Hey out there!

So, this isn't my first fan fic, but it is for TBBT.

I had an idea floating around the ol' noggin and it wouldn't let up, so here it is.

I don't own TBBT. But I own Alex.

Somewhat OOC for most of the characters, and for Sheldon... but I mostly say that cause I had a crap of a time writing Sheldon's duologue.

Rated M for language and some other stuff.

Any mistakes are my own, or my cat's, cause she decided she liked to walk across they keyboard all of the sudden.

Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!

He wasn't crazy. His dad had had him tested, twice.

But he sure felt crazy now. This couldn't be real.

He looked to the newspaper again.

June 13th, 2011

"No way." he said again. His dad was gonna flip when he found out it worked.

He had to find his dad. He had to get his dad to help him. Help him get back to the future.

Alex snuck into his dad's office. He knew he wasn't allowed in there. He knew it would earn him a strike. It'd be his third, and he'd have to take his dad's class. But he didn't care. If he could get what he needed and get out, he'd pass his physics exam, which would in turn get him out of failing that class, which would mean he'd get to pass his Junior year, and he wouldn't get held back a grade.

After perusing several filing cabinets, he found what he wanted. He was on his way out of the office. He had gotten away with it. But his curiosity got the better of him, and he stopped to inspect the blue metal lunch box on his dad's desk.

He had heard his dad calling his uncle earlier that day to discuss the lunch box. He'd called it his TARDIS. His uncle was going to be flying home from Switzerland to see it. It seemed like an awful long way to go for a freaking lunch box that looked like that blue box from that British show his dad had tried to get him to watch.

Alex picked it up from the desk and inspected the outside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary other than the weight. He set the paper down on the desk, the one that was going to save his butt tomorrow in class, and flipped open the lid.

The inside was familiar. It looked like the time readout from the Delorian. The current date read out was set, however the destination was blank. Alex fiddled with what appeared to be the dials for the date, and flipped them randomly.

The sound of his parents arriving home early from whatever University function they had been at startled Alex, and he bumped a switch.

That's when everything went to hell.

Where his home once stood, Alex was now standing in an open field.

Alex made his way to town. He'd seen Back to the Future enough times to realize what was going on, regardless of how unbelievable it was. Even though, part of him wasn't really that shocked. This was his dad, after all. Why should he be surprised his dad invented time travel, and stuffed it in a TARDIS lunch box.

At the local library, which he had to smooth talk his way in to since he had arrived at closing, he used a computer to Google search his dad and find his current address. Alex was glad that some things were still pretty much the same, like search engines.

He arrived at 2311 Los Robles just after 9p.m., and made his way in to the lobby, then up the stairs in search of apartment 4A.

Alex hadn't realized how freaked out he'd been over the whole situation until his dad answered the door.

He dropped the lunch box and wrapped his arms around his dad, giving him the hug of a lifetime. "Dad! Dad, you gotta help me!"

Unlike Marty McFly, who kept his identity a secret from his parents, only revealing himself to Doc Brown, Alex didn't have that luxury. His Doc Brown was his dad. Time lines be damned. He didn't care about any of that. He needed to get home.

And after spending what was actually a very scary evening in search of him, although you'd never notice just looking at him, Alex was glad to be able to hug his dad. He may have been sixteen, but that didn't mean he still didn't need comfort from his dad every once in a while.

"Leonard!" his dad yelled. Alex could feel his dad's body, stiff as a board, under his grasp. He forgot that 1) his dad had no clue who he was, and B) he dad didn't like strangers, or well, most anyone, touching him. But Alex wasn't used to being shunned by his dad when he needed a hug. His dad allowed affection, and sometimes sought it out when it came to his wife and children.

His dad just stood there, wide eyed, mouth trembling, eye twitching, staring at Alex. Alex knew he'd sent his dad in to overload. "We need to get him to 0000!" Alex shouted over his dad's shoulder to his uncle Leonard.

Sheldon was silent the entire time the boy explained himself. He wasn't even sure why Leonard had even let him in the apartment, especially after he had hugged him. And now this kid was sitting here, on the other end of the couch, explaining to them who he was, and how he got there.

