Chapter 28
Penny spent the next couple of months going over to Leonard's place to spend time with Sarah and Cathy in the evening after work. Cathy would always wait for Penny so they could have dinner together and Sarah would be distracted from missing her father. Before his trip, Leonard gave an emergency contact number to his sister and Penny in case they needed to reach him since there are no direct lines to the base camp where they are stationed. Penny was thankful that Leonard was able to pass messages along to let them know that they were safe and sound, relieving her fears and lessening of her longing for him. Bernadette also joined them for most nights to have dinner and sometimes play video games or watch movies.
One night, they were were watching some reality show on TV while Sarah was seated on the coffee table, doing her homework. Penny noticed Sarah was having difficulty with her homework.
"Sarah sweetie…..are you doing okay there?" Penny asked.
Sarah stood up and showed Penny her notebook. "I can't solve it Penny….I might be doing something wrong...look…." she said showing Penny her notebook.
Penny looked at it and felt like her eyes would pop out as she couldn't understand the mathematical doodles that Sarah wrote on her notebook. "Uh sweetie….maybe your aunt Bernie will be able to help you with this." Penny said feeling somewhat defeated.
Sarah went over to Bernadette. "Aunt Bernie can you look at this please?" the child said.
"Sure….let me see." Bernadette said as she looked at the child's notebook. Bernadette fixed her glasses as she read the child's work. "Uh Penny….did Leonard taught Sarah elementary calculus?" she asked.
"No. Why?" Penny said.
"Because I'm having a hard time remembering how to solve these kinds of problems." Bernadette said.
Sarah sat beside Bernadette. "Look here aunt Bernie….I think this term is where I made a mistake but I couldn't figure out why…" the child said pointing at the notebook.
"Which book did you get this problem from?" Bernadette asked as Cathy and Penny looks on.
Sarah picked up a book from the coffee table. "Here." she handed the book to Bernadette. Bernadette leafed through it to look for the topic where the math problem came from. She found it and analyzed the text, comparing it to Sarah's work.
"You see….this is where you made a mistake….you should have subtracted one from the exponent….after you do that, you apply the limits and it will be simple from that point on….see?" Bernadette said showing her the text on the book.
Sarah smiled at her. "Thank you aunt Bernie!" the child said as she returned to her notebook.
"Whose book is this anyways?" Bernadette asked.
"It's my dad's….I saw his name on the back." Sarah said.
"and Leonard never taught you this?" Bernadette asked looking at Penny and Cathy.
"No." the child said.
"Don't worry Bernie….that was our reaction when Leonard and I saw her solving advanced algebra." Penny said. "Sarah honey you don't have to force yourself in doing math. Sometimes when you relax, that's when the answers will come to you." Penny said to the child.
"She's right Sarah, you're still young. You have all the time in the world to do your math." Cathy said.
"I know aunt Cathy…..I just want to surprise daddy when he comes back." said Sarah. Penny knelt down beside her and kissed her cheek.
"Awww….you're so sweet honey and we're so proud of you….I'm sure your father will be surprised when he comes back." Penny said as Sarah went back to her notebook.
The four of them spent most of their nights this way. During weekends, Penny would go with Sarah and Cathy either to the park or the mall so the child would not think much of her father. Penny kept her promise and took them to the salon to get their hair and nails done. Sarah was so excited as it was her first time to go to the salon.
"Aunt Cathy can I color my hair pink?" the child asked as her pedicure is being done.
"Uh no honey….your dad will kill me if he comes home and sees you with pink hair." Cathy said.
"Then I'll tell him it was Penny's idea." Sarah jokingly said.
"Then your father will kill me." Penny said while Sarah and Cathy laughs.
The day arrived when the guys would return from their trip and all the girls were excited to see them after two months of absence. The girls were sitting in the living room when the door opened revealing a scruffy-looking and bearded Leonard carrying his bags. The other guys entered the apartment sporting the same facial hair as Leonard's. Penny and Sarah screamed when they saw him enter the door. Leonard dropped his bags as Penny and his daughter ran towards him to hug and kiss him. Leonard carried his daughter while Penny hugs them kissing Leonard quickly on the lips.
"Daddy!….I miss you so much!" Sarah said crying tears of joy upon seeing his father.
"Honey!….I missed you!" Penny said kissing and hugging him tightly.
"Ugh….I miss you both!...It's so good to be home!" he said as he was engulfed with Penny and Sarah's hug.
Sarah looked at him and touched his thick beard. "Daddy, you look like Chewbacca!" she said.
The rest of the guys laughed at the child's comment.
Bernadette came to Howard to hug and kiss him.
"Ugh...I miss you so much Howie!" said Bernadette.
"Me too….I can't stop thinking about you." Howard said.
Cathy went to Leonard and hugged him. "Welcome back Leonard….Thank god you're safe." his sister said.
