A/N: So this chapter is about twice as long as the first. Most of the chapters will probably be this way I hope! I am having so much fun with this story I hope to get even another chapter out before the end of the weekend.
I am trying to stick to cannon as much as possible and find Amy to be such an obstacle. I absolutely LOVE her but at the same time this is a Shenny story. So I won't go too hard on her, not yet anyway.
Please review!
Oh, and to my first review: I definitely will make it M later.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory.
Penny had wanted more time than she got to mull over the odd hostility she witnessed in the apartment. She was used to snide remarks but rarely had she ever seen Leonard fight with Sheldon the way they just did. Usually there was a spat (and most of the time that was between her and Sheldon, not him and Leonard) and then it was over. But today Sheldon nearly ran into his room.
She was relieved when she saw him come out ten minutes after Amy replaced her in consoling Sheldon and they all went along with Sheldon's orientation which as always began with car assignments.
On the last trip, they had two cars. The first driven by Leonard and the second driven by Bernadette. But on this trip, Raj decided he could not stand anymore of Howard and Bernadette's singing so he talked Sheldon into allowing him to take his car as well. It probably would not have worked, had Raj not logically explained the added benefit of a third car capable of carrying half the group in case one of the others failed. Sheldon immediately relented.
Penny decided she preferred the silent company of Raj this time around, as opposed to the incessant singing of Howard, or getting kicked out of the lead car by Sheldon. So she thought that on the first leg of the five hour journey she would be able to take some time and figure out what was going on with her friends but all she got out of the first two hours of conversational silence (Raj put on Bollywood tunes after fifteen minutes) were more questions than answers.
'Why were they even fighting? Did it just come out of nowhere or did I walk in midway? I wonder how Amy got him out of that funk so quick. Maybe she really is good for him after all' her stomach inexplicably sank.
She decided to replay her short conversation with Sheldon in his bedroom. -"And don't call me sweetie."-"Why can't I call you sweetie anymore, Dr. Whack-a-doodle?"-"Do whatever you want, Penny."-"It doesn't mean anything anyhow." -
This time her heart sank. She knew it had surprised him when she said he was not the guy. She knew he probably did think he was the one she had wanted.
'But really, why would he think that? Sure I do call him sweetie, just like I call everyone else. But Sheldon? There is no way I was flirting with him all these years-ok maybe not intentionally-ok maybe not intentionally since after getting to know him.' She admitted to herself, "I did start off our whole acquaintance flirting with him by his white board before I showed any interest in Leonard…'
Penny didn't get to finish that train of thought as the group pulled up to the first designated bathroom stop. Raj had noticed her pensive mood the whole way there but decided there was little he could do to help her seeing as he was still unable to talk to her without alcohol and it would probably not be a good idea to write notes while driving. But he did care about whatever was going on in her head.
After they nearly slept together and she didn't hold anything against him, Raj found he was rather comfortable around Penny. Had he not still wished a little more had happened that night, and that maybe he could get another stab at it, he would have relegated her to near sister-status. So before he let her out of the car for the break he did scratch a quick note to her on the back of a Cheesecake Factory receipt.
"Sheldon?" The note read. She looked at him for more of an explanation but just found frustration and concern on his face. He further amended the note: "He ok? U ok?"
Penny was almost pleasantly surprised that he has zeroed in on her thoughts. But there was some discontent creeping in the back of her head with the whole idea of being boggled down with thoughts of Sheldon for so long when she could have been mindlessly talking about shoes with Raj helpless to change the topic. So she just kissed Raj's cheek to thank him for his concern and dismissed the whole thing.
When they got going again she changed her silence to talking about shoes and all the shopping she planned to get done in Las Vegas.
-T-B-B—T-
The room arrangements were the same as last time: Howard and Bernadette in one room, Leonard and Sheldon sharing the room next to them, Raj in his own room and Penny with Amy. That was at least how it was supposed to be. When they got to the hotel, Sheldon threw a fit complaining to the management of the pyramid shaped hotel which was full to capacity, that Raj's reservation was not put through and Amy and Penny's room only had one King bed, not two queens as requested. So, despite the seemingly lack of space, the whole party was upgraded to nicer suites. (It may have been one of the few times the whole group was actually happy to have the pain in the butt around to complain to someone).
