Chapter XVIII

Howard and Raj were over at 4A on Saturday, with Penny and Charlotte, Bernadette, and Emily all having "Girl's Day" at the mall. Howard was a little unnerved because he was only a few weeks away from proposing to Bernadette. He envied Sheldon and Penny's relationship because to him it seemed to be the ideal blueprint for a happy and successful marriage. He had talked about his fears of commitment with Raj and while his best friend was also in a happy relationship, he and Emily were content with taking things slow. Raj was the one that suggested he talk to Sheldon about his fears.

"So, uh Sheldon," Howard begins rubbing the back of his neck, "How uh, did you know Penny was the one?"

Sheldon chuckles, taking another sip of his Gatorade, "How? I have no clue. Penny bewitched me from the very beginning. When I drove up to meet her after Michael called me, I didn't know who or what to expect, all he had told me was that she was hot and liked smart guys—he didn't even show me a picture—but it was like all the stars aligned and everything was perfectly balanced the second I laid eyes on Penny. We had an instant connection, I don't know what it was, but some might call it love at first sight; for me, it was certainly infatuation at first sight. I think if you asked Penny she'll tell you the same thing. It wasn't quite love yet, but she told me on our honeymoon that just 20 minutes after meeting me she was already thinking about wedding bells."

Raj sniffled, "That's so romantic."

Howard tutted at his best friend's sentimentality, "Yeah yeah, all peaches and cream. But," he addressed Sheldon again, "was there no point in your relationship where you thought, 'Am I doing this for the right reasons?'"

Sheldon understands, "Ahh, you're getting cold feet about asking Bernadette." Howard nods. Sheldon pats his neighbour and friend's knee, "Let me ask you, are you happy?"

"Of course."

Sheldon nods, "Is she the one you want to fight for and with because she's worth it?" "Absolutely."

"Does she drive you crazy but still you can't picture another in her place?" Howard nods smiling, "You have no idea."

Sheldon chuckles, "I think I do if you want to marry her. Congratulations Howard, you are ready to make a commitment to a woman. A very lovely and caring woman too I might add. I do have one piece of advice on how you propose though. Before you go and do something elaborate and public like I did, first, ask her how she feels about a surprise party with an undetermined number of guests. Depending on her reaction you might want to opt for a private proposal instead. I only did mine publicly mainly because I had set a precedent by surprising Penny just before summer."

Howard smiles in thanks, "I'll do that. And uh, thanks for introducing me to your buddy Eric, he really helped me iron out the kinks in both of my designs. That sold NASA; I got my official notice from NASA last week. I leave for Kazakhstan and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in November."

Sheldon chuckled, "I had nothing to do with it really, it's like that damn earworm that Charlotte

won't stop singing ever since Penny and I took her to Disneyland last weekend, it's a small world. He just happened to remember your name and inquired about it."

Howard and Raj laughed at their friend and his dislike of Disney.

"By the way," Sheldon tells Howard after the pair quiet down, "You need to tell Penny so she can organise the post-mission interview with her show. And trust me the sooner you do it the better, because my wife is relentless. I still don't know how she convinced the show and my commanders to allow me to talk about my Medal of Honor experience during May sweeps next week. I was surprised when I was told that was where I was going on Friday."

Howard chuckled. "I'll get right on that when she and the others get back." "Are you excited to be a father again?" Raj asked.

Sheldon smiled, "I am actually, barring any last-minute deployments I should be here for my secondborn's birth; that's what I regret the most when Penny was pregnant with Charlotte, being there for her, seeing the miracle of life happen, being one of the first people to hold my daughter. But I'm thankful she had Val and you guys and you guys again at the beginning of this one."

Howard and Raj beamed, "Happy to help," they chorused.

"It was actually watching the little munchkin for Penny that got Bernie over her fear of childbearing, so I'm really glad I could've been of service," Howard grins.

"Are you thinking of more?" Raj asked.

Sheldon snorted with amusement, "Why are you all going to become permanent babysitters to my kids?"

Raj laughed, "No, but Penny mentioned you guys were house shopping so, obviously, you want more room, but does that mean more kids?"

