Chapter 40: Making an Entrance
The ladies arrive at the banquet hall. What do you think will happen now?
As the cab pulled up to the entrance to the Restaurant Romer, the three women jumped out and dashed inside. They gave their names to the large man standing guard at the doorway. He gave them a cursory nod, checked the guest list, then flashed them a warm smile as he nodded and pointed them in the direction of the hall holding the festivities. Penny took a look inside the room and announced to the others, "Holy crap! Heather Powers is in there and she's talking to Sheldon!"
Niki's eyes narrowed ominously, and she put up one hand as if to stop the other women as she handed the doorman a small scrap of paper and spoke to him in German, "Could you kindly give this to whomever oversees the music? It's very important." She then pulled the object from her purse she had grabbed from the bureau and placed it firmly on her head.
"Whatever is she doing?" Annelise whispered to Penny. "And why is she wearing a tiara?"
Penny's grin widened, and she gleefully replied, "Nik's about to play hardball, that's what. Keep your eyes peeled, girl. This is going to be good."
As Penny and Annelise made their way between tables to find their men, Niki walked onto the dance floor and stood squarely in the middle. Her head turned slowly and her eyes focused on her husband, who looked over at the start of the song and saw his wife in the ombre slip dress and tiara she had worn on their wedding day. He bounded out to the dance floor to join her as they began to rumba to what they had always referred to as 'their song', Last Night of the World.
As they looked deeply into each other's eyes, Niki whispered to him, "I told you we would show up for this thing."
"And you did so in the grandest manner imaginable." Sheldon's eyes turned a bright cobalt blue as he held his wife close to his chest and murmured into her hair, "I love you, Freckles, with all of my heart."
Niki melted into him and cooed, "And I love you, Schatze."
As they executed a spot turn he asked, "Where are Penny and Annelise?"
Niki replied, "They should be with Leonard and Helmut by now. Let's fan in that direction and see."
As the couple continued their dance, they kept quietly conversing, "You are correct, they have joined their men. "
Niki snuck a peek at the sidelines, "And Heather has retreated."
Her husband attempted to ease her anxiety by whispering in Niki's ear, "Forget about her, she doesn't matter."
Niki's head shot up straight and her eyes grew wide, "Oh, but she does. She played a big part in why we were late getting here."
Sheldon looked confused, "But she has been here since the start of the evening."
"Yes, but she has friends in low places who do her dirty work for her."
Sheldon immediately became concerned and he pulled his wife closer and asked, "Are you all okay?"
Niki smirked as she chuckled to herself and responded with, "We're all fine, except for Heather's little friends."
"What happened to them?"
Niki zeroed in on her bestie, who by this time was conversing with Leonard, "Let's just say Penny had a hand in doling out their just desserts."
Sheldon recognized the implications of what his wife had just told him, "Let me reframe my question then, are they okay?"
Niki gave him a teasing reply, "Perhaps."
Just then, three uniformed policemen entered the ballroom and walked didcretely over to Heather and Cari's table. They soon motioned Penny and Annelise to join them.
Sheldon completed a dance step and inquired, "What's going on there?"
"I'll tell you everything later, promise."
"Very well. Are you up to doing a lift?"
Niki's face grew incredibly animated and she answered with an enthusiastic, "Oh yes! A great big, grand one if you don't mind."
Sheldon followed the music and positioned them both for a major lift, "I don't mind at all. That would be a great way to end this dance."
Niki nose crinkled up in happiness as she responded with a simple, "Agreed."
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As the couple danced, there were differing reactions from the others at the banquet.
Annelise's eyes shone bright as she gasped, "My goodness, Penny. You weren't kidding! Those two can really dance!"
Penny had an I-Told-You-So look on her face as she replied, "Well, they've had years of practice. But Sheldon does a lot of things that would surprise you."
"Such as?"
Penny grinned at her young friend as she confided, "For starters, he's crazy about paintball and he loves to rollerblade."
Annelise shook her head in disbelief, "Rollerblade?"
"Yeah, rollerblade. Niki got him hooked on that. It's kind of what she does instead of going to the gym."
"That just goes to show that you should never go by first impressions."
Helmut interrupted the women's conversation, "Oh, I don't know about that. The first time I laid eyes on you, I thought you were the sweetest, most beautiful woman I had ever met. And, as usual, I was correct."
Annelise blushed and replied, "And I thought you were the handsomest, most amazing man I had ever met. And I still do."
Penny rolled her eyes and playfully chided the young lovers, "Okay, okay, enough with the mushy stuff." She heard a noise and turned towards the door, "Hey, why are the police here? Oh, I get it. Our acquaintances from earlier in the day must have squealed on Heather and Company."
Helmut gave her a puzzled look, "What?"
