This one takes place after Sheldon returns from his train trip.
"How's school, Max?" Bernadette asked the six-year-old during dinner at Sheldon's apartment.
"I really like it. My best friend Noah is in my class. There are two first grade classes, so he could have been in the other class. We get to dress up for Halloween next week. I'm going as Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," the boy proudly stated. "I picked him because he's the orange one and orange is my favorite color."
Raj gasped at Max's revelation, "Orange is my favorite color, too! Are you carving a pumpkin and going trick or treating?"
Max nodded his head while finishing another bite of pizza. "Yeah. We went on a field trip to the pumpkin farm yesterday. Momma said we can carve my pumpkin this weekend. Do you want to help us, Sheldon?"
"Oh, um, I don't know," stammered the physicist.
Remembering Sheldon's discomfort with carving pumpkins, Penny spoke, "Sheldon doesn't do well with the insides of pumpkins. They're too slimy for him. But how about we all get pumpkins and carve them together?"
"It's been years since I've carved a pumpkin. My dad always helped me. After he left, my mom never wanted to help, so I stopped asking," Howard pitied himself.
Bernadette gave her husband a look. "We're carving pumpkins this weekend. You'll make some new Halloween memories."
"It's settled, then. Everyone get a pumpkin tomorrow, then we'll all meet here Sunday afternoon to carve them," Penny stated. "We'll get a bunch of old newspapers and pick up some carving tools. I'm excited for this."
Sheldon sulked as he followed Penny and Leonard through the farmer's market, searching for pumpkins to be carved the following day. "I see some over there. Let's go," Penny pulled Leonard by the hand as she called over her shoulder, "Hurry up, Sheldon. You don't want all the good ones to be picked over, do you?"
"Why do I have to do this? You know how I feel about carving pumpkins," he complained as he caught up to the couple.
"Sheldon," Leonard turned to look at his roommate, "We're doing this for Max. He wanted just you to help him with carving his pumpkin. Penny knows how you feel about carving pumpkins, specifically pulling the guts out. That's why she suggested everyone carve one. One of us can gut your pumpkin and hopefully, Max won't ask you to help him gut his. Now, pick a pumpkin so we can go. We still have to stop at the store on the way home to pick up some carving tools."
Sheldon stooped down and picked up a small pumpkin. Penny noticed and quickly stopped him, "You need to pick a bigger one. That one's tiny. You'll never be able to carve anything into it." She grabbed the small orange gourd and set it back on the ground before picking up one the size of a basketball and thrusting it into Sheldon's arms. "This one is much better. Let's pay for these and get going." Glancing at the pumpkin he was now holding, Sheldon shrugged his shoulders as he began to follow Penny and Leonard back to the car.
The next afternoon, the coffee table had been moved aside and the floor was covered with old newspapers, creating a workspace to carve pumpkins. The gang had been arriving slowly with their pumpkins in tow and claimed a newspaper-covered spot as their work area. "Are the gloves really necessary, Sheldon?" Amy asked her boyfriend when she saw he was wearing a pair of yellow rubber kitchen gloves.
"I don't like touching the guts of the pumpkin. This is the only way I'll be able to even attempt pulling the guts out of this thing is if I'm wearing them."
"Can I wear gloves like Sheldon?" Max questioned, hearing the explanation for his gloves.
Amy shook her head at her son. "You're fine without gloves. Draw a circle around the stem with this marker so you know where to cut the top off. I'll help you with the carving tool."
The group began to carve their pumpkins, scooping the seeds from inside, Bernadette gasped loudly, "Watch out!" She exclaimed as she watched a glob of seeds and orange goo fly across the living room, landing on Sheldon's forehead and slowly falling onto his shirt. "I am so sorry, Sheldon. I don't know how that happened. Let me grab you a towel to clean up."
"Omigod! Get it off me! Get it off!" Sheldon yelled as Amy was already reaching to pluck the glob off.
"There. It's off. Go change your shirt & wash your face," suggested Amy as Max giggled behind his hands. The room was silent as they watched Sheldon run to the bathroom.
Waiting to hear the bathroom door close, Bernadette was the first to speak, "I should go apologize to him."
"It was an accident. You didn't mean to," Penny pointed out. "Just wait until he comes back."
The group's conversation picked up again, but twenty minutes later, Sheldon hadn't returned to the living room. "Leonard, can you help Max? I'm going to check on Sheldon," Amy said as she stood from the floor. She made her way down to outside Sheldon's room, where she knocked on the door. "Sheldon, may I come in?"
"Hello, Amy," Sheldon stated as he opened the door before retreating to sit on the edge of his bed.
Amy sat next to him for a few minutes, "You know Bernadette didn't mean for that to happen, right?" her question was answered with a nod of his head. "I know you didn't want to do this, but aside from the unfortunate flying pumpkin guts, it's been a fun afternoon."
"I didn't want to do this, but seeing how happy Max was all afternoon has made it more enjoyable. I like seeing him happy and having fun. Do you think Max will want to finish carving my pumpkin for me?"
Amy grinned and laced her fingers through Sheldon's, "I don't think he'll mind. He was just about done with his when I came in here. Let's go ask him if he wants to finish yours."