Thank you so much for your lovely reviews!
This chapter has been on my mind all week, but I only got to write it on the weekend. There has been so much going on at school, both mine and my son's, but today my parents have taken all three kids to a once-in-a-year event in our small village. It's a "duck race", but with rubber ducks. Essentially, everyone (not just the kids), has a rubber duck, and they all get thrown into a small creek and then the finish line is over at the next village and the person with the fastest rubber duck wins a price. I just love village life.
Anyway, thanks to this event, and the best grandparents in the world, I was able to post this chapter today.
Although I am not sure about next week, I will try my best to post again soon.
I'm sorry to say, this story is moving a bit slowly. Amy and Sheldon are not meeting in person during this chapter. It also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I promise things are better than they appear to be. That's all I am saying.
I hope, you will enjoy this chapter. The next one will have more Shamy in it, I promise. And then we will be moving towards reconciliation very quickly.
The Love Retrieval Chronicles
Tale 4 – "The Helium Insufficiency"
Part 2 of 4
Sheldon
"You are matched."
Sheldon blinked. And then he blinked again.
What… How…
Why?
It was illogical. Highly, highly illogical.
And yet… his heart was racing and there was a strange tickling in his stomach.
A weird sensation that gave him goosebumps.
But overall it felt very pleasant.
"I was matched…", he whispered. "With Amy."
He had no idea how to process it though. What did it mean?
And what was he to do next?
Facts. He needed facts.
He and Amy had gotten matched on a dating app.
Again.
That was a fact.
But this time, they both had known who the person on the other end was.
Which was also a fact.
And then there was a third fact: In order to get matched, Amy must have given him a "Thumbs up".
In the last few hours. Because it was another fact that his profile had not been on the app before.
Those were all the facts. And now, he had to put them together correctly and come to a conclusion.
Why had Amy given him a "Thumbs up"?
Hadn't she broken up with him?
A thrill coursed through him… was she regretting it?
She had to or she would not have done what she did.
But if she was, then why did she have a profile on a dating website in the first place? Stating she was recently single and ready to start dating again?
There was no way she could have foreseen him having a profile on this app as well.
If she wanted to be with him again, then why hadn't she just called him?
Maybe… she wasn't sure yet?
But at least she was considering it. Right?
He had no idea. Absolutely no idea what to think.
And what was he supposed to do now?
Text her? Ask her the questions that were already messing up his sleep schedule?
Or give her time and let her take the first step?
What was the protocol?
He sighed deeply, then put down his phone before getting out of bed.
He needed advice. And there was only one person he could get it from.
The one who had gotten him into this mess in the first place.
*knock knock knock* "Leonard"
*knock knock knock* "Leonard"
*knock knock knock* "Leonard"
There was no answer, so he walked into his friend's room and let the door swing shut with a loud thud.
"What the hell?"
Apparently startled by the sudden entrance, Leonard reached for his glasses.
"Sheldon, you scared me. Has something happened?"
He ignored the ridiculous notion that he could be scary.
"Yes.", Sheldon nodded. "Something happened. And it's your fault."
Leonard groaned.
"What have I done now? Did I move your shower gel an inch? Did my phone buzz? Was I breathing too loudly? Whatever it is, I'm sorry. Now can I please go back to sleep?"
Sheldon rolled his eyes.
What a drama queen.
It was time to cut right to the chase.
"Leonard, let's say… hypothetically… that I used the dating app you and Ken installed on my phone and let's…"
Leonard sat up straight.
"Oh my God, you're waking me up to get advice on the dating app? Did you… get a match?"
"Hypothetically.", Sheldon stressed. "Yes. I… might have gotten a… hypothetical match. So… what would I do in that case?"
"Well… hypothetically…", Leonard grinned and winked at him. "I would say you should… text her."
"Text her… what?", Sheldon said impatiently.
"Well, something like… 'Hey, my name is Sheldon. I'm so happy we were matched. Your profile is very interesting.' And then mention some of the interests she has on her profile and point out what you have in common."
