The Skype Syncopation

by katladyd

Sheldon and Leonard leave for Germany to give a month-long lecture series at the University of Heidelberg. While they are gone, them and their wives learn some things about life, love, and friendship. This is a sequel to The Assistant Conundrum, so it's pretty much the same characters. Note: I don't own any part of TBBT, not one bit of it.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Up, Up, and Away!

The guys take off for Germany.Will it be clear sailing for both of our couples?

The following two days before the guys' departure were busy ones for both couples, though they each spent their time together in different ways. Leonard and Penny concentrated on family time at home. Days found them watching television, hanging out by the pool, or playing games with Blake. Their nights, however, belonged to the two of them after their son had been put to bed.

Sheldon and Niki had also concentrated on family time, though they spent little time at home. With their daughter, they visited the zoo, both grandmothers, The Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Hofstadters, Koothrappalis, and Wolowitzes. Their nights also belonged to the two of them alone and, like Leonard and Penny, they made great efforts to get in as much 'couple time' as possible before the men left for Heidelberg.

The morning of their departure found both couples stuffed, along with all the men's luggage, inside of Niki's car headed for the airport and a one p.m. flight. Leonard sat in the back with Penny, doing his best to put a smile on her face. Sheldon and Niki occupied the front seats and while Penny fought back tears, Niki was engaged in playing License Plate Poker with Sheldon.

"Look over there, Sheldon, the blue Volvo. Three nines and two Ks. Hah! A full house. Beat that if you can."

Sheldon peered at the back of the car closely and stated, "So it is. I challenge you to a rematch when I return."

Niki looked over at her husband and winked, "You're on! I can't wait to beat you again."

Sheldon snorted in a superior manner and replied to her challenge with, "Dream on, little lady. I am the king of license plate poker. You merely got lucky today."

Niki took the bait and threw him a smirk, "Is that so? We'll just see about that when you get back home."

Penny looked at the two of them and exclaimed, "How can you guys sit up there and play games when you know you won't be seeing each other for a month?"

When the car was stopped at a red light, Niki looked back at her friend and explained, "Penny, when Paul had a case out-of-town, I would sometimes go weeks without seeing him in person. Skype and other social media saved our marriage at those times."

Sheldon chimed in, "Yes, Niki and I plan to Skype each other at least twice a day. I have to keep my daughter from forgetting me."

Niki stuck her tongue out at him, "And your wife."

He grinned and winked at her, "You could never forget me, Niki."

Penny sighed, "Not even if she tried, which I'm sure she has."

Leonard patted his wife on the arm and gave her a mild reprimand, "Now Penny, play nice. Sheldon is one of our best friends."

"Yeah, and I won't see him for a month, too! I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to miss the Wackadoodle."

Sheldon agreed with her, "Of course. Everyone will miss me. Isn't that right, Niki?"

Niki was more concerned for her friend than feeding her husband's ego, so she answered him an offhand manner and turned her attention to her bestie, "Uh, sure. Look, Penny. I'm going to make sure you don't get too lonely. We'll get together with the kids as often as we can. And we can go out for sushi whenever we can get a sitter. With both grandmas in town now, that should be easy."

Leonard put his arm around Penny and reminded her, "And honey, you're going to be starting a new play soon."

Penny wailed, "Whose opening night you won't be there for!"

Niki's face brightened as she got an idea and shared it with the group, "How about this, guys? Girl, let's bring my phone and the guys can Facetime us and see the play live. That could work. Leonard would not miss your opening night that way."

Penny sniffled and tried to dry her eyes, "I,I, I suppose that could work. The play starts at seven. What time would that be in Germany?"

Sheldon laid his hand on Niki's leg and replied, "To be exact, in Heidelberg it would be four a.m., rather early to be up. But I suppose we could manage it, right Leonard?"

Leonard hugged his wife tightly and responded, "I'd stay up all night to see Penny's opening night. Of course, we'll do it. Now, do you feel a little better?"

Penny sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, "A little. But you're still going to be gone a month."

Sheldon looked back at Penny and couldn't resist making a snide comment, "Yes. The last time I checked, four weeks was referred to as a month."

Penny's eyes narrowed and she spat out, "Shut up, Sheldon! Who asked you?"

Niki defended her husband, "Hey, he was just trying to help."

"Sorry, Nik. I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you, Sheldon. I'm just not at my best today."

Sheldon released Niki's leg for a moment and turned to address Penny, "Is the prospect of going without coitus for a protracted period of time weighing on your mind?"

"I take back my apology. Shut up, Sheldon. Again."

Niki had to laugh and reached for her husband's hand in a show of solidarity, "Sheldon, I think it's a whole lot more than no sex that is bothering her. She is really going to miss Leonard. As I will be missing you."

Sheldon looked puzzled and asked her, "I'm not following you. We will see each other daily, am I correct?"

