Summary:
Sheldon gets ready for his trip and the friend-group says goodbye to him.
"Okay, so your mom told me a little about how you've been feeling lately but I would like to hear it directly from you. Do you feel comfortable doing that?" The older woman asked with a kind and warm voice.
Leonard looked around the office instead of answering. He had seen his mom's office and this one was nothing like it. Instead of pristine white walls with no decorations, this place was painted in warm earthy tones and several pictures adorned the wall.
"Leonard?"
"Ah! Yes. Sorry, I've been a little distracted lately."
"So tell me about it." The doctor had a warm and inviting voice, nothing like his mother's. She was apparently long time friends with her mom and she had accepted him as a patient as a personal favor to her.
"I don't know where to start…" He rubbed at the back of his head and avoided her kind eyes.
The doctor hummed in thought and she leaned back on the huge comfy chair. "I understand that you were living in California and something happened?"
"Ah! Doctor Hurley, I'm not-I mean-No, but-" She raised a calming hand to stop his stuttering.
"Okay, relax. Remember, this is a judgment free zone. I'm here to listen to you. I'm not your friend, I'm not your enemy. I'm here to help you."
Leonard took a deep breath to try and relax. He leaned forward in his seat and looked at his feet. "I messed up. I was dating this woman and-"
Leonard told her everything, he didn't leave anything out, no matter how much it hurt him. He just wanted to stop hurting so much.
He hoped this was the first step in the right direction.
Priya worked out and she kept looking around between sets. She had been purposefully coming around this time because Jonjon worked out around this time.
Except today he was a no show.
She had even worked out for longer, hoping to catch a glimpse of his smile but no luck. For that matter she didn't see any of his usual friends either which left her disappointed and tired.
Sighing, she stopped doing reps and started packing up. She felt silly, she had only met Jonjon a few weeks ago and here she was going out of her way trying to meet him. They didn't even chat that much but she was just happy to spend time with him.
Except for tonight of course.
"Wait, you're avoiding her? Why?" Dani made a face and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I don't want her to feel creeped out, you know?" Jonjon was preparing drinks for the group. Penny and Sheldon had gone to some sort of dinner and they had all taken this chance to plan Sheldon's going away party.
"Jonjon, I love you but you're a dumbass. She's the one that decided to go to the gym at the same time as you, right?" She loved the little guy as a little brother and found him just as annoying as one.
"You don't know that!" Jonjon pointed a finger at her before continuing to mix whatever he was preparing for them.
She sighed with all the annoyance of an older sister. "So, let me get this straight. You met a beautiful girl at the gym. You two don't coincide because by the time she goes to the gym you're almost done with your workout. So, for the next couple of weeks she goes to the gym a little bit earlier than before so she's able to workout with you. Oh, and of course, she's constantly asking you for help despite apparently not actually needing it." She let the silence grow between them until it became obvious that Jonjon was avoiding answering. "Did I miss anything?"
Jonjon grunted and even with his back turned she could feel the shame radiate off from him.
"Okay. Spill. What's the real issue?" She wasn't in the mood to play.
Jonjon mumbled something and Dani sighed again.
"I couldn't hear you."
"I said that I'm scared, okay?!" He threw his hands up for a moment before returning to his task. "I mean she's a big shot lawyer and I'm just a nurse. What could we have in common? She's going to get tired of me. So why even start?" He shrugged, trying to hide how much it hurt him to admit that.
"You know what women find unattractive? This whole 'woe me' business." Dani stood up from her seat and walked over to Jonjon, forcing him to look at her. "Look, I get it. Sandra was a bitch and she left you with issues. But not all women are Sandra. You don't even know this girl and you've already decided she's going to hurt you."
"It's not like that! I…" Jonjon couldn't look her in the eye as he trailed off into silence.
"See, you know I'm right. Now, why don't you put on your big boy pants and ask this gym girl out on a date? That's all it is, a date. You're not making engagement plans, you're not meeting to discuss baby names, you're not buying a ring. Chill the fuck down."
Jonjon laughed and he took a calming breath before nodding to himself. "Yeah, yeah. You're right, you're right." He smiled shyly. "Priya is really nice and I don't think she's in the right place for dating just yet. Apparently her last relationship ended pretty badly."
"There you go. Talk to her, agree to take it easy and don't knock her up." She joked and was happy to see Jonjon laugh in shock.
