A/N Just so we're clear regarding Spoilers: I'm going off the reservation, and only picking the parts that I like. As SpaceAnJL put it, I'm completely "off piste" and "going rogue"; making my own canon, although you may recognize some bits from this season i.e. 'The Cohabitation Formulation' and 'The Zarnecki Incursion', There may also be references to SpaceAnJL's lovely world of "The Paladin Protocol", used with her generous permission. And speaking of SpaceAnJL:

As always, thanks to SpaceAnJL for being a fabulous sounding board. This fic was improved immeasurably by her input :) Any mistakes, however are entirely my own.

Chapter 3

Sheldon was hesitant about knocking on the door that adjoined his room to Penny's in the morning. Over the nearly five years that he known Penny, he had developed a list of rules that applied only to her. Such as do not attempt to ask her for a ride or any favors during certain days of the month, have a small supply of chocolate handy on certain other days of the month, and so on. But the Number One item on his list was to never, ever wake Penny up. Certainly not before 11 a.m. It was now 8:30, and they were supposed to meet for breakfast with the others, and then start the panels.

As he stood, debating on whether to knock on the door, it swung open, and Penny stood there, fully dressed and ready to go. "Oh, good morning, Sweetie. Are you ready?"

"Yes, indeed I am. I was uncertain regarding your 11 o'clock rule."

She gave him a smile, "Aw, Honey, it's not in effect at Comic*Con. But thank you for being so considerate."

Considerate? He wasn't being considerate; he was acting his own well-developed sense of self-preservation. But, far be it for him to correct her assumption of his good intentions.

"I see that you are ready."

"Yep." She popped the 'p'.

"Then I suggest that we head to break our fast with the others."

She pulled her door closed as she stepped into Sheldon's room. He closed his door once she was through, and together they exited his room and headed for the bank of elevators. Raj was already in the elevator, and waved a greeting to Penny and Sheldon. "Morning, Sweetie."

"Good morning, Raj." Sheldon intoned. When the elevator reached the lobby level, Penny, Sheldon and Raj looked around for the others. They saw Leonard, and headed in his direction. Behind them, Howard stepped off of one of the other elevators. They heard him, before they saw him. "Okay, Bernadette, I'm in the Lobby, where…? Oh, I see you." They turned as one to see him waving frantically at Bernadette. Gathering Leonard as they passed him, en mass they crossed to Bernadette. Penny stopped short. Priya was standing beside Bernadette, who was shooting Penny an apologetic look.

"Priya," Leonard exclaimed happily. "You said that you had no interest in this kind of thing."

Priya seemed a little embarrassed. "Well, Raj loves this stuff, Leonard and so do you. I thought that perhaps I should check it out for myself." Her eyes kept darting to Penny as she spoke.

"Well, that's great." Leonard seemed genuinely happy to see her, and Priya's stiff posture relaxed just a little. Raj hugged his sister, who returned it with a squeeze.

"Hey, Priya." Penny greeted her.

"Penny." Priya nodded to Sheldon. "Sheldon."

"Hello, Priya."

Meanwhile, Howard has been enthusiastically kissing Bernadette. Finally they break apart and the group ambled off to breakfast. Penny was still about half asleep, and tried to put sugar in her coffee for the second time.

"Penny, I believe that you have already added your customary two sugars to your coffee." Sheldon said before she could open two more sugars.

"What, Honey?" She asked him. He repeated his statement. "Oh," she said, and took a cautious sip. "Of course you're right. Thanks, Sheldon." Warm green eyes smiled at him.

"You're welcome, Penny." He gave a tiny version of his cat-grin at her.

"What's our first panel, Sweetie?"

"Joss Whedon."

A tiny frown appeared on Penny's face, which cleared quickly. "'Buffy' and 'Firefly'?"

A pleased smile from Sheldon. "Yes, indeed, Penny."

"What time?"

"At 10 o'clock."

She blinked sleepily. "Do we have time to hit a booth in the Dealer's room?"

"Perhaps. If you have a specific booth in mind."

"Yeah, I saw this really cute necklace."

"Very well."

Priya looked confusedly between Sheldon and Penny, and then at Leonard's resigned expression. More tension left her slight frame.

"Oh, that reminds me," Penny said suddenly, slightly more alert after her coffee. "Bernadette, do you want to go to a Women in Sci-Fi panel with me at 5?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Penny. Howard and I are going to a panel at 5."

"Oh," Penny sighed. Her eyes landed on Priya. "I don't suppose that you want to go, Priya?"

Priya was surprised to find herself answering "Yes."

By Penny's expression, so was she. Her smile, however, was genuine. "Great, wanna' meet in the Lobby, at say 4:30?"

"Very well."

"Penny," Sheldon interrupted. "If you wish to make your purchase before the panel, then I suggest that we go."

"Okay, Sheldon."

Penny stayed close to Sheldon as they entered the Dealer room; her near crushing of yesterday was fresh in her mind. She led them to the booth where she had noticed the necklace the day before.

