Chapter 13: Caught in Her Web

Sheldon begins to spend quite a bit of time with Dr. Powers and Leonard begins to worry.

For the next several days, Sheldon spent most of his time with Dr. Powers. They saw all the sights of Heidelberg together, went to lunch and dinner many times, and had in-depth conversations about their respective work and research. Leonard began to wonder where his friend was spending all his time. He respected Sheldon's privacy, but still had a strong suspicion that something wasn't right. Niki, after a day or two, was back to Skyping Sheldon every day and while all of his annoyance and shortness with her had vanished, Leonard noticed there was a remoteness developing between his best friend and his wife. One day, he decided to bite the proverbial bullet and address the issue with Sheldon.

"Hey, buddy. Where have you been spending so much time lately? Are we still on for our trip to Paris this weekend?

Sheldon got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen where Leonard was looking into the refrigerator, "Where I have been is none of your business, Leonard. I will say that I have made a friend who is also a visiting professor and we have wonderful conversations regarding the world of science and our places in it."

Leonard grabbed a can of soda, closed the door, and turned to Sheldon while nodding, "Okay, I get that. Talking shop with someone new can help kill the boredom of being here with just each other to talk to." He opened the soda can and then asked his friend. "But what about our trip to Paris this weekend. Is that still on?"

Sheldon left the kitchen and headed back towards the living room, "I'll have to let you know our status on that at a later date. I may have the chance to visit Cambridge on Saturday. I wouldn't want to miss that."

Leonard put his soda can down and turned to face Sheldon. He curiously asked him, "Isn't that where Hawking does his research?"

"Yes, Leonard. You know that very well."

Leonard face got a dreamy look to it and he replied, "It would be something to actually meet him, wouldn't it?"

Sheldon smiled in a superior way and answered, "That's why I may be going there, Leonard."

The smaller man's mouth dropped open and he walked quickly over to Sheldon and inquired, "How did you manage that one, buddy?"

"My new friend, Dr. Powers, has a friend who works at the university and knows Dr. Hawking."

Leonard gave a cautious reply, "Okay, well, just don't forget your old friend, Dr. Hofstadter. Okay?"

One of Sheldon's eyebrows shot upwards at a dramatic angle and he answered his friend in an annoyed voice, "Don't be ridiculous, Leonard. How could I forget you? We live together here and lecture together every other day. It would be rather hard to miss your existence."

"I'm just sayin'…sometimes a new friend can make us forget our older ones."

Sheldon made a half-hearted attempt to placate his friend, "Relax. That will never happen."

Leonard gave Sheldon the weakest of smiles and made an overture of peace, "Okay. That's good to hear. Now, how about us getting some lunch somewhere? It's been a few days since we've done that together."

Sheldon grabbed his room key from the table and looked back at his friend, "I would, Leonard. But I'm meeting Dr. Powers for lunch. Maybe tomorrow."

Leonard looked and felt crushed but he composed himself quickly and replied, "Sure, buddy. Sure. Well, enjoy yourselves."

"Oh, we will. And thank you. I must go now. I wouldn't want to be late. She is a very punctual person, much like me."

A voice in Leonard's head screamed 'SHE?', but his face remained unemotional as Sheldon left their apartment and headed off to meet Dr. Powers. He knew who Sheldon befriended and what they did together was none of his business, still, something wasn't sitting right with him about the whole scenario. He was positive his friend wasn't a womanizer and that the friendship was strictly platonic. Well, he was fairly positive, anyway. He had never known Sheldon to cheat on either of his spouses, but something in his friend's eyes was causing him to worry.

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Back in Altadena, Niki was kept busy working, looking after Lori, and spending time with her friends. Now that Sheldon's nastiness had disappeared, she took his remoteness during their conversations as a mix of homesickness, boredom, and unhappiness at being away from most of his friends. They exchanged polite pleasantries, discussed their work, and Niki kept Sheldon updated on Lori's adventures. These conversations weren't what she would have desired between a husband and wife separated by several thousand miles, but they were a tremendous improvement on his caustic criticisms of the previous week.

