"The X-Advisors..."

"The X-Advisors..." Part XXXIX...

Disclaimer: All is Chuck's...

Part XXXIX...

"Yeah, hi, Miss...Doctowr Bwarry Kripke and my..."

"Dr. Fowler." Amy put out hand. "Very pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, honey." the middle-aged receptionist for the UTexas Austin Physics Department eyed both, then Amy's cardigan, then shook the offered hand. "Are you here to see anyone?" As Barry put his quickly displayed Cal-Tech id away having covered the 2020 expiration date.

"Uh, yes, as a matter of fact...Dr. Michelson on the third floowr, who is giving the aftewrnoon seminawr at 1:30. Wanted to catch the ole fellow and offewr a few points, me being hewre to discuss a possible sabbaticwal I wanted to get to know a few of the fwolks about."

"J. Michelson, name's on the seminar poster..." Amy, cheerily.

"Jane? Yeah, she's on the third floor. Go up the stairs to the left. Room 315. Warm day for a sweater, isn't it, sweetie?"

"I'm from Maine. I feel undressed without it, unless it's a special social occassion. I have my Cal Tech id too, if..."

"Uh, no...Really not necessary." smile. "It's just the Physics Department here, lamby."

"Great. Great...Not that I have anything to hide. Of course one might want to consider that there may be..."

We're in....Shut up...Barry hissed, leading Amy over to the stairs.

"She didn't even really want to see your id...Don't they have security here? It's a University physics building."

"It's the 1990s, pwre 9/11...Besides the sensitive stuff is in the next bwuilding, where the main labs are. Though secuwrity is weak thewre too." As they hurried up the stairs...

The receptionist pondering. Girl reminds me of that strange little kid who drops by now and then for the seminars...

"Wait..." Amy halted on the stairs. "How did you know that?" she frowned at Kripke.

"Because, I wreally did consider a sabbatical hewre, under none other than Doctowr Stein. And while I didn't win the Stwevenson award at fouwrteen for theowretical physics, I did win the James Clewrk Maxwell pwrize for Plasma Physics a yeawr fwrom now for my papewr on applications of stable state plasma to expanding wormholes...I've been hewre." Kripke, calmly.

Amy eyed him. "That's how you knew Dr. Stein's work and how close Susan was to applying it..."

"I maintained my intewrest. And I wreally would have had something to talk about with Susan. Which natuwrally had led me to spend the last thwree nights boning up on the subject, so I could potentially bone hewr. Fate wowrks in mystewrious ways, Fowlewr."

"It does. But shouldn't we be in the other bwuil...Building? If that's where..."

"We've no wreason to expect Susan would be twrying again, she's accomplished hewr goal of getting hewre. It's just that she would want to have a good obsewrvation post to monitowr Sheldon without stalking his home. Though it is possible she might have hopes of going back to an Amyless futuwre later."

"But she can't alter our past. This timeline only exists so long as we live it. She has to stay."

"And watch her youngewr self do what she couldn't...Given hewr mental state, how long do you think she'll tolewrate even that?" he eyed her.

"You think she'd even take herself out...? But that's..."

"Not as cwrazy as destwroying a univewrse...Or at least a good pawrt of one. I don't think she'd kill her little self, but it could wlead hewr to twry a wreturn twrip to kill and wreplace Susan Stein Cwooper."