Look Back To Yesterday
Chapter One
Something Sinister
During a girls night with Bernadette, Penny, and Emily, Amy's out on the dance floor, just busting out different club dance moves, that none of them ever knew she could do before. For awhile, Amy's been feeling a little under the weather but never told anyone. She goes up to Penny and the other two, and holds her hands out for them, and they all join her on the floor.
"We've not danced like this for awhile now." Penny tells her.
"Come on bestie, bust a move for us. You can do it." Amy replies. Penny starts doing something that she and Leonard done at their wedding, and she starts spinning Amy, then moves onto Emily, then onto Bernadette. They're laughing and just living it up when Amy's phone rings, but she lets it go to voice mail. She had been feeling so run down and out of it, no energy at all, and having a few nose bleeds, which she kept hidden from Sheldon. They finish dancing then go back to their table.
"Who was that on the phone?" Emily asks.
"I have no idea but, I'm not answering any phone calls tonight. This is our night to howl so to speak. We don't get the opportunity to do this much ever since you all started having kids." Amy says, and when she goes to get a drink, she starts coughing quite a bit. Emily being a doctor, she's already noticed something's off about her. Amy's really coughing pretty bad, and Emily switches from party girl mode to doctor mode.
"Hey, arms up. Come here, let me try something." Emily tells her and she gets Amy's arms up, then rubs her back and massages her throat. It made Amy feel a little funny her doing that in a bar in front of everyone, but it did help her.
When they get back to their homes, they all end up going right to bed. Amy on the other hand, knows something sinister is going on with her because the person who called and left a voice mail on her phone, is her doctor's office. She makes a mental note to call them back first thing in the morning, and just goes to get a shower. She sneaks into the bedroom to get a clean change of clothes, and it wakes Sheldon up.
"Hey. How was your night?" Sheldon asks.
"Pretty good. I was going to get a shower. I didn't mean to wake you up. Have you been in bed long?" Amy replies, and she reaches up to scratch the bottom of her nose.
"About twenty minutes. How are Emily, Penny, and Bernadette?" Sheldon says and he gets up to give her a hug.
"They're good. I better get my shower cause I had a missed call from my doctor and I have to go in tomorrow for a routine appointment anyway." Amy tells him. She goes into the bathroom and Sheldon hears her say, "Oh man. Not again." He goes in there to check on her, and finds her with another nose bleed.
The next morning, she's at her appointment and starting to look bad but she keeps right on going.
"Okay, we found something in your lab work but not sure what it is. We'd like for you to go to the hospital where they have better equipment over there." The doctor tells her. Amy just shrugs her shoulders and says, "Okay. It's probably nothing but a couple of nose bleeds and fatigue, but I'll go to put your mind at ease."
She gets back home to grab her some lunch and Sheldon is already home, who should have been at work.
"Hey, I ran into Penny today at the cheesecake factory. No, she's not working there again. She just dropped in for a bite to eat and say hello to everyone. What are you up to?" Sheldon asks while giving her a kiss.
"My doctor wants me to go the hospital for some testing or whatever. They found something in my blood work that they can't figure out what it is. So, I'm grabbing something to eat before I go." Amy, who seems surprisingly calm, tells him. While she's having her salad, her nose starts up again.
"Oh honey. You've got another nose bleed. Come here." Sheldon says, and he's putting a wash cloth to her nose.
"These happen at the worst times." Amy replies.
"What do you mean? How often do you have them?" Sheldon asks, and this is actually the first time that he or anyone is finding out about them, other than the night before when he went into the bathroom to help her with the one.
"It used to not be that bad but here lately, every day." Amy says.
"Oh honey, something is really going on with you. I just hope and pray that they can tell you good news today so we can get this taken care of. I was sent home from work early today cause I'm sick but, I'm going to the hospital with you." Sheldon tells her when there's a knock at the door.
"Hey guys, I need to borrow a couple of eggs if ya don't mind. My sister's bringing her son over tomorrow for a egg hunt around here at the apartment, and I'm two eggs short. Ames, are you okay?" Penny says, and then she sees the wash cloth covered in blood from Amy's nose.
"Yeah. No big deal. My doctor's wanting me to go to the hospital. That was the phone call I got last night at the bar. Anyway, they found something that they can't figure out what it is, so I have to go get tested at the hospital. For nose bleeds none the less. Can you believe that crap?" Amy replies.
