Amy picked Sheldon up after work and they had to go straight to the airport to pick up Mrs. Cooper. Mary was very excited to see her son and pulled him into a hug. Once she was done, she pulled Amy into a hug too. Amy was nervous because she still didn't know how much Mrs. Cooper liked her, but the visit to Texas had eased things a little bit.

"Let me get a look at you, darlin'," Mary said as she pulled back from the hug. "I still can't believe my Shelly is getting married." Then Mary turned back to Sheldon. "You two aren't sinnin' are you?"

"No, Mom, but that might be a better discussion for home."

"That's right. You two live together, and I'm supposed to believe that you haven't been sinnin'.

Sheldon just sighed and took his mother's bags out to the car. They decided to let Mary rest and get comfortable at home before they were going to go out to dinner. They were going to meet up with Leonard and Penny at the Cheesecake Factory in an a couple of hours.

Sheldon showed his mother into the guest room to let her lie down for a little while before they went out to dinner. He didn't have anything to do before they went out to dinner. There wasn't any work that couldn't wait until Monday, so he just paced around the apartment for a few minutes. When Amy came back out of her room, she found him still aimlessly wandering.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have anything to do. I don't want to start on work because I don't really have enough time to get anything done, and I don't even want to think about making out with you because not only do I not have enough time for that, but also my mother is in the next room," Sheldon told her.

"You could teach me how to play one of your video games?" Amy suggested. She had been resisting this at every turn, but Sheldon seemed agitated enough that she thought it was worth a try.

"I can't teach you a whole game in an hour."

"You can give me a beginner's course and then we can pick it up later. I want you to teach me. Please?"

"I know that you are just trying to distract me, but I wouldn't mind playing a little bit."

Sheldon set up the gaming system and started up the game. It took him fifteen minutes just to explain the premise and another ten to explain all of the controls. Amy loved when he explained something to her because he was always very thorough. Then they started killing aliens in a two player mode, but Mary appeared, ready to go soon after. Amy didn't want to admit it, but the game was kind of fun.

Penny and Leonard were ready to go when Sheldon knocked on their door a few minutes later. They all decided to take one car even though it would be a little full. Amy decided that she might want a glass of wine with dinner to help her sleep. The idea of sleeping without Sheldon still seemed like it would be pretty difficult.

Mary gave Amy a slightly disapproving look when she ordered the wine with her pasta, but didn't say anything. Amy switched to water after that. While Sheldon tried to reassure Amy that Mary had just been trying to manipulate them when she said that she didn't approve of Amy, she was always a little worried that her future mother-in-law didn't like her. Mary had been nothing but warm since their first meeting, but the thought wouldn't leave Amy's mind. It was obvious that Mary thought she was a bit odd, but she was also a good match for Sheldon.

Leonard and Penny were so excited to see Mary that they did most of the talking. Neither of them had seen her since before their own wedding. The evening went by rather quickly, and they were all surprised by the time when they decided to leave for home.

It was time for bed when Amy, Sheldon, and Mary got back to 4A. Sheldon went to get dressed in his and Amy's bedroom, so Amy offered to make Mary a cup of tea.

"I've got a whole binder of wedding stuff that I would love for you to see before you leave, if you have the time. I know that you are here mostly to fulfill the requirements for the church and to meet my parents, but there is still some planning stuff that I would love your input on," Amy told Mary.

"That would be lovely, dear. Has your mother been helping out much?"

"I don't get on very well with my mother. She tried to help some in the beginning, but she didn't like anything I chose. Then she stopped showing up to fittings and food tastings, so I got the message. Our friends have been a blessing though. I would just like a mother's input on things to make sure I'm getting everything right."

"Bless your heart. I'm sure everything you picked is beautiful, but I would love to take a look tomorrow before we visit your parents."

Sheldon reappeared and told his mother that she could go to bed whenever she was ready.

"Thank you, Shelly. Goodnight," Mary said as she went to go hug him. She nearly went into the room before she turned around and pulled Amy into a hug too. Then she actually went to bed.

"Sheldon, are you sure you don't want to sleep in our bed? I would be fine on the couch," Amy asked again.

