(Authors' Note: Please forgive us for taking so long for this update and leaving you hanging from a cliff. We needed a week off. But we're back and we hope you enjoy what we've written. And thank you all for the kind reviews!)

March 13, 2034

Penny struggled against the ropes that tied her arms behind her. If she could slip her middle finger through that loop, she might be able to loosen her bonds. One thing Penny knew was knots.

"Penny, I have to say the years have been kind to you." Penny bared her teeth as much as the gag would allow.

"Now," Wil Wheaton stroked his beard. "If you play nice, I won't mark up that beautiful face of yours." Penny's eyes fell on the burn mark on her upper arm for just a second.

Leslie yanked the gag out of Penny's mouth. "Bitch!" Penny gasped.

"Nice. Do you kiss Sheldon with that mouth?" Leslie quipped.

"Penny, I need you to tell me who this young lady is." Wheaton held the picture of Lara and Sheldon in the lab up to Penny's eyes.

A pang of longing went through Penny as she looked at the two people who had sole possession of her heart. She began to reply when Wheaton interrupted her.

"Before you answer, you should understand that, like a lawyer, I never ask a question I don't already know the answer to."

XXXX

September 6, 2011

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Sheldon snarled, his voice reaching a comedic higher octave.

"You know," Howard nodded as he edged forward on the right side of the couch, "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Sheldon." Raj rigorously nodded in agreement.

All five of them stared at Lara, expecting her to admit that it was the dumbest plan she had ever come up with in her entire life. Instead she held up her hand and shook her head.

"You're wrong. This plan is brilliant."

Again, everyone else in the room looked expectantly at Lara, hoping she would provide more than that. She did not.

"Please tell me in that gorgeous little head of yours you realize that this plan is completely insane." Howard finished the sentence through clinched teeth.

"Lara," Leonard gave Howard a look that told him to shut up before Lara punched Howard in the throat. "What Howard is trying to say is, even if we did manage to sneak past security and find the right place where they're keeping the data for casting, how are we supposed to add Wheaton to the cast list without them noticing?"

They all looked at Lara once again, but this time she was giving them a half sideways smile and looking at each of them with a sparkle in her eye as she wiggled a bit in her seat.

"You forget," she said as she pulled the TTM out of her jacket pocket. "We have time on our side."

Leonard, Raj and Howard looked at each other. Lara's all too familiar look of general impishness was making them extremely uncomfortable.

XXXX

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Penny grumbled.

"Well, the new issue of The Flash is out and everyone but you is too busy failing to understand Lara's simplest of instructions to give me a ride to the comic book store. Ergo, you are driving me."

Penny rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No, Sheldon, I mean I can't believe we're actually going to go through with Lara's plan. You know it involves a whole mess of crimes, right?"

"Penny, I'm well aware of the potential consequences of our actions, but this is Wil Wheaton. He must be stopped."

"It's just…it's all too weird. I can't wrap my head around it."

"I understand," Sheldon said in his best 'there, there' voice. "Though you lack the cognitive capacity to comprehend the entire situation, I have no doubt that your nearly masculine strength and corn-husker spirit will prove handy should we run into any need for physical-"

Penny jerked the wheel to the right causing Sheldon to shriek. She pulled over to the side of the road and pulled her parking break so hard it nearly came off in her hands. Sheldon stared at her with a mix of anger and pure terror.

"Say something nice about me." She said flatly and turned to look at him in the eyes. Sheldon began to feel incredibly uncomfortable and looked down at his feet. "Now!" She added causing him to jump.

"Did I not just complement you on your masculine strength and corn-husker –"

"Goddamnit, Sheldon, if you don't say something nice to me…" she thought for a second, "…I'll get out of this car now and you will have to drive it home."

"How will you get home?" Sheldon answered looking at her again and calling her bluff.

"I don't have a problem with taking the bus!" she nearly shouted.

She watched as Sheldon's jaw strengthened and set as it always did when she was winning.

"I'm waiting."

Sheldon looked into her eyes and Penny almost gasped. His clear blue eyes were staring deeply into hers, more deeply than she'd ever seen him look at anyone in the four years she had known him. She became very aware of her breathing and tried her best to slow it down and keep it quiet. The silence in the car wrapped itself around her heart and squeezed.

