Sheldon considered himself a rather patient individual. After all, he had not proceeded with his scorched earth plan on his 'friends' after the mess in the Arctic, as was his initial plan. Rather he took care to listen to his mother and decided to forgive them, to put his other cheek.

To forgo his Nobel dreams in the name of friendship.

His mother was rather proud but Sheldon felt that he lost something important. He no longer found the same joy in the things and activities he had ingrained into his routine for years. For the first time in his life, Sheldon Cooper PhD was lost. Of course he still went through the motions, laundry night, Halo, Thai food, orange chicken (that should be tangerine chicken), and Penny.

And yet, this feeling of emptiness never goes away. Once Amy joins the group he starts getting anxious. These people, his supposed friends want him to stop being himself, they want to change him, to make him 'Human'. Sheldon scoffs at that, Howard, Raj and Leonard confound emotions with wanton abandon of their baser desires.

And now, those same people have dragged him from his safe place, his home, with lies and deception about a Train exposition in Vegas. He should have known that there was no real possibility that they would present the East Indian Railway No. 22 in this supposed Exposition.

To add insult to injury, it was revealed to him that the purpose for this trip was in reality to witness the culmination of the train wreck that is Penny and Leonard's relationship in a cheap Vegas chapel. Utterly humiliating.

He demanded that Leonard stop the car and let him out. He would rather walk in the desert than participate in this sham of a wedding. This was the last straw. He couldn't be around these people, already making plans, contracts and letters in his head, Sheldon walked into the Nevada desert and was followed closely by an anxious Penny, an exasperated Leonard and an angry Amy.

¨Moonpie, please, let's go back to the car.¨ Penny's voice was pleading. Sheldon usually found Penny's voice to be attractive, the tone would set him at ease, but this occasion he didn't want to hear her.

Walking faster up a dune his longer gait gave him an advantage. Why couldn't Penny understand that this wasn't okay? It was beneath her, it was beneath him. ¨Don't call me Moonpie!¨ The anger in his voice sounded more George than Mary and that only made him angrier.

Finally reaching the top of the dune he needed to vent, so turning and looking down at Penny, the rest were rather behind, Penny was the only one truly making the effort to reach him, and thus would be the recipient of his anger.

¨Penny! Please stop, I expect nothing from the rest. But you? You were supposed to be my friend. I have made no secret of my feelings about you and Leonard's relationship and now you want to make me complicit in it? In a cheap chapel that smells of vomit, smoke and alcohol no less. You deserve more, you deserve better.¨ He's panting now, due to the physical effort and the emotional outburst.

¨Sheldon, I…¨ Penny raises her hands up in defeat ¨What do you want me to do? I lo-love Leonard and want to marry him.¨ She once again pleads, ¨Please come down and let's go to the car.¨

¨Like hell I will. I will no-¨ Sheldon takes a step back in the middle of his sentence, he can feel the sand shift under him and suddenly a familiar feeling of being weightless so he closes his eyes and waits for the impact.

It never comes.

Penny scrambles up the dune as fast as she can. The sand burns her hands and legs but she doesn't care. One moment Sheldon was there and then she saw the panic in his eyes as he tumbled backwards. She's hoping and praying he hasn't hurt himself by falling down the other side of the dune.

Except, there's nothing there once she makes it up. There are no marks or trails in the sand, it looks undisturbed. A snake of anxiety and fear coils around her spine.

¨Sheldon?!¨ She waits for a response. Silence.

¨Hey Moonpie, where are you?!¨ Silence is the only response. That snake of fear now makes her body a home.

The others arrive soon enough, she explains the situation and everyone is searching alongside her, but they turn up empty handed. It's as if he had just disappeared.

Amy mentions quicksand but even she doesn't sound sure of it. They still end up calling 911, in less than 12 hours they get an excavator there and they only find sand.

Penny is shocked and doesn't know what to do. She's trying not to cry, to have hope. But her gut is telling her that Sheldon is gone.

The same gut that told her marrying Leonard was a bad idea. She refused to listen and look where it led them.

Sheldon said she deserved better. She was going to listen.

Sheldon woke up with a start, his mind already bringing his last moment of consciousness at the forefront. He expects pain, scorching heat, maybe a hospital bed, but the feeling under his fingers is that of blades of grass, his back is not hurting but he is wet, no, not exactly.

