CHAPTER 3

"Sheldon, would you sit? The police are doing all they can. There's nothing more you can do."

From his place at his white board, Sheldon throws a dark look over his shoulder at Leonard. For someone who once professed to love Penny, Leonard is shockingly calm.

"In case your smaller IQ has not fully grasped the magnitude of the situation—either Penny has been kidnapped, in which case we need to narrow down the list of who and why, or she is incapacitated with little to no memory of who or where she is and, therefore, will have no way to contact us. The crime rates have increased point-zero-two percent since last month. If you think the police have the time or resources to narrow down the list of suspects or comb the surrounding area for any sign of her, you are gravely mistaken."

It's been one full week since Penny's disappearance, four days since it was reported to the police. The nice police officer who took the boys' statements had been astonishingly patient listening to Sheldon rattle off theories and suspects and a multitude of other "relevant" information that went over his head. Still, the officer took notes as best he could, promised to keep them posted on updates, and requested if anything else comes to mind that they contact the local precinct.

Leonard, Raj, Howard, and Sheldon had spent the first day speculating while doing their own search. All the places they knew Penny liked to frequent, her favorite restaurants, places to eat, friends and ex-boyfriends alike who may have heard from her.

In this aspect, Sheldon had proven indispensable. His memory of all those Penny interacted with along with most of their contact information was ridiculous—in a good way. When questioned why he bothered to learn all this (rather than how because of course they knew how), Sheldon had rolled his eyes and simply said, "Penny is not quiet about who she has fun with."

What Sheldon doesn't tell them is half a year back, there was one guy that had been…worse than the others. Penny and her latest "boy toy" as Howard once called Penny's one-night stands, had been making their way back to her apartment, heading up the stairs. Sheldon had been getting his mail and didn't even acknowledge them when Penny tossed a greeting his way.

Sheldon had instead stood there, sorting his mail, waiting for them to fully make their way upstairs so he would not be subjected to further interactions. (He never wants to interact with Penny's male friends for his own reasons he'd rather not state nor analyze.)

Not a minute later, he hears something like a shriek-whine combo from Penny, a noise Sheldon had never heard her make before ever and didn't like one bit. Nor did he like hearing the accompanying thunk that sounded like something hitting the wall. Sheldon had stood there, panicking, wondering what he should do, and also half-hoping he wouldn't have to do anything.

His hope came to fruition because almost immediately following this, Penny's indomitable nature showed through via shouting and what Sheldon assumed was a bit of her Nebraska Junior Rodeo training. Then the man stomped down the stairs with the words "crazy bitch!" passing his lips before exiting the building.

Sheldon, still frozen next to the mailboxes, hears Penny coming down the stairs. He knows reading tone-of-voice and expressions are not his forte, but the anger and hurt in Penny's eyes burning with tears were blatantly obvious.

"Walk me to my room?" is all she said. It's a question Sheldon suspected was more of a statement.

He walked beside her the whole way up in silence. Penny never cried nor did she ask for him to speak. Her flushed complexion and teary eyes made Sheldon suspect she was embarrassed, perhaps ashamed. Or maybe she has finally caught the hint that comforting people is not something he does well, but, surprisingly, when they reach her front door, she turns to him, kisses his cheek, and gives him a watery smile.

"Thank you for being there, Sheldon." And then she was gone behind the door of 4B.

Since that incident, Sheldon made it a personal mission to keep track of the people in Penny's life. He reasoned it to himself that it was because those Penny keeps company with will at some point inevitably make an appearance in his own, and Sheldon would like to keep only good, non-violent company, thank you very much.

Surprisingly, there were no male guests who entered past her threshold after that incident. The few there were, were turned away at the door. Sheldon suspected her self-preservation instincts kicked in, much to his relief. Her presence in the apartment was a more frequent occurrence as well which Sheldon also found acceptable.

However, he kept that man's face in the back of his mind as a precaution. Naturally, his name was the first Sheldon gave to the police.

"Now are you going to help narrow down the suspect list or not?" Sheldon asks, twisting the white board marker in his grasp.

"We've done what we can," Leonard sighs from his spot on the couch.

"One day of dedicated searching and three others of waiting to hear from the police hardly constitutes 'what we can'." Sheldon can feel his face twitch.

Leonard takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. "I've gone over your lists with you. There's nothing I know that you don't."

"Leonard, you had the privilege of dating Penny for four months. She introduced you to several of her acquaintances. Because of this, you need to meditate on these memories in order to recall the necessary names and faces. Have you eaten—?"

"Yes, Sheldon I've eating your memory food! The salmon and blueberries and avocadoes and everything else is all gone. There's no more! Now I've done what I can. I don't need you making me feel guilty about not having your perfect memory, ok?"

