A/N: First - You guys are amazing. To my new and old reviewers alike: your feedback touches me, honestly. For taking a chance on this badass version of Sheldon and a strong, loyal Penny and allowing them to entertain you, I will be forever grateful!

Second - In real life, I have a full-time job where I'm in charge of a bunch of whiny people and I go to college full-time. Before I knew it, almost a week had gone by and I hadn't had time to sit and breathe let alone write this chapter! Sorry for the delay. Buckle your seatbelts, here comes chapter 16! Enjoy!

Eight years earlier.

Junior was in the kitchen, wearing a pair of low-hanging jeans and the brace wrapped in gauze around his broken ribs, nothing else. He angrily swept through the cupboards for an empty glass. He grabbed one and slammed the cupboard door shut, then turned to the sink and twisted the faucet on. He waited impatiently as tap water filled the glass and shoved two of his 250-miligram Hydrocodone pain pills into his mouth. He drank thirstily, washing the pills down, then turned off the faucet and placed the glass at the bottom of the sink. He had half the mind to toss it across the kitchen just to hear it shatter on the opposite wall, create some noise to interrupt the wretched silence in his head. The house was so quiet without Sheldon here to fill it with his nonsense about science and why tap water filled with small amounts of fluoride was more harmful then the American Dental Association had led on.

He clenched the glass again and was poised to throw it, not concerned about waking up Missy or his mom, but then heard a scratching noise on the side of the house where all the bedrooms were situated. He placed the glass down on the counter and grabbed the first handle he saw in front of him; a recently washed, large carving knife. Gripping it tightly, he treaded quietly to the back rooms. He turned towards Sheldon's now empty room, where the scratching was the loudest. The bedroom door was wide open; Sheldon hadn't even bothered to close it let alone switch off the light when he stormed out like a bat out of hell a few hours earlier. Using the wall as his cover, Junior peered into the room, watching the window. His heart was crashing against his broken ribs, causing him to wince. Then he saw the window screen pop off the frame and crash to the ground outside. Flashbacks from his earlier attack behind the barn exploded in his mind and he felt fear trickle down his spine. But he ignored the fear, held his breath, and crossed the room in three quick strides. He leaned out of the open window and raised the steak knife high, ready to slash the neck of any intruder he saw.

"Jesus, Junior, what happened to you?"

Junior's eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness outside, but with the bedroom light pouring out from behind him, he was able to see the wide, chocolate brown eyes of Rachel crouched in front of the bushes just below Sheldon's window. "Rachel? What the fuck are you doin'?" He lowered the knife, but his grip remained tight on the handle.

Rachel's eyes narrowed at his weapon before she stood up straight and brushed the dirt off of her jeans. "I am here to see Sheldon. What the fuck are you doin'?"

"I was about to gut you like a fish," Junior muttered. "I thought you were someone trying to break in. You ever hear of a door bell?"

"I didn't want to wake your momma."

"Jesus," Junior said. "Go 'round the front and meet me on the porch." He pulled himself inside before adding, "And put that goddamn screen back on." He turned and shut off the light as he heard Rachel fiddling with the window screen, then closed Sheldon's door behind him. He waited for a few seconds to listen for any commotion coming from his mom or Missy's rooms, and when he heard none, he walked to the front door and slipped outside quietly. A moment later, Rachel came around the house, dressed in her signature tight blue jeans and leather jacket over a black tank top, even though it was warm out. She walked slowly to the porch steps where she stopped and leaned against the railing.

"Where's Sheldon?"

"He's not here."

"It's true?" she asked, a hitch in her voice. "He left to California?"

Junior was quiet as he lay the kitchen knife down on the porch swing next to him. He eyed Rachel, a woman he hadn't seen in almost two years, since the night he severely injured her brother Rick in a fixed match. He reeled back saliva and spit it out, watching it fly over the porch railing and into the bushes. When Rachel got the hint he wasn't going to answer, she sighed.

"I just wanted to say goodbye."

"You haven't said a word to my brother in two years, why are you here now?"

"What happened to you?" Rachel ignored his question and instead repeated her own. "Who kicked your ass?"

Junior's skepticism was mixed with fury. The men who attacked him had been people he had done business with before. He was almost 100% sure that Marky had sent them to rob him of his winnings. Then again, Rachel and Rick were sore with him too, after he had so badly beaten the latter, causing him to stop fighting for awhile to nurse his wounds, rehabilitate his injuries. The two bonehead siblings could have just as easily been behind the attack from earlier that night.