Opening his eyes Sheldon sees the early morning sun. Looking down at himself he finds his body and clothes covered in a light layer of dew, as if he had spent the night outside.

Further observation shows that his fingers were right, he is lying in grass. It's a clearing, dense forest surrounds this clearing and he can hear birds, critters and nature all around him. The temperature is warm, probably Summer. This is…odd.

He tries to dig deeper in his memories but there is nothing, examining his own body reveals a change but not one he expected, or wanted, or even thought possible. He compares his hands to the ones he used to write an email this morning and they're different. They're still his hands but a quick search of his memory brings him the image he needs to compare them to, these are the hands he had at 22. He was now 35.

Focusing on the strangeness of the situation kept the panic at bay. Focus on the sensations and not the emotions he repeated to himself.

The clothes were the ones he was wearing in the desert. He checked his pockets, nothing. He still had his belt and belt buckle, the belt buckle had a small hidden stainless steel knife, custom made to his specifications.

Sheldon could feel the panic now, on the outskirts of his consciousness. Where was he? The empty pockets and the change in biome meant that someone or something had moved him. The fact that his body was younger made him more likely to believe that this was an extraterrestrial force.

But if that was the case, why leave him in the middle of a clearing like this?.

Long archived memories of his father and Meemaw teaching him how to survive in the wilderness as well as his own planning and education coalesced in one simple plan:
-Find where you are. Solution: Wait until nighttime in order to navigate using the stars.
-Find a safe spot to sleep. Solution: A tree should offer enough distance between most predators
-Find water and food. Solution: No sound of running water, needs further investigation. Belt can substitute as a sling. Belt buckle knife opened possibilities for food. Alternative, locate edible berry bush.

With a plan in mind, Sheldon set off towards the forest.

Sheldon was definitely not having a good time. He was thankful for the hunting lessons, it helped him avoid the tracks of bigger animals, he was also thankful for the lessons on how to navigate the forest. He was thankful for his acute hearing as an hour into his walk he was able to find a decent sized river and was moving upstream to try and find any signs of human life.

He was not thankful for his large frame, it made it harder to move silently. He was not thankful for the way his feet hurt and he was certainly not thankful for having to climb a tree just as the sun was setting.

The tree was decent sized, he found a branch that would hold his weight and sat to wait for the night to fall. He was running through different ways of how to contact his family once civilization was in sight, when all his plans came crashing down. He did not recognize these stars, no North Star, no little dipper, no Orion's belt. Sheldon had a panic attack.

He tried to control his breathing but it kept coming fast, he was alone, he tried to not shiver and stay in place, he was crying, he was going to die. He wanted to live.

Morning came but it brought no respite to Sheldon. He had not slept for more than a couple of minutes at a time. He was now feeling dirty and that brought a new panic attack as he hyper focused on how long it had been since his last shower, the last time he used soap.

Sheldon was unable to leave the tree. Every time he tried to climb down fear would grip him and a new wave of panic would assault him. It was hunger that ultimately forced him to climb down but he was anxious and would jump at any noise and he wanted to climb back up that tree, but Sheldon had no one now, shivering and whimpering he forced his legs to propel him forward.

Each step felt jarring and wrong. How many times had he been compared to Pinocchio? Now he truly felt like a puppet, jerky and halting steps, one after the other. Keeping track of time was no longer a concern, he just knew that he needed to keep moving or he would die.

It was the sight of the berry bush that brought him back to the moment, his mind given something else to focus. ´Ribes uva-crispa or commonly known as Gooseberry, native to Europe but can be found in North America as wel-'

While his mind worked, Sheldon's body acted. His long and deft fingers carefully avoided the sharp spines. He wanted to devour his small bounty but he wanted to at least run them under the stream of the river.

Sheldon resolved himself after the taste of the first berry. ' I will make it.¨

Sheldon continued to walk, the river his only guide. Gooseberries were plentiful but by day 5 he wanted something else. He hadn't gotten sick so far and he needed to start considering the real possibility that he would not find another human anytime soon.

He had killed game before, had knowledge of how to make traps, knew how to clean and dress the kill. But he didn't have a way to cook the meat, knew that the smell of blood and cooking meat would invite the larger animals that so far had been happy to ignore him. He needed to make a decision soon.

