Chapter 53: Settling In

Helmut and Annelise finally land in Los Angeles.

After sending her texts, Niki settled back down in her seat to wait with her husband for the arrival of Annelise and Helmut. "I hope they had a good flight." were the first words out of her mouth.

Why wouldn't they? They are flying on Binary's jet, which has excellent accoutrements and undergoes rigorous safety checks monthly. Actually, having flown on the thing on our way home, I have decided I enjoy flying on that particular jet almost as well as going somewhere by train.

Wow, that's saying a lot, coming from you. Oh look! There they are!

Both Sheldon and Niki saw their German friends emerge from customs and ran over to them quickly, Niki enveloping Anna in an enthusiastic hug and Sheldon doing the male equivalent by briefly clasping Helmut's shoulder and taking his bags from him. "There is no need for you to be carrying these. You are most likely tired from your flight, and besides that, you two are our guests."

Niki added, "We are so happy to see you guys! Was your flight okay?" The younger couple mutely smiled and nodded as a response. At that, Niki spotted a porter and motioned for him to come over to where they were standing. After some money changed hands, the porter loaded all the suitcases and bags onto his cart and joined both couples in their journey to the nearby VIP parking lot. As the luggage was unloaded and stored in the car's trunk, Sheldon slipped the man another twenty-dollar-bill and sent him and his cart on their way back to the airport terminal.

Sheldon decided he would be driving them all to Pasadena, so he announced, "Niki, could you sit in the back with Annelise. I do believe Helmut should sit up front with me, so I can better fill him in on the work he will be doing with us."

Niki rolled her eyes and gave her husband a mild rebuke, "Sheldon, I could also fill him in perfectly well, but I guess I can make better conversation with Anna than you could."

The tall man smiled indulgently at his wife and replied in a warm tone, "Thank you, Niki. I knew you would understand."

His wife nodded in agreement and added, "I always understand you, Schatze." She then added an honest, "Or most of the time, anyway."

After they had left the airport area and were heading home on the freeway, Annelise asked Niki, "Does marriage really do that to you? The understanding of each other?"

Niki shook her head and gave her seatmate a quick grin, "No. Marriage itself is no sort of magic. It's just being together for a long time that does it. That either brings you closer together or drives you apart. Luckily for us, it has done the former."

Sheldon viewed his wife in the rearview mirror and responded to her comment with, "Well, you must admit, we have gone through quite a few things together in the last few years. We have definitely had some adventures."

Helmut turned to his host and asked him, "Like what?"

Niki laughed heartily from the back seat, "We'll tell you all of that later. Right now, we want to get you home to my old apartment and show you around the place. We'll order some food in and then we can talk all you want."

Annelise began to relax and settled back into her seat after answering, "Sounds good to me."

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Upon arrival at her old Pasadena apartment, Niki began to grow sentimental. "This is where I was living when I first met Sheldon."

Helmut look around at the spacious apartment, "It must bring back a lot of memories, coming back here."

Niki looked around the kitchen and living room and her mind began a nostalgic journey, "It does. You know, it's funny, when we come here to visit Mary and Alfred, that doesn't happen. We see it as their place. But bringing you two here, yeah, my mind is going back in time."

Sheldon gently interrupted his wife with, "May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Sheldon picked up two of the suitcases lying on the floor and addressed Niki, "Let's help these good people unpack and then we'll order some dinner to be delivered. After we all eat, we can fill Helmut and Annelise in on all that went down in our lives while we lived here."

Niki nodded in reply and grabbed one of Annelise's bags and headed for the bedroom, "Good idea. That retelling could take a while. A lot happened to both of us while we lived here. There's some good stories to tell that shouldn't be rushed through."

So, while Niki got on her phone and ordered some Thai food, Sheldon showed their friends around the apartment and helped them unpack. Soon, the food, which both Helmut and Anna praised to the skies, arrived and both couples busied themselves with eating.

When all the food had been happily ingested, both couples sat back with contented smiles on their faces. "What do you call this food, again?" Helmut inquired with and earnest, 'I really need to know this' look on his face.