"It's not going to hurt to get it checked out. I mean come on, Bernadette and I work in pharmacueticals all day long and you work in a neuroscience lab. We don't want anyone to ignore our advice and if you was to give either of us any advise on anything, would you want for us to ignore it?" Penny asks.
"No. I suppose I wouldn't." Amy replies, and as soon as she goes to stand up, her nose just pours.
"Whoa!" Sheldon cries out, and he grabs the wash cloth again, and Penny is just about scared to death at what she just seen.
Chapter Two
A Rare Thing
Amy got so bad at the hospital that during her testing, they've admitted her. She's getting some more lab work done while Sheldon and Penny are in the waiting room.
"That doctor's been in there for a long time. I wish they'd come and tell us something." Sheldon says, breaking the silence.
"It'll be soon, I'm sure." Penny replies. The nurse is drawing the last two tubes on Amy, who looks as if she's getting worse just in the time she's been there. The nurse takes them right to the lab where they get a jump on running it through the machine, and they even have a look at it through their microscope. The nurse just nods her head and takes the results to the doctor.
"Well, damn." The doctor says while looking over the results. He goes out to the waiting room and he takes Sheldon off to the side of the room.
"Did you find what the problem is Doctor Willis?" Sheldon asks.
"We did. Your wife has a blood disorder and it looks as if she's had it for a very long time." Doctor Willis starts to explain.
"That can't be. She was just fine up until now. I mean, she went to the bar with me just last night. We danced all over that place. Our friend, Emily Kootherppalli, she could see that Amy looked a little pale like she was coming down with the flu." Penny says.
"Okay so, a blood disorder. This is going to be okay, we can deal with this. How long, until she gets better? How long will her treatments take until it's over?" Sheldon asks.
"There aren't any for this. This one is a rare one and there haven't been very many cases of it. Her body's weakening from it. She'll only get worse." The doctor explains.
"Does it have a name at least?" Penny asks.
"Yes. It's called Bernard Soulier Syndrome. It's also known as Giant Platelet Syndrome. She's going to have days where she'll be just fine. She'll feel her best and have more energy than she's ever had before, then she'll just crash. When that happens where she feels her best, that's when you'll know the end is near for her." Doctor Willis replies, explaining it the best he can.
"This can't be. I mean, come on man. You're a doctor. You went to school for so many years to save lives, save my wife!" Sheldon tells him and he starts getting almost out of control.
"Sheldon, come on. Calm down." Penny says, while trying to hold him back, and then he just takes a hold of Penny and cries.
"I can't lose her Penny. She wants to do so much to make the world of neuroscience better. She wanted children one day." Sheldon replies.
"Would you like for me to tell her or do you want to?" Penny asks.
"I need to do it. How uh. How long does she have?" Sheldon says.
"It could be any time. The reason she's showing signs and symptoms now, is because it's progressed to this state. She could have a few days, a few weeks, months, but for sure, not even a year." Doctor Willis tells him, and then he's called away to another case. Sheldon looks at Penny and says, "I'm not sure I can do this but I have to. It's my responsibility to tell her." He goes toward the hall, looks back to Penny who has tears in her eyes, and he tries to give his best smile.
Sheldon gets in Amy's room where she just smiles when she sees him. He sits on her bed, takes her right hand in his, and then tells her they need to talk.
Back at home, Leonard's waiting on pins and needles to get some kind of news on how Amy's doing. He didn't even know yet that they have admitted her. He's watching TV, trying to keep his mind busy when his phone rings.
"Hey, how's Amy doing? Are you guys on your way back home yet?" Leonard asks.
"I hope to God, you're sitting down." Penny says.
"This doesn't sound good. What's going on?" Leonard replies.
"Honey, she's dying. She has a blood disorder called Bernard Soulier Syndrome also known as Giant Platelet Syndrome. She will be just fine one day and have the most energy she's ever had in her life, and then she'll just crash the doctor said. She hasn't shown any signs or symptoms until now because it's progressed that bad and that fast. She's had it for a very long time apparently. What am I gonna do Leonard? I can't live without her. I used to think that she did like me more than I liked her, but it wasn't true." Penny explains.