"But that would sound as if I did not know her.", Sheldon said, scratching his head.
"Do you… know her?", Leonard said curiously. "Who is she?"
Sheldon hesitated for a second.
He couldn't exactly tell Leonard that he got matched with Amy. Leonard would tell Penny. And Penny would tell everyone else. And then they all would get involved and maybe… he shuddered… Penny would have the gall to remind Amy of how she thought he was a bad boyfriend.
Better to keep this to himself for now.
"Uhm… she… uh… works at CalTech too.", Sheldon settled on saying. "I've… seen her around."
"And… you seem to be… interested in that woman.", Leonard deduced. "Sheldon, I had no idea. So, how well do you know her?"
"Uhm…", Sheldon said, thinking about how to best answer this without giving anything away. "We… I… haven't talked to her in a while and…"
"You dawg!", Leonard shouted. "You used to talk to a woman at CalTech? And you didn't tell me? When was that?"
Sheldon cringed. His eyes was starting to twitch. He had to steer the conversation away from Amy's identity or he would not be able to hide it any longer.
"Irrelevant. Now how do I proceed?"
"Well…", Leonard yawned. "I'd still go with introducing yourself and complimenting her profile. Maybe she doesn't remember talking to you. I mean… you can't know her all that well, or do you?"
Sheldon shrugged.
He genuinely did not know how to answer that question.
A while ago, he would have thought he knew Amy by heart, but she had broken up with him out of the blue and now she was on a dating app, so how could he be sure she was the person he thought she was?
"And you really think that's the best way to go?", he clarified.
"Yes."
"But. It seems so…"
"Sheldon!", Leonard said sternly, as he put his glasses back on the nightstand. "It's a non-optional social convention. So just do it. It will be fine. You'll see."
With that, he lay back down and turned off the light.
Sheldon huffed on his way back to his room.
This was just his luck.
Whenever he had doubts about something or did not want to do it, it turned out to be a non-optional social convention.
So… fair enough… it seemed it was out of his hands.
And at least he could stop wondering what to do.
"Hello Amy.", he started typing.
Then grinned to himself as he reconsidered.
He deleted the words and started anew.
"Greetings, fellow life form…"
Amy
"Ugh… no…", Amy groaned as she woke up and rolled on her back.
She squinted her eyes, startled by the brightness shining through the curtains.
Her stomach was grumbling she couldn't decide if she was hungry or getting sick, she only knew that there was far too much light in the room, which wasn't helping the stabbing pain in her head.
That was it. No more drinking wine and scrolling through dating apps on a school night.
"Oh no…", she whispered as she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "How is it 9 am already? Did I sleep through my alarm?"
She searched for her phone, but it wasn't there. That's when she heard a faint beeping – her alarm apparently – from the living room.
"Oh crap. Crap, crap crap…", she grumbled as she stumbled on her feet.
She dragged herself to the bathroom where she tried to wash the tiredness from her eyes and took a pain killer.
After that, she threw on the first clothes she found, grabbed her phone, stopped the alarm without really looking at the screen and then rushed to work.
Her day didn't get much better then.
After having to find a good excuse for missing a morning meeting with her department head, she stood in her lab, feeling like a clueless High School student.
She just wasn't able to concentrate. Her head hurt and felt foggy, she was so tired and on top of it all, she felt like there was something weird happening to her.
As if there was something about to happen. Something she should be aware of but wasn't.
Of course, the fact she couldn't just get some tea at the cafeteria, because she did not want to run into her ex-boyfriend or his friends, did not exactly help.
"Come on, Fowler, focus.", she whispered to herself as she tried to analyze a brain specimen under her microscope."
But it was to no avail. Her eyes didn't seem to function properly. Everything was blurry.
Amy was almost ready to call it a day and go home early, when her phone rang.
"Yes?", she answered annoyed, without looking at the caller ID.
"Oh… I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?"
For the first time that day, Amy smiled a little as she heard the friendly voice with the distinct British accent.
