Author's Note:

Yay, new chapter! I apologize, I meant to update this sooner, but work has been crazy and it took me a while to feel happy with this one. I don't have a lot to say here, just that I hope you all enjoy.

Thanks for your patience. Thanks for your reviews/faves/follows. Thanks to my beta reader Stark. :)


Chapter Eight


A couple days later, Amy was out to lunch with Penny and Bernadette. Per the new Memory Impairment Recovery Agreement, she was allowed to go out as long as she wasn't alone and as long as she let Sheldon know.

"So have you and Leonard thought of any names?" Bernadette asked Penny once their food orders were placed.

"Not yet. My family has been calling nonstop since we emailed the ultrasound photo. I actually heard from my sister last night, first time in years . . ."

Amy smiled and nodded along with the conversation. She was glad the focus wasn't on her, but all the talk about babies made her feel kind of left out. When she was still recovering in the hospital, she was relieved to hear she and Sheldon didn't have kids, but now she wondered why they didn't.

But that detail aside, things were going really well. After their fight, she and Sheldon spent hours hashing out their current relationship. She had a much better understanding of where they both stood, and even though Sheldon hadn't revealed any major details of their past together, he was much more open with her. The following day, he went with her to her first follow up appointment, where she was told her healing was progressing nicely. They'd discussed some practical matters, such as getting a new car and returning to work, but only fleetingly. The rest of the time between then and now was spent lounging companionably together.

Either Amy was too quiet for too long, or Bernadette and Penny noticed her unconscious smiling at the thought of her husband, because the next thing she knew she was in the spotlight.

"So how are things going with you and Sheldon?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, have you guys gotten to know each other again?" Bernadette's tone clearly indicated she was hoping for some juicy details. Amy blushed and looked down at the table.

"No, nothing like that," she told her friends. "We've been sharing a bed. That's all."

Not that she hadn't thought about more. How could she not? It seemed so silly to say she had a crush on her husband, but that was more or less the truth. She felt all fluttery inside whenever he smiled at her, and she found herself daydreaming about the blue of his eyes or the sound of his heartbeat under her ear as he slept with her in his arms. Knowing that they were married and had a coital schedule, well . . .

"Really?" Penny seemed surprised by that answer.

"Well, we've been talking a lot," she continued, thinking again of the hours spent creating the new agreement.

The state of their physical relationship had been one of the key points that night. It was ultimately decided that they each had free rein to hold hands and cuddle, since they had already done those things, but any further advancement was left up to Amy. Sheldon's foremost concern was her comfort, so the ball was in her court. The problem was, she was still used to Sheldon being the uncomfortable one. She couldn't imagine initiating something without considering the million possible ways he could freak out about it first. To her mind, she had had the courage to kiss him just once, but she had needed the aid of alcohol and she couldn't remember it now. How strange that every kiss, every act of intimacy, was wiped away from her. If she was less scientifically minded, she might think she was cursed.

"I've been feeling more comfortable living with him the past couple days," Amy kept talking, "but I still haven't regained any memories and it sort of feels wrong to push for more until I do."

"You're really going to wait?" Bernadette asked. "You know your memory might never fully recover."

"I'm a neuroscientist, of course I know that." She wasn't able to keep the snap out of her voice. Bernadette had touched a nerve. She was actually trying very hard not to obsess about this possibility and all the implications that would come with it. There were a few times when she was with Sheldon where she could almost feel a memory trying to break through, if she could just make the correct neural connections. But the feeling always faded.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm surprised Sheldon's held back," Penny chimed in, saving them from an awkward moment. "I kind of thought the reason we hadn't seen much of you guys lately was because he wanted to, you know, make up for lost time."

"You really thought that?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but that's because you only remember how he used to be. Don't mention this to him, but you've changed him a lot. He really loves you, Ames."

Bernadette nodded. "He was a wreck while you were in the hospital."

"I've been afraid to ask him about that," Amy admitted. "But I can tell the accident was hard on him too."

