'So…I guess I ought to go help Dr Mee set up,' Amy said somewhat reluctantly. They'd found themselves standing awkwardly in another doorway, this time to Amy's room at the conference venue. She wished she hadn't insisted on two rooms now – she'd been slightly wary of how things might turn out when they'd been booked, and what Sheldon's reaction might be if there'd only been one. To be honest, she still wasn't sure what his reaction would be now.

'OK…' He looked disappointed, but suddenly brightened, pulling something from his jacket. 'Amy, wait! I've got this for you!'

'You got me something?'

'Yeah!'

He pulled out a box and flipped it open. For the briefest of moments, Amy couldn't breathe, and then registered that not only was it too big to contain a ring, rings did not generally come with a certificate of authenticity signed by Peter Jackson. Instead, it was a necklace, a pretty silver charm with a shining stone whose colour was mirrored in her eyes.

'Oh Sheldon, it's beautiful!' she enthused, taking it gently and smoothing her fingers over it. She looked up eagerly, hesitated, and repeated a request she'd made before, but rather more shyly, more aware of what was at stake. 'Put it on me.' Her hand shook slightly as she handed the necklace back, and turned to face into the room. Amy heard a sharp intake of breath from Sheldon as he took it and she swept her hair over to one side.

'OK,' he agreed softly, and draped it around her, brushing her hair and the soft skin of her neck as he fixed it in place. Her skin felt hot under his touch, and his pulse raced at the sensation. Amy shook her hair back and turned to face him. She flashed him a beautiful smile, and then rushed over to the mirror to admire herself, stroking the necklace all the while.

'You didn't read the certificate,' Sheldon managed, concentrating hard on keeping his mind on proper concerns as he drank in the sight of how pleased she was.

'Oh yeah, what is that?' Amy asked, turning back.

'It's a certificate of authenticity confirming this was an actual prop used in the Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers!' Sheldon explained brightly. 'You know, there was this one time we found the actual One Ring in a box of stuff Stuart was getting rid of, and I thought about getting you that, but then I saw the movie again and this was so much better!' He didn't add that Leonard had reminded him that the 'One Ring' might be misunderstood under the circumstances, and anyway, this was better.

'Oh, really? That's so nice!'

Sheldon smiled. She didn't understand just how nice it was. 'Well, in the movie, it's a gift from an Elvish princess to a human…she's…in love with…' he finished lamely.

'Really?' Her voice was no more than a whisper now, and her hand had reached up to clasp it. Just then, Amy's phone rang. She nearly didn't answer it, but knew she had to. It was Dr Mee, letting her know that he and Professor Feinman were in the conference room, ready to get their presentation set up.

'Oh, OK, I'll be right there,' Amy replied, hoping she sounded suitably professional. She reached blindly for her laptop and made her way out to join Sheldon in the corridor. She smiled awkwardly. He thought she looked adorable.

'Well, I really do have to go now,' she said, darting a quick, excited glance up at him. Had he really said what she thought he said?

'Alright,' Sheldon conceded. He didn't want to let her go, and if another couple hadn't been walking down the corridor at that point, he probably wouldn't have been able to resist pulling her into the kiss he'd been waiting four months for. 'I'll see you there.'

Amy's face shone with one last smile, and she turned and almost skipped down the corridor.

The next hour or so was tedious for both of them. Amy was busy, and not even the Star Wars movie marathon Sheldon had found on the SyFy channel kept his attention. Had he actually told Amy he loved her? Did he? He'd never given a name to it before, but considering other people's experience, and his own reactions whenever he saw her, or thought of her, the evidence pointed to only one conclusion…and no Scientist could ignore evidence. He'd told her, and he did. He always had, from the strange experience of not being able to stop thinking about their first meeting, to getting the cats, to his ill-fated attempt to impress her in her lab (he still had a small scar as a result) to kissing her that first time, and so much more.

She was brilliant, and while it was true that's what attracted him first, everything else did soon after. He was just too stubborn, too afraid of rejection to tell her, and he still wasn't sure he'd ever admit it. Deep down, Sheldon knew Amy could have broken his heart beyond repair, if she'd left him, cheated on him, found someone more 'normal', so once he realised what was happening tried to ignore it, deny it at every turn. If he did that, she couldn't hurt him. Maybe it would just stop anyway…but it never did. His feelings had overwhelmed him, like they had when he'd lost his Pop-pop, even his father, or when other kids had been nasty to him. The safest option had always been to hide them away where they couldn't control him. Since then, he'd realised she was the only one it felt safe to completely lose that control for, the only one he ever would lose it for. He looked at his phone. She must be busy. No messages, and still an hour and half to go…

Finally, Sheldon made his way eagerly to the packed conference room and took a seat. Boards were set up detailing the UCLA team's findings, and a lectern and chairs were set up for the delegates at the front. Looking at the lectern, Sheldon couldn't help but remember the dream he'd had the first time she'd done her experiment on him, and suddenly blushed, hoping no-one would notice, and glad no-one could know how many times he'd thought about it since. He kept glancing up at the lectern though, impatient for his first sight of Amy. Then, an older woman made her way to the front, and a hush fell over the room as she greeted the audience.

