Amy awoke as the sun began making its ascent into the early morning sky. Her boyfriend's body was plastered against her, as it had been the previous three mornings, only this time there were no barriers between them. She savored the feel of his bare skin against hers. Though she knew his erection pressing against her lower back was a result of simple biology, she couldn't help but think she played a small part.

Sheldon began to stir a few minutes later. He peered down at her face as she gazed up at him.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Morning."

She twisted around so they were lying face to face then brought her hand up his jawline and ran it along the faint stubble that had appeared overnight, while he played with her already-tousled hair. He held her close to him as they shared a soft but sensual kiss, which quickly turned into a session of love making.

Amy led him to the shower where she lathered up a washcloth and sensuously rubbed it all over him. He took over to perform the same actions with her. Then for the second time that morning, they expressed their love for each other physically.

After soaping each other up again, they reluctantly got dressed and began packing.

"I wish we could freeze time," Amy said wistfully as they tossed their luggage in the trunk.

"There's always next year. It won't be as convenient to get there, but now that we've experienced a convention, I don't want to miss out on any future ones."

"We'll make it work. We have a whole year to plan."

As they drove towards Pasadena, they reminisced over the weekend's activities.

Five hours later she parked outside his building.

"I really should get home to rest then do laundry and get organized before returning to work in the morning. Talk to you later?" She asked.

"Yes, I'll call you tonight once we're both settled back into our routines."

She leaned over the console to kiss his cheek. He turned his face so her lips could make contact with his. He broke away suddenly and scanned the area for passersby. Seeing no one, he resumed their liplock.

When Sheldon entered his apartment, Leonard and Penny were still at work. He went about unpacking then started up his laptop. As he sat at his desk sifting through emails, he received a call from Fed-Ex.

"Oh, goody! My bedding is here!"

He bounded down the stairs two at a time to meet the delivery man in the lobby then used the proffered stylus to digitally sign for the packages.

The man tipped his hat to him. "Have a good day."

"Wait! Aren't you going to help me carry these up the stairs?"

"Sorry, I have ten more deliveries. I don't have time to climb up and down three flights of stairs."

Sheldon regarded the packages, wondering how he would get all the boxes up the stairs simultaneously so nothing was left behind for would-be thieves. He decided to carry each package to the bottom of the staircase then quickly run them up to the next landing one by one, repeating the process until everything was on the fourth floor.

When he reached the third floor, he heard his roommates' voices and footsteps catching up to him.

"Whatcha doing there, Sheldon?" Penny asked.

"The Fed-Ex driver left my packages in the lobby for me to deal with. Now that you're both here, I could use a hand with these."

"Sure thing, Buddy," Leonard said.

The trio carried the packages up the last flight.

"What is all this, Sweetie? Don't tell me you bought out all the world's flags."

"No, although that isn't a bad idea. After being in the presence of hundreds of flags, I realize my collection is severely lacking."

"Sheldon, I was kidding. Seriously, what is all this?"

"Our hotel room had the most luxurious bedding, so I decided to purchase my own. It was like sleeping on a cloud."

Leonard tossed his keys into the bowl. "How was the convention?"

"Oh, it was wonderful, even better than I imagined." He rambled on about the events and all the flag-loving people they met. When he began going into detail about each and every flag they saw, Leonard interrupted him.

"We weren't sure what time you were coming back, so we made plans with Howard and Bernadette tonight. We have to leave now if we don't want to be late."

Leonard grabbed his keys, and they ran out the door.

"Well that was rude," Sheldon announced to the empty room.

He stripped his bed of its current comforter, sheets, and pillowcases then scurried back to collect the new items. When his bed was neatly made, he called Siam Palace to deliver his usual Monday fare - mee krob and chicken satay with extra peanut sauce.

Sheldon waited until precisely 9:00 p.m. to place a Skype call to his girlfriend from his bedroom. He lay on his stomach with his feet in the air wearing pajamas as they chatted about the events since they parted just hours ago.

"Leonard and Penny abandoned me. They just couldn't wait to get away. You should have seen how quickly they ran out of here. I hope for Leonard's sake he brought his inhaler."

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. They just don't appreciate you like I do."

At 10 o'clock he slipped under his brand new comforter. Leonard and Penny hadn't returned, so he assumed they were staying at Penny's place overnight to avoid discussing flags.

He settled in and closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. He tossed and turned, trying different positions without luck. Peering at the alarm clock, he noted it was 11:30. He had heard that it was beneficial to get up and perform a quiet activity until one was sleepy, though he had never had to test that theory before.

He wandered into the livingroom and scanned the bookshelf for something he had absolutely no interest in. Finally settling on one of Leonard's Babylon 5 novels, he took his spot on the couch and began to read. Thirty minutes later, he was beyond bored and decided to try sleeping again.

At 1 a.m. Sheldon was still awake, pondering his sleeplessness. He had the same sheets, pillowcases, and comforter he slept in so well at the hotel. He reached for his phone and called his girlfriend. She was, afterall, a neurobiologist and may have some insight into the matter. She answered on the second ring.

"Sheldon, what's wrong?"

"I can't sleep."

"Neither can I," she admitted.

"I don't understand. My new bedding came in today. It's the exact same brand and style as what we had at the hotel. How could I sleep so well there but have problems in my own bed?"

"You're a brilliant scientist. I'm sure you can figure this out. Let's go over the differences."

"Well, it was cooler in San Jose..."

"The outside temperature was cooler, but once we set the thermostat, the room's temperature was no different than your apartment."

"True. Hmmm... Oh, I know. I must have been dreaming about flags. Maybe I should try counting them instead of sheep."

"Maybe, but I think you're missing a key element."

"What?"

"Could your restlessness have to do with the fact that you miss sharing a bed with me?"

He sat back and pondered her question. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Think about it. I know it's the reason I'm having difficulty sleeping."

"You may be on to something. I don't suppose you'd be willing to come over?"

"As tempting as that sounds, it's really late. We should try getting some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow."

"I miss you."

"I miss you as well."

After they ended the call, Sheldon attempted to sleep once more. He had to admit, sleeping next to his girlfriend had been surprisingly comfortable. He hugged the extra pillow to his chest, but it just wasn't the same. He sighed and counted flags until his body finally gave into exhaustion and sleep overtook him.