would like to thank my beta reader Shamy4eva for helping me out with this chapter. Again I own none of this.
"This is some car you are driving." Penny remarks as they climb inside the convertible. "Rental?"
"No, this was Memaw's car it is on loan to us for the day." Amy informs her as she taxies out of the airport parking lot.
"Damn, Memaw had style." Penny nods approvingly.
"Memaw did enjoy things with a bit of flash." Sheldon agrees. "Amy. Just because you are driving a flashy car does not mean that you have to drive like a speed demon down the freeway." He chides glancing at the speedometer.
"Sheldon I am going two miles over the posted speed limit."
"That is two miles closer to oblivion in this ostentatious death trap." Amy rolls her eyes but adjusts her speed.
"So what are the arrangements?" Leonard asks "If there is not enough room at your mother's house we can stay in a hotel." Amy is about to voice the opinion that a hotel would probably be the better option than the madhouse that has become the Cooper residence. She could only imagine how George Jr. would act around Penny.
"I hardly think that will be necessary, my mother has plenty of room." Sheldon tells them craning his neck backward.
"Sheldon, are you sure that they would not feel more comfortable in a hotel? As it is there is Missy in her room, George in his and we are sharing a room…"
"You guys are sharing a room!" Penny exclaims. Sheldon shoots Amy a look as if he thought that information could have been kept secret.
"Yes, due to space constrictions Amy is currently sleeping in the trundle of my childhood bed." He says it in way that clearly indicates he wants nothing more said on the subject and turns to stare out of the window. Amy looks in the rear view mirror. Penny opens her mouth to ask for more information but Leonard grabs her hand and shakes his head in an effort to silence her. Penny closes her mouth deciding in deference to the current situation that keeping her mouth shut would be the best idea. The rest of the car ride is uneventful with Leonard bringing them up to date on what has been happening in Pasadena which by the sound of it is not much.
Arriving at Mary's house they enter the living room where George Jr. and Mary are watching TV. Mary jumps up and embraces both Leonard and Penny.
"It is so nice to see both of ya'll again. I hear from Shelly that you two got engaged. Have ya'll set a date yet?" Mary asks. George Jr. also stands up, his eyes transfixed on Penny.
"No, no date yet but we are over the moon about getting engaged." Penny tells Mary.
"Maybe you haven't set a date because you aren't sure about marrying the little squirt yet." George Jr. says first shaking Leonard's hand then crushing Penny in a hug.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Penny asks confused as he releases her.
"Sure you do, I am sure my baby brother talks about me all the time." George is still leering at Penny making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"So you are Sheldon's brother, you are so much more…" Penny begins but George Jr. interrupts her
"Handsome, strapping, charming, than Sheldon." he asks nudging Sheldon with his shoulder and wiggling his eyebrows.
"No. None of those." Penny says looking at him disgusted. Mary quickly changes the subject before a fight starts.
"So will ya'll be staying with us?" she asks.
"We don't want to impose Mrs. Cooper. We can find a hotel room to stay in." Leonard tells her.
"Impose, nonsense, why ya'll are practically family at this point! Now this here couch pulls out and you are welcome to it. "Mary says warmly.
"Yeah, little sister Penny, we have more than enough room and your future hubby is so small he won't take up any space at all!" He guffaws loudly slapping Leonard on the back.
Penny edges away, moves closer to Amy and whispers "Is Sheldon's brother always so obnoxious I mean I thought Sheldon was rude but George brings it to a whole new level."
"You have no idea, there is so much I have to tell you." Amy hisses back to her and Penny raises her eyebrows she cannot wait to get Amy alone. As if in answer to her wish Mary says suddenly.
"Amy honey, could you do me a favor there is a couple of things I need to get from the store. With all that has been going on I just have not had the time to do some shopping. Do you think that you could run up to the Wal-Mart and pick up a few things for me sugar."
"Of course Mrs. Cooper." Mary clears her throat loudly " I mean Mary, whatever you need."
"You know I have never been to Texas before, and I would love to look around, I'll come with you." Penny says.
"If you don't mind Amy I think I will stay here, there is some work I need to get done." Sheldon tells Amy.
"I think I will stay behind too." Leonard tells them as Mary hands Amy a list from her purse and tries to hand her a couple of twenties which Amy refuses to accept.
"You have done so much for me Mary, at least let me do this for you."
"If you insist." Mary says putting the money back into her purse.
"So, you are going to let me drive, right?" Penny asks as they head out the door.
"Certainly, this is a little too much car for me" Amy says as she hands over the keys.
"Now tell me everything." Penny demands as they head out of the neighborhood.
"Where do I begin?" Amy recounts the last couple of days in colorful detail. Starting with the date night interrupted by the call, the flight to Texas, Mary suggesting they share a room and Sheldon not protesting it as much as she thought he would. Amy gets to the part about George Jr. and his drunken display before Penny says anything.
"Oh God, I really had no idea how horrible his brother was! I cannot believe he slapped your ass like that! What do you think George Jr. meant when he said he knows the truth about Sheldon?"
"I don't know, part of me thinks he was just rambling because he was drunk, the other part wonders if there was not something more."
"Sheldon's brother is something else isn't he?" Penny says
"I would not want to be left alone with him again that's for sure." Amy agrees.
"Speaking of being left alone, how is sharing a room with Sheldon going?" Penny asks winking at a blushing Amy.
