I have to apologize to my readers for this late chapter. Half of the chapter was written last week but I have to check the timeline of the story to be accurate for this chapter.

Chapter 12

At her boyfriend's office, Wednesday, Amy placed the Tupperware with the food she prepared on the table. She surprised Leonard with stir-fry veggies with scrambled eggs and spring rolls.

"Leonard, I know your mother doesn't let you celebrate your birthday and you missed that one surprise party Penny threw for you years ago. But I want to invite some friends and families to celebrate your day." she explained while adding eggs on his meal. "What do you think?"

"That's Tuesday. Maybe, we can celebrate in advance. It can be Saturday, 14."

"Alright. Do you want anything specific?"

"I want a kiss." Bending his neck forward and protruding his lips, Amy put the back of the spoon on his lips surface. He was displeased but her girlfriend swallowed the remaining food in her mouth, put down the utensil and gave him a light kiss.

Some of the topics they discussed while eating were Howard's situation in ISS, Sheldon's obsession playing Words with Friends and Raj-Stuart sudden atypical friendship. She was relieved that Leonard agreed to her plan.

Last December, Leonard brought flowers and a mini-strawberry shortcake in a box. He was walking in Amy's apartment hallway. Almost a month now, he met his girlfriend's parents and they evaluated their experiment and became official. All the rules were placed last Sunday on their first date as real boyfriend and girlfriend.

For this special day, he wanted to show off and be a romantic ninja.

Knock, knock, knock. "Amy"

"Leona-"

"Happy Birthday!" First, he handed the flower, then he strolled to the kitchen , opened the box and placed a small lighted candle on the cake. He began to sing towards her, "Happy Birthday, Amy. Happy Birthday, Amy..."

She smiled and closed her eyes to say her wish silently. Finally, she let out a straight blow to the candle.

"Thank you, Leonard." Teary eyes were obvious in her eyes. Both of them smiled. Her girlfriend will not be alone in celebrating her birthday.

"Do you have plans today?" The birthday girl shook her head. "Great! I have a surprise for you. "

He asked her to get dressed, just the usual cardigan, buttoned shirt, and skirt, since it would not be relevant to his surprise. He waited on the couch after he cleaned the empty box.

On the road, he drove to a place very familiar to her. The idea of this gift came from their neighbor next door when she blabbed about their girls' night.

Leading her to the corridors, they ended up in a room to wear gloves, masks, goggles, and white coats. Before he opened the door of the UCLA Cadaver Lab-Neurology room, he said to the birthday girl.

"I can't buy you a skeleton, but if you want, we can slice some brains here or play real-life Operations on the cadavers. I asked one of my mother's friends to reserve this place, and if you want, we can put your favorite brain tissue in this slide and I can preserve it in a keychain. "

She gave him a wide smile and grabbed his body. "Thank you. This is the best birthday I've ever had. "

Before the neurobiologist entered the room, she said, "Thank you for donating your body for science. We will make sure that your sacrifice will be honored." Turning her head to her boyfriend, she waved her hands and entered. It's not like Amy believes in ghosts.

Amy went around every specimen and piece of flesh in the cadaver room as Leonard couldn't take the smell of formalin and stayed in the neuro-room. He watched her through a window as she examined each dead body with care, as if they were delicate thin glass. When she came back, a small square glass container was in her hands, and he carefully placed it on the dissecting table.

Each move she made, he watched her carefully; the way she placed the brain on the pan; the placement of the scalpel among her three fingers; the precise movement of cutting the tissue.

"When I was at Harvard, I used to spend time in their cadaver laboratory, usually harvesting tissue like nerves, gray and white matter. Other times I talk to them, since I don't have any friends, they are the closest I could have. At least I have science and them to celebrate my birthday. " Slowly, she pulled a sheet of tissue onto the surface, thinner than the hair. "One time, my professor caught me playing Operations on one of the cadavers. She was my favorite corpse, maybe 2 days old. She's beautiful and tall. The medical students opened her body but they hadn't touched her face and skull yet. Ms. Robinson walked in my direction and handed me a folder. "

The experimental physicist sat on the stool on the other side of the table.

"She calmly said, 'Ms. Fowler, read her story.' Then she left me. It's a compilation of medical records where the body came from, and the first page is a signed Anatomical Gift Program form. Her personal information was there. She signed the day she was diagnosed. It was glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive tumor found superior to the pituitary gland."

