Flashback I

Leonard decided to lay low after his run-in with Sheldon and for a few days it worked, he avoided all contact with Penny and Sheldon, until he came home and saw Sheldon and a few guys standing around the elevator with laptops in the lobby.

"Uh guys, it's broken," Leonard told them nervously.

"Yeah, we know, we are trying to find out why and what caused it; because I think it's false advertising for the landlord to advertise 'building with elevator' but according to several neighbours I talked to it's been out of order for four years."

"Oh, I see. Well, carry on." Leonard walked upstairs as nonchalantly as he could. If they ever find out the truth he's screwed.

"Sir, I think we found the cause," said a voice next to him.

"And what's that, Corporal?" He addressed his friend and colleague Corporal Eric R. Mueller of the Army Corps of Engineers. He and Eric met in Afghanistan when the Corps was building support and logistics bases outside Kandahar in 2003. That would be a brief meeting but not their last because four days later, he and his Marines were shipped off to Iraq to aid ground forces in Fallujah. After coalition forces secured Fallujah in December, he met Eric again, this time propping up coalition service tenements outside the city.

"A melted and derailed elevator car." Replied Eric, "There's more sir, according to Specialist Gardner's readings there are trace amounts of RDX and HMX."

"Good lord, are you telling me somebody tried to blow up the elevator with rocket fuel?"

"No sir, more like they were trying to contain the explosion. Ultrasounds indicate that the blast likely came from underneath the car, if you want to contain something you'd throw it underneath because there are more layers of steel."

"So somebody in the building was playing with fire on the government's dime and they shouldn't have, is that it?"

"Basically."

"Okay, I think I might have to go to the police for this," Sheldon mused.

Eric shook his head, "No, I think this goes a lot higher than local PD. This is a felony."

Sheldon chuckles, "Corporal, you and I both know that there isn't a civil or military law that classifies an elevator's destruction as a felony."

Eric chuckles too thankful for the light banter, "No, but the RDX and HMX weren't the only compounds found in Gardner's readings there's also an unknown compound that uses a combination of solid propellent and liquid propellent similar to multistage rockets, like ones currently in development for the NMD system."

"You're having me on," Sheldon says trying to brush off the idea, "You're saying somebody used experimental rocket fuel and then chucked it into the elevator when it became too volatile?"

"That's the gist of it."

"Hmm… well I can only conclude of one person stupid enough to do something like that. Do you know if Bobby's still with the DoD?"

"Bobby Hatfield, sir?"

"The one and only," Sheldon smiled.

"Last I spoke with him, he was about four months away from State."

"Plenty of time," Sheldon smiled. "Excuse me, Corporal, I have a phone call to make." Eric nodded as Sheldon stepped out of the building and dialled.

"Hello, Defense Sciences Office, Bobby speaking." Said a voice on the other end. "Mr. Hatfield, it's been a while. Staff Sergeant Cooper calling."

"Ah Sheldon, what a surprise. To what do I owe the courtesy?" Sheldon chuckled, "Peppy as ever, eh Bobby?"

"You know me."

"I do, yes. Getting straight to the point, you weren't with DARPA at the time, but what can you tell me about an aborted rocket fuel project say sometime around 2003?"

"One second, bud," the line goes silent for a few minutes before it picks up again, "It was cancelled in 2003 when according to a report the mixture was too volatile and could pose a safety risk to ground assets and/or crew."

"Can you tell me who wrote it?"

"A Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Mr. Howard Wolowitz, and a Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali." "Let me guess, all three are scientists?"

"Yep, Caltech researchers to be precise."

Sheldon chuckles mirthlessly, "Well Bobby, I have a surprise for you, and you know how I feel about surprises. The report is a fraud."

"What? Are you sure?"

"I'm almost positive. I'm sure our esteemed researchers wrote that to conceal the fact that they stole, mixed and improperly disposed of the fuel."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because Eric Mueller from the Army Corps of Engineers is here looking into why my building's elevator has been out of order for four years, and he says according to a substance analysis: RDX, HMX, and an unknown compound are present similar to your current NMD rocket fuel. I'm 99 percent sure Hofstadter is behind this—he's my next-door neighbour—by the way. He was more than a bit unnerved when I spoke with him earlier, in my experience that means he did it or knows somebody who did."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Other than a gut feeling and a few USACE readings, not really," Sheldon admitted.

