Chapter 7: Omega et Alpha

Standing in front of his door, Amy was nervous. She did not really know why; after all, it had been by far the best day of her life so far, so no matter what was behind that door, nothing could take that away from her. Whether it led to an evening up to par with the amazing past hours, or just to some plain takeaway-space movie night like they had had so many times before. She checked her watch quickly; it was now 7.15pm. She breathed in and out, straightened her clothes carefully, checked that her tiara was still correctly placed on her head, then raised her fist slowly and knocked on the door. Nothing. She waited for about twenty long seconds, before knocking again, a little louder. This time, she heard some indistinguishable noise on the other side, then recognized the sound of footsteps walking towards her. Suddenly she felt stupid standing there, wearing her regular clothes with her tiara on her head; she tentatively reached for it, considering taking it off, when the door opened.

And there he was, standing in front her, finally. After all the miles driven and walked, all the puzzles solved, all the memories relived. The funny thing was that the distance from her apartment, where it had all started a little over five hours ago, to here, Sheldon's apartment, was definitely not a long one, but it sure had felt like a very long journey; a five year long journey to be exact.

All her doubts disappeared the moment she saw the face of the man who had made this incredible journey possible.

She smiled widely and he smiled back, both shy. He was dressed in his grey costume she liked so much, with a light green cotton shirt underneath and his grey tie that she had offered to him for Christmas a few years ago. He looked so sexy dressed like that. She was even more self conscious of her outfit. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Amy said softly "Hello."

Sheldon smiled shyly and replied "Hello".

"Happy Valentine's day." Amy went on.

"Okay." He said quietly. Then quickly added "Happy Valentine's day to you too."

They stood like that, just smiling, for a minute, and then, out of the blue, Amy closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. "Thank you Sheldon." She simply said, pulling away slightly. As she grabbed her tiara that was threatening to fall any minute, she looked at him in the eyes and then, as if pushed by an invisible force, he bent down to kiss her on the lips. Sheldon was as stunned by his own action as he had been by his girlfriend's seconds before. It took him a moment to realize what was going on and pull away, his hands still on her waist though.

He looked away for a second, clearing his voice, before scolding her "Amy, you know that kisses are for after date night, not before."

Determined to try her luck and not to let him get away so easily, she replied "Come on Sheldon please, it is Valentine's day and I want to thank you for every…" She obviously did not need to say more to convince him, as he resumed kissing her without letting her finish her sentence. And what a kiss! It had to make their top three. Yes, definitely.

They had been kissing on a regular basis for exactly a year now, but their kisses were still very chaste. Sometimes, one of them would tentatively open their mouth a little, but there had been no 'tongue touching tongue' yet. As of recently though, their kisses had been getting longer and more passionate; Amy was pretty sure the next step would be reached quite soon. She did not want to push for it; in this relationship, she had always let Sheldon make the first move whenever he was ready, and it seemed to have been working quite well for them so far. So no matter how tempting it was to try to take it a little further this instant, she decided to settle for what he was ready to give her willingly; and a locked lips head spinning kiss was a very good start.

After two lovely minutes, Sheldon pulled away. He did not speak, but he signaled her to stay where she was for a minute. He grabbed a key from the bowl by the door and went to the hall – Amy assumed it was to lock Penny's door; of course, Sheldon would never let the door unlocked, otherwise it would drive him crazy. When he came back, he grabbed her free hand and silently led her to her spot on the couch. Amy sat down, placing both her tiara and her handbag on the first cushion and as Sheldon was about to sit on his own spot, an alarm rang from the kitchen. It kinda broke the spell. Sheldon moved quickly towards the oven and after putting on a glove, he opened it and retrieved a stoneware dish, which he placed on the kitchen island. Amy frowned; what was he doing?

Then for the first time since Sheldon had opened the door, Amy noticed a few details that should have caught her attention. First, it smelled divinely; though Amy could not quite make out what smells it was, hot apple and some herbs, maybe? Second, there was a table by the window, where Sheldon's desk usually stood. Amy got up and moved closer to it. The table was nicely laid, with a white linen table cloth, fancy plates and wine glasses, and candles. She knew those chairs, they belonged to Penny. And so did the table.

Amy could not believe her eyes; usually for date night, they either sat on the couch or at the kitchen island, but this was a total different level: it looked so romantic. Had he really done that just for her?

"What is all this Sheldon?" She finally asked, walking back towards him.

Sheldon was wiping his hands with a cloth, looking at her "This is what comes next: a homemade dinner. On a table. With candles and wine. Raj said women loved it." He replied simply.

