A/N:
This was supposed to be longer, but I decided to split it into two parts.
Borrowed some of the dialogue from past episodes in this chapter.
Without further ado...
"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."
-C.G. Jung
Sheldon stretched his lanky body after getting out of bed. He went to bed late at night shortly after having Thai food with Leonard, Howard, and his wife Bernadette. They mostly talked about science things, which Sheldon understood for the most part.
He then focused his attention to the comic books placed on the bookshelf.
Randomly selecting one, he held it in his hand before sitting down on his mattress and started flipping through each page. His mind was drawn to the characters and word bubbles on the page. He mouthed the words as he read with a childish grin on his face. When he reached the last page, Sheldon was disappointed that it was all over, but his excitement went up knowing he had over a few hundred other comic books to read and explore.
He placed the rare issue of Amazing Spider-man #129 back to where it belonged, and peered through the other bins containing the rest of his comic books. Sheldon searched for one that captured all of his attention, and soon enough, he pulled out The Flash #247. Before he sat down again, someone on the other side of the bedroom door started to knock softly. "Sheldon, you awake?" he heard Leonard ask.
"I am. Come in." Sheldon responded, and Leonard swiftly opened the door. He stayed standing behind the doorway, looking at his roommate in confusion. "Would you like a formal invitation to enter?"
Leonard shook his head. "No, it's just you never let anyone enter your room without hesitation."
"You're saying that I forbid people to go to my bedroom?" Sheldon placed the comic book down on the bed.
"That's what you said. Another thing, Sheldon, is that when you read comic books, you use the disposable reading gloves in your night stand to keep any contaminants away from the page." Leonard pointed to the wooden night stand beside Sheldon's bed. He turned around and slowly opened to drawer, taking out the gloves that Leonard was talking about. "Not only does it not ruin your comic books, it also prevents paper cuts."
Sheldon held the gloves in his hands. "Fascinating."
"Anyways, I wanted to tell you that I'm about to leave for work."
"When do I go back to the university?"
"President Siebert told me that you may start working again once you are fully recovered. Physically and mentally." Leonard informed him.
"Is Siebert my boss?"
"Yes. Mine as well." He added.
Sheldon glanced around his bedroom, unsure of what to do. "What should I do to occupy myself for the time being?" Maybe he could spend his entire day reading his collection of comic books or watching television. He could also try to understand at least some of his work or solve the unfinished equations lingering in his head.
"Do whatever you want. Just don't get hurt. I'll be home by like six so we can get to the Cheesecake Factory by 6:30. Sounds cool?"
Thanks to Leonard's printed out schedule for Sheldon to have, he knew that they were going to that specific restaurant because it was Tuesday. All of a sudden, a scene inside his head began to play out as Leonard stared at him gazing out into space.
"Why do we have to eat here?" Sheldon whined as his three friends sat down on the table. He refused to join them; standing in the middle of the restaurant with his arms crossed and pouted lips. "Tuesday nights are reserved for Big Boy, and since it is Tuesday night, we should be seated in our usual table at Big Boy. Provide one good explanation to why we are here instead."
"Because it's Raj's birthday and we promised to do whatever he wanted to do today. He didn't want to eat at Big Boy, so we are eating here instead as per Raj's sincere request." Howard said, picking up the menu from the table and read the entrées available."
"That is not a good enough explanation." He protested.
Leonard brought the menu back down from his eyesight. "Sheldon, it's just one night. I promise to take you to Big Boy next Tuesday night. You don't have to be stubborn about this. Now, stop acting like a baby, take a seat, and pick out anything from the menu. If you do not bring up a conversation about how we changed your 'perfect' schedule, the next comic book you buy is on me. Understood?"
Sheldon dropped his arms down to his side and sat down beside Leonard with an annoyed face. "Fine. They should at least have a decent burger here."
"Relax," Raj said with a smile, "you'll probably like the burger here than over there and you will thank us for this."
He looked at his foreign friend with an expression of exhaustion and ever so slight amusement. "I highly doubt that."
