Author's note: This is my attempt to convey that Sheldon and Amy are getting distracted by their thoughts on some moments in their recent past. I hope it comes across that way and won't be confusing.

Disclaimer: The Big Bang Theory and all characters and creative elements derived from the source material belong exclusively to Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.

Chapter 2

After a pregnant pause Amy looked back at Sheldon and watched him stare down at his shoes. Certain he was wishing to be anywhere but there at that moment; she empathized with his desired detachment and lost herself in her own preoccupations.

The bath the previous evening had successfully soothed her and allowed her to slip tranquilly to sleep. Sometime in the night, tentacles of moonlight reached her eyelids, springing them open. A glance at the clock on her nightstand read 3:00 a.m. She could see her tiara, which was usually stored in a velvet lined box, was uncovered; the surreptitious light ricocheted off each diamond's inner facets before dispersing as a wayward constellation on her ceiling. She admired the luminous display and the power of an object that had affected her so strongly. Until the day she had first worn her tiara she had never permitted herself to be sucked in by fairy tales but now it seemed that she was repeatedly paying a price for believing.

She didn't rise to shut the curtains for another hour until her tissue box was empty and she was certain she'd had the benefit cleansing of a "good cry". She padded to her kitchen for some headache tablets and tea but lost her interest in the latter and settled on tepid water instead. Upon returning to her bedroom she tossed a towel over the tiara and gave a tug to the curtains the result of which swathe the room in darkness leaving only neon lit words in her mind. Open. Closed. Exit.

"I shouldn't have said it." Sheldon's voice halted her train of thought, rattling her back into reality.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear clearly."

Without lifting his head he answered slowly and precisely. "I shouldn't have said it."

Surprised at his admission she asked, "For clarity I need you to tell me what you think you shouldn't have said?"

He lifted his head but stared in the distance, swallowed and answered, "Everything is sex with you."

"Thank you." He turned his gaze towards her as she continued, "let me add that I'm not interested in whether you should have or shouldn't have said it. I'm interested in knowing what made you say what you said."

There was a melancholy timbre in her tone that he didn't recognize and it threw off his equilibrium. As he raised his right hand to his ear he blurted, "We should have gone on the walk."

"You're not answering my questions."

"Amy. I just had a very bad day and week. You know how that affected me. Please don't be angry." He loathed the idea of pleading but his spatial disorientation was forcing an unrestricted bluntness while his cerebral hemispheres battled to keep him from tipping over.

"Do you know how it affected me? And wasn't I with you trying to help you feel better? Did I not bring Wil over to help you realize that in time you could take this experience and learn from it? Did I not take time away from my work to help you deal with all of it - I was stressed too because I don't like seeing you unhappy."

"You did all those things." He affirmed but the crack in her voice increased the spin of the room. He released his ear and gripped her desk for balance and because he had to lean towards her to listen as her voice was barely above a whisper. The volume she chose made him uncertain if she was talking to him or herself.

"When you thought you found the element I celebrated your joy. When you discovered that you made a mistake only I understood your personal disappointment. I understood the need for your work to have integrity and not be the result of some blunder. And I understand that you struggle to deal with the cacophony of emotions invading your mind but it's – "

Before she finished her sentence a student assistant burst into the room. "Dr. Fowler, the video conference request from the CDC just arrived in the meeting room. We are answering it and telling them I've come to get you."

"Oh, no! I have the time down for 4:00 o'clock."

"They must have meant Atlanta time."

"You must be right. Thank you, Cindy. Please tell them I'm on way."

As the student was leaving Amy turned to see Sheldon's eyes open up to the width of saucers caused by climbing high pitched panic made evidence by his voice, "Amy the CDC's been informed about the hot zone?"

Shaking her head she answered, "No Sheldon, this is about the e-cigarette addiction studies they want me to consult on."

"Oh yes." His neck muscles released their tension, "The one we've been discussing all summer."

She nodded. "I need to go. Please close the door on your way out." Gathering her clip board and pens she left him bracing himself against her desk with a two-handed vice grip.

1001001

Raj moved into the chair next to Sheldon's. "I can't decide if I want the key lime cheesecake or if I should choose pie tonight for dessert."

"I don't care what you choose but you need to move back to your seat."

"Come on. Amy's not coming for dinner so we'll just pull the chair out and give ourselves more room."

"She may not be joining us tonight but that is not an opportunity to change anything. We'll carry on as always, as if she was seated next to me."

"You're right. You've been ignoring her lately when she eats with us, so it is just like any other Tuesday."

"Again with your advice?"

"Not advice. It's an observation."

"What hallucinogenic potion have you taken to make you think that you are Oprah?" He queried with a look of exhaustion.

