Sheldon Swifties LIX: "X-Advisors…"

Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.

Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…

Part LVIII…

"I could have told you…" arch tone from the seated, now happily in his favored chair, Homsley Finn to his best friend of sorts, fellow Ph.d candidate Walter Neferstadt. "That girl was never going to date you, look she's gone right off to Austin Physics Department's flavor of the year, Sheldon Cooper."

"I wasn't trying to date her, Homsley." Walter frowned. "I just wanted you guys to let her be. And Sheldon is twelve, come on." Glancing over to where "Penny" was now seated by young Sheldon, whispering a bit to him while Dr. Stein at the front of the hall was busy at chalkboard trying to do what he could to stimulate the general run of empty minds and encourage the few functional.

"Us guys including me?" Homsley eyed him. "Walter, I have no interest in that girl whatsoever except for her so rudely taking my seat, though partly redeemed by her giving it up to me at my gallant protest."

"There was nothing gallant about it. You whined and when she went to sit by Sheldon you grabbed her seat."

"With gallant courage. She seems like a bruiser."

"So, Ashley…" Harvey, now seated to Walter's right, in somewhat reverential tones, befitting an acolyte of a Master of the art of seduction…To Ashley, seated just below him in the next row down… "What's your next move in the game?"

"The Dance, my dear fellow…The…Dance…" Ashley, bestowing smile upon his hapless acolyte...The material one is offered in America… "Let her maternal instinct play out with young Cooper for the rest of the class, then a friendly encounter with me displaying a touching interest regards the dear lad's welfare. Conversation ensues and before you know it, voila. I have her telephone number and a ticket to ride, to her abode."

Not bad, Bernie Kim, seated beside Harvey, shrugged.

Still, she seems disturbingly interested in the young punk supergenius.

"There, ladies and gentlemen…You have it…" Stein stepped back from his chalkboard…

"Glorious! Bravo, Dr. Stein." Homsley rose, clapping.

"Finn…Hardly necessary to clap or rise, sit down, son." Stein sighed. "Not that it isn't nice to be appreciated."

"Especially by one functioning near or at your level, sir." Homsley beamed.

"Yes…Well. In any case, if you examine the equation on thermostability…"

"Dr. Stein!" Ashely raised a languid hand. "If I may…?"

"Yes, Mr. Smythe…? What's your contribution?"

"The equation is elegant, as my colleague Mr. Finn notes, but…"

Frown as the door to the lecture hall opened…A Campus Policewoman, leading a rather annoyed Kripke…

"Dr. Francis Stein?" she addressed Stein. "This…Gentleman…Claims to know you and be doing some work for you in the main Computational Physics Building? He has only a temporary id but…"

"Yes, Dr. Kripke is a colleague from Cal Tech…I'm arranging his permanent id. Is this really…?"

"I was getting to that…He was found using the main computer system to locate various students by gender and certain physical characteristics?"

Ah, a friend of the Creator for sure…Harvey nodded to Dennis…High-fiving…

And from California, Dennis eyed his friend.

We can learn much from him.

"Indeed? Well, I'm sure I can explain…" eyeing Kripke. Amy frowning from her seat.

Barry? Now?

So the program worked? Sheldon looked up to Barry, slight smile. Amy, nervously catching the exchange…Glaring at Kripke.

What the hell are you doing to my future boyfriend?

"It wasn't so much what he was searching…Not all that unusual…But his program hijacked every system in the complex to work on the problem…" the policewoman eyed Kripke. "Your guest's computer privileges are hearby revoked."

"We must acquire this program." Harvey noted to Dennis who nodded.

Hmmn…Guess it was a bit too successful…Young Sheldon sighed, sympathetic glance to Kripke.

Whoops. He caught "Penny's" annoyed look.

"It wasn't what you think…It was to try and find Susan." He hissed.

