Sheldon walked Amy all the way up the room and went in with her. "You should go back. I just thought I would lie down for a little while. I'll come back to meet everyone for lunch," Amy said. She didn't really want him to leave, but she didn't want to ruin his weekend either.
He just shook his head and went into the bathroom. Amy decided to lie down on her bed and turn on the television. When Amy heard Sheldon coming back out of the bathroom, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She hoped he would just go back to the convention center without her that way. She was still shaken up by the panic attack. The hug and the offer to hold Sheldon's hand had helped, but there was always a certain amount of aftershock she had to suffer through.
"I know you aren't asleep," Sheldon said quietly. He was sitting on his bed facing her.
Amy opened her eyes. "Just go back, Sheldon."
"Section four of the Relationship Agreement states..." Sheldon started.
"I'm not sick," Amy said defensively. She didn't like the implication there was something wrong with her.
"No, you're not, but you still need care. Would you like me to go buy you a hot beverage or something to eat?"
"No. I just want to spend the next fifteen to twenty minutes alone and then meet everyone for lunch and not feel like a freak," Amy told him. She was hiding her face behind her hands.
"You aren't a freak. I'm going to go downstairs to the coffee shop and bring you back some tea and then we'll go to lunch," Sheldon said seriously before leaving. He thought that going downstairs and giving Amy a moment alone would be helpful without really leaving her. Whatever fondness he held for her made him worry about her. He knew what it was like to be that scared by people in the crowd, and he wanted to make sure she would survive the weekend.
He came back with a couple of cups of tea to Amy still lying on her bed. She took the cup of camomile he offered and sipped it slowly. It was making her feel better. Amy wasn't lying when she told Penny that Sheldon was the best boyfriend.
Feeling much braver, Amy said, "Ready to go find everyone for lunch?"
Sheldon nodded and they walked back to the convention center together. Once they were outside, Sheldon heard Amy take a deep breath. She didn't reach for his hand, so he grabbed hers instead. Amy felt her heart start beating a little faster again, but this time, it was in a good way.
He stopped her before they went in. "The first year I came here I had two panic attacks on the first day. Leonard stayed with me all day even though he didn't want to see half the panels I did. I wish I had known that it might be a problem for you. I'm sorry I didn't know."
Amy nodded at his confession. It didn't surprise her, but she still liked that he shared it with her. She squeezed his hand a little and they went back inside. They found everyone already waiting when they got to the concession area.
"You guys are holding hands," Penny observed when they walked up.
"Yes." Sheldon said simply. He didn't want to explain why he was holding Amy's hand. It wasn't his place to say, so he didn't. Instead, he followed Amy to figure out what they wanted to eat. Sheldon let go of Amy's hand to carry his lunch back to the table, but he kept a close eye on her. She seemed fine.
Amy listened to the group talk about their day and felt bad that Sheldon had missed so much of his plans because of her. He didn't look bothered by it as he talked about the panel they had attended.
"So, Amy, are you having a good time so far?" Leonard asked because she had been so quiet.
"Yeah. I guess so. There are a lot of people here," Amy said quietly.
"That can be rough. You should have seen Sheldon the first couple years we came. He had a lot of trouble with it, but he's a regular pro now. You saw how weirdly excited he was earlier," Leonard told her. She couldn't tell if he knew exactly how much trouble she actually had, but his words were comforting anyway.
Next, they were all going to a really big panel about for the next big superhero movie. They had to get in line even though the panel didn't start for a while, and that meant walking through the big expo hall to get there. Amy pulled a small bottle of hand sanitizer from her bag and offered some to Sheldon before pouring some on her own hands. She was planning on holding Sheldon's hand again, so she might as well make it easier on him.
Amy was glad when Sheldon didn't flinch as she slid her hand into his. He just wrapped his fingers around hers and they set off to wait in line again. She was a little overwhelmed by the people and the noise again, but this time, Amy just focused on Sheldon's hand wrapped around hers. It was something real and tangible that she could focus her thoughts on and she made it through relatively unscathed.
