CHAPTER 18
According to Sheldon's breakfast schedule; Monday was Waffle day; it's been that way since he was a little boy, and of course, Amy knew it.
On this particular Monday, Amy woke up thinking of him, even more than usual. The day before she'd tried to prepare spaghetti with hotdogs cut up in it, but since she couldn't find the exact same marinara sauce which Sheldon's mother uses when she cooks it; the result, although tasty, wasn't identical.
The night before Amy dreamed of Sheldon. She'd imagined herself being hold by him during the night as they fell asleep in each other's arms. In her dream, they just sleep together, but that was enough. In fact that was everything she needed at the time. When Amy got up, she was longing for his presence, but there were nothing but pillows and blankets on her bed.
When Amy wanted to feel closer to Sheldon, she tried to do certain things that remind her of him; for instance, she used to follow his routines, quite often. And since it was Waffle Monday, Amy wouldn't have any other thing for breakfast.
Amy anxiously looked for a packaged waffle mix in the kitchen cabinets. She thought she'd bought that last week. She didn't have frozen waffles on the fridge either. It was six in the morning; too early to go to the grocery store.
She tried to suppress her hankering for waffles. "I guess scrambled eggs are as good as waffles for breakfast", she told herself. She almost throw up when she tried the eggs, it was as if her body rejected them. "No, it has to be waffles." She wondered if Mattias had waffle mix or something similar.
Amy and Mattias hadn't talk to each other since the incident of the night when they presented their project at the Neurosciences Institute. Amy was very sincere when she told him that they were just going to be friends. She hopped that there were no hard feelings between them. After all, this whole situation was completely new for her. She'd never considered herself appealing enough, to have this kind of issues.
Her craving for waffles was so strong that Amy climbed up the stairs to Mattias apartment, hoping he had some.
Knock, knock, knock, Mattias. Knock, knock, knock, Mattias. Knock, knock, knock Mattias. Amy smiled.
"Hi Amy", a half sleep, half awake Mattias, greeted her. He yawned.
"Good morning Mattias! Please forgive me for waking you up so early, but I wanted to ask you if you had waffles, or waffle mix to prepare them?" Amy instantly blushed when she saw Mattias's disheveled hair, white T-shirt and blue boxers.
"Waffles? Mattias asked while he was trying to fix his messy hair. "Let me see… mhmm, I think I have waffle mix. Please, come in!".
Mattias immediately looked for the packaged waffle mix in his kitchen. When he got back to the living room with it, Amy's eyes shone like she was seeing a precious jewel.
"Aw, that's great! Thanks Mattias!" Amy was practically screaming of joy, just like a little girl.
"You really, really wanted waffles! Don't you?" Mattias was surprised by Amy's reaction.
Amy's face reddened suddenly. "Well… yes!. Today's Monday and it is Waffle day." She was somewhat embarrassed. "Mattias, if you want… you can come to my apartment and have breakfast with me. Amy was trying to pay back Mattias's kind gesture.
"Yeah, that sounds great, I'll go change my clothes and I'll be at your apartment in a few minutes", Mattias replied.
Amy quickly prepared the waffles and they were delicious. She served them with fresh berries and honey.
During breakfast, Mattias couldn't help but think how much he'd like to spend every day with Amy like this. Amy's gorgeous green eyes had a lovely sparkle and her smile was an invitation to be happy. "Think of something else. Please, think of something else!" Mattias told to himself. He knew that, sadly, there was no other man in the world for Amy but her boyfriend.
After breakfast Amy and Mattias walked to the Neurosciences Institute, like any other day. The sky was completely blue, without a cloud, and the sun was shining over the green fields of the university. It was a wonderful day. Amy felt relieved to know that the incident didn't affect her friendship with Mattias, apparently.
At the lab, Amy settled to work on her daily activities. Today she was examining brain tissue specimens preserved in formaldehyde while Mattias was analyzing the statistical results of the first six weeks of the study.
The smell of formaldehyde was particularly strong that day for Amy. It was almost intolerable, sickening. Amy tried to focus and work faster; she couldn't resist that odor any longer.
"Mattias, do you know if they changed the formalin concentration that we apply to preserve the biological specimens? It seems to me that the solution we're using now is especially pungent and highly concentrated. Don't you feel dizzy with this smell?" Amy asked Mattias as she cut through a temporal lobe sample.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's the same concentration we always apply." Mattias replied, coming closer to Amy and perceiving the smell of the chemical substance.
"Are you sure? I'm feeling quite dizzy, and I think I'm about… faint", Amy lost consciousness and almost fell to the floor, if it wasn't for Mattias who held her.
"Oh my God! Amy! Wake up!" Mattias shouted.
Sheldon headed to Dr. Seibert's office with an idea fixated in his brilliant mind. Knock, knock, knock, Dr. Siebert. Knock, knock, knock, Dr. Siebert. Knock, knock, knock, Dr. Siebert.
"Come in Dr. Cooper!" Caltech's president wasn't pleased with Sheldon's visit.
"Good morning Dr. Siebert, you might be wondering why I'm here" Sheldon said eloquently.
"What is it now Dr. Cooper? Do you want to install more suggestion boxes? Do you want a new office? Oh, no, no! I know, Dr. Kripke told you something mean? Are your dry erase markers too green or too red?" Dr. Siebert asked sarcastically.
"No, it's nothing like that. This might surprise you, but I need to take two weeks off from work. I'm going to Stockholm next Friday, for personal reasons." Sheldon said matter-of-factly.