Sheldon lowered his voice so that his mother wouldn't hear, "No. It would just be that much worse without you there. I'll be fine on the couch for a couple of nights."

Amy watched Sheldon make up the couch and lie down before she even went into their room. It felt so lonely knowing that he was just outside the room, but unreachable. She took her time changing and getting into bed. Then she watched the ceiling for over an hour before getting up for some warm milk.

"Amy?" Sheldon whispered when Amy crept into the kitchen. She was hoping to not wake him up, but it seemed that he was already awake.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Getting some milk. I couldn't sleep. Do you want some?" Amy asked.

"Yes, please."

Amy warmed up some milk in two mugs. She handed one of them to Sheldon and then sat in the chair by the couch instead of going back to her room to drink hers. She and Sheldon didn't speak while they drank their milk and Sheldon lay back down to try to go back to sleep. Amy couldn't bring herself to go back to bed yet, so she just took Sheldon's hand and curled into the chair. The awkward position was somehow more comfortable than her own bed and she fell asleep after about ten minutes.

Mary got up to get a glass of water around four and saw Amy asleep in the chair reaching out toward Sheldon and her son's hand reaching back toward Amy. It was incredibly sweet, but it also confirmed her suspicions that they had been intimate. She was going to have to talk to them about it in the morning.

Amy woke up with a crook in her neck and a muscle cramp in her leg, so she decided to go back to her bed. She managed to fall back asleep for a little while, but then Sheldon came in and shook her awake. He looked nervous about something, but Amy didn't know what it was.

"My mother thinks we're up to something. I'm not sure why, but she thinks we've been having sex," Sheldon told her.

Mary was out in the kitchen with a pile of bacon, eggs, and toast for them to have for breakfast.

"Mrs. Cooper, you didn't need to do all of this. I should have been up earlier to make you breakfast," Amy said.

"Don't worry about it, dear. I like cooking for my boy, and I don't get to do it enough since he rarely visits," Mary said, looking at Sheldon. "Now, sit down you two. We have some things to talk about."

Sheldon handed Amy a plate of food and gave her a look that said, I told you so. They went over to the couch to eat. Amy automatically sat close enough to Sheldon that they were touching before she realized that it might not help their cause and moved over a little bit.

"I was planning on talking to you about this before I left tomorrow, but I came out here this morning to get a glass of water and found you sleeping together. I know this is your home and that you are about to get married, but it is important to me and to God that you do not engage in sex before you are married. It is a covenant given to us from Him for married people, so I'm going to ask you to stop until after you are married."

"Mrs. Cooper, I think you have the wrong idea about what we've been doing. Neither Sheldon nor I have ever engaged in coitus with each other or anyone else. I'll admit that we have been sleeping in the same bed," Amy started before Sheldon cut her off.

"Amy!"

"What, Sheldon? I'm being honest with your mother. We've been sleeping in the same bed for a while, but I promise you that we have not had sex. I know that is hard to believe that two adults could manage that, but that is exactly what we do. I mean, he wouldn't even really kiss me until we were dating for years. Your teachings run deep with this one," Amy said as she threw a thumb in Sheldon's direction.

Mary looked at Sheldon. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you have not had sex with this young lady."

Sheldon had never been any good at lying, but lying to his mother was nearly impossible for him. "Amy and I have not had sex," Sheldon told his mother. He was embarrassed that he was having this talk with her, but it was the truth.

Mary took this in for a few minutes. "You are my son and I love you, but you are one strange duck." Then Mary got up and went back into the kitchen.

"Does that mean that she believes you?" Amy whispered to Sheldon.

"I think so."

"Does that mean that you can sleep in our bed again tonight?"

"I don't think that we should push our luck. It's just one more night," Sheldon told Amy as he put an arm around her. He wasn't as afraid of his mother's wrath, but there was no way he could push that hard.

The three of them spent the rest of the morning going over what God expects in a marriage. Neither Sheldon nor Amy were religious, so it was extremely tedious, but it made Mary happy so they were willing to listen to what she said. It was nearly lunch time before she was done before they finished, so they decided to go out for lunch instead of making food at home.

