Chapter 2

He leaned against the doorframe of the front door because he was dizzy. Penny had just kissed the fire out of him and he'd never felt anything like it before in his whole life. His sleep pants were suddenly constricting and he was shocked at how quickly he'd become aroused.

The woman would be the death of him some day.

Now he just had to figure out what the hell was going on here. Why was all this so new? Why couldn't he remember dating, marrying, having a child together?

He needed data and there was only one place to get it without exposing his secret.

He googled himself and read the university bio, then the Wikipedia entries and finally he started accessing the general news articles. The article in Physics Quarterly caught his attention and he read about his 2nd expedition to the Magnetic North Pole and of his discovery of the elusive monopole.

He entered Penny's name and read her Agency Bio, her personal information and read about her engagement to Dr. S. L. Cooper. Penny had finally been 'discovered' by a producer while serving him cheesecake and had a recurring role in a weekly series on SyFy. He clicked 'Images' and saw a few photos of them together at a party, at some red carpet thing and of their wedding and reception. She'd been a beautiful bride and his heart swelled at the sight of her.

Now if only he could remember.

He stood up and started into the kitchen to make coffee but a wave of dizziness dropped him to his knees in the living room. He moaned and grabbed his head and it all went black.

"My head – hurts," he whispered. The pain was localized to the back of his head. He kept his eyes closed and just listened. He heard a repetitious beeping sound…and a woman crying softly, almost beyond the range of most people's hearing but not his Vulcan ears.

He knew that sound. "Pen – ny?" It was the most he could manage and he wasn't really sure he'd even made a sound.

"Sheldon! Thank God you're awake. Let me get the doctor, baby. Oh, Sheldon, can you open your eyes for me?"

He couldn't stay awake. He slipped away from her and back into a deep and dream-filled sleep.

Carpet. That's what he saw when he opened his eyes. Carpet. 'Penny's right. I do need to see Stephanie. Something's not right. I can't remember anything before I woke up in our bed this morning. And I keep dreaming that she's happy I'm awake. Must be Freudian or something.'

He stood up and shook his head to clear the cobwebs and ran to the powder room off the kitchen and wretched up something he couldn't remember eating.

The symptoms of a concussion flooded his thoughts and he showered, dressed in clothes he normally wouldn't be caught dead in, (a long sleeved button down shirt and pleated slacks) and then called the number for 'Dr. Steph' that was on Penny's emergency list. He made a mental note to find his t-shirts. He felt ridiculous dressed as he was.

"Sheldon, I think you have a concussion. Your pupils are slow to react to light and are uneven. It's a good thing you came by cab. You said you've experienced disorientation, dizziness and your memory seems to have holes in it, right?"

He nodded and immediately regretted it. He got dizzy and Stephanie steadied him until he was back on an even keel.

"Okay, here's what you will do, Sheldon Cooper, or I'll call Penny and she'll nag you into it. Go home. Go to bed. No computer, no television, just rest and sleep."

"Penny's out of the country on a shoot. I don't remember where. She said Newt would be home tomorrow afternoon so I have that long to get better."

"No, it'll take longer than that and you don't need that hyperactive little tyrant running you ragged. Call Missy and tell her I said she's got Newt for at least another couple of days. I'll want you back in here in three days, Dr. Cooper, but call me if you have any dizziness or vision problems, okay, Shelly?"

"Yes." He was afraid to nod or even move his head. Lights seemed too bright and noises too loud. The receptionist called a cab for him and he was home and in bed within the hour.

"Ma'am, are you absolutely sure you heard him speak? Maybe you were dozing and had a dream?"

"Yes, he said my name and I followed the day nurse's instructions and alerted you. Maybe if I'd stayed and talked with him he might have been able to stay awake."

The nurse was back about 15 minutes later and told Penny that his doctor was 'on the way in' and had ordered an immediate CT Scan and another MRI. Penny was not supposed to leave him if he woke up but to use the call button. If he woke up, it was imperative that she kept him awake by any means.

Penny moved her chair over against his bed rail and held his hand, rubbing the knuckles across her lips. She loved his hands. They were big with large palms and long fingers that moved with speed, grace and efficiency. His hand was cold so she blew her breath against it and rubbed it trying to warm it up.

"Sheldon, please, please wake up. I'm so sorry and I know you'll forgive me in time but I need to know you're okay and I need...you. I'm so afraid for you, Shel. Please, if you can hear me, please wake up.

He was so bored and sleep would not come to him no matter how many times he went through his ritual of naming the elements of the Periodic Table in order of discovery. He was wasting time and he needed to call Missy although he was curious about the 'hyperactive little tyrant' as Stephanie had described his son.

He had a son! He played baseball with him and so he couldn't be that much of a hassle. After all, he was only three.

He called Missy to tell her about his doctor's orders only to find out that she already knew. "Steph told me when she came home for lunch. Do you need anything? Newt and I can bring you supper and you can just pop it in the microwave."

His mind was whirling with new information. 'She came home for lunch? Missy and Stephanie? What about Leonard? His sister and Stephanie? Mother must have had a cow over that announcement.'

