Chapter 5

They landed with a loud thud. Penny groaned and Sheldon sat up, hand still wrapped around her wrist.

He gave it momentary consideration before letting go.

"Well, that sucked."

"As eloquent as always, Penny."

"Hey, thanks!" She beamed at him as she brushed off the debris from her clothes.

"So I am assuming that you don't know what just happened? And no I am not referring to us falling. I meant why the building collapsed." He walked over to his bag, which was lying on top of a small pile of concrete.

"What I know depends on what you know. So, no. But I can tell you one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Means you're not getting better. We have to find a way back, and fast."

Mary Cooper had been through many bad situations in her life, and she would turn to God, and they all sorted themselves out through prayer. Whenever life got her down, the psalms and the words of wisdom from her worn copy of the Bible strengthened her resolve.

Seeing her son in the hospital made her question this resolve.

Resting her hand on Sheldon's head, she fought the tears that welled up in her eyes, and silently prayed.

Penny watched. It had been a week now, and she had not left Sheldon's room with hopes that he would wake up. Howard had called it hope, driven by the guilt she felt, whereas Leonard had called it a delusion.

Raj was kind enough to bring her a small bag with a change of clothes. She was allowed to use the shower in Sheldon's hospital room, something she was extremely grateful for.

Other than that, she spent every moment by his side, whispering to Sheldon. Grasping his hand, expecting him to squeeze back. Give her a strike. Anything.

"Leonard tells me you've been here from the start, Penny. Takin' care of him. Been talkin' to my Shelly in his…sleep."

She snapped out of her reverie.

"Yea…the guys have been busy at the University and I've been sorta…watching over him." She looked away, and Mary sensed there was something else to it. She was the mother of three children, and she knew a thing or two about fibs.

"Well, thank you Penny. Lord knows Sheldon needs a guardian angel. Might as well be you." She smiled, and Penny's sullen face returned it.

"I'll let you know if anything changes, Mrs. Cooper."

Mrs. Cooper acknowledged her with an understanding look before she left.

"I know darlin'. I know."

"I dunno…Looks like there's no way up."

Penny pouted as she looked up at the hole above them.

"Well, that's very comforti- OW!" Penny punched his arm. "What was that for? Please refrain from exhibiting physical violence, Penny. Even if you are a manifestation of my mind, it is not at all painless!"

"That," She said, watching him rub his arm, "Was for the sarcasm. Have you been practicing? Cuz you're getting good at it."

It had been several minutes (Although, according to Penny, time is technically non-existent here. It's all perceived, but Sheldon felt otherwise.) They had landed in the middle of a long tunnel; what looked to be a sewer system. Luckily, it lacked the smell and dampness of one, and Sheldon was able to suppress his disgust to a minimum.

Using the chasm above as a way to gain some bearing, they searched for a way out. Light filtered down from the rift above, but the tunnel itself had its own source of light: algorithms, with endless wayward arrows, were casting a warm glow, and Sheldon couldn't help but smile.

"You know," Sheldon started. "If we had stayed in Sheldon Square, this probably wouldn't have happened. If this really is my mind I could have thought up a board. Or even a map."

"I told you, Moon Pie. That's not how it works. Judging from what just happened, you have little control over your mind as it is."

She skipped ahead of him, but he didn't miss the twinkle in her eyes.

"As I have stated, you are unfit to be my guide. You are even mocking me!"

"Am not! Besides…can you really map a mind?"

He gave his companion a discerning look, pursing his lips together.

"Believe it or not, before modern psychology and advances in neuroscience were developed, the mapping of the human mind, or phrenology, was actually quite popular." He clasped his hands behind his back, and assumed his "professor" stance. "Franz Joseph Gall, a mere neuroanatomist, changed the views of people during the 19th century when he stated that the skull's characteristics-"

"Sheldon."

"Yes, Penny?"

"Could you, ya know…give me a non-Sheldony answer? Even if my question was actually rhetorical…"

Sheldon paused, and shook his head at her. "That is not possible. Under normal circumstances I would oblige to providing you with the abridged version of my lecture, however," he held up a slender finger to silence her. "You are, currently, not the REAL Penny, but a figment of my imagination. Therefore, you will listen to my explanation."

He began where he left off, his voice picking up enthusiasm as he prattled about how personality types were determined by the bumps on a person's head.

The tunnel ahead of them seemed endless and Penny muttered under her breath.

"Whack-a-doodle…"