Chapter 17: What's in the bag?

How does Helmut help Sheldon?Meanwhile, Niki finds something that may be the answer to Sheldon's puzzling behavior.

Helmut Hoffman walked into the utilitarian apartment shared by the two American physicists and announced, "I am here." Spying the comatose Sheldon on the couch he asked in an offhand manner, "How long has he been that way?"

Leonard thought for a moment and then replied nervously, "I can't say for sure, I was in my room when it all went down, but I'd say at least a few hours, maybe five or six."

Helmut scratched his chin and thought for a moment, "Hmmm…all right then. Now, does he," pointing to Sheldon, "have anything he particularly hates or loves?"

The older man smiled and nodded, "Sure, tons of things. But those two categories are both topped by people. His biggest hate is for another physicist named Barry Kripke. His biggest love, besides physics, is his wife, Niki or his daughter, Lori."

Now it was Helmut's turn to nod, "I see. That makes this a bit more difficult. We can't exactly bring any of those people here in a timely manner, for different reasons, of course."

Leonard agreed and gave a further explanation to the young man, "Yeah, bringing Kripke here would be a baaad idea. The man lives to torment Sheldon. He'd definitely use this incident against him. Niki can't come, she has to stay home and take care of Lori, whose not even two-years-old."

At the mention of Sheldon's daughter, Helmut's eyes grew wide and his entire countenance went from a feigned indifference to intense interest, "Wait. Wait just a moment. Do you by any chance have an audio recording of the little girl? She is the only one of the two people he loves who is a bit removed from the situation."

Leonard answered him without completely understanding why the man had asked him that question, "Lori? Yeah, lots of them. I'm her godfather. I must have twenty videos of her on my phone."

"Do you have one where she's calling out to Sheldon?"

The older man began to understand what the plan was going to be as he picked up his phone and began to search through his saved videos, "I think so. Let me see…yeah, I've got a couple of them."

Helmut's attitude went back to that of amused detachment as he suggested to Leonard, "Well, pick one and play it at maximum volume, if you don't mind."

"You think that will work?" Leonard asked him in a worried voice. He understood the theory behind what he was about to do, but he doubted that something that simple could bring his friend out of his trance.

Helmut looked him straight in the eye and replied with an assuring, "Leonard, I have every confidence that it will. The one time the man looked what most of us would call human was when he was telling me about his daughter. He must love that child very much. Most of the time the man's an ass. I only came over here for your sake."

Leonard quickly defended his friend, "Don't judge him from what you've seen of him while he's been here. He's not really an ass at all."

A small smirk appeared on the younger physicist's face as he countered with, "I see. He's a kind, humorous, and humble person at home?"

Leonard admitted sheepishly, "No. Not exactly," then quickly added, "but he's an ass a lot less often there. It's the combo of his wife and kid. He adores them both and the two of them have humanized him a lot."

Helmut was now smiling broadly, "Good. That works in our favor." He then commanded Leonard to, "Play the video, please. Loudly."

Leonard opened the file he had chosen, one of Lori posing in one of her many princess outfits, turned the volume all the way up, and began to play the video. Five seconds into it, Lori could be heard yelling, "Look at me, DaDa. Look!"

Sheldon's eyes suddenly opened and he uncurled himself from the fetal position he was in, sat up, and looked around the room in confusion. "Where am I and what am I doing on the couch at this late hour?" he asked both the men. "And, good lord, what is Helmut doing here?"

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Meanwhile, back in Altadena…

Niki and Lori finished having their breakfast outing with Penny and Blake and returned home. While Lori played with her toys on the floor, Niki sat down at her desk and attempted to do a bit of research. Things went fairly well for a few hours until her daughter's repeated interruptions and downturn in attitude brought an end to her efforts. Niki realized that it was time for Lori's afternoon nap, so she scooped her up from the rug, took her into the nursery, cleaned her up and changed her diaper, then kissed her and gently placed Lori in her crib. It didn't take long for the little girl to fall asleep and Niki used that time for some relaxation of her own. She went into her own room, thinking to herself, a little nap wouldn't be a bad idea for me, also.My mind needs a rest between working and being worried about what Sheldon did.It's time I treated myself to a nice sit in the jacuzzi and a little bit of sleep.