Bobby sighed, "Okay well, send me the findings and I'll pass that up. I can't guarantee anything will come from it, but the DoD's been pretty pissed since they don't really know what exactly happened to the limited amount of fuel they did develop other than what is supposedly in that report."

"Okay, I will."

"By the way, why are you having USACE personnel looking at your elevator, doesn't your building have a maintenance person?" Bobby changed the subject.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you, given what I'm paying but no. And besides, Eric owed me a favour," Sheldon laughed.

The other end chuckled, "Only you Doc would call in an Army favour for an elevator."

Sheldon laughed harder, "Yeah… well, I'll send the USACE findings to you as soon as they become available."

"All right, I look forward to it, Sheldon. I'll talk to you later if anything comes up."

"Thanks, Bobby." He hung up, went back inside, and asked for a copy of all findings and reports so he could submit them to the DoD.

Leonard relaxed for the first time in weeks, he had been freaked out when he came home and Sheldon was in the lobby with a group of guys with laptops around the broken elevator. He had rushed into 4B and called Howard and Raj and they spent the next 45 minutes talking him down. He had been on pins and needles around Sheldon and Penny since the mail-stealing fiasco, now he was constantly looking over his shoulder just at the sight of somebody's shadow. But so far things were quiet, Howard and Raj reassured him any investigation would have to first go through the university because it was a university-sponsored collaboration with The Pentagon. It had been weeks since he'd seen Sheldon or Penny for that matter, but now he could relax.

Sheldon had to laugh when Penny told him that for the last few weeks, Leonard would yelp and scurry away every time she came up behind him while getting their mail. He wonders if the man is afraid Penny will report back to him and that he'll have to make good on his 'me and the boys' threat. Although given that Sheldon has seen the man trip over his own two feet at the sight of a random shadow, there has to be something more to it. Sheldon remembers when he was like that.

Flashback

February 1997

Sheldon landed in Houston on February 12. Three years ago, he made it home on this date too. He had one final opportunity to say goodbye to his father at his hospital bedside. Four days later they buried him; 10 days later it was his 14th birthday. He was the last to see his father and the last person to see him alive and as morbid as that is, Sheldon felt a tiny sense of satisfaction; the son who had the least in common with his father and was undoubtedly the least favourite in his father's eyes was the last to see him alive, after a long talk where both father and son divulged their deepest

regrets, wants, and needs to and from the other. Sheldon remembers that particular conversation as clear as day because it was the first and last time his father talked and he mostly listened.

"You know Sheldon, I know I've never shown you much attention or affection, but it isn't because I don't love you, son, it's because I don't know you. Every time I try to show interest in something you're interested in or vice versa we get on each other's nerves. You and I are two different people, but half of me is you and I've tried to find that half over the years and come up empty. But know this, Sheldon, I am proud of you, even if I don't understand you. You somehow managed to skyrocket your way out of the little Podunk town you came up in with just your mind; not many, if any in this town can do that. I certainly couldn't, I had my share of options, of course; sports, the military, and I used all of them. And for a while, I was happy I was content. But still, I ended up back where I started, I don't want that for you. I want you to reach the highest of highs, I want you to achieve whatever goal your mind sets itself on, I want you to be happy, I want you to have friends that will support you through thick and thin—none of that fair weather crap—and I want you to find a woman that sets your soul on fire with just a look. A good woman, let me tell you, is hard to find. Your mother is a saint, and I nearly threw that away because of temptation. If you find this woman, I want you to do three things: be her friend, then her lover; support her in whatever she wants to do; and make sure your momma gets to see her grandkids; I know I'll regret that most of all. Sheldon, you are the best thing to come out of this town since, hell probably Jack Johnson, the boxer. I know you'll do great things in whatever field you choose. But you need to iron out some things to be truly great. First, you are smart, there's no questionin' that but you need to tamper that with humility. If my father had told me what I'm telling you, maybe I wouldn't be here dying right now. Humility will let you achieve something that even your out-of-this-world IQ can't… acceptance. Now, I'm not sayin' you hide your genius, I'm just saying use it when appropriate rather than all the time. That for you, son, will take some gettin' used to. Second, know when to ask for help. Just because you are smart doesn't mean you have all the answers. In life, there are plenty of stupid people who hold the keys to knowledge, mainly how to get it. So, make connections and know when to ask for help. Asking for help does not make you any less of a man, you hear me? Askin' for help shows you trust others enough to do their job while you do yours. I know I often told you, Missy, and Georgie that if you want somethin' done right do it yourself, well it can't always be like that. In this world, no matter how smart you think you are, no matter how great your accomplishments are—without people you will forever be in need to prove yourself; that is where the danger comes in. Because then you start actin' reckless, and to use a favourite quote of yours 'illogical', and that will lead to consequences sooner or later. So to recap, Sheldon, you have all the tools to be great and I know you'll achieve them. Because you my boy, are one of a kind, and I am proud to be your father and proud that you have already achieved things I can only dream about. I know our time together has been short, but remember that you are a Cooper and therefore always a part of me."