"Next week we're having your going away party." Penny didn't even look up from her phone as she talked. "It's just going to be the guys and us, so no strangers. We'll play DnD and have some cake, okay?"
"That is acceptable."
"Good. Hmmm, your bags are all packed and ready. Automatic payments have been set up and…" She trailed off, trying to think of anything else she might be missing.
"And you have an audition the week after I have left." Sheldon reminded her.
"Oops, yeah, adding that to the calendar. Thank you Sweetie."
"You're welcome." He cleared his throat which meant he was about to say something that made him feel uncomfortable. "Penny, I feel like I should mention that while science will be my main pursuit during the expedition, I am aware of the important role that communication has in a relationship and I have allotted an adequate amount of time in the schedule for it."
It took her a moment to pass that through her Sheldon filter. "Aww you're going to miss me and you made some time in your weekly schedule for us to talk?"
Sheldon sniffed dismissively but she could see how red his ears were. "I believe I just said that, yes."
Penny laughed and stood up from the couch to go and hug her Wackadoodle.
"Chumbud is knocked unconscious by the wizard's spell. She is unable to move and will roll with a penalty to every roll. The mercenary closest to her will move to…here and in his next turn he'll be within striking distance." Brian leaned over the table to move the small plastic figurines before pointing at Jonjon. "You're up next."
"Okay, so thanks to 'Slasher' the wizard is rolling with disadvantage right?" Jonjon nervously rubbed at his ear.
"Correct." Brian nodded.
"Okay so…wait…can I attack and then use Misty Step to teleport here?" Jonjon pointed at a spot near Carly's character.
Brian hummed in thought. "Well, yes but-"
Penny leaned over to Dani, ignoring Brian for the moment. "You know, there was a point in our lives where 'farewell parties' were just an excuse to get so drunk."
Dani took a sip of her drink before replying. "We're still getting drunk."
"...Yeah, I guess you're right." Penny took a sip of her fruity drink.
"Shhhhhhh." Toni waved a hand at them, her eyes glued to the people on the other side of the table.
"I get what you mean though, I didn't exactly imagine we would replace dancing with this." Dani pointed with her glass.
Penny nodded before pausing. "It is hella interesting tho."
This time Dani nodded.
"Sheldor cuts down his opponent. What do you do now?" Brian smiled at Sheldon.
Sheldon remained quiet for a moment, his eyes roaming the table and figurines. "Sheldor will use his full movement to move here. I will intercept the mercenary that is targeting Chumbud so Isembart can focus on the wizard."
"You sure man?" Jonjon asked.
"Yes. You have the 'Mage Slayer' feat so it's best that your attention is focused on the wizard." Sheldon nodded. "I'll protect Chumbud."
"Awwww." Carly said and smiled at Sheldon.
"Okay. Keith, what does Zurak do?"
Penny took another sip of her glass and smiled into her drink. Maybe she would accept that offer of a character sheet after all. The smile slowly disappeared from her face. Right, Sheldon was leaving soon.
She didn't know how things would look for them but she was sure of something, she would use this time to focus on her career. After much thought she had decided to attend the Youtube audition after all. If she was honest with herself, she was expecting it to be rather easy, especially after seeing the 'acting' in some of those sketches.
"Back in town, Sheldor receives a letter. Does Sheldor read this letter right away.?" Brian smiled at Sheldon.
Sheldon nodded once.
"The letter is an invitation to study with the 'Brawlers of Rancor'. A group that despite their name, dedicates their lives to studying fighting styles. Sheldor knows that this is a unique opportunity…" Brian trailed off, hoping that Sheldon would pick up the thread.
"Sheldor reads the letter again. He is happy about it and he shares the news with his group. Telling them 'I will be back'." Maybe Brian was imagining it but there was a hitch in Sheldon's voice.
Brian smiled at him and moved from behind the makeshift DM screen to pat Sheldon on the shoulder and he was happy to see that Sheldon didn't flinch much. "Take care of yourself Bud, we'll hold down the fort while you're gone."
"Yeah man, I don't get it too well but I know it's important so uh, kick ass?" Keith rubbed his cheek, embarrassed.
"Please don't freeze to death Sheldon." Brian frowned at Carly, unsure if she was joking.
