Finally, the whirlwind events of today had calmed down. Leonard had been led away, by Koothrappali and Wolowitz, on a quest of debauchery in hopes of making him realize that Penny wasn't the only fish in the sea. Sheldon held out very little hope Leonard would suddenly stop his obsession with Penny, even with the overwhelming evidence of his own new paradigm shift with her. The thought of the upcoming underhanded stunts and sly comments that would be dealt by his roommate, made him weary, but that wasn't the foremost problem on his mind.

The problem that held that spot was how he went to bed last night in New York were it had been 2037, only to have awaken in his old bedroom in Pasadena in 2008. He was no longer the 68 year old reclusive physicist, which had met all his career goals and exceeded them in some instances. Unfortunately, he had been desperately lonely and had firsthand personal knowledge of the oxymoronic phrase "the silence was deafening". His failure to recognize that he had loved his brash, kind and beautiful next door neighbor until it was too late had filled him with an agonizing pain, which made him work incessantly in the only thing he truly did have left; physics. The chance he lost with her meant there weren't any children, who would someday surround him and Penny later on with grandchildren. The pain of losing his own chance to become someone's Pop-pop as Penny would pick up the mantle of becoming a beloved and cherished Mee-maw.

He began to wonder if last night retrospection of his life's disappointments and unachieved personal goals had driven him through time and space by the force of sheer willpower, but to what end? Would he begin to establish a new relationship with Penny only to have a Time Lord in a TARDIS show up to guard the already established timeline for this period? The "Doctor" unconcerned with his missed opportunity at love would end his foray into the past to prevent any ripples in the time continuum that could alter the course of galactic history forever.

Sheldon let out rueful breathy laugh. It was finally official, no matter the test results his mother had seeked out years ago: he was bat-crap crazy. The situation he found himself in alone was as equally unique as being completely unheard of being done. He had time-travel to a point in his life that could help him reach the future he could have had and was frighten that just as easily he could be propel back to the future at any moment. The real threat of being without Penny held him in an almost paralyzing fear, and would remain so until he found out if in fact this was permanent or he was experiencing a psychotic break in his room in New York and was in a vegetative state, drooling, while his fractured mind reconstructed a new history, unable to deal another day in the present.

"Moonpie, you always was one for the dramatics." A melodic voice said that held a Texan twang, cutting across his morose thoughts like a bullwhip.

"Mee-Maw!" Sheldon yelped, leaping up from his spot in shock and backing away from an apparition that held his grandmother likeness, accept she seemed younger.

Staring in disbelief, Sheldon knew he had left bat-crap crazy territory two exits ago and was quickly moving in to the land of strait jackets and rubber rooms.

"Now settle down Shelley, 'fore you let those thoughts in your big ol' brain lead you to any more convoluted ideas." Mee-maw answered, taking a seat in the chair to the left of Sheldon's spot. "Now, I don' have time for mollycoddling you and we gotta whole lot of stuff to cover, so park it Moonpie."

"How-, what-, why-?" Sheldon stammered out, slowly sitting back in his spot, but ready to bolt from the newest proof of his insanity. Though his Meemaw was still alive in this time period, Sheldon knew that this vision before him couldn't be the Virginia Lee Cooper presiding in Texas at this very moment. She was dressed in all white, her body emitting a luminescence glow that surrounded her entire being and she seemed to be incorporeal with the back of the chair in which she was sitting in being visible right through her.

"I'm here to explain why you been given another chance Moonpie to do things up right."

"A chance to do what right, exactly?"

"To be the man I know you can be, Moonpie. When I passed away, my biggest regret is I failed you somehow. I should have taught you that love ain't nothin' to avoid when it comes around, but something to jump on and grab because real love is so darn precious and rare." Mee-maw replied with a faraway look in her eyes.

"You're speaking of the kind of relationship you had with Pop-pop."

"Yes, me and my Henry had a love that most folks dream of, he was my husband, but also my best friend. No matter how hard times got or whatever disaster the God Lord threw at us, I knew with him by me we were gonna get through it and be all the more stronger for it." She confessed, her voice laced with a hint of melancholy at the remembrance of her soul mate.

"I'm sorry Mee-maw."