"Oh my God. How's Sheldon? Does she know yet?" Leonard asks.
"He's in there with her now talking to her. This is not the kind of news you wanna deliver to your loved ones is it?" Penny says.
"No. It's not. I'll pass the word onto everyone else and let them know what's going on. When are they gonna release her? She's not coming home tonight is she?" Leonard replies.
"That part I don't know. I'd say probably not. If anything, they'll keep her tonight and tomorrow and then, they're most likely gonna let her come home. I love you and I'll see you when we get home. I'm not leaving her honey." Penny explains and Leonard tells her, "No. I don't want you to leave her either. I love you too."
Chapter Three
No More Tears
The next morning, Penny is in Amy's room with her while Sheldon's trying to get a hold of both his Mom and Amy's Mom.
"Hey, what did your Mom say? Or her Mom for that matter too?" Penny asks when he comes back into the room.
"I couldn't get a hold of her Mom. I called and told my Mom what's going on though. She just started bawling and said she'd be out here the next flight she could catch. How is she?" Sheldon replies, and Penny stretches for a second.
"No change. She's been asleep ever since you left though." Penny tells him and they hear Amy say, "I'm not asleep."
"Hey there. Can I get you anything?" Sheldon asks.
"Glass of water please." Amy tells him. He pours her some water and she's so weak she can barely hold the glass herself. He holds the glass up to her lips and lets her get her fill. She must have been thirsty cause she drinks it all within five seconds and never comes up for air.
"Thanks. Listen honey, I've been doing some thinking today. I wanna go home. They really want me to stay here for as long as possible, but I want to go back home. I don't wanna spend my last days in the hospital. I know they think they know what's best for me, but they don't." Amy tells him.
"Sweetie, look. This is the best place for you right now." Sheldon replies, and Amy sits up the best she can.
"Do what? Sheldon listen to me. Everyone always thinks that they know what is best for someone else. Well, they don't. I don't have much time left and shouldn't it be my decision as to where I want to be at? I don't wanna die in a hospital. I want to do it at home with the people I love and care about. I think I should be able to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life." Amy explains and that just makes Penny break down, finally.
"I um, I can understand what she's saying. What kind of life is it if it's spent in a hospital? Let her go back home and enjoy what time she's got, doing what she wants to do." Penny says while crying and the sight of Penny crying, almost gets to Amy.
"Okay. I'll let the doctors and nurses know to release you and let you go home. There's nothing they can do so, it makes perfect sense to let you go home." Sheldon tells her.
Everyone's at the apartment later that evening, getting everything ready for Amy's return when Halley comes to talk to her Mom about being scared about something.
"Aunt Penny just called and said they're on their way. They'll be here in a few minutes. What do I say Mom?" Halley asks.
"What do you mean honey?" Bernadette asks her.
"When they get here, I don't know what to say to her. I don't wanna say the wrong thing and upset her." Halley says.
"The best thing we can do or say, is be here for her. When we talk to her, just be yourself around her." Howard tells her.
"Hey guys, they're here." Emily says while looking out the window. Bernadette puts her hands on Halley's shoulders and tells her, "Come on honey." Halley, Raj's Daughter, Natalie, and Penny's Son, James, all walk out together. Everyone's in the parking lot when Sheldon pulls in and he and Penny go and get Amy from the back seat. They help her out and when she sees everyone, she just smiles at them.
"Welcome home." Raj says, while going to hug her.
"Thank You Rajesh. How have you been?" Amy asks.
"Fine and how about you?" Raj replies.
"Oh, I've had better days. Hey you." Amy says, and then she turns her attention to Mary, who has shown up earlier that afternoon. No sooner than Sheldon called and told her the news, she went straight to the airport, got on the Concord, and from there, hopped in a rental car, and flew to the apartment building.
"It's so nice to see you. I'm glad I could get here." Mary says. She goes up to Amy and just hugs her and cries while holding her.
"It's alright. You go ahead and cry. After today though, no more tears around me. Promise me okay?" Amy tells her.
"Okay, I promise." Mary replies.
"We'd better get you inside and let ya get some rest." Sheldon says, and he hugs her really quick before she goes over to Halley and hugs her and the other kids.
"Shelly, what are we going to do?" Mary asks while hugging him.
