"Sheldon, I think we need to talk."

Amy didn't want to move from Sheldon's warm embrace, but she looked up toward his face anyway. She needed to see his eyes to know his reaction. Sheldon's arms softened; he let her go but stayed beside her. The brightness in his eyes faded, and his face turned down slightly. He nodded his assent. Sheldon knew this night wasn't going to be an easy one.

Penny gently approached the couple, and quietly observed, "You're shivering, Amy. Let me bring your emergency bag over from my apartment, OK?" Amy smiled at Penny and thanked her softly. Penny bolted for her apartment, and Leonard was next to hug Amy. "I'm glad you're here. We've all missed you." Leonard kissed her on the cheek, looked with compassion at Sheldon, and left to follow Penny over to 4B.

Penny ran back to 4A in less than a minute, canvas overnight bag in one hand and hairdryer in the other. "I'll get the hairdryer back in the morning – just leave it on the kitchen counter," Penny said to Amy, as she hugged her and whispered in her ear, "You'll be fine. He loves you, and you love him. Everything else can be worked out. I know." Amy nodded; inside her heart she was anything but sure.

Sheldon had been staring at Amy, conflicted between being overjoyed at her presence, while at the same time knowing a difficult conversation lay in front of them. Penny's earlier words brought him out of his apparent stupor. "She's right, you're freezing. I'll make tea; why don't you dry your hair and change your clothes in the bathroom. I'll meet you in the living room." Sheldon leaned over and kissed Amy on her forehead, then made his way to the kitchen.

Amy walked down the hall, and closed the door to the bathroom behind her. Once again saved by her tendency to over-plan, Amy took the change of clothes from her bag and began to undress. She dried her hair and put on her clean clothes, folding the wet ones and putting them into the bag. Amy borrowed a washcloth from the bathroom cabinet, ran it under the faucet, wrung it out, and cleared her face of the mixture of tears and rain. Feeling somewhat more human, she gathered her bag and the hairdryer and went toward the living room.

Meanwhile, Sheldon leaned on the countertop on each side of the stove in the kitchen, watching the tea kettle warming. The mugs were on the counter, each with a chamomile tea bag ready for the hot water. Outwardly, Sheldon appeared calm. Inside, however, he was beside himself. Earlier, when he thought he was going to Amy's apartment, Sheldon knew what he needed to do and had planned everything out in his head. Amy's appearance in his apartment shattered every plan. Sheldon was going to have to live in this moment. And that terrified him.

Amy came around the corner as the kettle began to whistle. She saw the tension in Sheldon's arms and his head bowed over the stove. Quietly, Amy set her things down on the kitchen island counter. She went to the stove, turning it off as she moved the kettle to the trivet. Amy cautiously draped her hand over Sheldon's and interlaced her fingers with his. Sheldon responded by tightening his fingers around hers, while letting out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Amy said, "I've got this. Why don't I meet you on the couch?"

Sheldon nodded and left the kitchen. Amy poured the water from the kettle and brought the two mugs to the coffee table, sitting next to him on the couch. Neither one seemed to know how to start. Amy decided to make the first move…

"I think we need to talk." Amy sighed. "But first, I owe you an apology."

Sheldon was startled. He swung his head toward her and said, "For what?"

Amy replied, "I didn't let you finish talking that night on Skype. I am sorry for that. You said you had been thinking about relationships, but I interrupted. What were you going to say?"

Sheldon chuckled ruefully, and looked down at his lap. "I was trying to say that all relationships are hard work. I've watched Leonard and Penny try to make theirs work, with differing levels of success, for the last eight years. I hope they've got it right this time. I've seen Howard and Bernadette in their ups and downs, too. They made it. Others haven't. But Meemaw taught me a long time ago that anything worth having is worth the hard work involved." Sheldon picked his head up, and Amy was caught off-guard by the determination she saw in his eyes. "And worth fighting for."

It was Amy's turn to find herself unable to keep Sheldon's gaze. Amy looked down at her hands, wringing them while she spoke. "Sheldon, there are times when you make me feel so cared for and so special. Before prom, when you first told me you loved me… I was shocked. Prior to that, I never expected to hear that from you freely. And it was wonderful.

I came to the door tonight, ready to knock, when you opened it just a little. I heard what you told Penny. That I am 'first in your thoughts… in your heart and soul.' I felt like you were opening more than that door. I felt like you opened yourself to me…

But there have been so many times you don't even seem to think about me at all. When you left on the train last year, without even so much as a 'Goodbye,' and I didn't know when or if you would be back… this spring when you planned to go to Mars without me… a month ago, when you couldn't even kiss me here without thinking about a television show… those times hurt so much I didn't know if I could bear it. If you left me like that again, physically or emotionally, I'm not certain I could."

Amy summoned her courage, and looked directly at Sheldon. "I came over tonight because I need to be totally honest with you, and for you to be as honest with me. I need to know what you want from this relationship. As for me, I want it all – us really together, eventually marriage and a family, both of us to have careers that are fulfilling and rewarding, and maybe even a Nobel. I'm not looking for a proposal tonight," she said, laughing a little.

Her serious look returned. "But I need to know where I stand with you. If we're not on the same page, that's OK. It'll hurt, because I am in love with you. But I'll accept it. If we're not, though, after all this time… we'll need to go back to being friends only."

Amy wondered at the cause, when she saw a flicker of pain in Sheldon's eyes as she finished. Sheldon closed his eyes briefly, willing his racing heart to slow back down. The blue velvet box in his bedside drawer called to Sheldon, but he couldn't answer. Not yet. He knew they needed to make this relationship right first.

Next: Sheldon gets his turn to speak. Can he be entirely honest with Amy, too?

I plan to have the final chapter posted next Wednesday. Thank you for reading, and for your honest feedback if you so choose.