"Dave.", she said, a bit friendlier now. "No, it's not a bad time. At all. I was just… focused on something else. I didn't realize it was you."
"Oh good, and here I was thinking you didn't want to speak to me. But then why would you have answered your phone. I'm sorry. I'm rambling."
"That's okay.", Amy answered, amused by Dave's nervousness. "Why are you calling?"
"Well, you did not answer my text yesterday.", he stated. "And maybe I should see this as a sign of your disinterest and leave you alone. Maybe a prouder man would, but I thought I'd call, in case you've just been busy and ask if you would like to go on another date with me. Tomorrow. Or… whenever it is a good time for you."
Right. She hadn't answered Dave last night.
But then again, last night had been… strange.
The dating app. All the profiles…
Sheldon.
She swallowed dryly as she remembered it. She wondered if he was already successful in his quest to find a replacement for her.
She shook her head sadly. It wasn't any of her business anymore.
"Uhm…", she answered, suddenly with a lump in her throat. "I guess… tomorrow is fine."
"Good!", Dave shouted enthusiastically, making her head hurt even more. "I'll make a reservation. Would you like me to pick you up or…"
"Thank you but… I'll drive myself.", Amy said quickly. It felt too personal to have Dave come to her place to pick her up. "Just text me when and where and… I'll be there."
After a polite farewell, Amy ended the call and – for the first time that day – looked at her phone screen.
She furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed a strange icon on the top left corner.
She clicked on it and then…
"What the hell…", she whispered. "What does that mean, 'You are matched'?"
She sat down as she tried to get to the bottom of it.
How was she matched?
And with whom?
She shook her head, trying to clear up the fog.
Well, there was only one person she had given a "Thumbs up".
But that would mean…
No. It was impossible.
Amy clicked on the small envelope that told her she had gotten a message within the app.
'Greetings fellow life form.'
She almost threw her phone at the wall in shock as she felt teleported back to the time when she sat in a different lab a few miles from where she was now and read the same peculiar start of a message that soon after changed her life completely.
Impossible. Completely and utterly impossible.
It took all she had to return her focus on the message. Her fingers started shaking as she read the familiar, yet, to her, surreal words.
'Greetings, fellow life form. My name is Sheldon Cooper, and I am a theoretical physicist. As you are aware, we just got matched. I do not believe in dating apps, but I have to admit that your profile has sparked my interest. Just like you, I am also recently single. I do like deep conversations, and I certainly never shy away from a scientific discussion, provided my opponent knows what she's talking about and does not waste my time with geology or engineering. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.'
"What is happening…", she whispered to herself. "Why would he introduce himself to me? Has he gone completely batshit crazy now?"
She tried to figure out the meaning of it, but she only managed to come up with three possible explanations.
a) Sheldon was suffering from amnesia and did not remember dating her.
b) This was a bot who was using Sheldon's picture and personal data.
And – her heart sank – c) One of Sheldon's friends was playing a trick on her.
Yes, that was it. Option c. It had to be.
Because if Sheldon had lost his memory, someone would have told her. And Sheldon was way too much of a security freak as to upload a private picture and let it get stolen by some bot.
Greetings fellow life form… by now she knew that Howard had been the one to write this to her all these years ago. Raj had been there too and surely they had told the others.
Maybe it was Stuart trying to butter her up. Trying to get her to… send personal details. Manipulating her into sending dirty pictures or something.
But what about…
Maybe… could she hope that there was a fourth option?
Option d) She had truly been matched with Sheldon and he was trying to… be cute about it? To… ease into talking to her again?
Amy sighed.
She wanted option d to be true. She really, really wanted it.
Which most likely meant that it was false. Because when had her dreams ever come true the way she wanted them to?
Her gaze landed back on her microscope.
Well, even with her headache almost gone, there was no way she would be able to concentrate now.
Why did everything always have to be so confusing?
Amy decided to go home. Maybe she would see a bit more clearly there.