Niki squeezed his hand and reminded him, "Sheldon, didn't you just tell me last night that you didn't want to go because you would miss me and Lori?"

He nodded, "Yes, but after you explained things to me, I had a change of attitude. This trip could be very important for me and Leonard and we should make the most of the opportunity. If we play our cards right, we could win an important award for our work. That prospect is most exciting."

Niki looked over at Sheldon and gave a cheeky grin, "Spoken like a true scientist."

Penny muttered under her breath, "Or geeky nerd."

Niki then had to concentrate on navigating her car through all the traffic heading into the airport, so she failed to hear Penny's words. Sheldon, however, had heard them and threw her an annoyed look. He suddenly brightened and shouted out, "Niki, the red Corvette, a full house! Yes! Cooper triumphs once more!"

Niki parked the car, looked over at him and threw down a challenge, "You know this means a rematch, Cooper."

"But of course. You're on, Miss Smarty Pants."

Leonard pleaded from behind them, "Could you two stop haggling for a moment and help us with the luggage?"

Niki looked back at him as he tried to wrestle a garment bag from the back seat while Penny held on to his left arm, 'What's the rush? It's a good ninety minutes until their flight."

Sheldon's head snapped up as he left the car and he blurted out, "Have you forgotten? We left the children with Wolowitz!"

Leonard handed Sheldon a suitcase as he asked him, "What's the matter with that? I thought you considered Howard great with kids."

Sheldon took the proffered luggage and replied, "Oh, I do. He has one of the best-behaved children on the planet. He is an exemplary parent. I was just thinking of the favor he will call in sometime in the future. Come, Niki. Let's hurry and help with the luggage so you and Penny can get home."

Niki hefted two flight bags from the trunk and answered him, "I'm on it. Penny, come help. We don't want the boys to miss their plane."

Penny refused to release her hold on Leonard's arm and answered her, "I know, but shouldn't we have time to say a proper goodbye?"

Sheldon did a very exaggerated eye roll, "Good lord! You've been married well over ten years now and you still have to have those nauseating 'goodbye' scenes?"

Niki threw her husband an ominous look, "Sheldon! Are you saying you don't want a proper goodbye with me?"

He helped pull a suitcase out of the trunk and replied, "Of course I do, Niki. But our goodbyes don't come replete with tears. We are both far more evolved than that."

Niki grabbed the last suitcase out of the trunk, handed it to Leonard, and sighed, "If you say so…"

And with that, the car was locked and both couples made their way over to the tram that would take them to the International Terminal.

Once inside, the men checked their baggage, received their boarding passes, and prepared to say their goodbyes to their wives. When Niki and Penny had walked with their husbands as far as they were allowed, the farewells began. Penny with tear-filled eyes and Niki with a slightly wistful smile. Penny clung to Leonard as if her very life depended on it, while Sheldon and Niki held each other close and whispered soft endearments and promises to Skype. When the time came for the men to leave, Penny turned away from all of them to hide her sobs. Niki waved enthusiastically to Sheldon and then went to tend to her friend, who was in obvious distress.

She put an arm around Penny's shoulders and attempted to soothe her, "Honey, it won't be so bad, believe me. I have tons of things planned for us to do. With and without the kids."

Penny sniffled like a small child and asked her, "Like what?"

"Well, tomorrow I have planned a poolside barbecue for you, me, and the grandmothers. The weather's been on the warm side, so it seemed like a good idea to throw a little party. It will be fun. Plus, we'll Skype with the guys while we're doing this. Does that sound good to you?"

Penny sniffed again and asked, "But what about work?"

Niki smiled and informed her friend, "Let's see, Howard asked if he could take the day off and go with Bernie and Kelly to Disneyland. It's Kelly's birthday, so how could I say no?"

"What about Raj?" Penny asked in a very small voice.

Niki's grin grew on her face, "Oh, about two weeks ago he put in for a day off so he and Amanda could go down to the Palomar observatory, he has to do some work there. Amanda loves the big telescopes, too, so she's going with him. With just me left at work, I decided to have us a little get together by the pool."

Penny's face brightened at her words and she hugged her friend fiercely, "Oh, Nik, you always know just the right thing to say to make it better. Thanks. Blake and I would love to come to the barbecue. What time does it start?

"Eleven. That way we have time to relax and swim before the boys check in with us at noon."

Penny nodded and then told Niki, "Okay. How about I show up with Blake around ten? I could help you set things up."

Niki's grin grew into a wide smile at her friends' reply, "Sounds good. Now, let's get headed for home. Sheldon was right about Howard, he's sure to want a big favor in exchange for watching the kids this long. I think we should get going before either of us owes him our second born."

Penny laughed out loud at that and asked her, "Are you guys thinking of having another one?"

Niki shook her head and answered, "Not seriously, no. But then again, we aren't doing much to prevent it, either. What about you guys?"