"One time when Howie and I came to visit, Sheldon was in your room singing you Soft Kitty, but he was crying so hard he could barely get through it." Bernadette turned her eyes away and for a moment Amy thought she might cry too. "We ended up leaving and coming back later. It was heartbreaking."

"I'm surprised the doctors didn't have him sedated," Penny added. "The first night, I think he told the entire hospital staff that he and you have the same blood type and they could take whatever organs from him that you needed."

"Wow."

Their waiter came back with their food, interrupting the conversation. None of them picked it back up again until after he was gone and first bites were taken.

"So anyway, if you want to give Sheldon some lovin', I doubt he would mind."

Amy felt her cheeks heat up again. "I don't know how I would go about it."

"You just have to wait until the mood strikes you," Bernadette said.

"Or do something to get yourself in the mood," Penny added. "Oh my god, I just had the best idea!"

"What?"

"Let's go back to my place and watch Magic Mike. Amy needs to see it again."

"Wow, those pregnancy hormones are really kicking your ass, huh?" Bernadette said.

"Oh, shut up, you know you want to see it again too."

"What's Magic Mike?" Amy asked. Penny gave her a sly grin.

"Oh you are in for a treat!"


"Amy, you didn't have to cook dinner, we could have ordered in," Sheldon said by way of greeting when he returned to the apartment and found her in the kitchen.

"I know, but I'm tired of take out," she told him, stirring the pot in front of her.

"You should be resting your leg."

"It's fine," she insisted. "But I could use your help bringing everything to the table."

Sheldon started walking towards her but suddenly froze when he got closer and saw the intended meal. "Did you make—?"

"Spaghetti, but we didn't have any ground beef for meatballs, so I cut up some hot dogs instead. It was all we had. Maybe Leonard can take us to get groceries soon." When Sheldon didn't reply and just kept staring at the food with a strange expression on his face, she got nervous. "Is this okay? If you really want to order something, we can do that instead."

He blinked and snapped out of whatever thoughts he was having. "No, no, this is perfect."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure."

They moved to the dining table and tucked in, taking turns talking about their day. Sheldon was watching her intently in a way that made her feel like squirming, but it wasn't unpleasant. She told him about going out to lunch, but left out what came next.

After watching Magic Mike with the girls, she'd gone back to their apartment and booted up her computer again. The plan had been to reacquaint herself with her own research, but it was a different document that caught her eye this time.

Amy read Amelia and the Time Traveling Physicist twice over, completely riveted. A young woman stuck in the past dazzled by handsome man from the future. It was surprisingly relatable, but it also raised a lot of questions. Obviously the characters were based on Sheldon and herself, but exactly how representative was it of their relationship? Were the love scenes based on things they had actually done? After her mistake with the old Relationship Agreement, she didn't want to make any assumptions, but the big difference here was, in this case, she kind of wanted it to be true.

Between that story, the movie, and her conversation with Penny and Bernadette, Amy certainly had a lot to think about. It was all still in the back of her mind while they finished up dinner. Sheldon sent her to the couch while he cleaned up and put the food away, and she considered her next move.

"Sheldon, I'd like to conduct an experiment."

"Alright," he agreed easily, sitting down beside her. She allowed herself a second to admire him before she breathed in and leaned forward.

Her eyes slid closed just before her lips brushed over his. His mouth felt soft, gently pressing back against hers, and an electric jolt traveled through her body. There it was again, that tip-of-the-tongue feeling. This felt familiar.

Amy pulled back slowly and Sheldon chased her mouth with his a little before settling back on the couch. She noted how his eyes had dilated, and it made her stomach flip.

"Your results, Dr. Fowler?"

His voice sent another jolt through her, but she shoved those feelings aside for the time being.

"Nope, nothing," she answered. The kiss hadn't brought back any solid memories, as much as she wanted it to. Seeing Sheldon's expression change at her answer, though, made her realize perhaps he wasn't inquiring about her memory at all.

"But that was nice," she clarified, her eyes flicking back down to his lips, which now curved into a smile.

"Good."

She scooted closer to him and reached for his hand. "I think further experimentation is needed."

Sheldon nodded. "I look forward to collaborating with you again."