A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. I do have several more chapters coming and I hope I do this couple justice. I feel the Shamy are endgame and think to see them married on the show would be hysterical, but not until Season 9 or beginning Season 10.
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Bang Theory, but like to take the characters out to play sometimes.
Two days later, Amy stood barely able to contain herself at Capital City Airport in Lansing. Thanks to the school schedule she created, she had almost two weeks off to do whatever with her friends. When she saw them, she ran screaming in excitement.
Bernadette, Penny, and Emily screamed back as they ran to Amy as the four hugged each other excitedly. After a few minutes, Amy helped the others grab their luggage and they walked to her car. Soon they were on I-69 heading north.
"So Amy, how are you liking it here in corn country?" Emily joked
"Don't joke about corn country, Emily. I grew up in that shit for years before moving to California" Penny said
"It's actually pretty nice here, Em, but I am missing home"
"So have you talked to Sheldon on Skype or on the phone?" Penny said
Amy thought about her answer. "No, not since the last call when I gave him an update on what I was doing here. We have exchanged a few emails though."
"Do you know what you are going to do?" Bernie said
"No and I am not going to think about now. Right now I have my friends visiting me from across the country and I want to chill with my homies tonight before we road trip up north"
"I've heard Mackinac Island is really cool. Is it true that there are no cars?" Bernadette asked.
"Yep" Penny said. "It was pretty fun when I was younger, except that it was almost 100 degrees and my mom complained. All I can say is the fudge is...orgasmic. Best around."
"So I hear the beaches in Michigan are nice" Emily said. "I brought two of my bikinis"
"Emily!" Amy said jokingly. "You're with Rajesh. Don't forget we're not going to just the beach"
"Hey I still like looking good" Emily said. "Of course, I can't wait for Old Mission Peninsula. Wine country here we come!"
The ladies laughed as they headed north.
When they reached Mount Pleasant a little over an hour later, the girls dropped their stuff off before Amy took her friends for a quick tour of the town. For dinner, she introduced them to Italian Oven, which all the girls agreed was better than any Italian they had back home. That night was spent with two shared bottles of wine and girl talk.
As Amy laid down to a sleep filled with a comfortable buzz thanks to Mr. Riesling, she relaxed. Being with her friends was exactly what she needed to take her mind of Sheldon for a while...wherever he was.
The next day, the girls debated on what to do. Penny had an idea. "Ladies, let's have a girl day where we go shopping for our trip tomorrow and get makeovers"
Amy was hesitant. "I don't know, Penny"
Penny sat in front of her friend. "I'm not saying anything drastic. Maybe a new hairstyle or some new clothes. You have beautiful eyes. Have you ever thought about contact lenses?"
"On and off. I guess I'm not a big fan of change"
"Amy, you have had some upheaval in life and need to shake things up. I'm getting married and I need some stuff. Bernie, you were talking about changing your hair for the summer"
"Yeah I was. Thought about getting contacts too."
Emily spoke up. "I have to admit, I wouldn't mind changing my hair for a bit. I know Raj likes my hair long, but my hair is such a pain at times, especially when it falls down while I am working with a patient"
Penny spoke up. "That does it. Amy, where's the biggest city here with stuff?"
"Here. There is an Aveda spa salon in town. The closest malls are in Midland and Saginaw. There are a couple major ones in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills."
"Perfect. Now girls, let's get ready"
The girls got up and quickly showered and dressed. One hour later, all four were standing at the front door. Penny took charge. "Okay ladies, make sure we have the necessities. Phones"
"Check"
"Cash"
"Check"
"IDs for wine with our lunch and dinner?"
"Check" the girls said with enthusiasm.
"Most importantly, credit cards"
"CHECK!"
"All right" Penny said. "Ames, lead the way to the salon. You said they could get all four of us in?"
"They did"
"What are we waiting for?" Emily said. "We need to look hot and new clothes to go up north tomorrow"
All four women ran out to Amy's car after locking the door and took for their adventure.
Ten hours later, the girls returned from Saginaw tired but excited. Penny got her hair layered and was excited about the jewelry she got for her wedding. She didn't find any wedding dresses she liked, but after the girls returned from their trip, there were a couple stores in nearby Bay City they were going to try. She knew she should have waited for the necklace and earrings, but they were perfect and knew her dress had to go with those.
