Author's notes: It never occurred to me that 'Book One' of this story had thirty-nine chapters and now 'Book Two' is coming up to forty and still counting. How time flies huh? Thanks for sticking around and I hope I can keep the chapters interesting and funny. As always, your comments are always welcome.

Chapter 40

"Oh my god honey...you look so beautiful!" said Leonard as he looked up at the stairs as his daughter walked down, wearing her new dress and pair of shoes that she bought with Penny for her graduation.

"Thank you dad...thanks for taking me and mom shopping." Sarah said as Penny joined them, coming from the kitchen.

Penny touched her daughter's hair and dress, making sure everything looks fine. "There...perfect." said Penny who can't help but feel proud of her daughter's accomplishment but also with how much they look alike.

"Wait...I think there's something missing." said Leonard.

Sarah immediately got conscious and looked at her dress, checking if there's something wrong with it. "What's wrong!?" she said, slightly worried about her outfit.

Leonard laughed a little before pulling out a small box from his suit. "This." he said, giving the box to his daughter.

"Uh...what is this dad?" Sarah asked, visibly excited about her father's unexpected gift.

"Open it and find out." said Leonard.

Sarah slowly opened the box and was surprised to see a gold necklace with a few pendants on it. "Dad!?...it's so beautiful!" she said, crying a little while hugging her father tight. "I love it!"

"Oh honey…" Penny said, giving her husband a lovely smile.

"Awww...you're welcome honey...I'm glad you like it." he said, hugging his daughter back. "This is my graduation gift to you."

"I love it dad...it's perfect!" she said as she took the necklace from the box to look closely at it. "Is this Buster?...and Bunny Rabbit?" she asked while looking at the pendants.

"Yeah...and when you have your own money you can add Marty in there." he said making the girls giggle.

"Put it on me." Sarah asked she turned around while Leonard put the necklace around her neck. "Thank you dad." she said, crying a little at her father's thoughtful gift.

"You're welcome...and don't cry, you're gonna ruin your makeup." he said, kissing her cheek.

Penny leaned over and kissed her husband. "Good job Hofstadter...really great." she said. "Now let's get going...we don't want to be late…" she said as they gathered their stuff before heading to the door.

"Yeah...imagine if they finish the graduation ceremony without hearing the class valedictorian's speech." he said, making the girls laugh.

"Then that would be the highlight of the day!" Penny said, making Leonard laugh.

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As soon as they arrived at Sarah's school, she immediately ran up to her friends, showing off her dress and shoes to them, especially the new necklace that Leonard gave her, making the other girls swoon at the lovely gift from her father.

"Oh my god Sarah...it's very lovely!" said Sarah's classmate Julie.

"I was so surprised...it looks nice right?" said Sarah.

"Is that Buster?" asked her other classmate Milly.

"Yeah...and this one's Bunny Rabbit...my favorite horse from my grandpa's farm in Nebraska." Sarah said.

They held hands while laughing and giggling as they went to the school's soccer field where the graduation ceremony would take place. The couple looked at each other and laughed, knowing that no matter how smart Sarah was, she's still the little girl who's easily distracted by girl stuff. Almost every teacher and staff of the school congratulated the couple as they made their way to their seats, joining the other parents in the crowd. The couple felt very proud of their daughter, somehow forgetting all of her crazy stunts that made them lose their temper one way or another.

The graduation ceremony proceeded as planned with the guest speaker giving a few life advice to the young crowd, telling them to follow their dreams and not let anyone tell them otherwise. After the guest speaker, the host introduced Sarah as the class valedictorian, not failing to note that she's the youngest among all of the graduates. Sarah went up the stage and took her place on the podium, with Penny noticing that she's a little nervous, probably because of the huge crowd in front of her. After the crowd quieted down, Sarah took out a piece of paper from the pocket of her toga and started speaking.

