Chapter 47: Auf Wiedersehen, Heidelberg!

The Coopers meet their friends for dinner and Sheldon implements Niki's idea.

At precisely 7:30 that evening, Sheldon, Niki, and Lori entered the Krokodil Restaurant, one that had come highly recommended to them from both Helmut and Annelise. They quickly found their table as Penny had spotted them and had immediately stood up and waved them over.

What happened to your usual punctuality, Sheldon?" Leonard teased, "You said you guys would be here at 7:15."

Sheldon offered a speedy reply as he helped his wife and child find their seats, "If we had been left to our own devices, we would have been. However, my Princess needed more beauty sleep, so for the sake of avoiding a cranky child at the dinner table, we let her sleep an extra thirty minutes."

Penny joined her husband in his good-natured ribbing of their friends, "If I know you two, Lori wasn't the only one who needed to stay in bed a bit longer."

Sheldon looked down his nose at his best friend's wife and reminded her, "Penny, that was an ill-advised statement to make aloud. There are children present."

Penny merely shrugged and shot back, "And just how do you think those kids got here, genius? Sheldon, sometimes for a smart man, you can be a little dense."

Leonard looked up from his menu and added, "A little?"

Niki made a honest attempt at restoring order, "Guys, guys, let's just all settle down. Penny, regarding your inquiry, well, that's none of your business."

Penny crowed to everyone at the table, "Ha ha! I told you they were getting busy, didn't I?"

The red faces of the couple verified, without words, the truth of her statement. Suddenly, Sheldon cleared his throat and announced, "Before we order, I have some important news to share with you, Leonard."

"And what would that be? That you've finally solved String Theory?"

Sheldon gave a long sigh and responded somewhat wistfully, "Oh, how I wish that it was so, but no. This has to do with our facility at home, or more precisely, one of the members of our staff."

Penny interrupted him with, "Let me guess. Bernadette's pregnant again and Howard's freaking out?"

Niki shook her head and winked at her friend, "Not a chance, Sweetie. Cold as ice."

Leonard looked excitedly at his friend's wife, "Okay, my turn. You're going back to teaching full time?"

Once again, Niki shook her head, "Nope. Cold again."

Suddenly, Leonard's offered, "Wait, is it something about Raj?"

Sheldon's smile was both warm and genuine as he answered his friend's guess, "Bingo, Leonard! Maybe I have underestimated that mind of yours all these years."

Leonard dismissed Sheldon with, "Yeah, right. Okay, I'll bite. What about Raj? What happened to him and how will it affect us at Pentagram?"

"Our esteemed colleague, Dr. Koothrappali, has been offered a six-month guest advisor position at the Mauna Kea observatory."

Leonard gave a loud whistle and exclaimed, "Suhweet! Did he accept it?"

"The man is not a fool, Leonard. Of course, he accepted their offer."

Penny looked up from her attempts to get Blake to sit quietly in his booster seat, "But wait, doesn't that leave you guys a man short?"

Sheldon nodded with a teasing smile on his face, "Exactly, Penny. That is one of the things Niki and I have come here to discuss with you good people." He then turned to Helmut and asked, "Dr. Hoffman, would you be interested in filling the position? Your adjunct professorship ends next week, does it not?"

Helmut answered curtly, "Yes, Sheldon, it does. But they have made me an offer to stay for another semester and I was seriously considering it."

Niki piped up, "Was?"

Helmut began to play with his fork, not looking directly at any of his table mates, "Yes. I am extremely intrigued by your offer, Sheldon. And Los Angeles would be a prime location for Anna to find work. She has admitted she fell in love with Pasadena while working there on The Glass Menagerie with Penny." He turned to his lovely fiancée and asked, "Isn't that right, Liebchen?"

"Yes, it is. I would love to come out to L.A. to work. But only if Helmut comes with me. We have made a vow to never be apart again as much as we have been."

Niki gave Annelise a big smile and exclaimed, "Wow! Sheldon and I just agreed on the very same thing! I'd love to have you both come home with us and meet the rest of our friends and family. Though I suppose Howard and Bernadette are the only ones you would meet, as Raj and Amanda will be gone."

