Chapter 24: In Flight Adventures, or Getting There is Half the Fun

Ahh, a nice, relaxing flight to Germany.Or not.

Late the next afternoon, Niki's group arrived at the airport, parked the car in the long-term lot, and headed directly to the International Terminal. Both ladies were pulling a large piece of rolling luggage behind them while pushing a stroller holding a sleeping toddler at the same time. Mary Cooper was also busy, dealing with her own luggage while texting her husband. All the women were busy multi-tasking while trying to negotiate the foot traffic in the expansive room. Niki scanned the area, searching vainly for Binary's counter, which seemed hidden among all the other kiosks. Suddenly, Penny squealed, "There it is, guys! Ahead on the left!"

Niki looked over quickly at her friend and responded worriedly, "I hope Marcus remembered to leave our names and reservations there. He might have gotten busy and forgot."

Penny scolded her, "Stop obsessing so much, Nik! Even if he did, all it would take is one short phone call and everything would be fine."

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes it slips my mind that most problems in life have a simple answer."

Penny grinned and teased her friend, "Like Sheldon?"

Niki turned to her friend and shot back, "Penny, Sheldon is NOT a problem. Sometimes the situations he gets us both into can be problems, but he never is."

Mary joined in gleefully, "Like that time he had you pick me up from the airport? Young lady, you sure were hoppin'mad at him that night!" The Assistant Conundrum, Chapter 19

Niki turned to her mother-in-law and shot back, "Hey, I was nicely compensated for that one!"

Penny gave a short laugh and responded with, "Uh huh. After you and Mary got your revenge."

Niki's worried mood completely evaporated and she, too, gave a good-natured laugh, "Oh god, that was hilarious! Thanks for the reminder. Now, if this situation goes as smoothly as that one, this should be a fun trip. I mean, what could go wrong?"

The pretty blonde winked at her friend and declared, "Girlfriend, we're talking about Sheldon Cooper. The possibilities are endless."

Niki threw daggers at her friend, "Thanks, girl. I was just starting to relax."

Mary turned to Penny and snapped, "Hey, that's my son you're talkin' about there, missy."

Penny turned a bright shade of red and quickly apologized, "Just kidding. Your son is one of my best friends and he's done a lot for me and Leonard. I'm sorry I said that."

Niki threw Penny a feeble grin and shot back, "Apology accepted, but there is a grain of truth in what you said. Isn't that right, Mary?"

Mary Cooper put down her phone and gave a sigh, "I guess I've got to admit it, Shelly can be a handful sometimes."

Penny gave a dreamy look and told both of her companions, "Enough about Sheldon being a handful. Look, try not to think too much about what might happen, Nik. I'm sure everything will be fine. Let's just enjoy our trip, okay. Just think ladies, in just a few short hours, we'll actually be in Europe and back in the arms of our ever-lovin' husbands!"

Suddenly, Lori woke up, smiled, and asked from her stroller, "DaDa?"

Niki looked down fondly at her daughter and crooned, "Yes, love. We're going to see DaDa. Won't that be fun?"

The little girl's face lit up and she asked, "We go to the zoo?"

Niki pondered that question for a moment then responded with, "I don't know about that, but I do know he'll most likely get you some ice cream and a new princess dress."

"I love DaDa!" the little girl squealed happily.

Niki stared over at the Binary counter as if in a trance and replied, "So do I, Precious. So do I."

Niki's fears were soon found to be completely groundless. Not only were all their names prominently listed, they were given the star treatment and personally escorted down the concourse to Binary's private gate. There, all their mouths dropped in awe as they viewed the corporate jet they would soon be boarding. No small or midsize Learjet awaited them. Instead, what they saw parked, fueled, and ready was a huge Boeing business jet. The size of a regular passenger plane, this one had been redesigned by Binary as a private jet of the first order.

As they entered they were struck speechless by the luxury that awaited them. There were the usual rows of seats in the forward cabin, much like any other jet, but what was unique lay beyond that. There, they were told by the flight attendant, they would find a spacious living room with an attached full galley, a large dining room with a table that would easily seat twenty people, two full bedroom suites, and a private nursery for the children. Niki had never seen such opulence, and she had flown on many a private jet with her late husband when he had been called to the east coast or up to Canada. This set up was beyond opulent and for the first time, she began to understand the prestige that came with being a Nobel Prize winner. She turned to her companions and gushed, "Can you believe all this?"

