Title: The Railroad Recalibration (4/9)
Author: phantagrae
Rating: G
Summary: My idea of how Sheldon's train journey might have gone. A million thanks to my super beta, FoxPhile!
Feedback: Yes, please. phantagrae@earthlink.net
Author's Notes: A million thanks to my super beta, FoxPhile!
Chapter Four
After dinner, Sheldon set up his laptop and reluctantly returned to his appeal document. He read and reread it, and just wasn't quite satisfied. He closed the document and created a new document where he began to outline the points he intended to make in his discussion with the department heads in Chicago. He wanted to make sure they understood what a fine asset he could be to their programs, and he also wanted to make sure they could offer him what he needed—an opportunity to do research in the field of inflationary cosmology, along with grant money to support that research.
He hadn't told Amy, or anyone, about his scheduled interviews. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, himself. While the two schools he was considering had fine physics departments, moving to the Midwest would be an even greater upheaval. But if they would let him study what he wanted, then it was at least one step in the right direction. Siebert and CalTech were only offering him a dead end.
Still, he would be leaving his friends behind. And what about Amy? Would she come with him or break up with him, if he decided to move to Chicago?
That was too awful to contemplate before bedtime.
He finished his interview notes, then got ready for bed, calling the room attendant to set up his room for the night.
He tossed and turned as the train slipped from Colorado into Nebraska.
In the morning, he ate breakfast as the state of Iowa rolled past his window. He moved his watch another hour ahead and considered how he'd spend his afternoon in Chicago. He needed a more formal look for his interviews. He was not going to buy a sports coat, but a dress shirt and tie would be appropriate. He also needed to find an appropriate gift shop. Perhaps the campus bookstore would suffice.
After lunch, the train pulled into Union Station in Chicago and Sheldon spent quite some time taking pictures of the beautiful old terminal and the other trains that were coming and going. He set aside all thoughts of physics, girlfriends, living arrangements, and any kinds of decisions, and simply looked at trains. It was glorious.
At last he made his way to the street and hailed a taxi to take him to his hotel. After checking in, he asked the clerk if she could recommend a nearby department store where he could buy a shirt. He had a quick meal in the hotel restaurant, then headed out to do his shopping.
Sheldon examined the folded dress shirts on the shelf, looking for his size and a color that he liked. He found a couple of options, but couldn't decide between the two.He pulled out his phone.
"Hello," Amy began. "Is that you, Sheldon?"
"Hello, Amy," he said, pleased to hear her voice.
"Are you okay?" She sounded a little concerned. "Are you on the train?"
"No, I'm fine," he replied. "I'm in Chicago."
"Oh," she said, her voice calming a little. "I was concerned because you're calling so early."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sheldon said, realizing the mistake he'd made. "I didn't consider the time difference. I hope I'm not interrupting your work."
"No, it's all right," she assured him. "I'm not really busy just now. What's up?"
"Well," he continued, "I have a bit of a conundrum and wanted your input."
"Oh, of course," she said easily. "How can I help you?"
He imagined she was smiling, judging by her voice, and he smiled in response.
"I'm purchasing a dress shirt and I'm trying to decide between two colors. I wanted to get your opinion on which one would be best."
He placed the two shirts in front of him on the display table.
"Oh," she replied simply, her tone flattening a little. "Why are you buying a dress shirt?"
"I'm going to be meeting tomorrow with the physics department heads from two schools out here. If the board at CalTech won't let me change my area of research, I may be forced to consider transferring to another university."
"You'd do that?" Amy asked.
Sheldon faltered a little. Would he really transfer? He took a deep breath.
"If I have to, Amy," he said with a firmness he knew was only partly sincere. "If I am to have any integrity as a scientist, I have to put my research first." He gulped several times and hoped Amy couldn't hear it over the phone.
"I see," she said simply. "Um…so what's this about a shirt?"
He took a deep breath and went on more calmly.
"One is a sort of pale green and the other is light blue."
"Well, you have a very nice light green shirt," she said matter-of-factly. "Go ahead and get the blue one."
"Thank you, Amy," he said with a smile, taking the blue shirt from the table.
"Have you chosen a tie to go with it?" She continued.
"Not yet," he answered, moving toward a display of ties.
"Look for a dark blue tie, maybe with narrow light stripes," she continued.
He sorted through the ties until he found one he thought fit the bill. He laid the tie across the shirt and took a picture with his phone and sent it to her.
