The Cooper Neglect Theory

A/N: Part two of Fish Guts here. Thank you again for everyone's interest and support for this story. You help make this fun.

Chapter 7: The Pleasurable Penance.

Amy's feverish brain was a mass of confusion.

She looked down at the list in her hands, as if expecting the words to rearrange themselves differently. But they remained the same, with her name on the very bottom.

Sheldon moved to her side and took the bag from her grasp. If he had heard her read the transcript, he made no mention of it. "Let's see if Leonard was able to follow my instructions accurately for once." He sat on the couch and started to sift through the bag. He scowled. "You would think after living with that man for so long, he would remember which socks I wear on Thursdays." He shook his head and continued pawing through the bag. "Well I guess I'll just have to rough it."

The kettle started to whistle and Sheldon popped up off the couch before Amy had a chance to look towards the kitchen. He turned off the burner and poured the steaming water into a cup. He turned his attention back to Amy when he had her tea steeping. "You should be in bed, missy."

"I've been in bed way too long, can I lay here on the couch?"

Sheldon pondered this for a moment. "Very well. But let's cover you up. How are you feeling this morning?" He motioned for her to recline on the couch, and then covered her with her throw blanket.

"About the same. Maybe a little less achy." She reached for a tissue and dabbed her nose. Her other hand still clutched the transcript. Sheldon took it from her hand and folded it in half. He then walked back into the kitchen and dropped the paper in the trash can. "Do you feel like more soup today, or do you think you can manage some toast or a scrambled egg?"

Sheldon puttered around the kitchen, leaving Amy pondering about the note. "I'll try some toast. Sheldon, what was the purpose of that note. Alex said it was a transcript?"

Sheldon's hands stopped untwisting the bread bag. "Um, yes. Leonard had mentioned that I talk in my sleep, so I ascertained that my unconscious mind may unlock the key to some great discovery." He redoubled his efforts on the twist tie.

"You said my name and a man's name as well. Barry…" She trailed off.

"Allen. Barry Allen. He's the Flash." Sheldon put two pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Oh. So did you have a dream about me and the Flash?"

Sheldon shook his head. "I really don't remember." He grabbed two small plates from the cupboard, thankful his back was to her so she didn't see the small spasm by his right eye. "Now just relax, your toast is almost done."

If Amy were well, she would have pressed the issue, but she didn't have the strength to continue. She shut her eyes.

Sheldon was pleased that she ate all of her toast. Her temperature was still elevated at 101.8, and that nasty cough persisted. He wanted to put more Vaporub on her, but last time she was awake, the strong-smelling rub caused her to be stimulated rather than soothed. He might wait till she was asleep again.

His chance came when an hour later she fell asleep on the couch, her breath slightly raspy. He waited till her sleep deepened and approached her, Vaporub in hand. He stealthily opened the buttons at her throat, like Indiana Jones trying not to spring a trap, until her smooth chest lay bare before him. He placed a generous amount in his palm and rubbed his hands together to warm the ointment. Sheldon glanced at Amy's peaceful face and proceeded cautiously. He rubbed her with small, light, circles of his hand, glancing at her face to make sure he wasn't waking her. He also found it easier on him to do this when she couldn't watch him with those curious, bewitching eyes. His stomach squirmed just thinking of it. He finished and washed his hands before returning to Amy and rebuttoning her nightgown with the skill of a cat burglar. He then wanted to check her temperature, so he carefully leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. Hmm? 100.8? No 100.9. He could feel the heat radiating off of Amy, and lost himself for a second in the contact between them. He lingered just a little bit too long.

"Are you kissing my forehead?"

Sheldon's stomach lurched as he was caught. His lips left her hot skin with a small damning smack. "Um, no Amy. I wanted to check your temperature. Lips are far more sensitive to heat fluctuations than …hands. You are currently 100.9. He flicked his gaze to her for a second, before looking away.

