A/N Two things about my copy editor, fixer, and second draft reader, bfm10. First off, Happy Birthday bfm10 (it's a few days late, but since I only put this out on Sunday, it's my first chance here.), and B (inside joke) they saved me here. They sent me a file, on which they had done their magic editing. I did something wrong, and I lost that file, but didn't find that out for a few days. Fortunately, they had a copy and sent it to me, saving me a lot of work. So a big thank you to bfm10. As you may note, this is again a couple of hours early, but it will probably be the new time from here on out. And, finally, there is some deeper physics in this one, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible for everyone.

Chapter 67

Studio 44, 4:30 PM Friday December 7th 2012.

Penny and Jeanie walked from Penny's dressing room, and down the stairs. Jeanie had gone there, to walk with Penny as she left the studio. It was Jeanie's way of preventing Brent, or any of his friends from harassing Penny. They decided to stop at the store for some food, before getting home. Jeanie had also picked up some wine. While she was concerned about the amount of alcohol Penny had been drinking, she had some questions to ask Penny, and she felt it would be easier to approach those questions, if her and Penny were just talking, relaxing, and having some wine.

Jeanie had asked Penny up to her apartment for dinner, and though Penny had tried to decline, Jeanie had been insistent, until finally Penny agreed. They had gotten home around 5:30, and Jeanie told her to come up to the apartment at 6 PM. Penny had taken her things to her apartment, put them away, and then headed up to Jeanie's. After getting there, Jeanie had told Penny she had ordered some Chinese food and it would be there by 6:30. She poured herself and Penny a glass of wine and they sat in her living room. They took turns sipping their wine and talking about work, and the upcoming holiday season. Penny found out Jeanie was taking a quick trip to Boston, prior to Christmas, as her parents would be gone from before Christmas until after New Years. They were taking a trip to Florida, to visit some friends of theirs, in Sarasota. Penny was still down about her whole situation, but she thanked Jeanie for coming to get her, so she didn't have to deal with Brent, or any of his friends, while Penny was alone.

Their food came, and Jeanie paid for it, gave the guy a tip and they spread everything out and started eating. By 7:30, they had finished, did the dishes and put everything away. Jeanie poured another couple of glasses, she was watching the time, to make sure there was an hour between each glass. Jeanie had talked some about how she was going to be gone on Saturday, one of her friends was getting married. She wanted to know how Penny was feeling, and even offered to stay home, but Penny couldn't allow that. She told Jeanie she would be fine alone, and that Jeanie should go ahead.

They talked a little bit about the wedding and then Jeanie said, "I hope you don't mind me bringing it up again, but can I ask you some more about what happened with Brent?"

Penny looked uncomfortable, "I'd rather not, and besides, I already told you, I can't remember anything."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean, am I sure?" said Penny sounding defensive. "I told you, I don't remember, so I can't tell you anything about it."

"Can I ask you a few questions? Maybe something will bring up a memory."

"Why?" asked Penny.

"I've been thinking about some of the things you told me," said Jeanie, "and it may not be as simple as you getting too drunk, and blacking out."

"What else could it be?" asked Penny.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," said Jeanie. "I sent an email to several friends of mine, who have worked with Brent before, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. Let's go over it."

Penny shrugged, "OK, fine, what do you want to know?"

"Like, how many drinks do you remember having?"

"I had one at Jakes," said Penny, "and I know I had at least one, at Brent's."

"Well, that doesn't sound like enough for you to black out."

"Brent told me I kept asking for another drink, every time we finished a scene," said Penny. "We had seven or eight scenes, so I guess it's possible I drank that much."

"You said you don't remember anything," said Jeanie. "Nothing? Not even something that you aren't sure was that night?"

"No," said Penny, "I couldn't remember anything, so when I asked Brent, he told me some things, but you said not to trust what he said."

"No, you shouldn't," said Jeanie. "But, do you remember something he said, maybe it will jog a memory of yours?"

"No. I don't think so," said Penny, concentrating hard. "Wait a minute, when I first talk to him, after it happened, I remember something about undoing a belt and zipper, that was after he told me I said I wanted to suc…" Penny put her hand over her mouth and stopped. She felt sick to her stomach, and she blushed.

Jeanie looked at her with her eyes wide, and said, "Keep going."

"I don't want to," said Penny, "you know damn well what I meant." She paused for a few seconds, "He told me what I said to him, but I couldn't tell you if it was that night, or some other memory." Penny looked down, "After all, I've had enough of those nights before."

"You said you had one drink at Brent's," said Jeanie. "Did you see him pour it?"

"Hmmmmmm, no, I don't think so," said Penny. "He asked me if I wanted anything, I said wine, and…and then…I…um…uh…oh yeah, I couldn't find my script, so I started looking into my bag, and when I found it, he was bringing the drink over to me. Why?"

"I'm not sure yet," said Jeanie, "which is why I'm waiting for my friend to get back to me."

"Do you think he put something in my drink?"

"I don't know, I don't have enough information, yet," said Jeanie. "You said you were hung over, how badly?"

