A/N: Long time no read, I know. Between my other stories, working more hours to cover missing people, and my 20 Year High School reunion last weekend, it's been cra cra! Real life is a bitch sometimes. Thank you for your patience and I hope it's worth the wait.
A special shout out to Hazelra7 for her wise counsel to this fried out author with this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own BBT, but Aug 11th can't come fast enough!
Amy woke the next morning entwined in Sheldon's arms. She moved to get up, but then she saw his hair tousled and a hint of a smile on his face. Mesmerized, she sat and watched him sleep as she thought about their last days.
'He looks like a little kid.' Amy thought to herself.
She was relieved to finally be off the emotional roller coaster ride they had been on for the last several weeks. No, the last almost four years since he asked her to be his girlfriend.
Her ever-changing plans for their relationship…his panic at his perfect world being upset with feelings and emotions.
Her anger at Sheldon's stubbornness for not turning himself upside down to be what she felt he needed to be …his frustration at always feeling like he was not measuring up to her standards.
For the first time, she felt like they were almost at the same page. She knew that without a doubt, sex…no, making love, was now a when, not an if. She knew it would be the first time for each of them, making it even more special.
After that first kiss from Sheldon on Valentine's Day, she started writing Little House on the Prairie fanfiction as an outlet for her increasing sexual frustration. After getting no relief with her M-rated Adam and Mary stories, she moved into Alternate Universe with Amelia and the Time Traveling Physicist. She could make Cooper anything she wanted him to be, but she didn't want anything but her Sweet Baboo.
Would she like Sheldon to tell love stories of the cosmos to make her swoon like Raj can? She used to, yes.
Did she wish that her boyfriend would become a romance ninja like Leonard is with Penny? At one time, yes.
Was it a goal of hers to have a man who would sing a love song to her on the anniversary of their first date like Howard did with Bernadette? Until recently, yes.
Now, she has a man who could do all three and of course do it even better.
During their flight to Dallas, Sheldon explained the mating rituals of the koala. Her favorite part was how the males would compete for the female's attention through marking trees with their scent and in some cases, fighting another male for a female koala's attention.
Raj's story of Altair and Vega was moving, but it had nothing on Sheldon as his voice imparting scientific knowledge made her want to rip off her own panties and mount her boyfriend.
Sheldon may not shower her with flowers, but for Valentine's Day last year, he made her his emergency contact. He also told her that he missed her last year while he was in Texas for Noah's birth, a feeling he didn't have about his friends.
She didn't need a love song about their first date like Bernadette got. Her man recently sent her a playlist of songs that told her what his words could not always do…tell her how much he loved and respected her.
Marriage and a family had even crossed her mind as it was the end goal of her five year plan. However, she knew that contrary to their plans at the beginning of their acquaintance, Sheldon would not want either. While she did have moments she felt sad, she was pretty certain that she could live without them. As long as she had her physicist and the Relationship Agreement, her life would be complete.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a snort. She laughed as she saw Sheldon turn over to his side. His eyes opened slowly and smiled when he focused in on her. "Good morning, Amy."
Amy smiled back. "Good Morning, Sheldon. Did you sleep okay with me here?"
Sheldon frowned for a second. He wasn't the most in tune to facial expressions and tone, but even he recognized the insecure tone in the last part of her question. "Of course I did. I'm the one who asked you to lay in slumber with me and it was the best night's sleep I have ever had. Why did you ask me like that?"
"What do you mean?" Amy said, years of instinct causing her to back away to avoid conflict.
"You asked me like it was a burden. I can assure you it's not." Sheldon said before stopping her retreat. "Why are you moving away from me?"
"I'm just shifting my position on the bunk, Sheldon."
Sheldon noted she answered while looking at his nose, her tell that she was not being forthcoming. "You're looking at my nose, Doctor Fowler. Now tell me.
Amy hesitated, years of instinctual filtering of words moving her actions. However, when she looked into her boyfriend's eyes, she realized that honesty was the best policy.
"I'm sorry, Sheldon. It's just, well…in the past when it came to emotions, relationships, and honesty, the wrong words would set you off and I didn't want to make you leave again."
