A/N: Thank you all again for the follows, favorites, and reviews. I appreciate the feedback.
Amy jiggled the Hofstadters' front door knob. Satisfied it was locked, she headed down the sidewalk to her own driveway three houses down where her husband and daughter waited in the car.
"Amy, how many times do we need to check the locks? I'm sure Leonard and Penny don't check them that often."
"I know. I'm probably being paranoid, but if something were to happen to their place while we're house sitting, I'd never forgive myself." She craned her neck behind her and smiled as she watched her daughter tap a pencil to her chin. Her new crossword puzzle book would keep her entertained the entire drive to Long Beach.
"You remembered the tickets?" Sheldon inquired.
"They're in my purse. Now who's paranoid?" She turned the key in the ignition and began the hour-long drive to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Sheldon watched the scenery whir past the front passenger seat window as his wife kept her eyes on the road. Bored with the scenery, he turned to her. "I kind of feel bad for Raj. Everyone's off doing something for Thanksgiving while he's home alone."
"Why don't you call him up and see if he wants some company later today? I could drop you off when we get back to town," Amy suggested.
"Good idea." Sheldon extracted his phone to place the call. Amy could hear the excitement in Raj's voice and knew she had made the right decision. Family was important over the holidays, and she would be spending the majority of the day with her two favorite family members, but friends were important too.
When they arrived at the aquarium shortly before 11 o'clock, Amy had to practically pry the crossword book from Leah's hands. "But Mommy, I only have three more on this page."
"There'll be plenty of time on the ride back. We want to make sure we're near the front of the line so we all get Pilgrim hats." Leah sighed then set her book and pencil in the backseat pocket as Sheldon shifted impatiently from foot to foot outside the car. He grumbled when they joined the already-growing line. Amy stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear then drew soothing circles on his back with her fingertips.
The line moved quickly, and within minutes they were next. The greeter handed Leah a paper hat. At her dad's insistence, she handed them two more. When their hats were in place, the trio made their selections at the buffet and found a small corner table.
Amy's eyes rolled back into her head. "This turkey is amazing! The last time it tasted like cardboard, but maybe that's because of the circumstances."
"It is much better than I remember it," he agreed. "Have you tried the sweet potato and yam souflé yet?"
Amy took a bite and moaned. "That is so good. I'm glad we decided to come here instead of cooking ourselves."
"When were you here before?"
"In 2015," Amy told her daughter. She turned to her husband. "I can't believe it's been 12 years." Her eyes took on a faraway look.
"Mommy, are you okay?"
Amy shook herself back to the present. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about the last time Daddy and I were here."
Leah scrutinized her mom's face. She certainly didn't seem as happy as she had a minute earlier. "Did something bad happen here?"
Amy shook her head in the negative. "No, it was just... We..." she set her fork down. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that I'm so thankful we're all here together today." The corners of Sheldon's mouth tilted up, and she rewarded him with a small smile of her own. Leah decided to drop the subject. Today was supposed to be a happy day.
After lunch they wandered through the exhibits with Leah in the middle holding each of her parents' hands. They marveled at the giant octopus, took in a short video about animal extinction, and watched the penguin feeding. When they approached the shark petting pool, Sheldon held his daughter back.
"But Daddy, I want to pet them!"
"Let's find something a little more tame like those starfish over there," he suggested.
"Okay," she agreed sullenly.
While Leah dipped her hand in the shallow pool, Amy asked Sheldon to reconsider allowing their daughter to pet the sharks.
"But Amy, even baby sharks have teeth. Do you really want to risk our only child losing a hand?" He murmured.
"I'm sure she'd be fine, but since you feel so strongly about it, I support your decision."
"Thank you." They watched Leah convince a smaller child to stick his hand in the water as a marine specialist discussed the anatomy of the aquatic creatures.
"Starfish are not actually fish at all. Marine scientists have tried changing the name to sea star, but starfish has stuck with many people. The sea star's arms are called rays because they resemble of the rays of the sun."
A boy about Leah's age raised his hand. "Do you have a question?" The specialist asked.
"Is it true that a starfish, I mean a sea star, can grow its arm back if it loses one?"
Sheldon stepped closer to the pool and addressed the child. "You are correct. They can sometimes even grow a whole new sea star from just one arm." The children, and some adults, migrated towards him as they listened in awe.
"You may also be interested to know that the scientific name of the sea star is asteroidea, which is derived from the Greek word aster, which means star. Asteroideas are part of the echinoderm family. Echinoderm means "spiny skin" in Greek..."