'Good afternoon, my name is Professor Patricia Feinman, and I would like to welcome you all to the 10th National Neuroscience Symposium here in Santa Monica. Please join me in expressing our appreciation for Dr Amy Farrah Fowler and Dr Kim Mee of the UCLA Neuroscience department, who will be speaking today on the links between Subconscious Thought and Conscious Determination…' The room applauded as they took their places, and Sheldon really heard very little else. Amy was still wearing her new necklace, with a smart suit jacket and skirt, and low yet pretty heels. Her hair shone under the lights, and she smiled back at the room. When it came to her turn to speak, she was clear and confident, enjoying every minute of showing others what she knew and what she loved. Sheldon knew there was no way he'd ever be as good at lecturing as she was, but it didn't matter. He couldn't keep his eyes off her, and waited on the edge of his seat for them to take a break and give him ten minutes to talk to her.

'So what do you think?' Amy asked, breathlessly, rushing to find him later, just as he said, 'Amy, you were brilliant!'

'Really? That good, right?'

Sheldon smiled. 'Of course. And I'm brilliant too, so I know what I'm talking about!'

'You wait 'til we get to the bit on Gamma wave amplitude!' Amy replied enthusiastically. 'It's so cool!'

They stood there for a moment then, just smiling at each other.

'Hey, is this your boyfriend?' Dr Mee asked then, coming around the corner with his wife. Amy blushed then and answered, in flawless Korean, that he was.

'You speak Korean?' exclaimed Mrs Mee, impressed.

'Of course!' Sheldon said proudly, jumping in. He hadn't a clue what she'd just said, but it sounded amazing and, spoken by Amy, sexy. 'I'm Dr Sheldon Cooper, Amy's…'

'Boyfriend,' smiled Mrs Mee. 'I know – she said!' Sheldon caught Amy's eye then, a question burning in his own. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded. You are, and I've got the evidence to prove it.

Show me. Straight after you're done.

Oh, I will!

It never ceased to amaze Amy how the two of them could say so much in couple of brief glances, but all too soon she had to go. Sheldon almost didn't mind though – seeing Amy talk Science was every bit as alluring as he'd imagined it would be, and he was, once again, officially her boyfriend!

The UCLA presentation ended to impressed applause, and suddenly there seemed to be people everywhere, making Sheldon anxious to find Amy again. She and the rest of the team were still busy, of course, shaking hands and answering questions, but at least he was with her. It wasn't long, however, before he grew impatient to have her to himself, and when he started getting somewhat snappy with a Neuron journalist, who really should have taken better notes, he felt a calming hand on his arm. Amy smiled, just briefly, but in that moment let him know she wouldn't be long, and that soon – very soon – he'd have her undivided attention.

It wasn't soon enough. By the time they'd said their goodbyes and made it back to Amy's room, both were breathless, excited… nervous.

'You were amazing.' Amy blushed again, hotter than ever. 'And was that really what you said in Korean?'

Amy sank down onto the bed, looking back at him shyly. 'Yes it was.'

Sheldon's pulse was racing as he moved to perch beside her, indicating her laptop. 'So… what made you decide?' he asked, trying to sound much calmer than he felt.

Honestly, she'd almost forgotten about the other report she had, but opened it, fingers shaking slightly. Amy could hear his breathing change as he read down her report, detailing all the little things he'd done for and with her over the past four months, and held her own breath waiting for him to reach the conclusion.

'Therefore empirical evidence would suggest only one conclusion: based on experience and personal response to both external and internal stimuli, it would be a significant error in judgement to deny an immediate return to the subjects' previous status. Furthermore, such evidence strongly indicates the desirability for the subjects' status to develop from this point forward, pending confirmation of findings (see Annex A) and discussion of results. Dr Amy Farrah Fowler, PhD, September 2014.'

'What's Annex A?'

Amy smiled. 'Your brain scans.'

Sheldon gave a little start of excitement and clicked down the page eagerly. Scanned in were the images the EEG had taken a couple of months ago, and an assessment of their meaning. Sheldon's gaze raced down the page, revelling in being able to see his own brain, and then blushed even harder when he read the comments attached.

'A high percentage of subjects with this brainwave formation reported strong sexual arousal during sleep…'

'Is that true?' Her question was a whisper.

Sheldon was quiet for a moment. He couldn't hide anything from her. 'Yes…' At his admission, Amy felt the heat burning off him, and her mouth grow dry.

'Umm, can I ask, in the spirit of obtaining all relevant data..?' Amy ran her fingers over her necklace, suddenly shy again.

Looking away, he answered. 'It was you. Always you…' He'd never admitted such a thing to anyone, but somehow, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Not to her.

'Me?' She was closer now, close enough that he could smell her perfume and feel how hot she was, even under her jacket.

'Yeah.'

'What did we do?'

Sheldon groaned then, exasperated. Amy looked up sharply, and her eyes flashed. No, you don't stop there, Cooper!

'Amy, you know I'm no good at talking about such things,' he paused, and then turned, looking straight at her, 'but I'm gonna show you – right now.' It was true. He still couldn't easily tell her about the amazing, sexy fantasies that she fired within him, but he had to show her and had to now.

'Right now?' Her voice shook. She couldn't believe what was happening, and watched, entranced, as she was drawn into a kiss, soft at first, then deeper, harder. Without breaking contact, Sheldon reached up, brushing his fingers through her hair and gently pulled off her glasses. She heard him set them down on the table beside her, and then his fingers were back in her hair, unclipping it, stroking it, twisting it. Instinctively, she pulled him closer to her, running her hands over his shoulders, down his back, raking through his own hair with an intensity and hunger she didn't know she possessed. Breathing hard, Sheldon pushed her back, looking at her with darkened, shining eyes.

'Too many,' he managed, running one hand up the taut material over her thigh and another down the collar of her jacket. 'Always too many…'