Chapter 37: A Change in Plans

What is Penny's plan? Will it work? Can Penny's level of deviousness match Merla's?

Sheldon pulled the car into the parking space and turned off the engine. But before they left the car, he turned to Niki and told her, "Are we both sure of our roles in today's production?"

Niki looked over at him and smile wickedly, "Of course, they were clearly defined by Penny last night. Remember, this has to be done gradually. We have to keep her guessing…for now."

He nodded, "I understand completely. I will do my part to ensure this plan is successful."

Niki kissed him deeply, and then added, "Yes, we have to regain our position as the horniest couple out of all of our friends."

Sheldon smiled and ran his hand through her hair, "That is true. We most certainly have a reputation to uphold. It is strange; I do believe I am hitting my sexual peak much later in life than my colleagues. That is the only logical explanation for my rabid desire for you. Of course, I also consider you extremely, what is the term Merla used? Oh yes, 'hot'."

Niki tried and failed to stifle a laugh, "Thank you, Cooper. Now remember little hints at first, just like we talked about and then increase things incrementally until we hit her full force at the picnic."

Sheldon reached for the door handle of the car, "I will try my hardest to follow the script."

Niki looked back at him as she exited the car from her side, "Intentional pun?"

He gave her his best smile, which clearly displayed his dimples, "You know me so well."

After carefully scanning the area to make sure they were not being observed, the brainy couple walked arm in arm together towards the campus building that held their office. Niki had one hand around Sheldon and the other holding her coffee cup. Before they got there, she dropped one of her hands and cupped his behind in a sensual manner.

Sheldon pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "Niki, I have observed that you seem to be exhibiting all the classic signs of being 'warm for my form'."

Niki giggled and replied, "What an astute hypothesis my dear Dr. Cooper."

Sheldon began to address her in his most formal physicist lecture tone, "Of course, this hypothesis needs to be investigated much more thoroughly before we can state it as being true."

Niki responded in the same manner, "Shall we research this topic more deeply at a later time?"

He laughed softly and asked her, "Intentional pun?"

Niki pulled open the door to their building and looked back over her shoulder at him, "Two can play that game, Cooper."

As they walked down the hallway towards their workplace, they both saw Merla Krane sitting expectantly in front of the office door. Instead of greeting her in an offhand manner, Sheldon threw her a warm smile and greeted her with, "Good morning, Merla. Waiting for us? That shows initiative. I appreciate that sort of attitude."

Niki looked from the young girl to Sheldon, "I told you she comes here earlier than she has to, Dr. Cooper. That is a good sign in an intern. I almost forgot, Good Morning, Merla. Please excuse me for being rude. Your punctuality is most acceptable."

Sheldon unlocked the door and told them both, "Well, shall we go inside? Let's see how much work we can accomplish today."

Niki went over to her desk and began to enjoy her morning cup of coffee from Starbucks. She smiled at Merla and explained, "I got a late start this morning, so I didn't have time for coffee at home. I have to have my java fix before I can function.

The girl challenged her, "Oh, did you oversleep? That's not good."

A mysterious grin appeared on Niki's face and she dreamily answered, "No. It was something else that made me run late." She looked at Sheldon and winked.

Well," he smiled back at her, "those things happen on occasion."

The girl looked entirely thrown off of her game. The two physicists had never interacted this way in front of her before. In fact, the word she had used to describe them both to her friends was uptight. Could they have something going on? She highly doubted it, but still, they seemed pretty friendly.

Niki tied her hair back and began to hum a song to herself while staring at her computer screen. Suddenly she spoke up, "Hey, did you guys know that it's National Lollipop Day today?"

Sheldon snorted while trying to suppress his laughter, "Do you want me to get you a lollipop Dr. Horner?"

"I do believe I can buy one for myself, but thank you for the offer, Dr. Cooper."

Merla's suspicions of something going on between the two Doctors were somewhat put to rest. They wouldn't act this way, so openly teasing each other, if they were actually involved. She was an engaged woman and he was…well, she hoped, Dr. Cooper was single.

She decided to start some conversation, so she asked them, "You know those guys I met at lunch time with you yesterday?"

Sheldon looked at her enthusiastically and replied, "Oh yes, Dr. Hofstadter, Dr. Koothrappali, and Mr. Wolowitz?"