After Amy removed the small vessels and cleaned the organ with a clear solution. Grabbing a smaller bladed scalpel, she continued her story.

"The woman died three months after the signatory date." She was a pediatric neurosurgeon. Ironic, isn't it?" He nodded. "I've checked her university profile. They dedicated an article to her passing in our student ledgers. During the ceremony, the venue was full of children and their parents. They remembered and loved her. The loss of a person was mourned by many. "

Cutting from front to back, she split the brain in half. Her girlfriend pulled both sides apart and showed him. "I didn't believe in the afterlife and the paranormal, but my professor taught me to respect any dead body or organ I will encounter in my career. They take care of and nourish their bodies before the unpreventable happens."

Giving him a sign to move close to her, he followed, bringing the chair to her side. She pointed to the internal structure, "The owner of this brain is between 50 and 55 years old, definitely male. You can see these strands around the ventricles. It's not old enough. The ventricles are dilated abnormally, and the grooves are deeper than in a healthy brain. Hold this. "

"But-don't," he hesitates to receive the sharp object. She moved the pan in front of him and went to his back, her arms surrounded him.

"Don't worry. A world-class brain scientist will guide your hands. " She firmly touched the back of his hand and pressed the blade to create a fissure. She separated them again and laid them flat. "This patient suffered from a rapid rate of memory loss." She peaked at the disconnected tissue that was not cut by the blade.

Listening to her, sensing her touch, and seeing how brilliant she is, he was so proud that she was exclusively his. In time, they're going to tell everybody that they are committed. Hiding what they have is just temporary.

Setting down a thin slice on a specimen slide and labeled the container with her and her boyfriend's names. "This is for the keychain." They returned the other parts with a solution and headed to his next surprise. He wanted to have dinner, but Amy requested to buy ice cream pints in the grocery store and suggested he go home.

"It's your birthday. I can't say no to you. " They headed back to Glendale after they picked up Vietnamese food and bought three flavors of ice cream (strawberry cheesecake, vanilla, and Choco Mint). All of them are dairy-free.

Cleaning the take out containers, grabbed 2 spoons for their No-Lactose Ice Cream Party, and relaxed on the couch.

"Thank you for making this day special." Scooting a little closer to him and kissing his cheek.

"Do you want to cuddle?" asking her permission as this was not listed as an acceptable physical contact.

"Hmmm?" a delay in her response, but she turned her back as he opened his arms to welcome her body and leaned on him. He put his hand on the sofa's back. He wanted to hold her but he didn't want to rush things with her.

She put a spoon of ice cream in each of their mouths simultaneously. "I have one last surprise." He whispered.

She raised her head from his chest to meet his eyes, but before he gave the final present, he wrapped his hands around her body and placed his lips above her ear. "This." giving a flat square object. She sat up and rotated her body to face him. As she peeled the red cover, she wasn't sure. Was it a picture? No. A frame? No. She was speechless.

"I did some research and found out that Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, did lots of hand drawings of brain cells. And I managed to find this signed print. Happy birthday, Amy."

"Thank you, Leonard, so much." Her green eyes were sparkling due to the tears, but he stopped them by cracking a joke.

""I 'm a certified romance ninja." Moving his arms to chop like in the shows he watched. " You don't see it coming, and then bam, romance, watch out, hearts, kisses, love, ooh-ya!" Leonard never heard her laugh this way, full of joy and drawn out.

The sound from the horn of the car behind him astounds the consciousness in his body. He didn't notice the lights turning green. He remembered that she almost kissed him that day, but instead she pressed her soft lips on the tip of his nose. It was enough for him. Leonard bought some paper cups, plates, and utensils from the convenience store as requested by Amy for his birthday party tomorrow.

At 4B with his lady, Leonard was nervous about celebrating this event as he was raised to consider this day normal and not an occasion. Amy knotted the green tie around his neck and asked if he needed more time to prepare himself. He waved his head and joined her hand. "Let's go."

"Give a moment. I wanted to give you my present. " A blue box was handed to him. He grabbed it and wrapped his arms around Amy. It's a Fossil Superman Watch Limited Edition. "You love Kal-El, right?"