She was astounded. She had caught Sheldon Cooper kissing her of his own free will, and he made up some ridiculous story about taking her temperature with his lips? "Hand me the thermometer please."

Sheldon hesitatingly handed her the thermometer. She placed it under her tongue and gave him a look of disbelief until it beeped. She read the digital number. 100.8. Her amazed look slowly slid to her boyfriend who sat at the edge of the couch looking uncomfortable. She handed him the thermometer. He looked at the number. "Darn! I knew I should have stuck with 100.8!"

The rest of the day was a blur for Amy, but she noticed that Sheldon always seemed to be anticipating her needs and was a superb caretaker. Her fever broke the next day and she felt much better and her thoughts became more lucid. She walked out to the living room and found that Sheldon had spent the night again, his tall frame contorted on her small couch. He can't be comfortable. It's a good thing I feel better. Now he can go home and get some sleep. She tried to be quiet in the kitchen, but he awoke and stretched while watching her in the kitchen.

"Amy, you should let me do that." He rose from the couch and took her hand leading her back to lie down. "You stay here while I make breakfast. I think some eggs and toast should be safe." Sheldon brushed a stray bit of tangled hair out of her face. She was struck at how compassionate he had been towards her the last few days. Putting her above him and not complaining too much. She was about to tell him that she felt better and that he didn't have to take care of her anymore, when his blue eyes captured hers. They were full of concern and softness. "Amy, I've neglected your hair. I should brush it for you before it becomes one big snarl. Then if you feel up to it 'Sense and Sensibility' is on Netflix or if you're not then perhaps I can read to you. But before all that, you are overdue for more Vaporub." He decided to risk it while she was awake. He grabbed the small jar and began to unbutton her nightgown. He smiled at her warmly as he rubbed her chest, trying to ignore the flips of his stomach as his fingers circled. "So how do you feel today?"

Amy had never felt more cherished. She made a fateful decision as she covered her mouth and coughed louder than she felt she had to.

"Horrible."

The next two days were utter bliss for Amy. She still wasn't feeling great, but with her fever gone she could appreciate the tender loving care her sweet Baboo bestowed on her. He fluffed her pillows, cut the crusts off sandwiches and even sat through romantic British period movies with minimal complaint. Amy soaked in the rare attention like a sponge.

She awoke from a nap to find Sheldon with his coat on and bag over his shoulder. He gave her a small smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He told her he needed to run an errand and that he would be back as soon as possible. As he left the apartment the smile dropped and his brows furrowed. He didn't know why Amy was still so sick. It had been five days. Hopefully the swab he had in his pocket will give him some answers.

The next day Bernadette came over to see if any of her pharmaceutical concoctions would help poor Amy out. Amy was horrified at the list of side effects, it was almost better to just ride out the flu. Sheldon left the room to draw a bath for her. She surely could use one, it had been several days. After she heard Sheldon running the bath faucet, she came clean to Bernadette. Bernie was understandably shocked, but Amy knew that Bernadette couldn't fully understand her motives. Howard seemed like an attentive loving spouse and people with partners like that could not understand the long lonely road that she had been down. She did feel ashamed about it though and decided she would tell him. But then…

"Amy would you be strong enough to bathe yourself or do you need my help?"

Amy and Bernadette looked at each other and Bernie noticed a spark kindle to life in Amy's eye.

"I'll tell him tomorrow. Mama needs a bath."

Sheldon had been able to compartmentalize the past few days taking care of Amy. It was difficult, but he had managed it for her. He had never been on this side of a caretaker/patient role before, but he felt he had done a great job. He realized it had been days since Amy had bathed and wallowing around in stale sweat and Vaporub was not beneficial to her recovery. Sheldon wondered if she was strong enough to wash herself. His head snapped up at that. What if she wasn't strong enough? She had not eaten much in the past few days and she had seemed very frail as well. Sheldon gulped, then screwed up his courage and asked Amy if she needed help with her bath. He surprised himself. He actually did it. He stepped up and was there when she needed him. He had a difficult enough time rubbing her chest with her clothes on, how was he going to compartmentalize this? He had no compartment big enough for this! He turned back to the Epsom salt bath he had drawn. He looked around frantically and found some lavender bubble bath and hurriedly added that to the tub as well. The bubbles would act as a screen of modesty to keep his roving eyes off of her debilitated body.

