Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, sorry this is so long in coming. A plot bunny came hopping my way (The Daily Holiday Celebration) and he's so much fun to play with that he distracted me from this story. Naughty bunny! Plus I've got two other fics in the works. There's more, but I'll save that for after the chapter. For now, Amy's got quite a surprise waiting for her….

DISCLAIMER: Same as before.

"Amy," Sheldon said, realizing that he knew all along where he most wanted to start, "may I kiss you?"

Amy was convinced she was living through some sort of unusually vivid dream. Of course, she'd dreamed of a Sheldon who gave her physical affection before. But typically, the dream faded just about the time the good part was about to start. Even Amy's subconscious mind had no experience to go on, and so her dream details didn't go much further.

She felt Sheldon squeeze her hands lightly and realized she wasn't dreaming. This was actually happening. She realized, despite how difficult it was to believe, that the events of Valentine's Day were just as real. Recalling what Sheldon just asked, she began nodding her head vigorously, excitedly anticipating the moment when, once again, Sheldon Cooper would be kissing her. She wondered if it would be just as good as their goodbye kiss. Perhaps it might be even better, although she found that hard to imagine.

"Amy." Sheldon said, squeezing her hands again, "Amy! If I'm going to kiss you, you need to stop nodding. My aim isn't that good! Heaven knows where I'll land if you don't sit still."

"Oh!" Amy said, "Oh! I'm sorry, Sheldon. You're right, of course. I promise I'll sit still." She stopped nodding and leaned forward, closing her eyes and puckering her lips, waiting for her boyfriend to plant one on her.

And waiting.

And waiting.

"It'th tchust I'm tho exthited that we're moving fo-wad in our wewationship, Thsheldon," she said around her puckered lips. Realizing that nothing was happening, Amy sat back and un-puckered her lips. She knew Sheldon hadn't left, since he was still holding her hands between them. She opened her eyes.

Sheldon was sitting back on the couch, his eyes wide, a look of something like horror on his face. It wasn't a very complimentary look.

"Sheldon? What's wrong?"

Sheldon shook his head a moment. He looked at Amy and squeezed her hands again. He seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Amy," he began, "I realize neither of us is very experienced in this area. Therefore, I think it's important for both of us to be very honest and forthright with each other, especially if one of us does something that the other finds displeasing. I want you to understand that I'm not being critical, but when you present yourself for me to kiss in that manner, it's a bit… off-putting. I feel as though I'm about to defile a sacrificial virgin. Coupled with your uncanny impression of Barry Kripke, I find myself not nearly as anxious to kiss you as I was a few moments ago."

Amy turned away and pulled her hands away from Sheldon's. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. I had no idea the sight of my pouty, red lips would be such a turn-off for you!"

Amy wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't believe that Sheldon went from proposing an expansive revision of the Relationship Agreement and asking to kiss her, to basically telling her that he found her repulsive. She wanted to run out the door and find a place where she could just crawl underground and hide. Yet part of her wondered why she was feeling so emotional. If she took a moment to think about it, what he'd said about being honest made sense. And she had to admit she had sounded amazingly like Kripke. She knew Sheldon was far from fond of the man he was forced to work with.

"Amy?"

Her confused thought processes were interrupted by the almost inaudible sound of Sheldon calling her name.

"Amy?" he said again, "do you not want me to kiss you anymore?"

Amy turned back to look at Sheldon. There was a look of almost pleading on his face.

"Amy," he continued, his voice just above a whisper, "your actions would appear to indicate denial of permission. Per the amendment just agreed to, I'm required to cease all attempts to kiss you. And if that's what you really want, then, I won't try to do it again. But Amy, I'm honestly confused. Just a moment ago, you seemed quite enthusiastic. I want to be sure I understand."

Amy gathered her thoughts and gave herself a quick mental face slap. This was Sheldon. She couldn't expect everything about him to change overnight and she wouldn't want him to. He constantly said things that were awkward, and she shouldn't expect his attempts at romance to be any different. She would have to constantly remind herself to breathe and count to ten before getting upset over whatever he might say. The reward was sure to be worth it.

"I'm sorry Sheldon. I know I must be sending mixed signals. So, in the spirit of the honesty of which you just spoke, I want you to know that I still very much want you to kiss me."

Sheldon leaned forward and Amy put a hand up to stop him. He drew back again, and Amy realized from the look on his face she had only confused him more.

"Just a moment Sheldon, as I said, I do want you to kiss me. And we can proceed with that in a moment, but just as you've told me something that displeases you, I need you to understand that it displeases me when you say my look displeases you just as you are about to kiss me. Say nothing, or tell me I'm beautiful, but save telling me I repulse you for a time when we aren't actually engaged in romantic pursuits."

Sheldon nodded. Amy could always tell when he was filing important information away in his brain.

"Very well, Amy." He reached over and took her hands again. "Amy, I do find you beautiful. You are both aesthetically pleasing as a female, as well as having the most amazingly lovely mind I have ever encountered. And I've met Stephen Hawking in person!"

The two sat for a while, Sheldon gently stroking his thumbs over Amy's hands. Amy still wasn't completely sure this wasn't a dream. If it was real, wouldn't Sheldon be kissing her by now? It was just like her dreams to tease her like this and not follow through. In times past, she understood why - there was no experience to go on. But she was sure now that Sheldon had kissed her once. She knew what that was like, and so did her subconscious. There shouldn't be a need to delay the outcome like this. Go ahead, subconscious, Amy urged, let him kiss me already!

