On seeing her tumble down the slope, Sheldon had almost fallen down it after her in his rush to help her – save her. Yelling to all nearby to stop the game, he collapsed to his knees at her side, seemingly unconscious of the wet dirt beneath him. Right now, it really didn't matter. Nothing did, as long as she was all right. The game safely paused; Sheldon gently removed Amy's helmet and visor, and, dreading the thought of blood, closed his eyes briefly before he could bear to look. When he did, he noted with relief that the helmet had done its job, and all that was on Amy's forehead was a bluish-purple bruise just above her eye. He gave silent thanks that she had taken the precaution of wearing contacts that day – he'd always thought Leonard should, when doing this – and that she wasn't bleeding.

'Amy, Amy,' he repeated, a slight hint of hysteria to his voice nonetheless. 'Amy, are you OK?' He dragged her up onto his knees, wanting to get her off the damp ground. She needed shelter – the rain hadn't stopped, and was soaking into her costume and running through her hair.

'Leonard!' Sheldon cried out as his friend rushed up. 'Help me get Amy in the hut, c'mon!' The two men between them managed to pull the woman up, but she was too dizzy to walk, and her eyes were still closed.

'This won't work,' Leonard puffed. 'We need to make a kind of chair.'

'Oh yeah, I know!' added Penny at his heels. 'You and Sheldon sort of link arms and she sits on them!'

It was testament to the emergency that Sheldon allowed Leonard to grab his arms without hesitation and, after a fashion, made it to the nearest hut. Amy was laid down on the floor, and Sheldon took her head and rested it in his lap. Their friends stared, wide-eyed. Not only were they concerned for Amy, they had never seen such willing touch and contact from Sheldon and looked on, amazed.

'Leonard, we need to go to the Emergency Room,' Sheldon ordered. 'Go get your car. Howard, you let the Geology team know we forfeit.' Howard nodded in shock, and hurried off, accompanied by Bernadette.

'Raj, go to your car and get Amy some water. Penny, stay here with me – she'll want you here when she wakes up. Emily, you help Raj.'

All the activity caused Amy to stir then, and she slowly opened her eyes, blinking with surprise in the dim light. She could see Sheldon looking down at her though, and it slowly filtered into her consciousness that she was pretty much on his lap. Feeling somewhat woozy, she giggled.

'Hi Cuddles!'

Penny wanted to laugh at the release of tension and the name Sheldon hated, but knew she couldn't. Sheldon ignored it – she was clearly not thinking straight – and without thinking, grabbed her hand.

'Amy, are you OK?' he asked anxiously again.

'Uh, yeah…did we get those guys?' Amy made to sit up, and only got so far before deciding that her head hurt too much to try it.

'Yeah, yeah, you did great!' Penny assured her. 'But just…stay there, OK Sweetie? You fell and hit your head, and Sheldon's gonna look after you.' The glance she shot asked it as a question, but one look at him was enough to know that he would.

'Oh... OK…hey, did we win?'

'Amy, stop talking.' That was Sheldon, apparently sufficiently back in control of his faculties to take charge of his patient. 'It doesn't matter. You're going to the Emergency Room, little lady, right now.'

As Leonard's car drew up, Penny and Sheldon walked Amy over and got her in. She was conscious of the rest of the guys gathered around as she clambered inside, and in her dozy state, simply grinned and waved. Sheldon unusually sat with her in the back (where he generally complained at length about car sickness to the extent that none of the guys would have him back there) while Penny sat with Leonard at the front.

'Bye guys!' Amy called as they pulled away, to replies hoping that she would be better soon.

Once at the hospital, Sheldon found it nearly impossible to wait. His girlfriend needed to be seen – now. He knew concussion could have serious effects, and felt immeasurably guilty for having asked her to play in the first place.

'Why did you let the girls play?' he demanded, glaring at Leonard. 'They shouldn't even have been there!'

'Hey, buddy, calm down,' Leonard replied. He knew where this accusation was coming from. 'They wanted to play – it was an accident. She'll be OK.'

Still holding on to Amy's hand, Sheldon turned then as Penny reappeared, with a cup of water and damp paper towels.

'You want a drink, Ames?' she asked gently, offering the cup.

'Uh, yeah, sure,' she managed. She wasn't sure of much right now, but she did know that her hand was in Sheldon's, and couldn't help but wonder at how safe and warm it felt. That was however, nothing compared to the surprise she felt as his other hand reached up to her forehead holding the paper towels Penny had given him, gently cooling and numbing the swelling building there.

It was with relief all round that the doctor informed them that Amy had nothing more a mild concussion, and assured them that with rest she would be fine by the morning.

'OK Amy, let's get you home,' said Leonard, as they made their way back to the car. When they arrived at Amy's apartment, she was looking quite a bit better. Even so, Penny was pleased and touched to see how protectively Sheldon held her and guided her up the path.

'Hey Sheldon?' Leonard called, just before they came to the front door. 'You need a ride home tonight?'

Sheldon turned to him with an expression of utter condescension – how could the man be so dense? All that time with Penny was clearly ruining his otherwise adequate brain.

'Leonard. Amy could suffer the after effects of concussion at any time; therefore I am bound, not only by the Boo-boos and Ouchies clause of the Relationship Agreement, but also by the wider social convention to attend to my girlfriend in her hour of need. Why on Earth would I need a ride tonight?'

Leonard listened to this mini speech, and grinned. Sheldon was clearly feeling better too – invoking both their weird agreement and social convention to justify staying with his girlfriend? Well, who was he to argue?