"Thank you for looking after my daughter. I owe you." Leonard said.
"Well Penny was always here." Cathy said.
Leonard turned to Penny and hugged her again. "Thank you honey. I missed you so much!" he said hugging his girlfriend once more.
"Why don't you guys sit down and relax. We made dinner so we could all eat together." Penny announced as the guys put their bags down to sit on the couch and chairs while the girls prepare dinner. Sarah never left her father's side.
"Were you a good girl while I was away?" Leonard asked his daughter.
"Yes daddy….Penny took me and aunt Cathy to the salon….look at my nails!" Sarah said showing him her nails.
Leonard was amazed. "That's nice honey, they look pretty….is that it?" he asked his daughter.
Sarah pulled one of her notebooks from under the coffee table. "This daddy!" the child said as she gave the notebook to her father. Leonard leafed over it and was stunned.
"Uh honey….did your aunt Bernie taught you calculus while I was away?" he asked.
Bernadette decided to butt in. "No Leonard….I helped her with a few problems but it's all on her…..right Sarah?" Bernadette said.
"Right aunt Bernie!….this is my surprise to you daddy!" Sarah said.
Leonard can't help but cry happy tears while hugging his daughter. "Ugh….I'm so proud of you honey….I love your surprise….it's perfect." he said as he hugged his daughter while the other guys looked at the notebook, analyzing the child's work.
"Wow….this is impressive….maybe your daughter belongs to the university Leonard?" Howard said.
"Yeah….if you want we could tutor Sarah." Sheldon said.
Leonard released his daughter. "Uh that's a discussion for another time….but for now, let's just eat." he said as the girls called them to take food from the kitchen island.
They sat around the coffee table while eating dinner as the guys told them everything that happened in their expedition. Sheldon was a little sad that they were not able to prove his theory but the other guys assured him that it was not anyone's fault since Magnetic Monopoles are difficult to prove in the first place. They will still publish their results even if the outcome was not as they expected it to be. They finished dinner and the rest of them decided to go home to rest.
Leonard was sitting on the couch with Sarah watching TV while Penny and Cathy clean up in the kitchen. They joined them in the living room afterwards, Penny sat beside Sarah while Cathy took the chair. Sarah leaned onto Leonard and slowly drifted to sleep. Cathy saw the child and decided to turn in herself and carry her niece to her bedroom. Penny scooted over and leaned on Leonard's shoulder.
"I miss you so much." Penny said.
"Me too….all I could think of was you and Sarah." he said kissing her.
Penny looked at him and touched his beard. "You will not shave this until I say so." she said looking serious.
Leonard was surprised. "Why?" he asked. Penny winked at him. Leonard nodded and smiled. "Got it."
Penny hugged him. "Let's go to my place." she whispered.
"Okay." he said as they stood up and went to Penny's place.
Penny hugged him tight as soon as they closed her door while trying to undress each other. They were possessed with a deep longing for each other as they made their way into the bedroom without breaking off their kiss. They hurriedly took their clothes off, jumping on the bed while feeling each other's warmth and affection. Leonard buried his face against Penny's neck making her laugh and giggle while Leonard's beard tickles her. Penny did the same, exploring Leonard's body with her hands while pulling him close to her to meet his every move. They continued with their frenzied love making for the better part of the hour.
They laid naked on the bed, exhausted and satisfied with their intimacy. Penny turned and put her body on top of Leonard to feel his beard against her face. Leonard tightened his grip of his girlfriend as they rest and catch their breath.
"That was amazing honey." Penny said.
"Yeah….I almost had a foot cramp." he said smiling.
"Good thing you hung in there….I'm so proud of you." she said kissing him.
"Are you sure you don't want me shave off this beard?" he asked.
"Only for a few days." she said to him.
"Okay…..oh before I forget…." he said as he turned over and reached for his jacket. He took out something from the pocket and gave it to Penny. "I made something for you…." he said giving her a piece of glass.
Penny examined it. "What is it?" she asked.
Leonard guided her hand. "Hold it against the light….it's a snowflake from the North Pole….I preserved it so it will last forever." he said.
Penny looked at him. "Aww honey!" she said kissing him. "it's perfect….I love it." she said hugging him.
Leonard smiled. "I'm glad you liked it." he said.
Penny kissed him again. "I love you Leonard." she said burying her face on his neck.
"I love you too Penny." he whispered to her. They stayed silent for a while. Penny shifted her body and rested her head on his shoulder. "I think this is the first time we said 'I love you' to each other." he said while playing with her hair.
Penny lightly smacked his chest. "And you waited for me to say it first!" she said.
"It's alright honey….it's not a competition." he said laughing.
Penny tightened her hug. "Remember your promise." she said.
"I know….we'll go to the ranch and the beach." he added. "I'll just finish some paper work at the university and then I'll take a leave from work." he said.
"Okay honey." Penny said as they slowly drifted off to sleep.