Author's Notes:

This is part of a larger story that will be published soon called "The Six Sheldons." This will Sheldon Five's Story and is set in the year 2000. I hope you enjoy. As always, a huge thank you to my Beta Reader ShAmy4evr.

Also a shout out to mamallama who helped me with the Bostonian. Thanks!

Chapter 1

Please come to Boston...

Spring in Boston is normally beautiful. The shackles of old man winter are finally released, the chill is gone from the air and flowers are beginning to bloom with the promise of a fragrant filled day. Unfortunately, no one gave Mother Nature the memo. It was the year 2000, the end of April and the temperature outside was a balmy 46.9°Fdegrees. Snow flurries were flowing as Dr. Sheldon Cooper made his way from Logan Airport to the shuttle to take him to Harvard. Sheldon wasn't surprised by the weather, he had expected something to go wrong. It was just another in a long line of mishaps that brought him to Harvard: the Den of the Yankee elite.

The initial plan had been for him to work at Caltech this summer doing pure research. He had some promising idea's on string theory, which he had happily informed the university president, Dr. Seibert, at 2:00 AM on a Christmas Morning. The president had not been pleased to be woken at such an hour, nor were his wife and children, who had wondered why Santa Claus was a skinny tall man wearing a shirt like Superman. When Sheldon informed the doe eyed little children that there was no such thing as Santa, and it was a ruse perpetuated to increase consumer spending in the sagging winter economy, the president had made the decision to send Dr. Cooper on a trip, while drying the tears of his offspring.

He had wanted the trip to be sooner rather than later but unfortunately as brilliant Dr. Sheldon Cooper was, no University in the entire country would take him without an indemnity waver, large stipend and a muzzle. Finally Seibert tracked down an old friend at Harvard who owed him a favor, which the president happily called in looking upon it as a belated Christmas present to have Dr. Cooper off campus for one summer at least. Once the arrangements had been made President Siebert took great pleasure in informing Sheldon Cooper that he would now be teaching freshman physics students for the summer. Sheldon was mortified knowing that most of these students were taking the class to make up for their failing grades during the regularly scheduled school year.

Sheldon was now driving around Boston serving his "sentence" as he called it. As Sheldon was given a driving tour of the iconic bay, Beacon Hill and Faneuil Hall, he was in a foul mood. Nothing was appealing to him as he scowled at the overwhelming use of brick, and houses built too close together, but the cold, everything was so cold. The worst part of the trip was passing MIT along the way. At least, he thought with a silent chuckle, that university had some real physicists on staff, though he was sure that none of them were as brilliant as he, but at least it wasn't some blowhard overpriced liberal college using his brilliant mind in a dog and pony show just to attract donors. However, Sheldon consoled himself with the thought that it would only be for the summer, and soon he would be back in California, where he belonged.

The shuttle dropped him off outside the faculty housing office. He trotted into the office, holding his thin jacket closed and shivering and mumbling. "Boy that is a bracing cold, an invigorating cold. Lord, is it cold!" He made his way to the desk and checked in.

The middle aged woman with frosted tipped hair glanced briefly at Sheldon then pushed up her glasses and continued to work on her crossword puzzle as she said, "Sweetie, the high school tours are meeting in the quad. Just take…"

Sheldon was used to this degrading treatment. Going to college at the age of 11, he had heard this same dismissal for the last 9 years, through his undergrad, grad, and doctoral work. However, now that he would be on the staff he felt that the quip had run its course. He was cold, tired and in no mood to explain once again, he was old enough.

Sheldon seeing her name tag sighed and answered in a monotone low voice, "Well… Mildred… I am here to check in for faculty housing. Yes.. I am on staff. Yes… I will be a professor… Yes… I look young… All very amusing… Now can we please get past the impending Doogie Howser, M.D. references, and find my room…"

Mildred pushed back her chair, and eyed the lanky boy again. He looked all of 16, wearing the same shirt her teenage son had begged her to buy for him for Christmas. He was tall however, at least 6 ft. He looked like he needed a good meal and acted like he should be thrown over someone's knee.

"What's yaw name, sweetie?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes at the overly familiar moniker, "Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

"You're Dr. Coopa? Holy crap!" She had been told to expect a well-known physicist, but she had missed the memo that he was still in high school, or looked like it. "I'm speechless!"

"Yes, I have that effect on people. Now the room please…." This trip just continued to be a disaster as Sheldon continued to wait watching the woman struggle with the most basic of computer programs.

Finally after 10 long minutes Mildred came up with a result, "Here we go, Dorm…."

"I'm sorry, but in what Universe would I be staying in a dorm? I was promised my own apartment, with a working thermostat and hopefully a space heater that won't kill me in the night with carbon dioxide gas. Now you are telling me, I am going to be placed in some dorm? With a communal bathrooms? How is this even possible? Sheldon Cooper does not share a bathroom! WITH ANYONE!"

