A/N: Given the circumstances of ch1, theres no getting around that this story has to be somewhat AU. Thank you to those who are joining me on this journey.
Amy waited inside the docking bay terminal, she had made it a habit to always greet Sheldon whenever he returned from a trip off planet. She initially started meeting him for the simple fact that she had nothing else to do but it gradually turned into waiting for his return out of worry. Sheldon could have easily been the half of the team that perished on the last trip out. Although he reassured her that they would be running tests just outside the perimeter and that there was nothing to worry about, Amy couldn't help but feel uneasy. To be used to having your best friend by your side since day one and for that to suddenly disappear into emptiness. The thought alone was enough to make her stomach turn into knots.
"Hello there little butterfly. I've been seeing you around here more often than not."
Amy looked up towards the voice and realized it was Zen. His real name was too long and too complicated to say so everyone grew accustomed to calling him by the first three letters of his full name. He wasn't part of any of the research teams, he was instead part of the battle fleet. He was tall and muscular, he wore the scars on his arms proudly as a way to show off his experience. Sheldon would always refer to that bunch as more brawn than brain but regardless Zen was always nice to her.
"I assume you guys are on your way out?"
Zen nodded and gave Amy a wink, "If I didn't have to leave Id make it my mission to make you smile."
Amy gave Zen a hug and offered him her well wishes. It wasn't until another hours wait that the docking bay doors opened. She instantly recognized the Alpha Quadrant insignia on the uniforms of the returnees and knew it was Sheldon's team. Out of relief for his safe return Amy felt the urge to run and fling her arms around Sheldon but she fought against those urges. She could never do that in private let alone in a public setting. Amy instead stood patiently as she always had and waited for her friend. Sheldon of course expected to see Amy at the terminal, she was nothing if not consistent in her actions, that was something he found comforting. As they both made eye contact he called out to her, "I found your present." Amy held out her hands to catch the object that Sheldon had tossed.
"Im 100% sure its an artifact from Earth."
"How can you be so sure?", she asked with curiosity. Amy turned over the object in her hands and wondered if it had something to do with her research and the resonance and memories of atoms. Maybe Sheldon had somehow made a connection?
Sheldon turning the artifact upside down, "Because it says 'Made in China' on the bottom of it."
As Sheldon proceeded down the hall with the rest of his team to debrief and update the system with the latest test results, Amy headed to her lab to start researching what the object was. She put the artifact in the identification scanner and it immediately pulled up information from the archives providing a full detailed description. The small figurine was called a 'rook' and was one of 32 pieces from a game called chess. The objective was to capture the opposing pieces and place the opponents King into 'checkmate' by forcing it to surrender. The entire premise sounded somewhat barbaric to Amy.
Amy now moved to the phase of experimentation, she poured a green liquid onto the artifact that would enhance the atoms vibrational frequencies and placed the object underneath a high tunneling microscope. "Ok little rook, show me your memories…" She turned on the adjoining display system and waited for the results but unfortunately no images appears across the screen.
Returning from his shower Sheldon entered his quarters. Amy was already there to greet him as she sat on the floor. Sheldon couldn't help but notice her look of disappointment.
"Still no luck?"
Amy in a somber tone replied, "No and its been a week and I've run well over 100 tests."
Amy reached for her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a checkered board. If there was any up side to situation it was that she now had a new game to play with Sheldon. Amy was easily able to replicate the chess board and each of it's corresponding pieces. Setting up the game between them Amy explained the rules to Sheldon and once they both felt comfortable with the rules they proceeded to play.
Thinking out loud Amy asked, "Back then, what do you think happens when you lose?"
Sheldon pausing a moment to come up with an answer, "Well, given the timeframe and primitive nature of the beings back then one can only assume the inevitable…death." Amy eyed him carefully looking for any hints that would tell her if he was being serious or telling a joke.
They played there game in silence each carefully calculating their next move. Sheldon had to admit that the game was rather stimulating and required a lot of strategy. Sheldon continued to win round after round but he noticed that with every new round Amy was getting tougher and tougher to beat. They started yet another round, this time Amy could feel a confidence running through her, like she had played this game a hundred times. Her hand moved over the board with ease, she knew exactly which move she needed to make. Sheldon picked up one of his pieces but just as quickly put it back down. He scanned the board one last time before he finally admitted, "I can't go anywhere."
Amy gave him a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"
"I don't have any moves left."
Amy examined the board carefully, "I won? I won, checkmate!"
Amy didn't know why but she wanted that win, she allowed the feeling of her victory to wash over her. For someone who feels the need to be the best at everything, Sheldon to her surprise was taking the loss better than she had expected. It was because he cared about her, right? Amy leaned back against the bed and watched Sheldon as he once again reset the board. "I'll let you enjoy your moment because I guarantee you I wont lose again." Amy allowed the corners of her lips turn up into a smile, Sheldon was always so confident and sure of himself. That was one of the many things she loved about him.
Without realizing she was staring, Amy took in Sheldon's features. She knew that Sheldon was handsome and she felt lucky being able to stand by his side even if it was just as his friend. As Sheldon went on to explain his various strategic approaches to the game Amy could feel that her attention span was starting to drift. Her mind started to feel cloudy like she was being pulled into a dream. Hoping that the cool air would help her keep focused Amy took off her jacket and tossed it near her bag. Were his eyes always that blue?, she asked herself as she pretended to listen. Amy could see Sheldon's lips moving but she couldn't hear any words. Unable to control her thoughts she let them roll in like a fog. Amy's mind suddenly filled with thoughts of Sheldon leaning over the chess board to kiss her, she looked towards his lips as if it were suppose to happen any minute now but Sheldon sat unmoving. Her thoughts transitioned to the image of Sheldon guiding her to his bed and telling her that he loved her. Her internal voice said the words 'Im yours…' As if she were in a trance, Amy's hands moved on their own as she started to undo the buttons on her blouse. As she looked back towards her friend that sat across from her all she could feel was love, she once again looked into Sheldon's eyes. This was when she realized something wasn't right, was he…. angry?
Sheldon's voice was able to break through the cloudiness of her mind, "Amy, what are you doing?!"
Amy snapped out of her trance and remembered her surroundings. She looked back at Sheldon whose eyes were now darting around the room. Sheldon could see the curves of Amy's breasts peaking through her unbuttoned blouse so he averted his gaze to anywhere but at her. Amy trying to orient herself and gain her composure, looked down at her blouse and to her horror realized it was half unbuttoned. Unsure what had come over her, she struggled to come up with an explanation. Embarrassed and unsure what to say, Amy quickly buttoned up her blouse and made up a reason to excuse herself from his quarters.