You know I hate to think there's someone
You loved instead of me
And at times like these I'd be right by your side
Lay your troubles on my shoulder
Put your troubles in my pocket
Rest your love on me a while
"Oh my gosh…you're really serious about this aren't you?" Amy felt her knees turn to jelly and she quickly slid onto the nearest seat, which happened to be a kitchen stool right next to Sheldon. "I can't let you give up your life for me Sheldon…there would be security interviews that we'd have to both go through, background checks…I'd have to move in here or you'd have to move in with me." Amy's words tumbled out one after the other and she started to feel a little dizzy. Sheldon immediately pressed a gentle hand to the back of her neck and tipped her head forward so that it rested between her knees as he passed her a paper bag.
"Here…breathe into this nice and slowly, you're hyperventilating and need to calm yourself down before you pass out." Amy nodded as she held the bag over her mouth and started taking deep breaths. "That's it, good girl." Sheldon rubbed his hand in soothing circles along the top of Amy's shoulders and kept his tone calm and smooth as he murmured softly into her ear. "Keep doing exactly what you're doing, you'll feel better in a minute."
"How about I put the kettle on for a soothing beverage? We never did get around to having that cup of tea you offered earlier." Leonard suggested softly and moved around the counter to refill the kettle and set it on to heat. "Sheldon, why don't you take Amy over to the couch and get comfortable? I'll bring the drinks over in a minute." Sheldon nodded briefly as he wrapped one lean arm around Amy's waist and helped her over to the couch, settling her down on the middle cushion. She placed the paper bag on the coffee table and rested her hands on her knees as she composed herself. Once Leonard had brought the tray of drinks into the living room and they were all settled, she glanced over at the guys and gave them all a warm smile.
"Thank you all so much for what you've offered to do for me tonight, but I'm going to have to say no." Amy held up her hand to prevent anyone else from butting in and Sheldon immediately closed his mouth with a firm click. "I appreciate it, I really do; but I can't ask any one of you to sacrifice your freedom just so that I can continue working at Cal-Tech, it wouldn't be fair."
"Now hold on a minute, little lady." Sheldon interrupted and swivelled around in his spot. "It was my decision to ask you to marry me…how do you know I wasn't planning on asking you anyway?"
"Huh?" Raj's mouth fell open in surprise and Howard just snorted loudly, causing Sheldon to give them both a steely eyed glare of disapproval.
"Leonard, if you would be so kind as to pass me my iPad?" Sheldon gestured over to the far end of the coffee table and Leonard leant over to pick up the tablet, handing it over to his roommate with a faint grin. "Now, let me see…" Sheldon scrolled through his documents and tapped on what looked like a timeline; tilting the screen so that only Amy could see the contents.
"Hmm…four years? That was pretty hopeful of you wasn't it?" Amy tapped the screen and enlarged a particular section, her cheeks flushing when she read the contents. Sheldon took back the tablet and closed down the application, his own cheeks a little ruddier than usual.
"I had to allow for a couple of minor skirmishes and a few resets along the way, but yes, I was fairly confident that four years was a fairly reasonable estimate."
"And how long have you been working on that particular erm…theory?" Amy floundered a little before she settled on a word they would both feel comfortable using. Sheldon tilted his head slightly to the side as he pondered the question before answering in a clear tone.
"Since the day we bumped into each other outside of personnel…but I'd been thinking about the possibilities ever since I saw the blood pouring out of Kripke's nose; you reminded me so much of my favourite catwoman."
"Oooh, Michelle Pfeiffer?" Raj raised his hand gleefully and Sheldon snorted.
"As if…No, Julie Newmar of course. I could just see you dressed up in that cat suit – your brunette waves spilling onto your shoulders and eyes that sparkle with humour, making them seem like rare emeralds just plucked from the earth." Sheldon coughed a little to clear his suddenly husky voice and placed his iPad back on the coffee table, well aware of the four sets of eyes that were suddenly looking at him in a completely different light. "So…"
"So…I'd like to think about it for a few days before I make any decisions. It's a big step for both of us and we'd need to be very certain that it's the right move to make."
"I couldn't be more certain." Sheldon said quietly, looking completely relaxed as he settled back with his mug of tea. "I have been wooing you for weeks now, and am just amazed that none of you picked up on it before now."
"Wooing?" Howard chuckled, "Who on earth says 'wooing' anymore? What the heck does it mean anyway?"
