Disclaimer:
I don't own The Big Bang Theory.
A/N:
This story is definitely about Sheldon and Amy, but it will be an AU and OOC and will start in 2010.
I got this idea during Memorial Day in my country and the fact that this story can be true to a lot of people in a lot of countries around the world.
The story will revolve around dealing with loss and how affect someone. If it's a trigger to anyone who decides to read this story, please do it carefully.
I have no intention of offending anyone with my story.
The first part of the story that is written in Italic is from the previous chapter.
Chapter 2:
"Leonard you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. Especially not to Penny." Sheldon looked at Leonard with fire in his eyes, something that Leonard never saw from him.
"I promise." Leonard said, trying to convey Sheldon that he could trust him.
Sheldon took a deep breath and lowered the picture frame and showed the person in the picture to Leonard.
There was a young woman there, not over 18. She had blue eyes and a long light brown hair, with round face.
"She's pretty. Is that your sister when she was younger?" Leonard asked, even though he doubted that Sheldon would guard a picture of his sister so close to him, let alone sleep with it.
"She wishes." Sheldon said bitterly.
"No. This… is… Elizabeth Kremer."
Silence.
Leonard looked at Sheldon more confused than ever before.
"She…" Sheldon faltered.
"She was my girlfriend."
It was a first that Leonard didn't know how to react to something that Sheldon told him about himself. he didn't even know what to do with his face. The only thing that went through his mind was, Sheldon had a girlfriend? In a way he waited for the bazinga that never came.
Leonard cleared his throat once he noticed they haven't said anything to each other in 2 minutes and that Sheldon is looking at him with a suspicious look. As if he is waiting for Leonard to tease him or question him.
"Um… and… and what happened?" Leonard asked quietly. He was still shocked at what Sheldon has revealed to him.
"She…" Sheldon started but Leonard could see it was difficult for him so he did not pressure him.
A few moments of silence passed by, in which Sheldon tightened his hold on the picture frame and trued to compose himself.
Eventually Sheldon looked at Leonard straight in the eyes, "She died 10 years ago." Sheldon finally said.
Leonard didn't know what to say. He only looked at Sheldon with sympathy in his eyes.
"H-how?" Leonard stammered.
"She was in the air force. She was training when her plane and another plane collided and everyone who were on those planes died." Sheldon said with a broken voice.
"She… she was a pilot?" Leonard could only ask.
"Yes. she was based in Texas, but she aimed to be stationed in the Florida base." Sheldon smiled sadly at the young woman in the picture as he gently caressed the frame, as if he is caressing her locks again.
"I… I'm sorry…" Leonard whispered. He never imagined Sheldon carried this with him. he knew that Sheldon lost his father and grandfather at a young age, but from the first moment they met it never occurred to Leonard that Sheldon was ever in a relationship.
"May I ask a question?"
"Okay…"
"How… um… how long were you together?"
"Well… I was in my last year of my first PhD and she was in her last year of her B.A. we were both 15 and half when we met and we started dating towards the end of the school year, so we were both 16, so we were together for about 4 years." Sheldon said as he thought back on the time he and Elizabeth met.
"And… what class did you take that both of you attended to?"
"Philosophy. We needed some extra credit and I took all the science classes already and when she tried to register for the science classes, they were all full so she took philosophy." Sheldon explained.
"Um… what was her major?" Leonard asked quietly. He didn't want to push Sheldon on the subject, but it seems that Sheldon actually was a but it seems that Sheldon was relieved talking about his girlfriend.
"Chemistry. I always tried to understand why she was so fascinated with this topic. I always told her she can understand materials through physics as well, but she was fascinated with how to create them and separate them and the reactions of the materials… I still don't get it, but she was so passionate about it and she was always excited when she talked about her classes, that I couldn't help but let it go." Sheldon chuckled in sadness.
"You said she aimed for the base in Florida…?" Leonard asked quietly.
"Yes…" Sheldon said with a confused tone.
"Well…what were you going to do once she was stationed there?" Leonard asked quietly. The Sheldon he knows today wouldn't budge from his spot on the couch, so it seems weird that he would move for someone else. Then again, he never thought Sheldon had a girlfriend for 4 years.
