It was storming that night in Pasadena. Bad. Amy hated when it stormed. She wasn't sure why, it was a perfectly natural thing that happened every so often. She still hated it, though. When it would storm at night and she had to sleep by herself it made her night terrors worse than ever. She wouldn't sleep on those nights, she would stay awake trying to keep herself busy with work, maybe read a book, do anything to take her mind off of the storm. Now that she was living with Sheldon, she noticed he wasn't exactly a fan of storms either. He shuddered as the sound of thunder rolled through the apartment for the 10th time in the past hour. He shook his head and continued making his tea.

"Would you like some tea, Amy? I find it comforting in times like this." Amy nodded and huddled up on the couch.

"Yes, please"

Sheldon made her a cup of tea and brought both mugs to the coffee table and sat down on the couch by Amy. She was bundled up tight in a blanket and looked like she was almost trying to hide her face. Sheldon shifted uncomfortably in his spot trying to get settled, but thunder struck again making him jump. Both of them were obviously not going to be able to relax tonight.

Sheldon glanced over at Amy and grew sad watching her look so frightened. He noticed how she squeezed her eyes shut at every sound that was out of the ordinary and hid under the blankets. She saw him staring at her and whispered

"I hate storms"

Sheldon nodded. He felt the same way, storms always made him restless. But Amy seemed truly distraught and when lightning flashed through the sky she hid her face under the blanket again. It was a moment later that the power went out and Sheldon was about to get up to start his emergency protocol when Amy screamed

"Don't!"

Sheldon froze half away out of his seat and looked at her.

"Please… just stay here. I don't want to be alone." Sheldon thought it would be a much better idea to get his safety kit with everything he needed, but Amy's terrified face made him abandon all concern for his usual routine. She squeezed her eyes shut again and breathed hard until she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her. She looked up at Sheldon and relaxed.

"Better?" Sheldon asked. Amy nodded and leaned into his chest and settled. As much as Sheldon claimed to hate cuddling, he hated seeing his girlfriend so scared. To be quite frank being close to her right now made him feel better as well. Sheldon grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around both of them before taking her in his arms again and she smiled.

"Thank you, Sheldon" he just nodded and held her close. This was one of those few times that he felt like he could protect her.

"So Sheldon, how's work going? Are you happy with your decision to stick with string theory?" Sheldon smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I believe so. I seem to be making real progress now that my mind has somewhat cleared up. I've just learned to stop caring what Kripke says since he is obviously an unintelligent imbecile who has no idea what he's talking about" Amy smiled. She knew that Sheldon would find his pace again in the world of science once he just relaxed. She continued to ask him about it and he enthusiastically told her every detail of what was happening at work. He loved being able to talk to her. He could of course talk to his friends, but they would often make jokes or try to interject with their own thoughts and feelings which Sheldon didn't care for. Amy always just listened and asked specific questions that would intrigue him and make him have to exercise his brain to come up with a suitable answer. He liked that, he liked that she challenged him. More so, he liked that he could talk to her without worrying that she would say something unnecessary or stupid that would turn him off from the subject. But that's just Amy… he thought. She's everything I want in a woman.

Whoa. Where did that come from? He asked himself as he stared down at Amy who was giving him a gentle smile.

They continued talking about anything and everything for the next several hours through the storm. When thunder would roll, Sheldon would squeeze Amy tight and gently stroke her hair reassuring her that everything was okay, until finally he asked

"Is there a reason you hate thunderstorms so much, Amy?" She sighed and frowned before looking away from him for a moment to ponder his question.

"Well, I suppose my hatred for them began when I was little. The sounds would always scare me, but I didn't feel like I could go to my parents for comfort because they would dismiss it as ridiculous and just tell me to go back to bed. So I would stay up all night just keeping myself busy which is similar to what I do now. If I try to sleep through a rainstorm, I will have a night terror."

Sheldon nodded and rested his chin on the top of her head. He couldn't imagine not being able to run to his mother for comfort during a time like that. He frowned as he thought about a young Amy being scared by herself in her bedroom late at night. He frowned again thinking about his Amy now being scared; it just didn't sit well with him.

"Well, I know I'm not a very comforting person… trust me, I've been told a dozen times. So I hope that I can offer you at least a little comfort in this situation." Amy smiled and moved her head so she could look up at him.

"Sheldon, being here with you right now brings me more comfort than my parents could have ever offered me as a child." Sheldon couldn't control the smile that escaped his lips. Every person he had ever encountered had made it apparent that he was the least comforting person they had ever come in contact with. Just another way my Amy is different he thought.

"I'm surprised you're doing this, Sheldon. You hate cuddling." He bit his lip at her words. After all they had accomplished in the past couple of months, she was still under the impression that he hated touching her. Sure, he didn't exactly do anything to refute that hypothesis but nevertheless, he rather enjoyed her touch at this point.

