[I went back and rewrote these next two chapters making everyone more rational. As it turned out having the characters think and not just run on their hormones produces a pretty boring story line. Reintroducing Christopher in 5 and and an insight into Raj's mind in 6. Removed all additional pairings]

Leonard was standing behind the kitchen counter wiping his glasses when Sheldon walked in.

"Sheldon! I was beginning to worry about you. I was thinking of calling Penny."

"I walked home."

"All the way from the Cheesecake Factory? That's a long walk. You should have called me to come pick you up."

"My choice was deliberate Leonard. I had other means of transportation available to me."

Leonard wasn't sure whether his roommate's behavior was normal or not. He seemed fine on the outside. "Are you ok? You know, with Amy leaving and all."

"I am perfectly fine. Please do not start interpreting all of my actions as consequences of Amy's departure."

"Well, give me something to help me understand. " Leonard pressed on. "Open up a little." He knew that if Sheldon was going to have a meltdown it would have happened already but he also got this crazy notion in his head that most serial killers probably 'seemed fine on the outside'.

Sheldon detested being forced to participate but he decided the easiest way to get Leonard to stop pestering him was to disclose some of his private thoughts on the matter. He observed others do that and it seemed to put people at ease on matters they did not comprehend.

"I am undecided on how to fill in the gaps Amy's departure will leave in my day-to-day schedule. I am also concerned how our current social interactions will be affected. Even more so in the event of additional nonattendance by other members of our group. Like Rajesh's absence from out latest outing."

Sheldon was reading Leonard facial expression which appeared to be turning into a faint smile and decided his words were indeed calming him down. He quickly decided to take it one step further. "What are your thoughts on the matter?" He asked.

He was not interested in Leonard's answer. He only asked to give Leonard the sense that he was letting him in. And that's what he had accomplished. He was fascinated with how well he steered Leonard's thought process to the place he wanted. His moral code did not object. He was not lying to him and he was probably saving Leonard considerable hassle of his own.

Sheldon's question caught Leonard by surprise. "Hmm... let's see... gaps and absent people… I know. Why don't you get a new girlfriend? Solve both problems at once." Leonard suggested with a hefty dose of irony.

"That is surprisingly ingenious Leonard." Said Sheldon his face lighting up with the success of his thought steering experiment. He decided the phenomenon warranted further examination. Not that social sciences held any merit on their own. They did not. In this case, however, 3 seconds of his time now saved him who knows how many minutes of Leonard nuisance.

"Insensitive, considering how recent my break up with Amy was but ingenious none the less." He added after finally deciding to analyze Leonard's remark. It seemed wrong to ask something knowing beforehand he was going to ignore any answer.

Leonard was fairly certain his roommate was ok now so he wasn't going to allow his 'insensitive' comment pass unchallenged. "What do you mean recent? I naturally assumed a man of your considerable intellect would be able to recover from a break up much faster. And it appears I was right."

Sheldon saw through all that however and jumped to the end. "Sarcasm?" He asked triumphantly.

"Yes Sheldon."

"I'm getting really good at detecting it."

"Yes Sheldon"

"Because your inquiry into my mental state when I came back indicated that you did not 'assume' I had already overcome any troubles my breakup might have caused."

"I know Sheldon. "

Leonard decided he had enough of his roommate for one night. "I'm going to bed Sheldon. We've got work tomorrow." He dragged his feet on his way to his room.

Sheldon stayed there amused. Leonard was being sarcastic but the truth was that he did go through a break up today and he managed to handle himself a whole lot better than Leonard ever did. Then he thought about he's newly discovered power. The one he used on Leonard just now. He had shown him something Leonard wasn't used to and he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

He recalled the two previous instances he disclosed his private thoughts tonight, with Penny and Amy. In those two instances he wasn't being deliberate. It felt natural, organic to contribute to their joined experience.

He understood what made him react is such fashion to Leonard. It was a conscious defense to the thread of endless whining and pestering. He had more difficulty identifying the trigger for the other two occasions. He knew it had something to do with feelings. Not thoughts. What he was feeling at the moment or what he perceived the other person was feeling or possibly both.

Sheldon decided he better get ready for bed before tackling this new puzzle.

..

Penny woke up really late next morning. A usual byproduct of a double shift the day before. She was trying to get out of bed when her phone rang. It was Bernadette. Penny clicked answer and let her head fall back on the pillow bringing the phone close to her ear.

"Good morning, Penny"

"Good morning, Bee"

"Are you at work?"