"Excuse me, Sir?" The specialist interrupted. "Thank you, but I'll take over from here."
"It's doctor, not sir, and I wasn't finished," Sheldon sputtered.
Amy reached for her husband's hand. "Come on, Sheldon. Let her do her job. You can dazzle me with facts on the way home," she promised.
He reluctantly stepped aside while the specialist continued her spiel then snapped a couple of pictures of his daughter from a side angle. She turned around and grinned at them, and he snapped a few more of her holding a sea star in the palm of her hand.
"I'm really glad we came. I love that we're making new memories here," Amy remarked.
"Me too."
xxx
After Amy dropped Sheldon off at Raj's, she and Leah checked the Hofstadters' doors again then headed home. The youngest Cooper had her nose buried in her crossword book again during the ride and continued to work on it at the dining room table. With a little prodding, she set it down long enough to eat a small snack and feed her pet. Amy couldn't really blame her. She was a lot like her daughter in that regard at that age. The sound of her ringtone shook her out of her reverie.
"Hello... Yes, this is she... Is everything alright?... Why do you think it's one of mine?... Okay, I'll come down as soon as my husband gets home... Then I'll have to bring my 8-year-old daughter... He's clear across town, and I can't leave her home alone... Can't we make an exception?... Our neighbors are out of town... Fine. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Who was that, Mommy?"
"A security guard from the university. A pigeon flew into the clean room, and he thinks it's one of mine. I have to go now. I hate leaving you here by yourself, but I don't have any other options. He stressed there are to be no unauthorized personnel after hours."
"I'm a big girl. I'll be okay." Leah noted the uncertainty in her mom's eyes and wrapped her tiny arms around her waist. "Don't worry about me."
Amy returned the hug. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you all alone. I should just bring you with me."
"You'll get in trouble. Didn't you ever stay home alone when you were eight?"
"Once when Grandma Joan fired my babysitter and couldn't find a new one in time."
"If you did it, I can do it."
Amy consulted her watch. She needed to make a decision quickly. "Okay, Monkey. I'm leaving you in charge. Remember, don't open the door to anyone, and only answer the phone if you see a number you recognize. Promise?"
"I promise."
"I'll call Daddy on the way over and see if Uncle Raj can drive him home sooner. I shouldn't be long." Amy paused to give her daughter a once over and kissed the top of her head.
As soon as she heard her mom's car back out of the driveway, Leah headed for the library. Providing that her dad didn't return in the next few minutes, she should have ample time to locate and read the diary entry she hoped existed from Thanksgiving 2015. After performing the calculations mentally, she positioned the ladder in the approximate area the diary should be.
She opened a plain black spiral book to the first page - April 9, 2015. The word 'fort' popped out at her. If she knew for certain she'd have enough time, she would read about it, but for now her focus was on seven months later. She flipped to the entry on the last page - September 28, 2015. Wrong diary. She slipped it back, noting its location for future reading.
When she found the desired entry in the next diary, she sat at the window seat and began to read.
November 26, 2015
Sheldon and I went out as friends for the first time since the breakup. After the initial awkwardness during the ride to the aquarium, it was almost like old times. When we were in the buffet line, the greeter placed a pilgrim hat on the sleeping baby in front of us. Sheldon requested a hat too but was told they had just given away the last one. He complained throughout the entire meal about how unfair it was that a baby, who wouldn't even know the difference, got a hat and he didn't. My fingers itched to stroke his arm to provide a sense of calm, but I held back.
We strolled through the exhibits side by side yet keeping a safe distance between us. He suggested playing a game he made up called 'Food, Friend, Fight'. It's kind of like 'Kiss, Marry, Kill' but with aquatic creatures. It was while we were playing that I realized how much I miss hanging out with him. Sure I enjoy spending time with the girls, but with Sheldon I can just be myself and not worry about trying to fit into a social norm. I miss his quirks and the way he challenges my intellect.
After I dropped him off at home, I drove to Mother's. It was strange being there without him. When Mother made a snide comment about my research, I reflexively reached under the table to triple squeeze his hand, our signal to change the subject, but my hand met only air. I had no one there to turn the spotlight off me.
On the drive home, I worked up the courage to call him and tell him I was ready to be his girlfriend again. I didn't get the response I expected. He told me he excels at many things, but getting over me wasn't one of them. He just wants to be friends. I barely held it together during the rest of our conversation.