"I've sent you a picture," he said. "Tell me what you think."
After a moment she replied.
"That's fine, Sheldon. I'm sure you'll look fine for your meeting."
"Amy," Sheldon began. "Do you not want me to go through with these meetings?"
"Sheldon," she said evenly, "I think you need to figure out what it is you want."
He stood there in the department store with his mouth open, blinking rapidly as he tried to understand what she meant.
"Well…um…" he stammered. "Right now I want to be somewhere where my work will mean something and…well…I don't know what else I want."
"It's okay," she reassured him. "You have to have all the puzzle pieces before you can put them together properly."
"What does that mean?" He took his phone from his ear and stared at it, as if the answer would appear on the screen.
"Let me say it a different way, Sheldon," she replied. "You have to gather data before you can come to any conclusions."
"Um…yes…of course…I know," he stammered. "I…I…"
"Don't worry about it just now, Sheldon," she insisted. "Look, I've got to get ready to leave now, so I'm going to let you go, okay?
"Okay…" he said distractedly. He began to walk absently toward the check-out counter.
"Good luck with your interviews."
"Thank you," he said automatically. He found himself in front of a cashier and he stared stupidly at her.
"Are you ready to check out, sir?" the cashier prompted.
He looked down at the phone, realizing that Amy had already ended the call.
"Um…yes, please," he replied, shaking his head to clear it as he took out his wallet.
In the morning, Sheldon showered and then stood in front of the mirror, contemplating his thickening beard. It was still barely more than stubble, not quite a week's worth of growth. He decided that if he were to make a good impression, he should at least trim his beard and make it look like he had grown it on purpose. With that done, he dressed in the shirt and tie Amy had helped him pick out, then went downstairs to take a taxi to the University of Chicago.
On campus, he made his way to the office of Dr. Creasey, head of the physics department. The professor's assistant led Sheldon into the inner office and introduced him.
"Dr. Creasey," she began, "this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, your ten o'clock appointment."
"Ah, Dr. Cooper, so nice to meet you," the large man enthused, taking Sheldon's reluctantly offered hand and shaking it vigorously. "I remember you as a boy—a very, very bright boy."
"Yes, thank you," Sheldon said, surreptitiously wiping his palm along the seat of his pants.
"Won't you sit down?" Creasey indicated the chairs arranged around a small conference table in the corner of his spacious office.
"Thank you," Sheldon repeated, pressing his lips together nervously, eager to get the point of his interview.
"As I recall," Creasey continued, "we wanted very badly for you to come and pursue your graduate studies here in Chicago. Would you like some coffee? Linda, could you bring us some coffee?"
"I don't drink coffee," Sheldon interjected. "I wouldn't mind a cup of tea, though."
Creasey looked at him for a moment, but never stopped smiling. "Linda, would you find some tea for Dr. Cooper?"
"Yes, sir," Linda replied, hurrying out of the room.
"Dr. Creasey," Sheldon began, wiping his clammy palms on his pant legs, "I'd like to get to the point of why I'm here, if I may."
"Surely," Creasey replied, sitting back and crossing his arms across his large chest.
"I seem to have reached an impasse with my field of research at CalTech," Sheldon began, "and have been unable to convince the board there to allow me to change the focus of my research."
"I see…" Creasey tried to put in.
"Please, sir, if I may continue," Sheldon said firmly. "I would like to switch from string theory to focus on inflationary cosmology and I am considering the possibility of continuing my research here at your fine institution."
"I see…" Creasey began again.
"That is, of course, providing that your facility has the needed equipment and the available grant money."
"Well…"
"As well as additional faculty capable of assisting me or supporting my research," Sheldon finished.
"Dr. Cooper…ah, here's Linda with your tea," Creasey began, happy for the minor interruption. "Now, while we do have people working in the field of inflationary cosmology, I'm sure we would be happy to have someone of your reputation join our program. I'm sure there are many ways you could contribute to our team."
"Team?" Sheldon put in, his left eyebrow climbing upward. "Dr. Creasey, with all due respect, I don't work as part of a team. I have my own research."
"Well, I thought…"
"I am sure your school would be happy to have me working here once I win the Nobel Prize. That would indeed be a feather in your cap."
