Author'a Premise: Hello friends! I am here with a new story! This idea popped in my and my best friend's head way back in December. We hadn't done too much with it back then, but we knew it had some potential. We finished the outline way back in January and this story has been brought to life! I'm super excited to give this to you guys!

A few notes:

- This is an alternate universe fan fiction. While Sheldon and Amy still have most of their lovable, quirky traits, they will still have OOC moments, especially considering this story is about a one night stand! So be forewarned! It will, however, become more in-character as the story progresses.

- They're a tad younger here, it takes place shortly after Howard and Bernadette's engagement.

- This is rated T for now, but will certainly turn rated M in the future!

- This story will be updated every Thursday!

This is a collaboration with my best friend (drummergirl66), whom I met through Tumblr and FanFiction. She is truly the brains of this outfit! I simply tap uncontrollably on the keyboard! She keeps me on track, especially when I tend to slack off at times. So with her around, updating should be a regular thing!

With that... I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter One

The Woman in Wool

"Here," Sheldon frowned skeptically as Howard pushed an unknown drink towards him. His eyes shifted from the shorter glass to the taller one that held his virgin Cuba libre, "now relax and shut up."

"What is it?" Tonight, they were celebrating Howard's engagement to Bernadette and, not that Sheldon wasn't happy for his friend, he would rather be someplace other than a bar that was directly below a hotel. Besides, he figured that the women were the ones who celebrated engagements, no one told him men did as well.

"A crown royal and coke," Howard answered before tipping back his own glass and taking a sizable sip of it, "try it."

"I'd prefer not to," Sheldon huffed out before lifting the drink from the table and giving it a curious sniff. The tiny bubbles of carbonation that lifted from the drink tickled his nose as he took in another breath and let out a small whimper of uncertainty, "Did you ask for diet co—"

"Oh for God's sake, Sheldon," Leonard growled, "Just drink it!"

"Alright!" Sheldon whined with a mocking tone before pressing the cold glass to his lips and taking a small experimental sip of the concoction. It wasn't bad and he took another sip, "This tastes like a vanilla coke." Sheldon added as licked his lips and took a third sip. The whiskey, even with it being diluted with soda and ice cold still managed to bring an uncomfortable warm sensation down his throat and he fought the urge to shudder.

"You should probably order another one then," Howard coaxed with a smug grin as he watched the lanky scientist down the rest of the elixir.

As Sheldon finished it off, he turned towards the bar and stood up. The alcohol hadn't hit him quite yet, so he was able to stand up without feeling lightheaded or dizzy. He did, however, begin to feel more relaxed as the alcohol settled into his stomach, "I reckon I should," he told his friends before rapping his knuckles on the wooden table and walking over to the bar.

Because it was a Friday evening, the bar was packed. Usually, Sheldon hated to go near large crowds, but the need for another glass of the dangerously delicious cocktail overpowered his desire for personal space. Patiently he waited and watched as the two bartenders took care of their patrons until he was finally at the bar himself. Resting his forearms on the cool granite counter, he ordered his drink and waited as the petite bartender began to make it. As he watched the bartender gather the ice and masterfully poor the two drinks together to combine them, he caught something— someone— in the corner of his eye.

It was a woman. Short with pin-straight brunette hair and glasses. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she were fighting back tears. Her lips were pulled down into a distressed frown as her fingers gliding up and down her half-empty glass to collect the condensation that had gathered there. Typically, he wouldn't have given her— or anyone— a second glance. But something about her called to him. As if she were an equation, a riddle, begging to be solved and interpreted. He needed to converse with her. Sheldon opened his mouth but was quickly cut off by the bartender getting his attention to hand him his drink.

Once he had taken the glass, he pushed back from the bar and stepped towards her, "Excuse me, miss. Are you alright?"

The woman looked up, her eyes gaining a hopeful glow to them before her expression fell and she quickly turned her attention back to her glass of liquid and slow-melting ice, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Sheldon noticed that her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, "I apologize if my display of emotion disrupted you. I'm usually not like this."

"It's fine," Sheldon reassured, "I'm not one for emotional outbursts in public either."

His frown deepened as he studied her. He had only spent a full 30 seconds with this woman but he already sensed a comfort, a likeness that he hadn't felt before. Or perhaps it was the Crown Royal; he was starting to feel lighter and more impulsive… Either way, he had the inexplicable desire to continue talking to her, "May I ask what has upset you?"

"I'd… I'd rather not say." The color in her cheeks intensified and Sheldon feared that he might have hit a sore spot with her. He bit his lower lip as if admonishing himself.

"Is it because your friends dragged you to a bar against your whim?" Sheldon asked and while it wasn't the reaction he was expected, the woman laughed and turned her head towards him to look at him straight on. Her eyes were green; a deep, deep forest green that only mesmerized him. Her smile hypnotized him further but sadly, it didn't last long and it once again transformed into a frown.

"No, I, uh, I don't have any friends," she answered and moved her gaze away from him, "but if I did, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to them taking me out with them."