"She wants us to treat her like nothing's happened. That's what we're going to do." Sheldon replies and Amy turns around by the door and says, "Hey Howard! There's a baseball game Saturday. Cal Tech is playing against M I T. I told them we were for sure going to be there."
"Sounds good to me." Howard replies.
"The woman wants to play baseball." Emily says.
"Yes she does. Like I said, she wants us to treat her as if nothing's happened and that's what we're going to do." Sheldon tells everyone. They all make their way up to the apartment and get Amy settled in for awhile, then start working on supper.
The next afternoon, Sheldon and everyone are already at the University doing their work when Amy gets up and goes into the living room where she finds Mary, talking to one of the neighbors.
"Hey, sorry. I hate to interupt but, I'm late for work. Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Amy asks her.
"I just figured you needed your rest is all. No need to go into work when you could be at home relaxing." Mary tells her.
"I can't just stay in bed. I'm going to live what little bit of my life I've got left, doing what makes me happy. Mrs. Johnson. Would you care to take me to Cal Tech on your way to town?" Amy replies, while asking for a ride.
"Certainly honey. I'll go get my keys right now and meet you outside. You get dressed and I'll see you downstairs." Christine tells her and she lets Mary know they'll talk more later.
"I can't believe you're going to work." Mary says.
"I can't believe that you promise me something yesterday, and then change your mind today. Mom, work with me. Let me live my life doing what makes me happy. It's my decision to do what I will of my choosing. I choose to keep going until I can't anymore." Amy replies, and she goes to get dressed.
Saturday, the game's in full swing and everyone's acting like normal but when Amy gets up to bat, she's a little wobbly. Sheldon makes sure she's okay to play and she tells him, "I'm good. I promise." She takes a swing and knocks it clear into left field, and they do work with her on letting her get to the bases. She has a little bit of a nose bleed, but gets it to stop in a few minutes. Sheldon gets up to bat, and he hits a home run. Since he got a home run, they let Amy get into home, and then she has to sit out for awhile.
"She doesn't look too good out there." Mary says to Penny.
"She's okay. She looks a little rough yes, but she's okay." Penny replies, and then Howard's up to bat. None of the science guys were ever very good at sports but they end up getting enough runs to win the game. They have lunch after ward, and Amy isn't really able to eat much. She just wants to sleep for awhile.
"Hey, are we still going to climb Strawberry Peak at the San Gabriel Mountains next weekend?" Amy asks everyone.
"You sure you're okay to do that? It takes most of the day to get to the of that thing and it takes everything a person's got to get to the top of it." Bernadette tells her.
"Well, yeah. Why not? Bernadette, this is one thing I really wanna do before I go. The doctor at the hospital said it could be a matter of days, or weeks. The things I want to do with the time I've got, I can't put off until tomorrow. If I am able to wake up each morning, I'm gonna live that day to the fullest. I wanna make memories." Amy replies. They all just nod their heads in agreement, and decide to do it with her.
Some time after midnight, Leonard walks into the living room and he finds Penny, sitting in a chair and crying.
"Hey. I got worried when I woke up and didn't see you. What are you doing?" Leonard asks her.
"I found these today. I didn't know I still had them. When we first met Amy and got to really know her, this was before Raj and Emily met of course. Bernadette, Amy, and I, all got the idea to make these together. I was a little squeemish of seeing my own blood and I was sick after ward. We went out and got these leather badges, and cut our fingers, put them together, and and put our names on these. When I was done throwing up, Amy told me, "Now bestie, you're not supposed to be getting sick here." It's funny how you forget about having certain things and then when something like this happens, it's like you're meant to find them all over again." Penny explains and Leonard just smiles.
"I think I remember you coming back to your apartment that day and telling me about it. It's really late. How about I warm some milk to help you get to sleep and you come to bed?" Leonard replies, and Penny only tells him, "No. I just wanna sit here for awhile by myself." She holds onto the leather name badges, and just has a good cry, while thinking it seemed like only yesterday.
Chapter Four
Just Say It Mother
Amy went into work at the University for a couple of hours, mainly to tell everyone good bye because she can feel it that her time's coming any day. While she's at Cal Tech, Mary storms out of the bedroom, hollering at Sheldon.
"I can't believe you told her she could climb that damn hill. Why would you do that? She needs to rest." Mary tells him.
