100 reviews! Aww, you people make me sooo happy! :D Thank you so much for your support! I hope you will continue to enjoy this story, because we're only halfway through... (Let's make it our goal to reach 200 reviews by the end of it, haha)
Like I said, it's going to be from Amy's POV now and we will jump a few years ahead... the innocent kids are innocent, but curious teenagers now... ;)
Happy reading and as always don't forget to review at the end!
-Chapter 11-
Amy Farrah Fowler, the once mighty little girl, wasn't quite so little anymore.
Four years had passed since the early morning in the garden shed. Four years since she said goodbye to the only person that ever understood her entirely. Four years since she kissed his cheek.
In the beginning she couldn't help but wonder if a kiss on the cheek counted as a real first kiss. It did affect her greatly for days, even weeks, afterwards, but she assumed it couldn't be compared to a proper kiss to the lips. The mere idea of that happening thrilled and terrified her in equal measures. Because she didn't know why she even thought about things like kissing, all of a sudden.
She was still young then.
She still is, but now she thought to understand her feelings better.
Sheldon stayed true to his word and his first letter arrived exactly two weeks after she last seen him. Until that moment, Amy had been sobbing and hiding away in her room the whole time, feeling like she was dealing with the actual loss of a person. The first thing she did every morning after waking up was running straight to the mailbox to look for a letter addressed to her in Sheldon's neat, little handwriting.
And when it finally came, Amy felt like she was walking on clouds.
She had missed talking to him, listening to the intelligent, deliberate thoughts that went through his mind. Even if it was only in writing now. To Amy it was a blessing that she was able to converse with him on her level. She didn't need to think about what she was saying, didn't need to worry that he wouldn't understand. Because Sheldon always understood.
He was her equal in every possible way and he was her best friend.
Unfortunately, Amy's frequent trips to the mailbox and her giddy mood afterwards didn't go unnoticed by her mother.
After hearing from Sheldon that he settled in fine at the foreign college and that he was adapting nicely to the new routine, she requested a description of the city he was living in. Strangely, it seemed to take Sheldon longer than usual to reply.
When Amy went to look in the mailbox one morning for the still pending letter, she almost ran into her mother who just came back from it, holding various letters in her hands.
"Mother…" Amy ventured suspiciously. "Did you by chance come across a letter that was addressed to me?"
Karen Fowler marched passed her into the house barely acknowledging Amy's presence. "No, dear." she said curtly, sorting the letters in her hands while walking. Amy followed her. "Why would you receive letters?" Karen added. "You're much too young to get mail from strangers."
Amy's suspicion turned to reassurance. But she needed to hear it from her mother. "As a matter of fact, I was indeed waiting for a letter. From a friend not from a stranger… so…" she challenged boldly. "Are you sure you didn't receive one?"
"Good gracious, Amy!" Karen snapped suddenly. "If this is about the Cooper boy you should know better by now. Didn't he hurt you enough? How can you be so naïve and still call him your friend?"
Despite her presentiment being confirmed, it still pained Amy that her mom would simply invade her privacy without any cognizable regret. Boiling anger rose within her, causing Amy to ball her fists, trying to suppress it. "So, you did take my letter." she hissed.
"I'm doing you a favor, Amy. To protect you from future heartache." her mother argued. "Teenage boys only cause trouble for innocent, growing young women. You're not ready for this kind of turmoil. You're barely even fourteen, child."
"Who says I'm not ready? And for what exactly?" Amy's voice rose.
"Now, calm down." Karen said. "It's unseemly to yell as a girl. I'm your mother; I know what's best for you."
Angry tears burned in Amy's disbelieving eyes. Her fists were shaking violently and suddenly… fourteen years of pent up repression came bursting out of her mouth.
"You don't know anything about me, mother!" Amy yelled. "All my life you have been holding me back from my interests, my passions and now from my friends! You never liked Missy and you always hated Sheldon. But both of them taught me more about life than you ever did and I won't let you come between us anymore. They're both my friends, if you like it or not. I will always find a way to stay in contact with Sheldon, because he's important to me. He understands me!"
Amy took a deep breath. Ringing silence spread between her and her mom. "He understands me…" she repeated, quietly and exhausted from her outburst. "More than you ever will."
Mother and daughter stood across from each other. In reality, there were only a few steps between them, but emotionally, it felt more like the distance that separated the earth from the moon.
