The Skype Syncopation

by katladyd

Sheldon and Leonard leave for Germany to give a month-long lecture series at the University of Heidelberg. While they are gone, them and their wives learn some things about life, love, and friendship. This is a sequel to The Assistant Conundrum, so it's pretty much the same characters. Note: I don't own any part of TBBT, not one bit of it.

42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Search is Over

After her outburst, Niki sat back in her chair and gave everyone at the table a heartfelt smile as she explained to them, "That was my mother. She just gave me the best news!"

Sheldon looked over at his wife and asked, "What, she knows about the baby?"

Niki shook her head and smiled slyly, "No. Almost as good, maybe better."

"Well, are you going to sit there like an idol from Easter Island or are you going to inform us as to what she said?"

Niki gave a small sigh and grinned at the man across the table from her, "Okay. Here goes. Helmut, my mother heard from your mother. She's only about a hundred kilometers from here, in Stuttgart."

Penny interrupted her with a question, "Nik, you know I don't do metric. How far is 'about a hundred kilometers'?"

"Sorry, Penny. I forgot. It's about eighty miles."

Helmut's face grew quizzical and he prodded Niki with, "What is my mother doing in Stuttgart?"

Niki shrugged apologetically, "Mom didn't exactly say. She did say she has a job with Daimler. That's all."

Once again, Penny cut into the conversation with a question, "Daimler? Who or what is that?"

Annelise explained to her friend, "Daimler is a huge automotive company here in Germany."

Penny thought hard for a moment and then stated, "I've never heard of a Daimler."

Leonard gave a small chuckle and responded to his wife's question with, "No, you haven't. But, one car Daimler makes is Mercedes Benz. You've heard of them, right?"

"Mercedes?" Penny then turned to Helmut and asked him in an impressed voice, "Sweetie, your mother works for the people that make the Mercedes?"

Helmut answered her patiently, "Penny, Daimler makes much more than automobiles. They make motorcycles, trucks, and buses, also. They also provide financial services in Europe. The company has its fingers in many pots, so to speak. I wonder what it is that my mother does for them?"

Niki looked down at her phone once more and replied, "If you want to find that out, Aunt Helga asked my mother if we would meet her tomorrow for lunch at the hotel."

Helmut was confused for a moment then realized Niki meant the hotel she and Penny were staying at. He asked her for confirmation, "The ArtHotel?"

Niki nodded, "Yes. Are you willing to do that?"

"Of course. I am a bit nervous, but, yes, I want to meet her. I have so many questions to ask her."

This time, Penny interjected with some sage advice, "Helmut, don't you think, at least a first, that you two should let her do most of the talking? This will likely be pretty stressful for her."

Niki was quick to agree with her friend, "Right as usual, bestie. We should let her set the tone and then ask our questions later."

"Yes, that sounds good. Tell Aunt Audrey we accept and that we will meet my mother in the hotel lobby at one o'clock."

"Good." Niki's fingers flew across the keypad of her phone. "Okay, done."

Helmut stared out across the room and admitted, "I'm beginning to get a little nervous about this."

Sheldon attempted to sooth his friend's fear, "Don't be. You will have Niki with you. She always manages to calm me down when I am nervous.

Niki shook her head in disagreement and threw him a smirk, "Not always, Sheldon."

"All right. That is true. But, most of the time she can calm me."

Niki gave her husband a huge grin and announced, "That's better. Now, I suggest we all go get some rest. Helmut and I are going to have us a big day tomorrow and I do believe that Sheldon offered to take Leonard, Penny, and the kids to the zoo tomorrow. Am I right?"

"Correct, but good manners compel me to ask Annelise if she wishes to join us."

Annelise regretfully declined his offer, "Thank you for the invitation, Sheldon. I would ordinarily, but I think I will be nervously waiting by the phone to hear from Helmut. This is so important to him. I'm afraid I wouldn't be very good company on any outing."

