Vulcan Bonding

Author's Note:

Okay, so this chapter will be either interesting, or you'll hate me for it. But as ever it's a story and no story is simple. Once again if Sheldon is OOC I apologise, I'm working on how he'd react to a situation that'd be completely unlike his usual self, which is a bit difficult. But, I tried. Don't hate Michelle too much, she did what she thought she'd have to in the situation she was in. :(

Thanks for reading,

Jenny xx

The morning after the convention was rather dull for the three men.

Howard, Leonard and Raj packed the little stuff that they brought with them to the convention and were quickly on their way back to the car. But then, they remembered the absence of their friend; Sheldon.

Leonard put his small travel bag down with a slight twitch at his lips. He was worried. "Where's Sheldon?" They all exchanged a glance. It was usually Sheldon who dragged them out to bed and ordered them to be ready at a precise time, usually to the second.

Their dullness seemed reasonable as their usually strict planner was…gone?

"I'll go check his room." Leonard mumbled, walking from his room where they had all met, to the one beside it. But as he opened the door he was surprised to see any signs of Sheldon gone. In fact, there was nothing in the room apart from a cleaning trolley. When the Maid came out from the bathroom his fears were realised. At first he hoped Sheldon had gone OCD, but then he remembered Sheldon wouldn't touch a hotel's cleaning products. The sight of the Maid just made it more obvious to the fact he didn't want to think was happening.

Leonard walked back to his room, watching Raj and Howard with a confused expression upon his face. "I don't know how to tell you this." He spoke with a mumble, Raj and Howard now looking up with renewed interest.

"What is it?" Howard asked, not needing to consult Raj, they worked on the same wavelength.

Leonard took one look in the direction of the empty room Sheldon had been staying in, taking a breath before he said anything, then his words came freely "Sheldon's gone."

(….)

A Loud door slamming awoke Penny, Bernadette and Amy from their drunken slumber. Now, all they had was intense headaches and pain. Amy especially.

"Oh Bestie, how do you tolerate such intense feelings of nausea?!" Amy whined as she ran to the bathroom, which was a long walk through Penny's room. Trying to dodge all of the things that littered the floor. Bernadette rubbed her temples, not having too much of a headache thanks to her resilience to alcohol. Penny, surprisingly, seemed unaffected. Although her hair was messy and make up smeared, she showed no signs of hang over. "How are you even walking?!" Bernadette croaked as her friend walked with a grin. "Oh you get used to it."

"You drank about three bottles to yourself last night!" Bernadette sunk back down on the sofa with a groan. She really didn't want Howie to see her like this…

"The more you drink, the less you feel it." Penny yawned. Her explanation was unbelievable at best. Bernadette mumbled as she fell back; "You have a drinking problem."

Penny's eyes found Bernadette with a gasp. "What did you say!" She went to defend her biased view of her normal drinking habits, until a loud noise came from the bathroom.

Amy was puking.

"Okay, we've had a drill for this Penny, get the water and asprin. I'll meet you in there in exactly two minutes." The friends turned straight-faced and began to put their plans of handling a severely hangover Amy into motion.

(.…)

"Do you think he'll be okay on his own?" Raj sounded concerned. Although he often disagreed with Sheldon, it was widely acknowledged Sheldon was terrible at looking after himself, especially when it came to transportation.

"Yes, he wouldn't have left on his own without planning a way home. Even in the worst possible situation Sheldon wouldn't be so careless." Leonard struggled to focus on the road with the worry echoing in his mind. Even his own words didn't help him.

Howard, meanwhile, began speculating on what exactly had made Sheldon take off so quickly. "Do you think he slept with T'Pring?" Howard's lips began to twitch. A smirk appearing subtly.

Leonard scowled. "Howard, now isn't the time." He focused back on the road, leaving Raj to scold the short man. He smiled at the thought, half an inch or not; He was still taller.

"Yes, Howard it isn't the time, what if he's hurt or something." Raj was now even more worried. He always considered Sheldon like a child at times. Now he was imagining a poor child; lost in the streets of California. His heart practically wept.

