Chapter 19

Thanks again to ShAmy4evr for fixing all my mistakes and being the best and supportive friend ever. She really makes this story readable, folks!

Gritting his teeth, sweat dripping down his face, one Barry Kripke in his sights and the memories of Amy wrapped in his arms earlier. It was nearly a perfect day. One squeeze of his trigger, and the sound of Sheldon's final shot rang out through the air, then a loud splat. It was on the tree behind Barry Kripke, and seemingly it hadn't hit the mark. Kripke had him. He was trapped, and exposed. Sheldon drew in a searing breath and braced for Kripke's rapid fire. Kripke rose from the bushes with a swagger, and gave Sheldon a sinister leer. He raised his gun and shot five rounds at Sheldon, three of which hit him in the chest. The battle was almost over. Sheldon lowered his rifle in defeat as Kripke raised his up in victory. However, achieving victory had been as much of a fight as getting the team focused on the paintball championship itself.

As soon as they had arrived for the battle, there had been trouble. Howard was love sick over his failed date with Bernadette and his mind was less than focused on the day before them. Raj was fretting over his love interest's lack of communication and had checked his phone at least 20 times before Sheldon lost patience and threw it out of the shed. Leonard had a grin that nearly split his face and was in such a good mood, it was distracting.

"Gentleman! I had one Amy Farrah Fowler wrapped around me like a swirl on an ice cream cone, and you don't see me gettin' all starry eyed! I'm fixin' to pull out a can of whoop ass on all of ya! Now ain't the time for thoughts of females… Unless it's that shifty one in Chemistry. That girl's slicker than eel snot. We gotta take her out!"

Sheldon had his battle face on, and with that rifle in his hand, his accent was thick as mud as he started to outline their strategy. Leonard and Raj would watch their flank, and cover from behind. Howard would follow behind him, shielded by his team mates and utilizing his small size. When the enemy thought they could get Leonard, Wolowitz would sneak out and cut them all down.

The guys started muttering something, but Sheldon had had enough and was about ready to throw the lot out, when they were almost cornered by Bert lumbering toward them. His rifle was down and he seemed unaware or disinterested that he could be falling into a trap.

Raj whispered, "What's up with Bert? He seems glum, and that is saying a lot given his usual facial expression would make an accountant at tax season look happy."

Wolowitz tried to wave him away from the group, "Get outta here! The battle hasn't even started yet and as soon as it does, you're a gonner!"

Sheldon recognized that expression immediately. He had seen it reflected in the mirror too many times growing up when his siblings had left him out of games.

"I think I know. HEY BERT!" Sheldon called to him. "Come on over here!"

Bert was caught off guard, and in a panic at hearing Sheldon's voice, he looked around for an escape, but there was none. However when Leonard stuck his nose out of the shed Bert relaxed a little and timidly lumbered toward the shed keeping his eyes focused on the ground, not wanting to look Sheldon in the eye.

"Hey Bert. What's wrong? The battle starts in like 3 minutes!" Leonard had always had a soft spot for poor ol' Bert.

Bert slumped down on a hay stack and took off his helmet. The gang sat next to him to try to comfort him, but it wasn't helping Bert's mood. "Not for me. My team isn't coming. They all decided to go to a Rock show in Santa Monica this weekend and forgot to invite me or remember that we had a paintball team at all. We never win anyway, so it doesn't matter… No one wants to be on my team and that Kripke will win anyway… Jerk." Bert spat Kripke's name out and Sheldon knew he had met a kindred spirit.

"Horse hockey!" Sheldon announced. "You can be on our team!"

Bert perked up immediately, "Really! I thought you hated me!?"

"Nonsense." Sheldon thought about his behavior with Bert and looked down with guilt, "I was just jealous over the attention Amy was givin' ya. She's my girlfriend now, so that's all over and done with."

"Really? I thought she was just lying about you at first. So you're really not going to shove carbon up my butt so I make diamonds?"

Sheldon looked away, not only a little ashamed at the raging anger he had aimed at Bert last week, but also embarrassed by the look that Leonard was giving him as well. Instead he took in a breath and smiled at Bert, "No sir. We are good and now, let's get ol' Kripke!"

"Okay!" Bert was elated and ready for action. Sheldon nodded to Leonard who returned it in agreement.