"I'm sorry Dr. Coopa, but all the faculty housing is full. You can either share an apartment with the Geology department or you can share an apartment with one of the grad students. It's not like an undergraduate dorm. You will have your own room, your own bath, you will just share a common room, but it is with only one other person. Everyone will be your age, sir. It could be fun!" She gave him a toothy grin but, even distanced by the reception desk, her breath smelled too much like coffee and Pall Malls to give any comfort.

"Excuse me, but to assume that I have "fun" with people my own age is insulting. Secondly, what if these people are my students, huh? How can I be sure they won't come into my room and steal my exams, which I can tell you, lady, have brought many a student to tears!" Sheldon raised his eyes, hoping to strike fear into this dragon with silver hair. He only got an eye roll in response.

"There are no Physics students there." Though the small woman with the thick Boston accent and sweet demeanor appeared as if she would give in to any demand, she was used to dealing with children of all ages and remained steadfast, "It's the biology student's housing for grad students."

"Oh god! Not the icky squishy crowd!"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Dr. Coopa, but again…no physics students will be there. However, you are welcome to visit some of our rental housing in Southie. I have to tell ya, though, those townies get wicked pissed at Harvard types, so I would keep your head down." Sheldon knew from the look in her eyes that she meant business as she slid the map to his allocated accommodation across the desk and pushed up her glasses. He swallowed and took the paper.

"Better than the damn dirt worshipers." He muttered as he zipped up his jacket and stomped off to face the cold again.

Finding his way through the maze that was Harvard's campus, he reached the dorm that was to be his home till August and hated it instantly. He hated the grey stone, the creeping vines growing up the sides of the cobblestone walls, the large wooden door that looked like a church entrance. But inside was even worse: Wood floors, spindled hand carved wood staircase and leaded glass windows. Okay, he had to admit, it was a little like a castle and castles are cool. Though hopefully, it would not be too much like a castle with the heat loss, risk of fires and tendency to be overrun by English invaders.

He found the room he was assigned, it was on the 2nd floor, and was surprised to find a pleasant room when he opened the door. There was a sitting area with a desk, a kitchenette and a leather couch facing the television. The dark thick wood bookcases behind the couch were empty waiting to be filled with all manner of Physics knowledge and tomes on string theory. A separate door led to a bedroom and a small bathroom with a standing shower. No tub. He was thankful, he hated to think what infectious horrors would await him in a biology dorm room. That crowd probably brought their work home and dissected all sorts of things in this medieval house of horrors.

After an afternoon of thorough scrubbing and disinfecting, the room was not so bad. Finally, he thought, something was going right. That was until her heard a woman's husky voice behind him.

"Hello. Are you my roommate?" Letting out a yelp, Sheldon twirled around to see a woman standing in his living room. She was wearing a lab coat which was two sizes too big for her. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Though she was wearing thick glasses, he could see her green eyes flash at him when she smiled. Her teeth could light up the room, they were so bright. He wondered where she had come from shuddering to think this castle-type dorm was haunted. He had heard that these New England places were rife with ghosts, although as a scientist he never could let himself believe it. It was then he noticed there was another door attached to the living area, which was now open. She must have come from there, he thought as he snapped his reply at her.

"I should certainly hope not! This is a male dorm!"

The woman rolled her eyes at him, "No… this is a co-ed dorm!"

"Oh sweet lord." Sheldon almost fainted. He fell back on the couch and grasped his chest. His southern belle twin sister would have been proud of his performance. "I've landed in some hippy commune!" He held his arms over his chest as if protecting his modesty from her prying eyes. "There goes my Nobel! I'll be drowning in a haze of Aqua Net and estrogen by the end of the week!"

The short brunette shook her head and stomped over to Sheldon, pointing at his near shocked face, "Oh, get over yourself. Don't think I'm too happy about it either. So listen up pal, all forms of physical contact, up to and including coitus are strictly off the table, got it? I don't need some hormone raging stud muffin distracting me from my work and ogling my bedonkadonk!"

"What the devil is that?" Sheldon knew they spoke differently up north, but not this strange.

The girl pushed her an arrant strand of her hair back and looked down, "Sorry… I use urban slang when I am nervous. Just be sure to stay on your own side of the door, got it?" The woman turned around in military fashion and marched off toward her room. Before she reached the door, she turned back around and said in a calmer tone, "I'm Amy, by the way. Amy Farrah Fowler."

Sheldon stumbled for his words, but at least his jaw had returned to its original position after her rant, "Umm.. Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

Amy came back into the room for a moment and her eyes lit up, "Dr.?" She eyed Sheldon up and down, taking note of his age, "Really? Of what?"'

