When Sheldon buys Amy croissants to prove he can be unpredictable, he is the one who ends up learning a valuable lesson about embracing the unexpected. Missing scenes from episode 11.15, 'The Novelization Correlation.'

THE CROISSANT CONTINUATION

Amy looked up from the stove when he entered, but her hand never paused from her stirring. "Hello. How did your errand go?"

"Well, I think. At least, I hope." Sheldon sat his messenger bag on the sofa as he passed it and then slid the square pink box across the counter toward Amy's inquisitive eyes. "Here, I brought you something."

What Amy did not know was that entire purpose of his errand after work had been to acquire that exact box. She tapped the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot and put it on the spoon rest before she took a step sideways to reach for the box. After she opened the lid, she looked up with a small smile. "Croissants? What's this for?"

"Can't a man buy his fiancée a box of French pastries just because he loves her? Because he's spontaneous and unpredictable?"

"Hmmmmm," Amy murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Yes, a man can, but I'm not sure Sheldon Cooper can."

"But I love you and you love them. They're the most serendipitous of all baked goods."

"Don't they take hours to make?"

"They're composed of layers of butter and you love butter," Sheldon rebutted. Why did she have to be so logical and knowledgable about French breads?

Amy took a deep breath and her face relaxed. "You're right. I do love croissants. Thank you. I just didn't expect them, that's all. So, mission accomplished, I guess." She picked one up and looked at it with admiration. It was a perfect example of its kind: curved and flakey and golden. "Should we eat them for dessert or save them for breakfast?"

Sheldon twisted his lips to keep from responding. It was so obvious! It was right there, on the tip of his tongue. But Amy must have noticed his struggle, because she lowered the pastry as admiration was replaced by concern on her face. "Sheldon, what's wrong?"

"I can't! I really want to but I can't!"

"Want to what? Eat the croissants?" Amy's eyebrows dipped further.

"No. It's just that you're holding a French pastry, but I promised myself I wouldn't say 'Oh la la' - Son of a biscuit!" He slapped the edge of the island.

The croissant in question was put back in the box and Amy shut the lid. "Why can't you say 'Oh la la'? It's a like Pavlovian response for you. You almost had a panic attack when my mother served us Pillsbury Crescent rolls. Did they count or not?"

Shivering at the memory of such a crisis, Sheldon shook his head. "It's something Raj said. He said he couldn't get the croissant he wanted at lunch because he'd have to hear me say it. I bought them for you to prove to you that I didn't have to say it."

Amy reached over and turned off the burner under the pot. "Sheldon, I don't mind if you say 'Oh la la' or not. In fact, I find it kind of cute. So don't worry about it. Let's eat dinner and then we'll have the croissants for dessert."

She turned away, reaching her hand up for the plates on the shelf, but Sheldon put his arm out and touched her shoulder. "Wait a minute. It's not just about the croissants. It's about last night."

"Oh." Amy turned around again. "Is this about the chess comment? It doesn't matter. I know chess isn't my forte."

"But it does matter," Sheldon said, and, judging by the way Amy's eyebrows shot up, he'd been more forceful than he meant. He softened his voice and relaxed his hand on her arm. "Amy, if you want to be on Professor Proton, then I want you to do it. Maybe I went about telling you the wrong way last night, but I meant what I said. Truly. And we'll go to that piano bar. I don't want to our marriage to be based on you hiding away your wishes and feelings from me."

"Thank you. But I don't want to hurt your feelings. I know it's been your dream ever since you were little, and, since it's not been mine, I can let it go."

"It has been my dream," Sheldon agreed. "But I also think you could inspire some little girl out there to be a scientist, just like Professor Proton inspired me as a child. And what better example of a female scientist could there be than you? Marie Curie is dead. Bernadette? Phhhlllppppttt, hardly."

She bit her lip. "Will you be able to watch it?"

Sheldon swallowed. "I want to. I'll never tell you how sad and jealous I am."

"Come on, let's sit down." Amy tugged on his hand and led him toward the sofa, where they sat angling toward each other. "Sheldon, I'm glad you don't want a marriage in which I have to hide my feelings from you, that you realize that's unhealthy. But I don't want a marriage where you have to hide your feelings from me, either. So it's okay if you feel sad and jealous. But I just want you to find a way to let me know what you're feeling without belittling me or my ideas. It's not that your emotions are good or bad, it's how you deal with them and act upon them. I just think we need to find a way to redirect your frustrations."

It all sounded a little too new-age-psycho-pop for him, but Sheldon asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Off the top of my head, maybe a primal scream? Going somewhere safe and acceptable to freely express your repressed emotions with a yell. Like, I don't know . . . the roof?"

He tilted his head. "Very well. I'll try it." He sighed. "Just like I'll try that dueling piano bar."

Amy smiled. "We can take it one thing at a time. Screaming first, piano bar later."

"Just for clarification, does that rule out screaming while at the piano bar if I hate it because it's stupid?"