Once again, Penny turned her attention from her son to one of the Coopers, "Amanda, too?"

Niki busied herself with trying to get a bib around her daughter's neck as she replied, "Yeah, she took a sabbatical and she's going with him."

Penny responded with a shrug, "Figures. We're all staying close to our significant others, now."

Sheldon looked from his wife to Penny and cleared his throat, "Ahem. Excuse me, ladies, but Helmut hasn't answered my question."

Helmut gave Sheldon a serious look and told him, "My reply depends on your answer to my next question."

"Which would be?"

"What would my position be and what would it entail?"

Sheldon answered with a simple, "You would be working on research as our small particle physicist."

Helmut asked him a pointed question, "And what are you researching at the moment?"

"The reactions of Black Holes to differing atmospheric events."

The younger man nodded thoughtfully, "Oh, I see. You are expounding on your gravity nullification findings."

Niki answered excitedly, "Yes. We are. Is that something you would be interested in doing?"

At her words, Helmut's face broke out in a wide grin, "Very much so. I have been following the work of you and your institute closely the last few years, Drs. Cooper and Horner, and I find it fascinating. However, I have another question to pose to you. Why me? I am merely a lowly adjunct professor. Do you think I have the proper qualifications to fill in for Dr. Koothrappali?"

Sheldon made a steeple with his hands and explained to Helmut, "I have seen you work, both at the school and in your research job in the Bahndstat. You are fully qualified for this position. You know how to research on an extremely high level. And I have been reading some of your published papers recently and I must confess, I am also fascinated by the work you have been doing. So, will you join us? You would have your own private office and full use of the entire facility."

"How could I say no to your kind offer? Everyone in the scientific community is now familiar with the work done at Pentagram, and they are most respectful of it. To answer your question, yes, Sheldon. I would love to come to L.A. and work with you, Leonard, and Niki."

"That settles it then." Niki lifted her glass of water high and crowed, "To our new colleague!"

All other glasses were immediately raised in the air, "To our new colleague!" they all repeated.

Niki vainly attempted to settle Lori in her seat as she inquired, "May I make a suggestion?"

Leonard smiled at her and answered, "Of course, Niki. What is it?"

"What do you say we all order dinner before these kids get hangry and we all suffer from the effects?"

Sheldon immediately turned to help his wife with their daughter, "That's a very good suggestion. Let's pick up our menus and prepare to order some food. I hear it is beyond delicious at this establishment."

Soon, their orders were taken, and their meals arrived soon after. A good time was had by all. They joked, laughed, and discussed their trip home and all the new adventures they would have in Altadena with their new friends.

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Two days later, the two couples stood in the VIP lounge of the Frankfurt airport, hands firmly attached to two strollers where their respective offspring were lying fast asleep. Their new friends Helmut and Annelise were there also, having given the four L.A. residents a much-appreciated ride to the airport.

Leonard viewed the Binary jet out the window, which was gradually taxiing towards the connecting boarding ramp. His gaze then turned to the German couple, who were standing in the middle of the group, "Well guys, I guess this is goodbye for now."

Helmut wasted no time in giving the reminder, "Only for now. We will see all of you in two weeks' time when we come to L.A. to start our new jobs."

Annelise smiled warmly at the other women and added, "Yes. Penny, how can I thank you for getting me the job as your understudy?"

Penny snorted and waved off the question, "Hey, Sweetie. No thanks necessary. My current understudy is leaving before the play opens to take a role in a t.v. sitcom. My director remembers you from The Glass Menagerie. When I mentioned to him last night that you were available, he jumped at the chance to get you. Girl, you're a talented actress and I know you have a bright future ahead of you. You, too, Helmut. Your work impressed Sheldon Cooper and that's not easy to do."

Helmut joined his lady in showing the older actress his appreciation, "Thank you, Penny. I hope that someday we can repay your kindness."

