Chapter 14: A Friend in Need

Before calling Leonard, I had looked down at Amy once more and pondered my next move yet again. One part of my mind screamed at me, 'Call Leonard, you idiot! He has been in this situation before and will know exactly what to do.' But another part of me was being more prudent. It said, 'If Leonard knows about this he may inadvertently tell Howard and then poor Amy will never live it down.' So you see, I was torn. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head and I quickly dialed Penny. Penny would know what to do. She had been in this same situation many times herself and she knew better than to let anything slip to Howard.

Her phone rang a few times and then she finally answered. This better be good, Sheldon. I was just getting ready for bed.'

Penny, it's only nine o'clock. I didn't know you went to sleep that early. That is totally unlike you.

Sheldon, I wasn't going to go to sleep.

Then I don't see why you would be headed for…oh.

Yeah, oh. Now quick, what is it? I have some important things on tonight's agenda.

It's Amy. I do believe I am in a very uncomfortable situation here.

Is Amy alright?

Oh yes. At least I think so. She had a bit too much wine tonight and it seems she has lost consciousness on the couch.

Okay, I understand. But what did you call me for?

Well, as someone who has been known to put it away in the past, what do I do now?

Put a blanket over her and leave.

That seems rather cold.

Sheldon, in the morning she isn't going to remember much of anything. Trust me.

But Penny, I can't leave her here on the couch with her door unlocked. Anything could happen to her.

You have a point there. So why don't you put her in her bed and then leave?

She's dead weight right now, Penny. I don't think I can safely lift her by myself.

Gotcha. Okay. Look, I have an idea. I'll be over there in about twenty minutes. Don't go anywhere, okay?

Very funny. You feeble attempt at humor failed to hit its intended mark.

Sheldon?

Yes?

Do you want my help or not?

Of course I do.

Then shut the hell up and give me Amy's address. I'll be leaving in a couple of minutes.

After I had provided Penny with the requested information, we both ended the call and I sat on the couch, waiting. I rather felt like an Arctic explorer waiting for rescue. It was most disheartening. I then looked down at Amy and my heart swelled. Drunk or not, at that moment she had seemed the most beautiful woman in the world to me and I could never have considered leaving her there alone in that condition.

Soon enough, Penny opened the door and came over to the couch, took in the scenario and said, "What's the gist, physicist? How is she?"

"Inebriated, Penny."

Penny looked down and studied Amy's still form, "Yeah, I can see that." She handed me a gym bag, "Here."

I took the bag and asked her, "What is this for?"

Penny then patiently explained to me, "When you look inside you will find all of your usual bathroom stuff. Shampoo, soap, razor, deodorant, all those kinds of things. You will also find a fresh set of clothes."

I hadn't quite understood. Why had Penny brought some of my personal belongs here? So I asked her, "What is all that for?"

Penny then began to explain, "Here's the deal. You and I are going to get Amy into her bed. Then, we are going to make a bed for you on this very couch. In the morning you will be set to shower, shave, get dressed, and go to work. Leonard has kindly offered to pick you up at seven thirty."

I had thought a moment and then responded, "That's nice of him, Penny. But if I stay here Amy can just give me a lift to work."

Penny gave a small laugh and replied, "Trust me, Sweetie. I've been where Amy's at and she is NOT going to be feeling like going to work tomorrow."

I still protested, "But I can't stay here. This is only our fifth date."

Penny rolled her eyes at me and then said, "Sheldon, let me explain something simple to you. I have spent the night at a guy's place on our first date more than once. It's not like no one's ever done it before."

I believed that without a doubt, but I still felt uneasy about the entire situation. I then asked her, "But what will people like, say, Howard and Raj think?"

Penny motioned me to help her pick up Amy, "Uh, they'll be green with jealousy? Rest easy, Sheldon. Leonard won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Okay? You are not here taking advantage of Amy. You are sort of protecting her, like a gentleman from the Great State of Texas is bound to do."

We carried Amy into her room and placed her gently on the bed. That done, I answered Penny, "Of course. You are correct. Thank you for bringing my clothes and toiletries to me. I, as they say, owe you one."

Penny looked around the room and told me, "Let's get that bed made up for you on the couch and we can talk about who owes who what later. Now, do you know where she keeps her pillows and blankets?"

I then crossed my arms on my chest and informed her, "Penny, this is the first time I have been here."

"Okay, okay. Let's see. I'm thinking hall closet. Let's look in there." She then headed out of the bedroom and down the hall.

I remember following her and protesting, "Penny, we can't just go looking through her things!"