She packed up her things and started walking, when she heard a voice, she hadn't heard in a while.
"I swear. He seemed really ecstatic about it too."
Leonard.
Amy quickly hid behind a big plant.
"Nah, that's not possible. I cannot believe there is another woman who would match with him on a dating app. Amy was a miracle. No way he's gotten so lucky again."
And Raj.
"I'm telling you.", Leonard insisted, as he came around the corner. "He woke me up last night, wanting to know how to approach a woman he got matched with."
"That's crazy.", Raj said in awe. "What did you say?"
They walked past her.
"I told him to introduce himself. He did not want to, because – buckle up – he already seems to know her a little. Apparently, she works at CalTech too. But I told him it's customary, so he had no choice."
"Unbelievable."
The voices got quieter, and Amy stood there, backed to the wall behind a plant, her heart racing like crazy.
So, it was true.
She had gotten matched with Sheldon. Again. And he was aware of it.
Amy smiled widely.
Not just aware… he was… ecstatic.
Her lips trembled.
And the strange message. It was because he wanted to do things the right way. He had even gotten Leonard's advice on it.
He was serious about this.
Amy raced home and plopped down on the couch with the phone in her hand.
Then she thought about what to write.
'Greetings Sheldon Cooper.', she started her message and chuckled at herself for playing along. It felt… a little childish but also exciting. 'Of course I am aware we got matched. After all, I am not an engineer. Nor am I a geologist. I do enjoy scientific arguments of all kinds as long as you do not belittle my field, which – by the way – is Neurobiology. I see on your profile that you like Star Trek. I happen to have seen one or the other episode, although I cannot say that I am a fan. Is that a deal breaker? I'm looking forward to your next message. Amy Farrah Fowler.'
She got up to get a glass of water. Because she was thirsty from the past night of drinking, but also because she couldn't just sit there and wait for Sheldon's next message.
She wasn't even on her way back before she heard her phone buzz.
As quickly as she could, she ran back to the couch and picked it up, her heart hammering in her chest.
'So, you study the brain, but you cannot recognize the brilliance of Gene Roddenberry? I should stop texting you right now. But I won't because as I said, I am intrigued by your profile, and I do like a scientific argument. So, Amy, I will go easy on you and choose a topic from your field. What is your take on the limits of Artificial Intelligence and Mind Replication?'
"Mhmm…", Amy hummed in appreciation.
It had been a while since someone had suggested such an interesting conversation topic to her.
She still did not exactly know what to think of it, but it did not take long for her to relax as she enjoyed the familiar feeling of talking to her only real intellectual equal about the most fascinating topics they could find.
And much later, as she went to bed, she couldn't help but think that this was the happiest evening she had spent in a while.
It had been so long since she had laughed so much. Felt so understood and valued. And already she felt inspired for weeks of research.
Five years ago, she had felt almost the same way. Because everything had started just as it had today.
With a match. Followed by the realization that she wasn't alone. That there was someone who saw the world the way she saw it. Someone who was interested in the things others just rolled their eyes about. Someone who took her seriously.
Maybe she should be analyzing it. Or call Sheldon and figure out what they were doing here.
But in the end… she had finally found a small scrap of happiness again. A small corner of the world where she belonged.
She wanted to protect this little corner at all costs and at least for a minute, she wanted to catch a breath before reality would catch up with her again.
Whatever it meant, tonight, she would go to sleep happily.
And she was almost asleep, when her phone buzzed again, for the last time that night.
But contrary to her desire, it was not Sheldon wishing her a good night.
"Dear Amy, I am sending you the address to the restaurant where I will be waiting for you tomorrow at 7.30 pm. Let me know if this is to your liking. I can still try to get a reservation somewhere else. Yours, Dave."
Yours, Dave.
It sounded wrong. On so many levels.
Especially now.
And yet, she had agreed to another date with him. He was expecting her to show up.
He did not deserve to be stood up, but she couldn't exactly pretend to still be interested in dating him now, could she?
