Chapter 21: Confrontation

This chapter is written a tad differently. It contains only two parts. The meeting with Siebert, which is told by Amy, and the aftermath of that meeting, which is told from Sheldon's perspective.

Sheldon met me outside of Siebert's office at precisely three o'clock. I had to give the guy credit, he was punctual as hell. Lunch had gone fairly well. All of Sheldon's friends had treated us fairly normally, or at least as normally as the situation allowed. I had realized during that lunch break, that for all their teasing of Sheldon, they were really loyal friends and I began to warm up to all of them, especially Howard. I will get into the reasons for that shortly. Neither Sheldon nor I had eaten very much, Sheldon out of anxiety and me out anticipation of the coming events, although Leonard repeatedly asked if I wanted some of his desert. Even shy Rajesh had seemed to come out of his shell and did his best to reassure both of us that everything would be fine.

Now, on to Howard. As we were seated he had handed me a note with a name scribbled down on it. Below it, he had underlined, Here's your rat fink! At that time the name meant nothing to me, but Howard had told me to not reveal this name to Sheldon until after our meeting with Siebert. He also told me that he, Leonard, and Raj would take care of this guy. I had thanked him profusely and realized then that much of what came out of Howard's mouth was not to be taken seriously. He said certain things in an attempt to look 'cool' and fit in. Goodness knows we had all had moments when we had embarrassed ourselves doing exactly that, so I decided that Howard Wolowitz was a good man, if a little warped.

Anyway, back to our meeting with Siebert. As I said, Sheldon met me outside of Siebert's office and immediately grabbed my hand. "How much trouble do you think we are in, Amy?" he had asked me in an unsteady voice.

I had attempted to reassure him by saying, "Not much, I'll tell you that much. I know things you do not, so let me do most of the talking."

His face had shown a great deal of concern as he asked me, "What things do you know? Don't you think you ought to tell me?"

"Not yet. I will, trust me. For right now, just follow my lead. Don't go in there with a guilty look on your face; there is no reason for that. We did nothing that many others have done before us. We just got caught, is all." The last thing I wanted to do was get Sheldon wound up. That would ruin everything. I knew I possessed the cooler head, so I wanted to remain in charge.

He then pouted like a petulant child and replied, "If you say so. But at least let me know our defense."

I had hated to deny him this knowledge, but it had been best he didn't know. So, I replied, "No, Sheldon. Like I said, follow my lead and this will all work out in our favor."

I then proceeded to knock on the office door and a voice I recognized as Dr. Siebert's secretary called out, "Come in."

We had entered the lobby and both took a seat. Sheldon began to look around nervously and I shot him a look that stopped all of that immediately. At that moment I do believe he was more afraid of me than Siebert. In that situation, his fear had been good as It played into my hands perfectly. As I had all the ammunition, I wanted to be the one to lock, load, and fire that weapon.

Eventually, Siebert had poked his head out of his door and announce maliciously, "I will see the two of you now."

I stood up and smiled at him warmly, "Very good. I've been looking forward to speaking with you on this matter."

He had looked a bit confused, but held the door open and Sheldon and I waltzed in and took two seats without being asked. He did very well at following my lead and that was going to be a big help to us.

Siebert had taken his seat behind his desk and attempted to stare us down. I had just grinned at him and stated, "Well, shall we begin?"

Siebert cleared his throat and nervously began to speak, "Of course. I suppose you have been informed that I have seen that video of your little, shall we say, rendezvous?"

I remember I looked straight at him and replied, "I wouldn't call it little. It went on for quite some time if my memory hasn't failed me."

I had seen Siebert's impatience and frustration showing as he asked me, "You feel no shame over this incident, Dr. Fowler?

I merely shrugged and answered him, "Why should I? We're not the first couple who has tried on the MEG helmet and electrodes while engaging in coitus." Sheldon had nodded in agreement.

Siebert noticed that and asked, "What do you have to say to that, Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon had followed my lead perfectly and responded, "I have to agree with Dr. Fowler. It did go on for quite some time. So you see, little is not the proper word to use in this situation."

