A/N There are only two scenes in this chapter. The first is Leonard's, the second Penny's. In Leonard's scene, there really is a building with that name at Oxford (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it).

Chapter 79

Oxford 10:00 AM Friday December 28th 2012.

Geoff pulled up and found a space to park, in the space that ran between the two lanes that made up Broad Street. "This is fortunate," said Geoff, "you usually can't find a place here."

Leonard was looking around after getting out of the car, it looked much different from the CalTech campus. CalTech was so modern, many things here, reminded Leonard of something from the fourteenth century. "So is all this Trinity?"

"No, no," said Geoff, "in front of us, to the right, are some shops, one's a pub, the other is a book shop. Behind them are some of the Trinity buildings, and next to them, in front of us, is Kettell Hall." Geoff pointed to the left," Those are the Trinity Cottages, which house students, then more fencing and the main gate. All of those, are part of Trinity, further past the gate is Balliol College. Trinity itself extends well back from Broad Street here."

Leonard had partially seen a name on one of the buildings across the street from the buildings they were now facing. "Geoff," Leonard said, "that building over there," pointing across the street, "the one with the curved front, what is it?"

"Oh, that's the back of the theatre Oxford uses for music concerts, lectures, conferences, and university ceremonies, that sort of thing."

"But, what is its name?"

"What?"

"What is the name of the theatre?" asked Leonard.

Geoff looked slightly puzzled, but said, "It's rather well known, over here. Well, I can't see the sign from here, but it's called the Sheldonian."

Leonard covered his face with his hand, let his head drop, and shook his head, "I can't get away from him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember me telling you about my oddball roommate?" said Leonard. "You met him at CalTech."

"Yes, what about him?"

"His name is Sheldon," said Leonard. "We would sometimes refer to things he would do as 'Sheldonian'."

Geoff chuckled, "If you think of it that way, I suppose you can't get away from him. In this case, it's named for Gilbert Sheldon, the chancellor of Oxford, when construction on the theatre started in 1664. Come on."

Geoff started crossing the street, and Leonard followed him to a gate, just off to the left, as he was looking at it, of what Geoff had called Kettell Hall. Geoff opened the gate, allowed Leonard in, then closed it. He led him along some stone paths, with a covered area that Leonard assumed would be green grass in the summer, to his left. With the old buildings, the stone paths and the covered area, it was rather picturesque. He took him through a walkway, across a smaller area, and into another building. As they walked along the hallway, Geoff said, "This is Jackson Hall, it holds some administration offices. All of the administration offices are scattered throughout the buildings, most of the colleges don't have a central administration building. There's talk of erecting another building here, to house all of the administration, but it hasn't been decided yet."

They entered an office, and went to the counter. The office only contained two people. A matronly woman, with blond hair, came up, "Hello, Dr Whatney, how are you doing today?"

"Quite well, Mrs Hansen, thank you," said Geoff. He turned toward Leonard, and said, "Leonard, I'd like you to meet Helen Hansen," Geoff turned back to the woman, "Helen, I'd like you to meet Dr Leonard Hofstadter."

"Pleased to meet you, Dr Hofstadter,"

"Pleased to meet you Mrs Hansen," said Leonard, "but, please, call me Leonard."

"Oh, I'm afraid I couldn't do that," said Mrs Hansen. "That wouldn't be respectful."

Leonard glanced at Geoff, and he just shrugged. "Ok, Mrs Hanson, Dr Hofstadter it is."

"Thank you, Dr Hofstadter," said Mrs Hansen. "If you give me a minute," she reached down and pulled up a folder with a lot of papers in it. "I have here, quite a few of the papers you need to fill out, and give back to us. You can sit over there," she pointed at a desk with several chairs. "Dr Whatney can help you if you have any questions," said Mrs Hansen. "After you're done, bring it back and we will go over all of it, then I'll send you over to the other person you'll need to talk to today."

