Chapter 27
Leonard, Howard and Raj were having lunch in the cafeteria when Sheldon sat beside them carrying his food tray.
"So have you gentlemen decided yet?" He asked the three.
"Well I don't see a reason why we can pass up an opportunity like this….especially from the National Science Foundation." Raj said.
"I know I will regret this later but sure Sheldon, I'm in." Howard said. Sheldon then turned to Leonard.
"Leonard?" he asked.
"I'm not sure if I can leave my daughter….this will be the first time that we will be away from each other." Leonard said.
"Come on Leonard….maybe you can ask your sister to stay with Sarah for two months." Raj said.
"My sister's not the problem." Leonard said.
"He's right Leonard….you've already passed up a few of opportunities because of your daughter….I'm not saying that it's wrong but your daughter is almost six years old now….it's not like you still have to change her diapers right?" Howard added.
"I'm gonna try. I really hate seeing her cry." Leonard said.
"Well you have to let us know your decision soon so I could find someone to fill-in for you." Sheldon said.
"I understand Sheldon. I'll try to talk to my daughter tonight." Leonard said.
"Maybe you could ask Penny to help out your sister with Sarah?" Raj said.
"What? No way….I'm not gonna put that kind of responsibility on my girlfriend." Leonard said.
"Why not? I mean she lives across the hall from your place and Sarah is very fond of her." Howard said.
"It's not her responsibility." said Leonard. They continued eating in silence.
After lunch, Leonard went to his car to pick up Sarah from school. He dialed his sister's number to explain the upcoming scientific expedition to the North Pole. He told her that he will be going with Sheldon, Howard and Raj and they will be staying there for two months without communications to the outside world. Luckily, his sister agreed to look after his daughter.
Later in the day, he decided to pass by a diner for him and Sarah to eat instead of buying takeout. After eating, they drove straight home. Sarah played with her X-Box when they got to their apartment.
"Sarah honey, I'll go over to Penny's place for a while okay?" he said.
"Okay daddy." she said while playing her game on the TV.
"I won't take long." Leonard said as he got out of the apartment and knocked on Penny's door. Penny opened it after a minute.
"Hi honey….do you have a minute?" Leonard asked.
"Yeah sure. How's your day?" she asked as she kissed his cheek. Leonard kissed her back.
"It's okay I guess." he said as they sat on the couch.
"What is it do you want to talk about?" Penny asked him.
"Okay….Sheldon, Howard, Raj and myself have been asked to join an expedition to the North Pole for two months. It's going to be funded by the National Science Foundation." he said.
"The North Pole? For two months?….what are you gonna do there?….look for ice?" Penny asked.
Leonard laughed. "No. We'll be testing Sheldon's theory and look for Magnetic Monopoles. This is kind of a big deal." Leonard said.
"Who's going to look after Sarah?" Penny asked.
"I talked to my sister and she already agreed to look after her. But my problem is how do I tell this to my daughter. This will be the first time we'll be away from each other." Leonard said.
Penny didn't say anything and tried to process this news in her head. Leonard looked at her.
"Honey are you alright?" he asked.
"I don't know…..I'm trying hard to tell you not to go but I know this is important to you." Penny looked at him with sad eyes.
"Thank you and it's gonna be only for two months." Leonard said.
"I know. So do you want me to come over there to help you talk to her?" Penny asked.
"Yes please." he said. Penny stood up and went with Leonard to his apartment. Sarah immediately ran to Penny upon seeing her.
"Penny!" she said as she hugged his father's girlfriend. Penny hugged the child back. Leonard paused the game and sat on the couch. Penny took Sarah's hand and led her to sit back on the couch.
"Sarah honey, there is something I need to talk to you about." he said.
Sarah looked at her father. "About what daddy?" she asked.
"Okay. Something came up at work. Me, your uncle Sheldon, Howard and Raj have been asked to go to the North Pole for a scientific expedition." he said waiting for his daughter's reaction.
"When will you leave daddy?" she asked.
"In three weeks." he said.
"When will you come back?" the child asked.
"After two months." he said as he looked at his daughter.
"Can I come with you?" she asked.
"Honey, it's very cold up there and it's not a place for kids." he explained.
"But why are you going to leave me?" she asked as she started to cry
"Honey please don't cry. This is my job and sometimes as a scientist, we have to go to places like this." Leonard said rubbing his daughter's back. Sarah got off the couch and ran to her bedroom crying. Leonard sighed as they heard Sarah's bedroom door slam.
