It was Leonard and Penny's fault that he was here in this situation. Sheldon liked to be in control; he liked planning and consistency and being in his comfort zone. That's why it's called the comfort zone isn't it? Penny and Leonard had insisted that he spend some time with Amy. There was now only two days until Christmas and he hadn't seen her for five days. To Sheldon, that was perfectly acceptable, as far as she was aware he may be busy. It was true that he had missed her terribly. Scenes from their night together flashed through his mind, causing him to pine for her. Although they had spent time apart before, especially since their break up, this time it was different however. He wanted to see her, Sheldon couldn't bear to be apart from her but equally he knew that his ticks would give up the game. How was he expected to keep his secret?

Leonard and Penny had organised for Amy to join them all for dinner, assuring Sheldon that they would be there to help him avoid certain subjects or revealing any information. This gave Sheldon some assurance, but did not treat his discomfort and was still worried.

He wouldn't be able to see her without being distracted, he was sure to expose himself. His anxiety was stewing inside him, making him stressed. Usually Amy was the one he would go to in times like this. She was always so understanding and gave excellent advice. He trusted her. He would always be comforted by her mere presence, but now he was agitated and panicking. She would surely be able to tell something was wrong. Maybe he should cancel?

But it was too late to change his mind as at that moment there was a knock on the door.

The room fell into silence. Sheldon stood frozen with Leonard and Penny simply watching him.

"Go on. Answer it" Leonard pressed.

Sheldon nodded, took a deep breath and went to open the door.

Amy beamed up at him, her eyes sparkled behind the red frames of her glasses which matched the scarlet clip in her hair. She looked ravishing as always, this was going to be a lot harder than Sheldon had originally thought. There was a reason he had been avoiding Amy and this was it. There was something about her glistening smile that attracted Sheldon to her, it was if her whole personality and everything he loved about her was reflected in that smile. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted her to smile like that forever. The surprise must remain a surprise. Sheldon had a new found sense of determination when seeing her, he wanted to make this special for her and it was definitely going to be.

"Hello" she greeted.

"Hello, please come in" Sheldon gestured inside and stepped back to let her in. He has promised himself that he wouldn't kiss her, he couldn't touch her, it wouldn't help him at all. However, he couldn't help himself and as Amy walked past, he placed a chaste and cheeky kiss on top of her head.

That small touch was enough to know that he had made a mistake. This was the first time he had seen her in person since that night. With a simple kiss, memories came flooding back. The way they had moved together, learnt together, cared for each other. It had been a magical night. Nothing would ever compare. How was he going to withstand the rest of the evening supressing that sudden lurch in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach that insisted on striking him every time she laughed or smiled or even from the shy touches?

Luckily, Amy had simply smiled to herself without turning around. She was optimistic, the innocent kiss was enough to tell her everything was okay. There was hope. However, she had decided to give Sheldon some space, he obviously needed it, and she suspected that Penny had something to do with this sudden arrangement. Amy went to find her in the kitchen.

"Well?" Amy whispered, "What was the matter? Did you find anything out?"

"Yes, I wouldn't worry. He was just a bit stressed with work" Penny lied, she avoided eye contact by concentrating on pouring a glass of wine, trying not to reveal too much.

"Oh, that's odd. He usually mentions things like that" Amy's face crinkled in confusion but soon relaxed into a small smile, "He's seems okay tonight though. He even kissed me on the way in" Her eyelids fluttered, causing Penny to laugh.

Amy giggled in response, she was clearly relieved, before the girls went to join the boys who had sat down in front of a large pizza.

Amy sat next to Sheldon who had evidently sat in his spot. Penny sat in the armchair and Leonard had pulled up a chair to sit next to her. Small talk ensued, prominently about work and family.

Conversation turned to Christmas, Sheldon's face twitched slightly under the pressure of maintaining his composure, knowing what he had planned for that specific day.

Although Sheldon claimed that he hated Christmas, Amy knew he did not really. He and Leonard often had a tree, lights and a little festive spirit, even if it was Star Trek themed.

"Do you not have any decorations up?" Amy looked around in confusion.

Sheldon felt food lodge in his throat. A million possible answers to her question raced through his head. Panic caused them all to vanish. He stuttered and the twitching worsened.

Luckily, Leonard saw his struggle and quickly stepped in to help.

"Well, seeing as I'm living with Penny half the time now, we thought it would make more sense to decorate hers instead. Plus, Sheldon doesn't really like Christmas" He reasoned.

Amy looked deeply bewildered as she looked from Leonard to Penny to Sheldon, all of whom were slowly nodding their heads and avoiding eye contact, agreeing with each other before Penny changed the subject.

It all seemed very odd to Amy, but she couldn't tell what it was.