Chapter 39

A new adventure

One day at the Right Start Baby store:-

"Penny, visiting time will be drawing to an end by the time we get there?", Leonard frantically informed Penny as he pointed to the time on his cell.

"Oh but Leonard sweetie, just one thing more, please", Penny pleaded as she gave her Husband her little girl lost look that always made Leonard feel weak at the knees.

"Not only did we spend too much time at the Soap Kitchen then you make me stop here when we already have gifts for the new Baby, And so far we have got 3 baby blankets several Onesies, anything else and Chloe will be overwhelmed with things, after all, all the other relatives will be buying things for them too", Leonard pointed out.

"Oh but Leonard, the Soap Kitchen stop was to get gifts for Chloe, After all her hard work that girl needs pampering, and if you please I'd just like to get one more thing for the baby?", Penny begged him again.

"OK Penny, just one more thing then and then we will have to run", Leonard acquiesced. But could not resist smiling all the same, as once again he saw Penny's great big caring heart in operation.

Quickly Penny grabbed a snow white teddy bear and they rushed for the checkout.

XXXXXXX

"I'm going to call him Mr Dumplings", Penny declared holding up the teddy bear as they made their way in the car.

"Honey you do realize that that teddy is for our latest grandchild?", Leonard reminded her.

"I know that, but Mr Dumplings so fits him and I am sure our new Granddaughter will certainly agree with me", Penny declared, in a tone to quell any more argument from Leonard.

"But she's only...", Leonard began before seeing the stern look on his wife's face, then he wisely decided to say no more on the subject.

"Have they chosen a name for her yet?", Leonard asked her.

"They have but Wyatt wants to reveal it to us when we are there in person for some reason", Penny answered.

XXXXXXX

"Hi I'm sorry we are late", Leonard breathlessly apologized, then added, "I guess visiting time is nearly over?", he asked regretfully.

Kay who was already there with her Daughter told them soothingly, "It's OK. For the price of a few autographs from lover boy here", She said indicating Wyatt, "The staff have agreed to turn a blind eye. Now then I guess, Wyatt, your up", Kay said mysteriously.

"Mom, Dad I'd like you to meet your newest grandchild, 'Penny'", then he placed the baby girl into Penny's arms.

"But, surely would you not want to name her after your own Mother?", She asked Chloe.

But Kay answered, "No Penny, for you started this happy event the day you brought J.G. and myself together, this gorgeous little bundle of love is all due to you. J.G. and I, have had such a happy marriage thanks to you, and now I know Chloe is so very happy with Wyatt thanks to the loving upbringing you and Leonard have given him, Which I must say has resulted in a very fine responsible young man, So then, now say hello to little Penny", Kay explained.

Penny looked down at the tiny baby in her arms, "Welcome sweetie, it's so nice to meet you, my you are such a pretty girl aren't you", Penny cooed at her new Granddaughter.

Meanwhile Chloe was looking through the gifts from her in laws, and was appreciating her Mother in law's thoughtfulness for the Onesies there was only two for newborn the rest were gradually larger sizes as the baby grew, the blankets would always be very useful, she opened the second bag and gasped in delight at the soaps, bath oils, talc, etc, "Thank you Mom Two, these things I so badly need", Chloe told Penny Indicating the Soap Kitchen gifts. And already smelling the scented aroma from the bath she was determined to take as soon as little Penny was asleep

Chloe smiled as she turned her attention to the cute teddy bear, "Mr dumplings", she said to the bear, "that name really does fit him doesn't it", Chloe delightedly agreed".

"Penny just smiled in reply, before poking her tongue out at Leonard.

and once Penny had returned little Penny back to her Mother, Chloe introduced little Penny to Mr Dumplings. And ever after that Mr Dumplings became little Penny's favourite toy.

They all chatted for a while with Penny giving excellent advice to Wyatt, telling him how important it was to do his share of caring for his daughter and thus giving Chloe some very valuable me time.

Soon it was time to leave and Penny rose from her chair but immediately feeling faint at seemingly rising too quickly, she reached out for the bed to steady herself but blacked out and missed and before anyone could help her she struck her head on the end of the bed.

