A/N: This is the last chapter that I had pre-written before posting this story. I still have several more that are already complete and the rest is outlined. I can't believe how massive this story has become from what was a simple 'what if?' back before Halloween last year.

Thank You for everyone that reads, reviews and follows. It's very encouraging.

Chapter 11

Cera had a heavy heart as she shut off her alarm. She hadn't been resting well and was glad for the extra sleep this morning. She'd been dealing with the disappointment and heartache of this situation for years. Sheldon's dismissal wasn't going to make her day any different. She'd been telling herself that for the last five mornings. She hadn't felt this much anguish over him in years. It wasn't just grief for herself, no, she had already dealt with that slowly over time. This was hurt for Merritt, whose father seemed to detest her so much, she couldn't even tell him about his amazing girl.

She hoped getting up to go downstairs to get her day started by preparing breakfast and getting Merritt ready for school would clear her mind. At least today she had someone else to distract her. After dropping Merritt off at school and running a few errands, she was going to meet Zack at The Cheesecake Factory. Zack's interesting reasoning for their locale was because they both knew Penny.

"Cera, right?" Cera's was caught by a man's voice.

Cera just smiled and nodded as he took in her apperance. She was dressed in a professional, baby pink, knee-length dress adorned with several large black buttons up the side and a slim black belt. Her hair hung in a long braid down her back.

"Was I supposed to dress more nice?"

"Uh, no I'm just ready in case I have to run into work."

"Alright." Zack nodded.

"So it's, uh, good to see you again." started Cera.

"Yeah, sure. I only saw you that one time and you were, ya know, busy. You still playing?" Zack said as they sat at a table near the front of the restaurant.

"Only theoretically. I haven't really had much time with my family to do anything formal."

"How can you play in theory?"

"Think about it really hard, and wish I could while I'm doing something else." Cera rubbed hand sanitizer onto her hands.

"Oh. Uh, what is it you're doing?"

"Working, hanging out with my daughter. Did Penny mention I'm a mom?" Cera always tried to get the daughter conversation in early. Merritt was the most important thing to her and she wanted everyone to know up front. That way if dates were uncomfortable with that they could end things early.

"Uh, yea she did. That's, uh, cool. So uhh, what do you do? Ya know, for work." Asked Zack.

Cera couldn't help but burst out laughing at this question. It seemed so odd that Zack was the one to finally be curious enough to ask.

"Uh, that wasn't a joke…was it?" asked a slightly confused Zack.

"No, no. It's just funny that you're the first person I've met, in months, to ask me that. Even our mutual friends haven't. I'm not sure it's even crossed their minds that I have a profession." Cera tried to control her laughter.

"Yeah, they can kinda get full of themselves. But they are really, really smart." Zack said in their defense as a waiter showed up to take their order.

"Smart, doesn't justify discourtesy," Cera said after the waiter left.

"Yea, but they're doctors so they're really busy with important stuff, you know."

"I too, am a doctor and I am not too busy to be courteous…I hope."

"What kinda doctor, do you get to play with lasers too?"

"Not quite like the lasers they use. And if you ever hear of anyone diagnosing or treating allergies with a laser, they are quacks." She accepted the water brought by the waiter and squeezed her lime into in as she muttered "biofeedback."

"Riiight, Uh, Penny thought maybe you worked for a daycare. She said you talked about kids a bit." Zack still had no idea what she did, but he hoped she was getting to it.

Cera laughed "Sometimes it feels like it, but that's dealing with the parents. You can always expect kids to be kids, unfortunately you can't always expect grownups to, you know, grow up."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Zack shook his head in sympathetic agreement. Cera lifted a brow in curiosity, wondering what he was referring to. Zack went on "So what exact type of doctoring do you do? On…kids, I take it."

"I'm a pediatric allergist and immunologist, but just referring to me as an allergist is fine. I work for the children's hospital. I'm split between the hospital in LA and the outpatient offices in Arcadia. I handle allergies, asthma and immunologic disorders in kids."

"So you're like dishing out Benadryl all day, huh?"

