Author's Note: Hi Shamy fans! Back with a new update. Currently working on the next chapter for "The Impalpable Chemistry" as well. Thanks to all the favs, follows, reviews, and to all the new readers who found this story.

Shoutout to the following users: 11xy15, TLWtlw, MobyShamy4ever, and to all the guest readers. I appreciate it so much.

If you leave enough favs, follows, and reviews, I'll be more motivated to continue this story, so please tell me what you think! Enjoy Chapter 4.

Chapter 4

The Skank Reflex Analysis

"I'm gonna go pack a bag."

"No, you're not. You're gonna Pop a cop kop a bop a gop." Amy smiled, commending herself for her secret language.

She was excited to have Penny stay at her apartment. Now that she had someone she could call her bestie, Amy was determined not to screw up and be the kind of person Penny could confide in — she wanted to repay Penny for introducing her to a life she's always wished for growing up and looked forward to the things they were going to do.

While waiting, Amy shared her excitement on her Facebook page. She heard someone knocking and her entire mood changed of its own accord. She knew who it was and she was hesitant to open the door.

Come on, Fowler. You can do this. Nothing's changed. Except for the fact that you've started dreaming about him ever since that call… But nevertheless- act normal! He's just your friend Sheldon.

She took a deep breath.

He's just your friend Sheldon.

She opened the door with her head towards the ground, her eyes closed.

He's just your friend Sheldon.

"Hi, Sheldon. What brings you h…!" She finally brought herself to look at him, unaware that her friend was wearing something different from what she expected.

Amy covered her mouth because she knew another sound would come out.

"Pardon me, Miss. But I'd be more pleased if you started addressing me as Captain Cooper." He winked.

Amy immediately shut the door.

I knew having a sleepover with Penny was too good to be true! I'm probably still in bed, stuck in another fantasy where Sheldon's an irresistibly handsome military official…

Amy heard Sheldon knock again, and took it upon herself to confirm if she was really dreaming. She opened the door.

"I apologize if I startled you, Amy but… Woah! Woah! What are you doing?"

Amy started touching Sheldon's armor, feeling each part of his body to see if he was real. She started with his chest plate to his shoulders and arms…

"Strange. You would've disappeared by now…" Amy reached up and placed her hands on his face.

Sheldon finally regained his senses and took hold of Amy's arms to stop whatever she was doing. "Amy! What's gotten into you?"

"Wait. This isn't a dream?"

"F-Far from it." He exhaled in exasperation.

"I apologize but I'm having a hard time understanding why you're wearing that."

"Oh. It seems that I've forgotten to inform you that we're participating in Caltech's interdepartmental Paintball tournament this weekend…"

"It seems so…" Amy cleared her throat embarrassed by her actions. "In that case, I'm sorry for touching you so inappropriately. I was trying to make sure that you weren't just a figment of my imagination."

"Understandable. I can see my attempts at roleplay also caused you further confusion..."

"It did."

"My apologies. I was trying to emulate Captain Kirk from Star Trek… You see, he's very charming when it comes to interacting with other women and I thought I could..." He sighed. "It's no use... I guess I'm not cut out to become a Captain after all."

"No, no! You are... Very charming in fact."

He frowned. "Charming enough to have you slam the door on my face."

"That was an involuntary response. I was just surprised as all… You were very convincing, hence, why I thought this was all a dream."

"You're not saying that just to cheer me up, aren't you?"

"I'm not. You'd make a fine captain, Sheldon."

He smiled. "Okay, I just had to make sure. I appreciate the compliment. Now that we've cleared this whole misunderstanding, it's time I explain why I wanted to speak with you."

Before Amy could utter a response, Penny joined them outside with her bag- packed and ready. "Okay, Ames. We can go now..." Her face immediately filled with regret for interrupting their moment.

"Hello, Penny. I can assume this is your way of avoiding the whole Raj situation by hiding from Leonard…"

"Gee, what made you say that, Sheldon?"

"A number of things, really. First, you're bringing a bag with you, which indicated you'll be staying at Amy's for a while. Then, that strange behavior earlier when you immediately shut the door after seeing Leonard..."

"She was using sarcasm, Sheldon."

