Summary: "Why?"… "Why?"… "Oh, that's why." Starting after 10.08, "The Brain Bowl Incubation," this is a series of post episode stories to fill in some of the gaps of season 10. Each chapter is a stand-alone of sorts, so you don't need to read the earlier ones to understand this.

Chapter 8, post-ep for 10.19, "The Collaboration Fluctuation": Now that Amy has begun working with Sheldon, she fears that he might become overwhelmed by the amount of time they spend together.

I.

"That list is strong," says Sheldon. "Like your mother's urge to be promiscuous with sailors."

Amy is so entranced by the way he is gazing at her that it takes several seconds for his words to register in her brain. The insult to her mother is allowed under their new set of ground rules, and she supposes that it should irritate her, but his body language is telling an entirely different story than the words he speaks. She could swear that he is flirting with her.

There's one sure way to find out, and it's not like she's going to let this latest verbal jab go without a retort anyway. "Sheldon, I understand that you may be feeling a bit intellectually inferior given your difficulties getting through today's math, but seeing as how we're done for the day, I think taking shots at my mother is a bit unnecessary, don't you?"

He pushes aside his tea and walks around the kitchen island to stand next to her. Gesturing at the corrected math on the whiteboards, he says, "We are done for now, that's true. So I suppose it would also be unnecessary for me to correct you yet again."

Of course her Sheldon can't let it go. That's fine with her; she doesn't really want him to. Amy feels the rush of heat to her cheeks as his words begin to rattle her. She gets to her feet and straightens her spine, standing as tall as she can. Even at her full height, she remains considerably shorter than her boyfriend. "Correct me how?" she dares him.

Leaning into her personal space, Sheldon braces his arms against the kitchen countertop, one on either side of her. "My math skills can only carry us so far. Those equations were never going to work out in a meaningful way until you made the appropriate contributions. It's not my fault that you were lagging behind."

"I see you're finally willing to admit it then," she says. Their mouths are so close together that she can feel his breath on her lips. "Your math and your physics need a real-world science like mine in order to have any true meaning."

"You take that back," he whispers.

His eyebrows pinch inward and his nostrils flare as she shakes her head in defiance. Riling him up is a lot of fun. There's nothing she enjoys quite so much as watching Sheldon's higher brain centers doing battle with the impulses of his more primitive side. Intellectual intrigue tends to bring forth both passion and desire in him, and adding a touch of anger only magnifies the process.

Within seconds, he gives in and kisses her, wrapping his arms around her upper back to tug her in closer. Though their teeth briefly click together and the initial contact is sloppy, as the seconds tick by she finds that what he lacks in finesse he makes up for with his enthusiasm.

Everyday kisses from Sheldon rarely involve even the slightest hint of an open mouth, but this sort of kiss is entirely different. He sucks on her lower lip and then moves on to more or less map out her entire mouth with his tongue.

Her brain is spinning with desire as well as a variety of random thoughts: She's glad that she hadn't opted to have those onion rings at lunch time… There's a minor error on the second whiteboard that they'll need to address… The kitchen countertop is beginning to dig into her back… And she is running out of breath.

She gasps when Sheldon pulls back, presumably needing to catch his own breath. With his forehead resting against hers, she can sense him struggling to calm down and regain control.

He loosens his grip on her shoulders and tips his head back. "Why do these kinds of arguments with you improve my cognitive thought processes while at the same time making me feeling like my primitive mind wants to take over?"

Still filled with desire for him, Amy's not so sure that she wants him to regain control. His eyes dart all around her face and her body in a way that she only catches him doing when they make out. "I have a theory about that. It's a bit more complicated than a simple fight or flight response, though. I could explain it to you, but since you lack a neuroscience doctorate, I'm not sure that you'd be able to understand."

His hands slide down her back to her hips, and he looks oddly relieved in spite of what she has just said. In fact, her rude words have only managed to spur him to resume their earlier kiss. Then again, he is a genius, and she's certain that he has figured out that it's no longer his anger that she's trying to arouse. When he pulls her hips towards his and presses himself against her, it becomes clear to her that she is succeeding.

As soon as he takes hold of her hands and starts to tug her towards their bedroom, they are interrupted by a noise at the front door. Imitating Sheldon's signature knock, Penny wraps on the door three times and calls out, "Sheldon and Amy?"