"If the child and I are that lucky, a minor prescription is all it takes. My focus is on the immune system. When it incorrectly identifies a trigger such as food, animals, or insects, the body reacts and attacks leaving a child weak and ailing with symptoms that anywhere from just irritating to life threatening. I diagnose and try to prevent such events. I also deal with children whose immune systems have been compromised by either an illness or is a congenital issue."

"That's…a lot more complicated than it sounded. But I guess that why you get the big bucks, huh? It explains the sanitizer, though…doesn't it?

"Yea, that's me, complicated with big bucks. That's why I have to have a…hobby that I have to…to throw my whole self into. Engaging my mind, body and senses is a good…diversion. And the hand sanitizer does keep the risk of infections down, but the alcohol in it helps dry my fingers so that I can maintain the calluses for my guitar."

"Uh, wow, that sounds like a cool hobby, what is it?" a stunned sounding Zack asked.

Cera laughed, "Playing the guitar…or any music really. It's one thing to strum a guitar or…play a piano, but to fully express yourself through song or to write out your thoughts and feelings or to engage others with that is just…a relief."

"A relief. Yeah, I totally get that." Zack said seriously, nodding his head.

"You…you do?" Cera asked incredulously.

"Yea, sure. I played the bass and the drums in high school. I played in a garage band." Zack said smugly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, that's cool. Did you guys ever get to play anywhere?" Cera asked, smiling, happy to know a fellow musician.

"Oh yeah! We played in the garage." Zack answered sincerely.

"O-OK….Penny never told me that."

"I'm not sure she knew. She never asked."

"Hmm, that seems to be going around. Are you…you're ok talking about her right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't I be? I like talking about Penny. I love talking to Penny. About Penny."

"Uh…well you know, people don't always handle break ups well."

"Yeah. Penny and me, we're good, you know. Why, are you not good with your ex? Is it because of your kid?" Zack asked as the waiter placed their food on the table.

"Oh. My last boyfriend, Jeff? No, no, not good. He isn't Merritt's father and I'm not really sure he wanted the job. But after the stunt he pulled, that's beside the point." Cera resumed speaking after the waiter excused himself.

"What did this guy do? He didn't do something to your kid, did he?"

"No, but he did tamper with the thing I love the most after her, my job."

"How could he mess with your job, I mean, you're a doctor."

"As doctors we have a monthly conference, it's a peer review called an M and M. It stands for Morbidity and Mortality. We gather and discuss the short comings of and ways to improve our care in whatever facility we are currently practicing. These things are legally bound to being confidential, so I won't go into much, except for what pertains to me.

"In the hospital where I worked we had recently had an issue with a patient. Nothing fatal, just alarming and it discovered that it was do caregiver neglect, either physician or nursing staff. Something slipped through the cracks. Both Jeff and I, among others, had worked with the patient.

"When the administration started asking questions about order of events, they leaned heavily on Jeff. He's in orthopedics and the patient was technically under his care and he was a more senior staff member. Jeff, trying to save his own ass, shifted the blame on to me. He accused me of poor workplace conduct. He told them I interfered with his time with the patient because of my constant sexual advances, which was an interesting claim from someone I never slept with. He said that I lacked focus and didn't give proper regard to the health and life of patients. So they, in turn, investigated me. They found nothing, through digging through all the notes and interviewing nurses and other physicians, but it didn't leave me in a very good light just having to undergo an investigation."

"So of course I was pissed with him. And I had this taint on me at work. Because after that, they're watching you, you know? So I decided to move back here, back home." Cera explained, waving her fork for emphasis.

"Wow and you're not even crying."

"Why would I cry?"

"I thought girls cried when they talked about exes. And I think I might want to cry if somebody messed with my career like that."

"The job I did cry over, but I have a new one. But over him, no, I'm not sad. I wasn't sad. I…wasn't…don't think…looking back, I don't think I was in love with him. I was hurt, because I did care for and wanted to love him, and I thought he cared for me. I was pissed, because that was a dirty thing to do. But mostly I just felt…weary. I'm just tired of the whole thing. And I'm sorry, but that's why I just won't date any more. It's just…draining."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not up for dating either."

