She couldn't believe it.

Penny was flying all the way down to Texas with Sheldon, and for three days, they have to deceive his family members. It could be a simple task, for her at least. She wondered how Sheldon will do during all of this. He's not the best at lying, and it's very easy to tell if he wass. Before they left the apartment, Penny suggested that he use the acting lessons she taught him. He would have to play the part of Penny Queen for the duration of their trip.

Leonard had dropped them off at the airport about twenty minutes ago. They had their plane tickets in hand and were heading towards airport security. Sheldon helped placed their baggage on the conveyor belt for the scanners. They were asked if their luggage had been in their possession at all times, and after answering with a yes, the two were directed to the metal detectors. After emptying out their pockets, Sheldon walked into the metal detector first. Penny stepped forward, only for the alarm to ring.

She looked at Sheldon, confused since she took out everything that would cause the detector to go off. One of the TSA agents asked Penny to step to the side, bringing out their handheld metal detector to use. She spread her arms and legs as she was being scanned, and the detector sounded when it was brought across her face.

"Open your mouth, sir," the security officer said and Penny did what she was told. He checked inside, but found nothing. Penny was getting nervous. She kept looking at Sheldon, who was waiting for her on the other side. "You have to come with me."

Sheldon quickly walked up to them before Penny was taken away. "My friend here has a Mexican Peso shoved up his nose."

"Excuse me, miss?" The officer asked. Penny never knew that he had a coin lodged in his nose.

"When he was younger, a boy shoved it up his nose. It takes him forty-five minutes just to get through airport security every time he travels."

The officer nodded. "Very well, but we still have to examine your friend here."

Sheldon followed them to another room, but was stopped and separated from Penny. He had a feeling of what was going to happen, having to experience it several times whenever he was asked to step aside. He noted that he should make an appointment with a surgeon and see how to take it out. As he sat on a chair in silence, he heard a faint "holy crap on a cracker" coming from the other room.

She'll bounce back soon after that.

Thirty minutes later, Penny emerged from the room with an expressionless face. The officer inside informed them that everything is fine and to hurry up if they wanted to catch their flight. Penny immediately grabbed hold of one of the baggage as Sheldon followed her. Once they reached the gates, he needed to know if she was alright. Judging by her current state, he knew the answer already, but he wanted some clarification.

He placed a hand on Penny's shoulder. "Penny?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Sheldon."

That's all he needed to hear before they boarded the airplane.

Sheldon and Penny slept through most of the flight. It was about three hours worth of sleep yet it wasn't enough. Well, not enough for Penny, at least. Sheldon opened his eyes as he began to stretch his arms and legs from his seat. He turned his head to the left and saw Penny staring at the small screen in front of her, her eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open. She was exhausted, he could tell, and wondered why she stayed awake during the whole flight.

"Penny, why didn't you take advantage of the time we had in this aircraft to rest?" Sheldon asked, his voice causing her to jump slightly in her seat. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head to waken herself more. Screw the agreement, I want coffee, Penny thought to herself, looking around the plane for a stewardess.

"I couldn't sleep because you were snoring too much, Sheldon. I don't know how you were able to get a good night's sleep without hearing yourself. Seriously, you basically kept the whole plane awake because your snoring is really loud," Penny answered.

Sheldon leaned his head back. "Well, this is your body, Penny. Now you realize that you do snore. You finally believe after all these years of me telling you and you denying it."

She huffed. "Oh, come on. I don't snore. You do. You probably made my body start snoring because you're in it."

"No, you've always been a snorer, Penny. I found that out when I sneaked into your apartment one night to clean. Another point, I certainly do not snore."

A stewardess was heading towards them and she silently thanked god that she was getting her cup of coffee at four in the morning. She called her over with a smile. "Can I have some coffee?"

"Sorry, miss. The plane will begin to land in approximately fifteen minutes, but there is a coffee shop in the airport that you can visit once you leave."

Penny's smiled disappeared. Fifteen minutes until she can get coffee. She felt like she's never going to make it.

"Penny, drinking coffee is a violation as stated in our signed agreement," Sheldon reminded her as he flipped through the latest issue of Applied Particle Physics Quarterly.

"Um, I was given a very uncomfortable pat down and an unnecessary colonoscopy back at the airport. I want coffee!" Penny growled.

Sheldon shifted away from her, afraid of being hit or slapped. "Fine! This will be the only exception. Please, calm down."

She took a deep breath in. "Thank you. I've never had a colonoscopy before and my ass is on fire. I swear Sheldon, if I'm going to have to do that one more time, I will hurt the first person who touches me."

"Do that you'll end up in jail."

She crossed her arms. "At least I won't have a camera stuck up my ass."