"Another line?" Penny complained when they got there and saw how long it was. "I'm going back to the hotel for a drink. Do you want to come with Bernadette? Amy?"
Bernadette got up straight away, but Amy stayed where she was. "I think I'm going to stay here," Amy told them.
"Okay, sweetie. Have fun, you guys," Penny said as she and Bernadette walked away.
"You can go with them. I'm sure you can still catch up," Sheldon said.
"We have an I-Spy rematch to take care of, and I didn't come here to drink in some hotel bar. I came here to see what this is all about. It's important to you, remember?"
Sheldon smiled and wasn't even that annoyed when Amy beat him at yet another game of I-Spy. He was still annoyed enough that he didn't ask for another rematch, but rather started playing against Leonard instead.
Amy used the opportunity to find out more about the panel they were going to see from Stuart. He explained that it was a sequel to a movie that was a sequel to a bunch of different superhero movies.
"Oh, yes. Sheldon made me watch this one. It had the handsome guy who shot the arrows, right?" Amy asked as soon as she recognized the plot.
"I've been told that I look a little bit like Jeremy Renner," Stuart said. Amy was a little confused because she didn't know actor names as well as the others. Then Sheldon reappeared by Amy's side.
"You do not look like Hawkeye, Stuart," Sheldon said as he took Amy's hand back. She felt fine and was having fun talking to Stuart, so she wondered why Sheldon was being so protective all of a sudden. It wasn't like he liked holding her hand under normal circumstances.
Stuart rolled his eyes and turned back to Raj and started complaining about how everyone else had a girlfriend. It sounded like Raj and Stuart were planning on trying to find some girls after the panel.
"I'm fine, Sheldon. You don't need to hold my hand right now," Amy said.
"I know. I am just trying to remind a certain proprietor of comic books that you are spoken for."
"I can handle myself, Sheldon. Plus, we were just talking," Amy said defensively.
Sheldon said, "Fine," but didn't let go of her hand.
They watched a video on Sheldon's phone until the line started to finally move and the group was given admittance. This hall was much bigger than one they had been in earlier. It was also much louder and filled with much more excitement. Amy wished that she had brought ear plugs when the cheering started. She couldn't even hear the announcements as each person showed up on stage.
Sheldon's attention was focused completely on the stage, but he would occasionally lean down to Amy and tell her something that he'd read online or in a comic book. A couple of times, he leaned across her to tell Leonard something. There were a few reasons why she liked this panel more than the one from that morning, and just knowing more about it going in wasn't only one of them.
The wait for the panel had taken nearly as long as the panel itself, so they didn't have much time to do anything once it was over. They decided to just wander around for a little while before going to find Penny and Bernadette. Sheldon was glad to have more time in the expo hall because his earlier jaunt had been cut short. Still, he kept an eye on Amy while they walked hand in hand. She seemed much calmer when she held his hand, and he was glad that he thought of it. As long as she didn't think it would continue when they got home.
Amy bought a couple cute figures of monkeys for her apartment when Sheldon stopped at a booth carrying what might have been hundreds of toys. Then she bought Sheldon a t-shirt he was admiring at the next booth they stopped at. She could see how spending could get out of control, so her wallet stayed in her bag for the rest of the night except for when they had dinner.
Amy was tired when they got back to the hotel. The day had been very long and she just wanted to go to bed. She changed into her nightgown and brushed her teeth and then climbed into her bed. She was just about to fall asleep when she suddenly became very worried.
"Sheldon, maybe we should get separate rooms after all."
"It's nearly 10:30. I don't think that will even be possible. Why do you want a separate room?"
"I'm afraid I'll have a night terror because of my panic attack today. That could mean anything from sleep walking to screaming and thrashing. Either way, it might wake you up or scare you."
"I've been warned now. Is there anything I can do if it does happen?" Sheldon asked. He took Amy's anxiety very seriously, and wanted to help her in any way he could.
"Um. Stroking my hair helps," Amy said meekly.
"Got it. Now, go to sleep. We have a long day again tomorrow."
Amy lay awake in the dark for hours. She still didn't want to sleep, but it came for her anyway and she eventually fell asleep a little after midnight.