Amy and Sheldon managed to add a weekly Skype session alongside their twice daily email and text messages. The new addition was Wednesday morning London time, so Sheldon was just getting in from The Cheesecake Factory and Amy just up for work. The Saturday/Sunday and Tuesday/Wednesday Skype became part of Sheldon's new routine. He had printed the new routine out then laminated and stuck it to the fridge. After Sheldon's Sunday embarrassment he made sure he was fully clothed the following Tuesday evening!
He knew over the coming weeks these times might need to change anyway, as he had finally confirmed his tour dates with both Yale and Princeton. They would be leaving Tuesday evening and he would be lecturing at Yale on Thursday and Princeton the following Monday. He had also managed to book train tickets between the two universities. The journey would only take a few hours so he was sure Penny would be pleased. Caltech were organising the hotels for their stay and he had made sure to stress 2 rooms with no upgrades!
Leonard was sulking. He didn't want Penny to go. Even Penny was getting annoyed with him and had told Sheldon that she was more than happy with the arrangements they had made. Penny would take 2 weeks unpaid leave from The Cheesecake Factory. These wages Sheldon was covering so Penny would not be out of pocket and Caltech would reimburse Sheldon at the end of the tour if it was a success.
As the date of them leaving got closer Leonard slammed around not talking to Sheldon. On the Tuesday they were due to leave Sheldon had had enough.
"OK Leonard, I get you are annoyed with me. Even though I have trouble sometimes detecting emotions in others, your slamming about and sarcasm has got through to even me. However, I would like to point out Penny and I will be gone for less than 2 weeks. My girlfriend, in case you have forgotten, will be gone 6 months! If anyone should be slamming about it is me!"
"If I remember rightly you didn't take the news of Amy leaving well and when she left you were not exactly the life and soul of the party either." Leonard retorted
"You are right Leonard. I was sad Amy was leaving as you are with Penny. And you are right when she went I missed her terribly. I still do. However I still have over 5 months to miss her and I can assure you, Penny will be back in 2 weeks! I am sure you will survive Leonard!"
"Sheldon it is different for Penny and me; our relationship isn't like yours and Amy."
"Oh? how so?"
"Well you and Amy go on dates and Skype, Penny and I, well it is much more.."
"Physical?"
"Well yes I guess so."
"Not that it is any of your business Leonard, but Amy and I do share a physical relationship and I am sure you, like me, will be able to control your baser urges for 2 weeks." Sheldon angrily turned away from Leonard and returned to his room to finish his packing. Leonard, stunned by Sheldon's confession, followed him.
"Sheldon I'm sorry, I hadn't realised."
"Why should you. Matters of that nature are between Amy and I, not the whole group, and I would thank you to remember that."
Nodding Leonard said, "Look I have today off. I had intended to spend it with Penny and to take the two of you to the airport; but what say I phone Raj and Howard and see if they want to skip work and come over for a game of Halo before you leave?"
"That would be most agreeable." Sheldon nodded
Smiling Leonard returned to the living room and sent Raj and Howard texts. He then text Penny
"Hey Penny, I have promised Sheldon I would play halo with him, Raj and Howard. Do you want to come join us?"
"Hey sweetie, don't tell Sheldon but I haven't even started packing yet! Keep him busy and it'll save me having him lecturing me!"
Grinning Leonard wandered back to Sheldon's room. "Raj and Howard will be here in an hour."
73~73
To: Amy
From: Penny
Hey Bestie! I am meant to be packing to go on this tour with your boyfriend but I just cant get down to it! What have you been up too? Sheldon showed me the picture of you and the soldier! You will have to send me a picture of this assistant of yours too;-) I will text pics of Sheldon on the tour and on this stupid train journey, that is if I haven't killed him by then!
The boys are all playing halo at the moment, I can hear them shouting from here! You would think we were leaving for a year what with Leonard sulking and their male bonding!
So what tips have you got for me to keep Sheldon calm on this flight? I am not playing any of his stupid games either!
OK I'd better go I only have an hour before the knocking will start so I had better throw some clothes in this case!
Talk to you soon Ames.
Penny xx
True to her word Penny then spent the next 30 minutes throwing clothes into her case. Moving to the bathroom she swept her make-up and toiletries into a zip bag and put those in the case too. Checking she had her phone charger Penny zipped up her case and dragged it across the hall.
"Hey guys" she grinned.
"Excellent Penny, I am glad to see you are ahead of schedule!" Sheldon remarked. "We will just finish this game then will be ready."
Sitting on Leonard's knee Penny grabbed his controller and proceeded to blow Sheldon then Raj sky high.
"Hey! Not fair!" Sheldon sulked.
"Come on Dr Cooper, you have places to be and I need to have 5 minutes with my boyfriend before we go." Dragging Leonard down the hall to his room Penny waved over her shoulder.