"I think we want—no, I know that we want a boy since baby number two is a girl and like I said Penny is relentless, I have no doubt the second her body feels up to the task she'll drag me wherever to practise. So, at least one more."

"What if you're like the reverse Weasley family from Harry Potter with five girls before the first boy?" Raj asked hypothetically.

"Then God help the little boys who want to date my daughters. In fact, I'm pretty sure that any boys will have a hard time dating my girls simply because of my presence—also predicted by Penny."

Howard sniffs, "Yeah, I can definitely see that. I'm starting to wonder if I should invent a death ray or a real-life phaser for when my non-existent daughter—because Bernie wants one at least—starts dating since I lack your military credentials," he muses.

Sheldon and Raj look at each other before chuckling, "Since you're an astronaut you can always threaten to send him into orbit," Raj suggests jokingly.

"And trust me a death ray is so far into the realm of science fiction that it is inconceivable," Sheldon chuckles, "I'm sure I told you the story of trying to build my own when I was a kid?"

Howard nods.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my first guest is a highly-decorated United States Marine, which includes the Medal of Honor who has served multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the husband of our Los Angeles Assistant Director Penny Cooper, please give a hearty Late Show welcome to Lieutenant Sheldon Cooper," David Letterman announces to the audience from his desk in the Ed Sullivan Theatre.

Sheldon comes out dressed in officer's dress and full medals with the Medal of Honor around his neck. He shakes David Letterman's hand then takes a seat.

"Wow, when the blurb here said 'highly decorated' I didn't quite know what to expect, those are as impressive as they are blinding. Paul, can you see?"

"I have sunglasses on so I'm all right," Paul Shaffer jokes. The audience laughs. "Welcome to the show, Sheldon," David addresses Sheldon again.

"Thank you for having me."

"I would say I had a hand in booking you, but no, um, our LA AD who is here tonight booked you for us."

"Well, she told me either I do your show or she was going to reassign me to the couch," Sheldon joked.

The audience laughed while Dave chuckles, "Now, the event that earned you the Medal of Honor happened just over four years ago, why share your story now?"

"That's right, a year and one month to the day in fact. A lot has changed in those four years, I got married, had kids, got promoted, and the trauma of that day has subsided to the point where I'm able to talk about it freely."

"So, what were you feeling on April 13, 2007?"

"To be honest, I was not out there trying to be the hero. It was simply my job. I saw what had to be done and I went out and did it. But, when one's job is to put your life on the line in the defence of the country and the protection of others it just seems heroic. During that engagement, the only thing I thought about was getting myself and my squad mates back in one piece. I certainly did not intend to incapacitate a suicide bomber, run off with an active homemade bomb and disable it all within a narrow window of time."

"But you did, and I am sure the men that you saved that day are thankful you did as well." The audience clapped.

"Now I know a majority of Medal of Honor recipients receive their honour posthumously, does it feel different for you to receive yours in person?" Dave asked.

"Somewhat. There wasn't survival guilt or anything of that nature but I didn't understand for a few months after receiving the honour, how difficult it'll be for me to talk with my superiors since courtesy dictates the rendering of honours by anyone of lower or higher rank. That made me feel uncomfortable a little bit until I spoke with a few Vietnam honourees—and they put into perspective just exactly what those rendering of honours meant from those in uniform. I understood then that the rendering of honours wasn't necessarily just to me, but to those I saved, and when I think about it in that context it makes my daily life easier."

"Speaking of easier, you've done multiple tours of both Afghanistan and Iraq and tours of Syria, Yemen and other places as well, does it get any easier?"

"No, I don't think it ever will. But I have a great support system in a loving and extremely understanding wife and a precocious little girl, as well as great friends both in and out of the military. They are the reason I can do what I do because I want to ensure they continue to live and breathe free." Sheldon said.

The audience clapped again.

"According to my notes here, you once saved a man's life using nothing but a knife and warm water. How did you manage that?"

"Out of necessity," Sheldon chuckled, "I wasn't going to let my best friend and practical brother die that day either. It was to perform emergency field surgery on my friend or let him die because of an internal bleeding complication. I couldn't live with myself if I had done that, I couldn't let his family and friends go through the tragedy of losing him either, so again I did what needed to be done."

