Chapter 11
"Absolutely not." He replied in a firm tone. Sighing inwardly, Leonard mouthed over to penny "I CAN'T" and she frowned in response. "Okay Sir. Thank you for your time. I will be in shortly." He hung up the phone with his boss and turned to Penny, who had a very tired look on her face. "Okay, look Leonard. You just go take Sheldon to work and I'll be here when you get back. I'm tired anyways." "Are you sure?" Leonard replied. "Yeah yeah." Penny said, motioning with her hands that he should go. "But before I go," he said. "I should probably tell you that Sheldon's gone missing. Bye Penny!" and he ran out the door without looking back. "Maybe the mother ship came back for him" Penny said to no-one in her apartment. Sighing, she decided to deal with it later and go back to sleep.
Leonard had just gotten down the second set of stairs when his phone rang. Forgetting to check the caller I.D, he brought the phone up to his ear after answering it. "Dr. Hofstadter." He stated. He paused a moment once he realized that it was Amy. "Is he going to be okay?" He asked. Another pause and more nodding followed by Leonard asking "So, will I have to worry about bringing him home after work?...Okay, thank you for letting me know. Yep, talk to you later. Bye." Once he hung up the phone, he threw his arms in the air, cheering.
….
"Wait, you're kidding." Raj and Howard said in unison. "I'm not. Why would he skip work to hang out with Amy?" Leonard asked, more to himself than to anyone in particular. "Looks like old Smelly Pooper is finally getting laid." Howard said. Leonard seemed to consider this for a moment. "That would explain why he's been so nervous lately. I don't get it though. He can't even bring himself to kiss her!" Leonard seemed lost in his thoughts when Raj spoke up. "Well, maybe Sheldon's planning on telling Amy that he loves her. I know I'd be pretty nervous about that."
Howard scoffed at his best friend. "He would never say that." "Why not?" Raj inquired. "Maybe he's changed. I mean, it's just words. It's not like he would have to go against any of his beliefs about physical contact or anything." "True." Howard replied. "But what about his constant 'feelings are hippy-dippy' thing?" He seemed to consider it for a moment before he said "Maybe he changed his mind about it."
"Oh please." Howard said. "It's Sheldon we're talking about. He would never do anything like that. I'm not even sure he believes in love." "I don't know Howard." Leonard countered. "He's been really nervous lately." "So, he could be nervous about anything." "Yeah, but I'd be really nervous about saying something like that to my girlfriend if I was that in love with her." "Wait." Howard stopped him. "Sheldon's really that in love with Amy? I mean, I always knew he had feelings for her, but I never thought it was that serious."
Raj was grinning like crazy and Leonard gave him a puzzled look. "What are you grinning about?" Leonard asked him. "It's just nice to think that Sheldon's finally grown up. Maybe now he will stop mocking us for our relationships. Oh how I love dating websites." With that he made brief eye contact with Leonard before shifting his gaze back to his plate of food on the table.
"I don't know Raj." Howard told him in an unsure tone. "I still think he's getting laid." "Get this." Leonard nearly interrupted. "Last night Sheldon was up at 2:30, and from the looks of it, he wasn't sleeping before that." "You're kidding." Howard stated. "No I'm not." Leonard told his friends. "Well, tell us what happened!" Raj insisted. Leonard nodded and began parroting back what happened the night prior.
"Wait, back up." Howard said. "You're that light of a sleeper that the microwave woke you up?" "Yes." Leonard replied exasperatedly. "But that's not the point. The point is, he told me that he was using the bathroom in the kitchen. You know that every time he lies he has to think it through all the way." "Well yeah." Howard said. "But I don't get what the big deal is. It's just a little lie." "Okay, get this." Leonard said. "He was on the phone too." "That's crazy." Howard insisted. "Who would be calling that early in the morning?" Raj decided to ask. "Oh, I don't know, the cable company…. His mother… Amy…" "Wait, back it up." Raj said. "Amy was the one who called?" "Yup." Leonard replied.
"She seemed to be trying to calm him down. Weird thin is, it worked…. At least until he started talking to me." "What kind of voodoo has Amy done and when can she teach me?" Howard said. "I don't know. It's certainly not what you would expect from either of them." "Awe! Raj said, almost cutting Leonard off. Our little Sheldon is growing up!" "Look guys." Leonard told them. "I don't think it's right to go assuming things about Sheldon and Amy." "You're right." Leonard agreed. "Maybe we can talk to Penny and come up with one huge Shamy Assumption that we all agree on." "We are not doing that." Leonard said firmly. "Besides, I wasn't even planning on telling Penny about what happened." "What?" Howard said, clearly surprised. "Why not?" He asked.
"Think about it." Leonard said. "If I were to tell Penny, she would probably tell Amy everything and I don't think she would appreciate it." There was a pause, and then he continued. "Amy will most likely tell Penny something about it and maybe she'll tell us." "Let's hope you're right." Howard mumbled under his breath.
….
"But I don't want to!" Sheldon whined. "Come on Sheldon." Amy stated. "They're going to suspect something if the great Dr. Cooper doesn't show up for at least the last part of the work day. And remember, I'll be there to pick you up at the end of the day." She reminded him. "I guess you're right." Sheldon huffed. "I don't know how much longer I will be able to do this for." He confessed. When Amy looked at him quizzically, he continued. "Last night after you called and calmed me down, I ran into Leonard." "Oh?" Amy said, surprised. "Yes indeed. He started asking me all kinds of questions and in my panic; I had told him I was using the bathroom even though I was in the kitchen." Amy stifled a giggled at his failed lie. She figured everyone would be on to them right about now. "Regardless," She started, "You have to go into work whether you want to or not."
"But Amy!" Sheldon cried. "What if they get suspicious again? I don't have a lie made up that will satisfy them." "Well, I know one thing that would help calm you down before work." She told him, eyebrows slightly raised. "Oh yeah? And what is that? Certainly your chamomile tea failed to do its job. You should check to see if it expired or not." Amy rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's oblivious remark. "Sheldon, my tea is not expired." She stated. "Are you sure?" He questioned further. "Of course I'm sure." She replied. "And that's not what I meant anyways."
Now it was Sheldon's turn to say "Oh?" Amy gave him a little smirk and leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. It was one of the first kisses that Amy had initiated since he had proposed a shift in their relationship. At first, Sheldon was tense and barely moved. But Amy persisted on, and ever so slightly, he relaxed into her and did a little picking motion with his lips. Amy loved it when he did that and lingered for a moment after she pulled away. Glancing at him now, he still appeared to be tense.
"Sheldon, relax." She said. He didn't answer immediately; instead, he looked beyond her head, mumbling under his breath. "Fascinating." She heard him say. Then, without warning, he turned to her and said "I'll be ready in 20 minutes." And he proceeded to practically dash to the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind him. Inside, Amy could hear him breathing heavily. She found herself wondering what was going on in that brain of his. Shrugging, she moved away from the door and back to the couch. 'Progress' she thought.
….