It was 16:37 and it was sunny outside. It was always sunny in Southern California.

Amy had just gotten off the phone with her mother who had just told her about Aunt Ellen's passing that evening. She held the phone in her hands. She didn't want to believe it. This wasn't happening. Not yet.

Aunty Ellen was her mother's stepsister and she had always been more of a mother to her than her actual one. She was odd like Amy and while she wasn't very intelligent she always knew the most random facts. She was wickedly witty and always kept Amy on her toes. She always encouraged the quirky, the odd, and the strange. She said everyone had it in them and that it was just hard to always embrace it. She was her role model growing up.

Once when Amy was five, she came home crying because of what some mean girls said to her that day. They even threw mud at her new skirt.

'Baby cheeks, what happened?' Her aunt rushed to her when Amy walked through the door.

'It- It... They called me... Really mean names and they said ... They said my skirt was too bright and and...' Amy said between sobs.

'Oh, Amy. Don't ever listen to anyone who put other people down! It's not your fault in character it's theirs'.

'I don't understand what that means, Aunty'.

Aunt Ellen dried her tears away and stroked her long, light locks. 'You're special, my little flower. Stay away from people who make you feel like you're hard to love.'

The loud ringtone on her phone sitting in her purse brought her back to the present. It was Sheldon.

"Hello, Sheldon?"

"Amy! Good Lord, you had me worried. I've been knocking on your door for ages".

"Oh. Hang on I'll be right there".

She quickly realized she had apparently been crying so she dried her eyes before she greeted Sheldon.

"Hello, Amy. How are you this evening?"

"I've been better, come in," she stepped aside to let him in. "What brings you here today?"

"You invited me to come over, remember? Last night you said you had recorded a new Geology documentary on The Bermuda Triangle we could laugh at. I'm looking forward to it."

"Oh. Right... Uh. Let me get it started". Amy started looking for the remote.

She seems off, Sheldon thought. That's when he realized her house phone was not in its place but lying on her sofa instead. Also, she was drinking oolong. She never drank oolong.

"Amy, what..."

"My Aunt Ellen. It was to be expected she was 89". She said hastily, avoiding his eyes and aimlessly looking for the remote.

"My sincerest condolences".

"Thank you and I ...don't want to talk about it, in case you felt the need to ask".

"Okay." He watched her fidget with her sleeve as he stood beside the sofa. She wasn't making an effort to start the documentary and he could distinguish a shimmer in her eyes. He sat down and waited for her to begin talking.

After eight minutes in silence she finally began, "She was very loving and open minded. When I told my family I wanted to become a scientist she was the only one who encouraged me and was there for me along the way. She didn't call me Dr. Frankenstein or Dr. Freak like my cousins did. She didn't say I wasn't a real doctor when I got my PhD like my mother did." Amy grew quiet again. Remembering her graduation day and how Aunty Ellen gave her a kiss on both cheeks and told her about the meaning behind the floral leis that adorned Amy's graduation robe.

Amy was aware of her aunt's advanced age and she knew she had to prepare herself for letting her go eventually but it all felt too fast, it felt as if she still had time.

"Uhm." She didn't know how long she had spent quiet. She looked over at Sheldon and smiled when she saw he sat patiently waiting for her to continue. "She was ... Really great."

"I'm not sure what to say to be of comfort" she saw him visually struggle to say anything else. It was quite endearing.

"You don't have to say anything. Thank you for listening".

After two cups of tea and one forgotten documentary, Sheldon made his way home per her polite request to be left alone for a while.

He knew her better than that, though. Besides, speaking from personal experience, being alone during a time of grief was going to cause more damage than good. So, he embarked on a mission to cheer her up.

Her watch marked 20:42 when she found herself lying in bed. She was still awake but she felt tired so after a long warm shower she put on her nightgown and tried to get some rest.

Knock, knock, knock

Who could that be? It's late enough to be deemed socially inappropriate to come knocking on someone's door. She put on her slippers as she got up to open the door. She heard voices outside, they sounded familiar.

When Amy opened the door and was shocked by the sight before her. Her friends were all at her door.

"Amy!"

"Ames!"

"Hey!"

"Amy!"

"Buddy!"

They all carried a bunch of bags, tappers, and trays wrapped in tin foil.

"What is this? What are you guys doing here?" She asked, confused.

"Sheldon told us about your loss and how much your aunt meant to you and we wouldn't let you get through this by yourself," Penny walked up to her and held up a big bottle of Yoohoo. "Sheldon recommended this instead of alcohol".