Amy liked spending time with Mary. Unlike her own mother, Sheldon's mother was warm and friendly. Even after spending an incredibly awkward morning with her, Amy didn't mind having lunch together. Somehow, they even promised to visit Texas at Thanksgiving without understanding how Mary had tricked them into it.

Mary wanted to rest before going to the Fowlers' for dinner, so they dropped her off at home. Amy and Sheldon had some wedding related errands to run.

"I love your mother, but I'm so glad that I get to spend some time alone with you this weekend," Amy told him.

"I know what you mean. I'm even glad to go buy shoes and look at table rentals. Though, I would rather that we were going to the zoo or the Lego store instead."

"How about we take off a little early from work on Wednesday and we'll go to the train store and the comic book store?"

"That sounds wonderful. I love you, Amy."

Amy smiled. Sheldon could never tell her that he loved her enough. "I love you too."

Sheldon took over an hour to find a pair of shoes that he liked and the furniture rental place was hard to find, so they were nearly twenty minutes late getting home. Amy was rushing to change into a dress and ran to Mary to have help her zip it up. Sheldon was trying to put on a fresh t-shirt while walking through the apartment. This meant that these two normally private people were running around their home in various states of undress. Mary realized that they really were changing each other. It had been a long time since she had seen her Shelly so comfortable around someone else.

They were all eventually ready to go to dinner. Amy was starting to get nervous that the two families wouldn't get along. Mary was sweet and warm while her own parents were standoffish and clinical. She didn't doubt that they loved her, and they even liked Sheldon on the few occasions that they had met him, but this felt bigger and scarier. Maybe it was good that they didn't have a lot of time to sit around the house before leaving.

Amy pulled the car into the driveway of her parents house. She took a deep breath, but Sheldon just jumped out of the car and opened the door for his mother. Then he ran around to open the door for Amy and took her hand to lead her up the the door. She had never told him about being nervous about this meeting, but he seemed to just know.

She rang the doorbell and squeezed Sheldon's hand a little. Her mother opened the door. "Amy? You know you don't have to ring the doorbell here. You can just come in," she told her. "Hello, Sheldon," Mrs. Fowler added.

Sheldon nodded hello and Amy made a round of introductions before Mrs. Fowler invited them all inside. After Amy's parents moved, their house never felt like home to Amy again. Her mother asked her to help her finish dinner while Sheldon and Mary stayed in the living room with her father. It was very awkward for everyone involved.

Amy finished up the salad and called everyone in for dinner. They all sat down and Mary said grace over the food. Amy had warned her parents that Mrs. Cooper was religious beforehand, so they were prepared. Then Sheldon made sure that his mother, Amy, and Mrs. Fowler had food before he proceeded to eat. His manners were robotic, but predestine when his mother was around.

It was pretty quiet until Amy's father spoke up, "Who would have known that either of these two would have found someone crazy enough to marry them?"

"Dad!" Amy said, shocked.

"I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested," Sheldon said.

"I did, but I should have followed up with that specialist in Houston," Mary said.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just glad that someone can see how special my Amy is and that Amy can see how special Sheldon is," Mr. Fowler said. Several more awkward attempts at conversation were started, but most fizzled out after a couple of sentences. By the time dessert was served, they had largely given up on talking. Sheldon reached over and took Amy's hand and squeezed it. The two families weren't fighting, but they obviously weren't going to be very close either.

After being thanked profusely, the Fowlers saw Amy, Sheldon, and Mary off to Amy's car. Mrs. Fowler reminded Amy to come around more often, but Amy would probably ignore her.

Back at the apartment, Mary wanted to give the couple a little time alone, so she decided to go visit Penny and Leonard across the hall for a half an hour or so. She could tell that they wanted to talk.

"That was an unmitigated disaster," Amy complained into Sheldon's chest as she hugged him.

"It really wasn't. Our families are just different, but they got along alright. It could be worse. You saw how it was when Penny's parents met Leonard's mother. They couldn't see her brilliance at all. Instead, they complained about how she was psychoanalyzing them the whole night. Some awkwardness is not so bad compared to that," Sheldon reassured her.

"Thank you, Sheldon."

"No problem, kid. Now, I think that we should text Leonard and try to get him to keep my mother distracted for at least an hour so that we can make out. Do you agree?"