"You are constantly annoying the hell out of me; you are always there, under my feet. You disrupt all of my routines, nay, you disrupt my life. I find myself confused and frustrated at the very thought of you - and I am constantly thinking of you because you're the most wonderful and beautiful person I've ever known and if you tell anyone this I will climb to the roof of our building and jump off."

Sheldon turned and looked at the car door, suddenly fascinated with the inner workings of the lock mechanism. Penny slowly picked up her jaw which was currently on the brake pedal and pulled back out into traffic.

"Thank you, Sheldon," she said shakily.

"I also like it when you give me a ride to the comic book store," Sheldon murmured to the door lock.

XXXX

December 14, 2011

Penny waited two months to tell Sheldon; she wanted to be sure. He had no immediate reaction. They sat on the brown leather couch, waiting for Leonard to return with dinner. Sheldon opened his mouth as if to say something but nothing came out. Finally, he rose from his spot and headed to his room.

Penny wasn't angry. After all, this was a man who considered it a crisis when his laundry detergent switched from FDC Blue 10 to FDC Blue 15. She had had two months to adjust; Sheldon had only twenty minutes. He'd process it and then Penny would tell him she was keeping the baby.

Leonard arrived with Raj and Howard behind him. Penny hoped she could eat being simultaneously famished and nauseated.

"Sheldon! Dinner!" Leonard yelled down the hall but there was no response.

"I think he's working out a problem." Penny offered.

"He's hell-bent on this time travel theory." Leonard grumbled.

Penny managed to eat and actually felt better for having done so. Howard had just finished clearing away the containers and Raj was setting up HALO when Sheldon entered the living room. He paused in the threshold, taking in Penny and his friends. All the people who mattered most to him besides Meemaw. Penny glanced up and gave him a small smile.

Sheldon strode over to the couch. He pulled Penny up and wrapped her into a deep, thorough kiss. "I'm going to be a father." he announced proudly to the room.

XXXX

July 22, 2012

Penny entered Sheldon's room. "Sheldon!" She whispered.

"Danger! Danger!" He shouted and his cries caused the baby in Penny's arms to start squalling."Dammit, Sheldon. What the hell is wrong with you?" Penny said furiously.

"Penny, people can't be in my room."

"Oh for God's sake, we are not people. We are your daughter and her mother."

Sheldon rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. He groaned- an interruption right in the middle of REM sleep. Penny thrust the knot of wailing baby at him.

"You have to take her. I'm exhausted and she won't go back to sleep."

Sheldon took Lara and looked her in the eye. "Now, Miss, it is 2AM and you are disrupting everyone's circadian rhythm." He was rewarded with an ear-splitting scream. "Good Lord, that is unpleasant."

"Uggh, Sheldon…" Penny began but he held up a hand and tucked Lara into the crook of his other arm.

"You." He motioned to Penny. "Get in the bed."

Penny blinked. "Your bed?" Sheldon nodded as Lara continued to fuss. Penny climbed in next to Sheldon. They hadn't been in a bed together since, well, now Lara was here. Sheldon drew the covers over Penny. He placed Lara on his chest and began to softly sing the Elements Song. Penny smiled as his accent twanged the end of each element. It always came out when he whispered. Lara settled down to squeaks and grunts and Penny felt sleep overtake her just as Sheldon pressed his lips to her forehead.

When Leonard walked in to see why Sheldon wasn't up for work, he found the entire Cooper family deeply asleep. Leonard had seen Dr. Stephanie Barnett at the hospital when Penny delivered Lara. She had given him her number. It was time to use it.

XXXX

September 7, 2011

"Okay, is everyone aware of what he or she is going to be doing on tomorrow?" Lara said over boxes of Lo Mein and dumplings. They all nodded their heads, mouths full.

"Good…" she trailed off as she found her leg bouncing anxiously. She was rarely prone to nervous habits, but she couldn't seem to stop. She was worried about her mother. Unfortunately, the TTM was not a two-way communicator so she had no way of knowing what was happening in her time without going back. But her job was not done here. The best way for her to help was to complete her mission. That thought helped her relax a little, but she couldn't help but worry.

There was a tiny part of her, however, that knew her mother would be okay. Her parents may not be together, but she knew they still loved each other and that her father would never let anything bad happen.