"You haven't met my friends, then," Sheldon grumbled. The drink he held in his hand began to chill his fingers to the bone, but he didn't notice it. He was too entranced with this woman.

"At least you have friends," the woman retorted before adding, "but I'm actually here on a date. At least I thought I would be… Before I got stood up."

The expression on her face was none other than pure defeat and Sheldon had found himself wanting desperately to understand her. He had never dated, nor bothered with even trying to, but he could imagine that being stood up by a potential date could be damaging. He also found himself asking why. Why had she been abandoned by her date? She seemed intelligent and witty and while Sheldon never bothered with paying attention to someone's physical appearance, Sheldon would be lying if he said that he hadn't taken notice of her pin-straight hair and her expressive eyes. He noticed her, and beyond that, he wanted to know more.

"Oh, I apologize," Sheldon muttered, "I personally don't date, but I can imagine that being abandoned by a potential mate doesn't feel pleasant."

"If I had a say in the matter, I wouldn't date either."

Sheldon frowned, "Then why do you?"

"My mother and I have an agreement that I would go on a date at least once a year." She explained as he grabbed her glass and took a swig from her drink. Even from the distance between them, he could smell the vodka in it.

"That's a strange arrangement," Sheldon said before shrugging, "though my mother and I do have the same agreement with me going to church."

"I usually wouldn't care less about a guy not showing up but," the woman sighed and her expression was inscrutable, "this one seemed promising."

Sheldon then looked towards his table. Leonard, Howard and Raj were happily talking away as if they had been completely unaware of his presence before he turned towards the bar's entrance, "Maybe he's running behind schedule. Traffic in Pasadena is usually bad this time of day." Sheldon excused, though he secretly hoped that the man wouldn't show up. Just so he could have a few more minutes with this stranger.

"I've been here for three hours," the woman's lower lip quivered and while he had never been one to read other's emotions, he immediately knew that he had crossed a line. He shifted back and forth on his feet, thinking of what to say.

"I can't imagine why he would do that to you then," Sheldon began, trying to lift the brunette's spirits, "You seem like a perfectly nice person."

"Being nice doesn't matter," she huffed before lifting her head towards the bartender. She was blonde and curvy with a large bosom but a supple waist and attractive hips, "I mean, look at me, then look at her… "

"Sheldon followed her gaze before turning his attention back to her, "I don't get your point."

"I don't look like them. Any of them," she sighed and finished off the rest of her drink in one go, "They are beautiful, they have what men want. I've never had a man take interest in me… Well, except that one kid in grade school, but he only took notice after I stole his asthma inhaler."

Sheldon frowned and brought his brows close together in thought. He stepped closer to her and sat on the bar stool beside her. She seemed to shy away but didn't try to move further away. "I can assure you that not all men are what you describe," Sheldon said as if trying to quell her fears, "though I can agree that many men have lost sight of what is important when finding a life-long mate."

The woman only scoffed and Sheldon, now seated, had begun to feel more effects of the alcohol in his system. His vision began to blur slightly and he felt his inhibitions loosen. He licked his lips and spoke, "In fact, I might argue that, as a man myself, you are exactly who I would be searching for in a relationship."

The woman flushed and quickly looked away from him, "You don't know me."

"Only because I have not yet been given the opportunity to," he dared.

He watched as the woman scrutinized him. Her green eyes traversed and looked him over from head to toe, giving him the same amount of judgment as she would a carton of delicate eggs at the store in search of cracks or blemishes. They sat in silence before a flirtatious smirk spread across her face and she spoke, "Well then, here is your opportunity."

A smile broke out on his face and he felt himself relax. Had his muscles been tense at the fear of this person rejecting him? He decided not to dwell on it further and began his questioning, "What is your profession?"

"I'm a scientist," she answered proudly and Sheldon found himself beaming.

'I knew she was an intellectual!'

"What field?"

"Neurobiology," she smiled coyly and Sheldon's eyebrows raised.

"I've never been much of a fan about biology, but maybe you could sway my opinion."

She giggled and looked down in a display of shyness, "If you have an opinion about biology, then I'm assuming you're a scientist as well."

"That would be correct," Sheldon confirmed as he sipped once again at his cocktail, "Theoretical Physics with a focus on String Theory."

"I was right," she smirked and tipped her glass back to capture an ice cube before chewing on it.

"Indeed you were," Sheldon returned her grin before looking inquisitively at her empty glass. "would you mind if I offered to buy you another?"

She smiled and nodded, "I wouldn't mind at all. It's just vodka with 7up." Sheldon nodded and called the bartender over. Once she left, Sheldon continued the conversation.

"I must say, just knowing that you are a fellow scientist just furthers my confusion as to why a man would not find interest in a woman like you," Sheldon's eyes locked onto hers and found that she was looking back, directly at him, "You're delightful." His speech had begun to slur.

She gave him a weak, almost forced smile and shrugged, "Unfortunately, when you're a woman, education doesn't matter in the dating world."