"Well, Dr. Cooper, you know I'm the first one to be glad when you decide to take a day off. It's an opportunity to take a vacation from your peculiarities, so to speak". Siebert was being honest.
"Alright then, seeing that this is not an inconvenient for you; I'm taking two weeks off from work, starting next Monday. I already have my tickets to Stockholm", Sheldon continued.
"Not so fast Dr. Cooper, hold your horses! At this particular moment, I'm afraid I can't grant you permission. You know Dr. Kripke's taking his vacations now, and I don't have a substitute for you. So, I'm sorry I have to say no." Sheldon was disappointed to hear this.
"But… Dr. Siebert, I already had everything planned. I need to be in Stockholm as soon as possible". Sheldon was almost begging.
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you at this time. Maybe next month, when Dr. Kripke comes back, you can have your vacations, as many days as you want, but not now. I'm truly sorry". President Siebert added.
"No, no, no, I can't wait for a month. I must go to Stockholm" Sheldon was exasperated. His brain was working frantically, trying to find a solution for this unexpected problem. He needed to see Amy, to be with her.
Sheldon was angry when he left Dr. Siebert's office, he ran across the hallway to his office. He slammed the door furiously.
He was pacing nervously up and down his office, he just couldn't think of an answer to this problem. Could he wait for another month? He had already waited for six weeks. Four weeks more didn't seem like a long time.
"No Cooper, Amy needs you with her", the annoying voice inside his head was yelling again. "Maybe you need her more than she needs you". The voice was right. Could he find someone to replace him for two weeks? But… who could substitute him. Ironically the only person he considered his equal on the intellectual level was… Amy. Sheldon sighed.
Alex Jensen, Sheldon's assistant, knocked on the door. When she entered the room she found out that his boss was, apparently, in the middle of an emotional crisis.
"Dr. Cooper, do you need any help?" Alex asked trying to be polite.
"No, I don't think you can help me. But… I need a substitute for two weeks. Do you know someone who can replace me at work?" Sheldon wasn't even expecting an answer from Alex.
"Well, I've been working with you for several months, and you know I graduated top of my class. Besides, I've read all of your research papers. I think I could be your substitute, if you agree, of course" Alex timidly replied.
"You... my substitute? Are you serious?" Sheldon couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, I considered that I'm qualified for the position and I can continue your research projects" Alex replied with a new find confidence. "Just give me the opportunity".
Although, this idea originally seemed crazy, Sheldon didn't have many options. He sat on his chair and crossed his arms. He stared at Alex for a couple of minutes, without saying a word.
"So… What do you think Dr. Cooper? Are you going to give me the chance to be your substitute? Alex asked again.
"I really find myself in a desperate situation. I don't I have a better alternative, so I guess I'm going to give up and embrace chaos. I hope Dr. Siebert authorizes you to be my replacement for two weeks. I wish I don't regret this later" Sheldon mumbled.
"You won't regret this decision" Alex was glad to have the chance to show her capacity. She wouldn't disappoint his boss.
When Amy regain consciousness, a couple of minutes after she fainted; she was still feeling lightheaded and nauseated.
"What… what happened to me?" she asked Mattias. He was standing next to her.
"You fainted and I put you on this couch until you wake up. Are you alright? I'm worried about you" Mattias admitted. He gave her a glass of water.
"This is unusual. I've never fainted before. I've always been healthy and strong. But, to be honest I've been felling a bit weird, I thought this was just a hangover from last Saturday. Maybe it's because of the weather change or a parasitic infection". Amy confessed.
"You know it's rather unlikely for you to get a parasitic infection here in Sweden" Mattias added with the tone he used when he interviewed his patients. "Do you have any other symptoms?"
"Yes, I had nausea, for about a week. I've thrown up, a few times, especially in the morning. Also I've been felling extremely drowsy. This must be a parasitic infection." Amy told Mattias. "The only thing which doesn't support the diagnosis is that… my breasts feel tender and full". Amy blushed as she said the last words.
"Amy, I'm going to ask you the next question, as a doctor exclusively" Mattias said as he sat on the couch next to Amy. "I know this is personal but… When was your last menstrual period?".
Amy couldn't remember exactly the date of her last menstrual period. She knew it was before her travel to Stockholm, probably one or two weeks before her trip. She's always had irregular cycles, and that was the reason she started taking the pill. She didn't pay attention to this fact, because she thought it was due to an alteration of her circadian rhythm.
"I'm not sure but I think it was one or two weeks before I arrived here. However, that's irrelevant because I've been on the pill for almost two years" Amy answered nervously. She wouldn't admit it but she'd forgotten to take the pill on March 24th, and the next day.
"You know that contraception sometimes fails, don't you?" Mattias asked her. He was starting to think that Amy's theory of the parasite wasn't completely wrong.
"Of course I do, but I'm not pregnant, if that's your hypothesis", Amy replied angrily. What's the possibility of getting pregnant on your very first time? Well, in fact there were two times. Two memorable times. She smiled with that memory on her mind.
"You can't easily rule out the possibility, let's go to the hospital so I can order a pregnancy test for you. In a couple of hours we can have the result. I can order some other test to find out if you have a parasitic infection or something else." Mattias's clinical eye was highly trained.
Amy wanted to say "No, I won't take any test. Your supposition is absurd". She couldn't do that. She wasn't so sure that Mattias was wrong. "I'm going to take the test, just to prove your mistake." Amy smiled trying to look serene, while her heart was pounding hard in her chest.
"Calm down Amy, everything is going to be fine", she told herself, struggling not to burst into tears.