Sheldon and Leonard's room was two doors down from Howard and Bernadette's. Both rooms still had the same number and size beds as before, but nicer finishes and much better views of the strip. As for Raj's situation, he and Amy/Penny ended up sharing a parlored suite with Raj on the sofa. Sheldon almost threw another stink about someone being left to sleep on a sofa but Howard pulled him away from the front desk when the manager had just a few too many of Sheldon's condescending remarks thrown his way.
Penny was just happy to have a roof over her head half an hour later as they began unpacking their bags in their room. Raj was just glad that this time he probably would not get kicked out of his room by Sheldon when all the rooms inevitably got switched. Vaguely, the idea that he might want some quality time with Amy (if you know what I mean-Howard popped into his head) crossed his mind. But he shook it off, thinking that if that were going to be the case, she would probably have been booked in a room with him anyhow. The thought offended him on several levels, most of which he just didn't even want to think about.
He heard Amy pass by him while he was refolding his pants and putting them into the armoire housing the television in the parlor when she opened the door and let Sheldon in. In his usual fashion Sheldon sized up the place and proceeded to walk into the girl's room with what looked like a black light.
Passed out on top of the covers, Penny began drooling all over the perfectly stuffed hypoallergenic pillows Sheldon managed to request before he alienated the hotel staff.
"Shushhh," Amy whispered a little loudly, "my bestie has a head ache from the drive. Don't wake her up. I am going to go to try out the pillow menu while you scan down the bed for me, I don't like the hypoallergenic pillows they have here." Amy wanted to pat her boyfriend on the arm if she couldn't kiss him on the cheek, but she knew that was out of the question.
Page 4, paragraph 5, section 13 of the relationship agreement: All physical contact between said parties must be (a) initiated by the 'boyfriend' or (b) mutually agreed upon by prior arrangement; as it relates to both the activity and duration thereof.
So Amy just slightly tilted her head and gave Sheldon permission to scan her bed down with the black light as she left.
Sheldon did just that, relieved that he found nothing on the bed to be concerned with, though the drapes did have a suspicious spot on them. He reminded himself not to let Amy touch those-and not to tell Penny lest she unwisely lick them or something in an act of rebellion to his warnings. He smiled slightly to himself at the thought, sitting on Amy's bed facing a sleeping Penny.
Noticing through the open bedroom door that Raj had left as well, Sheldon allowed himself a moment to revel in the thought of yet another verbal spar with Penny. He did love it, even if it infuriated him and sometimes belittled his ego. He wasn't sure what was worse about fighting with Penny. Was it that she often won? Was it that she won even though his IQ was so much higher? Could it be because she knew all the right buttons to push and he only had the obvious lack of education or career path to retaliate with? Or maybe that it simply meant more time with—
Penny began to snore. Loudly. And not rhythmically at all.
Sheldon heaved a disappointed sigh and walked around the other bed to her side, gently trying to roll her from her back to her side where she wouldn't snore as much. He took off her shoes, leaving them neatly by her bed. He slid the duvet from under her, not without some difficulty, and swung it to cover her up to her shoulders. She wiggled her legs and drowsily turned to her other side, nearly rolling off the bed. Sheldon rushed to catch her but she cuddled his arms into her grasp.
Sheldon's face began to display the panic that would be expected of him as he tried to remove his arm from the offending grasp. "If it were anyone else, I would probably just wake them to reclaim myself. I couldn't bear it with her." The next thoughts that were about to come never did and his hand, lodged between Penny's arm and her body as she squiggled more in her sleep, came to passively rest on her right breast. Sheldon froze. Here he was kneeling by the bed of his girlfriend's best friend, in their joint hotel room, with his hand trapped on top of the breast of his best friend's ex-girlfriend. Her warm, soft, ample, breast.
He yelped and extracted his hand with more force than necessary. He stood abruptly and was about to run out of the room when he heard little mumblings from beneath him.
"mmhmm ummm whose it?" Sheldon resisted the urge to correct her grammar.
"Sheldon. Go to sleep" he whispered frantically.
"S'ok Sheldon." He thought he was in the clear, then "I always liked Sheldon." She mumbled nearly inaudibly, already reproaching REM. "Sheldon-Sheldor, my night in armor." A slight smile betrayed her placid face.
Had it not been for hearing the click of the main door to the suite he probably, as he admitted to himself later, would have tried to see what else she would say. But it was wrong somehow, being there still when he knew he was done with the scanning, when he had just has his hand-! He pushed himself past the curious look of Raj, forgetting his black light and ran all the way back to his room holding his hand out in front of him like he just touched a dead mouse until he washed it in his bathroom.