"She can't just stay in bed all day long Mom. She wants to spend what little time she's got doing all the things she'll never get to do later." Sheldon says.
"And why can't she stay in bed? It's better than watching her drain herself like this." Mary replies.
"Better? Better for who Mom? You, or her? Why don't you say it? Just one time." Sheldon says.
"Say what Sheldon? There's nothing to say. Amy's going to do what she wants to do and everyone just sits back and lets her do it. She needs to face facts and get a grip that she's sick and needs to rest and take care of herself." Mary tells him.
"Alright. That's it. You listen to me, and you listen good. I want for you to just say it Mom. One time, that's all I'm asking." Sheldon says, and he takes a hold of her shoulders and spins her around to face him. Then he tells her, "Say it Mother. For the love of God, say it one time. Come on! Say it. My Daughter's going to die. Just once, say it and come to terms with it." Mary always said that when they got married, Amy wasn't her Daughter In Law, she was her Daughter.
"No, I can't Shelly." Mary replies.
"Say it." Sheldon says.
"My, my," Mary tries to say but she struggles with the words.
"Come on, spit it out." Sheldon tells her, finally taking charge.
"My Daughter's, going, my Daughter's going to die. My Daughter's going to die. Oh my God Sheldon. My Daughter's going to die!" Mary finally manages to say, and Sheldon instantly grabs her where her face is now buried into his shoulder and they both cry together. Sheldon is consoling her and telling her, "It's about time for you to say it. That's when the healing can finally begin."
"What is going on over here anyway?" Penny asks, coming through the door and she finds Mary crying.
"Healing. What's up?" Sheldon asks.
"I found something that I wanted to show you. Do you remember when Amy, and Bernadette and I made these?" Penny replies, and she shows him the leather name badges.
"Do I? She called and told me what you ladies were doing and I thought you all were full of crap. But now, with her getting ready to leave us, you are going to need those." Sheldon says, and he takes them in his hands to look at them closer.
"I had an idea. Her being your wife, I need your permission before I just up and do this." Penny tells him. He's still looking at them when he says, "Well, let's hear it. What do you have in mind?"
"I wanna put these in her casket. I want her to be buried with them. That way, she'll have Bernadette and I with her, always." Penny replies, and Mary gets an idea too.
"How about, you gals make two more sets of them? You put the original ones down with Amy, and then you will have a set, and so will Bernadette." Mary says.
"I like that idea. Where's Amy at anyway?" Penny replies.
"She's at Cal Tech today. She said she wanted to go work a few hours but I think really, that she just wanted to tell everyone good bye. I'm not really sure but, I think it's coming any time. The only thing we can do now is, try to prepare and climb that hill with her this weekend." Sheldon tells her, but he was really talking to the both of them.
"Agreed. I'm not so sure that this old woman can climb that hill but, I'll give it my best shot." Mary replies.
At Cal Tech, everyone knows already and they've tried their best to put on a brave front for Amy, but she can see right through them. She's working in her lab, and when she is writing down her findings on the research, she also leaves some items in there for whoever may eventually take her place there. She leaves a gift basket full of brand new ink pens, mechanical pencils, staples, post it notes, and sticky tac. Her note reads, "Dear new Neuroscientist: This lab is where I've spent some of my best times at, here at work. In this gift basket, you'll find everything you need for taking down notes and memos in your research. May your time here be as great for you, as it was for me. With the best of luck and all the love in the world, Dr. Amy Cooper." She gets up, hangs up her lab coat, and goes to turn off the light. Before she turns the light off, she gets to thinking about how she and Sheldon worked there together when he was supposed to be on vacation from work, but she was nice enough to let him work in there with her.
FLASH BACK 1
"Oh really? You think you can find it? Here. Have it then." Amy says, and she holds the knife out for him.
"Okay. Fine, I will. Here we go." Sheldon replies, and his hands are shaking like a leaf in the wind. He tries to cut the section of the brain in front of him like he was instructed to do, and instead he cuts himself. He sees the blood, then faints.
"Yeah, you're a biologist alright." She says while going for the first aid kit.
FLASH BACK 2
"Okay. I forgive you. Now, if you want to stay, go and wash those beakers. They're still dirty from yesterday." Amy tells him.
"Next year I'm going to Epcot." Sheldon replies and he goes over to the sink to start washing them.