"That I understand. I had much the same anxiety when I proposed to my first wife. Waiting to hear back was nerve racking."

Annelise brightened and asked him, "How long did you have to wait?"

"About a minute or two. It would have been a much shorter amount of time except Leonard called me on the phone and would not hang up."

Penny exclaimed, "Sweetie, we hadn't been able to get ahold of you for hours!"

"Of course not, I was on an airplane."

Now, it was Niki's turn to ask, "What?"

Sheldon waved her question off kindly, "I'll explain all of that later. Let's just say once Amy agreed to marry me, all my nerves calmed down and I returned to a homeostatic state. I am sure you will feel the same way, Helmut."

Helmut closed his eyes and mumbled, "I hope so, Sheldon. I sincerely hope so."

Leonard stood up and announced, "Okay, guys. Let's leave tomorrow alone for tonight and get out of here and get some rest."

Leonard agreed with him, then had a suggestion, "That sounds like a plan. Hey, if things go well at lunch, maybe we can all do dinner together tomorrow night. Me, Penny, the kids, the Coopers, and Helmut, Annelise and Helga."

"If things do go well, Leonard, I believe that would be an excellent idea. However, I do want to get my rest, so Anna and I will be bidding you good evening."

As the newly engaged couple left the hall, Penny turned to Niki and remarked, "He isn't going to sleep a wink tonight."

Niki looked at Penny and nodded, "Nope. Not a wink."

Sheldon grinned over at his wife and put his arm around her waist, "What about you, Niki? Are you not a tad excited, yourself?"

"Sheldon, she's my aunt, not my mother. It will be good to see her, but the dynamics of the meeting are completely different."

Sheldon nodded, appreciating his wife's words, "True, true. Then I suppose we should all go back to the hotel together. We all have a busy day, tomorrow."

Penny made what she hoped was a helpful suggestion, "Sheldon, Mary told me she wants to keep the kids tonight, so why don't we all go back to our apartment? There's two bedrooms there and you are used to sleeping there, so it won't feel strange to you."

Niki smiled warmly at her friend and replied, "I agree, Sheldon. You will sleep better there and then you guys can drop me off at the hotel when you pick up Lori and Blake."

Leonard chimed in, "That sound like a plan. What do you think, buddy?"

Sheldon pulled Niki closer and began to steer her towards the door, "I agree. Let's call it a night and go back to the apartment."

Thirty minutes later, all three couple were firmly ensconced in their respective beds. Want to be a little fly on the wall and listen in? Good. I thought so.

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Annelise rolled over on her side and cradled her head in Helmut's shoulder. "Tonight was wonderful, I still can't believe everything that happened today. Tell me the truth, how long had you been thinking about proposing to me?"

Her fiancé gave a small chuckle and challenged that question with, "I will answer that one when you tell me how you three managed to get yourselves kidnapped in broad daylight."

Annelise sighed, rolled over onto her back and began her explanation of the day's events, "Well, Penny's feet were beginning to hurt, so we flagged a cab. How were we to know that the taxi was being driven by one of Europe's most nefarious underworld figures?"

"So, Anna, he took you here, to the Bahnstadt?"

She nodded, "Yes. He tied us up in a room in the Skylabs."

Helmut looked at her in wonder, "And you managed to escape in time to go clean up and make it to the dinner before it was over. How did you manage that?"

Annelise threw her head back and gave an enthusiastic laugh, "The bad guys didn't know I was double jointed, so getting myself free from the ropes was quite easy, actually."

"As Sheldon would say, 'child's play'."

"Something like that. Now tell me, darling, how long had you had marrying me on your mind?"

Helmut put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling as he confessed, "Truth? Since the moment I met you. But I bought that ring about a week ago, when I realized that two women I had never met before and did not know at all were willing to travel halfway around the world just to be with someone they loved. It was then I realized that love was more powerful than anyone's doubts, including mine."