"We had everything planned out. I was going to move with her to Florida and I would work there doing my research… but then… well… the accident happened… so I moved here… a place that won't make me think about her constantly or what would have been… clearly it had little very effect." Sheldon sighed heavily.
"I'm… I'm really sorry Sheldon." Leonard said quietly. He was overwhelmed with all the new information he just learned about Sheldon, especially from the fact that Sheldon was very committed to his girlfriend.
"Thank you… just… please don't say a word to the others…" Sheldon pleaded.
"I won't. I promise." Leonard raised his right hand as in oath.
"Thank you."
There was a tense silence before Leonard broke it once more.
"So… um… are you going to a certain ceremony today?" Leonard asked hesitantly.
"No. I'm going for a walk… maybe I'll go to the Planetarium at UCLA. We always loved to look at the stars and talk about it…" Sheldon said with a sad smile.
"Oh… okay… um… if… if it will help… I'm willing to come with… if you want to not feel alone…" Leonard stammered.
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Sheldon sad with an appreciative tone.
"Sure… sure." Leonard nodded in understanding.
They sat there for a few moments later before Sheldon spoke again.
"So… um… I'll go and get ready. I'll see you later today." Sheldon said as he rose from his spot on the couch.
"Okay." Leonard said and stayed in his seat.
Once Leonard heard Sheldon closing the door to the bathroom, he leaned back in the chair and let out a heavy sigh. Never in a million years he would have expected this story coming from Sheldon, but it only showed him that even though he thought he knows Sheldon pretty good, no one could ever really know a person… especially when that person is Sheldon Cooper.
When Sheldon came out of the bathroom ready for the day, Leonard was still sitting in the white chair, still processing everything that Sheldon has just told him.
"So… I'm going out." Sheldon said as he looked at Leonard who looked a bit weird.
"Oh… Okay. Will you join us for dinner?" Leonard asked Sheldon, since in the last week Sheldon hasn't joined them for dinner.
"I don't think so." Sheldon answered as he walked towards his desk to put on his windbreaker and then grabbed his messenger bag.
"Okay. see you later." Leonard said and Sheldon only nodded as he left the apartment for his usual walk.
Like every other thing in Sheldon's life, since he moved to California, he a specific course in his walks, that became more frequent when the anniversary of Elizabeth's death and Memorial Day were getting closer.
Sheldon always had respect for Memorial Day, but it seems like life played a cruel trick on him 10 years ago when Elizabeth died on May 28, 2000 – a day before Memorial Day that year.
As usual, Sheldon walked his usual path, thinking about everything he and Elizabeth shared over the course of 4 years, the plans they had once Liz and him will move to Florida, how he occasionally looked at engagement rings and how it scared him and made him feel happy all at the same time.
He thought about everything in the most vivid way, as if it happened yesterday. That was the problem with having an eidetic memory; Sheldon remembered everything to the smallest detail – the good and the bad. How he felt the first time they kissed, the first time they said 'I love you', the first time they committed to each other, but at the same time he remembered the less pleasant moments as well – the arguments (that eventually always been resolved thanks to Liz's patience and the way she always contained Sheldon's quirks) and the most horrible day in his life.
He remembered how he was in his and Liz's apartment in Austin and his mom just came to visit him and there was a knock on the door. he was confused when he saw through the peephole three men in uniforms. He opened the door for them and recognized that at least one of them wore an air force uniform. Once they confirmed that he was indeed Sheldon Cooper, he let them in quietly. He never was good with social cues, but this time he had an ominous feeling, and once the soldier with the air force uniform told him what happened to Liz, he didn't know what to with himself.
He remembered how he sat next to his mother, still. It was the first time in Sheldon's life that he had trouble grasping and understanding the concept of death. He lost his father and his grandfather and he understood the concept quicker than he understood the toughest equation. It took him some time to come to terms with it, especially when his Pop-Pop died, but he understood it nonetheless.