Sheldon was crestfallen, but knew she had precedence. 'I have to reassure her.' He thought to himself before pulling her closer.
"Amy, you're right. I was, well, a pain in the posterior during our relationship. I skewered everything, including our Relationship Agreement to go in my favor because I was terrified of losing myself. All of the feelings your presence brought up would upset me and I took it out on you. You didn't make me jump on a train to run away, I did because I hated change. For that I can never be sorry enough. Please forgive me."
Amy could see the pain on Sheldon's face. Knowing he was being sincere, she cuddled up closer to him. "I will if you promise to let me know if you are feeling smothered. I need to be able to trust you to do this, Sheldon. I have years of walking around eggshells around your emotional state to overcome."
"As long as you promise to tell me when I am pushing you away. I can't lose you again, Amy. When I came back to the house after our fight and you weren't there…" Sheldon said, his voice cracking slightly.
"After our fight, I was scared I pushed you away for good, Sheldon. I've lost too much in my life and…I don't want to lose you, too."
Sheldon pulled her tightly into his arms to where Amy's head rested on his heart. "You won't Amy Farrah Fowler."
"Just please be honest with me about everything, okay? No surprises."
Suddenly, his phone call with Leonard popped into his mind. He promised his best friend he'd tell her today what happened. He was enjoying their moment, but Amy's last words echoed through him.
"Amy, ummm, not to put a damper on the moment…"
'Damn it, I should have known.' Amy thought, all her pleasant thoughts of earlier erased as self-preservation kicked in.
"Leonard and Penny called. Your mother called them last night."
Her first feeling of guilt for doubting Sheldon turned to fear as he finished his sentence. "M-my mother called Penny?"
Sheldon dreaded what he had to say next. "She also called my mother's house."
Amy felt sick to her stomach as realization hit. "Because I didn't answer her calls last night. She said she was going to call my friends and employment. Oh God, what if she goes to Texas…"
"Amy!" Sheldon could see his girlfriend start to shut down. When she didn't respond, he spoke again in a firm voice. "Amy Farrah Fowler!"
He was relieved when she looked up. "One time, I saw Penny kick a man approximately 2.7 times larger than her in the testicular area and that was just to get the stuff back he stole from me. You think she's going to let your mother push her around?"
Sheldon was relieved when he saw her relax slightly with a small smile on her face. "Besides, so what if she goes to Texas? There are over 100 Mary Coopers in the Greater Houston area, which has a population of 6.18 million people. Even if she defies the odds and finds my mother and Meamaw after several days of searching, my grandmother, Marie Elizabeth Richardson Sheldon, is the toughest woman I know. Even my father and brother were in fear of her." He sucked in his anger at the mention of his brother as he finished with a Sheldon Cooper breathless chuckle.
Amy finally cracked as she started laughing hard. "Sh-sh-sheldon Cooper. You are the only one who could possibly make me laugh now!"
"Well, I'm glad. Now, don't let what I told you ruin our time together. Remember, we must present a united front after we get back home. For now, though, let's enjoy the last few hours we have on this awesome train. Maybe we can sit with the conductor for a few minutes when he comes to a crossing."
Sheldon's smile disappeared when looked at the clock. "Oh crap, Amy! It's nine oh three. The breakfast car will only be open for another fifty-seven minutes. How did we sleep so late?"
Amy raised her eyebrow. "Well, a certain physicist kept me up late because he couldn't get enough of my breasts. I just figured his late night snack would be enough."
Amy was amused as she could see the wheels turning in Sheldon's head before he realized what she meant, making his cheeks and ears redden. Amy had another smart ass comment planned but her boyfriend's embarrassment was too much as she started to laugh.
Determined to get back on equal ground, he pushed his hysterical girlfriend towards the edge of the bunk. "Chop chop, Doctor Fowler. You're wasting time when you should be performing morning ablutions. Breakfast on a train waits for no man."
"Of course, Doctor Cooper." Amy suppressed a giggle at her boyfriend as she got up and ran into the bathroom. He was growing up, but in some ways, he stayed the same.
