Sheldon paused as he reached Amy's apartment door. He didn't know why he was so hesitant, maybe because he was doing something out of his comfort zone. He took a deep breath and did his usual three knocks. Amy answered.
"Sheldon" she looked surprised "I wasn't expecting to see you till later"
"I know" Sheldon began, keeping his hands behind his back "but there's a reason why I'm here at 10am"
Amy was still uncertain "all right" she let him in.
Sheldon stood by the couch and Amy gestured for him to sit.
"So, what brings you here?" She asked as she make tea.
"It's something I've been planning for a long time, but I had to wait until now to tell you" Sheldon said
"Alright..is it good or bad?" Amy queried
"Why don't you answer that" Sheldon held out a small box wrapped in red ribbon. Amy paused in her tracks with the tea.
Sheldon shook the box "open it"
Amy sat down the tea and herself next to Sheldon. She took the box slowly, still taking it all in.
She unravelled the ribbon, then opened the box. Taking the lid off, she was still confused. A piece of paper with an address she didn't recognise stared at her.
"I don't get it" Amy frowned as she looked at Sheldon.
"Come on Amy, you're an intelligent individual" Sheldon passed her the paper.
"Are we going here?" She guessed
"Why else would I give you this? Yes, we are, so get what you need and hurry, Leonard is waiting to take us"
"Leonard's coming?" Amy asked
Sheldon smirked "that would ruin the surprise"
Amy and Sheldon exited her apartment building to find Leonard waiting in the car, his face perking up when he saw them. They sat in the back.
"Remember Leonard, not a word" passing him the address.
Leonard nodded at Amy through the rear view mirror, not giving away anything.
Their journey began, taking them out of Glendale and out to the highway. Amy didn't have a clue what was going on, but she was trying to become excited rather than nervous about this.
As they reached a set of traffic lights, Sheldon brought out a blindfold and passed it to Amy.
"Put these on" he commanded
Amy complied, taking off her glasses to fit the blindfold on her.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence, Amy having no visual or hearing aid to help her.
Suddenly, the car came to a stop.
"Careful, Leonard" Sheldon said
"Sorry" he replied
"Can I take these off?" Amy asked
She heard her door open "no" she jumped at Sheldon being so close to her. She felt him lean over her to take her seatbelt off.
He grabbed her arm to help her out of the car. Everything was going to plan.
As Amy exited the car, she could hear a slight bellowing in the distance. A train? A plane? She couldn't tell.
"Let her see" she heard Leonard say
"Alright" she felt Sheldon turn her around.
"Take off the blindfold" Sheldon commanded.
Amy began to take it off, only to find her vision blurry. But she wasn't blind enough to not notice a vast purple space in the sky before her, shaped like a balloon.
She gasped.
Sheldon passed her her glasses. Putting them on, the view became even more amazing. They were on a field, with a cottage just to the right of them, and no more than ten steps away a maroon hot air balloon. She couldn't believe it. She turned round to Sheldon and Leonard.
"Happy early birthday" Sheldon smiled.
Her birthday wasn't for another week. They'd never exchanged in gift giving before due to Sheldon's irk about them. No wonder she felt woozy.
"Sheldon...you did this, for me?" She asked
"It would appear so" he gesture towards the balloon "it's all ours for two hours"
"I thought you were afraid of heights" Amy queried
"I was, but I have spent the last four months with the help of YouTube conquering my fear. I also went on various courses to learn how to work a hot air balloon, so you know your safety is..well, safe"
Amy thought back. All those times after work where Sheldon would be busy made sense now.
"So, are you coming?" Sheldon asked Amy, holding out his hand.
Amy nodded, taking his vacant hand, barely able to stand. They walked up to the balloon in silence, where the owner of the balloon was waiting.
The man shook Sheldon's hand and wished Amy a happy birthday. He helped them into the deep basket, which had a picnic basket and blanket sat at the bottom.
"Are you alright?" Sheldon was concerned that Amy wasn't talking much.
Amy came out of her thoughts "I'm fine..just shocked I guess"
"Be prepared to be even more shocked on our journey, I can't wait for you too see the view" Sheldon was ecstatic to be able to do something for Amy that she didn't know about.
Sheldon signalled the man to let off the bags keeping them from floating away.
"Off we go" Sheldon held onto Amy's hand, possibly a bit of fear overcoming him.
They looked out over the field where Leonard was becoming smaller and smaller, till they could feel the wind in their hair. Amy was ecstatic.
"Oh Sheldon, it's amazing" the balloon took them over Pasadena, the city now a minute speck to them.
Sheldon pulled at a rope to stop the balloon going any further.
"We are not allowed to go any further, but I guess we can spend the time playing counterfactuals and eating" Sheldon revealed the picnic, taking out sandwiches, yoohoo and a pack of cards.
"This is perfect" Amy was on cloud nine. She never thought Sheldon would be this bothered about anyone else. But this showed he could.
They ate happily as they watched the world go by below them, talking about their news playing counterfactuals. After a while, Amy became tired. Instinctively, she lay down, but due to space, her head ended up on Sheldon's lap. He flinched, but didn't disagree.
Sheldon watched Amy as she napped, taking in her face. She really was remarkable. He touched her hair, it was smooth under his hands. He began to stroke it, which roused Amy.
"Sorry" Sheldon whispered
"No, no, keep doing that" Amy grinned to herself.
After ten minutes of hair stroking, Sheldon's hand became sore. Amy was seizing up in her position, so she sat up and faced Sheldon.
"Thank you" she smiled
"We have half and hour left" Sheldon informed her.
"Really? Time has flown by"
They looked over the basket, picking out the buildings of Pasadena. Alas, their time was soon up, so Sheldon began to let the balloon come down.
"I can't thank you enough, Sheldon" Amy began "you are the best boyfriend ever"
Sheldon smirked "I try"
"I just want one more thing, then my birthday will be complete"
Sheldon thought, then nodded. Carefully, he leaned forward, not sure what to do next.
"Here" Amy leaned forward and kissed him, letting him lean in further. Sheldon rather enjoyed the kiss, so he held onto her and kissed her again. Just as Amy was about to cry with excitement, they hit the ground.
"Ok, now you've made my year.."
"Until your next birthday?" Sheldon asked
"Well, we may have to do the last thing before that" Amy said, touching her feet on the ground.