Chapter 7: The Day Trip

Sheldon and Leonard have plans for a grand excursion.Will Sheldon be good company for his friend?I wouldn't bet on it.

After he had closed his computer, Sheldon Cooper let out a long, heavy, sigh. He tried, and failed, to understand just what had come over him to make him talk so rudely to Niki. He truly loved her, he knew that, but every time he saw her face on the computer screen, an aggravating assortment of complaints were the first thing that came to his mind. He wondered if Niki would actually send him any of her work, but then admitted to himself that Niki was a dedicated scientist and she would send him the results of her research as planned, even if it killed her.

He tried to envision Niki on the last night they had spent together before he left for Germany. He remembered them both clinging to each other as if they were the last people on earth. Vows of love and fidelity had been passionately whispered into both their ears and they had caressed and felt each other's bodies as if trying to burn every muscle, curve, and inch of skin to memory. Sheldon recalled biting Niki's neck softly while inhaling the scent of her delicious perfume. He also vividly remembered his wife's long arms and legs being wrapped tightly around his body as if she never wanted to let him go. How, then, had they come to this? Two people who shared a life, a last name, an adored child, yet talked to each other like distrusting strangers.

Sheldon's gloomy thoughts were interrupted by Leonard knocking on his bedroom door, "Hey, buddy. You okay in there?"

"I'm fine, Leonard," he answered his friend in a brusque voice.

Leonard was not about to give him the lie, "You don't sound fine, and you certainly didn't sound fine when you were talking to Niki."

Sheldon snapped back at his friend, "I told you, Leonard, I'm fine. Now please, go to your own room and get some sleep. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow."

Leonard gave a big sigh and answered him, "Okay, if that's what you want. But I think you should call Niki and apologize. You were pretty hard on her."

All of Sheldon's frustrations then came bubbling to the surface, "And just what would I apologize for, Leonard? Caring about our research? Caring enough about our child to make sure she is being taken care of properly?"

Leonard opened the door to Sheldon's room and stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, "For starters, you could apologize for being an asshat. Other than that, I think you're fine."

"Really, Leonard, your feeble attempt at humor somewhat missed the mark."

Leonard entered the room and approached his friend, "I wasn't trying to be funny, Sheldon."

Sheldon put up a hand to stop him before he could get any closer, "Leonard, you speak to your wife as you see fit and I will do the same with mine. I really don't need your help in dealing with Niki."

"If you say so. I'm still worried about you, buddy."

Sheldon stood up and guided his friend towards his bedroom door, "Leonard, there is nothing wrong with me that eight hours of sleep won't cure. So why don't you go to your room and I will try to rid myself of the last of this cursed jet lag."

Leonard threw him a doubtful look and then surrendered, "Sure. Okay. Well, goodnight Sheldon."

Sheldon motioned him out the door, "Goodnight, Leonard. I believe we should leave to explore Heidelberg at ten a.m. Is that fine with you?"

Leonard turned away and walked out the door, mumbling a weary, "Fine, Sheldon. I'll see you in the morning."

Ten o'clock the next morning found Leonard out in the communal living area, hoping against hope that this new day would see a positive change of mood in his roommate. When Sheldon emerged from his bedroom, Leonard knew that this was definitely not the case. Sheldon's face still held the peevish look it had been sporting since they had arrived in Germany. At this point, spending the entire day with Sheldon was not a prospect he was looking forward to.

Leonard decided to start the day on a high note, anyway, and asked his friend in a cheerful voice, "Hey, buddy. How's it going?"

That question was met with an exaggerated eyeroll and a snarky reply, "How's it going? Really, Leonard. Since we last saw each other all I have done is sleep, take a shower, and get dressed. How do I report on those happenings? Let's see, I slept fairly well, my shower was of a pleasant temperature and got me to the desired level of cleanliness, and my clothes presented no problem to me as I put them on. There, does that sufficiently answer your question?"

Leonard turned and headed for the door while snapping at his friend, "Never mind. Forget I asked."

Sheldon's face sported a small grin as he answered his friend, "Very well. Now, should we proceed on our planned outing? I do believe our first stop should be to get something to eat and some coffee or tea. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

"Sure, sure. Let's get going. I would want us to get a late start to this wonderful day."