They pull themselves apart at the first sound, and somewhere in the midst of the second series of knocks, Sheldon scampers off to their room. Left to answer the door alone, Amy straightens out her sweater vest and takes a few calming breaths. Hopefully the warm burn she can feel blushing her cheeks will fade soon enough that she won't face any prying questions from her bestie.

—-

II.

"I don't know about you ladies, but I'm feeling all kinds of relieved," Penny says as she hands Amy the bottle of wine that she had brought over for girls' night. "The guys don't get together all that often these days, so it's nice that they're going out to play in that silly card tournament tonight. Leonard and Raj have been talking about it all week—not that I can so much as remember the name of it, mind you."

"Mystic Warlords of Ka'a," Amy says. "Sheldon taught me the basics. It's a bit juvenile if you ask me, but every man needs a vice, I suppose.

Bernadette looks impressed. "You actually learned how to play?"

Amy shrugs and begins to pour the wine into glasses. "It was a simple game to learn and it made Sheldon happy. Besides, he had spent the previous evening playing a duet with me while I practiced new songs for my harp."

"Was that what I heard last night?" Penny asks. "What the hell instrument was he playing?"

"The theremin."

Shaking her head in remembered horror, Penny says, "Someone should alert the authorities. They could totally use that thing as a new interrogation method for prisoners."

Bernadette smirks, but shifts the topic, which Penny thinks is for the best since Amy doesn't look too amused by her theremin joke. "Howard tried to convince me to give that game a try too, but Halley has been keeping me up a lot at night this past week. She's teething, so I've been a bit frazzled. Anyway, long story short: I threatened to shove his cards up his nose."

Penny grins at the mental picture of tiny Bernadette threatening someone with a deck of cards. "I haven't felt quite that strongly about it, but I am happy that the guys are going out without us for this. Besides, Leonard has about as much interest in manicures and shopping as I do in fantasy cards and video games, so it's mutual."

"I heard about how Raj was spending a lot of time with you," Bernadette says. "I hope you straightened things out with Leonard. He was so bummed out the other day that he looked like a sad little puppy."

"Yeah, we apologized for leaving him out and then let him pick the next thing for us to go out and do together. And truthfully, I don't mind at all when he leaves me behind to go do stuff with Raj. In fact, it's been great having some time to myself again whenever they leave together. Once Sheldon moved out, it was kinda hard to adjust to spending so much alone time with Leonard. As much as I love him, there is such a thing as too much togetherness, you know?"

Bernadette nods, but Amy tilts her head and asks, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Penny says, trying to think of how to explain. "I guess sometimes I find I need some space to feel like myself again instead of 'Mrs. Leonard Hofstadter'. The distraction of a roommate makes things easier."

"It can be stifling," Bernadette agrees. "With getting married and having a baby, I often feel like my life has been taken over by outside forces. I wonder if I'm using Stuart the same way that you use Raj. It does help a lot to have him around, not only for giving me some baby-free time but also for giving me some Howard-free time."

"Being with Sheldon has always been a challenge, but I've never really thought about the idea of 'too much togetherness'," Amy says.

Unable to stifle her incredulity, Penny squeaks, "Really? You live with that guy now, and you haven't found yourself feeling like you've had too much Sheldon? How is that possible?"

"Maybe she's developed some kind of immunity," Bernadette suggests. Turning to Amy she adds, "No offense, but whenever I've seen Sheldon interact with new people, I get the feeling that they hit their limit of him very quickly. And even with the people he knows well enough to call friends… let's just say that they can hit their limit of him too."

Penny thinks that Bernadette worded that about as kindly as a person ever could.

"I spent so many years wanting more from my relationship with Sheldon. Living with him has felt easy in comparison to that. But maybe you guys have a point. I sleep in the same bed with him every night and drive him almost everywhere. We try our best to take at least some interest in one another's hobbies, and now we're even collaborating on a professional project. It does sound like a lot, but I enjoy his company, and it has never felt like too much." She tilts her head. "Well, I guess maybe that trip to the train museum was pretty close."

"And you did hold firm about this summer's Comic Con trip," Penny points out.

