Chapter 25: Willkommen in Deutschland

The California entourage lands in Germany and are met by Leonard and Sheldon's new friend.

Helmut Hoffman cursed under his breath at the traffic ahead of him. Only he would volunteer to drive from Heidelberg to Frankfurt the morning after a heavy snowstorm. But, he had done it out of a sense of friendship with Leonard Hofstadter. Like most people, he had found the man to be a kind, gentle, agreeable soul and Helmut, who took to very few people, had found himself liking the California physicist more and more the longer he knew him. Leonard's wife and child were arriving at noon this day and he had been more than happy to do Leonard a favor and pick them up from the airport.

That the wife and child of Sheldon Cooper would be with her did not deter him at all. While he had never warmed up to Sheldon like he had Leonard, he had witnessed a certain vulnerability to the man that he would never have guessed possible. And because of this, he had begun to form an odd respect for the oddball physicist, which in itself was a miracle. His first meeting with Cooper had not gone well at all. Helmut had taken the view that he had never met a more self-centered man in his life. And that view had held until the aftermath of Sheldon's meeting with Heather Powers. Then, he had seen the other side of Sheldon, the side that had shown him just how much Dr. Cooper loved and appreciated both his family and his friends. The term, 'still waters run deep' had never been proven truer than they had that night. Still, as much as he had warmed up to Sheldon, he was out in this miserable weather as a favor to Leonard Hofstadter, not Sheldon Cooper.

Helmut smiled to himself at the fact that his girlfriend, Annelise, had actually worked with Penny Hofstadter in a play in Pasadena a few years prior. From what he could recall of their conversation on the matter, Anna, as he called her, had told him that Penny had played one of the leads in the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie. His lover, on the other hand, had been the understudy for the actress who portrayed Laura. When Helmut had informed Leonard of this fact, the physicist had merely given a whistle and exclaimed, "It's a small world, isn't it?" Add to that the fact that when he had been shown a picture of Dr. Cooper's wife, Nikita, something familiar had tickled the back of his brain. Up until this day, he had not been able to put his finger on it, but he hoped by seeing the woman in the flesh, it would come to him. Both of these facts made Helmut both extremely eager and petrified to meet both of these ladies and their children.

Herr Hoffman wondered to himself how two men who looked like the visiting physicists managed to be married to two such accomplished women, who both husbands swore were beautiful as well, amazed him no end. Now, Anna was a beautiful girl, but Helmut considered himself a fairly handsome man as well. While not as tall as Cooper, he was still of a good height and his strong jaw, light brown hair and blue eyes didn't hurt his cause. He calculated he must have been close to three or four inches taller than Leonard, who was quite short in stature. Helmut mused as he snaked through the heavy traffic, I wonder if these two women are as beautiful, bright, kind, and intelligent as their husbands have told me they are.Whether they are or not, they are loved very much by their spouses and I will make sure I take extra good care of them until I have delivered both of them safely to their hotel.

Soon, Helmut was arrived at the airport and parked his car in the parking structure nearest the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, where the airline had given permission for Binary's jet to land and dispatch its passengers. He had seen this terminal on the news a few times. This was Lufthansa's special terminal where they allowed celebrities, politicians, and other VIPs to travel without the hassle of dealing with the public. Helmut was duly impressed and suddenly realized the two physicists visiting the university were a very big deal, indeed. And apparently, so were their families. Helmut hesitantly entered the building and took a seat in the lounge located there. A bland young woman, impressed with her own importance, came into the room and informed him in English she was taking him to the VIP Lounge, where all the elite people of the world sat like royalty and waited for others of the same ilk to join them.

The young woman pointed first to a door on the far side of the room and then to a very modern-looking sectional sofa with a coffee table in front of it, on which were resting only the trendiest of magazines, "The Binary Party will be coming through that door right over there, shortly. So, have a seat here and relax. Can I have someone bring you a drink or something to eat?"

Helmut thought for a moment before replying, "Just a bottled water, if you don't mind." He was too nervous to eat, but he did have a bit of dry mouth that he hoped the water would put right. After his water arrived, Helmut looked out the one-way window and saw Binary's private jet arrive and slowly make its way over to the First Class Terminal. It suddenly hit him that he would be meeting the families of his friends in just a few short minutes. In a panic, Helmut wondered if the two women were anywhere near as nervous as he was. He finally decided to pick up one of the trendy magazines and read one of its vapid articles to pass the time.

