The next morning, Amy made herself some toast in the suite kitchen instead of going down to the restaurant.
Sheldon noticed that Amy was a lot quieter than usual, and clumsier.
He padded across the room and picked up the new carton of orange juice that she had just dropped.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"Am I right in guessing that you're nervous?" Sheldon asked.
"Very." Amy sighed.
"Is it possible for you to channel that negative thought into a positive thought and be excited instead? This is a great opportunity." Sheldon said, pouring himself some cereal.
"I could try." Amy shrugged. "Thank you Sheldon." She stood on tiptoes to kiss him, before biting into her toast.
"What time do you start?" Sheldon asked, opening the doors to the balcony.
"Nine thirty." Amy replied.
"You have almost two whole hours!" Sheldon blinked.
"Yes, well I woke up early because I was so nervous."
"What time did you get up?"
Amy looked at the clock. "6:35; I showered, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and now I'm here."
"And you didn't wake me?"
"Sorry Sheldon. But you're home-commuting from today. I figured it wouldn't matter." Amy replied.
"Well Good Lord Amy. Since being here, my schedule seems to have gone out the window!" Sheldon complained.
"Oh boo hoo. Welcome to the life of a normal person." Amy responded. "So…Are you going to apologise to Penny?"
"Yes, I haven't forgotten." Sheldon replied. "But she won't be awake yet. If I go downstairs and knock for her and Leonard, she'll maul be like a rabid dog. Especially after we lied to her."
"We?" Amy snorted.
"Yes, we. Are you forgetting that you were the one who made up the excuses to defend me? This is really down to you." Sheldon replied, and was met by being smacked on the butt with a dishtowel.
"Why did you hit me on the buttocks with a dishtowel?" He frowned.
Amy grinned. "To discourage further bad behaviour."
"How was I behaving badly?"
"By blaming all of this on me." Amy whipped the towel on his backside again.
"Amy, stop it."
She did it again.
"Amy! Don't!"
As she went to whip him with the towel again, Sheldon stood up.
"Okay, that's it. I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" He said, as he turned around to face her, and began to tickle her sides.
"Sheldon, no! Stop!" She laughed, sinking to the floor. "Sheldon I can't take it anymore!" She laughed breathlessly as she squirmed on the floor, and pulled her boyfriend down with her.
He continued to tickle her, as she tried to worm her way out of reach of his hands, squealing.
"Shh!" We'll wake the people in the suite next door!" Sheldon shushed.
"There…There's nobody…Nobody in there!" Amy giggled.
The tickle war continued until Amy rolled over and tapped her hand three times on the carpeted floor. "I surrender!" She said, breathlessly.
Sheldon stopped tickling her and panted for breath, as they both collapsed on to the floor, still clutching each other.
He turned his head to face her. "Your hair smells of coconut." He said. "I like it."
"Well…We're in Florida, so I thought I'd go all tropical." Amy replied.
"I like your new clothes too." Sheldon commented, glancing down at Amy's navy skirt-suit.
The skirt was a little shorter than Amy's usual style, and the white shirt she wore underneath the blazer was tighter and lower cut than her usual style, too.
"Thank you. We have to wear uniform here, although most of the time it will be hidden under a lab coat!" Amy smiled. "I'll also have a wetsuit and breathing apparatus in my locker at the facility! I'll need diving, marine tank and dolphin communication training, because those are compulsory for all the staff and scientists there, but how cool is that!"
"Very." Sheldon nodded, "But…You will be careful won't you?"
"Of course. I can swim pretty well anyway, but we all need to train anyway…"
"No, I mean in general. Don't let any of the dolphins hurt you."
"The dolphins won't hurt me. They are treated humanely and lovingly there, and everything is done with the dolphins' and staff's health and safety in mind." Amy reassured. "I'll be careful."
Sheldon smiled at her. "I see my diversionary tactics worked."
Amy frowned. "What?"
"You're not nervous anymore."
"You're right!" Amy blinked, and then threw her arms around Sheldon, almost bowling him over. "Thank you baby!" She kissed him.
Sheldon frowned now, and looked at Amy. "Did you just call me baby?"
"Um…"
"I'm not a baby!"
"No, it's a term of endearment too. Like…'Hey baby, you're looking sexy today' or 'I love you baby.' Or whatever."
"Oh…I thought it was just what mothers called their children as a term of endearment, not lovers or romantic partners?" Sheldon replied.
"Do you not want me to call you that again?" Amy asked, quietly.
Sheldon shook his head. "No…I like it." He kissed the top of her head. "I really like it, baby."
Amy grinned. "I have you trained well." She laughed.
..
Once Amy had left to go to her new job, after an emotional goodbye, which Sheldon hated, he wandered down to the restaurant, just in time to catch Penny and Leonard heading back out towards the rooms.
"Ah, there you are. I need to talk to you." Sheldon said.
Penny cleared her throat, not looking at him. "Okay…"
"I heard about Penny catching you and Amy in the act last night." Leonard chuckled. "Nice going!"
It sounded like Leonard was giving a genuine compliment, and he held up his fist to fist-bump Sheldon.
Instead of fist-bumping, Sheldon just shook Leonard's hand, causing his friend to silently frown and roll his eyes.
"It's not funny Leonard; I'm scarred for life!" Penny complained.
"Penny, forgive me, but didn't you want me to have coitus with Amy?" Sheldon asked.
"Yes, but not in front of me!"
"We were in our own room. You came in…This is really on you."
Penny glared at him. "Oooh, well I'm sorry! You left your card key and I was returning it! Come on, you're Sheldon Cooper, how the hell did I know I was going to walk in on you giving it good to Amy?"
"You could have slipped the card key under the door." Leonard pointed out.
Penny turned to glare at him, and he shut up.
"First of all Penny, please correct your grammar; the correct phrase is 'giving it to Amy well', and secondly, who I am is irrelevant. You could have knocked." Sheldon said.
"Screw grammar! And yes, it is totally relevant! You are the one man in the world who thinks sex is evil, and there you are doing it! I wasn't meant to know…"
"Alright, alright…Look, I came to apologise for lying to you and for not telling you first. I understand that your feelings are hurt and that you feel I don't trust you, and I'm sorry." Sheldon said.
Penny smiled. "It's okay. I understand why you wanted to keep it secret…I should never have tried to push it out of you. You and Amy were ready and did it out of love." She said. "I'm sorry too…And I'm sorry for walking in on you!"
"Thank you."
"So…Do you really think of me as a mother figure? I'm younger than you." Penny grinned.
"Age is irrelevant. You point me in the right direction, tell me off if I upset Amy or other people, and you help me a great deal." Sheldon replied, "And Leonard is like an annoying brother that I still live with."
Leonard frowned. "I'm really flattered Sheldon, but if I'm your brother and Penny is like our mother…Technically I'm sleeping with our mother!"
"Leonard, please. What you do with our mother is of no interest to me."
Penny laughed. "We're like the most screwed up family in the world!"
Leonard snorted. "Try living with my real mother!"
"Try living with Wolowitz's mother!" Sheldon piped up, making Penny and Leonard laugh.