I had experienced great difficulty keeping a straight face as I added, "Plus, if you had noticed the size of Sheldon's…"

At that, Siebert's face had turned beet red and he had almost leapt from his seat behind the desk, "That will be enough, both of you! I am here to tell you there is no place at this institution for such antics. It was totally disgraceful for two scientists of your caliber to be engaging in what could be termed a juvenile frat house caper."

At that point, things had been going according to my plan. So I continued with, "You say there is no place for that at this university? Then why have so many people done the same thing as Sheldon and me? And why were they not punished or at least called into your office as we were?"

"I was given no video proof of their transgression, Dr. Fowler. If I had been, they would have received the same notice as you and Dr. Cooper." I swear, the man had almost been frothing at the mouth.

I had done my best to look contrite and in a chagrined voice I replied, "I see. And just how do you think you will go about punishing us? I have already informed Jerry Tanaka that we will replace any and all equipment that was damaged."

Siebert had sat back down after hearing that and went on to say in voice filled with faux regret, "That is all well and good, but I still must inform you that as of tomorrow morning, the both of you will not longer be employed at this university. Have I made myself clear?"

I had nodded. It was almost time to spring the trap. All I had to say next was, "Very clear. You say our antics warranted the termination of our employment?"

His voice had sounded almost sad as he informed us, "I have no choice. You have both violated the morals clause in your contracts, and used school property to do so. I'm very sorry."

I then baited my trap, "If you were shown a video of someone else committing the same transgression as me and Dr. Cooper would you be forced to terminate them, also?"

Siebert had nodded smugly and replied, "Of course. This is not a personal matter. It is one of ethics. If I had proof another couple had done the same thing, their jobs would also be terminated."

I then pulled my laptop out from under my seat and fired it up. I looked directly as Siebert and smiled, "This file will take just a minute for me to open. I'm sure this video will be of great interest to you."

I had loved the confusion on Siebert's face that soon turned to panic as he realized just which video had been downloaded onto my laptop. I had then motioned to Sheldon to come see what was playing on my computer screen and a look of both horror and vindication crossed his face at the same time.

I turned the laptop to face Siebert, "As you can see, Sheldon and I were not the only ones to engage in S-E-X while using the M-E-G." Together we had all watched the grainy video of Dr. Siebert engaging in any manner of sexual positions with an unrecognizable partner while wearing the MEG paraphernalia.

Siebert finally managed to croak, "Okay. What do you say none of us ever saw this video or the one with you two doing your thing."

This time it was Sheldon who answered him, "Agreed. But I have a question I need to ask you, sir."

A stubborn look had come over his face and Siebert shook his head, "Forget it, Cooper. I will never divulge the name of my partner in this lamentable event."

Sheldon had looked confused and then responded with, "First, I was not going to ask you who the lady in the video was, that is your own, private business. Second, why is that lamentable? I certainly do not lament having spent the afternoon with Dr. Fowler in that fashion."

Siebert put his head on his desk and waved us off with his hand, "Cooper, could you and Dr. Fowler just leave please?"

Sheldon crossed his arms on his chest and took a stubborn stance, "Not until we have settled a couple of things."

Siebert's head had come off of his desk by then and he asked in a weary voice, "Which would be?"

Now it had been Sheldon's turn to look smug, "First, I will draw up a contract in which Amy and I promise to never share this video of your dalliance with anyone at any time. Second, I would like the name of the person who gave you the video of us."

Siebert had brightened a bit at that. I do believe he had been expecting something much, much, worse. He then stood up, nodded and reached for Sheldon's hand to shake it, "I think that contract is an excellent idea, Cooper. Include in it that I will never share the video of you two, either." I don't mind telling you, at that I had breathed a sigh of relief.

Sheldon had taken the offered hand and had shaken it solemnly with saying, "Very well."

Siebert hastily added, "Wait, I'm not done. I refuse to name the person who gave me the video. I have to protect them, as well."