Sheldon chuckled under his breath. Their trip was already eventful and they haven't landed in Texas yet.

They hailed down a cab after gathering their entire luggage. Sheldon placed the bags inside the trunk before joining Penny inside the car, telling the driver the address of their destination. As they drove through the streets, Penny couldn't help but gaze out the window. She had never visited Texas before, but it felt like she had been there already. At first, she expected nothing but desert ground with cacti and tumbleweeds at every corner. She had to watch a couple of Western movies to get an idea of what it would look like.

When Sheldon told Penny about his hometown, it sounded nothing like the ones in the movies. After a quick Google search, she realized that it's not all deserts in Texas. Sheldon rolled his eyes. This woman needed a better education than the one she's receiving at the community college.

He lifted his head up to see Penny's face in the rear view mirror. She was in awe as she took in the sight of the city he was raised in. The cab drove through the residential area, and a few minutes later, they stopped in front of a green ranch house with pots of colorful flowers on the sides of the steps leading to the front door. Sheldon beamed as he paid the driver and the two exited the car.

With their luggage in hand, Sheldon dashed to the front door and raised his hand to start knocking. Before he could make any sound, Penny held his hand back and gave him a look, reminding him that she was supposed to be him. He gave her a nod, seeming a little disappointment. Penny decided not to knock. Instead, she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.

The door opened with Mary Cooper greeting them with a warm smile. The aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from inside the house made Penny's stomach rumble. She was hungry, and by the looks that Sheldon was giving, he was too. Mary extended her hand to Penny. "My, my, my! I wasn't expecting you to come down to Texas with my boy! Please don't tell me he made you travel with him."

There was an awkward silence before Sheldon realized that the question was directed towards him since he was in Penny's body. "I didn't make him, Mrs. Cooper."

"Good. Shelly, why are you letting Penny hold all your bags? That's very ungentleman-like and I raised you better. Also, your Meemaw is expecting a visit from you. She misses her favorite grandchild dearly, and is hoping to catch up with you," Mary said as she gestured the two to enter the house. Sheldon set the luggage on the living room floor, and walked to the table where the plate of cookies where. "Your friend Penny here must be starving, huh?"

"Yes, mom. I'm kinda hungry, too. Imma take a bite."

Penny stood next to Sheldon, who was glaring at her because of her improper grammar. She took a whiff of the cookies before picking one and eating it. "This is the best," she said with her mouth full.

"It is your favorite," Mary added. "Since I wasn't expecting you to come with Shelly, I guess you can take up Missy's old room. Don't worry Shelly, I still change the sheets and dust around the room regularly. Besides, you ain't the one sleeping in it, and Penny doesn't seem to mind."

Sheldon wanted to protest. One, because it meant that Penny was going to sleep in his room and no one was allowed to be in his room but him. Two, it also meant that he was going to sleep in a vacant room surrounding by the plethora of stuffed animals. Missy had always been a fan of collecting Hello Kitty's and Care Bears. When she moved out, she refused to sell them, wishing to keep them until she can have a daughter to pass them down to.

Penny poured herself a glass of milk that was also on the table. "That sounds cool. I'll go and unpack my stuff."

Once Penny exited, Sheldon was left alone with his mother. "Is Sheldon alright?"

"What make you think that there is something wrong with him?"

Mary shrugged. "He's acting a little peculiar. More than what I'm used to. He doesn't sound like the Sheldon I know."

"How so?"

"He never uses the word 'kinda' or 'imma.' He's too... educated, I guess, to use those words. He usually throws a fit whenever someone else says those things."

Sheldon made a note to himself to confront Penny about the proper usage of English grammar. "I can assure you that Sheldon's fine. He won't need your prayers for tonight, Mom- I mean Mary."

Mary shot him a look. "Are you alright? You're also acting very differently."

"I'm going to see if Sheldon needs my help. He'll probably not organize my clothes the proper way."

Sheldon left the room, and Mary stared at the doorway leading to the bedrooms. She knew that something was up between the two, and she reminded herself to pray for their souls on Sunday.

"You're supposed to sort out my clothes by events. This is chaos!" Mary overheard Penny yell out from the other room.

She then heard her son's voice. "Oh, whatever! It's just a couple of shirts and pants. It's not a freaking display for the museum!"

Something was definitely up between those two, Mary thought as she took a bite of the cookie she baked.

A/N:

Thank you for all your reviews! I enjoyed writing up this chapter for all of you guys, and I hope you enjoy reading it. I'll try and update more as soon as I can.

And for those reading my other story, "The Confrontation Alternative," I'm currently halfway done with the next chapter. I'm not so sure about when it'll be posted, but it'll eventually be.

Have a great day!