Chapter One
The Koster-Fowler Habituation
Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler found herself shopping the day after Thanksgiving with her good friends Bernadette and Penny, but she could not shake off the surreal feeling of it all. She'd just spent the past five months in Gabon, researching chimpanzees in their natural habitat with a global team and only arrived back in the United States the previous week. Being surrounded by her besties, gossiping about their lives, their men, their purchases, seemed so strange, so foreign, after spending time in the deep equatorial forest with amazing creatures and fellow researchers, her sweet husband by her side. During her five months away, Amy experienced emotions from sheer joy to extreme terror, she encountered people and places she never knew existed, and fell even more in love with her husband Erik, who she now saw in a new light, a true adventurer with a caring heart of gold.
As she sat down to lunch with the girls, she realized what Jill, the head primatologist of the study, told her months ago was true. One does not leave on such an expedition and return the same person. Amy was forever changed.
"We missed you at Thanksgiving yesterday," said Penny. "My first attempt at a turkey. Turned out pretty good. Thank God for Raj though."
"I saw the picture," said Amy, laughing. "Mom enjoyed having Erik and I over. They seem to get along well. And we had lots to catch up on."
"Things been going better with her?" asked Bernadette.
"Yeah, really since the wedding. We had a couple of good conversations while I was in Africa. But I don't think we'll ever be close," shrugged Amy, thinking about her difficult childhood with her mother. "On the other hand, Erik's mom is wonderful. And Jess, Benji, and Matthew. It's really nice to have a family, people who care and don't just chastise you."
Penny and Bernadette both nodded, and conversation slipped into the events of Thanksgiving the day before, the three couples, Raj and Laura, Howard and Bernadette, and Penny and Leonard, enjoying their time together, Amy looking forward to her and Erik getting back with the group.
"And I must say we did kind of miss Sheldon, although it's nice to see him on his own, paving his own way," said Bernadette. "I'd like to think the several times I yelled at him may have assisted in that."
Amy smiled and nodded. She'd Skyped and e-mailed with Sheldon several times throughout her study, but the relationship her and Sheldon had was beginning to seem like a distant memory. A good memory, for the most part, one she learned a lot from, but something sinking into the past as she established her life with Erik and saw the world beyond her comfort zone. Nevertheless, she was proud of the man Sheldon had become, and she liked to think she maybe had a little to do with that. Or maybe that was a bit of Sheldon's arrogance that had rubbed off on her throughout their five years together.
But Amy's mind came back to the strangeness of being back, of having experienced something so powerful. She was altered to her core.
"It's so weird to be sitting here with you two," Amy said suddenly. "Just…well…so much has happened. My brain is just so full and moving in all these directions. And Erik and I, well, it's been hard to get back into the real world. Or maybe that was the real world. I don't know."
Amy saw her friends studying her. Penny spoke first. "You have to tell us everything. I watched this documentary on Jane Goodall with Leonard the other night and just kept picturing you, Ames."
"Yeah, we definitely want to hear everything," said Bernadette. "Erik back to work today?"
"Yeah, first day, but he's just doing part time at Disney now. Photography for social media. He's going to work the rest of the time with Louis' production studio. He got really into the filmmaking process while over there, and I think he wants to pursue that more. Louis served as a sort of mentor," Amy explained, then grew quiet, considering the topic of the film they were working on, watching Erik's grief and then determination turn into something akin to a life mission. She'd never seen him so excited about a project, wanting to change the world. Amy smiled inwardly, thinking about how his newfound conviction made him even sexier.
"Hey, let's stop by the craft store," piped in Bernadette, breaking Amy's internal monologue. "Maybe get a fun Christmas project."
Penny and Amy both nodded, the latter happy for the idea. Crafts often provided a way to ground oneself, something Amy felt she needed over the next month as she processed her work from Gabon and got ready to return to her addiction studies and classroom at the university. Amy felt slightly saddened by the thought, having experienced working in the field in all its glory. She had a lot of thinking to do. Yes, crafts would help.
