Chapter 4: Life Without the Guys. Day One.

The guys are busy adjusting to life in Germany without the ladies.But how are the ladies adjusting to life without the guys?

The morning after Sheldon and Leonard's departure, Penny Hofstadter, along with her small son, made their way from her home in the front building of their compound and down the side driveway to the Cooper home, which was located behind the pool and cabana. As she drew nearer to the front door of the house, her ears were assaulted by the sound of loud rock music, which Penny recognized as Van Halen's Hot for Teacher. Curiosity got the better of her and instead of knocking on the door, she stopped in front of the kitchen window and peered in. What she saw there caused her mouth to drop open in surprise.

Niki Cooper was dressed in a pair of pink terry cloth shorts and a white t-shirt that had I Woke Up Like This emblazoned across the front in large black letters. She was dancing across the room from the stove, where she was cooking herself some breakfast, to the other side of the room and the high chair holding her young daughter. Niki gyrated back and forth across the kitchen while cooking and attempting to spoon some Gerber cereal into Lori's mouth, with little success.

"Hey, girl," Penny called out to her through the open window, "lookin' good!"

Niki turned to her friend and greeted her with a large grin, "Hey, you're a little early. I'm still feeding Lori, or trying to anyway."

"You look pretty cheerful. Not missing, Sheldon?"

Niki's eyes went wide, "I sure as hell am! He's the one who usually makes breakfast for all of us!"

Penny nodded and asked her, "Okay. But why the music?"

"It seemed like a good way to start the day."

Penny suddenly snapped her fingers, "Hey, now I remember. That song's the one that Sheldon dedicated to you over the radio when you went back to teaching!"

Niki turned off the stove and placed her eggs, bacon, and hash browns onto her plate, "One and the same. And people think he's not romantic." She motioned them towards the door, "Look, why are you guys just standing there like a couple of creepers? Come on inside!"

Penny entered the house and deposited her son down on the living room floor, well within eyesight of the kitchen breakfast bar. Niki put her breakfast on the counter and herself on one of the barstools and motioned to her friend to join her there.

"So, girlfriend, how are you this morning?"

Penny looked down sadly and replied, "Missing Leonard. I never knew I could feel this bad without him."

"Well, maybe today's activities will make you feel better." Niki picked up a piece of bacon along with some of the egg on her plate and began to eat.

Penny turned to her friend and asked in an almost pleading voice, "Nik? Be honest with me. Aren't you missing Sheldon just a little bit?"

Niki stopped eating and grabbed Penny's hand gently, "A little. But I'm trying to look on the bright side. With him gone, I can blast Van Halen in the house at ten o'clock in the morning. I can't do that with Sheldon here. He would give me the biggest eye roll you've ever seen and I wouldn't stop hearing about it for days."

"Yeah, he can be weird about those kinds of things. But he's a good husband to you and a great father to Lori."

As Niki was giving an affirmative nod, her daughter suddenly looked up at her and asked, "Mommy eat?

Niki smiled sweetly at Lori, "Yes, dear heart, Mommy is having some breakfast. Just like you."

Lori began to squirm in her chair and cried to her mother, "Down?"

"Do you want down?" Her little girl nodded and looked towards the living room. "Do you want to play with Blake?" her mother asked her.

The little girl squealed, "Bwake!" Niki softly chuckled and lifted her daughter out of her high chair and put her on the floor.

Penny's son cried out, "Lowi!" when he saw her and the two children began playing happily together on the floor.

Niki watched the children play for a minute and made the comment, "It never ceases to amaze me how close they are and how well they get along. A stranger would think they were siblings."

Penny stole a piece of bacon from Niki's plated and responded with, "Except that they don't look alike at all."

Niki nodded thoughtfully and agreed with her friend, "Yep. Blake could be your twin. There's not much of Leonard in his looks." Niki took a second to reprimand her daughter, "Lori, you give that back to Blake. Remember what Daddy said about sharing and manners."

Penny gave a tiny chuckle at Niki's attempt at parenting, "Leonard says he prayed that Blake would have my looks and his brains. It looks like his prayers were answered. Do you know he's already started reading?"

Niki's mouth popped open in surprise, "At twenty months? Amazing! Sheldon says he doesn't care whether Lori is gifted or not, but I know it really matters to him."

Penny pilfered another bacon strip and turned to look at their children playing with some blocks on the floor, "Lori has your eyes and freckles, but the rest of her is pure Sheldon. Do you think she's smart?"

"Well, with us as parents, it's looking pretty good that she is. Actually, yeah. I think she's fairly advanced. She started talking at ten months old and now makes full sentences when she wants to. Reading? We'll see."

Penny placed her chin in her hands and let out a small sigh, "I wonder what the guys are doing right now?"

Niki reached over and lightly slapped Penny's hand as she attempted to reach for more of Niki's bacon, "Well I hope they aren't stealing each other's food. Girl, keep your mitts off my breakfast! Do you want me to make you something?"

Penny shook her head sadly, "No, we already ate. I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"About what?"

Penny confessed, "Talking to Leonard. I've never Skyped anyone before, much less my husband."

Niki grinned at her friend when she had finished eating and got up to put her plate in the dishwasher, "Just follow my lead. Talk to him like you always do. Okay?"