Amy shakes her head no. "Actually, he convinced me to keep an open mind about that and give it a try."

"How the hell did he do that? You were so adamant about not going!"

"He told me that he planned to go dressed as Dumbledore," she mumbles. "I have a certain affinity for Harry Potter costumes. I think it could turn out to be fun."

For some reason, Amy's cheeks turn more and more pink during her admission. Penny wonders if she is embarrassed to have given in to Sheldon's pestering.

"You know, the fact that you've never even thought about how much time you two spend together makes me wonder if Leonard has ever thought about it. Like, I wonder if he ever feels like he needs space from me."

Tilting her head, Bernadette voices agreement. "Yeah, I'm not sure about Howard either."

Amy sets down her glass of wine and squints at them. "Wait a minute. Are you two suggesting that I might be the Leonard or Howard of my relationship, and that maybe it's Sheldon who is the one who feels overwhelmed by all of the time we spend together?"

Bernadette shrugs. "I wasn't suggesting that, but it is an interesting thing to ponder."

A frown forms on Amy's face to accompany her scrunched up eyebrows. While Penny wants to say something to make her feel better, she also wants to be honest. "Sweetie, I have no idea what goes on in that guy's head. He went kinda nuts when they redesigned the graphics on his cereal box last year, so I guess just about anything could be stressful for him. But don't worry about it. One thing I know about him for sure is that he loves you."

"Adding a working relationship into a romantic one sounds tough to me," says Bernadette. "You and Sheldon have your own, um, unique way of going about things, though, and what works for you guys might be different than what works for me or Penny."

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say you guys are different," Penny agrees. "And Ames, as long as you two aren't arguing or otherwise annoying each other, I'm sure you're fine."

Her friend doesn't appear to be reassured by their words. If anything, she looks even more uncertain. "We have been provoking one another, and it's gotten quite… heated. But it's been in the interest of scientific advancement."

Penny points at her. "See that right there is what we mean when we say you're different. Like, I haven't got the slightest freaking idea what you're talking about."

Nudging her half-empty wineglass with her finger, Amy sighs. "If Sheldon has been feeling overwhelmed, it might explain a few things I've been wondering about."

"Well, there's always the obvious way to settle your curiosity," Bernadette says. "Ask him about it."

"I don't know. If I were to ask him directly, I'm not sure that I could get an unbiased answer." Amy rubs her chin and the lines on her forehead grow more pronounced. Penny can barely hear her mumbling to herself when she adds, "There's only one valid way to test this sort of hypothesis."

—-

III.

When Sheldon arrives home after the guys' card tournament, he finds that Penny and Bernadette have already departed. That's fine with him. He has no desire to sit through any sort of gossip or otherwise girly drivel that Penny would no doubt be spouting off.

Amy is sitting on the couch, looking engrossed in whatever she is reading on her iPad. She's particularly attractive when she is deep in thought, and he finds himself remembering their collaborative efforts from earlier in the day. Interacting with her always makes him feel alive and happy in ways that nothing else ever does—even when they are provoking one another to anger.

She looks up when he holds his prize aloft and announces, "To the victor go the Mystical spoils of Ka-a."

"I take it you won the tournament? What are these Mystical spoils of which you speak?"

"Of course I won. The prize was an entire box of the newest expansion set for the game." He gestures at the box with a proud flourish, feeling a bit like a game show hostess.

Amy raises her eyebrows. "So you guys played in this card tournament for the privilege of trying to win more cards? Doesn't the fact that you played and won mean that you already have whatever cards you require? Seems a little redundant to me. It'd be like working to win the Nobel Prize in physics while all the while hoping to be rewarded with some elementary level textbooks."

The comparison is apt, but he's unwilling to admit it. "Some of the cards in the new set are holographic," he sputters. "And it's not like playing the harp or writing fan fiction about a tv show is all that rewarding either, so perhaps you ought not to get judgmental."

"I suppose I shouldn't," she agrees. "Congratulations on besting the competition, Sheldon. I can't say I'm surprised at your superior skills, even at something as menial as a silly card game. We both work very hard on our more serious pursuits, and there's nothing wrong with either of us choosing to goof off during our down time."

