Chapter 4

In the car, Sheldon told Leonard all about his encounter with Dr. Fowler and Leonard found out that they would share Rothman's office for a number of weeks before her lab was finished.

Leonard thought that everything he heard was an interesting development for Sheldon. Dr. Fowler sounded like she was the intellectual equivalent of his best friend. Someone who refused to put up with his antics. He was starting to like her already.

She tackled him to the ground? Now that I gotta see.

Penny just came home from her bartender shift at the Cheesecake Factory. She was ready to take a shower and finally get some rest when suddenly, she heard music ("The Imperial March") coming from Sheldon and Leonard's apartment.

I guess they're home. She decided to check on them, and see what was going on.

Penny entered the apartment and found Sheldon on the couch, scowling at his laptop. She walked towards Leonard in the kitchen mouthing, "What is happening?"

"That's Sheldon's 'I'm unhappy and about to destroy the planet' music."

"You doing okay, sweetie?" Penny looked at Sheldon and he glared at her.

"There is ominous music playing, and there is an afghan over my head. I don't know where you're from, but where I'm from, that means I'm not doing okay." Sheldon looked back at his laptop.

Leonard looked at Penny and noticed that she was still in her uniform with bags under her eyes. "Looks like you've had a rough day, I'll make you some tea. Sheldon, would you want some as well?"

"Tea is for when I'm upset. I'm not upset. Current circumstances are forcing me to share an office with Dr. Fowler for who knows how many weeks. I'm outraged."

"So, cocoa?" Leonard chimed.

Sheldon's expression changed, and he brightened at Leonard's offer. "Yes, cocoa!"

Penny sat beside Sheldon as he removed the afghan from his head in frustration. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be around someone who's so incredibly annoying?"

"Oh, teacher! Me! Me!" Penny laughs at Leonard's joke.

"I showed her my work, and she's just going to come along and question my intellectual authority. I am angrier than ever and filled with despair."

"Well, what beverage do you make for that? Penny quipped.

Leonard tried to recall, snapping his fingers. "Oh, no, no, no, I know this. Uh, hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks?"

"Yes, hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks!" Sheldon threw the afghan back on his head. Leonard brought Sheldon and Penny their mugs and proceeded to sit down on the spot on his couch next to Sheldon.

"So who's Dr. Fowler?" Penny was curious as to who Sheldon was talking about. She enjoyed a sip of her tea and looked at Leonard for details.

"His girlfriend." Leonard teased.

Penny choked on her tea "Sheldon has a girlfriend!?"

"She's not my girlfriend." Sheldon violently shook his head.

"How long has this been going on?" Penny ignored Sheldon, put down her mug, and looked to Leonard again for answers. Leonard was amazed at how Penny went from being exhausted to enthusiastic in a matter of seconds.

Sheldon didn't like the fact that he was being ignored. He quickly turned to Penny. "She's not my girlfriend. She's actually my enem-"

Penny was quick to cut Sheldon off and moved him to the side since he was blocking her from Leonard. "Ah, du-du-du-du-du. How did they meet?"

"Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler's a new employee at Caltech. I heard them arguing in her office earlier."

Leonard knew he should clarify that she and Sheldon only met today, but having Penny gush over Sheldon's fake relationship, and seeing Sheldon's face turn red felt even better. This day is turning out to be so much fun!

"Oh, my God! Sheldon and Amy." Penny giddily smiles.

"Or, as I'd like to call them, Shamy." Leonard sipped his tea and mentally patted himself on the back for thinking of the name.

Penny squeals. "Shamy! I am so digging the Shamy." Wait 'til Bernadette hears about this!

Sheldon removed his afghan, stood up, and motioned for them to stop. "Alright the two of you, pay attention. Yes, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler's a new employee at Caltech. Yes, we now share an office together. Yes, this means I would work with her in close proximity, but no, she is not my girlfriend."

Sheldon sat back down and tried to explain everything to Penny to put an end to their teasing. "She's far from it. She's not even a friend, colleague, nor acquaintance. Earlier, we both agreed to treat each other like strangers." Sheldon said with a frown.

There was an awkward silence until Penny noticed Sheldon busying himself with his laptop. "So, what you got going there?" She tried to take a look at the screen. Leonard did the same. "Yeah buddy, you've been on that for hours. What are you doing?"

"Nothing important." Sheldon tried to hide his laptop from both of them. He failed.

"Please. You're searching her up on Facebook, aren't you?" Leonard hid his smirk while Sheldon stayed quiet.

