"There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. I love music passionately. And because l love it, I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it. It is a free art gushing forth — an open-air art, boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea. It must never be shut in and become an academic art."
― Claude Debussy
Two weeks and three dates after their first date, Sheldon was on his way to Amy's lab with the intention of asking her to meet his friends. They had been incessantly pestering him for the past two weeks about Amy. Sheldon had been fairly discreet about his budding relationship with Amy, only letting the name Amy slip. Sheldon decided he had tortured them long enough; he told them he would bring Amy to the fundraising gala for Caltech's physics department on Saturday. They were all going, because they thought it would be "fun." Sheldon, of course, gave them a look of haughty derision at this comment, but he knew he would not win this battle. Seeing as it was already Tuesday, and knowing Amy's love of preparedness, he thought it best to ask her in advance.
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
He heard a voice from inside, "Come in, Sheldon!"
Walking in, he asked, "How did you know it was me?"
"Lucky guess," she smirked. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, we have been spending a lot of time together for two weeks now, and my friends wont stop bothering me about meeting you. I also would not object if you were to meet them. With that in mind, would you like to meet with my friends and myself on Saturday evening?"
Her smile faded. "I'm so sorry. I have to play piano at a gala on Saturday. Maybe we can meet some other time?"
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" He stopped. "Wait, is this gala, by any chance, the physics department fundraising gala?"
"Well, I was going to tell you, and yes, it is, actually. How did you know?" Amy asked.
"Did it ever occur to you that I work in the physics department? Also, when were you going to tell me? Don't you believe I would be interested in watching you perform?"
"Well, I know all of that, but I didn't think you would go to that type of thing. I typically would opt out of such an event myself, but the university asked me to play."
"You are not completely wrong in that assumption. However, my friends have convinced me to attend." He paused in thought for a moment. "I would like to make it clear that I will always be interested in any and all of your performances."
"Okay, sorry. I'll tell you sooner next time," she said with a small smile.
"Thank you. Now, about the gala: I was actually requesting for your presence at that same event. Seeing as my friends will be going, it will be the perfect opportunity for you to meet them. Will you be playing the whole time?"
"Oh, no, of course not. There will be one other musician playing as well. I'll be playing for about thirty minutes, with a ten minute break in between pieces. I won't start playing until the second hour of the gala."
"Perfect. I will pick you up at your apartment, and we will meet my friends at the gala. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Great. I'll see you later," he smiled, turning around to leave the lab.
"Thank you, by the way," Amy said before he left.
He stopped and turned. "Believe me, Amy, it is I who should be thanking you." With that, he left, feeling proud at his success.
"No, Sheldon. If you need to drive, then get your own car. I will be using mine that evening, and you know it." Leonard was getting frustrated with Sheldon. He had been driving the man around for years, enduring many hours of tedious car rides, and Sheldon had known how to drive all along. Now, to seemingly add to his vexation, Sheldon kept "borrowing" his car.
"Okay, I will." Sheldon had a blank expression on his face.
"Sorry, what? I think I'm hallucinating."
Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I said that I will purchase a car. It makes the most logical sense to do so, seeing as I will be needing to drive more often."
"I thought you hated driving. Now, all of a sudden, you want to buy a car?" Leonard was shocked to say the least.
"While being droven around makes me feel important, my mother raised me to be a Southern gentleman, and a Southern gentleman picks up his woman. I am under the impression that Amy would not whole-heartedly agree to this statement, perhaps calling it sexist, but if we are to establish a relationship, it would work best if both partners know how to and can drive."
"Wow, Sheldon. That's really mature," Leonard said in awe. He had never seen Sheldon acting this way before. Now he really couldn't wait to meet the woman who had caused the sudden change in his roomate; the curiousity was killing him.
"I know," Sheldon said, getting up from his spot on the couch.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Leonard asked.
"I told you: I am purchasing a car. Really, Leonard, catch up." He snorted derisively.
"What? Right now?"
"I need to have a car by Saturday; best not to procrastinate." He walked out the door.