Mary had taken it all in rather calmly and replied, "Well, you are Sheldon Cooper's wife. That must mean somethin', I guess."

Niki took no offense at the unintentional slight and giggled, "Let's not forget, you're Sheldon Cooper's mama. That's makes you a VIP, too."

"What about me?" Penny asked, "am I chopped liver or something?"

Niki grabbed her friend and gave her a hug as she squealed, "Hey, you and your husband are Sheldon Cooper's two best friends! He wouldn't be where he is today without the both of you."

A little voice broke into their reverie with, "I DaDa's Princess! I 'portant, too!"

With that, Niki unbuckled the straps on the stroller and scooped her daughter up in her arms as they all laughed and began to settle in, readying themselves for the coming flight.

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After the adults in their party had safely secured the children in the car seats, now airplane seats, they settled themselves in for the flight. Niki was next to Lori, Penny sat alongside Blake, and Mary parked herself in the last row of seats, getting one last text off to Alfred before calling out, "Well, everyone, here we go!" With that, the plane thundered down the runway, picking up speed as it went. Niki had her nose pinned against the window, as usual, entranced by the passing by of familiar buildings at ever increasing speeds. Her fascination with flight was suddenly interrupted by a small hand creeping into hers and squeezing one of her fingers tightly. A small whimper escaped from the little girl's lips when the plane left the runway and that is when she had reached for her mother's hand.

Niki looked down tenderly at her daughter and thought, Her father does the same thing during takeoffs and landings.There's so much of Sheldon in Lori, my heart sometimes seems ready to burst when I look at her.She has his hair and his smile, so now I can add flying anxiety to the list.But what does she have of me?She has my eyes and freckles, and my nose. That's all good, I suppose.Though I wish she could have skipped the freckles part.But she also has so many things that are purely her, like her laugh and her love of princesses and fairy tales.Neither Sheldon nor I go for those things, though he has adopted that mindset quite easily.It's taken me a bit longer and I am still struggling with the idea of girls dreaming of being princesses.When I was small, I knew I wanted to be either a scientist or a mathematician.I just always knew that from about the age of five.At that age, I was getting into algebra and geometry and Sheldon was already conquering the world of calculus.I wonder if Lori will inherit that math aptitude or will she always lean more towards the fanciful?I suppose it doesn't matter.Her father and I will both love and support her no matter what path she chooses in life, as long as it's legal and won't bring her any harm.

Soon, an announcement came over the intercom that they could unbuckle their seatbelts and move freely around the plane. Niki quickly freed herself and her daughter from the confines of their seats and they both headed towards the back of the jet, eager to explore all that the middle and back contained. Niki heard a noise behind her, looked back over her shoulder, and saw that Penny and Blake were right behind them. "Hey, girl!" she called out, "Where do you want to go first?"

Niki's friend hurried to catch up with her and suggested, "Let's get the kids situated in this living room and find a movie for them to watch. Blake looks a little green around the gills and Lori looks a little scared. Let's hope a fun video will take their minds off things for a little while."

"Good idea!" Niki sat her daughter down on a long couch and asked her, "What movie would you like to see?" She studied the movies contained on several shelves secured behind plexiglass doors. "It looks like they have all of your favorites, Precious. What would you and Blake," who had now joined Lori on the couch," like to watch?"

"Up?" Lori squealed, all fear forgotten.

"No!" Blake cried, shaking his head rapidly for effect.

Niki sighed and addressed her daughter, "Okay, Lori, let's find something you both can enjoy. What movie do you and Blake like to watch together the most?

"Cinderella!" the little girl crowed.

"Finding Nemo!" Trumpeted her male counterpart, pounding his hands emphatically on the seat cushion.

"Oh, dear. It looks like an impasse." Niki turned to Penny and asked frantically, "Now what do we do?"

Penny crossed her arms and stared directly at Niki as she answered her friend, "We act like parents and pick the movie for them if they can't agree, that's what. Now," she looked down at both children and asked, "what movie do you guys want to see? If you can't agree, we mommies will pick one for you."

The two children looked at each other and then replied in unison, "Lion King!" Niki nodded and mouthed a silent, "Thank you!" to Blake's mother, and then search the shelves for the movie of their choice. "Here it is." She removed the case, opened it, and inserted the disc into the player. The opening credits soon appeared on the immense television screen located on the bulkhead. "Now, while you two are watching that, Blake's mommy and I are going to get you guys something to eat. You have a choice, fish sticks or chicken nuggets. You can't have both right now. You can eat one now and one later. So, my dears, what will it be?"

