Sorry for the brevity but I'm working and driving between locations. Free lancing is a bugger. [My new year's resolution is to quit cussing unless it's about the former roommate, aka asshole of all eternity].


Hideki and Sheldon muscled the trike into the trailer and then went back to the coach.

"Leslie and I were colleagues at CalTech. Penny was my neighbor and she moved in with me when the Choker got really bad. We all got together and took off when L.A. caught fire and the power died. Penny's folks have a huge farm and ranch in Omaha and that's where we're headed."

"Uh, Doc, you might want to rethink Omaha. It's gone. So are Atlanta and Dallas and Houston and a lot of other cities. I was getting some VA work done when it came in over the network. Terrorists or anarchists or just plain crazies set off huge dirty bombs a few days ago. No one knows who but…they also bombed several nuclear power stations. East is out. North is pretty clear up to Chicago. Frisco, Sacramento, Seattle are pretty ugly so I'm heading for the U.P."

"Damn it! I didn't think to incorporate a Geiger counter in our kit. We could be sitting here in the drift zone and getting more röntgens than is prudent. Crap, we're proably sitting in the midst of a Balck Rain. We need to see what the winds from the west coast are like and map out a safe route north."

He stopped and looked at Hideki and said, "Don't say anything to Penny about Omaha. Her folks live there."

"Sure, Doc. But she's going to find out soon enough."

"True, but I feel obligated to tell her."


Introductions were made and while Penny showed Hideki where to put his gear in available drawer space, Sheldon motioned for Leslie to follow him back to the master stateroom.

"Okay, what's the problem, Sheldon?"

"Black rain. Hideki says that there have been dirty bomb attacks in major cities and sabotage of nuclear power plants. I forgot to include radiation gear or – "

"Stop it. You couldn't possibly have anticipated this kind of event. We'll improvise but first we need to decide where to go and how to get there. Omaha - "

"Is gone. I'll tell Penny. Hideki says there's a national guard air base in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan that was still operational as of three days ago. He's flown in and out of there a few times. Once we map out a safe route, I think we should head that way but it's got to be a group decision."

"Let's talk about it over lunch. You need to tell Blondie before our passenger lets something slip."


Penny was looking over the food situation in the galley and Sheldon walked up behind her and put his arms around her and whispered, "Penny, we need to talk." She pulled his arms away and turned to face him, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"It's not that, Penny. I love you and I want to keep you safe. Let's go back to the master stateroom where we'll have privacy."

"No! We'll talk here and now, Sheldon Cooper. Last night was not a mistake. I love – "

"Omaha is gone, Penny. So are many other major cities in the country. Dirty bomb attacks and sabotage of nuclear power plants. I'm sorry, Penny, but Omaha is not an option any longer."

"My parents? My sister? All my friends? They're all dead, aren't they? Oh, my God…" She hugged him and buried her face in his chest and began to cry. He 'walked' her back to the master stateroom and sat with her on the unmade bed and just held her. He had no idea how she was feeling and he felt so inadequate.

"I think…I think I've known deep down that they were gone, Shel. I love you for wanting to get me home but I belong with you now and that's the end of it. We're not married or anything but where you go, I go. Forever and ever. I don't care where we end up so long as we're together. You're all I've got left, Shelley, and I can't lose you too."


"So, a pilot, huh? Jets?" Winkle wanted to delay heating up the MRE packets until Sheldon and Penny came back so she was asking questions.

"Nope, trash hauler. Um, cargo planes, multiengine, big-assed birds capable of carrying people or equipment. Just got command pilot status when I failed my physical. Six years of kissing ass and when I get where I want to be…this happens."

"Shit happens with extraordinary regularity, doesn't it? Try being a woman in a man's field. It's dog eat dog and no quarter given."

"Yeah, Doc said you and he were less than friends so how did you end up together?" He liked this woman who was a few years older than him. She was blunt and not some politically correct egghead.

"Fate. I was trying to hook up with his roommate when people started murdering each other and ended up with him and Barbie. We meshed right away although I still slip and call him Doctor Dumbass or just dumbass occasionally. This is all his doing. One day he's this incredibly irritating asshole who reads comic books and plays video games and the next, he's fucking McGuyver on steroids."

"He seems pretty sharp and quick on the uptake."

"He's unquestionably one of the smartest men on the planet…people, I mean. He's got an enormous ego but somehow that's gone. We've all changed."

She told him what she'd planned to bring on the 'expedition' and what he'd done and her reaction in the garage. Hideki laughed and asked more questions and finally got around to asking, "So the doc and the blonde are a couple?"

"Yeah, finally. Let me tell you, those two are the least likely pair of lovers I've ever seen but somehow it all makes sense. She's street smart and he's book smart. Together, they're a devastating pair. Let me tell you about paintball…"


Sheldon covered Penny with a blanket and slipped out of the bedroom. She'd cried herself to sleep and he figured sleep would be the best thing for her.

"Okay, Penny won't be joining us for lunch. She's sleeping. Hideki, tell us more about this place you're trying to reach…"

"Ah, Doc…no one calls me 'Hideki' except my folks. I go by my callsign, 'Bomber'. I got tagged with it in Afghanistan. Dropped some cargo 'accidentally' on a Taliban position. It was just a couple of pallets of corrugated tin but it made them scoot back across the border to Pakistan."

"Did you miss them?" asked Winkle.

"Hard to miss them from 300 feet." Sheldon wheezed a laugh while he figured out the trajectory and effect and Winkle giggled like a school girl.

"Let's talk about Michigan."


Sheldon walked back to the master stateroom to check on Penny. He thought she was still asleep but when he pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, she whispered, "Hi, honey. I need to get up. What time is it?"

"Almost five and you missed lunch. Do you feel well enough to eat or would you rather sleep some more? I'm not sure what the protocol is for this kind of situation, Penny, except to tell you that I want us to be together, too."

"Well, I think you should follow the time-honored social protocol of awakening me with a kiss. And then, oh, Hid – I forgot his name. He must think I'm a real drama queen, Sheldon."

"He goes by his pilot callsign, Bomber. Winkle is plotting on dragging him into her lair and I almost want to warn him but then again, look how well we turned out."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down beside her. He was off balance and it was easy for her to do so. "Now, about that kiss…"