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Thursday
As Penny had two weeks hiatus from her web series, Raj had also taken a few days off to help Penny with the store plans and they were in Penny's apartment discussing their business plan, they were also dog sitting Daisy as everyone at 4a was at work and Amy didn't want her to be left alone for too long
'Penny I know you want to open in about a month but we have to be realistic, there is so much to do that its unlikely we will be open for at least 3 months at the earliest but at least everything will be ready in time for Christmas' said Raj
'Why will it take so long? Asked Penny feeling surprised at this development
'Ok first of all we need to source the fabric, then the seamstresses and then we need to get business permits, buildings insurance and employee insurance and these things can take time, the good thing is that the store has pretty much got everything set up already, unless you were planning some changes?
'No I think the customer area is perfect, the only thing I would like to do is turn one of the offices into a staff relaxation area for when they have breaks' said Penny
'Yes I think that is a good idea, we also need to get a finance plan in place and set a budget for things like wages, materials and anything else that may come up' said Raj
'Ok, last night I was looking up seamstresses and have printed off their details and if we are going to source fabric then I would rather go to the stores myself to do that, I want to feel and smell the cloth, do you know what I mean?
'Yes of course, we want to get the best that we can afford, also Esther rang earlier to say we can collect the keys at 4pm today' said Raj
'Oh that's great, maybe Natasha would like to come and see the store, I can see if Alex wants to join us as well, that way they can get a look at what we have' said Penny
'Yes that's fine with me' said Raj
'Then tomorrow we can go to the fabric stores, I shall look some of them up as well' said Penny
Penny then sent Natasha a text asking her to come down at 3pm and why, then text Alex asking if she wanted to come and if so to meet her at the store for 4pm and then took Daisy out for a quick walk before returning back to her apartment to get ready to leave
Meanwhile at UCLA Amy was using her lunch break to search the internet for things to do for Sheldon's birthday in 2 weeks time, she knew he didn't like parties but eventually found something totally unique that he would like, she also decided to speak to him once she got home that evening.
Penny was showing Alex and Natasha around the store
'Penny this is all great, I take it you know how you want things laid out in here? Asked Alex
'Yes although I left the plans at home but what I also want to do and that's for the staff, is turn one of the offices into a little rest area with a settee and television, I know people will need breaks so I want to make the area as comfortable as possible' said Penny as she took them to the staff area
'Who is going to be using the office? Asked Natasha
'Well as you and Alex are the managers, but as Alex is part time, I will task you with the weekly rota of staff and anything like that but obviously I will be coming in on the days I am not working on the web series' said Penny
'Ok, I keep meaning to ask if I can have a Penny Blossom? I will pay for it obviously' said Natasha
'Sure if you like, I can show you the workshop as well at some point but right now I am very hungry so lets close up and find somewhere for lunch' said Penny
Amy arrived home just after 6pm to find both Leonard and Sheldon home and both working on their laptops at their desks with Daisy spread out on the floor asleep between them, but as she saw Amy she woke up and ran around Amy wanted to be petted which Amy then did
Amy greeted Sheldon at his desk by standing behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck and gave him a lingering kiss
'Sheldon come and sit with me on the sofa for a minute, I would like to talk to you about your birthday' said Amy as Sheldon got up and walked with her
'I hope you have not got any surprise parties lined up, you know I don't like that sort of thing'
'No of course not, instead why don't we go to the Zoo and then have afternoon tea at the Four Seasons in Beverley Hills, I know you don't want a fuss but I would like to do a little something for you' said Amy
'That's very thoughtful Amy, I would like that very much indeed, Leonard would you mind looking after Daisy for the day?