"Running a bit late."

"Wanna do lunch?"

"No work today?"

"They sent me to this boring seminar. It's supposed to last all day but people are already bailing out. They're giving away an xbox when it's over to keep more people here. I don't think there will be anyone left to claim it."

"Drop by whenever. Slow shift. You remember."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

After listening to Bernadette's voice Penny was fully awake. She jumped in and out of the shower at lightning speed, put on her uniform and rushed out the door. She would fix her hair and makeup at the traffic lights.

She was at work less than 20 minutes late. Not that anyone noticed. There were only a handful of customers and they were taken care of. The manager was in his office doing paper work. She stepped into the bathroom to check her appearance on something bigger than the rear view mirror of her car. She re-tied her ponytail, got back and sat on a stool by the bar waiting for someone new to serve. As soon as she sat down the only other waitress gave her a nod and went outside for a smoke.

She thought about the full day she had yesterday with all the Amy drama. If nothing else those two together sure were entertaining. She was going to miss having their craziness around. Sheldon will still be here but making fun of him on his own did not feel right. He was still full of surprises but not the wacky kind anymore. Penny was starting to see the loving and caring side of him. According to Amy, he also had a romantic side which Penny could not wrap her head around. "Then again what's one more surprise?" She thought.

Bernadette showed up an hour after her call. She greeted Penny and then made her round saying hello to her former coworkers in the kitchen and the back office. Everyone was excited to see her. Some were envious, some were proud. She was a success story and an inspiration to them because almost everyone there was working their way to some better future. She was a great example of what was possible. She finished school, got a great job and her husband was an astronaut. She sat in her former manager's office for a few minutes catching up with him. When she got back to the dining area she found Penny behind the bar getting a glass of water.

"Boss said I can have anything I wanted. On the house." she told Penny smiling.

"Well? What will it be missy?"

"Hmm. Just some water please. I had coffee and pastries at the seminar. I was going to stay for another session but the only other person I knew there decided to leave so I took off as well."

Penny poured her a glass of water. "So today you're getting paid to go to a hotel, sit around and eat pastries. Nice gig."

"They will serve lunch as well." Bernadette teased smiling.

"Ha. I'm glad you thought of me stuck here with no customers on such a trying day for you." Penny laughed watching Bernadette absorb her sarcasm. They loved teasing each other.

"I was here too. Remember? I know what it's like."

"But you got out…"

"So will you."

"I'm not sure about that anymore, Bernie. My acting gigs are not picking up."

"So what... If that doesn't work out you try something else. You're young, you're smart, you're gorgeous. There's nothing holding you back. Come on. Don't try to make me feel bad for you because I am not."

"I know, I know. I just need some encouragement and a slight push in the right direction."

"Well, you let me know when and I'll come push you all you want. "

"Thanks Bernie. You're awesome."

"What are you worried about? You've got all the time in the world. Settling down was good for me but I got lucky I found Howard. And even so, sometimes, I am jealous of your freedom. You've seen Howard's mother. You know what I mean." She started laughing.

Penny was laughing too as she got up to wait on some new customers. "I'll be right back." She said.

Penny was glad all her friends were there for her. Sheldon and Amy and now Bernadette. Each in his or her own way offered the same encouragement and the same advice.

"If you want something done then just do it, you idiot." Penny though as she approached the customer's table, smiling.

She got back to Bernadette after a couple of minutes. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?" She asked.

"No. I'm good. I was thinking… maybe after you're done here we should swing by Amy's work and kidnap her for a shopping spree. I mean we set up our get-together for Saturday morning but who's stopping us for having a practice run today as well? What do you think?"

"Yeah. We can't send her to Boston with her current wardrobe. We'll go look today and by Saturday we'll talk her into it."

"I'll text her later to make sure she's in. She said Friday would be her last day there."

"Cool."

Bernadette changed the subject. "So, how are you and Leonard doing?"

"You probably saw him more than me last night. We were supposed to spend time together the night before but that Raj thing happened."

"Oh, right. One of Raj's usual meltdowns."

"I was a bit disappointed he left me behind to go help his friend but you know how they are."

"I was actually glad to get Howard off my back for the night." Bernadette admitted. "I guess that's the difference between just dating and being married." she laughed.

"Oh, come on. Your life is not that boring Bernadette."

"Compared to other marriages, I don't know, but compared to my life before marriage. Ha. No comparison." Bernadette's mind drifted and a veil of melancholy transformed her smile. "Yup. I was a dynamite and now I'm a yuppie." She confessed in her thoughts.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I kind of wished I went out with Howard as well to rescue Raj and Leonard. We haven't gone out-out in a while now."