"Really? Then why are we eating lunch together."

"It's lunchtime…and Penny said I should hang out with you."

"Oh, Penny sets you up on dates? Or non-dates, I guess?"

"Yeah…I try to help with whatever, you know, so if it's to take out her friends, I take out her friends."

"I'm not the first friend you've gone out with, huh?" Cera asked with a big grin.

"Nope, I met her friend Amy something or something. It was actually my buddy Sheldon who called about her though. She's another one that didn't always speak real English."

"Sheldon…called about…you mean Amy Farrah Fowler. Oh, yeah she's likes to use ten dollar words."

"She pays someone to talk that way?" Zack asked incredulously.

Cera laughed, enjoying him and his innocent confusion. He didn't try to fit in or hide his ignorance, he was just himself. "You're really fun, you know."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"What? No! I don't…really use sarcasm. For starters because it's not nice. It's rarely used to imply something friendly. And also, for the same reason I don't use the ten dollar words even though I know them; children don't understand. It's not until the ages between eight and ten that kids can detect sarcasm by direct tone. And most can't understand it in print until after twelve. And nearly ten percent of adult don't understand it. So, no, I'm not being sarcastic. You really are fun."

"Oh, well thanks. You're pretty fun too. Even, if you do know money words. So these people using the money words, they don't want others to understand? I mean Amy was nice until I couldn't understand her."

"She's just using words that are larger than necessary. Some people do that to seem more important, some to make a point, and some like the… precision and impact of big words bring."

"Which people is she?"

"Well, I don't know. I only met her once. Why did Sheldon set you up with her?"

"That was a few months ago so I don't really remember. Something to do with her en-do-kreen system."

Cera chocked on her water with lime, "He wanted you to sleep with her?"

"Whoa, he never said that. I was just trying to help Sheldon out. I like him, he's an interesting guy and he seemed kinda desperate. Besides, Penny likes me being nice to him."

"Oh. OH. So it all goes back to Penny, huh?" Cera gave a slight smile. She was pretty sure she was picking up on something here.

"Uh, something…like…that." Zack said awkwardly, shifting in his chair.

Sensing a shift in to uncomfortable territory Cera decided to go a different direction. "So do you still play?"

"Play? Oh yeah, a little. I still play around with my bass, occasionally. Don't really have a drum set to play with though."

"You could come play with us. I play guitar mostly, that's what I'm best at. I'm well practiced in the piano as well, but those aren't portable, but sometimes I switch out bass and drums with Braden and Elliott. They're my brothers. Bet and Tara, they are my in laws, they switch out playing keyboard and just doing back up, though Tara can play alto sax and clarinet. Not that we use those."

"We don't play for others often. Maybe three or four times a year. We just do it for fun and don't take money. It's just for the pleasure of others listening."

"Really? Wow. Cool. We should do that!" an excited Zack accepted.

The remainder of their lunch passed by quickly and amicably. They planned for Zack to join in with her family next time they played. He asked about Merritt and told Cera about his sister's kids, a son and daughter, that he was nuts about.

Cera was feeling lighter as she pulled out of the parking lot. She hadn't laughed this much or felt this relaxed since she stumbled into Sheldon's apartment barely more than a month ago. Just like that, her train of thought was back to him. She really wished she had more control in this situation. She had meant to gently talk to him and explain Merrit to him. Not haunt him from afar with no way to express herself to him.

She wondered when they went from friends to the antipathy he unloaded on her years ago to the lingering distaste he seemed to have for her now. Cera replayed the concerns that were never far from her mind concerning Sheldon. Maybe they never were friends, maybe it was all something she created in her mind. Did she push herself on him? She thought she had always let him have a choice. He always seem to only do what he wanted to. At times it seemed as though he sought her out. Stumbling across him years ago and becoming tangled in his life wasn't anything she had done purposefully. At the time she was too busy with work and hadn't even considered having a social life.

"Dr. Tollman?"