'OK, well, call tomorrow if you do,' he replied, and turned to leave with Penny.

'Bye Sweetie!' Penny called. 'Hope you're feeling better soon!'

'Thank you, I'm sure I will,' Amy replied, not quite managing to hide the smile on her face as Sheldon took her hand again to help her inside.

'Yes,' Sheldon paused for a moment. Such expression was still not easy for him, but Leonard had earned it. 'Thank you.'

Once in her apartment, Sheldon took a long, appraising look at Amy. It was meant to be out of concern, but it didn't stay that way. Still in her Paintball outfit, the belt pulled her further in at the waist than usual, and he remembered how the curves of her rear had been made more prominent by the outfit as she'd raced ahead on occasion, causing him to imagine chasing after her and pulling her behind the nearest tree…or laying her down in the nearest hut. Amy didn't often wear trousers – he liked that about her. Her floral dresses and pencil skirts were so…feminine...but these had shown off over her curves beautifully, and he couldn't look away.

'Sheldon?' Her voice broke into his thoughts.

He jumped with a start. What was he doing? He was supposed to be looking after her, and here she was, just standing here, without even a cup of tea!

'Can I get you a beverage?' he asked then, remembering himself. Amy smiled, and accepted his offer.

'And sit down!' Sheldon commanded, patting the couch. 'You need to rest your head, and I need to get you a cushion and sing Soft Kitty to you!'

'Oh, I will, but let me go change,' Amy replied, making for her room. 'I really need to get out of these clothes…'Never thought I'd say that with you here, she thought with a smile. She had no idea just how much of an effect her words had, and once she was safely ensconced in her room, Sheldon let himself take a deep, ragged breath and leaned back against her bookcase for support. She was causing his imagination to run wild, all thoughts swirling around the memory of the last time he looked after her, and the fantasies it had fuelled ever since.

Amy peeled the damp green outfit from her body, and then her underwear. What she really wanted to ask for was another bath, but even in her woozy state knew she couldn't push that just now. She'd drink her tea, and have a shower instead – on her own. Rummaging through her drawers, she noticed that her larger, more concealing summer nightdress wasn't there, and remembered she'd put it in the laundry basket earlier. She couldn't wear her big, long-sleeved nightdresses either, as in spite of the storm; the evening was still warm and sticky. All that remained was her smaller pyjama top and shorts, covered in a whimsical pattern of a starry night. She laid them out on the bed and looked at them. Were they appropriate? Maybe hidden under her dressing gown…but as she put it on, noticed immediately how hot it felt. Still, she had to have something to wear to the bathroom, and pulled it tight.

Emerging from her room, in nothing but that dressing gown, she felt suddenly shy. She felt his eyes on her as soon as she stepped out, and hesitated to meet them.

'Uh…do you mind if I take a shower?' she asked, staring at one of the monkeys resting on the bookcase.

Sheldon shook his head, temporarily unable to speak. He didn't know she was naked under there, and it was probably just as well, as his cheeks flushed at the thought of Amy under the steamy water, soapsuds caressing and dripping from her body, wet hair down her back…It took everything he had not to take her in his arms just then, and wished, more than anything, that he could be in there with her.

By the time she was dressed in her clean pyjamas, damp hair drying, as she sipped her tea, Sheldon felt he really should have calmed down, but he hadn't. He noticed how her hair dried in previously unseen waves, quite different from its usual perfect straightness, and the soft skin of her thighs disappearing into her shorts. Keeping focused on looking after Amy was hard…he shifted uncomfortably at that thought, more than aware of how appropriate the word was, and hoped she wouldn't notice the strain barely contained below his belt. It hadn't even been this hard last time…or maybe he'd just been better at denying it then.

'Are you hungry?' he asked then, in a vain attempt to keep his mind on normal concerns.

'Yeah, a little,' Amy replied, aware of the brush of cotton over her breasts and the slight pull of her shorts between her thighs in a way she'd never noticed before. She finished her tea, set the mug down, and lay back on the cushions.

'OK, I'll order some pizza,' Sheldon said, reaching for his phone. It wasn't the meal he wanted to give her, but a cursory glance through her cupboards and fridge earlier showed she didn't have the requisite ingredients to make his mother's fried chicken properly – he'd have to make that another day, maybe with some Pecan Pie to go with it.

'That'd be great,' she smiled lazily.

Sheldon placed their order, and noticed her cold cloth had slipped to the floor. He hesitated slightly, then considered that Amy's housekeeping routine was exemplary, and picked it up. She'd be better off with a new one though, all the same, and went to fetch one. A couple of minutes later, Amy, who'd closed her eyes, opened them slowly to find Sheldon dabbing at her bruise again. He'd put a bit of ice in the cloth this time, and it felt wonderfully cool against her tender skin. The sensation sent little sparks burning and racing through her, accelerating her pulse and concentrating somewhere just below her waist, deep inside. Amy looked up, and her breath caught at the darkened shine in his eyes as he attended to her. I love you, Sheldon Lee, she thought dreamily.

That night, Sheldon stayed with Amy, both from concern for her well-being and a powerful need not to let her go. It was even hard to leave her in her own bed, Sheldon reflected, He'd seen to it that she had water and adequate pain relief within easy reach, and then, a question in his eyes, sat gingerly beside her.

Her own eyes, heavy and sleepy now looked back, answering him. It's OK.

'I haven't sung to you,' Sheldon almost whispered to her, drinking in the sight of his beautiful girlfriend's features illuminated in the dim light.

'Will you sing to me now?'

Sheldon nodded, and smiled. Of course. Anything.

'Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.'