His proof? A photo that could be easily forged, Sheldon told himself. The lunch box, still unopened and wrapped tightly in the boys arms.

Leonard called some sort of an emergency meeting, which involved Howard and Raj coming over to discuss the evenings events.

Sheldon still hadn't recovered from the hug.

"I've seen plenty of forged pictures of naked celebrities, and this looks pretty legit." Howard commented. The three men looked from the kitchen counter where their meeting was taking place to study Sheldon and Alex.

"He's the freaking spitting image of Sheldon." Raj sighed.

"I still say it's fake." Leonard huffed. "There is no way Sheldon and Penny get married."

"Why would any adolescent male carry around a wedding photo of his parents?" Sheldon said, just above a whisper. The first thing he'd said all night.

Alex shrugged. "The ladies think it's romantic or something. I've got this whole pick up line that goes along with it." Alex smiled to himself. That line worked wonders.

"Are you sure you're not Howard's offspring?" Sheldon quipped.

Alex was exhausted. He'd finally showed his uncles what was contained in the TARDIS lunchbox, what he'd done to make it work, and the "power failure" light he'd noticed when he'd tried to use it to get back to his own time.

The machine was like nothing the guys had ever seen. Alex was happy for that because it seemed like they were starting to believe him. Well, to a point. They just couldn't get over the fact that he, Alex Cooper, was the product of Sheldon and Penny. Regardless of what they were looking at now, what they were realizing would one day be possible, that one of them would actually invent time travel, the idea that Sheldon Cooper, their Sheldon, had not only managed to date Penny at some point, but they'd married and had a child.

"Three, actually." Alex had corrected them.

This was the puzzling part to Alex. Sure, he'd heard stories about how his dad used to be. Heck, his dad didn't really seem all that different now. But he never doubted in his mind that his mom and dad belonged together.

He wasn't about to get all mushy about it, but there was some truth to that pick up line he used on the ladies. His parents seemed perfect together. They had something that he really did hope he someday had. They had something that it seemed everyone was looking for.

Alex fell asleep on the couch. Sheldon just sat there and stared at him. Leonard noticed, and brought out a blanket for the kid, covering him up.

"You're his dad, you really should be doing this." Leonard smiled to Sheldon.

Sheldon was not amused. His entire evening schedule had been blown to smithereens. It was well past midnight at this point. He wasn't sure how he'd survive work the next day. He told Leonard so.

"Are you going to tell Penny?" Leonard asked.

"Why on earth would I do such a thing?" Sheldon replied, causing Alex to stir. "He's not our offspring." he said in a hushed voice. "The fact that the three of you are playing in to this strangers game is completely beyond me… I don't even know what to say at this point Leonard. I'm exhausted."

Sheldon rose from the couch, looked down at the boy, who, even Sheldon couldn't deny, bore a striking resemblance to him, except for his green eyes and blonde hair. He noticed his three friends watching him as he watched over the young man on his couch, cleared his throat, wished them a good night, and went to bed.

Alex, Sheldon, and Leonard were all awoken to the sounds of Penny screaming in the hallway.

At the sound of his mom's distress, Alex rose from the couch and opened the front door just in time to see something big and metal coming straight for his face. Sheldon and Leonard got to the living room just in time to see Alex drop to the ground.

"I'm so sorry guys. Really, I wasn't thinking…" Penny whined. She was hunched over Alex with Leonard and Sheldon doing the same. They had moved the boy to the couch.

"As usual." Sheldon chimed in.

"Should we call 911?" she asked, choosing to ignore Sheldon.

"It's only a mild concussion." Sheldon said.

"Mom? Dad?" Alex tried to open his eyes, but when he did, his vision was out of focus. He could make out the voices and shapes of his parents leaning over him. "I had the worst dream. What happened?"

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Penny said as the boy tried to raise his head, and failed miserably. "Just stay put, okay?" she said, and looked up at her two friends.

"Mom, I had the craziest dream. I went back in time, and I met dad and uncle Leonard and Howard and Raj. Dad built a time machine. No one believed me." Alex smiled to himself.

Penny just looked between Leonard and Sheldon. Was this another drug addled cousin of Sheldon's?