"Come on, please be happy with this. It's my birthday! At least I didn't drag you out to a strip club where you would probably disinfect the pretty women with a can of Lysol."
Howard rolled his eyes. "We could have gone to one instead of watching that Sandra Bullock movie."
"I'm still unhappy about this arrangement." Sheldon complained. "I want my Big Boy burger."
Leonard had enough. "Sheldon, don't make me climb on this table and choke you. Please let it go. You're a grown man and capable of change, even for one night!"
"Okay, Leonard. But if my stomach experiences any kind of distress tonight, it's all on you."
Leonard waved his hands in front of Sheldon. When he finally blinked, Leonard waited for him to make another move. "I have experienced a flashback of a past memory." Sheldon informed him.
"What was it about?" He tilted his head to the taller physicist.
"It was the first time we dined out to the Cheesecake Factory. Leonard, I do not appreciate the death threats you make so I please ask you to refrain from any more of it in the future."
"Umm... Sure. Only if you don't whine about change again." Leonard glanced over to the clock on the bedroom wall. "Crap, I have to go now if I don't want to be stuck in traffic. Call or text me if you need anything." He rushed out of the room.
When Sheldon heard the front door shut from his bedroom, he picked up the comic book again and sat on his bed. Flipping to the first page, he began to read again.
"I can't believe he fired me."
Sheldon ascended the stairs with Leonard to his left. His hands gripped tightly on the heavy box containing all of his things in the office. Never did his mind cross the possibility that the new department head would lay him off an hour after he got to the party. He was being honest all through the night, and wondered what ticked Dr. Gablehauser to do such (what he perceived to be) an unnecessary act on one of the greatest minds of the 21st century.
"Well, you did call him a glorified high-school science teacher whose last successful experiment was lighting his own farts" Leonard thought that was hilarious, only upsetting Sheldon even more.
"In my defense, I prefaced that by saying 'with all due respect.'"
Sheldon stopped flickering the lights in his bathroom on and off when the scene inside his head ended. He watched the goldfish swimming around the glass tank.
After he went through maybe fifteen comic books, Sheldon found the paper he wrote about luminous fish about six years ago. He was intrigued by the experiment he conducted that it inspired him to recreate it once more. The pet store nearest to him was a block away and there he purchased a small ordinary goldfish along with a tank for it to house in.
It took him only one try to perfect the luminous fish experiment, and was enthralled by the end results. He spent at least five minutes afterwards observing the little water creature as it swam normally in its confinement. The experiment also brought him back the memory of the other things he did, like how he wanted to fix everyone's eggs...
"I finally have the time to test my hypothesis, about the separation of the water molecules from the egg proteins, and its impact vis-à-vis taste."
And when Leonard called up his mother in Texas and told his mother about his unusual behavior...
"Yes, well I'm not a child, I'm a grown man capable of living my life as I see fit. And I certainly don't need someone telling on me to my mother."
Sheldon also remembered his late father's way with words...
"You know how your daddy used to say that you can only fish for so long before you got to throw a stick of dynamite in the water?"
Walking into the living room, Sheldon made his way to his desk and placed the tank on top of it. He then hears five knocks on the door and went over there to answer it. Once the door swung open, an Indian man stood in front of him with luggage in his hands. Leonard informed him last night that Raj was planning on dropping by their apartment when he gets back from San Francisco. "Sheldon! You look great!" Raj grinned wide as Sheldon move his body to the side for his friend to enter. "The guys told me about your memory loss and I want to ask, do you remember who I am?"
"Yes. You are Rajesh." Sheldon closed the door before following Raj to the couch. "Though I do know your name, I am still at lost by who you and the others are. I've received portions of my memory back, but not enough for me to know you."
"This must be hard. I mean, Leonard told me when you guys were still in the hospital about how you had no idea who we were."
Sheldon sat down on his spot and turned to face Raj. "You are all strangers to me."
Raj's smile dropped. "Oh. Well, you did say you got some back? Any good ones that gives you a clue about who we are?"