"He isn't hurt, unless it's his shame that hurts him. Could you imagine Sheldon on the morning after a one night stand? Do you think he'd be able to handle it?" Howard mused, laughing to himself. Although the thought was inappropriate towards their seemingly lost friend, it wasn't exactly easy for the other's to get it out their mind. What would Sheldon be like?

"You think that's why he ran off?" Raj sighed in the back of the car. It was so unlike Sheldon…

"It could be." Howard confirmed, looking out the windshield of the car with a slight smirk, but Leonard corrected them both. "Don't be stupid, this is Sheldon we're talking about. I've been his roommate for years and I know that no amount of alcohol would make him have a one night stand with any woman, dressed as a Vulcan or not."

"Not just any Vulcan; The Vulcan." Howard was grinning again. "It seems perfect doesn't it? He's dressed as Spock, she as his Vulcan bride. Sheldon saw Leonard Nimoy and had a drink, sure he didn't know it was alcohol, but it just seems too…perfect for it to not have happened." Howard's argument was likely, but Raj remained silent on the matter and Leonard refused to acknowledge it no matter how likely it was. It was Sheldon they were talking about.

"I know you think that it could happen but honestly, There has to be something more to it. Sheldon wouldn't have a one night stand with a stranger. He could barely even hug Amy and they had been going out forever." Leonard sighed, but Howard continued.

"But Amy wasn't like T'Pring." Howard argued as they approached Los Robles Avenue. "What are you saying, Howard?" Leonard scowled at his friend.

"Well…You saw her I mean, come on!" Howard held his hands up, not wanting to sound like a complete A-Hole. But that was too late.

Raj frowned. "Really, Howard? I thought you were better than that." He scowled at his friend, making the man go quiet for a moment. "You're all just trying to play on the moral high ground. I know you thought the same. Raj, you practically had to pick your jaw off the ground – As did Sheldon for christ's sake." Howard continued to argue his case as they reached the apartment block and left the car, picking their bags from the back seat.

"You really think that kind-of thing matters to Sheldon, he isn't as shallow as you Howard." Leonard walked with his bag, still annoyed his friend had spoken. But, Howard laughed.

"Really, you're calling me shallow? So you're saying when you first met Penny you loved her for her personality?" That now caused an awkward silence over the group. Leonard glared at his friend. "That's different." He spoke, trying to defend himself, but it was of no use. He knew as much as Howard knew. He was no better.

"Exactly." Howard rolled his eyes as they reached the fourth floor, they heard music. "How is Penny awake so early?" Leonard mused as they got closer, the sound of Foreigner blasting rather loudly. "I don't think she listens Foreigner." Raj got rather confused. But as they reached the door of Apartment 4A, they realised it was coming from inside that apartment.

"What the-.." They opened the door, stepping into the door way to see Sheldon sadly singing on his game, holding the microphone and singing the lyrics so defeated that Raj felt himself sniffle, whilst Howard looked down with wide eyes, speaking with a mumble. "Why isn't he wearing any pants?!"

"This heart of mine has been hurt before, This time I wanna' be sure…" Sheldon sniffed.

He was looking the same way he did on his first break up to Amy. Leonard felt a pang of worry hit his gut. He'd have to call Mrs Cooper, Immediately. "I've been waiting for a girl like you, To come into my life…" Then he stopped singing and turned to his friends with a blank expression, but sad eyes.

"Michelle's gone."

(….)

Michelle woke the next morning to find herself lying next to a still sleeping Dr Cooper. It was innocent, of course. They hadn't done anything more than the kiss. They just…fell asleep.

She assumed it'd be a big deal for him, he was so fearful over germs that the idea of sleeping with someone else would probably disgust him. Yet here he was beside her, sleeping softly.

Then she felt a pang of dread.

Michelle leaned back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes. What would she do?