Raj snickered and said, "Besides, we need all the help we can get since Howard seems impotent about holding his rifle."

Howard turned a lovely shade of red as he screamed at Raj, "HEY! I told you about my date with Bernadette in confidence!"

Raj snorted, "Dude… I was talking about paintball, but okay…"

Sheldon snapped at his team, "Never you mind that. Get your mind on the battle, and then take that confidence back to the bedroom!"

Wolowitz finally smiled, and had to agree, "That's a good idea."

"Of course it is. Now... Koothrapali, go get your phone and tell them powers that be that the Army Ants got one more on their team!"

Leonard interrupted, "I thought we were the Perpetual Motion Squad?"

Sheldon shrugged and pointed to Rajesh, "Whatever just don't call Yvette till we have achieved victory. Remember…only heroes get the girl, and Jamba Juice!" Sheldon turned toward his newest team member, "Now, Bert. Let me tell ya how we will make Barry Kripke's head explode like rhyolitic lava."

"Now you're talkin!" Bert got a scowl on his face and growled out, "Let's go get em!"

But as Bert stood up Sheldon realized they had a problem: he was too big not to be a target. Sheldon knew what do to and changed the strategy. With Bert's help, the team ferreted out a lot of the other team's crack shots. Raj was gunned down early in a glorious spread of bullets, but then the team knew were all the other snipers were. Sheldon picked them off one by one. Slowly, more teams were decimated till it seemed it was only Kripke and Sheldon who were left.

Kripke was the last of his team and after he had shot Sheldon with the three rounds he licked his lips in victory and called out to Sheldon:

"How do you say, All hat and no cattle?" Kripke strolled over to Sheldon to gloat, but before he could reach him, Kripke was hit with over 10 rounds from a sniper in the bushes. Sheldon rose as a phoenix from the fire and smiled as he saw his enemy's shield marking their team's victory with a squelch of green paint.

"Hey! Your team is all dead, Sheldon! You can't cheat like that! I got you, you're the last!"

"Well, Barry. It seems you underestimated me once again. We got one more on our team."

Bert emerged from the bushes where he had been hiding the whole time. "Seems like you miss-counted. I knew you were bad at math." Bert had found the perfect spot on the ridge early on in the game. But only by getting Kripke to lower his guard, could he be targeted. Getting to this spot on the ridge had been harrowing and Leonard and Howard had sacrificed themselves to do it. And so with the help of his friends, both old and new, Sheldon secured his team's victory.

Kripke looked at Sheldon, "How could you let him take the shot and be the last man standing? I thought you were going to cut me down and you MISSED!"

"Did I miss, Kripke? I think not. It got you outta your hole, huh? I don't need to be the one to take you down, Kripke. I learned something these last few weeks: Whatever it takes! Now, if you'll excuse me, I think this man needs a Jamba Juice! Come on now, Bert!" Sheldon smacked Bert on the shoulder and the two walked off the battle field, grinning through their dirty masks.

Sheldon's smile faded when Bert said, "GREAT! Now that we are friends, we can go the Santa Monica Rock Show on Tuesday! It's the last day of it!"

Sheldon turned to Leonard in horror, "Do friends go to useless events discussing banal wannbe science just to appease their 'chums'?"

Leonard smirked, "Yep. It's a non-optional social convention Sheldon, for chums that is."

"Tuesday? But I eat a hamburger at the Cheesecake Factory on Tuesday now." This was only part of the reason that Sheldon was reluctant to go, but he also knew that Amy would want him to be nice to Bert after the way he had treated him recently.

Bert thought for a moment, "Well… the rock show is on Sunset. I sometimes stop at this hamburger and hot dog place on the way home. It's in an old Union Pacific Yellow Rail Car. But you wouldn't be interested…I think it's called Carney's."

At least that helped. "Well it looks like ya got yourself a date." Sheldon smiled at a Bert's happy face.

After their victory Jamba Juice, Sheldon was finally able to talk to Leonard about a subject that he knew had to be tackled. The battle had distracted him, but now as they pulled up outside Sheldon's apartment block he felt it was time to come clean to his friend or chum as the case may be.

"Leonard… I'm sorry about his mornin'. I'm not used to sayin' sorry, but I know I should say it to you. I promised.. and… you should come up so we can go over things… Maybe we should talk about it more…" Sheldon tried to look enthusiastic but failed miserably.

