I can't believe how many months it has been since I updated this. I am SO sorry! This is why I need to figure out where I am going with a fic before launching into it, and not write every little idea that comes into my head until IP fics are finished. Anyway, I know where I'm going with this now, so hopefully I'll be able to keep updating, now that it's summer. I hope a few of my readers will pick up reading this again…

"So have any of y'all ridden before?" The lady asked of the group once they were inside a somewhat run down building.

"I have," Penny said. "I used to ride a lot. These fellas are rookies."

"Excuse me, but…"

"I don't care what your I.Q. is, Sheldon, you're a rookie."

"Yeah, buddy, relax a little," Howard said under his breath. "Actually, don't; it'll make me look better. What was your name again?" He asked the lady.

"Gloria. And I'm married," said the woman in Howard's direction. "So," she said, easing back on topic, "You have ridden before, miss, but the rest of you haven't?"

"Very little experience on plotting Shetland ponies as a toddler," Sheldon said. "Plus a few hours on a simulator, as well as that shiny pink machine outside of the K-Mart that my mother loved making me ride."

"Mmmm." Gloria made a few marks on a clipboard. "Okay, y'all come on out to the paddock with me."

Penny and Howard followed willingly, Raj, Sheldon, and Leonard trailed behind, looking a little unsure of themselves.

"Okay," Gloria said, pointing at Raj. "You're the one who can't talk to me, yes?"

Raj nodded, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"This is going to be a little bit of a problem. I'm going to give you the gelding we usually use in rescue and for the disabled kids. He's really steady-that's why we use him in those situations-so that will minimize the odds of you needing to call out for help." She untied a brown horse. "His name is Linus."

"From the Charlie Brown cartoons," Penny told the other guys under her breath.

Gloria gave Penny her mount next, a big-boned chestnut who was called Flash. Penny could tell that Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard were disappointed that she got the horse by that name. When Penny hoisted herself into Flash's big, bulky western saddle, she remembered Buster, her thin-boned mount from home. She was going to be sore tomorrow, holding herself in the wide-backed gelding's saddle.

Gloria showed Raj how to steer, and instructed him and Penny to walk their geldings around the perimeter while she matched Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard up.

Flash was going to be a little headstrong once they were out on the trail, Penny knew. He kept tossing his head and trying to cut the corners of the ring. She wasn't concerned; a horse like this would only be a problem for a beginner. She just had to nudge him a few times to remind him who was boss.

She was happy. She'd always preferred the city, and she loved driving around in cars, but one could never change where they came from, and she'd grown up in the country, with tractors, cows, and horses, and as she ambled around on a horse and in the middle of nowhere, she felt at home.

It was even better that her best friends in the world-and Howard-were with her. They'd become such a big part of her life, and she'd been spending so much time in their world, that she wanted to share part of hers with them. It made so much to her that they'd all agreed to do this…

"Penny? Penny!"

Penny realized a few seconds afterward that someone had called her name. She turned in the saddle to see Leonard behind her, clearly off-balance. As she turned, he slid out of the saddle and landed on his side in the dirt. "Oof," he said as he hit the ground.

Penny stopped Flash and vaulted off. "What happened? She asked as Leonard picked himself up. She took hold of his horse's rein even though the mare had stopped as soon as the weight was off of her back.

"I lost my stirrup. It's too long. And that woman made me wear these awful shoes…" He trailed off.

Penny almost started laughing. Cowboy boots didn't go well with what Leonard wore. "It's safe to wear those boots. They have a heel so your foot won't get caught in the stirrup if you fall. If that happens, you could get dragged and…"

She stopped when she saw that Leonard was trying not to laugh. "I can tell that you are in your element," he said, "because you sound like us when we talk Science."

"Let me give you a leg up before Sheldon notices that you've fallen. You'll never hear the end of it."

"A leg-what?"

Penny laughed. She was enjoying this way too much. "Face the mare," she told him. "What's her name, anyway?"

Leonard made a face. "Lassie."

"Okay. Face Lassie. You're going to bend your left leg and raise your knee up. I'm going to hold your leg, my left hand at your knee and my right at your ankle. Hold the front of the saddle with your left hand, and the back with your right. Then when I say to, jump as high as you can off of your right leg, and I'm going to throw you into the air as hard as I can. Then you can settle in the saddle. And let your hips swing a little with Lassie's movement, so you can balance better. Don't be stiff."

"That is a lot of information you're feeding at me at one time."

"Let's start with the leg up, okay?" Penny said, grinning.

Leonard stood next to the mare and bent his leg. Penny took hold of it, trying not to laugh as her right hand closed around the cowboy boot. "On three," she said. "One…two…three!"

Leonard jumped higher than Penny anticipated which resulted in her almost tossing him off the other side. "Easy, Lassie!" She said to the mare, who sidestepped anxiously when Leonard's stomach hit her back.

The spook was a blessing in disguise, as it helped center Leonard over her back. He managed to wiggle into position and get his feet in the stirrups. He took the reins, then noticed the expression on Penny's face. "Shut up," he warned.

"Not telling," she promised.

Leonard's face had clouded over. "Well…" Penny followed his gaze. Raj was at the other side of the ring, pointing at them and grinning. He'd clearly seen it all-if not the fall, the leg up. At least he wouldn't be able to say anything until Penny and Gloria weren't around.

"Hey, at least if Sheldon starts in, we can point out that!" Penny said, pointing. Sheldon was sitting on the back of a tiny black horse, leaning up on her neck and clutching the mane with a panicked expression on his face. Gloria walked beside him, looking as if she was trying to get him to relax.

Penny went back over to Flash and hopped into the saddle. Oh boy, she thought, nudging her gelding into a walk. This was going to be fun.

She just hoped that once she'd gotten a little fun out of watching the guys, they'd be able to relax and enjoy it, too. Looking at Leonard and Sheldon, she wasn't so sure.

Looking at Raj, however, Penny could believe. He was grinning at Howard, waving his right arm in the air like he was swinging a lasso. Penny couldn't help but smile.

Penny is, at one point, going to have a mini-storyline with each of them, so I'm not trying to go shippy with having her help Leonard in this one. He just happens to be the first one to show his lack of knowledge in this area. :)