"Oh."

Not wanting to explain herself any further Penny urged Amy to leave with her. "Come on, Ames. Let's go."

"Sorry, Captain Cooper. I suppose we can call later to discuss what's on your mind."

Sheldon smiled, happy that Amy was going along with his roleplay to compensate for what happened earlier.

"It's alright, Miss." Sheldon tipped his head. "I'll be waiting for your correspondence."

Amy proceeded to go down the stairs but not before bidding Sheldon goodbye with one line she remembers from his favorite show.

"Oh, and Sheldon?"

"Yes?"

"Uh… Live long and prosper..." She awkwardly tried to do the hand sign and left without seeing his reaction.

She would've seen how flustered he got. Technically, both of them weren't Vulcan in their little roleplay but he was more surprised that she knew such a reference. He shook his head and went back to his apartment, trying not to imagine Amy in a Nurse Chapel uniform. He was grateful she wasn't a fan of costumes, so the possibility of her actually wearing one would be close to non-existent. Not that grateful of course.

"So... How's it going with you two?"

"No recent developments so far... None that may interest you whatsoever."

"Really? Because overhearing you two flirting with each other just outside of my apartment does interest me."

Amy was thankful she and Penny both were seatbelts because she accidentally pressed on the brakes a little too hard. She was also lucky that there were no cars behind them.

"Sorry about that... Uh, I don't know what you're implying, Penny. But Sheldon and I weren't flirting."

"Then what's with the nicknames? Are you gonna start calling him Captain Cooper from now on?" Penny said suggestively causing Amy to blush.

"It's not like that. Let's talk about something else. You and Raj? Leonard?"

"That can wait. Something about Sheldon is clearly bothering you and you have to tell me."

Amy tried so hard to forget that stupid call. Curse her knowledge of the nervous system!

"I'm unsure if I should talk about it. It's quite embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than getting caught in your ex-boyfriend's room in bed with his friend?"

Amy slowly nodded her head. "Okay. You win. I'll tell you everything."

Penny grinned from ear to ear, ready to find out the latest update on Operation Shamy.

"Ever since you proposed I had feelings for Sheldon, I have been trying to collect additional data regarding whether or not it proved true."

"And?"

"Turns out you are correct."

"I called it!" Penny said gleefully and composed herself. "Go on."

"But I have no idea how Sheldon's gonna react if he finds out, so I chose not to act on them whenever I'm around him."

"Oh yeah. He's like a horse. He gets all skittish or something."

"Right. Anyways… Everything was going fine until…"

"Go on."

"I was sexually aroused by Sheldon a few days ago."

Amy turned her head to look at Penny, whose mouth was wide open. "Shut up! How'd it happen?" Penny couldn't imagine what happened between them and was clearly excited to hear the details.

"We were on Skype and he felt that his neck was a little stiff, so I suggested that he should massage himself. I guided him through it and then he started making all these noises…"

"Oh my God. So that's what it was!"

"What do you mean?"

Penny: It was last night, right? Raj and I were hanging out at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment.

"To friendship."

"To friendship."

Raj and Penny clinked their glasses. Sheldon immediately scolded them for it. "Would you boozehounds please stop that infernal clinking?" They giggled. "And the answer was elephant!"

They went back to their previous conversation, Raj remembering something. "Speaking of being noisy in the sack, I don't know if I should tell you this because I thought I was just imagining things."

"What is it?"

"Before I knocked on the door, I think I might've heard Sheldon and Amy…" Raj leaned in and mouthed what he was about to say so that Sheldon couldn't hear them from his room. "…having sex."

"No. Way."

"I regretted not bringing my noise-canceling headphones there because Sheldon was just as noisy as Leonard. He was saying his hands were magic or something." Raj said mimicking what he overheard.

Penny shook her head not believing a word. "Nah. We've been through this. They lied to us that one time when they did that experiment together."

"I guess. I thought about leaving but I didn't have any other choice. I was relieved that Amy wasn't actually there. Now that I'm officially his roommate and everything, it would've made things a little awkward if I mentioned it."

"Well, Sheldon and Amy do make everyone feel awkward. That's their thing."

