Chapter Four

December 23rd

Penny burst into apartment 4A without even knocking. "I can't friggin' believe this!"

Sheldon was seated in his spot on the couch eating a bowl of Fruit Loops and watching the morning news. "Good morning to you too, Penny."

Penny flopped down on the couch next to Sheldon. "I'm sorry, but it's not a good morning at all. Just look!" She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the station to the Weather Channel.

"Penny, I was watching the news!" Sheldon admonished her. "Do I go into your apartment while you are watching television and randomly switch channels?"

Penny glared at him until he was silent. "Look at the weather Sheldon!"

Sheldon rolled his eyes at her but still turned to look at the screen. "What? Apparently it's going to be another beautiful day here in Pasadena."

"No Dr. Genius!" Penny waved her hand at the screen. "Look at Nebraska!"

A large swath of white and pink pixels showing a winter storm covered the whole state of Nebraska and rather a large portion of the entire Midwest.

"Oh. That indeed is not good." Sheldon looked at her thoughtfully. "What are you going to do?"

Penny frowned down at her hands. "I don't know."

A quick knock at the door preceded Howard dressed garishly in a bright green turtleneck with a plaid sweater vest and red pants. "Enchanté Mademoiselle. Your chariot or rather my mother's Oldsmobile has arrived to take you to the airport."

Penny smiled weakly at him. "It's no longer necessary Howard. My flight's been cancelled. The airport in Omaha is socked in."

"How long is the storm supposed to last?" Howard sat down next to her on the couch, took the remote from her hand and turned the sound up. "Do you think you can get another flight later today or tomorrow?"

"Fat chance. They say it's one of those hundred year blizzards. It's not supposed to stop snowing there until sometime tomorrow." Penny sighed and kept hoping the picture on the TV would change.

Howard, ever the optimist, smiled broadly at her. "Well see, there's a chance you'll still make it home for Christmas!"

Penny sighed again. "Can you imagine what the airport will be like? Fighting with all those other people to get a flight to the Midwest? And what if I do get a flight that ends up being diverted to some little podunk airport? I might get stuck in the middle of nowhere and be alone on Christmas!" Tears started to well up in her eyes and she sniffed heavily.

Howard looked over her at Sheldon and mouthed 'What do we do?' Sheldon shrugged and mouthed 'I don't know!' but started thinking.

"I'm going to be alone on Christmas!" Penny wailed. "Leonard already left to go to his Dad's in New Jersey. Raj is in India at his cousin's wedding and even Sheldon is going home to Texas!"

Howard looked nonplussed. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"Oh, that's sweet honey, but I know you don't celebrate Christmas." Penny patted Howard on the arm.

"Well, neither does Raj…" Howard cut in. "But, I am celebrating Christmas this year with Bernadette and her family. I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to join us."

"Gee Howard, that's sweet. I don't know." She looked to Sheldon for help.

"I have an alternative option if you would like to hear it." Sheldon stood up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen with his cereal bowl.

"Lay it on me." Penny looked across the apartment at him with hope in her eyes because Christmas with Howard. Oy vey!

Sheldon turned from the sink. "You can come with me to Galveston." He held up his hand as he wasn't through speaking. "Once there if the weather has cleared you can get a flight from there to Omaha, and if the weather does not co-operate, you will not be alone on Christmas."

"Oh Sweetie!" Penny jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen and grabbed Sheldon in a bear hug. "That's perfect!"

Sheldon flushed at the physical contact and could not return the hug or extricate himself as Penny was squeezing him so tightly that she had trapped his arms to his sides. He only stammered out. "Of course…of course it is."

Howard stood up and headed toward the door. "Well, the chopped liver is heading out. I'll be back in a couple of hours to take you two to the train."

Penny stepped back from Sheldon and looked up at him questioningly. "The train?"

Howard called back from the door. "Spending Christmas with me isn't looking so bad now is it?"

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at him. "There is nothing wrong with taking the train. It's a relaxing journey, and you get to see the countryside. The vistas offered by New Mexico alone are quite stunning."

Penny gave Sheldon a small smile. "I guess the train doesn't sound so bad."

"Good. I'll contact Amtrak to get you a ticket. I already have a roomette reserved on the Sunset Limited."

Union Station

Penny and Sheldon waved Howard goodbye and boarded the train. Sheldon had gotten a compartment with the windows on the north side. They stowed their suitcases and stood in the tiny room.

Sheldon gestured at the seats separated by a small table. "Do you have a preference in which way you are facing? I am aware that some people can become quite nauseous if they do not face forward while traveling."

Penny shook her head. "No, I'm good either way. How about you?"

"I can sit in either seat as well." He stood back and let Penny sit first and then took the seat opposite her. "This is going to be fun!"

Penny couldn't help but grin at him. He was like a kid in a candy store. They heard the conductor shout 'All aboard' and the train lurched forward.

Sheldon broke into a huge natural smile and started jabbering about the train which Penny tuned out until he said. "You'll take the upper bunk and I'll take the lower one because of my height."

"Huh? What?" What do you mean bunk?" Penny looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Sheldon pointed above her head. "That bunk folds down, while the seats we are sitting in as well as this table become the lower bunk."

"No." Penny shook her head. "I mean why do we need bunks?"

Sheldon snorted in derision." I don't know about you, but I prefer to sleep lying down, not sitting up."

"Sheldon?" A note of warning crept into Penny's voice.

Sheldon looked out the window as the cityscape of LA rolled by. "Yes, Penny?"

"How long is it going to take to get to Galveston?"

As he looked back and forth at the city's buildings he replied. "From here to Houston it will take approximately thirty-six hours. There will be a brief stopover in Houston as we will need to get the Kerrville bus to Galveston. Which only takes an additional hour of travel time."

Penny was counting out the time on her fingers. "That means…"

He looked briefly at her hands and then back out the window. "We should arrive at my mother's home Christmas morning between six or seven o'clock local Galveston time."

"But thirty-six hours?" Penny stared at him incredulously.

"Penny, we're traveling across the breadth of four states. And, Texas is the largest state in the lower forty-eight contiguous states and Galveston is located on the Gulf Coast."

Penny still kept staring at him. "Tell me again why we're not flying?"

"I like trains." Sheldon said simply. "And if you give it a chance, you may find that you'll like it too." He finally looked away from the window to meet her stare with his own intense one.

Penny's heart beat started to match the clackity-clack rhythm of the train's wheels on the rails. That along with the searing gaze of Sheldon's bright blue eyes she nearly felt hypnotized. "You know what Sweetie? I think I will."