"I think it was the other way around. Leonard went to rescue Raj and Howard. At least that's what Leonard told me."

"Hmm, Raj must have done something really embarrassing for those two to cover it up like this. Probably the reason why he didn't join us for dinner last night. Although Sheldon seemed to know what happened to him. Odd."

"I guess."

"He's weird, that one. I mean I feel sorry for the guy but come on. Buy him a hooker or something."

"Beeee? I think Howard is rubbing off on you. That's what I think." Penny laughed.

"Damn it. I think you're right. I am turning into Howard. Oh well… True love and all that jazz." She was laughing too.

Penny thought for a second on how Sheldon's behavior was rubbing on her and not Leonard's but those thoughts went away when she noticed Christopher walk in. She looked at the clock on the wall. "1:30 already." She thought and she jumped off her stool to get to him before the other waitress was done with the table she was serving now.

"Back in a sec." she told Bernadette and walked over to Christopher.

Bernadette turned around to watch the dining area and noticed where Penny was headed. And then her sight caught Christopher. She swallowed hard and stopped breathing for a few heart beats until her eyesight had absorbed enough of him in. She couldn't remember the last time she saw such a specimen of a man outside of movies. Then there was Penny talking to him.

Suddenly they both turned and looked at her. He smiled and turned back to Penny continuing their conversation. Where they talking about her? Bernadette couldn't wait for Penny to get back and explain. Oh how she wished she was seating closer by.

Penny came back smiling but before she could start talking Bernadette began. "Who is that?"

"Nice… huh?"

"Are you kidding me? Hubba hubba! What is he, a movie star or something? A model? He's not gay is he? I don't care. He is gorgeous."

"Will you relax? What's gotten into you? You're a married woman for Christ's sake." Penny was having too much fun teasing Bernadette. "No he's not a movie star or a model and he's definitely not gay. And stop staring at the guy like a 12-year-old looks at Beiber. He's going to notice."

"I don't care."

"Well that would be awkward because he asked me if you would like to join him."

"Wha?" Bernadette was confused.

"He's sort of a regular customer. I sometimes sit and talk with him when there's not a lot of work. I told him about my friend being here. You. If you wouldn't mind he would appreciate your company."

"Is he married?" Bernadette blurred out.

"What? No, and what does it matter. You are. Remember?" Penny paused for a second hoping Bernadette will compose herself. She has seen the same reaction many times before. "Well? Are we going there or not?"

"Go. Go." Bernadette almost screamed as she jumped off her stool waiting for Penny to take the lead.

When they got to his table he stood up and offered Bernadette a seat. "Tall" She thought. She felt all her senses going to full alert. Was her heart beating faster? Was her face turning red? Were her ears getting hotter? Was she perspiring more in all sorts of places. She couldn't keep up.

Penny introduced the two and he reached and shook Bernadette's hand. She was still confused by what was happening. Penny was clearly comfortable with him but all her brain was capable of was producing pure dirty thoughts with him starring. It wasn't just that he was a Greek god. The whole setting resembled that of a date. She has never been alone with a stranger like this ever since she got with Howard. And this was definitely not Howard. "Penny is right. I turned into a sack of hormones." Bernadette thought trying to compose herself. She had to file any fantasies she came up with in her brain somewhere and use them with her Howie when she got the chance.

"I hope I didn't overstep my bounds by asking you to join me. Penny told me she had company today and I didn't want to keep you two apart by monopolizing her time." Christopher smiled looking up at Penny.

"Oh. We see each other all the time." Bernadette offered not quite sure what the point of her remark was.

"Perhaps we can entice her with a seat later on then. "

"Oh yeah. I'm coming back." Penny said.

"Would you like something to eat? A drink perhaps?"

"Oh no. I'm fine"

"Please get something. Anything. You don't have to eat it. You can just play with it while I eat. I would feel very uncomfortable if you were just seating there looking at me as I was eating."

Penny could sense Bernadette couldn't relax. It was partly her fault because she told him to be polite to Bernadette but she said it as a joke. She didn't know he would take her words so literally. He was pouring civility on a bit too thick. She suppressed a chuckle. "Why don't I get us each a hamburger? I can take a ten minute break to finish it with you guys. We need lunch anyway Bee."

"Ok" said Bernadette.

"Excellent." Christopher said.