"We'll explain all that to you guys later. For now, let's watch the happy couple dance."
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On the other side of the room, two women were having a much different discussion regarding the two dancers. Heather Powers pushed her dessert forcefully across the table and growled, "That bitch. Why does she get all the breaks?"
Cari Irving put down a spoonful of ice cream and asked pointedly, "Heather, what exactly has the woman ever done to you?"
"She's kept me from getting my claws into her husband, and getting my name added to one of his papers."
Cari shook her head in disagreement, "Uh, she didn't do that, dearie, he did."
Heather waved off her friend's comment and refocused her attention on the two dancers, "Whatever. Next time, I'm going to hire someone to do it right." Her eyes narrowed ominously, and she muttered to herself, "I thought Hugo told me he had them safely secured in Skylabs. I wonder what happened?"
Irving's head turned towards the door and whispered to her friend, "Heather, I think we're about to find out."
"Huh?"
Cari's voice held a worried tone to it as she described what was happening at the door, "I see three gentlemen from the local constabulary headed this way. And I'm willing to bet they didn't have a written invitation to this event, either."
Heather spit out a fiery, "Damn!"
The older of the officers approached their table and asked politely, "Would either of you ladies be Dr. Heather Powers?" while his younger cohort moved on towards the table of Penny and Annelise.
"She's Heather." Cari immediately pointed out, selling her friend quickly down the river.
"And you must be Dr. Cari Irving."
"Oh yes, that's her." Heather acidly replied, returning the favor.
The officer directed his gaze at Heather and said, "I just need to ask you a few questions regarding some events that occurred this afternoon in the Bahnstadt."
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As the music faded, Sheldon guided Niki through their final moves and told her, "Now that we've finished, let's go back to our table."
His wife looked up at him and replied, "Before we do that, can I talk to you about something?"
Sheldon put his arm around her waist and asked, "Is it about why you were late, why the police are talking to Penny and Annelise, or why Heather and her friend are in handcuffs?"
Niki looked over at all the action that was taking place off the dance floor and answered distractedly, "All of the above, partly, but I also have something else to tell you."
Sheldon pulled on her arm gently, "Can't it wait? I really want to go over there and see what's happening."
His wife pleaded with him kindly, "This will only take a minute."
Sheldon huffed, "That's what you said that time you talked me into cleaning out the closets, and that took half the day!"
"This is different."
"I should hope so. I wouldn't want to clean out all the closets in this hotel. We might never get home."
Niki squeezed his hand as she attempted to lead him to a more private location, "Sheldon…please stop and listen. Just for a minute. This is not about closets."
He suddenly halted their progress and observed, "Very well. But then I want to see Leonard and find out what all the excitement was about. Wait, I may not have to. One of those policemen is coming this way."
"Oh crap!" Niki cried in a frustrated voice.
"Watch your language, Niki. I wonder what he wants. "Are you in any sort of trouble?"
His wife shook her head and then gave a long sigh, "No, Sheldon. I just really wanted to talk with you about something. But I suppose if it's waited this long, it can wait a bit longer." Turning to the policeman, she greeted him in German, "Hello, officer. How may I help you?"
The uniformed man gave her a reassuring smile and informed her, "Your friend, Ms Hofstadter, informed us earlier tonight by text of a situation that occurred today that was most unfortunate. If you don't mind, ma'am, I need to ask you a few questions about what happened to you and your friends today."
Niki gave a long sigh and resigned herself to the delay in her plans, "Okay. What are they?"
Twenty minutes later, the questioning was finished and the officer closed his notebook, "Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Horner. Now, I need you to do one more thing for me."
Niki gave him a tired look and replied, "And what would that be?"
"I need you to look at this book of photographs and see if any of these faces match the men you encountered this afternoon.
Niki wasted no time in pointing out their captors, "That man on the bottom of the first page, he was the man who picked us up in the taxi. It sounded like he was in charge of the whole operation. On the second page, a little left of the middle in the third row, that guy was the short man. He did a lot of the work tying us up. Right below him, four rows down, that was the third man. He didn't do much but look threatening. Maybe that was his main job, I don't know."
The officer closed the book of photographs and placed it carefully in the satchel hanging on his shoulder. "Very good, Dr. Horner. You have all picked out the same three men. For your information, the man driving the taxi was one Hugo Fronek. There have been police from all over Europe trying to get this man on something. He's a very nasty individual and I am quite glad that you and your friends weren't harmed today. I will now take my leave. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Oh, by the way, how much longer will you be in town?"
Niki cocked her head and looked at the man quizzically, "A few days at the most. Why?"
"We will need you and your friends to testify if this goes to trial. Of course, that may take a bit of time, so all of you may need to fly back here at some point in the future. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience."
