A/N: Hey. It's another chapter. I wish I could give you guys chapters everyday. Love and such. I hope you like this chapter. (We're nearing the end of hiatus and stuff, so that's cool.)
Amy was surprised by how quickly the time went. Suddenly, the costume fittings were done and the itineraries were finalized. They were all leaving for San Diego on Wednesday after work. Like the trip to Big Sur, they were taking two cars. Sheldon thought that Penny had adequately learned her lesson, so she was permitted to be in the lead car with Leonard, Sheldon, and Amy again.
Amy had initially been a little mad at Penny for talking to Sheldon about their relationship, but she couldn't stay mad at her bestie for long. Now, she was pleased that they could talk during the drive.
"This drive will take over two hours," Sheldon informed them at their pre-trip meeting. They were all ready to go, but Sheldon needed to make sure they were all covered with safety information and that they all understood their itineraries. Sheldon didn't take things lightly, so they each had their own write up about what they would be doing over the weekend suited to their needs and interests. Everyone but Sheldon would probably ignore them, but it was nice to have suggested wait times and detailed descriptions of events readily available.
Amy did better on Sheldon's trip quiz than she had on his sewing quizzes and they were soon out the door. Sheldon was in the passenger seat and the girls were in the back of Leonard's car. Penny opted out of the games they were playing. She brought a magazine to read instead, which she shared with Amy after the second round of twenty questions ended in bickering between Leonard and Sheldon for most of the rest of the drive.
"This would look great on you, Amy," Penny said, pointing to one of the outfits in the magazine.
"The skirt is shorter than I would be comfortable wearing, but I like it. Perhaps we should go shopping after we get back home," Amy said.
Sheldon heard their conversation and turned back to see what they were looking at. "That doesn't look like Amy's style at all," Sheldon commented.
"That's the point. Sometimes it's fun to change things up a little bit. Besides, you are making her wear costumes all weekend," Penny said.
Amy shot Penny a look. She didn't like where this was going at all.
"First, I'm not making Amy do anything. We've discussed this. Second, it's just for fun over the weekend. She isn't making any permanent changes. Third, I like Amy's current style. She often looks fetching in her sweaters, even if I'm not always a fan of the tights."
The car went silent after Sheldon's speech. Amy was having trouble believing what she just heard. Had Sheldon just complimented her regular clothing too? After a moment, Penny elbowed Amy.
"Sheldon likes your legs," Penny whispered.
"I didn't say that. I just expressed a mild distaste for a single piece of clothing," Sheldon said, but he didn't turn to face Penny.
Amy didn't say anything. Sheldon saw Amy's face fall from the side mirror after he spoke, but he didn't want to talk to her in front of Penny and Leonard. Amy didn't want to look at Penny's magazine anymore, and she just quietly stared out the window for the last half hour of the drive.
They arrived at the hotel. They all got out of the car. Before Amy could get back to the trunk to get her suitcase, Sheldon put his hand on her arm. "Can I talk to you?" he asked as he nodded his head away from their friends.
"I didn't mean to insult your clothing," Sheldon said. "Your style is refreshing, and I would hate to see you change to look more like Penny because of peer pressure."
"Thank you, Sheldon," Amy said, but her tone was still sad.
"Are you still sad?" Sheldon asked. He wasn't good at reading people, but Amy still seemed off.
Amy shrugged. "I'm fine."
"Okay," Sheldon said and started walking back to the car. Then he stopped and turned back to her. "The thing that Penny said wasn't not true. I just didn't want to say that in front of them." Once Amy understood what Sheldon said, she smiled so big that it almost hurt her face and walked over. Then he pulled his and Amy's suitcases out of Leonard's car and handed Amy hers. They followed the others in.
Sheldon and Amy waited in line to check in side by side. There were obviously a lot of convention goers staying at this hotel. There were even a few people already in costume mulling about the lobby. When they were up next, they both went up to the counter. The reservation for both rooms was under Sheldon's name.
After Sheldon gave the woman his information, she typed in the computer for a moment. "Is that the only name you put your reservation under? You said two rooms with one bed, but I have it as one room with two beds."