She appeared in the doorway, unbuttoning her nightgown. "I think I'm going to need assistance Sheldon."

Oh boy! Sheldon pushed his anxiety down deep and turned the water off at the faucet. "Can you undress yourself or do you need help with that as well?" He couldn't look directly at her.

Amy's hands froze mid button. It was as if Christmas, her birthday and winning the lottery all happened on the same day. But the question was could she live with the guilt?

Yup!

"I don't mean to be a burden Sheldon, but it would be most helpful if you could assist me."

Sheldon took a deep cleansing breath in, but Amy didn't hear him release it until he spoke. "Very well." Sheldon stood in front of her avoiding looking at her. The problem with doing that was he was able to see her clearly in the large mirror on one side of the bathroom and a reflection of her on the glass of the shower. There was nowhere safe to look. Except…

He turned his gaze to her brilliant eyes. It was the safest option. Or so he thought. His face was unreadable as he raised his hands and slowly unfastened each button while his gaze burned Amy down to her very soul. Her nightgown slid off her shoulders and pooled on the ground at her feet. Sheldon's eyes never left hers, but she felt more exposed to his gaze than to the fact that she was mostly naked in front of him. She gasped when she felt his strong hands on her hips and noticed his eyes widen at the sound. She slowly felt her underwear being slid down, inch by inch. His gaze never wavered from hers, though he did bend his knees to continue to push her underpants down her legs. He released the fabric and they joined her sleepwear on the floor. He rose back to his full height, cheeks flushed and pulse racing. He estimated where her hand should be and touched her forearm, trailing his hand down to hers and helped her into the tub. Once she was settled under the privacy of the bubbles he broke the intense gaze. He noticed she was breathing hard.

"Amy are you doing OK? Your breathing seems a bit labored."

"I'm fine. Why did you look at me that way?" Amy's breathing was not in any way flu related.

"I wanted to preserve your modesty, therefore I looked at the only place I would not see a refection of your nakedness, your eyes." Sheldon's breathing was a little irregular as well.

Amy frowned at him. "You could have closed your eyes."

Sheldon muttered something and Amy asked for clarification.

"I said the hero always peeks."

Sheldon started with her back, which was a smooth expanse of pale skin with a few freckles. He practiced his Kolinahr exercises in preparation for the other tantalizing body parts soon to come. He used a washcloth to wash her face and neck breathing evenly. He moved on to her arm and held it lightly as he washed from shoulder to fingertip. He finished her second arm and scooped one of those seductive legs out of the bath water. The toenail polish was now blue, not the ruby color he first saw during the Twister game. He preferred the red, and then realized he should not be ogling her legs when she was sick. There would be plenty of time to do that when she was well. No that's not what I meant! He switched legs and ran the bath pouf over her milky flesh. He dawdled over the second leg, because the only other places to wash were… dangerous.

"Sheldon, I think that leg is clean." Amy said quietly.

Sheldon stopped washing her leg and hesitated. The bubbles were holding up well, but he wasn't just concerned about seeing anything. Feeling something was far worse.

He took the pouf and rested it as light as a feather on her upper chest. His fingers barely had a grip on the pouf as he traced small circles with it. He moved down lower, not looking until her entire torso had felt the light whisper of the pouf.

Sheldon felt light-headed and feverish. He hoped he wasn't coming down with the flu. Amy still needed him. "Amy…I can't…um wash anymore of you. Can you manage?" Sheldon was beet red. The integrity of the bubbles was fading fast. He needed to leave.