Frustrated tears brimmed in Amy's eyes, but now, in her first moment of defiance, Amy refused to show any sign of weakness. So, she quickly ran into her room and locked herself in.
This had been the first big fight between her and her mother.
Amy actually felt quite good about it; the sensation that spread within her felt cathartic. After that, determination settled in. Oh, yes, she would find a way to contact Sheldon. Nothing, other than 5000 miles, would ever stand between them.
Her plan was quite simple. She informed Sheldon about her fight with her mother and asked him to send his letters to his own home from now on. Missy excitedly agreed to play delivery girl and made sure that Amy immediately got Sheldon's letters without Karen Fowler noticing.
This new routine went without further disturbance.
Amy and Sheldon conversed monthly, openly telling each other about everything that occurred in their separate lives and lamenting that they couldn't be there in person to share their experiences.
As Amy suspected, Sheldon flourished in his chosen field, publishing his revolutionary thoughts, speaking in front of renowned scientists and winning awards for his innovations. Sheldon's reputation was growing steadily, albeit yet at a small scale. He was known as the wunderkind from Texas over there.
Amy's own accomplishments weren't as notable to the society but just as exciting to her. She learnt to be more independent and quickly managed to take care of herself and the things she strived for without her mother's approval. Their relationship grew colder, but Amy could still rely on her father's support when she was eventually looking for a college herself.
Sheldon always wrote to her that she should think big, but Amy never thought that this particular advice would work as well as it ultimately did:
When she turned sixteen, Amy was accepted at the prestigious university of Harvard.
The uproar of Karen Fowler about her daughter moving away at her age was tremendous, but Amy couldn't care less. She was so glad that she was finally able to escape the boredom that was high school and more than ready to study everything there is to know about neurobiology, her chosen field of work.
The only thing that made Amy's heart ache was leaving Missy behind. Although, her bestie promised to stay in contact and help her out 'whenever those college snobs made fun of her', as Missy had put it. Still, it was a bit scary to be alone and without any friends once more. In a different state of the country no less.
The reminder that she wasn't alone at all came promptly, shortly after her move. Of course, Sheldon found out about her matriculation and sent his next letter to Amy's new address at Harvard in Boston, Massachusetts:
"Dear Amy,
Congratulations to your acceptance at Harvard. I always knew that you were bound to achieve great things once you were free from – excuse me for saying – your mother's claws. Your academic journey begins now and I wish you the best of luck. As it happens, I have to tell you some great news myself:
From now on you might as well call me Dr. Cooper.
I've recently received my first Ph.D. in particle physics. They're all very impressed by me here, but that's only natural I suppose. They may be very bright people, but they're not used to the presence of an intellect like me. However, what would flatter me even more is if you were impressed by me, too… I hope you are. I'm looking forward to hear all about your studies soon.
Sincerely yours, Dr. S. L. Cooper."
Oh, Amy was impressed. And how.
That Sheldon valued her approval more than those of other physicists made her feel warm and insanely euphoric.
She immediately wrote back, describing her work and the joys that her newly found freedom brought with it. She told him that she was happier than she'd ever been in her life and that she wished to be able to give him a hug… 'To congratulate you on climbing the educational ladder even higher' she quoted herself, faithfully knowing that he would remember the last time she had said that.
Their letter correspondence continued frequently and despite the fact that they were still not seeing each other face-to-face, they managed to somehow grow even closer together.
Now that they weren't surveilled by their overbearing mothers anymore, Amy found it easier to admit outright to Sheldon that she missed him. She didn't know how he would react to it, but she had to get it out there in the open… because it was true. With each and every day that she was living alone, she was missing him more.
Sheldon's response was a very short letter consisting of only four words:
"I miss you, too."
Another two years later, change was about to happen for the two best friends.
Rather exciting changes.
Eighteen-year-old Sheldon, fresh from receiving his second doctorate, got head-hunted by the California Institute of Technology; Caltech for short. Since Sheldon found that it was time for him to actually earn money with his ground-breaking research in string theory, he was definitely interested in pursuing their call.
Amy told him that she was excited that he would finally be back in the states, even if, ironically, he couldn't be farther away from her again; he on the west coast and she on the east coast.
Amy couldn't help but feel like she was still dragging behind and never quite able to catch up with him. First it was high school, then college and now Sheldon was again ahead of her despite them being at the same age and the same level of intellectual prowess. It almost seemed like fate was laying stones in their way, preventing them from finding each other again.
Amy didn't mention anything about her musings about fate to Sheldon, knowing that he didn't believe in such hokum.
