Chapter 36: The Virtual Visitation

An hour later, Alex enters the hospital with Sheldon's virtual presence device rolling along right behind her. The awkward stares she gets from other visitors and hospital staff as she passes by with this odd looking paint ball gear on and this weird machine rolling beside her makes her feel very uncomfortable. She hurries into the elevator with the device and pushes the close button over and over so the doors will close before anyone else can get on with her.

She still hasn't figured out how exactly she's going to explain all of this craziness to Dr. Fowler when they get upstairs. Dr. Lorre sees Alex getting off the elevator and immediately starts to stare at her as she approaches the front desk.

Alex: "Hello, I'm here to see a patient…her name is Amy… Amy Farrah Fowler."

Dr. Lorre: "Uh…okay, I'm Dr. William Lorre. Amy is one of my patients. I'd be happy to take you back to her room Miss…?"

Alex smiles glad to have already met the man in charge. Dr. Lorre notices that up close Alex is actually quite beautiful despite her strange apparel. He smiles politely back at her.

Alex: "Alex…Alex Jensen."

Dr. Lorre: "Nice to meet you Alex. Just come around this way."

Alex: "Thanks."

Dr. Lorre tosses down his prescription pad on the front desk and heads for the door. The staff member manning the desk pushes a button to unlock the automatic doors to their ward. Dr. Lorre holds the door open for Alex as she walks through, but then she stops right in front of him. He keeps smiling and can't help but to stare at her beautiful blue eyes and pretty pink lips. He recently lost his wife Matilda to cancer and hasn't been dating anyone seriously since she passed, but now he badly wants to ask Alex out on a date.

Dr. Lorre: "So how do you know Amy?"

Alex: "Oh I'm Sheldon Cooper's assistant. She is his girlfriend."

Suddenly, the virtual presence device screen automatically turns on and Sheldon's big pale face frowns at them.

Sheldon: "That's Doctor Sheldon Cooper. How many times do I have to say it Alex!"

Alex puts her hand down a little embarrassed now.

Alex: "I'm sorry, Dr. Cooper."

Dr. Lorre frowns at Sheldon and rolls his eyes. He realizes now that this crazy outfit Alex has on must all be Dr. Cooper's doing since he knows that Sheldon came to the hospital before dressed like a knight at the round table. He has seen virtual presence devices before, but usually during medical training procedures. Doctors use them to conference in with other surgeons who can't be there for advice on special techniques during training exercises. He knows scientists use these devices as well, but Dr. Lorre doesn't understand why Dr. Cooper has brought one here today.

Dr. Lorre: "What's this all about Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon: "We've come to see Amy. I need to speak with her."

Dr. Lorre: "Dr. Cooper, if you want to speak to Amy, we do have telephones in each of the rooms. You could have just called."

Sheldon scoffs and rolls his eyes at that suggestion.

Sheldon: "The telephone!? That is so 19th century, Dr. Lorre. My V.P.D is equipped with voice activation, G.P.S, stereo surround sound and I've downloaded information from Amy's personal diary and all of her favorite books so that she can relearn it all through my voice."

Alex awkwardly smiles at Dr. Lorre knowing that he must think Sheldon is pretty crazy to bring this device here.

Alex: "Dr. Cooper feels this will help Amy remember who she was before the accident, Dr. Lorre.

Dr. Lorre: "Oh no need to be so formal, please call me Bill."

Alex smiles again at Bill noticing now that he does seem interested in her just by the way he speaks to her. She blushes a bit.

Alex: "Oh...okay sure Bill."

Sheldon: "Well I still want to be called Doctor Cooper, alright?"

Dr. Lorre rolls his eyes and frowns.

Dr. Lorre: "Uh Hun...why couldn't you just come here yourself and talk in person, Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon sighs sadly and pouts his lip like a child.

Sheldon: "Because my mommy grounded me. So I can't leave my room."

Bill stares at Sheldon's sad silly face on the screen with an awkwardly disturbed look. He is really starting to realize that Sheldon is more than just a little quirky. He thinks Sheldon may actually need more therapy than Amy does.

Dr. Lorre: "I see. Well Amy has already been giving her morning meds and had breakfast so she should be able to receive visitors, but please don't bombard her with lots of questions or details. She's still in recovery and her new psychiatrist, Dr. Molero reports that she is still having very strange dreams.

Sheldon: "About me?"

Dr. Lorre: "You'll have to ask her or Dr. Molero about that. But, he did tell me that she is beginning to understand the difference between her dreams and reality. That means the medication is helping so I don't want you to jeopardize the progress she's making. Let's not confuse her with too much information all at once Dr. Cooper. "

Sheldon: "I understand. But, do you really think she is making progress?"

Dr. Lorre nods his head slightly at Sheldon's face on the screen, but he keeps glancing over at Alex wishing he could get rid of Sheldon and spend time talking to just her instead.

Dr. Lorre: "Yes."

Sheldon: "Good."

Sheldon's virtual presence device starts to roll down the hall towards Amy's room. As soon as the machine reaches the doorway once again Sheldon realizes his dilemma. It can't open the door by itself so Sheldon uses his wireless keypad to roll the machine into door banging it up against the door as his way of knocking on the door.

Sheldon: "AMY! AMY! AMY!"

Bill rushes over to open the door before Sheldon's machine ends up putting a dent in the door or waking up all his other patients with all this loud, annoying banging.

Dr. Lorre: "Just please keep your voices down!"

Sheldon lowers the volume setting on his device.

Sheldon: "Alright. Thanks and if I need anything else I'll send my assistant to fetch you."