Leonard did not say anything until had entered the lobby. It was a long 5 minutes of waiting before Leonard said a word, but he was in too good a mood to torture his friend anymore. Looking at Sheldon's downcast expression he wrapped his arms around him, "Sheldon my friend… No need. I'm not going to move in with you."

"But!" Sheldon gave a halfhearted plea to Leonard, but he couldn't hide his relief. Sheldon's mind was quickly working out to how he could get the one person in the world he truly wanted, to be his roommate: Amy. Leonard smiled as he saw through his fake pleas.

"No Buts! I will be moving in upstairs! It's all sorted. I texted the landlord this morning, and after I get cleaned up, I'll be back to sign the lease so I that can move in next week. I could use some help setting up my stereo, though."

"STEREO!? Like with Low base? Dear lord, what fresh hell do you have in store for me? Having you next door was going to be bad enough, now I have you overhead! I had to deal with that blond bimbo bouncing on the bed at all hours of the night! You don't jump on the bed, do ya Leonard?"

Leonard had to laugh at his friend, soon to be neighbor, "No, Sheldon. I don't. Don't worry." Leonard smiled as Sheldon pressed the call for the lift. "Thanks Sheldon. I'm sorry we won't be roommates, but we will still see each other a lot."

"I'm glad, Leonard." Just as the elevator arrived, Amy walked into the apartment building.

"Hey you guys, how was the day!?" Amy had never seen Sheldon so dirty, so dusty, so completely covered in paint and sweat and testosterone. She was thankful that Leonard was standing there, or she just might have thrown Sheldon up against a wall again.

Sheldon was thrilled to show off his new trophy and beamed with pride, "We were victorious! And I just found out that Leonard will be my neighbor!"

"Neighbor? Not roommate?" Amy looked to Leonard for confirmation and he nodded with glee.

Leonard was elated, "Nope! Best day ever! No flossing requirements or bed checks and we can still have our games and dinner together during the week!"

Sheldon was happy as well, till he had a thought and his demeanor changed as he scowled at Leonard, "As long as it's not that Korean Mexican miscellany."

Amy added her two cents. "Well I have a craving for Chinese, since we missed it." She smiled at Sheldon who returned her smile, and was about to offer to take Amy out when Leonard added, "Great! I'll roust the gang and we can get Chinese tonight for our victory dinner! Just like you wanted! Anyway, gotta get cleaned up before I can sign that lease! See ya then!" Leonard took off from the lobby before Sheldon could say another word.

Leonard was keen to get the group together as an excuse to see Penny again, and before the elevator had even arrived at Sheldon's floor, he had received a text from Leonard telling him that Raj had also been invited along with his new lady love, Yvette. By the time Sheldon had unlocked the apartment door, Howard had texted to say he would come and would extend the invitation to Bernadette. Sheldon was not happy that the group had self-invited themselves on Sheldon's date. He entered the apartment and dropped down on the couch.

"So much for our Star Wars Date, Amy…"

"Oh Come on. Those guys? They will jump at the chance to watch your space show!"

"They won't want to do that Amy. They'll just talk about some darn fool thing." He continued to complain to Amy that he was disappointed because he was also going to be missing out on his precious Amy alone time especially as this had been reduced thanks to his new commitments as a friend to Bert. But the truth laid within one word: Desire. That was the real reason he was in moping about like a petulant child. He was reluctant to snuggle up with Amy with the nosey nellies commenting on his amorous ways. Having Amy curled up with him in their fort had been the best night of his life and he yearned to feel her on his chest again.

He looked over and saw Amy's face blossoming with a bright smile at the prospect of having so many friends to share the evening with, how could he deny her that? Though he also had to admit that having friends eager to spend time with him so that they could bask in his genius was almost as good as a Star Wars marathon. Almost.

"Don't worry Sheldon. Tonight, we will MAKE them watch Star Wars! You've waited long enough." She added playfully, "…and I will stay a while longer, just to make sure I give you a proper good bye tonight."

"BEST DAY EVER!" Sheldon jumped off the couch and rushed to clean up. Amy settled down in her spot on the couch and looked around the room. No Leonard as a roommate was an interesting development and one that Amy tried desperately not to fantasize about as she noticed the empty shelves behind her begging for a monkey statue to adorn the austere décor.