Leonard just stood there for several minutes after Sheldon's departure, wondering what just happened.
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Amy."
Sheldon heard footsteps from inside the apartment and waited for Amy to open the door.
As the door opened, Sheldon was short for words. Amy was wearing a tea length blush dress made of satin. It was flowy and accented her rosy cheeks. Her hair was in a half-up-half-down hairstyle with the ends loosely curled. A delicate pearl necklace rested on her neck, matching her dainty pearl earrings.
"Hello, Sheldon." A bright smile lit up her face. "You're right on time, as always."
"Hi, Amy. You look too beautiful for words." Sheldon didn't know what was happening to him. Whenever he was around Amy, he would do things he wouldn't normally do and go out of his comfort zone for her. For some reason, this didn't bother him in the slightest.
Amy blushed, "Thank you. You look rather handsome yourself."
"I know," he grinned, and Amy playfully rolled her eyes.
They made their way out of the apartment building, and Sheldon's car was brought into view.
"Whose car is that?" Amy asked.
"It's mine. Leonard was becoming distressed at my frequent use of his car, so I purchased my own."
Amy's eyes widened, "Sheldon, I really could have just driven us."
"There's no need. The car will be useful in future occasions. I chose not to drive before because I simply did not have a reason to do so. Now, I have a reason," Sheldon declared, opening the passenger door for her.
Amy gave him a small smile and got in the car.
Amy and Sheldon had just arrived at the gala, and Sheldon was searching for his friends. Amy felt a little nervous about meeting them, but she supposed that was only natural. Meeting the friends of your ...um... boy/friend (?) does qualify as an activity that would produce feelings of nervousness in anyone.
Soon, Sheldon was leading Amy towards a table in the front of the room.
"Guys, this is Dr. Amelia Farrah Fowler, but she prefers Amy. Amy, these are my friends, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter and his fiancé Penny, Howard Wolowitz and his wife Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, and Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali. His girlfriend Emily, who's a dermatologist, couldn't make it tonight."
A chorus of hi's and hello's was heard from the group.
"Nice to meet you," said Amy with a wave.
Sheldon pulled up a chair for Amy and himself, and they sat down.
"So sorry, but this is killing me. You look so familiar, and your name sounds a bit familiar too. Where have we seen you before?" asked Penny, unable to hold back her curiousity.
Sheldon interjected, "Last month, when we went to the recital at the university's concert hall, Amy was the pianist performing."
"Oh! You're Amelia Fowler!" exclaimed Raj.
"Yes, I am," Amy smiled.
"But, I thought you worked at the University," said Leonard, confused.
"Well, if you had paid any attention, Leonard, you would have noticed that I introduced her as Dr. Amelia Farrah Fowler. She is both a pianist and neurobiologist," explained Sheldon.
"Eeeeee, that's so cool!" said Penny, "I usually like pop music better, but you made classical music sound so fun when you performed."
"Thank you, I try my best," said Amy.
"Wait, how do you have time to be a concert pianist and neurobiologist?" asked Leonard, who was still confused.
"Well, I got my PhD in neurobiology five years ago and worked primarily in that field for 3 years, making some time for concerts here and there. Two years ago, I took a hiatus from neurobiology and focused on my music. I only came back to neurobiology two weeks ago."
"Oh, so was last month your last performance for a while?" asked Bernadette.
"On the contrary, I am playing tonight. I start playing in about," she checked the time, "thirty minutes. Although, I should probably go prepare in about twenty minutes."
"Wow, really? Are you going to play the whole night?" asked Penny, a little deflated. She had been hoping to get to know Amy.
"No, I won't. I will only be playing for about thirty minutes in total with a ten minute break in between two pieces. There will be another hour with no one performing, and then another musician will close the evening," Amy explained.
"So, is there any other music you like besides classical?" Howard asked, trying to be polite but mainly disinterested.
"I like Neil Diamond," said Amy casually.
"WHAT? NO WAY, ME TOO!"
