Chapter 3
[Present Day]
Penny straightened out Sheldon's tie, "Oh sweetie you look so handsome." Sheldon gave himself a once over in the mirror, "It looks a little boring, but I suppose when it comes to fashion, you're the expert." Sheldon, Howard and Raj were invited to a fancy dinner supplied by the university. Donors who contributed money to one of the university's research programs were going to be there and they were on strict orders to 'kiss ass'.
At the dinner, Leonard reminded Sheldon to be on his best behavior and not to say anything rude or condescending. After dinner, while everyone got up and mingled Sheldon decided to stay in his seat. He wasn't in the mood to pretend to care. Since he never knows when he's being rude or condescending he decided it was safer not to talk to anyone. The truth was, his mind was elsewhere, he was thinking of Amy. Now that her research was over, what would happen next? Would she move back to California? Would she want to stay in Sweden? Would she want to see him? Would he want to see her? It took Sheldon the majority of the two years to get used to her absence. Leonard was the only one who knew the extent of how broken he was. He became disconnected from everything and everyone. In his most desperate moment he found himself praying to a god whose existence he doubted asking him to bring back Amy, his Amy.
"Excuse me", said a woman's voice. Sheldon snapped back to reality and looked up. The woman spoke again, "Excuse me. Are you Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Senior Theoretical Physicist at Cal Tech?" Sheldon looked up at the red headed woman. Being caught off guard Sheldon responded with a simple, "Yes".
"Sorry to interrupt you, but I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Rachel Meyers, my fathers the one who is backing your research in string theory." Sheldon got up out of his chair and looked around, "Oh, I must be sure to thank your father before the night is over." Rachel responded, "He couldn't make it tonight, so I am here on his behalf. I just wanted to introduce myself; I am a huge fan of your work. There are murmurings that your research could one day win you a Nobel Prize." Sheldon couldn't help but smile and feel excited after hearing his name and the words Nobel Prize in the same sentence. Welcoming the distraction, Sheldon gestured for Rachel to take a seat.
Rachel smiled confidently at Sheldon, "I'm a physicist as well, top of my class at Oxford University. Although, my work is nowhere near the caliber of your work." Soaking in the compliment, Sheldon smiled and proceeded to update Rachel on the recent progress he's made.
Howard elbowed Leonard and Raj, "Whose the hottie talking to Sheldon." Both Leonard and Raj shrugged their shoulders and stood with their mouths open in disbelief. Barry Kripke approached the three from behind, "Hot red head 12 o'clock." Leonard turned towards Kripke, "Do you know who she is?" Kripke started to explain, "That's Dr. Rachel Meyers, one of the top physicist out of Oxford. Her fathers the one that donated a crap load of money to fund Sheldon's research. Howard shook his head, "A sexy nerd, well that's a walking contradiction if I ever seen one." They all watched as the red headed woman sat closely to Sheldon and every once in a while would throw her head back and laugh. "Leave it captain oblivious to catch the attention of the hottest woman here," Leonard said with his mouth still hanging slightly open. "Look at her, she's practically shoving her breast in Sheldon's face. If she moves any closer she's going to knock Sheldon out with those things." Howard added with a tone of jealousy.
Later that night Leonard and Sheldon walked through the door of 4A to their apartment. Leonard looking over at Sheldon, "What was all that about tonight?" Undoing his tie, Sheldon responded, "All what?" Leonard, trying not to grow frustrated at the lack of information, "You and that woman. Sheldon, she was practically all over you, she was obviously flirting with you." Sheldon waved his hand, "Nonsense, that was Rachel Meyers, her father is funding my research, she's just checking up on me to make sure I'm not wasting their money." Sheldon paused to think before adding, "Rachel's surprisingly intelligent and she suggested that we do some collaborative work." Leonard waggling his eyebrows at Sheldon, "from what I saw tonight, it looks like she wanted more than a research collaboration." Sheldon, missing Leonard's facial cues, "all it is, or ever will be, is a collaboration of the mind." Heading towards his bedroom Leonard added sarcastically, "where have I heard that before?"