Emily was excited about the new bikini she bought. She had Bernie take a picture of her trying it on and send it to Raj, who only responded with an 'OMG!'
Bernie checked herself through the top passenger side mirror. There wasn't a major change, but she did get some layers put in. The big change was in her eyes, where she was adjusting to contact lenses. She would probably still usually wear glasses, but she liked the change and knew Howie loved her eyes. Later tonight, she would send a picture of what she bought at Victoria's Secret.
Amy quickly felt her hair through the rear view mirror. They took off four inches so it skimmed her shoulders, similar to the length it was when she met Sheldon and the girls. There were layers, but it stayed true to what she wanted. Tomorrow she was going to wear her hair with a clip like Penny did sometimes. With the shorter hair, Penny said it would look hot when it flipped over the clip. She also found a couple of new skirts and blouses for work. Maybe a small updating of her wardrobe wouldn't be so bad.
She moved her hand to push up her glasses but met nothing before she realized she had her contacts in. She had to admit she loved wearing her new non-prescription sunglasses driving home. She knew that Sheldon liked her glasses, but she remembered how he always lingered on her eyes on the rare occasion she wasn't wearing them.
'Damn it' she thought to herself. 'She didn't do all this for him' Pushing her feelings down, she grabbed her bags of purchases she made, including the bikini the girls said looked hot on her and followed the others into the house.
The girls left Mount Pleasant the following morning to drive up north. They had two days planned to stay in St. Ignace since none of them had been to the Upper Peninsula. This would be followed by an overnight stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island with their trip concluding with two days in Traverse City and hitting the Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas for Michigan wine.
They reached their destination by early afternoon, excited that they got to cross the Mackinac Bridge, or what they found out Michiganders called the Mighty Mac. After checking in at their bed and breakfast, they walked around and explored the small town. They found time to go to Castle Rock, where they loved their clear view they had of Lake Huron and Mackinac Island, including the Governor's Mansion and the Grand Hotel. Before they left, they bought souvenirs. Without thinking, Amy saw a stuffed koala with a Castle Rock shirt on. Before she could change her mind, she bought it for Sheldon.
The girls went to dinner at a restaurant across from where they were staying where they drank wine, ate, and had fun together. After dinner, they went to the beach and saw the bridge when it was lit up at night and were in awe. Eventually, they walked themselves back to their lodging and went off to their respective rooms. Penny and Amy shared a room and Emily bunked with Bernadette.
The next day, they crossed the bridge again to visit Mackinaw City. After a quick lunch on the main drag, the girls ran towards the beach. They were smart to go during the week when the beaches weren't as congested. The weather was 75 degrees and sunny.
The girls were each on their own towels enjoying their sun. Penny was putting more sunscreen while she was thinking about Amy and Sheldon.
They belonged together. She still felt that they each needed this time away from each other. Sheldon needed to get over himself and Amy needed something not part of him for herself. But she was afraid when Amy said they hadn't talked to each other besides emails. She checked their Twitter and Facebook pages and neither had sent messages to the other publicly. If either sent the other private messages, Sheldon and Amy weren't talking.
She checked in with Sheldon from time to time. Whenever she asked how he was he would give her a canned response, but she knew Sheldon and he was hurting as much as Amy was, if not more. She just hoped he got his shit together before it was too late.
She looked around the beach and noticed a guy most definitely checking out Amy. She recognized him as someone who worked at the restaurant they went to the night before. She was wearing the bikini the girls talked her into buying. It was emerald green and showed off her curves perfectly. She was totally into Leonard but she felt comfortable enough admitting Amy had a smoking body and hiding it under all those layers was just plain stupid.
Suddenly an idea came to mind. It was bad and wrong, but it just might get the wheels moving for Sheldon, or at least get him thinking. "Anybody want a Coke or anything while I'm up?"
"I'm all set" Bernie said while reading her book
"No thanks" Emily said as she laid on her back enjoying the sun
"Sure" Amy said
"Wanna come with Amy?"
Amy was comfortable but decided moving around was good. "Sure, bestie"
Penny grabbed her phone before the ladies walked to a nearby stand. 'Time to take the bull by the horns'