"Well, Dr. Cooper," Creasey began firmly, sitting forward and leaning on the table, "we'd certainly be happy if you do indeed win a Nobel Prize, but…"
"Dr. Creasey, please," Sheldon said, sensing he wasn't getting through. "I am a highly-intelligent, highly respected theoretical physicist and I am offering my brilliance to your institution. I'm not sure if this is where I ultimately want to be, but I am considering your university as a possible contender as I ultimately make my decision. I believe I can be an asset and my presence can only raise the profile of your program."
Creasey eyed Sheldon silently for a moment. At last he took a drink of his coffee and set the cup down again.
"Dr. Cooper," he began slowly, "While I'm sure everything you say is true, we may or may not have room for you here. I can assure you that I will look into what grant money we have available with which to fund such research and I will get back to you. Would that be satisfactory?"
Sheldon blinked rapidly at the large man, not sure if he'd been given a positive or negative answer.
"Um, certainly," Sheldon finally stammered. He took a quick sip of his tea, then stood. "I will look forward to hearing from you. You have my contact information in the copy of the resume I sent you yesterday."
"Yes, yes, I have it," Creasey replied, rising from his chair and offering his hand once again.
Sheldon stared at it for a moment, pressing his lips together, before finally relinquishing his own hand to be squeezed and shaken.
"It was very nice to meet you again, Dr. Cooper," Creasey went on, "now that you're all grown…um…now that you're so much older. This conversation really took me back to those days."
Sheldon frowned at him and opened his mouth, but wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure what Creasey meant.
"Like I said, Dr. Cooper, I'll call you with more information," Creasey said, now physically moving Sheldon toward the door with a large hand on Sheldon's slim shoulder.
"Very well," Sheldon said at last. "I look forward to hearing from you."
With that he found himself back in the assistant's office, Creasey's door firmly shut behind him.
"May I validate your parking ticket, Dr. Cooper?" Linda asked brightly.
"Um, I don't have one," Sheldon said absently. "I took a cab. But I would like to ask for directions to your campus bookstore. Is there a gift shop there?"
"Why yes, sir," she said with a smile.
She gave him detailed directions to the store, which he easily memorized, declining her offer of a campus map.
He browsed a while in the bookstore, but didn't find what he wanted. He went back outside, only to find a pleasant surprise across the street in an off-campus row of shops.
"Comic books!" he said aloud, practically running across the street.
Inside the store, he inhaled deeply, the familiar scent of ink and paper, silk-screened tee-shirts and plastic mint-packaging filling his nostrils and lungs. He wandered the small store, letting his eyes fall across familiar titles and artwork, pausing to look through a rack of superhero tee-shirts, looking over a shelf of collectible figures.
"May I help you?" a young man asked as he approached Sheldon.
"Why, yes," Sheldon said breathlessly. "I'd like this Flash tee-shirt and the latest Batman comic book. And this." He held the shirt and a small item out to the clerk and followed him back toward the counter, not even minding that the boy had more piercings and tattoos than Sheldon had ever seen on any one person.
With all of his purchases cradled in one arm, Sheldon made his way back out to the street to hail a cab, and was soon back at his hotel. He just had time to eat a quick lunch before he went back to his room to set up his laptop for the Skype call to Dr. Dail at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champagne.
Although Dr. Dail was also familiar with Sheldon and his accomplishments, and seemed willing to consider the possibility of Sheldon coming aboard at his university, he, like Dr. Creasey this morning, didn't seem to grasp the fantastic opportunity Sheldon was offering.
"Dr. Cooper," Dr. Dail said, finally, "We'll be sure to seriously consider the prospect of having you join us here at UIUC and I will let you know our final decision."
Sheldon frowned into the screen a little.
"Very well," he said at last. "You have my contact information…"
"Yes, I do." Dr. Dail nodded firmly. "Thanks for calling, Dr. Cooper."
The screen went blank as Dr. Dail signed off and Sheldon sat for a full minute staring at the screen.
While he wasn't entirely sure he really wanted to transfer to either of these universities, he didn't like the feeling that he might possibly have been rejected just now. Perhaps he needed to write a formal proposal concerning his research plans to be sure that they understood what an asset he could be. He worked for a time on a detailed explanation of how he could bring his considerable genius to bear in the field of inflationary cosmology and how his presence could bring prestige to any university with the foresight to hire him. By the time he had finished and emailed a copy to both Dr. Creasey and Dr. Dail, he had just enough time to change clothes, eat a quick dinner and pack his things and check out.
Continued in Chapter Five