George saw his son's eyes tear up, and brought him up closer to him, "Hey, no cryin' now, all right? I'm still here."

Sheldon sniffled and asked, "So, you've accepted death?"

George chuckled, which caused him to cough a little, "Well, it's the only thing left, son." "But how can you, when there have been medical advances in coronary obstruction?" "What are you trying to say, Sheldon?"

"I'm saying why are you giving up when you and I have finally turned the proverbial corner? These last few years have been particularly enlightening for me at home and abroad, but that's

because you and I were starting to get to know each other."

"I know Sheldon, and let me tell you if there was any other way that would result in me magically getting out of this bed and yanking all these damn needles out of me to spend more time with your momma and you kids, trust me I'd take it in a heartbeat—no pun intended."

"So, you've really accepted you're going to die," Sheldon said quietly. "Yeah, guess I have."

"Don't." Sheldon said vehemently, "I might not be a doctor yet, but give me time and I'll find a way, I always do."

George shook his head, "I'm afraid time is your worst enemy right now, Sheldon. I know it used to be your best friend because you were so much more advanced than all the other kids; but right now even if you were Superman, I don't think you can beat time."

"That's not true, in the 1978 Superman movie, Christopher Reeves' Superman does indeed beat time by reversing it and saving Lois Lane from dying."

George chuckles, "Well, Clark Kent you ain't Superman." "But I can be!"

Nodding George says, "Yeah, I think you can be, just a human Superman." "How?"

"How what?"

"How can I be Superman?"

George smiles at his youngest son, the smartest and most innocent of his children—the one who can think of abstract concepts of the universe that he can't understand, yet take some things quite literally, "You can't literally become Superman, Sheldon, I'm sorry for sayin' that. But I think there's a place that might help you achieve all those goals I want for you. But I think it's impossible for you, son."

"Not impossible, improbable," Sheldon corrected haughtily. "Okay, improbable then," George corrected.

"Where?"

"The Marine Corps."

Sheldon looked confused, "How would my joining the military help me achieve humility, and acceptance and make connections?"

"If you need to ask, then you need it. But I'll tell you. In the military, in the Marines especially, they don't take too kindly to holier-than-thou characters, they tear you down and build you up better kinda like Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man. If you can be accepted there, you can be accepted anywhere, kinda like a Visa card. There's a reason they declare themselves, 'the few, the proud, the Marines' because once you're accepted, you're accepted for life. And makin' connections well, that is part and parcel to being with your brothers-in-arms not only in the

Marines but throughout all the services through and in war. We have a friendly rivalry but at the end of the day we are all fightin' for the same thing."

"Dad, you talk as if you were a Marine."

"I was. From 1965-1974, I did multiple tours of Vietnam. Right up until I met and married your mother. And so was your Pop-Pop, during World War II."

Sheldon was silent, George knew that was never a good sign, "Now listen Sheldon, I'm not telling this so you go and get yourself killed in a war, because I know you'll do anything to be more like your Pop-Pop because Meemaw says you're so much like him. I'm telling you this to give you options. I think military life will do you good, it'll hone your already military-like tendencies, but it'll also get you out of your shell. Personally, I think you've lost yourself in science so much that you've forgotten that you can still feel emotions but because you can't analyse feelings, you just bottle them up. That's why your momma and Meemaw worry so much about you."

"So you believe I'm incapable of feeling emotions?"

George shakes his head slightly, "Not totally, but you have to admit Sheldon there have been times when kids would normally yell and scream or cry, but you act all stoic. What I'm trying to get here, is while your mind is incredible, I think in hindsight it was wrong of us to make you grow up so fast, even if most of the time it was you who did the convincing. That stunted you, I think the military will help."

