Wow. Okay, I really wasn't expecting so much interest, or so many really cool guesses for this story. This is just a fun little thing I wrote after a weekend of action movies and to give me a bit of a breather from Voided Agreements. Now I'm worried it's going to be a bit of a let down for many. I hope you all enjoy it, but I'll understand if some don't.

His friends all thought he was losing his mind. Maybe he was. No matter who he talked to, no one remembered her. And he had no evidence of her either. Someone had wiped their laptops. He had tried to pull up his secret, password protected files on Penny only to find them gone. All the logs about their interactions, the journal about his friendship with her, every photo he had stored, they were all gone. So he hacked Leonard's laptop. He knew Leonard had photos also. All gone. Not the slightest trace of her.

Then he discovered that the napkin was gone also. He had it when he left for the lectures. He never went anywhere without taking it along. He distinctly remembered unpacking it when he got home. Now it was gone. Leonard had called his mother when he was upset about the napkin. When she told him the same thing, that she had never met anyone named Penny, he agreed to see the psychiatrist. So, here he was, sitting in a beige office on an overstuffed chair staring at a balding man with a bowtie.

"Dr. Cooper, I am Dr. Allen." The little man looked through the file in front of him. "You are a very unusual case, Dr. Cooper. I have to admit, I have never handled this type of situation before."

"That doesn't inspire much confidence that you can help me discover why no one remembers Penny but me," Sheldon said haughtily.

Dr. Allen looked at him with a smile. "Are you so sure she is real? Would it not be more logical to admit she was a figment of your imagination since no one else remembers her but you?"

Sheldon shook his head. "None of the others have an eidetic memory. Penny is real. I do not know why no one else remembers her, maybe hypnosis, or drugs, but she is real. I will find her eventually."

Dr. Allen tilted his head inquiringly. "How do you propose to find someone no one but you remembers?"

Sheldon's hands twitched on his knees. "I am currently searching all the sites Penny once frequented to find her. Stores she made purchases from online, gaming sites, even the illegal download sites where she watched movies. Eventually I will find her."

"Dr. Cooper," the psychiatrist began patiently, "surely if this woman existed you would have found some evidence by now. I understand that you had a set back in your career a year ago. How has this affected your mental capabilities?"

Sheldon glared at Dr. Allen. "I am not impaired," he bit out harshly. "I do not care who does or does not believe me. Penny. Is. Real." Sheldon took a deep breath to try and steady himself. He couldn't stop the next words from being wrenched out of him. "And she is in trouble. Otherwise she would be here."

Dr. Allen stared at him for several minutes, making Sheldon fidget uncomfortably. Finally the man sighed and took off his glasses. He pressed a button on his intercom. "Come in." Then he stood and closed the blinds over the windows. Sheldon turned as the door opened. The hope he felt building died quickly. A thick-set man in his 50's, not a beautiful blond in her 20's. He sat down on the desk.

"Sheldon, you can call me Barton. This is a very unique situation, Sheldon and you're going to have to work with us. There is no Penny. There never was. She does not exist. You need to remember that."

Sheldon felt his Texas temper rise up. "What have you done with her?!"

"Sheldon, the woman you knew is gone. Moved on to another assignment. She argued fiercely for your mind. She is the reason you weren't wiped also. None of us were sure what the potential damage would be if we tried to erase her from your mind because of your exceptionally high IQ and your eidetic memory. So, we left you intact. But you are starting to draw attention where none is wanted."

Dr. Allen handed the new man a small box. "Your internet searches have gotten too close. You need to cease before you do damage. So we offer you a compromise. You keep your memories, we return a few things, and in exchange, you never speak of this again to your friends and family. Let them think you had a small break down. Confused a dream with reality. Whatever it takes." Barton handed Sheldon the box.

He looked inside. His napkin, the photo of the two of them from Disneyland, a penny blossom. "What if I do not agree," he asked softly.

Barton sighed. "Then we will wipe your memory despite her protests." Barton moved over and sat in the chair beside Sheldon. "We don't want to do that, Sheldon. She is one of our best operatives. She has never asked the company for anything before. She swore you could be trusted. Your background suggests she is right about that. Please, Dr. Cooper. She begged us. I don't want to have to tell her we wiped you, too"

Sheldon looked at him with sorrow. "Penny doesn't beg."

Barton nodded with a smile. "I know. But she did for this. She is genuinely worried about what it would do to your.." he looked at Dr. Allen. "What was it she said?"

"She said she didn't want anything to happen to his big beautiful mind."

Sheldon clutched the box tighter. "Will she ever come back?" He knew the answer before they shook their heads. He sighed and smiled softly. "She chose your names, didn't she? To make it easier for me to take you seriously."

They both nodded. "She said you'd make the connection," Barton said with a smile. "You have been given a contact in case you need to get in touch with me or Allen. If you notice any of the others start to remember, you will need to speak to Iris, a cook at the university. She will get in touch with either myself or Allen here."

Sheldon looked at him shrewdly. "Her assignment wasn't finished was it. That's why you are still here. Why did she have to leave?"

The two men looked at one another, conversing silently. Barton nodded with a sigh. "Because she was risking the well being of innocents. Her role was at a point where she would either be exposed or possibly cause the death of civilians. So, we pulled her out and replaced her," Allen said.

"Why are you answering my questions. If you are some sort of secret agents, shouldn't you refuse to answer?"

The two men looked at each other and Barton nodded again. "Because she trusts you. And if you are to keep your promise, you need to know what is at stake," Allen said. "It's not just your memories at risk here. She has put her career, her very life, on the line here. If you expose her, it would likely get her killed. She has staked quite a lot on her trust in you. So, now you have to decide. Will you keep your memories and honor our agreement?"

Sheldon stood, box against is chest tightly. "I would never betray Penny," he said stoutly. "She is my best friend, and I am hers. I'll agree because of her." They watched him turn and walk away. Once the door closed behind him, Barton sighed.

"Do you think he'll keep to the deal?" Allen asked.

"Yes," Barton said. "He's a man of honor. Besides, he loves her. He may not realize it, but he does."

Allen took off his bow tie. "Poor bastard." Barton nodded wisely.