Not this time. Not with Liz. Not with the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Not with the first and only woman he ever loved and loved him back that wasn't his mother or his Meemaw. He just couldn't accept it. he didn't want to accept it. he thought that someone is playing a cruel joke on him, but that wasn't the case.
Even at Liz's funeral he still couldn't fathom the fact that it was her coffin covered in the United Stated flag and that she was lying inside.
It took Sheldon a long time to accept the fact that Liz was gone. Even after he moved to California, he still hoped she will call him and ask him where is he and that she'll tell him she misses him and that she'll see him soon – just like she did when they talked in the evening when she was in the base in San Antonio and he was at home in Austin, after they had long days of work and studying.
He kept walking and thinking about Liz until someone stopped him before he bumped into them.
"Hey… careful." A small voice said and got Sheldon out of his musing.
He looked at the direction of the voice, and saw a woman with brown hair with a hair pin on the right said, glasses, blue sweater and a brown skirt and black orthopedic shoes, looking right at him; leaning back a little. As he looked at her position, he saw how close they were to collide.
"I'm sorry." Sheldon said and reached his hand towards her, not wanting her to fall down, and she took it for balance.
"Thank you. it's alright. You seem pretty deep in thoughts." The woman said.
"Yes… yes… I'm sorry." Sheldon said again and then he looked at his surrounding and recognized it immediately.
It was the same building, the same coffee house that his feet lead him to in the last 8 years, since he moved to California in 2002.
It was the center he read about back in 2002, where they have meetings to support people who lost their dear ones during military operations and military training accidents. Sheldon always found himself at this place but he never once entered a meeting. He always ended up sitting at the coffee house next door.
He was once again deep in thoughts, when the woman, who's name he still didn't know, talked to him again.
"I… I've noticed you come here a lot…" She said quietly.
"Pardon me?" Sheldon asked her with a little anger in his voice.
"I'm sorry. I come here a lot too and I've seen you here a lot. Always sitting at the café." She said quietly.
"Are you spying on me?" Sheldon asked with anger.
"No, no. I'm sorry." She said and started walking away from Sheldon who stayed put on his place.
She looked back at him and returned to him.
"It's scary to go in. I know. I've been there, but it can help. Nothing will ever truly help, but the knowledge that there are people who can understand what a little about what you are going through… it can help." She said and started to walk away, but Sheldon started to talk before she was too far away from earshot.
"How would you know?" He asked.
"I told you. I've been there. Twice." She said as she came closer to him.
"Twice?" Sheldon looked at her with raised eyebrow, as if he doesn't believe her.
"Yes." Was all she said.
"Um… two… two different times?" Sheldon stammered.
"Same time. two loved ones." She said.
"I… I'm sorry." Sheldon whispered.
"Thank you." She whispered back.
They stood there quietly before the woman took out a card and handed it to Sheldon.
"I… I don't do that at all, but it seems you might need someone. This is my card… if… if you want to talk about it…" She said.
"Thank you…" Sheldon said quietly as he took her card and looked at it to see her name.
"Thank you… Amy Farrah Fowler." He said and looked at her with a small smile.
"You're welcome…" she said and looked at him, waiting for him to tell her his name.
"Sheldon Cooper." Sheldon said as he realized he hasn't introduced himself.
"You're welcome, Sheldon Cooper." She said and turned around and went to her car.
Sheldon stood there for a few moments, scanning the card the woman named Amy Farrah Fowler gave him.
Amy Farrah Fowler, Neurobiologist, PhD.
It had her cellular number and what Sheldon assumed was her office number since it says on the card she works at UCLA.
What are the odds? Sheldon thought as he saw she works at UCLA.
Then he did what he does best; calculated the odds. They were slim, but they were still there. He then kept going a little further and entered the coffee house, ordered tea and sat in his usual spot.
A/N:
Thank you all so much for your reviews on the first chapter. I can't tell you enough how much it means to me that you read my stories, especially this new one.
As I previously stated, I did not forget about my other stories, but I really wanted to write this story before I'll forget it or won't have the motivation, but by no means it means I forgot about my other stories, so thank you so much for your support and your reviews.
As always, I would love to read your thoughts about this chapter so leave them here.