"The X-Advisors..."
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer...Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.
Disclaimer: All is Chuck's...
Part LXII...
Dr. Stein's office...Department of Physics, UAustin...
"Margaret?" he eyed Dr. Fowler-Horowitz who sat alone in his office across his desk, young Sheldon, "Penelope", and Kripke waiting in the hallway while the others had remained at Penny's hospital room. "You want me to go the UAustin Medical Center and pose as Susan Stein, adult's father with young Cooper and Mrs. Hofstadter posing as her siblings?"
"Well, you at least bear an id with the Stein name, Francis." She noted.
"And meanwhile...Young Miss Fowler will attempt to leave a note for Xavier at our favorite hotel? With you, adult Cooper, and Dr. Kripke in attendance?"
"That's about the size of it, Francis."
"Isn't this a bit absurd? Young Sheldon is Susan's target to effect change here...And Mrs. Hofstadter is not only without any valid identification but seriously ill. And should the authorities investigate..." he paused.
"Exactly...You bear the proof of being Francis Stein, respected scientist, with a daughter Susan." Margaret beamed.
"A twelve-year old daughter, Susan." He noted. "Known to any of my colleagues...And what of young Cooper and Mrs. Hofstadter, I assume, my other 'children'?"
"And this, if necessary, is your first daughter Susan. You are after all old enough to have made a mistake in your young manhood..." shrewd smile. "And you do have the reputation to back that up. Though I would doubt the hospital authorities would go so far as to check on that bit. As for Sheldon and Penny, they're either your stepchildren or the children of the woman who mothered Susan and fled to the wilds with her. After all, our story is that Susan likewise fled her own bad marriage..."
"But the police, if minimally competent, would check." He eyed her.
"Only if you went so far as to ask for her release into your custody. And given the Austin police department I doubt even that would be all that great a problem. They'd probably be very glad to get this case off their hands."
"I suppose it could work...But Margaret..."
"Your stepchildren or ,as I said, naturally contacted you and you've come with them to see what you can do for the poor girl. Only natural and understandable." Margaret, smiling.
"Fine, but my concern was Susan and her memory...If I appear, along with young Cooper...That could be enough."
"Extremely likely." She eyed him.
"Then you want to bring her memory back..." he stared.
"If she's not faking this amnesia. Which frankly I don't believe. She has no reason to wish to be trapped at a hospital. I believe she was injured in the jump."
"But if we do this and she recovers..."
"Then we know and we have her, here, under some control." Margaret, sternly.
"I'm grateful you all trust me so much." Stein sighed. "But you know I can't easily acquiesce in killing my own daughter, even a transdimensional version."
"I'm hoping it won't come to that, Francis." Dr. Fowler-Horowitz shook head. "But, you know what she's done and could do, here. And how Mrs. Hofstadter, even Dr. Cooper, feel about her. If you assist here, it's one way to allow her a chance."
"And if she recovers...? What then?" he regarded her.
"Then you'll have a chance to explain the situation to her and demand she comply with us."
"She won't...Not if she returns to a state that allows her to contemplate...What she did." He sighed.
"Francis." Margaret reached to take his hand. "I know what you're going through. This is a terrible thing to do to you. But remember, your own young Susan is also in danger. Adult Susan almost certainly hates her as much as Amy for failing and for standing in her way in the future. Even if she helped her to succeed with young Cooper, she'd quickly transfer her paranoia and rage onto her, and do all she could to eliminate her new rival as soon as possible, whatever the consequences."
"But if she recovers..."
"We force her to accept our guardianship. We find Xavier as well and then..."
Stein, mild smile at her sudden sigh... "I know..." she agreed. "It seems almost impossible. Even if we can come up with some theoretical means of putting things right. But at the very least we can stop Susan and Xavier from destroying any more universes."
"How? By holding them prisoner somewhere forever?" wry smile.
"We must cross that bridge when it comes in our path." Margaret noted. "But it's all we can do. The only hope of stopping them."
"I know. And I know what the probable, almost certain consequences of Susan's recovery must be..." he sighed, shaking head.
"But..." he breathed deep. "I know her mother. And I know how dangerous Susan's condition must be if she's inherited her illness. Dear God...Margaret? How can I sacrifice one daughter even to hope to save another?" staring at her still but anxious face.
"I can't say I've been through what you're going through, Francis...And what you may have to go through..." Margaret sighed. "But I failed my poor Charlotte, poor tormented girl...I didn't defend her as I should've, kept her with me. I was ill, my Leonard was gone...I couldn't fight her father. And now, she hates Amy, hates almost all humanity...I know that. That poor child who loved so much and suffered so much had to learn the darkest secret of humanity. Our selfish shallowness...She's almost beautiful now, Francis...Have you seen her latest pictures? After twenty surgeries any of which might have killed her, she's lovely. But now all those who despised her and her warm, loving heart, fawn on her. The doctor who saved her has been using her as a monument to his genius. Everyone from her parents to him to me has either betrayed her or failed her."
"She can't believe you'd..."