After we hung up, I pulled into a convenience store parking lot and cried harder than I've never cried before. I'm not sure how much time passed before a concerned young woman knocked on my window. She could hear my sobs as she walked past and wanted to make sure I was okay. I lifted my head from the steering wheel and forced a smile. She gestured to roll down the window. We talked for a few minutes, and all the heartache I've felt over the past six months came pouring out. She offered to buy me coffee and a bear claw. I declined, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I took a tiny nibble, but my appetite is nonexistent, and the couple of sips from the paper travel cup tasted bitter on my tongue.
I have no one to blame but myself. I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me. How could I have been so stupid? I thought I wanted a traditional relationship like Leonard and Penny or Howard and Bernadette, but now I realize what we had was perfect for us. I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't miss the hand holding or our date night kisses, but it wasn't just about the romance. It was all the little things, like the way he looked at me when I was the only other person in the room who understood one of his jokes, how we confided in each other over the things others would laugh at us for, our crazy boyfriend/girlfriend singalong nights, and just sitting side by side in companionable silence. I know Sheldon's not perfect, but he's perfect for me.
It's going to be extremely difficult being around him trying to function as just friends. I still love him, and I probably always will. I'll be devastated if he finds someone else.
Leah slowly set the diary down on her lap. There was more text, but the ink was blurred in spots, making it difficult to make out some of the words. Her parents had never mentioned a breakup. She had just assumed they had been together the whole time. She needed to get her hands on that black spiral-bound diary again to find the cause.
The sound of a car turning into the driveway made her jump. She climbed the ladder and replaced the diary and the biology text book it hid behind, making sure it was perfectly flush with the adjacent books. She raced to the table, picked up her pencil, and immersed herself back in her activity book just as the front door opened. "Hi Daddy, Uncle Raj."
Sheldon scrutinized the room. Everything appeared to be in place, and his daughter looked perfectly fine. He breathed a sigh of relief then hunched down and hugged her tightly.
She set her pencil down and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You look just as worried as Mommy did. I'm fine, Daddy."
"Thank you, Jesus!" He shouted then added, "As your Meemaw Mary would say."
Raj wiped a tear from his eye. "What a beautiful moment!"
"Raj, be a lamb and bring me my Gameboy and Nintendo DS so we can keep an eye in Leah at the table."
"Daddy, it's okay. You two can play in the game room. I'm fine here with my book."
"Why don't we all head to the game room? A crossword book is a game of sorts," Sheldon compromised.
xxx
When Amy returned home two hours later, Raj bid them farewell. The moment his car backed out of the driveway, Leah began getting ready for bed. They tucked her in and listened to her read from her newest comic book then kissed her goodnight before heading for their own bedroom.
As soon as the door was shut, Sheldon confronted his wife, his arms crossed over his chest. "Amy, what were you thinking leaving Leah here all alone? Why didn't you take her with you?"
"As I told you over the phone, I wanted to, but security wouldn't allow it."
He raised his voice. "You should have just done it anyway. I don't think you realize the terror I felt when you called. She's only eight years old. Granted she's mature for her age, but still."
"I was worried too."
"Apparently not enough to..."
A tentative knock sounded at the door. Amy opened it to reveal a wide-eyed Leah. "Don't fight! It's Thanksgiving, the day to be thankful. Nothing happened to me while I was alone."
"But what if something had?" Sheldon fretted.
Amy patted the side of the bed, and they all had a seat, Leah between them. "Sheldon, I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't feel comfortable leaving our sweet baby girl alone either..."
"It's my fault," Leah interrupted. "Mommy wanted me to go with her, but I convinced her to leave me here. Don't hate each other! I don't want you to break up!" She sobbed.
They shared a look over her head. "Monkey, we don't hate each other. We just had a little arguement."
Sheldon nodded his head in agreement. "Mommy and I might not always agree with each other, but we could never hate each other."
Leah squirmed out from between her parents, settling behind them. She pulled her mom's left hand towards the space between them then pulled her dad's right hand to her mom's and joined them together. They looked down at their entwined fingers, back at their daughter, then into each other's eyes.
"You're welcome." And with that, she bounced off the bed and exited the room, shutting the door behind her.
Sheldon stared at the door. "What was that all about?"
"Beats me," Amy shrugged. "Sheldon, I'm sorry again about what happened tonight."
"And I'm sorry I overreacted. Leah's fine, and that's all that matters." He looked down at their joined hands and gave her fingers a squeeze. "I love you, Amy."
"I love you, too."
From outside the bedroom door, Leah expelled a contented sigh. Crisis averted.