"Don't be child, me and Henry are together again and now we have an eternity to continue to love each other. It's you that keeps me, your Momma and Pop-pop worried something fierce. Your bull-headed ways kept you from your destiny and prevented a legacy that would help all of mankind one day."

"That's ridiculous, after I lost Penny to my own ignorance, I worked harder toward my career goals and I've made numerous breakthrough in physics that has lead mankind to comprehend the mysteries of the universe." Sheldon argued. He hadn't missed the implication of his father not being named as one of the people who were worried about his well-being, but ignoring it in the wake of more pressing matters. He was much more concerned that his family felt he had failed professionally, as well as in his personal life. Work had been the only aspect left in his mundane existence and he had doubled his efforts into his beloved physics.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper I ain't talkin' about your fancy job or such. I'm talkin' about your destiny to find your other half, your own soul mate, Penny. Were it to come to pass you two would have had five little ones, and those five would have given you both eighteen grandbabies, who in turn would had given you and your wife thirty-seven great grandbabies. It's this legacy that you start with your Penny that gives mankind the building blocks to become a better place."

Sheldon emotions were mixed, he felt a little slighted that his own contributions to the world had been so easily overlooked by his Mee-maw. Though, he must admit that the thought of his future progeny could play a huge part in easing some of mankind's woes, edged out his hurt feelings of inadequacies.

"So the reason I'm back here is because the future is depending on me, along with Penny, to give birth to a race that will save the world."

"Nothing so grand as all that, Moonpie. You and Penny will have children that are loved, well-cared for and that are given the confidence to realize their full abilities. Instilling values that will be passed to future generations which helps them achieve great steps in helping solve some of society's greatest problems."

"I gather my continue existence in the past then is conditional only if I can procure Penny's heart and secure our future which will lead to children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that will one day do remarkable things for the world."

"No, it won't, but are you telling me that instead of a future filled with a love, you would choose your career again, Shelley?"

"Good Lord, of course not. It was awful, I was alive, but in no way in that miserable reality did I have an actual life." Sheldon shudder at the thought of his life, before being given this second chance. "Does this mean that Penny loves me equally at this point in time?"

"That young girl only knows that you can be a 'condescending, self-righteous, egotistical, anal retentive blow hole'." Mee-maw continued as she watched Sheldon hope turn quickly to hopelessness at her words. "Now don't going looking like someone done gone and shot your dog, she does think does things about you, but to be fair that's all you ever shown her."

"Well, what was the point of a second chance if my chances were nil from the start?" Sheldon lashed out peevishly.

"Sure she thinks those things about you, but she also cares for you and more than that she's attractive to you, so don't be going throwing in that towel, Moonpie."

"What if I fail to obtain her affection and love by being what she finds objectionable, myself."

"I think if you keep up with what you been doing, Moonpie, you'll be just fine."

Sheldon felt his heat rush across his face at the thought of his Mee-maw seeing his antics he had gotten into with Penny this morning when he believed he was still dreaming.

"I gotta skedaddle on now and you have a destiny you need to see to." She said, rising from the chair.

"Will I see you again?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm still here in this time, as you know, so of course you will, sweetheart." She assured him, as her body began to be engulfed in a blinding silvery white light.

Sheldon closed his eyes against the overwhelming brightness, finding an empty space were his Mee-maw was standing before when he finally opened them again.

The cerebral cortex of his brain immediately jumped to the forefront to analyze the sensory data it just recieved. It wanted to discount the time-travel and visit from a future ghost of his grandmother as pure hokum. Sheldon let out a derisive snort and decided to ignore his mind's reasoning and continue on with this new chance by listening instead to his heart. Following logic after all is how he ended it up alone.

He was here and according to Mee-maw, he was here to stay and relive the years he had thrown away and squandered before with his single-minded pursuit to win the Nobel Prize. He had met that goal in the other time-line, and remembered the twinge in his heart at the realization he had no one to share it with. There was neither family nor friends to share in his biggest dream coming true, becoming a Nobel laureate. Accolades and awards made a poor substitute for the love of a great woman and a family to share in his achievements.

Sheldon glanced at his watch and realized Penny would be here in less than half an hour with the food and movies, leaning back in his spot and smiling to himself, he was officially ready for his do-over to begin.