Not knowing what else to say, and not wanting to confuse the kid any more than he obviously already was, she simply said, "Well, you're back in good ol' 2011.… whoever you are."

Alex drew his eyebrows together. Shit.

It had been a few days now. Alex was growing tired of 2011. The technology, or lack of, really sucked. He missed all his friends, and he missed his home, his siblings (he never believed that would actually happen), and his mom and dad.

Well, technically, he did have his mom and dad there, but they weren't the mom and dad he knew. They seemed to sort of just tolerate each other. They bickered constantly. His dad talked down to his mom, and his mom made fun of him every chance she got.

And even as horrible as that sounded, it all seemed like they enjoyed every moment of it. Like, it was just how they communicated, and secretly loved each other. Although neither seemed to want to admit it out loud.

How the hell was he ever even born, Alex thought to himself.

"So, how did you're mom and dad fall in love?" his uncle Howard asked.

Oh, shit. "Uncle Howard," Alex began, "I need your help."

"Anything kiddo." Howard said. He had followed suit with Raj on day 2 of the Alex Inhabitance. He was a firm believer that this kid was the child of Sheldon and Penny. There was no way he could be convinced otherwise.

Especially after the blood work Sheldon had done, which confirmed beyond a doubt, that Alex was his son.

"I sort of think that maybe, perhaps, I've screwed up. Big time." Alex said, lowering his head.

"How? You haven't left the apartment since you got here. Specifically so you wouldn't screw things up." Howard patted the kids shoulder. Sure, it wasn't the greatest thing that the kid had shown up and basically let Sheldon know his future, but it didn't mean he had to mess with the rest of history.

"Mom and dad fell in love when she knocked him out. She was yelling about something," Alex now knew that something being chasing a boyfriend out of her apartment, "and dad and uncle Leonard came to see what all the yelling was about, and when dad opened the door, he got knocked out…"

"Oh crap." was all Howard could think to say.

"Guys, we have a serious problem here." Howard said as the friends all gathered for their nightly 'Figure out how time machine works' session. "Sheldon, if you don't want to know something about your future, you better go somewhere else."

Sheldon simply nodded, and walked to his bedroom.

Howard told Leonard and Raj what the kid had explained earlier that day. "What do we do?"

What could they do? This was a chance, once in a lifetime event that had now passed. They couldn't exactly force them on a date, there was no Enchantment Under The Sea dance that they could get their second shot at. If only real life was as simple as the movies.

"Just take this, and go explain it all to her." the boys all shoved Sheldon towards Penny's door again.

"But it's bad enough that I know! We shouldn't be telling her anything!" he protested.

"And we've already explained that it's necessary at this point. The event that caused you two to hook up in the first place has come and gone." Howard said, giving Sheldon another shove.

They all froze when Penny opened her door. "What's going on guys?" she asked, a bit puzzled. They all looked like deer caught in the headlights, with poor Sheldon at the front of the nerd heard, being pushed towards her door by the rest of the guys.

"Sheldon needs to talk to you." Leonard spat out, and the three of them ran back to his apartment, slamming the door shut, leaving Sheldon standing between 4A and 4B, holding a piece of paper.

"What's up Moonpie?" she smiled.

"Oh God, she fainted!" Leonard cried from the front door as he peered through the peephole. "We should go help…"

"No no, let Sheldon do it. Maybe this will be a good thing." Raj said, going to the door and holding it shut to prevent Leonard from running to rescue Penny.

Sheldon didn't know what to do. Here he was, with Penny in his arms, gathering every ounce of strength he knew he possessed, and even some he didn't, carrying her in to her apartment. He made it as far as her couch. He would have preferred to get her to her bed, (better lumbar support) but the strength that he did have was faltering, and quickly.

"We're married?" Penny asked.

"It appears so. Here." Sheldon replied, handing her the wedding photo he had acquired from their son. Penny smiled at the photo.

"We look happy." she whispers.

"You're being very accepting of this information." he tells her.

"Your face isn't twitching." she tells him, the corners of her mouth pulling up slightly as she looks at her future husband. Sheldon looks confused. Why would his face be twitching? "You really are serious about this aren't you." she sighs.