She didn't live in California. She was thinking about it, in fact it seemed likely she might move considering her Cousin had mentioned a job opening where she worked, but still…That wouldn't be for at least a month and here she was, lying next to someone she wanted to stay with. But couldn't.

Michelle knew what she had to do, if she didn't she'd be in the position of having to leave with him knowing she was leaving, to see his eyes and his expression as she did. He didn't want her to leave, in fact he wanted her to stay with him. It wasn't suitable...Maybe if she had everything planned already? But she didn't.

She couldn't handle the look he'd surely give her. So, it was the only way. She knew it was the only option as she stood off the bed and began to pull her hair from the messed up T'Pring outfit. Undoing the various clips in her hair until it fell loosely past her shoulders. Once again she paused to look at him as he slept. Completely unaware of what she was doing. She felt a stab at her heart. Her mind was racing, telling her to stay. "I Can't." She whispered with sad eyes and began to toy with the small IDIC pendant. The Vulcan symbol was cute, so she wore it under her outfit.

Michelle found a napkin nearby and a pen, scribbling a note quickly as she tried to create some kind of resolve in her choice. Her whole body was fighting it but she had to do it. Michelle undid the clasp of the IDIC necklace and placed it on the bed beside him, over the napkin. Lingering for a second, pondering on her choice. Knowing it was the wrong one.

But it didn't matter; she forced herself out of the room and into the dull morning light of the early morning Pasadena sky.

(….)

Sheldon sat in his spot silently as his friends fussed around him. "What happened?" Leonard asked, Raj was silent as all of the chaos erupted, but it was Howard who broke it with the most reasonable question. "Who's Michelle?"

Sheldon looked up to his friends with a frown. "My Adun'a." He looked down at the floor, listening to their worried mumbles and confusion. "You're Wife?!" Now even Leonard was confused, But Sheldon was trying to focus on what went wrong;

After the words they sat rather contently, Michelle ran her fingers against the palm of his hand as they continued to talk to each other, no awkwardness between them as they resumed conversation. "Do you live in California?" Sheldon asked, obviously he should've asked earlier but it hadn't been an issue. Now, it was…

"No." She answered simply with an awkward half grin. "I've been considering moving to Pasadena though, I have family here. I've planned on meeting them actually." She continued running her fingers against the creased in his palm. The contact was pleasant, but he was fighting his urge to clean. He knew it was stupid considering, but he didn't want to offend her also. People were offended easily by cleanliness. But it was the least worrying problem in his mind at the moment. "How long until you move to Pasadena?" He spoke with unintentional urgency.

Michelle looked towards him with a slight smile. "I don't know, it might take a few weeks." Sheldon wasn't impressed. Weeks, that was a long time to be apart…He considered her a part of his life now. He rarely changed his life and this change was a big one. Now she'd be out of it. It wouldn't do.

"You can't…leave." He spoke simply once again, his expression flickering with sadness at the idea. He saw Michelle frowning. "I have to, It's only in words so far, my move to Pasadena is going to take time and I haven't got anything prepared, I have to go back."

"You don't." Sheldon pushed, his hand coming over her's for a moment. "You shouldn't."

They looked at each other for a long time, Sheldon's eyes filled with worry and her's scanning his expression. He didn't know what she was feeling again, but it was something. He didn't think anything of it at the time, they just went on to discussing other things. He thought the issue was resolved, that she wouldn't leave.

But then he woke up and indeed she was gone, leaving only a note and an IDIC necklace.

He had ran the situation over and over in his mind, trying to find a moment in it when she seemed doubtful, or when it seemed she would hurt him. There was none. She had been genuine and she was kind. Maybe she hadn't intended on hurting him in the first place?

He looked down at the Napkin in his hands, staring at the writing again with an impassive face, although his mind was racing and he felt strangely worried he'd never see her again;

" 'Parted from me and never parted.'

I had to go.

Live long and Prosper,

M."

(….)

Leonard looked at his distraught friend, silently trying to figure out how he could help him. "Hey Buddy.." He slowly sat beside his friend, noting that he didn't comment on his change in seating arrangement. This was big.