"I now know that Leonard likes to tattletale to my mother and Howard is extremely revengeful when it comes to a parking spot and an Iron Man helmet." Sheldon shuddered at the memory of Howard's bare buttocks on his leather couch, and slightly shifted in his seat.
"That was wrong of him. Anyways, are you doing anything to help bring them back?"
Sheldon shrugged his shoulders. "Not intentionally, I do pick up some memories when I do things. Just before you came in, I was experimenting on luminous fish after reading a paper I wrote the first time I conducted it. Would you like to see my findings?"
"I'll pass, but one more question," Raj cleared his throat. "Do you even want to remember those memories?"
Raj was met with silence and a stare from Sheldon. "Silly question. Forget that I said it."
"It's impossible for me to forget it, Rajesh. I do have my eidetic memory still intact." Sheldon reminded him. "And to answer what you think is a silly question, I do. It's a challenging situation since I cannot force them to appear in my head. As I've told Leonard before, they appear gradually and over time. I will make you aware of any progress about this." Raj nodded, understanding his word.
"Do you have plans for dinner?"
"I was told that we are dining at The Cheesecake Factory for tonight since it is Tuesday." Sheldon said.
Raj paused. "We don't have to go there tonight. Would you rather stay here and order in?"
"Maybe another time. Leonard seemed to be pretty excited eating there later. It baffles me."
"Has he told you about the blonde?"
Sheldon cocked his right eyebrow at his friend. "Who?"
"The woman who works there. Leonard told me over the phone about meeting the blonde who was in the alley with you until the ambulances came. He likes her." Raj shared.
"But he barely knows her."
"Yeah, but you know how Leonard is. He'll fall in love with any girl who laughs at his stupid jokes. There was this one time when he slept with that cosmological physicist who was staying over here. He actually thought they had something special, even though we all knew she had a raging libido and only wanted to have some fun that night."
Sheldon scratched his head. The memory of Elizabeth Plimpton came into his mind.
"Elizabeth's my friend and you're playing with her!"
"I do recall that time."
"Umm, I want to tell you something, but promise not to repeat it to anyone."
Sheldon nodded.
"Wow. You usually don't like keeping secrets, but oh well." Raj cleared his throat. "I think it's best for you not to remember any of your past memories."
"Why not?"
"Well, it's because I don't want you remembering all the crap Leonard, Howard, and I pulled on you. When they called me in San Francisco and told me about your accident, I immediately started thinking of how I would feel when I lose you. When I first came to this country, it wasn't surprising that I didn't have any friends. Everyone wasn't as friendly as the people in movies. Then I met Howard, Leonard, and you. Since then, I'm always confident, knowing you three have my back. But our friendship wasn't perfect. There were times when we did devious things to you and made fun of you. If you died knowing that we did not seem sorry about our actions, it would make me feel like I was as horrible as the bully who drew that penis on my forehead."
"What kind of things did you do to me?" Sheldon asked.
"I don't think you should know." Raj got out of his seat and walked to the refrigerator. Sheldon followed him and sat on one of the bar stools as his friend drank the beer he obtained from the fridge.
"I'm going to remember it sooner or later."
Raj placed the beer down on the table. "What if you don't and it stays hidden from you."
"Please. I want to know. It doesn't help me when you keep pieces of my past with you. Only you, my friends, know all these things about me right now."
"What if you hate us for all of those things?"
Sheldon shrugged his shoulders. "We won't know until I find out."
Raj sighed. "Fine. Please, you have the right to be mad at us. Truth be told, I do not believe we deserve to be friends because of our treatment of you. You are a remarkable and exceptional man who does not need our dishonesty."
And with that, Raj told him all the wrongdoings they had done to Sheldon for the past ten years since they met.
Leonard paid the cashier before picking up his tray with his lunch and walked over to where Howard was sitting. Howard ended the call he was having when Leonard took a seat across from him.
"Who was that?" Leonard asked, as he began to munch on his salad for lunch.
"It was Raj, he called me saying that he just left your apartment and he's on his way home." Howard responded.
"Did he mention how Sheldon's doing?"
"Yeah, he said something about luminous fish or whatever."