"It also says here, that you have a doctorate in natural science, but why is that important to your story?"

Sheldon chuckles again a bit before answering, "I suppose you can say that degree is sort of my origin story. I went to college at an early age, like really early—I was 11 when I started at Rice University," the audience ohh'd, "I graduated and left for graduate school in Germany at 13. A

year into my studies, my father a former Vietnam-era Marine turned football coach fell deathly ill, I flew back in the nick of time to have one final heart-to-heart with my dad before he died; two weeks later I turned 14. I then resolved to become a Marine like my dad and my grandfather—two people I looked up to—after I returned to Germany. I finished my doctorate when I was 16, spent the next few months lecturing in Germany to waste time until I was 17 and could enlist with parental consent and I suppose the rest is history."

"So you never thought about using that degree?"

Sheldon shook his head, "Not after my dad died, no, but my wife did try to persuade me to use it in an attempt to get me to leave the Corps once."

Dave chuckled, then looked at Sheldon and then the camera, "We have to take a commercial break but we'll be back with more Lieutenant Cooper. Come on back."

The audience clapped.

"Welcome back, I'm here with Lieutenant Sheldon Cooper of the US Marine Corps, before we took a break you said that your education and the passing of a loved one essentially led you to a life in the Marine Corps, is there any way you would have chosen differently?"

"Yes, of course, but then I wouldn't be this happy and fulfilled. Joining the military gave me purpose, it also led me to my greatest adventure of being a husband and father. I think if I had chosen any other route without fully contemplating my dad's last words, I would be miserable at least for the foreseeable future."

"What would you have done instead?"

"My wife called me one of those and I quote 'beautiful mind genius guys' when she first met me, given that, I would, had I not chosen the military probably would have continued down that path

and be a theoretical physicist somewhere."

"Last question, after being in multiple war zones, does anything scare you?"

"Scare? Not necessarily, but the first time I had to change my daughter's diapers I was a little grossed out," Sheldon chuckled.

Paul gave him a quick piano zinger for that one.

Dave and the audience laughed, "I'll bet. Well, Lieutenant Cooper, it's been an honour to meet you and I wish you all the best. Lieutenant Sheldon Cooper, everybody!"

The audience applauded.

Bernadette knocked on 4B excited. She got her preliminary dissertation defence results and just had to share them with Howard.

Howard opened the door knowing only one person would be excitedly knocking on his door at seven in the evening. Sheldon, Penny, and Charlotte were still in New York enjoying a little family-only time away; Raj and Emily were on Catalina Island enjoying a couples-only weekend.

"Howie, I did it!" Bernadette beamed and threw her arms around him in the doorway in a tight embrace.

Howard was caught off balance for a moment but steadied them both, when Bernadette pulled back, she leaned up and kissed him deeply.

"So, you get a doctoral confirmation and I get a response like that? I wonder what I'd get when you actually get hooded," he winked at her.

"Howie, don't be crude," she slapped his chest playfully.

"All right, come on in, I'm pretty sure if you stand out here beaming like that you're liable to start attracting ships," he joked.

Bernadette steps into 4B and Howard goes to the kitchen and pulls out two champagne flutes and a bottle of bubbly.

"I think we should celebrate," he tells her as he heads over to where she's sitting with the bottle of champagne and two glasses.

She giggles, "We don't have to do that."

Remembering what Sheldon said about asking her about a party, he soldiers on, "I think we do," he grins, "in recognition of your achievement how would you feel about a massive party?"

Bernadette titters, "Oh that's sweet but I don't need a party for this, I really haven't done anything."

"Just humour me then, what if I was able to organise a party in celebration of your conferral with like 200-250 guests, what would you say?"

Bernadette looks at him amused but also with a hint of confusion, "Two hundred people for a doctoral conferral are you insane?"

