Chapter 49 - Everything Must Change
Leonard leaned against the tree, with Penny in his lap, as they both sat on the blanket talking, smiling and giving each other little kisses every so often in between. It had been over an hour since they got dressed again and even though they were a mess, it really didn't matter, because in a couple hours nothing they had done that day would even matter, they both knew in their hearts. Besides Penny said they smelled of sex and she reminded Leonard that of all the smells of the world, it was in the top half as far as she was concerned, which made him laugh.
They last couple of hours had calmed Penny, being with Leonard and understanding what she had did, didn't even happen yet where they were, made her feel more normal again. They had even been talking of baby names and had settled on a girl and a boy name, overlooking that their baby, even if she was pregnant, would never be born. They just ignored their real situation, and the hopelessness of it, just trying to enjoy one of pleasures a couple would when being new soon to be parents. However, during a very short lull in their conversation Leonard brought them back to reality as he became worried. "They have been talking a long time."
Penny's smile dropped as Leonard brought them back from the fantasy world they were imagining themselves in since they first laid down under the tree. "It has, hasn't it." Penny nodded and agreed.
"I really think we need to check. I am still concerned about what Sheldon is going to do." Leonard said seriously.
"You think he would leave us?" Penny now was concerned with him.
"Actually no. But he has seemed to have changed and I'm really starting to believe that he was serious, when he said earlier about killing himself would set things straight." Leonard said with concern.
"You don't really think he would do that?" Penny said with surprise.
"I don't know, but he really fell apart when Amy died. I actually thought we lost him after the accident, and this reversing her death seems to be the only thing that brought him back to us. So it makes me think if saving Amy is the only thing that is holding him together, how far is he willing to go." Leonard explained.
Penny nodded, "I think you're right, we need to see what is going on."
As Leonard and Penny approached, they heard the two men angrily talking to each other, making the couple look at each other in worry. They both seemed dug in to their positions and what worried Leonard was that he saw that their Sheldon had his hand in his pocket, the one the gun was in. Leonard knew they had to do something, things were not going good for new Sheldon, and he just didn't know it.
"I told you we can use your mistakes to fix things the right way. It is like a poorly run experiment, you correct the errors you had previously and run it again correctly." New Sheldon said in exasperation.
"And I told you, that is not the case, there are too many variables, once you correct some of them, that correction only creates more variables, you never get ahead." Sheldon tried to explain. He then saw Leonard and Penny standing there. "Tell him Leonard."
Leonard nodded, "He is right, there are too many variables. It is like ripples on a calm lake, every time you travel you start a new ripple, there is nothing you can do, you don't really have control on what those ripples will do, once you start them, it is like life."
"I have always been able to control my life." New Sheldon said to Leonard, in a very condelessing way to emphise his point.
Leonard shook his head, "Yes that is true. But have you ever been truly able to control the lives of the people around you? We lived together for a long time, and look what happened when Penny came along, did you really ever control my life, the person closest to you."
New Sheldon shook his head, "I don't care, I have nothing to go back to, whatever happens will be better than what I got." he then put his head in his hands, hiding his face.
"So you are willing to give up Amy?" Leonard said.
Both Sheldon's faces shot up to look at him, in surprise, and it was his Sheldon that spoke first. "What do you mean Leonard."
"We never got a chance to talk about everything Sheldon. I never had time enough with you to tell you what happened before I left." Leonard started to explain.
"What happened." New Sheldon now asked, now completely interested in what Leonard had to say.
Leonard walked over to the blanket and sat down, Penny sitting down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Amy was grief stricken when she found out you were missing." Leonard looked at both men in turn. "She immediately thought it was her fault and she had been cruel to you, not being there for you." both men looked at each other before looking back at Leonard, sadness written all over their faces.
Leonard knew he was reaching them, so he went to grab their attention in one big fact. "She canceled her wedding, because she knew she loved you more and was only fooling herself. She also broke up with her fiancé, because she knew she would only be happy with you. She is waiting back in our timeline, right now for you, praying you are okay. She is hoping, beyond hope, she will get to tell you she will never leave your side again."
Sheldon looked at Leonard's eyes, he wasn't good at telling if people were lying, but he knew Leonard for along time and thought he could see the truth from him. "She is waiting for me to return?"
Leonard nodded, then sadly he turned to new Sheldon. "She is waiting for him to return."