Leonard paused, and recalled that day when he came home to find Sheldon feeding a goldfish and discussed with him about getting his job back by apologizing to Gablehauser. Because of his very unusual behavior, he had to call his mother in Texas. He needed to when Sheldon purchased a loom and had already made several place mats. One of the great minds of the twenty-first century is raising glow-in-the-dark fish and weaving serapes. "I guess he got that memory back."
Howard capped the water bottle he was drinking from. "What do you mean?"
"He did that seven years ago, remember? His mom came here all the way from Galveston to get him to think straight again."
"Oh, yeah." They sat there in silence before Howard began to speak again. "What are we going to do with Sheldon if he doesn't get his memory back?"
Leonard thought for a second. "I don't know. He doesn't remember any of those stupid Roommate Agreement clauses. It would be fun again to use the bathroom when I need to instead of a specific time."
"We could eat pizza on Friday nights instead. Oh, Sheldon doesn't know that he's not that interested in wanting to learn how to drive."
"We could tell him to get a license for himself." Leonard smirked.
"But what if he asks why he doesn't have one yet? We can't say the mugger took it. Sheldon would have to go through all the process with the instructor."
"I bet we can make him. Wow, I always thought Sheldon without memories would be bad."
"How?" Howard asked, raising his brow.
"I mean, I thought we would have to spell everything out for him. But it seems like he's doing good on his own. No complaints about his routines. He hasn't been the condescending jerk he was ever since he got knocked out. Maybe this is a silver lining for us. We can mold Sheldon into a better man." Leonard imagined a life with Sheldon being normal. He wanted to experience that badly.
"Leonard, you know he's still getting memories back. He may or may not become the man we would want him to be."
"Don't ruin it for me, Howard. We'll see if we can use Sheldon to our advantage. We can do anything we want as long as he knows less."
"Uhh, that seems like an okay idea. If he remembers everything and yells at us for taking advantage of him and his memory impairment, I'm pointing the blame on you."
"Fine." Leonard drank his water bottle. "Let's see if we can watch Babylon 5 again."
Out of the corner of Howard's eye, he sees Dr. Gablehauser approaching their table. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greets the two.
"Dr. Gablehauser." Leonard and Howard said simultaneously.
"I would like to know any progress your friend Dr. Cooper has made since his hospitalization."
Leonard looks to Howard, then back to the head of the physics department. "Sheldon lost his memory as you were told, and he hasn't been getting that many back."
Dr. Gablehauser sighed. "It would be devastating if he doesn't get it back. He is an asset to the scientific world, and his brain does many wonders. Please give my best wishes to Dr. Cooper for a fast and full recovery. In addition, we would appreciate it if you assist him in remembering all of his memories. Losing his brilliance is equal to losing him here at Caltech. No matter how quirky, we do admire his great capacity. Contact my office if anything happens. Good day."
The two said goodbye before Gablehauser left their table. "He's right. If Sheldon doesn't get his smartness back, he's not going to be any good here and may lose his job." Howard said.
"So? He'll get another one."
Howard stared at his friend. "Wow."
"What?"
"It sounds like you don't really care if Sheldon regains his memories."
"I do, but do you really want the old Sheldon back? The one who always makes fun of you for not having a doctorate? The one who lowers your self-esteem and loves to correct you every time he gets? The one who doesn't let you whistle in the apartment? The one-"
"I get it." Howard interrupted. "You don't have to list Dr. Crazy's bad traits or else we would be sitting her all day."
"Good. Are we still on for Cheesecake Factory tonight?"
Howard rolled his eyes. "You really want to meet that Penny girl again, don't you?
Leonard smiled and nodded, then they continued eating in silence.
Tuesdays at the restaurant were busier than ever.
Penny have had her shift extended, causing her to work until the first half of the dinner shift. She absolutely wanted an increase of tips to buy those cute pair of Louboutins she had eyed online for days. Instead of complaining through the rest of shift, Penny put on one of her best smiles and released her outgoing and friendly nature. She ignored the usual flirting patrons, and the children running around and making a mess in the restaurant.