"We can decide on the piano bar later. I know you don't like crowds." She smiled and shifted to stand, but Sheldon gestured toward her to stop.

"No, we'll go," he said. "I promise. And you'll do Professor Proton, you promise?"

Amy reached out and rested her hand on his arm. "Are you absolutely sure, Sheldon?"

"I'm absolutely sure I want to see my beautiful and brilliant fiancée prove she's smarter than Wil Wheaton." Amy dipped her eyebrows again at that, so Sheldon switched tactics. "I'm absolutely sure because my beautiful and brilliant fiancée wants to do it. I can tell she does. And I want to support her and help to make her wishes come to fruition." He reached up to squeeze the top of her hand to emphasize his point.

"Oh, Sheldon." Amy blushed softly. "Are you saying you'll help with me with my presentation? I want you to, I want to work on it together. You're the expert at Professor Proton."

"Of course."

"Good. Come on, let's eat before it gets cold. And then we'll have the croissants for dessert." Amy stood and headed toward the kitchen.

Following behind her, Sheldon said, "Oh la la! Oh, that feels so much better!"

"How was the screaming?" Amy asked when he walked into the bedroom. She was sitting up in bed, a book open on her lap. "Did it help?"

"Maybe. A little. I'm not sure," Sheldon answered honestly.

Amy closed her book and put on her bedside table. "Well, maybe we can find another method. It was just the first one I thought of."

Sheldon nodded as he kicked off his shoes. He grabbed his pajamas and then went into the bathroom to finish preparing for bed. By the time he returned and put his dirty clothes in the hamper, the lights were off and Amy had pulled the covers up over herself. He was careful not to jostle the bed too much as he crawled in next to her.

"Amy?" he whispered softly at her back.

"Yes?" She rolled and tucked her arm under her head.

Tucking his own arm in to be on the same level as her, Sheldon said, "It did help, thank you. But I think it only helped a little because I only needed it to help a little. I found something that worked even better, that kept me from being frustrated or angry at all."

"What's that?"

"Watching you on that screen. You were brilliant and beautiful and so happy. I'm still jealous of you, but I'm even more proud of you. That was my girl! On Professor Proton! That's what I should have screamed from the roof."

"Oh, Sheldon!" Amy giggled in that way she had. "Are you sure my hair didn't look too greasy?"

"Not at all. That new formula of Head & Shoulders is really working for you."

Amy pressed her hand against his chest with another giggle. "Oh, go on."

Sheldon reached up and ran his fingers through her tresses, freed from their barrette for the night. "I love your hair. And I love you."

"I love you, too." Amy leaned closer for a kiss which he gladly returned.

But when she started to pull away, Sheldon reached up for her shoulder and held her close. "Amy, since I've met you - no, even before I actually knew you - I've tried all sorts of new things, sometimes for you and sometimes because I thought it was the lesser of two evils. But then I discovered that because you were there, because you enjoyed it, I enjoyed it far more than I ever thought I would. I never wanted a girlfriend until you showed me how wonderful it could be. Or how much fun it can be to make whoopee. I never imagined anyone else's life would be good enough to spend the rest of my with, but now I can't wait to make that official. So, be it Professor Proton or that piano bar, I can do it for you because I'll be doing it with you."

Amy let out one of those sweet and adorable squeaking sounds he especially loved, when she was touched and surprised and holding back tears. Even in the dark of their bedroom, he could imagine the look on her face perfectly, the slightly open pink lips, the soft eyes . .

Imagining it, Sheldon tilted his head and pressed closer to her, capturing her lips with his again. Her mouth was warm and welcoming, and Amy moaned softly when his tongue traced hers. "Amy?" he whispered when he broke the kiss to catch his breath. "Would you like to make love?"

"Yes."

"And not just because you were on Professor Proton, but because I love you."

"But a little bit because I was on Professor Proton?"

Sheldon felt his face flush. "Ummm . . ."

Amy smiled at him. "It's okay. If you're ever on the show, I know you'll be so sexy in that lab coat that I'll want to take you right there on stage."

"Deal." He would have agreed to almost anything in that moment, as Sheldon angled over her as he kissed her this time, letting the length of his body run against hers, the warmth of her and all the flannel surrounding her causing him to ache in a particular way.

"Do you mind if we turn the light on?" he whispered into her ear. "But only if you want to."

"Um, okay, sure." He heard the confusion in Amy's voice. They'd made love in various lighting levels before, but they'd never taken the time to change what was the status quo. But she reached over and pulled the cord on her bedside lamp for him. "There."

Sheldon smiled at her, clearly visible again in the dusky light of their bedroom, and he reached down to run his index finger along the edge of her face, brushing softly over her skin. "I want to see you glow."

THE END

I know this story is short and slight, but I hope it alleviated some of the pain without a new episode for the rest of the month. I wrote this upon my friend and beta's request and she encouraged me to post it, so, once again, thank her profusely.

But I also thank you for all the reviews I'm sure you'll leave.