Sheldon sounded rather out of it on the phone. I knew he would need time to absorb the news. His grandmother means the World to him. They have a very close relationship; they write to each other every week, and he calls her every other week. He loves talking about his Meemaw and all the things she taught him. I hoped that by the time I reached Caltech, he would have snapped out of it. But he was far from it.

I knocked on his door a couple of times, but no one answered. Then I opened the door slowly. Sheldon was at his desk, sitting with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands.

"Sheldon? Can I get in?" I said in a soft voice. He raised his head once he heard my voice. His eyes were all red from crying.

" Amy! » he looked pretty miserable. He was like a child unable to cope with the realities of life. He got up from his chair and walked towards me with his arms wide open, apparently eager for a comforting hug. On the spur of the moment, I snuggled against him with my arms around his waist. He put his all around me and hugged me really tight. He placed his head against mine and I could feel his breath on my neck.

I pulled away slowly after a couple of minutes, and looking up into his eyes, I said quietly "Sheldon, listen to me." I took both his hands in mine "I want you to calm down. Just breathe in, and then breathe out, deeply." I was almost whispering. He closed his eyes and obeyed. "That's it." I could feel him relax a little now as he let out a sigh. "Sheldon, I will take you home soon. But first, tell me: did you tell your boss about the situation?" He nodded. Is there someone else you need to warn? He shook his head. "Sheldon, did you have lunch?" He shook his head again "Okay, so I will go to the cafeteria see if I can get some sandwiches for the two of us." He nodded « Now please sit down, and try to relax, I'll be back in a few minutes. Okay? " I made him sit on his chair, grabbed a few tissues from the box on his desk, gave it to him and left.

I came back within fifteen minutes with our food. Sheldon was still sitting on his chair, but he was gathering papers that he put carefully in his satchel.

"Hey, I'm back". I stood on the other side of his desk. "Are you feeling any better? "

"Yes, thank you" he said, clearing his throat. "I will be ready in a minute. Then we can go home."

Indeed, he seemed to be a little better, self controlled again, more like his usual self. When he was ready, he simply made his way to the door, saying "let's go".

Once sitting in the car, I looked at him "Sheldon, are you alright? "

" I'm feeling a bit better now, thanks Amy."

"Alright, so let's go now. First, we will go to your place so you can pack, and we will have lunch there. Then we will head to the airport. We are on schedule."

I started the engine and headed towards Los Robles. When we got inside the apartment, he walked directly to his bedroom.

"Sheldon, would you rather I stay here and wait for you, or do you want me to help you pack?"

"I will be fine, thank you Amy".

"Sure. I will prepare our lunch and make some tea. I think you need it."

And so did I actually! It had been quite a shock finding Sheldon in that condition. It broke my heart to see him cry, and I was glad he finally managed to pull himself together.

After placing the sandwiches on plates and heating up some water for our tea, I sent a message to Penny. She had asked me to keep her updated about Sheldon's plans. She also told me to come back to her place after I dropped Sheldon at LAX, so we could chat a little. And maybe later we would have a girls night out with Bernadette.

I placed our plates and mugs on the counter and went to fetch him. As we both sat facing each other, he said, his eyes on his plate "I could not stand it, Amy."

I did not understand what he meant "What do you mean Sheldon?"

"If Meemaw were to die, I could not stand it."

I stared at him and said softly "Sheldon, look at me." He obeyed and looked at me straight in the eyes, fighting back his tears, "your grandmother is in a coma. She can still wake up. Don't give up hope, never." I went on "Of course death is a possibility, I won't lie to you, but it is not the only possible issue. Did your mother tell you exactly what happened? Was it a heart failure? A stroke? Or something else?"

"I don't know. She did not tell, and I did not ask. I was in shock."

"I know, I know. How old is your grandmother?"

"She just turned 79 last year."

"Okay. At that age, it could very likely come from a blood clot in the brain or a heart attack. Do you know if she has had heart problems in the past? Or if she suffers from chronic disease? The Kidneys? The Lungs maybe?"