Penny put her hand on Leonard's shoulder. "Don't worry honey, I'll go and talk to her." she said as she stood up and walked to Sarah's bedroom. She knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Sarah sweetie…..can I come in?" she asked. Sarah didn't answer so Penny walked in, closed the door and sat beside her on the bed. Sarah immediately turned and hugged Penny by her waist. She was still crying so Penny had to rub her back and try to calm her down. "It's gonna be alright sweetie." she said.
"Why does he have to go Penny?" she asked.
"Sweetie….your father is an important scientist….they need him for this trip….without him they can't do their experiments over there…..and your father already called your aunt Cathy….she agreed to look after you while Leonard is away." Penny said.
"What about you?" Sarah asked.
"Of course I'll be here sweetie…..how about this, while your father is gone, I'll come over here as much as possible….how about that?" she smiled at the child.
"Really?" she said.
"Sure!….and with your aunt Cathy here, the three of us can even go to the salon, get our hair and nails done or maybe a facial massage….what do you say?" she said to Sarah.
"We can do that?" she asked Penny.
"Why not?…..your father won't understand those things anyway….come here..." Penny hugged her. "I know you're gonna miss your daddy….I'm gonna miss him too." Penny said trying hard not to cry.
They hugged for quite a while when Sarah sat up and looked at Penny.
"Penny do you love my daddy?" she asked.
Penny was shocked at her question but tried not to freak out. "Of course sweetie….but don't tell him alright?….it'll be our little secret." she smiled at her.
Sarah nodded. "Okay." she said as she hugged Penny back.
"Can we go back to the ranch Penny?" Sarah asked.
"We'll go back when your father returns….okay?" Penny said. Sarah nodded. "When you grow up, I won't be surprised if you become a scientist yourself. I mean you're already smarter than I am. I can't figure out that algebra thing when I was in school…..I mean why do they always look for X anyway?" she smiled at her. Sarah laughed.
"If you want I can teach you." Sarah said.
"I think it's too late for me to learn algebra sweetie." she continued. "But if you grow up to be a scientist, you'll be able to do lots of cool experiments like your dad." Penny said.
"Really!?" Sarah asked.
"Sure sweetie, but you'll have to figure out what you want to do when you grow up. You can be whatever you want." Penny said.
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.
"Of course sweetie!….but we can talk about that later….you're still young and you have a lot of time to decide." she said to the child. Sarah nodded and hugged Penny again. "Now how about we come back into the living room?" Penny asked.
"Okay." Sarah said. Penny helped her get down from the bed and held her hand as they got out of her bedroom. Leonard was sitting on the couch when the two girls came back to the living room. Penny led his daughter to sit on the couch beside him while she sat on the chair facing them.
"Honey, Sarah has something to say." Penny said while Leonard faced his daughter.
"Daddy I know your work is important so I'll be a good girl with aunt Cathy while you're away." Sarah said.
Leonard was shocked and can't believe what he just heard. He hugged his daughter. "Ugh...thank you honey….I'm so lucky to have you as my daughter." he almost cried. "I love you honey." he looked Sarah.
"Daddy can we go back to the ranch when you return?" she asked.
Leonard laughed. "Okay. We'll go back to the ranch." he smiled at Sarah while Penny squeezed Leonard's hand.
"Penny said I can be a scientist like you when I grow up." Sarah said.
Leonard looked at his daughter. "Honey, you can be whatever you want." he said.
Leonard explained to the two girls what experiments they will do in the North Pole while they sat in the living room playing on the X-Box. Leonard noticed Sarah was becoming sleepy so he decided to take her to bed and tuck her in. When Sarah was already asleep, he returned to the living room and saw Penny drinking beer she took from the fridge. He kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you very much honey! I'm so lucky to have you." Leonard said.
"You realize that you owe me right?" Penny looked smug at him.
Leonard sighed. "I know." he said.
Penny smiled at him. "Good. Because before you go away on your trip, you will take Sarah and me to a nice dinner and a movie…." she said and continued. "...and when you return, you will take a few days off and take us to the beach." Penny said.
"I thought we will go back to the ranch?" he asked.
"That's what Sarah wants….and this is what I want." she said.
"Sure…got it….now come here." he said as Penny moved next to him and leaned on his shoulder.
"I miss you already." Penny said.
"Me too." Leonard added. "Hey why don't you spend the night here?" he asked her.
