AN: I've already released Reborn as Lucifer. Check it out. Add it from my profile.
--
Jack stopped halfway toward the counter as Sheldon practically announced his name to the entire café. Amy stood beside him with an expression that suggested she would've happily disappeared into the nearest wall, while Sheldon looked absurdly satisfied with himself.
Jack took off his sunglasses and let out a sigh. "Sheldon, Amy. It's been a while." He held up a hand to stop Sheldon from speaking. "And Sheldon, you really need to stop bothering my publisher and editor's office. Also, cut out the weird emails to my personal address. I still have no idea how you even got it. And stop sending letters every week at my house"
Amy slowly turned her head toward Sheldon. "You emailed his personal account and even sent letters to his house?"
Sheldon straightened his bag with complete confidence. "Eleven times, although only seven messages concerned the publication schedule directly. The others addressed related deficiencies in communication, marketing transparency, and what I consider an irresponsible absence of pre-order information."
Jack just stared at him, while Alice behind the counter quietly began boxing up the cookies. "You also sent me a thirty-two-question survey asking if the delay was due to creative burnout, publisher incompetence, interference with the contract, a neurological issue, or romantic entanglements."
Sheldon nodded as if Jack were complimenting his research methods. "A well-designed survey accounts for multiple variables."
Amy covered her face with one hand. "I drove him here because he wouldn't stop complaining about the book. I would like the record to show that I didn't know he had already started harassing you personally."
Jack looked at Sheldon for another second, then shrugged.
"Well, what's done is done. Just make sure he doesn't do it again," he said, looking at Amy before turning back to Sheldon. "And before you start grilling me, I really was swamped with the movie. We were shooting long days, and when I got back to the hotel, I still had production work piling up. The book got pushed back because I couldn't give it the focus it needed."
Sheldon looked unsatisfied with Jack's reply. "This justification remains unconvincing, given your prior demonstrated capacity to concurrently manage careers as an actor, screenwriter, and novelist without precipitating a four-month delay in a scheduled publication."
"Yeah, and I also found out that trying to do everything at once eventually fries your brain. So, I took care of my health first and slowed down. I even made a public post on the website and my social media, apologizing for the delay," Jack said.
Amy gave Sheldon a pointed look. "See, Sheldon? Even highly successful people occasionally discover that sleep and basic mental health are useful. And you never mentioned that he already made a public post about the delay."
Sheldon looked a little guilty and was trying very hard not to meet Amy's eyes.
Jack gave a small smile. "If it helps at all, the final edits are complete, and the book is already in the printing phase."
"Printing phase?" Sheldon asked while stepping half a pace closer. "You mean physical production has begun at an actual printing facility?"
Jack nodded while taking his wallet from his pocket. "That's generally what printing means. The publisher should announce the release date tonight, assuming nobody terrifies the publicity department into changing their phone numbers."
Sheldon completely ignored the insult. "Have advance copies already been produced?"
"You want one?" Jack asked as Alice placed all his orders on the counter. He paid in cash.
Sheldon's entire expression changed. His shoulders straightened, his eyes widened, and whatever irritation remained from the Strawberry Quik argument vanished beneath sudden, concentrated hope. "You possess access to an advance copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" He asked as he leaned toward Jack with far more interest than he had shown in anything else that afternoon.
Jack tucked his wallet back into his pocket. "Yes." He picked up the drink Alice placed beside his bags and took a small sip. "I've got a few author copies at home."
Sheldon froze so completely that Amy glanced sideways to make sure he was still breathing properly. After several seconds, he slowly placed both hands on the strap of his bag and looked at Jack with the solemnity of someone receiving classified government information.
"There are completed copies currently sitting inside your residence?" Sheldon asked while his voice dropped into something almost reverent.
Jack nodded. "Hardcover copies from the first print run, although I haven't even opened the box yet."
Sheldon answered before Jack had even finished speaking. "Yes, I absolutely want one."
Amy looked at him and smiled faintly. "That might be the fastest decision you've made all day."
Jack lifted his blue slushy and took another sip. "There's one condition before I give you anything."
Sheldon's excitement became cautious almost immediately. "I'm prepared to evaluate any reasonable contractual requirement."
Jack picked up the bag from the counter. "You have to promise me that you'll never annoy me, my editor, my publisher, my family, or anybody else because one of my books gets delayed again."
