Amy took a deep breath. 'Okay, come on Fowler, get yourself together'

Her hand started to tremble a little and she rolled her eyes about herself. Maybe walking around would help… like Penny always did when she had to make a phone call that made her nervous. On the other hand, what was there to be nervous about for Penny? She was everybody's darling.

Amy's thoughts were interrupted. "Hello Amy! How are you doing, dear?"

The voice immediately made the young neurobiologist feel better. "Hello Mary. I'm fine, thanks a lot. Listen, I actually called to…"

"I know, dear, I read the e-mail! Missy helped me with the computer!"

"Oh, that is great"

"Give me a moment" The voice moved away from the phone. "MOM?"

Amy nervously bit her lips. It would be the very first time ever she would speak to Sheldon's Meemaw. And given the fact that this woman was the person Sheldon loved most on this entire planet, she was more than nervous to complete the task of asking her for her Christmas cookie recipe. Amy wanted to be liked by Sheldon's grandmother and she had no idea how to manage that. She knew how to be polite, she knew how to be friendly but she had no idea how to get someone to like her.

"MOOOM!"

"Dear Lord, Mary. I might be old but I'm not deaf. Not yet at least. Might change if you keep screaming like that."

Amy smiled when she noticed the heavy Texan accent. A rustling noise came out of Amy's phone speaker, when Mrs. Cooper handed the phone to her mother.

"Amy, sweetheart?"

It only had taken these two words to make Amy fall in love with her boyfriend's grandmother. She had the softest and warmest voice she had ever heard and even her words felt like a hug for the soul.

"Hello" Amy's smile was audible. "How are you, Mrs…"

"No! No Mrs.! My Shelly loves you and therefore so do I. You call me Meemaw, sweetheart!"

Amy was overwhelmed with all the love. This woman didn't even know her in person but was lovelier than 90% of people Amy had ever met, including her own family.

"I'm sorry if I was too fast forward…"

"No! Not at all. I was just… surprised. But in a good way! I would love to call you Meemaw."

She heard her smile. "Alright, sweetheart. What's the reason for your call?"

Amy cleared her throat. "I hope it's not impolite but I actually wanted to ask for your Christmas cookie recipe. I want to bake some for Sheldon. He'll be celebrating with me."

"He will be celebrating with you?" Meemaw sounded astonished. "Ohh, Amy, if you had any idea how much this warms this old woman's heart. I am so glad. See, I love my little Shelly, but I didn't want him to end up like his friend Polowuzz…"

"Wolowitz?"

"Well, the guy with the immortal need to crawl back into his mother's womb!"

"He actually got married. But I get your point…" Amy grinned.

"Anyway, sweetheart, I am so glad he found you. I knew he's been doing fine down there in Pasadena, he seems to have quirky but lovely friends. But you, my dear, are his family now and that is exactly what Shelly needs – someone to love him even though he's quite… special."

Amy bit her lips. Yes, she did love him. Everything about him. It had taken her over thirty years to finally get that feeling of truly and honestly being in love with someone but she wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Oh" Amy rushed back behind the kitchen counter and grabbed everything she needed. "Yes"

The neurobiologist carefully wrote down all the instructions, step by step. She needed those cookies to be perfect. Amy knew how much Sheldon missed being with his family, even though he kept claiming how stupid Christmas was.

When she was done, she put the pen down and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Meemaw"

"You're very welcome"

Amy smiled. "Do you think you'll visit us here one day?"

"Oh, of course! I would love to. I haven't been to Pasadena in forever!"

Amy noticed some mumbling in the background.

"Oh, Amy, sweetheart, I am sorry for cutting you off like this, but my great grandson is demanding his playtime!"

"That's absolutely fine. Thank you again for the recipe!"

"No problem!" Meemaw's voice moved away again from the phone. "Look, auntie Amy is on the phone!"