"Absolutely, but what did you do with my Sheldon? Even a few months ago, you wouldn't have ever even thought that, let alone suggest it."

"Oh, I thought about it. I thought about it a lot," Sheldon said with a wink as he grabbed his phone to text Leonard. Leonard agreed that he would try and that he would send a warning text when Mary left. Sheldon grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her back to their room.

They kept their clothes on since they knew that they wouldn't have a whole lot of time. Amy missed having Sheldon's weight on her as he kissed her passionately. She missed the taste of his tongue on hers and the feel of his hands as they ran down her sides. She ran her hands through his hair as he started kissing down her neck. Then it seemed too soon, that Sheldon's phone beeped to let him know that his mother was on her way back. He quickly flattened his hair and hoped he didn't look too bad.

Amy straightened her clothes and followed Sheldon out to the living room. She sat with her legs over his on the couch and tried to look casual when Mary appeared about thirty seconds later.

"You kids are cute together. I know that you were up to no good while I was out, but I'll let it slide given that you are going to get married in a little over a month," Mary said casually.

"How did you grow up with your mother knowing everything you did?" Amy asked.

"Why do you think I didn't have a girlfriend until a few years ago?"

"Your lack of attraction to most females, your social ineptitude, your inability to find someone who could fully appreciate your genius... Do you want me to continue?" Amy said as she counted off the list in her head. Sheldon reached over and did something he had never done with anyone else ever; he tickled Amy. It was like the kisses and other touches. Sheldon didn't even know he could do something like that until he was already in the middle of it.

"Sheldon, quit," Amy said as she squirmed and laughed. Sheldon pulled his hands back almost as he had been burned.

"Amy? Are you okay? I'm sorry. I don't know what I was doing," Sheldon said. He was concerned that he had hurt her.

"Sheldon, I'm okay. It was fun, and I definitely liked you being playful."

Sheldon still looked upset, so Amy reached over and started tickling Sheldon back. She knew that he was ticklish on his knees from all of the times that she had touched him there. She had never thought of actually trying to tickle him on purpose before, but she wanted to keep things light between them.

She loved the way he laughed when she tickled him. It was loud and real and so different from his normal light chuckle. When she stopped, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips before whispering that he loved her in her left ear. She knew that this was the bliss of new love, but she hoped that it would never really fade. Their love had changed over the years, but each day she was convinced that she loved him more than the day before. Twenty or thirty years down the line she wanted to remember this moment and know that even though her heart felt like it was about to burst, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Okay, that's getting to be too much. I'm going to go to bed and you two should probably try to get some sleep. I expect both of you to accompany me to church in the morning. No funny business," Mary warned before she went into Sheldon's room to go to bed. Sheldon went to the bathroom to change into his pajamas, so Amy was left alone on the couch. She picked up her phone and sent Leonard a text, "Thanks for letting us have some alone time."

After Sheldon changed, Amy went into the bathroom. There on top of the dirty clothes in the basket in the bathroom lay the Green Lantern t-shirt Sheldon had just taken off. Amy stole it to wear instead of her normal nightgown. She hoped that it might make it easier to sleep with a little piece of him there.

Amy changed and tucked herself into bed, but then she remembered that she had forgotten to say goodnight to Sheldon. He was already lying down on the couch about to go to sleep when she got out there.

"Amy, are you wearing my shirt?" Sheldon asked. She had forgotten to grab her robe before she went out to the living room. The t-shirt showed quite a bit more leg than her normal sleepwear, but Sheldon had seen her much more undressed than this. Still, he reached out and touched the hem of the shirt where it reached mid thigh.

"I forgot to come say good night. I wanted to have a piece of you to sleep with, so I stole the shirt." She grabbed the collar and sniffed slightly. "It smells like you," Amy said as she tilted her head and smiled at him. She didn't want him to be mad at her, but she wasn't giving back the shirt either.

"Remind me to have you wear that again when I can take it off of you," Sheldon growled quietly before looking back to make sure his mother had the door closed.

"Is that a threat, Dr. Cooper?" Amy teased.

"It's a promise. Now, go to bed before you make me take you there."