XXXXXXXX

Penny eventually returned to consciousness, and was immediately concerned at the worried look on her husband's face for her, he was literally white faced with fear.

"I'm OK sweetie, really", Penny told him soothingly as she tried to sit up.

Just then a Doctor entered the room, "Aah Mrs Hofstadter, back in the land of the living eh, Let's have a look at you, Hmmm, large contusion on area of right temple, How many fingers am I holding up?", He asked her.

"Three", Penny answered correctly. Then added, "What happened?, suddenly I just come over faint then everything went black?".

"Hypo tension, low blood pressure in other words, did you have breakfast this morning?", Dr Brown asked her.

"No, we were in rather a hurry to get here", Penny admitted.

"And just as much in a hurry to get in a bed here it seems", Dr Brown guffawed at his own joke, which Leonard feeling quite shaken over his wife's sudden illness, felt too concerned to join in.

"How old are you Mrs Hofstadter?", Dr Brown asked her.

"64", Penny told him reluctantly.

"Hmm, I'd say with the combination of your age and the Hypo, also It could be that your blood sugar was low too, so the two together would likely affect you in that manner. We do not need to give you any drugs, just maybe some ibuprofen to reduce swelling and some painkillers if needed, I would like to keep you in for observation as you took quite a blow to your head, though I expect to let you return home after assessment at mid morning tomorrow if no complications rear their ugly head, concussion that sort of thing", after which Dr Brown left.

"I'm sorry for overreacting, but your head did hit the end of the bed rather hard", Leonard told her still looking rather shaken up at his wife's distress.

"Sweetie, I'm OK, honest", Penny told him becoming a little alarmed at how still pale Leonard looked.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not ready to lose you", Leonard admitted.

"Leonard it's OK, low blood pressure is not uncommon and usually it quickly sorts itself out. It was just one of those things, Really", Penny informed Leonard , hoping to alleviate his distress.

XXXXXX

The next day Penny was examined and given the all clear, and a much relieved Leonard brought Penny home. That evening Leonard discovered that things could be difficult for him if Penny ever went out in public though.

Because for a while she would be sporting two beautiful black eyes, and the loud shriek uttered by Bernadette later, as she entered the Hofstadter house confirmed Leonard's unease when Bernadette immediately rounded on Leonard as the cause of said black eyes.

"Yep you tell him Bernadette, he is a real bully to me", Penny told her, extracting all the humour from the horrified look on Leonard's face.

Finally as Bernadette noted the suspicious giggling from Penny, Penny confessed and told Bernadette the truth much to Leonard's relief.

"Chloe's had the baby?, Oh do let me see the photo's". Bernadette gushed.

And leaving the pair to swoon over the photo's of little Penny, Leonard left to make some coffee for them all.

Leonard returned after a while with their coffees on a tray and took a nervous glance at Bernadette, who then could not hold her laughter back any longer to Leonard's surprise. "It's OK Leonard, Oh my God did you see his face, Penny rang and warned me while you were out getting take out. Oh this is too funny", then turning to Penny, Bernadette told her, "Truly, I was so sure he was going to wet his pants when I screamed".

"I'm sorry sweetie, I couldn't resist it. I was thinking, People are bound to wonder though if I am a battered wife when they see me so I rang Bernadette and we cooked this up", Penny confessed, but to Leonard's chagrin Penny was still giggling over her joke.

Penny soon stopped giggling however when she noticed that Leonard seemed somewhat upset, "Leonard you don't look happy, Have I crossed a line?", Penny asked him.

"No Honey it's just me, I guess I overreacted when you got hurt. It was just the shock of it all you see, really it's my bad. ", Leonard explained.

Penny rose and threw her arms around her husband to console him, "I think we both over react when we see the other hurting, I confess when you had to stay for a while in hospital because of your asthma, I was searching all night on the net for a drug that might work for you. I guess I too found that very hard to deal with too, you being sick and not here with me", Penny confessed.

After a little while Penny spoke again.

"I should have thought, I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that", Penny apologized contritely.

Leonard took his wife in his arms again, "Hey, don't be!, I told you Honey. It's my bad".