She smiled back at him and nodded her head, "Yeah, those guys. What do they all do? Are they all physicists like you, Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon took a sip of his tea and studied his computer screen. Something had caught his attention and he was not about to engage in any lengthy conversations for a bit, "Niki, would you please take this one? You are so much better at explaining things than I am, I tend to get lost in the details and confuse everyone."

Niki warmed at his praise and went over to her whiteboard and began to write an outline, "With pleasure, Dr. Cooper. Let's start with the gentleman sitting over there, shall we? Sheldon is a Theoretical Physicist. His work is based solely on math and formulas. He works with theories, not actual physical objects. He explores the application of the laws of physics on the universe. There are several theories bounced around by Theoretical Physicists; String Theory, Quantum Loop Gravity, and even Chaos Theory. Sheldon never studies three dimensional objects in and of themselves. He attempts to explain why those objects do what they do by using mathematical designs and paradigms. Sheldon's focus right now is on dark matter and the responding gravitational forces of black holes." She wrote this data in a graphic organizer format under his name, which she placed at the top of the board.

Directly under Sheldon's information she wrote the name, Dr. Hofstadter, and began the same organization of data under his name. "Leonard, Penny's husband, is an Experimental Physicist. Leonard designs experiments, or proofs, for the various theories Theoretical Physicists put before him. Leonard's field of study focuses on the observation of objects and things and how they react to each other based on the laws of physics. He uses physical event responses to prove or disprove the things that Sheldon says happen in the universe. Sheldon and Leonard have worked together several times in the past as Leonard always has part of his studies involved in Theoretical Physics. For the past few years, Leonard's research has centered on dark matter, much like Sheldon's, but he is studying the likelihood of it being a superfluid, while Sheldon is currently studying how light travels through it in differing frequencies after a supernova event. But they have worked together in the past on the superfluid theory. Leonard likes to dabble in both worlds."

Beside Leonard's name she wrote Dr. Koothrappali, "Raj, like me, is an Astrophysicist, but his area of expertise is in Particle Astrophysics. Raj studies very small particles of space matter. He studies what things in space are made of at their most basic level. Raj's research mostly focuses on the composition of stars and gases and he especially enjoys it when his work deals with nebulae. At the present time, Raj is taking part in the research Dr. Cooper and I are doing. But he does his own research as well." Under Raj's data, she wrote her own name, "I am also an Astrophysicist, but I study large celestial bodies and how they came to be, their properties, and how they all fit together in the universe. My focus has always been studying the life cycles of stars and the formation and physical properties of black holes. I also work on various SETI projects in my spare time. Like Sheldon, both Raj and I use math in our research, but we also employ observation, like Leonard. That is why Raj and I both have a passion for telescopes of all sizes, but especially Super Telescopes."

The last name she put on the board was that of Mr. Wolowitz. "Now, Howard is an Aerospace Engineer. He takes Sheldon's theories, Raj's and my observations, and Leonard's proofs and designs and uses these things to build equipment that helps further space exploration. Howard is on loan to this university from NASA. He is an astronaut who has been to the International Space Station twice. The last time was three years ago. So you see, we are all scientists who focus on the universe, but our fields of study are somewhat different."

Merla made a bored face, "That's cool and all, but who's the smartest?"

Niki turned from her whiteboard and faced the intern, "Do you mean intelligence measured by IQ?"

Merla nodded, "Sure, I guess."

Niki exclaimed proudly, "That would be Sheldon. His IQ is beyond genius level, it's about 185, isn't it?" She looked over at Sheldon for confirmation.

He looked up briefly from his computer, "187 to be exact."

Niki wrote 187 by Sheldon's name. "Then comes Raj. His is about 175." She put 175 next to Raj's name. "Leonard's is pretty close to Raj's, what is his IQ, Sheldon?"

He looked up quickly once more, "173."

Niki nodded and studied her chart once more, "That's about right. Last, but not least, is Howard. I believe his IQ has been measured at 165. So you see, all the guys are pretty much geniuses." She wrote the last two numbers next to their appropriate names.

Merla narrowed her eyes and asked Niki, "What about you?"

She hated this question, "Oh. My IQ is between 165 and 174. Every time it gets tested, mine changes. But, I'm smart enough. IQ numbers aren't everything." She glanced over at a frowning Sheldon, "They're really not. Let's just say all of us in our little group are extraordinarily bright."

Merla looked towards Sheldon and noticed he was still glued to his computer, "Okay, what about those guys' wives and girlfriends. What do you know about them?"

