Chapter 48 - The Condemned
The four of them stood there, three on one side and new Sheldon on the other, holding the gun on them. No one said a thing and no one made any major moves, each of them waiting for someone else to say or do something. It was ironic, the scene they were all in now, new Sheldon thinking he was in control because of the gun, Penny and Leonard wondering what to do in the situation and defuse it, and finally the man that started everything, trying to decide if he needed to kill himself or not, to end everything he caused.
It was amazing how calm he felt, Sheldon realized as he stood there, after coming to his conclusion, all doubt about what he had to do was now gone, it was actually a relief. Yes he was scared, but not terrified like he would have been if he hadn't thought through things through before hand, it was more a fear he would fail than a fear about what was going to happen to him. It was really simple now, Amy must live, his younger self had to go back and he had to make sure that happened, either voluntarily or by force.
Sheldon was lost in his thoughts so was actually surprised when Leonard spoke to new Sheldon, "Sheldon are you really going to shoot me, Penny and yourself?"
New Sheldon looked at Leonard and Penny, seeing Penny holding on to Leonard's arm, a worried look on her face, wondering how he could shoot his friend and his wife. "Leonard, if that is who you are, don't push me, I don't want to shoot anyone."
"If you shoot me, you kill yourself." Sheldon said to his younger self, making the younger Sheldon look at him, a slight confused expression on his face as he tried to process Sheldon's words. "How do I know anything you are saying is the truth?"
"You don't." Sheldon simply answered, making Leonard and Penny both look at their Sheldon in surprise.
"If you are trying to lull me into a false sense of security by telling me truths, forget it, I am too smart for that." New Sheldon replied.
"Don't you think I know that?" Sheldon shot back at the new man.
"I don't know what you know, you could be aliens or actors for all I know." New Sheldon told him.
"We just want some time to explain to you what happened." Leonard told him.
"There are things you need to know." Sheldon added.
New Sheldon looked at both of them, again a confused expression on his face, "NO! You are trying to delay me. Back off now or I will shoot." New Sheldon now ordered. He was quickly looking from Leonard and Penny, then to Sheldon.
"Okay." Sheldon said and started to back off to New Sheldon's right, away from Penny and Leonard. Penny and Leonard looked at him, again confused at what he was doing, but started to back away too, away from both, their Sheldon and new Sheldon.
New Sheldon watched Sheldon carefully as he moved, his eyes now having to dart away left to see Penny and Leonard, more and more to see them moving off too. They were each moving off to opposite sides giving him a path between them to walk, and although he didn't like them being separated, they were doing exactly what he told them to do, which temporarily made him feel he was in control. However, he now had to slightly turn his head to look at them in turn, and it was during one of those quick head turns that Sheldon nodded to Leonard and Penny, making them move more off more to New Sheldon's right. This resulted in New Sheldon having to turn his head even more to constantly to look at all of them and when his head turned to Leonard and Penny again, Sheldon nodded again.
Leonard didn't know what Sheldon was up to, but Leonard didn't have any kind of plan himself, and things were getting away from them, so he was willing to do anything. He saw what was happening, their moving in different directions was a causing this new Sheldon to concentrate in two different directions as they moved off to each side. He also thought that Sheldon was wanting a distraction to do something, so when Sheldon nodded again at Leonard and Penny, while new Sheldon's head was turned at him, Leonard decided to act.
New Sheldon turned back to look at Sheldon, so Leonard whispered 'fall' to Penny and not hesitating, Penny using all her acting ability, fell. She tried to perform a realistic fall, like she was taught for her show, even screaming like she hurt her ankle as she hit the ground. Penny, as she moaned on the ground, saw New Sheldon turn to her and Leonard, swinging his gun around, and she hoped their Sheldon knew what he was doing.
Sheldon moved with speed he didn't even know he had, taking two quick steps towards his younger self, while pulling Penny's gun out of his pocket, at the same time. It had worked, before New Sheldon could react, Sheldon had the small revolver's barrel pressed against his self's temple, making the younger man stop in his tracks. "I need you to drop the gun, now." Sheldon said with the most threatening tone he could muster.
Leonard was kneeling next to Penny on the ground and like her just looked at the scene in front of them in shock. It took him and her a couple seconds to realize that Sheldon had Penny's gun, then another few seconds to remember that the gun was empty. They both thought Sheldon was bluffing and knowing Sheldon that made them both scared, because Sheldon didn't lie or bluff well.
"I will shoot them if you don't drop you gun." New Sheldon threatened.
"Go ahead shoot them, you still don't understand, do you? You shoot them, I shoot you, then send your body back, it resets everything and they are alive again in the primary timeline this started. The only one that dies is you and me." Sheldon told him.