The toddlers thought for a moment and then Blake announced, "Nuggets!" Lori smiled and nodded at his choice, so another in-flight crisis was avoided.

"Chicken nuggets, it is!" Penny replied and when Mary made her way into the room to watch the children, the mothers headed further back in the plane to the galley, to prepare the meals for the kids.

Twenty minutes later, the children were eating their nuggets from the tv trays in front of them while they had a good time watching their movie. Mary sat with them while their mothers had their own meal of sushi in the planes dining room. All was going well until Mary called from the living room, "Penny, I think you should come out here. Blake doesn't look so good."

Penny flew out of the dining room and towards the front of the plane, rushing to get to the living room and her son. As she scooped him up and held him tightly to her chest, the little boy vomited profusely into his mother's neck and hair. "Oh, poor baby, we sure didn't see that coming!" Mary exclaimed while Penny shot her a withering look.

Niki finally emerged from the dining room, took in the scene before her, and gasped, "Oh my!" She then took the miserable little boy from his mother and laid him down on the couch a little ways from her daughter. Taking a moist wipe from her purse, which she had placed nearby, she did her best to clean him up, crooning softly to him the entire time. "You aren't feeling so hot, are you, buddy? Don't worry. Once I get you a bit cleaner, we'll change your clothes and give you something to make the sick feeling go away. Okay?'

Penny grew concerned and asked her friend, "What are you going to give him, Nik?"

Niki looked over at Blake's mother, who was vainly trying to clean herself with a small towel, and reassured her as she wiped the boy's face clean and took off his outer garments, "Don't worry, Penny. Nothing that will harm him. My guess is Blake's airsick. I have some of Sheldon's seasick pills with me and I know how to use them on a child. When Lori got old enough to go on car trips with us, we asked our pediatrician what we could do for her if she showed signs of having motion sickness like her father. I'll just give him a quarter of a pill. Soon, he'll feel much better and fall gently to sleep for a little while."

Penny managed a slight grin as her mind went back in time, "Say, are those the same pills Sheldon took on our cruise to Mexico?" *The Assistant Conundrum: Chapter 42

Niki smiled at the memory, "Yeah, but don't worry. He won't go running around the plane half-dressed. That only happened because Sheldon took to many of these along with his Paxil. Blake will be fine. Now, can you get me some clean clothes for him?"

Mary entered the conversation with, "Relax, Niki. I'll go fetch some clothes for the boy. I think his mother could stand a little cleanin' up herself. Right, honey?"

Penny looked down at the front of her vomit-covered shirt and sighed, "I guess so. Hey, thank you both. You've both been a big help here. Mary, his clothes are in a small canvas tote in the overhead compartment up front, right above where we were sitting."

"Gotcha. I'll be right back. In the meantime, why don't you try out one of them fancy showers they have in those bedroom suites? I have a notion you'll feel heaps better once you get out of them clothes and wash your hair."

Thirty minutes later, Blake was sleeping soundly, Penny was freshly showered, Mary was engrossed in reading her Bible, and Niki was sitting on the couch, exhausted. They soon heard a small voice cry out, "I want Gamma."

Niki hugged Lori and pointed to Mary, "Silly girl, your Grandma is right there."

The little girl began to wail, "Not MeeMaw. I want Gamma!"

Her mother tried to explain the situation to the distraught toddler, "But Precious, Grandma Audrey is back in Pasadena with Grandpa Richard. They are very busy right now planning their wedding. You can Skype her if you want to, that we can do."

"But I want Gamma HERE!" Lori wailed.

Niki realized then that her daughter also possessed another of her husband's less desirable traits, she could be extremely unreasonable. She then scolded herself, Now I'm trying to pin a typical toddler temper tantrum on her father.That's not right.Lori is just a small child wanting her grandmother. Most children her age would act the same way. Now, how can I divert her?We can't Skype Sheldon, he doesn't even know we're coming and I don't want to spoil the surprise.Hmmm…I've got it!

Niki released her daughter and told her, "I'll be back in just a minute. I need you to help me with something very, very, important.'

The idea of being 'very important' to her mother quickly drove any thoughts of wanting her grandmother from Lori's mind and the little girl dried her eyes and gave her mother a sunny smile as she replied, "Okay. I help."

