The next morning, Sheldon awoke in a daze.

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced beside him.

Amy was still silently sleeping, her breathing barely making a sound.

Sheldon moved to get out of bed, and Amy stirred.

"Morning." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Sheldon asked.

"It's okay. I need to get up anyway. Last night was amazing, huh?" She grinned sleepily.

"Coitus with you always is."

"Sheldon, you have to stop saying coitus." Amy laughed.

"Why?"

"Because it's…weird!"

"You said coitus when we first met. As I recall, the words you used were; "all physical contact up to and including coitus are off the table.'…You lied." Sheldon chuckled.

"Guilty as charged, but who's complaining?" Amy shrugged on her robe.

"Point taken…Although that position we tried wasn't too kind on my genitals this morning!" Sheldon grimaced.

"What do you mean?" Amy frowned.

"It hurts."

"I guessed that, but what sort of pain? Show me."

"Amy!" Sheldon hissed. "I am not exposing myself to you!"

"Sheldon, I have seen your penis plenty of times, what's the problem?"

"Every time you've seen it, it's been in the heat of the moment before coi…intercourse, and its looked…appealing."

Amy laughed. "It's always appealing. Come on Sheldon! Show me!"

Sheldon just stared at Amy like she was insane, but relented with a sigh.

"Fine. Can we go over in this corner?" Sheldon whispered.

"Sheldon, we are the only people in this building. The curtains are closed, and the door is locked. Just show me, and I will see if our torrid lovemaking broke your manhood." Amy replied.

"Broke it!?" Sheldon cried.

"I was joking…Come on…"

Sheldon meekly did as he was told, whilst looking in another direction. "Well?"

"I don't see anything. Maybe it's a pulled groin." Amy shrugged.

"So I'm just supposed to walk around like a crab all day?" Sheldon groaned.

"Put some ice on it…I'll go check if we have any." Amy padded into the kitchen, whilst Sheldon made his way to the bathroom.

Minutes later, they met back in Amy's room.

"Okay Sheldon, drop your pants again. Doctor's orders." Amy said, holding an ice pack in a towel.

"You're not that kind of doctor…"

"Sheldon!"

"Alright…" He shyly removed his pajama bottoms and let Amy put the ice pack in place.

"You know, it's appealing even without the sexual arousal." Amy commented.

Sheldon blinked at her. "Uh…Thank you."

The couple sat there for a few awkward moments, with Sheldon refusing to look at Amy or down on himself, whilst Amy had her hand near his 'nether regions'.

The silence was finally broken by Sheldon, who cleared his throat.

"As much as I appreciate the help, are you going to sit there cradling my genitals all day?"

"Oh! Of course not, no. I was going to go cake-tasting with you today. If you're up for it I mean?" Amy answered, letting Sheldon take over.

"The pain seems to be easing, so give me a half hour and I should be ready."

"I'll go shower then." Amy announced, grabbing some clean underwear and a towel, making her way to the bathroom.

..

It took longer than half an hour until Sheldon and Amy were ready, thanks to Amy's new hair care and makeup routine, and spending ages picking an outfit.

For once, Sheldon didn't actually care that Amy wasn't on time; the minute she emerged from the bedroom with her new styled and highlighted hair straightened, her makeup applied and a flattering floral top and cardigan accompanying some jeans and flats, Sheldon couldn't keep his eyes off her.

He looked down at himself, realising that he looked the same as always.

The beige pants, navy undershirt and light blue Superman t-shirt with his boring brown lace-ups.

He frowned.

"Everything alright, Sheldon? Are you still in pain?" Amy asked, picking up her purse.

"No…I just…You look great." He murmured.

Amy grinned. "Thank you!"

Sheldon nodded.

"I'm sensing that's not all you wanted to say." Amy said.

Sighing, Sheldon shook his head. "You look so great that I'm worried another man will try and take you away from me. I just look…Normal."

Amy laughed, and Sheldon frowned at her. "I fail to see the humour in this." He snorted.

"Sheldon, I'm not going to leave you for another man! If guys stare, then great! I've always wanted that…But that doesn't mean I will go off with them. I'm with you and only you." Amy smiled.

"But what if he's like a varsity jock or something?" Sheldon asked, sheepishly.

"I'm a little old to be dating college boys, so you have nothing to worry about there!"

"What about adult football players? Basketball players? Hockey players? Soccer players?"

"No! None of them, Sheldon. Honest…We would have nothing in common anyway; they would bore me to tears! You and I are so alike, and attracted to each other, both emotionally and physically." Amy soothed.

Sheldon relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. Besides, what sports personality would be at a wedding cake bakery?" He snorted.

"Exactly! It's hardly their scene, especially on a weekend! Come on." Amy coaxed, picking up her purse again and checking for her keys.

