It's Only Logical | Big Bang Theory

The Opportunity Ascension

Living in an apartment with a roommate has proven itself to have both merits and drawbacks. Example: happy to share in on Penny's joy when she tells stories of how dorky, yet romantic Leonard can be. Less happy to be forced to wear (big!) headphones every other night when Penny and Leonard choose to turn that dorky romance into loud love-making. Listening in just seems wrong. However, I see no reason to wear said headphones when they are simply eating dinner, alone, after Leonard apologisingly asking me if I minded that it was just the two of them. I didn't mind, of course, but the circumstances did make me slightly more inclined to listen in on their conversation from the humble solitude of my bedroom. What if he is going to propose? What if he is going to break up with her? So far the conversation is pretty dull. Penny is telling Leonard some story of how she spilled drinks all over her shirt at work and got her biggest tip ever. I laugh along with them, stopping as I remember how easily sound travels in this apartment. Maybe I should stop eavesdropping on their conversation - Leonard probably just wanted to spend some alone time with Penny. I should be focusing on work, anyway. Things are going smoothly at Caltech. Raj and I are progressing on our work, and I've been getting to know Leslie Winkle better. Apparently her and Leonard used to date, but she broke up with him once she realised that he would continue to prefer string theory to loop quantum gravity. "How would we have raised our children?" she asked at one point, to which I tried to provide a diplomatic solution before realising that her asking was purely rhetorical. So yes, life is going well, and I haven't had a drink since the beer incident that one time. One thing I haven't got sorted out, though, is Barry Kripke. I've tried apologising but he keeps turning his head, raising it up into the sky as if playing difficult to get whenever I approach him.
"It sounds like an amazing opportunity," Penny says at the other side of my bedroom door. What's an amazing opportunity? Did Leonard have something specific to talk to her about after all? Very tempted to get up with ear pressed against door to hear more, I decide against it, realising that Leonard must have a good reason to not want others than Penny to know about it at this point. Thus I plug in my earphones (not the big, love-making ones) and continue working.

Not ten minutes later and I'm interrupted by a sound seemingly close to my door. Curious, I remove one earphone and listen attentively. Kissing. Groaning. Here comes the loud love-making. With a roll of my eyes I put the earphone back in.

Not four minutes later and I'm interrupted by harsh attacks against my wall. Wow, they're really feeling it tonight. Kissing. Groaning. With a groan myself, I rip out my earphones - regretting it immediately -, get up, and exit the apartment. Where to? Sheldon? I walk over and knock on the door opposite my own, earning a loud "Who is it?". He sounds displeased.
"It's m- It is I!" I exclaim, remembering how Sheldon was lecturing us the other day - "The grammatically correct way to say it is "It is I!"!" he had said. The door opens, and before me stands a Sheldon with a disgruntled expression.
"I thought that would make you happy!" I say, faking hurt that he hadn't praised my grammatical accuracy.
"It's not that," Sheldon says with a pout and allows me to enter the apartment. "Why are you here?" he then asks, sitting himself down on the couch.
"Penny and Leonard are... being loud," I say, not sure what to do with my hands. Sheldon rolls his eyes.
"Of course, the prospect of coitus is more important than your best friend after having just informed him of your impending and certain death," Sheldon says, strangely sarcastic, obviously dismayed. What?
"Certain death? What happened?" I ask, sitting myself down beside him.
"Haven't you heard? Leonard is going on a ship in the North Sea to research how the similarities of the equations of general relativity and hydrodynamics suggest you could find the equivalent of Unruh radiation in a large body of water," Sheldon blurts.
"Well-"
"Funded by Stephen Hawking!" he interrupts.
"Well..." I try once more. "Isn't that a good thing?" I ask. "It sounds like an amazing opportunity," I continue. Ah. So that is what Leonard was telling Penny.
"A 'good' thing? A good thing?" Sheldon repeats, and I try to put myself in his pattern of thinking. I should probably work on that. "You know what the North Sea is, right? It's a sea with water! People drown in water!" he bellows, and I nod.
"Yeah. But then they would have to fall in. And be unable to swim. Leonard can swim, can't he? He would be in greater danger if there were sharks as well," I say, probably not cheering him up. Sheldon's eyes narrow and I feel as if had they been able to, they would have shot me down right then and there. He shakes his head.
"I can't believe Leonard is going to have his death funded by Stephen Hawking," he then says. I suppress a chuckle.
"Sheldon, what's this really about?" I sigh. "You're going to miss him, aren't you?"
"Miss him. I don't miss people," he says, looking down, and I place a hand on his shoulder. For a moment we sit there, and then he lifts his head. "By the way, if you need a pair of big headphones to cancel out the noise, you can borrow mine,"

"Morning, Raj," I say as I enter his office, carrying two cups of coffee.
'MORNING, LUCILLE,' the board reads and I smile at him. We both get out our phones. Usually we chat for a bit before starting the work of the day.
'Did you hear about Leonard?' I ask.
'Yes. It's very exciting for him.'
'Sheldon is distressed that Stephen Hawking will be funding Leonard's death,'
Raj laughs out loud. 'That's hilarious. Listen, Lucille, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to dinner tomorrow night?' I raise my eyebrows.
'Sure, sounds fun' I text back. What is this about? Wasn't he still trying to sort things out with-
'Lucy's coming over and I want her to meet you first. I think maybe she would be intimidated by a guy. Thank you so much, Lucille!' Oh. Right. That's nice of him to think of me first. But didn't Raj say that Lucy had been twitchy about him and I spending so much time together? I suppose that's for him to think of. Someone knocks on the door and opens it. President Siebert. Our boss. I talked to him when he interviewed me for the job as Raj's assistant and then again when he welcomed me to the university.
"Dr. Koothrappali, Dr. Davenport," he greets us, and we both nod at him. "May I borrow Dr. Davenport for a minute?" he asks, and Raj nods once more. What now? Did I do something wrong? Did I do something right?
"President Siebert, is everything okay?" I ask as we step out into the hallway, closing the door behind us.
"Everything is in the finest order, Davenport. I'm here because I have an opportunity for you," he says with a smile playing on his lips.
"Oh?" I say, a little scared but very curious.
"You remember that you have your Ph.D., and that you're thus equally qualified to do Dr. Koothrappali's job as Dr. Koothrappali himself," he says.
"Well, except for the obvious lack of experience," I begin as I let his words sink in. "What are you suggesting, President Sibert? You don't want me to take over Raj's job, do you?" I feel my heart well up in my throat.
"No," he replies. I sigh, relieved. "And yes. I want you to do Koothrappali's job, but at a different university. There is an opening, and I suggested you. You would obtain a lot of freedom there. You would no longer be just an assistant," I feel my body freezing. A job at a different university? No longer 'just' an assistant? Away from Pasadena? Away from my friends?
"Think it over for a few days and let me know," President Siebert says, gently touching my shoulder before turning around to leave. "Just remember, they won't wait forever," A job opportunity. Away from my friends. As I walk back into the office, Raj looks up at me and frowns. My phone buzzes.
'What's up?'
"Nothing," I tell him. "He just wanted to know how I'm settling,"

Hey you! I'm very grateful that you decided to read this chapter even after I've been the worst at updating regularly. I know how frustrating that can be. But now I have more chapters lined up so I'm not totally bare after publishing this one. I also have a Christmas Special in mind for sometime next month! So if you're still reading, I thank you a whole lot! I love reading your comments and appreciate every single one. Okay. I'll get back to writing now - and if you have any awesome ideas you think I should try including in this fic, let me know! I'll consider every idea given xx