Sheldon nodded then he too, turned to new Sheldon. "The Nobel means nothing, believe me, once you have it, it is not what you expected. I won't lie to you, it does improve things for you, but the satisfaction you…..I thought I would get from it wasn't really what I thought it would be." Sheldon then sighed, "Amy on the other hand is everything you could ever want in a companion through life. Being married to her was more than I ever expected and brought me a satisfaction and contentment, I never thought was possible in my life."
"But…" New Sheldon didn't know what to say.
Sheldon looked into his other self's eyes. "I lost Amy, destroyed the best thing that ever happened in my life, but you still can have a life with her, for both of us. Believe me, you will never regret it."
"Sheldon, if you go back now, nothing will happen. No one will know of the machine and Amy will be waiting for you." Leonard told him. "Believe me, it is too dangerous to go on. Look at us, we are nothing but time refugees anymore, no home, just hoping either we can fix things back to what it was or if not, maybe find a place in the future to live. We have nothing but us."
"And I don't even have Amy." Sheldon added, a tone of sadness in his voice.
New Sheldon just sat there looking at all three of them, as his mind tried to process what they had said. 'No Amy', 'Time Refugees', 'Nobel not important', and no control on what happens, kept bouncing around in his mind, while the sadness of his future self worried him. It made one big question float up in his mind about all other questions, 'What if they are right?'.
Leonard saw new Sheldon's face twist in worry and thought, he needed to push him over the edge, but it was his Sheldon that did it. "You are really not taking a chance with what we are telling you, you know."
New Sheldon looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean."
"If we are lying, you will know it soon after your return. If Amy is not there waiting for you, you will know we are lying and can always come back another time with another plan, or just do this one at another time. You would really be at an advantage, you would be forewarned." Sheldon explained to his younger self.
New Sheldon sat there thinking, what he said did make sense, once back he would be in control again. He really didn't have anything to loose, as he thought more about it, his risks were small, he would return moments after he left, so he would still be hidden and secure. He looked back at them and nodded. "Okay."
They all stood up, there wasn't really any reason to delay, so they went back to the place where Sheldon arrived, Leonard building the courage to say what he had to next. Just before getting to the spot, Leonard reached over and grabbed new Sheldon's arm to make him look at him. "Sheldon, I know what you will find when you return, that everything we told you is happening back there is accurate and that everything we told you is the truth. Therefore, you need to disassemble the machine and destroy your notes when you get back, because time travel is too dangerous and that is the truth too."
Sheldon nodded to his younger self. "For once he is right and I agree with him completely."
Leonard chuckled, "Thanks Sheldon."
New Sheldon just nodded, and then continued to the spot, finally turning to look at them, never saying a word. Sheldon handed him his marker, they took from him earlier, then stepped back to where Leonard and Penny were to watch. New Sheldon, wondered if they were telling him the truth, or would there be some plot to capture him when he got back, but it really didn't matter, he knew he had to go back. What they told him, made him wonder, because if it was the truth, his happiness might not lie in the future, it could be that it was there for him back home in his own timeline.
The wind generated by the energy field soon came after Sheldon activated the marker followed by the bright light, then Sheldon was gone, like he came. It left Leonard, Penny and Sheldon just standing in the field with nothing but each other. It was Penny this time that spoke first. "What happens next."
Sheldon looked at her, "Either we will wink out soon, or I lied to us and will try again."
Penny grabbed on to Leonard putting her head on his shoulder as she tried not to sob, the realization that the end was near tearing at her soul. Leonard, also was disturbed by thought of the end, but he had to stay strong for Penny, so he just rubbed her back while looking at Sheldon. "There is more isn't there?"
Sheldon nodded. "If we don't disappear soon, we need to activate our markers. We should go back to our original timeline, and we should arrive almost immediately after him, then we will have to do what we were reluctant to do here."
"Kill him….you." Leonard answered
"It is the only option Leonard." Sheldon said matter-of-factly.
Leonard was about to suggest another way, when he noticed the sky turn dark in a way he never seen before. Penny had seen it too and started to whimper on his shoulder, she knew just like Leonard and Sheldon, that this was it, the were going to cease to exist. The world around them turned darker and Penny squeezed Leonard harder, hoping that somehow whatever happened her holding him tight would keep him to her forever and with the last words from her mouth she told him. "I will always love you forever, Darling."
The world got darker, and just before everything went black, Leonard squeezed Penny to him, "Forever my love, I will love you forever."
Then everything went black for the three of them as their world disappeared along with them.