One morning, Penny came over to the Cooper residence with something urgent on her mind. She, as usual, barged into Niki's home without knocking and called out, "Nik! Are you home?"

Niki quickly emerged from the dining room and greeted her friend with, "Hey, girl. What's up? You're over here bright and early."

Penny took a seat at the breakfast bar and reminded her, "The theater was dark last night, remember? So, I got to bed at a decent hour. Anyway, have you talked to Sheldon recently?"

Niki nodded, "Yesterday. Why?"

Penny thought a moment, and then reluctantly replied, "Leonard just told me that Sheldon is spending a lot of his free time with another visiting professor and it has him a little bit worried."

Niki cocked her head and asked, "Why would Leonard be worried? Sheldon has told me he made a new friend. His name is Dr. Powers and Sheldon's mood has certainly improved since they have been hanging out."

"Nik, Powers is not a 'he'. Dr. Powers is a female."

Niki took in the information and merely shrugged, "Okay. So what? Sheldon has a few friends of the opposite sex. You're friends with him, right?"

Penny got off the barstool and walked towards Niki, a serious look on her face, "Girl, I'm getting a different vibe about this one. Call me paranoid, but this isn't the same thing as him hanging with me, Bernie, Amanda, or Georgia. From what Leonard has discovered about her, she's very single and has a thing for prominent scientists. Her focus is on particle physics, like Raj, but Leonard says she has a reputation for nailing anything in pants who is well known in science circles."

Niki shrugged once more and told Penny, "Okay, so she very friendly in that department. Have you forgotten who she's trying to nail? Sheldon is not the kind of guy who chases women, that kind especially. He has a great distaste for what he calls, 'loose women'. Sheldon Cooper does not sleep around and no matter how hard this Dr. Powers tries, I trust my husband and I firmly believe he will show no interest in her in that way."

"I hope you're right, Nik. Leonard says he's getting worried about the whole situation. Sheldon has even put a question mark on their Paris trip this weekend. He said Sheldon told him he may be going with this Powers woman to visit Cambridge, whatever that is."

Niki face broke into a smile and she reassured her friend, "Relax, Penny. Cambridge is the university that Dr. Hawking works out of. Heck, I'd cancel a trip to Paris if I could meet Hawking. That isn't about her at all, it's about the chance of meeting his idol. I'm not at all worried about it, so tell Leonard there is no need for concern."

Penny took a seat on the living room couch and warned Niki, "I'll tell him, but I don't know if it will do any good. He's really concerned about this instant friendship thing."

Niki grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and joined Penny on the couch, "Fine. Let Leonard be worried. I won't be."

Now it was Penny's turn to shrug, "If you say so. Now, on to other things. My play opens in one week. Are you still going to be there?"

Niki grabbed one of her friend's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Wild horses couldn't prevent me from going, Penny. I'm really getting excited about it."

"Good. Are you still planning on facetiming with Leonard?"

Niki patted Penny on the leg and replied, "Yep, I sure am. He has never missed on of your opening nights and I'm going to make sure that streak doesn't end."

Penny got up from the couch and looked down at Niki, "Okay. Good. Now, I want to invite you and Lori to have breakfast out with me and Blake."

Niki's face broke out in a large smile as she rose from the couch as well, "Thanks, Penny. I'm not about to turn down an invitation like that! Lori's still asleep. We both had a late night last night. Let me wake her up and get her dressed and then we'll go. Give me about thirty minutes. Is that all right?

"Sure. I'll tell you what, call me when you're ready and we'll head out to our local IHOP."

Niki walked Penny to the door and told her, "Perfect! I can't wait! Thanks, girl."

With that, Penny headed back to her home. Once there, everything changed. There was a message from Leonard asking her to get in touch with him IMMEDIATELY.

I wonder what's up?Could it have something to do with Sheldon?