Raj and Alex take a trip

Own nothing

Raj and Alex landed in India. They were met at the airport by a driver hired by Dr. Koothrappali. Alex was a complete nervous wreck. She had agreed to come to India with Raj to meet his parents. They had been through so much in the recent past that she was just about willing to try anything. Her friendship with the girls seemed to be getting stronger. Even Penny, Alex was so thankful that Penny had talked to her.

Alex was truly on the fence with everything that had been happening. She had heard the words that Raj had told her, but it wasn't until Penny had talked to her in the bathroom that she started to see things between her and Raj in a new light. There seemed to be parallels in her relationship that Penny had experienced with Leonard. It made Alex feel better that she wasn't alone, that she could go to friends for help.

She had started to build a special friendship with Bernadette. It was really helpful for her when Bernadette went with her to the Doctor's appointment the day she found out for sure that she wasn't pregnant. When the Doctor had told her the results of the blood test, she almost fainted. Alex was just getting used to the idea that she might be pregnant and then she found out that she wasn't.

The reaction she had was a surprise to her. She had spent so much time worrying about what would happen to her career and her life if she WAS pregnant. It wasn't until she knew that she was NOT pregnant that she first felt disappointed. She was then extremely confused about her feelings for Raj. Was she in love with him if she actually wanted to have his baby? The one thing she was sure about was that she didn't want to throw away the possibility of having a relationship with Raj just because she was afraid of what would happen to her career. And, for that, she was so happy that Penny had talked to her, explaining to her that sometimes you just have to go with what feels right, no matter how scary it may seem.

So many things were going rough her mind as they made their way to the luggage area so they could get in the car and drive to the Koothrappali's home. Alex was hoping that Priya would be there. She was really looking forward to meeting Raj's sister in person. They had skyped a number of times while making plans for this trip.. They had even started to become fast friends. She asked Bernadette a few things about Priya, but quickly determined that there was no love lost between her new group of friends and Raj's sister. Even Raj didn't want to talk much about the interactions between Priya and their goup of friends. About all she could glean from the few answers she did get, was that Leonard and Penny were involved along with Raj. Everyone was very tight lipped.

On the way to Raj's parent's house, Alex just sat next to Raj and leaned on his shoulder watching the countryside go by. They had plans to do a little sightseeing. Raj had said that they would do a LOT of sight seeing if things started out badly. When they got to the house, raj got out of the car and went around to Alex's side. She had been let out of the car by the driver. It seemed all very formal. Priya came bounding out of the hose to give her brother a hug and to finally meet Alex in person. The two women hugged and started to chat about the trip and what the weather was going to be like.

When they entered the house, Alex almost fainted. "Dad? What are you doing here?" Standing next to Dr. Koothrapalli was Dr. Alexander Jensen, one of the premier SETI Scientists. Alex quickly ran to her father and pulled him into a hug while looking very perplexed.

Dr. Jensen turned to his daughter. "Alex, I'm here checking up on one of our SETI League members. It seems that your boyfriend here is the son of a very active member."

Raj was now taken aback. "Papa, what is Dr. Jensen talking about? You are a member of the SETI League?"

Dr. Koothrappali put a hand out to his son. "Come Rajesh, please bring your Dr. Jensen and sit for some tea. I have been a member for a few years now. Your mother was quite adamant about the fact I have not always been supportive of your academic pursuits and limited earning potential."

With those words, Mrs. Koothrapalli came into the room. "Rajesh come here. It has been so long since you have been home. You haven't been home since Sanjay's wedding years ago".

Raj went over to his mother and gave her a kiss. "Mama, why didn't I know Father was a member of the SETI League?"

Mrs. Koothrappali answered, "Rajesh, there are many things you do not know about us. You could call more often you know. I told your father to take some interest in what you do at that University, and he joined the League. He has been quite taken by the activities."

Alex still had a hold of her father's arm. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Dr. Jensen smiled at his daughter. "Well, it was time to get out of the office and contact some of the amateurs that we have helping us and when I found out that Dr. Koothrappali was the head of the local team working with Project ARGUS, and his son was Raj…. Well… it seemed natural that we sit down and meet".

Dr. Koothrappali looked at his son. "Rajesh, why didn't you tell us that Alex was putting forth a grant proposal for SETI?"

Raj turned to his father. "Papa… we have been concerned with many things lately… we just learned that the grant was approved."

Mrs. Koothrapalli interrupted. "Enough of this talk. We must sit and speak of more pleasant things. Alexandra, please come and sit by me. We have much to discuss. There are a great many things about Rajesh that you know nothing about." Priya just smiled at Raj as she held his arm and sat to have tea.

The rest of the trip was beautiful. They went to the Taj Mahal and the other sights in the area. Alex's father stayed for one day discussing the ARGUS project with Dr. Koothrappalli, Raj and Alex. When he left he gave his daughter a hug and she thanked him for all that that he had done with Raj's parents and any help he had in seeing her grant was accepted.

He assured her that all her hard work was what convinced the committee. Much like when Raj removed himself from her thesis defence team, Her father had recused himself to make sure that there was no appearance of favoritism. Mrs. Koothrappali had many talks with Alex and Priya while Raj was not around. Everyone got along very well and Raj couldn't have been happier or more proud of his family and the way they treated who they now came to accept as his girlfriend.