A Story About Two People Who Love Science

Apparently the Second Chapter

Sheldon slung his arm behind Amy's shoulders. It was a Tuesday and Tuesday is movie night with him and Amy. Even though Amy picked last week's movie, he thought he'd let her pick again as a good-bye-for-four-days gift. But for the past 45 minutes Sheldon's mind did not grasp anything. He did not find this romantic comedy romantic nor comedic. Instead, he sat with angst. He removed his arm around Amy's shoulders and rubbed his knees.

Amy noticed Sheldon's discomfort. "Sheldon, this is seventh time you've shifted. Did you want to change the movie?"

"Well yes, but I think I need a cup of tea." He got up from the couch and picked up the last bag of chamomile. "Drat, we're running out of tea." As he waited for his tea to steep, he considered the reasons of his uneasiness. One, Amy was leaving tomorrow morning. Two, they wouldn't be spending their anniversary together. Three, he would be alone in the apartment, sleeping alone in their bed. And four, they just ran out of chamomile tea.

"Sheldon, what's wrong?" Amy's face showed that she was deeply concerned. Sheldon, who couldn't determine facial expressions very well, can even see that. He found it amusing how much attention he's paid to Amy. He's began to think he knew Amy just as much as he knew the rules of quantum mechanics. The dim living room light glared Amy's glasses a bit, but he can still see her dilated pupils.

Sheldon sighs. "Amy, are you aware that every year, you and I get together for a romantic evening to celebrate our anniversary?" He noticed her confusion.

"Yes, I am aware," she confirmed.

"Well, I just think it is only fair that this year is no exception." He checked his watch. "Ah, three and a half minutes. It's tea time." He eagerly sipped his tea. As the hot liquid swished around his tongue, he instantly felt relaxed. "This tea needs some honey. Um did you know that honey never expires? Yeah because of the process of bees making honey—"

"SHELDON." Amy's interjection forced him to drop his rather amusing factoid. "We discussed this. I'll only be gone for four days." She walked around the kitchen island and wrapped her arms around him. "I'll miss you too," she admitted. She wore perfume that night. Amy only wore perfume for special occasions. Typically Sheldon's not fond of perfume, but he liked the occasionally sweet lavender scent that Amy wears on their dates.

"Yes but what if something happens to you in those four days? Or worse, what if something happens to me? Who will perform the Heimlich maneuver while I eat?" He put his hand on his forehead, and felt oddly warm.

"Penny and Leonard are right next door. And I'll video call you every night," she reassured him. She embraced him once more, and he wrapped his arms around her back. He buried his nose into her hair, enjoying her shampoo as much as he can until she gets back.

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"Safe travels Amy," Sheldon hugged her one last time before she left Pasadena. "And if the hotel has little tiny bottles of shampoo..."

Amy giggled, "Yes I know. I'll see you in four days."

"I'll see you in four days." Sheldon pulled Amy closer and gave her a kiss. He didn't want to let go, but he knew Amy would want to say goodbye to the Penny and Leonard.

"Have a good flight!" Penny squealed. "And remember what I said about the towels," she reminded Amy.

"Yes, if they're soft, I'll make sure to bring some back for you," she hugged Penny.

"Oh and don't forget some for Bernadette. Yeah, motherhood isn't doing so well with her towels. Apparently baby vomit stains." Amy found Penny to be amusing, thinking that was the reason why she considered Penny to be her best friend. Although she found that her and Penny have nothing in common, she appreciated that Penny was the first girl she met who didn't run away after Amy said hello. She knew everyone saw their differences, but differences in a friendship as strong as theirs didn't matter to Amy. What did matter was how supportive they were of one another, even though Penny didn't necessarily agree to Amy's fashion choices.

"Noted," she said. "Leonard," she nodded. Leonard nodded back, and wished her a great flight.

"Good bye Sheldon," she kissed him one last time before heading into security. Sheldon watched her remove her shoes and placed them in little containers along with her belongings. He watched her pass through the security check points and was not surprised that none of the alarms sounded. He watched her walk through the sea of people as she made her way to her terminal. He stood and watched until he couldn't see her head bob in the crowd anymore. And although she would only be gone for four days, he wished she turned around to look at him one last time.

"Well, now that Amy is gone, why don't we get this party started?" he said to Leonard.

"Buddy, it's 3 a.m.," Leonard yawned.

"I know." The trio headed towards the parking lot. "Well, it's Wednesday. Meaning it's Halo night."

"Yeah, night. Not 3 a.m."

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Sheldon walked up the stairs holding two large bags of takeout. It was 6:30 and he's excited to go to the comic book store. A new edition of Spiderman came out and he couldn't wait to get his hands on it.

"I have arrived," he said to the gang as he set the food down onto the coffee table. Howard passed around the takeout containers and served him and Bernadette's last. He didn't open his food nor began eating until his wife came back from putting their daughter to sleep.

As the rest of the group began to eat, Penny looked up from her dumplings and asked, "What are you going to do on Friday now that Amy isn't here to celebrate your anniversary?"

Sheldon poked his diced chicken around. He's not used to picking up the food for the gang, but Amy told him he needed to try and do something nice for his friends. And plus, this ensured that he'd get his chicken diced and not shredded. "Well, I was planning on setting up a video call and eat dinner together."

"You're such the hopeless romantic," Raj rolled his eyes. Sheldon wasn't quite sure if that was sarcasm or not, but either way, he didn't care for it.

"Well then, what do you suggest I do? Surprise visit Amy in Washington with a bouquet of flowers?" Sheldon shook his head. "Yeah, m-maybe take her out on a surprise dinner and fly back with her? Please."

"Aww Sheldon, that sounds like a great idea," Bernadette said smiling as she sat down next to Howard.

"I was only kidding," he wasn't sure if the group took his joke seriously or not.

"No, I agree. You should surprise visit her in Washington," Penny shot him a mischievous look.

"Penny, in what universe would I do that?" Sheldon rolled his eyes, but the more he thought about it, the more he's tempted to actually do it. "I haven't pre-packed any of my essentials. I haven't created my travel list yet, nor did I inform my mother that I will be leaving Pasadena to a conference I was not invited to. An-and exactly what will I be doing there anyway?"

Leonard interjected, "Maybe wait in her hotel room until she finishes her conference?"

"No. That is malarkey." Sheldon took a bite of his chicken.

"Isn't tomorrow the third Thursday of the month?" Raj asked, looking amongst the group. "That means it's Anything Can Happen Thursday!"

The group exchanged approval. "That is an absolutely great idea Raj!" Penny smiled.

"A great activity we can do on Anything Can Happen Thursday is maybe go to the comic book store, or play paintball, or even eat the The Cheesecake Factory instead of having pizza," Sheldon said to his friends, annoyed everyone was agreeing with Raj. "And by all means, not spontaneously getting up and leaving the state without at least a week's worth of preparation."

"But Sheldon, think about what this will mean for Amy," Bernadette said in a loving tone. Sheldon knew it would be a good idea to surprise Amy like this. And he knew it would remind her how important she was to him. But this was a huge step for him to take and he wasn't sure if he's ready to act so spontaneously.

He looked at Leonard. "I think this is a great idea, buddy," Leonard said, apparently making up Sheldon's decision.