But, regardless, Sheldon proved to think alike.
Which brought them to right now; two weeks after Amy sent Sheldon her letter of congratulations on his job offer.
On her way to the post office Amy had a spring in her step, knowing that Sheldon's response was due. She was excited to find out when to expect him back on the same continent and hoped that maybe he would make a detour to Boston before flying to California.
With Sheldon's letter in her hand, she hurried back to the university and her private dorm room, already ripping open the seam before she gave the door a shove with her foot, effectively closing it. Amy let herself fall on the bed, bouncing slightly with her arms propped up to read.
As her eyes flew over the words, Amy's jaw started dropping. She had to sit up and read again to make sure she didn't imagine things:
"Dear Amy,
I know in my last letter I seemed rather sure that I would want to take that job offer from Caltech, but recently I began to have some doubts. I couldn't help but think about what you wrote… how ironic it is that we're again as far away from each other as continental borders enable. It occurred to me that this time it doesn't have to be this way! Caltech wants me, but, as a matter of fact, every other faculty wants me, too.
Even Harvard.
It wouldn't really matter to me where I'm setting up my white board to work my wonders. The only difference is that I would be free to solely focus on research at Caltech, whereas I have to fulfill a certain quota of teaching hours at Harvard accessorily. You know how much I despise speaking in front of a class full of disrespectful undergrads who think they know better just because they happen to be older than their professor. But I've been through that already in Heidelberg, so I have no doubt of succeeding again with Harvard students. Plus, this time I'll have you there to help me with my public speaking issues.
In case you're still confused about my intentions, let me be clear:
I've taken a job at Harvard to be near you again. It's already settled, so don't try and deviate me from my plan. I'm certain that Caltech will still employ me whenever I decide to join them. Right now, I'm missing my best friend and I'm very excited to meet you again.
Sincerely yours, Sheldon."
The first thing Amy did after reading the letter a second, a third and even a fourth time to make absolutely sure she wasn't dreaming, was to scramble up from the bed, almost tumbling down in the process and then clumsily trip over her own feet in her haste to reach the telephone.
The number she dialed was the one of her bestie.
"Missy! Hi…" she panted excitedly. "It's me… Amy."
"Hey, Amy, good to hear from you." Missy greeted her cheerfully. "Are you alright? You sound like you got chased by an angry cow."
"No, I just… I received a letter from Sheldon… just now and he… he…" Amy gulped again, trying to process what she was about to say. "He said he declined Caltech's job offer in favor of a job here at Harvard to be… to be near me."
"Awww!" Missy squealed gleefully into Amy's ear. "Who knew my brother could be so romantic. That's so exciting; the Shamy is back together again."
Amy chuckled about Missy's euphoria which almost seemed to outmatch her own. "I fail to see how this is supposed to be 'romantic' and I repeatedly told you that neither of us enjoy the amalgamation of our names, but I share your excitement, bestie."
"Amal-what?" repeated Missy, but quickly talked on to avoid the even more complex explanation that was already sitting on the tip of Amy's tongue. "You know what, never mind. I'm still rooting for you two even though you're both too blind to see what's right in front of you."
Now it was Amy's turn to be confused. "Too blind to see what?"
"My point exactly." Missy said.
"If you're implying any kind of romantic pair bonding then you're wrong." Amy said. "You know, Sheldon and I are just very good friends. We're different from most of the teenage population out there… I think." Amy murmured towards the end, her mind replying her unusual bout of unruly clumsiness and excitement over the prospect of seeing Sheldon again. She decided it must have been a normal reaction since she hasn't seen him for four years. It's allowed to be overly excited about that, right?
"Yeah, yeah, you'll get there when you see him." Missy deadpanned. "I'm just glad that I don't have to keep anything from you anymore."
"You mean you knew about Sheldon's change of plans?"
"He told Mom a week ago, but he made us promise not to tell you." Missy explained. "He wanted to surprise you. Isn't that sweet?"
Amy scrunched up her brows. "More like unusual for him. Doesn't Sheldon hate surprises, regardless if he is the one who gets surprised or not?"
"But he's doing it anyway. That's what makes it sweet."
Amy shook her head, although Missy couldn't see it. "I don't follow."
Missy laughed. "Sheldon couldn't, either. You two are made for each other."
I hope you enjoyed this little recap chapter. Up next: When Amy met Sheldon... again! ;)
Please keep reviewing you lovely people!