"Very." he sighs back. "I've had him tested. He's biologically related to the both of us."

Penny decided that now wasn't the time to ask how Sheldon managed to get some of her DNA to prove this. There seemed to be more important things on the table at the moment.

"He called me mom." she said. "The other morning, when I hit him with the bowl. When he woke up he called me mom." she smiled again.

"I don't know if we'll be able to get him back to his correct time." Sheldon said. "The mechanics, the power source, are beyond my current knowledge. Until we are able to figure it out, he's stuck here."

They were both silent for a while. They just sat there on Penny's couch, both thinking to themselves. Sheldon was busy working out equations, occasionally drawing them in the air with his fingers, trying to figure out how to use what he had apparently invented.

Penny was thinking about what it would be like to kiss Sheldon. She couldn't think past just kissing him. This was Sheldon, for crying out loud. He'd never actually initiated a kiss in his life as far as she knew. She wanted to just lean over and kiss him, to get the first one out of the way. To see if there really was something there between them. But if this was supposed to turn in to some epic love, she didn't want it to start out like that.

Why in the world was she even thinking about his? Well, Harry had it sort of right in "When Harry Met Sally", didn't he? When you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

She'd dreamed of finding that type of love. The type of love that she was going to share with Sheldon. She'd never even considered him until this moment. That this man, her friend, her wack-a-doodle, her beautiful mind scientist guy, would ever be that for her.

"Kiss me." she said, breaking Sheldon out of whatever problem he was in the middle of writing in the air.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"Kiss me, Sheldon." she repeated, and scooted closer to him on the already small couch.

"But Penny! When was the last time you brushed your teeth? I don't have any mouthwash with me at the moment to properly disinfect me mouth."

"Oh for crying out loud Sheldon! We have a kid. Just kiss me!"

"Well alright then." he conceded, scared by the look she was giving him.

The entire time she sat there, waiting for Sheldon to make his move, she kept thinking of how this would never work. He'd lean in, and then pull back twice as much. It was basically one step forward, two steps back. His hands hovered over her shoulders as he was unsure as to where he should place them. Penny just sat there, smiling at him. His face was twitching, he was squirming uncomfortably in his seat. He almost looked like a tiny kitten, learning how to pounce for the first time.

"Sheldon, sweetie. Take a deep breath." she whispered to him, and he did as he was told. "Lower your arms back to your side." Again, he complied. "Close your eyes." She leaned in a little closer to him. "Lean forward slightly, and kiss me." she smiled as he did as she asked, and his lips found hers.

It was soft, gentle, sweet. Penny parted her lips just a bit and angled her head slightly to the right. Sheldon copied her movements. She puckered a little, taking his bottom lip between hers, as he took her top lip between his.

They stayed like that, kissing gently, no tongue, because quite frankly, he wasn't ready for that, and she knew it. But this was just as good. She took his left hand in hers and guided it around her waist, and then did the same with his right. He was rigid but pliable at the same time. She placed her arms over his shoulders, letting her hands fiddle with the hair at the base of his head ever so slightly.

When their lips finally parted, that was all the proof that Penny needed. "Holy shit." she breathed.

"Indeed." Sheldon whispered back.

"Oh, gross." Alex moaned, slumping over on the couch as his dad walked in to 4A, said good night to his son and Leonard, and then retreated to his room.

Leonard, a confused smile on his face, looked to the boy.

"That's the face dad makes when him and mom have been fooling around." Alex whined, grossed out at the thought of his parents 'fooling around' for the first time.

"Oh." Leonard smiled, laughing to himself.

Penny couldn't describe all the things she was feeling as she sat on the couch in 4A, between her future husband and their first born.

Irritated was the first thought however that came to mind as she tried to decipher all her feelings. Irritated because the rest of her boys were sitting across from them, pretending to eat dinner, but really at this point, they were just staring at the little family.

Curiosity was the second thing. She wanted to know about her son. He sure did look like Sheldon, aside from the blonde hair and green eyes.

"Sheldon, Alex. What do you say we move this little dinner party over to my place?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the rest of the guys.

