I do not own the characters of the Big Bang Theory.
That night Sheldon has a dream, Memaw has him on her lap, rocking in the rocking chair like they used to when he was little. It seems so real, he can feel the breeze from the open window, smell his Memaw's perfume. Sheldon looks up at her and she looks exactly like she used too when he was little, her hair is still brown with just a stripe of gray at the temples. Not brown Sheldon amends, chestnut, Memaw used to always say "brown is a common color, in this family our hair is chestnut."
Memaw is reading to him a from a book, The Velveteen Rabbit, she loved that book. By the time he was three he had been able to read it by himself. Sometimes he still liked to be read too, especially by Memaw. Personally he found the book to be complete drivel. Toys could not be alive, they did not have brains, they could not talk. He hears Memaw read the line
"How do you become real? Does it happen all at once? Or bit by bit?"
"That's silly, Memaw, toys can't become real." He tells her.
"Aww, Moonpie, sometimes you just got to let your heart believe." She tells him smoothing down his hair.
"He thinks it is silly, because he ain't a real boy." Missy says appearing beside him. Missy always did that, try to climb on the chair with them , try to ruin the time he had with Memaw.
"I am too real, and ain't, is not proper grammar, it is are not or is not!" Sheldon cries.
"She is right sugar." his mom says joining Missy "Look honey, you're just clockwork." She walks over to him and touches his back. Sheldon moves his hand to where hers is and discovers a turn key, like a wind up toy.
"I want to be real, I don't want to be a toy." Sheldon yells.
"Honey, you said it yourself toys can't become real." his mother says her face turning dark.
"I am real!" he cries.
"Yes you are, you are real." he hears a voice whisper.
Sheldon wakes with a start as he feels a warm hand grab his own. Amy is snuggled beside him in the bed, his body is wrapped hers like a vine. Amy still fast asleep, even in her slumber she is able to comfort him. Sheldon smooths down her hair with his free hand and rests his chin in the top of her head. Her hair always smells so good he thinks, fresh and clean without any overpowering fragrance. Sheldon drifts back off into a deep dream free sleep.
Sheldon wakes up in the morning still clinging to Amy, another part of his anatomy pressing shamelessly against her. Sheldon is horrified he does not want her to reject him like she did last night. Well not reject exactly, she had touched him like he has never been touched before. That particular memory does nothing to help correct his problem. Sheldon disentangles himself from her arms and wraps his robe tightly around himself. Maybe it is time to try one of those cold showers people are going on about.
Amy was right to stop him last night Sheldon thinks as he lets the water splash over his body. He does not know how far he would have let things go but at that point and time he had no intention of stopping. The last couple days had been a emotional rollercoaster for him.
Sheldon thinks about the nightmare he had last night, where had that come from? Perhaps, it stemmed from what his sister had said about him having no emotions. It is not the first time he has heard that, yet it is the first time it bothered him. Lately he had been working hard to show that he did have emotions. What did he have to do to show everyone he had changed? The only person who seemed to notice, the seismic shift was Amy. Then he starts thinking about last night again and he sighs, at this rate he is never going to make it out of the shower. Sheldon hears the door open and he freezes, is that Amy, did she change her mind? Sheldon does not know if the thought thrills him or terrifies him.
"I'm in here!" Sheldon calls." I thought I locked the door!" Sheldon shouts. The curtain gets yanked back and Sheldon screams in terror. He sees Missy standing in front of him holding a hairpin between her fingers.
"You did, but you grew up in this house Shelly. You know you can pop any lock with a hairpin." Missy says twirling the hairpin.
"Missy! this is completely unacceptable, I am nude! get out of here!" Sheldon stammers covering himself with his hands.
"Shelly, I spent nine months sharing a womb with you. Momma used to bath us together, in this same tub, you ain't got nothing, that I ain't seen before." Missy says.
"Yes, but I wager things have changed since the last time you saw them!" Sheldon says angrily and Missy rolls her eyes.
"I ain't even looking down, no one cares about your ding dong. If it makes you feel better I will turn around" Missy says.
"What would make me feel better would be for you to leave. As I think that you have no intention of doing so ,it would help if you turned around." Missy sighs and turns around.
"Is that better?" Missy asks annoyed
"You know that I don't approve of the use vulgar language but what the hell do you want?" Sheldon says shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around himself.
"I wanted to talk to you ,without Momma around to protect you." Missy tells him.
"And you thought the most appropriate time to do so was while I was in the shower?" Sheldon asks imperiously.
"It's a small house Shelly, and you seem to always be surrounded by Momma, or that little girlfriend of yours."
"Again let me voice my question, what do you want?" Sheldon says wrapping his robe around himself.
"What I want is answers, how did you do it?" Missy says angrily.