Shrugging Howard and Raj wished Sheldon good luck and left.
"Hi Amy, I am just about to leave for the airport. I am nervous about the flight. I wish you were coming with me! S x"
73~73
Sheldon was quiet during the flight. He had strapped himself in and gripped tightly to the arm rests closing his eyes.
"Sheldon relax" Penny said patting his arm.
Sheldon shrugged her off and grimaced. Penny frowned, it was going to be a long flight!
By the time their flight landed Penny was strung almost as tight as Sheldon. "Oh for goodness sake Sheldon just get in the cab. We have let 3 go already. Lets be honest, none of them are going to meet your level of cleanliness so lets just get in this one so I can get to the mini bar in my room!"
Snorting Sheldon climbed in after Penny. The hotel luckily meet Sheldon's exacting standards and he was soon happily unpacking.
"Hi Amy, we are here. Penny is certainly not the calm soothing flying companion you are! She wouldn't play counter factuals and was very snappy all the way here. I hope you day has gone smoothly. I miss you! S xx"
Moving to the bathroom Sheldon began his night time ritual. Putting on his Tuesday pyjamas Sheldon returned to the bedroom and sitting on the bed began flicking through the TV channels. He smiled when he found Dr Who. Settling down Sheldon sat happily sipping from his bottle of water. It was only when the programme had finished and he was washed and tucked up in bed Sheldon began to think. The last time he had been in a hotel it had been with Amy. He wished she were here now. He knew she would have looked at Dr Who and made sarcastic comments, but he realised he even wished he could hear those. Lying staring at the ceiling he wondered if she was still awake. Glancing at his clock he realised with the new time difference it would now be the middle of the night in London. Sighing he curled into a ball.
73~73
The next morning Penny was keen to look around and see if they could book some practise time. Sheldon having had a fitful nights sleep was happy to just follow along. Penny made him run through each lecture until he snapped. "Penny that's enough. It will be fine. Lets go eat."
Shrugging Penny went and spoke to the lighting technicians and thanked them for their time. Sheldon stood by the door. He wasn't interested in looking around the campus so after eating in the student cafeteria Sheldon returned to his room and Penny went to explore.
On returning to his room Sheldon lay on the bed and slept. He was in a better frame of mind when he met up with Penny later and was happy to hear she had had a nice day.
"I'm sorry Penny, I didn't sleep well last night. What with my nerves over flying and then lack of sleep I guess I wasn't my normal patient self this morning."
Sniggering Penny patted his hand. "Its OK Sheldon. I know tomorrow will be fine, why don't you go see if Amy is online. I am sure if your chat to her you will feel much better."
Nodding Sheldon made his way back to his room. He turned on his laptop but saw he had not had any emails from Amy, pulling out his phone he saw no messages either. Frowning he sent her a text message.
"Amy I hope everything is OK. I miss hearing from you. I had hoped we could arrange a time too Skype."
Hitting send Sheldon sat down.
"Sheldon hello! I am sorry I didn't reply to your last text. Work is going crazy.
Prof. Greensmith is amazing but very demanding and I am spending all my waking hours at work. I know you have your lecture tomorrow, how about we Skype after that? It will be lovely to see Penny too!"
"Thank you Amy I will look forward to it!"
Sheldon went to knock on Pennys door. "Amy is going to Skype me tomorrow after the lecture; she would like to see you too. I trust this is acceptable?"
"Of course Sheldon. Listen I have Leonard on the phone sweetie so I'll see you in the morning"
Again Sheldon spent half the night staring at the ceiling. At least Leonard can call and chat with his girlfriend whenever he wanted, Sheldon thought.
73~73
The next day Sheldon met Penny for breakfast, ran over the notes for his lecture then changed into his black suit. Meeting Penny downstairs once changed they made their way to the lecture theatre. Sheldon glanced at the strange faces staring at him and felt his pulse race. Closing his eyes he began counting slowly then opening his eyes he focused on his notes. Sensing the lights dim Sheldon began.
"Good afternoon, I am Dr Sheldon Cooper..."
He could honestly say the next 2 hours were a blur. He presented the material and focused on Penny in the front row. Now Penny was grinning widely and snapping pics of him on her phone. He frowned at her as he became surrounded by well wishers. Students, lecturers and Yale dignitaries all wishing to ask questions and shake his hand. As Penny snapped then forwarded the photos to Amy and Leonard she looked up and realised the look on Sheldon's face was turning to panic. Jumping up she fought her way through the crowd and rescued him.
"Well Sheldon that was a great success! Now you can relax. Princeton will be easier still."
"Thank you Penny and thank you for rescuing me back there. Now I need to go get ready Amy will be skyping soon!"
Sheldon almost ran back to his room. Showering and getting changed he set up his laptop and had two chairs all ready. He opened the door to Penny on her knock then connected the call through to Amy.