Amy leaned down and gave Sheldon a quick kiss on the lips. Then, she went into their room and got back into bed. After a few fantasies ran through her head, Amy finally fell asleep in her bed.

She woke up to Sheldon shaking her shoulder lightly. "Amy, you have to get up so that we can go to church with Mom."

"Okay," Amy said, but she just turned over and closed her eyes again. She felt the other side of the bed move as Sheldon lay down next to her.

"Don't make me do something drastic," Sheldon said from about an inch from her ear.

"Like what?" Amy asked, but her words were muffled by the pillow.

"Well, I know where to tickle you now. Is that enough?"

"You could never use your touch as a punishment."

"I guess I could threaten to never touch you again. I maintained it for years, I think I could do it again," Sheldon said.

"No you couldn't. You love it too much. I can see it in your face when you grab my hand or stroke my hair or kiss my neck," Amy countered. She had her head up, but she didn't look like she was serious about getting up.

"Fine. I can never let you touch me ever again," Sheldon said seriously. He was usually so evasive as it was when she tried to touch him that she believed that he could manage that one.

"Fine, I'm getting up," Amy finally acquiesced.

"That's my girl," Sheldon said as he kissed her on the temple.

Amy found a purple dress and white sweater to wear to the church. Sheldon came out of his room in a dress shirt with a tie and black pants. Amy thought he looked amazing dressed like that.

Mary came out of the bathroom and was pleased to see both of them ready to go. They were going to the early service and then going to brunch before taking Mary to the airport. Part of Sheldon was very sad to see his mother go home, but he was also glad to get back to his normal schedule. At least the next time he saw her, it would be for the wedding. Then all of this nonsense would be over and he could sleep in his bed again.

The church service was rather mundane, but Amy enjoyed it because it was a new experience for her. Mary made them stay after the service to meet with Pastor Roberts. Mary hugged him and they spoke privately for a moment before she called Sheldon and Amy over.

"I was just telling the pastor about our visit this weekend. It looks like everything is all set for you two to have a nice service here in this church," Mary told them, then she turned back to Pastor Roberts, "Thank you so much for letting my son have his wedding here even if he won't go to church as often as I would like."

"No problem, Mary. I'm always glad to have such a God-fearing woman in my church," he told her.

Amy pulled Sheldon away from them to let Mary continue her conversation with the pastor. They wandered around hand in hand and admired the architecture. It was a beautiful church that was about fifty years old. It could easily hold the seventy-five or so people who had somehow made their way onto the guest list.

"I wish that we were already done with all of this," Sheldon whispered.

"I know you hate all of this planning, but we're almost through it."

"It's not the planning. I just wish that you were already my wife. We've been together so long, and I really don't want to wait any longer."

"I know what you mean," Amy said as she looked into Sheldon's eyes. He leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips, but Mary yelled from where she was, "Not in God's house. Let's get a move on to brunch."

"Mom, it was just a kiss. We'll be kissing up there soon enough," he said, pointing up to the front of the church.

"You'll be married then. Now, come on."

They went out to Amy's car so that she could drive them all to get something to eat. She took them to the little restaurant Penny and Bernadette had taken her to after the first trip to the church. Sheldon complained that it wasn't one of his approved restaurants, but Mary appreciated the change. Sheldon ended up having a hamburger after his mother told him to stop complaining, and they all had a nice meal together before they drove Mary to the airport to get back to Texas.

Mary hugged her son and then Amy each for a long time before she got in line for security. Sheldon grabbed Amy's hand and squeezed while they watched Mary leave and then he led her back to the car.

"I love your mother, Sheldon. I feel lucky in that regard. I was so nervous when she first arrived, but she is so sweet."

"I'm glad that you got along. I just want you to know that about thirty seconds after we're married, she is going to want to know when we are having children," Sheldon told her. "Junior and Missy have both failed her on this matter so far, so I fear that it is up to me, or rather us."

"Sheldon, I know that we've talked about this, and that you know that I want you to myself for at least a year."

"I know that, and I've told my mother that. It doesn't mean that she won't still ask you about it."

"Let's go home," Amy said as she turned onto Los Robles.