This is for entertainment purposes only. No ownership of these characters is to be implied.

A/N: Two things I would like to share before you start reading this story:

First, about the change in rating to M. I wrestled with this decision for several weeks before deciding to switch. This change will likely disappoint individuals who prefer more detail regarding physical intimacy; it's just not something I'm comfortable writing. I see perception of physical intimacy as a continuum. Where someone may see a particular act as casual, another might deem it very intimate. However, I have a 14-year-old daughter, who understands the mechanics of human intimacy, if not yet the emotional repercussions. I would have no difficulty allowing her to read what is written here. Ultimately, I based my decision on the rating based on if it would possibly upset one of her friends' mother for that girl to read this story. Having to own that was a possibility, I decided to classify this as "M."

Second, about half-way through this story, I realized that each of this group of stories has been carrying a theme. Second Thought Realization was about honesty, Maternal Revelation about understanding and forgiveness, and now The Thanksgiving Visitation Commitment. The key words here are faith and acceptance. As Mary Cooper is involved, by her very nature faith had to be as well. In this story, I explore a possible reason for Mary's overzealous nature regarding her faith. As much as I could, I tried to leave details of religion out of this story (although we can assume she is Christian by her many quotes), as I believe she could be of any religious conviction. I recognize the discussion of faith is a highly personal one. Please know I respect all faiths, and all faith journeys. May your personal journey thrive…


Sheldon returned home to apartment 4A that Sunday afternoon, after Amy dropped him off. It had been a good weekend… Saturday night had been Halloween, and all his friends had attended the annual party at Stuart's comic book store. After several years of badgering, Amy had finally "gotten her way" when Sheldon acceded to a couple's costume theme. The consolation was that Sheldon got to pick the characters: Han Solo and Princess Lea. Sheldon was a bit startled (and, frankly, unnerved) when he saw how well he filled out the costume. What was worse was when Amy came out the bedroom in the Lea costume. No gold bikini for his Amy… no sir. Amy was full-on Lea with a long, flowing white dress tied with a silver cinch at the waist and knee-high black boots. She even wove her hair into the classic braids on the sides of her head (which had been held in place by innumerable bobby pins and massive amounts of ozone-depleting hairspray). Sheldon found himself yet again having difficulty controlling that "other" side of himself. When Amy left something to the imagination, Sheldon's imagination had learned to enjoy the wander…

######

It had been three months of change. Up until May, "change" had been an obscenity in Sheldon's vocabulary. Now, in small doses, gently applied, it was becoming much more palatable.

##

Soon after Amy's breakthrough with her mother, their relationship had changed, and definitely for the better. Carole still tried to give advice whether or not Amy wanted it, but Amy was better about not losing her temper and gently telling her "no." And Carole was working on accepting Amy for who she was, not who Carole thought she should be.

Rob was overjoyed his wife and daughter had finally come to a peaceful place with one another. He and Sheldon had bonded as well. Rob had never had a son, and he cherished the opportunity to spend time with Sheldon. For his part, Sheldon had never had a close relationship with his own father growing up, and his Pop-Pop had died when he was very young. It was good to have Rob willing to be a surrogate older male role model.

##

Sheldon had made arrangements with Penny on the sly, and one Saturday morning, bright and early, Penny showed up at 4A with coffee for her and Amy in hand. Amy looked questioningly at Sheldon, who didn't say a word to her. He reached into the Batman cookie jar and pulled out an envelope, which he handed to Penny. "Remember… she makes the choices. Not you," Sheldon admonished Penny. Penny saluted him in a military fashion. "Sir, yes sir!" Penny chanted, and smiled.

Sheldon turned to Amy and took her hands in his. "Do you remember what I said that night we went to your parents' house the first time? 'Amy gets to decide what's right for Amy.' So I enlisted Penny," at which point, Penny saluted Amy as well, "and she's taking you shopping. No more Amy's mother's rules. I want you to start a wardrobe that's you."

"Sheldon, I can't accept this, it's too much…" Amy objected.

"Yes, you can." Sheldon interrupted, and put a stop to any further objections with a kiss.

