Chapter 18

A week had passed since the faculty awards dinner. So much had happened during the past week, mainly to do with winning the Physics Award and also stemming from reuniting with his mother. Barry's email had been flooded with congratulations, invitations, paper requests from all over the world. He had even received an invitation to spend one month at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. He shook his head in disbelief, his career was really taking off.

Barry picked up his phone and opened his music app. He scrolled down to Radiohead and hit play. The music synced to his stereo, and the soft calming music began to stream out. He picked up the picture of him and his mother, and leaned back in his office chair and put his feet up on his desk. He gazed at the photo and then closed his eyes.

The night of the faculty dinner when he saw his mother's face for the first time, he felt so many emotions that he pretty much couldn't speak. He just kept staring at her. He saw so many pieces of him in her. His eyes were her eyes, her mouth was his mouth, the way she smiled….

It took every ounce of courage he had to walk up to her after the dinner. The group had cleared out, and she was sitting alone at the table. Shakily, he had pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, and quietly said hello. Tears had started streaming down her face as she smiled at him. "My sweet Barry…you're so handsome, you look just like your grandfather" she had whispered. She told him that she wasn't expecting that he would want to speak with her, and that it was more of a blessing than she ever deserved. They both sat there in silence, just looking at each other. He couldn't bring himself to speak that night, he was too overcome with emotion. Finally she wrote down her contact information, and told him that it would mean to world to her if he contacted her one day.

After staring at her email address and phone number all week, he finally wrote her an email on Friday, asking her if she would like to have lunch with him the next day. She quickly replied that she would. They met for lunch, but he had still found it difficult to speak. He managed to answer her questions with short sentences, but the words kept getting caught in his throat. It was alright though, because he discovered that his mother was extremely chatty. She tearily told him her story of marrying too young to his emotionally abusive alcoholic father. How his father's domineering family scared her. How her biggest regret was not taking him with her when she ran away, but she was so scared of what his family might do to her. She filled him in on her side of the family. His maternal grandmother, grandfather and what they were both like. His mother was very witty, sharp and intelligent. He found himself drawn to her, aching to hear more and know more about her and her family….his family.

Barry had always felt like an alien in his own family. He couldn't relate to his dad, or his paternal grandparents at all. He did his best to avoid them for the most part, and succeeded to a degree by spending most of his time in the library or out with friends as a child and teenager. Once he had gotten his full scholarship to Columbia University, his contact with them had been minimal. They didn't seem too upset with his lack of communication. They had not even bothered to attend his graduation. That was the real reason that he left New York to go to the west coast. It wasn't to meet hot chicks, like he had told Amy. It was to have a fresh start in a new place, that wasn't riddled with bad memories.

He finally felt a connection when he listened to his mom talk about her past, her interests and especially her father. He sounded very similar to him in so many ways. Kripke looked at the photo again. He still held a lot of pain from losing his mother all those years ago, but he did feel like a big piece of him, a gaping hole that was missing was slowly being filled. He didn't know how their relationship would progress from here, but the only thing he could do was to play it by ear.

Barry looked up as he heard two familiar voices talking in the hall. It was Sheldon and Amy talking as they walked towards Sheldon's office. He could hear them both laughing. They both seemed really happy together again. Amy always had a huge smile on her face, and Sheldon seemed more relaxed and happy. He seemed sharper at work, more focused. This was the prodigy that he had heard about all these years. He was finally shining. Barry sighed and shook his head. He knew what he was missing in his life. It was someone to share all the happy moments with. Someone he could share his successes and his failures with. Someone that was truly on his side.

When he had met Amy, he honestly felt in his heart that maybe she could be that person for him. He knew that she was with Sheldon, but he felt such a strong connection with her. Like she saw past his speech impediment, she seemed to genuinely like him. She didn't look at him like he was some freak. The words of the Radiohead song playing felt like they were speaking about him.

I don't care if it hurts

I want to have control

I want a perfect body

I want a perfect soul

I want you to notice

When I'm not around

You're so fucking special

I wish I was special

But I'm a creep

I'm a weirdo

What the hell am I doing here

I don't belong here

Whatever makes you happy

Whatever you want

A woman with dark blue eyes walked up to the door of Barry's office. She stood there listening to the sad song playing from his stereo. Barry's door was slightly ajar, she saw that he was leaned back on his chair with his feet up and his eyes closed. He looked so sad sitting there clutching a photo frame. She held up her hand to knock on the door, but stopped herself. What would he think if she approached him now? He'd just think she was talking to him due to his recent successes. Nothing could be further from the truth. She had liked him for a while now, but she was scared of putting herself out there. She had heard all sorts of stories about him, but she wanted to get to know him herself, free from outside bias. She thought he was cute, funny and definitely brilliant. She heard a noise of someone approaching. She quickly turned around and exited the hall.

Barry continued listening to the song when he heard a knock on his door.

"Barry?" a woman's voice called.

Barry looked up and saw Amy standing at his door. He quickly sat up, put the photo back on his desk and grabbed the remote to his stereo to turn the music off. He cleared his throat. "Amy! I'm surprised to see you" he said nervously.

Amy smiled at him. "I haven't gotten the chance to properly congratulate you on your award Barry. Sheldon's told me that lots of big things are happening for you. That's really great, I'm so happy for you." She entered his office but stood near his door.