Kissing her face, he smiled at the expensive gift. "Leonard, I also rent a recording studio so you can rap your songs and drop your freestyles."

Embarrassed about how his girlfriend found out about his childhood dream, he swallowed the hard pill and didn't say anything. "You left your Superman notebook entitled 'Loopdog : Snoopdog with a healthy respect for the police' in my apartment." That's how she discovered his rap song book.

Holding her hand, they entered the apartment across the hall. He surveyed the room and found people he did not expect to see. He pulled Amy close and asked the reason for his family's presence, but the only response she provided was a flirtatious smile.

He was dragged by Amy to the center of the room with two glasses of champagne. "If I may, I'd like to propose a toast." getting everybody's attention while clicking the glasses. "Um, thank you all for coming tonight. I know it's customary for the birthday boy to receive presents, but I feel like I got the greatest gift the day he was born. " He watched Amy turn her head towards his parents and they drank the alcohol straight.

They walked towards his parents, and Amy put her hand out for Beverly and Alfred. Then she moved to greet his brother and sister.

"Leonard, dear, I want to talk to you in private." His mother said, and he pointed out the hallway to his bedroom. "There's something I need to say to you." He touched Amy's waist before proceeding and informed her that he would leave for a while.

"Oh, really? That's too bad. " He snorted. They haven't had a chance since the night he found them drinking and debating about his childhood. He sat on the bed while his mother remained on her feet close to the door.

"Leonard, I always made you earn my affection, but I realize that if I want you to accept me for me, then I guess I'm going to have to accept you for you. I hope you will forgive me for all the experiments and humiliation I put you through. " Beverly walked up to him and hugged him. It's the same warm sensation his hugging machine provided him when he was young, but this time it really is his mother's touch. "Son, mommy only did it to train you to be strong. I'm sorry."

He reciprocate the gesture and stood up. "Thank you, Mother. I forgive you. I forgive you, mommy. " The heaviness in his chest disappeared through the tears flowing down from his eyes. "Mom-my, I'm sorry for not being the son you wanted. I'm not as smart as Michael and Karen. I give my best, but I'm still a failure. "

"It doesn't matter, dear. You're enough. " He felt his mother tighten her hug on him. "Happy Birthday, my baby."

Rajesh informed the other three members of the gang to stay after the party for a big announcement. Leonard was not of the view, so he asked Amy to provide the information. He was the organizer for this after-party, and he wanted to show off to his friends that astrophysics is not the only field he can master.

"Are you ready to know?" Rajesh whispered to Penny.

"Yes." Penny said.

With Howard in video chat, the six gathered on the sofa after cleaning up the after-party mess. Sheldon is sitting in his spot with Amy on his side, and the others sat in their respective places.

Carrying a white box labeled "XX or XY?" Rajesh opened the door, "Guys, let's all go on the rooftop. Penny wants you to know her baby's gender."

When everyone was on the rooftop, Leonard pulled out a cardboard box with two colors, blue marked with 'boy' and pink marked with 'girl', while placing a bill on the boy. "Wanna bet?" Amy put a $100.00 bill in the pink section and encouraged the others, including Howard on video chat.

"Bernie, put another $100.00 in blue!" Howard yelled from the ISS as his wife obliged. His colleagues saw what was happening on the screen and joined the party 420 km above the surface of the Earth. Bernadette placed her own money on the girl.

"What are you doing? Betting on my baby's sex?!" Penny shouted, but no one noticed her as the members convinced the others to place a bill.

"Sheldon," Amy said, touching her friend's arm. "You said you wanted to be Uncle Doctor Cooper?" Sheldon rolled his eyes and put another $100.00 bill in pink.

Leonard spoke before the announcement. "The losers will drive Sheldon for a month." Everybody looked sharply at him. "Okay. Okay, The losers will buy each guy one comic book or buy each girl their beads and wire sets for Girls Jewelry Night. "

"Okay. Everyone voted and placed their bets? It's showtime! " The astrophysicist shouted and threw a smoke pellet on the ground. He pulled the golden rope on the box as it automatically opened and a large red balloon with the words "BAZINGA!" flew out along with other small green balloons.

Once the skyline was clear of balloons, blinks on the sky started to appear with blue and pink lights, shifting into different kinds of shapes. Slowly they spell a message…

…I-T-S-–A—B-O-Y.

XY.

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