Sheldon's face took on a note of intense concentration and he suddenly replied to Leonard with a pointed question, "Do I detect a note of sarcasm in that statement?"

Leonard shot him a frustrated sideways glance and replied, "You're getting a lot better at that, Sheldon."

"Well, we'll just see how you feel by the end of our excursion, Leonard. You may just change your mind about this entire day."

Leonard opened the door of their apartment and stepped outside, telling his friend, "I can only hope. C'mon buddy, let's get some breakfast and take it from there."

Their first stop was at a restaurant that had been recommended to them by several members of the faculty, Zum Spreisel, where the two friends decided on having a hearty lunch instead of breakfast. After a large meal of soup, salad, and some form of wurst they had both never tasted before, they set off for the town square to catch the tram that would take them to the summit of Mt. Konigstuhl and the Heidelberg Castle.

When they finally reached the summit of Konigstuhl, Leonard was struck speechless at the majestic beauty of the old castle, once home to mighty kings who bowed to no one. Now, all that was left were the ruins of what was often called one of the most important examples of Renaissance architecture north of the European Alps. When Sheldon led Leonard to one of the wooden viewing terraces, they were able to look directly down on the town and spot not only the university, but their apartment building as well.

Leonard briefly lifted his gaze from the valley below to turn and address his friend, "My god, Sheldon! This must be one of the most picturesque spots I've ever seen! Thanks for taking me here, buddy."

Sheldon sighed and addressed his friend, "It really took little thought. This is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. I thought you might be impressed by the view."

"Aren't you impressed?"

Sheldon gave a bored shrug and replied, "Not really. I had to cart my mother and any number of relatives up here quite often when I was here last. We're near the top of a mountain, there is a city below us. How unique is that? Remember, we live in Altadena. If we go up a half mile or so above our facility we would have much the same view of Pasadena and Los Angeles. Well, on a smog-free day, anyway."

Leonard narrowed his eyes in anger and frustration and growled, "I give up, Sheldon. Here we are, looking down on a beautiful city from an observation deck of an ancient European castle and you're comparing it to Altadena. What's up with you, anyway?"

Sheldon turned from his friend and responded sourly, "Nothing that is of your concern, Leonard. Now, may I suggest we go view the gardens of this castle? They are world famous and supposedly quite beautiful. I would not be a good tour host if I did not include them."

Leonard looked at his friend, gave a sigh of frustration, and followed him to the gardens, whose lofty reputation was well deserved. Once more, Leonard was amazed at the beauty of the area and wondered why Sheldon was not taking in the scenery with the same appreciation as himself. He decided to let that question stay encased in his brain, for he was not ready to deal with anymore of Sheldon's angst-driven responses.

By the end of the day, both tired scientists were more than ready to return to their apartment and rest their weary bodies. A full day of tourism had tired them both out. Leonard was also eager to put some distance between himself and his roommate. Sheldon's bad attitude had been in full force the entire day and Leonard wanted nothing more than to retreat to his room and talk to his wife on the phone. Sheldon, however, had other plans. As they walked towards the tram that would take them back down the mountain, Sheldon addressed his friend with an idea that had been forming in his mind.

"Leonard," he began, "I think it would be far more financially feasible if we bought our own food and ate some of our meals in our apartment. As it is, we could spend our entire paycheck every week if we ate out for all our meals."

Leonard had to agree with him, eating out constantly would get expensive, so he told him, "That sounds like a good plan. Where would we shop for groceries here?"

"Oh, we wouldn't have to do that. We could give the university a shopping list and they would have our food delivered to us."

Leonard had to smile as they boarded the tram for the ride back down the mountain, "That sounds pretty convenient to me, so let's do it. We could take turns with the cooking."

At that, Sheldon proudly proclaimed, "I will take charge of breakfast. It's the only meal I know how to cook."

Leonard began to panic at that pronouncement and asked in a strained voice, "You've never made dinner before, or even lunch?"

Sheldon shook his head and replied nonchalantly, "No. As far as dinner goes, Niki has always said I am very good at opening take-out boxes and spooning their contents onto a plate. Do you know how to cook dinner, Leonard?"

Leonard thought for a moment and then answered truthfully, "Not really. I managed to make spaghetti once. But that's about it. Maybe we should rethink this."

