This story is for entertainment purposes only. No ownership of these characters is implied.

A/N: As this is the final story in the four-part series, if you will allow me...

My sincerest appreciation to all who have supported me and my return to writing. You have given freely and fully of your selves, and with great compassion and friendship. I am not worthy of your gifts, and I know I never could have done this without you!

Most importantly, to the other half of my soul... who said he's so glad I've found a creative outlet... and didn't get too upset at 1:40 a.m. that Thursday. Thank you for the last 19 years... for first and always being my best friend... for your unconditional love and support.

I have loved Shakespeare since my freshman year of high school. While the histories and tragedies have their place, it is the comedies that resonate most with me. Much Ado About Nothing is my absolute favorite (I prefer the written word, but can highly recommend the Branagh/Thompson film version from 1993 as staying true to the original play). And as all Shakespeare's comedies ended with love...

The rough draft of the four chapters of The Tile Solution Interrogative was written over the course of 17 consecutive hours, in between life responsibilities. I hope you enjoy it as much as it gave me great joy to write (even into the wee hours), and now even more joy for me to share with you my heart-song...

The morning of Thursday, December 31st could not have gone any worse at work for Amy Farrah Fowler. One of the graduate students who aided in the lab managed to provide the wrong food rations the night before when feeding the monkeys, which had led to a pubescent food fight amongst them overnight. The monkeys enjoyed picking and pulling at anything within reach, and grabbing Amy's hair while she swept was far too easy a target to leave alone. Amy had spilled the histological stain she meant to use on a series of slides on the countertop, and narrowly avoided getting it on her. She would have had purple hands for a week! Then just a few minutes before, Amy's supervisor called to let her know the project deadline was being moved up. Amy relished the idea of working long days and into the evenings to get this project done… just like she savored the idea of having another hole drilled into her head.

The only saving grace about this day was Amy's plans for the afternoon. The university was shutting down at 12:00 noon, and by university directive, Amy's lab would close as well. Amy had known about this several weeks in advance, and scheduled a massage at her favorite spa for herself. Amy wished (yet once again!) that she could have talked Sheldon into making this a couple's massage, but the thought of having someone else's hands on his body was too much for him to handle. Sheldon's Christmas present last week had been a gift card for a massage… one of the more thoughtful gifts he had ever given her… and she intended on making good use of it that day.

Over the course of the last six weeks, Sheldon had become more thoughtful and even more concerned with Amy's emotional well-being. I guess that's what being in love does to someone… Amy thought. And maybe just 'being in love' wasn't the whole truth, if Amy was going to be honest within herself. No, Sheldon and Amy had 'been in love' for a long time – years – longer than either was willing to admit to it.

The truth of what had transformed Sheldon, was when he finally understood that Amy would never try to change him. Amy knew thinking you could ever change someone was a fool's errand. Help Sheldon to grow and develop into the person he wanted to become? Sure. Help Sheldon achieve whatever goals (including winning that Nobel!) he set for himself in life? Absolutely.

But change Sheldon? No way. Amy loved him… accepted him… was completely committed to him… just as he was.

And when Sheldon saw that absolute truth… and the last of the walls he had erected within his soul crumbled to dust… Sheldon was finally able to give himself fully to Amy, emotionally and physically. She knew this gift was precious - it was Sheldon's own heart and soul he freely gave her that night - and Amy would protect both with her very existence.

Sheldon had become so much more demonstrative with Amy in the last six weeks than he had before. He still teasingly called her his "lump of wool" in a calmer setting, or "vixen" in a more passionate moment, but now she was also his "Dearest Amy." Amy's heart fluttered at the memory of the first time she read that… on the note he left for her the morning after they first made love. It had been a brief missive of his plans for the morning and to return to her apartment in time for lunch. But then he had closed with 'All my love is yours.' And Amy's heart melted all over again in reliving the memory.

Amy was jostled out of her reverie by a knock at the lab door. She checked the clock on the wall: 11:49 a.m. Who on Earth would schedule a delivery for the last day of the year, and with only eleven minutes prior to the close of business for the day? Amy stripped her gloves with the ease and consummate skill of many years' practice, and went to answer the door.

Amy opened the door to find a delivery person wearing a green uniform. The white badge on his left chest said "Johnson's Floral Shop" and was inscribed with the name Jason. Jason checked the form on his clipboard, and then looked at Amy. "I have a delivery for Fowler," he stated.

Amy was stunned. She never received personal packages at work, let alone from floral shops. The closest she had come to receiving flowers (since the ones her Dad brought Amy for her final university graduation) was a mushroom log Sheldon gave her as a present this past spring. She remembered having been upset as, soon after, Sheldon had bought his mother yellow roses. But Sheldon had thought to buy her something that would last…

Amy signed the line Jason marked with an X; she was barely able to recognize her own handwriting as she was trembling when she did so. Jason handed Amy a box … long, rectangular, white, wrapped in a red ribbon. Amy thanked Jason, and closed the door to the lab. She turned and placed the box gently on her desk.

With shaking hands, Amy untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside, she found two long-stem roses… white, with just a hint of pink in the petal centers that spread to the tips. There was also a small red velvet bag with a drawstring tie, and a note. Amy picked up the note and tears started to fall as she read…

A White Rose

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love,
O the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips,
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

- John Boyle O'Reilly

The note continued…

You'll find the remaining ten as the day progresses. Enjoy your massage. I can't wait to see you later.