"May I ask something?" "Sure."

"If you could go back and allow me to develop emotionally as Georgie or Missy, would you?"

George thought about that for a bit, looking at his 13-year-old, college graduate son, then finally, "No, I guess not. I know had we kept you with kids that even at that age you already thought were inferior and even if you were nine going on 39, you would've resented our decision and us."

"So what do you expect me to do, Dad?"

"Expect? Sheldon, you far surpassed any bar I or your mother or any of your grandparents on both sides might have set in loafers. From here on out, I want—not expect—you to be the best version of yourself. How you go about that ultimately is up to you. I've given you my recommendation, whether you decide on that route or one you pick yourself is up to you because frankly son, you've done more in raising yourself than I think I ever coulda done."

"I will take your recommendation under heavy advisement."

George smiled, "Come here, Sheldon," George opens an arm to allow his son to come into it, which he does. George then encircles his youngest son with the other as much as the IV drip will allow. Sheldon clings to his father and starts to cry silently. "I'm proud of you, son. And I love you, Sheldon. You are the best thing I ever made," then he lowers his voice and whispers, "But don't tell Missy."

Sheldon holds his father tighter and says into his father's hospital gown, "I love you too, Dad."

George reluctantly pulls away after a while and dries his son's tears, "If you take away nothing else from this, Sheldon, just remember your daddy loves you very much and he only wishes he could see the man you'll become because that man will do great things."

Sheldon nods.

The last three years in Germany were a figurative blur for Sheldon—he couldn't forget them if he tried, not with his eidetic memory. After returning to Germany after his father's funeral he buried himself in his studies, hoping that the one constant he had—science—would provide the balm his heart needed. But it didn't work. The studying, the labs, the lectures, and writing his dissertation; all became a nice distraction and nothing more. Even when he hit his growth spurt in Germany when he was 15 and he looked more like the college students around him, that was nothing more than a distraction. When he had sex for the first time, after successfully defending his dissertation with a long-time lab partner, she was nothing more than a distraction. He knew then that his predestined life of science and logic wasn't to be. Science had become not a way of life for him but a way to not deal with life because he could escape into his world of theories and concepts backed by numbers and logic therefore he could forget to live. He liked being in stasis. He could do so because of his support system at home. His mother allowed him to pursue his interests at his speed even if she wasn't too happy with him growing up and leaving so soon. His Meemaw allowed him to be the young prodigy that he was but also wasn't afraid to let him be a kid every now and then. He got in trouble more with his grandmother than his mother as he got older. He liked having that release valve. His father he realised—too late—had played a pivotal role in his development. From the age of eight to 13, his father had taught him how to survive the real world; even if at the time he thought it unimportant because he knew pursuing science would be a highly ridiculed profession. But despite some grumbling to his mother, his father continued to teach him and defend him; and with that, he could go about his scientific pursuits without care—because he knew deep down his father always had his back.

Now his dad was gone, he needed to defend himself and find a more practical purpose. With science now becoming a mere distraction, he had decided what he wanted. He wanted to continue his family's legacy. His Pop-Pop was a Marine in the bloodiest modern war in history and made it out alive, his father served as a Marine in an unpopular war that he probably wasn't ready for but really when is anyone ready for war? That he served multiple tours says to Sheldon that even though it was unpopular his father knew it was the right thing to do—and in life tough choices often are unpopular. He found some odd and yet satisfying sense of symmetry with his decision to leave science for the military. His Pop-Pop had convinced him to pursue science after his parents found out he was gifted, and so he did, partly because the idea of studying the universe appealed to him and partly because his Meemaw said he was so much like his grandfather that it was uncanny, and because he had looked up to his grandfather he followed the man's suggestion with glee. His Pop-Pop would die six months later from pancreatic cancer; six months after telling him, "Sonny boy, you are as smart as a whip and with that mind of yours, twice maybe three times as impactful. Don't waste it, see if you can solve the larger questions in life and leave the smaller problems to the rest of us." Then his father made him realise that he had an invisible connection with both his Pop-Pop and dad if he wanted to explore it. And told him why he thought it'd be a good idea. He told his father he'd, "take your recommendation under heavy advisement," hugged the man he always thought never understood him, cried, and told his father he loved him. An hour later George Cooper Sr. was gone.