Sheldon opened his mouth, but Jack lifted one finger before he could launch into an objection.
"That includes emails, phone calls, letters, surveys, showing up at offices, trying to locate printing facilities, contacting distribution centers, and whatever other terrifying strategy you haven't invented yet."
Amy folded her arms and looked toward Sheldon expectantly. "I'd strongly recommend accepting those terms."
Sheldon's eyes moved between Jack and Amy while he considered the situation with unnecessary seriousness. The possibility of receiving an advance copy clearly outweighed whatever philosophical objection he had toward restrictions on his ability to harass publishing employees.
"I promise that I won't contact you or anyone associated with your literary career regarding future publication delays," Sheldon said carefully. "Assuming, of course, that said delays are eventually accompanied by reasonable public communication."
Jack narrowed his eyes slightly. "Remove the second half."
Sheldon looked mildly offended. "That substantially weakens my negotiating position."
"You don't have a negotiating position," Jack replied while adjusting the paper bag beneath one arm. "I have the unreleased book."
Amy smiled as Sheldon's expression tightened with frustration. "He does have considerable leverage."
Sheldon stared at Jack for several seconds before finally surrendering. "Alright. I promise that I won't annoy you, your family, your editor, your publisher, or anyone else because one of your books has been delayed."
Jack studied him carefully. "And you're including letters sent to my house."
Sheldon gave a reluctant nod. "My promise includes residential correspondence."
"And weird questionnaires sent to my personal email."
"My promise includes electronic surveys."
Jack considered the wording and decided it was probably the best agreement he was going to get from Sheldon Cooper. "Alright, then you can have one."
For perhaps the first time that afternoon, Sheldon looked genuinely delighted without trying to hide it. "Excellent. I accept your offer and will treat the advance copy with appropriate archival care."
Jack glanced toward Amy. "Is he always this excited about books?"
Amy smiled. "You should've seen him when you announced Fantastic Beasts in New York. He spent the next three days developing theories about magical creature migration patterns."
Sheldon immediately corrected her while following Jack toward the exit. "Those weren't theories. They were preliminary predictive models based on established wizarding geography."
Before leaving the cafe, Sheldon got his strawberry quik.
...
[Preston Residence]
Amy parked her car behind the SUV.
"Try to remember that you're a guest," Amy said as she took her purse. "That means no wandering around and absolutely no inspecting his private belongings because you think they might contain unpublished manuscripts."
Sheldon stepped out of the car and adjusted the strap of his messenger bag. "I'm perfectly capable of respecting another person's home."
Amy closed her door and looked at him over the roof of the car. "You once went into Leonard Nimoy's backyard because the gate was unlocked."
"That situation involved entirely different circumstances."
Jack walked ahead of them toward the entrance, carrying his café bags in one hand and his slushy in the other.
Once they were inside, Jack led Sheldon and Amy into the living room. "You two can sit here. The copies are upstairs, so I'll grab one."
Sheldon sat down immediately, though his posture remained unusually straight as he looked toward Jack. "Please make certain that you select an undamaged copy."
Jack stopped near the stairs and looked back at him. "Sheldon, they've been sitting inside a box."
"That doesn't eliminate the possibility of manufacturing defects, corner compression, binding irregularities, or careless handling during transportation."
Jack stared at him for another second. "I'll find you a pretty one," He said with a smile.
A moment later, a caretaker entered the living room, carrying two glasses of iced tea on a tray. She placed one in front of Amy and another beside Sheldon.
"Thank you," Amy said as she picked up her glass.
Sheldon examined his iced tea for a moment before lifting it. He took one long sip and continued until almost the entire glass was empty... only the ice cubes remained.
Amy stopped halfway through her own sip and stared at him.
Sheldon placed the glass on the tray and looked toward the caretaker before she could leave.
"Excuse me, could I please have another glass of iced tea?"
The caretaker looked at the empty glass and then back at Sheldon. "Of course."
"Thank you," Sheldon replied with a polite nod.
...
A few minutes later, Jack walked back into the living room carrying a fresh hardcover copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Here you go," Jack said as he handed it to Sheldon.
Sheldon accepted the book with both hands and immediately became unusually careful. He inspected the cover first, checking the corners, spine, and dust jacket as though he'd been handed something far more valuable than an unreleased fantasy novel. The book was fresh from the first print run, and the pages still had that slight stiffness of something that had barely been opened.