"And maybe every roughly similarly attractive girl on campus…" Amy eyed him, whispering. Sheldon slight apologetic move…

Could be…

But poor Krip's all alone…Maybe trapped here forever, trying to help us…Shrug…When one has found his Paradise on Earth at 12, one feels for those left behind.

I mean…You didn't know Dr. Sturgis or Dr. Brown, but they were my friends, he thought. I couldn't help them…Neither being a psychiatrist nor a cardiologist. Krip is my friend and maybe, in this case…I can.

He's giving me the puppy eyes…Amy thought. Whenever he wants me to help him or do something for Leonard, he gives me…

Oh, my…

Leonard…Sigh.

But damnit…Does your new best friend have to be Barry Kripke? Admittedly sort of noble as he's been here.

"My apologies, youwr hotness…And fowrgive my somewhat out of place suggestion as to whewre you might put that clubstick after handcuffing me…" Barry noted.

"I assure you, Miss…" Stein sighed. "Dr. Kripke is a brilliant scientist and my colleague and guest. He simply was a bit enthusiastic in testing a new control algorithm."

"Yeah. Just keep him out of the computer facility, Professor? At least for ten days." The policewoman frowned at Barry.

"I think she may like him…" young Sheldon noted to Amy who eyed him. "She didn't hit him with that stick. Barry says if they don't hit you with any available weapon…"

"You are not spending any more time with Barry Kripke!" Amy hissed, angrily.

"You know I think she knows Sheldon…" Walter noted to Homsley, eyeing the pair.

"She likes em small and brilliant…I've still gotta chance." Harvey noted to Dennis.

Ashely however rather annoyed…

Who is yon fellow from the West making such a splash in my field of battle? Not only in Physics, given the great Stein seems taken with him…Hey, visitor from Cavendish here…And despite my never having heard of any…? But, a mass searching algorithm to more efficiently use stalking time? That was my own…Wait. Kripke? That name is familiar…

And this bloody little punk Cooper seems to be making real time with my bird. Frown at young Sheldon whispering to "Penelope".

…

"So? Where is he?" an eager "Jane Doe"/Susan Stein, out of MRI and informed that she might have a relative visiting, was anxiously trying to rise from her chair and hurry out into the lobby.

"Just a min, honey." The technician tending her held her down. "You hafta to take it easy yet and they're not sure about this fellow. Let Security check him out."

"But he might be someone I know who knows me!" insistently. Nervous look to door. "Can't you just take me out and let me see if I recognize him?"

"Lets see what your doctor says…If this fellow is what he says, maybe then. Honey, he could be the one who left you banged up."

"You think so?" stare… "I don't remember anyone hurting me…"

"Just be patient."

"Yeah…Ok…" resigned sit back. "Did he say who he was? Who I was?"

"Well…Tammy out there says he gave the name George Cooper…And he was looking for a woman who fit your description called Susan…Stein, I think. Sound familiar?"

"Stein…Like Frankenstein?" Susan giggled. "No, I never heard that name…And I don't remember a George Cooper. He's not my husband or anything?"

"He claimed he was this Miss Stein's cousin. She could be someone else who used another name, he seemed to think she might have…And that she had an abusive husband and that was why she'd use a fake name."

"That doesn't sound…I don't remember for sure…But it doesn't sound like me. Maybe she's another patient…" sigh.

"By his talk, she kinda fight your description and we've not had anyone else like you in here today."

"Well, let me just see him…I won't go with him. If he doesn't recognize me, fine. But I'd like to know."

"Tammy and Gretchen think there's something odd about him and like I say, he could be the one who hurt you…The abusive husband he mentioned, trying to get you back."

"Sounds like a bad TV movie…" grin. "At least I remember those…"

"We don't want you windin' up the girl found dead in those things, honey." The nurse noted.

"Ok…" she put up a hand. "I'll wait. George…" she repeated the name. "George Cooper…"

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell…Or this 'Susan Stein'…" shrug. "You sure I can't just get a quick look? Just at the door, crack it open. I won't go out, even if I recognized him….Please?" wistful look.

