Sheldon one made final adjustment to his newly acquired Christmas tree and stood back to scan his eyes over the ornamentation.
"How does that look, Raj?" He called over his shoulder to where Raj was cutting out a batch of sugar cookies in the kitchen, having followed Amy's recipe to the letter.
"Very nicely done, Sheldon." Raj replied, already liking the simple manner in which Sheldon had decorated the tree. There were tiny nutcrackers and wooden trains, tartan bows and popcorn garlands strung around the branches, with the soft glow of the clear lights glinting through the heavy branches. Sheldon hated the glittery tinsel that Leonard usually insisted on draping with a heavy hand and had gone for a more natural looking tree, the plan was to hang colourful candy canes and sugar cookies on the tree at a later date but for now it was nearly perfect.
"Thank you for helping me with all of this, Raj; I couldn't have done it without you."
"Sheldon, I've loved every minute of it; and I'm sure that once Amy sees the effort you have gone too, she will love it just as much."
"I had an idea when we were out shopping and I wondered whether you could help me with that as well." Sheldon fiddled with the placement of one of the toy trains and there was a moment of silence.
"Okay…are you going to tell me what it is then?" Raj slid the tray of cookies into the oven, and after wiping his hands crossed over to sit in the armchair looking over at Sheldon expectantly.
"Oh, yes of course." Sheldon gave a breathy little laugh and bent down to extract something from his messenger bag. He held the items in his hand for a moment before handing them over to Raj with a slight shrug. "You might think it's a little too much…"
"It's a card and a ceramic ornament…" Raj glanced over the Christmas card and then turned the small ornament over in his hands.
"And there was me thinking that you were the Christmas guru around here." Sheldon tapped the card with one lean index finger. "That's a partridge in a pear tree, and those are two Turtle doves…I want to give Amy the Twelve Days of Christmas!" A dawning light of understanding appeared in Raj's eyes and he started to grin.
"Sheldon, I take it all back…you really are a genius! You've gone from being almost Grinch-like to Santa Claus in a single day…this is amazing and I think that Amy will really love it!"
"So, you'll help me then? I've got a few ideas for most of the days; ballet tickets for the ladies dancing and a set of little drummer boy decorations but some of those days are proving a little difficult."
"Count me in! Let's see, you could go for jewellery for the five gold rings; a cd of music from Swan Lake – or a copy of 'The Black Swan' DVD…"
"No, Amy and I saw that recently and she found it a little disturbing…what about a crystal ornament from Swarovski in the shape of a swan or maybe something from a company with a swan as their logo?"
"Mmm, intriguing; it would be like a set of mystery items that she would have to figure out the meaning…"
"I don't want them to be so obscure that she misses the message though." Sheldon was anxious that Raj would suddenly go into 'Scavenger Hunt' mode and he didn't want that at all.
"Sheldon, don't worry; I'm sure between the two of us we can think of things that would link into the song but at the same time be a little different." Raj pulled Sheldon's laptop over from the coffee table and soon the two men were deep into discussion about how Sheldon could present all twelve days to Amy.
Pulling up to a stop in front of Amy's porch, Leonard parked the car and nudged his companion.
"Hey, look…see anything different?"
"Oh! It's just like I imagined…" Amy blinked back tears and scrambled out of the car, running over to the steps and staring at the two pots that were now flanking her front door. They both contained a small holly tree that had bright red bows with long streamers blowing gently in the breeze. There was another red bow tied around the brass door handle and Amy glanced around to see Bernadette, Penny and Howard grinning from the top of the porch, Howard popped the cork on a bottle of pink champagne and Penny rushed over to enfold Amy in a warm hug.
"Ames, I'm so proud of you…this is a big step and I just want you to know that I love you very much."
"Love you, too, bestie…and thank you all for being here for me today." Amy returned Penny's hug and then pulled back slightly to give everyone a watery smile. Penny threaded her arm through Amy's and pulled her up onto the steps.
"Go on sweetie…open the door!"
"Yeah, go on Amy…let us in, it's getting chilly out here!" Bernadette gave an exaggerated shiver and bounced up and down in excitement.
"Oh, the key!" Amy whirled around, in all of the excitement she'd left the heavy bunch of keys in the car, and Leonard grinned as he held them out to her.
"I thought you'd remember eventually, here you go, Amy." Amy accepted the keys and taking a deep breath, inserted the heavy brass key into the lock and gave it a turn. Just before she stepped over the threshold, her hand slipped down to grasp Penny's hand firmly and Penny gave it a little squeeze before dropping it.
"Go on, sweetie…you can do this." Penny gave Amy a little nudge and stepped back slightly, allowing her friend to walk into her new house by herself. Amy stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind her, taking a few seconds to absorb the heady feeling that swept over her as she breathed slowly in and out. Suddenly, the chimes of the doorbell echoed through the empty marble hall and Amy whirled around to pull the heavy front door open again.
"Hello…and welcome to my home." She beamed at her friends and there was a flurry of activity as everyone started jostling at one another, trying to get through the doorway first.