The Star Wars/Chinese night was a hit. Los Robles was buzzing with activity. Sheldon selected Episode Five – The Empire Strikes Back to watch, as he knew he would not be able to watch Episode Four without reliving their morning activities again. His eidetic memory was at times a double edged sword.

Raj had brought Yvette, who as it turned out, loved Star Wars as much as the guys. She also seemed to be as enamored with Raj as much as he was with her. Sheldon, of course, took credit for Raj's new love since he had insisted Raj wait to call her, and not show he was so needy. Raj let him think it.

After a quick rearrangement of the furniture all were ready to watch the epic battle begin. Penny and Leonard were snuggled on the beige chair like an ol 'married couple. Bernadette had bagged the second arm chair which had been brought nearer the couch, and Howard sat forward on the edge of the couch next to her like a nervous little bird eyeing Bernadette for any crumb of affection. Raj and Yvette took up the desk chair, with Raj next to her on the floor looking lovingly at her any time she made a sound or comment about the film.

But Sheldon didn't care about who sat where or with whom. He had Amy by his side, her hand in his, watching his favorite show, eating normal food and their paintball trophy displayed proudly on the shelf. He didn't think life could get much better than that evening. Amy even stayed later as promised, just to watch the special features and nuzzle a little longer without the gawkers. The kiss that Amy gave him goodbye was the icing on his cake, and he had a smile on his face till he went to his bedroom and looked at his bed. If only she was lying there waiting for him, it would have been perfect. He could only hope but soon enough, he promised, she would be.

Monday morning, Amy had texted Sheldon that she would pick him up outside the apartment building. She had feared that if she came for their usual cup of tea and early morning chat, she would be tempted to ravage him before they had even reached the door. Little did she know that Sheldon had the same worries, and though he was disappointed, he was also a little relieved.

Their intimate weekend was over, but the tension spawned from their activities was palpable. Just the sight of his smiling face waiting for her as her car pulled up was enough to set her heart racing. Sheldon tried to focus on his discussion about his last research into Dark Matter, but could not keep his eyes from Amy's pale and tempting neck. The mere glimpse of her flashing green eyes would bring up memories of her moans and he would relive the ghost touch of her skin or the lingering scent still on his lips.

Thankfully, work was only a short drive and the couple made their way to through the halls of Caltech without much delay. As usual, Sheldon had walked Amy to her lab, but once they had entered, the fight was over. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the mirrored room. He shut the door, and stalked her back to her counter to give her a kiss good bye. However, Sheldon's good bye kisses lately were never just short pecks or even chaste. Each kiss he gave her flooded her with endorphins, igniting every muscle and she swore she could feel her bones quiver in her skin. With little effort, he hoisted her on the counter, to gain better access to her neck. Her legs parted as he pushed his way closer to her making her skirt ride up her thighs and Sheldon's hands were following behind helping the journey. His strong grip on her thighs only fueled him to move his hands further up her sides, toward her cardigan. It was a simple maneuver to start popping the buttons. Sheldon's mind was no longer his own, it had been lost to his endocrine system. He was only thankful that Amy didn't have electrodes strapped to his head, because how he felt now he knew that the display would have blown out the fuses.

He nibbled on her neck, as he felt her hands on his shoulders pulling him closer, he sucked harder which was sure to leave a mark. But Sheldon could not have cared if his actions would have marked up Amy like a Leopard. In fact, he wanted to mark her, claim her as his own. His hind brain was in control and it would take little for him to give in.

Sheldon heard that familiar and lyrical yearning moan echo in his chest and was one step away from throwing all the paper on the floor and laying her down over the surface of the counter when his eyes noticed something on the mirrored wall. He nearly dead dropped Amy and gulped with reddish blush blooming over his face.

Amy turned around to see Eddy, with a sheepish grin holding a piece of paper plastered on the glass wall. It said, "THE MIC IS ON, SWEETIES."

"Oh dear god!" Amy leaped off the counter and straightened out her hair, flustered and flush. She looked at the mirror on the wall and saw her neck riddled with marks. Sheldon bowed his head in shame, but Amy was elated. However, one fact remained. Sheldon Cooper was far too much of a temptation, especially at work. With a grin, she snapped playfully at him, "How the hell am I going to make it through the week at work with you!"