Since her and Howard began remodeling the house a couple of months ago, Bernadette found she enjoyed homemade projects, and she and Howard spent many an hour at the craft store. In fact, the remodeling became a fun husband/wife project, something the two of them desperately needed after a rough spot in their marriage. He was handy, she crafty, and they found something to bond over. In fact, Bernadette felt the experience revamped their relationship, and they sometimes didn't hang out with their friends at all throughout weekend, opting for time together at home. She felt closer to Howard than she had since they got married.
Walking through the store, an idea seized Bernadette. "Hey, let's make the hubbies homemade Christmas gifts. We can get together throughout the next couple of weeks and work on them at each other's places."
"Oohhh, I like that. Especially since I'm pretty sure Leonard thinks I'm an idiot when it comes to making things," said Penny. "What should we do?"
Amy was studying the papercrafts section, and she snatched up a blank calendar. "We've all had busy years. Let's make calendars with the photos."
"Yeah, Leonard and I got married. We went to Rome in July. Oh, and Amy, Erik would probably love to see his photos put together in such a great way. Let's do it!" said Penny.
The girls filled their carts up with paper, adhesives, stickers, and other products, Bernadette happy to have something different and fun to give her husband. Sure, everything ended up costing about ten times more than buying a regular calendar, but Bernadette looked forward to bonding with her friends as well during the festive time of year. With four Saturdays until the holiday, the girls agreed to meet at each other's homes to work each weekend. Of course wine would be included.
Later that evening, Erik and Amy lounged on the sofa, streaming a rerun of Bonanza before heading to bed. Erik had his feet kicked up on the coffee table as Amy lay across him, both in their lounge clothes.
Erik leaned down to kiss his wife's shoulder, happy to see she'd kept up wearing the tank tops upon returning home. She had such great arms, strong, and he loved seeing them. Sure, her usual cardigans gave her that hot look that only he knew what she was hiding, but having immediate access was good too, especially for Erik who still could not keep his hands off his wife.
But Erik was distracted too. He'd had a hard time readjusting to being home, and today, returning to Disneyland to his photography gig, made everything seem even more off kilter. Having seen some of the deep sadness humanity could produce, spending the day in the happiest place on earth created a juxtaposition his mind couldn't deal with. He'd spent all of dinner talking to Amy, who enthusiastically agreed with him. Everything had changed.
Well, not everything. He still loved her like crazy. In fact, spending their first months of marriage in the field strengthened their relationship in ways he never thought possible. They shared experiences both joyful and terrifying in a remote and wild location. Only the two of them knew what they'd been through, and that shared experience made everything better.
Erik pulled Amy closer to him. "Babe, I just got so much going on in my head."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," she laughed.
"I mean, seriously, I'm having a difficult time caring about the Cartwright family right now," he said, staring at Bonanza.
Amy laughed. "Hey, you know what we haven't done since we got home?"
"Hmmm…I like the way your dirty little mind works," he said.
Amy looked at him in mock shock. "I was talking about laundry, you scoundrel."
Erik grabbed her and turned her over so she was laying flush against him, facing him. "So I know our career and world perspectives have changed, but what about Operation Full House?"
Amy giggled. "No, I think that battle plan is still in effect. And I like the name. That was one of the only shows my mom let me watch as a kid. Had a crush on Uncle Jessie."
Erik laughed. "I think everyone has a crush on John Stamos."
"Even you?"
Erik nuzzled her nose. "I wouldn't mind being that suave." He slipped his hands under her tank top and roughly grabbed her breasts. "Have mercy," he said in his best Uncle Jessie.
Amy laughed, but her laughter soon turned into heavy sighs. He always knew how to touch her just right to get her going. Erik prided himself on making her happy, and since getting married, they'd only explored each other more, sometimes sweet and soft, sometimes a little kinky. Since their wedding night, Erik discovered Amy could be quite the wild thing, and he loved their little adventures.