Niki went over to one of the end tables in the living room and picked up a stack of private Binary stationary and a gold pen sitting on top of it. She returned to her daughter's side and asked her, "Do you think you could help me with something that has to do with DaDa?"

"DaDa? Yes!"

Her mother praised Lori with, "Good girl! I knew you would help me. Now, I need you to give me some ideas of what we can do while we're in Germany with your father."

Lori crowed, "Zoo!"

Niki wrote the work 'zoo' on the pad and smiled at her daughter, "If there's a zoo there, I'm sure we can do that. Here, I'll write that down as the first thing. Okay, what next?"

The next word the toddler shouted out was, "Beach!"

Niki shook her head sadly and informed the little girl, "I'm afraid there aren't any beaches in Germany. It's not near an ocean, Precious. How about going to a lake? Maybe we could feed some swans or ducks."

Lori nodded her head and answered, "Okay. Lake."

"Good. You're so much help, Lori. I don't see how I could be doing this without you. Any more ideas?"

"Park?"

Niki gave her daughter a small frown and tried to encourage her in her speech development, "Lori, why don't you try a full sentence? I know you can do that."

The toddler's brows knit together in concentration and then she rephrased her suggestion, "DaDa can take us to a park?"

Her mother's face lit up in a smile and she praised Lori for her effort, "Good girl! Yes, that's an excellent idea. I'm glad you thought of it."

Encouraged by her success, Lori continued with, "Mommy, drive? DaDa can take us for a drive?"

Niki nodded and quickly jotted down the little girl's suggestion, "Ooh, that's another good one. Now, can I suggest one?"

"Yes!"

"Because our trip there is so special, maybe we could go out for hamburgers somewhere." Niki figured one hamburger occasionally wouldn't destroy her daughter's health.

"Or pizza!" the Lori added with a grin spreading across her impish face.

Niki gave her daughter a hug and agreed with her, "Yes, or pizza. Lori, maybe we can do both. We will be there for a few days. Did you know that we will be bringing your father and Uncle Leonard home with us?"

"DaDa come home? Yes! I want DaDa at home, not Germy."

Niki gave an amused grin and informed her, "Precious, it's Germany, not Germy. Those are two entirely different things. Say it after me, Ger."

Lori repeated, "Ger."

"Ma."

She echoed, "Ma."

"Ny."

"Ny." Lori parroted her mother's las syllable.

Her mother then suggested, "Now, let's put it all together. Ger-ma-ny."

"Germany!"

Niki was quick to praise her, "Very good!" She then studied their list for a minute and asked Lori, "Now, what's another thing we could do with DaDa?" Hearing no answer, she looked down at the little girl and discovered that, as often happens when a tantrum has been diffused, she was fast asleep.

Niki gave a sigh of relief and gently picked up Lori and carried her into the special nursery that Binary had provided for the children. She carefully placed her in one of the cribs and tiptoed out to rejoin the rest of their party in the living room. There, she found Penny talking to Leonard on her phone, Mary texting Alfred yet again, and Blake sleeping off the Dramamine she had given him.

Their pilot suddenly announced over the speaker, "If you care to look out the windows, you will see that we are now passing over New York City. That green blob you see down there is actually Central Park. We are now approximately half way to Frankfurt, Germany and will arrive there in five hours, at twelve p.m., Central European Time. I hope you are all enjoying your flight so far."

While the other women looked out the windows next to them with interest, Niki rolled her eyes, groaned and thought to herself, Five more hours! What can I do to help pass the time?At that moment, she realized she still had some uneaten sushi left in the refrigerator and went back to the galley to get some of it and take it back to the dining room to enjoy. As Niki sat down at the long table with her plate of sushi and a good book, relaxation finally overtook her and she soon felt incredibly drowsy and relaxed. Closing her book, Niki took her plate back to the galley and placed it in the sink. She then proceeded to the bedroom she had chosen as hers and laid down on the king size bed it contained. Before she knew it, Niki Cooper was fast asleep as the plane carrying her continued its journey across the Atlantic Ocean en route to Europe.

Two hours later, Niki awoke with a start. Her stomach felt like it was turning summersaults. This must be from the sushi I ate.Some it must have been bad.I must get up and warn Penny not to eat any of it that is left.The ill scientist swung her legs over the side of the bed with every intention of returning to the living room and warning the others about the sushi. She never made it. Before she reached the door of the room, Niki felt both her head and her stomach spinning and she lurched over to the restroom attached to the room and barely made it in time to deposit her sushi into the shining metal bowl of the toilet. After doing a quick clean up, she returned to the bedroom and picked up her phone to call Penny. Before she could press her friend's number, severe nausea overtook her and, once again, she made a hasty journey to the lavatory.

