Amy peeked around the corner. There they were; Mary, Sheldon, and Meemaw. A smile spread on the neurobiologist's face. Meemaw kind of looked similar to Sheldon… somehow at least. They had the same eyes and the same nose. She had gray hair and seemed like a little fragile woman but Amy knew she was anything but a wallflower. Meemaw was always in a good mood and had ants in her pants. She got stuff done. Sheldon had never talked much about her but from what he had said and from what Amy saw right now, she could paint an exact picture of what this woman was like and she loved every bit of it.

"Oh, Amy!" It was Mary who noticed the young woman first.

"Good morning" Amy smiled and stepped into the living room.

"Amy!" Sheldon's grandmother jumped out of her chair immediately and went over to pull Amy into the tightest hug she had ever gotten. "I am so happy I finally get to meet you"

Her heavy Texan accent made the neurobiologist grin from one ear to the other. "Likewise, Misses…"

"No no no, stop it with the Misses, darling. You can call me Meemaw, just like my dear Shelly!" She let go of Amy, but grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the sofa and sat down, pulling Amy next to her.

"Shelly, how could you hide this gorgeous lady so long from me?" Meemaw didn't let go of Amy's hand. She held it and caressed it with her thumb.

"I didn't hide her. We just didn't have the opportunity to come over yet. And you never visit me in Pasadena, so…"
"You know it's very exhausting for your grandmother, Sheldon. Don't be rude." Mary punched his upper arms slightly.

"Ouch" Sheldon grumbled and rubbed his arm. "I know"

Meemaw just rolled her eyes and then looked back at Amy with a big smile. "Did you like the coffee?"

"You brought me that?" Amy was speechless. She felt so welcome in this family, she never ever wanted to leave again.

"Yeah but you were sleepin' like a baby. I didn't have the heart to wake you up" Meemaw smiled and then patted Sheldon on the knee. "I am so happy for the two of you. You know, I have never seen my Shelly that happy. You really are a blessing, Amy."

Her cheeks reddened and she didn't dare to look at her boyfriend. She didn't want to see his reaction, she was afraid of it. What if he was shaking his head? What if he wasn't too sure of what his grandmother had said. Amy was too happy to let any possible pain hit her. She knew that being with Sheldon meant a lot of pain and sacrifice sometimes, but she was willing to go through that for all the happy times.

A loud yelling in front of the house stopped her thoughts immediately and she looked up.

"George Junior is here" Meemaw sighed.

Mary stood up and walked over to the door. Sheldon just bit his lower lip and stared down onto his feet.

Meemaw and Mary had headed into the hall to welcome George Junior. Sheldon was just sitting on his sofa with a worried look on his face. He knew what kind of yelling that was. His brother was drunk, probably still from yesterday night, and now he had to introduce his girlfriend to him and he felt ashamed. How could he himself – pretty much a supreme being – be siblings with such a downer. Sheldon had basically been trained to respect his family. Mary had always found it important that her children got along and that everyone in the family was in peace with each other, but Sheldon had dragged his brother home way too often. He had held George's head when he vomited at the age of 14 after drinking too much beer. He had lied to his mother just to safe his brother. Sheldon was tired of him still not acting like an adult.

He looked over to Amy worriedly. She was staring at the corridor, listening to George Junior's drunk babbling. Sheldon just shook his head angrily and stood up. "Well. That's my brother."

"I figured…" Amy mumbled, still staring into the direction where all the voices came from. She was not quite sure what to expect.

"Politeness dictates me to introduce him to you" Sheldon sighed.

Amy nodded and stood up. Insecurely she followed Sheldon into the corridor.

George Junior had Sheldon's hair color but other than that they didn't look alike very much. If you would have looked very long and very closely you probably could have found more similarities though. He was obviously alcoholized and in a very good mood. His arms were hanging around Mary's neck and she seemed a little overwhelmed – something Amy had never witnessed before. Mary was usually cool and pretty down-to-earth apart from her religion fanaticism, but right now she didn't really seem to know what to do.

Sheldon stepped closer to them. "George"

He suddenly seemed a lot more mature. His voice was deep, hard, and cold.

"Sheldon!" George Junior hiccupped and fell from his mother to his brother.

The theoretical physicist just patted his back twice and then pushed him away more or less, which wasn't easy, because George didn't seem to feel too safe on his own two feet.

His red eyes spotted Amy. "And who's this gorgeous lady?"

Alarmed, Sheldon stepped back and immediately grabbed Amy's hand, holding it tight. "That is my girlfriend, Amy Farrah Fowler."

"Hello gorgeous" The drunk Texan stretched his hand out and Amy had hardly time to shake it before Sheldon grabbed hers again.

"I cannot believe you found such a cutie, brother" George grinned and swayed a little.

