A suggestion from Darkly Dreaming. The lines between Sheldon and Leonard are her brilliant words. I hope she likes how it ended up.

:Revenge:

Leonard threw the garbage bags into the dumpster and headed back toward the building. His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. Penny. He sighed. So far they still hadn't caught a break. From the moment he had returned from the North Pole, something kept popping up to keep them apart. A 6 foot something. When they brought Sheldon back from Texas two weeks ago, he had immediately latched onto Penny. He claimed she was his only friend and he was constantly by her side, even going so far as to ask her to sleep on their couch.

Leonard frowned with exasperation. He was really starting to get frustrated. He started to open up the text but without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and everything went dark.

Raj was just settling in for the night when the lights went out. "Damn!" he said sharply. The Notebook was just starting! He was going to miss it! He stood up and moved to the windows. Hmmm, the rest of the buildings were still lit. He must have thrown a breaker. He walked to the bedroom to check. It was very dark. He was halfway across the room when two arms wrapped around him. A hand clamped a rag over his mouth and he smelled chloroform and a faint whiff of vanilla before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Howard looked around the cafeteria forlornly. Raj had sent an e-mail calling in sick. Leonard hadn't bothered to show at all. He suspected Leonard was trying to get some alone time with Penny while Sheldon was working. He picked at his beefaroni and sighed. Things were pretty stressed between them all right now. The arctic trip was hanging over all their heads.

"Howard?"

He looked up in surprise to see Penny approaching. She hurried over with teary eyes. He stood quickly and held out a chair for her. She latched onto his arm. "Howard, have you seen Sheldon? He called and said he was leaving again!"

Howard gasped and moved around the table. "He was in his office earlier. Let's go see if he still is!"

Howard led the way to Sheldon's office but they found it empty. A passing grad student paused and asked if they were looking for Dr. Cooper. He then told them he had seen Dr. Cooper boarding a bus.

They looked at each other with fear. Sheldon never rode the bus if he could help it. Penny took Howard's arm and pulled him down the hall. They rushed to her car and got in. Penny pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the street.

Howard pulled out his phone and began dialing Sheldon's cell phone. It went straight to voice mail. He called the apartment but got no answer. "Okay. So, where would he go?" Howard asked.

Penny nibbled her lip. "I have an idea. We'll check there before we try the apartment. It's somewhere he likes to go for privacy."

Guilt settled in Howard's gut. This was bad. He wished he could go back and stop them from even going to the arctic. He hadn't wanted to go anyway! He watched the scenery change. Buildings dropped away and they found themselves on a tree lined road. Howard looked around apprehensively.

"Penny, where are we?" he asked, noticing the darkening sky.

Penny started to slow down and then turned right onto a small dirt road. "There's a small house out here. Sheldon comes here sometimes."

He looked at her with surprise. "Way out here? How do you know?"

A light shone through the trees and distracted him. Penny parked in front of the house and got out. She began walking to the door.

"I've driven him here many times," she said simply. Howard joined her by the door.

"Really? How come he never mentioned this place to us?"

Penny smiled slightly. "You're not his deal."

Howard frowned. "His…" His jaw dropped as he looked at Penny. "Are you saying you and Sheldon …..No!" he said with disbelief.

Penny opened the door and pushed Howard inside. She shut the door and headed across the main room. Howard followed quickly, dozens of questions and innuendos spinning in his head. Penny opened a door and he saw a brightly lit stairwell. He followed Penny down into the basement trying to think of what to say first.

"So, you are telling me that you and Sheldon come here. And have sex. With Sheldon. Mr. "Coitus is uninteresting" Cooper?" Howard asked with amazement.

"Doctor. And I never said it was uninteresting." Howard jumped and spun around. Sheldon was leaning against a post watching him. "I said I found your fervent pursuit of it uninteresting."

Howard started to take a step back. But Penny was right behind him. He turned to face her and she smiled viciously as she swung her fist and knocked him out.

Slowly Howard opened his eyes. He looked around groggily. It took a moment to realize what he was seeing. He was sitting between Leonard and Raj. They were both gagged and tied to a chair like he was. They both looked exhausted. Their eyes were red and bloodshot. Their skin was pale. He heard a noise and looked forward. Sheldon was sitting in a chair, Penny standing between his legs, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

He watch as Penny bent and kissed Sheldon leisurely and then moved to stand beside him. Sheldon smiled slightly up at her and then faced the three men.

"Glad you could join us, Howard. I suppose you are a bit confused. Let me explain. You three are our guests." Sheldon said calmly. "Penny and I have spent the last two weeks setting up everything for your stay. We're pretty isolated here. So, it is very unlikely anyone will come along to help you. But as a precaution, we will be keeping you gagged, separated, and drugged during your stay."

Penny smirked. "Also, I have vacation time built up, and I'll be here most of the time."

Sheldon smiled up at her fondly and then turned back to them. "Now, let me explain what's going on. Penny and I have decided that none of you are very good people. You are dishonest, untrustworthy, and cruel. Not exactly stellar characteristics. But we don't think you're hopeless. You just need …reprogramming."

Sheldon stood and picked up three sets of night vision goggles. "I've modified these. They are no longer goggles. Now they are transmitters. Kind of like small, wearable televisions." He moved closer, ignoring their muffled cries and agitated wiggling. He began slipping them over their heads as Penny moved to power up the laptop on the desk.

She looked over at the trio. "Ever see A Clockwork Orange? Great movie," she grinned.

Sheldon stepped back and surveyed his friends. "Anyone have anything to say before we begin?"

Leonard frantically jerked his head around. Penny moved to his side and pulled out his gag.

Leonard coughed and shifted his sore jaw trying to relieve some tension. He glared at his roommate angrily. "Sheldon, what the hell has gotten into you?!"

Sheldon smiled and leaned back against the desk. "I have finally embraced chaos."

Penny shoved the gag back in place and adjusted the goggles over each man's eyes. Sheldon started the program on the laptop and turned toward to follow Penny up the stairs. He closed the basement door and turned to see Penny slipped her shirt over her head. His pulse sped up and he moved to press up against her.

"So, you like embracing the chaos, huh?" Penny asked with a laugh.

Sheldon kissed her deeply. "I like embracing your chaos," he replied. "You are a devilish woman, Penny."

She slipped her hands under his shirts. "Are you complaining?"

He shook his head and walked her back to the couch. "Never."

There was a bit of talk at first. Having one scientist go nuts wasn't unusual. Having three do it all at the same time was cause for curiosity at the very least. Most attributed it to the recent three months spent cooped up on a frozen tundra with no relief. A few postulated the idea that three months with Dr. Cooper may have broken them. Whatever the reason was, no one was surprised what happened next. Still, Metropolitan State Hospital was a nice place. They'd like it there.