"She only knows I let her be sent to die in France...That Amy never came to save her as she meant to. Which was my fault, I stopped Amy, but Charlotte refuses to believe her. Yes, she still loves me but she blames me and Amy still more. And it's ruining her life, Francis. Even when we finally went to see her I could see the betrayal in her eyes. Yet, I couldn't bring her home, not even when she pleaded...I couldn't fight her parents. And it seemed her only hope to survive, to finish these operations with that vain...Money-grubbing..."
"But can't you find someone here to take over her care?"
"She's refused to even consider leaving France now. And her parents still refuse, that vain fop of a mother, my foolish daughter, and her worthless husband, who mercifully seems to be drinking himself to death. But..." careful stare. "My point is...Sometimes we can't save all our daughters and children. Sometimes to save one...In my case, Amy, the one I could get away from those people...In yours, young Susan."
"I realize that..." Stein, nodding.
"I swear to you, Francis...That if there's any way to save the other, I will."
"But I must accept...That there may be no way. Or any way to save Xavier, from himself."
"And there too, you may have to choose which one to save. I'm sorry Francis." She patted his hand.
"Can I even save one of them?" he sighed, regarding her. "Well...Tell the others, I'm willing to do all I can. I am, after all, truly her father, as you say." Wan smile.
"I love him too, Francis. And I do love your Susan, whatever she became in that other existence. I pray we can prevent that."
"If I have to die or..." he stopped as both looked to the door as a knock startled them.
"Francis! Why, Margaret?! This is an unexpected pleasure..." a beaming middle-aged Xavier Francis cheerily greeted them from the open door, stepping inside and shutting it.
"Sorry for the unheralded visit...I had the most bizarre phone call from my attorney the other day and..." Dr. Francis the younger paused at the sound of a desperate knock and turned to open. "Why, Mr. Cooper, hello! It's been some time." He happily greeted a rather breathless young Sheldon. "How is UAustin's amazing wunderkind? And who is your lovely friend?" he eyed "Penelope" nervously crowding behind Sheldon. Kripke just behind her, likewise anxious.
...
"So you two will be working at UAustin for a year?" Max Glau addressed Leonard as his station wagon headed down Interstate 10 south.
"Yeah, a sabbatical with their Physics Department..." Leonard nodded.
"Including an astrophysicist?" Summer looked back from her seat next to her aunt at him. "That must be quite a project..." she beamed.
"Uh, why yes." Raj nodded. "We're developing a new form of guidance system for the military." Arch look to Leonard. "Which of course we can't discuss in detail."
"That's something..." Max nodded. "And your wife went on ahead, Leonard?"
"To pick out the house for us...You know how women are about that sort of thing." Leonard offered, a bit smugly.
Penny's mental image glaring at him...
Well, you would insist on choosing the place, right? He eyed her.
Hmmn. Well, yeah. Ok. Nod.
But watch it, bucko...And please, please, please...Hurry, darling. Her face pleading... I could be dying, you know?
"And she took ill?" Max continued.
"Yeah, very sudden. We're not quite sure what it was, maybe the food...But of course I'm worried, though she insisted it wasn't a big deal. She's a trooper." Fond nod.
You betcha. Penny image, firm nod.
Good boy.
"Raj, your part must be celestial navigation?" Summer suggested, eagerly.
"Well...More or less...But I really can't say more." He agreed, a bit smug now.
"Sounds impressive." Max nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you know boys. It's not that much further to Austin...And since we seem to be carrying precious cargo for the nation..." grin in rear view mirror. "I think we can manage a side trip to Austin. Summer would probably like to shop there anyway."
"Oh, great, Uncle Max!" she enthused. "We can talk more and maybe, if it's ok, you can show us your lab...The unclassified part anyway?" she noted to Raj.
"Uh, well...Most of it is classified."
"But we appreciate it...And we'd be happy to walk you around the campus a bit." Leonard suggested. "Though we'll have to get used to it ourselves. I've only been once."
With Sheldon...He hissed to Raj's stare...Dude?
"Oh, great!" Summer beamed. "Auntie? Wanna see UAustin?"
"Sounds very nice." Nod.
"It's settled then." Max nodded.
"Thank you so much...Sir." Leonard called.
"Mr. Glau." Grim Arnoldian tone. "Just kidding, Leonard. Call me Max"
"Thanks Max. I'm sure Penny will appreciate it." Raj called.
"Penny...Lovely name." Aunt Zana, turning back to Leonard who nodded, smiling.
"Of course...Bernadette is nice too." She eyed him. "That's my real first name...Zana's just the name Summer's always used since she was a child and we used to play together... 'Bazana!' she used to say. Because she couldn't pronounce Bazinga then."
Leonard, staring...
"It's a word an old friend of mine always used to use." She smiled. "Right, Summer?"
"Bazanga...I still have trouble with it." Summer grinned.
Raj starring...
"Of course I'm Max's adopted sister...His mother took me in when I was young and Max and Summer's father were boys." Careful look at Leonard, then Raj. "I still use my old name though I hyphenated it to Wolowitz-Glau." Grin. "After shortening it a bit from the original..."
"Not a word, yet, guys." She whispered, finger to lips as Summer eyed her and them, with smile...And tears in her eyes.