Sheldon's eyebrows knitted hardly noticeable and he slung his arm around Amy's waist, pulling her closer. She was surprise about the sudden body contact but tried to stay calm and act normal. She didn't exactly want Mary and Meemaw to know that he usually was a lot more troubled touching her.

"Well, George, why don't I make you a nice cup of coffee" Mary mumbled with a forced smile on her face. She shuffled into the kitchen.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Sheldon whispered and followed his mother.

Amy nodded and turned back around to George who was grinning at her, and Meemaw attempting to drag him into the living room. "Let's go sit down, sweetie"

"I do not want him to embarrass me in front of Amy. I have dealt with his nonsense all my life, mother, but here is where I draw the line!" Sheldon tapped his finger on the kitchen counter furiously.

He just couldn't believe that his brother had shown up drunk. He had seen the look in Amy's eyes. She had been quite bewildered and he wasn't sure if that meant anything good. As far as he knew his Amy, she was pretty tough and there was hardly anything that got her skeptic or falling silent. But of course, his idiotic brother had managed it once again. Sheldon couldn't even count the amount of their sister's boyfriends anymore, that George had managed to scare away.

"Shelly, you know how he is. And we have to do our best to help him. I'm prayin' for him every single day."

"Oh, really? Well, that doesn't seem to help!"

Mary looked up at her son. He was really outraged and even though the reason was sweet and simple, she did not approve of his tone or his behavior. She knew that Amy meant a great deal to him but she also was sure, that Amy was a tough young woman and was able to handle a drunk young man. What worried Mary a lot more, was her son's life. He had enormous alcohol problems which had gotten worse ever since his father had died. Then he had also lost Pop-Pop and he had hit rock bottom.

Missy was the most down-to-earth one. She was a fighter and Mary had never had a doubt that she would manage her life somehow. Sheldon had worried her a little more. He was annoyingly smart but had never been great at interacting with people. But her biggest child of sorrow, had always been George. He had been a rebellious teenager and that phase had never seemed to stop. If there was something like a genetic transfer of passion for alcohol, George had gotten the most of it.

"You know he is having a hard time. We need to support him." Mary's tone of voice left no doubt that she wanted this to be the end of discussion.

Sheldon sighed. "I just don't want Amy to think…"

"What don't you want her to think?" Mary knitted her eyebrows and leaned her hip against the counter, crossing her arms.

"I want her to like my family."

A slick smile appeared on Mary's face.

"What?" Sheldon mumbled, staring at his mom grumpily.

"We both know why, Shelly. Now be a lamb and go hand this cup of coffee to your brother."

It was in the evening, that Sheldon had dragged his brother up to his old room to put him to bed. Mary had taken the car to go to Missy's house to babysit her grandson. Amy sat down at the kitchen table, holding a cup of warm tea in her hands. Meemaw sat down as well and smiled at Amy. "I hope my grandson didn't shock you too much"

"Hm? Oh! No, not at all" Amy smiled. She had been a little intimidated by George at first but after all Penny was her best friend, so she kind of knew how to deal with drunk people.

"Good. Ya know, Shelly finds it really important that you have a good impression of us." Meemaw winked at the young woman.

Amy was not quite sure how to take these news. Well, of course, nobody wanted to reveal that they lived in a maybe broken family, but Sheldon was not someone to care about opinions. He hadn't even cared when his sister had visited and all three of his friends had developed a huge crush on her. He even promised one of them coitus with her if they were good enough to provide good genetic material.

Meemaw saw that Amy was thoughtful. A little smile appeared on her lips. "He cares deeply about you, Amy"

The neurobiologist looked up. Meemaw was Sheldon's most beloved person and she could be sure that everything she said about him, was quite true. At least she had always thought so. Now she even found herself doubting these words. Their relationship had made progress, yes, but sometimes Amy still wasn't sure if Sheldon really needed her in his life. She just shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"Listen, I know Sheldon is not someone to be extremely open with feelings. He has always had trouble showing them. But ever since you came into his life he is a lot happier and that means something. He was always just concentrating on his work. Whenever he'd call me, he'd just talk about atoms and strings and all that gibberish. But ever since he met you, he won't shut up about you. When you took him on that train trip in February, he was so excited that he talked without pausing once for thirty minutes. Remember how you baked him the cookies for Christmas? He called me and told me that yours were even slightly better than mine. I would be damned if our Shelly wasn't helplessly in love with you."

Amy's mouth hung open. She had had no idea that Sheldon had told Meemaw so much about her, but she couldn't deny she felt flattered.

"Anyway, my dear. I will hit the hay. Plan for tomorrow; Missy will come over. She wants you to help with the wedding dress." Meemaw got up from her chair and walked around the table.

Amy stood up, too, and was pulled into a hug immediately.

"I am glad you are here" The old lady whispered in her ear. Then she pressed a kiss on her cheek and walked out of the kitchen.