It was none their business

He didn't want to divulge how he and Amy liked to communicate. After Amy's first day at Caltech he had asked her to articulate why she had kicked him under the table. It was during a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory that she explained and clued him in on the bruise he gave her near her ankle. Horrified by the information he caressed her leg with his foot before he could reconsider is actions. The smile and scarlet color that bloomed on her face made him grin, she liked it, he liked it and it felt safe. Since then, during busy group conversations or when he got wrapped up reading on his phone he would let his foot wander to meet hers with a stroke or tap. She always returned the favor but seldom initiated it so he logged an entry in his Working On It journal that he would make it a habit to continue every time they ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

Penny reached across to place the drink orders in front of each place setting, "It's true Sheldon. You've been so wrapped up in your discovery that you've pretty much been an ass to Amy and everybody around you."

"You mean slapped that ass of Amy's while everybody's around you," snickered Howard while twirling an imaginary moustache and wiggling his eyebrows. "So Sheldon were you punished or rewarded for your -" Bernadette had pushed the back of his head with three of her tiny fingers.

"She was defending you and you had to bring it up?"

"Of course I did. It will help me recover from the shock."

Sheldon's face was burning with discomfort which he tried to channel towards Howard in a death stare until Leonard piped in, "I'm kinda glad I didn't see it. I still feel bad about embarrassing Amy during the Dungeons and Dragons game so I can only imagine how this made her feel."

Penny nodded agreement then turned to snarl at Sheldon, "And the beer thing. Really? Geesh. At least she didn't get it for you."

Raj made an attempt to lighten the mood by playfully pretending to punch Sheldon in the arm, "It would have spoiled his dinner and it was time to serve. And to answer your question, I've been watching Dr. Laura Berman for relationship advice on Oprah's channel. Expect copies of her books for Christmas."

-o-

Sheldon seethed but kept the straw in his mouth slowly sipping his cola. Amy had not said a word about the Thanksgiving incident. He wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't bothered or because they had been distracted by the itinerary of scheduled appearances that he discovered when he checked his university email on Friday afternoon. His head and stomach were still recovering from his drinking and the news heightened his irritable state. He began to carp about it immediately when she arrived that evening after a visit to her mother's house. She took the printed schedule from him, grabbed his planner and her ipad.

"We need to dissect this into smaller pieces Sheldon. There is no time to pout this is the price you are going to have to pay to be in the spotlight."

"I'm not going to let the university parade me around at their whim."

She handed his planner back with the dates marked and highlighted and then took his phone to do the same.

"Sheldon, your success translates into dollars for the university and for your department; a few hours of role-play will not kill you. You would have already entered this information into your phone if it were something else. Ignoring it won't make it go away."

"Role-play?"

"Yes, just think of it as role-play. We have one week to get you ready. You are a possible Noble prize candidate – a friendly candidate - and the world wants to learn more about your brilliance. Could you play that part?"

"Alright"

"Just don't let him wear that hideous plaid suit," piped in Penny as she passed through to Leonard's room.

The next morning Sheldon and Amy were the first at the men's store beating the after Black Friday shopper's. Amy loved Sheldon's plaid suit and sense of style but decided to take Penny's suggestion and pick up a new suit for his PR tour. His foul mood had returned with the new task of shopping for clothes.

"You might as well try the suits on for me. I really don't want to." He moaned when they entered the store.

"Okay"

Amy appeared before him in a light grey plaid three-piece suit in exactly his size, pants extending in pools of fabric around her feet, hair twisted into a messy bun, she waved her jacket covered hands in a flourish and sung, "Tah dah".

What he rigidly remarked was, "If you're going to wear a vest you need a pocket watch. Good thing I own one." What he thought was, "You make my life so much better."

Then he laughed and joined in to help her select a pocket square, matching tie and demonstrated on her, how to tie a perfect knot. "Did you know that there are four different ways to knot a tie; the four-in-hand, the traditional Windsor knot, half Windsor knot and the Pratt knot? I prefer the traditional of course but my favorite is not wearing a tie at all."

Amy only smiled, savored the nearness of his hands and breath, while her gaze roamed over his eyes, lips and neck.

He tried on an identical suit, along with others before settling on a dark camel colored blazer and dark pants. He didn't let Amy change back into her clothes until he was done and in the mean time he asked the cashier girl to take various pictures of them wearing their suits and an assortment of hats. Amy's petite size was magnified as she was engulfed by the suit, so when he looked at the pictures later the only word that came to mind was one he thought he'd never need to use. Adorable.

"I see that you've refilled your quiver of whimsy." Is what he told her as he prepared to pay but what he was thinking was, "I don't know what I'd do without you."