"Thank you, sir. Have a nice evening and come again soon!" Penny picked up the black checkbook on to table as the older man left the table. I do deserve the $25 tip after all the ogling you gave me during your meal, she thought to herself as she walked over to the computer. She estimated that she had about $100 from tips she made her entire shift, and was getting closer and closer to her goal.
She checked the clock hammered on the wall, and realized her break had started. Penny reached for the phone and dialed Tyler's number that she memorized by heart. It took him a couple of rings before he finally answered and she smiled at the sound of his voice. "Tyler, hey! How's Nebraska?"
"Pen! It's great to hear your voice. Nebraska's still Nebraska. Nothing really different has happened after we packed and left." Tyler said with a small chuckle.
"How's your father?" She regretted asking that question, knowing that he was hurting and probably best to not talk about it.
Tyler heaved out a long sigh. "He's not getting better. The doctors are already starting to talk about how long he has till he's gone."
"Oh," was all that Penny could say. "This is a tough time for you and I have no words to say but know I'm here for you."
"Thanks."
Penny smiled. "You're welcome."
They talked on the phone the whole time during Penny's break. She told him that she was going to pick up her script for her first television role tomorrow morning and how she was excited that things were working out well for her acting career.
It was five minutes before six when Penny said goodbye to Tyler, informing him that her break is about to end and she had to get back to work. Tyler ended the call with another 'I love you,' hoping to get the same response. Instead, Penny dismissed it quickly and responded with a barely audible 'okay,' then hung up the phone. She felt sick to her stomach, knowing how unfair she was treating him. Penny shook her head and held it up high. Only two more hours and she can finally leave this place.
"Welcome to The Cheesecake Factory, how many?" A bright bubbly brunette asked as she touched the stack of menus on the podium. She then realized who they were after not seeing the group for an entire week. "Oh, Dr. Cooper and friends. I almost forgot about you guys. Why haven't I seen you for a long time?"
"Sheldon here got in a little trouble and was at the hospital." Leonard said. "He's got some pretty bad memory loss and doesn't remember most things."
"Not even the table he permanently reserved?" The brunette turned her head to give Sheldon a little wave and smile. "I feel bad for him and how many times I called him crazy."
"Well, he's still the same Sheldon, minus the quirks and annoying part of him." Leonard gave her a cheeky grin. "Oh, Sheldon, this is Miranda. You would usually mock her life choices when we came to eat."
"I apologize for what I have told you. It won't happen again in the foreseeable future." Sheldon said. Raj and Howard looked to each other in surprise from behind.
Miranda nodded, and took four menus with her before leading them to their table. "Also, Sheldon, the waitress who usually comes here and takes your orders quit last week. But I trust you, your new server will handle your food properly like before." After a few other remarks, Miranda left the table and back to the podium.
Sheldon cautiously looked around the restaurant searching for a particular blonde waitress. When Howard told him that Penny was working there, he had been secretly hoping that he would come across her again soon. He wondered if the new waitress the Miranda was talking about happened to be Penny, and he felt his heart racing at the thought of meeting her once more.
Raj noticed Sheldon with his eyes wandering everywhere from the table and leaned into Howard's ear. "What's gotten into him?"
Howard examined Sheldon for a moment before whispering to his friend. "Seems like Homo Novus has a little crush on the girl who saved his life."
"Don't say that. He's with Amy, and you know it almost impossible for him to have feelings for someone else." Raj said.
Howard shook his head. "I know that face. I had the face on every time a girl gives me that come-hither look."
"But this is SHELDON COOPER we are talking about."
"Yes, but after losing his memory, he has been acting differently compared to the Sheldon we all know and love." Howard ended his sentence albeit sarcastically.
A flash of blonde in the corner of Sheldon's eyes caused him to turn sharply to his left, only to see their new waitress approach them with a notepad and pencil. Unfortunately, she wasn't the one he was looking for the moment he entered the restaurant
"Hi, my name is Patricia. What would you guys like to order?"
I'll post the following chapter tomorrow. Promise :)
Just a little tease but shenny meets again in the next one.