Raj, Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, Amy, Howard and Bernadette

The pint sized couple looked at their five bickering friends in ill-concealed astonishment. Bernadette looked questionignly up at Howard who shrugged in answer. She cleared her throat to get her vocal chords ready to get the arguing people's attention.

"HEY! GUYS!"

There was immediate silence. Bernadette looked at all of them in turn, wondering just what had happened while she and Howard had been away.

"What's going on?"

"She-"

"He-"

"They-"

Before long there was loud shouts and accusations flying around again. Bernadette gritted her teeth. This was just like the bad old days when she was looking after her brothers and sisters.

"STOP SHOUTING!" she bellowed, rewarded with silence once more. "Now, Amy, tell me what happened."

Amy was more capable of keeping calm, she knew. She also knew the brunette woman didn't exaggerate nearly as badly as the others did.

"Sheldon's an ass. Penny got Leonard in trouble. Leonard stole Penny's clothing for Priya. Raj is angry with those two because Leonard forgot him and Penny belittled his Christmas gift."

"OK." Bernadette took a deep breath. This was going to suck. "Sit down, guys, please."

The moment everyone was seated comfortably, Bernadette opened her mouth. "First of all, I'm disappointed in all of you for disintegrating like this. Now, what did Sheldon do?"

"He accused me of having unclean hair."

"I did not-" Sheldon started.

"Buh! No interrupting, Sheldon. Continue, Amy."

"He won't apologise."

"OK, I've said this before to someone, " she glanced at her husband, who had the decency to look ashamed of himself. "And I'll say it again. He doesn't know he's being mean because the part of his brain that should know isn't getting the message. As a neurobiologist, I would've thought you'd have known that."

Amy looked at Sheldon, feeling a twinge of shame. She had clean forgotten about his inability to acknowledge his own insults. "I forgot that. Sorry, Sheldon."

"That's alright." He didn't say anything else, despite pointed looks and Penny hissing at him. "What?"

"Sheldon," Bernadette firmly said to him. "Apologise to Amy please."

He was about to say 'no' and argue, but she gave him a look so reminiscent of his mother, that he decided against. "I apologise, Amy. I'll not say it again."

"Thank you."

"Though it was true."

Bernadette fixed her eyes on Leonard this time. "Leonard, no girl is worth stealing your ex-girlfriends' clothes for. It's very weird to say the least and stealing is against the law."

"I know. I don't know what came over me. Sorry, Penny."

Penny leant over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm still mad at you."

"And what did Penny do?" Bernadette asked the group.

"She put out of date YooHoo! in our fridge." Sheldon explained.

"It wasn't out of date when I had it. And I have nine strikes. Haven't I been punished enough?"

"Why are you complaining? I once put flat soda in his fridge and I got 12 strikes." Howard reminisced, looking at Sheldon in a very offended way.

"Yes, because you didn't ask to put it there."

"And Penny did?"

"No."

"And she only gets nine strikes?"

Bernadette pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. This was really just great.

"Because she's my neighbour. I don't want to annoy her."

"I'm your colleague." Howard snapped. Then he had a change of mind. "Kind of!"

"I don't know what to say to that." Sheldon admitted.

Howard crossed his arms and started tapping his foot. Bernadette began praying internally that Howie wouldn't get upset.

"Oh, Lord." Sheldon muttered. He knew that if he upped the strikes Penny would probably be upset with him. However, if he didn't , Howard would be upset at him. Howard foot stopped tapping.

"Is this because I'm Jewish?" the engineer demanded.

"So that's why you're here!" Leonard exclaimed.

"No! I don't mind that at all." He paused. "Why?"

"It's been a very long couple of days." Howard sighed.

"The reason is not because you're Jewish, I promise."

"What is the reason?"

"Because she's my best friend's girlfriend. I have a duty to not annoy or hit on her. Thus the reason I gave her only nine."

"That's true."

"When I'm done chewing these guys out, you can talk about with them." Bernadette promised. She turned back to Penny.

"Penny, you know Sheldon's terrified of germs and pathogens and viruses. Seeing that the drink was out of date was, to him, the quivalent of an arachnophobe seeing a ginormous spider."

"I know. I'm sorry, Sheldon. And Leonard. You missed that episode of Babylon 5."

"It's OK. My TiVo box records all the episodes, so it's no biggie."

"That's alright, Penny."

"And guys, try not to forget Raj. He's not got family here."

"We're sorry, Raj." Penny told him. Leonard nodded in agreement.

"It's OK, you guys."

"So what happened?" Amy asked Howard.

Seeing her hisbadn's relecutant look, Bernadette put her arm around him. "Say whatever you want, sweetie."

"I love you, Bernie. Well, her sister was a crazy anti-Semitic bitch."

"No way!" Penny said.

"Yup, she said that all Jews are..."

"Dude!" Raj exclaimed, outraged. "She didn't say that!"

"She did and she said it twice. I'm never going back there."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Sheldon replied, gravely. "To bear the brunt of xenophobia isn't very pleasant. I remember the time a group of Mormons came to visit. They never came back and my mother received a very stiff letter from our police department."

"In some ways, your mom's as crazy as you, Shelly." Penny rather snarkingly informed him.

"I am not cra- How many times do I have to tell you, Penny?"

"I wish I could have least been there for my grandparents Thanksgiving singing."

"Oh! Sheldon?" Bernadette called.

"What?"

"Do you have a keyboard?"

"Yes, it's in our closet by there."

Bernadette ran to open it and tugged it out of its box. She located a plug and began setting it up.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I learnt the piano keys and tune needed to play Hodu Lashem Ki Tov. And I remembered the lyrics!" she finished prudly.

"Wow!"

"I know you like this song and it wouldn't have been fair to spring a completely Catholic Thanksgiving on you, so I promised myself that I'd sing it to you. If Joy wasn't there."

"Oh, my God, Bernie!" Howard gasped. "This is amazing of you. Thanks! I love you so much."

"I love you too, bubulah."

She tested the keys, trying to recall the notes and keys and then began softly singing.

"Hodu LaShem ki tov

Hodu LaShem ki tov.."

"Oh, this is beautiful!" Penny gushed to Leonard. She found her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it tight as she watched her friend serenade her husband.

"Ki l'olam chasdo.

Yomru na Yisrael

Yomru na Yisrael.."

"This is rather nice." Sheldon said to Amy. "Makes me remember my dad singing to my mom on New Years Eve."

"Ki l'olam chasdo.

Yomru na Veit Aharon

Ki l'olam chasdo

Hodu lashem ki tov

Ki l'olam chasdo."

Both Penny and Amy noticed that Raj had tears in his eyes. Trying not to smile at how sweetly sensitive he was, they both reached out and clasped one of his hands.

"Yomru na yirei HaShem

Yomru na yirei HaShem

Ki l'olam chasdo."

Once she'd finished her loving song, Howard gave his wife an ecstatic and grateful kiss.

"You're the best, Bernie."

"Happy Thanksgiving!"