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3rd POV
"Well, what do you think?" George asked, grinning at Connie.
Connie continued chewing the brisket Georgie and George had made, remaining silent until she swallowed.
Then, she opened her eyes and looked at both of them.
"I don't like it!" she said.
George snorted. "Pfft! If you don't like it, then why did you swallow it?"
Veronica, sitting beside Georgie and Connie, giggled and pointed at her plate, "This is really good, Coach George." she said with a bright smile.
George's grin widened even more.
"Just call me George here. But at school, it's Coach George," he joked before turning back to Connie, who was about to take another bite, "You can stop eating it if you don't like it." he teased.
"I can eat whatever I want!" Connie shot back before taking another bite of brisket.
After swallowing, she turned to Georgie, "What did you add to this recipe?."
"I'll write it down for you, Memaw." Georgie said.
George had no objections. The two of them had already settled their differences last night.
"You know, Herschel came by and asked me to write down the brisket recipe for him!" George suddenly announced.
Mary turned to him, her eyebrows raised.
"Did you give it to him?" she asked. While she believed in sharing with those in need, this was different. She wasn't too keen on handing it over to just anyone outside the family.
"Of course not!" George laughed, savoring the moment. He understood now how Connie must have felt when he had rejected Herschel request before.
"Herschel is our neighbor—part of the Sparks family." Georgie explained to Veronica, who looked confused because before dinner, Georgie and Missy talk about Sparks Family too.
Missy chimed in, "They came over last night to hang out in the backyard!"
"Really? Dang, I guess I missed out, huh?" Veronica said playfully, though Mary caught a hint of loneliness in her tone.
"It's not like that," Mary reassured her gently, "George was busy prepping the brisket, and Georgie was helping him. One thing led to another, and we all ended up keeping George company for a while. The Sparks family just joined in when they saw us outside."
Mary then smiled warmly at Veronica.
"Of course, if you had been here, you would have been with us too."
Connie smirked.
"You mean, she'd be part of the Cooper family?" she said, amusement twinkling in her eyes.
Mary instantly paled.
"NO! I-I mean, not now! You two are still young! There's so much you both can do with your lives! Don't listen to her, alright, Veronica?!" she blurted out, her voice carrying a slight edge of panic.
Connie burst into laughter, while Veronica flushed bright red.
Mary shot Connie a sharp glare.
Meanwhile, completely detached from their conversation, Sheldon turned to George.
"Dad, we're still going to Florida, right?" he asked.
George glanced at Mary, who gave him a nod of approval.
"Oh yeah, sure," he said with a smile. "Three Cooper boys heading to Florida!"
Missy wrinkled her nose.
"I know what you're thinking," she said, her voice full of suspicion, "Georgie was thinking the exact same thing earlier," she added with a scowl.
Veronica chuckled at Missy's sharp observation.
"Wh-what?" George looked confused. He turned to Georgie, who just shrugged.
"Missy thinks you're picturing girls in bikinis sunbathing at the beach. That's what Georgie was thinking before." Sheldon stated matter-of-factly.
George shot a look at his son, his irritation growing.
"What?! I didn't say anything!" Georgie protested.
Veronica snorted and playfully smacked Georgie's arm.
"If you think like that again, I'll punch you." she warned.
Georgie opened his mouth wanted to argue but quickly shut it when he saw Veronica's expression.
"But we're not going for that," Sheldon reminded them all. "We're watching the space shuttle launch, and then we're coming straight home. I don't want my skin burning under the Florida sun." he added with a huff.
"Sure." George said, taking a sip of water.
"Oh yeah, by the way," Georgie said, glancing at the table. "I'll be playing some gigs at bars around Houston. So for the next few days, I probably won't be home for dinner."
Silence.
George and Mary turned to him, surprised.
"What?" George asked.
It would be the first time Georgie performed in front of a crowd of complete strangers.
Georgie noticed everyone at the table looking at him in shock, so he quickly continued.
"It's not like I'm getting paid or anything," he clarified, "Miss Fenley and Miss Rosie just want me to get more comfortable and gain experience performing in front of people."