"Thank you Mrs. Ramirez...to our Principal Mrs. McNeely...our guest speaker Mr. Doyle...the rest of our school's teachers and staff and to my fellow graduates, thank you for this high honor." said Sarah, as Penny held on to her husband, unable to control herself from crying.

Sarah looked at the paper in her hand and slightly hesitated, finally putting the paper back in her pocket. "Uh...I actually prepared a speech but I don't think I can read it now. Before me and my parents came here, I was mentally practicing on what I was gonna say up here but now looking at them, I can't help but feel a little emotional...not because I'm nervous or anything but because of how thankful I am to them for always being there for me and my older brother. Sometimes I think that I don't deserve them, especially after all the crazy stunts I did...like when I almost burned the science building down." she said making all her classmates laugh. "Hey...that's not funny." she said before continuing with her speech.

"I'd like to thank my brother for always having my back, even if he always busts my chops. But he's in New Jersey now...so maybe I'll just text him and say that I said nice things about him." she said making her classmates laugh.

"Thank you to my dad for always being there for me...never once did he lift his hand on me or my brother...although he would sometimes yell at me...probably because I deserved it." she said, making the crowd laugh. "Dad...I know I'm not the best daughter and I'm sorry if your hair turned grey earlier than expected because of me…" she said, making Leonard laugh and cry at the same time. "...but to be fair, you kinda look nice with a little grey in your hair...makes you look more wiser...you know when Gandalf the Grey fought the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dum and emerged as Gandalf the White after defeating the fire demon...that's kinda you!" said the young lady, making Leonard laugh as the crowd looked on, confused at what the young lady just said. She then touched the necklace he gave to her. "I love you dad...I know I haven't said that to you in a while but I'm not ashamed to say it now...you're really the best father any kid could ever have." she said, wiping a tear from her eye while the crowd clapped their hands.

Sarah then took a deep breath before continuing on with her speech. "Only a few of you may know this but my mom kinda retired from her acting career when she had me. I never paid any attention to it until my brother pointed out how my mom sacrificed her dream so she could raise me and my brother. To me, my mom was always there when I come home from school...when I was sick or when I want someone to play with me on the X-Box and mostly to encourage me and my brother to pursue our dreams." she said as Penny looked on, wiping her tears as she listened to her daughter onstage. "It made me realize what a wonderful and selfless person my mother was. Most times I would hear people telling me that I have too much of my mother in me, like it was a bad thing or something that I need to grow out of, but now I'm proud to say that I'm the daughter of Penny Hofstadter, the best mother in the world." she said as the crowd stood up and clapped their hands at Leonard and Penny, cheering and congratulating them. Sarah then went down the stage and hugged her parents, sandwiching herself between them.

"Thank you sweetheart...that was so wonderful." Penny said, kissing her daughter's cheek.

"Mom you're gonna ruin my makeup." Sarah said, making her parent's laugh.

"Good job honey...comparing me to Gandalf...that's the best compliment that I ever received." Leonard said, hugging his daughter tight. "I'm glad you remembered that scene." he said.

"Oh that? I googled that earlier so I would remember it!" she said, smiling at her father before walking away to take her seat among her classmates.

Penny laughed, amused at how her daughter knows how to push Leonard's buttons. "That's my girl!" she said.

Leonard took a deep breath. "Fine...you guys got me again." he said as they take their seats.

The ceremony continued on, finally capping off with the principal congratulating the graduating class and the kids throwing their hats into the air while cheering and celebrating, glad that their four-year, and in Sarah's case her three-year journey has finally come to an end.

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After greeting everyone and taking a ton of pictures and selfies with her friends and classmates, Sarah tearfully bid goodbye to them, joining her parents who was happy in seeing their daughter have good friends.

Leonard reached out his hand to hold his daughter's hand. "Come on...I know you guys are hungry." he said.

"Where are we going dad?" asked Sarah.

"There's this new place not far from here...I already made a reservation yesterday." he said. "And they have lots of ice cream flavors to choose from." he said.