"Nonsense. We are both intelligent people. I'm sure we can learn how to cook fairy quickly. Penny can cook, can't she? If she cooks, there is no reason why we can't."

The shorter man looked over at the taller one with malice on his face and gave him a stern warning, "Watch it there, Sheldon. You're talking about my wife."

"I meant no disrespect, Leonard. But you must admit, Penny does not have the same level of intelligence as us."

"She's smarter than both of us in a lot of areas, don't forget that."

Sheldon looked hopefully at Leonard and asked, "And one of them would be the preparation of food, am I right?"

"Yeah, that would be one of the areas she excels in."

Suddenly Sheldon's face lit up with both relief and hope, "So why don't you get some simple recipes off her tonight when you talk to her? That would solve the cooking problem for us."

Leonard was once again frustrated at his friend's attitude and exclaimed, "Sheldon, I'm not going to spend the entire time I'm talking to my wife asking her for her favorite recipes."

"Very well. I suppose we shall both go hungry for a few weeks."

"Look, I'll have her email me some easy recipes. Okay?"

At that concession, Sheldon's good humor was restored and he replied and an almost cheery voice, "Good. That should be all we need. We can make a shopping list from there. I have already taken the liberty of requesting some bread, eggs, coffee, and sausages from our hosts. These items should be delivered to us tonight. I will make us breakfast tomorrow."

"Like you make it all the time for Niki and Lori?" Leonard asked with hope in his voice. He had heard from Penny that Sheldon made delicious breakfasts for his family quite often.

Sheldon's good mood suddenly evaporated and he asked his friend in an almost snarling voice, "Leonard, have you brought up Niki's name in an effort to further lecture me on my deportment when speaking to her?"

Leonard hastened to give his pouting friend an explanation, "No. You live with her and your daughter. Who else would you make breakfast for? By the way, Niki says you're pretty good at it, so breakfast away my friend. I will try a simple dinner recipe tomorrow night. I think lunch will be covered by the university tomorrow after our first lecture."

The tall physicist's good mood was restored and he went on to tell Leonard, "Yes, we will be two wage slaves, giving interesting lectures to students who will be totally bored with the subject matter. It doesn't matter whether we are in Pasadena or Heidelberg, students seem to react the same way when I give lectures. Except there are always one or two brighter ones that have half a brain sitting in the front row. I always concentrate on them and forget the others."

"I hope you're right about that, buddy. One or two is all I need."

"Trust me, they're always there. Count on it."

Leonard looked out the window of the tram and realized they were almost back at the town square. He turned back to his friend and filled him in on his plans for the evening, "Okay. Now let's get home and order a pizza or something. I can't wait to talk to Penny and tell her about our day. Are you going to fill Niki in about going to the castle?"

Sheldon gave Leonard and absent minded nod and responded in an almost bored voice, "Yes, I suppose I must. Penny will have told her by now where we were going. Well, let's get home and get that over with. I do need to go over the research Niki has most likely sent me and then discuss it with her. That is far more interesting to me than an old Renaissance castle."

Leonard put a hand on his friend's arm and gave him what he thought was some much-needed advice, "Suit yourself, but I think you should spend most of your time telling your wife about our adventure today. It might help you two to get things back on track."

"Leonard, things are not off track at all. We are just far from each other and that can pose some difficulties with communication. Niki knows I love her. Why would she think otherwise?"

At that point, Leonard decided that the less he said, the better, so he just shrugged his shoulders and replied, "No reason at all, Sheldon. But if she should get annoyed, start talking about the castle, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Leonard. Ah, we are back in the town square. Let's get off this tram and finish our day. I'm sure you can't wait to talk to Penny."

Leonard stepped off the tram and looked back at his friend and asked, "And you? What about talking to Niki? Aren't you excited about that?"

Sheldon hopped off the tram and quickly put himself in front of the shorter man. He explained to him in an annoyed manner, as if addressing a child, "I have to read what she has sent me first. If it is up to snuff, of course I'll be eager to speak with her."

Leonard was by then getting frustrated with his friend, so he decided the best thing to do was keep silent, which he did all the way back to their building.

The boys seem to have a plan for bachelor living.Will it work well without the ubiquitous take out?Will Sheldon learn how to talk lovingly to Niki?Read on and find out.