"Cheers to that… Figuratively." Penny and Raj raised their glasses instead of clinking them, not wanting to wake Sheldon any further.

"After that, I woke up with Raj beside me and you and Sheldon doing the deed slipped from my mind."

"I see."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, Amy. I mean, you felt the same way with Zack, right?"

"I did. But with Sheldon, it's much worse. We're in close proximity all the time and I can't help but feel my body react whenever I'm around him. It's been difficult to keep control of these urges. I've even used Gerard a couple of times now."

"Who the hell is Gerard?"

"My electric toothbrush…"

"Oh… OH! Well, well, well. Who's got the skank reflex now?" Penny teased.

"What should I do? I tried using the Vulcan practice of Kolinahr but look where that got me..."

"Hmm… Is it really that serious?"

"Every time I see him, I feel like my loins are on fire."

"…Okay okay. I get the picture. Ooh, why don't you try treating all your urges like a switch?"

"Meaning…?"

"Whenever you feel like you're getting all hot and bothered, think of something about Sheldon that would instantly turn you off."

"Oh, nothing about Sheldon could repulse me at all."

"What if you try thinking about something else? Something- to use your words — repulsive." Penny parked the car.

"I guess I could try."

"Glad I could help."

After talking it out with Penny, Raj left the apartment. Amy came back from her bedroom.

"I feel so bad. Raj is a sweet guy…"

"But nothing can happen between you two because of Leonard."

"Right."

"And nothing really happened between you two in the bedroom either."

"Righ- Amy! You were spying on us, weren't you?"

"Well, I wasn't supposed to… But when I was done preparing your things, I went out and you guys were still talking. Then I overheard how it all happened."

"It's okay. Just promise you won't tell anyone else. Raj will kill me."

"I promise." Amy held her pinky out.

"What's that?"

"Oh, don't besties pinky swear to signify that a promise has been made?"

"Yeah, but maybe when they're like five or-" Penny stopped and noticed Amy frowning. She figured Amy never got to do it during her childhood. "Okay fine. Pinky swear not to tell anyone."

"Pinky swear." Amy smiled. "I must say I can't believe a man could ejaculate that quickly before actually engaging in intercourse."

"Trust me, they can." Penny snorted. "I call them quickdraws."

"Why would you- Oh! That's amusing." Amy snickered. "That mental picture is definitely gonna help me turn off whatever sexual feelings I have for Sheldon."

Suddenly, they hear a sound from Amy's laptop.

"That's Sheldon."

"Should I give you two some space?"

"No, it's fine. This will only take a minute. I'll tell him you're here and we'll call tomorrow."

Amy answered and was surprised to see Sheldon still in his Paintball uniform.

"Hello, Amy."

"…"

"Amy? Is your video frozen?"

Amy didn't say a word and dropped the call.

"Well, that took less than a minute. What happened?"

"Sheldon's still wearing his uniform..."

"Ah…" Penny slowly nodded her head.

"That was a close one." Amy started fanning herself with her hands.

Both ladies heard Amy's laptop again. "Penny, what am I gonna do?"

"Just remember what I told you. Good luck, Ames." Penny headed straight to Amy's room.

"Right." Amy took a deep breath and answered Sheldon.

"Amy? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Sheldon… I apologize for hanging up on you so abruptly. I've been having issues with my… Internet connectivity."

"I see. Have you spoken with your local network provider? I could go over there and check it out if you'd like."

"No, no. It's fine, really. And it's getting late so…" Amy started imagining Sheldon at her apartment in his uniform and her throat started becoming dry.

"Oh, right. It would be questionable to come to your apartment after dark."

"…Exactly. Why are you still wearing that?"

"Oh. I sewed these bars on my uniform to display my rank as Captain. I tried it on again to check whether or not I sewed it on the right area."

"I see..."

And here I thought he was doing this deliberately to get my attention...

"So, what's up?"

"I've been having concerns about…"

Amy could feel herself warming up. She wasn't even remotely interested in what Sheldon was saying. All she could focus on were his clothes.

Okay, Fowler. Pull yourself together.

Amy thought back to overhearing Penny and Raj's conversation.

Raj: And that's all she wrote.

Penny: So, we didn't actually…?