His profession was not entirely honorable, just as Sheldon had put it not so long ago. He had made plenty of enemies in his life, and now that his only ally, his little brother, was gone, Junior suddenly felt more alone than he ever had in his life. More alone than when his father died (though the old man had not been much of a role model once he had a beer in his hands), more alone than when he sat in a juvenile detention cell. He stared Rachel down until she squirmed beneath his eyes, then he took a step towards her. "Why don't you tell me?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her expression twisted with confusion.

"You send some goons after me?" Junior asked, advancing closer to her as she took a tentative step back. "Maybe your brother did it?" Her dirty blonde hair blew in the wind and she smoothed the strands behind her ear while swallowing hard.

"Junior," Rachel whispered in a warning tone. She reached into her jacket pocket and yanked out a small bottle of Mace. "You come any closer, and I'll empty this bottle all over your face and won't lose a wink of sleep tonight." Junior slowed and settled instead for a menacing glare. Rachel took the opportunity to speak, slipping the can of Mace back into her jacket. "I don't know what happened to you tonight, but it doesn't have anything to do with me and my family. I just came here to talk to Sheldon."

"How did you hear about California?" Junior asked, suddenly concerned with who else might know about where Sheldon was heading. The last thing he wanted was for Marky to hear about it.

"I saw Missy at the mall today and we caught up a little. She told me he was leaving in the morning."

"Rachel, just go on home. Sheldon's not here, so I'm sorry to say that you came for nothing. And don't tell anyone about Sheldon going to California. He wouldn't want that." Junior was tired, the pain medication was doing nothing for the throbbing ache in his chest, and he wanted nothing else to do with the world tonight. He turned his back on Rachel before she stopped him, placing a hand on his bare back. He whirled around, startled by her touch.

"I won't tell anyone. But can you give him a message for me?" she asked, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Junior was not one for dramatics, but he nodded anyway. She didn't need to know that Sheldon had made it clear he didn't want anything to do with Junior anymore and that her message may never be relayed to him. But he let her have her moment. "Can you tell him that I'm really sorry? About turning my back on him. Tell him I don't blame him about what happened to Rick…I know that it was you, and that son of a bitch Marky, who forced him into spotting fights. You both forced him into becoming some cold-blooded machine instead of letting him become the man he was destined to be - "

"And what kind of man was he destined to be?" Junior interrupted fiercely. He wanted to take offense to her accusation, but nothing had ever been truer.

"A man capable of loving me as much as I loved him," she croaked, her voice hoarse with sorrow. She drew in a couple of deep breaths as Junior marveled at her very naked pain. She blinked back tears and lowered her gaze to the ground. "And if he ever feels lonely out west, he has a friend he can call. Maybe you can give him my number? He can call me, or text me, whatever. I just miss him, that's all. And tell him I'm sorry it took me two years to finally say it, but I don't hate him." She tucked both of her hands into her back jean pockets and hung her head. "I always hated you for what you did to my brother, George Jr. But Sheldon saw something in you, I guess. Something that made him stick around, something that kept him from leaving you. Everything he did, he didn't do it for Marky. He did it because he thought you were worth hanging around for. I hope he was right." She turned around and started to walk off into the street.

"He hated me too, Rachel," Junior heard himself call after her. She paused then looked over her shoulder. "He hated me for what I did to Rick. He hated himself. So I'm sorry. To you, your brother, and to Sheldon." The silence stretched between them, except for the crickets chirping low in the grass and cars driving in the distance. After a moment, Rachel nodded then continued on her path. Junior walked back up his porch steps then hesitated when he heard Rachel call out to him one more time.

"Missy has my number; she'll give it to you. Use it anytime."

Present day.