"Very badly, I had a headache all day," said Penny, "I just felt off all day, until the next day. Oh, also my vision was blurry for a while, and I was nauseous for a bit."

"Anything else?"

"I'm trying to remember," said Penny, "but, I don't think so. It just felt like a really bad hangover."

"OK," said Jeanie rubbing her chin with her hand, "can you do me a favor?"

"What do you need?"

"Just keep thinking about it, when you can," said Jeanie, "and if you remember something, let me know."

Penny looked at Jeanie, with her eyes wide, "You think I was drugged, don't you?"

"I just don't know," said Jeanie, "I suspect it, but I told you I simply don't have enough information. Just try to remember anything else, please? It may help me figure it out."

Penny nodded her head, "I can do that, but I don't think it's going to help."

"Just keep trying, please?" said Jeanie, her voice hinting at begging. Penny nodded and Jeanie continued, "Ok, I guess that's enough for now. I think we should be heading for bed. I know I got to get some sleep, cause I have a long day tomorrow."

Penny got up, said goodbye to Jeanie, then left for her own apartment.

Apartment 4A, 10:00 AM Saturday December 8th 2012.

Leonard was waiting for Amy to arrive. He had plans to list all the collectibles on the bookshelf in the living room, by writing down what each of them were, and the condition he felt they were in. This was the last list he needed to prepare. He would take it to Stuart today, and start packing things tomorrow. He planned to bring each box to the comic book store, as he filled it. He was waiting, because he didn't want Sheldon to be there while he prepared his lists. He would ask questions, and when he figured out Leonard was leaving, and he would bug Leonard about it.

But, Leonard wasn't prepared to tell anyone he was leaving, because he didn't want to hear them go on and on about why he shouldn't leave. But, not telling them, was making him feel guilty about his silence. After all, Sheldon had been his best friend for over eight years, and his roommate for almost ten. He'd known Howard and Raj for even longer. The idea of his telling them he was up and leaving, in two weeks no less, terrified him.

So, after Amy and Sheldon left, Leonard would start working on his list. It was almost 10:30, before Amy arrived to take Sheldon to where ever they were going. Sheldon was complaining about her being late and Amy sarcastically apologized for not taking a traffic accident into account. It was only a few minutes later when they left, with Sheldon still complaining about her being late.

Leonard was still chuckling about that as he walked over and turned on his computer, and set his first sheet next to it. He then took a fresh sheet, walked over to the wall, and started cataloguing the rest of his items, expecting to have four to five hours to finish everything, before Sheldon returned. It had taken him four sheets to list everything, and he had just sat down at his desk so he could enter them into his computer, when Sheldon stormed into the apartment.

Leonard turned and said, "What are you doing back so soon?"

Sheldon looked at him, and said, "Amy did not appreciate me explaining why being a half hour late was inexcusable. I also told her she should have expected some sort of accident on the way over, and left earlier."

"Why would you make a big deal about that?" asked Leonard.

Sheldon ignored him, and continued, "On top of that, she wanted to go to a place to do some basket weaving. Basket weaving, Leonard. She specifically told me we could go to the train store, not to some hippy basket weaving place."

"That's it, buddy," said Leonard, shaking his head, "keep digging."

"We weren't digging," said Sheldon, "we were talking. I told her I wasn't going to any place to do basket weaving, and do you know what she did? She turned around and brought me home. Can you believe it?"

"Women, eh?"

"I know, they…" Sheldon paused as he looked at the lists next to Leonard's computer, and the list on the screen. "Leonard, why are you listing all of your collectables?"

Leonard froze for a second, then said, "I uh…well, it's…uh…well, you see, I was looking into…into…ah, renters insurance. Yeah, renters insurance, and they wanted a list of all my possessions and an estimate of their worth. That way, if someone breaks in and takes my stuff, I can get it replaced. Remember when someone broke in and you wanted to move to Bozeman? You had to pay for the new computer yourself.

Sheldon looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Leonard?"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I think I have your idea figured out. There is still a lot of work to do, but I have the beginnings, can I show it to you?"

Leonard looked at his lists and what was on his screen. He realized it wasn't going to get done today, with Sheldon home, and he was interested in what Sheldon planned to do. He nodded and said, "You go get everything you need, while I put this stuff away. We can meet here in about fifteen minutes, how's that?"

Sheldon smiled and started toward his bedroom, while Leonard gathered the papers with all of his collectibles on them, and turned off his computer. Ten minutes later, Sheldon had white boards set up, and a stack of papers, ready to explain everything to Leonard. Sheldon asked Leonard if he was ready, and when he said yes, Sheldon started explaining.

Apartment 4A, 3:00 PM Saturday December 8th 2012.

Sheldon had been explaining his thoughts, the paths he had tried, and the equations he used, for over four hours. There were sections that Leonard struggled to understand, but he felt he had the basics for everything, so he stopped Sheldon's explanation.