Sarah got excited at the mention of her favorite food. "Really?"

Penny sighed and rolled her eyes. "When you were little I used to worry that someone might use your love of ice cream and kidnap you...sell you off to a childless couple in Asia or something..." said Penny, making Leonard laugh.

"Or harvest her organs...like her kidneys...liver...maybe her eyes..." he said, obviously making fun of his daughter.

"One day...you guys can't even give me one day without making fun of me!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Hey...we're just making it count until you turn eighteen and decide to move out of the house!" said Penny. "If that happens, it'll just be me and your dad in the house...sitting on our chairs, reading a magazine while Marty sleeps by the coffee table..." she added.

"What's so wrong with that?" Leonard asked.

"Nothing honey...nothing at all." said Penny as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Sarah looked at her parents. "You guys always ruin everything huh?" she said.

"No we don't!" Leonard answered, earning a high five from Penny.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Fine...but we both know that you and mom won't be sitting around in the living room reading magazines like an old married couple!" she said.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked.

"Mom...you know that when I move out of the house, dad would surely find a way to get super creepy with you...all the time..." said Sarah, surprising her parents. "...like he just got out of prison or something..." she added.

"Okay young woman...you need to stop right now..." said Leonard, making his daughter laugh, happy at getting back at her parents.

They were almost at the parking lot when Sarah stopped in her tracks, seeing Jason waiting for her.

Leonard and Penny saw the young man and looked at their daughter who was visibly nervous. "Sweetheart?" said Penny.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" asked Leonard.

Sarah took a deep breath and gave her father a weak smile. "No dad...I'll talk to him." she said as the couple stayed behind while Sarah walked towards her ex-boyfriend.

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"Hey." Sarah said, smiling at Jason.

"Hey...congratulations...I saw your speech...it was very nice what you said about your folks." said the young man.

"Thanks...are you here alone?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah...my sister dropped me off but she's gonna drive by to pick me up later." he said. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm doing fine...how about you?" asked the young lady.

Jason gave her a weak smile. "I'm doing good too."

"Listen, I have to go...my parents are waiting for me." she said, trying not to prolong their conversation.

"Sarah." Jason called her name.

Sarah turned around. "Yeah?"

"Good luck...I know you'll do well in college." he said.

Sarah looked at him, trying hard not to cry. "Jason...please don't make this hard..." she said.

"I'm sorry...I just wanted to see you one last time and say goodbye." he said.

Sarah finally gave in and stepped forward, holding Jason's hand and kissing him on his lips. Jason was caught by surprise but found himself returning Sarah's affection. She finally broke off, touching Jason's face before stepping back. "I'm gonna miss you." she said.

"I'm gonna miss you too...you take care of yourself, alright?" he said.

"You too Jason...bye." said Sarah as she walked back to her parents, waving goodbye to Jason.

Jason waved at her. "...bye Sarah..." he said softly while holding back his tears.

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"Are you alright sweetheart?" Penny asked her daughter.

Sarah smiled, giving her parents a brave face. "I'm okay mom...you don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure?" asked Leonard.

"Dad...I'm a big girl now...I can handle it." she said. "Now let's go before the restaurant gives our table away." she said walking ahead of them towards the car.

As soon as they reached the car, Sarah faced her father. "I'll drive." she said, extending her hand.

"No!" Penny exclaimed.

Leonard tapped his wife's shoulder. "It's fine honey..." he said as he handed the keys to Sarah while he went around to the front seat.

Sarah laughed at her little success. "Oh this is gonna be fun!" she said, getting on the driver's seat and putting her seat belt on while Penny sat in the backseat, putting her own seat belt.

"I promise if we crash or hit something, I'm gonna rip both your heads off." Penny said.

"Honey...you better be careful...your mom already punched me when your brother was born and when she got pregnant with you and I don't want her to completely ripping my head off." said Leonard, making his daughter laugh.