"I'm sure you'll find her.." He mumbled, looking down at the Napkin and Necklace in Sheldon's hand. His friend looked like a sad puppy. His eyes wide and filled with disappointment.

When he got no response he stood and walked to the kitchen to stand with Howard and Raj. "What do we do?" Howard mumbled, looking over to Sheldon who continued sitting silently, just staring at the napkin. "I don't know…He seem's pretty torn up about it." Raj answered with sad eyes. "Poor guy."

Leonard tried to think of what to do…"I'll have to call Mrs Cooper, she knows how to handle these situations." He mumbled again, looking over his shoulder to his friend. "I don't think I've ever seen him this bad before."

"What do you think happened between him and…Michelle." Raj mumbled, Howard wanted to say the obvious but on inspection of how Sheldon was acting, not scrubbing his skin until it bled, for example, he didn't know if it was right. Leonard only offered a shrug. "Maybe they just really got along, sometimes you find that person who you just seem to gel with."

Howard pitied the man. Every guy could sympathize with his pain. "Yeah, everyone has the one that got away."

All three men went quiet, until Raj mumbled; "I grieve with thee…"

(….)

Michelle sat in the small coffee shop, running her hands over her jeans. Her palms felt sweaty. It was horrible…

Nervousness mostly, She'd never met her cousin before. In fact, she barely knew any of her family other than her father's side. Her mother didn't mention anything about her like in Nebraska. Now here she was, trying to find out more. It had been a two day's seen she last saw Sheldon. She hadn't planned on staying for so long in California, it was meant to be a weekend trip, but Penny said she had something she had to deal with. Michelle had to re-book the Hotel room for a few more days, which proved to be more awkward than she thought, but in the end it worked out, apart from her mind repeatedly scolding her for leaving Sheldon…

So, she sat silently, looking up towards the door of the Coffee shop when a blonde walked through, her green eyes searching the seats. She was tanned, wearing a pink vest and denim shorts with flip flops. She fitted in California pretty well. Michelle was the resemblance already, she looked like her mother, perhaps even more than Michelle did. Michelle had taken after her father considerably, having brown hair rather than her Mother's blonde and pale skin rather than the sun kissed glow her mother seemed to radiate.

"Penny?" Michelle called, watching as the blonde looked with a smile. Michelle felt her stomach twist, she was very pretty. "Michelle?" The blonde approached with a growing grin. "Yeah, Hi." She laughed a little, it was awkward at first but after they ordered something to drink things seemed to go smoother.

"It's so weird, I knew my family was dysfunctional at best but I didn't think I'd have a secret Auntie somewhere." Penny laughed a little. "Wait until Jason and Lisa find out." Penny took a sip of her drink as Michelle processed what she said. "You have a brother and sister?"

"Oh, yeah." They were in a mutual silence until Penny started again. "So, did your Mom tell you anything about what happened between her and my Mom?" Penny smiled towards her and Michelle bit her lip. "Mom just told me she was sick of the country life, she had to get out of there. Her sister didn't agree and told her she was being stupid, then they just had an argument over their conflicting life interest and they just stopped talking." Michelle took a sip of her tea with an awkward smile.

Penny felt a bit awkward. "Mom has always been…stubborn. When I told her I was moving to California to pursue a career in acting she flipped, My brother and sister stayed in Nebraska so she expected me to do the same." Penny shrugged, but Michelle felt a pang of sympathy. "That's terrible"

"Ah, Family. What can you do huh'?" Penny grinned a little. So, Michelle continued the conversation. "What do your Sister and Brother do?" As she asked, Penny laughed a little. "Lisa looks after her son, Michael, and Jason…He's a sort-of Chemist." Penny grinned, turning the conversation to something less awkward. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Oh no, My parents figured one was enough." Michelle rotated the cup a little. Penny bit her lip, once again everything was…awkward. "What do you do?" Penny smiled, hoping it was something they could talk about together. She was wrong.