"I know what this is about, you are still mad about the ring." Sheldon says wearily.
"Still mad? I am never gonna stop being mad! All my life precious ,little moonpie has gotten everything he always wanted. You were given whatever you wanted because you would stomp and fuss if you didn't get it. If I acted like that, I was given a pop on the bottom, but you? Oh no, it was always Shelly is special! Shelly is a genius! Shelly don't understand things, like you can." Missy pauses to take a breath.
"I want to make it clear to you, that I never asked her for that ring. If I had though ,it would be none of your business. Maybe she left it to me because she thought you would trade it for a handful of beans." Sheldon tells her, his voice steely.
"I may not be a genius like you, but I am not stupid." Missy says vehemently.
"I beg to differ, now if you'll excuse me, I am leaving now." Sheldon says pushing past her and out the door.
"This isn't over!" Missy calls after him.
"Yes it is." Sheldon mumbles under his breath making his way back to his bedroom. Amy is not inside and he is disappointed, he could go for her brand of comfort right now. If Missy only knew why Memaw had given the ring to him maybe she would understand. Then again maybe she wouldn't Missy had always been rather mercurial. Sheldon gets dressed and hears the door open.
"Hello Amy, I hope you are having a better morning than I am." Sheldon says without turning around.
"I doubt you are having a worse morning than I am. My head is splitting and Mama poured the rest of my bottle down the drain. Can't even have the hair of the dog!" He hears his brother say, he whips around to face him.
"Get out." Sheldon says pointing to the door.
"Aww come on Shelly! I came to apologize!" George roars flopping down on his bed.
"I have nothing to say to you." Sheldon says crossing his arms in a defiant pose. George looks up at him and in the moment he looks so much like their father it's disorienting to Sheldon.
"Look, I got plastered, I don't even remember what I said! I missed the wake, I have been punished." George says.
"You may not remember but I am pretty sure that the events are etched firmly into Amy's mind, you frightened her badly."
"I don't know why, alls we were doing ,is just talking." George says picking at his nails.
"Why you even felt the need to talk to my girlfriend is beyond me. I never pestered your lady friends." Sheldon tells him.
"That's just the thing, you never cared 'bout no girls before. I guess I just wanted, to find out what the girl who finally woke up my brothers willy was like." George says laughing, Sheldon goes crimson. His anger with his family has reached the boiling point. Sheldon is about to release a diatribe on his brother when Amy appears in the doorway.
"Oh, I am sorry, I will go, you guys look busy." Amy says turning to leave.
"No please, stay." Sheldon says ,never more grateful for her presence. "George was just leaving." he says pointedly George rises languidly and heads for the door.
"As I was just telling Shelly, I am sorry for yesterday .He has the crazy idea that you might be scared of me now." George tells Amy standing over her in the doorway.
"No, its fine." Amy says sidling past him to enter the room, not wanting to talk to him longer than she has too.
"That a girl!" George says slapping Amy on the bottom hard. George laughs at the stunned expression on her face. Sheldon look livid, his hands balled at his sides, like he is about to take a swing at him. "Wow, settle down, Shelly! I was just kidding around!" George says feigning innocence.
"Leave.. now.." Sheldon says between clenched teeth. George throws his hands up in the air in 'you got me' gesture.
"Fine, I can take a hint, Shelly never did like to share did he?" George says walking down the hall whistling a crooked tune.
"I am sorry for my brothers behavior." Sheldon says embarrassed. "He is just showing himself to be the same brute that he has always been." he sighs.
"That must be the Cooper boy special." Amy remarks, rubbing her behind and shutting the door.
"What?" Sheldon asks.
"Slapping me on the bottom." Amy tells him.
"Now that you mention it, my father used to do that to my mother all the time, particularly after a night of rest assured I will never do that to you again, I am nothing like those two." Sheldon says shivering at the thought of being compared to either his brother or his father.
"I don't mind it when you do it." Amy tells shyly, him and he gives her a surprised look but Amy changes the subject quickly. "I was talking to your mother and she says that the funeral is Saturday at noon. As you know, I purchased one way tickets here not knowing when we were going back. I have to be back at work on Monday so I am booking a flight for Sunday morning. Did you want me to book you a flight too, or are you going to want stay for awhile."
"Book me a flight as well, I have no intention of staying in this mad house without you by my side." Sheldon says absently going over to his desk and firing up his laptop. Amy looks at him stunned, she wants to run over to him and kiss his cheek. Yet she holds back, he probably does not even realize how much what he just said means to her.