Or was she acting to rashly again?
Amy shook her head.
She had to figure out what to do. And fast.
Sheldon
'Why yes, I do believe that time as a relative construct could be influenced by the curvature of space-time, but I would argue that it is much more accurate to say the human perception of time is a subjective experience governed by brain regions like for example the basal ganglia.'
Sheldon tapped his finger against his chin as he pondered Amy's words.
It had been three days since their first texts and already he had a hard time letting himself remember how wrong it had felt, not having her in his life.
Even with their contact limited to texts, he felt so much happier than he had in months.
It felt as if he was slowly regaining a part that had been lost and with it, he was getting back his balance.
He was sleeping better. At work, he was able to focus. Even his food seemed to taste better again.
And the emptiness that had been inside of him for so long was slowly being filled with joy and laughter and companionship again.
All of it because of Amy and her beautiful brain.
As always, she was making excellent points while also being respectful of his views.
And as he came up with an elaborate answer, his stomach swooped as he imagined how it would be to have this conversation in a different setting.
Maybe at her place over dinner. Or at a restaurant during date night.
Soon… maybe.
He was interrupted in his thoughts as the apartment door opened.
"Well, well, well…", Leonard said as he walked in, followed by Penny. "Look who's texting again."
"Hello Leonard, hello Penny.", he nodded before he returned the attention to his phone.
"Still with your mystery lady, huh?", Penny said, unsuccessfully trying to steal a glance at his phone. "When are you going to tell us who she is? Or… you know… when are you going to ask her out for real?"
"Soon.", Sheldon said stoically. "But I don't see how that's any of your business."
"Aww, leave him alone, Penny.", Leonard said and grinned. "You know how it went last time. He'll text her for a few months first before he'll ask one of us to drive him to a date. That's when we'll slowly get to meet her."
Penny snorted.
"As long as 'one of us' doesn't include me. I don't need him to make calculations about my past lovers again."
Sheldon ignored the conversation around him as he received another text from his 'mystery woman', smiling to himself at how successfully they were fooling their best friends.
He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about asking Amy out instead of just texting.
But it was too soon. He knew that.
He had to be smart about this.
The door to reclaiming the life he wanted had finally cracked open, and he couldn't bear the thought of it slamming shut in his face once more.
"Oh, Sheldon, I completely forgot.", Leonard said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "We're having dinner at the cheesecake factory tonight. Now I know it's not Tuesday, but…"
"Leonard, what are you doing?", Penny hissed. "I told you, I was inviting Amy."
"Well and I told you that's not how it works.", Leonard said sternly. "All the guys will be there. Sheldon should be there too."
"Well, all the girls will be there too.", Penny argued. "And it's been a long time since Amy has spent time with us. It's her turn tonight."
"She was with you a few days ago at Howard and Bernadette's place while Sheldon and I went to get the helium.", Leonard rebutted.
"So what? We hang out with Sheldon at the apartment several times a week. And Amy's our friend too."
"But Sheldon was our friend first. When Howard and Bernadette broke up, she stopped hanging out with us. Why would this be any different?"
"Because…", Penny said in a dangerously low voice. "Howard and Bernadette were only dating a few months back then. You and I weren't together, so we did not have a reason to be hanging out so much. Besides, Amy belongs to us. She's practically family. You know what, maybe we should just split up the group tonight. The girls are going to the cheesecake factory and the guys are getting pizza."
"But I want to spend time with my wife.", Leonard protested. "This is ridiculous."
"Yeah, well, I don't see another solution if you're being so stubborn."
Sheldon watched the exchange curiously wondering who was going to win.
He had to admit, he did feel touched because his best friend was fighting to spend the evening with him.
But this whole argument was redundant, so he decided to weigh in.
After all… maybe this could be a good opportunity.
"Here's a solution. We can all go together.", he suggested.
"All together?", Leonard clarified. "Does that mean… including Amy?"
"Of course.", he nodded. "Penny's right. She belongs in this group. So do I. We will just… have to find a way to make it work."