Niki wanted to get back to her work, so she tossed Sheldon the dry erase marker and said, "My dear, you're up."

Sheldon got up from his desk and move closer to Merla, "Very well. Leonard's wife, Penny, is an actress of some local renown. I would imagine her IQ is somewhere between 105 and 110. Howard is married to Bernadette. She is a microbiologist whose work entails eradicating deadly viruses and bacteria. I would estimate her IQ as being very close to Niki's." He turned to Niki and smiled, "Both of you are highly intelligent women. Raj is dating Amanda who teaches Astronomy and Chemistry at UCLA. I don't know her well, but I have noticed she is of above average intelligence; her IQ is most likely very close to Howard's in range."

"Okay, I get the IQ part, but who is actually the smartest? You know, the cleverest? The one with the most street smarts? The one you guys turn to when you're faced with real life problems, not scientific ones."

Both Sheldon and Niki spoke at the same time, "Penny."

Sheldon moved back behind his desk, jotted something down on a notepad and declared, "Now, if there are no more questions, I do believe we should get back to work. Merla, what would you care to do today?"

Merla crossed the room so that she was standing next to Sheldon, "What about that Plank theory stuff I was doing yesterday? I finally got the hang of that, sort of. Could I work on that for awhile?"

Sheldon thought for a moment and then recognition came to him, "Oh, do you mean Plank's Constant? Yes, I do believe you could do that." He handed her more printouts, "Here, Niki has more light frequencies printed out. Let's see if you can calculate the photon energy level of each."

While Merla began to work, Sheldon motioned Niki to come over to his desk. He had something he wanted to show her.

On his notepad he had written, This is so very inane. I would much rather be fondling you, my dear.

She grabbed the notepad and wrote back, I am in total agreement. What's stopping you?

He retrieved the notepad and scribbled, A man needs to recharge a bit after a lust-filled morning.

She just grinned broadly and mussed his hair, then printed on the page, How you do run on, Dr. Cooper.

He wrote her another note and winked, At lunch?

She giggled like a schoolgirl and wrote back, I'll leave the arrangements up to you.

His pen moved across the pad once more and he sniggered as he wrote, I intend to get you very warm.

Niki had to actually cover her mouth when she wrote, And I intend to get a rise out of you.

Merla stared at the couple suspiciously and asked them, "What are you two giggling about?"

Niki thought quickly and answered, "Sheldon found some very funny jokes online and we were copying them." She had actually flashed back to middle school and the passing of notes about cute boys to her friends. She was having a great deal of fun with this. She mentally blew Penny a kiss of gratitude.

Merla began to stand up, "Can I see?"

Sheldon intercepted her and waved her back to her seat, "Oh, they were for the most part humorous ditties about quantum gravity and relativity. They would most likely not interest you at all."

Merla shook her head, "Scientists!"

Behind Merla's back, Niki leered at Sheldon and licked her lips. He found it hard to keep his composure and gave her a brief upturn of his lips before returning his attention to the work awaiting him. He briefly texted Leonard about lunch and then returned to concentrating on the physics quandary in front of him.

Lunch time eventually arrived and Merla asked them, "Are we going to go to the lunch room again?"

Sheldon shook his head and informed her, "No, I am sending you on a special mission. I want you to go to the commissary and get three turkey sandwiches, three fruit cups, and whatever beverage you desire. Niki and I shall have water." His face lit up with his special smile which brought out the blue in his eyes, "Can you do that?"

She was charmed, as he had fully intended her to be, "Of course I can, Dr. Cooper."

He walked over to her and handed her some money and patted her on the shoulder. "Good girl. Now, I also want you to find Dr. Hofstadter and tell him this: We will meet all of them at his apartment at 9:00 p.m. for our dinner rendezvous." He thought for a moment, "That is quite a bit of information to remember. Just tell him we will be over at his house at 9:00. Do you believe you can carry out this request?"

"Oh, sure, Dr. Cooper. But who is 'we'? You said 'we will meet them at his apartment'."

Sheldon waved the matter off as if it had no importance, "Oh that would be Niki and I. We are all social friends. Our group meets after work hours on a consistent basis. Now, here's the money and be on your way. My stomach is already informing me it is time to eat."

Merla took the money and hesitantly made her way to the door. She looked back and saw Sheldon at his white board and Niki focused on work at her desk and seemingly oblivious to anything going on around her. Satisfied that they were not deliberately avoiding her, she set off down the hall.