Howard internally smiles, he has his answer. In truth, he isn't brave enough to do what Sheldon did and make a public spectacle of a proposal. He then smiles at the petite blonde that is equal parts adorable and equal parts menacing—at times—as he has discovered. Bernadette is crazy competitive when they play board games, he doesn't know why. He once caught her trying to sweet talk the banker in Star Wars Monopoly—him—into giving her a loan when she went bankrupt. That was the first night they went all the way and Howard realised just what lengths Bernie's competitive drive would lead to. "Okay, so no party for a doctoral conferral," he then sets down the wine and the glasses, and gets down on one knee in front of her, "How about for our wedding reception?"

Bernadette clasps her hands over her mouth in shock.

Howard digs into his pants pocket and pulls out a navy blue ring box, "Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski, the day I met you was the day I knew my life was complete. I knew from that day on I would never look at another woman, I would never be tempted by another woman because I already had the perfect woman. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, Bernie, I truly believe that. No woman has ever willingly looked past my false bravado, seen the real me, and yet still love me for it. You are incredible, beautiful, smart, amazing if you get my drift," he wiggles his eyebrows at her and she giggles, "I truly believe that you and I were meant to be, in this and every universe. Therefore, Bernadette, would you make me unequivocally the happiest man on Earth and marry me?" He opens the ring box showing her the two-and-a-half-carat certified Princess-cut diamond solitaire ring in 14K white gold.

She gasps, it is simple and elegant, and she knew her sisters would just die from envy at the sheer size of the rock. But more so, the look on Howard's face, as he waits for her answer is entirely too precious. He is in no way the kind of guy she ever thought she'd fall for, after all, she once dated a guy who was six-foot-seven and made her feel like a rag doll in bed—she liked that to be sure, but there wasn't anything really beyond the physical with Glenn—not like it is with Howard. Here was a man that worshipped her, made her laugh, think, and if she was honest on more than one occasion made her see stars in bed. But while Howard Wolowitz was definitely not the guy she envisioned falling for, he was, however, the only guy that she could see herself loving for the rest of her life. "Yes. Yes!" She tells him again before seeing his face relax and then watches as he quickly pulls the ring putting it on her finger as if he was afraid if he didn't do it quick enough she'd renege, that was endearing.

Once the ring was on her left ring finger, she looks at it briefly before cupping his face with her delicate hands and smiling softly, "Howie, you don't have to rush, I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

"I love you, too," Howard closes the distance between them kissing his fiancée for the first time. The first of many if he can help it.

Flashbacks to her own wedding bombarded Penny as Bernadette asked to watch her wedding video for ideas a few weeks later. Bernadette had asked her to be maid of honour and although she was honoured to be asked she asked if that was really the best idea since she looked like she was ready to pop any day now despite being six months pregnant. Bernadette had laughed and told her plainly, "There's nobody else, Penny."

Similarly, Howard in 4B had asked Sheldon to be his "chief groomsman" and was asking if he knew anybody who would like to be a groomsman because aside from Raj and Sheldon he was at the limit of who he could include in the wedding party. Sheldon told him, "Howard, this should be the happiest day of your life. Don't trivialise it by trying to appease everyone because you won't

satisfy anyone. Talk things over with Bernadette and create a wedding that you and she would remember for the right reasons, not because of flower arrangements or who's in what and where. Because trust me, the day is stressful enough to worry about the little things."

***

Howard had taken that to heart and talked to his fiancée. Bernadette admitted that after being a bridesmaid for her two older sisters' weddings and watching Sheldon and Penny's wedding video; as lovely as they were, she was over the whole big wedding thing, all she really wanted was to be married to him and with their family and close friends watching.

The couple then scrapped their huge wedding plans scheduled for Howard's birthday on September 30—also the first available date his rabbi and her priest had, and instead had a late July wedding

on the roof. The priest and rabbi both agreed to officiate the ceremony simultaneously—that was the only concession they made to appease their families. And because of that the wedding party was much smaller. Penny as the maid of honour with Sheldon as "chief groomsman", Raj as the best man, Emily as a bridesmaid, and Alicia and her husband—because they introduced them—as an extra bridesmaid and groomsman. Bernadette's nephew was the ring bearer and Charlotte was the flower girl.