'No of course not, she is very manageable' said Leonard as he turned round from his desk and Daisy jumped into his lap
'Thank you Leonard, Sheldon do you want to come for a walk with me and Daisy? Asked Amy as she motioned for Daisy to join her
'Yes why not, Penny left a note saying she brought Daisy back at 3pm as she and Raj went to the store and that they took Daisy out just before then' said Sheldon
'Ok, Leonard you know when we go away in May would you be ok looking after Daisy? She will be double the size by then but we can also ask Raj to take her out with Cinnamon a few times if that helps' asked Amy as she put Daisy's harness on
'Amy that will be fine, we can work something out nearer the time' said Leonard
They left the apartment and walked down the stairs and when they arrived at the lobby area, Steve was there with another man by the lift
'Hi Sheldon, the lift is almost fixed, the entire thing has been replaced and we are just testing it now' said Steve
'That's good to know but you should have done this years ago without having to be told' said Sheldon irritably
Steve stayed silent on the matter and got into the lift with the engineer
Sheldon and Amy left the building and walked towards the local dog park hand in hand with Daisy excited about her walk and yapping at everything she saw. When they arrived at the dog park, they found a bench and Amy unclipped Daisy from her harness and let her run around with the other dogs
Sheldon brought something up he had been thinking about for a while
'Amy whilst we are alone I would like to say something, some time in the future it will be necessary for us to move to a house which as you know is already in our plans, now you work at UCLA and that is a long distance for you to travel from here, so once we start looking for a house I would like it to be somewhere closer for you, so I have been looking and I think Westgate Village would be perfect as it is almost equal distance between our universities'
'Sheldon are you sure? Because I have no problem with the commute' said Amy not taking in the reasons why
'Yes I am sure, I am thinking of the bigger picture here, we may have children in the future and I'm sure you would like to work closer to home than you are now' said Sheldon
'Yes I can see you are right, what made you think of Westgate Village? Asked Amy keeping an eye on Daisy who was playing with some other dogs
'Amy I did a lot of research into the area and some of that area has gated communities and I would like our future potential children to be safe, also I should probably start taking driving lessons, I always said I was over evolved but I cant keep on relying on everybody to ferry me around' said Sheldon
'You do think of everything don't you' said Amy smiling at him
'I always like to be prepared' said Sheldon putting his arm around Amy and leaning into kiss her, Amy responded enthusiastically to the kiss until Daisy appeared in front of her barking
'Come on lets go back, do you want to go our for dinner or stay in tonight? Asked Sheldon
'Lets stay in and get a takeaway, we are going out tomorrow to support Natasha and we have the fundraiser even on Saturday so we may as well make the most of staying in, the next few days are going to be busy' said Amy
When they arrived back Sheldon brought up the subject of driving lessons
'Leonard you remember when you all taught me how to drive using the simulated version'
'Yes?
'Do you know where all the equipment is? I have decided I can practice and when I feel confident enough I will probably go on an intensive driving course' said Sheldon
'Wow what brought that on?
'Well as I said to Amy I don't want to have to rely on people all the time to be driving me about' said Sheldon
'Ok, would you like me to take you out a few times and teach you? Asked Leonard
'Oh no, I have seen stories about that sort of thing, it's what ruins friendships and relationships' said Sheldon
'I'm quite sure that it wouldn't ruin ours but I see your point, I can ask Howard to bring over the equipment next time he comes here if you like
'Thank you Leonard, you are a good friend'
Friday
Penny had searched the internet the night before and had found some fabric companies which sold the sort of thing she was after, she also ordered a selection of samples but also wanted to go in store and actually see the fabrics, so she and Raj were in one of the stores looking at everything available and choosing from a different selection of Cashmere, Silks, Velvets and Suede styles
She had also made an appointment with a seamstress company for the following week to talk about her plans for the clothing style she wanted and they had asked her to bring her samples with her
Penny was finding Raj to be extremely knowledgeable about setting up in business and even for things that she couldn't remember needed doing
'We also need to find a sign fitters for the shop sign Penny'
'Oh yes, I shall do that later, I don't think that should be too hard to do, is there anything else? Because I cant think of anything? Asked Penny
'We do need to think about salaries at some point as well, are we all still on for the Cheesecake Factory tonight?
'Yes of course, we can all give Natasha some support because from my own experience I think she will need it! Said Penny
As it was Natasha's first night at the cheesecake factory the manager had given her a few easy tables and then when Sheldon and everybody else arrived she was assisigned their table, Penny had already warned Natasha in advance of Sheldon's meal so Natasha had informed the chef.
The manager was impressed with Natasha and asked if she was available for more than just the weekend shifts which she was, especially now Penny had told her that it could be 3 months before the store opened
Saturday
The joint fundraiser was held at a local hotel and as the group arrived Sheldon and Amy were spotted by President Siebert and Dr Carter who took them aside
'Dr Cooper and Dr Fowler thank you for coming, I know you are both reluctant to appear but as you both know, the universities rely heavily on investors, I will introduce a few of them to you both and I hope you manage to succeed' Siebert then left them and walked off with Dr Carter
Amy could see Sheldon was not happy but then she spotted Leonard with Ms Latham in the far corner
'Sheldon it could be worse, you could be Leonard' said Amy as she pointed out the scene
'I do hope she goes easy on him, last time he came home he could barely walk' said Sheldon taking a glass of orange from a passing waiter