Helmut heard a noise that caught his attention and he saw that the Binary plane had docked with the terminal and the Cooper party would soon be entering through the door ahead and to his left. He stood up, adjusted his clothes, popped a breath mint into his mouth, and prepared his carefully scripted greeting in his mind. This greeting soon disappeared from conscious thought when the wait ended and the women and children emerged from the jetway. The usually calm and collected physicist became quite unsettled as he beheld a woman who sent all his senses reeling and his mind on a long journey to the past.

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Niki Cooper woke up from an fully restorative nap in plenty of time to shower, do her makeup, and don fresh clothes before their plane landed in Frankfurt. She carefully checked her face in the mirror. She knew she wouldn't be meeting her husband for several hours after they landed, but she still wanted to look as good as possible when they arrived. She didn't know the person who was picking them up, Penny had only told her that they were going to be met by a friend of Leonard and Sheldon's from the university. If this was so, she wanted to make a good first impression on them. It would never do to embarrass Sheldon or give off a negative vibe to someone who may have been an important person at the school.

The blonde physicist felt butterflies forming in her stomach at the thought of being in her husband's arms before nightfall. She hadn't realized how much she had missed Sheldon until they were actually on their way to Germany. How she had missed his kisses, his smile, his strong arms holding her tight while she slept, and his deep blue eyes that seemed to dance in delight whenever he looked her way. Was it normal to still be this much in love after having been married almost two years and becoming parents? She then thought of her friends, the Hofstadters. Thinking about how devoted and loving these two were made Niki realize that not only was it possible, in a good marriage it was almost a certainty.

The daydreamer's head turned as she heard a knock on her door and a voice calling out, "Nik, we'd better get the kids up and dressed. We're going to be landing in about a half hour and we all have to be buckled up in our seats within about fifteen minutes or so."

The door opened and Niki answered her, "Be right there, Penny! I'll go wake up Lori right now. Unlike Blake, she's always such a cranky head when she first wakes up."

A grin appeared on the pretty blonde's face as she answered back, "Yeah, but within ten minutes she's her usual adorable self. You guys got lucky there."

Niki grinned back at her friend, "As did you and Leonard. Your son has such a sunny disposition. Anyway, go get him up and we'll be right with you."

"Too late. He woke up a little while ago. He's been fed and now he's happy as a clam. Mary's sitting with him now. That quarter pill you gave him worked like a charm. How are you feeling, by the way? Any better? If you want, I'll help you with Lori."

Niki shook her head and pointed to a pile of luggage next to the bed, "No need. I'll tell you what you can do for me, though. Could you get what's left of my bags and take them to the front of the plane and put them under a seat? Lori's stuff is already up there, but most of mine is piled over there."

"Sure, but it might take me a couple trips to get it all."

Sheldon's wife was sincere in her apology to her best friend, "I'm sorry, Penny. I guess I wasn't thinking when I was packing to leave. I guess I took a little too much, didn't I?"

"Hey, no worries, Sweetie. I have even more than you. Thank god Binary told us they'd have porters take our things from the plane to the hotel. That's going to save us a whole lot of hassles. It wasn't easy getting all this luggage and the kids to the airport and on the plane."

Tell me about it," Niki cringed at the memory and then continued, "but we made it in spite of all that. Still, a porter will be a huge convenience."

Penny walked over to the pile of suitcases and picked up a large suitcase and a small makeup bag, "You go get Lori and I'll handle this stuff. I can't wait to see Leonard again and Blake can hardly sit still himself. Thank you for inviting us to go with you."

Niki walked toward the door that connected her room with the nursery and answered her friend, "As if I would do this without my bestie. C'mon, Penny. You know me better than that. Let me get my little princess and I'll meet you all back up front in a few minutes."

Twenty minutes later, the entire Cooper party were preparing to land in Frankfurt. Their seatbelts were securely fastened and Niki once again held her daughter's hand as they descended through the clouds and got their first look at Germany. Niki was entranced by the low-lying mountains and dense forests that surrounded the city. While Frankfurt, from what she could see, seemed to be a very modern city, there was something about it that harkened back to the Medieval era. Niki felt very much that the long, tiring trip was worth it just for the panoramic view of this lovely city.