Sheldon knew that to become a Marine he'd have to undertake and endure something he never liked as a child, physical exercise. But he told himself that if he couldn't push beyond his limits now, then he probably will die during Basic Training. That was part of the reason he had picked science to begin with, it was within his comfort zone and he was good at it. But he knew that with his gifts, if only he applied himself he could be the best Marine too. He sought out a nutritionist and personal trainer to help, luckily he found both in a single individual, Mats Lindauer. He told Mats, he wanted to build into his body lots of stamina and lean muscles capable of carrying up to 64 kg at least 16 kilometres. Mats looked at the scrawny 15-year-old American boy who spoke

perfect German and asked why. Sheldon told him he wanted to grow into his body to help out on the farm back home now that his father was gone—it wasn't a total lie. His Pop-Pop did own a cattle farm and his Meemaw still owns the land, and he eventually will have to go home, and his father was gone. Mats nodded, then proceeded to prepare an eight-month program that included exercises Sheldon could do on his own in his room if he so chose. Sheldon agreed. That was truly the first time he took his father's advice and willingly asked for help.

For the next year, when he wasn't in class, in the lab or writing his dissertation, he was either working out with Mats or alone. He found that exercise was actually extremely beneficial to his mental well-being as he didn't feel stressed as much nor did he get as sick as he did as a child. Mats explained to him it was a combination of the continual exercise regime that he was surprised that Sheldon had not only stuck to but also the nutrition plan that he followed to a tee. He told Sheldon that mind and body must work together to keep you in perfect condition.

Sheldon declined an invitation home for Christmas and the summer because he didn't want to walk through that door and be bombarded with questions nor did he want to be reminded that his father would never walk through that door ever again—at least not before he absolutely had to go home.

When he turned 16, girls began to notice him and he began to notice them back. Several of his female classmates liked his improved physique and the fact that he was incredibly smart.

Particularly his lab partner Sabine Stangl, who had developed a little crush on him. Sabine was very pretty in his opinion; blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples, and a body that would make even the most sought-after supermodel envious. But his lab partner was more than that, she was incredibly intuitive and smart. In another life, he would've gotten his doctorate then immediately proposed to this woman that liked him first for his mind, then his body—he felt the same way—but, he couldn't, not when his reality lies west of the Atlantic Ocean. However, he did in a moment of self- indulgence, give himself to her. The first time he had sex was messy and somewhat awkward, but an experience he'll never forget. Sabine writhing beneath him as she orgasmed was a feeling he'll never forget. The way their bodies moved together despite his awkwardness made him realise that he had denied himself the most primal experience of the human condition out of the sake of cleanliness and morality—not anymore. His one-night stand with Sabine after successfully defending his dissertation was all that it was going to be because while neither regretted it in the morning they saw each other as friends first and foremost. He supposes his first time with Sabine was merely sexual tension brought on by being lab partners for so long, but that was fine, she was his first but not his only.

When he graduated from the University of Heidelberg with both an M.S. and an Sc.D. he agreed to a nine-month lecture tour solely for the purpose of keeping himself busy until he could finally enlist in the Marine Corps with parental consent at 17. On the flight back to Houston, Sheldon had run through the various scenarios regarding how his family would react to both his physique and decision; and how to respond. He may have given up science but that didn't mean he had given up critical thinking. When his Meemaw picked him up at the airport, she was surprised but said nothing out of the ordinary. She asked him about the lecture tour that his mother had to approve of him going on because he is still a minor, even though he has achieved more than any minor before him, maybe aside from Mozart. Sheldon told his grandmother he found it not as stimulating as he had hoped; which given his new mindset it wasn't. The hour-long drive back to Medford seemed interminable, he wanted his Meemaw to say something or talk to him about anything other than the Oilers, the Astros or the weather. He knows he looks different, but from what he remembers of his Pop-Pop or from pictures, he just looks more like a younger version of the man. Maybe that's why she's relatively speechless. Maybe she's afraid she'll slip and start calling him Charlie. When they arrive at the Cooper house, Meemaw just shakes her head as she sees her formerly scrawny grandson casually lift his two huge suitcases out of the station wagon as if it was no big deal. She runs into the house leaving him to follow at his own pace.