"Thai food." Sheldon quickly responded. "It happens to be our 'go to' food when Niki and I need something for dinner and don't have the time, or don't feel like, cooking."

"Excellent choice. Niki, you'll have to give me the name of the restaurant you got this delicious food from. I do believe it will become the 'go to' food for Helmut and me, also."

The older woman sat back and looked at Anna with a contented smile on her face, "I'm glad both of you liked the food. Now, since dinner has been finished, I do believe it is story time. Just being in this apartment eating Thai food has brought forth a flood of memories."

Annelise leaned forward in anticipation, "What kind of memories? Good or bad?"

Sheldon gave a soft chuckle and replied, "I suppose there was some of both, right Niki?"

"On that you are correct. Now, where do we start?"

Helmut looked from Sheldon to Niki and then back again, "How about when you first decided to move in together?"

"All right. I was spending far more time here than I was at the apartment I shared with Leonard and Penny. So, slowly, bit by bit, more of my belongings ended up here and before I knew it, Niki and I felt the time was right for me to just move in here with her. So, I did."

Annelise's eyes began to shine with excitement as she asked them, "And then?"

Niki started reminiscing, as much to herself as to the others in the room, "Well, let's see. First, we decided to leave Cal Tech and take Binary up on their generous offer of developing our own research center."

Sheldon continued, "Then we bought the compound we live at and where Helmut will be working."

Niki's eyes twinkled as she added, "We got engaged around then, too. At a rooftop prom."

Her husband's grin was genuine as he remarked, "That was a night I'll never forget."

"And I'll never forget our intern and all the trouble SHE caused."

Sheldon's face looked pained as he replied, "Neither will I, nor the court case we were drawn into."

Niki rolled her eyes at the memory of that time, "That was something I'll never forget, also. Revenge was very sweet that day."

"And then, of course, there was our cruise to Mexico with Leonard and Penny, right before we moved out of here and up to Altadena."

Niki gave a loud laugh, "Our wedding reception would not have been quite the same if not for the video of Sheldon at that event!"

Helmut put up his hand to stop them, "Okay, okay, you guys. Start from the beginning and don' spare us any details. These all sound like very good stories."

"Oh, they are, they are. Alright, you two. Let's start with Sheldon moving in here and bring you up to the present…"

Two hours later, Sheldon and Niki had finished regaling their friends with stories of their adventures together on Los Robles Avenue. Helmut and Annelise were amazed at all their friends had gone through and accomplished and both of them formed a new admiration for the two scientists sitting across the table from them. "You guys sure went through a lot in a short amount of time."

Sheldon sighed and nodded, "Yes, we did. I think that was a large part of what bonded us together so closely. At times it felt like it was us against the world.

Niki added in a lighter tone, "It wasn't all negative, Sheldon. Through the good and the bad times, we had an amazing group of friends who stood by us and who we still call our best friends to this day."

"That is true. Leonard, Penny, Howard, Bernadette, Raj, and Amanda have always been there for us when we needed them, and we have been there when they needed us as well."

Helmut smiled at Sheldon and responded eagerly, "We can't wait to meet all of them, besides Leonard and Penny, that is."

Niki tried, and failed, to contain her excitement as she informed them both, "Oh, you will. In fact, after we get you all settled in your office tomorrow, there's the little matter of a weekend at Disneyland we have planned for you two. You will be meeting all those fine folks at a little soiree we have planned for you there."

Annelise stared wide-eyed at Niki and grabbed her lover's arm, "What? Disneyland? Helmut, did you here that?"

"Yes, Anna. Sheldon, Niki, both of us have always wanted to go to Disneyland. How can we ever thank you?"

Sheldon remembered back to his time in Heidelberg and looked at the young scientist fondly, "Helmut, you already have. Many times over. I don't know where Leonard and I would have been without you while we were in Germany. And Annelise got Niki and Penny out of a very serious situation. This little get together is the least we could do for you."

Niki then chirped happily, "And wait until you meet the rest of our friends! This will be a weekend you will never forget!"

Truer words were never spoken, Niki. But will the memories be good or bad?