"It's so big." Penny whispered slowly as she barged her way through, turning around in a circle as she gazed around the entry hall. "It didn't seem so large when we were here earlier, but it's huge now…and a little on the bleak side."
"Urgh, it's positively dreadful Amy, and cold too." Bernadette's nose wrinkled up at the stark emptiness of the hallway. "Howie, why don't you and Leonard start bringing in the stuff from the car? I think we're gonna need those quilts sooner rather than later."
"Can we have a moment to enjoy the 'new house' feeling first? You haven't even let us step inside yet." Howard groused lightly and Bernadette gave him a little peck on the cheek.
"Sorry, Howie…" She stepped further into the hallway, crossing over to stand at Amy's side and then both Howard and Leonard entered properly, gazing around the hall and peering into the open living room.
"Hmm, it will feel cosier once we get those doors rehung." Howard mused as he shared a brief glance at Leonard, who nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that will go a long way to stop most of the heat escaping too. Anyone ever hung a door before?" Leonard replied glancing at the girls, and lingering on Penny.
"Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?" She folded her arms across her chest before sighing loudly, "Okay, yes I've helped my dad with a few DIY things around the house. Amy, hand me over that kick ass set of keys and I'll take a look in the barn to see whether the original doors are still in there. Did anyone think to bring any tools with them?"
"Yeah, I put my tool chest in the car just in case." Howard jerked his head toward Bernadette's car and Penny pointed outside.
"Okay, the two of you start unpacking the cars and I'll head over to the barn."
"I'm gonna take a walk through the rest of the house with Amy, Howie and I missed the downstairs tour earlier and I want to see everything!" Bernadette tugged on Amy's arm and started leading her down the hallway to the back of the house. Amy just remembered to toss the keychain over to Penny before Bernadette dragged her away.
Fifteen minutes later, the guys had emptied out both of the cars and were heading toward the barn from which Penny had yet to emerge.
"Do you think she's alright in there?" Leonard asked as they approached the heavy wooden doors.
"Sure, she's probably already found the original oak doors and is sanding them down or something." Howard joked as they walked into the dim and dusty barn. "Oh God…it's like Aladdin's cave in here!" Both men gaped at the sight of the furniture packed along the sides of the barn, leaving only a narrow walkway to navigate through.
"Penny? Are you in here?" Leonard called out, unable to see his fiancée through the mess.
"Leonard? Back here!" Penny called out from near the back, they started to wend their way toward her, Howard scanning the furniture for anything of interest. Leonard found Penny sitting in an old chunky rocking chair and grinning all over her dusty face.
"Isn't this great? Amy's gonna freak out when she sees all of this… There's two of these rocking chairs, a huge kitchen table and eight chairs over there…I've found the original oak doors, the fire surrounds are propped against the wall there…it's like a treasure trove."
"Yeah, I saw a couple of heavy dressers near the front…they'd look great in the living room or kitchen, it's just the kind of antique farmhouse look that Amy was going for." Leonard waved over to the front of the barn and set himself gingerly down in the second rocker. "Oh, this really is comfortable, it's not one of those delicate rockers that my grandma had…this is nice and sturdy." He rocked to and fro, clasping the wide wooden arms with his fingers. "Howard, run up to the house and ask Amy to come down here before it gets too dark. She'll have a field day rummaging through all of this stuff, the previous owners must have just moved it all out here when they modernised the original house."
"Great idea, I saw a heavy wooden bedframe over in the corner; I wouldn't be surprised if it was originally from the old Master suite…looks like a sleigh bed with a really nice carved baseboard." Howard waved over to the dim corner and then jogged back up to the, telling Amy only that they'd found something that they thought she ought to see.
"Howard, Amy was just about to take me through her plans for the living room…can't it wait?" Bernadette showed a little of her honey badger side and Howard just grinned over at the pair.
"Trust me, you're gonna love what Penny's found in the barn." He grabbed Amy's hand and started pulling her toward the front door with Bernadette giggling behind them. "Now, close your eyes for a second, Amy." Howard wrapped his hand over Amy's eyes to make sure that she didn't sneak a peek, and motioned for Bernadette to pull open the barn door. Even Bernadette gasped at the sight of so many of the original features of the house carelessly stacked up to the rafters.
"Oh, Amy!"
"What? Howard, take your hand away, I really want to see this."
"Okay, now turn around slowly and try to tell me that this isn't the most amazing thing you've ever seen." Howard removed his hands and Amy blinked a little as she tried to restore her vision, she turned in a small circle and when she reached the sight of Penny and Leonard rocking side by side and clasping hands; tears formed behind her eyes and she had to turn away before she collapsed into a quivering heap. Penny flew out of the chair so fast that it nearly tipped backwards, and was by Amy's side in an instant.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Don't you like them?" Penny rubbed Amy's arm and tried to do anything to make it better. Amy turned to face her best friend and wiped away a fallen tear as she tried to smile back.
"It just looked so perfect…I could almost see the two of you in thirty years' time…grey haired and holding hands as you rocked together by the open fire."
"And that made you sad? Why?"