"Mary!" Connie calls walking into the kitchen. "Mom, what is it? Where's Sheldon?"

Connie laughs, "Physically outside, mentally I have no clue."

"Mom," Mary admonishes, "You know what Sheldon's like with air travel. He's probably just preoccupied."

"Oh, he's preoccupied all right, but the boy I picked up probably ain't afraid of nothing no more."

Scoffing at her mother's dismissive tone, Mary walks out into the front hall, right into her baby boy. She gasps.

"Hello Mom, it behoves me to say that your shocked reaction isn't the only one I've received. Meemaw was equally rendered stunned."

Mary grabs her son, who if she didn't know better could pass for a younger version of her father. "What happened to you?"

Smiling, "I took up physical activity during my doctoral year to fill into my growth spurt and to prepare for my next venture."

Sighing in relief, her son was just being practical. Mary knew how much her son hated being so much taller than other children but also stick-figure thin. He now looks more filled out but not bulky, if anything, Mary would say her genius son could easily pass for a football wide receiver; tall and lean, just the kind of size coaches like her late husband dreamed of finding. "Well, it's good that you're exercising now, Shelly."

He mentally winced at the moniker but decided to say nothing, "Thank you. Would you care to join me for my morning run tomorrow?"

"That sounds like fun, how far are you runnin', baby?" "From here to Medford General and back."

"That's 26 miles." "I'm aware."

"You know what maybe some other time," she waves him off.

Sheldon nods, "Very well, is Missy up in her room?" He looks at the stairs.

"Oh no, she's at the mall with a few friends and Georgie, they'll be back in time for dinner."

Smiling wryly he quips, "Nice to know my siblings were so invested in my homecoming. May I assume my room is ready, however?"

"Oh yeah, go right on up," Mary says as she watches in stunned fascination how her baby boy took the handle of one suitcase and marched up the stairs without complaint as easily as if he was carrying a comic book—or several. Then returned and took the second suitcase up with the same practised ease. "I'm making your Meemaw's famous fried chicken so once you're done up there head back down for some."

Sheldon responds once he was on the landing, "Will do."

Mary heads into the kitchen, frowns, and whispers conspiratorially to her mother, "That boy's hidin' something from me."

Connie chuckles, "There's a first."

***

Over dinner, Georgie and Missy still couldn't believe the young man sitting in Sheldon's old seat at the family dinner table was their brother. Until he opened his mouth.

"Could you please not stare, it's rude," Sheldon said to his siblings as he swallowed the rest of his chicken and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Sorry, it's just… Germany really did you a world of good, Shelly. I know plenty of girls who would love to date you now, you got the whole ugly duckling-swan thing going," Missy says.

"Missy, that's no way to talk about your brother, he's just another of God's children that's all," Mary admonishes.

"Naw, Missy's got a point, Mom," Georgie says taking a bite of his fried chicken, "The kid went to Germany at 14, and comes back having put on eight inches and 40 pounds of lean muscle. You can't get any more ugly duckling to swan than that," Georgie says, then he turns to his brother, "So, really Shelly, the question becomes why. Trying to impress a cute Fräulein?" He smirks.

"Georgie!" Mary chastises her oldest.

"Ah, I missed this," Connie says with a smile.

"No, Georgie. My increased physique wasn't for the opposite sex's benefit; although I will admit Sabine did enjoy it when we uh… swiped my v card."

The table went silent, chicken hung from gaping mouths, eyes went wide; all of them waiting for the "Bazinga" that never came. When the shock passed, Georgie was the first to speak up, "No got dang way! Nice one, Sheldon!" He raises his hand across the table for a hi-five and while Sheldon rolled his eyes, he didn't leave his brother hanging, which shocked the table more than his revelation about not being a virgin anymore. Mainly because Sheldon casually reciprocated an act of skin contact and with a greasy palm against his own clean one without complaint.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my Moonpie?" Meemaw jokes.

"I'm trying to be more practical, Meemaw, I'm still me, just less neurotic," Sheldon explains. "Why?" Mary asks.

"Because when Dad died, during my last conversation with him he essentially told me that I was the hardest to understand and to get along with because he didn't 'know me' and that every time we tried to do something that interested the other we got on each other's nerves which is true enough. When I returned to Germany after the funeral I wondered if it was because I became too clinical—too obsessed with the minutiae of things—to understand the big picture, and I after carefully cataloguing my interactions with all of you, concluded that I was. Therefore I sought a change."