"Raj and I made peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies" Bernadette placed the tray on her counter in the kitchen.

"I made a playlist of our favorite Neil Diamond songs. I also added a few artist I think you might like," Howard smiled and took an iPod out of his pocket.

"We got Little House on the Prairie and Downton Abbey on DVD," Leonard lifted a small Comic Con tote bag and flashed her one of his odd, friendly smiles. "Oh and gummy bears!"

She just stood there looking at everyone smiling at her. Her boyfriend in the back looking uncertain at their group of friends. Friends. Her friends showed up in the middle of the night to cheer her up.

You're special, my little flower. Stay away from people who make you feel like you're hard to love.

Aunt Ellen's words resonated within her and for the first time in her life she truly believed every word. She had friends who loved her for who she was. She didn't need to prove anything to them. And they didn't expect anything from her other than her company and loyalty.

Amy felt her vision become blurry and soon felt tears run down her cheeks. She started sobbing as she looked from Penny to Howard, from Leonard to Bernadette, and from Sheldon to Raj.

"Aw, Ames!" Penny enveloped her in a hug and they soon all joined in giving her a group hug.

"Why are you crying?!" Sheldon shrieked from the back of the group of friends. "get out of the way, move!" he swatted at his friends' backs until they made way. He got to Amy and placed his hands on her shoulders looking at her puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

"I thought this would make you feel better. Amy, should I have gotten Strawberry Quick instead? Or alcohol like Penny suggested? Do you want me to kick them out? Should I leave?" He frantically looked at her eyes desperate to make her stop crying. "Amy-"

"I love you so much," Amy cried as she launched herself into his chest and sobbed harder.

Sheldon stood there motionless. He knew she loved him but hearing her say that inexplicably made his heart skip a beat, it was like the air had been knocked out of this lungs, and for a second he though he misheard her. That never happened though, because he had the most keen sense of hearing. So that meant that he heard her right. She loves him.

"Does this mean you're not upset?" Sheldon asked as his hands hovered over her. He had the slight suspicion she wasn't but he had to make sure before he hugged her back.

Amy laughed and looked up and him. "No, you puce".

Her eyes never looked so happy despite them being watery. What a lovely contradiction it was. He found himself smiling when he took in her lips curling upwards and her cheeks blushing. He finally wrapped his arms around her, protectively, intimately holding her close and slightly rocking from side to side. He looked into her green eyes and forgot their friends were there. The guys would probably tease him later for this but he found himself not really caring that they would.

A snotty, loud sob broke the sweet atmosphere. Sheldon and Amy looked over and saw Penny and Raj hugging each other and looking at them. "They're so cute!" Penny nodded up and down as she ran her finger along her eyes to prevent her makeup from running.

Amy smiled shyly and Sheldon looked at them, exasperated. "Control your sloppy germs, you two" Sheldon complained. He glared at them, still holding his girlfriend.

"Thank you for being here and doing this, guys. Really, this means more than what you can imagine".

"Nah, don't mention it, buddy. That's why we're here for".

"Now as soon as you two lovebirds disentangle we can start the DVD" Howard winked at them and nudged Sheldon as he passed by him and headed over to the couch. Everyone laughed and soon settled around the TV, quickly chatting away.

"Am I correct in assuming you're in better spirits?" Amy looked up at him "You know I'm not good at identifying emotions but... I know what it's like to lose a family member you were close to and I also know I'm not always the best person to go to for comfort." Sheldon said softly.

"It's still going to be hard but this helped. Thank you."

Sheldon wasn't sure how much it did but it was enough to make her smile for the time being. He looked up at their friends as they talked amongst each other about who-knows-what seemingly unaware of the two of them anymore. He liked kissing her in private because the act itself felt private and intimate and not to be shared with anybody else. But at that moment he wanted to kiss her, to reassure her that he would be there for her. And to kiss her was something he always enjoyed doing.

So, checking one last time that they weren't being watched he leaned down and kissed her softy and with all the love he would no longer hide from her.

When they broke apart she said, "how about we watch that documentary I promised earlier?"

A/N: Well, that was fun. My first fic, yay! The part where Sheldon swats at his friends to get to Amy came to me one day when I was trying to fall asleep so I quickly wrote it down. The rest I patched along the way whenever I had a minute or when I should've been studying. This was unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Reviews are always appreciated!

Also, when Amy calls him puce. I was looking up quirky terms of endearment when I found that the French use 'ma puce', which translates to 'my flea', and I just found it hilarious. Calling someone my flea would be considered weird and just up shamy's alley so there ya go.