"To woo; seek affection, favour or the love of, especially with a view toward marriage." Sheldon quoted softly, glancing over shyly at Amy who gave him a faint glimmer of a smile in return. "I've taken Amy to lunch twice a week since we met again at the University, we've had pizza night and Chinese food here every week…it may have been subtle but I was definitely wooing her."
"So what was all that whispering about four years over there just now?" Howard asked, setting his empty mug back on the tray. "You showed Amy some chart on your iPad and you got all flustered."
"That was just a progress chart of how I envisaged our relationship progressing, this whole grant thing has just accelerated a few things that's all."
"And skipped a few milestones along the way." Amy muttered in quiet amusement and Sheldon shrugged.
"We'd have got there eventually, I'm certain of it."
"Oh, you were that certain of me were you Dr. Cooper?" Amy raised her eyebrow haughtily at Sheldon and he gave her a slight smirk in response.
"You were going to track me down and bake me cookies after I rescued you from Kripke…and you squeezed my knee under the table in the cafeteria. I'd say I was fairly hopeful that it wasn't going to be a completely one sided romance."
"Okay then." Amy rose to her feet and jerked her head toward the hallway. "If you will excuse us for a second, Sheldon and I need a moment to discuss something in private." Sheldon received the hint loud and clear and got up from the couch to follow Amy into the hallway, as soon as they turned the corner and were out of sight from the others, Amy leant back against the wall and crooked her finger at Sheldon. "Kiss me."
"What?" Sheldon croaked out, swallowing hard at the lump of panic that suddenly appeared at the back of his throat.
"You've spent a lot of time thinking about the future, planning out every detail….kiss me and I'll see whether I am prepared to put up with you for the next thirty years or so."
"You might have to put up with me for a lot longer than that…Cooper men tend to live well into their nineties if we stay away from fast moving trucks or substance abuse." Sheldon moved a step closer to Amy and raised his hands a little before placing them carefully on her hips. He leant in a little and watched Amy's eyelids flutter closed, a small smile graced his mouth as he bent his head with the intent of placing a delicate kiss against her lips. It was a completely different matter when their mouths finally made contact though…Sheldon hummed against her mouth as he tasted the lingering taste of the chamomile tea on her soft lips and his tongue darted out to see if he could swipe the last traces of the honey that sweetened the tea as well. Amy gasped quietly as she felt almost overwhelmed by the sensation and Sheldon took advantage of the slight parting of her lips to see if she tasted just as good on the inside. His tongue swept in confidently and explored the ridges of her teeth and the bumps in the roof of her mouth, sliding and rubbing along her own tongue as he coaxed it into play.
Breaking away to gulp down some much needed air, Amy glanced down and was amazed to see that she had hooked her leg around Sheldon's knee and her skirt was rucked up between them like a belt. One of Sheldon's hands remained in the safe position at her waist but the other had crept up and was now definitely inside her blouse firmly cupping her ample breast.
"Um…so…that was a promising start." Amy stuttered and Sheldon slowly opened his eyes revealing their almost navy colour, far different from his usual azure gaze. He glanced down and almost stumbled back when he realised where his hand was.
"Oh dear…" He quickly removed his hand, and Amy felt almost chilled with the removal. She smiled softly at him and clasped his hand lightly in her own.
"It's okay Sheldon…that's three milestones you can cross off your chart." Sheldon's eyes widened at the thought and he nodded, choosing to remain silent in case he inadvertently revealed the thoughts that were racing through his mind; 'Come into my room and we'll zip through the others in no time.' Amy must have been a mind reader because her face flushed scarlet and she dropped Sheldon's hand and started fussing with her clothes, tucking her blouse back into her waistband and smoothing down the wrinkles in her skirt. Once she was satisfied that she was looking presentable again, Amy led the way back into the living room and took a seat on the couch as if she had just popped into the bathroom for a few minutes rather than being ravaged up against the wall. Sheldon strolled in behind her and the guys immediately knew that something racy had happened, as both of them had puffy lips and Sheldon was wearing a very pleased expression as he picked up his iPad and made a few adjustments to his timeline. Amy leant over his shoulder and pointed out some area that he had forgotten.
"Don't forget to cross that one off…that was a definite success."
"Hmm…was that two or three?" Sheldon asked with a frown and Amy giggled lightly as she took over control of the tablet.