Penny's nightmare left her trembling as her eyes flew open. Without a window in her bedroom, it was hard to tell exactly what time of day it was, as her room was still completely dark. She turned her head sideways and saw that her bedroom door was closed. In that moment she realized Sheldon was gone. She sat up slowly, rubbing her temples as the harsh images of her dream faded into obscurity. She felt sore all over like she had just woken up after a long night of drinking, but the only thing she had consumed in the last few hours was Sheldon. After their rough escapade in her kitchen, they moved it to the bedroom where things had not slowed down in the least bit. She remembered passing out after a few rounds, but never felt Sheldon make a move to leave. She bit her bottom lip and finally climbed out of bed, gingerly as her limbs were sore, and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

When she emerged from the steam-filled bathroom ten minutes later and Sheldon had still not returned, panic set in. She reached for her cell phone and saw no missed messages or calls from him. She dressed quickly into a pair of jean shorts and a flower-patterned sleeveless blouse, her wet, messy hair abruptly pulled into a messy bun. She opened her bedroom door and saw she was alone. Panic was now mixing in with irritation as she opened her apartment door, grabbed her emergency key to 4A in the bowl on the stand near her door, then headed over, unlocking the Sheldon's door with a huff. The place was empty, but her eyes went directly to the sheet of paper with a neatly written letter lying on top of Sheldon's spot. She read it without truly processing anything except for Sheldon's insistence that she stay home and breathing suddenly became a problem.

The next thing she knew, she was flying back into her apartment and reaching for her purse. When she grabbed the strap and pulled the bag off her couch, the first thing she noticed was how light the it was. She dropped it back on her cushion and looked inside to find that her wallet with her driver's license, credit cards, and cash was missing. She growled in frustration when she realized that her car was still at an undisclosed location courtesy of Junior. And that Sheldon had taken every precaution to make sure she didn't have the money to pay for a cab.

"Emergency at the University my ass," she whispered, trying to hold back her tears. Her only option was to call for a cab and then try to flirt with the cab driver to let her have a free ride. Or run like hell before he could call the cops on her for ditching. Penny pulled the cell phone from her pocket and contemplated the screen, wondering who she could call. She felt as though she was thrashing in deep water. How could Sheldon leave her feeling so helpless? And where the hell did he go? As she pieced the puzzle together, she knew there was only one place where he could've gone.

The nightmares from which she had just woken were very quickly becoming reality.

She looked at her phone again. Maybe she could call Bernadette? She would ask her to drop her off at the gym, and not to say a word to anyone. She thought back at all the times Bernadette was asked to keep a secret but failed horribly. Penny figured she'd be better off walking to East Hollywood herself. But there was no time. Maybe if she went to the hospital where Junior was, she could borrow money from him. Could she make it there in time? Not if she walked.

"Fuck!" Penny cried, her hands flying to her face. She cursed herself for not having money stashed away for a rainy day. Sheldon had constantly chastised her for spending her tips from the Cheesecake Factory on frivolous things like shoes when she should be accumulating a savings in case she ever got herself into another tight spot and was unable to pay for rent or her electricity. Like years ago, when she borrowed money from him and almost lost her mind with guilt and pressure for not being able to pay him back right away.

She frowned and brought her hands away from her face. She turned and faced her door which was still open and looked into apartment 4A. She hurried over and went straight for the book case lining the south wall of the living room. Scanning the shelf with her eyes, she pulled the first action figure she saw, the Green Lantern. The figure was 12 inches tall and made of shiny plastic and she figured it was probably worth a lot of money, but in her current state, she was in no mood to be careful. So she tossed the figure to the floor as hard as she could and it broke in half. She fell to her knees and went through the pieces; the lower abdomen held what she was looking for. She saw a tightly coiled $10 bill along with a note bound to it by a rubber band. She yanked the note off the bill and read it:

Sheldon:

I.O.U. $100 as of 11/19/2012. Better yet, no I don't. I let you meet Stephen Hawking. You're welcome.

-Howard

Penny grabbed the $10 and stuffed it in her pocket. The amount wasn't enough in cab fare to take her all the way across town to the gym, but it was enough to take her to Junior. And if he thought that lying in that hospital bed would somehow excuse him from helping her get to Sheldon, she'd break something else on his body.

The Golden Glove did not have a sign outside that indicated its operating hours, much to Sheldon's aggravation. He scaled the windows and pulled on the front door handle with as much strength as he could muster, but was unable to find a way in. Tugging at the strap of his satchel, he released a puff of air through his nostrils in frustration. He turned around and saw the giant statue of a golden lion at the left of the front door. It was smudged from fingerprints and other dastardly stains of origins he didn't want to think about. Sighing, he checked his watch and saw that it was now closer to 9:00 AM. It was a weekday, so most people would be at work or school instead of training. But if he remembered Marky's habits, the man practically lived to train. And this was apparently his home base when it came to gyms. Sheldon figured there had to be a back entrance somewhere, so he decided to search for it, walking down the deserted sidewalk until it wrapped around the building and led into an alleyway with two huge dumpsters and a dead end cut off by a chain-link fence. He swallowed hard and felt his nerves rattle.