"Not that I am aware of. Meemaw has always been very strong, I have never seen her sick."

"Sheldon, when you are there, and you know more about it, let me know. Especially if it is the brain, maybe I could help, or at least explain what is going on."

"Okay, I will, thanks." He started to bite in his sandwich.

"Also, once in Texas, you will have to be strong to support your mother, Sheldon. She must be terribly worried about her mother's condition, and she will need you to comfort and support her." I paused as I drank my tea and ate my sandwich "And you have to go to the hospital and talk to your Meemaw, tell her how much you love her. Many studies show that people in a coma can hear everything going on. And some patients said the voices of their loved ones helped them fight back."

Sheldon straightened up on his stool "You are right Amy. It is not over. Meemaw is a strong lady, she will fight." He stared at me with a forced smile "Thanks."

"Are you done with your packing yet?"

"Almost. Then I would like to have a shower before leaving, if we have enough time"

"We still have around one hour." I got up to clean my empty mug and plate "Don't forget your passport. Do you have your flight details printed out?"

"Yes. I am not hungry anymore." He had only eaten half his sandwich "I will go finish packing and then to the bathroom."

"Alright. I'll do the wash up and wait for you here. We will go whenever you are ready."

Sheldon reappeared forty minutes later, with his suitcase in his hand and his satchel on his shoulder. "I am ready now".

I got up from the couch where I was reading my work notes, and walked to the door.

I left Sheldon in front of the entrance of LAX terminal 1. As he got out of the car, he said "Thanks a lot Amy, for everything. I will be fine now. I mean, I am still very worried about Meemaw and cannot wait to see her, but I will try to focus on the possible positive outcome and stop anticipating the worst. And as you pointed out, I need to be strong for my mum, and I will. Thanks for always being there for me." He smiled lightly as he said so.

"That's the right attitude Sheldon. And you don't have to thank me for anything, I am your girlfriend, of course I am always there for you." I was staring back "please keep me updated on your trip. I feel better when I know where you are. And when you are in Texas, you can call me anytime; if you need to speak to someone, I want you to call me. I'm your emergency contact, remember?"

"I will. Goodbye Amy!"

"Goodbye Sheldon! Safe flight"

And he left. I watched him go away. I wished I could go with him, I was sure I could help him. But firstly, he did not ask me to go and secondly it is a family matter and I am not family.

I was at Penny's less than one hour later.

"Hey Ames, come in."

"Thanks." I got in "So that is it, Sheldon is on his way to Texas. Well, actually technically he still is at the airport now, he just checked in." I sat down on the couch next to Penny.

"How did he deal with the news? His mother was very worried and sorry that she had to tell him over the phone. I told her not to worry, that you were going to take good care of him."

"Well, at first, he totally fell apart, I did not know what to do. Then we talked and he seemed to get better. He is very worried but at least he will try to be strong for his mother."

"By the way, Amy, Mrs Cooper asked me to give you her phone number. And she would like to have yours. In case she needs to contact you… I was surprised that you did not have each other's numbers actually."

"Well, the only time we met, I am not sure she was that impressed with me."

"You are wrong." Smiling Penny said "She told me once that she knew immediately that you were the right person for Sheldon."

"Really? I did not know that." Wow, I was surprised by Penny's words. So Sheldon's mother actually approved of me. That was interesting. I entered Sheldon's mother's phone number in my phone and sent her a text giving her mine. I told her how sorry I was about her mother, and that I hoped she would get better soon. I also updated her on Sheldon. Then I leant against the couch's back and closed my eyes." Gosh Penny, I have had such a tough day. It really hurt to see him like that, youknow. He looked so miserable when I arrived at his office. Oh, I really need to think about something else tonight!"

"I have exactly what you need: Zinfandel!" she said, on her way to the kitchen. She came back with a bottle and two glasses.

At that exact moment, I received a text message from Sheldon. He was onboard, ready to leave. In about three hours he would be in Texas.