"Hey Sheldon, hey bestie" Amy smiled. She looked tired and her hair limp.
"Amy are you OK?"
"Yes I am fine. I am a little tired as I was up at the hospital last night running tests."
Penny frowned. "Amy when did you last sleep?"
"I was waiting to talk to you then I will rest."
"Oh sweetie you should have said. We can reschedule!" Sheldon reluctantly nodded next to Penny
"Thank you Penny but I missed you both and I wanted to see some friendly faces from home. I will sleep better now I have seen you."
"Amy you go to bed and this weekend we will arrange another time" Sheldon said. "you need to look after yourself or you will be sick. I am sure they will not know the words to 'soft kitty' in England either so you need to stay strong!"
Amy grinned "Thank you Sheldon. I will say goodnight and go sleep now, but I will chat more at the weekend. Bye bestie. I love you Sheldon"
Sheldon waved until Amy disappeared. Turning to Penny he said "She looked happy last time. She doesn't now."
"Sweetie she is tired. Her job is keeping her busy. I am sure when rested she will feel and look better." Nodding Sheldon sighed. "I wish I was there to take care of her."
"I am sure she wishes that too Sheldon. Have you thought any more about going to London?"
"Not really. Penny if I went over Amy would still have to work, I wouldn't see much of her. I just need to be patient."
Nodding in understanding Penny smiled and bid Sheldon goodnight.
73~73
To: Penny
From: Amy
Hey bestie, I am sorry our chat yesterday was so short. Thank you for the photos of Sheldon. He looks so commanding on that stage! I am pleased it went well.
I have sent you a picture of James. He has been a god send as if he weren't here too I don't think I would see my flat at all! I had hoped to visit Cambridge this weekend so I could tell Sheldon about it but at this rate if I don't do some washing and ironing I will have no clothes to wear next week!
Penny I hope you don't think I am being rude but if I Skype with Sheldon would you mind if it was just the 2 of us? I will arrange another time to chat to you, its just I miss him and feel I can talk more freely if just us two.
Penny I hope Sheldon is not too demanding, I know he can be. Thank you for being such a good friend to us both.
Love
Amy
x
Penny sat for ages staring at the picture of James, Amy had forwarded. He was gorgeous! Young with longish blond hair, brown eyes that were very smiley and from the little Penny could see not a bad body either. Lucky Amy being with him all day long!
To: Amy
From: Penny
Hey Ames of course I don't mind you chatting with Sheldon alone. He is missing you like crazy. He did really well on the lecture and is now very excited about this stupid train trip. It is only a couple of hours in total and we will probably spend most of it lugging our bags between trains but there is no talking to him!
James... WOW! you kept that quiet. Amy he is gorgeous. No wonder you are at work all the time! Just don't let Sheldon see him ;-)
We have a free day today so I am going to find a salon and get my hair done and be pampered. Sheldon was muttering about comic books! Nothing changes!
Take care and get some rest.
Penny
x
Sheldon and Penny both had enjoyable days. They met up for a meal that night and Sheldon was quietly relieved when Penny said she would not be joining his Skype chat with Amy. Sheldon had found a comic book store and added to his batman collection so was more than happy. Returning to their rooms Sheldon settled down with his comic and Penny went to phone Leonard.
Sheldon was keen to be at the train station early the next day so Penny, much to her disgust, was woken at 6 and with only a cup of coffee inside her found herself standing on the platform of North Haven station by 7.
"Sheldon this is stupid!"
"Nonsense Penny. Also once we get there I can arrange to Skype with Amy."
"Sheldon the train doesn't arrive for over 45 minutes! Why are we here so early?"
"Because Amtrak recommend it Penny! Now quit moaning."
Penny pulled out her phone.
"Amy I am sure with someone as good looking as James to help you get over it you really would not miss Sheldon if I pushed him under this train P x"
Just then Sheldon's phone rang.
"Amy! What a lovely surprise!... what? .. no... of course I am not annoying Penny.. what... hang on"
Handing over his phone Sheldon scowled
"Hey bestie! Well it is 7 am and I have not had breakfast, and I am on the platform waiting for the stupid train and it doesn't arrive for 45 minutes!"
"But Penny Amtrak always advise you to get there 30 minutes early"
"Yes Amy so I have been informed" Penny huffed handing the phone back to Sheldon
Grinning Sheldon said "Amy are you more rested? You looked so tired the other night I was worried."
"Yes thanks Sheldon. Today I have spent the morning doing my washing and tomorrow I have booked on a coach trip to go to Cambridge! I am so excited! Would you be able to Skype when I get back and I can tell you about it?"
"Oh Amy. Yes! I will text Professor Hawking to tell him of your visit!"
Standing next to Sheldon Penny rolled her eyes.
"OK Sheldon I will let you go wait for your train. Enjoy it! I will look forward to talking to you tomorrow."
