As always, A huge thank you to my Beta, Hazelra7.
The Survival Imperative.
Chapter 1.
Standing outside apartment 4A, Sheldon asked, "Are you coming in for a cup of tea?"
Amy thought for a moment, before replying "I don't think I'll bother thanks. It's late and I have work in the morning".
Glancing around to ensure they were alone, Sheldon bent down and gave Amy their regulation date night kiss, then said "Well, thanks for a lovely evening Amy. I'll see you tomorrow. Yes?"
Turning to leave, Amy glanced back and, with a half-hearted smile, replied, "Yes, see you tomorrow".
As she descended the stairs, her mouth drooped into a frown. They'd been officially a couple for nearly 4 years, yet had never spent a single night in the same bed, let alone had sex.
Nor was it ever likely to happen, so long as they both pussy footed around one another.
"Tomorrow, I'll ask him to spend the weekend at my place" she pledged to herself, but, even as she thought it, she knew she was lying, as she'd lied to herself a dozen times before. She'd no more ask him, than he would ask her.
Leaving the front door of 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, she turned and walked slowly along the sidewalk, until she reached the parking lot, where her car was.
Climbing in, she fired up the engine, and drove toward Glendale and home.
As she drove, she thought back on the evening. It had, as always, been pleasant, but it lacked the excitement of a 'real date', like the ones Penny and Leonard, Bernadette and Howard, and nowadays, even Emily and Raj went on.
The missing ingredient, she knew, was intimacy, or more precisely, sex.
She thought of her friends, snuggling up in pairs, holding each other, kissing each other, touching and caressing each other, and yes, making love to each other.
Aside from the kissing, the rest of it was a mystery to her, and even the kissing wasn't 'real' kissing.
True, she and Sheldon had been getting a little closer of late. Sheldon was getting more comfortable with touching her. Handholding was no longer an ordeal for him, and even kissing was becoming easier, at least for Sheldon.
For Amy, it was causing her to be all the more frustrated, because, although she wouldn't dare admit it to Sheldon, kissing him was stirring stronger and stronger feelings in her.
In fact, as of late, kissing Sheldon was arousing her so much, she was using Gerard after pretty much every date, and even that wasn't really satisfying her.
She knew she needed something more realistic but, never in her life, had she ever bought anything from the 'dirty store'.
She was sure Penny would know how to go about obtaining what she wanted (she couldn't even bring herself to name it in her own mind. How sad was that?), and would even go and buy it for her, but Penny was notoriously bad at keeping secrets, meaning the whole group would probably know within days.
Amy blushed at the mere thought of the guys knowing she owned such a device.
She could ask Bernadette, but Howard would probably find out, and she could do without his sleazy remarks.
That left Emily. Amy figured that, as a doctor, Emily would be pretty blasé about such things, but she didn't know Emily that well, and would feel uncomfortable broaching the subject with her.
Pulling into the parking lot, she got out, locked the car, and made her way into her own apartment block.
Arriving on the 3rd floor, she took out her keys and opened the door to her apartment, reaching in to turn on the light.
Before she could operate the light switch, a hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her into the darkened room, slamming the door behind her.
As she tried to regain her balance, a hand was placed across her mouth from behind, and she felt a knife against her throat.
A male voice snarled in her ear, "Move and I'll kill you bitch!"
Fighting to swallow down the fear in her throat, Amy tried to think logically. Whatever happened, she knew she wanted to live through this, but the fear of what this intruder might do to her, made her mind race.
Silently she prayed "please God, don't let him hurt me".
The intruder spun her round, and she was face to face with him, but all she could see was two eyes, the rest of the face covered by a ski mask. "Oh my God" she thought, "he's a rapist".
Taking his hand from her mouth, he snarled "One word and you're dead!", then, grabbing her shoulder bag, he tried to rip it off her, but it was round her neck, and she was being dragged with it.
Quietly, she begged, "please, let me take it off and you can have it".