Annelise sat up and asked him pointedly, "You doubted 'us'?"

"Not exactly. Just our situation. But it was Sheldon who taught me the true power of love. The mere notion of losing Niki rendered the poor man catatonic. His love for her was that powerful. I also realized that mine for you was similar. No matter where you go for work, you will always have my heart, Anna."

At his words, Annelise snuggled closer to her man, "As I told you earlier, Helmut, I will do my best to stay near to you from now on. London was an exciting place, but it was empty without you. From now on, home will be wherever we are together, that I promise you."

Helmut pulled her even closer and whispered softly, "Anna, you are an amazing woman and you never cease to amaze me. Life with you will be far from boring."

Annelise grinned as her hands explored his body, "My dearest Helmut, may I show just how interesting life with me will be in one department?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

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"Okay, Penny. Why didn't you tell me this wonderful news when you first got here?"

"Lots of reasons. First, I was waiting for Nik to tell Sheldon, their needs were more important than ours right then. Second, I wanted to let you gloat over your award for a little while before my news stole your thunder. And last, I didn't know for sure how you would take it."

Leonard pulled his wife close to him and responded emphatically, "Not know how I would take it? Penny, you know I love being a father. One more is definitely good news."

"Okay. Let's decide this right here and now. Do you want a boy or a girl this time?"

Leonard pretended an indifference he was far from feeling, "I don't care, really."

Penny was not about to give him the lie, "Yeah, you do. You're just afraid to tell me. Come on, what do you want? A little Penny or a little Leonard?"

"First of all, we are NOT going to name our kids after us, but I get what you're saying. I'm going to go out on a limb and say a girl."

"Why?"

Leonard made a somewhat embarrassed confession, "I see how much Sheldon and Lori adore each other and I'd love to have a little girl who thinks I'm King of the World."

"My worship of you doesn't count, huh?"

Leonard reached over to grab his glasses from the nightstand and then rolled over to face his wife, "Penny, you love me. But you also see my faults. Lori sees nothing but perfection in Sheldon. I think I might enjoy having a Daddy's girl."

Penny kissed her husband sweetly on the cheek and reassured him , "Sweetie, Blake has a big case of hero worship for you. He knows that this dinner tonight was partly honoring the work you and his Uncle Sheldon have done."

"I know. But someday he might get into sports or other things cool guys do and I might not look so great to him."

Penny sat up and glared at Leonard before continuing on in a kind voice, "You're his father. Nothing's going to change that. Nothing. Blake will always love you, for exactly who and what you are."

Leonard asked her in a worried voice, "How can you be so sure of that?"

At that question, Penny grinned broadly and wrapped herself around him seductively, "Easy. He sees how happy you make his mommy, just by being you. Kids vibe that real easy. Relax. The kid thinks you're darn near perfect, even if you can't throw a pass for a touchdown or charge through the paint for a monster dunk. You're busy solving the mysteries of the entire universe, and that's really something."

"You've got a unique way of putting things, but guess what?"

Penny loosened her grip and asked a short question, "What?"

"You're right. I'm his dad and nothing will change that. Thanks, honey. I needed that."

Penny couldn't resist teasing him, "Still want a girl?"

Leonard nodded resolutely, "Yep. They're just so cute with their little dresses and hair bows."

Penny suddenly sat up in the bed, an alarmed look on her face, "Wait, don't do what my dad did, don't force her to be something she's not. Maybe she'll want to be a tomboy."

Leonard pulled his wife back down next to him and held her close, "Then she'll be the most loved, beautiful tomboy in the entire world."

At her spouse's response, Penny melted in his arms and cooed, "Just when I think I can't love you any more than I do, you go and say something like that. Leonard, I can't think of anything I want more than having you as the father of my children."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I love you. Want me to show you how much?"

Leonard's lips found those of his wife's, but not before whispering in her ear, "You had to ask?"

