Chapter 45: What Now?

I am so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Work got crazy during and right after the holidays. I was literally coming home to grab a quick meal, go to bed, and then go right back to work. I also had to manage time for my personal life in all of that. Again, sorry. Things are now slowing down and I will now be more punctual in my postings.

Now, back to our story:

Niki was woken up from a sound sleep by the sounds of Sheldon and Lori, chatting excitedly about their day at the zoo. A contented smile crossed Niki's face as she listened in on their conversation.

"DaDa, what did you wuv best?"

"As always, it was the koalas. What about you, Princess? What animal did you enjoy seeing the most?"

Niki heard her daughter's voice almost chortle as she happily exclaimed, "It wasn't a animal, DaDa. What I wuved the most was being wif Uncle Weonard and Bwake. It made me happy, wike home."

Sheldon's voice almost cooed as he responded to Lori's words, "Precious, we shall be going home very, very, soon. All of us. You, me, Mommy, Uncle Leonard, Blake, and Aunt Penny."

"Hewmut? And Annaweese? "

All went silent for a long moment and then Niki heard her husband explain, "That is something I have to discuss with your mother and Helmut. But perhaps."

"I wike dem, DaDa."

Niki heard their voices come closer, so she knew they had crossed the living room and were now close to the hall, "So do I, Princess. So do I. Now, I think it's time you laid down for a nap before dinner. In fact, that is what I will also do. The zoo is a very exhausting place to visit, isn't it, Precious?"

Lori didn't answer him. She had found the nearest chair in the room to curl herself up into and her father saw that she was sound asleep in its cozy confines.

Sheldon looked down at his small daughter and Niki overheard him give a soft chuckle as he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. After tucking her into the small bed the hotel had provided, he headed down the hall to rejoin his wife and share his day with her and vice versa.

Sheldon attempted to enter the room with stealth, but stubbed his toe on a large piece of luggage that had been left on the floor. He muttered several oaths under his breath, only stopping when he heard a soft giggle coming from the bed.

He then turned to face the bed and addressed his wife, "Okay, Miss Smarty Pants, I see you are awake. How did the big reunion go?"

Niki smiled fondly up at him from the bed and replied, "Better than I could have ever hoped for. Let's just say that Helmut and Helga are well on their way to rebuilding their relationship. Which brings up my next point, Schatze. Would you mind if they both came to dinner with us tonight? I know it would mean so much to my aunt, and I think to Helmut, also."

Sheldon sat down on a chair and began to remove his shoes, "So I take it Helga has explained her long absence in a plausible manner?"

His wife's eyes grew wide as she answered him, "More than that, Sheldon. It seems the man behind the kidnapping yesterday was one of the main catalysts for her disappearance."

At that, Sheldon quickly stood up and started removing his clothes, "Fascinating. I'd love to hear more about that."

Niki nodded and sat up in the bed, "You will. Tonight. I invited Aunt Helga to join us. I know we kind of talked about that before, but I'm serious about it now. Will you be upset if she comes with Helmut?"

"Not at all. Though that's not really my call, now is it?"

Niki looked up at Sheldon and expounded on her words, "No, but I always try to include you in my decision making whenever possible. Like now."

Sheldon's eyes went cobalt blue as he teased her, "I knew there was a reason I loved you, Freckles.""

"That's the only one, huh?" she teased him back.

Niki's husband's only response to that was to throw his head back, let out a delighted laugh and then dive onto the bed to join her. He wrapped her in his arms and then suggested, "My dearest Niki, why don't we both head for the shower and we can show each some of the other ways we have of expressing our feeling for each other."

The sounds of passion emanating a few minutes later from the shower showed that they were both doing exactly that.

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After their shower, the happy couple returned to the bed and caught up with each other's adventures of the day.

Sheldon's arms went around his wife and he whispered in her ear, "You never fail to excite and please me, Niki. That is but one of your many charms."

Niki's face grew thoughtful and she responded to his compliment with, "Ditto. I'm not certain of this, but just like when I was pregnant with Lori, my libido has gone into overdrive. It must be the hormones."

Sheldon grinned mischievously at his wife and asked, "May I make a suggestion?"

"But of course. What is it?"

He propped himself up on one elbow and continued, "I believe we should take advantage of your raised libido at every opportunity while it lasts."

Now it was Niki's turn to get mischievous as she traced hearts on his chest, "I second the notion. Of course, both sets of parents may be called in for a bit of babysitting."

Sheldon pulled her on top of him and murmured into her hair, "Agreed. But none of them seem to mind. The only negative feedback I have gotten from my parents is when a week has gone by and they haven't seen their granddaughter."

Niki gave a hearty laugh and answered that with, "Same here. I think my mother mentioned the other day that she may be wanting to take Lori with her and Richard to San Diego for a couple of days when we get back. Would that be okay with you, or would that be a problem?"

"Excuse me, Niki, I don't view that as a problem. I see that as a prime opportunity for us to 'get busy' as much as possible. It is more than 'okay' with me."

Niki rolled off her husband, looked straight into his eyes and replied in what she hoped was a serious voice, "That, and we can get some research work done, too."

Sheldon's hands went between his wife's legs, "Niki, I'm not thinking about work right now."

His wife's hands also wandered, tracing their way down his body and she suddenly broke out into a wide smile, "I can see that, Cooper. What do you say we take advantage of the situation that has suddenly 'come up'?"

"You will never need to ask twice about that, Niki."

She pressed her body even closer to his and cooed, "And that is one of the major reasons I love you."

After that, there was little talk between them. Well, I don't believe moaning and passionate exclamations count as conversation. Do you?

Thirty minutes later found both Niki and Sheldon laying back in bed, a satisfied smile on both of their faces. "What are grinning at?' Niki asked her husband, barely holding back her own laughter, "you'd think you'd never made love to me before."

"Actually, I was grinning because for an old married couple such as us, our coitus is still incendiary."

Niki smiled up at the ceiling and replied, "Yeah, it seems to only get better with time."

Sheldon began to pull her closer to him when his phone announced he had an incoming text. He picked up his phone, read the message on it, and his smile immediately turned upside down.

His wife noticed his change of demeanor and asked him, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Sheldon looked over at Niki, sighed, and stated succinctly, "Houston, we have a problem."

What was the message and what kind of problem is facing our couple this time?