"If I bring you over and open a crack, that's all." The nurse insisted. "I mean it."

"I promise…Please?"

"All right, just for a second and just a crack…" the nurse went behind Susan's chair and pushed her over, going round to open the door slightly.

"Where?" Susan peered around… "Is that him, in the hat, with the two guards questioning him?"

"That's him." The nurse, firmly planted in front of her, by the door.

"Nope…I don't know him." Sigh. "Damn…" she pondered.

"Hey! George!" she cried. "George Cooper!"

Sheldon turning to look in the middle of assuring the lead guard that his intentions toward the little lady he sought to find where strictly honorable but he was sorry he had no id on him. As a free son of Texas, he didn't believe in carryin' government identification. Led to socialism and the Democrats winnin'.

The nurse frowning as Susan shrugged…

Sorry… Apologetic look.

"I just have to know…" shrug.

"Susan!" Sheldon called. "It's…Cousin George…That sounds like her, officers. Susan!"

You fiend from Hell…Here to send you back there as quickly as possible…Murderess of my friends, would-be tormentor/murderess of my Amy.

I've never killed anyone before or wanted to…But there's a first time for everything…And my poor friend Penny has had enough to deal with.

…

Alamogordo, New Mexico…Park and Ride…

"Hey, guys…" Ms. Glau and her aunt, leading a tall, rather imposing figure…

"My dad got pulled away by a job…My uncle Max here will drive us."

"Will I?" the grim-looking tall, well-muscled Max Glau eyed Leonard and Rajesh… "So these two rode with you from Tucson? Came up to you on the bus, a fifteen year old? And now expect a free ride to San Antonio?"

Uh…Rajesh eyed the hulking near clone of Arnold Swarzenegger… Oh, we can probably just hitch the rest of the way.

"We really didn't mean to impose…There's a bus this evening that'll take us closer to Austin and we can get on from there…" Leonard began, daunted but rather annoyed at the hint of impropriety. And a man in a hurry… If the damned bus schedule had allowed, or if this hadn't seemed easier and faster than hitching, we'd've left yesterday, no matter how much Raj whined to do the full museum tour and see the gift shop.

"Uncle Max…" Ms. Glau sighed. "They've very nice guys, they looked out for me and Auntie Zana all night on the bus. Just ask her. And I imposed on them, I introduced myself. See, they're scientists from Cal Tech, Dr. Koothrappali is an astrophysicist and Dr. Hofstadter's a physicist."

"They're nice boys, Max." Aunt Zana agreed. "They were telling us a few things about the testing site Summer wanted to see. And some things about how rockets work that for the life of me I can't make heads or tails of. And they took us to lunch and dinner and I promise you everything was fine last night at the motel."

"They may not be men but they are not…'boys'. Well, you two losers are lucky it's me here. My brother is far less understanding when it comes to his daughter." Glau, grimly, with Germanic accent.

"Uncle Max." Summer, firmly. "They were perfect gentlemen…" slightest of sighs at Raj.

Thank God there was no alcohol on that bus…Lucy's spirit clearly is guarding me.

"Two scientists taking a bus?" stern eyeing.

"We prefer it." Leonard noted. "You get to see more, meet people, and all…But my wife is ill in Austin, since she flew on ahead, and we need to get going. It's fine if you can't take us, we understand. But this is my Cal Tech id…" he showed id which Glau eyed carefully.

"Expires June 2020? You must have tenure." He eyed Leonard, a bit of twinkle now in eyes. "Sorry, fellas. I am a bit over-protective of my little niece but thanks for looking out for her. Come, I'll be glad to take you." Smile. Huge hand offered which Leonard gingerly shook.

"Astrophysicist, eh?" Glau eyed Raj who nodded quickly, gulping. "You must be excited about the Mars Rover…Summer can't stop talking about it."

"Oh, yes, Pathfinder. Goes up in December…It was…Should be an amazing mission." Raj nodded.