Sheldon opens his mouth to respond when Raj interjects.

"How about we take a break?" Raj suggests. "It's been hours, and we haven't eaten since work."

"Way ahead of you, buddy," Howard says, pulling out his cell phone. "Pizza tonight. The usual?"

"Sounds great to me," Leonard says. His voice says he feels anything but great, though.

"Your memory will hardly benefit from greasy—"

"I'm eating the pizza, Sheldon!"

Thirty minutes later they're all sitting in front of the television, eating pizza and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. It does little to lighten Sheldon's mood. His mind can't concentrate on the Klingons gracing the screen. Thankfully, the television decided to act up. It turned itself off, then on, then off once more. There are several attempts to get it fixed—attempts at a reset, even unplugging and re-plugging it back in did no good. The group decides to end the night early, much to Sheldon's relief.

He goes back to his whiteboard.

Raj, Howard, and Leonard went back to work two days after Penny was reported missing. Sheldon—schedule loving, routing adoring Sheldon—stayed out of work the whole week to work on his theories of where Penny might be. It wasn't until Leonard gave him a helpful nudge (re: warning) relayed via the director of Sheldon's department that he should go back to work that he finally went back to his office.

If Sheldon continues his side-project while on the clock, nobody needs to know.

Truthfully, Sheldon knows he won't be able to make significant progress at work without knowing Penny is safe, or at the very least where she is or what happened to her…

(Her shriek haunts the corners of his mind where he tried to tuck it away all those months ago.)

No. No, he won't be able to continue without knowing she's safe. He will accept nothing less.

Penny is a part of his life, his routine, his sense of balance in the world. She has proven indispensable and invaluable in areas he didn't realize she would be of help to him. When people look at him like he's crazy, like he is somehow making their life worse for simply misunderstanding their meaning, she is there to explain and defend.

Yes, Sheldon is aware that Penny also looks at him like he is crazy. However, not once has he felt as if she wishes him ill. Has he made her mad? Yes. Has she yelled at him? Definitely. Has she ever done anything to harm him? No. Not once in his memory. Nothing intentional, at least.

(Sheldon tries not to allow Antarctica to come center stage to his mind.)

Sheldon has never seen maliciousness in Penny's eyes, and he has always been quietly grateful to her for that. In a world that, to some degree, scares him, she is a defender and a guide. Not only for him but for Leonard, Wolowitz, and Koothrappali as well—"her boys" as Sheldon has heard her refer to them before to her friends.

Queen Penelope making sure her subjects are safe and secure, a true ruler and friend.

And Sheldon will do everything in his power to make sure she is safe and secure as well.

When two weeks have passed, Penny's mother and sister come around to gather up Penny's things.

Sheldon watches through the peephole (which Leonard tells him is rude and creepy but he himself does it all the time, especially back when he was attempting to date Penny, so Sheldon thinks it is occasionally acceptable if necessary for an end goal). He sees two heads of blonde hair, different shades but one very close to Penny's coloring, being let into Penny's apartment by the landlord.

Once the landlord leaves, Sheldon exits his apartment and immediately introduces himself, gives his credentials so they know the best mind currently on the planet is working on Penny's case, gives them the latest update he received from the police, which he inquires about daily from the precinct, and asks if they require any assistance in moving things from the apartment for storage as his organizational skills are unparalleled.

The wide-eyed stares and accompanying silence would be unnerving for anyone else but Sheldon, who patiently waits for their response, hands linked behind his back.

Then Penny's sister's face breaks into a big smile. "You're Dr. Whack-a-Doodle!"

It's like Sheldon's been struck.

The nickname throws a rush of memories at him. It especially hurts when the person saying it looks strikingly similar to the one he dearly misses. However, he can't let his emotions get the better of him. He has prided himself in not letting them control his brilliant mind. He can't give in now. So he politely nods, confirms their suspicions, and again inquires if they need assistance. Sheldon is nothing if not a gentleman. His mother would tear him a new one if she found out he didn't help them.

They accept his help and wave him into the apartment. Some generic small talk occurs and then they get to work.

Sheldon starts in the living room. He gets a fair bit done before he notices a lack of movement from the bedroom where Penny's mother has been organizing. What he sees once again gives him a surge of emotions he has to force down.

The expression on her face is an eerie echo of the one he has seen on his mother's face after his father died. It was after the funeral and she had headed upstairs to get something from the master bedroom. When she hadn't come down after several minutes, Sheldon was told to go get her. He went up the stairs and down the hall to the open bedroom where his inquiry died on his tongue when he saw his mother standing there, agony in her eyes but expressionless elsewhere.