"Oh thank God." Sheldon said almost immediately. He was having a hard time eating his Thai with everyone watching him. His life had already been disrupted as it was. At the very least he wanted to enjoy the little bits of normalcy he was getting.

Father and son rose and followed Penny to 4B where they enjoyed their dinner in peace.

"So you've got a brother and sister?" Penny asked her son. He nodded. "Are you going to elaborate?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Dad said I shouldn't. Something about messing up the future or something like that. I dunno." Alex shrugged.

"Oh for peets sake." Sheldon sighed.

Penny cut off whatever he was about to say next. "Sheldon, leave him alone." she scolded. Alex smiled. He'd noticed that his IQ seemed to be an issue with his dad here, and was glad that it wasn't back home. All his parents asked was that he did the best he could.

Did he stick to that? Nope. If he did, he wouldn't be failing Physics.

"Sweetie, I don't think it's going to get any more screwed up than it already is." She placed her hand on Alex's cheek and ran her thumb back and forth over it. It was a maternal move on her part, and Alex wasn't about to stop her. His mom was pretty awesome, and he really did need the comfort.

But once Penny realized what she was doing, and how she was just a little freaked out about how protective she felt of this kid she hardly knew, she stopped.

"My sister's smart like you." Alex said to his dad. "She just won the Stevenson Award. She's thirteen."

It was in that moment that Sheldon relaxed. He wasn't sure why that news was so comforting, but it was. He didn't dislike his son Alex because he wasn't as smart as him, but Sheldon had worried about being ostracized for his IQ in his own family. It would be bad enough with Penny calling him a wack-a-doodle for the rest of his life, but to have three children doing the same?

Sheldon smiled, a genuine smile, at Alex and Penny. It wasn't that creepy one he gave Raj when he was named one of Peoples 30 Under 30 to Watch. It wasn't that comforting one he'd given Penny that time he had to take her to the ER. It was a genuine smile, showing genuine happiness that Sheldon never thought he'd wanted or needed. Or would ever have.

He loved Penny in that moment. She'd love him enough at some point to put up with all his eccentricities and continue to love him. To Sheldon, that made her a truly remarkable human being.

After a rather quiet dinner, the family relocated to the couch in apartment 4B and found an episode of Star Trek to watch. Alex sat between his parents, and before long, was dead asleep.

"This is weird." Penny whispered once the episode was over.

"I am going to assume the 'this' you speak of is that we are sitting here in your apartment watching Star Trek with our son, which technically, at your current age, is physically impossible given his current age." Sheldon said, still staring at the television; afraid to make eye contact with Penny. He could feel her staring at him. "I should go home." he said nervously as he rose from the couch. Penny followed, trying to be quiet so she didn't wake Alex.

"Don't leave me here alone with him." she whispered. What the hell was she supposed to do with him? She reached out and grabbed Sheldon's arm.

Sheldon didn't particularly like being touched, however Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Penny were the exception… to a point. Luckily for Penny, she had grabbed a part of his arm covered by his sleeve. But he shuddered at her touch anyway, but for a completely different reason.

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked her, swallowing hard.

Penny looked back at their sleeping child. "I'd hate to wake him…"

"The kind thing to do would be to wake him. Your couch has terrible lumbar support. He may not appreciate being woken up, however I'm sure he would thank us in the morning."

Penny rolled her eyes. Sheldon really wasn't getting the hint here. Granted, she was being subtle, but if she came on to him like her "big ol' five" self, he'd run screaming, and then Alex might disappear like Michael J. Fox started to in Back to the Future, and she didn't want that.

The fact was, she really did care that Alex got a comfortable nights sleep. But if they woke him up now, Sheldon would have a reason to leave, and she wouldn't get the alone time she'd been hoping for. Ever since they kissed a few nights before, he'd been avoiding her for the most part. She was surprised he'd even left the apartment to have dinner at her place, but figured that he'd just been looking for some peace given the events of the last few weeks. The rest of the guys, she was sure, had been relentless in their teasing of Sheldon.

"I was wondering if maybe we could talk?" she finally whispered. "Alone." She motioned over to Alex, still conked out on her couch, sitting up where he had been, head back and rolled to the right, a little drool leaking from the side of his open mouth.