"Oh Amy, It's been unbelievable. I didn't realize what that award meant to my career. I've been getting emails from all over the world. It's been really incredible" Barry said softly.

"That's so great. You earned it Barry" Amy smiled. She looked gave him a concerned look "Umm…how did it go with your mom? Did you end up talking to her?"

Barry glanced at the photo on his desk. "I did…."he began quietly. He paused, "It was really hard…but good to see her. Life changing actually. I guess in a crazy turn of events, I have Sheldon to thank for that." He cleared his throat. "Is Sheldon ok with you talking to me?" he asked curiously.

"He knows I'm here. I told him. We're being very honest with each other. Things are good with us, really good." Amy broke out into a smile as she thought of Sheldon.

If there was any doubt in Barry's mind about Sheldon and Amy, this moment sealed the deal. Amy positively glowed when she spoke about Sheldon. It radiated from her. Barry gave her a gentle smile and thought about the lyrics to the song. Whatever Makes you Happy….Whatever you want…. He just wanted to see Amy happy, and she clearly was with Sheldon.

"I'm happy for you Amy…Really I am." Barry said quietly. He got up and walked towards the door.

"Thank-you Barry. It means a lot to me. I just wanted to let you know, that you really are an amazing person. Never forget that ok?" Amy said earnestly.

Barry smiled at her and she smiled back. "I better go" Amy said. "Good-Bye Barry" she whispered. She started walking down the hall. Barry leaned against his door and watched as she slowly disappeared down the hall.

"Goodbye Red" he whispered to himself.

Barry walked back into his office and sat down. He thought about Amy's words….maybe he wasn't the creep. Maybe he could make a fresh start when meeting girls, and not try to move too fast. He turned to his computer and saw that there was a new email in his inbox. There was no sender listed but the subject line showed "Hi Barry". There were no attachments, so he felt fairly safe clicking on the email.

Dear Barry,

I've been wanting to speak with you for a while, but I have been too nervous to approach you. First, I wanted to congratulate you on winning the Carl David Anderson award. It was so well deserved, and your research presentation was amazing. I especially enjoyed your explanation of number theory's use in quantum chaotic systems. Your insights were completely thought provoking.

I've been trying to gather the courage to come talk to you for the last couple of months. I guess I was a little gun shy from my last experience. I think you're really funny, and cute and of course brilliant. I often hear your stereo playing in your office, did you know we have the exact same taste in music? I love Indie Bands also! Oh my god…I can't believe I'm writing this. I'm so embarrassed, you must think I'm crazy or something. I'm not! I'm just super nervous right now.

I've never done anything like this before. But sometimes there is no gain without risk right? I'm not sure if you are involved with anyone or if you are single. If you are single, and are interested in meeting me, please come to the physics cafeteria at 3 pm. I'm wearing a dark blue top. If you are not interested, please do me a favour and don't come and peek. I can die of embarrassment anonymously then!

Ok, I better go. I hope to see you this afternoon.

P.S. I'm not some physics groupie that is after you because of your award. I liked you way before that!

P.P.S Could I sound anymore like a thirteen year old girl? Ugh!

Barry leaned back in his chair stunned. What was going on? Who was this woman? She was obviously at the awards dinner since she heard his speech. If she understood his talk on number theory, she knew math, which was a positive in her favour. She worked in their building if she could hear music playing from his office. Who could it be? He hadn't noticed any women watching him at any time. He glanced at the clock. It was 2:55 pm. Should he go? He was curious as hell. What did the email say after all…there is no gain without risk?

He grabbed his wallet and headed down the hall towards the cafeteria. His heart was beating so hard, he felt like he could hear it in his ears. This was the first time a woman had approached him and not the other way around.

He opened the door to the cafeteria. It was empty except for one table off to the side. He could see a woman with a dark blue top sitting there with her back turned toward him. She had dark auburn hair. Barry slowly walked up to the table. "Hello?" he said softly.

A woman turned around and smiled at him. "I'm so happy you came. Hi Barry" she said softly.

A big smile spread across Barry's face.

"Hi Alex."

The End.

A/N: That's it! The end of the Kripke Conundrum. I really hope that you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed writing this story a lot. I'm not sure if you noticed, but in Chapter 17, I put a line in about a woman with dark blue eyes watching him give his speech. Lol…maybe a little too subtle of a sentence, but that was Alex. I really wanted Barry to find love in this story also. I found myself growing very fond of him as I wrote this story. Thank-you so much for all the reviews for the story. I really enjoyed reading them, and I'd also like to say thank-you to the guest reviewers too. I wish I could respond to your reviews, but please know I totally appreciate them. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story, so if you've lurked til now, I'd really love to hear your thoughts.

I have a special request. I typically write Shamy stories, but what I really love are different and interesting characters…which is why I am drawn to Sheldon and Amy…and Kripke Lol! One character I've always found interesting is Dr. Beverly Hofstadter and her cold fish ways. I've written a new story about Leonard, his brother (Michael), sister (Hayley) and his mother (Beverly) at his brother Michael's wedding. His brother and sister are going to be real pieces of work. I'm hoping that even though it's not a Shamy story, you will check it out. I'm definitely going to keep it very very interesting! The story is called The Hofstadter Manipulation. Thanks! Nibbler747.