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Sheldon Cooper stepped out of the shower and fondly looked over at his wife, who was busy removing her makeup before she climbed into bed. "You do know, Niki, that you need no makeup to look beautiful in my eyes."

Niki Cooper looked back over her shoulder at her husband and truthfully remarked, "I never thought I did. This was for me and me alone. I wanted to be confident when I walked into the hall, and I was."

Sheldon walked over to his wife and gently laid his hands on her shoulders, "It was a wonderful touch that you dressed as you did on our wedding day. Though I must say that you have grown only more beautiful over time."

His wife continued removing her makeup as she asked, "How's that?"

"Marriage and motherhood both agree with you."

Niki grinned and nodded as she replied, "That they do. I thought I was truly happy before we got married, and maybe I was, but it can't compete with the satisfaction I feel now regarding my life."

At her words, Sheldon felt compelled to remind her, "Well, we did win those Nobels together."

Niki dismissed his words with a wave of her hand, "That has nothing to do with it. The biggest prizes I ever won were you and Lori. Plain and simple. And now we are expecting another prize. Sheldon, I have truly been blessed."

Cooper thought quietly for a moment and then asked in a concerned tone, "Speaking of adding another member to our family, what will we do about fitting another child into our home? The reality is, we only have a two-bedroom home."

His wife gave him a wry grin and replied, "Well, we have a few options in that regard."

"All right. Could you kindly inform me as to what they are?"

Niki shrugged as she made her first suggestion, "Well, we could put the new baby in the huge back storage room of your closet. The space is easily as big as most people's nurseries. I would be more than willing to keep some of your things in my closet."

"Why would we put the child in my closet space and not yours?"

His wife ticked the reasons off on her fingers, "One, it's closer to our bed, and two, you have less stuff in your closet."

Sheldon gave his wife a disbelieving look and asked her a simple, pointed, question, "How will you ever fit any of my things in your closet? You have more shoes and purses than any other woman I know, except for possibly Penny."

Niki stood up and answered him as she crossed the room to their bed, "I know, I do. Soooo, I'm willing to do a purge of my closet to make room for your things. You are right, I have way too many accessories, and most of them I seldom, if ever, use. So, I will be donating a lot of that stuff to charity and making room for your comic books and action figures."

Her husband was quick to respond, "I do believe that this is one of those situations where the old adage, 'what's fair is fair' comes into play. I, too, will purge my closet of any unnecessary items."

"But many of your collectibles, like your comic books, train sets, and mint condition action figures are worth a lot of money. I can't have you getting rid of those."

Sheldon crawled into bed as he looked aghast and blurted out, "Who said I was getting rid of anything? Listen to my proposition. We will build an extra room onto our house. Most likely connected to our bedroom. Until the new child is older, they will have the back of my closet for their room and we will make room somewhere in our closets for both our possessions. Please keep your things, some of them are quite valuable as well. We will fit everything into the front of my closet and in the back and front of yours. By the time our next child is approaching one-year in age, we should have the new room finished and they will sleep there. Then, we transfer all our belongings back to our respective closets."

Niki moved closer, wrapped her arms around her husband, and then nuzzled his neck while replying, "I do believe I have the best husband in the entire world. Sometimes, Cooper, you say just the right thing to make me fall in love with you all over again."

"Niki, as you once challenged me, prove it."

Niki stared at him with wide eyes and replied, "Say what?"

Sheldon's eidetic memory came into play as he reminded her, "I once lauded you with similar words of love and you asked me to prove it to you physically. I have just turned the tables on you, my dear. Bazinga!"

Niki pulled him close and began caressing his chest and shoulders, "No Bazinga at all. As you said, what's fair is fair. I will now gladly return the favor."

Sheldon began to reciprocate her attentions and whispered in a voice filled with rising desire, "And I will most gladly accept it."

Well, it seems all three of our couples are having the perfect end to an eventful day. What's next? Helmut is reunited with his mother. How will that go down? It should be interesting.