XXXX

Lara didn't mean to spy on them but her curiosity got the better of her. Sheldon and Penny were in the laundry room and she hovered just outside the door, able to see but not be seen.

"Once again, you have ignored my precepts about stain removal and pre-soaking." Sheldon admonished.

"Shut up or I'll throw my red bra in with your white load." Lara giggled- her mother was so sassy.

"While I am terrified by that threat, it is nice to see some of your old fire back."

"Sweetie, why are we doing laundry on a Wednesday?"

"Because after the events of tomorrow, we might end up getting arrested and I would like to at least have clean clothes if I'm going to be in jail."

Penny paused for a moment, trying not to get lost in his logic.

"Sheldon, what do you make of all this? You know, Lara, time travel, the whole ball of wax." Penny hopped up on one of the washers next to the one Sheldon was filling.

"I don't make anything of it." He shook out his Batman shirt. "The future is something we can neither foresee nor control. Lara is not here to stop events but to manipulate them in order to ensure a more favorable outcome for all."

"Really?" Penny said, "because I find the whole thing to be a real mind-bender."

"As do I," Sheldon agreed. "Bazinga."

They sorted clothes quietly for a while. "Lara said you and I still live across the hall from each other." Penny offered.

"That's good." Sheldon pulled a load out of the dryer on the other side of Penny. "You know how I abhor change." When he stood, he was right between her knees with the laundry basket on her thighs.

Penny leaned across the basket. "Why do you think we're still living across from each other, Sheldon?" Her voice was low.

"I suppose it's because good neighbors are hard to find." Sheldon's hands gripped the laundry basket tightly.

"Is that all we are? Good neighbors?" Penny moved the basket so now there was no buffer between waitress and physicist. Lara's eyes widened. Was this how it happened? She hoped that they wouldn't do anything embarrassing while she was there.

"You're my best friend." Sheldon offered, stepping a millimeter closer. "That could also account for our maintaining proximity over such a stretch of time."

Penny hopped down from the washer so now she was leg to leg and chest to chest with a very twitchy scientist.

"I think there is another reason." Her hands crawled up the front of his grey striped shirt.

"You do? What?"

Penny slid herself past Sheldon, who closed his eyes at the contact, to pick up the basket of dry clothes.

"You're the genius. You figure it out." and Penny exited the laundry room. Lara stood breathless beside the vending machine. Holy crap on a cracker! This might be easier than she thought.

XXXX

Lara's IQ isn't as high as her father's. She's not sure what it is because Penny forbad him to test her but, over the years, father and daughter have been able to hypothesize that she falls somewhere in the mid-160's. As for her memory, it's not quite eidetic but it's close.

There is one memory that she has reviewed so often that the details are blurry, the colors soft and she honestly can't say if it's real or imagined.

She is very young- still in her highchair and not talking. It was a time when the apartment across the hall was still empty. When her father made pancake sin the shape of Sesame Street characters as her mother, clad in a Green Lantern shirt, danced around the kitchen to Shania Twain. "Dance with me, Sheldon." Penny pulls at his robe. Sheldon puts a pancake on Lara's tray-Cookie Monster- and does a few steps around the sprite that is Penny.

Lara knows it happened- this time when her father danced and her mother touched him with ease. She just doesn't know when it all ended.

XXXX

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

The door swung open. Sheldon peered in to see that Penny had balled herself up on the couch.

"I brought ice cream," he said softly. Penny didn't reply. Sheldon floundered in the doorway. He hadn't technically been invited inside. Social convention mandated one received an invitation before entering a person's residence. On the other hand, Penny's silence indicated a damsel in distress was there. Ignoring the prickles on his scalp that often alerted him to a social gaffe, Sheldon went inside.

"There, there." He placed himself on the couch. "Sheldon's here."

"I can't stop worrying about this plan. There are so many variables that could go wrong." Sheldon raised his eyebrows at her use of "variables" but kept quiet. "Why am I so worried? Why does part of me want to do everything I can to keep Lara out of this?" Penny's eyes filled up. "What if something happens to her? To any of you? Then what will I do?"

Sheldon knew that the best response here was silence. Over four years, he had assimilated that Penny often employed the rhetorical question as a means of clarifying a point such as when she had asked him what kind of doctor removed shoes from the gluteus region.