"I'll try. If I get stuck I'll just follow what you're saying to Sheldon."

Niki looked back and gave her friend a broad smile and then turned on the dishwasher, "Good girl! You'll be fine, really. Now, should we go up to your place? The caterers should be bringing the food soon. I ordered sushi for us, barbecue for Mary, and a nice salad with a turkey sandwich for my mom. Also, Raj and Amanda promised to come over and help us set up some chaise lounges and chairs by the pool."

When the two ladies and their children reached the Hofstadter home, they deposited the children on the floor of the Great Room and Niki went over her checklist while Penny got them each a glass of iced tea.

Niki held up the list and went over it to herself, even though Penny was in the same room, "Let's see…chairs? Check, they're in the cabana. Food? Check. Caterers should be here pretty soon. Tables? Check. They're already out there by the pool, complete with umbrellas. Lounges? Check. Also in the cabana. Guests? Check. Penny's here and the grandmothers should be here within a half hour." She then turned to address her friend, "Well, girlfriend, it looks like we're set. Now all we need is for Raj and Amanda to get here so he can give me a hand with the chairs and lounges."

At that moment, the doorbell rang and Penny went to open the door. When she had, she found Raj and his stunning wife grinning widely at her. Raj spoke first, "I believe you ladies need some furniture moved?"

Penny greeted them both warmly with, "Come on in. Nik has the stuff stored in the cabana."

Amanda's emerald green eyes sparkled as she inquired, "How have things been without Leonard? Are you doing okay?

Penny's eyes became clouded and lost their shine as she responded, "I guess. Nik's been helping me a lot. I had no idea I'd miss him this much." She called out to Niki, "Are you going out there with Raj or am I?"

Niki threw her a smile and answered, "I'll go. I know where everything is. You stay here with the kids." She turned to Raj and Amanda, "Hey, I hear your going down to Palomar. I'm a little jealous."

Raj gave a small chuckle, "Just a little, huh? Come on, Niki, confess. You'd love to go to Palomar and work with the big telescope there."

She nodded in agreement, headed for the back yard and the pool area, and told him, "Yeah, I haven't had the chance to really stargaze since our honeymoon. I've been so busy with Lori, teaching, and our research here that I haven't even had the chance to go upstairs and use our own telescope."

Raj followed her out the back door and replied, "Life will settle down eventually. It always does. Now, show me where everything is stored and where we're going to put it."

Once they got poolside, they began to talk seriously. Raj went first, "Niki, is Penny going to be okay without Leonard around? I've never seen her like this. I mean, I've seen the girl mad, glad, and drunk, but never this kind of sad."

Niki unlocked the door to the cabana, looked back at him and replied, "She'll be fine, Raj. She just needs to adjust, which I'm sure she will."

Raj took the deck chair she handed him and asked her, "How are you doing without Sheldon? Or is that a silly question?"

Niki took a chair herself and they both headed back out to the pool, "There are no silly questions, Raj. Or damn few, anyway. I'm doing okay. I miss him very much but I've done this long-distance thing before. It's not fun, but it's doable. The trick is to keep yourself busy. I have all kinds of things in mind for when Penny and I have any free time. She'll be better once her play starts."

Raj placed his chair down where Niki had showed him and asked her in a concerned voice, "Leonard's going to miss her opening night, isn't he?"

She sat her own chair down near one of the tables and answered him with, "Sort of, but I'm bringing my phone and he can facetime with me. He'll see her, all right. And that's all she cares about right now."

The two friend went back to the cabana for two more chairs. As they grabbed their cargo and headed back towards the tables, Raj dropped a not-so-subtle hint, "Look, if either of you ever needs a babysitter…"

"I know, I have you on speed dial. But both grandmothers are in town, so I think we're fine there."

Raj set down his chair and told her, "Well, if you ever get in a bind, call us."

Niki started back for the cabana and told him, "Thanks, Raj. You're a good friend. Look, tomorrow's Saturday, so don't bother coming in until Monday. Unless you want to or something."

Niki handed him a chaise lounge and as he headed back towards the pool he replied, "It depends on how it goes at Palomar. If I find something exciting that ties in with our research, you know I'll be here on Saturday. But if not, I'll see you Monday. Hey, is Sheldon going to continue his research while he's gone?"

Niki put down her lounge chair and made one, last trip to the cabana. As her and Raj walked, she told him, "Yeah, he's got the tougher math part to work out. I'll just be sending him my data and proofs and he's going to be checking them. I'm pretty good at math, but Sheldon is a savant."

"Yeah, the dude's brilliant, but don't tell him I said that, okay?"

Niki made a motion of crossing her heart as she assured him, "Promise." She then folded her arms across her chest and nodded approvingly, "Now, this looks pretty good. I think our work here is done."

They both looked towards the Hofstadter house as they heard Penny yell, "Nik! The caterers are here! Where do you want them to put the food?"

Niki called back to her, "I'll be right there! Raj, thanks again for your help. Have fun down south."

He gave her a quick hug and a smile, "Don't worry. We will. I'll take some pics and send them to you.""

"Awesome! Well, let's get going back to the house before the food gets bad." And with that, Niki and Raj headed towards the front building, with Niki planning in her head just how the party would go.