"That's impossible." Sheldon looked at his email on his phone. The conformation email would prove him right. Only it didn't. Right there in his email that he must have looked at a dozen times was written, one room with two beds. How could he have made that mistake in the first place and then overlooked it since? Sheldon suddenly felt very lost. He looked at Amy and then back at the clerk.
"Is there anything you can do? It seems that I've made a mistake," Sheldon said.
"Sorry, Mr. Cooper," the clerk started.
"Dr. Cooper," Sheldon automatically corrected.
"Dr. Cooper. As I'm sure you are aware, ComicCon is happening this weekend. We've been completely booked for this weekend for months."
Sheldon sighed. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He looked at Amy again, and she just shrugged. Then she leaned in and quietly told him, "I know it's not ideal, but I don't mind sharing a room with you. At least there are two beds. Or we can talk to everyone else and see if we can make other arrangements. Still, you should take this room because you don't want to lose out on the only room we do have."
"Yes," Sheldon said to Amy. Then he turned back to the clerk and got his room keys and they found the others still waiting in the lobby.
They explained about the room. Leonard and Penny and Howard and Bernadette each had rooms with one bed and they weren't willing to change anything about their rooms. Raj and Stuart were sharing a room with two beds. They offered to switch roommates if it would make Sheldon more comfortable, but that would mean Amy would be sharing a room with another man, and Sheldon didn't feel comfortable with that. He claimed it wasn't about jealousy, but everyone knew it was.
"Just share a room with your girlfriend, Sheldon. It won't kill you," Leonard said grumpily. It was getting late and he just wanted to get some dinner and go to bed.
"Fine. We'll share tonight and look into other arrangements tomorrow. Let's go drop off our luggage and get something to eat."
Sheldon and Amy's room was down the hall from Leonard and Penny's, but everyone else was on different floors. Everyone agreed to meet back up in fifteen minutes to go have dinner. Amy followed Sheldon into their room. He quickly set about properly hanging up their costumes while Amy went to go brush her hair and freshen up for dinner.
When she came back out of the bathroom, Sheldon had set up camp in their room. His things were everywhere, including on both beds. Everything was very organized, but it was everywhere.
"Sheldon where am I supposed to sleep?" Amy said.
"That is your bed," Sheldon said pointing to the bed closer to the window. "I just needed to borrow it to organize my things.
"You can finish later. We need to go meet everybody," Amy said.
"I need to finish this now."
"Okay, what can I do to help?"
Sheldon described where things needed to go and Amy helped him put everything away. They were ten minutes late meeting everyone downstairs.
"Where are they?" Penny asked frustratedly.
"If they were anyone else, I would suggest that they are making out, but since they are Sheldon and Amy, they are probably cleaning or something," Leonard said. "I'm calling them, and if they don't show up in the next five minutes, we're leaving without them."
"No need, Leonard. We're here. Sorry for our tardiness. Amy was helping me put my things away before we came down here," Sheldon said as he appeared with Amy by his side.
"Let's go. I'm starving," Raj said. He was still excited that he was able to say that in front of the girls without any alcohol in his system. It sure made it easier to communicate his needs.
They had a quiet group dinner. Everyone was excited to be there, but they were also tired from the long day. Conversation dwindled and everyone was ready to get back to the hotel for some rest.
Sheldon and Amy went back up to their room. Amy was a little nervous about sharing with Sheldon, but she reminded herself that they had separate beds. He was just her roommate for the night or the weekend depending on what they could work out.
Amy went in the bathroom and got ready for bed as soon as they got back in the room. Then it was Sheldon's turn. He closed the door while he changed, but he came back out to get something before brushing his teeth and left the door open. Amy watched him finish all the little things he did before going to bed and it was strangely intimate. She always saw him so put together that seeing him do something as simple as brushing his teeth was fascinating.
He came back out, got into bed, and said, "Goodnight, Amy."
"Goodnight, Sheldon." It wasn't how Amy always hoped she would go to bed with Sheldon the first time, but she would take it.