Some Universes are a little darker

"I see. Thank you for the update Georgie." Sheldon sat in the cabin of the truck and for the first time in a long time felt like he could relax. This was the news he had been waiting for, 7 long years finally coming to an end.

"No." His brother wouldn't understand but Sheldon didn't care.

"Yes, still the same plan." Sheldon was already making plans. He had saved basically all the money he ever got, he was more than comfortable. Freedom, it felt nice to say it.

"You too Georgie. Take care." A moment's pause. "Send my regards to Missy as well."

After hanging up the phone and putting it away, Sheldon allows himself to relax fully in the seat of his truck. 'Finally'

He was hungry and tired but suddenly feeling much better. Deciding that his hunger had priority Sheldon got out of the truck and walked to the apparently clean Truck Stop Diner 'Flying J Travel Center' a sign displayed proudly over the gas pumps and store, but it looked like the Diner itself was named 'Max's Highway Diner'.

The place seemed clean which was enough for Sheldon, after 7 years on the road he had seen all kinds of places. At least here it looked like they killed the vermin and not made it part of the menu.

It was still pretty early in the morning and as such there were only a couple of patrons inside. Ordering some tea (it still drew funny looks) and a bacon sandwich Sheldon opened his notebooks and started working. He would be able to return to his life, dedicate himself once more to science. Once he would have dismissed the idea of Fate, but both his mom and his Meemaw had been believers. Maybe it was no coincidence that his last delivery would be to Sacramento, a stone throw away from Caltech.

Sheldon still didn't dare to pray to his mom or Meemaw, but he hoped that some of the energy that had composed them still lingered in this world in what other lesser minds would call 'Watching over him'.

The tea and sandwich were decent, before setting back on the road later he would have to stop and buy more food and snacks for the road. Walking by the store he had seen that they had a decent selection of snacks and made-to-order food. But that could wait. He now needed to sleep.

This truck cabin had been his home for the last 2 years, the company giving him the top of the line truck thanks to him never being late on deliveries and hauling more than regular truckers. A trifle use of physics to determine the maximum load that could be safely delivered. As much as he had made this cabin his 'home', it still felt too much like a prison. He couldn't wait to leave it behind.

Sheldon wanted to sleep but before moving to the back of the cabin he placed one important call. He had to announce that this would be his last delivery and he'd be leaving the truck in the company's headquarters in Sacramento.

They tried to get him to stay, but nothing could move him now to do that. Some of the old arrogance is now back. A truck driver with a PhD? No, he needed to go back to being Dr. Sheldon Cooper, even if killed him.

Hanging up the phone and another weight had been lifted off of him. Almost free, he just needed that message from Georgie.

Setting up his alarm for 9 hours Sheldon moved into the back of the cabin and basically threw himself on the bed. 'Soon.'

Sheldon woke up to his alarm and the first thing he did was check his phone. No messages. 'Drat'

It could never be that easy.

Seeing the time, almost six in the evening and Sheldon sighed heavily. He really didn't want to do the next part of the routine. But no message from Georgie means that his promise is still valid. He can see other truck drivers already leaving their cabins and moving towards the store, the diner…and the rooms in the back.

He could pretend. But no, He had given his word.

Walking out of his cabin and shouldering his bag, he walked towards the 'sleeping rooms' . Sheldon was glad that this would be the last time. He could at least use the time to work on formulas.

Already knowing what he was looking for, he was pleased to see that the person in charge was an older woman. He preferred to deal with madams than pimps. Asking for a room and companionship he was given a key and directed to room 4.

Sheldon was glad to have picked up the habit of wearing leather gloves. He didn't want to touch anything directly, especially here. Opening the door, the room was standard fare, with poor lighting as these rooms were prone to have. 'To hide the poor hygienic conditions no doubt'.

Pulling a plastic bag from his back Sheldon unfurled the splash blanket and put it on top of the only chair in the room. This had been a tip from a rather understanding woman in Arkansas, this way he could sit in peace and not worry about what might have been on the surface of these places.

He was already deep in his notebook when a knock announced his 'companion' had arrived.

"It's open." Sheldon didn't even look up from his notes as the other person entered the room, he could hear the rather decrepit bed creak as she took a seat and it made him cringe internally. That bed could not offer anyone proper lumbar support.

"Hi Sweetie, I'm Jewel, and you are?" Sheldon found her voice appealing but still did not look up.

"Sheldon." Page turn. "Please don't mind me, this is something that I promised my father I would always do at rest stops. I will pay for your time all the same. You can simply use this time to rest or read or watch TV. As soon as the 2 hours are up, you can leave. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Wow, aren't you a romantic one?"

At that Sheldon finally looked up. The woman, or perhaps girl was more accurate. She couldn't be a day over 20, blond, aesthetically pleasing and with a fierceness in her expression that made her look like a warrior. Sheldon tilted his head.

"Excuse me?"

She had a pleasant laugh "Nothing. You don't look like the usual kind of truck driver that we get around here."

"I should hope not. I have a PhD."

Once again that laugh "Oh wait, you're serious?"

"Of course."