Penny had reached the living room by then and looked down at the bare couch, "You want to sleep without blankets or a pillow?"

I capitulated. She was making a lot of sense, "Very well. The hall closet it is." I opened it up and found the Comstock Lode of linens. "Let's see, oh, here they are."

Penny grabbed an armload of blankets and a pillow and thrust them into my arms, "Great. Now, take these and make yourself comfy and I'll go home and get real comfy with Leonard."

I walked over to the couch and deposited the assorted linens upon it. I then turned and asked her, "Penny?"

"Yeah?"

I had been uncomfortable saying it, but it had to be said, "Thank you. You're a great friend."

A smile broke out on her face and she sweetly replied, "Awww. You're welcome, Sweetie. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Say, do you think Amy still wants to hang with me and Bernadette tomorrow night?"

I hadn't even thought about Amy's plans with the girls, so I hadn't been sure what to say. I ended up telling her, "I wouldn't know. But she seemed to be looking forward to it. Why don't you call her tomorrow morning and find out?" That had seemed like the perfect answer to me. Penny had seemed to have other ideas, however.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll wait until the afternoon. I imagine she won't be feeling very good until then. Goodnight, Sheldon."

I nodded and then began to make my bed up. I looked over and saw Penny leaving and I gave her a heartfelt, "Goodnight, Penny. And thank you again for your help."

She then left to return to Leonard and I was left to make up the best bed I could on the couch. When I was done with that, I set the alarm on my phone, turned out the lights, and attempted to sleep. My last conscious thought had been, whatever tomorrow holds, it is bound to be interesting.

I woke from my black velvet dream and slowly became aware of my surroundings. Surprisingly, I found myself tucked safely into my own bed. I had no remembrance of putting myself to bed, so how had I ended up there? I opened my eyes and just as quickly closed them. My head felt as though the entire UCLA marching band was parading through it. My stomach was exceedingly queasy and my throat was parched. I took stock of the situation and came to the conclusion that I was suffering from my very first hangover. But hangover or not the question still remained, how did I get into my bed?

A noise from the kitchen took my mind off my sorry physical state and focused it on my kitchen. Who was in there and how had they gotten into my apartment? In spite of my pounding head, I knew I had to get out of my bed and find out who was out there. I rolled out of bed and went to grab my robe but realized I was still fully clothed. This was getting curiouser and curiouser. I opened my bedroom door as stealthily as possible and tiptoed down the hall. I had reasoned that if I could get a good look at the intruder I could better describe them to the local police. Step by step, I made my way down the hall and soon found myself at the doorway to the living room. I looked towards the kitchen and, to my great surprise, saw Sheldon Cooper in my kitchen making himself some tea.

I couldn't help myself, I blurted out, "Sheldon, what are you doing here?"

He gave a startled jump and spilled tea all over himself, "Good grief, woman! The next time you feel the need to come up behind me, please give me some warning. Thank goodness I haven't changed into my clothes for today yet."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard, so I asked him, "You have clothes here?"

He nodded and made himself another cup of tea, "Yes."

I walked over to him, noticing the unmade bed on my couch as I did so, "How did that happen?"

Sheldon took a sip of his tea and calmly explained, "Penny brought them to me."

This was getting weird and I blurted out, "Excuse me?"

He put his cup down and exhaled, then began to relate the previous night's events after I had lost consciousness, "I wasn't about to leave you passed out on the couch, so I called Penny and she brought me over some toiletries and a change of clothes. She also helped my get you into your bed."

Oh, so that explained how that had happened, but I still had a question, "She left you here?"

Sheldon looked at me intently, "I wasn't' going to leave you, Amy."

My heart started beating a thousand beats per minute at that look and I replied shakily, "Thank you, Sheldon. Now if you will excuse me, I think I'm going to go be ill."

He called out after me as I hurried from the room, "Very well. When you are done, I have taken the liberty of laying out some Tylenol along with some hot tea for you."

When I had finished being ill, brushed my teeth, and returned, I drank the tea and swallowed the Tylenol. I managed to croak, "Thank you, Sheldon. That was appreciated. Now, I think I will take a shower and get ready for work."

Sheldon looked up from his phone and informed me, "I won't stop you from taking the shower, but you are not going to work today. I have taken the liberty of calling in for you and telling them you were stricken with a severe headache, which I surmise is not far from the truth."

I had nodded miserably, "Again, thank you. Now, can you kindly tell me how you are getting to work?"