His satchel contained Purell, a first aid kit, two water bottles, bandages, some cash, and his weapon of choice. He left his wallet at home in a disclosed location, along with Penny's wallet that he stole from her purse in case she tried to follow him, so that if Marky had overcome Sheldon, he wouldn't be able to read his address on his I.D. The address would lead him to Penny, and Sheldon would not allow that.

On the cab ride over, his conversation with Penny invaded his thoughts. She was unsure that he would be able to defend himself with a seasoned fighter like his enemy. Though it had been a fact that Sheldon was very keen to the moves Marky used and the physics of defensive stances, it was also true that he lacked the brute strength that Marky possessed in plenitude. So Sheldon brought something along with him that would ensure that he would have the upper hand when he came face-to-face with the bastard and would give him the opportunity to enact revenge, then ultimately end all of this for good.

And with this last thought to give him a surge of confidence, Sheldon walked cautiously down the alley, looking over his shoulder occasionally to make sure he wasn't being followed. When he was satisfied that he was alone, he looked along the tall brick wall of The Golden Glove, searching for the backdoor. Soon, he found it, wedged between a dumpster and some old cardboard boxes stacked haphazardly on top of each other. He avoided touching the dumpster as he reached out to turn the knob of the back door. He jiggled it once and growled in chagrin. The locking mechanism was flimsy he could tell, as the knob was hardly tightened enough to stay latched for long, but he didn't want to make too much of a racket trying to break in just in case someone was on the other side of the door. Instead he let go of the knob and took a moment to think of what to do next.

He began to turn around when he heard a noise from inside the door. It sounded like shuffling and it was getting louder, like someone was coming towards him. Sheldon's heart rate spiked; should he move? Dodge and hide? Before he could decide, the knob in front of him turned and the door flew open, revealing the towering frame of a man donned in a dark blue hoodie and matching sweatpants. His cheekbones were swollen so bad that his eyes were almost shut. Even with a maimed face, Sheldon would have known him anywhere.

His eidetic memory aside, Sheldon doubted anyone could ever forget the person who once stole your pants.

"It's about time," Kurt said gruffly before rearing back a fist. "Sorry, bro." The view of his giant knuckles grazing his beak was the last thing Sheldon saw before flashes of white pain took him under, and he fell into a black unconsciousness.

Penny paid the driver and tried to regulate her breathing. With each step she took, she was coming closer to Junior, who would ultimately want to know where Sheldon was. She was unsure of how he would take it, being that he was physically incapable of getting out of bed and rushing to Sheldon's aid. She remembered their talk at the bar a few nights ago, when he had said he would always be protective of his little brother. Penny could understand the sentiment, but she was angry all the same. It was Junior's fault that this was all happening, after all. He didn't have to come to Pasadena to drag Sheldon back into the hell of his own creation. She tried to rid the thoughts of bitterness as the elevator lifted her to the ICU wing. She slipped out of the doors and walked straight up to the nurse's station.

"Hi, I'm here to see George Cooper."

"He's been moved to a private room on the 6th floor," the nurse said tiredly, not looking up from her computer screen.

"What room?"

"662."

"Thanks," Penny said quickly then turned on her heels and jogged back down to the lift. When she finally arrived on the 6th floor, she reasoned with herself to be calm and collected when telling Junior about Sheldon going to the gym. Perhaps he would even be able to help her devise a plan of getting Sheldon out of there without getting either of them hurt or killed. She smoothed her shirt over her shorts and inhaled deeply one more time before knocking softly on Junior's closed door. She didn't wait for an answer before she pushed it open slowly, hoping he wasn't asleep. But as soon as the door cracked, she was met with the cold blast of AC that was cooling the room, as well as the sound of two hushed voices, one that belonged to a male and the other to a female. "Junior?" she called apprehensively. She looked quickly at the room number one more time.

"Come in," a female voice with a familiar sounding drawl replied.