After admiring the cover, Sheldon opened it near the middle and brought the pages close to his face.
Then he inhaled deeply.
Amy pointed out, "He smells new books."
Sheldon took another slow breath through his nose before lowering the book. "Freshly printed books contain a distinctive mixture of paper fibers, binding adhesive, ink compounds, and volatile organic chemicals. The result is one of civilization's more pleasant unintended fragrances."
Jack stared at him for a moment before nodding thoughtfully. "I usually just call it new-book smell."
Sheldon turned several pages, smelling them again before running his fingers carefully along the edge of the paper. The new-book scent alone seemed to improve his mood considerably, and whatever irritation he'd carried throughout the afternoon disappeared as he studied the illustrations and formatting.
Jack sat on the couch while Sheldon continued examining the book.
After several minutes, Sheldon finally looked up and asked whether Jack still had the workspace where he developed his books, particularly the place where he wrote notes and sketched the creatures.
"Yes. I have a work room or workspace, whatever you call it," Jack replied.
"Can I see it?" Sheldon asked.
Jack agreed, although he made it clear that anything private or related to unfinished projects would remain off limits. Sheldon accepted the condition, and Jack led both of them upstairs.
The room was separate from the rest of Jack's usual office space and had been arranged specifically for writing and story development. One wall held shelves filled with notebooks, reference books, folders, and binders. Another had several large boards covered with timelines, maps, handwritten notes, and sketches.
The main workbench contained pencils, drawing tools, loose sheets of paper, and several partially filled sketchbooks. Some pages showed early versions of magical creatures, while others contained notes about behavior, habitats, abilities, weaknesses, and how different creatures fit into the wider magical world.
Sheldon became fascinated almost immediately.
Jack showed him several creature designs and explained how some had changed during development. A beast might begin with a visual idea, then change once Jack considered how it moved, what it ate, where it lived, and whether its anatomy actually made sense.
That led Sheldon into questions about magical biology.
From there, the conversation expanded naturally.
They talked about how magical creatures could remain hidden from ordinary people, how different environments might affect them, and whether certain beasts migrated between regions. Sheldon questioned population sizes and food requirements while Jack explained which parts followed internal logic and which parts existed because they simply worked better for the story.
Soon they moved from magical creatures to magic itself.
Sheldon became interested in spellcasting, especially the difference between spoken spells, silent casting, wandless casting, wand movements, and accidental magic. Jack explained some of the rules he'd developed for the world, and Sheldon began comparing magical training to learned physical and cognitive behavior.
Amy joined parts of the discussion whenever it moved toward psychology or emotional control.
One subject kept leading into another.
Creature classification became magical ecosystems. Magical ecosystems became government regulation. Government regulation became wizarding politics. Wizarding politics somehow returned to spell education and the differences between children and experienced adult witches and wizards.
Jack hadn't expected the conversation to last very long.
Neither had Amy.
Eventually, Amy happened to check the time.
"It's already seven."
Sheldon looked toward the clock and seemed genuinely surprised by how much time had passed.
"Ohh, I was having so much fun. Can we stay a bit longer?"
"Sheldon, you have work in the morning, and we've already taken enough of Jack's time."
Jack smiled as he started closing the notebooks they had been looking through. "Maybe another time. I had fun too."
Sheldon carefully tucked the advance copy beneath his arm while Amy gathered her things.
"When are you free again?" Sheldon asked.
"How about you give me your address, and I'll swing by when I'm free? Of course, I'll call before going," Jack said.
Sheldon quickly gave his phone number and address to Jack.
By the time they left the Preston residence, Sheldon had finally gotten the book he'd spent months obsessing over, and Jack had unexpectedly spent most of his afternoon discussing magical creatures and spell mechanics with one of the most demanding readers he'd ever met.
And he had fun...
Jack didn't have many friends outside work other than Emma, Dakota, and Willa. So, as annoying as Sheldon may be, he had fun.
After closing the door, he stretched his arms and let out a large yawn. "Time to take a quick nap."
--
[POWERSTONES AND REVIEWS]...
If you want to read early advance chapters and support me, you can join>:
patr eon.com/XcaliburXc
[I have > 12 advance chapters] > All chapters available for all tiers
+ [The Big Bang Theory: Science, Music and Billions> 13 chs. Early access.]