Sorry for the wait. I wasn't feeling this chapter and I'm not too happy with it, but it's a chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, anyway. :)

Chapter 15

Their first day in Germany was uneventful, just like Sheldon's itinerary had said it would be. After a twelve-hour flight, which Penny had been asleep most of the time, they finally landed in Germany. It was four in the morning there and the airport wasn't busy. It didn't take them long to gather their luggage and find their ride to the train station.

The train from Frankfurt would leave at four-thirty and would arrive at Heidelberg around five-thirty. From there they would be driven to a hotel that was within walking distance to the university. They were promised a nice, large suite and Penny was excited to fall asleep in a real bed.

At noon, Sheldon had a lunch appointment with Dr. Mueller and Penny was still debating if she'd go with. It depended on how much sleep she got and how up to going outside she felt.

Boarding the train and finding their spots, Penny felt Sheldon practically vibrating in his seat. He really did love trains. Too bad the sun had yet to make an appearance and the scenery was shrouded in darkness. Penny willed herself to stay awake and took out her German dictionary, figuring since they were now in the German speaking country; she should better familiarize herself with it.

"Sheldon?" Her face is burrowed in the book and her brows are furrowed. "Sind wir schon da?" She hoped that she had pronounced it correctly. German was a harsh language.

Sheldon took his gaze from the window to see the dictionary opened in her hand and smiled. "We are almost there, Penny," he answered. "And you pronounced the words correctly. Very good."

Penny beamed at the compliment. Compliments from Sheldon were rare. "Next time, answer me in German. It'll help me understand some of it a little better. Hopefully." Or it would frustrate her to no end if she couldn't figure out what he said.

"Sehr gut," he answered and sent Penny flipping through the pages of the dictionary. She gave him a thumbs up, indicating that she found out what he had said. Turning back to the window, Sheldon wasn't looking at the dark scenery, but the reflection of Penny in the glass. He still couldn't believe that she was here with him. He was just waiting to be woken up from this dream.

~S-P~

It was still dark when they reached the hotel and thankfully, the check-in process went by quickly and Sheldon and Penny found themselves riding the elevator only minutes after walking into the hotel. After finding their suite on the fourth floor, Sheldon used his room key to open the door. Penny was too tired to take a good look around and carried her suitcases to the nearest bedroom.

"Do you have any preference on which bedroom you want?" Penny figured she'd ask, now. Knowing Sheldon, he had probably weighed the pros and cons of each room, wrote them down on a list and would present them to her, soon.

"Each room is identical, Penny. Pick whichever one you want." When Sheldon got no reply, he looked over to where Penny stood and saw her staring at him, mouth slightly agape. "Is there something wrong?"

"Are you sure you don't already have you a room picked out you want, Sheldon? This isn't like you."

"I'm sure. Pick a room and get some sleep." Sheldon took a seat in one of the armchairs and set his messenger bag on top of the coffee table. "I'll be leaving here at eleven forty-five for my lunch with Dr. Meuller. Of course, you are welcome to come, but if you don't, then that is all right, as well."

Penny ran a hand through her hair, which was already messy. "I'll think about it. If I go, that means I'll only get like four and half hours of sleep and I don't know how I feel about that." She smiled. "If I'm ready at eleven forty-five, then I'll come, but if you don't see me before you leave, then I'm most-likely asleep."

Sheldon nodded. "All right. Well, then, goodnight Penny." He looked over to the window and saw the sky was starting to lighten up. "Or should I say, good morning."

"Good morning to you, too, Sheldon." Penny winked and walked into her room. Dropping her bags at the foot of her bed, she turned to shut the door and then, plopped into her bed without changing her clothes. Penny was asleep even before her head hit the pillow.

~S-P~

After organizing everything he might need for the lunch with his former professor, Sheldon took his bags and went into the room that didn't hold Penny. He was tired and the bed looked inviting, but if he did sleep now, then his sleep schedule would be all out of whack and that was something he didn't want right now.

The clothes on his back was starting to make him feel dirty, so he opened one of his suitcases, took out a clean change of clothes and went to the bathroom that was joined with the room. Sheldon smiled, knowing that Penny would like that she had her own bathroom. He was grateful for that, too, because Penny had a tendency to take super long showers and he didn't want them to disrupt his schedule.

Once again, thinking about Penny caused him to pause. Was she really here with him? She was doing him a favor by being here. Sheldon liked to be alone, but going to Germany by himself hadn't appealed to him and taking anyone else besides Penny just felt wrong and for as smart as he was, he couldn't figure out why it would feel so wrong.

~S-P~

Penny's phone alarm went of at eleven and surprisingly, she felt well rested. Well, it looked like he was going to lunch with Sheldon. Standing up, she walked into her bathroom, looked into the mirror and cringed. She had a serious case of bed head and the make-up she had put on before their flight was smudged all over face.

It was time for a badly needed shower.

At eleven forty, Penny walked out of her bedroom, dressed and freshly showered. Stifling a giggle, she spotted Sheldon in the same armchair as before, sleeping.

"Sheldon," she called.

He jumped to his feet. "Danger, danger!" Looking over at her, he sighed. "I see you're accompanying me." He looked down at his watch. "And with five minutes to spare."

Penny rolled her eyes and picked up her purse where she had thrown it on the couch when they first got there. "You ready to go? It's going to take us at least five minutes to reach the lobby."

"Then we must leave, now." He slipped his bag over his head.

The restaurant they were to meet Dr. Meuller in was within walking distance of the hotel and they walked through the doors five minutes before the appointed time. A blonde haired hostess welcomed them at the door with a bright smile.

"Hallo. Wie viele?"

Penny had her German dictionary, luckily, and she had figured out what the hostess had said. Sheldon was looking at her, a corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile. "Would you like to answer, Penny?"

"Uh, okay."

Sheldon turned back to the hostess, who had been waiting patiently. "Sie übt ihr Deutsch. Würden Sie bitte geben Sie ihr eine minute?"

"Natürlich!"

Penny frantically looked through the dictionary, hating the pressure but wanting to make Sheldon proud. "Uh, drei?" She looked at Sheldon for confirmation, who nodded. "Dr. Meuller wird bald kommen?" Closing the dictionary, she smiled proudly.

"Actually," a voice behind the pair had them turning around. "I'm here, now."

"Oh," Sheldon said. "Hello, Dr. Meuller." Despite his aversion to germs, Sheldon shook the offered hand.

"Hello, Sheldon." The white haired man turned and saw Penny. "Oh! And hello, Penny." He enveloped her in a hug. "I'm glad you're the one to come with Sheldon." He winked and whispered. "Are you two together, now?"

Penny felt her face heat up and that's when she remembered the act she had played in front of him and Dr. Gablehouser what seemed like so long ago. "No, we aren't together."

He cupped her cheek and kept his voice low. "Don't worry, dear. He'll see the light, eventually, and if he's too hardheaded to see it, then, I'll help him along." Before Penny could say anything, Dr. Meuller turned back to Sheldon.

"Are you and your beautiful lady friend ready to enjoy a meal of fantastic German cuisine?" Sheldon followed the man and Penny stayed slightly behind. What had she gotten herself into?

*Hello. How many?

*She is practicing German. Would you please give her a minute?

*Of course!

*Three? Dr. Meuller is coming soon.

All the translations are in order and I used Google Translate and if they aren't the right translations blame them! :)

Thanks for reading!