Penny noticed Amy's profile picture. "Oh, she's cute! Isn't she, Leonard?" Leonard agreed.

So what if she's cute? Sheldon shook away the thought. He hated the word "cute". That's the exact word she used to describe his work.

"She's smart too. Harvard? That is insane." Leonard added. Sheldon snorted in derision.

"Don't the both of you have something better to do?" Sheldon asked in annoyance.

"We could ask you the same thing." Penny looked at Sheldon suggestively. Leonard snickered.

"The university was excited to welcome a distinguished scientist like her. I just wanted to see what all the hoopla was about, but her profile seems to be set on private." Sheldon looked disappointed.

"Oh, give me that." Penny took his laptop for a moment and clicked on something. "There. Let's just hope it works."

Curious, both Sheldon and Leonard leaned in to see what Penny did. Leonard smiled while Sheldon looked in horror.

"YOU SENT HER A FRIEND REQUEST!?" Sheldon screeched. Sheldon tried grabbing the laptop back from Penny. He tried to chase after her, but she ran to Leonard's room and locked the door.

"Knock, knock, knock, Penny. Knock, knock, knock, Penny. Knock, knock, knock, Penny." Sheldon knocked in exasperation. Penny was silent.

"Open the door this instant! Leonard do something! Don't you have the keys to your room?" Sheldon turned to Leonard who just shrugged.

Suddenly, they heard Penny on the other side of the door. "Holy crap on a cracker!" Penny turned the lock and opened the door with her mouth agape.

Penny shoved the laptop to Leonard and covered her mouth, stopping herself from smiling too much. Leonard looked at the laptop and wore the same expression as Penny.

Sheldon finally grabbed his laptop from Leonard. He looked at his screen and noticed his notification tab opened. He almost dropped his laptop from what he saw.

The notification read: Amy Farrah Fowler accepted your friend request.

Sheldon closed his laptop and tried to process what it all meant. Why the hell would she accept?

There was a brief silence. Sheldon glared at Penny. Leonard was having the time of his life.

"So, Sheldon... Enemies, you say?" Penny put a finger over her mouth and Sheldon stormed to his room.

Penny and Leonard both heard him slam his door. They looked at each other, breathless from all the laughter and giggles.

"Maybe we were a little too hard on him," Leonard remarked. "I don't feel guilty at all, Leonard. Sheldon's finally turning into a real boy!" Leonard laughed at Penny's reply.

"Yeah, it's rare seeing Sheldon so bothered by someone of the opposite sex." Leonard looked at Sheldon's room.

"Well, my work here is done. This was fun! Promise to tell me if something interesting happens tomorrow." Penny waved her finger at Leonard.

"I will. You really need to get some rest now. Good night, Penny." Leonard gave Penny a chaste kiss. "Good night, Leonard." She winked at him before leaving.

Walking to her apartment, she made a gesture similar to pulling a train whistle. "All aboard the Shamy train!"

Amy arrived at her apartment and went straight to her couch. She threw her things on her coffee table and rested her head on the couch cushions. She felt a headache coming on.

Breathe, Fowler. It's only your first day. You can get through this. Sheldon Cooper will be out of your hair in no time. You'll soon find peace and comfort in your laboratory.

She was lying to herself. After spending a day with that man, she couldn't help but find it difficult to recognize herself. Never in her life would she think about tackling a person. She definitely feigned interest when it came to interacting with people. What made him so different?

She decided to freshen up and go to bed. After brushing her teeth, she looked at herself in the mirror. "Just a few weeks, that's all. Out of sight, out of mind."

Storing her toothbrush and toothpaste, she noticed the bottle of baby powder in her bathroom cabinet. She inspected it for a minute. Why did I buy this on the way home?

Before placing it back, she placed some in her hand and rubbed it with her fingers. The smell was intoxicating. "Damn that talc-smelling jerk!"

Amy went to bed. However, she found it hard to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could do was think about her encounter with the theoretical physicist.

After she tackled him. She didn't know what came over her. She was infuriated. Yet when she took a whiff of his scent and looked at the doe-eyed look on his face; she found herself melting at the sight. She had to get off of him quickly perplexed by her body's reaction to this lunatic.

She shook her head and covered her face with a pillow. "Oh, screw it." Amy got up from her bed, ran straight to her desk, and opened her laptop.

She searched him up on Google and skimmed through all his papers. Damn it, he really is a genius. His work is remarkable... Amy hit herself with both hands, trying to stop herself from being impressed.

Remember, he is an annoying man who only cares about himself.