"God, it has been about a week," she sighed, her head slightly leaning back as she enjoyed him pinching her nipples. "We've had such a strange time." Her hands were on him now, caressing under his shirt, but her moves were sudden, and she ended up tickling him.
Squirming underneath her, Erik inadvertently rolled over, sending them both to the floor. Damn, he was such a klutz sometimes. But Amy was laughing, starting to tickle him further, along with removing his pants. The two moved across the floor together, wrestling, giggling, undressing. Amy was naked first, and she leaped up and ran for the bedroom, Erik enjoying watching her nude butt running away. Stripping off his boxers and leaving them in the living room, he ran past the disinterested dog for the bedroom and his wife.
Rolling around together, hands and mouths everywhere, Erik realized how much he missed their bed. After trying several different options in their tent in Gabon, Amy and Erik ended up sleeping most of their five months on a thin mattress on the ground. Now their bed seemed so luxurious.
Amy lay on top of him, moving her clitoris against his erection, the grinding motion making her breasts move, Erik leaning up with his mouth to suck on the nipples. Yup, he was a breast man, and his woman did not disappoint.
"Yeah, a week is too long," he breathed.
"Mmmmm…"Amy moaned. "We need to do this at least three times a day."
"You gonna come to Disneyland for a booty call?" chuckled Erik, hands venturing to her rear, her thighs, as she lay on him to suck his neck.
"On the teacups?"
"Um, no. I'd get dizzy. Oohhh…how about Pirates of the Caribbean?"
"It's a Small World," Amy suggested, still grinding on him. Damn, she was getting wet. He wanted to taste her, plunge into her. Wait, what ride did she say?
"Amy, how dare you say small when we are in bed together," he teased.
Amy stopped moving and smiled coyly. "Oh no. I meant big, so big." She slid down and kissed the tip of his penis, running her tongue across it before snaking back up his body. "Erik, I love you."
"I love you."
"Come into me," she breathed, her voice heavy, sending Erik to his breaking point. He could feel her slightly shaking on him, knowing she was already feeling waves of pleasure. "Fill me…Remember, Operation Full House."
Loving when she talked like that, Erik moved into her, surprised he was able to get mostly in with one thrust with her on top. Amy cried out his name, encouraging him. Wet, warm, tight, his, all his. Yes fill her. Erik, whose mind had been so full and conflicted the past several days, was single-minded as he made love to his wife. Amy. It was all Amy. Oh, yes, and he could feel her orgasming, the constriction of her walls bringing him to climax as well. He lost control, loving when they came together, both calling out to each other, Erik glad they could be a little louder than the tent in Gabon, where quiet sex was the order of the day. He missed her cries. Amy got loud, and he loved it.
Amy slowed her movements, but Erik, thinking about Operation Full House, felt another wave of ecstasy building. He flipped her over on her back, still inside, and began pounding into her, grunting, animalistic. God, this was so good, Amy still crying out, laughing, her heels caressing his butt, hands pulling his hair.
"Yes, Erik….oh God, yes!" she groaned. "I'm coming…again…ohhh…more…now…"
"Yes, wife," he moaned, releasing into her once more, happy to feel her arrive at the same point as well once again. He pumped into her until he felt too sensitive, then pulled out. "Damn, Amy."
Amy, naked, sweaty, stunning, lie next to him nodding. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this project."
Erik pulled her to him, kissing her softly. "Yes, I think we will, babe."
They dozed right then and there, getting up in the early hours of the morning to turn off the television, still streaming Bonanza, and lights. Despite his shifting mindset, Erik knew he now had a constant – Amy.