"You won't kill yourself." New Sheldon countered.
"I have already accepted what would happen." Then Sheldon smiled, it was ironic, never in his life did he think he would actually say the next words and mean them. "Today is a good day to die."
Penny was now standing next to Leonard holding him, she also thought Sheldon was bluffing and only wanted to help, she knew Leonard would want to too, but wouldn't do anything to risk her. "Shoot him Sheldon, we are ready."
Luckily no one was going to shoot anyone today. "NO WAIT!" New Sheldon shouted, he then let the gun he had hang down to point at the ground.
"Get it." Sheldon said as he looked at Leonard and Penny.
Leonard immediately moved forward to take the gun then point it at New Sheldon. "Okay, I got him." Leonard took a deep breath. "That was amazing Sheldon, I don't think I want to ever play poker with you."
"I wasn't bluffing Leonard." Sheldon lowered the gun down and then opened it showing them the live rounds. Penny and Leonard gasped and looked at each other.
Sheldon then closed the gun again, and put it his pocket. "We need to talk." he told his younger self. The younger man just nodded.
Leonard and Penny just watched their Sheldon walk new Sheldon to the blanket under the shade tree and sit them both down to talk. They stood there for several minutes just watching, before Sheldon looked at them, "Can I talk to him alone for a while?"
Leonard looked at him then back at Penny, unsure of what to do, the stakes were very high, and to be honest after all that happened he wasn't sure if he could trust Sheldon explicitly. "Sheldon I think it would be better if we were here."
Sheldon nodded, then pulled out the gun from his pocket, he did not point it at them, "Leonard I could have left at any time." Sheldon then put the gun back in his pocket, and looked at Leonard with pleading eyes.
Leonard nodded. "Okay." he then looked around and pointed to some trees a little bit away. "We'll be there when you are done."
Sheldon gave him a small smile. "I promise to come get you." He then watched Leonard and Penny walk away with a couple blankets.
It wasn't very far to the trees, and the shade they provided, and once there, they spread out a blanket to sit on. It was after that, Penny stepped in front of Leonard and turned to look at him. "They are probably going to talk for a little while, aren't they."
Leonard looked over to barely see new Sheldon shaking his head at something their Sheldon said. "Yeah, I think you're right."
Penny took a step towards Leonard, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Leonard would you do something for me and not think I am crazy and not judge me?"
Leonard's eyes immediately shot to hers as he stared at her, "What….I mean I don't understand."
"Leonard, we will loose our memories and this time will not exist after that Sheldon goes back, and you said I am the original person who is your wife." Leonard just nodded. "I just don't want to wait here and those be my last memories before my mind is changed. I want those last memories to be of us together and happy." she looked at him with pleading eyes. "Leonard I want to be pregnant and happy in your arms when the time comes.
"Penny, I….I don't understand how that could happen." Leonard was really confused, at her request.
"I have been reading about getting pregnant, since a couple days after you got here." She looked into his surprised eyes. "I had this thought that you would stay and be my husband." She sadly chuckled, "I wanted to have your baby." She looked into his eyes hoping he didn't think she was nuts.
Leonard shook his head, "I had no idea."
Penny nodded. "I found out I'm ovulating now. I know it is crazy, but if we made love, there would be a good chance I would get pregnant. I would like to think an almost for certain chance, and even though it would be only a couple cells, it would still be our baby and it would be there inside me at the end." She sighed, "Does what I am saying make any sense to you."
Leonard slowly nodded. "You really want this Penny?"
"Sweetie, I love you. If you love me, make love to me." She was now pleading with him. She gave him a small sad smile, "Even a condemned man gets one last wish, doesn't he…..she?"
Leonard gave her a small smile and nodded, which brought her into his arms, to kiss him. They laid down on the blanket they had spread out, masked from the two Sheldon's by the tall grass, as they laid on the blanket, slowly undressing each other. The made love slowly and tenderly, but with a hunger of two people that needed each other, both trying hard to please each other, why taking what they were doing very seriously. It was almost an hour later when Penny was in Leonard's lap, keeping her legs together, while her and Leonard's still nude bodies where covered in the blanket, before they talked again.
Penny nuzzled her face into Leonard's neck, a content feeling washing over her being. "I think it happened."
Leonard squeezed her and kissed her forehead, "How do you know."
"I don't know, but I think I feel something has changed." She said.
Leonard smiled at her. "Then it happened. You are pregnant with our baby."
"Thank you Leonard." she whispered, "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Honey." Leonard's leaned his head down and his lips found her willing lips for a very long kiss.