Leonard spent the next four hours in the room. He had noticed that most of this was basically signing into the university and college. Others were getting his rooms, food, and utilities set up. Geoff helped him with the academic parts in filling out the forms, then going over each of them with Mrs Hansen. She had separated them out into three piles. She gave the largest to Leonard, and two piles to Geoff. She opened the gate to allow them behind the counter and she walked them over to one of the desks. Behind it, sat a small bespectacled man, in a suit, who accepted the pile of paperwork from Leonard and one from Geoff. Geoff introduced him as James Cooke, he was the international faculty liaison. As the man looked through the paperwork, Geoff explained that any requests or requirements Leonard needed, as far as his faculty needs, accommodations, or meal accessibility, would go through him.

Mr Cooke, after finishing looking over the paperwork said, "It's nice to meet you Dr Hofstadter."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Cooke," said Leonard.

"It's good to see you have everything in proper order," said Mr Cooke. "And, you are rather lucky."

"Why is that?"

"Well, we won't have as many graduate students this semester, so we were able to find you accommodations here at Trinity. You will have two rooms, with a private shower and loo between the two rooms."

"Excuse me, a what?"

"In America, it's called a toilet, Leonard," said Geoff.

"Ahh, OK, I remember now," said Leonard thinking of Priya using the term.

"Your rooms will be in Kettell Hall, among some grad students. Since we want to avoid the appearance of playing favorites, we put you in Kettell Hall because it houses the graduate Classics students. These are students trying to get their doctorate or masters in ancient history, or study Roman or Greek language and history. There won't be any Physics students there."

Mr Cooke looked through the papers, had Leonard sign some, then gave him copies of all of them. He then pulled up the second group of papers. "Once you are set up, you will be able to eat in the Dining Hall. The food is quite good, and the cost of your accommodations and food will be taken out of your pay. So, please keep track of your meals, so you know how much will be coming out of your pay."

Leonard nodded, his understanding.

Mr Cooke looked Leonard over, with a frown, "Dr Hofstadter, you must realize, that faculty here at Trinity, are expected to wear smart attire for everyday wear, and even on their days off, if you will be in the offices. You will also have to purchase the proper gowns, for those occasions that require them. In addition, you will need formal attire, for those formal occasions, such as guest night in the dining hall. T-shirts, tennis shoes, jeans and that other thing you're wearing, are not proper for faculty, unless you are in the gymnasium."

Leonard had no idea what he was talking about, but Geoff spoke up, "I'll explain it all to him."

"Very good, Dr Whatney," said Mr Cooke. He turned back to Leonard and said, "You can't really move in now, because you will not get you your Bod Card, until Monday, so you won't have access to your rooms. Temporary access was arranged for Dr Whatney, so he could take you around, and allow you to enter the building so you could see your rooms. On Monday, we'll set up an appointment to get your internet and television connected, but you won't have it until after the new year. We also won't be able to add you to those allowed to book a meal in the dining hall, so I hope you have other accommodations until then."

"He's staying with me," said Geoff.

"Ahhhhh, excellent," said Mr Cooke. "I think that's all for now. I believe Dr Whatney will have arranged for your offices, with the physics department, you'll see them Monday. If you have any questions, please give me a call," he paused, looking in his desk. "Here's my card. Do you have any questions?"

"None right now," said Leonard. "If I have any, I'll ask Dr Whatney first, and if he can't answer, I'll call you, after New Year's Day."

"That sounds fine, Dr Hofstadter," said Mr Cooke. "I hope you have a good stay here. Before you leave, I have several guides, maps, information, etc, that you can have, to get acquainted with the town of Oxford, Oxford University, in general, and Trinity College, specifically. In addition, here is your faculty guide, containing the rules and regulations for the faculty here at Oxford."

"Thank you for all your help," said Leonard as he rose. He waited until Mr Cooke had brought the guides to him, then turned and said, "Are you ready Geoff?"

"Yes, I am," said Geoff. "Before we leave, let's stop and look at your rooms, then we can go back to the house."

They both walked out of the office, walking toward Kettell Hall. Once there, Geoff let Leonard into the building, and then his rooms, so Leonard could look the rooms over, and he was pleased with what he had. He was looking at the furniture, and was going over in his head where some of his things would go. He planned on using one room as a bedroom, and the other as a living room or den. After a few minutes, Leonard said he was done, and they left.