The next day, the table at the Wolowitz home was covered in scrapbooking supplies. The girls decided to do three pages each Saturday they got together, and Amy knew she would start with the wedding, which turned out to be quite the crazy day. She laid out the pictures she'd gotten printed on the way to Bernadette's that morning. Kauai, their engagement in Paris the previous Christmas, which she'd save for December. And the rest were Gabon, beautiful images Erik captured, to be featured in National Geographic along with the film, the book, and online resources. Amy sometimes felt a bit breathless thinking about the scope of their research project and how this was only the beginning.
Refocus, she thought. Just relax with your besties and have fun.
She glanced over at her friends' pictures. Penny and Leonard's wedding, their trip to Rome with Sheldon and Rosemary, Bernadette and Howard posing silly at the beach. This was going to be a fun project.
"Holy crap, Amy," cried Penny, grabbing one of the pictures. "This is amazing."
Amy glanced over at the photo. "Yeah, that is my favorite. In fact, that is one of my favorite days ever."
"Tell us," said Bernadette, selecting her paper, pictures, and stickers for her first page. "We didn't get to hear too much while you were gone."
Amy smiled, happy to reflect on that remarkable day.
July 2016
Amy listened to the morning sounds of the forest as she lie with Erik, who was still dozing next to her. She traced her fingers across the scar on his hand, the one he'd gotten on their wedding day while trying to change a tire in a cranberry bog. Shaking her head, she knew the scar would always be there, a memory of his frantic race to get to her, to the altar. And it was a good memory, one that made them laugh, a story they told the research group during their evening meal. A story they would one day tell their kids.
Erik opened his eyes and sleepily smiled at her. "Hey wife. How are you?"
"Good. Ready for a day with the chimps," she said. While Erik had been between the research site and the local village, Amy spent most of her time with Jill, learning how to observe the animals. While they'd achieved habituation, when the animals became used to the humans and sometimes even interacted, the chimps would still not approach Amy like they did Jill. And she tried not to let it bother her, Jill assuring her that this was her first time in the field, the animals could sense her apprehension, and they would grow used to each other sooner rather than later. Still, Amy couldn't help but have hurt feelings.
"Well, I'm sticking with you today," Erik said. "In fact, the next week. Then going to work with Louis some more. We stumbled across that work house using AIDS orphans, and we see a possible angle. So much going on here. This is really more than the chimps, Amy. This is Gabon. This is western Africa."
She nodded, noticing how conversation amongst the team shifted the past several days, Erik going between the human and animal aspects of their project. But Amy was happy to stay with the chimps, trying to get them used to her.
"I hope they approach me soon. Jill seems to be best friends with some of them," Amy said.
"It'll happen, baby," he yawned, starting to rise. "Let's get out there."
Early afternoon, Erik and Amy had been sitting for hours watching the local troop around a small lagoon. The chimps groomed one another, males grunted and pushed each other around for dominance, and two mothers cuddled and played with their young. Amy had gotten used to sitting still, jotting down notes on behavior from time to time, becoming part of the forest. Erik was already quite the pro, Amy sometime forgetting he was even there. She enjoyed his stealth, laughing inwardly at how he was a klutz most of the time except when in photog zone.
Amy silently watched the group for a long time, losing herself in their interactions, her mind becoming blank except for the chimps. She even lost track of Erik. They were beautiful, going about their lives. So human sometimes.
A loud snap of a branch off to the left startled Amy, and she glanced over to see Biscuit, one of the teenaged females, approaching her slowly. Amy's breath left her as she watched the primate walk over. None of them had come this close before. Biscuit came up right beside Amy, who reached out her hand, palm up, locking eyes with the animal. Biscuit reached out and graced her fingers along Amy's palm, then made some hooting sounds, and danced around in a circle before touching Amy's palm again. Amy smiled broadly. Biscuit was one of the more outgoing members of the troop, so perhaps she'd encourage the others to approach Amy as well.
Instead of running away after the interaction, Biscuit sat down next to Amy, her fingers moving up and down Amy's arm. Amy knew that she was being groomed, something that chimpanzees did socially, to establish relationships. She'd seen some of the chimps do this to Jill, and Jill returned the favor. Although it looked rather strange to someone on the outside, the mutual grooming helped with habituation.