"Wow!" Amy was speechless. When she thought her boyfriend could not surprise her anymore, she was proven wrong once more. What would the girls think of all that Sheldon had done for her today? Penny had sarcastically called him "Professor Romance". Well, she could not have been more right. "Sheldon, you did not have to go through so much trouble for me, a pizza and a movie here with you would have been enough."

"I wish I had known earlier." Sheldon muttered "But I loved doing it actually; it had been a long time since I last cooked a full meal, so I had to call Meemaw for some advice, but I can say I am quite happy with the result. I can see now why you enjoy cooking and baking for date night." He grinned. "I hope you will like it."

"I am sure I will. It smells wonderful. And you did it for me, it makes it so special. Like everything you have done today!" Amy could feel tears at the corner of her eyes, she tried to fight against it. She was overwhelmed by all the attention. "Thank you Sheldon." She said again.

Sheldon simply nodded, moving towards the table to grab the glasses. "Do you want something to drink, Amy?" he asked. "I bought some white wine for you. Chardonnay. I think it is your favorite."

"I'd like a glass, thank you" she replied. Then following him to the kitchen area "Is there something I can do to help you?"

"Yes Amy; go back over there and sit down please. I can manage. I'll bring you your glass in a minute." He said, pointing towards the couch.

Amy did as she was told. Once on the couch, she pulled a small package out of her bag. It was a medium size brown package that she had been carrying around everywhere today. She had been so sure that Sheldon would like her present, but now, after all he had done for her, she was full of doubts. She was absent mindedly playing with the package, when Sheldon placed her glass in front of her on the coffee table. He then walked back towards the kitchen and came back with a glass of Strawberry Quik, for himself.

Amy smiled "Syrup?"

"Of course. It tastes better."

"And you are okay with that?"

"Yes." He thought for a second. "Yes I am." And he smiled shyly.

Amy knew it meant more than choosing between powder and syrup, and it made her happy; it meant that her boyfriend was getting more and more comfortable with the changes in his life, changes that for a big part were due to her. She smiled back and they both drank a sip of their drinks.

After placing her glass back on the coffee table, she grabbed the package that lay on her knees, and handed it to Sheldon.

"Sheldon, this is for you." He was frowning at her so she explained "My Valentine's day present for you. I know it cannot compare to what you did for me today, but well, I thought you might like it. So here it is."

"Oh, you want to exchange presents now? But I am not ready yet." He said curtly, unsettling Amy.

"But… you have already given me my present Sheldon, this day has been the best day of my whole life. And in addition to all that, you are cooking for me."

"But I have a real present for you. Later."

Surprised by his words and unsure what to do, she asked him "Should I wait to give you mine then?"

"It is up to you Amy." He said, drinking some more of his pink beverage. "Yummy!"

"Okay, I think I want you to open it now then." Amy said, in an assertive tone.

"Okay" Sheldon said, grinning, finally taking the present from her hand. One last look at her before he ripped it open and finally discovered the frame. Amy was looking at him expectantly, sipping some wine more out of reflex than anything.

He placed the torn paper on the table, then turned the object in his hands over. On the other side was a very bright picture, mainly red and yellow.

The picture, about the size of a half A4 sheet of paper, was split into two halves. Of course, Sheldon knew what it was, but he did not really understand why Amy was giving it to him. As if reading his mind, Amy said "This, on the right, is your brain. Do you remember when you asked me to run a CAT scan for you a few months ago. Well, that is the result. I had it resized of course, so it could fit in the frame."

"And that one on the left?"

"That one is mine. I thought… well, I know that you don't like us taking pictures together because you think it is ridiculous, so I thought if it were a picture of our brains, you would object less to it. And maybe even like it?"

Sheldon, looked at her, then back to the frame "Amy…. I don't know what to say…"

"You don't like it, that's it? I'm sorry, you've done so much for me today…"

"Amy, no, that's great! I love it! Our two brains! Look at that! We are so alike. Look at our frontal lobes…"

"Yes. But still, there is more activity in yours, and it shows. Look at your temporal lobe, it is fascinating."

"Well, your frontal lobe is magnificent." He said, unable to take his eyes off it.

"So you like it?" Amy asked, just to be sure.

"Yes. I will put it in my bedroom. Or on my desk at work, I don't know yet. Thanks Amy." He finally stared at her "I'll give you your present later. I just can't now" She signaled him that it did not matter. They looked at each other silently for a minute. Until Sheldon suddenly got up and walked back towards the kitchen island. "Amy, our dinner is almost ready, please move to the table." He told her, as he placed the frame on the island, facing the living room.