"I don't exactly hate it Amy…" She jumped up at this.

"Sheldon Cooper, are you actually admitting that you enjoy cuddling with me?" She asked with a wicked grin on her face. He rolled his eyes at her inquisition.

"Oh Amy, don't start this nonsense now-"

"Aw come on Sheldon! Throw me a bone here! Just admit that cuddling with me might actually be kind of enjoyable!" Sheldon glared and pulled away from her.

"Nope, you got your bone when I said I didn't hate it. Don't get greedy, you little vixen". Amy grinned and crawled towards him and tried opening his arms again.

"Aww, I'm sorry Dr. Cooper. I should know that you don't like admitting when your girlfriend is right." He scoffed and turned his face away from her and crossed his arms.

"Oh please, Amy. I said I didn't hate it, it doesn't mean that I enjoy it." He was lying through his teeth and hoping she wouldn't notice. He tried his best to keep his face from twitching by a slight movement of his right eye gave him away. Amy grinned and pulled away from him.

"Fine then, Sheldon. We don't have to cuddle anymore".

"Fine then Amy, I would prefer that."

Just as both of them completely pulled away from each other, thunder struck again and they both simultaneously reached for each other and held on tight. They both shivered and looked up at each other knowing that they didn't want to admit what just happened. Sheldon swallowed and decided to be the bigger person.

"Well… I suppose I can admit that… I don't find cuddling with you… unenjoyable in moments like this…" Amy raised her eyebrow at him and asked

"Just in moments like this?"

Sheldon sighed and shook his head. Why was she making this so difficult? That vixen always knew how to get a rise out of him.

"Are you really going to make me sit here and reveal all my hidden feelings about you?" Amy smiled at him and pulled him closer and rested her forehead against his. Sheldon couldn't deny the enjoyment of that feeling. Being so close to Amy's face, feeling her warm breath against his lips… it was like magic to him.

"I just like to hear that you care about me, Sheldon." Sheldon opened his eyes and looked deep into the green orbs that were staring at him.

"You know I care about you Amy… I care about you a lot. More than most people" He then did something she hadn't expected. He grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers while his forehead never left hers. She smiled and closed her eyes and brought his hand up to her lips so she could kiss it.

"I love your hands"

"How come?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure, there's just something about them… I feel like all of your strengths, weaknesses, and unique traits can be seen in your hands" Sheldon looked confused.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I'm not sure I do either, Sheldon. I just love them, they are beautiful." And with that she placed another kiss on his hand. Sheldon smiled and stopped holding back. He cupped her soft face in his hands and leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. He was done with trying to be strong tonight. He just wanted to be close to Amy. He continued to kiss her and moved his hands down to her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She then wrapped her arms around Sheldon's neck and pressed her entire body to his so she could feel every bump, curve and muscle in his chest. He smiled against her lips and kept kissing her before moving slowly to lay down on the couch so Amy was on top of him. Amy kept a firm kiss against his lips and she moved her hands to gently stroke his neck and down to his shoulders. Sheldon ran his hands up the curve of her back until he laced his fingers into her hair and grasped gently. Amy lightly moaned against his lips and she moved her lips down to his neck placing soft kisses underneath his ear. Sheldon couldn't control his smile and he wrapped his arms around Amy tight and whispered

"I never want to let you go" She smiled up at him and cradled herself against his chest and pulled the blanket over them.

"I'd prefer if you didn't" She then took her index finger and traced his cheek bone with it before running it down and grazing his bottom lip with it. Sheldon then pressed a soft kiss to her finger and closed his eyes.

"Everything about you is beautiful, Sheldon" Amy said as she ran her finger down his neck and to his chest right over his heart. She placed the palm of her hand over his heart so she could feel it beating. It was consistent, which was comforting to her. Sheldon smiled and placed his hand over Amy's which was still over his heart.

"I could say the same thing about you, Amy. When I look at you I see everything I've ever wanted that I didn't even know I wanted. You're… perfect."

"You know perfection isn't possible, Sheldon"

"Well…" he said as he looked down at her adoringly. "You've already made me feel things that I didn't believe were possible, so believing you're perfect isn't that much of a stretch."

They laid there the rest of the night in each other's arms and the storm was no bother to either of them after that. They talked, laughed, kissed, and relaxed for the rest of the evening without a care in the world. Sheldon knew that it was going to get increasingly harder to resist his love for Amy, but he was okay with it. He could never describe the feelings she gave him, but he knew that they were good. They were scary, they often made him question everything he believed in, but they were good. He knew that he had the rest of his life to come to terms with the fact that he was undeniably in love with his girlfriend, and he would soak up every minute of it. They didn't have what other couples had… he knew they had something more; something that had to be carefully nurtured and not rushed. To him, what they had was unique and he didn't care what his friends thought, or anyone else thought for that matter. She was his Amy, and he would never let her forget that.