'You don't think he will have to sleep with her again to get the money? Asked Amy who was looking shocked at Sheldon's suggestion
'For his sake I hope not' said Sheldon as he saw President Siebert waved him over towards him
Mrs Latham and Leonard were getting on very well
'Leonard let me put you at ease straight away, I will be donating money towards your university as normal without a repeat of what happened last time and the reason why is that I have recently remarried' said Mrs Latham pointing out a man talking to President Siebert
'Thank you, anything you can donate is always appreciated' said Leonard
'You are a sweet young man Leonard, I have also persuaded my husband to donate a large amount' said Mrs Latham
Sheldon was fed up with being paraded round the room and Amy seeing this had take him out to the hotel gardens to get some space and fresh air
Meanwhile much later President Siebert was extremely happy with the events of the evening, he had received donations for both universities to share a million dollars each
2 weeks later
Penny had heard from the seamstress company that all the items would be ready by early November and all the permits and insurance forms had been sent off for so they had decided that all going well the store would open as planned towards the end of the November
Penny and Raj had also begun interviewing likely candidates and had decided to go through a specialist employment agency who had sent them only experienced retail staff, she had also lined up the management training course for Natasha, Alex and herself to go on
Sheldon woke up on his birthday spooning Amy and to the smell of waffles coming from the kitchen, Amy sensing movement woke up
'Good morning Sheldon, happy birthday' said Amy turning around and kissing him passionately on the lips and then wrapping her legs around his, Sheldon pulled her closer to him and continued kissing her and running his hands over her body until Amy stopped suddenly
'Amy that is a perfect way to wake up' said Sheldon smiling at her
'You will find your gift even more perfect' said Amy as she reached over to grab something from her nightstand
'Who is cooking if you are in here? Asked Sheldon
'Leonard is cooking you a birthday breakfast and I am going to help him in a minute, now your gift is unusual but I know its something you like to do, so here it is' said Amy handing over a white packaged envelope
Sheldon opened the package and took out the contents and then on reading what it was, Sheldon found himself to be grinning from ear to ear
'How did you manage to get me a lifetime supply of brain scans? Asked Sheldon
'Oh it was very easy' said Amy not elaborating any further
'Well it is very much appreciated Amy thank you' said Sheldon kissing Amy again and pulling her on top of him where she started grinding against his arousal and kissing him until there was a banging on the door
'Breakfast is ready!' said Leonard
'Darn it, I can't go out there looking like this' said Sheldon pointing to his erection through his pyjamas
'Course you can, I will leave so as not to distract you so much and just give it a minute and you will be fine' said Amy kissing him again
'You are a little minx!
'I know!, See you in the kitchen' said Amy leaving the bedroom
Sheldon appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later to find Leonard and Amy serving up breakfast which Leonard was laying in bowls Buffet style
'Happy birthday Sheldon, hope you enjoy breakfast' said Leonard handing him a card and gift which Sheldon quickly unwrapped
'Oohh it's a Star Trek style dressing gown, thank you Leonard'
'Your welcome, by the way everybody has left gifts for you, so its up to you if you want to open them now or after breakfast' said Leonard
'I think breakfast first' said Sheldon taking a plate and helping himself to waffles, sausages, bacon, eggs and a side plate of muffins
'Sheldon as you know I have arranged for us to go to the Zoo but also for you to be able to feed the Koalas but we need to be there by 12pm' said Amy
'Thank you Amy I will look forward to that' said Sheldon smiling at her
'Well you did the same for me with the monkeys and that was rather fun but with the koalas you will be able to enter the actual enclosure'
'That does sound like fun Amy, what time are we having afternoon tea?' said Sheldon
'330pm so we will have plenty of time at the zoo and then to drive straight to the hotel
Some time later after they had eaten and showered they were ready to go, Leonard had taken Daisy out for a walk and was meeting Raj at the dog park with Cinnamon
They arrived at the Zoo and Amy took them straight to the koala exhibit, where a keeper was waiting for them
'Hello thank you for coming, my name is Sarah and I am in charge of the Koala exhibit now you will be allowed into the Koala enclosure but please don't make any sudden movements while inside as they are easily spooked, the male koala is not inside the enclosure but you will be able to see the females and perhaps touch them if they allow you to' said Sarah
The keeper then unlocked the door to the exhibit and let Sheldon and Amy go in where two Koalas were sitting on a low shelf watching them
'If you would like to take some Eucalyptus leafs and pass them to the bears, they should take them gently from you' said the keeper
Sheldon took a bunch of leafs and walked slowly to the koalas and noticed that one of the koalas had its paw out ready for him and took the leafs and nibbled delicately at them
'Oh that's cute Sheldon' said Amy
They spent another 10 minutes feeding the Koalas before going round the rest of the Zoo before leaving and driving to the Four Seasons hotel where Amy surprised Sheldon by announcing that she had packed his swimming shorts and a swimming costume for herself and that they were going to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool and bar which Sheldon thoroughly enjoyed especially as they managed to have the Jacuzzi all to themselves
'Amy thank you for a lovely day, I know I don't like a fuss but you have made it perfect and I love you for that' said Sheldon
'I am glad you enjoyed it and when we get home you can open the rest of your gifts from our friends and a special one you can unwrap in the bedroom' said Amy winking at Sheldon suggestively
'Amy Farrah Fowler you really are a vixen!
Thank you to INWHATUNIVERSE for the birthday gift idea
Next chapter up shortly