He looked over the white boards, and said, "Hmmmmmm, let's see if I understand this. You think the shapes of those weak reflections, were gravitons. So, since you had the answers for the equations that determine the reflection's shape, you just need to find the starting parameters for the shape calculations. Once you had the starting parameters, you would assume those parameters represented the gravitons, mathematically, as the answers to the quantum equations. So, if you know the total energy, and the starting parameters for the shape equations, you have the beginning and ending numbers, and all you would have to do, is find the quantum gravity equations.

He paused, looking at Sheldon. Sheldon nodded and said, "Yes, so far you have it right."

"OK," said Leonard, "but, you also realized that Quantum Gravity, would have their own equations, different from other quantum fields. What you are trying to do, if I understand this, it to take we know about gravity, from General Relativity, and the equations for the other quantum fields, to try a trial and error method, to find the equations for quantum gravity."

"Yes."

"Have you done that yet?" asked Leonard.

"No yet," said Sheldon, "but, the Relativity equations, the tensor structure, and the Quantum equations, give me some hints. Of course, there are so many possible equations that could produce the answers, remember the answers are infinity with the current method. I have what I think are the answers, and the beginning numbers, so if I try and equation, and it doesn't give me the known answers, I can toss that equation. Once I have equations that work, I can check the answers against the answers in relativity, and then I need to see if I can derive those equations, on their own, without trial and error."

"It's similar to what Einstein did with General Relativity. He used a trial and error method, to find the tensor equations, and when he found something that worked, then found the derivation. Of course, David Hilbert derived them first, being the better mathematician, but without Einstein, he wouldn't have had anything to work with."

Leonard looked at the boards, and at the papers scattered around. It really looked like Sheldon was on his way to figuring it out. And if he did, he would win a Nobel, for combining Quantum Field Theory with General Relativity. Leonard felt a touch of jealousy, because after all, it was his idea to use the reflections, so he should get some credit, somewhere. But, then he realized, he would never have thought to combine things, put the calculations together, and do the trial and error work, the way Sheldon had. If it worked out, he could be satisfied in knowing he had a minor part in the research that had led Sheldon to his discovery.

His phone rang, he saw it was Geoff, so he answered and said, "Hi, can you hold on for a minute?" He turned to Sheldon and said, "I think this is great, Sheldon. You've done a great job getting to this point, and I think you may figure it out."

"I'm going to my room, I have to take this call," said Leonard. "Again, you did a great job Sheldon."

Leonard turned and started up the hallway, "Yes, what's up?" Sheldon turned to look at the white boards and the equations.

Of course I did a great job, thought Sheldon. He realized that what he was trying to do, wouldn't be string theory, but it would fit in the framework of Quantum Field Theory. He thought it ironic that for as long as he'd been working on String Theory, what he was now trying to do, wasn't String Theory. The QED and QCD equations used slightly different actions within Quantum Field Theory, but they used the same rules.

Only gravity, so far, had resisted fitting into Quantum Field Theory, but if this worked, QGD, would also use a slightly different action, but the same rules, bringing all forces under Quantum Field Theory, with no need for String theory. Sheldon was looking at the equations and they were starting to make sense. The equations and rules began an orderly transition into QGD, in his mind. The equations were close, the rules the same, and this brought a smile to Sheldon's face.

Apt 314, 7:00 PM Saturday December 8th 2012.

Penny had just finished putting her dishes away, after fixing herself dinner. It had been a bad day for her. Jeanie was gone, to the wedding, and Penny had spent the first part of the day working on her script. She finished around noon, and after a light lunch, she was at a loss as to what to do. She missed Leonard terribly, but she couldn't call him, her actions had made that impossible. She had made the decision to break up with him, because she didn't want to hurt him. But, she knew she had hurt him with that decision, and the pain it caused, weighed heavily on her. And, it had caused her pain, deserved she felt. She had tried calling Bernadette, but Howard had told her she had gone out with Amy. Something about Sheldon being an ass and Amy needing someone to go out with.

Now, she knew, she couldn't call Amy either, and that drove home just how isolated she was, here in New York. Amy needed help, and Bernadette was there for her. She assumed Amy would be there for Bernadette. And, if not each other, Amy had Sheldon, and Bernadette had Howard. Penny, today, had no one, and she knew it was entirely her fault, because of her decisions, and those thoughts had brought her to tears.

And now, Jeanie, her only friend here in New York, wasn't around. Because of this, she was feeling lonely and depressed about everything, and just sat watching television through her tears, falling deeper and deeper into those feelings. Around 6 PM, she had started dinner and now her only thought was to try and drink enough, so she wouldn't think about the things that were making her feel bad. So, she opened her first bottle of wine, and poured a glass, which she quickly drank. She began reaching for the bottle to pour her second glass.

Apt Building Lobby, 8:00 PM Saturday December 8th 2012.

Jeanie pushed the call button and the elevator opened. She entered and pushed the sixth floor button, but then wondered if she should stop and check on Penny. After a few seconds of thought, she decided to trust her, she said she'd be all right. Besides, Jeanie was tired from the long day, and feeling more than a little drunk, from all the drinks she had at the wedding. So, she decided to just go to her apartment, and get to bed. She'd stop by tomorrow and see Penny.