The two spoke animatedly about Neil Diamond for about five minutes until Bernadette cleared her throat loudly. "Hey! We only have about fifteen more minutes until Amy's gotta go! We want to get to know her too."
Amy laughed, "I apologize. What do you have your doctorate in, Bernadette?"
"I am a microbiologist," she answered proudly.
At that, another few minutes flew by.
"Alright, stop hogging her," said Penny.
The group laughed and continued chatting. Amy was a natural addition to the group.
"Well, I should get going now," said Amy.
"Wait! What will you be playing?" asked Sheldon.
"I believe they will be giving out programs within the next ten minutes. Bye, now," she winked at him and left.
Howard leaned towards Sheldon and said, "You've got yourself a good one there. Don't mess it up." He felt strangely protective of Amy. They had only spoken for a few minutes, but he knew they would form a nice friendship.
Sheldon was looking at her as she made her way across the room. "I won't," he said, confidence and determination oozing out of his voice.
"I really like her, Moonpie. Oooh, Bernie, we should invite her to our next girl's night!" Penny proclaimed.
Bernadette was nodding excitedly when a man came around giving everyone programs for the evening's performances. Amy's pieces were listed on the first page.
Dr. Amelia Fowler
June 5th
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 2 No. 2
Chopin: Nocturne No. 4 in F, Op. 15 No. 1
Sheldon couldn't wait to hear her interpretations of the pieces.
Amy was in the backroom preparing for her performance. Her first piece was a Beethoven Sonata, and she would be playing all four movements. When she first began studying the piece, she didn't like it very much. Over time, she began to truly understand the piece. Now, it was one of her favorite Beethoven Sonatas.
She realized it was time for her to begin.
After sitting down, she began the first movement. For her, this movement sounded of aspiration and desire, a longing for something that was just barely out of reach, but having determination nonetheless. The movement spoke of resolve and tenacity. Focusing on translating these feelings through the music, her fingers flew gracefully over the keys.
Nearly seven minutes later, the first movement ended softly and unassumingly. After a small moment of closing silence, Amy began to play the second movement. It was delicate and elegant; it seemed to speak of a new beginning and pure contentness with the state of things. The movement reverbated a thrilling solemnity.
Another seven minutes passed, and, after a moment, Amy began the third movement. It was a movement of discovery. Recognition and gratefulness resonated throughout the movement, accompanied with a playful joy at times.
Three and a half minutes after the start of the third movement, Amy began to play the fourth and final movement. Opening with an arpeggio, the movement was beautifully lyrical. It was the goal the earlier four movements were working towards. At the end of the five and a half minutes of its duration, the movement ended with a simple but elegant perfect cadence.
Amy was broken out of her devotion to the piece with the sound of applause. She could see in the audience's faces that she was able to convey the emotion of the sonata. Pleased, she rised, bowed, and retreated to take a small break before her closing piece.
She had chosen one of her favorite Chopin nocturnes for the performance. Amy fell in love with the piece from the moment she first heard her brother playing it. She had not played the piece since her brother's passing and was a bit anxious to play it in front of an audience for the first time. She had only picked up the piece again recently to prepare for this event, but she was prepared; she knew the piece inside and out. Rather, her anxiousness stemmed from wanting to be able to convey emotion in this piece, when this piece had only ever elicited one feeling in her: love.
She remembered what she had told Sheldon on their first evening together. In this moment, she truly felt as if she were laying out the most intimate shards of her soul for people to read.
Sheldon had just witnessed twenty-two minutes of pure committment to the deliverance of emotion through a Beethoven Sonata. He now eagerly awaited Amy's performance of her second piece. He had heard the piece she had selected before, but had previously rejected it. It drew feelings from him, and, at the time, he wasn't ready to feel them.
Sheldon saw Amy walk back towards the piano and was filled with anticipation to see Amy's interpretation of piece that had only ever elicited one feeling in him: love.
AN: Sorry for the kinda cliffhanger, but I promise to update soon!