He grabbed his bag and was looking inside of it for something, "Penny arranged for Leonard to pick me up here this morning. I do hope you are not perturbed that I gave them your address."

I shook my head and told him, "No, that's fine. Well, I guess you'll be gone by the time I'm done with my shower. So, I'll bid you good day now." I then turned to leave the room but then I felt two hands go around my waist. I had immediately stopped in my tracks and rested within his arms.

Sheldon pulled me closer to him and gave me a hug, "I do believe I will still be here when you are finished. Then we can talk."

I reluctantly pulled away from him, "Okay, Sheldon. We'll talk. But first, let me have my shower." If we were going to start getting physically close, I needed a shower.

He placed a quick kiss on the top of my head, "Very well. We will talk after."

My trusted internal alarm clock was always set to my natural Circadian rhythms and that morning was no exception. At precisely six a.m. I woke up, adjusted my eyes and soon realized that I had spent the night sleeping on Amy Farrah Fowler's couch. The previous evening's events had come back to me perfectly, down to the minutest detail. Have I mentioned to you yet that I have an eidetic memory? Well I do, and it has always served me well. Armed with total recall I padded down the hall to Amy's bedroom, opened the door, and checked on her status. She was still soundly sleeping and appeared to be none the worse for wear.

Feeling much relieved, I went back out to the living room and dug through my bag. I soon produced my favorite tea which Penny and Leonard had so graciously packed for me. I then headed into the kitchen, found the tea kettle, filled it and lit the stove. While waiting for the kettle to whistle I also retrieved my toothpaste and toothbrush from same bag. I then headed down the hall and into her bathroom and proceeded to relieve myself and brush my teeth. Hearing the kettle begin to whistle I quickly returned to the kitchen and poured the water into a cup I had found in one of the cupboards. At that point in time I relaxed and prepared to enjoy my morning beverage.

Suddenly the words, "Sheldon, what are you doing here?" rang out and, startled, I spilled my tea down the front of my shirt. I recognized the voice as Amy's and I quickly reprimanded her for scaring me. I wasn't too upset, however, as I had not yet changed into my work clothes.

Amy responded to that by attempting to ascertain that I had a change of clothes with me. When I answered in the affirmative she then asked me how that had happened and I filled her in on Penny's act of kindness the night before. I was uncertain how she would take that, but Amy seemed to handle the information just fine.

She then cocked her head and asked, "She left you here?"

I answered that by asserting that I had not been about to leave her alone in that condition. Amy thanked me then excused herself to go vomit. I had seen this enough times with Penny, so that didn't faze me at all. In fact, I had rather been expecting it. I then informed her that there would be Tylenol and hot tea waiting for her when she returned.

Amy soon returned to the kitchen, drank the tea, and took the proffered Tylenol. She thanked me once again and stated that she was then going to take a shower and get ready for work. I nipped that idea in the bud by telling her, "I won't stop you from taking the shower, but you are not going to work today. I have taken the liberty of calling in for you and telling them you were stricken with a severe headache, which I surmise is not far from the truth." I knew from watching Leonard interact with Penny during one of her hangovers that Amy needed rest and quiet, not the pressures of work. For once I was glad I had witnessed a few of those mornings between my friends. Those experiences had certainly served me extremely well that morning.

At that point, Amy capitulated and thanked me yet again. She then asked how I was going to be getting to work. I grabbed my bag, rummaged through it, and explained to her that it had already been arranged for Leonard to pick me up and take me to work, like he always had. I told Amy that I hoped she was not offended that I had given out her address. It had seemed I had been faced with no other choice in the matter. Amy assured me that she understood and then told me she was going to take a shower, so she bid me good day. It hit me that I did not want to say good bye to Amy, not at all. So I crossed the room and wrapped my arms around her waist. She felt very good, like a soft, warm, blanket.

I pulled her closer and assured her I would still be there when she was finished with her shower. It would have taken a much stronger man than me to leave her at that point, so I decided to stay with her until she felt better. That is what people in relationships do, they look after each other. Leonard and Penny had always done that, and I had seen Howard and Bernadette do the same thing. So I was going to follow their example and take care of my girlfriend. There, I had said the word to myself; girlfriend. And it hadn't felt bad at all. Yes. Amy was my girlfriend and I was going to take care of her. I then kissed her on the top of her head and told her we would talk after her shower. And I had meant that. I just intended to talk to her. However, things turned out just a little bit differently than what I had planned.

I'm not sure of this, but something tells me that Amy and Sheldon are going to do a lot more than kiss. This may finally be getting to the good stuff!