Cera was just returning from the restroom in the Twin Horns Steakhouse. She had been invited to lunch by coworkers. She had only worked in the children's hospital for a few months and it felt good to finally be socializing. She look around for the source of the voice calling to her.

"Oh, hello." she replied when she finally caught sight of a middle aged woman she vaguely recognized. "I know I've treated one of your relatives, but I apologize, I can't place you."

"That's quite alright," she drawled. "I know you must treat a whole mess of kids, I wouldn't expect you to remember every family member that's wandered through. You saved my nephew, I guess almost two months now, he was deathly allergic to mold."

"Ah, yes, Cody Thomas, he had developed Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis that had aggravated his asthma, from burrowing tunnels in moldy hay and napping there."

"Wow, You're quiet the doctor to remember such a thing. I know you said you weren't a genius, but you sure are young for so much." Said the brunette who stood just a bit taller than Cera.

"Thank you very much ma'am. I am a bit advanced and I have had some advantages, but I'm no genius. The success with your nephew was a team effort." Cera replied with a polite smile. She really had been terrified through the entire episode, but her attending had assured her, she was doing the proper thing while following procedure. When she had come up with a diagnosis that was not typical for a minor he had scoffed and written her off, but she knew what symptoms were present and what ailment it coincided with so she ran with it.

"Oh and humble too. I know it was team effort. Surely the Lord worked through you, I know it was you who discovered the mold from the hay."

"Uh, Yes, ma'am. I hear the Lord works in mysterious ways, so…I, uh, suppose He could even use me, if he wanted."

"Oh, do you remember I was telling you about my son? I told you he was a genius, too. Well, wait a minute. Jus' stand right there." The woman wandered off leaving Cera standing alone, awkwardly.

She truly despised this. For all the times she had been introduced to a son, grandson, or nephew as a prospective date, it never got any less awkward. Everyone wanted a doctor in the family. She looked anywhere, but the direction that the next poor guy was coming from.

"Dr. Tollman." She heard them approach, before she saw them. As she was watching the floor, before she saw their shoes to be exact. Cera raised eyes to meet a very tall...Sheldon Cooper.

"I want you to meet my Shelly. Shelly this is Dr. Olivia Tollman."

"Doctor. Sheldon. Cooper, mommy. Not Shelly."

"He's a doctor too. Just not a doctor, doctor like you." She nudged Sheldon and whispered "Shake her hand."

Cera heard this exchange and remembered how he felt about germs so she dropped into a curtsy. "It's quite acceptable to forego the hand shake, I feel better coming into contact with less pathogens for my patients."

They were observing each other warily. It had been two years since they had exchanged letters, but it was nice to see a familiar face.

"Shelly, I'm gonna go back to the table and talk to your aunt and uncle before we need to get back to Galveston. Maybe you could switch numbers with her and offer to show her around." said the woman whom Cera was now remembering as Mary Cooper walked towards her table.

"It's good to see you. Wow, you've gotten tall." Cera started.

"It is…acceptable seeing you again as well. Your hair is considerably shorter and you are wearing corrective eyewear, but you have not gained any advances in height."

Cera laughed "You're right. I don't think I've gotten a bit taller since I saw you last...I'm surprised to see you here...in Texas."

"Really? I informed you that I am a native of Texas, therefore my presence here really isn't unusual."

"Yes, but last I heard from you, you were overseas and no plans to 'ever return to the hot slice of doldrum.'

"Yes well, this isn't long term. I am here temporarily at Meemaw's request before embarking on my next doctorate."

"Oh, well, even if you don't like it, I'm glad to see you here. Unfortunately I, uh, need to get back to my coworkers. But it's really good to see you. Can we catch up, over a meal perhaps?" Cera asked hopefully.

"That would be reasonable."

"Great, let me just..." Cera dug through her purse, "uh, find a pen. I'll write down my number."

"That's not necessary. Just tell me, I'll remember." Sheldon said matter of factly.

"Huh, oh, yes your eidetic memory. You'll still have to write yours down for me. I've had only eleven hours of sleep in the last three days. My mind is a bit frazzled and as soon as lunch is over I'm going to sleep for the next twenty four hours."