"Oh…so you're like one of those 'beautiful mind' guys?"

"I suppose." He can't make eye contact, the comment made him feel warm.

Jewel sat against the headboard and watched him. It seemed he would not be able to get back to his work. Sheldon was used to this as well, companions that preferred to chat to pass the time.

"So, why are you working as a truck driver then?" Her green eyes alight with curiosity.

"I suppose it could be called 'bad timing'." Sheldon had told this story exactly 19 times, tonight would mark the 20th time and the last one, at least the last one told in a cheap room.

"By the age of 16 I had already obtained my first Doctorate and was preparing to move to California in order to attend Caltech and obtain my second one. However, my mother and Meemaw were involved in a fatal accident. Leaving only my father, my brother and my twin sister." Talking about his mother and Meemaw always brought out the pain in him, the best and worst part of having an eidetic memory, he could remember in detail the pain.

"My father was already a…well, an alcoholic. Losing my mother simply made it worse, my brother already had his own family and my sister eloped with her high school boyfriend. Leaving me as the sole caretaker of my father."

Jewel looked at him with such intensity that he couldn't look away from her.

"I take my promises very seriously. And I promised to listen to him, he got it into his head that he needed to make a proper man out of me. He had already taught me to shoot, but now he also included hunting lessons, skinning and dressing the kill. How to drink. How to properly play football, how to punch and how to fight. All the while drinking like there was no tomorrow." Sheldon looks away from Jewel to take a look at his knuckles under the gloves, he knows they're no longer the knuckles of a man of science.

"When I turned 18 he made me promise that as long as he lived I would have a 'true man's job', after some short deliberation I decided that truck driver would be the ideal solution. It would limit the amount of time spent needing to be social, pay relatively well as well as allow me enough time to work." He shows her his notebook.

This is usually where he ends the story. But, it's the last time, so he shares his plans.

"I never expected my father to live for so long. I took this job expecting the cirrhosis to take my father in 2 years…He managed to hold on for 7." Sheldon shakes his head in amazement. He loves his father, but the stranger that took his place after his mother's death was just alcohol and rage.

"Perhaps if my mother or Meemaw had lived I would have been able to go to Caltech at 16, but now at 25 doesn't sound so bad. My brother called me yesterday, and my father is in hospice care. He will not make it to the end of the week. As such, this is my last job." There's something liberating in being able to vocalize his thoughts.

"I'll drive down to Sacramento, buy a decent car and then drive down to Pasadena and continue with my life." Sheldon had refused to talk to his father after leaving Galveston, at some point he had become a ghost, someone Sheldon had already mourned.

Sheldon noticed how Jewel's eyes were bright with unshed tears and he thanked her in his head, it felt good to be able to say all of this.

"You're my last too, you know?" Jewel speaks up in a watery voice. "My ex-boyfriend, Kurt, he took out debt on my name and then bailed town. My parents are farmers, they don't have money. I couldn't do that to them." Sheldon doesn't think that she belongs in this room, she's too bright to be here.

"I was only 18 at the time, and very stupid and naive. A friend recommended this job, her mom is the lady out front so I got lucky…or maybe I didn't. Anyway, I've been doing this for 2 years and I was able to make the final payment on the debt last week." Jewel looks determined and even in this cheap room she has a regal look.

"But this place doesn't feel like home anymore. I've been saving money so I can go to California. I want to be an actress." She laughs but it's not a pleasant sound, it has too much pain. "Stupid right?"

"I think you'd make a fantastic actress." And he meant it, there was something about her that captured his attention.

"Aw, thank you."

Sheldon tilts his head and considers it, she was going to California as well. She was saving money. 'Perhaps…'

Once again he thinks about his mother and Meemaw, they believed in Fate.

"Would you like to come with me?" Sheldon is not really sure why he made the offer, but he doesn't regret it.

Jewel is looking at him, as if she can't believe he had offered. "Is tha-I mean…why?"

Sheldon considers her question seriously. "I do not believe in Fate. I believe in probability." A pause "But my mother and Meemaw believed in Fate, I think that instead of believing in Fate, I rather believe in them. And that they would have wanted me to make the offer." Sheldon doesn't have to lie, so he doesn't.

Jewel looks at him intensely. He doesn't flinch, if she doesn't accept then that's that.

"Okay." She finally nods "My family doesn't want me here anyway, everything I own is in a duffel bag and California is waiting."

Sheldon nods, feeling oddly satisfied. He tells her which truck is his and that he'll meet her outside of it. Jewel stands up to leave the room but before stops with her hand on the doorknob.

"Penny. My name is Penny." And she's out of the room. Sheldon thinks Penny fits her much better.

Before going back to his truck Sheldon makes a stop by the store. Water, snacks, antibacterial gel, alcohol wipes, red vines, mountain dew and 2 brisket sandwiches. Before leaving he sees the shoe cleaning and shining machine, he pays to use it.

By the time he gets to the truck Penny is there waiting for him, she looked anxious until she caught sight of him. He hands her one of the sandwiches.

Getting on the truck Sheldon thinks that things are looking up.

He'd like to think that his mother and Meemaw would be proud of him.