END OF FLASH BACKS
"Oh dear God, I'm going to miss this place." Amy whispers and a smile comes to her face. She walks out of the lab and is met by different people in the hallway.
"We're really going to miss you around here. No matter who may come into that lab, it's always going to be yours. Are you still climbing Strawberry Peak tomorrow?" Bert says while hugging her. She nods her head yes and just yawns.
"Who all's going to do that with you?" A guy who works with Bert, named Jonathon, asks her.
"So far, it's Sheldon, his Mom, Penny, Bernadette, Emily, Howard, Rajesh, Leonard, the kids, and myself. Anyone want to join us?" Amy replies. A lot of them tell her they aren't able to make it, but they didn't want her to know that they've already planned to climb it with her as a surprise.
Chapter Five
Time To Go
Saturday comes and while Amy's sitting there with Sheldon, waiting for everyone else to get there, her nose starts up again.
"Are you sure you're able to do this today? It's a long way up there. I don't want you to over do it honey." Sheldon tells her.
"Yeah. I'm okay. I'll get this to stop here in a minute. I have to do this today. Here they come." Amy replies, and she gets up to go greet everyone. They all came in Howard and Bernadette's van. The rest of them came in Leonard and Penny's car.
"Is this everyone?" Sheldon asks.
"Nope. Look over there." Bernadette replies. Amy looks toward where she was pointing to and she sees about four cars from Cal Tech. Her co workers and people she's met over the years, are there to climb with her. Sheldon's never been much of a nature person so when he says he's going to climb up with her, Amy tells him, "No. You don't have to do this. I know you're not much for climbing. It's going to be just as gratifying for you, if you stay here and watch me from the binocculars. Mom? You ready?"
"Let's do this. Ladies, come on." Mary replies, and everyone from the University, as well as Halley and the other kids, all start their way up Strawberry Peak. Sheldon stayed down at the bottom with Leonard who wasn't able to make that trip due to his asthma. Amy started off, wearing her jacket, but ends up taking it off, less than half way up the hill. Mary hangs onto it for her.
"She's doing pretty good so far. They're not really to the half way mark yet. She'll make it though." Leonard says, and he shows Sheldon where they are. Sheldon takes a look and says, "Keep going honey. You'll get there." Amy starts to slow down and get kind of tired and she sits down on the trail.
"I'm sorry Mom. I have to rest for a minute." Amy tells her.
"That's fine with me Amy. You take all the time you need. I don't remember this hill ever being this big. I used to bring Sheldon here every summer when he and Missy were kids. It sure seems to have gotten bigger over time." Mary says.
"That was way back then though. Now, you're just an old woman." Amy replies while laughing.
"Very funny." Mary says and she playfully smacks her on her knee. They're still taking a break when they hear Halley, James, and Natalie, in a conversation about something.
"Come on. Are we gonna let those youngins catch up to us?" Amy asks with a look of determination on her face.
"Not if we can help it. Come on, let's go." Mary replies. They get back up and continue to make their way on up the hill.
"Any sign of them yet?" Leonard asks.
"Um. Yeah! There they are. They have finally made it to the half way point. Everyone else is, not too far behind them. Penny and Bernadette are not too far behind my Mom and Amy." Sheldon tells him. Leonard just hands his head for a second and then says, "Ya know something? That woman sure is something else isn't she?"
"She sure is. She sets her mind to something and she does it." Sheldon tells him. Although Amy has to keep stopping several times, she keeps right on going when Penny and Bernadette reach her and Mary.
"Where's the kids?" Amy asks them.
"Well. James is still standing. Bert eventually had to pick up Halley and Natalie and just carry them for awhile. Everyone else is starting to get here. We'll all rest for a bit until they show up." Penny tells her.
"They're actually, not too far behind. I'm starting to wonder if I should have done this. I'm tired but, I feel great for having done this today." Amy says, and she's literally sweating buckets. Something deep inside tells her that she only has today to climb the rest of the way, and she jumps up, and takes off toward the top, which by the time that everyone else in their group gets there, they only have about ten feet to go. She's struggling terribly, but finds the strength to push herself to the top.
"Go on Amy. Go on." Mary says.
"You can do it honey." Penny whispers.