"Indeed," he says, pleased that she's come around enough to appreciate his victory and equally pleased by the challenge of their verbal exchange. "And speaking of goofing off, what do you have in mind for this weekend? We could take a break from real science and go browse that geology exhibit that Bert recommended. Or if you prefer, we could opt for the complete mindlessness that a trip to the art museum would provide."

Amy leans forward and deposits her iPad on the table. "That sounds like a good time, but I'm afraid I've already made plans to visit with two of my cousins tomorrow."

Sheldon wants no part of that. Whenever he meets one of her relatives, he can never manage to find the right thing to say. In the interests of being a good boyfriend, however, he knows he must be polite and offer to accompany her. He tries to stuff aside his distaste at the idea as he asks, "Does your little get-together require my presence?"

"No, that's not necessary. Thank you for asking, though."

Relieved, Sheldon feels himself relax as he takes a seat on the couch next to her. "Will you be back in time for laundry night or shall I run yours with mine? I suppose we could also wait and do laundry together on Sunday evening like some poor-planning, last-minute heathens."

"It might be best if you can run both of ours at the normal time. Bernadette wanted to watch a new foreign film that premiers on Sunday, and I think we'll be able to drag Penny along for some cultural enrichment and make a whole day of it."

"That seems like a losing proposition. Surely Penny will sleep through anything with subtitles," he says. Amy shrugs in acknowledgement, and he continues, "I can't say that any of your weekend plans sound particularly appealing."

While he doesn't want to be pathetic or needy like some of his friends often are, he can't help feeling a bit left out. He and Amy usually discuss what they want to do and try to come up with compromises that make them both happy. It's unusual for her to have made so many plans without talking to him, and even more so to have made plans that exclude him altogether.

"Well, I thought that you might appreciate having some extended time to yourself to do whatever you want," Amy explains. "We spend a lot of time together these days, and we've both made a lot of adjustments in our day-to-day lives to accommodate one another."

He sets his hand on her knee. "I see. You think I need to be spending more time thinking about myself."

She squints at him and wrinkles her nose. "That's not exactly what I meant. What I'm trying to say is that I've heard it's healthy for couples to spend some time apart so that neither party feels stifled or overwhelmed. So this weekend is a chance for you to play video games with the guys, build a Lego set, contemplate the mysteries of the cosmos, or even get back to working on your old plans for world domination."

Tilting his head, he considers her words. "That does sound like a fair set of worthy options."

It's not like he hasn't had plenty of practice planning his own weekends over the years. And tonight's trip out with the guys had been a pleasant reminiscence of all the times they once spent playing games together. They don't do that often enough these days. An old-fashioned video game marathon or sci-fi viewing might be fun.

As nice as it sounds, he'd still prefer to have some time with her as well. He's surprised to hear that she's concerned about how much time they spend together after she spent so many years claiming to want more from him. The thought gives him pause. In spite of his initial fears about the matter, he has felt neither stifled nor overwhelmed by their living arrangements and the general merging of their lives. But perhaps Amy has.

He has been told that he's 'difficult' more times than he can count and by more people than he cares to consider. Maybe this odd conversation is her polite way of telling him that she's the one who needs some time away.

"Very well," he says, forcing himself to smile. "I'm sure that I can manage to put together a selfish weekend for myself."

Amy smiles back. "I have every confidence that you can."

—-

IV.

"I see we have a dinner guest yet again," Penny whispers to Leonard as they pour drinks at the kitchen island.

Leonard looks over at Sheldon, who is sitting quietly in his spot. "Yeah, Amy's working late at her lab, so I took pity on him and invited him to stay for a while."

"That's like every day this week," Penny says. "You know if we keep feeding him like this, he's never going to leave."

Leonard chuckles. "He has had a bit of a stray puppy vibe going the last few days, hasn't he? I think he misses Amy."

After their card tournament last Friday, Leonard had ended up spending even more of his weekend with Sheldon and the guys, enjoying a rare vintage video game night. With Amy apparently facing some kind of deadline at work, he then ended up spending even more time with Sheldon, driving him to and from work every day this past week.

While he did enjoy the nostalgia factor at first, as the days went on, he started to notice his friend becoming more and more stressed out. And of course when Sheldon becomes stressed, so does anyone who happens to come into contact with him.