His stomach growled and he chuckled. "Missy, that would be nice. I am hungry and I'd like to see Newt."

"Well, he misses his daddy and I figured she would forget to make you some meals while she's gone. Y'know, Shel, sometimes she just doesn't seem to give a shit about you. And what about last summer? Have you talked with her at all about it? Forgiveness - that's your strong suit, Moon Pie."

He choked on his water and it made his head pound even worse. "Missy, I'd appreciate it if you could drop something off. Nothing major. And Newt. I want to meet, er, see Newt, of course."

He heard his sister sigh loudly and dramatically. "Shelly, I know you love her but all these 'location' shots and her overnights…"

"I'll see you when you get here. Thanks, Missy, for hanging on to Newt."

"Hey, Shelly, you'll do the same for me when my time comes. I'll be over in a couple of hours. Newt's down for a nap."

His head was pounding, whether from the coughing when Missy had brought up 'last summer' or from his concussion, it didn't matter. He was suddenly very tired and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Sheldon's eyes opened to a darkened room and for a second he thought he'd slept longer than just the hour or two he'd planned but then he heard the beeping and glanced over and saw the medical monitors.

'What now? Did I have a stroke or something? Missy must have found me and…poor Newt!'

He tried to rub his face with his free hand since the other had an IV running but couldn't move it. He looked down and saw a mass of blonde hair framing Penny's sleeping face. She had his hand cradled against her cheek.

'It must be bad if they called her back from wherever the hell she went. She looks so tired. Who's watching Newt?'

He tried to say something but all he could do was croak pathetically. His mouth was dry and his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth and the taste…my God…someone defecated in my mouth!

Penny heard Sheldon's groans and jerked her head up and smiled hugely when she saw his piercing blue eyes staring at her. There was intelligence in those eyes so she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, baby, I'm so happy to see you awake! I was scared to death I might have killed you! Water! I'll bet you want water. Just a second."

She turned back to him with a glass and straw and watched as his eyes slowly closed. "I was so scared, Sheldon and you wouldn't wake up!" His eyes were closing although he fought to stay awake.

"No! No, please…stay with me, Sheldon! I need you!" She patted his cheek, afraid to be more physical with him because of his head injury.

He felt a gentle but repetitive patting on his cheek. Pat-pat-pat Daddy; pat-pat-pat-Daddy…

"Who's punching me? Ow! Hey, that hurts!" His exaggerated comments were met with giggles and a blue-eyed, blonde haired version of Penny hugged his father.

"I sorry I popped you, Daddy. You gots a big boo-boo. Hurt?" He looked so sad and it broke Sheldon's heart to see it. He normally avoided kids like dirt but this one was different. This one was his.

He hugged the little boy and told him that it was his fault because "Daddy forgot to catch the ball. Boy, you sure can hit, Slugger!" and he tickled him until he was laughing again. Sheldon ignored the pounding in his head and how sick to his stomach he felt.

"Newton, let your father get up and eat. C'mon, Newt, Erasmus needs to play ball since your daddy's going to eat."

"Raz!" His son shouted and ran ahead of them. Missy laughed at the look on Sheldon's face. "Wait until he discovers the banister from the kitchen to the basement, then you'll have something to worry about."

They walked to the kitchen with Missy steadying him and Sheldon stopped at the sight of Newt and a bear. "What the hell is that?"

Missy looked at her brother, clearly worried for the first time.

"That's Erasmus. You got him when he was just a puppy and raised him and had him trained to protect Newt. He's amazingly gentle with the little brat but don't let a stranger approach Newt. I've seen him pick your son up by the shirt and run back to the house with him. It's funny seeing a laughing little boy hanging out of the brute's mouth. Best decision you ever made, Shelly."

Erasmus was an Old English Mastiff, and weighed 170 pounds and was still growing.

Erasmus ambled over to Sheldon and sat down beside him and leaned against him. Sheldon looked at Missy with a helpless look on his face.

"He wants your okay to go play. Normally he barks but I think you finally broke him of barking in the house since she doesn't like it."

"Go play with Newt, Raz. Protect!" and the dog and boy ran out into the privacy-fenced backyard, clearly intent on having fun.

"You might not remember the dog but you still have the command voice. That dog will die before he lets something happen to the squirt."

"Why do I need a 4-legged body guard for my son, Missy?"

"Because…"

He had no idea what she said. He felt a searing pain in his head and then he was falling…

Penny sat in the surgical waiting room with Howard and Raj. Leonard was trying to contact Missy or Sheldon's mom about his 'situation' but wasn't having much luck.

"I can't believe this is happening! One of the greatest minds of our time and he's in there having his brain messed with by incompetents who missed the problem in the first place. No wonder they call it a 'medical practice'."

"Howard, the doctor told me that the original scans didn't show the bleed because it was so tiny and probably would have healed in time but his blood pressure keeps spiking and his EEG shows he's thinking up a storm in there."

"It's what he does, Penny. He thinks. I build things, you drive us crazy, Leonard whines, Raj can't talk, Sheldon thinks."

Updated 6/4