Several hours later, multiple bags in hand and the entirety of the money spent, Amy and Penny returned to 4A. Amy showed her gratitude to Sheldon with a kiss, and went back to Sheldon's room to change into the first outfit she had purchased to show to him.

Penny pulled Sheldon to the living room, and whispered conspiratorially in his ear. "She had a hard time at first, but Amy warmed to the idea and has the beginnings of a wardrobe at least a couple decades younger. Amy's choices are still a little conservative for my taste, but they're definitely hers. There was this one dress, though… she tried it on and it was amazing. God, I wish she hadn't seen the price tag, because she turned it down immediately! I've put it on hold at Saks and I'll go back for it later. I thought I'd make it a birthday present for her."

Sheldon waved her off, and told her he had the perfect idea for the dress. "Let me take care of this one."

##

Waking up one September Saturday morning, sunlight was just beginning to enter Amy's room around the curtains. Sheldon found his right arm around Amy, his hand tucked underneath her flannel nightshirt and draped over her ribs. He was dangerously close to "second base." Sheldon froze for a moment, then his wandering mind took over. Sheldon knew he had probably accidentally bumped into her in the middle of the night multiple times, but this was completely different. A purposeful touch? She was so soft… so warm… willing to let him touch her, he knew… but without asking first? That didn't seem right at all.

Suddenly, Amy's eyes opened, and focused on him so close to her. She knew immediately where he was – physically and emotionally. Amy smiled up at him, and whispered, "It's OK. Go ahead." He hesitated, so she reached with her own hand and guided his to touch her. So soft… warm… tender… amazing. Amy closed her eyes and let out a soft moan. It was too much for Sheldon… he leaned over and kissed her, quickly moving to claim her mouth with his. Amy could feel the warm evidence of his arousal in the side of her thigh. She responded immediately and instinctively: rolling over, rising to meet him. Sheldon was nearly ready to give in to what his entire body was crying out for him to do… but he couldn't. Not yet.

"Amy, I'm sorry." Sheldon jumped out of bed and went quickly to the bathroom. She heard the shower start. So close, and yet so far… Amy spent her frustrations in a good scream, face-first into a pillow. Then she picked herself up, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Figuratively, at least…

After a quiet breakfast, where barely any words were spoken other than "pass the butter," Amy looked at Sheldon.

"We need to talk about what happened," she said. Sheldon's face paled.

Amy stood up, took him by the hand, and led him over to the couch. They sat together, holding hands, but Sheldon could barely look at her.

"I shouldn't have…" Sheldon started.

"Why not?" Amy interrupted, vehemently. "I think I was the one who gave you permission to touch me. There was nothing wrong with what you did, whatsoever."

Sheldon began again, still unable to meet her gaze, "No. I shouldn't have started… if I didn't know if I could finish. I heard you screaming in your bedroom while I was in the shower. That wasn't fair to you."

Oh, no… that Vulcan hearing… thought Amy. She dropped her volume and softened her tone. "Sheldon, if you're not ready, then you're not ready. It's that simple.

I've told you before… I'm always hoping… but not until we're both there. Really ready. I promised. I meant it."

Sheldon turned to Amy, hoping the understanding of her words would be equaled in her eyes. He found it there without question. Amy would continue to wait for him. Sheldon breathed deeply. Gratitude for her filled his entire being.

######

His brain finally back in the present, Sheldon shook his head, remembering he needed to start his laundry and get ready for the coming week. Changing laundry night to Sunday afternoon had been traumatic enough. "Going there" was really not a good idea at this point.

Sheldon turned on his laptop on his way back to the bedroom; a message caught his attention. I missed a Skype call? Sheldon thought. That didn't seem logical – he had his cell phone with him through the weekend and all his friends knew where he was. In a worst-case scenario, whoever it was would have called Amy. He pulled up his Skype account and checked the number. Sheldon recognized it right away, and in something of a low-grade panic, picked up his cell phone to speed dial.

The party on the other end picked up immediately. "Sheldon?" his mother asked.

"Mom, is everything OK? I just saw the missed Skype on my computer. We didn't have a conversation scheduled for this weekend. Why didn't you call my cell?" Sheldon's worry was evident in his run-on sentences.