Two time zones west of Sheldon and Amy, a petite woman pulled into a parking spot at CalTech before walking into the front door of the Loeb Building. She found the room listings and scanned carefully. When she found what she was looking for, she moved to the elevator and headed up to the third floor.
Yesterday, she tried talking reason to the head of her daughter's department here, UCLA, and that Central Michigan place she was working at yesterday to no avail. Her other attempts to obtain what she needed were rudely shut down. In the end, she had no other choice but to take matters into her own hands.
Penny walked into the Loeb Building's side entrance with a tired smile. She hated being out of bed this early, but she wasn't coherent when Leonard kissed her before he left to work on his project ninety minutes earlier. Hoping to get a few minutes with him, she picked up coffee and croissants to share with him.
She also wanted to see him because today was her first day at her new job and she was nervous as hell. Penny knew that she didn't have the qualifications that most of the other drug reps had. It was bad enough she got the job only because of a mutual fear of Bernadette that she shared with her new boss. However, her microbiologist friend's nagging for her to study for twelve hours daily before visiting Amy and on the plane ride home for her certification exam made her more afraid.
However, thanks to Amy's support with the mental tricks she emailed a couple of weeks earlier and showed her while on their trip up north, she scored enough to pass and start shadowing a rep for her new route.
Penny was about to open the stair doors when she heard her name called. "Hey Raj."
"Did hell freeze over?" Raj asked jokingly. "Someone is awake early this morning."
They both had a chuckle before Penny jokingly punched his arm, causing him to flinch. "Whatever! I just wanted to stop and see Leonard for a few minutes this morning. He left at five thirty because he needed to use that CRAB thing."
Raj laughed again for a second. "Sorry, Penny. I think you mean the CRAY."
"CRAB, CRAY, whatever. Want to walk with me?"
"Sure. I was going to talk to him later, but I'll just see him before I let you two have your lovers' breakfast. Here let me take those for you." Raj said as he took the drink carrier.
"Thank Raj." Penny said as she entered the stair doors that the astrophysicist had opened for her.
"So are we all still getting together at the Cheesecake Factory tonight?" Raj asked as they walked up the stairs.
"As far as I know. Maybe without Sheldon we should try someplace new, maybe like Thai tonight and Cheesecake on Friday?"
"Sheldon would go nuts having Thai on Tuesday!" Raj said with a chuckle. "Wonder where he's going to eat dinner in Galveston tonight?"
"He's not in Galveston. He and Amy—" Penny's eyes got large as she realized her faux pas.
Raj turned to his friend. "He and Amy? They're together?"
Penny knew she couldn't screw this up. The less who knew that Sheldon and Amy went back to Michigan together, the more difficult it will be for Mrs. Fowler or anyone else to cause trouble. "Well, Amy got a hold of him when she found out about his grandmother being sick. I guess he asked her to come down there. Meamaw is in Houston, so that's probably where they are."
"What about her summer job in Michigan?"
"I'm not sure. Hey, we're here." Penny said, wanting to change the subject.
Raj opened the door and both were surprised when they saw an older woman going through Leonard's desk.
"Excuse me, ma'am. What are you doing here?"
Carrie looked up to see a caramel skinned man holding a paper carrier with two beverages and a blonde woman with a bag.
Penny saw the woman and immediately recognized her. "Excuse me, what are you doing going through Leonard's desk?"
"Penny, do you know this woman?"
Penny answered before anyone else could speak. "Raj, meet Amy's mother, Carrie Fowler. Mrs. Fowler, this is a friend of ours, Rajesh Koothrapalli."
Penny continued to stare down the other woman and spoke without missing a beat. "She's looking for Mrs. Cooper's address in Texas, which I had explained to her last night that Leonard doesn't have, nor do any of us."
The blonde stepped forward to Raj's astonishment. "Mrs. Fowler, I'm trying to be as respectful as I can, but you've gone too far. Either leave now or we'll call campus security."
Carrie started to speak, but then saw the clock and knew she had to get to the airport. "Fine, young lady, but this isn't over. I will let my daughter know she is not to associate with you any longer. You'll regret your attitude today."