"Because that's what I wanted with Sheldon…" Amy replied quietly and Penny gave her a sad smile, pulling her into a warm comforting hug.
"Sweetie…"
"It's okay, Penny. I'm going to be alright…I'm determined to be alright." Amy pulled back a little and walked over to examine the rocking chairs a little closer, running her hand along the exquisite carvings etched into the back. "These really are gorgeous."
"Aren't they?" Leonard continued to rock, caressing the arms that were careworn with time. "And the great news is…there's another two over here!" Howard called out from somewhere over to the left where he and Bernadette had been rummaging.
"What else have you found?" Amy glanced around the barn, noticing the doors propped up against the side and her gaze fell upon a lovely pie-crust table that she immediately earmarked for the living room.
"There's a couple of nice dressers over here that would look great in either the living room or kitchen, they're similar to a Welsh dresser but a little chunkier." Leonard patted the arm of his rocker once more in farewell, before rising to his feet and crossing over to join Amy's side. He pointed out the two dresser units and then waved over to the right. "We came across the fire surrounds over there, they look intact but pretty hefty pieces of furniture; so we may need to call in reinforcements to get them up to the house."
"Ooh, I just found a couple of wardrobes over here!" Bernadette called out, "Anyone fancy a trip to Narnia? They have amazingly detailed carvings on the doors and I think they'd look great in the Master."
"This is just too much…it's like everything I need has been stored in here just waiting for me to come and find it…it's a little overwhelming." Amy sat down in on a wooden kitchen chair and looked around the barn, feeling a little dazed. Bernadette patted her arm and hummed sympathetically.
"Well, you don't have to make any decisions right now. How about we start with the living room doors? Howard will help Penny rehang them and we'll light the fire before we order some takeout. Does that sound good?"
"Thank you, Bernie…that sounds perfect." Amy smiled gratefully at the diminutive biochemist, and rose to her feet. "Did anyone see whether there were more than one set of doors?"
"Yup, both sets are stacked over by the doors. Leonard, do you want to grab a door with Howard and I'll get the other one with Amy?" Penny glanced over at the guys who were grimacing at the thought of shifting the heavy doors, "There's no need for that look, Howard! They're not that heavy." Demonstrating, Penny lifted one end of a single oak door and Amy took the other, they started walking out of the barn without even a hitch in their breath. Howard picked up another door edge and looked pointedly at Leonard, who reluctantly took hold of the other end. Bernadette stacked a couple of the sturdy kitchen chairs together and followed them out of the door, carrying the chairs up the path to the house. By the time Leonard and Howard reached the house, Penny and Amy were already lifting their door into place onto the heavy hinges; Amy holding it steady as Penny screwed them in place.
"Leonard, you can stay and hold this half in place for me while Amy and Howard go back and get the other set." Penny suggested over her shoulder as she grabbed the end of the door that Howard was holding.
"Yes, boss." Leonard muttered under his breath and Penny waved the battery operated screwdriver over at him.
"And don't you forget it!" Everyone chuckled at her quick retort before Howard and Amy hustled back down to the barn to fetch another door for setting in place at the end of the hall.
"I'll order dinner…pizza okay for everyone?" Bernadette sat down on one of the kitchen chairs that she carried up from the barn and pulled out her phone. "Hey, four bars! I don't even get that kind of signal strength in our apartment." Penny grinned at her comment and took the weight of the door from Leonard.
"Sweetie, just hold it steady while I set it on the hinges…then you can sort through some of the stuff that I loaded up from Amy's apartment."
"Thank you. Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Leonard sighed as he obeyed Penny's directions, already feeling the burn in his underused muscles.
"Yup, but I don't mind hearing it again." Penny blew her fiancé a kiss as she placed the last screw in place and then closed the heavy doors, checking that they were hanging straight and met perfectly in the middle. "There, that's one set of doors finished. It looks better already, doesn't it?"
"It really does…I'm gonna start laying the fire." Leonard admired the doors and thought that the living room already had a different feel from when they had first walked in. Amy and Howard came back in with the third door and carried it down to the end of the hallway, leaning it up against the wall.
"I can't believe how much better it's starting to look; and all we've done is re-hung the doors." Amy walked back down the hallway and ran her hand over the dark oak of the double doors. She opened the left door and peered around the opening, watching as Leonard carefully coaxed the fire to life.
"Don't worry, Ames…I checked the flue was open and that there wasn't anything blocking the chimney before he started." Penny whispered quietly to Amy as she saw where her friend's eyes rested.
"I wasn't worried." Amy denied, and then grinned a little sheepishly, "Okay, so I was worried a little…" Both ladies giggled softly and Penny pushed Amy playfully out into the hallway.
"Go on, go and get the last door and I'll get Bernie to help me with this one; by the time you get back it will feel completely toasty warm."
"Thanks, Penny."
"I'm only glad that these Nebraska hands were useful for something!" Penny grinned as she whirled the screwdriver in her hand, imitating a gunslinger from the Wild West. Amy and Howard were still laughing as they headed out of the front door and back down to the barn.