The thrashing subsided and Amy unhooked the bag, offering it to him.
Flicking on the room light, he took the bag and upturned it, shaking the contents onto the floor.
Spotting a wallet, he brandished the knife in warning, before sweeping the wallet off the floor and rifling through it.
"Twenty five dollars?" he spat. "Where the fuck is the rest?"
"There is no more" she pleaded. "I have Credit Cards".
Grabbing the front of her cardigan, he pushed her backward onto the kitchen counter, snarling "Credit Cards are no fucking use to me. I want money, and I want it now, or you're dead!".
Moving his hand to her throat, he began strangling her. Feeling she was about to pass out, she began silently praying, "please, I don't want to die".
Letting go of her throat, he dragged her upright by her cardigan, snarling "money, NOW".
Her arms flailing behind her, she grabbed the first thing that came to hand. It was slim and made of wood.
Snatching it up from the counter top, she swung it round and plunged it into the neck of the man in front of her.
With a choked gasp, he staggered back and fell to the floor, blood gushing from a wound just below his jaw bone, where the steak knife had entered.
In a blind panic, Amy grabbed the phone and dialed 911. As the call connected, the operator asked "What is the nature of your emergency?"
"Please" she begged, "send police and an ambulance. I think I've just killed someone".
-o-o-o-o-
Sheldon lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Something about Amy's manner, this evening, worried him.
She'd seemed a little moody, perhaps even sad. The half-hearted smile, as she'd said goodnight and set off down the stairs, made him feel uncomfortable.
Throwing back the covers, he got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen.
Taking down his cup from the shelf, he put a teabag into it, before putting the kettle on to boil.
He sat there, waiting for the water to boil, turning over the events of that evening in his mind. The meal had been nice, they'd chatted about work, their friends, and told the odd joke. It had all be very pleasant.
Sheldon thought about the word 'pleasant'. "A rather nondescript word" he thought. Was Amy, he wondered, getting bored with him.
"You OK buddy?" Turning in his seat, Sheldon replied "I'm not really sure Leonard". Pausing, he continued, "Do you think I'm boring?"
Leonard replied, "Why, has someone said you are?"
Sheldon thought to himself for a moment, then replied, "No. It's just Amy seemed a bit distant, perhaps even a little sad this evening. I was wondering if maybe she was getting bored with me?"
"Well", Leonard paused, searching for a diplomatic way to put it, before continuing, "you have been together for nearly four years, and your relationship isn't exactly zooming along, is it?"
Rolling his eyes, Sheldon replied "It's sex again, isn't it? You really do have a one-track mind".
Leonard replied, "Look Sheldon, Amy is a woman, and she has needs. You can't expect her to live her life like a nun. If you can't satisfy her needs, then maybe you should let her find someone who can".
Sheldon felt his stomach turn a somersault. The thought of Amy with another man made his guts twist, and his blood run cold.
Pushing his hand through his hair, Sheldon took a deep breath and replied "You're right Leonard, but as I don't want Amy to find another man, I'm going to satisfy her needs".
Hardly able to believe what he'd just heard, Leonard took a seat by the counter.
Taking a deep breath, he asked "Did I hear you right? You're going to satisfy Amy's needs?"
Trying not to hyperventilate, over the momentous decision he had just made, Sheldon replied "Yes Leonard, I'm going to, as they say 'step up' and have coitus with Amy".
Just then, the phone rang. Picking it up, Sheldon answered "Cooper Hofstadter residence. Go for Cooper".
Listening for several seconds, Sheldon asked "Oh my God, is she alright?"
Several more seconds passed, as Sheldon listened to the reply, then he said "We'll be right there".
Turning to Leonard, Sheldon said "Get dressed. We need to go to the police station right away".
Leonard asked "Why, what's happened?"
With a look of shock and disbelief on his face, Sheldon replied "Amy is there. She's just killed a man!"