"Really good." Amy says winking back at Penny.
"Oh my god! So are you still in the trundle or have you graduated to the big boy bed?" Penny asks her voice dripping with innuendo.
"Let's just say that Sheldon is definitely a big boy now." Amy tells her and Penny turns to stare at her open mouthed.
"Penny! Road! " Amy yells .
"Amy, are saying, what I think you are saying?" Penny says stunned, turning back to look at the road.
"Sheldon and I have finally…"
"Oh my God! It's true! You guys had sex! Why didn't you start with that? Penny shouts.
"I was getting to it, but there was a lot of backstory leading up to the main event," Amy begins.
"Screw the backstory, was it any good? "
"It was perfect, better than anything I could have imagined." Amy recounts the previous evening telling Penny about the square dancing and the tree house, but skates over the more intimate details.
"Wow, it almost seems like you are talking about a different guy. Do you think you guys will do it again?"
"I admit that at times I feel like I am with a different guy, besides the tragedy of his Memaw dying, for me, this whole week has been wonderful. Sheldon has been more communicative and affectionate then he has ever been before. I just worry about what he will be like when we return back home."
"What do you think will happen?" Penny says turning serious.
"I wish knew, at best we have a reached a new level in our relationship. At worst, back on his home turf, he may just feel he was seeking solace and that the whole enterprise has no place outside of this fishbowl environment created by being in Texas."
" Way to think optimistically Ames." Penny says.
"I am sorry but after almost four years with him I still have no clue how he will react to some situations, sometimes he surprises me and sometimes he acts exactly how I fear he will." Amy says sadly
"Why don't you just ask him?" Penny says
"If only it were that simple." Amy sighs.
Sheldon sits at the computer desk in his room, staring at the blank screen on his laptop. He has been trying unsuccessfully for the past two hours to compose a tribute to Memaw. Leonard had kept him company for a while trying to help. Yet for some reason Sheldon felt his presence was irritating and after Sheldon had snapped at him for the third time, Leonard left to see if Mrs. Cooper needed help with anything.
Sheldon has never been good at sentiment, his mind, so adept at writing essays and dissertations on physics could not think of a single thing to say about the woman who had helped shape him. He hears the door open and expecting it to be Leonard again, doesn't look up.
However it is Amy who walks into room and sees him hunched over his laptop rubbing his temples.
"Are you ok?"
"Yes, just a little stressed, there has been a lot to deal with in such a short amount of time."
"I understand." She walks over and standing behind him, looks at what is on the screen. So far all he has written is, How can I begin to describe what this woman meant to me. Amy is not sure if that is the beginning of his speech or a plea to himself.
"I want to write a eulogy for my Memaw that sums up how I felt about her influence in my life while simultaneously being a moving tribute that will bring the audience to tears." Amy puts her hands on his shoulders. Gently rubbing between his shoulder blades, she feels him tense up under her touch. Fearing a rebuke she removes her hand, not understanding why he would still be uncomfortable with her touching him after all that has happened and tries not to get offended.
"Why'd you stop?" he says looking over his shoulder at her with a stricken face.
Amy resumes rubbing his shoulders getting bolder as she massages the tense muscles of his back. "I don't want to bother you, I just came into check on you."
"You're not bothering me, in fact your presence is a welcome distraction. I am hopelessly stuck on this eulogy, I may have to tell them to let someone else speak. Not only do I not have a clue what I should say I am terrified at the thought of delivering it to the crowd of people who will be at the service. Everyone is expecting me to deliver some eloquent speech, given that I am far and away the most intelligent member of the family. My intellect is mostly a blessing but at times like these it's a curse." He sighs leaning his head against Amy's abdomen. Amy realizes that he must be really distraught to curse his intelligence. So she increases her efforts trying to release the tight knots in the tendons of his neck. Sheldon lets out a soft moan that makes her stomach flutter reminding her of their activities the previous night.
"Amy… that feels… so good…" he groans as she continues to massage his back. Raising the hemline of his shirt, she places her hands on his bare skin and relishes the feel of it beneath her fingers. She thinks about all the years she had ached to touch him. How she would sit next to him on the couch and sit on her hands to keep herself from reaching out to him. It is odd that before she met him she had felt much the same way that he did about physical contact. When it came to others she still was not comfortable with it, but with Sheldon she felt like she could never be close enough.
Amy continues to knead the skin beneath her hands as Sheldon pulls off his shirts to give her better access. Her stomach is pulled in a tight knot of longing looking at him bare chested. Before now she had never seen him fully undressed and now, here, she had access to his whole body. Her conversation with Penny echoes in her mind. What would happen when they got home? Somehow she could not picture Sheldon sitting shirtless at his laptop letting her massage him. Yet she knows things could not go back to the way they were before. Things have irreversibly shifted and she realizes there is no going back. Just ask him she tells herself, but then he turned around in his chair and asked shyly.
"Do you want to lie down with me for a while, this speech writing has made me tired." Amy nods her head, feeling shy too. He gets up and she follows him to his bed. She lays down beside him as he wraps his arms around her and caresses her back as she had done to him earlier, she sighs and arches into him leaning up to kiss him on the mouth. Sheldon kisses her back as his hands move to her front and he starts undoing the buttons on her shirt. All the queries that she had in her head disappear as she lets herself enjoy what she has with him in this moment.