Amy grabbed her glass and obeyed. "So tell me, what have you prepared for tonight? Am I allowed to know?"

"Well, as I told you, I have not cooked for quite a long time, so Meemaw advised me to keep it simple. Hence, we will start with a vegetable soup à la Meemaw! You'll see the rest as it goes. And don't worry, I know about all your allergies, I took it into account." He replied. Amy smiled. He was so thoughtful.

"Hmmm, it sounds perfect." Tears threatened to come back, so Amy coughed lightly and quickly added, as Sheldon was going back and from between the kitchen and the table, bringing the platefuls of soup "So tell me, how did you prepare all this? I mean, we spend lots of time together. How did you find time to prepare this all without me suspecting anything? Did you have accomplices? And for how long had you been working on it?"

"This, Little Lady, is my secret. I don't like magic, but what I like even less than magic is when people reveal the tricks; I like trying to guess what is going on, but I hate being told. That is why I won't tell you anything. Sometimes things are better left to the imagination, Amy." Sheldon said as he finally sat at the table, ready to start eating. Amy knew she would not get any more out of him, so she stopped questioning him. She also avoided asking him if having a table up there was growing on him, but she somehow felt it was not the time to bring up the topic.

The dinner went by nicely. Once past the awkward silence following Sheldon's refusal to talk, they both found quite a few topics to discuss; the Train & Film festival and what movies they would go and see together – they checked on the program -, Penny and Leonard's weekend in Switzerland and the latest news that Sheldon had received from his roommate – they were of course having fun -, how long it took Amy to open the Japanese box – Sheldon could not believe that it took her about five minutes less than him, etc… Time flew by, and by the time the extremely well cooked meat loaf, potatoes and vegetable had been replaced by a very delicious apple pie, with homemade whipped cream on top, it was already 9.30pm.

When both their plates were empty, Sheldon proposed to move back to the couch for a cup of tea. After some tough bargaining, Sheldon let Amy help him bring the dishes back to the sink and clean it, while talking about Meemaw's recipes that she had taught him as a child.

Once they had washed, wiped and put everything away, Sheldon had some water boil over for their teas.

"Amy, as I told you, in order to prepare tonight's diner, I called Meemaw a few times this past week. And well, the woman is strong headed and it is difficult to refuse her things sometimes – exactly like someone else standing next to me actually." Amy smirked. "Anyways, Meemaw made me promise to ask you something on her behalf. It is not the first time she asked, or Missy or my mother for that matter, but well, this time I said I'd ask you; so here we go: Amy, would you accept to come to Texas with me for a weekend? It does not have to be next weekend, but within the next three, or six months maybe. Not in the summer, because summer in Texas is hell, but you name a weekend, and we can go. If you agree of course."

"Hold on, Sheldon. You want me to go to Texas to meet your family? To meet your Meemaw?" Sheldon nodded. Amy could not believe her ears. Really, how could this day keep getting better and better? He wanted her to go to his hometown and to introduce her as his girlfriend to his beloved grandmother. Of course, it was his Meemaw who asked him. But still, he could have said no. Nobody forces Sheldon Cooper to do anything he does not want to do, not even his Meemaw, she knew that, no matter what he said.

"Yes." She smiled, holding back her tears once more. "Yes, Sheldon, I will go to Texas with you."

"Good." He replied, smiling softly, while carrying both their mugs to the living room. "Do you want your present now?" He asked, smirking.

"Yes please! But once again, you don't have to." But before she had even finished her sentence, Sheldon had disappeared down the hall leading to his bedroom. When he came back, she went on "I cannot thank you enough for today Sheldon. For the treasure hunt that was just perfect, and for tonight with this lovely dinner."

"So did I fulfill your requirement Dr Fowler?" Sheldon asked, as he sat back down on his spot, with a little box in his hands. His words could sound harsh, but his tone was playful.

Though Amy did not know where he was getting at, she used the same playful tone "What do mean by 'my requirement' Dr Cooper?"

"Was today at least a little romantic, like you required?" He asked, smiling lightly, not looking at her in the eye but focusing on his hands and the box in it.

"No Sheldon." He looked at her, puzzled, maybe also slightly hurt so she reassured him immediately by grabbing his hand and leaning in a little, almost whispering "It was so much more than a little romantic. It was perfect. It was romantic and brilliant and sweet and brain teasing and intimate." She grinned.