"Go. Keep going Amy. It's all you from here on out." Bernadette says, and Mary sits there with tears in her eyes. Amy gets almost to the top and falls back wards a little bit, but Mary says again, "Go on baby. Go, go Amy." She brings her hands up over her mouth and tries to keep from crying and just when Amy steps up on the flat surface of the hill, at the top, Sheldon is still down below and he looks through the binocculars and tells Leonard, "She made it! She's at the top. She's there Leonard, look." He hands the binocculars to Leonard and when he sees the rest of them finally get to the top with Amy, he hugs Sheldon and tells him, "She's got to be the toughest damn woman alive!"
When everyone's had a chance to rest and cool off a little bit, they're all circling around Mary, Amy, Bernadette and Penny. Amy looks at Mary and says, "I really wish my Mother could have been here to do this with me today or at least, see me make my way up. I'm just glad that you all took time out of whatever you may have had planned to climb up with me."
"This was important to do. I'm glad you let us share in this." Mary tells her, and they all climb to their feet, get in a four person circle, and join hands. Everyone around them joins hands too. Mary, Amy, Bernadette, and Penny, with their hands still joined, raises them in the air, causing a chain reaction and the rest of them are all around them, and they raise their hands up as well.
That night, everyone who climbed Strawberry Peak, went home and crashed without any problems of ever getting to sleep. Sheldon is helping Amy with a bath, and she already looks so far away. He has to practically move her around the tub. She looks at him and smiles and then says, "I really hope I'm still here in the morning so I can sit in the kitchen with you and have breakfast with you, one last time."
"Don't say that honey. You're not going anywhere for awhile. You did that today and did what all the doctors said you probably wouldn't be able to do. I'm proud of you." Sheldon replies.
"I knew I had to do it today. There's no way at all possible, that I would have been able to another weekend. I can feel it in my heart Sheldon, that it's almost time to go. My one regret in this, is leaving you behind." Amy tells him.
"It's something that can't be helped. You know, that I'm not ready to say good bye to you. Not yet, and not like this. Please don't say that it's almost time to go. That makes me think you're only waiting for me to say good bye. I won't do it." Sheldon says.
"Honey, you have to say it. If I suddenly don't wake up one morning, how are you going to feel if you didn't tell me good bye? You're going to carry that guilt around with you for the rest of your life. I don't want that for you." Amy replies.
"That's true but, at the same time though, if I delay saying it, you'll be here for longer." Sheldon tries to tell her.
"When we go to bed tonight, if you can't say good bye, then at least say, see you later." Amy tells him.
"That, I can do." Sheldon says, and he finishes giving her a bath. He then helps her out of the tub, and when he stands her outside of it, he can see that her strength is just about gone, and she's having a hard time standing there on her own. He puts her in just a pair of night shorts and a tank top, and carries her into the bedroom. Something deep inside, told Penny to go across the hall and say good night to her and when she gets over there, she can see the look of distance, on Amy's face.
"Sheldon?" Penny asks.
"She's saying that it's almost time to go. She was so full of energy today and now, she's starting to crash. That's what Doctor Willis said at the hospital. He said this would happen. Please, you better go talk to her while you can." Sheldon says. Penny goes in there to talk to Amy and they sit and talk and even cry a little.
"I don't want to leave or tell you good bye. Is that terrible of me?" Penny asks her. Amy shakes her head no and says, "Sheldon can't say it either. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him. If you can't say good bye, then at least tell me that you'll see me later. That will do." Before Penny gets off of the bed, she leans over, hugs Amy, kisses her on the cheek, and then says, "See you later alligator."
"After awhile crocodile." Amy replies. Penny walks out of there, knowing in her heart that it was the last time she'd ever talk to her again. She gets to the living room and whispers to Sheldon, "Leonard and I are not sleeping tonight. She's going if not tonight, early in the morning. You call us when that happens." Sheldon hugs her and goes back into the bedroom.
"Do you want the light on or off?" Sheldon asks upon getting into bed beside Amy where he plans to hold her for as long as he can.
"Please. Leave it on. You know I can't sleep with the light on and I wanna be awake for as long as I can." Amy tells him.
"Alright honey." Sheldon leaves the light on and he tells her, "Good night. I love you. It's hard for me to say it but, I will for you. Good bye baby. Don't you dare, forget me."