On the drive to Geoff's house, Leonard asked about which gowns he would need, and Geoff explained about faculty gowns, but suggested he ask Mr Cooke to recommend someone at Trinity, for their specific needs, as each college differed in their requirements. Leonard then asked what was meant by 'smart attire' and formal wear. Geoff explained that smart attire was simply a suit, or proper trousers, with a dress shirt, tie, and academic coat, and proper shoes. The formal wear could be considered a tuxedo shirt, with a tie or ascot, and suit length coat.

Geoff suggested that Leonard also get a vest and a tailed coat, along with a white bow tie, for those really formal occasions. He was expected to use smart dress daily, and formal dress, in the dinning hall, on guest evenings along with other events where it was required. He also reminded him, that faculty dress requirements were stricter than student requirements. Geoff said he would take Leonard to his clothier, in Oxford, who also had a connection on Saville Row, in London. In addition, he offered to let Leonard look through what Geoff wore, so Leonard could get an idea of what should be worn.

Finally, Leonard had asked about a 'Bod card'. Geoff explained it was each individual's ID card for the various places in Oxford. Many of the areas were locked and you had to use your card, to enter those areas. Kettell Hall required one, Geoff, with his temporary permissions, had used his to show Leonard around. The reason it was called a 'Bod card', Geoff explained, was it was originally for use at the Bodleian Libraries, the various libraries on campus, but the university began using it for identification. And now it could be used to pay for meals at the dining hall, and ID for tests and other things around the university.

Geoff had finished his explanations just as they arrived at his house. He told Leonard he had some work to do, and dinner would be around 7 PM. Afterward, Leonard could look at Geoff's suits, to get an idea of what kind of clothing he might want. Entering the house, Leonard went to his room and started reading several of the guides he had been given.

Apt 314 10:00 AM Friday December 28th 2012.

Jeanie knocked on Penny's door, and was a bit surprised to have her open the door in less than a minute. Penny was walking back to the table, and Jeanie closed the door, and followed her. Before sitting down, she looked at the coffee maker and found it was just starting. She sat down across from Penny and looked at her. Damn, she looks hung-over, but at least she's up. "So, how much did you have to drink last night?"

Penny knew she looked hung over, so there was no use hiding it, "A couple of bottles," said Penny. "at least I got to bed early, drank some water, took a couple of aspirin."

"Do you really think that makes it all better, Penny?" asked Jeanie, gently. "You really need to stop drinking so much."

Penny put her head in her hands, "I know. I try, but then I start thinking about everything, and I just want to forget. If I drink, I don't think about it."

"Do you want me to get you an appointment with my psychologist?" asked Jeanie. "You could go in and talk to her, maybe get some help to work through your problems. No one ever found an answer to their problems, at the bottom of a bottle. It just makes it worse."

"I know it does, but I can do this by myself," said Penny.

Knowing what she was going to have to tell Penny this morning, Jeanie really didn't think she could, but she would come back to this.

"The problem right now is I just feel so down," said Penny. "I know it's my own fault. I'm the one that messed this all up, and I'm struggling with it, you understand?"

Jeanie nodded.

"There's no reason to go back to California," said Penny. "Leonard's gone, so I can't talk to him. My friends are mad at me, so there's no reason to see them. I know it's my fault, so I drink, so I don't have to think about it."

This was the opening Jeanie was looking for. "Penny," said Jeanie, "you said you drank last night, but you seem, well, at least functional, this morning."

"Yeah, so?"

Jeanie said, "Can I ask you a question about, er, that night?"

Penny nodded.

"You said you only remembered two drinks, that night" said Jeanie, "and you were seriously hung-over and couldn't remember. But here you remembered drinking two whole bottles, and aren't all that badly hung-over."

"Yeah?"

"So, you don't remember what you drank that night?"

Penny thought back, "Yeah, it seemed kinda weird to me at the time, I usually have no trouble remembering the previous night, but even if I do black out, I can still remember how much I drank, right up until I blacked out. All I remember from that night is two drinks, and I shouldn't have blacked out after two drinks."