With that she barreled past Sheldon and exited the room to pull the sign off the glass wall. She was pleased that this was the last week she had the interns. As soon as they were gone, perhaps she could convince Sheldon to repeat the actions of the morning, but this time with electrodes, making a note to herself to add extra surge protectors.

After he had calmed himself down, Sheldon exited the room, nodded a smile to Amy, blushed at Eddy's wink after he eyed him up and down and left before he could say anything else. They now seemed to have crossed an invisible line and Sheldon knew that it was going to be too tempting to be so close to Amy during work time. He quickly went to his office, trying to talk himself down from the burgeoning arousal that seemed chronic any time Amy was near.

"So this was what was wrong with number Three! No wonder that guy was always smilin'!" Sheldon laughed to himself and started to work.

At lunch, the guys were a twitter over the news of the latest Star Wars movie until Leonard turned the conversation to their favored key scenes from the plot of Episode Four. Raj and Howard did not notice Amy's constant fiddling with her blouse collar or her 'cat who ate the canary grin' as she tried to ignore of their conversation and the sly smirk that covered Sheldon's face.

However each time they mentioned Obi-Wan or light sabers, Amy's color heightened and her lip shook as she nervously crossed her legs.

Raj chimed in, "Dude, when Darth Vader struck down Obi Wan… Oh man. I still cry."

Amy let out a soft cry, but not from grief, but lustful memory. Sheldon tried to hide his grin, but Howard mistook her apparent concern, "Don't worry Amy, he comes back in an ethereal state and helps young Luke..."

Amy heard not a word as she remembered Sheldon caressing her skin, teasing her nipples and glazing her body with a feather like kisses. Between those memories and the slight pain on her neck bringing into focus Sheldon's amorous activities from the morning, Amy was almost lost in a world of pleasure.

"The Trash compactor scene. Classic."

Amy could barely contain her moan as if she felt again the pressure of Sheldon's hands on her ribs and chest.

But as Leonard gave a beautiful description of Luke Skywalker's attack on the Death Star that mirrored Sheldon's verbatim tale, Amy was near convulsive levels.

"Oh God, when Luke blasted those two shots into the heart of the Death Star, hitting the exact spot… It was explosively tense! Like a building, burning tension had finally been released with one flick of his finger!"

Amy jumped off her seat, "Oh God!" She was flushed and breathless, and jumped off her chair with a start. "Excuse me… I got to… go brush my teeth!" Amy rushed off without another word.

"Geez! She must really like Star Wars, Sheldon!" Raj was impressed that Sheldon had been able to get Amy to even watch Star Wars, let alone get her so captivated by the franchise so quickly.

Sheldon, "Oh, she LOVES Star Wars." He went back to lunch, but his side grin was undeniable.

Leonard crossed his arms as a sly smile formed on his mouth, "Really? I thought she liked Little House on the Prairie Sheldon. You know. The Ingalls family…I believe that she is especially interested in their method of making butter." Leonard didn't have to say another word before Sheldon's smug grin had dropped from his face.

Leonard was fully aware of what had made Amy so flushed, and he knew it had nothing to do with the Star Wars movie. Also having heard Sheldon's deep throated cry when he called out the name of Ms. Ingalls he was fairly certain that that too had nothing to do with the show.

Sheldon gave a deep swallow and jumped off his seat. "Yes, well…she loves that as well… TOO MUCH…" Sheldon grabbed his tray and held it in front of himself. "Excuse me gentleman… I must… Um… Help Amy with her teeth." He rushed off before the guys could say another word.

"What was that all about" Howard wondered as he and Raj starred at Sheldon's departing back stunned.

Leonard just shook his head "Oh you know, just Sheldon being Sheldon." and he smiled as he dove into his salad.

Howard went back to complaining about his failed date with Bernadette on Saturday and the fact that even though she had joined the group last night, the situation between them had not eased. Raj continued to check his phone for texts from Yvette bemoaning yet again that she had not responded to the last 10 texts he had sent her.

Leonard had had enough. "Guys! What is with you!? Raj you had a great time with Yvette last night, don't ruin it with too many calls. Remember what Sheldon said!"

Raj reluctantly put away his phone, "You're right. I need to back off. But it's not in my nature! Calling incessantly until to the wee hours that is right in my wheel house."