Sheldon cleared his throat and stood up to his full height. "I dislike emotional goodbyes so I will simply say 'Thank you for your well wishes'...and for the socks." Sheldon nodded at Erica who smiled proudly.
Penny approached Sheldon and naturally hugged him from the side. Brian smiled at seeing how natural it came to Sheldon to raise his arm and drape it over Penny's shoulder.
"Let's go eat dinner." They had purposefully not gotten pizza so after the game they could go out to Sheldon's favorite Thai restaurant. An exception he made due to the circumstances.
Brian waited until everyone was distracted by grabbing their phones, coats, etc. to approach Penny.
"Any luck in convincing him to let us go say bye at the airport?" He said it in a low voice, hoping Sheldon didn't hear him thanks to the buzzing of the rest of the group.
Penny shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "Sorry, I tried to convince him but…" She shrugged.
Brian sighed sadly. "No worries, thanks for trying though."
"Sorry."
Penny stood in front of Sheldon, she was running her hand up and down his chest. Sheldon stood still and he moved his head and eyes constantly, trying to not look her in the eye. His bags at their feet were a small barrier that protected them against the chaos of the airport around them.
She searched for his eyes as her hand moved constantly, trying to reassure herself that he was still there, in front of her. Penny knew that Sheldon hated being touched so much in public but he was about to leave for three months at the least and it became real at this moment.
Sheldon was leaving.
"Good evening. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 44A to Oslo. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boardi-" The PA announcement made them both flinch and Sheldon grabbed her hand tightly and held it against his chest.
Her eyes filled with tears and she tried her best to not cry. She had been doing great until now, she didn't trust her voice and her lower lip trembled as the moment to say goodbye was almost here.
Sheldon finally stopped looking around and focused on her only. His eyes moved quickly as he looked at her face intently. Penny knew he hated long winded and overly emotional goodbyes but she needed to say something. To tell him how much he meant to her, how he without even trying had motivated her to keep trying her best, how proud she was that he had expanded his friend group, how much she would miss him.
One of Sheldon's hands grabbed her cheek and she closed her eyes and leaned into the warm touch. She could feel tears already spilling into his hand. His thumb tried to clean them but it was useless.
Penny opened her blurry eyes and tried talking but her voice was gone. She cleared her throat but could feel the torrent of tears threatening to spill so she closed her eyes tightly and pressed her face against his shirt. Sheldon's hand went from her cheek to the back of her neck as he pulled her tightly against him.
"Good evening. This is your pre-boarding announcement for flight 44A to Oslo. Please proceed to Gate 5 for boarding. All passengers are required to have their passp-" She tuned out the announcement and instead hugged Sheldon with all her strength. She could hear him breathe in sharply but she didn't care, he would have to deal with it.
She needed this hug.
"Penny." His breath in her ear made her shiver and despite the bleakness of the moment she couldn't help but want to jump him. "I need to go."
She shook her head stubbornly, getting a faceful of his shirt on her face. She hoped that somehow his scent would stick to her for the next three months.
"Good evening. This is your final pre-boarding announcement for flight 44A to Oslo. We ar-" Penny squeezed Sheldon tightly for a long moment before finally letting go of him. She took a deep rattling breath, took a step back and tried to smile bravely up at him, though her smile was weak and watery.
"I guess you better go Hon-" She couldn't finish talking because much to her delight and surprise, Sheldon kissed her.
Her arms automatically moved to hold him close again and she returned the kiss just as hungrily.
It was only for a moment but right now, in this shitty airport, this was the best kiss she had ever had.
Just as suddenly as he had started, Sheldon broke the kiss, grabbed his bags and walked briskly towards his boarding gate.
Penny stared at his back, still dazed by the kiss. She willed him to turn around, so she could say something. But Sheldon never stopped.
He watched as he entered the gate and boarded the plane.
Sheldon never turned to look back at her.
"Are you okay sir?" Someone asked him, Sheldon shook his head and waved the concerned person away.
He had just taken a seat and was trying to compose himself. This is why he had insisted that they say goodbye at the apartment but Penny had refused as she wanted to be with him until the last possible moment.
'This is why I hate emotional goodbyes.' He thought, covering his face with one hand and hoping no one would bother him again for the rest of the flight.
Brian scratched at his chin as he read an email from the principal on his phone. He was purposefully ignoring the slight sour mood of the room.