The guilt was overwhelming, but the payoff was divine. Amy was a pile of goo sitting in the tub. She looked over to her flushed boyfriend and nodded. "I can manage, Sheldon. Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"You're welcome. You attend to yourself and I will get a towel." Sheldon left the steamy bathroom quickly to grab one from the linen closet.

Sheldon reentered the bathroom eyes closed. He was too far away to employ his staring into Amy's eyes ploy, so it was down to this. He came closer to the tub and held the towel up for Amy to wrap herself in. Once she was securely covered Sheldon opened his eyes. He seemed more flushed than earlier. Amy gave him a slight smile "I thought the hero always peeks?"

Sheldon puffed a held breath out through his mouth loudly. "He did." He left the room abruptly as Amy's mouth dropped open.

Amy didn't want to press her luck, so she went to her bedroom and dressed in another nightgown. She came out to the living room to see Sheldon sitting on the couch, breathing deeply. "Are you OK?"

Sheldon looked at her. "I'm fine. I just found it hard to care for you in the manner you deserve just now."

"Sheldon, you have done a great job taking care of me since Wednesday, better than I could have hoped for. You've been scrunched up sleeping on my couch for four nights and not getting much sleep. I can handle being alone for a while. Why don't you go home and get some rest? Tomorrow is Monday, I don't want you missing anymore work to take care of me." She gave him her best fake sick smile. "You can check on me after work."

It took a while to convince him, but he made some food she could heat up easily and made her promise to update him every two hours on her status. He went back to the familiarity of his own apartment and promptly missed her. The only thing he didn't miss about Amy was her miniscule couch. After he turned on his voice recorder his head hit his pillow and he instantly fell asleep.

The next morning he checked his phone and Amy had dutifully texted him with status reports every two hours. At lunch time he strolled over to the lab to check on the cheek swab he had submitted on Saturday. He looked at the results, and his jaw set. He strode purposefully back to his office, grabbed his coat and headed for the nearest bus stop. Sheldon was so upset he didn't even care he wasn't wearing his bus pants.

Sheldon thought he heard music as he approached the door, but it faded as soon as the key Amy gave him was in the lock. Amy lay on the couch, as forlorn as she had been all week. What sealed her fate was that she claimed she had taken a "turn for the worse", when he had damning proof of her deception in his hand. He handed her the paper and saw her face go pale. He told her he was very disappointed in her, and she told him she felt terrible for doing this to him. Sheldon could understand her wanting to be cared for by him especially since he did a superior job, but he needed to let her know that this was unacceptable behavior. He thought back to his own experiences with being punished. His brother was too stupid to realize that he was going to get a spanking each time he did wrong. That's why it never worked with him. Sheldon had his hide tanned once and that was enough for him. He made sure he flew the straight and narrow after that. Amy was an intelligent woman, one spanking and she would never want to lie to him again.

"Are you saying you want to spank me?" Amy's voice was uneven as she stared at her boyfriend.

Sheldon almost relented. Her voice sounded scared and quivery. Then he remembered all he had been through during the last few days. He hated to do it, but she needed to know what she did would not be tolerated in their relationship. "But I don't want to, but looks like you left me no choice."

Amy's hand found her lips shocked at this turn of events. Does he know what he is getting himself into? He really has no clue. She felt the guilt creep back, but it was drowned by a dark desire. If it satisfies him and it satisfies me it's a win-win. "That's true. I've been a very bad girl."

"Are you prepared to receive your punishment?"

Amy could barely contain an excited smile from lighting up her face. She stared intently into his eyes and he didn't know why but his stomach squirmed as she nodded at him. "One second, I want to put on some music."

"Why?"

"I don't want to disturb the people next door while you discipline me." She pointed a remote behind her left shoulder and music started.

He nodded at how Amy was courteous towards her neighbors. Sheldon was unfamiliar with the song, but it sounded similar to the music that Leonard would put on when Penny would spend the night. It seemed an unusual musical choice for Amy. He shrugged it off and focused on the job at hand. "Very well then. Get over my knee. Let's begin." He adjusted to give her room to drape her body over his lap. She got settled into the prone position. He could feel the soft curves of her hips and belly make full contact with his thighs. He thought back to the bath, how her body was now forever burned into his mind. But it wouldn't have been there if she had been honest with him.

