Chapter 11 - The Computer Code
Sheldon stared at the Colonel's offered hand in a state of shock, but finally recovering enough to just put his hand out and shake the other officer's hand without a thought in his mind, the relief that this man had just saved him from his panic, making him forget about all his fears of germs. He even found his voice, "Thank you." The next things happened were a blur for Sheldon, he was lead to the car, the Colonel had, and the next thing he knew he was being whisked off to some unknown destination. He didn't know what to say to the other officer, but then again the man saved him from entering a panic state again.
"So Colonel, what can I do to help the Inspector General's office?" The other man was completely serious, it seemed he did not want to engage in small talk which made Sheldon very happy.
Sheldon went over his fake story with the man. "Colonel, I have been ordered to take a look at all your planes and equipment. Sort of see if the units are equipped as they should be or if we need to prioritize equipment to keep them operating." Sheldon had read, on the internet, that Army inspectors were hated by combat units, only causing them trouble, but some inspections were actually made to help units and Sheldon decided to try that concept in his plan, to get the unit to actually help him.
The other Colonel nodded, "So you are actually here to help us and not just inspect us, for out faults, for headquarters?"
Sheldon shook his head, he needed access to the aircraft for his plan to work, so he thought if it appeared that he came there to help, it should only make things go smoother, it seemed he was right. "No Colonel, the Inspector Generals office is really there to help today and I am here to do just that." Again Sheldon's internet research was saving him.
The other Colonel nodded, "Okay, that is a refreshing change. Colonel let me know how I can help."
"Well, I will need to see your equipment, facilities and of course aircraft." The other Colonel nodded, obviously wanting to help and Sheldon nodded back, a small smile now on his lips, his plan now actually coming together.
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The next morning, Penny rolled over in bed, she had not fallen asleep till about 3 or 4 in the morning and then only because fatigue had won over her fear. She always slept either on Leonard or in his arms, always in contact with him, but sometimes when she didn't sleep well she would roll around, like that morning. Those times, she would eventually half wake up, not feeling him, so would then immediately reach for him to get in contact with him again. That morning was one of those cases, she had now slept about four hours, tossing and turning in her sleep the whole time, and in a half awake state she didn't feel Leonard, so she moved towards him, but he wasn't there. Penny's eyes shot open, never in her life had she woken up so fast, and she turned her head to search the bed, while at the same time feeling the cold spot in the bed where Leonard should have been.
Leonard sat in their living room reading Sheldon's journal, he barely slept at all that morning, so he left his bed, his mind not able to relax, it still trying to find a way out of the situation they were all now in. The blood curdling scream from his bedroom, "Leonard!", terrifying him, making him jump up and run to his wife. What he found was heartbreaking, Penny was sitting up in bed sobbing and shaking, an expression on her face he hoped he never would have to see again. He practically jumped into the bed and took her into his arms as she collapsed into him trembling.
"Where…..where were you?" She barely croaked out.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep so I went to read more of Sheldon's journal." he confessed.
Penny now had her arms around his neck holding him, "Don't leave me."
"I won't do that again without telling you, I promise." he tried to comfort her.
Penny sniffled, while she ran her face against his, holding him almost in desperation, "Please Leonard, don't leave me."
It was then he understood what she was asking and what really happened, he was missing and she thought he had just disappeared, ceased to exist. He wanted to tell her that she wouldn't have know he was gone if it really happened, but he was a lot smarter now and knew that would only make things worse. However he couldn't promise he would stay, none of them knew what would happen now, and again the thought of loosing her and their child sent a chill down his spine. So Leonard just held her in silence, while rubbing her back and gently rocking her, they stayed that way a long while that morning.
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Leonard, being a department head, quickly got permission to use Howard from the engineering department for few days, to support a special project he lied to his department about. Penny called off from work and so did Bernadette, both of them waiting in Leonard's office, for Leonard and Howard to go back down to the room. It was bad enough they both would not be able to concentrate on anything at work now, so going was useless, it wasn't even the reason they both called off. The reason they called off was neither of them wanted to let their husbands out of their sight for more that a few moments, they were afraid that if they went to work, when they were done, their men wouldn't be around anymore. No matter how much Leonard and Howard told them they wouldn't remember, both thought they would, that there was no way you could forget someone you loved and that if they kept their men close maybe they wouldn't loose them. They both were smart and knew they were being irrational, but with so little hope they clung to anything they could.
It took them almost an hour to get everything Howard needed, then they all went down to the room, to try and find out where Sheldon went. Howard immediately working on the computer, while Leonard, Bernadette and Penny searched through everything looking for any notes Sheldon had left. It was less than a hour after they started that Amy joined them and then Raj, along with Alex, found them after lunch.
It was later that afternoon when they all finally stopped searching for Sheldon's notes, after going through everything in the room at least 10 times. Everyone slowly stopping what they were doing to sit, nobody saying a thing, while all eyes were on Howard, who was watching his laptop work on a copy of Sheldon's software, decompiling it and attempting to determine what it did. Howard had been staring at the screen, a while, a numb feeling dominating his body, before he looked back at Bernadette trying to give her a comforting small smile he really didn't feel.
Leonard leaned over to whisper to him, "How long with this take?"
"I'm hoping it will be done in the next half hour, it has already completed 80 percent of the work." Howard shrugged.
Howard's lack of excitement made Leonard concerned, "Do you think you will understand what he did?"
Howard shook his head slowly, "This will let me just look at the code and how it is structured. Sheldon didn't use the Windows Graphic User Interface, he just wrote the whole code in C++ and ran it that way, so unless I can find notes telling me what he did….." Howard shook his head again, "I don't know." Howard had to figure out how the code operated to see where Sheldon went because he just used self defined time coordinates he developed, not actual dates. He needed Sheldon's notes and the data from the computer code, if he was every going to decode his work and determine where he went and the date.
It was very quiet in the room, Howard's laptop running while everyone sat not talking, so when Amy spoke, half of them jumped, "Did you look on his computer for any notes?"
Howard and Leonard both stared at her, but quietly mouthing "No."
It was only 5 minutes later they found his file, but again they were prevented from seeing his notes, the file was password protected. Howard looked at everyone, "Think, what passwords has Sheldon used before?"
Penny didn't even think about it, "Try AMY."
Howard and Leonard looked at her and nodded, Leonard typing in the three letters, while Howard watched, his running laptop in his lap. However it did not work, "Access Denied", the only thing displayed, immediately plunging them all into a feeling of defeat, until Amy spoke again, "Not Amy, use Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler."
Again Leonard and Howard nodded and Leonard quickly typed it in, the file opening and seven pairs of eyes immediately going wide, a couple of them with small smiles on their faces.