"Oh, I'm considering going into a PhD in Classics and Ancient History." Michelle smiled and Penny groaned. "Oh god, PhD, please…just don't mention it. I date a guy with a PhD and know about a gazillion others, and a mechanic." Penny laughed, Michelle did too. "A Mechanic?"

"Oh he doesn't have a PhD, one of the other PhD's, Dr Whackadoodle, likes to remind him and everyone else about it." Penny rolled her eyes and Michelle found herself smiling. "So you have a pretty active life then huh'? Surrounded by doctors. Your mother must be proud."

"Oh they're not medical doctors, they're like science geniuses, and my Dad, Wyatt, he's very proud. He thinks Leonard is the best thing since sliced bread. He's planning grandchildren." They laughed a together, once the general awkwardness of speaking to family you've never known was over, things worked more smoothly.

"So, you're considering moving to California?" Penny smiled towards her, Michelle felt her lips curve into a grin.

(….)

Penny watched as her newly discovered cousin grinned. She felt a stab of the usual feminine jealously.

Although Penny knew she had a little "somethin', somethin'." Her cousin was different, where she rocked the sex appeal, Michelle was sort-of adorable. She sat before her with pale skin and incredible blue eyes; She would have almost felt jealous if she wasn't satisfied with her green ones. Her hair was a deep brown compared to Penny's golden blonde, and she had bangs, her hair fell past her shoulders. She didn't have any make up on, so she looked natural and seemed to just radiate cuteness. Penny loved her already.

For a moment, Penny watched as Michelle toyed with her cup. Then, she looked up and finally answered; "Yes, well…I was considering it for a long time anyway, then I found out about a cousin living in California and it seemed to fall into place."

Penny began to grin. "You really should, I know we've just started speaking but I have a good thing about knowing people, I just get a feeling you know?" Penny said, her lips curving into a grin. "And honestly sweetie it would be nice to have one person who wasn't obsessed with science to talk to around here, it drives a girl crazy."

"Scientists can't be that bad." Michelle sighed. "I met a pretty remarkable one at the convention."

"Ooh…" Penny was now full attention. She did love hearing about how potential couples met, it's just adorable. Although Penny doubted her cousin did much. She just had the look of the cutesy girl next door that didn't do anything against the bible or something. She needed some California in her system. "Tell me about him, was he hot?" Penny began doubting that. Guy's at Trekkie conventions didn't exactly scream "Sex god" to her. Other than Leonard, obviously.

"He was." Michelle bit her lip, Penny was loving this already. "But it wasn't that, we just seemed connected you know? Have you ever had that feeling when you're out and you just get a spark in the room, then you see this guy and it's like….Wow." Michelle sighed and Penny grinned. "I get ya', although usually for me it's after one too many. The spark is usually just the vodka." Penny grimaced a little. "I don't find that out until the morning after…Eesh." Penny continued reminiscing about some of the more grizzly times as her cousin told her more.

"Yeah, well we just connected. We sat up for most of the night talking. He's so smart too, he had his quirks but he was adorable in a way, you know?" Michelle smiled and Penny grinned. "Oh he couldn't be that bad, I know this guy with the worst 'quirks' you can imagine, Dr Whackadoodle makes me want to scream sometimes."

"Well this guy was sweet." Penny watched as Michelle rotated the cup between her hands again, sighing. "Aww sweetie, you really liked him huh'?" Penny was practically melting with how cute it all was. "Yeah, but I had to leave. I don't live here, he does, so I had to go. He doesn't even know how to contact me. I should've left my number.." Michelle bit her lip.

"Wait, he lives here?" Penny suddenly felt all fuzzy. "Like in Pasadena?!"

"Yeah, He's a scientist in CalTech or something." Michelle shrugged and Penny was getting a plan. A Scientist in CalTech. There couldn't be that many, and she knew scientists from practically every department. She was beginning to make a plan. "When are you going to move here?"

"I don't know if I should yet, I need to find a job, an apartment…" The brunette looked a little worried. "It's a lot of trouble."