A plume of smoke in the distance takes his breath away. He can't move fast enough towards it.

His feet are hurting, he is exhausted and he is almost at the point of origin of the smoke. But he found a dirt path and he can see that up a small hill there's a sturdy looking wooden fence. A small isolated village most likely.

Sheldon can almost weep with relief when he sees someone is walking down the path, towards him. He tried to fix his appearance a little, but the stubble, bags under his eyes and red rimmed eyes makes it harder for him to feel confident. He feels his stomach lurch when the person he saw gets closer, he knows her.

It's Penny.

Penelope was pissed. She had been training all her life to become an adventurer like her dad, she never made it a secret that this was her goal. She trained, trained and then trained some more until she could kick everyone's butt in the village. Even Kurt was no longer a challenge. But her parents still refused to let her go in the next convoy to Safral.

It was the closest city to their village, she wanted to start small, just hunting goblins and picking up herbs and work her way up to orcs and bodyguard jobs until she could join a prestigious Guild. She knew that her parents loved her and worried about her, that was the only reason she hadn't just ran away during the night, but she was turning 19 soon and didn't want to stay here. She didn't want to just become someone's wife and pop out kids every year.

Wanting to clear her mind she decided to go down to the river and light the torches for the night patrol.

She's so focused on her thoughts that she almost collides with a young man, her training kicks in and she easily sidesteps while grunting in apology. Except, the man doesn't let her, he steps in her way again, and she can feel a headache start 'Not another one.'

Penelope knew that she was beautiful, but this always invited creeps to think her beauty was some sort of invitation. Last year a merchant moving through their village kept asking her to become his wife, promised to love her, to give her everything she wanted and yet he never even looked up from her bosom when talking to her. She had to break his nose so he could understand she didn't want anything to do with him. And now another one joins the list.

She's already preparing her speech when the man talks. ¨Penny?¨ His voice is a whisper. And it's the…broken and miserable tone that gets her to look up at his face. He is a handsome man for certain, if unkempt, he is wearing strange clothes in strange colors and she guesses that he had a rough day and might even be possibly sick due to his extremely pale skin.

He's not looking at her bosom or at her legs, his eyes are on her face. Penelope has seen blue eyes before but the eyes on this man were as clear as a lake on a sunny day.

And then his hands are on her shoulders, boney fingers squeeze her but there's no strength left in his hands. Still, she doesn't appreciate being touched like this and she's preparing to teach him a lesson when he drops to his knees and starts weeping. Penelope is not sure how to act, she had assumed he was coming onto her but this felt different.

Still keeping distance between them she puts a hand on his shoulder and asks him if he's okay. His eyes are back on her face, he says ¨You're not Penny.¨ and she can see his eyes roll up and his body pitch forward, only her hand keeps him from a mouthful of dirt.

Penelope looks around, wondering if this is some sort of joke but they're alone, no one is watching them. She should let the village leader know and let him handle this strange man, she should go back to her task. Instead she easily picks him up and throws him across her shoulders, for some reason she can't just leave this to anyone else.

It's while she's halfway to her home that she remembers the soothsayer's words 'No man will pick you. You will be the one to pick him.'

'Maybe mom is right and it's just the fermented alcohol speaking and not the gods.' Penelope thinks as she carries the strange man she picked up.

Sheldon awakes slowly, for a moment he thinks that he's back in his bed and that the strange nightmare is over. Then his eyes adjust and sees an unfamiliar wooden ceiling, runs his fingers on the blanket covering him and the coarseness of it reinforces the reality. It wasn't a dream.

Sitting up on the bed he looks at himself, he's no longer wearing his filthy clothes, the shirt and pants he's wearing are obviously handmade and made to last. Farmer's clothes he thinks idly. His fingertips and feet hurt, but not as bad as they did before, someone bandaged him and guessing by the smell wafting from him the bandages were soaked in medicinal herbs.

Not a dream.

He covers his face for a moment, takes a deep breath and forces himself to face reality. He had met someone, no, not someone. Penny. Except, it wasn't his Penny, this stranger was younger, tougher, her toned muscles and slightly height advantage over his Penny would make it that if they were side by side you could not mistake one for the other. This Penny had brighter and greener eyes.