"Pretty drastic change, baby," Mary says.

"Maybe, but not as drastic as what I have planned."

"And what's that?"

"I've decided to forego science and enter the Marine Corps on my birthday, with your parental consent, of course. If not, I can just wait a year and enlist then."

The table went silent again, waiting again for the "Bazinga" that never came. They all exchanged glances and knew what they had to do, they had two weeks to talk some sense into the most hardheaded, persuasive, and smart boy on the planet.

None of that worked, for the next two weeks Sheldon shot down every argument they made with pinpoint logic, and by the time of his birthday, even Mary and the rest of the family could admit his want to extend their military legacy was at least noble. Georgie was convinced when he took his brother out to an open field and tossed him their father's old Remington 700, the very same gun Sheldon had said he'd never touch because it was barbaric. He then set up 10 cans, 700 yards away and told Sheldon if he could hit 7 of 10, he'd believe him. Sheldon did one better and hit all 10.

Connie resigned herself to Sheldon's side when he brought up the fact that Charlie was a Marine. She couldn't take it when Sheldon tried on Charlie's old Marine uniform and it was like she was looking at her husband again. Mary too saw that and took a picture of her son in his grandfather's uniform, she then developed it and put it in the family photo album. Missy seemed in shock the whole time because this was her twin brother, they weren't much alike but they did share something of a twin connection and Missy just knew her brother wasn't doing this because of grief or sadness or attention, he was doing it because to him it was how you grow up. And that she could at least respect because even as kids she was the one telling him to grow up, and now he was—she felt left behind.

Although the family insisted on all going to Denton on Sheldon's birthday, only Mary walked in with him. Inside the recruiting office there was another 17-year-old boy, he assumed because he was there with a woman who looked to be his mother. Sheldon and Mary sat down next to them.

After a few minutes, the boy spoke to him, "You signing up or just getting information?" "Signing up. Yourself?"

"Same, I'm Michael," the boy extended a hand, and Sheldon took it. "Sheldon."

Michael's lips turned up, "Sheldon? Wow, there's an old-timey name."

"You're telling me. I was named after my 19th-century grandfather Richard Sheldon." Michael laughed, "What your mom couldn't have named you, Richard?"

"I suppose she could have but, then the typical diminutive of that is Dick, and I'd rather not be a dick."

Michael laughed and was about to respond when a recruiter came up to him with a folder, "Are you next?"

Michael nodded and went with the recruiter, waving goodbye to his waiting room companion. Ten minutes later a second recruiter came up to Sheldon, "Are you next?"

"Yes sir."

The recruiter went over his paperwork, which he filled in right in front of the man, and was surprised when he got to the education portion. "Son, there's no lying on a Marine recruitment application."

"Where did I lie?"

"Under 'Education' you checked 'Advanced degree' and in parenthesis wrote '2'."

"Sir, that's not a lie. I have a Master's in Science and a Doctorate in Natural Science from the University of Heidelberg, as well as a Bachelor of Science from Rice University. Here are my transcripts."

The recruiter looked over the sealed transcripts and then at the young man in front of him, "So, you're telling me I have a 17-year-old doctor who wants to voluntarily become a United States Marine?"

"Yes sir."

The recruiter exhaled, "Are you absolutely sure?" "Yes sir."

The recruiter reaches into his desk and fishes out a form and presents it to Sheldon, "Then sign this."

"What is it?"

"This is an advanced promotion decree. It states that due to your level of education, you are eligible for immediate promotion to Lance Corporal upon successful completion of Basic Training and assignment to a regiment. Only about 2% of new Marines are given this. I don't know how you'll do in Basic Training or if you'll even complete it, but you just might be the finest Marine recruit I've ever had."

"Thank you," Sheldon says as he signs. He then signs the four-year commitment contract. And the recruiter shakes his hand, then puts all of his paperwork in a folder and hands it to him.

"Come back here on Monday by noon, that's when the next bus to Parris Island is scheduled to leave. Any questions?"

"No sir."

As Sheldon walks out of the recruitment office, he feels a sense of accomplishment. He knows he'll be tested but he's ready. He takes the rest of the day and the next few days to spend with his family and prepares himself to say goodbye to the old Sheldon Cooper.