Penny walks over and takes a seat on the couch while he chooses the comfortable arm chair. "So what's been going on with you and Amy?" she asks, diving right into the potential minefield.

Sometimes his wife's gossipy nature can be annoying, but at times like these he finds himself grateful for it. He has spent the last few days curious about what might be bothering Sheldon, and being direct and nosy about it does seem like the most expedient way to find out.

"She's been acting odd recently," Sheldon answers.

Leonard is proud of himself for stifling the urge to ask him how he could tell. His wife, on the other hand, fails to resist.

"What counts as odd for you guys? Did she get a fashion makeover, take up a sport, or become obsessed with watching 'The Bachelor'?"

"I said odd, not lobotomized," Sheldon snaps back. He fidgets with the straw in his drink for a few seconds before continuing with a calmer, sadder tone, "I'm starting to think that she's trying to avoid me."

Trying to encourage him to elaborate, Leonard says, "I can't imagine why she would do that." He can hear the insincerity in his own voice, and Penny shoots him a look of amused understanding. Hopefully Sheldon won't pick up on it. He doesn't actually want to hurt the guy's feelings.

"Well, when did she start acting strangely?" Penny asks.

Leonard does the math. Most kids start to express themselves at age 2, and Amy is somewhere around 35 years old now, so the answer to Penny's question would be 'approximately 33 years ago'. He picks up his beverage and takes a long sip. If his mouth is full of soda, then he should be able to keep that answer to himself. It's unlikely that Sheldon would ever appreciate the humor.

"The evening after we began work on our joint project," Sheldon answers. "When I got home on Friday night, we discussed our plans for the weekend. Shortly thereafter, Amy began expressing concerns about how much time we were spending together. I suppose she was worried about adding a working relationship into our existing paradigm. In any case, I thought after a weekend of familial and girly nonsense that she would have gotten over it. I guess not…"

Penny's eyes have grown wider throughout his explanation, and she has started chewing on the end of her straw. Leonard recognizes those mannerisms. His wife is feeling guilty about something.

Sure enough, she sets down her cup and starts to make a confession. "Um, I think I might know a little something about this."

Folding his arms across his chest, Sheldon squints at her. "I should've known. Something this nonsensical has 'Penny' written all over it."

She sighs. "Okay, look. At girls' night on Friday, we got to talking about the fact that it's not good for a couple to have 'too much togetherness'. And that's not nonsensical at all, Sheldon."

Unsure of what she is talking about, Leonard listens carefully. Maybe he can figure out some clues as to why Penny has been acting odd herself.

She continues, "Bernadette and I were talking about what it was like adjusting to marriage and how sometimes we enjoyed having time to ourselves. Amy told us that she had never thought much about it, and when she couldn't relate to what we said was a pretty universal feeling, she started to wonder if maybe you ever felt that way."

Making a mental note to ask her about it later, Leonard finds his wife's explanation nothing but confusing. Like Amy, he had never even thought about that sort of thing.

Sheldon looks puzzled too. "If she wanted to know, why didn't she just ask me about it?"

"We suggested that, but she started muttering something about controls, variables, tainted results, and bias. If you ask me, I'd say that's the magical moment to pinpoint when she started acting super weird."

"On the contrary," Sheldon whispers. Sitting up straighter, his face begins to light up with excitement. "Penny, that magical moment is an indication that Amy is conducting an experiment on me!" He relaxes back into his spot and blows out a deep breath. "That's a relief."

For reasons unknown to mere normal people, this revelation seems to be a source of great happiness for Sheldon. Leonard is baffled, but Penny beats him to it when she asks, "That makes you feel better? Seriously?"

"Of course it does. It means everything is as it should be. Nothing's wrong after all."

Leonard pinches the bridge of his nose between his index finger and his thumb, trying to forestall the headache that always comes on when he tries to follow his friend's batcrap crazy thought processes. He reminds himself that there is no sense in trying to puzzle out Sheldon, Amy, or the relationship between them. Their version of 'normal' simply never looks like anyone else's.

—

V.

When Sheldon returns home after dinner, he finds Amy sitting on their couch, already dressed in her pajamas and looking sleepy. To accommodate her early morning work hours, she has been going to bed well before their normal bedtime. In retrospect, he realizes that this was merely one more aspect of her ruse.