Penny rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I will, ma'am. Have a nice day."
Carrie said nothing as she stormed out of the laboratory, angry about her tête–à–tête with that Penny. As it was, she barely have time to make her flight. She would just have to find Mary's house another way.
In the lab, Raj watched the elder woman leave and got the chills. "Penny, that's Amy's mother? What a bitch."
The blonde turned to her Indian friend. "Raj, 'bitch' is being kind. I can't imagine what Amy went through growing up with that head case."
Raj had a bad feeling as he gave the drink carrier with the coffees to the blonde. "I would be careful, Penny. She looks like a woman who means what she says."
Penny merely shook her head before putting the bag and one of the coffees on the desk. Grabbing a napkin out of the bag, she snagged one of the pastries before taking the carrier with the coffee. "What's she going to do? Make Amy stop being friends with me? This isn't high school anymore. I'm not afraid of her, Raj, and you shouldn't be either. She's just blowing smoke up our butts."
"I really hope so, Penny."
"Well, it looks like I'm not going to see my fiancé this morning." Penny said sadly before turning to her friend. "Raj, thanks for being around so I didn't kill Amy's mother. By the way, what did you want to ask Leonard? Is it one of your space things?"
Raj hunched his shoulders. "No, I wanted to see if I could borrow Leonard's video camera tonight. I wanted to make a video for my girlfriend."
Penny smiled. "Raj, for preventing me committing murder, you can borrow that camera for Cinnamon whenever you want."
Raj got a frustrated face. "Really funny, Penny."
"Sorry, Raj. Come on, let's get going."
The two walked out the door before Raj shut it. "Emily and I will see you tonight for dinner, correct?"
Penny bit her tongue at the mention of Emily's name. "Of course. See you later."
When the two separated, Penny walked to her car and got in. She started to text her friend about her mother, but stopped. 'She doesn't need all this on top of working things out with Sheldon. Besides, there's no way she'll find her anyhow.'
Not wanting to upset Amy, Penny erased her message and typed a new one.
Ames really miss u. need u 2 keep me from killing Emily. hope things r good w dr wackadoodle. give him my luv :p
Penny started her car before turning it off. "Damn it, I have to!"
She grabbed her phone and pushed the button for Amy before waiting, becoming frustrated to get the voice mail. "Ames, it's Penny. Please call me as soon as possible. It's important."
She ended the call, started the car again, and left for her early meeting.
Sheldon and Amy barely made it to the dining car in time for last call breakfast dining service. Their train was delayed due to a repair that was completed in St. Louis during the night. The couple were frustrated, but were relieved to know that they still had plenty of time to make their flight to their 3:00 PM flight to MBS Airport.
They were enjoying their breakfast when Sheldon shocked his girlfriend.
"Amy, can I come with you to your class tonight?"
The bite of pancake that Amy had started chewing suddenly moved to the wrong hole, causing her to choke. As she started drinking her water, Sheldon saw his girlfriend choking. Quickly he jumped out of his seat and grabbed his girlfriend before putting her in the Heimlich position.
"Sheldon—"
"Amy, I'll save you."
"Sheldon," Amy said before a cough, "wait."
"Amy, I've been trained in the Heimlich maneuver as well as CPR. I will save you, my cute little lump of wool!"
Before she would have been forced to lose her breakfast, Amy grabbed his wrist with one hand while grabbing her water glass and drinking with the other. When she recovered, she put the glass down.
"Sheldon Cooper, let me go! I'm fine, all right? Some food just went down the wrong hole." Amy saw his crestfallen face. "Thank you, though for trying to save me."
Sheldon grinned slightly. "You're welcome, but it's my job as your boyfriend. Remember Part Three in Section Four of the Relationship Agreement, Boo Boos and Ouchies?"
Amy recited the clause from memory, "If the boyfriend or girlfriend falls attack to an incidence of choking, vomiting, or excrement of any bodily fluid due to illness, injury, or from the zombie apocalypse, the non-affected partner will immediately step in to minimize, if not stop the danger."