"Well, their world, perhaps," Sheldon scoffed, "in mine, education would be essential and mandatory." For the first time that night, Sheldon saw her relax considerably. The tension in her face and he watched as she brought her now full glass up to her lips and delicately sipped at the drink.

Once she pulled the glass away from her mouth, she set it down directly next to his own half-empty glass, "So, tell me more about yourself."

They talked for what seemed like hours. About work. Their schooling. Their talents. He learned that his neurobiologist friend was a harpist, she spoke German and understood some French; she loved French movies from the 1950s. She was California born and raised but did her schooling at Harvard University. Sheldon, in turn, told her about his upbringing in Texas, his education that had ended with him getting his Doctorate before he had reached adulthood. He couldn't speak any other language besides English, and some, very basic Spanish, but even then he was rusty. He told her about his ability to play the theremin and how he loved Star Trek from the 1960s and 1980s.

When their conversation has simmered down, both were well on their way to being drunk if they weren't already. Their drinks had been emptied and were now laughing over science-related jokes and pu8ns. As Sheldon tried his best to settle himself down, he wiped his watery eyes and says, "A scientist who can tell jokes? You're something else, Doctor…?"

"Fowler," she smiled and brushed back a few stray hairs away from her face, "Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler."

"Doctor Fowler," he repeated with a slur before introducing himself, "I'm Doctor Sheldon Cooper."

He then turned to his table once again Howard and Raj were now talking, and Leonard made eye contact with him before grinning ear to ear and returning to the conversation going on next to him. "Perhaps I should get going," Sheldon frowned and stood up from the bar stool. He swayed side to side as he tried to get his bearings before straightening up and turning towards her, "It was nice to meet you, Doctor Fowler."

As he said that, Amy's face fell downward and she brought a hand up to comb through her hair, "It was nice to meet you, too, Doctor Cooper."

Turning and walking away, he found himself crestfallen. Did he really have to leave her side? Never had he felt such a connection like the one he had with Amy, and they had only known each other for an hour at best. The whiskey clouded his mind and with him not in control of his faculties, he turned back towards her and stumbled slightly, "Doctor Fowler."

Amy looked up at him and watched as he walked back over to her and sat back down. He was so close to her that she could talc and something more masculine on his body. Not a cologne, but perhaps a body wash. He didn't seem like the kind to wear cologne. He leaned in close then, she could smell the whiskey on his breath and her eyes watched as his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. Chills went down her spine and she could feel a spark between them. A spark which caused a flame she had never felt with anyone before. She hoped Sheldon could feel it too.

Her eyes went back up to his own. It was as if they were communicating, planning a way to spend as much time together as possible. They were both saying the same thing with their eyes. The bar in which they were staying in was part of a hotel and it wouldn't be hard to get a room...

She took a deep breath inward, "Should we?"

"I don't know," he slurred back, his voice was equally as weak, "part of me wants to, but," he took a deep breath and muttered, "I've never done this before."

"Neither have I," Amy smiled reassuringly and swayed slightly in her seat, "but I've also never met anyone quite like you Doctor Cooper."

"The feeling is mutual," Sheldon sighed, "and I highly doubt I'll ever find anyone like you again."

"Then," Amy pushed her empty glass away from her, "let's do it."

"I'll be right back." Sheldon stood hastily and Amy watched him stumble out of the bar. Given her history with men never showing up or worse, sneaking out, Amy waited anxiously for him to return. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and thought about what she was about to do. Was this going to lead to something? Nothing? Her body shook and her heart pounded against her sternum. Her mother wouldn't be best pleased about this, but Amy quickly pushed the thought away. She was a 28-year-old woman, she could do whatever she wanted. With whoever she wanted. And now, she wanted this mysterious and intriguing Doctor Sheldon Cooper.

Finally, he returned and Amy caught sight of a hotel key card in his hand. He offered his free hand to her to help her stand and once Amy caught her bearings, they walked together out of the bar. Sheldon gave his table of friends a sideways glance. Only Howard, who was facing the exit caught his gaze. Howard alerted the others, but by the time Raj and Leonard had turned around, Sheldon and Amy were out of sight.

Together they walked (rather, stumbled) to the elevator. Sheldon pressed the button leading to their floor and as soon as the door closed, he felt Amy's hands on him. Gripping his biceps, she pulled him to her and stood on her tiptoes until their lips met. She tasted sweet, of the sprite and vodka she had drank. And he tasted strong like the Crown Royal he had downed. His first kiss, and hers as well. Inexperienced as they were, their hands were timid as they explored each other's bodies and their tongues were shy as they began to press and mingle together. His hands, once respectfully at her waist came lower until he cupped her posterior and Amy's hands traveled to his hips.

The elevator came to a stop and the loud, indicating beep interrupted their heated make out and they were forced to pull away. Both of them turned red as they came in eye contact with an elder man. The gentleman smiled, almost knowingly as Sheldon and Amy exited the elevator. He led her to the room, careful as to not let her drunkenly fall before inserting the key card and leading her inside. And then… darkness.

There is chapter one; I hope you guys are liking it so far. If you could take a moment to follow, favorite and review, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!