XXXXXXX

The next three months passed quietly, with the couple enjoying their retirement together:-

Until one evening when the doorbell rang:

Penny was stunned at the presence of two high ranking USAAF officers standing on her doorstep.

"Is Dr Leonard Hofstadter available Ma'am", said the one who somehow reminded Penny of her late Grandfather,

"Yes, of course, please, do come in", Penny told them hospitably.

Grandfather and the younger man entered removing their caps as they did so, and Penny led them to the lounge.

After being dismissed somewhat rudely by the younger man, saying that this conversation was classified, Penny busied herself in the kitchen by emptying the dishwasher, and rather vigorously threw the cutlery into the drawer, and muttering under her breath that she will not be too pleased at all if Leonard dares to go back to work for the government.

XXXXXXX

Leonard meanwhile was just as puzzled as Penny at the appearance of these officers, who introduced themselves to him, as General Rawlinson, "Grandfather", And Colonel Thompson, "The Rude Man".

"I'll get straight to the point", General Rawlinson began after Leonard had examined their I. D's.

"Last week , A Lineman working in a remote area outside the city at about 07:00 hours, and discovered the body of a middle aged man lying on the dirt track, the corpse was still holding onto the leash of a terrier dog.", General Rawlinson explained as he handed Leonard some forensic photographs of the scene.

Leonard puzzled as he examined the photographs, He just could not understand why on earth this concerned him?, 'real cute dog though', Leonard thought as he handed the photographs back.

"Now this is where it gets kinda crazy, this guy set out from his house at 16:00 hours in the afternoon of the same day, from his home in London's East end, England about an hour before the body was discovered here in the USA".

Leonard looked up sharply, 'were these guys just winding him up, surely this tomfoolery could not have been cooked up by Penny, could it?. But then again I've just seen their I. D's?", He looked at the Colonel, the seriousness on his face sure discounted any foolishness on his part.

"How on earth is that possible?, England are eight hours ahead of us?, surely he couldn't get from England to the USA in an hour?" , "Surely this must be a hoax", Leonard asked them in disbelief.

"Nope, the dog was chipped to a London address, the guy's bank card was issued in England. All his clothing, shoes, etc were bought in England and finally his wife confirmed he was her husband and also the details of the time he left his house, she even had a wedding photograph of the couple hanging upon her lounge wall.

We did a background check, and found out that this guy had never been abroad, He had never been issued with a passport either. So Dr Hofstadter the only way he could get here is by...".

"A wormhole!", Leonard finished for him, incredulously.

"So where did he take his dog?", Leonard asked.

"Well according to his wife, every afternoon he takes his dog to a recreational area, locally called, The Hackney marshes.

"It's used mainly for local soccer games, and for, like John Doe here, dog walking", Colonel Thompson

explained.

Leonard began to think. "How long had the body been there?", He asked finally.

"Forensics estimate his death at being about 35 minutes before he was found", The General informed him examining his notes.

"How long does it take to walk from his house to the marshes?", Leonard asked.

"We estimate about 35 minutes" The Colonel supplied, "So that would mean that thing hit him almost as soon as he arrived?", The Colonel guessed.

"Not necessarily, you see a wormhole not only shortens distance, but it can also alter time, so he could have been there an hour or more before he stumbled into the wormhole. But a stable wormhole needs a great deal of negative energy in order for it to remain long enough for anyone to travel through it, also how anything could survive the enormous gravitational fields within the wormhole to even come through it in one piece, It just doesn't make sense?", Leonard puzzled more to himself than the officers.

"Well Doctor, that's what we want you to find out", The General told him, then continued, "you wrote a paper a few years ago on the possibilities of generating a type of wormhole that could be traveled?".

"Well yes but that technology isn't even in it's infancy today. You're looking at another thousand years or so of research at least?", Leonard informed them.

"Well Doctor, as John Doe here has discovered to his cost, someone has done it, and you are going to find out how", The Colonel demanded in no uncertain terms.

"Well then Dr Hofstadter, we'll leave to inform your Wife that you are going to be very busy from now on", The General informed him as he rose to leave, then added, "We'll be in touch", as he handed a buff envelope containing some instructions, to Leonard.