Once they touched down on the runway, Lori released her mother's hand and gave her a tremulous smile. The little girl had discovered she quite liked flying, but the take-offs and landings were a bit scary for her. She took a bit of comfort from the words of her mother, "Now, don't worry if you get scared or nervous sometimes while we are on the plane. Your father goes through the same thing and he is one of the bravest people we know, isn't he?"

Lori had nodded and decided that even if she got scared, her mother would understand. That was why holding her mother's hand had been so reassuring to her. If her beloved mother did not think less of her father for being a little scared of flying, she knew her mother would be very understanding if she felt the same way. While the plane was taxiing to the terminal, Lori asked her mother, "We see DaDa?"

Her mother had given the little girl a warm smile and told her, "Not right away, precious. DaDa's at work right now. We will see him a little later and most likely we will all go out to dinner. Then, you and Blake will be staying with Meemaw tonight while DaDa and I catch up on a bit on the work we've both been doing. Tomorrow morning, we will all go to breakfast and maybe we will see if there is a zoo nearby. Does that sound good?"

"Okay, Mommy. Is DaDa here?"

Niki patiently explained to her in words she hoped the child could understand, "Well, he's in Germany, but not right here. He's giving talks at a school in another city, and that is where we will be going."

Lori beamed up at Niki and asked, "We drive to DaDa?"

"No, Precious. DaDa and Uncle Leonard have sent one of their friends from that school to pick us up and drive us to where they are. Just be patient, sweetheart. We will be seeing DaDa very soon.

With that, Lori Cooper smiled up at her mother and completely relaxed. If her mommy said they were going to where her father was staying, then that was what was going to happen and she was happy.

At the same time, Penny was having much the same discussion with her son.

Penny grinned over at her son and asked him, "Blake, are you excited that you are going to be seeing Daddy?"

"Will he be right there?" the precocious child pointed to the terminal.

Penny shook her head and began to explain to the child, "No, sweetie. Daddy is working today at a school in Heidelberg, which is quite a few miles from here. One of Daddy's friends is picking us up and driving us there."

Blake smiled up at his mother and inquired, "Will I see Daddy today?"

She nodded happily and replied, "Yes, honey. In a few hours. Have you missed him?"

The towheaded child giggled and told her, "Yes! Daddy makes me laugh."

The announcement came over the intercom that they had arrived in Frankfurt and could release their seatbelts. Penny did just that for herself and her son and declared in a happy voice, "Me, too. Oh look, the planes stopped. Let's get ready to get off this thing and get to Heidelberg."

"Okay, Mommy."

Soon, a kindly flight attendant came to their party and informed them that they should only take with them what was absolutely necessary. The rest, she informed them, would be sent to their hotel by employees of Binary. Niki, Penny, and Mary happily complied and strapped the toddlers into their strollers, grabbed the children's car seats, their purses and small pieces of luggage and prepared to leave the plane.

Their party was not subjected to the tedious ordeal of going through customs. Instead, a customs officer met them in the jetway, performed a cursory inspection, and waved them through. Niki was impressed by this and once again realized the power and privilege of being associated with Binary LLC. As with their luggage and flight plans, it came in very handy at times. But Niki realized full well that these privileges were removing her further and further from plain old Niki Cooper of Altadena, California, and she wasn't sure she was entirely comfortable with that. Ever since she had starred in a popular miniseries the year before, Penny had been accorded this same star treatment and took it in stride as part of her job. But the actress had never let these perks affect her private life. Niki hoped she would be able to say the same in the future. She still wanted to be Niki Cooper, the woman who most often ran around in jeans or leggings and a t-shirt with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She didn't want to lose Niki in order to become Dr. Nikita Horner, Noble Prize winner and wife and partner of world renowned physicist and fellow Nobel winner, Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Niki Cooper felt she shouldn't have to forsake one to fulfill being the other.

Her mind was brought back to the present by Mary Cooper advising her, "Girl, snap out of it. We gotta get these kids out of here and to the hotel. They both want to see their dads real bad and I know us wives want to see our husbands, too."

Niki was quick to apologize, "Sorry, Mary. I was lost in thought. Of course, you are right. Let's go." With that, they all continued walking until the came to the end of the jetway. As they emerged into the lounge, Niki stopped and stared. The man facing them sent her mind racing back to another time and place she had thought she put long behind her.

What's going on with Helmut and Niki?Do they know each other?If they do…in what way?