Mary stands in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on breakfast. Missy stomps in and plops the baby in his highchair, and the pours herself a cup of coffee without saying a word. Sheldon walks in next stops at the sight of Missy rolls his eyes and makes like he is going to leave again. Amy touches his arm lightly and they look at each other, Sheldon makes an expression like 'very well' and sits down. George Jr. comes in last and sits down next to Amy who jumps like he just burned her and scoots her chair so close to Sheldon's she is practically in his lap. The scene is vastly different than yesterday's cozy family breakfast and it breaks her heart. Their family has weathered enough tragedy without some petty fighting to get in their way.
"Now ya'll listen up! I don't know what ya'll are fighting about, but it is no way to honor your grandmother's memory!" Mary says brandishing a spatula at the table.
"Maybe you should tell your daughter that accosting people while they shower is completely inappropriate. Or perhaps you should tell your son to stop harassing my girlfriend!" Sheldon says.
"I was not harassing no one!" George says spitting into the coke bottle in his hand.
"Oh really? What do you call slapping my ass this morning?" Amy asks him hotly then holds her hand over her mouth.
"I would not have to blindside you in the shower if you would just tell me what is going on!" Missy tells Sheldon
"Oh, come on! I was just playing with you! Not my fault if you can't take a little joke." George tells Amy reaching over to pat her arm.
"You need to keep your giant ogre hands off my woman, or so help me…" Sheldon tells George pointing at him.
"Or what string bean? You will try to use the force grip on me, like when we was kids? News flash, it didn't work then, and it ain't going to work now!" George says mockingly.
"I will have you know that, I have played many martial arts video games and I gave picked up enough to maim or injure you!"
"You want to go?" George says rising from his seat to his full height.
"Sit down George you ain't gonna fight no one! Now all of you! Shut up!" Mary yells, and George sinks back into his seat. "Ya'll listen up, you are acting like a bunch of damn fools!"
"Missy and George are the ones…" Sheldon starts but Mary cuts him off with a look.
"Georgie, I raised you better than this! If this situation were reversed and it was you bringing home a girl for the first time and Sheldon slapping her behind, well let me tell you Sheldon would be a grease stain in the driveway by now. You owe Amy and Sheldon an apology, Mr." Mary tells him.
"Sorry." George mumbles at them.
"Now Missy! Why in the hell did you think it would be OK for any reason to barge in on your brother in the shower? Shelly ain't nine years old anymore! He is a grown man and I don't care what your reasoning his that is never OK!"
"Mama, it just ain't fair!" Missy begins but Mary cuts her off.
"I am gonna talk to you in private, I was going to do this later on today but patience has never been your virtue, Come on girlie!" Mary stalks off down the hall into Missy's room and Mary follows her stamping behind like a scolded toddler. Mary shuts the door and sits on Missy's bed patting the space beside her. Mary picks up Missy's hand and studies the engagement ring on her finger. "That's a nice ring you got there on your finger. Ryan did a real good job picking it out for you."
"Yeah, probably cost him that whole first paycheck he got working on the oil rig." Missy says looking at it fondly, she misses her husband. She sent word to him about Memaw. She hopes he can get leave and come home soon.
"I remember when he asked me, since your daddy is gone, if he could have your hand in marriage. Ryan showed me that ring, he was so proud honey, and he said that the minute he saw that ring that it was yours. That he remembered the story you would tell about Memaw's ring so he got you one with sapphires. 'Cause your eyes reminded him of them jewels. Now that is a good story ain't it sugar? And it's your story, that you can pass down to Ayden and this one right here." Mary tells her touching her belly.
"What are you driving at Mama?" Missy asks.
"Honey, have you seen the way Sheldon looks at that girl? I never seen him look like that before." Mary says almost sadly and Missy smiles.
"Looks at her like she hung the moon, I catch him looking at her when he thinks she is not looking. It is funny, I never thought I would see Shelly acting like a lovesick teenager." Missy says laughing " It was pretty shocking to hear him call her his "woman" and try to fight Georgie over her."
"That's just it sweetie, I never thought I would see the day when Shelly found him somebody who likes him for just being him. Memaw never thought she would see the day come either. Used to worry her something fierce, who would be there to love Shelly when we were gone?"
"Mama, are you saying what I think you are saying?" and Mary shakes her head yes.
"It is my assumption that Memaw thought by leaving him that ring she would also be securing someone to love him, in her place, when she was gone."
"I understand now." Missy says getting up. "Come on, let's go finish breakfast, the boys are probably all getting hungry." Mary follows Missy out the door and back into the kitchen. There they see that Amy has finished breakfast for them and his holding Ayden on her hip. Sheldon and George Jr. are nowhere to be seen.
"Where are the boys?" Mary asks.
"They started fighting again, then George said they were going to go settle things out the old fashioned way and they left." Amy says setting the baby back down.
"I know where they are." Mary sighs. "Let's eat, then we'll go fetch them, maybe they work some of this nonsense out."