"Well, maybe that is why you have been single for so long. Look, if Sheldon says take your time, I'd listen to him. He convinced Penny to ask me on a date! He got a girl for Howard Wolowitz! Imagine it! A real one! Not plastic! No circuits… No download required. I mean, come on… Howard?"

"WE GET IT LEONARD!" Howard snapped.

Raj had to agree, "I have to admit, Sheldon Cooper does have a way with the ladies."

Howard sat back in chair and stabbed at his salad, "Yeah, remind me to ask him how to fix things with Bernie. I think I might need some Sheldon Cooper advice of the bedroom variety. I can't imagine a universe that Howard Wolowitz would be afraid of having sex, but I guess this is it… I'm doomed…"

"Dude…speaking of other universes, I bet there is an alternate dimension that Sheldon Cooper is not good with women. Can you even imagine?" Raj shook his head, not able to believe his own words.

"No… I really can't imagine." Leonard leaned toward the group to tell a secret, and they all leaned in eagerly, "Given what I heard on Sunday, guys… Sheldon is a more than a woman whisper. He's a GOD!"

Little did the guys know that the God was having his own battle with Heaven. Seeing Amy at work was near torture, and the brief time he spent with her when she drove him to and from work every day was making the situation worse. However, if they were roommates, his Amy to work ratio time would not be so taxing. Only as her roommate could he get ANYTHING done.

After Sheldon had utilized every chant of Kolinahr he could repeat, he returned to his white board ready to work. The formulas that he had had such a hard time coaxing from his mind just weeks before, now flowed out of him like raging torrent. He was busy scribbling on the white board his latest idea to prove the existence of multiple dimensions, and did not notice that he had an audience until the visitor cleared his throat.

"Cooper! You seem to be doing well." Gablehauser stepped into the room brandishing a large smile. This only served to worry Sheldon who had never seen that expression from the Head of the Department before, especially aimed in his direction. "Working on site must suit you."

"Um.. yes. So it seems. Although having a door helps. Usually people knock before they enter." Sheldon drew in a long breath and glared at Gablehauser. He went over to his desk and sat in his chair with a fake smile. He had just been about to complete his equation before he had been brought out of his zone.

Ignoring Sheldon's comment, Gablehauser ploughed on. "Good… Glad to hear it. I'm here because I want to submit your proposal for the MacArthur grant along with Kripke's. I received your memo that working with Kripke was akin to Shakespeare collaborating with the author of 50 Shades of Grey."

Sheldon had to smirk as his own genius, "Well. That was generous… I mean, I heard the book is not that bad. Not like Kripke bad, anyway."

"Well, Kripke has done a lot of work on String theory, while you haven't. If you want to switch fields, you need to get some advice from those in the know. But you can submit it separately. If it looks good, we might still get that funding. Ready to spend the rest of the summer in Geneva? I heard the summers are delightful…"

Sheldon jumped out of his chair so fast it was flung against the wall, "GENEVA? How the hell can I go to Geneva?"

"On a plane?" Gablehauser was completely perplexed by Sheldon's response. He had thought he would jump at the chance to get out of the office and away from people, "You'll love it Dr. Cooper. Four months, pure research to work on your proposal. I hear that they put you up in this little cabin on the slopes of the Jura Mountains. Complete solitude. Isn't that what you wanted?"

For once in his life, Sheldon was speechless, he couldn't say a word, not a peep, as panic flooded him. Just as his life was on track, he would again be exiled to a lonely existence. Gablehauser was unaware of the consternation his good news had caused and took Sheldon's silence as stunned pleasure.

"Anyway, they won't make their decision for a few weeks, so that'll give you time to get some skiing lessons in, ay Cooper. Unless they give it to Kripke. But he hasn't even submitted his work yet and between you and me, given what I see on your board here… I don't think he has a snowball in hell's chance …" Gablehauser smiled and said before he left, "Glad you're back Cooper. This will be huge for you."

"Yes… Huge…" Sheldon slumped back on his chair.

A/N: WHAT!? Drama! Your Author just loves the angst. What will Sheldon do?

Only about four more chapters left of this story, folks. Then it's a wrap. Don't worry. I have a bow for it! *WInk

Next time, someone finds out about the Congress of Sheldons! DUN DUN DUN!