..

Amy and Sheldon arrived at the bakery, and as Amy wandered up to the counter to speak to the woman in charge, Sheldon glanced all around him.

There were gluten-free cakes, sugar-free cakes, dairy-free cakes, and of course normal cakes, all tiers high and mostly covered with white frosting with smiling figurines at the very top.

Sheldon was eyeing up a particularly fancy white and silver iced cake, when Amy returned with the woman.

"Hello, you must be Dr Cooper? I'm Betty." She held out her hand.

"You mean like Betty Crocker!?" Sheldon asked, gingerly shaking her hand.

The woman laughed. "Oh God no; I'm Betty Pearson. I run this bakery."

"Oh." Sheldon felt stupid, and his cheeks flushed.

"Isn't he adorable?" Amy grinned to Betty, who smiled in reply.

"So what was it that you were looking for?" She asked.

"Wedding cake." Sheldon frowned.

Amy rolled her eyes. "She means what kind of cake, Sheldon? Like two tier, three tiers, four tiers. Dairy free, gluten free, sugar free…White frosting, ivory, pink, blue, plain or chocolate…"

"How many types of cake are there!?" Sheldon exclaimed.

Amy and Betty stared at him as if he was crazy.

"Never mind." He muttered. "This one looks good." He pointed to a two-tier white-iced cake with piped silver frosting swirls around the edges.

"That's red velvet cake under all that frosting! Very popular." Betty grinned.

"I love red velvet cake!" Amy gasped.

"Hey, me too!" Sheldon grinned at her. "And if you think about it, red means love and passion and…love?"

"I'm surprised you thought of that!" Amy smiled, "does this mean that I've fully converted you to the world of romantic love?"

"Apparently so." Sheldon nodded. "Do you have any samples we can try?" He asked Betty.

I'll go to the counter and find you some.

She slipped on a fresh pair of clear gloves from a dispenser and opened the glass counter from the back, locating the Red Velvet samples, and using tongs to take two pieces and place them on a plate.

Returning to the couple, she held the plate out, and let them take the small slices to try.

"This is amazing!" Amy nodded, her face a picture of pure delight. "What do you think, Sheldon?"

Sheldon finished his mouthful and nodded. "Agreed. This is perfect."

"Shall we go for the two or three tier cake?" Amy asked.

Sheldon frowned, thinking hard. "I'd suggest three; then at least there will be enough for everyone, and it's better to have some left over than not enough."

"Agreed. We'll take the three-tier please." Amy decided.

As Amy gave Betty the wedding date, arranged a collection and paid half-and-half with Sheldon, the tall physicist swallowed hard.

This was suddenly getting very real, very quickly.

He felt his throat begin to close up, and his breathing became ragged.

He tried to blink, and felt his head spin.

He was having a panic attack!

"Sheldon?" Amy had turned around and noticed his discomfort, a worried look on her face.

Seeing the look of panic flash across his fiancée's face, and the hint of sadness in her eyes, he tried to pull himself together as he and Amy left the shop and made their way up the road.

He couldn't worry himself stupid over this.

He loved her, and he could admit that now.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming." He lied, smiling at her.

Amy frowned. "You were having a panic attack Sheldon…Don't you want to get married?"

"Of course I do!" Sheldon answered.

It was true; he really, really did.

It was just scary that's all.

"Amy, of course I want to marry you. I cannot imagine marrying or being with anyone else. I'm just scared…" He winced at having to admit his feelings.

Amy took a breath. "So am I." She admitted. "But then I just remember that it's you I'm marrying, and it goes away."

"That's odd…That's what snapped me out of it just now." Sheldon replied softly.

Satisfied with his honest response, Amy smiled.

"I know how you are, Sheldon. You've always done things at your own pace and your own way all your life, and never been with a girl, let alone marrying one. If you decide you don't want to, I'll…I'll call it off."

"No!" Sheldon cried. "No, don't do that! I want you to push me…I like all those little experiments you do on me, and the nudge in the right direction. It's scary but it's exciting…Not to put too fine a point on it, but it kind of gave me a thrill."

"Wait, you mean you actually enjoyed all the times I held your hand and you complained about it?" Amy asked.

Sheldon bowed his head, biting his lip, and that was his answer.

"And…And the kisses? The cuddles? The sexual advances?"

"All of it." Sheldon admitted quietly. "Although, I have to admit my favourite one was you tricking me into asking you to be my girlfriend…"

"That was mine, too." Amy grinned. "But what about the sex? That one was on you!"

Sheldon shrugged. "Yes, well…That was conclusive proof that your pushes worked!"

Amy just stared at him and laughed. "You dog! All this time I thought you just didn't want me touching you!"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows a fraction. "That was reverse psychology…You're welcome."