"Have you heard from them?" Penny asked Leonard for what felt like the fifth time that day.
"No, I will tell you if I do, and let's face it, it is much more likely Amy messages you than Sheldon messaging either of us.
Penny sighed. "I can't believe they didn't even need a lift to the airport. Has Sheldon mentioned this trip at all? How is he feeling? I am worried Leonard. I know Sheldon is more independent now but this is a big trip! If they are not in a good place, how will Amy cope with him on a plane!"
Leonard shrugged. "I actually offered to give them a ride to the airport." He admitted. "He just said it had been arranged. He didn't seem worried or showing any of the normal whacky behaviour. I asked if he was looking forward to it and he just said he was not getting his hopes up."
"About Amy?" Penny asked
"I think the comic book but I don't know for sure. Have you spoken to Amy again?"
"I messaged her but she just said she was packed and ready. I asked if she was looking forward to the trip and she said it would be a good experience. She is being very guarded, they both are."
"Maybe we are expecting too much. It was a long 12 months for us and must have been worse for them. At least," Leonard grinned, sitting back on the sofa and pulling Penny next to him. "They are not in the next room or across the hall and soon not even the same state. I am sure we will hear all about it when they get back."
Penny relaxed a little at his words knowing there was nothing she could do now anyway other than wait. She tensed half hour later though when her phone pinged to let her know she had a message. Opening it she saw a picture of Sheldon oblivious to the fact his picture was being taken staring open mouthed at the inside of grand central station. A snorting Penny tilted her phone so Leonard could see. "Him and trains! Amy is going to be bored silly. We should have made this a group trip. You guys could have done the comic stuff and us girls could have shopped."
"It's not just trains though" Leonard said a little enviously "he is going to see so many places from films!" he signed "I heard Stuart saying they are going to stock the comic book too. He is going to be unbearable. Not only will he have seen all that cool stuff but will have a comic book too!"
"Well you only have yourself to blame! He did try to warn you ahead of the competition." Penny grinned. She was soon frowning though when she received another message from Amy.
"Hey bestie, arrived safely and were met at the airport by a limo to take us to the hotel. Glad I packed my new clothes as it is very fancy! Sheldon loved GCC but insisted we didn't do any more sight seeing before the meeting. I think he is getting nervous. I am too. Xxx"
Wishing she was closer to reassure her friend Penny replied "You will both knock 'em dead! Give Sheldon a good luck hug from us!"
~73~
"What was that for!" Sheldon squeaked as Amy released him.
"It was from Penny and Leonard to wish us luck."
"Hmmm it was from Penny, Leonard does not go in for such nonsense... he knows better!"
"Well, our friends are thinking of us and that's nice." Amy stated firmly.
"Amy, we need to be focusing. Sentimental nonsense will not impress the Marvel executives. They are expecting us to be professional!"
Slipping her phone back into her pocket, Amy looked around the room. Sheldon had neatly stacked his story boards and had his shoulder bag ready by the door. They were both dressed for the meeting in suits as Sheldon had insisted they treat it as they would a submission for funding.
"But Sheldon you would just go see Gablehauser in whatever superhero shirt you had on that day!" Amy pointed out logically, thinking to herself that in this situation superhero shirts were probably more suitable.
"That is because he is not as important and does not treat me as well as the people of Marvel!" pulling at his tie Sheldon wondered if Amy was right and he should change into the iron man shirt he had purchased especially for the trip. Resisting the idea he looked at his watch again.
"Let's go downstairs, waiting up here is making me anxious".
Not waiting to see if she was following Sheldon grabbed his boards and bag and headed out the door.
Catching him at the elevator Amy said "I am nervous too Sheldon, but we have practiced our presentation, we have character profiles and stories for the first few books. We are as prepared as we can be."
Stepping out of the elevator into the hotel foyer, Amy saw a black clad chauffeur by the door. Recognising him as the driver who had collected them yesterday, she nudged Sheldon and said "It looks like our ride is here already!"
The ride to the Marvell offices was short, the drive seemed to be far quicker than Amy was expecting, traffic although loud and busy was flowing. As they stepped out of the car and stared up at the tall building Amy felt the knots in her stomach tighten. She glanced at Sheldon and saw the same trepidation on his face.
"Come on" she said quietly, knowing if they stood still for too long they would lose their nerve to go inside.
"Sheldon!" A man moved towards them, his hand raised in greeting. "Amy! So lovely to see you both again."
Seeing how excited Gavin appeared Amy felt herself relax a little. Her grin widened a little more when she noticed he was dressed casually in jeans and a spiderman t-shirt. She made a note to tease Sheldon about this later.
