CHAPTER 13

Amy spent her flight to Stockholm trying not to think of Sheldon, it wasn´t that she didn't want to think of him, but she still have six months to miss him. She tried to concentrate on reading scientific articles and Dr. Johansson's book. She considered him one of the greatest neuroscientists today.

Amy always chose the window seat when flying, because, since she was a little girl, she loved discovering imaginary figures in the shapes of clouds. The travel to Stockholm was quite long, a little over 15 hours. Those 15 hours felt like 15 days being away from Sheldon. She listened to some music but that only reminded her of him. The movie they played during the flight was so boring; she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

"Well, things have really changed for me!", Amy thought. If just a little more than two years ago, someone had told her she was going to be so dominated by her feelings and longing for the closeness of her boyfriend, she would have answered that was ridiculous.

Amy's flight made a connection at Amsterdam's airport, where Amy got on another plane to continue her travel to Stockholm. The passenger sitting next to Amy was a young blonde woman with long hair and green eyes; she was carrying in her arms a cute 6 or 7 month old baby girl. The baby smiled at Amy.

The young blonde woman reminded her of Penny. Amy was going to miss her so much. Since she still had three hours of flight until she finally arrives to Stockholm, she tried to sleep again.

When Amy was finally able to sleep, the inconsolable crying of a baby, woke her up. It was the little girl on the seat next to her. The baby's cheeks were flushed, her small hand pulled at her left ear. Despite the efforts of her young mother, the crying was uncontrollable.

"It seems like she has an earache", Amy said looking at the moving scene.

"Yes, I think so", said the young mother, cradling the baby in her arms. "Maybe she has a fever too".

"When I was a child, my mother used to apply heat to my ear with a tissue or cotton swab to reduce the pain. It was quite effective." Amy said trying to help her seatmate.

"I'm going to ask the flight attendant, maybe she can help me. Could you please hold her, only for a few minutes?" The blonde girl asked Amy while putting the baby in her arms, as she rose suddenly from the seat.

"Hey, hold on! I don't know how to... take care of a baby", Amy said almost inaudibly; observing the little baby, crying in her arms.

"I think your mom is a little upset and that's quite understandable because you haven't stopped crying since the plane took off", Amy told the baby, trying to reason with her.

Suddenly, our beloved neurobiologist had a brilliant idea and began to sing: "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr ", gently rocking the baby in her arms to the beat of the song.

The result was almost magical, not only she stopped crying, but also her eyes began to close slowly when she heard the lullaby.

When the girl's mother returned with a bottle of milk and a handkerchief to apply heat to the ear of her daughter, she was surprised to see the girl completely quiet in Amy's arms as she continued singing Soft Kitty.

"Wow, you're so good for this!. Do you have children?", Said the young mother.

"Arguably… yes, I have one. A big one", said Amy smiling.

"How old is he?", Asked Amy's seatmate. Her name was Emma.

"Well, he just turned 32", said Amy laughing and showing Emma, one of the photos of Sheldon she had on her cell phone.

"He is ... cute", Emma added.

Amy couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about his much-loved boyfriend, Sheldon. They haven't spent one day apart and she missed him already.

The message from the pilot and the order to fasten their seatbelts let them know that they were about to land at Stockholm's airport. It was 06:15 am.


Sheldon was with friends in the living room having dinner. They had ordered Chinese food as usual.

Sitting in his favorite spot of the couch, Sheldon was slowly stirring his food with a fork. He wasn't hungry. He didn't even try a bite.

He looked at his watch and his phone every 10 seconds, waiting for Amy to call him. She said she'll call him the minute she gets to Stockholm. Nothing happened.

Howard, Leonard and Raj had a lively conversation about a movie. Sheldon heard something about The Hobbit, but he wasn't sure if that was the topic. He hadn't said a word all evening.

"Sheldon, you should eat something, your food must be cold by now", Leonard said, concerned for his friend.

Sheldon had his eyes fixed on some place in the middle of the room, as if he were trying to solve an invisible equation that only he could understand. Then he looked at his watch again.

"If it is 09:20 pm on Monday, in Pasadena, it means it is 06:20 am on Tuesday, in Stockholm, so Amy should've arrived at the airport already. Why hasn't she called me yet? I've checked the news and there aren't reports of plane accidents or hijackings. Did something happen to Amy?". Sheldon was worried.

"She'll call you. I'm sure her flight just landed and she hasn't been able to communicate with you", Raj said.

"Or maybe Amy got distracted admiring the "local landscape". By the way, have you seen the Swedes, both women and men look like models of a Tommy Hilfiger advertising. I mean, if I were her I'd be rather distracted", Howard giggled.

Sheldon's nervous tics became obvious when he heard Howard's words. His right eyelid was spastically shaking.

"Amy is not swayed by appearances, she prefers the essence of a person and not their looks", Sheldon was upset.

"That's pretty clear, I mean she does have a boyfriend that looks like a giant praying mantis", Howard said laughing.

"Please Howard, leave him alone!. He's worried about Amy", Leonard said trying to calm things down.

Sheldon got up from his seat in a single leap and went to his room, closing the door abruptly.

"Do you see what you just did?, When you go home, I still I have to live with him", Leonard told Howard. The obnoxious engineer shrugged his shoulders.


Meanwhile Amy was somewhat lost at Stockholm's airport. She didn't remember that her luggage was so heavy. Sheldon made sure that she had enough warm clothes for six months in Sweden. Carrying her suitcases with difficulty she looked for Doctor Johansson, as he would take her to her new residence in Stockholm.

According to Janet Cox, head of the Department of Neurosciences at Pasadena; Dr. Johansson was going to pick her at entrance A, exactly where Amy was waiting. She was looking for the good-natured elderly man, who was smiling on the cover of the book she had in her hands.

It was 07: 00 am, and when Amy was growing impatient, Dr. Johansson appeared as expected.

"Amy Farrah Fowler?, I'm Mattias Johansson, nice to meet you", he said as he introduced himself.

"Dr. Johansson?, But… excuse me, you're not who I was expecting", Amy said while showing him the book with the picture of the Dr. Johansson she thought would pick her up at the airport.

"Oh, it's nice that you have my father's book. It is a common mistake, but it is to be anticipated when you share the same name and the same profession. I'm Dr. Mattias Johansson, and he's my father", said the attractive young man.

Amy could not help but notice how handsome Mattias was. He was tall, maybe a little taller than Sheldon; he was blond, with eyes of a blue-green shade; not as beautiful as her boyfriend's eyes, but still very appealing.

If she didn't know that he was a neuroscientist, she would have thought he was a model or an actor. Despite the known lack of sunlight at this time of the year in Sweden, his skin was evenly tanned, contrasting with his smile of perfect white teeth, and a light stubble across his jaw.

"I'll help you with your luggage", Mattias said as he lifted the heavy bags. "Come on, my car is this way".

"Thanks", Amy replied, smiling as she followed him to the car.

Author's note: It took me a while to update, but here is the new chapter. Read and review. What do you think of Mattias? :)