Penny pushed the door all the way open and pulled the privacy curtain back to reveal Junior in bed, lying back but the bed was elevated so that he was reclined at an angle to see Penny clearly. And next to him stood a slim and very short woman with tight blue jeans and a black tank top. Her dirty blonde hair was swept up into a smoothed pony tail and her eyes were round and dark, tired-looking. She was a simple-looking woman with a severe frown. "I'm sorry," Penny said, a puzzled look on her face. "Are you Junior's girlfriend?"

Junior made a chortling noise with his jaw clenched together, making Penny look at him as he rolled his eyes at her. The skin beneath his pupils were blackened, but his actual orbs were still so blue, so clear and pure that it made her heart ache; they were identical to Sheldon's. He moved his bow-shaped lips, also similar to Sheldon's, and Penny could see he was trying to form a sentence. "She 'ishes," he said, his voice strained.

"I'm too good for him," the woman said, sarcasm dripping off of her tone like fresh paint. She was gripping the side rails of Junior's bed so hard that her knuckles were white. After a moment's hesitation, she released the rail and took a few steps towards Penny. "I'm Rachel, an old friend of the family. You must be Penny."

When Sheldon came to, he was alone in a secluded weight room, dimly lit by one bulb burning above his head. He tried to move, but realized his wrists were bound together with rope behind the chair he was tied to. He was took note of his inability to breathe evenly, and realized it was because his nasal passages were obstructed. His mind was foggy, but he quickly remembered the look of slight regret on Kurt's bloated face before he administered him the punch, effectively knocking Sheldon out with one blow. Then he deduced that his nose was probably broken.

A part of him was grateful that he was unconscious after the first initial moments of being punched. Although he felt the dull ache of the blow, it was probably nothing compared to how bad it could have felt if he were awake. His nerve endings were now assimilating to the swelling of his nasal fracture.

He looked around, studying his surroundings. Weights and benches were pushed up against the wall and there was one metal door directly in front of him; the only exit. He wondered if he screamed, who would hear him? Then his thoughts flew to Kurt. Why would he leave the hospital to come back to this gym, where the man who put him in the hospital in the first place trained? And what did Kurt mean when he told Sheldon 'it's about time'? So many questions and no one to ask.

Finally, Sheldon looked down at his body. He studied his blue shirt with black stripes and dark blue slacks before realizing something was missing. The strap of his beige colored satchel. His eyes swept the room, looking frantically around for his bag. Suddenly, a heavy thud sounded on the metal door before it swung open and in walked Marky, the man Sheldon had come to see all along. He was about to open his mouth when another man followed him in, shutting the door behind them. His jaw went slack as he quickly recognized the sandy brown, shoulder-length hair and stocky frame of Rick, Rachel's brother. Rick's brown eyes studied Sheldon from afar with a hint of curiosity, but mostly were stone cold with subdued rage.

"Sheldon Cooper," Marky shouted with a smirk on his face. "Boy, I've gotta say, I'm very jealous of Kurt. He was the one who got to knock you out. I've wanted to do that since the day I met you." His red hair and eyebrows were prominent over his pale skin. He looked bigger, bulkier then Sheldon had remembered. As he rambled on, the younger man behind him kept his eyes on Sheldon and didn't blink. "Now that your big brother's out of the way, I guess I can smack you around all I want now, huh?"

"Marky Robertson," Sheldon countered, his nose aching more and more with each breath he struggled to take. "Or is it Rob now? You left Marky back in Texas when you ran away, didn't you? Along with your testicles?"

"Careful, Shelly," Marky chuckled, waggling a finger at him. "George isn't here to help you anymore."

"I guarantee you that I don't need him," Sheldon sneered. "Untie me and I'll show you." He felt little pistons of rage begin to ignite behind his eyes, causing him to see red. His chest rose and fell as he struggled to loosen his wrists from their hold. He wanted to get his hands on Marky, close his fingers around his throat, tighten them, and never release.

"Oh, my beef is not with you, man," Marky said. "You served your purpose, I was done with you years ago. Unfortunately, that doesn't let you off the hook." He motioned behind him to Rick, who took a giant step forward, coming close to Sheldon. "I think you remember Rick. He's requested some alone time with you today. And I'm unable to deny him that. He's been waiting a long time, you see."

"Rick," Sheldon raised his eyes until they met his. "What are you doing here with him?"

The blonde man was silent, staring straight down at Sheldon with a calculating look on his face. It made Sheldon's skin crawl.