As they stood in front of the stall, Sheldon eyed the jewelry selection. "Penny, I do not see a necklace."

"Yeah, Sweetie, I know. It's not out, I saw it in an open crate." The dealer came over to see what he could help them with. "Hi, I'm looking for a silver necklace with a baby blue stone." The dealer gave them a once over, and turned away. He returned with the necklace in question.

"This it?" He asked.

"Yes," Penny replied as she took it from him. She looked it over and handed to Sheldon for his inevitable inspection. He handed it back after a thorough look.

The dealer named his price and Sheldon took it upon himself to haggle on her behalf. She had to admit that he got a better deal from the dealer than she had expected.

She threw the necklace over her head and admired the way it looked.

"That necklace is not canon." Sheldon stated.

"I know, but it matches the uniform. Don't you like it?" Her eyes were wide.

"While the color does indeed match the uniform, it is not canon. Nurse Chapel did not wear such a thing. It would not have been appropriate with her uniform. "

As they spoke they moved out of the dealer room and headed for the panel. They passed a group of vampire wannabes. One of them gave Penny a long hard look. Sheldon edged behind her, and she narrowed her eyes at the pseudo-vamp.

Sheldon moved from behind her as the vamps passed. "I repeat, the necklace is not canon."

Penny sighed, and looked up at him with a small pout. He merely stared back at her. She sighed again, this time in resignation and removed the necklace. "You're the expert."

They met up with the others outside the room where the panel was to be held, and together they all entered. Penny found the panel more interesting that she had expected to, although Bernadette and Priya both looked lost. Howard was trying to explain quietly to Bernadette as Leonard did the same for Priya. Penny felt just a little smug that she didn't need much explained to her. They did mention a program that Penny wasn't familiar with. "Sheldon," she whispered as she leaned in close to him. "What's 'Angel'?"

"Buffy spinoff. I will explain more later."

She nodded, which he felt against his shoulder. "Okay, thanks." She settled back into her seat.

After the panel, they attended a meeting regarding the Mystery. Everyone was given a briefing packet, and an overview. The "crime" was only hinted at in the broadest terms. Something was being smuggled. Whether it was diamonds, rare comic books, drugs or something else was part of the Mystery.

After the meeting, Penny, Sheldon and Raj were headed to one panel, and the rest of the group were headed to another one. After that panel, they decided to take a break in the Con-suite, which was very crowded. Penny was drinking a bottle of much needed water, when a creature with too many arms, bumped someone else's arm causing them to spill their soda on Penny's costume.

Sheldon gave a gasp, and snatched up a wad of napkins and began dabbing at the spillage, right down the right side of Penny's chest. "Sheldon," she hissed as his hand dabbed over her breast.

With a fierce blush, he all but jumped away from her, and pulled his hands in tightly to his body. "I-I …."

"I know, Sheldon." She assured him. "Don't worry about it. Now, I'm going to see if I can find some club soda or something."

"Nonsense, Penny," Sheldon spoke with his customary arrogance. Only the way he held himself away from her, hinted at his discomfort. "I have an exemplary stain removal kit in my room. The quicker we get it taken care of, the less likely it is to stain. Raj, we shall see you later."

Penny found herself following Sheldon. As they neared the elevators, the vamp that had eyed Penny earlier approached them. He handed her a piece of paper, which she assumed has his phone number on it.

"Sorry," she told him, with a vague gesture at Sheldon. "I'm not interested."

Vamp-guy spoke harshly. "Look, I don't have much time before they realize that I'm gone. Be careful who you give that to. It's all there." Some of the guy's urgency conveyed itself to Penny, who reluctantly took the paper. The guy scuttled off. Penny and Sheldon exchanged a look.

"Do you think that was part of the 'Mystery'?" She did the air quotes that Sheldon was so fond of.

"Perhaps, however, we have delayed long enough. That stain may already have set." He herded her towards the elevators.

Once at their respective doors, they part. Sheldon gathered up his state of the art stain removal kit, and knocked on the adjoining door.

A frustrated Penny answered it, struggling with her costume. "I can't get the damned thing unzipped," she said as she turned and walked back to the bathroom. She tried to look at her back in the mirror, but Sheldon pre-empted her.

"Please turn around, Penny." Green eyes met blue as Penny considered. Abruptly, she turned away. "Would you lean forward a bit, so that I can get more light?" He asked as his large hand pressed at the center of her back and gently pushed her forward.

As Penny leaned over the sink with Sheldon behind her, her eyes met his again, in the mirror. He took in their position, and she saw the same awareness that skittered down her spine darken his eyes. "Sheldon?" She asked softly, as she felt the heat rise in her face.

His eyes slid away from hers, and returned to the zipper even as he eased his body back a step. His own cheeks were stained with a matching blush. "Oh, here's the problem. A bit of material is caught." She felt his hands high on her back, and suddenly the zipper gave. As soon as she was unzipped, he vacated the bathroom.