"I'm watching your first show!" Missy declared, her eyes locking onto Georgie like a hawk.
"We're all watching your first show!" George announced, making the decision for the family.
"I'm coming too!" Veronica added, frowning at Georgie, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" she asked.
"Umm… because I just got the schedule this afternoon." Georgie admitted.
He glanced around the table.
"Anyway, I'd love to have you all there." he said with a smile.
Sheldon sighed dramatically.
"Hufft. Another crazy night." he muttered but didn't refuse to attend.
Connie chuckled and turned to Georgie.
"I'll get drunk there, and Veronica will be driving me home." she announced with a mischievous grin.
Veronica chuckled awkwardly but gave a small nod.
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3rd POV – Future
Sheldon was thrilled to examine the bug in Howard's hand—but the smug look on Howard's face quickly drained his enthusiasm.
"How did you find this bug?" Sheldon asked, taking the tiny surveillance device and inspecting it closely, "And there are three of them! Oh, brother, you've really crossed the line!"
Without waiting for Howard to answer, Sheldon turned on his heel and muttered,
"Thank you, Howard. And Raj."
Both Howard and Raj froze, shivers running down their spines.
That was the first time Sheldon had ever thanked them.
And it wasn't sarcastic.
It was genuine.
Especially toward Howard—since Sheldon was always bickering with him.
Leonard, who had been watching, turned to the two men.
"Did you hear that?" Howard asked, still in shock.
Leonard nodded grimly.
"Sheldon, how long do you think those spy bugs have been here?" he asked, a hint of unease creeping into his voice.
Sheldon, still holding the device, glanced at Leonard while waiting for his phone call to connect.
"I have no idea." he said indifferently.
Leonard's face darkened.
"That's… That's really not fine, Sheldon!" he finally burst out.
He had always assumed Sheldon's paranoia about spies and hidden surveillance was just paranoia.
But now, standing here with actual evidence in his hands…
He realized—Sheldon wasn't paranoid.
He was right.
Even though they hadn't found any bugs in the bathroom or Leonard's room, the fact remained—someone had bugged their apartment.
Sheldon glanced at Leonard and could see the thoughts racing through his mind.
Hell, he had already considered this possibility from the beginning, but no one had believed him.
He had chosen not to voice his paranoia, but now that they had solid proof, he couldn't ignore it anymore.
Just as he was about to say something, his call connected, and a familiar voice came through the phone.
A rare smile formed on Sheldon's face.
"…I'm doing well, Brother…"
But then his brow furrowed, and his expression darkened.
"Not that! I just found bugs and spy devices in my apartment! Why did you plant them here? And how long have they been here?!" Sheldon shouted into the phone.
Leonard, Howard, and Raj exchanged looks.
After all, Sheldon was talking to George Cooper Jr.
"…I see. Apologies accepted… Now, tell me," Sheldon continued, his voice still sharp.
"Protect me? From who?! I don't have any enemies!"
Sheldon threw his arms up in frustration, gesturing to his friends as if to say Can you believe this nonsense?
Howard and Raj gave him deadpan looks.
Sheldon? No enemies?
That was like saying Hitler was a saint who never started a war.
They wisely chose not to comment and continued to listen.
Leonard nudged Sheldon, reminding him of his own question.
"Alright… Since when have you been bugging my apartment?... Not long ago? What does that even mean?!"
Leonard frowned. That phrase was too vague.
Sheldon sighed.
"My friend here wants details. How long ago exactly?"
A pause. Then Sheldon nodded.
"Two months ago? Alright."
Leonard exhaled slightly, finally getting a straight answer.
Then he leaned in and whispered, "Why?"
Sheldon listened to the response before pulling the phone away from his ear.
"My brother says his team is working on a secret money maker project and doesn't want other companies snooping around." Sheldon explained.
Leonard seemed satisfied with the answer and gestured for Sheldon to continue.
Sheldon returned to his conversation.
