A/N: I'm able to give you a couple of chapters today. I hope to finish this story over the next few days, barring any more RL interference. Sorry to leave you hanging.

65

The next day

"Hello Sheldon."

"Hello Beverly."

"I wanted to assure you that Leonard is being well taken care of."

"I'm happy to hear that Beverly. He has been in quite a state for the past few weeks and, to be honest, has been a bit off for a long while."

"I assume you've read my book about his early upbringing, Needy Baby, Greedy Baby. Leonard's problems have been evident since birth. I had thought that years of therapy would have tempered his overwhelming need for acceptance and odd need for a mythical "traditional" family structure but I can now see that he was only presenting a front. I hope that full-time treatment will help him adjust to a new, more realistic life."

"As do I. I am sorry that he could not handle the changes that have occurred out here but as time went on it became more and more evident that the construct he existed under could not stand any longer. He placed all responsibility for his future happiness and success on poor Penny's shoulders."

"I agree, Sheldon. And that poor girl has enough obstacles in her life. She doesn't also need to be responsible for Leonard's happiness."

"Especially at the expense of her own."

"Indeed. Sheldon, what are your own plans?"

"I am quite satisfied that things for me will settle into a new homeostasis. My sister Missy and her son are quite happy living here with me. I look forward to Penny returning to her apartment across the hall. We have good friends who are supportive of us. And I expect my academic work will flourish with the support of my co-workers."

"So you aren't assuming a life of solitary research and theorizing."

"Beverly, it took me a very long time and great personal pain to discover that I am not an island. Others enrich my life and influence my work. I am now open to collaboration in all areas of endeavor."

"I'm not sure that is the wisest of decisions. I have found that the only one that I can truly trust is myself."

"There was a time not so long ago that I would have completely agreed with you. However, I learned that the contentment I thought I experienced on my own could be magnified when shared with those closest to me. While I don't believe that will really affect my work it will certainly help me enjoy my work a great deal more."

"Then I wish you success. We'll speak again next week. Goodbye, Sheldon."

"Goodbye, Beverly."

A couple of days later

Penny knocked on the door to 4A.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, Missy. Sorry to stop by without calling. Alex dropped me off."

"Penny, always welcome means just that. Always welcome."

"Thanks. My new bed is getting delivered first thing in the morning. Is it okay if I crash on your couch tonight?"

"Of course. Or we can share the bed like last time."

"Whatever. Sheldon putting the baby down?"

"You know the schedule. Did you eat? I'm ordering pizza."

"Well, it is Thursday after all. I could eat."

Sheldon came out of Missy's bedroom and washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Hi Sheldon. My new bed…"

"I heard Penny. It will be very nice to have you back home."

"Yeah. Alex and Nora were great but I'm really looking forward to living by myself for a while. And getting a whole lot of Penny time when I'm not working."

"I assume you'll still be dropping by here at all hours of the day."

"Shelly…"

"Which you are of course welcome to do."

"Yeah, I figure I'll be hanging out here a bit. You know how much I like my time with the Coopers."

"As we Coopers love spending time with Queen Penelope."

"So I got a weird call from Bernadette today."

"I'm not certain what would constitute a weird call from Bernadette. Almost every phone call I've received from that woman has been odd. The last time she called she just yelled at me for forty minutes."

"Yeah. Anyway, she hadn't heard from Amy in a while so she went over to her mother's house to see how she was. The house has been sold and nobody knows where Amy and her mother went. They just disappeared."

"That is odd."

"And that's really soon after Leonard left for good. Isn't it a coincidence that both of the people you and I were with for so long are just gone now?"

"I guess that would qualify as a coincidence."

"Shelly!"

"Yes, Missy."

"You knew this was gonna come up sooner or later. You have to tell her."

"But Missy, things are just starting to calm down."

"Tell me what?"

"I suppose I should tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Shelly, you probably want a little privacy for this. Why don't y'all go across the hall?"

"Really? My apartment is still a mess. I was hoping to start the cleanup after the bed got delivered."

"Actually, Penny, I took the liberty of straightening up a bit over the past couple of nights. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, God no. I was dreading it, to be honest. Have you got a new chart for me?"

"I do. I posted it on your refrigerator. Let's go over. There are some things I should explain."

"Okay."

Penny and Sheldon went across to 4B.

Missy took a deep breath. "God I hope she takes this the right way."