"Amy, may I kiss you NOW?" asked Sheldon.

Oh, gosh! It wasn't her subconscious holding out on her. Sheldon was waiting for her to give the go-ahead.

"Yes, Sheldon. Yes, of course. Kiss me."

She resisted the urge to pucker and simply sat waiting. As Sheldon leaned forward, she leaned herself, just enough to meet his lips above their clasped hands. Like the last time, he was hesitant, as if he didn't know quite what to do once contact was engaged. He increased the pressure slightly. Then Sheldon released Amy's hands. She felt his fingers lightly stroking the sensitive spot below one ear as he moved his hand up behind and combed through her hair to grasp the back of her head and pull her closer. At the same time, his other hand moved up her arm, across her shoulder and, Oh My God! Amy couldn't believe it! Sheldon's hand was gently drifting down along the side of her chest and coming to rest just over the swell of her breast. He hesitantly squeezed just the tiniest bit. But wonder of wonders! Sheldon Lee Cooper found second base at long last! Amy resolved to never wake up again. She would gladly die in her sleep if this was a dream.

As Sheldon continued to gingerly squeeze and massage, Amy was aware of a tingling warmth that was creeping into her nether regions. She felt his thumb flick her hardened nipple through all four layers of clothing and thought she might spontaneously combust right there on his couch. She better not, she thought. He would never forgive her if she set fire to his spot.

Amy knew she shouldn't be greedy. For Sheldon, tonight represented leaps and bounds of progress and she was over the moon to think this sort of thing might become a common part of their interaction. But she couldn't help wonder if Sheldon would ever advance far enough to take care of the fire that he was currently stoking in her loins, or if she would just be that much more frustrated.

As she was pondering the purchase of a new toothbrush, she realized that Sheldon's lips were moving in a new and different way. They had parted slightly and she thought she could feel… YES! That was a tongue. And not just any tongue. That was Sheldon's tongue gently stroking her lips and urging them to allow entrance.

Amy parted her own lips and before she knew what was happening, she felt Sheldon's tongue moving inside her mouth, exploring and tasting her. She didn't know how long the kiss had lasted, but it felt both infinitely long and much too short. She thought of moving her own tongue to jostle with his, but realizing Sheldon's phobias were being pushed to the limit, she decided to wait. She would discuss it with him sometime when they were not actually engaged, so that it wouldn't shock him. There was, of course, a risk that he would refuse to allow it. But that was infinitely preferable to the risk that she might scare him away from the current kiss by moving too quickly.

Realizing her hands were still resting idle in her lap, she decided to venture into her own uncharted territory. Amy reached up encountering what she assumed was the side of Sheldon's chest. She decided to stick to what she thought would be safe territory and allowed her hand to drift down his side so she could gently caress his waist. As she neared his belt, however, Sheldon suddenly reared back, breaking all contact.

"Amy!" he shouted, bringing his hands back and cupping his crotch protectively.

"Sheldon?" Amy protested, "I wasn't… I wasn't going to… I was just going to put my hand on your waist, I wasn't going to touch your… parts."

Sheldon was breathing heavily. Amy could tell, despite what his hands were trying to hide, that Sheldon was as affected by their activity as she was. It dawned on her suddenly that women had the advantage of being able to keep such effects secret if they chose to do so. She knew that her skin was probably flushed and she was also breathing heavily. But those signs were much more subtle than the obvious, and she realized, rather impressive bulge that Sheldon was currently sporting. Knowing Sheldon as she did, she realized he would be mortified by such clear evidence of his basic humanity and the fact that he was really not much different from any other healthy adult male. She tore her eyes away and looked up, staring fixedly at his face.

"Sheldon, are you ok?"

Sheldon nodded, but remained mute. Suddenly, he rose from the couch, crouching slightly to maintain coverage over his genitalia, and ran awkwardly across the room and up the step to the bathroom. Dashing inside, he turned and gripped the door, leaning out so only his head and shoulders were visible.

"Amy," he said, "I think it best if you see yourself out." He paused a moment, catching his breath.

Amy sat stunned, once again not sure what to think of her suddenly mercurial boyfriend. Part of her was near tears and she knew she would be crying about this later that night.

"Amy."

Amy looked up again, not realizing that Sheldon was still standing in the doorway to the bathroom, apparently watching her as she dissolved into a puddle of embarrassed misery.

"Amy," his voice became gentle, "I…" he breathed heavily, then continued, "I care about you very much, Amy. It's important for you to know that. I'm not…. I'm not experimenting. I want to do this. It's just… it just moved too fast tonight. I promise I'll do better next time."

Amy looked down, unable to continue meeting the pained look on Sheldon's face, and wondering what he was seeing on hers that made him say such things.

"Amy? I'm sorry. Please…. I'll… I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Amy nodded, stood up, collected her bag and left without looking back.

Author's Note: Again, I'm sorry this took me so long to update. If you've been watching season 6 (well, of course you have), you know that the two or three episodes after The Monster Isolation are not all Shamy sweetness and light. Since this is supposed to be a companion fic, I needed to find a reason for some of the snarkiness and to incorporate that into this story. So I'm afraid we're headed into some angst. But fear not, the Shamy is resilient.

FF_1807614_ 5/4/2013