"Relax dad...you almost died once because of me and I'm not about to do that again." said Sarah, making Leonard laugh as Sarah started the car, putting it on gear and slowly backing out of the parking slot, somehow impressing the couple at how well she handled the car.

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The family arrived home around ten in the evening, with Marty jumping and running around, excited in welcoming them home. Sarah lifted the dog in her arms and went straight to the stairs.

"Come on boy...you're sleeping in my room tonight." said Sarah as her parents look on, knowing that their daughter seeing Jason earlier somewhat bothered her.

"I'm worried for her." said Penny.

"Me too...she's been quiet since we got to the restaurant." said Leonard. "..let's change our clothes and check up on her...just to be sure." he said, pullin gher upstairs to their bedroom.

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Inside Sarah's bedroom...

Sarah sat on the side of her bed and hugged Marty tight, smelling his fur before crying.

Marty whimpered and laid his head on her lap, sensing his big sister's sadness while giving her a sad look.

Sarah looked at her dog and gave him a weak smile. "Do you miss him?" she asked her pet.

Marty barked once while wagging his tail again.

Sarah sat on the bed and cuddled the dog, rubbing his head and belly. "Me too...but I need to grow up and move on...thank goodness that I have you...right?" she said, smiling at him.

Marty quickly turned over and jumped on her shoulder, trying to lick her neck and face to make her feel better.

"You're so sweet!" she said when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in." she said while wiping her tears.

The couple popped their head in, seeing their daughter hurriedly fixing herself up. "Sweetheart are you alright?" asked Penny as they entered the room.

Sarah sighed as she let the dog down on the floor. "I'm fine mom...I told you I can handle it." she said.

The couple sat beside the young lady. "We can't help but get worried...you've been quiet since we got to the restaurant." said Leonard, pulling Sarah close to lean her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks dad...but I'm fine...I need to grow up and move on." said Sarah, happy for her parents affection.

"We just want you to know that you can talk to us about anything...you understand?" Penny said.

"I got it mom." Sarah said, giving them a weak smile as they look at Marty who's sitting on the floor, looking at them while wagging his tail. "Mom?"

"Yes sweetie?" Penny said, looking at her daughter.

"How did you and dad do it?" she asked.

"Did what honey?" Leonard asked.

"You know...stay happily married?" said the young lady, making the couple laugh a bit.

"Oh honey...it wasn't always easy for me and your mom..." he said.

"Really?" asked Sarah.

Leonard nodded. "Yeah there was a time when it got really weird between me and your mom...especially after she broke up with me..." he said.

"Your father is right sweetie...it hasn't always been easy between me and your father...but as time went on, we realized that no matter what happened, your dad and I were always meant to be together." said Penny.

"She's right...and we had to work on our relationship...you know, accept each other for who we are and forgive each other's shortcomings..." he said.

Sarah leaned her head on Penny's shoulder. "I wish I could be as happy as you guys are." she said.

Penny put her arms around her daughter. "Don't be in such a rush sweetie...you're still young." she said.

"You mother is right honey...you have your whole life ahead of you...you're going to college in a couple of months...you're gonna have new friends..." said Leonard, trying to encourage his daughter.

"Thanks dad..." said Sarah, thankful for having good parents. "I'm okay now...you guys can go back to your room now..." she said as she picked the dog up. "Marty can watch over me...right boy?" she said as the dog jumped on the bed, barking and pushing his face on the pillow.

Leonard took Penny's hand while standing up. "Come on honey...let's leave these two alone." he said.

"Bye sweetie...you sleep tight okay?" said Penny, kissing her cheek before following her husband.

"Bye mom...bye dad." said Sarah, before locking the door and changing into her pajamas. "I'm telling you Marty, if you pee on the bed, I'm not gonna let you in here again."

Marty stood up and barked at her, wagging his tail.

"Okay I get it...now let's get some sleep...I'm tired." she said before turning off the lights and slipping under the covers, letting the dog snuggle up to her.