As annoyed as he is at her for keeping her experiment a secret, it doesn't stop him from feeling a little thrill of happiness when she looks up from her book and smiles at him in greeting. He smiles back at her and begins to speak while he hangs his coat on the hook.

"Good evening, Amy. I just had the most illuminating conversation—with Penny, of all people."

Amy sets down her book. "Interesting. What about?"

He sits down next to her and looks her straight in the eye. "Social experimentation on unwitting human subjects."

"Oh." The smile fades from her face when she adds, "Um, I suppose she told you who was up to something like that and why?"

He nods. "Rumor has it, you've not only been listening to relationship nonsense from Penny, but you've also been acting upon it without consulting me."

"It's not nonsense," she defends. "Penny made some legitimate points about the kinds of concerns that can pop up for couples who spend a lot of time together. It hasn't been a problem for me. In fact, I've enjoyed your company. But you… well, you have a history that shows you prefer to keep a certain distance between us."

"If you're referring to our original Relationship Agreement, surely you recognize that it bears no resemblance to our current one. Many things have changed over the course of seven years."

Amy takes his hand in hers. "Living together and now working together—that's a lot of change for you to adjust too. It seemed plausible to me that you might be feeling overwhelmed by my increasing presence in your life."

He squeezes her hand. "When I'm overwhelmed, I like to make sure everyone knows about it. But if you were somehow unsure, you could've asked me. I fail to see how such an experiment was necessary."

"I only wanted to make sure that you were happy, and I figured that this sort of issue could be more of a subconscious thing," she explains, leaning her head on his shoulder. The closeness is particularly welcome after his lonely week. "I thought that asking you about it would not give me as accurate of an answer as a more objective approach would."

"Why not? Did you think I would be dishonest?"

"No, of course not. Not on purpose anyway. That's where the subconscious aspects come into play." She lifts her head up from its place on his shoulder and twists to face him. "Let me explain it in simpler terms: much like observing a particle in the double-slit experiment, adding knowledge of the system to you at the wrong time would have altered the subsequent results, making the truth all but impossible to discern."

That does clear things up for him. "I see. Though I do wish you had kept me in the loop, you know I have no qualms about human experimentation. Tell me about your methodology."

"My plan was to gauge your happiness level over the course of three weeks as I varied the time we spent together."

Now that the truth is out, Amy seems eager to tell him all about it. That's fine with him. He loves that her enthusiasm for science rivals his own.

"The past seven days was what I call 'minimal Amy'," she continues. "Next week, the control portion, would've been 'average Amy'. And then, of course, the final week would've been 'maximal Amy'. By examining your sleeping patterns, eating habits, and other behavioral markers each day, I would then try to approximate your emotional status and assign it a numerical value. Graphing the results over time, I would then be able to calculate approximately what amount of time spent with me maximizes your personal contentment."

"Intriguing," he says. "There are some subjectivity issues and other flaws here and there, as is always the case in the social sciences, but seeing as how I am a big fan of my own happiness, I approve of the general idea." Frowning, he adds, "Drat. Now I wish I hadn't gone and interfered. There would've been graphs."

She extends her index finger away from where she is holding his hand and gently pokes his knee. "I'm glad you're not mad at me."

"Mad at you for doing science? That would be absurd. And I make such a fascinating test subject. I can't blame you for being lured in by the tempting, bright flame of greatness that is myself."

"A lack of humility really starts to dim the brightness of that flame, Sheldon."

He snaps his mouth shut and nods, refraining from any further talk about himself.

"As I was saying," Amy continues, "I'm glad you're not angry, and I want you to know that I've felt terrible about keeping this from you, regardless of my good intentions."

"I was a little hurt that you didn't consult me, but after your explanation, I feel more flattered than anything else. In fact, perhaps we should consider resuming the experiment. The results will be less reliable now that I know I'm being measured, but you know how I feel about leaving something unfinished."

Closure is one reason that he would like to continue. A different, unspoken reason is that he is curious about what a week of 'maximal Amy' might entail. She took coitus off the table when they first moved in together, and other than a brief, pre-planned dalliance for her birthday, they have yet to deviate from her restriction on that particular act of intimacy. He can't help but wonder if 'maximal Amy' would put that topic back on the table.