Jeanie was nodding her head, what she was hearing from Penny, was matching what she had been told in letters, emails, and on the phone, over the last couple of weeks. There were minor differences, but it matched pretty well. "Was there anything else?"

Penny was trying to remember, "I remember being confused for most of the day, and my hangovers aren't like that. And my balance was off, when I first woke up and it was still that way a little bit, even after I got home and slept some more."

"Anything else that was different from your usual hangover?"

"I don't normally feel nauseous," said Penny, "I mean I've thrown up before and I threw up that morning, but I felt nauseous into the afternoon, and that had never happened before." Penny looked at Jeanie, "There was one other thing I remember. Throughout the morning, and into the afternoon, my vision was blurry, but I thought that was because I was tired and hung-over. Why do you want to know?"

Jeanie knew this was going to be the tough part, so she started with something else. "Penny, I've been talking to some of my friends, in the business, and talked to several other women, who aren't my friends, but do know friends of mine. All of them that I've contacted have worked with Brent."

"And?"

"Penny, this has happened before, to other women who have worked with him. He takes them out, or meets with them, they go to his place, and the next morning they don't remember the night before, find they are hung-over, and they had sex with him. All of them regretted having had too much to drink, and ending up in bed with him."

"So, I'm not the only one who ended up having sex with him."

"There's more Penny," said Jeanie, "do you know Robin Harris?

"Yeah," said Penny, "I've seen her in several movies, and she had a recurring part in-in-in, ahhh, dammit, what was that show?"

"The show was called Mean Streets, and yes, she did have a recurring role," said Jeanie. "Just to let you know, she is a friend of mine and Brent was on that show. One night, they went to his place, to work on their scenes, just like you and he did. He asked her if she wanted a drink and she asked for a diet Sprite, since she doesn't drink. She woke up the next morning, in bed with Brent. She didn't know how it happened, all she remembered was talking with Brent, and drinking the Sprite. She felt terrible, and assumed it was a hangover, as she didn't drink. Brent told her after the Sprite, she asked for liquor in her Sprite, and then she kept asking for more drinks with alcohol. Like you remembering only the two drinks, She only remembered getting just the diet Sprite."

"It was a couple of weeks later," continued Jeanie, "that she remembered looking at the bottom of the glass, and trying to figure out if there were bubbles or something at the bottom of the glass. The room was dimly lit and her eyes wouldn't focus."

Although Penny still didn't fully understand, an idea began to creep into her mind, but she tried to ignore it, she didn't like the implications. She said, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Don't you see Penny," said Jeanie. "All of the women woke up with what they first thought were hang-overs, and when I talked or messaged with them, they all remembered some other symptoms, symptoms that weren't part of their usual hangovers. Things like being unbalanced, disoriented, confused, fuzzy vision, all of that."

Penny finally fully realized where Jeanie was going with this, but her mind wouldn't let her think about it. All she could do was shake her head.

"All of them had the same symptoms as you, even Robin, and another woman I talked to, who don't drink," said Jeanie.

She was still shaking her head, but Penny's eyes started filling with tears.

"I can't prove it, but you have the same experience that other women, even those that don't drink had. All of you that were with Brent, had the same experience of having similar symptoms, different from a hang-over, but symptoms similar to what you would have if you were drugged. It really appears that Brent, as he's done with other women, drugged you and raped you."

Penny's face had a look of devastation on it, but she still couldn't accept it. "No, no, that's not what happened, it couldn't have." Penny said, wildly. She couldn't face the implication of what Jeanie just told her. Denying what she was told was her way of denying what had happened. She continued, almost yelling out the words, "I told you what happened. It's the same thing I've done before, I got drunk, and we had sex. That's what happened…I told you it's my fault."

Before Jeanie could say anything, Penny started sobbing, got up and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. Jeanie didn't move. She knew there wasn't anything she could do for her, right now. However, Jeanie was prepared to wait, right here, until Penny came out of her bedroom, so she could try to help her through this.