She changed into her robe, and went into the bathroom. "I left it on the counter." She told him calmly.

He nodded and returned to the bathroom. Once he closed the door behind him, Penny scurried around to get dressed, not allowing herself to consider the strange scene with Sheldon. She put on something cute, since their next stop after lunch was autographs and photos.

The dealer who sold Penny her necklace was more than a little surprised to find a large Klingon asking about the same necklace. "I already sold that necklace, man."

"To whom?"

The dealer only knew that he was to sell the necklace to whoever asked for it. He had no idea why. So he had no qualms about saying that he had sold it to a pretty blond, dressed as Chapel, going around with a tall, skinny guy dressed as Spock.

After the autographs, Penny headed down to the Lobby to meet Priya. She felt a little awkward about it, but still thought that it was better than going to a panel alone. They sat quietly through the panel, and afterwards she suggested that the go to the hotel bar.

Penny texted Sheldon, as she knew how he would react if she weren't where he thought that she should be. Several guys, not all of them geeks, tried to hit on them, but they waved them off as they shared a pitcher of Margaritas.

They were both feeling pretty mellow, when Penny caught Priya giving her a Look. "You should be thanking me, you know." A slightly tipsy Penny said in response to that look.

"For what?" An also tipsy Priya asked.

"For training Leonard up. You should have seen him before." She took another drink, and then started to tell Priya about the Before version of Leonard.

"It sounds like you put a lot of effort into the relationship." Priya said thoughtfully. "Why did you break up with him?" This was the question that Priya had wondered about.

Penny sighed. "I wasn't in love with him. I love him dearly, but not…."

"You were together for a very long time." Priya pointed out.

"I thought I could, or maybe should love him. " Penny admitted after a long silence. Then a grin quirked her lips. "Despite his…er..shortcomings."

Priya gave a drunken giggle.

Penny continued. "I know, right? But despite *that* and well, let's be honest, he'll never run a marathon…."

Priya interrupted. "He is rather good at foreplay." She defended.

"Sure he is. Now."

"Oh."

They looked at each other and broke into raucous laughter. Once she got herself back under control, Penny continued. "He really appreciated me, you know? And was so different than the guys I usually date. What does Sheldon call them? Oh, Neanderthals. I miss that, but he's not perfect, that's for sure."

The women clinked glasses and started to laugh again. "No," said Priya. "That he is not. He plays with toys, and video games, and…."

Penny interrupted her. "No, not that stuff, that doesn't bother me, I kinda' like a lot of it, too. It's more, you know he's Sheldon's best friend, right?" Priya nodded. "I don't think he likes Sheldon much, he can be really mean to him, sometimes, like Sheldon doesn't have feelings or some crap like that. And he thinks I'm stupid. Leonard I mean."

"Does Sheldon not?"

"Well, yeah, kinda' but he thinks everyone is. At least compared to him. Which, let's be honest…. And Leonard, well, doesn't have a lot of patience."

"I have noticed this, also." Priya agreed. They shared a look, both thinking the same thing, how quickly he was "locked and loaded". They started to laugh again. It was at this auspicious moment that the others found them.

Leonard smiled, glad that the two women were getting along. Until they both looked at him, then each other and started to giggle.

Howard said, "Never let them compare notes, man."

Leonard was suddenly anxious to separate them. "Er, Priya, can you walk?"

"Of course, Leonard." She replied. She managed to get to her feet, and leaned heavily on Leonard. He led her out of the bar, smugly aware of the disbelieving looks that were being cast his way.

"Penny, are you too incapacitated for dinner?" Sheldon asked, a stern note in his voice.

"'Course not, Honey." Penny made it to her feet with a lot less trouble than Priya had. "Amateur," she muttered under her breath.

But his Vulcan hearing picked it up. He shot her a sharp look. "Amateur status is preferred."

Penny met his eyes. She saw that he was genuinely worried about her. Given what she knew about his father, she wanted to reassure him. Her own eyes softened. "I hear you, Sheldon." He nodded and herded her out of the bar with a gentle hand at the center of her back, oblivious to the envious looks from the other men in the bar.

Dinner was a little awkward, Priya was still giggly, Leonard was nervous, Howard, Bernadette and Raj were curious about what had caused the apparent bonding between Penny and Priya. Penny drank a lot of water, and gently suggested to Priya that she do so as well. With a grateful smile, Priya followed her advice.

Sheldon nodded in approval.

After dinner they all separated to head to their rooms. As Penny and Sheldon stepped off of the elevator, she asked him if there another classic movie tonight.

"Indeed, there is. Would you care to join me?"

"I would." She replied, with a grin as she opened her door.

"Then I shall see you at 8 o'clock."

"You shall," she teased. He merely gave her a tiny smile in reply; pleased that it had been she who had suggested joining him. Things were progressing ahead of schedule.