Sheldon's not sure how much time he spends in that position, trying to come up with plans for the future and coming up empty when the door into his room opens and Penny walks in. He can't help it, he stares, he tries to find every single detail that makes this Penny unique.

A snap of fingers in front of his eyes forces him away from his examination. Penny is flushing in anger, her hips locks and her fists rests on them. ¨Eyes up here Stranger¨.

Sheldon tries not to laugh, he really does try, but the mannerisms, the tone, everything is just so Penny that he can't help himself. A moment later he's sobbing into his hands. He's never going to see his Penny again. His Meemaw or his mom.

Sheldon has no illusions, whatever force brought him here is so beyond him that it might as well be a god. He was de-aged, transported to another world and put close to a place where he ended up meeting a version of Penny. He is but a dancing monkey.

Penelope couldn't understand this stranger, he woke up and the first thing he did when seeing her was to run his eyes over her body and when she demanded answers he started laughing and the next moment he started crying. She could only shake her head at him. Crazy, that one.

¨Are you okay? I found you on the road here.¨

The man manages to control himself enough but now looks defeated. As if he just lost something very important. ¨I will be fine. Thank you for your assistance. I fear that without it I would have perished.¨

Wow, he talks like one of those wizard guys. Penelope still remembers that he called her Penny, it sounds cute but no one has ever called her that before. ¨I'm Penelope. What's your name?¨

¨Sheldon. My name is Sheldon C-...just Sheldon.¨

¨Nice to meet you Sheldon, do you need us to help you find this 'Penny' you were calling for?¨ He looks sad again but he shakes his head.

¨No. She was my friend. You remind me a lot of her.¨ A shy smile appears on his face for the first time and her heart jumps a little. No, she's not going to fall for this tall stranger.

Caroline and Wyatt had been worried about Penelope. Their daughter had always been bullheaded and kept asking to go to Safral to become an adventurer, Caroline and her husband knew that they would have to agree at some point. Their daughter was capable of running away with only the clothes on her back.

But one day she brought home a young man, he was skin and bones and looked to have had a rough time in the forest. Penelope bandaged him up and once he woke up they would sit outside and talk for hours.

This young man who introduced himself as Sheldon was extremely serious and neurotic. He reminded Caroline of the priests in Safral and soon came to learn that Sheldon did not care for religion one bit, which already put him in her good graces.

As Sheldon recovered, Penelope started teaching how to use the sword. He was a fast learner but not very muscular which Penelope took to remedy. It was always a fun sight to see Sheldon help around the village while Penelope was behind him, following him like a lost puppy.

Oh, she could see the signs from the start. The way Penelope stopped talking about going to Safral. How she would spend all of her free time with Sheldon and scared off any girl that came sniffing around him. She could also see the way Sheldon's eyes would soften at the sight of Penelope, he looked at her in the same way you looked at a sunrise, with awe.

Six months after Penelope found him, Sheldon started showing his true worth around the village. One night as they had dinner Wyatt mentioned how the village couldn't afford an engineer from Safral to build a water wheel for the mill and they were trying to come up with the funds for next year when he was interrupted by Sheldon who promised he could build the village a water wheel. He was not joking.

A water wheel, a better wall, better roads, a way to pump water from the well, so easy to use that even children could do it. Almost like magic.

Sheldon became a hot topic around the village and she was not surprised by every family with a daughter of age making a play to get him married into their families. Caroline was surprised however, when Penelope declared in the middle of a festival that Sheldon was hers and everyone else should keep their hands to themselves.

Wyatt had to build the young couple a room separate from their house and even Caroline had to admit that she was afraid that Penelope was going to exhaust that young man to death.

A year after Sheldon first came into their lives her daughter announced that she and Sheldon would be traveling to Safral to become adventurers together. Sheldon had really grown into his frame, while he would never be a barbarian, you would think twice before messing with him. Not to mention he was deadly accurate with his rapier.

Thanking Sheldon in her head for giving her another year with her daughter Caroline gave the couple her blessing and asked them to write often and she hopes they come back soon.

Because Caroline has not given up on the idea of blond blue-eyed grandchildren.

Five years later Caroline is happy to temporarily move to Safral. Because she's going there to help with the newborn twins.