Niki shrugged, her mind a million miles away, "It can't be helped. I'm sure my friends and I will be only too happy to testify against all the people involved in this incident. Just let us know the date of the trial, if there is one, and we will be there."
As she turned to return to her husband and friends, the officer called out a suggestion, "Perhaps you can give a video testimony from a law office or court near your home. We will do our best to arrange that if we can. For now, continue on with your evening."
When she reached Sheldon's side once more, his arm went around his wife's shoulders and he asked with much concern, "Niki, I understood most of what he said to you. You, Penny, and Annelise were kidnapped?"
She nodded as if it were of little importance, "Yep. It sort of made for an exciting day, but it also made us late for this banquet and we completely missed the dinner." She then addressed, for her, a more pressing situation, "I'm starved, Cooper. Unhurt, but starved."
Sheldon turned Niki to face him and kissed her on the nose, "I will see what I can do about getting you something to eat. Now that we have that settled, what was it that you were in such a rush to tell me?"
"Can it wait until after I've had something to eat?"
"Of course. But it seemed as though it was something you considered important."
Niki's hunger was getting stronger as she looked around the room for a waiter, "As I said earlier, it will keep. Now, could you please find me something to eat and then we can have us a little talk."
Sheldon surrendered the battle with, what for him, was good grace, "Very well. Ahh, here comes Leonard and Helmut. I do hope between the three of us we can get our hands on some dinner for you ladies. If I know Penny, she is ravenous and wants nothing more than something to drink and eat, most likely in that order."
Niki's brows furrowed, and she chided him, "Sheldon, be nice. Penny hardly drinks at all anymore when she is doing a play. You do know that she interrupted her rehearsals to come here with me, don't you? I think the least you can do is show her a little respect. Penny was the biggest reason we made it here tonight at all!"
"I stand corrected. You are right. Penny has made many positive changes for herself since she has returned to acting and become a mother. Now, if you will excuse me, I will join forces with Leonard and Helmut to find you ladies some food."
Forty-five minutes later, Niki sat back in her chair, quite full and satisfied from the leftovers Sheldon had brought back from the kitchen. Upon returning from his quest, he had proudly presented them to her with a flourish, like a mighty hunter displaying his catch. Niki grinned to herself at the memory and looked over at her husband, who was busy conversing with one of professors from the university. Waiting for a break in the conversation, Niki tapped him lightly on the shoulder and quietly asked, "Sheldon, would it be possible for us to go somewhere private and talk? I really do have something important to tell you."
Her husband nodded a quick goodbye to the professor and addressed his wife, "Is it about Helmut's mother, your aunt? Did you find her?"
Niki shook her head and reached for Sheldon's hand, "No, it's not about that, though we'll be going to look at more records tomorrow. No, this is something private, just between you and me."
He immediately became concerned, "You aren't angry with me by any chance? I did manage to get you some food to eat. That must count for something. Or are you upset about what happened earlier today? I do suppose getting kidnapped and tied up would put a damper on things. But look on the bright side, I do believe Dr. Heather Powers will no longer be bothering either of us."
Niki smiled and shook her head in a silent 'no', then grabbed Sheldon's hand, pulled him from his seat, and beckoned him to follow her. When Niki had found them a secluded alcove where many of the guests had left their coats and boots, she pulled her husband into it and addressed his concerns. "Sheldon, how could I be angry at you? You are an excellent husband. You are intelligent, funny, loyal, loving, sexy, and most of all, you're a great father to our children."
"Niki, I hate to be a nag, but I must correct you. We have a child, not 'children'."
"Well, not yet we don't, but…" with that, she gave him a knowing grin and he stared back at her wide-eyed as all the puzzle pieces began to quickly fit themselves together in his mind.
He managed to stammer, "Y-y-you mean…"
"Yes, Shatze. In a few months we will be giving Lori a little brother or sister."
He pulled Niki close to him and murmured into her hair, "When did you discover this?"
"Right before I talked everyone into going with me to Germany. I went to your doctor to get permission to bring your pills to you. I told him I had been feeling run down and nauseated, and he had a friend of his, who is a GP, run a pregnancy test on me. As far as my reasons to fly over here, I truly did intend to deliver your Paxil to you, but I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone. In all honesty, I don't believe this is the kind of news you announce to your husband over Skype."
Sheldon continued holding his wife, planting gentle kisses repeatedly on the top of her head without saying a word. Finally, he managed to croak, "Excuse me a moment, I have something I need to do." With that, he released her from his hug, turned on his heels and made his way back to the banquet hall, leaving a thoroughly confused Niki in his wake.
Where is Sheldon going and what is he up to? Oh well, as least we know Niki does not have a stomach bug.