"I love you Amy!" Sheldon grinned as he hung up, spinning to face Penny he said "She said the same as me didn't she? We needed to be here early!"
Refusing to answer Penny sniffed. "You two are so well suited!"
"Well of course we are, what would be the point otherwise? Oh look 10 minutes early, thank goodness we are here already!"
With a smirk Sheldon pointed to the train pulling into the station.
The two hour journey to Newark was taken in almost silence. Sheldon spent the time with his nose pressed against the window and a smile on his face. Penny spent the time with a frown on her face and her phone out texting Leonard telling him his room-mate was bat crap crazy!
They then had to get another train plus a shuttle. Sheldon saw this as an adventure but by the time they reached their rooms Penny was ready to kill.
"Sheldon I don't care what sort of train it was, I don't care what track it runs on, nor do I care how long they have been running. I do care about getting a shower and ensuring we never have to repeat that again. I am stating outright I will happily come to these tours with you but I am not , I repeat NOT, going on any more trains!"
"Look Penny I am grateful for your hep. After the lecture on Monday we fly home. I am then going to speak to Gablehauser about the need to keep touring. I hate flying, you hate going on trains so maybe I need to do this alone. I have a proposal for Caltech but I don't know if they will agree so I will keep my plans to myself. I do appreciate you being here though Penny. Seeing your face yesterday in that audience calmed me."
"Thank you Sheldon. I know this is hard for you. But in fact you are handling it better than me."
A truce called, they ordered pizza and sat watching a Star Trek DVD that Sheldon had brought with him. Unlike Amy Penny was happy to sit and watch and was even able to quote along with the actors.
"Penny I am impressed! Leonard has taught you well!"
"Yeah yeah, OK sweetie I'm going to bed." with a wave she was gone and Sheldon got ready for bed. Before going to sleep he sent one more text.
"Good evening Prof. Hawking. It is Dr Cooper here. I am currently touring the States lecturing, but my girlfriend, Dr Amy Farrah Fowler, is in the UK doing research at UCL. Tomorrow , Sunday your time, Amy is visiting Cambridge University. I wondered if you could recommend areas for her to focus on. Kind regards Sheldon"
Smiling Sheldon set his phone down, got into bed and slept.
73~73
Ping ping
Sheldon ran to his laptop
"Amy!" he grinned.
It was 3 o'clock and Sheldon had spent the afternoon waiting for Amy.
"Hello Sheldon" Amy grinned. "I have a bone to pick with you!"
Sheldon frowned "What have I done? Has Penny said something?"
Laughing Amy shook her head "No Sheldon, but I arrived at Cambridge with the tour today and just as we entered the first building there was an announcement over the intercom and I was asked to accompany this very official looking man!"
"Oh my goodness what had you done?"
"I hadn't done anything Sheldon! I was escorted to the private rooms of one Prof. Stephen Hawking"
Sheldon sat staring at the screen with his mouth open.
"Wow" he whispered. "oh Amy I wish I had been there!"
"I wish you had too Sheldon. Cambridge is absolutely beautiful and one day I would love for you and me to punt down the river and sit and picnic on its banks as we watch the rowing, it was so romantic!"
"Yes yes, I meant I wish I had met Hawking again!"
Laughing Amy said "I know you did! So have you and Penny made friends?
"Yes kind of. I don't think we will be going on the train any more though" Sheldon said sadly
"but we are at least talking again! Amy what did Hawking say, did he mention me?"
"He did actually, he mentioned your math mistake, which I thought was mean! But he also asked about your lecture tour and seemed interested."
"Oh dear, he is never going to forget that is he. I am glad he found you though. Are you expecting another busy week at work?
"Yes I am , Sheldon I may not be able to Skype next week as we will be based more at the hospital. It is strange working with human patients in that situation but incredibly rewarding. I will text and email but I wanted to tell you like this not via text."
"Thank you Amy. I will miss seeing you. I can not believe it is nearly a month! I guess we can look on that positively. Only 5 more to go."
"Yes next Monday I will have been here a month. The way this research is going I will have lots of good data to bring home. As much as I miss everyone I am glad I am doing this."
"Then I am glad too. Right now I wish you were here so I could hold you, I have discovered hotel beds are no fun without you in them!" Sheldon blushed as he said this.
"I wish I was there too Sheldon" Amy said shyly. "I would love a hug right now."
Smiling sadly Sheldon said "We can do this Amy, we just need to be strong."
Nodding Amy smiled "I had better go, oh I will text you a picture I took today. Have a good week Sheldon, I love you"
"I love you too Amy,"
Sheldon sat smiling sadly after disconnecting from Amy. 2 minutes later his grin was wide. Amy had sent him a picture of her with Prof. Hawking who was holding up snuggle bunny.
"oh Amy!" Sheldon laughed shaking his head.
73~73