Sheldon released a breath he did not know he had been holding, and kept her hand in his a little longer, playing with her fingers. "I'm glad you liked it." He finally said. "I thought you might. And I do love our picture together; our two brains." He said, looking at it on the kitchen island, where it was still sitting, from over his shoulder "And here is my present for you." He released her hand and handed her the box.

Amy opened it. Inside was a key attached to a Dungeons & Dragons die shaped key ring.

"It's a key." Amy said out loud.

"Yes, well done Dr Fowler, it is a key indeed." He smiled, then bit his lip "And to be a little more precise, it is the key to this apartment."

"A key to your apartment?" Amy frowned, not really understanding, scared she might misinterpret it.

"Yes. But there is more behind it."

"Okay…" Her heart was about to stop beating, Amy was pretty sure of it.

Sheldon sat up straight, turning a little in his spot to face her completely "Amy, I know it is an important step, and I know that in the past I may have expressed some reluctance about it. But, well with Leonard moving out gradually…" Amy was hung on his every word, feeling she knew what was coming next, but not daring to hope too much "Amy, how would you like to start moving in with me?" Then immediately, before she could realize the bombshell that had been dropped "But it would be in Leonard's room. At least at first. When Leonard is away. As an experiment. And then we will evaluate and see where we can go from there."

Amy was staring at him, fisting the cushion below her tightly with both her hands "Okay. So let me sum it up: what you are saying is that you would like to start an experiment to see if you and I could live together some day and you would like my first time sleeping over to be when Leonard is away, in his bedroom."

"Exactly. And I would appreciate it if we could keep it to ourselves at first." Sheldon added softly.

Amy started thinking about the situation. Sure, she had hoped that someday, Sheldon would realize that he needed her with him all the time and would ask her to move in permanently. But she knew better than that; her boyfriend needed to take baby steps. And usually, if Amy let him deal with it his own way, letting him get used to the new change of situation at his own pace, she managed to get him exactly where she wanted him at some point. All she had to do was being patient.

Right at that moment, as she was looking straight in his eyes, she could feel that her boyfriend was not his arrogant and confident self; he was nervous. She had only seen Sheldon that unsure of himself a handful of times; when he had asked her to be his girlfriend all these years ago, during the love spell, when he had told her that he loved her. Amy remembered the few times in the past when they had talked about living together for some reason, and she knew it definitely was a big step for him to even consider it. If he was making this proposition today, it meant that he had been thinking about it for some time now, and had finally gathered the courage to ask her.

"So what do you say?" He asked, obviously anxious to hear her decision.

"Yes Sheldon." She said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Great." He smiled widely and drank some of his tea.

Amy knew she should not push her luck but somehow she felt that this was an opportunity she had to seize. So she inhaled deeply and ventured "Proposal?"

Sheldon frowned but nodded "I'm listening."

"How would you feel about starting the experiment tonight?" Okay, she had said it. Now she had to be convincing.

"Tonight?" Sheldon looked confused.

"Well, Leonard and Penny are away for a long weekend, so not only is his room free, but nobody would know if I stayed tonight. Isn't this the perfect occasion?"

For a few seconds, which felt like the longest time ever, he simply said "Agreed."

Amy was taken aback "Really?" She definitely expected some tougher bargaining.

"Yes. You made a fair point, I had not thought about it, but today is indeed the best day to start. Plus not only have you had some wine tonight but you have had a tiring day, I would feel better if you did not drive. The only problem is that you don't have sleepwear or a too…" but before he could finish his sentence, Amy had gotten up and reached the armchair, kneeling and sliding her hand under the cushion.

"Sheldon, would it alarm you if I told you that I have hidden this here" she retrieved a bag from under there, obviously a sleepover bag, and held it in the air "for the past two years?"

"It would a little, but at the same time, you know how much I love preparedness." He replied grinning.

Sheldon let Amy use the bathroom first, while he prepared Leonard's bed for her. When she got out in her sleepwear, Sheldon was waiting for her outside the door and showed her to Leonard's room; after all, it was the first time she saw it. Then he left her there, awkwardly telling her goodnight from the doorframe.

Amy lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, reliving the wonderful day. She had heard Sheldon getting out of the bathroom and going to his bedroom five minutes ago. She knew she was being greedy, after all the wonderful things that happened today, but she had been disappointed with the way the evening ended; no hug, no cuddling, no kiss. In fact, Sheldon had been acting very cold from the moment he announced it was his bedtime. Was he already regretting that he had asked her to sleep over? Was tonight too early for him? Why had he not kissed her at the end of the date, like he was supposed to, according to the Relationship Agreement? Maybe he considered that he had fulfilled his duties because he had kissed her on the doorstep when she arrived? Nevertheless, she wished he had kissed her again before going to bed. She was addicted to these kisses now, had been ever since… a year ago!