"And you are really okay with it?", Penny asked with furrowed brows. "I thought… being in the same room with her would be hard for you."
"Well, maybe a few days ago it would have been.", he shrugged. "But I guess it's time to rip the band-aid off."
Sheldon and Penny shared curious glances.
"Wow…", Penny said then, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "This… mystery woman is really working wonders if you are so calm about this. You must like her a lot."
Oh, Penny, you have no idea…
"I think… I do.", Sheldon said cautiously.
"Do you think this will work?", Leonard turned to Penny. "How will Amy react once she finds out he's moving on?"
"I don't think we have to worry about her.", Penny said, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
"Why?"
"Because…", Penny looked at Sheldon apologetically. "I wasn't going to say anything, but since you're moving on, I guess it's okay for me to tell you that… Amy's… started seeing a mystery man herself."
Clueless, clueless Penny…
"She is?", Sheldon asked innocently. "Why would you think that?"
"She's been texting all the time.", Penny said. "And she's got pretty much the same goofy expression on her face as you do."
Well, if you only knew…
"She does, huh? She must really like that… mystery man.", Sheldon said cheekily, trying not to smile too much.
"Well, that's good, right?", Leonard sighed relieved. "Sheldon and Amy are both happy. We can all go back to normal. Now all we have to do is figure out how two more people will fit into this apartment."
"Two more people? What do you… oh. Right.", Sheldon caught himself quickly. "But I don't think that will be an… uhm… issue."
He really did not need Penny and Leonard to bring up buying a dining room table again.
"Well, I guess we can cross that bridge when we get to it.", Leonard remarked. "It's not like these people will be joining us anytime soon."
"I wouldn't be so sure.", Penny sing-songed. "Sheldon might take forever to ask his mystery woman out, but I know Amy's not wasting any time. She's gone out with her mystery man at least twice."
What?
Sheldon's blood ran cold, and he could feel the color drain from his face.
This wasn't making any sense. Unless…
"Why… would you… uhm… say that?", he stuttered. "How can you… think that..."
He could only stare as Penny told the story of how his friends had all bonded together to install a dating app – the dating app – on Amy's phone and witnessed a few messages from her suitor.
"So, he was seeing him… before you installed the app on her phone?", he clarified.
Penny gave him a weird look.
"Why would you care about this? Yes, she went out with him before that. And with two other guys too apparently, but that went nowhere."
Okay, that wasn't so bad. Sheldon tried to calm himself down. He couldn't exactly be mad at Amy for going on dates before they got matched again.
Sheldon was about release a sigh of relief, when Penny continued.
"And then, she went out with him again two days ago. I think he took her to dinner or something."
No.
Sheldon stared at the phone in his hand.
Amy had just texted a joke about the argument between free will and determinism. A good one too.
But he couldn't laugh about it. Not right now.
"Sheldon? Are you alright? You seem pale.", Leonard said as he sat down next to him.
"Oh, no…", Penny breathed out and walked up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You seemed so happy, I thought it would be okay to tell you. I'm sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut."
"It's… uhm… alright.", he said tonelessly.
It wasn't alright. Not at all.
"Look.", Penny said softly. "Maybe it's too soon after all. If you want… I'll tell the girls we're going somewhere else tonight. Leave you guys to yourselves after all."
Sheldon's brain was working in overdrive.
What is happening? Why is Amy still seeing other men?
He blinked and glanced at his phone again.
Was he mistaken? Did this… this texting… did it not mean to Amy what it meant to him?
But then why was she doing it? Why was she playing along?
Was she… just playing with him?
It did not seem like her, but then again… maybe he really did not know her as well as he had thought.
His expression hardened and he put his phone into his pocket without answering her latest text.
"No, it's alright.", he muttered. "I'm not bothered by this. And I still want to go with everyone. Including Amy."
Amy did not deserve an 'LOL' right now. Maybe she did not deserve any answer from him at all.
But he… he deserved answers. And he was going to get them.