"I'll leave you two alone," Marky said cheerfully as he retreated back to the metal door. "I've got to go visit an old friend of mine in the hospital. Kurt's driving me. He says he knows what room George is in." He wiggled his eyebrows at Sheldon evilly, and Sheldon jolted forward.

"You stay away from him!" he yelled, pulling so hard against his restraints that he felt the rope cut into his delicate skin. "You have me here, I'm enough!" But his yells went unanswered as Marky slammed the door shut behind him. This was not supposed to happen, Sheldon realized, the coldness settling in over his body as dread soaked his insides. He was supposed to slip in, use his weapon on Marky, then leave. He should have known it couldn't have been this easy. But he never imagined the curve ball that was thrown, in the form of Rick.

"I've waited a long time to get back into fighting shape," Rick suddenly said, causing Sheldon's eyes to flit from the closed door to the man looming over him. "You know why?"

"Rick," Sheldon began, his voice reaching a higher octave. "I know I have wronged you. But you have to understand, it was always Marky's idea – " Sheldon felt a thud of what seemed like cement slam into his cheekbone, and only a split second later did he realize it was the closed fist of Rick that had punched him. He felt his tongue go numb and his head lolled to the side. He groaned in agony, but still continued to speak. "It was Marky. His idea."

"What, did he have a gun to your head, Sheldon?" Rick demanded, his own voice going shrill with rage.

"Not technically," Sheldon struggled to speak as he felt blood trickling out of his mouth. "But you don't understand the hold he had over me. He threatened to kill my family if I didn't scout fights for him. He picked you because you were the best next to Junior. He head-hunted you." After he spoke, he felt winded. He felt like going to sleep. The pain was too much. He wondered what Penny was doing at the moment.

"Doesn't matter now," Rick said. "You were the little prick who would watch my every move. You told your brother how to beat me in a match. He almost killed me. I couldn't fight for years after that, let alone regain feeling in my hands. You both ruined me. But Marky took me in, trained me, brought me back to life. Then we had our guys call Junior and tell him where to find Marky. All we had to do was wait until he showed up. He was taking awhile, too. We almost had to go pay a visit to him in Texas. But he showed up yesterday and we knew you weren't far behind."

"You called my brother?" Sheldon asked, his anger momentarily fading as pieces began to come together.

"I did," Rick confirmed, his fists tightening at his sides. "And now, you and your brother are going to feel what it is to have everything taken away from you."

After Penny told Junior that Sheldon had went after Marky himself, his eyes gleamed and tears fell while he lamented mournfully. He frantically motioned with his neck towards Rachel, who in turn grabbed his hand.

"I'm going right now. I'll bring him back to you," Rachel promised fiercely, then turned and started to walk out of the room without another word.

"Wait," Penny said, panic threatening to overcome her. "Where is she going?" She looked at Junior who had his eyes shut tight. "Junior! What is happening?"

"Stay," Junior commanded through gritted teeth, his jaw wired shut. "Stay."

"No," Penny shook her head as tears formed in her own eyes. "Who is that woman? Is she going to Sheldon?" She waited long enough for Junior to nod, then turned and ran out of the room, ignoring Junior's loud moaning. She caught up to the Rachel just as she stepped inside of the elevator and flung her arm into the entrance before the door could close all the way. She stared with wild eyes at the woman as she looked impatiently at Penny. "Are you going to Sheldon?"

"I am," Rachel answered with a curt nod. "You'd better stay here, though. This is going to be dangerous."

"The only danger you need to worry about is for yourself if you try to stand in the way of me getting to Sheldon. I'm coming with you." She walked in and slapped the first floor button on the elevator control panel. She snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye as Rachel sized her up.

"Well, I sure hope you walk as tough as you talk," she said after a long moment of silence. Penny returned her appraising glare, then the lift descended, taking them down to the first floor.

"You have no idea," Penny replied simply as they walked off of the elevator and hurried over to Rachel's car.

A/N pt 2: Eeek! I promise, chapter 17 will follow closely behind!

Also, The scene with Junior and Rachel had to be my favorite scene I've ever written in this story (with Penny and Junior's talk at the bar in a close second). There's just something beautiful about the way people who care about you talk about you when you're not around, in this case, how Rachel and Junior spoke so delicately of Sheldon and missed his presence all at once. I hope my feelings for the scene was conveyed in the writing. Sorry, just had to share. ;]