Next to her Sheldon had made the same observation and wondered if the casual attire meant the meeting he had prepared for was not at all what Gavin himself had in mind. As soon as they entered the board room however, Sheldon saw that they were taking the meeting very seriously indeed.
"Oh boy," he muttered under his breath. In front of him now was a large table around which about 20 faces stared expectantly at them.
"Just talk to Gavin." Amy reassured quietly beside him. "I can take over at any time if you need me too." she added feeling how tense Sheldon was in the hand that was suddenly grasping hers.
Bringing her focus back to the room Amy listened as Gavin offered introductions. Forgetting the names almost as soon as they were offered Amy did however note the people before them were not all executives but the illustrators who would actually be taking their ideas forward.
As the introductions drew to a close Gavin asked if they had been able to have time to consider any ideas in relation to the characters he had seen in Stuarts shop.
Slowly bringing the story boards up on the table Sheldon began to falteringly explain their ideas. As he spoke the faces around him began to move towards the table and his boards and Amy could see that they were not high powered city people but just like Sheldon and his friends. As she relaxed more she saw some female faces too and realised she was not the only woman here, as Penny had suggested might be the case. In fact it was a female voice that started the questions and soon both Amy and Sheldon were answering the questions between them, nerves forgotten and excited to share their ideas. It was Gavin that called a halt to proceedings and Amy realised an hour had flown past already.
"Listen folks, we have so much more here than we ever anticipated you would bring us. I think it is safe to say these guys could sit and talk all day to get your thoughts but we promised you food and a tour of the offices before your other activities tomorrow. Can we meet up before you leave though? I think we need to get some kind of timetable together. I know you are both busy people with important jobs, but we really do want to move forward with this and we want you with us to do it. For now though I am going to leave you in the capable hands of Savannah who will show you a bit more of how we work then we will meet up for lunch."
With a wave Gavin was gone and Amy and Sheldon turned to the smiling woman before them. Shaking hands she smiled.
"Hi, I am Savannah, I am going to be the main illustrator of your book. Gavin has told us a little about you, but I would love to hear more. Is it true you won the Nobel prize for science?"
As the question was addressed to both of them Amy was quick to correct her. "That was Sheldon. He works in the field of physics while I am a neuro scientist. The main idea for this is all Sheldon."
"Amy is being modest," Sheldon cut in. "Amy is a brilliant neuro scientist and it is her work in neuroscience that gave us this idea. She works with a monkey who looks just like our character, and she is the person who has the knowledge as far as he is concerned. My work in physics plays no part in this venture."
"You like comic books though?" Savannah asked almost nervously.
"Yes." Sheldon acknowledged simply. "I have been collecting since I was 4."
"You must have quite a collection!" Savannah replied looking impressed. "Are they all marvel?"
"No, I have a large and varied collection and I confess the flash is a firm favourite."
Savannah grinned. "Me too!"
"Are you allowed to admit that hear?" Sheldon almost whispered the question, scared they were about to get evicted before they had seen anything.
Savannah grinned. "Of course. The debates get very loud and competitive some days and, like you, we are all fans and collectors. Come on let's go to my work area. You can see some of the very preliminary drafts we have started on. Although don't panic I can see we are way off in some areas already."
Following behind Savannah and Sheldon, Amy felt a little out of her depth. She had read the odd comic book, but it was certainly not an area she felt comfortable holding any kind of lengthy conversation about. She was very quickly distracted from her thoughts by the office they had entered. Far removed for the sterile white washed labs she was used to working in, this room, although bigger, was crammed with people and full of noise and colour. Expecting Sheldon to recoil she moved closer but on glancing at his reaction she saw, not alarm but pure joy.
In front of them was a room full of men and women dressed in what was basically Sheldon's normal wardrobe. The boards dotted around the room were not full of equations but drawings of superheroes, villains and what she could only guess as story brain storming ideas. Nothing like she and Sheldon had put together. There was a large tv screen up on one wall, but instead of tv or film it seemed to be some kind of game being played. Looking further into the room she could see a group of people who appeared to be playing the game and shouting out comments.
Shaking her head in amazement, she wondered if it was ok to take photos. As she went to move to ask Savannah, she saw Sheldon whip out his own phone grinning and say "Can I send a picture to my friends!" Without waiting for an answer he was snapping away. Amy soon became grateful they were actually on a timetable as she realised prying Sheldon away might become an issue.
Seeing Savannah offering her a seat Amy focused in on the work on the desk before her. There it was their comic book! It was Amy's turn to take a picture now, this time of Sheldon's face and then the cover art before them, their names in bold red print.
~73~
"Oh wow!" The 3 men sat round the cafeteria table said in awe and total synchronisation. "We really should have listened to him!"