The couple sat back down to their breakfast. "Amy, you usually masticate Westchester University's recommended average of thirty times per bite, but I noticed you only chewed once. Why was that?"
Amy was reluctant to admit her initial feelings, but when she saw Sheldon's genuine worry, she knew she had to fess up. "You surprised me, that's all."
Sheldon looked at her confused. "How?"
The neurobiologist cringed at the thought of hurting her boyfriend's feelings. "You wanted to observe me teaching."
Sheldon crinkled his nose. "Yes. So?"
"Well," Amy said, "You've never wanted to watch me work before."
Sheldon pondered for a minute. "Well, I want to now. Is that a problem?"
"No, but…." Amy said, unsure of how she wanted to word her response.
"But, what Amy?"
Amy realized she just needed to be blunt. "In January when you came to my lecture at UCLA on my experimentation of fear reactions of capuchin monkeys you acted like I dragged you there against your will. I barely had time to say thank you to the head of the Neuroscience department and two colleagues before you start carrying on about being late for Halo Night. I don't know what was worse, you doing that or when you embarrassed me in front of my colleagues in the cafeteria on my first day at CalTech."
Sheldon sat there for a moment as he remembered her presentation at UCLA. He was annoyed about possibly missing Halo Night, but was over that when he listened to her speak. He was so proud at that moment that she was his girlfriend. He was riding that cloud until he saw her talking to three men he vaguely remembered from his previous visits.
He saw her laughing with them before one touched her arm, which annoyed him enough. However, when she reached to pick up something on the podium, he saw one scoundrel check out her posterior. Furious, he moved to get her out of there quickly as to not give the wrong idea that she was available.
It was the same that day in the cafeteria. He introduced the idea of professionalism when Amy started her study at CalTech, which she agreed to. However, he was secretly disappointed when she didn't try to sneak a visit to his office on her first morning there. The final straw was when she gave the group a greeting, but didn't single him out. Instead, she was laughing and enjoying herself at another table with other people, including another man. It was not acceptable and he moved to make sure that the stick in the mud Doctor Gundersen understood his boundaries when it came to his woman.
The lecture she gave him later that night felt worse than the switch his father took to him the time he took apart the television George Cooper kept out in the old granary that doubled as his 'man cave'. He was honest with her when he came by later to apologize, but that vulnerability annoyed him to the point he ruined what he now knew was a special moment for them with his comments.
"I don't see anyone here banging on this door to put up with your nonsense." Sheldon muttered quietly with guilt.
"What?" Amy asked, concerned about the sad look on her boyfriend's face.
"I was an ass, but I turned it around on you because I didn't like feeling vulnerable." Sheldon responded.
"Sheldon, what are you talking about?"
The physicist inhaled. "When you started your project at CalTech. You brought up how I had humiliated you in front of your colleagues. I go to apologize, but instead turned it around on you like a jackass because I didn't like being vulnerable and afraid of what would happen if you didn't talk to me again. No wonder you almost died a few minutes ago when I asked to come observe instructing your class."
Amy felt bad for her reaction because he obviously was trying to do better. "It's okay, Sheldon. Yes, if you want to come tonight, I would love that."
Sheldon smiled and Amy warmed when she saw teeth, a rarity.
Ninety minutes later, Carrie was at her gate at LAX.
"How do I find which Mary Cooper to go to in Galveston?" She muttered to herself. After she pondered for a minute before a light bulb went off. "It's a long shot, but let me check to see if she filled any medications recently. Good girl that she is she still uses CVS as I do."
She turned on her browser until she found what she was looking for. "Amy, darling, what is your password? Sheldon?"
She typed it in and got 'invalid login'. "Let's see. How about his birthdate? Damn, I don't that cretin's date of birth. Let's see, she loves monkeys. Let's try that."
She got another 'invalid login'. Carrie pondered for a few minutes before a smile crossed her face. "Of course. December…eight…1945."
After entering her late husband's birth date, she waited and was rewarded with a record of Amy's active prescriptions. It was the last one that caught her eye.