"Never." Amy says, and she kisses him. She lays her head on his shoulder and they just lie there and talk for awhile.
About an hour later, Sheldon's telling her a story about how he and his sister used to go on adventures, back when they could actually get along. He doesn't hear a response out of her either.
"Amy honey? Did you hear me? Hey, sweetheart." Sheldon says. He checks her and doesn't find a pulse, plus she's not breathing.
"Amy honey. Wake up. Amy. Amy! Wake up. Don't do this to me Amy honey, please. No. Oh no, baby." Sheldon says over and over again. He starts to cry and he whispers, "Amy. I'll miss you." He gets up, calls 911 for the coroner, then goes across the hall.
"Oh no. Buddy, I'm so sorry." Leonard says when he opens the door and sees the look on Sheldon's face.
"Penny." Sheldon says, barely above a whisper.
"No. No. She's not gone. No, I don't accept that." Penny cries out and when Leonard goes to her, she just falls into his arms.
Three days later, they're all having Amy's funeral services and like she promised she would do, Penny gets up and tells the story of the leather name badges.
"When Bernadette and I first met Amy, we thought she was quirky. Not in a bad way although she did have some zinger kind of stories about different stuff that we thought was crazy. As time went on though, we got to know the real Amy. The one that loved with all of her heart and soul. She wore her heart out there on her sleeve and never was too busy to sit down and talk to anyone who needed her advise. She was the best friend anyone could have ever asked, hoped, or prayed for. Ya know? I remember when we made these leather name badges. We thought it would be kind of neat to do something like this. Something was just ours, and no one else's. Bernadette and I talked Amy into doing this one last time and all three of us, have a set. We talked about that not long after Amy got her news that she was going to leave us. When we first did these, I was really squeemish back then. We all got a small knife and cut our fingers, put them together, and put a drop of all three of ours' blood together in the middle of the badge. That way, we could all be blood sisters. Now remember, I said I was really squeemish at that time. No sooner than I saw my own blood, I was sick to my stomach and then I fainted. When I woke up, there was Amy standing over me smiling and saying, "Hey! We agreed not to be pansies. Get up here." These are memories I'll always hold in my heart until I see her again. Bernadette, come up here. You and I are doing this together." Penny tells everyone, explaining the name badges, and sharing her fondest memory of Amy. They go over to her casket and lay Amy's set of the name badges, in there with her. They've put them on a string in necklace form and put it over her head, then Penny pulls Bernadette's set from her pocket, where she puts hers on as a necklace, then Penny does the same. Together they say, "Until we meet again." They go back to their seats and a couple of songs are played. Go Rest High On That Mountain and Down To The River To Pray. Then since Penny and Bernadette claimed Amy as their sister, and so did Missy and Sheldon's brother Adam, they also play the song by Reba, My Sister, My Friend.
After the services and everyone's gone home from the dinner they had at the church, the whole science gang in there in Sheldon and Amy's living room, just talking about the good ole days and laughing when they really want to cry.
"I remember the day she came in from work and was so hopping mad because one of her test monkies, got out of his cage, and got the scissors and cut her skirt all to hell." Sheldon tells them.
"Yeah sweetie, I think the whole apartment complex heard." Penny says, and Bernadette tells them, "I remember when Penny and I were into it and we made Amy be in the middle. One day she'd hang out with Penny and they'd talk about me, the next day she'd hang out with me, and we'd trash talk Penny. That was so mean of us to put her in the middle of that mess like that. She didn't seem to mind."
"How about the time that Sheldon swore up and down there was something inside that red chair that Penny had and he convinced Amy to go over and talk her into getting rid of it?" Leonard asks.
"Hey, there was something inside that damn chair." Raj says.
"Oh I know. I heard them all the way over here. They were running down the stairs, screaming at the top of their lungs, and Penny hollered, "Don't tell Sheldon about this! Understand?" And then Amy asked, "Can I tell my doctor? I'm probably going to need shots!" And then Penny told her, "Yes, yes. Of course." That was so funny."
"It wasn't at the time but, looking back on it, yeah it was." Penny says, and Leonard gets his glass and raises it, and they join him and he says, "To Amy. The world's greatest friend, Neurobiologist, and mentor. The best sister, to all of us. We love you, and we'll miss you."
THE END