As she was recalling their very first kiss on the train last year, Sheldon called through the wall "Amy, are you asleep?"

"No Sheldon." She yelled back.

"Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes Sheldon. Thank you."

"Alright."

She did not hear anything for about five minutes, so she was pretty sure that Sheldon had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and was beginning to slowly drift into sleep herself when suddenly she heard "Knock Knock Knock Amy, Knock Knock Knock Amy, Knock Knock Knock Amy."

She switched on the bedside light, and sat straight on the bed, holding the covers tight against her upper body "Come in Sheldon." She said, partly exasperated, partly hopeful. Maybe a little more exasperated than hopeful actually.

The door opened and Sheldon got inside "Are you sure you have everything you need? There is another pillow in the closet over there. And a blanket too."

"I am fine Sheldon, thank you, you can go back to your room, don't let me ruin your REM cycle."

"Oh you are not ruining anything. I just thought… Okay, I will go back now." He said, though he was not moving. He remained silent, but Amy could feel that something was bothering him "What is it Sheldon?"

"Nothing."

"Sheldon!" She scowled.

"Okay. It is just… usually for Date Night, we have the contractual obligation to kiss at the end of the evening. And usually it comes naturally because one of us has to leave, and so we kiss on the doorstep. But tonight, no one left and… What I mean is…" Sheldon did not look directly at her.

Amy grinned "I think I see what you mean Sheldon. We did not kiss goodbye tonight, and it is bothering you." His closure issues were a blessing sometimes, she thought.

"Hmmm Yes." He finally looked at her. But still did not move.

"What are you waiting for, Sheldon? Come closer."

"Amy, you are in bed. I can't…"He sounded embarrassed.

Amy sighed. "Sheldon, I thought the idea behind tonight was getting used to seeing each other in a more intimate setting. Here is the intimate setting Sheldon." She said, patting the bed.

"Yes, you are right, but I don't think I would feel comfortable kissing you in bed just yet." He sounded so innocent at that moment, and so vulnerable.

"Alright. What about if I sit on the edge of the bed, and you sit next to me?" She proposed, in a softer tone.

"Alright." Sheldon said, moving closer and sitting at the end of the bed, on Amy's side. Amy carefully pulled out of the blankets and sat next to him. Without waiting anymore, Sheldon leant closer to her and started kissing her like they had done many times for the past 366 days. Only this time they were sitting. And it quickly became something entirely new as Sheldon began placing several closed lips kisses on her mouth instead of just a long one. And then the unexpected yet very anticipated happened: Amy felt a tongue tentatively touching her lips. She decided to play along – after all, he was the one initiating this little experiment – and she parted her lips a little. Sheldon took the hint and for the first time ever he was initiating a French Kiss with his girlfriend. It lasted a few seconds only, but Amy thought it was the best few seconds in her entire life. It was indescribable; the way he tasted, his shyness, and yet Amy could feel some determination in that kiss, the way he bent his head to have a better access, his hand on her cheek… It was fascinating. It was simply the perfect conclusion to a more than perfect day.

When he pulled away, he seemed as surprised as her, but within seconds, he smiled warmly. "Well, goodnight my May flower. And welcome in your new home – on trial. He then got up and left the room, leaving her to her reverie. What was going on? Who was that man seriously? Could Amy really deal with this new romantic Sheldon? She loved it of course, but it was puzzling.

After maybe five minutes of such thoughts she heard from the other side of the wall "Amy, I forgot to tell you; Raj helped me today and in return he made me promise to take care of his dog next weekend. But you know that I don't want dogs in here. So I said he could leave that dog at your place and that you would take care of it. Her. Well, the dog. I just thought you should know a little beforehand."

Nope, the good old version of Sheldon was definitely still there, coexisting with the new Sheldon, finding a somewhat perfect balance. She would not want him any other way anyways. She loved him, quirks and all.

"Alright Sheldon, I'll call him to arrange it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Amy." And this time no one spoke again. They both fell asleep immediately, both satisfied with the way the day went and more than ever convinced that going to the coffee shop five years ago was the most intelligent thing that had ever done.

AN: That's all Folks! I hope you liked how it all finished. Or is it a new beginning? I had to change a few things after what happened in episode 20 but I think it worked out okay. What do you think?

As you all seem to be okay with the epilogue idea revealing some behind the scenes for the puzzles, I will start working on it asap and try to post it this week.

Again, thanks for the support, you guys are awesome, I love reading your reviews.