"Ortho Tri-Cyclen refilled at the CVS on 61st Street in Galveston, Texas. Of course she filled those damn birth control pills!"
Feeling her blood boil, she snooped through Amy's records, clicking through different links. She was so engrossed in what she was doing, she lost track of time until they announced it was time to board. Quickly putting her stuff away, she got up and made sure her cane was visible so she could do early boarding. When situated, she pulled her a map of Galveston and the list of Mary Coopers in the area. Through process of elimination, she brought her list of several down to two possibilities.
"Ah yes, so there are two Mary Coopers in Galveston. I'll get there and make that pervert's mother see reason before I take my daughter home. She won't be compromised and I will be her top priority, not him and his rude and insolent friends. Amelia owes me that after all the sacrifices I made for her."
Smiling satisfied, she settled back and listened to the flight attendant's safety instructions.
As much as Sheldon and Amy enjoyed the train, the couple were happy when the train arrived in Chicago thirty minutes ahead of schedule. After grabbing a cab, the two made it to O'Hare Airport and quickly checked in their luggage before arriving at the security check. Even with Amy's previous history, they made very good time as they grabbed a quick lunch at America's Dog before going to their gate.
"That was not a Dallas Dog, Amy. There's no such thing. I grew up in Texas. If we wanted chili, we ate it, not put it on a bun with processed meat. At least this time it didn't have beans in it."
Amy sat down and started eating her hot dog. "That's why we got Philly Dogs, Sheldon. Anything we wanted."
"But Amy—"
"Sheldon, I need to eat this and touch up my lecture tonight. Please let me do that." Amy asked slightly exasperated.
He grabbed his hot dog and held in his pout. "Fine."
"Thank you."
Sheldon sat and ate before realizing that he only had one napkin, not the required three. Getting up, he walked back over to the stand where they had the white napkins.
He grabbed two more and started to walk back when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a petite woman with red hair and a cane looking at the departure times. After panicking for a moment, common sense kicked in as he realized that he was in Chicago, not Pasadena. Relaxed with the requisite number of napkins, he walked back to his seat.
Amy saved her work with a sense of guilt. It wasn't Sheldon's fault she was edgy from being late and for her mother's actions. If her boyfriend wasn't that concerned about her maternal figure, then she would relax also.
Getting her phone, she tried calling Penny again but got her voice mail, so she left another message.
"Bestie, this phone tag sucks. I'm at O'Hare right now and we're boarding soon so I won't be able to answer until we land in Saginaw but my class starts at 6:30. I guess we'll track each other down at some point. Later."
Amy hung up as she saw Sheldon come back with an apprehensive look before gingerly sitting next to her and start to eat his hot dog.
"I'm sorry, Sheldon. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just flustered at us cutting it close to my class tonight and what happened with my mother."
The physicist put his half eaten hot dog aside and turned to his girlfriend. "Why? You worked on the lecture while we were on the train—"
"When you weren't making out with me—"
Sheldon looked exasperated at Amy. "You are prepared for tonight, as you usually are Doctor Fowler. In regard to your mother? We will come up with that battle plan we talked about. I'm delightful, so I'll eventually win her over."
"I don't know, Sheldon…"
"Amy, as stated this morning, on the off chance she goes over to my mother's, I'm not worried. Mary Cooper could use a taste of her own nasty medicine after what she did to you."
Amy took his hand. "You need to talk to Mary, Sheldon."
Sheldon looked away in a look of annoyance. "I'll talk to her when I feel like it. What she did with your birth control pills was inexcusable. Her taking Junior's side…."
"Sheldon, I'm okay."
The physicist took her hand and held it tight. "I know, Amy. You'll never know how sorry I am you had to go through that, but…"
"But what, Sheldon?"
Sheldon exhaled. "Ever since Dad died, every time Junior does something wrong, Mom always protects him, like she's overcompensating for something. For what, I don't know."
Amy had an epiphany. "You said she always stood up for you with your father while Junior was closer to your late father. Perhaps after Mr. Cooper died, your mother felt the need to make up for what may be construed as favoritism towards you by helping him."