Penny wasn't sure she should leave Bernadette alone just yet but she decided to try it anyway. The worst that could happen would be another weirdness story to tell. "Be right back." She said and left. "Let's see if Christopher is as good at making friends as he says." She thought and smiled.

"So, how do you know Penny, Bernadette?" Christopher asked looking at her fingers that were fidgeting on the tablecloth. She noticed him and moved her hands under the table immediately cursing her reaction that revealed her anxiety.

"Shit." Bernadette thought. She decided to make a preemptive strike "I'm just preoccupied with other things. I'm sorry. I'm usually better company."

Christopher smiled. "I wasn't going to say anything. " He offered. "And please, Bernadette, don't apologize. I'm the one who interrupted your meeting. It was a bit forward of me to ask. "

"No, please. I'm not nervous anymore. I'm ok now. "

"Well, if you want to know… You're infinitely better company than my usual. In fact she's here right now and she's not offering anything to our conversation although that might be because you're sitting on her."

Bernadette smiled.

"See. I make lame jokes and I'm not nervous or anything." Christopher smiled back.

"True." Bernadette agreed

"True my jokes are lame?" Christopher chuckled.

"No." Bernadette said but then added "Well, yes. That too." She chuckled as well.

Christopher leaned in and whispered "Usually, I'm a lot less formal and a lot less polite but Penny asked me to be nice."

She was beginning to feel comfortable. "That's just weird. What does that even mean? Are you not nice most of the time." She teased.

"Well she said 'polite'. I assume she wants me to be friendlier than my usual. How am I doing so far?"

"Good. Good."

She remembered what he asked before the whole nervousness sidetrack "I used to work here with Penny. My husband is friends with her neighbors."

"Oh, you must be Howard's wife then."

Bernadette looked surprised. "Did he meet Howard here? Or at Penny's?" She thought. Her mind wasn't completely rational but she needed some answers.

Christopher understood her surprise. He expected it. "I know a little bit about Penny's situation. About 'her boys' as she puts it across the hall and their friends. Penny never mentioned you by name."

"But she did mention I was married to Howard?"

"Among other things."

"Like what things?" Bernadette was curious.

"Let's wait for Penny to get back. I don't want to tell on her." He laughed.

"Oh. I'm going to kill her." Bernadette faked being angry at Penny but she was actually flattered she was the subject of their conversation.

"How long have you known Penny?" Bernadette asked just as Penny returned with bread, a salad and a bottle of water.

Christopher looked up at Penny "I first met her more than six months ago but we hardly ever talked at the beginning."

"He orders by numbers" Penny offered raising one eyebrow.

Christopher laughed. "Those numbers was the reason I came back a second time."

"Oh my God!" Penny burst out in fake shock. "You're even weirder than I previously thought." Penny was starting to crack up.

"And believe me, she knows weird." Bernadette joined in shaking her head pointing towards Penny implying she was the weird one. She started laughing herself.

"Yeah. From hanging out with you people." Penny shot back.

Bernadette stopped for a second to catch her breath. "You told him to be polite?" She started laughing again "What the hell, Penny?"

"Hey, why did you tell her?"

"Too much nervous energy was building up. We needed to dump it somewhere..." Christopher joked, setting up Penny's response.

"Oh. So you dumped it on me". Penny provided the expected answer and everyone's laughter got a bit louder.

"You're the one who assumed I had special needs or something." Bernadette offered still laughing.

"Oh yeah. You don't know how he is Bee. Why don't you tell her how you shut poor Laura down when those cops went by?" She asked turning to Christopher.

"Hey, you've already teased me about that." Christopher protested still smiling.

He briefly described the incident to Bernadette. Which was not much of an incident but he did admit that those two cops were spiting images of Erik Estrada and the other one.

"Ha ha. Oh my God. That's evil." Bernadette said.

"See." Penny said happy now that Bernadette was on her side.

Christopher graciously started laughing at his past behavior and the other two joined in.

"I'll go get the food. Anyone need anything else?" Penny asked after a while.

She realized she was deliberately using bad English the way she usually did to antagonize Sheldon.

"That was weird" she thought on her way to the kitchen. Then the fact that she thought about it seemed even weirder. "Perhaps it's all the talking about weirdness." She thought and smiled.

"Well, anyhow." Christopher continued answering Bernadette's original question. "It wasn't until I left my job a couple of month backs that Penny and I talked about anything other than my lunch order. I stopped bringing work associates with me and Penny was easy to talk to."