Sheldon locked the door behind Merla. He then walked over to Niki's desk to put two fingers under her chin and lifted her head up tenderly to meet his eyes. "I do believe I have bought us a great deal of alone time."

She returned his gaze and moved her keyboard to one side, "How much time do you think we have?"

He hastily checked his watch, "I have given Leonard explicit instructions to stall her, so I give an estimate of somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour."

Niki stood up and went over to Sheldon, wrapping both of her arms around his neck. "I suggest we put every minute of that time to good use." Her hands worked his belt buckle and in one sure move his pants fell down to his ankles. She led him to her desk and gently pushed him down into her chair and straddled him. "Now, Dr. Cooper, you will see what coitus is like when someone else controls the moves." She asked him in a teasing voice, "Do you think we have time for this?"

He reassured her in a voice that was becoming hoarse with desire, "Do not be concerned. I have impressed upon Leonard the importance of calling us when she begins her return journey."

With that, Niki removed her own pants and with a devilish grin, straddled him on the chair.

Sheldon gave a gasp as she proceeded to set the tone and the pace of their coupling. Every time he thought he was close to finishing, she slowed or sat still, reveling in this sweet torture she was providing them both. Finally, she could wait no longer and pressed her hips against him tightly and greatly increased her tempo and brought them both to climax. A loud moan escaped from her lips while he settled for a simple, "My god!"

Once his breathing returned to normal, he stroked her hair and told her, "Niki, I have never felt that level of prolonged passion during coitus before today. Is that what it is like for you when I am on top and in control?"

She grinned and smoothed his hair back into some semblance of order, "When you are teasing me? More or less. Nice, isn't it?"

He nodded, smiled at her, and checked his watch once more. "I suppose we should wash up, fix our clothes, and present ourselves to the returning Merla as serious scientists who have just spent the last thirty minutes deep in our research."

Niki giggled, "Then only you and I will know what we were truly up to. Oh yes, we were deep in our research, weren't we? Penny was right; this is such wicked, wicked, fun!"

The rest of the day proved to be much easier for the two physicists than the day before. While Merla still never addressed Niki personally, she did complete most of the work given her, even if it wasn't all done correctly. Sheldon's voice could still be heard intoning, 'Actually no, but close' after almost every task given her. He happily settled for that much. Niki remained upset at the fact that Merla still fawned over Sheldon and ignored her, but took some comfort from the fact that she was no longer being openly insulted by the girl. She decided that she would look at the glass as half full, rather than half empty.

When the work day was over, Merla again asked for a ride home, but Sheldon reminded her that he had to get home and prepare for an evening out. As on the days before, the girl left disappointed.

Niki and Sheldon high fived each other after Merla had left the office. He beamed at Niki and made an observation, "I do believe the girl's deportment improved slightly today over yesterday."

Niki turned to look at him as they left the office and countered his comment with, "Slightly? Sheldon, she almost did a 180. Okay, maybe not that much, more like a 125. She still hangs on you like a leech."

As they approached the car, Sheldon grinned at her and replied, "Ah, but at least she is working, albeit incorrectly, and no longer insulting you every thirty seconds."

Niki hated to rain on his parade, but she felt compelled to warn him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, here. We still have to work with her tomorrow. What do you say we go home and get ready for dinner with the parents tonight? We could use a diversion."

Sheldon sat back in his seat and mused out loud, "I wonder what my mother and Alfred are planning to tell us? This had better be worth the cancellation of Halo night. The only thing that Leonard texted me about that issue today was to ask if we had set a date for the wedding. We have done that, haven't we?"

Niki looked over at him before she started the car, "I believe we said sometime in April, but nothing past that."

He nodded and rested his chin in one hand, "I see. Well, let's put that issue to rest and set the date now then." He pulled out his phone and searched for a calendar, Niki did likewise.

Niki had a suggestion, "How does Saturday the 18th sound to you? We can have our bachelor and bachelorette parties Friday night on the ship. We'd only have to pay for an extra night for everyone. It will be pricey, but worth the convenience."

Sheldon shut down his phone and fastened his seat belt, "That makes a good deal of sense to me. Yes, I support that arrangement. We have to make our reservations and begin working with our wedding planner in the near future if April is when we want to make our relationship official."

Niki backed up the car and proceeded to head for home, "Should we begin this weekend?"