Sheldon agreed and they swapped contact information. Before he could walk away Cera once again wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Once she realized what she was doing she backed up quickly sputtering apologies.

"I'm so sorry Sheldon. I know you don't like being touched, that's why I didn't even shake your hand. If it eases your mind any I did just thoroughly wash prior to running into your mother."

"It's not the touch I dislike, it's the possibility of contamination. The avoidance of contact has made me unaccustomed to physical interaction, but I do not fear it. However, I don't understand why you hugged me. I am near my family and in no need of affection at this time."

"You're right, you probably don't. This time I'm the one isolated in a strange land...But it's nice to see a familiar face."

She didn't think she had been pushy or caused anything unwanted, despite his claims. It just wasn't in her nature. The only people who ever saw a brash side to her were patients. And occasionally Merritt, but sometimes mom just has to be mom.

Howard had been having a busy day so he had yet to notice the something that was missing until the guys settled into their usual table in the cafeteria.

"So, where is Dr. Crazy again today? Is this a code milky green?" he asked Leonard and Raj.

"He's still in his room, I don't think he was ever sick. He's only answering in monosyllabic words. Which is an upgrade from yesterday's grunts and gestures," Leonard answered as he popped open his soda.

"What do you suppose has gotten into him?" asked Raj as he pushed around his salad.

"I didn't push because I'm not sure I want to know." Leonard answered.

"So, he hasn't been out of his room at all?" an astounded Howard asked.

"Well, he's still using the restroom, though not at his regularly scheduled times. I caught him in the hall last night. It was the first time I had seen him since Saturday morning. He looked like hadn't shaved since then and his clothes were wrinkled. You know…I don't think he even ever went to do his laundry."

"You don't think, he's building something in there do you?" Howard asked.

"I don't think so…God I hope not. You know Sunday I thought I heard music, but I just wrote it off. Last night I heard it again, Sheldon was listening to country music." Leonard answered rubbing between his eyes, under his glasses.

"Freaky, I know Kripke was pissed Sunday when he didn't show for paintball and we were shorthanded. What happened Saturday?" asked the engineer.

"I don't know. I was out with Priya. I had to sneak in because it was wellll after 10 pm and I certainly didn't want Sheldon to think I was being raucous. Priya and I were-"

"Ahem!" Came loudly from Raj to divert Leonard from speaking of his sister.

"Oh Saturday! Bernie was over at Penny's that night when she met Penny's new friend, Cera." Howard remembered.

"That's the sexy hippie from the comic book store right? The one with the handmade poncho. I bet I could make one of those. I'd make mine even prettier. I'm thinking green." Raj said with a happy smile.

"Yeeeaahhh, anyway." Howard tried to get back to the point and away from Raj's 'prettiness.'

"You thought she was sexy? She was pretty, but a little too natural for my taste. She struck me as a woman who doesn't shave, though I've only met her once." Leonard retorted.

"Yeah well those natural chicks can do some wonderfully unnatural stuff, if you know what I mean." Howard said lasciviously wiggling his eye brows.

"Everybody knows what you mean. Even if we don't want to." said Leonard irritability.

"Yeah, well anyway, Cera apparently was supposed to be meeting with Sheldon about something, but he didn't want to talk to her, which is when she showed up at Penny's with Amy. And then Cera pointed out the flaws in the genetics of creating a super genius in a test tube to Amy. Which Bernadette said was surprisingly accurate. So if Amy passed that on to Sheldon maybe he's upset about that." Howard chose not to mention some of the other things Bernadette had passed on to him because he wanted to check for accuracy first.

"So this is all because Sheldon wants to be a daddy? How sad." Raj offered.

"I don't think that's it. He's probably upset that he can't create his own race of super crazies." Leonard countered.

"I don't know. Would that really be reason enough for Sheldon to skip laundry night? I mean he's been out of routine for nearly seventy-two hours now. It's got to be more than what he and Amy may or may not stir up in a Petri dish." reasoned Howard.

"I fear for us all if you're right." Leonard said as he shook his head.