, "Sheldon, where are we? And where is my son?" She tried to stand, but found it hard to keep her balance.
"Penny, please don't concern yourself, Lee is just down the hall. As to where we are, we're in Colorado, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base to be precise."
Penny sat back down on the edge of the bed, "We're at Norad?"
Sheldon's face light up, he smiled down at her. "I'm, amazed you knew that."
"God, Sheldon, everyone knows where this place is. What happened to me? The last thing I remember we were in my apartment."
"You fainted, and hit your head; I'm sure you're fine now. Let me show you around." Penny knew he was hiding something; he would never normally give up a chance to talk at length about a head injury like that.
"Sheldon, I want to see my son; I want to see Lee."
"Fine." Sheldon turned and spoke to a man Penny had not noticed standing by the door. "Have my son brought to the control room." Sheldon moved to the door. "This way, Penny," he said, and waited at the door for her. "It's a pity in a way you were not here earlier. Raj has only just left. I'm sure he would have liked to have seen you."
"Sheldon, Raj, was working here and you never told me!"
Sheldon stopped mid-stride, turning to look at her. "Penny, firstly," he began. He had that 'why don't you listen' tone in his voice. "I've just told you Raj was working here. Secondly, when did I have the opportunity to talk to you before yesterday?"
Penny did not even try to keep the bitterness out of her voice, "You had five years of opportunities." Sheldon stepped back as if he had been struck, quickly turning away, he walked into the control room.
The control room was a hive of activity. People were watching big TV screens on the walls while others talked on telephones.
Suddenly from behind her Penny heard a squeal of delight, "Mother." As Penny turned, Lee came running into the room. Penny held her arms out as her son rushed up to her. Hogging her son, Penny looked over to Sheldon, he was smiling
Both Penny and Lee, who now refused to leave his mother's side, looked around in amazement.
"Sheldon, this is what you've been doing all this time?" Sheldon laughed. This did nothing to settle Penny's nerves.
"Heavens, no. Guardian is situated deep within the mountain. This is only a small control room." Penny looked at Sheldon; there had been a strange look in his eyes at the mention of Guardian; it worried her.
"So what's this Guardian? I thought I heard someone say your project was called Sky-shield?"
Sheldon smiled the smile their friends used to call his 'kill Batman smile'. This worried Penny more than anything that had happened over the last 36 hours.
Sheldon walked around the room, before turning to Penny. "Sky-shield is the government's new missile defence system. Guardian is the computer that controls the system." Sheldon laid his hand on the control panel, almost as if he were touching a loved one. "The computer to control everything."
Penny could see an almost childlike glimmer in his eyes as he spoke. She dreaded the answer, but knew she had to ask.
"So what makes it so special?"
The look on Sheldon's face could have been taken from any of a hundred, Saturday morning B-movies. The mad doctor is about to throw the switch that brings the monster to life. Sadly in this case, there were no screaming village people to stop him. Penny tried to focus on Sheldon's answer, which was already in progress.
"...So the human computer interface is the key. I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Amy's help was invaluable with this."
A quickly growing sense of panic gripped Penny. "So… so what does all that mean, Sheldon?"
He looked annoyed as he stared at her. "Do you ever listen? Simply put, the computer can interact with a human brain."
The panic in Penny was building, "Whose brain, would be powerful enough?" Penny knew the answer even before Sheldon spoke.
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Six year's previously
There is a slight phase shift as the unit exits the time vortex, all on broad systems soon come back on-line. The unit moves into full combat mode as the built in programming takes over.
DIRECTIVE ONE. Terminate Penny Miller, future biological mother of Lee Cooper, leader of the rebel resistance.
And so it begins….