"Don't worry about it. We would have missed the heck out of you guys. And don't worry about repaying anything. If it hadn't been for you, Annelise, we might still be tied up in SkyLabs, you never know."

Leonard happily added, "And Sheldon might still by laying comatose on the couch, Helmut. You really saved our behinds that night."

Sheldon looked over and gave a long sigh as the ramp door opened and a Customs' Agent beckoned them to move towards him. "I suppose this is goodbye, then. At least for a short time."

Helmut gave a wry smile and reached out to shake the taller man's hand, "Goodbye, Sheldon. Believe it or not, I will miss you. Let me correct myself, I will miss all of you. You people are now considered some of our dearest friends and we cannot wait to join you in Altadena."

The men began to clap each other on the shoulder and exhibit other forms of male bonding while Penny and Niki both took turns hugging Annelise tightly.

Leonard looked over at the Customs' Agent and gave him a nod. He turned to his wife and friends and told them, "Look guys, I think their telling us it's time to leave. Helmut, Annelise, we'll be seeing you in two weeks. Take care and be sure to give us your flight number so one of us will for sure be there to pick you guys up."

Penny and Niki both had tears in their eyes as they gave Annelise one last hug. Niki informed her, "I'll be looking for a permanent apartment for you guys, but until one is found, you two can stay in my old place. Alfred and Mary live there now, but they're going to be gone for about another month. We should be able to find something that fits your needs in a month."

Helmut merely nodded, smiled, and took one last look at his new friends. "You know, Sheldon, at first I really didn't like you, but you've grown on me."

Leonard rolled his eyes and then grinned as he replied to Helmut's words, "Actually, that's pretty typical."

Sheldon cried out in dismay, "Leonard!"

"C'mon, Buddy. You know it's true."

The taller man reluctantly conceded the point, "Perhaps. I am an acquired taste."

Penny looked over at him and grinned cheekily, "You can say that again. But once that taste is acquired, it never goes away."

Niki looped her arm through one of her husband's and retorted, "Hey, I liked Sheldon the moment I met him."

"Yes, but you're not the norm, Sweetie. Definitely not the norm."

Sheldon gave a small chuckle and told her, "It seems Niki and I are both anomalies. And that is what makes our marriage work. Find the right person, and things always fall into place, even during tough times."

Leonard gave his friend a huge smile and chimed in, "That is one of the more profound things you have ever uttered, Sheldon."

Sheldon's wife tapped him on the shoulder and interjected, "Guys, I hate to break this love fest up, but that man over there is starting to look annoyed."

"I'm rather used to that, Niki."

"But I'm not. Let's get going and get back home. I can hardly wait to get out of this cold weather. And Sheldon, it's your birthday next week, you know what that means."

Both Leonard and Penny crowed, "Disneyland!"

Helmut looked perplexed, "You go to an amusement park on your birthday?"

Penny explained with a chuckle, "That's where they became a couple instead of just friends. Disneyland is the sight of their first kiss and their first time…"

Sheldon put his palm up and stopped her mid-sentence, "That will be enough, Penny. You can stop now. I do believe our friends caught your drift."

Annelise gave the happy couple a fond look and said, "Have a good time, you two. Maybe you can recreate history."

Niki smirked wickedly and answered, "We always try. Every year, we always try."

Sheldon added, "That is one of the things that keeps our marriage from going stale."

Helmut mused out loud, "I can't imagine being married to Sheldon ever gets stale or boring."

"It doesn't, believe me. And that's just the way I like it…most of the time, anyway."

Leonard gave one last nod to the exasperated man standing by the boarding ramp and declared, "Okay, we'd better get on that plane or it may take off without us. Helmut, Anna, we'll see you in a couple of weeks." With that, both men took their ladies by the arm and steered them towards the boarding ramp. The Customs' Agent looked quickly through their luggage and gave them the green light. Fifteen minutes later, the plane holding both couples and their children was taking off from Frankfurt airport and heading for home.

What will happen to our two couples once they get home? Well, they've each got some plans to make regarding the future. Plus, another trip to Disneyland looms for Sheldon and Niki.