"That she is. She's a very good listener." Bernadette agreed. "But she's an aspiring star, God bless her." she continued as Penny approached bringing their food. "She should become a therapist to the stars instead." Bernadette added.

"Who should?" Penny asked getting only the tail of their conversation.

"You should!"

Are you two talking about me behind my back?

"Same thing you've been doing apparently?" Bernadette pointed at Christopher.

He raised both palms off the table "I said nothing." He said smiling at Penny.

"What did you tell him about me?" Bernadette asked pretending to be upset.

"I will tell you later." Penny whispered in her ear pretending she didn't want Christopher to hear her.

Bernadette finally managed to get rid of all the lust Christopher's exterior was generating and began to look at him as a regular mortal friend of Penny's.

"You two start I'm going to have one more pass at the other tables." Penny said as she walked away.

Bernadette offered her fries to Christopher but he insisted to trade for them with some of his salad. She picked up her burger with her hand to take a bite but noticed that Christopher put his knife and fork back on his plate. She decided to put her burger down as well and wait for Penny to return.

Penny got back and looked at their plates. "I told you two to start eating. Now dig in."

"Want some fries or some salad?" Christopher asked.

"No I'm good. Thanks. I didn't get any for me on purpose."

"Bon appétit, then. " He said and they all started.

They kept mostly quiet with Penny glancing around to see if any customer needed help and Christopher filling in their glasses with water. Surprisingly by the time the two women finished their burgers, Christopher was done with his steak and trimmings, the extra salad, Bernadette's fries and the bread.

Bernadette noticed that and couldn't help but comment. "I can't believe you finished all that in the time it took us to eat a burger."

"One of the results of Officer Candidate School training I'm afraid. " Christopher replied. "I have to think about it and force myself to slow down most of the time."

"What's officer…?" Penny asked.

"Army training. Like basic training but you end up an officer, not a private soldier." Christopher answered trying to make the explanation as simple as possible.

"We were only given 5 minutes for each meal." Christopher continued "If you were a slow eater you didn't finish but if you were fast enough you could get second servings."

"That sounds terrible." Penny commented.

"It was for the slow ones. You needed all the calories you could take. Having to run everywhere, walking not allowed and what not."

Both women were intrigued by their peak into an existence so much different from their own.

"I don't think I would have ever imagined anything like that taking place." Penny admitted

"It's unfortunate but you have to train for war the same way you train for anything else."

"Perhaps we got used to sunny California." Bernadette offered.

They talked about their shielded existence for a while and how wars were fought by mercenaries and corporations in foreign lands and for reasons just as foreign. How much differently society reacted to the Vietnam War compared to the more recent US conflicts. Penny and Bernadette didn't do much talking but they were both captivated Christopher's ideas and insight.

Penny got up again as customers started asking for their check. A couple of minutes later Christopher also decided he was taking off. He thanked both women for their company and their laughter and left leaving two $50 bills to cover his check.

After he was gone Penny returned and discovered the cash he left behind. "That guy has no concept what a meal here costs."

"I noticed." Bernadette said. "He pulled the notes out of his wallet and stuck them in there without even looking."

"So. What did you think of him?"

"You know... He's dreamy to look at but you know what I enjoyed most about him?"

"What?"

"I actually had a grownup conversation about something. Anything. "

"Ha." Penny replied. "Are you telling me you don't discuss world affairs with your astronaut hubby all the time? "

Bernadette rolled her eyes. "We're surrounded by oversized babies. Lasers and phazers and starships and gliders… oh my God. Grrr. Why did I have to remember those now?" Bernadette hit her head on the back of her hands on the table. "I used to listen to the news. I was a nerd too but I knew what was going on around me. Look at me now. " She raised her head and slammed it back down again.

"Ok… people are going to notice…." Penny said smiling.

Bernadette's mind wondered back to his appearance. "He was in the Army. I knew those muscles had to come from somewhere."

"Not the US Army." Penny clarified smiling at the pending surprise.

"What?"

"Yup. He's not even American."

"Shut up!" Bernadette was surprised alright. "He's got to be like the most fascinating son of a bitch I ever met."

"I know, right? He's up there with Sheldon. You should hear some of his stories from his travels." Penny added.

"I'm going to start hitting my head again." Bernadette said more to make a point than anything else.

"You know. I look at him and I look at Amy now going to Boston and I think I'm glad I left Nebraska. Even if it doesn't lead to a career in Hollywood and even if I end up back there…" and then she remembered "I'm done here in a second. Come on, call Amy."