The rest of the guys and gals were not too happy about Sheldon not wanting them at the airport even if they did understand the reason behind it. It didn't mean they had to fully accept it.
Brian himself didn't mind that much to be perfectly honest, if he was in Sheldon's shoes he would have preferred to spend as much time as possible with Erica, because as much as he loved his friends, he would rather squeeze out every drop of time he could have with his lover before going away for months.
"I think Sheldon's flight just left, at least if it went as scheduled." Dani was bouncing her leg in nervousness and she kept looking down at her phone.
"Yeah." Erica agreed and her voice was flat.
"Is Penny coming back here?" Jonjon asked no one in particular.
"Nope, she said she wanted to go to bed right after." Erica sighed after replying.
"Okay." Brian put his phone away and leaned forward. "Guys, I get it, I really do. But we can't stay like this. I think we are too used to all hanging out together as a group and we might need a fun break. How about we have a guys night and you can pull Penny for a girls night."
"Oh, oh, oh! CoD and cheetos, hell yeah!" Jonjon jumped from his seat in joy and Keith soon joined him in gushing about the newest game.
Brian swallowed his sigh of annoyance, he had been thinking more on the lines of a game of football in the backyard but whatever it took to bring the mood up.
"And we can go dancing!" Carly chimed in.
"I don't think Penny is going to be up for that." Dani bursted Carly's bubble.
"Aw." Erica and Carly said at the same time before looking at each other and smiling. "Ice cream and The Notebook?" Carly asked and Erica nodded happily.
Soon plans were made and Brian was happy to see that the overall mood had improved.
The first week after Sheldon left was her self-appointed 'cry yourself to sleep' week. Because yeah, she was dating the man, but she also missed her best friend. Of course she had noticed how much time they spent together, she was dating him after all.
But it was more than that. Just because they were dating it didn't mean that their friendship had disappeared suddenly, it was the opposite actually, they were still friends, they still bickered, they teased and pranked each other.
It was nice.
This is what was missing from her previous relationships, Leonard, Kurt and the others changed the moment they entered into a relationship with her, it was as if their friendship suddenly didn't exist or as if it had been a burden that they couldn't wait to get rid of so they could bang her.
And because she missed her friend who was also her boyfriend, she moped for an entire week. Not even the girls wanting to go dancing convinced her to cheer up, she took a rain check for the week after.
Of course she kept in touch with Sheldon while he was in Oslo preparing his stuff for the boat ride but it wasn't constant, she didn't want to bother him and he was honestly so busy making sure everything was in order because this whole trip meant the world to him.
Besides, the reason why she gave herself a week to be weepy was because the week after Sheldon left, she was scheduled to audition for that Youtube channel that was looking to expand. She had never watched it and it was for sketch comedy which she had never done before but a job was a job and this was at least acting related…even if the idea of acting in sketches made her cringe.
Sheldon sighed in annoyance yet again. He couldn't believe how difficult it was for people to follow simple instructions. Yesterday he had wasted forty five minutes trying to get a group of workers to pack the measuring equipment with care, he had explained in English, French, German, Norwegian and even in very broken Romani how important this equipment was and why it needed to be packed with care.
And today he was struggling with trying to confirm that they would be able to use the satellite internet network that the German research vessel RV Polarstern was using. Caltech had reached an agreement where Sheldon's team would be able to use their network to transmit research data and also use it for personal reasons, the issue was that no one could provide him with information about the dish, receiver and modem that they were supposed to have received YESTERDAY.
Sheldon took a calming breath before picking up the phone and calling president Sielbert again.
All this time, wasted. He could have been talking to Penny instead but no, he was fixing something caused by someone else's ineptitude.
"Hi, you're Penny right?"
"Yep, that's me."
"Okay, don't worry too much and just try to play off with the other cast members, we want to see the chemistry between you."
"I can do that…I think."
"Ha, don't sweat it. Oh, by the way. I'm Anthony and those are Ian, Shane and Courtney. Let me introduce you."
Dani took a long drink of her wine, trying to think of something nice to tell her friend but coming up empty.
She could see Erica, Carly, and Toni doing the same. Penny was on Toni's couch, her face in her hands.
The doorbell gave Toni an excuse to leave for a moment. "Excuse me ladies."
