A/N I had to ask a lot of questions before this was final. The more intense the scene the fast she talks.
Mysti

Adjustments
Chapter 10

Penny missed Sheldon. Even though Leonard was the love of her life, she still missed him. Since Leonard had moved in with her after Sheldon's ultimatum and eviction, she'd been really too busy to notice but now that things had leveled out, she found herself missing the whackadoodle.

She hoped he'd bought a warm coat or jacket since it was cold in Canada and she knew he hated the cold. How was he adapting to his new environment? Was Sara a help or a hindrance? All questions she wanted answered but she was afraid to give him a call.

Part of her wanted him to come back but the angels of her better nature knew that if he did, things wouldn't be the same. Sheldon hated change. Their engagement and planned marriage were changes. With Leonard banished from his life, would Sheldon still be her best friend?

Leonard knew what Penny was thinking. He'd have been surprised at how similar their thoughts were. He was worried about his best friend, okay, ex-best friend. How was he adapting? Had they made it over the border yet? Had they found a place to stay that was safe? Did they need money?

Just as he was about to suggest to Penny that maybe they should call Sheldon – just to make sure things were okay – his cell rang.

"Hello, this is Leonard Hofstadter." He didn't recognize the calling number, just that it was private wireless.

"Yes, this is Werner Krueger, Dr. Werner Krueger. I am trying to reach Dr. Sheldon Cooper. It is very important that I speak with him. In point of fact, it is a very serious matter and I must speak with him immediately."

"Hello, Dr. Krueger, Sheldon's not here. He is out of town on a family emergency. Have you tried his cell?" Penny saw Leonard's face and hurried over and sat close enough to hear the conversation. This was bad. This was very bad. Dr. Krueger had built Sara and he probably figured out what happened.

"Do you know if he was accompanied by a young lady on his trip?" Krueger knew from the note that Sheldon had 'liberated' his Sara and Krueger was checking to see if anyone else knew.

"Sheldon? How well do you know Sheldon, Dr. Krueger? Sheldon and a young lady? I sincerely doubt that." He forced a laugh and Penny elbowed him hard in the ribs whispering 'Be nice!"

There was a long pause then: "Let us not run about the bushes, Dr. Hofstadter. I know that Dr. Cooper took my Sara. It is imperative that I speak with him."

There is a flaw, a dangerous flaw, which has just been demonstrated by the super-soldier simulacrum. He wondered just how much of the truth he should tell this Dr. Hofstadter. He looked at the carnage around his laboratory, the blood and the EMTs working on the injured…and the two Federal trolls who'd witnessed what had occurred.

He whispered into his phone. "Listen to me. You must tell Sheldon to deactivate Sara at once and return her before it is too late. There may be tragic consequences should he not do so immediately." He looked aghast as one of the EMTs shook his head and covered the face of one of his technicians. "If you value your friend's life, you must convey my message immediately before it is too late."

He ended the conversation and went over to talk with the government lackeys. They were looking down at the inert form of the super-soldier. One of them seemed quite pleased while the other just shook his head and took digital photographs.

"Leonard, we have to tell Sheldon to keep on running and never stop! The government, you know what they'll do. They'll send secret agents to kill him and take Sara back. Krueger threatened as much. Call him and tell him to run."

"I'll call him but first I need to think. Even if he brings Sara back I don't think they'll take too kindly to him having taken her in the first place, no matter how noble his reasons."

"He won't bring her back just to be killed. Here, give me the damned phone. He'll listen to me. I'm his best friend." She snatched the phone from him and started dialing Sheldon's number.

"Wait. Let's get Raj and Howard in on this. Those two are devious enough to figure something out. Call them and tell them we have a problem with the Honeymooners."

"Honeymooners? He's married?"

Apartment 4A
Two hours later

Penny and Bernadette were sitting on stools at the island listening to the guys ramble on and come up with incredibly complex solutions to a problem that they hadn't defined yet. Bernadette was full of questions for Penny. Penny's answers were somewhat distracted because all she could think of was 'Sheldon would have figured something out in minutes, not hours. Why don't they just tell him what is going on and let him figure out what to do?'

"Penny? Penny? Penny!" Bernadette could tell her friend's mind was not on answering her questions. She sipped her wine and watched as Penny suddenly shook herself and looked at her.

"More wine, Bernadette?"

"No. More answers. What's it like? Does it look human? Does it act like a robot?"

"A simulacrum," said Howard.

"Penny says she's a 'hottie'," said Raj.

"It's an android and responds programmatically to situations and events," said Leonard.

Penny had the 'final word' or so she thought, anyway.

"She's a girl. She was amazed at the rain. She was amazed at everything. Sheldon had to tell her she wasn't human. I don't know how he did it but she wasn't upset, more like resigned. She's a girl, not a simul-whatever or an android. And yes, she does look 'hot' in my clothes even though they didn't fit her exactly right."

That started another round of debate about proper terminology and Bernadette used her whistling skills to bring the debate to a sudden end. "Listen to you idiots! You're supposed to be helping and all you do is talk, talk, talk. Howie, call Sheldon this instant and tell him what's going on."

Galveston

Sheldon had his own problems to deal with. His mother had dropped by unannounced and now he was dealing with a woman hell-bent on driving him into the insanity she so feared.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, what do you mean she's 'in trouble'? Have you been fornicatin' outside of the sanctimony of marriage? Didn't I learn you no better? Is that what livin' in Californication has done to my baby boy – turned you into your daddy?"

She was so overwrought that she reared back and slapped him, or tried to. She felt her wrist bones almost breaking as the young brunette stepped between her and her son and gripped her wrist.

"You do not raise a hand to my Sheldon! Not if you want to ever use it again!"