"Leonard says one is enough and I kinda agree with him on that."

Niki patted her friend on the shoulder in a show of solidarity, "Hey, at least you're both on the same page about it."

When they eventually arrived at the car, Penny turned to Niki and asked, "Hey, do you want to see their plane take off?

Niki thought for a moment and replied, "We'd have to go all the way back to the terminal to get a good enough look to actually see the plane."

Penny turned and grinned, "And?"

Niki giggled and took her friend by the hand, "Come on, girl. If we hurry, we'll make it just in time."

Both women stepped quickly and it wasn't long before they were both as near as they could get to viewing the plane's take-off. They both craned their necks upward as they watched the ascent of their husbands' flight. Penny waved wildly, tears streaming from her eyes, and called out, "Goodbye, Sweetie! I love you! Have a good flight!"

As the reality of the situation became clear to her, Niki gave a sad little wave to the plane and whispered softly to herself, "Goodbye, Schatzi. I'll miss you."

Then, both women walked back to the car and headed for home.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When they arrived home, Niki and Penny went straight to Howard's office to collect their children.

Niki kneeled to hug her daughter, whom she had found enjoying a chocolate bar with Blake while sitting on the floor. "Thanks for watching them, Howard. You were a godsend. I can't imagine what we would have done having to haul all the luggage and two toddlers through the airport."

Howard grinned at Niki and her daughter, hugging on the floor, "Or trying to fit everyone in your car."

"That, too. Anyway, thanks Howard. We owe you one."

"I could take advantage of those words, but out of the kindness of my heart, plus the fact that you watch Kelly a lot, let's call it even."

Niki answered him as she worked at wiping a smear of chocolate from Lori's face, "Works for me. How were the kids? Any problems?"

Howard shook his head and hastily threw a candy wrapper into the trash can, "Nope. Kids love me, Niki."

She threw him one of her largest smirks and stared at the trash can and the top of his desk, "They also love your magic tricks and chocolate."

Howard immediately went into panic mode, "Don't tell Sheldon I gave her that, okay? He gets weird about that sort of thing."

Penny threw in a barbed comment in an effort to pacify their friend, "Howard, he gets weird about a lot of things. Sometimes I wonder how Nik does it."

Niki looked up from cleaning the chocolate smears from Lori's face, "It's not that hard. Sheldon has a lot of positive qualities, too."

Howard stared down at her and asked sarcastically, "Such as?"

Niki began to defend her husband, "C'mon guys. He's loyal, honest, generous, and…"

Penny finished cleaning the chocolate off Blake's face and blurted out, "And what?"

Niki shook her head and pretended to wipe off more candy from her daughter's face, "Never mind."

Penny laughed out loud and replied, "What she wanted to say and didn't is that he's good in bed. Right?"

"Penny, I like to keep some things private, okay?"

"Hey, girl. Everyone knows that you and the Wackadoodle are hot for each other. It's no big secret."

Niki shot her a warning glance, "Hey, the kids are here."

Howard was not about to let his friend's wife use that as an excuse to derail the conversation, "Come on, Niki, they don't have a clue what we're talking about. To them, good in bed means nap time without a fuss."

"And I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. Now, again, thank you. And have a good time at Disneyland tomorrow."

Howard began to help the ladies pack up their diaper bags as he answered her with, "We will. Bernie and Kelly are going to get one of those princess makeovers together while I score a turkey leg."

Niki's good humor was restored and she gave him a warm smile in response, "Sounds like fun. So, we'll see you at work on Monday. Tell Bernie hello and give Kelly my love."

"Will do. Have fun at your barbecue tomorrow."

Niki threw him a puzzled look, "How did you know about that? "

Howard was quick with his explanation, "Your mom just happened to tell Raj , who told Bernie, who told me. Word gets around pretty quickly among this group."

Niki stood up, her daughter cradled securely in her arms, "You can say that again. Well, me and my little munchkin are going home. Penny, I'll see you tomorrow."

Penny picked up her son and looked over at Niki, "At ten, right?"

"Sure, if that works for you."

"Yep. So, we'll see you then." Penny then turned to Howard and told him, "Oh, thanks for watching Blake, too. I appreciate it.

Howard waved goodbye to both women and accepted their thanks with a cursory, "Hey, it wasn't a problem. I'll see you all later."

With that, Niki and Penny picked up their children and headed out the door of Howard's office, hung a sharp left, and headed down the hall towards the double doors that opened up to the Great Room and the Hofstadter residence. At the door to Penny's bedroom, the ladies said their goodbyes and Penny headed for the nursery to put her son down for a nap while Niki went out the back door and crossed the yard, passed the pool and cabana, and continued on to her home. She paused briefly to look up to the sky before she sighed, opened the front door and stepped into her living room.

How do you think the pool party will go?Will Penny get over missing Leonard?Will the guys make it safely to Germany?Read on and find out.