Raj: No, I did. And it was beautiful.

Penny: Oh!

Amy started breaking into a fit of giggles, not realizing that she was reacting inappropriately to what Sheldon was saying.

"Do you seriously think we can't win tomorrow?"

"What? No, I…" Amy was still laughing. "I'm sorry…What were you saying?"

Sheldon pouted. "Well, I'll show you, Amy Farrah Fowler!" He ended the call.

Being rude in front of Sheldon made Amy feel bad. But it was a small price to pay to keep herself in check.

She proceeded to prepare for bed, Penny already making lying on one side of it.

"How'd it go?"

"You are a lifesaver. Thank you. Maybe I should call Raj and thank him as well..."

"Hey! What'd I tell you not to do?"

"Oh. Then my lips are sealed... By the way, are you gonna fix things with Leonard?"

"Well, I can't tell him the truth because of Raj so I don't know... Don't worry. I'll try and think of something."

"Okay. I hope everything goes well. I'll turn off the lights now. Good night bestie."

"Good night."

Moments later.

"Penny, I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

"Are you thinking about Leonard?"

"Yeah... Are you thinking about Sheldon?"

"Mhm... I mean I know a sure way to get our minds off them, but you don't have your own toothbrush so..."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Penny sat up on the bed. "We could do something else."

"Oh, Penny. I'm flattered and I've been curious about it but-"

"No, no! That's not what I meant! You did say this was a sleepover. Maybe we can paint our nails, drink, or watch a movie."

"Oh, I'd like to watch a movie."

"Great. Whenever I feel like crap, I watch a cheesy rom-com and I can feel all my problems disappear."

"Here's the remote. I rarely watch cable, so you being here's worth paying for that subscription. I'll get the ice cream!" Amy said gleefully, excited at the turn of events.

Penny found a channel that started premiering "Never Been Kissed", starring Drew Barrymore.

"Oh! I know this one. I watched this growing up. Have you watched it?"

"No. My mother forbade me from watching these kinds of films."

"Aww. Why not?"

"She told me they were a bad influence and didn't want me to fall in love with a man too soon and get myself pregnant."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that now. Come on. I think you'll really like this one, Ames." Penny patted the spot beside her and they started watching the film.

Minutes into the movie, they hear Drew's monologue where she talks about how she was the type of person people would have difficulty picking out of a crowd. She wore boring clothes and didn't style herself that well.

"Wow, this Josie's a total nerd, huh?" Penny looked at Amy, who was fixated on the movie. She already identified with Drew's character. It didn't help that her character, "Josie Geller" was highly intelligent. They were at the part where she kept correcting people's grammar and didn't like things disorganized.

Penny eventually realized the similarities and stopped making fun of Drew's character.

TELEVISION:

Josie: When I finally get kissed, I'll know.

Friend 1: Okay. If you've never kissed a guy before, we have bigger problems than the underwear.

Penny: She seriously hasn't kissed anyone? Hmm... I don't seem to remember this movie so much after all.

Amy: I mean it's not really a surprise. It's in the title of the movie.

Penny: Oh. Wait, I remember now. I saw this in theaters when the movie came out. I was actually on a date.

Amy: How'd that go?

Penny: It was great. I mean, we spent the whole time making out so I guess I didn't really watch it.

Josie: I've kissed guys. I just... haven't felt that thing.

Friend 1: That thing?

Amy: Is 'that thing' a euphemism for...?

Penny: I'm not sure.

Friend 2: Is that what you kids call it these days?

Josie: That thing- that moment when you kiss someone and everything around you becomes hazy. And the only thing in focus is you and this person. You realize that that person is the only person that you're supposed to kiss for the rest of your life. And for one moment you get this amazing gift. And you wanna laugh, and you wanna cry because you feel so lucky that you found it and so scared that it'll go away all at the same time.

Amy: Now, I'm starting to get the "cheesy" part you were referring to. This all sounds a little too farfetched right- Penny?

Penny started crying. "I'm okay. Do you have any tissues?"

Amy handed Penny a box of Kleenex. "So, it is real... I wonder." The only times she's kissed a guy was when he wanted her to give him back his insulin. And then there's that night with Sheldon. But she could barely even remember what happened or how it felt.

