2025 Amy and Sheldon
The next day Amy woke up next to Sheldon. He wasn't particularly hugging her just sleeping next to her closely. At first she checked her phone, but there weren't any news about Nick…
She exhaled deeply and lay back down battling her tears again. Sheldon was still asleep. She felt really guilty as she watched him breathing slowly beside her. Worrying about Nick was really bad, but the amount of guilt she felt lately was also really hard to bare. She fel guilty, that she was a bad parent to Nick that made him run away, but she also felt guilty that she is a bad parent to Dory because never focusing on her, and she felt guilty because Howard and Bernadette's daughter was missing probably because of Nick, which means because of them, and she felt also guilty because she felt like she was using Sheldon. But self loathing wasn't helping, so she got up to wake Dory. On the way to her room she looked into Nick's. It was still empty. Dory was already up, watching cartoons. Amy decided to go downstairs and made omelets for breakfast while she called Bernadette on the phone, then Penny. Bernadette seemed pretty distant. She couldn't blame her. Penny seemed a lot more understanding and wanted to help, but there was nothing else that could be done. She offered Dory meanwhile eating breakfast that if she wanted, she could stay home and be with them, but she wanted to go to preschool, because it was puppet-show day, plus she said that he promised Justin that she'll help him build a spaceship model.
Amy was relieved about that actually, at least now Dory wouldn't see them being desperate all day, and they didn't have to pretend, that everything's fine. When Dory and she left, Sheldon was still asleep. After saying goodbye to her daughter with a kiss and a hug, she drove home. Sheldon was up by then, eating the breakfast she left for him.
" Still nothing? " she asked.
" Still nothing. " he comfirmed. " But I have an idea. I tried to look at the problem as a mathematical probability problem. In the first option we have, Nick is still not home, because something bad happened to him. In that case I don't think there's anything we can do. But I think the other option is much more likely. So in the second option Nick is still not home, because he planned to run away for a longer time. In this option the important information is planning. If he is missing for more than two days because these were his intentions, than he may had a plan. "
" Oh my God, Sheldon, that's so right. We... How could we not think about this? " Amy asked excitedly.
" I don't know. Maybe we got old and rusty and this is the earliest sign of our soon coming dementia. " he answered.
" I'd like to believe that we are just too involved emotionally. " she said smiling.
" That's a good explanation too. " he said.
" What are we waiting for? We should check his room and his browser history!" Amy was relieved that there was anything they could do and there was hope they'll find some clues or at least found something meaningful to spend the day with.
" His phone is still at the police as an evidence. " Sheldon warned her.
" First we finish his room, then we'll go to the police. Maybe we'll have some other information by then. "
Amy decided to search manually through the room, while Sheldon sat in front of his son's computer.
" Did you find anything? " Amy asked packing the clothes and folding them.
" I got through his password. It was "ih8mylife2016". "
Amy sighed.
" He cleared his browser history just as I expected. " Sheldon said.
" But we can get the information back, can't we? "
" Of course we can. I may not be a trained programmer, but I'm a better hacker than my eight year old son. At least I hope. "
" Nothing between his T-shirts or underwear. "
Amy packed out the pants and then behind them found something fluffy. She grabbed it and pulled it out of the wardrobe. It was Octavius, the baby toy Octopus. Nick really loved him when he was little, he slept with him for a while. He was only one years old when he told them proudly that he counted Vius's (which was the only part of its name that he could say out loud) legs and he had eight.
Amy sat down holding Vius in her arms feeling helpless again.
" Amy? " Sheldon was touching her shoulders.
" Yeah? "
" Amy, I told you to come to the computer. You didn't listen to me. What happened? "
" Nothing, I just… I've found Vius. I didn't know he still had him. I thought it went to the storage place when we moved here."
" Oh… He loved Vius so much. I think it was the only toy he actually played with from the ones we bought him before he was born. " Sheldon sat down next to her.
" Yeah, you bought it. " she said.
"Yeah I did. And you were a little mad at me as you thought a dog or a bunny would be better choices. Then I told you that an octopus is perfect as it has eight legs and eight is a fascinating number, as it is the first number which is neither prime nor semiprime and the first thrid cube where the number cubed is greater than one and the only positive Fibonacci number, aside from 1, that is a perfect cube. " he said looking at Vius nostalgically.
" No! I got mad because you thaught all those things to him about the number eight when he was fifteen months old. "
" Well, he was interested. But after that we played that Vius the little octopus is lost on the big sea of blankets and the brave pirate Nick saves him and they become best friends. " Sheldon said.
" I remember that. We both were the sea monsters wanting to catch them." Amy smiled sadly.