"It's coffee almond fudge." Sheldon said when he felt an appropriate amount of time had passed.

Penny wiped her eyes with a balled up tissue. She took the container from him and said thank you. There was even a spoon in the bag.

"You're not having any?" She inquired.

"I find it difficult to consume ice cream that contains other elements due to the inconsistency in the ratio of ice cream to add-ins."

Penny's spoon hovered half way to her mouth. Just when she thought he couldn't get any stranger.

"But, please, enjoy." Sheldon motioned for her to eat. She swallowed the spoonful- it was so good. Sheldon always bought her the most expensive ice creams; she had no idea where they came from because she never saw them in the stores.

She dug into the container.

"Sheldon, you have to try this." He cast a wary eye at the spoon Penny had just taken out of her mouth.

"Right." She nodded. Penny bounced to her kitchen and returned with a second spoon.

Sheldon sat fidgeting on the couch, resplendent in his TV test pattern shirt, and yellow thermal. Penny chose to ignore the burgundy corduroy pants he had on. Someday, she was going to get that boy in a pair of jeans. She took the new spoon and dipped it into the container. Sheldon reached for it.

"Uh ah," Penny shook her head, pulling the spoon away. Something about Sheldon always made her mischievous, made her push at his boundaries. Penny always sought to make him react to her. She stood up and over Sheldon's knees.

"What…what are you doing?" His eye twitched frantically.

Penny leaned over. "Open wide." She used her best Marilyn Monroe voice.

"This is a highly unconventional way to eat ice cream." Sheldon squawked. Penny brushed the spoon across his lips. Automatically, his tongue darted out to taste.

"Good, huh?" Penny leaned in closer; Sheldon nodded.

"Do you want more?"

Even Sheldon recognized she wasn't talking about ice cream. He lifted his head and their noses bumped. Sheldon snaked a hand up and tangled it in Penny's hair, dragging her ever nearer.

"Penny." He whispered.

"Yes, Sheldon."

"You're dripping ice cream all over my favorite pants."

Penny looked down and her eyes widened. Never in a million years did she ever think she – or anyone else for that matter - could have that kind of effect on Sheldon. Somehow, the thought that she could elicit arousal from him made her stomach dip. She felt the familiar yet uncontrollable clench between her legs. She looked back up into his icy blue eyes. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

"I guess we're going to have to get you out of those, then."

His right eye twitched just a fraction and if she hadn't been looking at him so intently, she would have missed it. She wanted to ignore it, but she knew Sheldon better than anyone else, and she knew that the tiny movement was a signal to back off. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and started to move away. But she couldn't move away because his hand only gripped the back of her head harder while his fingers tangled in her hair and a strong arm pulled her forward. And because her eyes were still closed, she was shocked when she felt lips crushed against her own.

It was a bit awkward, his lips were pressed so hard against hers, she could hardly move. But when his mouth opened on hers, a shiver shot down her spine and she leant forward increasing the pressure. She felt his tongue against hers darting and dancing around it, unsure of itself. The kiss was sloppy and unpracticed and unbelievably exciting. Before she could think about anything, her legs were straddling his and she could feel him grinding against her. She gasped and broke the kiss, her head rolling backwards so that she could feel him more fervently. The sound of his panting made her wet.

"Sheldon," she whispered pleadingly.

Somehow, the man who couldn't detect sarcasm heard the instruction in her voice and he stood up and half carried her in the direction of her bedroom. They stumbled and tripped over everything they possibly could have but that didn't stop the kisses and bites that landed on their necks. Penny let out an animalistic grunt when she felt her back hit hard against the closed door of her bedroom. She felt her heart fly and her body heat up in response to the pressure between him and the door. He pressed harder against her as he fumbled to open it.

An un-Sheldon-like expletive left his mouth as he became increasingly frustrated with the doorknob. She smiled and in one cool motion put her hand on his and turned. They heard the click and resumed their activities at a much more maddening pace. As if they were somehow connected on a deeper level, they both started to tear at each other's clothes at the same time. They continued to kiss chaotically even when one of her buttons got caught on Sheldon's watch. While his lips were attached to hers, his long fingers tried in vain to untangle his wrist from her chest.

She grabbed his hand and yanked it free. One of her buttons flew across the room and hit the wall. Sheldon turned to look, but she was already pushing him down onto the bed.