Sheldon swallows thickly and goes back to work. He knows his strength and comforting a woman he does not know is not one of them. Instead, he goes back to his organizing, making sure everything is perfect so Penny's family will have no trouble locating anything later when Penny is restored to her space.

"The heck is wrong with this thing?!" Leonard smacks the side of the television.

"Physical harm will do no good in fixing the television," Sheldon says.

"Thank you, Sheldon," Leonard says in a manner Sheldon suspects is sarcastic so he gives no response. Leonard grunts as he stands from where he was kneeling in front of the TV. "I guess movie night is cancelled."

"We could go to my place. My mom had something cooking before I left," Howard says.

Raj is already getting up from his seat. "Sounds good to me." He stops when he notices Sheldon head not for the door but for his desk. "Sheldon? Are you coming?"

"You gentlemen go on without me. I have work to do."

"You sure?" Leonard asks, ignoring Howard's pointed look clearly wondering why Leonard is trying to ruin the opportunity for a Sheldon-free evening.

"Yes, thank you. Leave me to my tasks please." Sheldon doesn't even glance back as they turn and head for the door. He hears the door close, but he still feels a familiar presence.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes, Leonard?" Sheldon asks, eyes not leaving the screen. A not-so-credible sight has given him access to certain security cameras around Pasadena. He has been checking it regularly for three weeks now.

"I'm—well, we've been talking, and we're worried about you."

"I think it's been established that I am not the one to be worried about."

"I know. That's not…Sheldon, would you look at me for a second?"

Sheldon does not turn away from his computer screen. He'd rather not have Leonard once again point out the bags under his eyes.

"She'll be found. It'll be ok."

And if it's not? Sheldon's mind asks. Is he expected to go back to life before Penny? Before she sat next to him on the couch and taught him about Kardashians and defended him against those who don't understand him and beat him at Halo and smiled at him in a way that made him feel warm and hug him forty-two percent more than any other acquaintance and made him feel appreciated and understood while simultaneously forcing him to adapt to the social constructs the world has created that vex him?

Sheldon wants Penny back and will stop at nothing to make that happen. Why don't the others understand that? Why don't they feel the same loss he does? They aren't dedicating their lives to it as he is! He refuses to fall victim to complacency.

"Leonard, I recommend you leave while you can. I shall not be entertaining company tonight," Sheldon manages to say without letting his voice give away the boiling anger he feels.

Leonard lets out a breath, and that lets Sheldon know he's won for now. "Just…try to get some rest too, ok? Maybe make yourself some tea and rest your eyes."

Sheldon doesn't respond. He continues with his task and waits for Leonard to give up and leave which he does within a minute. Sheldon continues scanning the screen until his eyes, already tired from a full day's work, starts to sting to the point of true discomfort.

Maybe Leonard's right. A cup of tea would be nice.

Sheldon gets up and goes to make himself a cup of tea. It's a quiet process that's actually a nice break for his strained eyes, though his mind does not take the same break. It can't.

Sheldon takes his cup and, on a whim, moves to his spot on the couch. He sets down his cup and sits there in the dead silence of his apartment. After a moment, he closes his eyes, inhales deeply, holds it, then slowly releases it, counting out the seconds. He does this three times to get his mind to calm down and to will his headache away. It works to some degree.

Furthering this exercise, Sheldon thinks of good things—one good thing. He allows his mind to imagine Penny sitting next to him in the quiet. He can remember the smell of her hair when she moves close to him. She would be fidgeting if they really were this quietly doing nothing. She would try to get him to crack which he eventually would because she knows exactly how to push his buttons.

A small smile stretches across Sheldon's mouth.

The moment shatters as the television blinks on. Then off. Then on again.

Sheldon's head whips in that direction. Lucky for the television, it cannot see the hatred being shot at it. In fact, it certainly doesn't because it continues turning on and off which it has been doing for two straight weeks. It does it randomly and without warning. It could sometimes play a whole movie, or it could become a pain in the ass!

Sheldon feels himself snap. Instead of reaching for the remote, he throws himself in front of the television and begins reaching to unplug it. He does hesitate just a moment because of the amount of dust back there. Because of that hesitation, his brilliant, wonderful, genius brain picks up on something.

The television is turning on and off in a pattern.

Sheldon leans back. He's not quite sure he's seeing what he thinks he is. One moment, the news is telling him about some foreign correspondent coming to California, and the next, a completely black screen. On and off. On and off.

short—short—short—long—long—long—short—short—short

S.O.S.

A/N: Wow. Ok. I don't know what made me pick up this story after so many years, but here we are. It's turning more serious than I anticipated too, but it won't always be this angsty. Just gotta get through that to get to the fun.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think.