Sheldon nodded, and Penny lead them back to her bedroom. They could talk in there, privately. She really had no clear ulterior motive. She'd thought she had, but now she was nervous about bringing a man in her room. Even if it was Sheldon.

She sat on her bed, near the pillows, legs crossed Indian style. It took her nearly five minutes to talk Sheldon in to sitting on the bed with her so they both would feel more comfortable, and then another three waiting for him to find his "spot", which was at the foot of her bed, sitting with his legs crossed, Indian style like her, facing her.

"I'm scared." she told him, and he nodded. "This is a hell of a lot of pressure to put on anyone." she continued. "What are we going to do?"

Sheldon fiddled with the tiny box he'd had in his pocket for the last week. His mother would tan his hide if she knew he'd had a child out of wedlock. Granted, Penny and him had given birth two weeks ago to a sixteen year old boy. But he was their son, and he was there with them now, and Penny and him weren't even dating. They'd only kissed once. He needed to make an honest woman of Penny. She deserved that much.

Leonard, Howard, and Raj threw the door to 4A open when they heard Penny screaming "Get OUT!" They held back their laughter as best they could as they watched Sheldon stumble out of her apartment, a wide eyed Alex kissing his mom on the cheek, wishing her a good night, as he followed his dad into the landing between the two apartments.

Penny slammed her door, still yelling, to no one at this point, as Sheldon, followed by Alex, walked in to 4A.

"What the hell happened?" Leonard asked Sheldon, who kept his head down as he silently scurried to his bedroom.

Alex stopped in the living room, a huge grin plastered on his face at the evenings turn of events. He looked to his uncle Leonard. "He proposed to her." he smiled, taking his seat on the couch.

Three months. Three whole freaking months Alex had been trapped in 2011. His dad and uncles seemed no closer now than they were before at figuring out how to get him home.

The worst part was, his mom and dad were practically not speaking at this point. Not since the now infamous "proposal".

He'd raised his concern of disappearing like Marty McFly to his dad, who had in turn explained that what most likely would happen was that an alternate time line would be created. Much like that in the 2009 Star Trek reboot. Alex had seen the movie, and understood, but it still didn't make him feel any better.

And while everyone and almost everything else seemed to have gotten back to normal, Alex was restless and angry, mostly brought on at this point by his parents never ending bickering. Because that was all they did anymore. He was thankful for growing up to their playful banter, and was told that was similar to how they had interacted since the day they met. But now, when they did speak, they just seemed angry and annoyed with each other.

The whole gang had been over enjoying pizza and Halo. His dad in his 0000, his mom on the other side of the couch, and Alex in between them. One skillfully thrown grenade by his mom, one very dead dad in the game, (Which, by the way, was not meant as any sort of retaliation on his mom's part. Her and his dad were on opposite teams during this particular round.) and you would have thought it was WWIII in apartment 4A.

It felt like they were on a personal attack on Alex, and they touched on a little bit of everything it seemed.

"Your kids will be backwoods rednecks."

"Your kids wouldn't know a non optional social convention if it hit them in the face."

"Your kids would hold meaningless jobs and make mediocre wages." (or something like that)

"Your kids will end up being germaphobic freaks like you."

"Your kids will be lucky to live past the age of three with your attention span."

That last one had really hurt Penny, and she wasn't sure why. She figured, other than the fighting between her and Sheldon, she'd been the best mom she could be so far to Alex. Not only now, but in the future that he came from. He seemed loved and well adjusted. Smart, but not socially retarded. She'd made sure he wanted for nothing in her current time, even though she hardly made enough to cover her own rent, she didn't want him to be without, and she had no clue where that instinct had come from.

"Your kids will be unloved by you, you heartless bastard. You don't know how to love anyone but yourself." she practically sobbed.

"Jesus will you two shut up! Just stop it! Stop fighting!" Alex screamed, throwing his remote at the television, and thankfully missing, and stormed in to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Penny ran from 4A crying, and Sheldon stomped in to his room, slamming his door behind him.

Howard smiled awkwardly. "Was it just me, or could you cut the sexual tension in here with a knife?"