Penny sat up and looked suspiciously at him. "I thought we're taking things slow?" she said.
"I know….and it's fine if you don't want to. I was only suggesting sleep….nothing else." he said.
Penny smiled at him. "Okay honey….I'll wash up and get changed." she said kissing him on the cheek as she stood up and went back to her apartment. Leonard stood up to wash up and get changed for bed. Penny returned after ten minutes and went straight to Leonard's bedroom. The couple got on the bed and slipped under the sheets and kissed each other goodnight. As they were starting to doze off, they saw a bright flash of light followed by a loud thunder. Penny got scared and immediately hugged Leonard. Another flash and loud thunder followed which made Penny hug him tighter. They then heard a faint knock on his bedroom door. Leonard got up and saw his daughter looking scared.
"Aww honey….were you scared of lighting?" Leonard hugged his daughter.
Sarah nodded. "I'm scared daddy." said the child.
"Well Penny is scared too….do you want to sleep with us?" he said pointing at Penny on the bed.
"Yes daddy." Sarah said. Leonard carried his daughter and placed her on the middle of the bed. Penny opened her arms to welcome the child.
"Come here sweetie….don't be scared." Penny said as she kissed the child on her cheek. Sarah then snuggled to Penny as she got under the covers. Leonard sighed as he turned off the bedroom lights and laid beside his daughter.
"There goes my luck." Leonard said as he kissed his daughter. Penny gave him a smug smile as they slowly drifted to sleep.
The guys spent the next couple of weeks preparing for their trip. Leonard agreed to use his apartment as a meeting place for their team meetings.
"Gentlemen, as the team leader, it is imperative that I shall be addressed as 'sir'. Don't worry, it will be in the briefing packet that I will give to you in a few days." Sheldon said. The other guys including Penny rolled their eyes.
"Okay 'sir', can we start eating now?" Leonard asked him.
Sheldon nodded. "Very well." he said.
"So Sarah, Leonard told us that Penny convinced you to agree to your father's trip?" Howard asked the child.
"Yes Uncle Howard. Penny told me when I grow up I can be a scientist like my daddy and do cool experiments like him." Sarah said proudly.
"Well you're a smart girl….I'm sure you can do whatever you want when you grow up." Howard smiled at her.
"When my daddy returns we will go back to the ranch. Right daddy?" the child said.
"Of course honey." Leonard said.
They continued talking until the guys went home and the couple decided to call it a night.
A few week before their trip, Leonard took Penny and Sarah to spend a whole day at the mall, watching a movie and getting a new dress for Penny and Sarah for their dinner in a few days. After a few days, Leonard took the two girls to a nice dinner date in a restaurant. A couple of days before the trip, Leonard's sister Catherine arrived to prepare for his departure. Leonard made sure to leave extra money for their expenses.
The day of the trip arrived and Penny took a day off to drop Leonard at the airport. Bernadette agreed to drive Howard, Sheldon and Raj to the airport. They arrived and Leonard unloaded his luggage from the back of his car. Penny held Sarah's hand as Leonard began saying his goodbyes to his girls.
"Don't cry honey….daddy will be back soon." he said as he hugged and kissed his daughter. He was trying hard not to cry in front of his daughter.
"Promise?" Sarah asked.
"I promise! I still have to take you back to the ranch remember?" he said wiping off her tears. Sarah nodded. "Promise me you'll be a good girl alright?" he asked his daughter.
Sarah nodded. "I love you daddy!" she said hugging her father.
"Ugh...I love you too honey!" he hugged her back. He stood up and faced Penny. Penny was also trying hard not to cry. Penny hugged Leonard tight.
"Come back to me." Penny whispered as he kissed him on the lips.
"I promise honey…..we're gonna do most of our experiment at base camp anyway so it's relatively safe." he said to Penny.
"Remember….you owe me." she said eyeing him sternly.
Leonard sighed. "I know and I promise I'll make it up to you." he smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I'll help Cathy to look over Sarah." she said kissing him again.
Leonard turned to his sister and hugged her. "Thank you for doing this. I owe you big time." he said.
"Hey….just come back home safe." Cathy said. Leonard nodded. "Don't worry about Sarah." she said.
Leonard turned to his daughter once more and hugged her for the last time before getting his luggage and going inside the airport. Penny held Sarah as they waved goodbye to Leonard joining Sheldon, Howard and Raj walking to the airport's entrance.