"Two! Three is a little more advanced than that and not something I'd do with your friends in the living room." Amy muttered her response a little under her breath knowing that Sheldon would still be able to hear her comment, unfortunately for her Leonard could also hear and he swivelled in his seat to gape in amazement. Sheldon caught his look and narrowed his eyes in warning as he gave a subtle jerk toward Howard and Raj, Leonard nodded briefly and knew that this was something that Sheldon would definitely not want the other two finding out about before he was ready.
"So guys, who's up for a late night movie?" Leonard got up and clapped his hands together. "My treat." At those golden words, Howard and Raj lept up and were headed for the door, shouting out their farewells over their shoulder. Before he left Leonard bent down to whisper something in Sheldon's ear and the other man huffed in disapproval.
"I really don't think so, Leonard…but thank you for the offer." Leonard grinned at Amy and gave her a wink before he followed Howard and Raj out of the door, and Amy turned around to ask what Leonard had murmured in his ear.
"He said now that we'd found second base we should skip third and head for home plate. The nerve of the man…" Sheldon shook his head and glanced over to see a slight smirk appear on Amy's face. "Amy!"
"You were thinking it earlier in the hallway!"
"That was in the heat of the moment…I've regained a little sense now, and…Amy!" Sheldon found himself with a lapful of giggling brunette as Amy started plastering his chin with soft pecking kisses. Although he protested, Sheldon obligingly lowered his head so that she could reach his cheeks. "You said you needed to think things through a little…Mmm, that's nice…" Sheldon murmured in a gravelly voice as Amy ran her hands lightly through his hair and scratched lightly on his scalp with her fingernails.
"You're like a bar of chocolate being offered to someone on a diet…one bite and they've forgotten everything about losing that last ten pounds. One kiss from you and I think I'm addicted." Amy murmured between pressing moist kisses everywhere she could reach and Sheldon grinned up at her.
"Addicted enough to want to spend the rest of your life with me?"
"Getting there…I might need a little more persuading before I make my final decision." Amy ran her finger along Sheldon's firm lips and felt him nibble lightly on her fingertip before laying a gentle kiss on the end.
"I wouldn't want to unduly influence your decision." Sheldon lifted Amy easily over his lap to settle her at his side once more. "I've seen what a bad marriage can do to a family and I have no intention of entering into a marriage blinded by lust. I want to spend the rest of my life raising a family with you Amy, so I need you to think hard over whether this is the right decision for you. I don't take marriage lightly and I only intend on doing it the once."
"You want to raise a family with me?" Amy breathed out, feeling the sting of tears prickle behind her eyelids.
"Good Lord woman, didn't you read anything beyond the first few milestones? It's clearly marked in the section after the marriage takes place, conception of first child within six months of the ceremony with negotiations for the others once a reasonable time has passed."
"Others? You'd like more than one? Oh dear…I feel a little lightheaded…" Amy groaned and sank her head between her knees as Sheldon gently rubbed her neck.
"It's not a deal breaker…if you feel that strongly about not wanting a child, I guess I could adjust the plan." Sheldon murmured softly as he continued to lightly massage Amy's neck and looked up just as the door opened to reveal Penny stepping in on the search for Leonard.
"Amy? Sweetie, is everything alright?"
"Having a heart attack…can't talk…" Amy groaned lightly and kept her head down as Penny glanced worriedly at Sheldon.
"Leonard's gone to the movies with Howard and Raj; they probably won't be back until late. Amy's having a bit of a work crisis and we're trying to come up with a solution so that she gets to keep her grant money and stay at Cal-Tech."
"Ah…what's the solution?" Penny asked as she curled her legs up on the armchair.
"I marry Amy, she moves in here and we have a baby nine months after the honeymoon." Amy wheezed again and Sheldon patted her back comfortingly. "That's what she said the first time…Penny? Penny!" Sheldon glanced over to see Penny had passed out in the armchair as soon as he spilt the beans and the sudden weight against his side revealed that Amy was now out cold as well…Sheldon carefully manoeuvred Amy's legs up onto the couch, settling her head in his own spot and then gently removed Penny from the chair to place her at the other end of the couch. He fetched a pair of clean washcloths from the closet and dampened them both in a little cool water, placing one on Penny's forehead and the other on Amy's. He settled down to keep a watchful vigil over the unconscious pair, curling himself up on the floor just by Amy's head so that he could catch her should she flail about in the night and roll of the edge. Both ladies seemed to be snoozing quiet comfortably, one of Amy's arms lolling off the side of the couch to flop against Sheldon's shoulder. He reached up a hand to put it back in place, but instead fell asleep with her arm wrapped around his neck.