"…Alright then. How are you, brother? …Hmm… Mom misses me, huh? Of course she does… What about Memaw? …Naturally, she misses me too…"
Sheldon started pacing away, but Howard and Raj followed closely.
Howard tapped his arm.
"What project is he working on?" Howard whispered.
Sheldon didn't even ask over the phone. Instead, he just stared at Howard like he was an idiot.
"Do you understand the meaning of the word secret?" Sheldon asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Howard's mouth twitched, but he held back his frustration.
Raj just chuckled and patted Howard's shoulder.
Sheldon refocused on his call.
"…I KNOW! I'm not on the team right now…" he grumbled before scowling at Howard again.
"…No, I'm not joining. You know I love physics… Alright."
Then, Sheldon's tone shifted, pride filling his voice.
"Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that I found three bugs in the apartment—"
He stopped abruptly. His expression twisted into confusion.
"What do you mean, 'hmmm'? … Brother! Brother—?!"
The call disconnected.
Sheldon stared at his phone, his face unreadable.
Then, slowly, he turned to Howard.
"…There are more bugs," he said flatly.
Howard's irritation vanished, now fully intrigued.
"What do you mean more? We already swept the whole place and found three." Howard pointed out.
Leonard stood up from the couch and glanced around.
He, Howard, and Raj had all searched the apartment thoroughly—there were no other bugs left.
Raj pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up.
"Sheldon, why don't you call Missy and tell her you found five bugs instead of three so she can say if it's true there are more bugs in here?" Raj suggested.
Sheldon arched an eyebrow but nodded, impressed by the logical deduction.
He dialed Missy.
"Hello, Missy… Where should I send five spy bugs back to? The office, or—?"
A pause.
Then Sheldon's eyes gleamed.
"…Heh… Thank you, and goodbye," he said smoothly before hanging up.
He turned to his friends.
"We still need to find one more bug."
Leonard tensed.
"But where? We already searched the whole place… Unless…"
His eyes locked onto Sheldon.
"Could it be… at the university?"
Sheldon's expression darkened.
"…There are probably more there…" he admitted. "We'll search tomorrow."
But Leonard's theory made him uneasy.
Howard and Raj were deep in thought.
Howard trusted his own skills in technology. He knew there were no more bugs in the apartment…
But then…
"…Laundry room?" Howard suggested cautiously.
Sheldon's eyes widened.
He hadn't checked there.
It was a public space—accessible to all tenants in the building.
Maybe his brother wasn't just monitoring him but keeping an eye on other people in the complex.
Sheldon nodded.
It was worth checking.
Howard grabbed his equipment, and the four of them made their way to the laundry room.
Sure enough—
They found the fourth bug.
"Ahh… There you are!" Sheldon sighed dramatically, as if he had just completed a grand mission.
"Thank goodness! That feels really good…"
He held up the bug with satisfaction.
"I'll be delivering you back home!" he declared.
Howard and Raj exchanged glances, but despite the weirdness of Sheldon's words, they were relieved to have finally found all the devices.
"Thank you, guys. Doesn't this feel better now?" Sheldon asked, smiling at his friends.
Howard nodded.
"You're welcome," he said sincerely.
Raj smiled, and Leonard let out a deep sigh.
"…Is it over now?" Leonard asked warily, "Are there no more bugs?"
Howard checked his equipment one last time.
"The room is clean," he confirmed seriously.
"My scanner isn't picking up anything else."
Leonard exhaled in relief—then his expression darkened.
He turned to Sheldon, his frustration evident.
"It's not cool, Sheldon. Your brother spying on other people like a stalker—"
Before he could finish, Sheldon's face twisted with rage.
Something none of them had ever seen before.
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF ME!"
His voice boomed through the laundry room.
Howard and Raj froze in shock.
Leonard, caught off guard, instinctively lowered his head like a scolded schoolboy.
His nerd instincts kicked in, taking him back to the bullying days of high school.
"I—I'm sorry…" Leonard stammered, barely above a whisper.
Sheldon let out a frustrated huff, then turned on his heel and walked out, leaving them in stunned silence.
The laundry room was eerily quiet.