As Penny got Charlotte ready, she thought back to just how ridiculously high-strung she was on her wedding day. It took Val and her dad to calm her down, she wonders how Bernie was holding up.

The Cooper family made it to the roof just before noon, the ceremony was scheduled to take place at noon under an arch Howard, Raj, and Sheldon put together.

Penny could see the small gathering of about 25-30 people already in their seats including Howard's mother. From how Howard described her, Penny was expecting a massively overweight woman with a booming voice but looking at the woman in her front row seat dressed in a teal silk dress, Penny is reminded of her Aunt Grace, her dad's sister. The woman was classically pretty, with a figure any Renaissance artist would dream about. Curvy, with a mass of dark curly hair, dimpled cheeks, and glasses, Penny thought Howard's mother looked pretty normal. She walked over toward Howard's mom with Charlotte.

"Hello Mrs. Wolowitz, I'm Penny Cooper and this is my daughter Charlotte we just wanted to introduce ourselves." Charlotte waves.

Mrs. Wolowitz smiled, "Nice to meet you, dears, I'm Debbie Wolowitz. I can't thank you and your husband enough for all you've done with my son."

Penny returned the smile, "We didn't do anything, Mrs. Wolowitz, Howard just needed to come out of his shell a bit."

"Please call me Debbie. And nonsense the way he speaks about the three of you, I'm overwhelmed. He never really had a positive male role model before, but really since meeting you and your husband, he's been less… what's the politically correct word, less creepy, around women; I think your husband is owed credit for that. That he's willing to settle down, I definitely credit the pair of you and how he talks about wanting what you two have."

Penny blushes, "Howard mentions us a lot?"

Debbie nods, "Oh absolutely. I think his first mention of you two in detail was a few years ago when he moved in, he said, 'Ma, there's a couple across from me that I intend to befriend. They

have everything I want, a loving, trusting relationship. They are the most mature people I've ever met. Now if I can only find a girl who looks at me the way Penny looks at Sheldon, I'll be on easy street.'"

Penny chuckles, and Debbie joins in after a bit. "When are you due, dear?"

"September. She's," Penny points to Charlotte, "really excited to be a big sister so she can and I quote, 'be the boss of them,'."

Debbie laughs with a slight twinge of regret and melancholy, "Oh children, are a blessing. I only wished my ex-husband saw that before he left."

Penny knew from both Howard and bits from Bernadette that Howard was emotionally stunted because of his father's abandonment, she leaned down and hugged the older woman. Debbie sniffled as she did, as Penny releases Debbie, the door opens and Penny is grabbed by Sheldon and told to get into position, the ceremony was starting. "We'll talk later," Penny tells Howard's mother. She also looks at Howard at the altar and gives him a reassuring smile that everything was okay.

***

Bernadette's wedding dress was a simple, classic looking one, but it had quite possibly the longest train in the history of wedding dresses. It wasn't until Bernadette made it to the altar and Sheldon and Alicia's husband Greg were still doing laps around the gathered guests with her train that a few were curious.

The ceremony was fairly short, both the rabbi and priest talked about love and marriage and the necessities required for a lasting marriage. When it came to the vows the rabbi spoke.

"The couple has decided to recite their own vows," the rabbi said, "Bernadette if you please."

Bernadette underneath her veil, looked up at her husband-to-be and smiled. "Howard Joel Wolowitz, like you, this is going to be short and sweet. I love you with all my heart and soul and promise to be with you forever."

Howard smiled and gave her chin a bit of a tap. "Howard?" The priest prompted.

"Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski. Until I met you, I couldn't imagine spending my life with just one person. And now I can't imagine spending one day of it without you. I love you, Bernie and I promise to love and cherish you until time tells me otherwise."

"By the power vested in us, by the state of California," the rabbi and priest said together, "we now pronounce you husband and wife."

"Go on, kiss her already!" The rabbi said jovially.

Howard lifted Bernie's veil and leaned in for a kiss to the collective applause of family and close friends. When he broke the kiss he also broke the bottle at his feet to more cheers.

It was then that a drone, flown by Raj took off and took a picture of the wedding.