Unfortunately that still left them with a very embarrassed Penny and the silence was stifling. Thankfully Toni came back rather quickly, with a confused Katia on her heels.
"Hi?" Katia greeted them and Penny let out a muffled scream of frustration and shame that made poor Katia jump back.
"She tanked what was supposed to be an easy audition." Carly provided helpfully as she stood up to greet Katia.
"Oh…is that why you asked me to buy ice cream?" Katia lifted the plastic bag she was carrying.
"Yep. It's time for that girl's night." Dani told her and raised her glass.
"You know, if you need money, you could always sell those paintings of yours. They're really good." Katia patted Penny on the shoulder.
Penny sighed and finally moved her hands. "I don't know…I kind of like the idea that it's just for me. You know? That I can take as much or as little time as I want and they're just for Sheldon and me."
Katia nodded. "Oh I know, you don't want to monetize your hobby. Still, if you change your mind I can connect you with someone that would be happy to help."
"Thanks." Penny smiled sincerely before grabbing her glass and chugging it. "Alright, someone hand me a spoon."
Brian discreetly grabbed another bottle of Mountain Dew while the rest of the guys were busy killing zombies in the game. He sucked at shooters and in all honesty, he couldn't care less for them. But his friends loved them, especially the Zombies mode.
So now he was stuck here in Jonjon's basement watching as his friends screamed at each other.
He asked to sit this round out with the excuse of eating another slice of pizza.
"Dude! That's like your fifth bottle. I swear you're just as bad as Sheldon." Jonjon caught him and scolded him.
"Shut up Zombie boy. Don't you dare tell Erica about this."
The research station was everything that Sheldon was expecting and more. Top of the line equipment, separate bedrooms, a crossbow.
Perfection.
Well, almost, he was rather put off by the lack of windows. The only windows were at the entrance to the station, on the heavy door.
He and his team wasted no time setting everything up. Fortunately, Victoria quickly found an issue with the equipment. The MoEDAL was so sensitive that it was picking up the frequencies from the electric can opener that they were using. A quick review showed that the MoEDAL showed false positives when exposed to the fundamental frequency of 50 Hz resp. 60 Hz which was caused by the operation of the motor for the movement of the knife. A minuscule magnetic field, but one that could have destroyed this whole experiment.
He would be a laughing stock if that were to happen.
Dr Sheldon Cooper brought down by a measly electric can opener. He would rather die if that were to happen.
"Wait, you got a callback?"
"..." Penny narrowed her eyes at Carly's astonished tone.
"Er…not that I didn't believe in you, but you know." Carly made a motion with her hand and Penny had no idea what she meant.
"..."
"And of course you're funny. You're going to kill it out there. And hey, work is work right?" Carly's voice got that 'supportive teacher' tone of voice that never actually managed to sound supportive.
"Shut up." Penny pouted.
"So, when are you supposed to go?"
"...next week."
"Well…you'll do horrible Sweetie." Carly joked and Penny couldn't help but laugh as she slapped Carly's arm.
Carly winced and rubbed at her arm while laughing weakly.
Sheldon watched intently as the device searched for the internet signal. While the RV Polarstern vessel could make use of the satellite signal easily, for them it would be a different matter altogether.
Storms were a daily occurrence and pretty much the only thing that could kill their ability to use the internet.
He wasn't the only one watching the screen with bathed breath. Sidney was newlywed and instead of a honeymoon she had chosen to come on this trip. None of them had been able to communicate with the outside world since leaving Svalbard's port.
Even Victoria and Lin were not so subtly checking on the status of the network.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a small ping showed that their satellite modem had connected to the internet. Sheldon had even gone outside to clean the dish before trying this initial connection.
Not long after hearing that ping, devices around the station started letting out their own pings, thrills and other sounds to show that they were once again connected to the outside world.
Sidney quickly disappeared into the storage room with her phone and Sheldon decided to move into the privacy of his own room. His footsteps were rushed and his hands clenched and unclenched with the urge to pull the phone out of his pocket.
Closing the door behind him Sheldon finally gave in and pulled out his phone. His finger shook slightly as he unlocked his phone and pressed on the screen a couple of times.
"Oh! Hey Sweetie! How are you?" Penny's cheerful voice filled the room and he sagged in place, something deep within him loosening.
'Curious' He thought before his full focus went to chatting with Penny.