Amy turned to Biscuit and ran her fingers along the hair on her arm, noticing the chimp seemed to smile at her. After a minute of interaction, Biscuit hooted again, looking down to study Amy's pen and notepad, then ran off to join the troop, tackling one of her sisters down by the water.
The brief encounter overwhelmed Amy, and she watched them silently for several minutes, recollecting herself. Finally, she grabbed her notebook and began to scribble frantically, trying to keep everything scientific but soon slipping into her feelings on what just happened, now understanding why a lot of Jill's field notes consisted of personal reflections and even poetry.
She filled up several pages with observations, emotions, and even drawings, glancing up to watch the troop from time to time. She'd made contact! Jill was right – she could do this!
Thirty minutes must have passed after the Biscuit encounter before she heard another snap of the brush. She looked up to see Erik sit down next to her, a huge grin on his face.
"Oh my God, I forgot you were there," laughed Amy. "I don't mean that to be rude, but…"
"No, that's a complement for an animal photographer," he chuckled, fiddling with the two large cameras he carried. "Check this out."
He scooted next to her and showed her the screen. Amy gasped, tears coming to her eyes. Erik captured the entire interaction, the most beautiful image the close-up of her and Biscuit, the chimp grazing her hand for the first time. Light fell across their faces, and both seemed to be smiling at one another.
"I'm going to make this the lead on the website for the week when I update our field study page," he said, grinning at the image. "God, you're so beautiful, Amy. See, told you they'd come around."
Amy studied Erik as he went through the photos. How had she found this wonderful man? How had she ended up here, at the edge of the world with amazing creatures? She leaned over to kiss him, and slowly their kiss became more passionate, both scooting over to be pressed together. Suddenly, a hoot sounded, making the couple jump and regard the troop. All the chimps were staring at them.
"Guess we'd better stop," laughed Erik. "The kids are watching."
In the coming days, more and more of the troop interacted with Amy, and she and Jill began to make some more detailed notes about family structure and social hierarchy, Amy finding her lab work in neurobiology and focus on behavior studies to be particularly helpful, Jill often asking questions. Amy loved learning from the chimps and her new colleague and mentor. But the time Biscuit first approached Amy would forever be one of her favorite moments. And Erik captured it perfectly.
Amy finished her story and looked up from the photograph, seeing her friends both with looks of joy on their faces.
"Ames, that is so amazing," Penny said. "You really did have the time of your life, huh?"
Amy nodded. "Yes. And because of Gabon, now I don't know what to do next. I don't know about going back to the lab…I…" she groaned. "Erik and I both are in a bit of a…confuzzled state."
Bernadette laughed. "As long as you're still in love."
"More than ever," Amy said. "I know our careers are up in the air, but we both know what we want otherwise." She told the girls about Operation Full House.
"Love the name. Who doesn't love John Stamos?" laughed Penny, choosing a sticker for her wedding page.
The girls giggled and continued to chat, working on their calendars. Amy knew changes were ahead for her and Erik, but for now, selecting the right sticker to match this paper seemed most important.
Author's Note: Welcome to my new story! A tale featuring newlyweds Amy and Erik, The Christmas Calendar Conception is nearly complete, and I will update periodically in the coming weeks before the holiday. This story is quite a bit shorter than my other two (only five chapters), but I promise romance (sometimes sweet, sometimes steamy), adventure (including some tense, scary moments), and humor.
If you have not read The New Beginning Experiment, I highly suggest doing so to discover how Amy arrived at this exciting point in her personal and professional life.
Like The True Love Stratagem, I am working in an AU quite a bit different from other fanfics and the show itself. Still, I hope you find this story engaging, and I'm excited to develop Amy and Erik's characters further. Please let me know what you think.
Thank you for reading!