Sheldon stored the picnic basket under his desk and pulled out his wallet to check how much cash he had on him. He muttered under his breath as he slid the wallet into his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You can do this Cooper, thousands of other men are doing the exact same thing all over the world." He straightened his shoulders and got halfway to the door before he had to stop, bending over double and placing his head between his knees. "Oh God, I can't do this, who am I trying to kid?" Sheldon felt his heart pounding and pressed a hand against his chest, feeling sure it was about to burst through. "Get a grip!" He ordered himself sternly and rose to his feet, taking in deep calming breaths. "I am the master of my own body." He chanted, trying to use the Vulcan art of meditation to get him through. After several long minutes he felt calm enough to actually open the door.
"Brenda, I'm just heading across the street for a while; I won't be long." Sheldon's voice cracked a little as he stopped by the administration desk on his way out and the secretary nodded without looking up.
"Don't forget you have a meeting with President Siebert at two, Doctor Cooper."
"I'd forgotten that…Oh, I'll be back in plenty of time…And Brenda, please contact Dr Gablehauser and inform him that I need to leave earlier than usual this afternoon and that there is a chance I may not make it in at my normal time tomorrow." Sheldon walked to the main entrance, and paused as his hand reached up to touch the handle. Brenda caught his hesitation out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see his lips moving but no discernible sounds coming out.
"Certainly, Doctor Cooper…nothing wrong I hope?" Brenda made a note on her jotter and gazed over at Sheldon in concern. Sheldon gave her a weak smile from the doorway and she could see the small beads of sweat forming on his upper lip as his trembling fingers reached out to push the door wider.
"Everything's fine….just fine." Sheldon stepped through the door and Brenda heard him mutter to himself as he strode determinedly away. "Come on, Cooper you can do it. Just go over there and get it over with…" Brenda shook her head worriedly, Doctor Cooper was acting a little out of character; he never usually admitted to forgetting anything and he certainly did not go around sweating and talking to himself. She picked up the phone and called through to Gablehauser's office and spoke to his personal assistant.
"Dorothy, it's Brenda at the front desk. Could you tell him that Doctor Cooper needs to leave early today and might not be in tomorrow first thing?"
"Oh dear, what is it this time? Has his finger got pinched in the stapler again and he's convinced that it's got gangrene?" Dorothy gave a sigh, pen poised to take down the details of yet another tale of the suffering hypochondriac.
"Dot…I think he's really sick this time! I've never seen him like this before!" Brenda's usual matter of fact tone was missing, her voice pitched higher than normal and that alone gave Dorothy reason to believe that maybe this time there was something real going on with the enigmatic doctor.
"Okay, settle down. I'll leave a note on his desk so that he sees it when he gets back from lunch. Maybe we'd better cancel the meeting with the President this afternoon if Doctor Cooper's not feeling up to it. I'll mention that in the note and you tell Doctor Cooper to take off as soon as he needs to."
"Thanks, Dot. I'll keep an eye out for him; he's just popped across the street. I think he might be going to the drugstore…doesn't he usually get one of his friends to take him straight to emergency?"
"Perhaps he's trying to deal with it on his own this time, anyway I've gotta go Brenda. Talk to you soon."
"Yeah, bye Dot and thanks again." Brenda replaced the receiver and tapped her fingers nervously against it as she waited for Doctor Cooper's return. He finally came back fifteen minutes later, clutching a paper bag to his chest and holding tightly to a carrier from the department store with his other hand. His face was much paler than when he left and Brenda rushed around the desk, convinced he was about to pass out.
"Oh, Doctor Cooper! Do sit down, you look positively dreadful! May I fetch you a glass of water?" Brenda hovered around Sheldon and he blinked up at her, not quite knowing what she was fussing about.
"Um, no…I'm fine, really. It was just a little warm outside and I felt a little faint as I came back into the air conditioned building. I'd better get these things back to my office if I'm to meet the President at two." Sheldon was about to walk around the hovering secretary when she suddenly placed a hand on his arm to prevent him from moving.
"Doctor Gablehauser cancelled today's meeting; he said he would re-schedule for next week sometime. Oh, and I also cleared your leaving early today and a late start for tomorrow; you're free to leave whenever you feel appropriate."
"Thank you, Brenda…I'll be going to my office now …" Sheldon waved his arm toward his office, forgetting the paper sack from the drugstore was still clutched to his chest and narrowly prevented the contents from spilling over the top. He scampered off down the hallway, still muttering under his breath. "Nice going, Cooper…first the drugstore and now the university, how many other people are gonna think you're an imbecile today?"
Sheldon reached his office and made sure his office door was closed firmly behind him as he started taking out everything from the two bags and placing them inside his messenger bag. The sides were bulging out by the time he'd slid his laptop in as well, now all he had to do was to wait for Amy to contact him. The minutes seemed like hours, but in actual fact it was only fifteen when the text he had been waiting for came through.
Just about to slip on my jacket, meet me in the south parking lot in five…AFF
On my way. SLC
Sheldon checked that he hadn't missed anything and when he was satisfied fired off a quick text to Leonard informing him that his ride home would not be required. Sliding his phone into the pocket of his pants, Sheldon shouldered his messenger bag and left out of the side door, loping down the green lawn to join his girlfriend at her car.