He frowns at Sheldon's use of the word "fetch" because it makes it sound like he's calling him a dog, but Dr. Lorre nods his head at the idea anyway. He'd much rather Alex come pay him a visit from now on than to have to deal with Dr. Cooper any longer.

Dr. Lorre: "Yes, send her to my office anytime."

Bill walks back towards Alex and smiles at her. Dr. Lorre hands Alex his business card then he tells her to contact him if they ever have any questions or if she ever needs a date for Friday night. She smiles at his flattering offer and accepts the card. Alex watches him walk down the hall towards his office and then she follows Sheldon's virtual presence device into Amy's room.

Sheldon: "Amy, are you awake? I'm back."

Alex: "Hi Amy."

Amy sits up in her bed when she sees this strange looking box talking to her. She was just watching another strange box full of talking people that the doctors and nurses tell her is called a television, so she assumes this must be another one. She looks at Alex and has no idea who she is, but she assumes that she must be another nurse.

Amy: "Oh I'm alright Miss. The talking box in here works fine I don't need another one."

Alex: "My name is Alex, I'm Sheldon's assistant. We've come to pay you a visit. It's nice to see you again."

Amy: "Alex?"

Alex nods and points at the screen. Amy looks at Sheldon's face on the screen and still remembers him from his earlier visit. She sits up even more and stares at him not sure at all why he has come to see her inside of a big metal box.

Sheldon: "Amy, now please try to remain calm. We mean you no harm alright."

Alex: "He's been really worried about you. We all have been."

Amy: "Really?"

Alex: "Yes. I came here to bring his virtual presence device. It's here to help you remember again.

Amy: "How?"

Alex: "Well that's a good question, Amy. Dr. Cooper?'

Sheldon: "I've programmed my device with all of your thoughts and memories from the past. I'm going to help you remember it all one day at a time. Just don't hit the machine okay."

Alex: "…Or me!"

Sheldon: "That's enough now Alex! Go wait outside."

Alex puts her head down again as if she is a servant. She walks out of room to wait for him to finish his visit. Amy watches her walk out then she looks at Sheldon's face on screen again trying hard to remember him.

Amy: "I'm sorry I hit you."

Sheldon nods his head, glad that she at least still remembers his earlier visit and what happened during it.

Sheldon: "It's alright, Amy. I know you didn't mean it. You were just confused. I'm use to spankings and getting beat up. Happened all the time when I was a kid."

Amy: "Really? Why?"

Sheldon: "Because some people are mean and cruel. My father was mean, especially when he got too drunk. He use to hit me a lot so did the kids in my neighborhood."

Amy: "Kids?"

Sheldon: "Yeah, you know children."

Sheldon sits in bed at home in his room and uses his keypad to show Amy a picture of children playing in a park on his V.P.D screen. She looks at the kids curiously and then smiles.

Amy: "Do I have kids?"

Sheldon: "What? No! I mean not yet."

Amy: "Oh."

The frown that spreads across her face makes Sheldon wonder what Amy is thinking about now. He is still not that good at interpreting facial expressions, especially hers. But, he takes a stab at it anyway.

Sheldon: "Are you uh…sad?"

Amy nods her head up and down a little.

Sheldon: "Yes! I got it right!"

Amy frowns at him again then she turns away to hide her face. Sheldon rolls the machine closer to her bed.

Sheldon: "Uh…what's wrong Amy?"

Amy: "Everything is wrong! I don't know who I am! I don't have kids! I don't know anything beyond this room I'm in. All I have is nightmares!"

Amy buries her head in her pillow and cries into it feeling sorry for herself and very alone.

Sheldon: "That's not true!"

Amy: "It's not?"

Sheldon: "No. You have lot more than you know. You have friends, you have a mom. You have me."

Amy suddenly stops crying and lifts her bald, scarred head up to look at Sheldon's face on the screen again.

Amy: "You?"

Sheldon: "Yes."

Amy stares at his screen and Sheldon stares back. She finally smiles at him and Sheldon can't help, but to smile back.

Amy: "Sheldon."

Sheldon: "Yes?"

Amy: "Show me those kids again."

Sheldon: "Okay."

Amy smiles wider as the happy children's faces show up on his screen again. She likes how carefree and excited the kids look as they play on a strange looking swirling contraption.

Amy: "Come closer."

Sheldon moves his device all the way up to side of Amy's bed. She reaches out and touches the screen.

Amy: "I like this thing."

Sheldon: "Good, I'm glad you like it."

Amy: "What else can it do?"

Sheldon: "It can do a lot! I can show you. I can show you the whole world with my virtual presence device. Just look!"

Sheldon brings up a picture of Earth orbiting in space and he plays some harp music in the background. Amy smiles even more and stares at the screen. She listens to the music and it sounds slightly familiar to her though she has no idea why.

Amy: "It's beautiful. What is that?"

Sheldon: "It's all yours, Amy. It's some harp music you recorded. I downloaded it for you because I know how much you use to love to play the harp. "

Amy: "What else did I do?"

Sheldon: "You use to sing. You would sing on your own and play for me or sometimes we would have boyfriend girlfriend sing along nights and we'd sing together."

Amy: "Can you sing? Can you sing for me now?"

Sheldon: "Yes. If you want me too I can."

Amy: "Sing then."

Sheldon brings his face back up on the screen so she can see him. He clears his throat a little and then Sheldon begins to sing Soft Kitty to Amy. Amy listens to his soothing voice and lies her head back down on the pillow. She closes her eyes and right before she goes back to sleep Amy replies.

Amy: "Thanks for coming to visit me."

Sheldon: "You're welcome Amy."

He waits for her to completely fall asleep and then Sheldon rolls his virtual device out of her room feeling good about their visit and hopeful that things will slowly start to get better between them.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed these two new chapters :)