Epiphanies

Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form do I own anything to do with The Big Bang Theory (except DVDs). CBS, Chuck Lorre, and Bill Prady have that honor. I am just a fan.

Chapter 7

"President Seibert will see you now." announced the secretary. Katherine, Leonard, Howard and Raj all rose and walked into the Caltech president's office.

"Dr. Levin, Dr. Hofstadter, and Mr. Wolowitz, what can I do for you all?"

"I know your time is valuable President Seibert, so I will come straight to the point." said Katherine. "As you know, all Caltech faculty can have one family member attend tuition free as long as they meet the entrance requirements."

"Yes."

"All of us here qualify for this benefit but none of us have family attending. We do, however, have a friend we would like to take classes here."

Leonard quickly added "Not even a full course load, just two classes."

President Seibert shook his head. "The rules explicitly state only family members."

"The cost of two classes is a fraction of what full tuition for five people would be." Howard pointed out.

Leonard put his hand on the president's desk and leaned in. "And some of us have gone to great lengths to raise funds for this institution. I think a little quid pro quo is in order."

Seibert was momentarily abashed but rallied. "Be that as it may, I can't break the rules like this. It would set a precedent." he said firmly.

Katherine shook her head. "I didn't want it to come to this but you leave us no choice. Leonard, the secret weapon." Leonard went out of the office.

Seibert sneered "You don't scare me, what is it? Some sort of hypnosis ray Mr. Wolowitz has cooked up?"

Raj snorted "You wish it was that harmless."

Leonard came back into the room with Sheldon in tow. Seibert turned white. "This friend of yours is also a friend of Dr. Cooper?"

"A very dear friend." Leonard replied smugly

"It would make Sheldon very happy to have our friend take classes here. You want Dr. Cooper to be happy don't you?" asked Katherine.

"Yes … yes, of course." Seibert stood and paced for several moments. Sheldon opened his mouth to speak but Katherine slapped her hand over his mouth and Leonard kicked him in the ankle. His eyes shot daggers at them but he remained quiet.

President Seibert suddenly turned to face them. "If I agree can you keep him from calling me at home and accosting me at the urinals?"

Everyone looked at Sheldon; Leonard poked him. "I agree to those terms." said Sheldon grudgingly.

Seibert quickly said "Done" before Sheldon could change his mind.

As everyone filed out of the office Katherine turned back and smiled sweetly. "It's a pleasure doing business with you President Seibert."

Seibert dropped back into his seat and put his head on his desk.

On their way out of the outer office Raj said to the secretary "He needs a couple minutes. You might want to bring him a coffee, or something stronger even."

The next Thursday everyone was gathered in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment for pizza. Leonard waited for a pause in the conversation, then stood. "Penny, I know you've been at a crossroads professionally and we have a surprise that we hope will help you in choosing your new path. Thanks to a brilliant idea from Katherine, you are approved to take two classes at Caltech tuition free! And to show how much we all believe in you, we are all going to chip in to pay for your books."

Penny jumped up and hugged Leonard and then Katherine. "Oh my God! You guys are the best. How on earth did you pull that off?"

Katherine, smiling at Sheldon "You might say we had a secret weapon."

"I hope you will remember this is a prestigious university Penny." said Sheldon. "Not one of the cow colleges you've been used to."

Penny sank back onto her chair. "Holy crap on a cracker! How am I supposed to pass classes at Caltech!"

"There are plenty of introductory classes." Katherine reassured her. "And trust me; you're smarter than a lot of my students."

Leonard pulled something out from behind his chair cushion and handed it to Penny. "I picked a course catalogue up for you today."

"Thank you sweetie." Penny took the heavy book from Leonard. "How am I supposed to choose two classes out of all this?!"

"It's not that bad" said Amy. "You only need to look at the introductory classes and since you haven't chosen a major yet, you'll want subjects that will be applicable to a wide variety of fields of study."

"I'm biased of course, but an English class would probably be a good choice" suggested Katherine. "You'll need to be able to read critically and write well no matter what your major ends up being."

"Katherine is right" Sheldon said. "It's probably best you start off with a soft subject." Katherine glared at him.

Seeing panic starting to show in Penny's eyes, Bernadette said "You don't need to decide today."

"Yeah, there is plenty of time before fall semester." Leonard put his arm around Penny.

Katherine starting eyeing the course catalog. "There are a lot of fascinating classes being offered. I'm tempted to take one myself."

"Aren't you going to be busy enough planning a wedding?" Howard asked.

"Speaking of which, how did it go telling your parents?" Penny asked, eager to change the subject.

Katherine and Raj both groaned; Katherine buried her face in her hands. "Not well then?"

"That is an understatement. I never want to experience anything like that again. It was more nerve-wracking than defending my dissertation!" Katherine exclaimed.

Raj took her hand. "It's over and we got my parents to accept it." Katherine raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "However grudgingly" he added.

"I almost hope it stays grudging. Towards the end she was starting hint that she wanted to plan the wedding."

"Would that be so bad if she was willing to pay for it?" asked Leonard.

"It's just that I already know what I want. Since I was a little girl I've dreamed about getting married back home on the Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum."

"What's the Ticonderoga?" Bernadette asked.

"It's an early twentieth century steamboat that's been restored to 1920's perfection. It's beautiful and the views from the deck of the surroundings are gorgeous."

"Boats are such an inferior method of transportation." Sheldon scoffed.

"The museum has a train too Sheldon."

"In that case, have you set a date yet?"

"Sometime next summer. I want plenty of time to make all of the arrangements." The conversation drifted onto other topics and the rest of the evening passed enjoyably.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the previous chapters. I truly appreciate the encouragement. Ditto the Story Alerts and Favorite Stories; they make my day.

Author note: I would love to hear any thoughts, comments or constructive criticism so please review.