She squints at him. Perceptive as ever, she says, "We know what our time together is normally like, and now that the week is over, we know what the results are when we spend very little time together. So perhaps you are curious about that third week, hmm?"

It's hard not to squirm under her scrutiny. He forces himself to sit still and attempt a dignified response. "I am pleased with our status quo, and I don't need to ask about your findings to know that 'minimal Amy' was not an improvement. Additionally, in the interests of science, I am willing to admit that the final part of your experiment does intrigue me."

Sheldon is no expert at the physical aspects of their relationship. But over the past few months he has become increasingly aware that intellectual challenges tend to incite passion in him, with anger only feeding the fire. And with Amy, those passions tend to easily morph into a desire for physical intimacy. Being the brilliant neurobiologist that she is, he feels certain that she has deduced this about him as well. He becomes even more certain of it when he hears her response.

"'Maximal Amy' would be demanding," she says, slowly tracing his kneecap with the tip of her finger. "I'm not sure you could handle that, even for the benefit of science." She looks him up and down while biting her lip, an expression that he has seen before on a number of memorable occasions.

He's sure that she's doing it on purpose, provoking him and questioning his competency in this manner. But even having full knowledge of what she's doing doesn't stop him from falling for it. "Are you questioning my scientific rigor?"

Leaning in close to him, she says, "Yes, I am. You know how I enjoy challenging your hypotheses and, by extension, your intellectual and scientific capabilities. A more intense version of me in your life might prove to be too much for you, even for a short time."

Swallowing hard, he tries to keep his eyes focused on her face and not her body. He fails. "I think I can manage," he says, his words aimed at her lips and chest.

"It's not just your mind, though." Amy runs her hand up his thigh and across his chest. When she reaches his cheek, she rubs her thumb across it's surface, no doubt noting the flush that he can feel heating his skin. "I tend to make bodily demands of you as well. I'm not sure if you'd be up to dealing with that."

She's wrong, of course, because he's up for that right now, and in more ways than one. Much to his embarrassment, his voice comes out as a squeak. "Demands?"

She tilts his chin so that he is once again looking at her eyes, and he sees her start to smirk. "You know: cuddling, snuggling, hugs…"

That is not the answer he was anticipating. He feels another surge of strong, confusing emotions coursing through him in response to her continued teasing. Before he has a chance to think of a retort, however, she closes the tiny distance between them and whispers, "And kissing."

Her kiss is a gentle touch of lips, but Sheldon reciprocates by pressing back with a more forceful kiss. Resisting the urge to get too carried away, he pulls back, wanting to make her aware that he knows what she's up to. "You're doing this on purpose."

The teasing smile on her face grows wider. "You asked for it."

There's no denying that. Still unsure of himself in an intimate situation like this, he asks, "What should we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Amy pulls away from him and straightens her wrinkled skirt. She then reaches over his body and snags something off the end table. When she plops it into his hand, he realizes that it's a whiteboard marker.

"As you said earlier, this is all in the interests of science," she explains. "Given that, perhaps we should work on our collaboration tonight. After all, we know you do your best work when I'm in the midst of challenging your professional talents."

Sheldon has had enough. He leans towards her again, practically touching his nose to hers, and confesses, "It's possible that my interest in finishing your experiment is not wholly for the benefit of science."

After slapping the marker back onto the end table, he shifts both of his hands to her hips. Yanking her towards him and leaning his full weight into her, he tips them both over onto the tiny couch, pinning her beneath his body. It feels like a fumbling and graceless motion even to him, but he's far too enthralled by the woman he loves to feel self-conscious about it.

This time it's Amy who voices an embarrassing sounding squeak, and it's his turn to smirk. When they begin to exchange kisses again, he enjoys the feeling of her whole body pressed up against his. It gets even better when he begins to feel the enthusiastic pull of her small hands on his back, encouraging him to get closer.

Despite the intensity of the moment, his mind briefly wanders back to her experiment. As Amy begins to groan sounds of pleasure into his open mouth, he becomes more certain than ever that he won't mind a week of 'maximal Amy' one bit.

—-

Note: Thanks for reading!