"That sounds fine, but I am meeting Leonard and company for paintball on Sunday."

At a stop light she looked over at him and asked, "So? At this point, all we have to do is make a couple of phone calls. You will be completely free to shoot paint pellets at the opposition by Sunday."

"Don't belittle the activity, Dr. Horner. You have engaged in it more than a time or two and seemed to enjoy yourself."

The light turned green and she began to drive, "I admit, I have enjoyed paintball for the most part, but it was your idea to start planning our wedding this soon, not mine."

He ignored the last part of her statement and focused on the first, "Paintball is a fine activity, Niki. It provides exercise, camaraderie with your friends, and helps with hand/eye coordination."

Niki grinned and nodded, "Which is vital to every theoretical physicist. You never know when that darn whiteboard will attack and you'll need to defend yourself."

He briefly scowled at her, "Very funny. Shall we change the subject to tonight's dinner with my mother and Alfred?"

She concentrated on her driving as she answered him, "Fine. Why do you think they want to see not only us, but Leonard and Penny as well?"

Sheldon stared out the window and mused, "Maybe Alfred is going on another dig in some god forsaken corner of the world and he will regale us for hours about the native people that used to live there. That is always fascinating. Good lord, just shoot me now."

She turned to briefly look at him, "I thought you liked Alfred."

He placed his hand on her leg and patted it, "I have no problem with the man. I have actually grown quite fond of him; he treats my mother very well. But, his stories…he can go on and on with minutiae that interests no one but himself."

Niki barely stopped herself from laughing out loud, "You've never met anyone who did that before, huh?"

He shook his head, "Not that I can recall, and you know I have an eidetic memory."

Niki's eyes almost rolled to the back of her head, "All right, then. Hey, here we are, home at last!"

Three hours later, Sheldon was knocking on the Hofstadter's door, "Leonard and Penny." knock, knock, knock "Leonard and Penny." knock, knock, knock "Leonard and Penny." knock, knock, knock.

"Third time's the charm", Niki muttered to herself.

Penny opened the door and greeted Niki first, "Hey, Girlfriend!"

Niki responded with, "Hey, Girl!"

Sheldon looked over the tops of the two ladies' heads and greeted Leonard with a droll, "Hey, Boyfriend."

"Hey, Boy." Leonard answered him in the same manner.

The two women exchanged puzzled looks, and then broke into hysterical laughter. "Sheldon, that was hilarious!" Niki told him, fighting to regain her composure.

His eyebrow lifted slightly, "No more ridiculous than the salutation performed by you two."

Penny finally caught her breath and reassured him, "Okay, Sweetie, we will never do that in front of you guys, again. I promise. But, god, you guys were funny!"

Sheldon entered the apartment and sat in his spot on the couch, "Not to change this fascinating subject, but are we meeting my mother and Alfred here, or at the restaurant?"

Leonard was staring at the phone in his hand, "We're meeting them at the Peppermill on Walnut. They just texted me. We should be leaving soon; I said we'd meet them there in about 15 minutes.

Penny grabbed her purse, "Let's go, you guys must be starved."

Sheldon tried to ease her worry, "No, just somewhat hungry. We heated up some leftovers we had saved in our refrigerator to sustain us until dinner."

She cocked her head and asked him, "Leftovers? What did you have?"

Niki grabbed her bag and headed for the door, "Thai."

Leonard gave his friends a quizzical look, "But you had that with us last night and…oh."

Niki smiled at both of them, "It doesn't matter. We won't be having Thai food again. Will we?"

Sheldon took her arm and guided her towards the door, "Niki, we are going to the Peppermill. I highly doubt they serve Thai food at a Prime Rib restaurant."

Niki suddenly asked the other couple in a concerned voice, "Hey, do either of you guys know why we're all meeting together? One of them isn't sick, are they?"

Penny shook her head, "No, Leonard and I know why, but we wanted them to tell you guys, too."

Niki threw up her hands in frustration, "But why have this dinner? They could have just called us."

Leonard gave a small laugh, "They wanted to discuss some 'things' with all of us there, plus, Penny wanted Prime Rib."

"You are not going to inform us as to what these 'things' are?"

Niki sighed and walked with Sheldon to the door, "You'll know soon enough, Sheldon. Now, let's get going. We don't want to be late."

What do Alfred and Mary want to tell everyone? And how will these 'things' affect our couples? Read on and find out.