After the movie, there were tons of used tissues scattered on the floor and two empty tubs of ice cream.

Penny cried at how romantic everything was and the ending scene where Josie kissed the love of her life.

Amy reacted more to the scenes where Josie was bullied in high school and how she got a chance to feel popular going undercover as a high school student.

"Now, that was one emotional rollercoaster."

"It was- aside from the age gap issues that provide some creepy undertones, I thought I'd be immune to all this but I guess not... How was your first kiss with Leonard?"

"Oh, I didn't remember the first one."

"Why not?"

"Leonard told me it was years ago during a Halloween party I hosted. I was too drunk to remember it even happened."

"What about the kisses you remember? Is Leonard the reason why you started getting all emotional? Have you felt 'that thing'?"

"Well, yeah... I don't wanna talk about it. I can't do anything because he's still in a relationship and all. What about you? Have you kissed anyone else?"

"Yes. But it felt so wrong. I'm starting to understand what Josie said. I just haven't felt anything... Until Sheldon."

"But you don't even remember kissing him."

"I know that. But I can consider my friendship with him as a gift. Every day I look forward to our mentally stimulating conversations, calling with him at the end of the day diminishes the exhaustion I feel every time I get off of work, and he understands me like no one else. Without him, I wouldn't have met all of you... Without him, I'd be all alone. I'm starting to fear these feelings, Penny. I don't want to scare him away."

All Amy needed was one night to realize that the cat was alive. She was falling in love with Sheldon. She was just in denial because she knew he wouldn't return her feelings.

"You won't. These things take time. Trust me. Knowing Sheldon, it might be a long wait. But I just know he likes you. I know! Why don't you try kissing him again? Minus the drunk part of course. Aren't you the least bit curious what it actually feels like?"

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Penny."

"You're welcome. I'm rooting for you. I might never get back together with Leonard ever again, but I'm sure I can find someone special again if you and Sheldon end up together.

After watching Penny's commercial, the gang went their separate ways. Leonard headed over to Penny's apartment and Amy stayed with Sheldon, helping him clean up.

"I'm thankful that Penny got that hemorrhoid commercial. I don't really think it'll be her big break as she puts it, but I'm just glad she decided to stay here and not return to Nebraska."

"Yeah, yeah. Enough about Penny. Feast your eyes on this." Sheldon revealed his Paintball trophy, waving it in front of her. "In your face, Fowler."

"Impressive. I never doubted you." She smiled.

"I told you I'd show y- Wait. You didn't? Then why were you making fun of me when I told you about the chances of me winning?"

"Did I? I don't remember."

Sheldon furrowed his brows. "Is everything alright? Would you like me to accompany you to get a brain scan? I knew it. Penny and her wicked attempts to get you over to the dark side with alcohol and bad choices." He shook his head.

"No. Nothing is wrong with me, Sheldon. I promise you. I was just a little preoccupied during that time."

"What were you thinking of?"

"No one in particular."

"Oh. So you were thinking of someone?" Sheldon asked, looking a little disturbed.

"Ah...Not important. So, tell me more about your victory on the battlefield."

Sheldon forgot about her minor slip of the tongue in an instant and proceeded to tell her how they won with a smile on his face. "Get this. We were all in the paintball shed and I..."

Amy mentally sighed.

That was a close one.

End of Chapter 4.

Author's Note: There you have it, folks! A new chapter. Hope y'all like it. I'll be moving on to 5x02/5x03 this time for the next chapter. We'll see where my imagination takes me.

I was trying my best to imagine how Amy would behave during a sleepover, so I hope her dialogue here wasn't too OOC. Would love to hear your thoughts. Maybe y'all could also suggest some prompts of what you'd want to see in my stories.

If you haven't read "The Impalpable Chemistry" yet, I sincerely hope you check it out. Also, I'm really considering all of your suggestions of making a multi-chapter fic for my one-shot, "Took You Long Enough". We'll see. For the meantime expect late updates, with some new one-shots posted here and there.

Please continue leaving a review! A fav and follow would also be appreciated, so if you haven't, what are you waiting for? Until next time, Shamy fans!