A loud babbling came out of Amy's phone speakers next and she figured it was Sheldon's nephew trying to talk to her. Amy laughed.

"Alright, Amy" Meemaw now seemed busy with the baby. "I hope to hear from you soon! Maybe next time Missy is here we can do that fancy computer thing where we can see each other. I'd love to see you and my little Shelly together."

"No problem at all. We'll set it up. Promise!"

"Very well, sweetheart! Good luck with the cookies! Bye!"

"Goodbye, Meemaw. Thank you."

After Sheldon had tried one of the cookies, the smile on his face didn't seem to go away anymore. Amy was more than relieved and happy. She had sent Missy a text message and Missy had written back that Meemaw was incredibly happy her cookies could still bring so much joy to Sheldon.

"Well, enough games for me!" Howard sighed and leaned back in his chair. "To be honest, I'm full and tired"

"Yes" Bernadette admitted sheepishly. "Me, too. Maybe it's time to go home…"

Amy was kind of disappointed but she didn't let it show. She didn't want to ruin this Christmas Eve for anyone. It all had been really nice, she just had wished it would have lasted longer.

"Well, yeah, it has become pretty late" Penny emptied her wine glass and put it back on the table.

Leonard nodded, smiled at Amy and stood up. Bernadette, Howard and Penny followed.

"Sheldon, shall we take you home?" Penny looked at the physicist but he shook his head.

"I want to stay with Amy a little longer. But thank you." He nodded at Penny and then turned back, staring at the cookie box again for a small second and his eyes started glimmering again.

"Oh, I think it's time for us to go, too!" Raj had gotten the hint when Leonard had raised his eyebrows towards him.

"But…"

"No dad, we're leaving" Raj also got off his chair and quickly followed his friends. "Amy, it was a lovely evening."

"Thank you, Rajesh" Amy smiled and walked them to the door.

"Good night, Amy" Leonard kissed her left cheek and then her right cheek, smiled at her and left the apartment. This procedure kept going until everyone except Sheldon had left.

Amy sighed and closed the door, then she stretched a little and went over to her sofa. She let herself fall onto it and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, Sheldon had come over with his cookie box. He sat down next to Amy, put the box on his lap and opened it. With a happy smile he picked up a heart shaped cookie and handed it to Amy. "Here"

"But… those are your cookies"

"Have you even tried one?"

"No, I wanted you to have the full box"

Sheldon gave her one of his side looks and demandingly stretched the cookie towards her again. "Try it"

Amy took it and smiled. "Thank you"

She took a bite and immediately knew what Sheldon had meant. It simply tasted like childhood. She didn't know why, it was no taste she had ever tasted before, but it still reminded her of a big Christmas tree, songs, Santa Clause, reindeers, presents and an open fire.

"They're great, aren't they?" Sheldon had exactly seen her facial expression. He knew what it felt like when the delicious taste chased along your taste buds to finally reach certain regions in your brain that apparently only were there to make you feel the Christmas spirit.

"You're right" Amy looked back at him. "They are really good"

"Yes" Sheldon put the box back on the couch table and then sat closer to Amy. She almost forgot to swallow when his perfect scent hit her.

"Thank you, Amy" His face was so close to hers that she almost couldn't see him clear anymore.

She cleared her throat. "You're welcome. And thank you, too. That photo is the best gift I've ever gotten from anybody."

Sheldon's look slipped down onto her lips. Her heart started racing. He leaned in and let their lips collide. His hand automatically landed on the side of her neck, his thumb slowly caressing her jawline as he kissed her with all the passion he could possibly award.

When he broke away from her again and opened his eyes, they were sparkling. "The cookies taste even better from your lips"

The horde of butterflies he set free with that statement in Amy's stomach felt like it was going to kill her for good.

He slowly lowered his hand and then smiled at her. "Merry Christmas, my beautiful Amy"

She let go of a short tender laugh and then looked right into his eyes. "Merry Christmas, my precious Sheldon"