"Everything is fine, Shelly-bean! I called to let you know that your MeeMaw and I have decided that if Muhammed won't come to the mountain, then these mountains are coming to Muhammed!" Mary Cooper joyfully replied.

What the… Sheldon thought.

Sheldon recovered enough to ask (slightly more articulately), "I'm sorry?"

Mary laughed. "Your MeeMaw and I decided it was time to come visit you in the land of the heathens. We looked into coming for Thanksgiving, but the flights were booked, so we're coming the week before. We thought we'd make you and all your little friends an early Thanksgiving meal on Saturday evening. There's also a book signing by my favorite author on that Saturday afternoon at The Holy Grail Christian bookstore in Pasadena I want to go to. MeeMaw and I will fly home on Sunday.

We've already set the flights. I've sent you an e-mail with the itinerary. We're looking forward to seeing you all so much! See you in two weeks!"

The phone clicked off on the other end. Sheldon stood still, looking incoherently at his own cell phone. Leonard walked into the apartment at that moment, and set his keys in the bowl by the door. He turned and saw Sheldon, and was confused and concerned about him, all at the same time.

"Everything OK, buddy?" Leonard asked.

"Um, I think so." Sheldon still didn't look up from his phone.

"What is it?" Leonard delved further.

"Apparently, my mother and MeeMaw have decided they're coming for an early Thanksgiving in a little over two weeks. They want to make dinner for all of us." Sheldon finally glanced up at Leonard. He had a definitive "deer in the headlights" look about him. And the headlights belonged to a big rig truck on the interstate…

Sheldon dearly loved his mother, in spite of her ultra-conservative, Bible-thumping ways. He wasn't certain if Leonard and the rest of his friends were up to spending four days with his mother, however.

And then there was the not-so-small matter of Amy. Sheldon had been keeping information regarding Amy to his mother to a minimum-necessary standard. He knew she wouldn't approve of his recent relationship changes with Amy, including the overnight stays on the weekends. Sheldon's mother was on a need-to-know basis. And some things, she just didn't need to know.

Amy had met his mother once before, soon after she and Sheldon had started dating. They had broken up briefly over a disagreement. Mary had been called by Leonard to come help with the despondent (and cat-besieged) Sheldon. Mary understood the need to use basic mothering methods on the pair to get them both to resolve this issues they were facing. Ultimately, both Amy and Sheldon wanted to be back together but they didn't know how to do so without admitting wrong-doing. Mary knew exactly what to do back then…

But what would she do now? Would she try to intervene in their relationship, putting in her opinion where it wasn't wanted? Or worse, would she try to convert Amy over to her staunch religious beliefs, upsetting Amy and ruining any chances of a deeper relationship with Mary?

The saving grace of the entire situation was MeeMaw was coming, too. Sheldon and his MeeMaw had been closer than he was with any other adult in his youth. There had always been, and would always be, a special place in his heart for her, and vice versa. Maybe MeeMaw could help. Sheldon would make it a point to talk to her when she got to Pasadena…

Sheldon pulled up his e-mail account and found they were coming in on a 3:00 p.m. flight on Thursday, and leaving at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. He looked at his watch, and set a countdown. Thursday, November 19, at 3:00 pm was exactly 17 days, 22 hours, 17 minutes and 22 seconds away… make that 21 seconds… 20 seconds…


Next: Amy meets MeeMaw for the first time. And, can Mary keep her convictions to herself? I think you know the answer to that one...

An indulgence, if you will allow... for all the US readers: PLEASE be careful this holiday weekend. The 4th of July holiday should be fun, but each year people are injured, particularly with fireworks. Trust me when I tell you... your optometrist or ophthalmologist can tell you their "horror stories" of firework injuries. My "horror story" was 19 years old when she took a direct hit in the eye - and she was an observer at a large display, not a participant with a hand-held Roman candle. Those home-displays scare me even more. So, please, just BE CAREFUL!

See you (hopefully) Sunday evening for the next update.

Thank you for reading, and for leaving feedback in a review if you so choose.