"As I said on the phone, I work at the cheesecake factory and they're looking for a waitress. Most of the staff are like me, looking for their break. One of the waitresses, Callie, she got some job in a tv show so she took time off, but she took too much time off, had an argument with the manager and now they're looking for a new girl. I could totally recommend you for the position." Penny was grinning.

If Michelle moved here, all it would take would be for Penny to go to Leonard and demand them to make a man hunt. Then she'd get to make a cute relationship name and have another girl to discuss her sex life to. It would be perfect.

"But wouldn't that need filling rather quickly, I need to find a place to live first and even then all the packing.." Michelle began panicking. So, Penny laughed.

"You go back to.." Penny paused, where did she live? "Wait. Where you live anyway?" Penny began wondering how the hell that hadn't come into conversation.

"Oh I live in Chicago." Michelle smiled and Penny giggled. She had the visual of the cell block tango in her head. She really needed to stop watching musicals with the girls. "I can see why it would be a problem, but what I did when I moved from Nebraska is, I got my job in order first then I found the apartment, my apartment offered a pre-furnished thing where you had the basics until you could bring your own stuff in. There's probably more apartments around with the same thing, its California. They try to appeal to the actors." She grinned as she sipped the coffee. Watching her cousin smile. "I suppose I could, I'm just nervous you know?" Michelle said with a sigh.

Penny felt her pain. "Sweetie, when I moved from Nebraska I pretty much felt on my own, but it isn't gonna' be like that with you. I'm here, I mean sure you feel you don't know me too well but I'm here for you, okay?" As she smiled, Penny couldn't help but ask. "Now, tell me more about this mystery Scientist?"

(….)

Sheldon sat silently in his room for the rest of the day. He'd missed work, he wondered why he did it. But he had to. He couldn't face anything, he had to replay what happened to find sign of what happened. What went wrong.

He found nothing.

But them, as he looked to the door he saw it open…He told no one to bother him. He felt his lip twitch, until the familiar figure of his mother appeared in the room. Closing the door behind her. "Shelly…" Mary Cooper approached her son, smiling to see there was no Cats in sight. "What happened?" She sat down on the bed beside him with a careful smile. Her son was always the odd one, it troubled her to see him so sad.

"I don't know." He mumbled, looking down at the necklace in his hand. His brow creasing as he tried to figure out what he did to drive her away, He was more open than he ever had been with Amy…But she left. Women continued to confuse him…

"Shelly, I heard you broke up with that girl, Amy.." She began, but Sheldon interjected. "It has nothing to do with my relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler." Sheldon turned his gaze back to his hand. "Nothing at all."

He felt his mother's hand on his shoulder. She looked upset. It made him feel even worse, his stomach twisting. His mother's sadness always affected him this way. It wasn't a secret he'd always been attached to his mother and Meemaw. He was what others would call a "Mommy's boy." Although, the term had always annoyed him.

"Another girl huh'? who would've thought you'd get your Daddy's 'skill' when it came to women..." Mary paused, a mix of amusement at the idea of her Shelly being like George, then worry. "What's so different about this lady then huh'?" She rubbed his arm before bringing him into a one armed hug. She knew how to comfort him. She always did when he was a child, after bullying or being teased. Her voice was soothing. "I don't know we just..." He mumbled, then paused before continuing. "She was different than the others. She was kind."

"Oh Shelly…" Mary felt her heart break a little. "God has a plan for all of us, he moves in some mysterious ways, that's for sure…" She knew it was bad when he didn't lift his head to correct her.

"Now I didn't raise my boy to be like this, did I?" She was answered with silence. "You will stop sulking, get up and work and remember that things will work out. One way or another." Mary Cooper stood with a sigh. "Come on." She began walking to the door, Sheldon didn't follow her. "Don't make me repeat myself, Shelly." She snapped and caught his attention. After the warning, he had no choice but to do as she told him or face the wrath of Mary Cooper.

Back to work it was…