"I don't care why, Amy. My brother violated you and she just…she…"
Amy turned his face to look into his eyes. "Sheldon, I handled it, but you were there for me when I needed you most. Your Pop Pop would be very proud of you, just like I am."
"Really?"
"Yes, Sheldon. Really." Amy finished before hearing a boarding call for their flight. "Come on, it's time for us to board. The sooner we get there, the quicker I get to my class and then we can get your hand looked at."
They grabbed their items and got into line. "Did you reach Penny yet?" Sheldon asked.
"No. It looks like she tried to call me back while we were going through the security line. I hope it isn't about my mother or an emergency. Today was her first day at work."
Sheldon touched her shoulder. "I'm sure it's probably something to do with some idiot move she made with a doctor or that Bones television show you two like so much. Besides those delightful Doctors Brennan, Hodgins, or Sweets, I don't know of any other characters worth enjoying, even though they are all in inferior branches of science."
What was left unsaid was how he would sometimes watch it while on his train trip as one of many ways to feel closer to her. He remembered a couple of instances of the girls and Bernadette watching and getting all mushy when that Agent Booth would come on.
He had his moments where he wondered if someone like Booth was what Amy really wanted, as the man seemed to fit the prototype of what women considered handsome. After all, while he was tall and a genius, unlike the FBI agent he wasn't good at sports, seen combat, or had any physical skills. Also—
"Sheldon?" Amy interrupted his thoughts. "The agent needs your boarding pass."
"Oh, I apologize."
After handing it to the agent, they walked through the tunnel to the plane, where they sat down. He watched as Amy held on to her phone waiting for the return call from their friend. When the announcement was made to turn off all devices, he saw the frustrated look on her face when she turned off her phone.
"Amy, the time of the flight is one hour, ten minutes. We'll try Penny again when we land in Saginaw."
She set the phone in her carry-on bag. "I know, Sheldon, but my bestie said to call her right away, but we keep missing each other. First because we were at breakfast, then because we hit a dead zone. What is she up to that she's can't answer the phone?"
Penny finished her spiel to the gastroenterologist and was grateful for a break from her supervisor for the day. After making the sale, she raced outside and called Amy again. She was frustrated when it just went to her voice mail.
"Ugh!" the blonde said. When she heard the beep, she started to speak. "Ames, it's me. I—"
When she looked up, she saw her supervising rep appear with a disapproving look before she crooked her finger. Not wanting to leave a message in front of the woman, she hung up and put her phone away before walking back inside.
At 4:20 PM, Sheldon and Amy get off the aircraft and exit into the airport and race to the luggage carousel. When obtained, the two race to Amy's car in the parking lot and throw their stuff in before getting in the front.
"Now, Amy, remember the speed limit is—"
He was interrupted by his girlfriend's stare, which seemed to bore a hole in him. "Sheldon Cooper, are you telling me how to drive? Really?"
Sheldon weighed the truth, but realized that it may deny him the pleasure of sucking on her awesome boobies later. He thought about his answer before giving it.
"No, Amy."
She smirked before starting the car. "I didn't think so, Sheldon."
The couple drove to the exit before turning onto Garfield Road to go back to Mount Pleasant.
Carrie threw away her coffee cup before walking back to her gate at O'Hare Airport. Her flight was delayed due to mechanical issues but should be boarding shortly for her flight to Texas.
When she got to the gate, she turned on her laptop and researched cab companies at George Bush International Airport before planning her route. She had two Mary Coopers to check out, but hoped that the first one was the one she needed.
She was still troubled earlier by the tall, skinny man she saw at the condiment stand. For the split second she saw him, it reminded her of that miscreant Sheldon Cooper, but when she looked again, he was gone.
Of course it wasn't him. They were back in Texas, where she was heading to collect her daughter and talk some sense into that religious zealot mother of her daughter's boyfriend. She had better things to do, but she needed Mary Cooper's help. She wasn't crazy about dealing with that elderly woman she spoke with the night before, but she wasn't worried. Amy always came around in the past. There was no reason why she wouldn't do it this time.
Content and confident, Carrie Fowler sat at her gate waiting for her flight to board.