Sheldon slowly placed his hand on hers.
" Want to see what I've found? "
" Yeah, sure. " she said and put Vius down placing it gently on the bed.
" Look! " said Sheldon pointing at the screen. The browser history. It was chaotic and really a lot. Cities and towns and trains an buses and hotels but all across the U.S.
" Oh my God! Amy said. " That's… that's a lot. "
" Yes, it is. "
" Well, this is not helping enough. We can't find him based on this. "
" No, we can't. But at least it proves my theory. He is really away so long on purpose. He planned it. He is being careful hopefully. "
" But when will he come home? "
" Well, he'll run out of money once. Have you banned your credit cards, haven't you? "
" No. Of course not. I think Nick would have left them in the dumpster with his phone if he wouldn't need them anymore. Apparently he doesn't want us to find him and he won't use the cards, because he knows it's a track for us, but what if he needs money for something? I couldn't ban the cards thinking about that. "
" But in this case there's a chance that after a while he'll use your cards again at a station and disappears again. " he said.
" He won't. I moved most of the money away from the cards. He won't have enough for another long trip. "
" Smart move. " he complimented her.
" Thanks. Checking her history was also a great idea. " she said looking at him blushing a little.
" Maybe we can still be a good team after all. " Sheldon answered.
" I guess we can. Let's go to the police. "
2025 Nick
After San Fransisco we go to Salt Lake City. It's a long trip and the bus driver is actually suspicious but with a fake phone call I easily trick him. Debbie is mostly bored and so am I so I google roadtrip games and we try out a few actually. She is weirdly good at the alphabet game actually. So after we arrive in Salt Lake City we are now clearly dirty, so we have to go shopping. I'm taller than a usual eight and a half year old so I pretend that Debbie is my little sister and while paying I aks her whether she bought paper towels because Mom asked us too. The cashier has no doubts luckily, but we have to buy a lot of stuff only to throw out because buying only hygiene products and kids clothing and snacks would seem shady. I buy Debbie a pink toothbrush and she is clearly happy about it. I also have to buy her a few clothes, especially that we are still travelling north. She is kind of cool and barely takes time picking things. After shopping we go to a fast food restaurant again to wash ourselves a little and change clothes. After that in the afternoon we are on oue way to Denver where we barely stop only to catch the bus to Kansas. Debbie still wants to go home, and she mentions it everytime when something comes up. Sometimes I wonder whether she misses her family or friends or just not feels safe. I try to stay focused and determined so I can't let myself feel sorry for her. That way I'd have to feel sorry for myself as clearly I'm as lost as she is in this big country far from home. But we are not lost. I know where we are going. I have to repeat that to myself to fall asleep while I see Debbie ont he next seat hugging her bag sleeping.
When I wake up we and open my eyes everything seems really bright. Because it's white. We're near Kansas and everything is covered in snow. I poke Debbie so she wakes up.
" Oh my God, that is snow! " she sounds enthusiastic.
" Congratulations for recognizing it. " I just can't be nice to her.
She shakes her head.
" I've never seen snow before. " she says.
" Impossible. We watched a tons of wintertime movies together the past two years at school. "
" No you smartass, I mean for real. You know when you can touch it and walk in it while it falls. "
" Bad news for you that you can't touch it or walk in it because we are on a bus and the snow is obviously outside. "
She just makes a face to that. Even though I was picking on her about snow when we get out the first thing to do after blending in with the crowd is finding a small park, grabbing some snow, making a ball and throwing at her. I expect her to be mad but she screams with joy and I have to bend down to avoid her first shot. Her second hits me on my tummy anway. I have to take revenge. We would do that maybe like forever but than she accidentally hits a car and the alarm starts, so we have to run. We buy hot chocolate in a small coffee shop at a mall, but our clothes are wet and our faces red and we make the floor dirty so the waitress is not welcoming at all, but I tip her, so she doesn't say a word.
" Admit it, that was fun. " I say.
" That was. " she admits.
" See? All this is worth it! "
" Nick…" she still doesn't agree.
" What? Maybe you'll realise the world is not just about you and doesn't only consists of bullying people at school, our parents and their friends or Pasadena and conference hotels. "
" According to your version the world consists of running and long busrides and travelling at night and visiting cities without actually visiting them and eating at fast food restaurants. "
" And snowball figths. "
" Yes, and snowball fights. " she admits.
" Maybe we could go outside and build a snowman and actually visit this city. We have a lot of time until the next bus. " I offer.
" I'd really like to sleep in a bed finally. "
" Me too. But we have to make some sacrifices. "
I know, I know long pause, but I'm back :) I'll finish this story soon. :)Thanks for the patience.