He didn't want to punish her, so the first strike of his palm was a little half-hearted. Still he didn't expect the small giggle that came out of Amy's lips.

Smack.

"Oh my!"

Am I being mocked? "Excuse me. You're not supposed to be enjoying this." This was punishment not fun and games.

Amy's voice cracked. "Then maybe you should spank me harder." Please, please, please!

Sheldon needed to put an end to that sass. Oh he could spank her harder. "Maybe I will."

Smack!

"Woo hoo!" It leaked out before she could bite it down.

Smack!

That one had a bit of a sting to it, but she was still enjoying her "punishment" immensely.

Smack!

Smack!

Sheldon felt that five was enough. Plus Amy's body pressed up against him was causing him to become… uncomfortable. Amy didn't think five was near enough, but she had pressed her luck enough today. Amy apologized again and Sheldon graciously accepted. Sheldon hated when their relationship was on uneven footing, the spanking made them equal again.

Sheldon called for Leonard to pick him up from Amy's place. Leonard pulled up to the curb. "Hey Sheldon, how is Amy feeling?"

"She is completely well." He turned to his roommate. "Leonard, can you believe that Amy lied to me and said she was still unwell to get me to take care of her?" He shook his head.

Leonard checked his mirrors and pulled into the roadway. "I could see where she may have enjoyed a level of attention from you that you don't normally bestow upon her. So yes, I can believe it."

Sheldon looked at him incredulously. "You too? But isn't lying to your significant other in a relationship a serious breach in trust?"

"Well yeah. But lying about being sick isn't as bad as lying about already being married to someone else or that you're wanted by the law. You need to have some perspective. It seemed like she lied to be closer to you and have you take care of her. Not because she was trying to be malicious."

Sheldon sighed. "I know. I did such an exemplary job with my caretaking duties that she didn't want me to stop. That is why I made the punishment for lying to me so light."

"What? You 'punished' her for lying to you. I have never seen you punish Amy."

Sheldon shifted in his seat. "That is true. But she had never betrayed my trust before. I had to let her know that it was unacceptable."

Leonard was surprised. Amy seemed to be the exception to many of Sheldon's rules. "Did you give her a strike?"

"In a matter of speaking. I gave her five. Across the buttocks."

Leonard's brow crinkled. "You gave her five strikes…across her buttocks?"

Sheldon looked out the window. "Yes. I spanked her."

Leonard tore his eyes from the road. "You spanked Amy? And she let you?"

Sheldon was engrossed in the passing scenery. "I did. She agreed that she had been a bad girl and deserved it. But then get this. She seemed to actually enjoy the first two blows. I couldn't believe it. I mean who ever heard of someone enjoying being disciplined?" He shook his head and ventured a look over to Leonard, who was grinning ear to ear.

"I have heard of people who like being disciplined." Leonard said with a chuckle. "Didn't know that Amy was one of them."

"What do you mean?" Sheldon looked concerned.

"Just saying that spanking a child and spanking an adult are two different things." Leonard smirked. "You may want to look up spanking on Wikipedia. I don't recommend Googling it. You're not ready yet."

Sheldon looked at him confused but reached for his phone. The Wikipedia entry was an eye opener and the next link left him speechless. Leonard pulled an envelope out of the console.

"Alex gave me this for you since you left early. She said it's your transcript."

Sheldon took the envelope from Leonard and tore it open. He remembered most of his dreams, and he remembered last nights. He looked at the list and swallowed hard.

"Soapy"

"Thermodynamic"

"Automotive"

"Soft"

"Lavender"

A/N: Hope I did justice to Fish Guts. Next up let's neglect Dr. Cooper. That is the name of the story after all. Reviews welcome.