While in the jacuzzi, Niki relaxed and her mind began to wander. She wistfully recalled the last time she had sat in this tub. It had been the night before Sheldon's departure and he had joined her for a soothing soak. While in the jacuzzi, they had talked intimately and affectionately, having a playful argument of who would miss who more and how they both hoped Leonard would finally be rewarded for all his hard work. Niki sighed sadly, neither of them had envisioned the events of the last twenty-four hours and her mind returned to the burning question of what would be her response to Sheldon's actions. Should she call him up for an explanation or should she sit tight and let Leonard handle things for a bit? Her mind finally grew tired and the soothing jets of the jacuzzi did their job. Niki emerged from the tub a bit more rested and relaxed, but still lacking the answers she sought. She headed over to her bed and laid down. Before she could manage a coherent thought, sleep overtook her and everything went black.

When she awoke, two hours later, she sat straight up and looked around her. She was a bit disoriented, as she was not in the habit of sleeping in the afternoon. Niki listened for any sounds from the nursery that would tell her that Lori was awake. Hearing nothing, she sat back and pondered her next move regarding the situation with Sheldon. Coming up with no workable solutions, Niki finally decided to leave the bed and get herself something to eat. As she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she spied something in the far corner of the room.

It wasn't anything large or out of the ordinary, just a small black bag. Niki cocked her head in confusion and her mind went into overdrive. The bag was Sheldon's. It was the bag where he kept his toiletries and other personal effects. Niki's brows drew together as she tried to figure out why this particular bag had been left behind. As far as she could recall, the morning of his departure all of Sheldon's larger suitcases had already been stowed in the trunk of her car. All that had been left out were the bag that contained his plane tickets and computer, and this one. Niki also remembered that Leonard and Penny had been very late getting to their house, as he and Penny had decided on one more round of early morning delight before they met the Coopers.

Niki let her thoughts continue to run. There was something there she was missing and she was certain if she followed her mind on its backwards journey, she would discover the answer to most of her questions. Sheldon had been extremely irate at the Hofstadter's tardiness and had complained loudly and obnoxiously to her about the situation. She suddenly remembered that she had asked Sheldon a very pointed question regarding something that was in that bag. Suddenly Niki's eyes grew wide and she understood all her husband's actions since he had landed in Germany. She quickly grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called Penny.

Hey, Nik.What's up?

Penny, what are you doing for the next few days?

Rehearsals.Remember?

Could they do without you for a little bit?

Nik, what are you getting at?

I need you to go with me somewhere.

I'm almost afraid to ask, but where are you going?

You mean where are wegoing?

Okay, where are wegoing?

Germany.

Nik, are you insane?Are you going there in person to kill Sheldon?

Not at all.I'm merely going to be bringing him something he left here.

What, his common sense?

Something like that.

I don't get it.

Penny, Sheldon forgot one of his bags here and it has something in it that is very important to him.I'm going to bring it to him.

Can't you just mail it?

No.And I have to get approval and a formal note to take it with me.

Okay, now you've got me curious.What exactly is it and why do you need me to go with you?

I need you with me because you're my best friend and I thought you might like to visit Leonard for a couple of days.I'll tell you what it is I'm taking him when you get here.

What about the kids?

I've got that figured out already.Alfred is in France, studying some new cave paintings that were discovered there.I'm sure Mary would love to go with us to see him.She can watch them whenever we can't and she's not busy with Leonard's dad.

Okay, I'm almost convinced.When do we leave?

It will take a couple of days at least before I get permission to take Sheldon what he forgot. So, are you in?

What was it he forgot?

His shaving kit.

Nik, you're losing me here.Why would you need special permission to take his stupid shaving kit to him?He most likely bought himself some razors, shaving cream, and aftershave lotion there.

That's not all he forgot.

Girl, be straight with me.What is it?

Can you keep a secret?

You know I can, Sweetie.

Then I'll tell you when you get here.

Okay.Just let me clear this with my producers.Maybe I can phone in my rehearsals.

Or Skype them.

Nik, you're a genius.Okay, I'll be over asap.I can't wait to hear what it is the Wackadoodle forgot.

With that, both ladies ended the call and Niki went into the living room to wait for her friend's arrival.

What was it that Sheldon forgot to bring with him?And why does Niki need permission from the government to take it to him?