Then, he washed again. And again. And decided he needed a shower. He nearly calmed in there, until his eidetic memory failed him with the feel of her warmth, with -"I always liked Sheldon".—
Sheldon slid into his bed immediately after his shower, at only 6pm. Despite concern for putting off the schedule of his morning bowl movement he made his excuses to Leonard for not attending dinner and made a fake cough. Leonard, too afraid to have to care for a sick Sheldon on vacation, quickly left the room for the casino floor looking back only once toward the room wondering what seemed so off about the situation.
-T—B—B—T-
At dinner only Raj asked where Sheldon was before Leonard explained he was already asleep. Amy voiced a certain concern for his health as Penny was still in bed as well and he had been in there earlier, "Perhaps what she has is airborne and he contracted it." She mentioned checking in on him later but took Leonard's word that he seemed to only be tired from the drive. Everyone entirely ignored Howard's jab that both Penny and Sheldon seemed to turn in conveniently early (if you know what I mean). Bernadette elbowed him in sync with his signature eyebrow raising. 'They really are good for one another,' Raj silently beamed.
Despite his assurances to Amy, Leonard did take a few minutes while he chewed on his non-Sheldon-approved-restaurant Enchiladas to consider that maybe Sheldon did catch something from Penny. It always seemed that he got sick after hugging her. Did they hug? Maybe when she was consoling him earlier today? No, even Sheldon didn't get sick that quickly.
He shook his head and reminded himself that in two days Sheldon had to give a presentation in front of nearly three hundred and the last few times he got up in front of crowds not even half this size, both times had been a disaster.
Leonard felt guilty. He felt guilty for those few minutes looking back on the times Sheldon made a fool of himself in public, at the awards ceremony, teaching a lecture, proclaiming to have proven string theory after their trip to the Arctic—oh, that one hurt to think about. After all, Leonard was only responsible for the debacle at the awards ceremony in that he droned on about his mother distracting Penny from monitoring Sheldon's alcohol intake. The lecture he really didn't have anything to do with, though he did point out a lot of the insults being thrown Sheldon's way by his student via twitter. But, the can opener in the Arctic was still the big thorn in their friendship. Even he knew it. Ever since then, ever since he almost ruined his friend's career and got together with Penny things never fully went back to normal. Sheldon was just a little colder, a little more abrupt though a little less pompous.
That was a good thing in many respects but even though Leonard was loath to admit it, if anyone did deserve to gloat about his intelligence and achievements it was Sheldon. After all, even with such a major blow to his ego and his reputation Sheldon still managed to all but outright prove string theory just a few years after that set back. He had a lot more to go through, more academic review-hence the conference- but soon he would be recognized for what he was.
Leonard was trying to cheer himself up at the thought that something good was coming out of his work and that his friend was becoming more human, more settled now having girlfriend on a contractual basis. But even he could see in the last few months since that was made official that he was less than happy with both situations. And he felt guilty that Sheldon was going to have to go through more hoops to get recognition for his work because of their stunt.
"I remember once telling Penny that nothing was ever new in physics, that no new discoveries have been made in decades," he mused, "but Sheldon changed that now, and now he might not even be recognized for that brilliance. Because of us he might- might not- not get- not get the Nobel-" The voice in his head choked on the words.
He looked to Raj who was eyeing him curiously but not too overtly for anyone else to notice. Raj shot him a face as if to ask "what's wrong?" since there were women present and he hadn't begun drinking yet. Leonard leaned in so Amy, who was sitting next to Raj wouldn't hear. "Monopoles." Raj looked startled for a second, remembering for himself how close they had come to breaking their friend. He was the one who seemed to feel the most guilty, the one who insisted they tell Sheldon sooner rather than later. Leonard knew this and recognized the same level of guilt flash over Raj's silent face. Looking back at Leonard, Raj leaned in squeaked "check?" hoping Leonard understood that he wanted to see Sheldon, not get the bill.
And just like that, Leonard and Raj rose from the table, Leonard excusing them as going to cruise for chicks, left their share of the bill on the table and began walking to Sheldon's room. Both were silent, and both were hoping they could figure out how to care for their friend- a feat they would both only ever attempt out of guilt.
