Amy sat on the edge of the bed and slipped on her shoes before standing and walking to the opposite side of the bed. Bending over, she whispered to Sheldon, "Max and I are leaving in a few minutes. I'll let you know when we make it to San Diego. We should be home in time for dinner, but can you either pick something up or cook cuz we won't be home in time for that."

"Mhmm," Sheldon stretched and slowly opened his eyes. "Drive safe."

"Don't forget, Penny suggested taking all the kids to the park this afternoon. It's been a while since they've had a park day." Amy turned back as she reached the doorway. "I put extra diapers for Leo and a change of clothes for both him and Katie in the diaper bag, just in case you need them. Please put them in clothes that are okay to get messy. Do you want me to set out clothes for them?"

Sheldon was fully awake by now and sitting up in bed. "We'll be fine. I can get their clothes when I get them ready. I wish I were going with you, but I can't wait to hear what Max thinks of UC San Diego when you get home."

Three hours later, Sheldon had watched Dr. Who, prepared breakfast for his youngest children, and was working on getting them dressed for the day. Pulling the shirt over four-year-old Katie's head, Sheldon couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's disheveled hair. "We gotta do something about your hair, Katie Beth. It's all over the place today."

The girl ran into the bathroom and stood on the stepstool to see herself in the mirror before running back to the room she shared with two-year-old Leo. "I want braids, Daddy."

"I can try," the physicist sighed. "Mommy is the one who braids your hair. I'm better with barrettes than braids. Come on, let's try these braids you're asking for," he ushered the girl into the bathroom. He quickly found the comb and hair ties, before beginning to attempt to tame Katie's hair.

"Ow!" Katie screamed, causing Sheldon to quickly drop her hair from his grasp. "Mommy doesn't pull like that."

Sheldon looked down at his daughter's hair. "I don't think I can do this. Could you please just go for some barrettes?" he pleaded.

Katie shook her head at her father in the mirror. "No. Mommy always braids my hair."

"Mommy is with Max in San Diego today," Sheldon reminded her. "She won't be home until suppertime." Noticing Katie sticking her lip out at him in the mirror, Sheldon pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and held it up to his ear. "Hello, could you come over, please? Katie wants her hair braided, and I tried, but I think I made it worse than it was when she woke up. Thank you! I'll be getting Leo dressed, so let yourself in when you get here." Returning his phone to his pocket, Sheldon slightly shook his head, "I called in reinforcements. Let's see what your brother has gotten himself into while we've been making your hair worse."

Katie heard footsteps on the stairs and ran into the hallway to see who her father had called. "Penny! Are you going to braid my hair? Daddy tried."

Smiling at the girl, Penny replied, "I'm gonna teach your daddy how to do your hair. Does that sound good?" Katie nodded as Penny continued, "I'll just show him a simple braid, it won't be fancy like when your mom does it, but it will keep your hair out of your eyes for the day. Why don't you wait for me and your daddy in the bathroom?" Penny poked her head into Leo and Katie's shared bedroom to get Sheldon's attention. "Hey, Katie's waiting for us in the bathroom."

"Can't you just do it for me?"

"Nope," Penny quickly answered. "You made the mess of her hair. You get to sort it out. Let's go. I've got other things to do this morning." Sheldon followed the blonde into the bathroom where Katie was waiting for them. She handed him a comb and pointed at Katie's head. "First things first. You need to comb through whatever it is you did to her. Start at the bottom and work your way up, slowly. It won't pull as much as if you were to start at the top. How about you sit on the floor, Katie? Sheldon, you sit on the toilet behind her."

The father and daughter got situated as they were instructed. It took a few minutes, but Sheldon eventually got Katie's hair untangled, prompting Penny to begin instructing him on how to braid her hair. "Okay, part her hair down the middle all the way back. Now keep those sections separated, here," she handed him a hair tie, "Put this around one of the sections. It doesn't have to be neat right now, it's just to keep it separate from the other side. Now comb through the other side and put it into a pigtail."

Sheldon secured the elastic band around half of his daughter's hair and smiled at Penny, "Like that?"

"Yep. Now, separate it into three sections," Penny waited for him to follow her directions. "Take one of the outside sections and cross it over the middle section. Then take the opposite side and cross it over the one that's now in the middle," Sheldon did as he was told and looked up at Penny. "Repeat until you run out of hair." Holding out another elastic band, she smiled as he neared the end of the braid. "Looks pretty good. Now put this on the end so it doesn't come undone and repeat on the other side."

Sheldon secured the hair into a pigtail with no problem, but got confused when it came to which section of hair crossed over which to start the second braid. "I don't get this. Can't you just do it, Penny?"

Adamantly shaking her head, Penny declined, "Nope. You're learning to do your daughter's hair. Amy should be able to go out and know Katie's hair won't be an absolute disaster by the time she gets home." Continuing her hair braiding lesion, Penny pointed out, "You've already got the three sections. Take one of the outside ones and cross it over the middle section. Repeat with the section from the opposite side. Good. Not keep going until the end."

"There," Sheldon eventually said, snapping the hair tie at the bottom of the second braid.

"Thanks, daddy," Katie stood from the floor and hugged Sheldon. "I'm gonna find Leo."

Crossing her arms, Penny shook her head, "Sheldon Cooper, you are not the same man I met when I moved into that building all those years ago. I never would have imagined teaching that man to braid his little girl's hair. You know what to do, your hands just get a little confused. I'm sure you'll get it with a little practice. Maybe find some pieces of ribbon or something to practice with."

"Thank you, Penny. I appreciate the help. Amy always does Katie's hair. I've wanted to ask her to show me, but I've been afraid of what she'll say," the man confessed, smoothing his shirt and avoiding eye contact.

"I doubt she'd have a problem with showing you what to do. Heck, she might even let you practice braiding her hair now that she's been growing it out again."

Amy and Max returned home while Sheldon was preparing dinner and Katie and Leo were playing in the living room. "San Diego is so cool, dad," remarked Max, announcing their return, with Amy stopping to greet her youngest children before joining her oldest son and husband to talk about the college visit.

Listening to Max's excitement about his first official college visit, Amy sat at the table smiling. After Max left the room, promising to tell Sheldon more about the university after dinner, the couple enjoyed the silence for a few minutes. "Katie's hair is cute today. Why didn't you ever tell me that you can braid hair like that? That would make mornings a lot easier if you help with her hair sometimes."

"Katie wanted braids and I tried, but I ended up making a big mess of her hair. I had to call Penny for help," Sheldon sheepishly admitted, continuing to stir the pot on the stove in front of him. "I'm always in awe of Katie's hair whenever you braid it and am a little jealous I don't know how to do that."

"You know, Sheldon, I'd be happy to teach you to braid her hair anytime," Amy moved to join her husband next to the stove.

Sheldon turned to face Amy, "Do you, um, think I could maybe practice with braiding your hair some time? Maybe you could teach me to do French braids?"

"Sure," Amy stood on her tiptoes to kiss her husband's cheek. "Katie's got a doll she never plays with that has really long hair. That would be good for you to practice with, too. She probably won't even notice it missing from her room."