Amy then searched him on Facebook. She clicked on his profile and saw a picture of himself smiling with a blue jay on his arm.

Amy gave a soft smile and slightly tilted her head. Now that is adorable- Wait a minute! Focus, Fowler!

She scrolled down to try finding more information from him when she noticed that his profile was set on private. She frowned. A part of her brain told her that she could find out more about him if she sent him a friend request.

There's just no way I'm sending a friend request... We agreed to be strangers. Nothing more.

Amy sighed in defeat and decided to finally go to bed. However, her ears perked up when she heard a new notification from her laptop.

She almost fell off her chair after what she saw. In fact, she was in so much shock that her mouth could almost reach the floor.

The notification read: Sheldon Cooper sent you a friend request.

Regaining her composure, she couldn't bear to sit down. As much as she tried to convince herself she was dreaming, there were the words right in front of her. Sheldon Cooper wanted to be her friend.

She clicked on his profile picture again and pretended as though she was talking to him. "Exactly what game are you playing at? I thought we were strangers..."

Amy tried to think of answers. A character like Sheldon Cooper was someone who could NOT be trusted.

She snorted. "Two can play at this game, Dr. Cooper." Amy clicked 'Accept', closed her laptop, and went to bed.

That's enough of that. I can find out more about him tomorrow.

She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that she had to be careful. She accepted the fact that after welcoming Sheldon Cooper into her life, things would never be the same.

"Curse you, Penny." Sheldon thought about hopping on a train and getting as far away as possible after everything he just witnessed today. Sheldon was sitting on his bed, his laptop still open.

It was a simple solution, really. Just unfriend Amy Farrah Fowler, and it would all be over.

His brain gave a valid point. But why couldn't he do it? It's been an hour, Leonard and Penny's asleep, and all he could think about was that bespectacled neurobiologist.

Sheldon closed his laptop, set it aside, and went out of his room to freshen up. He needed to sleep and turn his mind off. You don't need to explain yourself. Just ignore her tomorrow. She's just a stranger, right?

...That's not what your Facebook status says. "Oh, shut up brain!" He settled himself on his bed and closed his eyes.

Come on Cooper, your mind is an important vessel, carrying the answers to the universe's unsolved mysteries. It's not to be weighed down by an anchor like Amy Farrah Fowler. Thoughts of her are of no use to a man such as yourself.

Sheldon felt a sudden heaviness. He opened his eyes and there she was with her emerald eyes and hair the color of mud. They were in the same position as they were in their office hours ago.

"Why'd you send me a friend request, Dr. Cooper?" Amy said in a hushed tone and looked at him with a serious expression.

"No reason." He answered back. They weren't moving at all, and his heart was pacing.

"I thought you hated me," Amy said with a sad expression.

Sheldon continued staring at her. "I never said that."

"Then why would you place me on your enemies list?"

"Because..." He took a deep breath. "I'm overwhelmed by you." Sheldon couldn't help but feel so bothered by her presence. She smelled like cherries.

"Is there any way you could remove me from that list?" Amy looked at his lips.

Sheldon gulped. "I'm not sure."

"Nothing come to mind?" Sheldon held his breath. He could also feel his hands slowly pulling her close.

"None at all." His words seemed to be the opposite of what he was doing. He looked at her lips as he placed his left hand on the small of her back, with his right on the back of her head.

"Your hair is so soft." He whispered.

Amy said nothing. She just continued leaning in and closed her eyes. Sheldon did the same as well.

Sheldon woke up to his alarm clock, his lips were attached to his pillow which was no longer under his head.

He shot up from his bed. He noticed that he was sweating, and his pants were also soiled.

He dreaded having to go to work. Going to work would mean seeing her, and seeing her was not helpful after the dream he just had. Sheldon had to shower fast. He sighed and muttered under his breath.

"You're a vixen, Amy Farrah Fowler."

End of Chapter 4.

Author's Note: And that's the end of this chapter! My favorite one so far! If some of you noticed, I chose to use some dialogue and applied some scenes from episodes like "The Robotic Manipulation" and "The Cooper-Kripke Inversion" into the story. Expect more of these easter eggs in the later chapters. Would appreciate all your reviews and suggestions.

The next chapter will explore their rivalry and how they'll find it hard to ignore each other. I'm not sure if I'd be able to update daily now since I have driving school sessions coming up. So, please fav and follow my story to stay tuned for all my updates.

I plan to improve my writing and do this story justice, Shamy fans. Can't wait to share with all of you what happens next to our two heartworms in love. To mimic Penny's words: "All aboard the Shamy train!"