As only true friends can, Penny sensed something was wrong with Niki and hurried farther back into the plane, passing the galley and dining room on her way to the bedroom her friend had chosen for her nap.

Leonard's wife stuck her head through the doorway, saw her friend emerging from the lavatory and asked her, "Nik, you okay? Oh shit! You're not, are you?"

Niki crawled back into the bed and in a tired voice warned Penny, "Whatever you do, don't eat the sushi."

The blonde beauty stated the obvious, "I can see that. Trust me, I won't go near the stuff." She thought for a moment and then added, "But I had some earlier with you and I'm fine."

Niki raised her head from the pillow and asked her, "What kind did you have?"

"Spicy tuna and the albacore. You?"

"Smoked salmon skin. Maybe that is the bad one. Throw it out, will you?" the ill woman asked her friend.

"Nik, we're on a plane. Just where do you want me to throw it? Out the window?"

Niki gave Penny a weak smile and replied, "I guess you're right. Just make sure no one else…oh my god!"

Penny watched Niki catapult from the bed and run to the bathroom. Once she was inside, terrible noises emerged. Penny got worried, knocked on the door, and asked, "Girlfriend, are you going to be okay for a minute? 'Cause I'm going to go find you some ginger ale."

Niki's voice came weakly from within, "Yeah, I'll be okay. I think I'm over the worst of it."

Niki's bestie wasn't convinced and she said as much, "Sure you are, Sweetie, sure you are. Look, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Trust me, I won't. Where the hell would I go anyway?"

As she turned to leave the room, Penny responded worriedly, "I don't know. Look, just stay put while I get you something to calm you stomach. Hey, maybe one of Sheldon's pills. They worked wonders for Blake."

Niki nodded eagerly, "That's a good idea, girl. They're in my bag, next to the nightstand."

"Got 'em! Let me go to the galley and get you that ginger ale to help you swallow the pill."

Both of their heads turned as they heard an "Excuse me, ladies," coming from the doorway. Mary Cooper walked over to Niki and helped her back to her bed, she then continued in a kind, patient, voice, "Them pills won't help her if it's food poisonin'. They might help if she was airsick, like the little fella back there in the livin' room. But I know that ain't it. The girl has flown plenty of times with my son and he's never once mentioned her gettin' sick."

Penny felt a bit lost and asked Mary, "So what should we do?"

The older woman pointed towards the front of the plane and answered, "Well, you should go back and sit with your son, that's only fittin' and proper, seeing as you're his momma. I'll take care of this girl." Seeing Penny's face contort with worry, Mary explained to her, "I'll make sure to call you if she gets worse, I promise. But you don't want Blake fallin' off that couch, do you?"

Penny turned to go, but let Mary know she was far from placated, "You're right, Mary. I'm just worried about Nik. I've never seen her like this in a long time. The last time I saw her throw up…never mind. I'm going out to watch my son. But let me know if Niki gets any worse, okay?"

"You betcha. Now you just take your pretty little head back to the livin' room and I'll take care of our girl here." With that, Mary pulled the covers of the bed up to Niki's chin and tucked her in fondly.

From the bed, Niki gave a dispirited croak, "Actually, I think you can both leave. My stomach seems to have settled down and I think I'll go back to sleep now. Mary, just wake me up about an hour before we land so I can freshen up a bit. Can you do that for me?"

"I sure can, but are you sure you're gonna be alright?"

Niki smiled and nodded at Mary, "Positive. I feel some better now, just a little tired."

Sheldon's mother stood up and reluctantly made ready to leave Niki's side, "Well, I'll get out, but I'll be close by in case you need me. I think I'll go take a short nap myself. There's another bedroom next to this one, right?"

"No, next to this one is the nursery. Lori is asleep there. But, there is a futon in there for an adult to lay on."

Mary smiled and walked towards the nursery, "That suits me just fine. That way, I can keep an ear open for you and my granddaughter. Now, girl, if you need anything, just holler. Okay?"

Niki smiled weakly and replied, "Okay, Mary. And thanks."

"No thanks needed, honey. You're my daughter-in-law. We're family. And family sticks together."

With that comforting thought, Niki went back to sleep and dreamed of finally being united with Sheldon.

Will the reality match the sweet dreams?Maybe.