Sheldon had thought for a moment and then replied in a resigned voice, "If that's the way you want it, so be it. Are you sure there is nothing I can do to change your mind?" I had been surprised at how civilly they were both acting.

Siebert's face had looked tired, but resolute as he responded, "Nothing, Dr. Cooper. Now, bring that contract to my office tomorrow morning and all three of us will sign it. Agreed?"

Sheldon had merely shrugged and turned to leave, "Agreed. Come Amy. I do believe it is time for us to go back to work."

So, I put my arm through Sheldon's and we left Siebert's office together. After a quick kiss at parting and a promise to Skype later in the evening, we parted ways and I returned to my office. All in all, it had been a most productive day. There was just one little detail I have omitted. It had to do with how Siebert had gotten our video.

As Amy and I were leaving Siebert's office, I turned to her and demanded, "Alright Amy, you look like you know something I don't. I feel compelled to ask you, what is it?"

Amy sighed and gently scolded me, "Do I have to tell you, Sheldon? Isn't it enough that we have kept our jobs and avoided getting into any real trouble?"

"Yes, I suppose we could look at it that way, but someone gave that video to Siebert with the intent of costing us our jobs. If I have an enemy of that caliber here on campus I would like to know who it is. As they say, praemonitus, pramunitus."

At that point she merely sighed and told me, "Sheldon, there is no need to be forewarned or forearmed. Whatever their intention was in giving Siebert the video, we foiled their plan. Now relax."

At that ridiculous proclamation, I had turned to her, my eyes wide with consternation, and asked, "How can I relax when there is someone at this university who would love nothing more than to sabotage my career?"

I could tell she had tried to be patient with me as she responded, "You can relax because as of now, there is nothing they can do to hurt you."

I know I had sounded a bit paranoid, but I couldn't help but ask, "How can you be so sure they don't have anything else up their sleeve?"

Amy let out a long sigh and responded to that by taking my arm and saying, "I can't be sure of that, but will worrying about it solve anything? Now, let's talk about something more important, like us."

I was completely stumped by that remark, "What about us?"

"When do you want to get together again?"

I had answered her truthfully, "As long as it's not in the MEG Room, I'm quite open to any date you might have in mind."

Amy had nodded at that and referred back to one of our earlier conversations as she released my arm, turned to me and asked, "Did we not agree on Fridays and Saturdays, with the alternate Tuesday thrown in?"

I distinctly remember being impressed with her memory and affirmed her statement with, "Yes. So seeing as how today is Monday, I suppose I will be spending time with you after work tomorrow?"

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that in the Relationship Agreement?"

This little lady's memory was almost as good as mine. I nodded and said, "It was. So I will ride home with you tomorrow night and we will spend the night at your apartment."

She began to enter our date on her phone and replied, "Yes, Sheldon. I will look forward to it. Perhaps we could order some dinner and have it delivered."

"Thai?" I had asked her hopefully.

She had answered me without looking up, "If that pleases you, of course we can have that."

I had softly confessed to her, "I will miss you tonight, Amy."

Her eyes finally left her phone and she smiled at me and suggested, "Well, we could always Skype."

At that, my mood had brightened considerably, "We could. Does eight o'clock sound like a good time for you?"

"Perfect. Now I must leave you and return to work. So I will leave you here. I will speak with you later tonight, Sheldon."

I put my hand on her shoulder gently to stop her, "One more thing, Amy. Are you resolute in your decision to not tell me the name of our snitch?"

Amy had said nothing, but gave my hand a firm squeeze and replied, "I've given you all the information you need to know." She then kissed me quickly and we reiterated the time we were going to Skype later in the evening. As I walked down the hall towards my office I felt something odd in the palm of my hand. I opened my fist and looked down at a small post it note stuck there. I then brought it up closer to my face and read the name written there in black ink: Barry Kripke.

Now this is starting to get interesting, indeed. What do you think Sheldon's response will be to this?