Love, Sheldon

Amy sat in her chair, not certain if she would be able to remain standing much longer. She looked at the small velvet bag. It was strangely familiar, and appeared old and well-loved with great use. Amy picked the bag up and turned it over. The velvet bag was embroidered in gold thread at the bottom with three initials…

SLC

Now she recognized it. But why would Sheldon send her his dice bag … with roses? A dice bag - especially a favorite one! - was a treasured item for any adventure gamer. Sheldon would never let anyone else handle his dice bag! It made no sense.

Amy's tears dried as her confusion grew. She opened the bag, and three thin pieces of polished faux wood tile, less than an inch square each, fell into her hand. The tiles were engraved with letters, each with a number to the right and slightly below the letter.

M (3), W (4), E (1)

Amy immediately recognized the tiles from multiple nights of playing the crossword board game with Sheldon. They both enjoyed puzzles and besting each other with esoteric words. The challenges were difficult, because their technical jargon wouldn't often be listed in the dictionary and had to be proven in professional journals instead.

But why would Sheldon send her three tiles? And in his dice bag?

Amy shook her head and laughed. Sheldon loved a good puzzle… she'd sort it out before she saw him and surprise him when she knew the answer.

Amy looked at her watch: it was 12:00 p.m. Grad students would be in over the long weekend to look after the animals, and maintenance would finish the rest. Amy looked forward to a few days away from all the stress, but she smiled as she looked back. In her heart, Amy loved her career.

Amy put the tiles back in the dice bag, and tucked the bag and note in her purse. She gathered the roses in the box, her purse and her jacket, turned off the lights, and locked up the lab.

######

After grabbing a quick sandwich for lunch, Amy pulled into her spa, and parked the car an easy walking distance from the front door. Already Amy felt the stresses of her morning starting to leave her, as she walked toward the entrance. Vanilla and lavender scents greeted Amy as the door opened, and Amy briefly closed her eyes while she breathed in deeply. If there is a heaven, surely it smells like this, Amy thought.

Amy walked to the front desk, and was greeted by the receptionist. Susan smiled broadly at her, and promised Denise, her favorite massage therapist, would be with her in only a few minutes. Susan led her to a private room. It was dimly lit by candles, and complete with all the necessary equipment for the massage, a comfortable, soft terry cloth robe, and music to the customer's preference.

"Harp today, Amy?" Susan asked. Amy smiled and nodded. The chai tea was already steeped and just the perfect temperature, sitting on the table to the right. It was so wonderful to have people in your life who knew you and understood you…

Susan left the room and softly closed the door behind her. Amy undressed and put on the robe left for her on the clothes hook on the wall. Amy reached for the tea and sat comfortably on the massage table. The rest of the day's stress left as she brought the mug to her face and inhaled deeply through her nose, closing her eyes. Cinnamon… cardamom… Amy's soul found its "happy place."

Denise joined her soon afterwards, and greeted Amy warmly. She was ready to work with Amy's favorite vanilla lotion. Amy dropped the robe in the side chair and laid out face down on the table while Denise discretely turned away. Denise's expert hands began at the base of Amy's neck and her shoulders. Immediately, Amy relaxed and, as was so often the case, Amy drifted in and out of consciousness…

Three small, wooden tiles with letters floated in front of Amy's inner vision: E… M… W… They danced among stars, turning around each other in a joyful movement. Her conscious mind tried to put them together, but no words would form. Amy was starting to get a little annoyed with her inability to solve the mystery, when a familiar woman's voice called to her inside her mind…

Patience, Amy. You'll understand all, soon enough… when you, too, can see what it is that you are meant to see.

The voice was MeeMaw's, but Amy's conscious mind knew that MeeMaw was fifteen hundred miles away in Texas. So now Amy's inner spirit had taken on MeeMaw's voice? And what was it that she was meant to see?

Amy's conscious mind lost the fight… and she drifted off.

######

The hour of leisure had passed, and Amy woke with the mild embarrassment that always seemed to accompany her slumber during a massage. Denise was well experienced, and knew this was a normal consequence of Amy's total relaxation. She took it as a high compliment of her work. Denise also understood discretion, and did not mention the soft snoring that attended Amy's sleep.

Denise left Amy to dress in private, and when she had finished Amy opened her purse to pull out the gift card she had tucked away inside. She walked up to the front desk, and met Susan's smiling face once more. Amy attempted to pass the card and tip to Susan, but Susan held up her hand to stop Amy.

"Sorry, Amy, but this massage has already been paid for, and the tip, too. We can use your card the next time, if you like," Susan said.

Amy was confused. "Who?" Amy started to ask, when she heard a familiar male voice behind her.

"That would be me."

Amy turned, and Rajesh was standing in front of her.

"Raj? Why are you here? Why did you pay for my massage? ... I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful…"

Raj waived her off with a broad gesture of his hand and a smile. "You're fine. It actually wasn't me, I was just the messenger. Sheldon asked me to do this."

Now Amy was even more confused.

"What?"

Raj continued, "Sheldon asked me to make sure you were taken care of. He also asked me to give you these…"

From behind his back, Raj pulled a pair of white roses, sisters to the ones she received earlier at the lab. Amy took them from Raj, her bewilderment plainly showing on her face.

"Come on…" Raj leaned into Amy as he said to her, softly. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you'll understand later. I promise."

Raj's words echoed her own soul's from earlier. Amy knew when she was being led by a force outside of her control. She decided not to fight this time, but to see where it took her.

** Mea culpa, and additional thank you to chickychum, who corrected my lack of knowledge regarding massage therapy.**

Next: Amy's journey continues... and other friends join in...

Thank you for reading, and for giving your feedback in a review, if you so choose.

Look for chapter 2 Sunday evening or Monday morning. Have a good weekend!