Author's note: The series resets with this episode. Remember that as this story progresses, many times they resume the storyline as if never having sex before with each other. So is the case in this episode.
*****
The group found out that the University was having a Physics Bowl. Leonard, Raj and Howard were in, but they had to convince Sheldon to join their team. That was their first mistake, he tried taking over and after dominating the practice session, they decided to kick Sheldon off the team.
Sheldon was upset and started his own team. Leonard, Raj and Howard needed a fourth and finally got Leslie Winkle to join. Sheldon's team consisted of three of the workers at the university, mainly maintenance and cafeteria workers. The contest came down to the final question and one of Sheldon's teammates who was a physicist in Russia, he gave the correct answer, but Sheldon refused to use his answer, giving Leonard's team to trophy. (It was an uneventful episode, sexually speaking).
The following week Leonard was cruising the internet and he put an online bid for a replica of the time machine, unbeknownst to him, it was a full size time machine. He ended up winning it with his bid and it was delivered to his lobby. As they struggled to get it up the stairs to their apartment, they just so happened to block the stairs, making it impossible for Penny to make it to work. She took Sheldon's suggestion, he told her to get to the roof and jump across to the other building and get down from there. She did, but was still not able to make it to work on time. She was pissed and after missing work, where the manager gave her shift away to some other waitress, she came into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment and read them the riot act. Her hair was all disheveled and she was very upset, "Okay, first of all, what you call a gap was nearly three feet wide. I slipped and skinned my knee."
Leonard was concerned, "Are you okay?"
"Shush... The door to the stairwell of the other building was locked. I had to go down the fire escape on the third floor, forcing me to crawl through the window of a lovely Armenian family who insisted I stay for lunch."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
In a squeaky voice she replied, "It was eight courses of lamb. They tried to fix me up with their son."
"Sorry."
"NOT DONE! By the time I got to work, they'd given my shift away. Yeah, that's right. I've lost an entire day's pay thanks to this!" She pointed at the time machine. "This..."
Sheldon broke in, "Time machine!"
She turned to him and gave him a dirty look.
Leonard tried to lighten the mood, "Lights flash, and the dish spins. Wanna try?"
"NO!" She screamed out, "I don't wanna try it! My God, you are grown men. How can you waste your lives with these stupid toys and costumes and comic books, and now that? That..."
Sheldon stuck his foot I his mouth again, "Again, time machine." Leonard grabbed his arm and shook his head to keep quiet.
Penny was really pissed off, "Oh please, it's not a time machine. If anything, it looks like something Elton John would drive through the Everglades."
Again Sheldon wouldn't let it go, "It only travels through time. It would be worse than useless in a swamp."
Penny went off the deep end, she had a real disgusted look on her face and pointed towards all four of them, "PATHETIC! All of you, completely pathetic!" She turned al left, slamming the door behind her.
Leonard was crushed and went into a deep funk. In the middle of the night he sat in the time machine turning it on and off. Sheldon came out to see what was wrong.
"We have to get rid of the time machine. Penny was right, time for us to grow up. I'm selling all of my collectables to Stewart and I'm going to become an adult."
Sheldon went to sleep and Leonard fell asleep in the time machine and had a dream, it was a reenactment of this afternoon. They were pushing the machine up and Penny came out of her apartment. She looks down the stairs, "What are you doing?"
"You know, just moving a time machine."
"Yeah okay, neat. But I really gotta get to work."
"No problem!" He tore his glasses off and ripped off the caution tape from the broken elevator. He pried open the door and reached out for Penny and spinning her around, he pulls her into his arms, "Hang on!"
"But what about your time machine?"
"Some things are more important than toys." He grabs hold of the elevator cables as Penny wraps her arms around his neck and she whispered out, "I'm scared."
"Don't worry, baby, I've got you!"
"Oh Leonard!" She kisses him as they slowly slide down to the first floor.