XXXXXXX

Penny showed the officers to the door, itching to be rid of them quickly before she can confront Leonard over what on earth they wanted with him?.

Leonard quickly thought, how on earth he could tell Penny?, she is sure to go off the deep end. As if Leonard himself was reluctant to come out of retirement, life here with Penny had grown very comfortable indeed, and to work again?, "It's the very last thing I want to do", he told himself.

Leonard's worst fears were realized as Penny exploded before leaving, slamming the front door violently in further evidence of the state of her feelings.

Leonard sadly sat back down and ruefully hoped it wasn't too long before Penny calmed down and returned.

He pulled the papers from the envelope, in order to begin reading, and seeing if he could get out of this mess the Army had got him into when an air ticket slipped out, and fell to the floor.

He picked it up and groaned, Leonard was required to fly out to England tomorrow afternoon. Great, just great, If Penny returned to find him gone, then it could well be quite likely that it would be the last he would see of Her.

XXXXXXX

Penny woke early the next Morning in Bernadette's guest room. And almost immediately her conversation with Bernadette the night before ran through her mind. Bernadette was right, when the Army demands someones services it doesn't take no for an answer, also Penny was embarrassed to admit to herself that she should have talked it out with Leonard before storming out like a petulant teenager. At this point Penny came to a decision 'If the Army wanted her Leonard, then they would just have to take me too, and I am not going to take no for an answer either', and Penny rose and hurriedly got washed and dressed.

Leonard meanwhile was more than a little stressed that Morning, he did not know where Penny was, and was rather concerned that she had stayed out all night. If Penny still had not returned by the time he had to leave for the airport, then there was no way that Leonard would be going to England. It was really time he rang all her friends to see if he could locate her, and as he picked up the handset, his relief at hearing the front door open signaling Penny's return, was somewhat tempered by the possibility, that Penny could still be in high dudgeon.

However it was a very contrite Penny who threw herself into his arms begging his forgiveness.

After a heart to heart talk, Leonard firmly agreed with Penny that they must go together, whether the Army liked it or no. the problem was who did he contact?, as there were no contact details contained in the documents the general left them.

However this problem was soon solved by the ringing of the telephone, and Leonard was not too surprised to hear General Rawlinson's voice on the other end of the line.

"Dr Hofstadter? All set for England?, Right, now I want you to visit this guy's widow, the President wants to make damn sure this whole thing is not some elaborate hoax. So see what you can find out".

"Th, The President?", Leonard asked feeling rather overwhelmed.

"Yep, This thing is big, I mean really big and if we can get one over on the Russians and everybody else at being able to project stable wormholes, it will place this country right at the forefront of ", The General excitedly informed him.

Leonard immediately felt uneasy at the General's response, "Uh isn't it important for us to share knowledge sir?, after all we have benefited much from scientists, and others throughout the world for generations, through their dedication?", Leonard told him.

"Well yeah I guess, but we cannot risk this knowledge falling into hostile hands, do you understand me?", the General told him in no uncertain terms.

"OK Sir, I see, there is just one more thing, I would like to take my Wife as my assistant, I'm afraid I really don't want to go without her", Leonard informed the General nervously.

But to Leonard's surprise the General immediately acquiesced, "OK Hofstadter, I'll send a courier to the airport with the necessary things, Air ticket security clearance, that sort of thing, so get yourselves packed and see what you can find out", the General then ended the call.

"Wow!, They must want you real bad, if they so quickly agree to having me as your assistant", Penny noted to Leonard in awe

After that the couple concerned themselves with packing for the trip.

Soon they were on the plane for Heathrow after collecting the necessary documents for Penny.

"Well sweetie, This is so exciting, we are going on a new adventure, together", Penny told Leonard, excitedly.

Leonard smiled, although feeling some concern over the authorities stance on matters. As a Physicist, it was always the core of their learning, on sharing knowledge, and the state's seeming determination to keep such knowledge to themselves made Leonard very uncomfortable indeed , after all how can advancement in learning about our physical universe be made in such circumstances.