Sheldon's normal verbose replies were stifled by her presence, "Physics."

Amy's shoulders slumped, "Oh, too bad. I thought it would be something interesting. "Oh well, good day!" She turned around and marched off again, closing the door behind her with a thud.

"Stud muffin?" Sheldon let out a heavy sigh, "These Yankee girls are bat crap crazy."

The quick return visit to the same unhelpful Faculty housing office clerk did not go as well as Sheldon had hoped. She informed him, that since he was 21, he should be mature enough to live with a woman roommate and if not, she could place him in a male only dorm; with a Liberal Arts freshman. It was when she informed him that these included students studying such topics as poetry, Women's Studies and ethnomusicology majors, Sheldon suddenly decided that he was mature enough to handle co-ed living. The thought of spending another semester hearing the grunting sounds of his libertine bunk mates having coitus was just too much to bear. Of course, the grunting sounds would have been from the ethnomusicology majors, as he shuttered to think what kind of a man would majoring in woman studies. He put on a fake smile, trudged out of the office, and returned to his cage.

Having packed light, Sheldon was able to settle into his temporary confines fairly quickly. The bedroom was pleasant enough, and after a thorough cleaning with copious amounts of disinfectant and a rigorous inspection of his bed, he was ready to spend his first in the room. He listened intensely all night for any sound coming from his roommate. Sheldon was no rookie when it came to women folk. He had a twin sister who had tortured him till he was least 11 years old, before he went off to school and thereafter, every summer and winter break. He expected all kinds of womanly sounds to emerge from her room: Hair dryers, caterwauling of boy bands, estrogen based crying fits, and squawking on her phone till all hours over some boy who "did her dog". Instead Sheldon heard…nothing. Not a sound from her room, just the wind making the large oak tree brush it's new leaves against his window.

The next morning, Sheldon awoke at his normal 6:30 AM before the alarm went off. It was Sunday, so he was looking forward to watching Doctor Who and having a bowl of cereal. Then a terrible thought hit him: he hadn't bought any groceries. For the first time in 6 years, he would miss Doctor Who because he had to go to some over-priced college commissary to hunt down his cereal.

Having showered and dressed, he emerged from his bedroom to spot his female roommate in the kitchen looking quite different than the day before. Gone was the overly large lab coat, and in its place, a tight beige skirt, dark tights with sensible shoes, and a striped cardigan. Her hair was different as well, lose around her face. It was straight, shiny and quite long indeed. It almost hit her waist with a long bobby pin holding it off her face. She wore make-up, but it was hardly noticeable and nowhere near as much as his sister used. As soon as Sheldon reached the counter, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Oh my god, Dr. Cooper! You scared the life outta me!" Amy held her chest to catch her breath. "You move like a cat!"

Sheldon smirked, "I love cats, but yes, I am quite quiet. Years of trying to avoid bullies."

Amy laughed, "Boy, I wished I had learned that trick! Coulda saved years of being locked in boy's locker rooms. Hey, you hungry Dr. Cooper? I have English muffins…Danishes.." Amy poked her head in the fridge and kept talking. All Sheldon could see was her backside sticking out of the fridge and hear her muffled voice through the metal door, "Eggs… Bacon… Toast…" Amy popped her head back, "What do you want?"

"Oh… I am.. thank you. I haven't been to the grocery store yet." Sheldon tried to catch a glimpse of the fridge's contents as she bent over again.

"Well I procured a few essentials when I was informed I would be having you as a roommate." Amy cleared her throat, "Well not YOU. I knew a person was coming, I thought it would be a… different type of person." Amy looked Sheldon up and down with scrutiny and then looked back to the fridge, "Anyway... as most students leave for the summer, I didn't expect a roommate. I was only told last week. OH! I have cereal, just enough for one bowl! The milk is 2%." Amy popped back up again with a wide smile.

"Oh, that's what I eat on Sunday!" Sheldon beamed a smile at her, the first she had seen on his face since he had arrived. He looked at her for a moment making made eye contact before he looked away and spoke looking down at his hands, "Every Sunday I eat cereal with 2% milk and watch Doctor Who at precisely 7:00 AM." Sheldon looked up again giving her a small smile, She almost blushed, but instead started to speak as fast as an auctioneer.

"Perfect. Here you go. "Amy brought him out a bowl and spoon and poured his cereal. As he watched her, he was anxious that she would not know the exact milk to cereal ratio and was only half listening to the rules as he watched her every move like a nervous new mother and the cereal was his baby. "Now. Rules of the apartment are as follows…"

Amy continued her rapid fire rules. "No parties after 10 PM. No hard liquor. Though I would prefer there be no liquor at all, if I were honest. You can watch whatever you want, but I watch Little House on the Prairie every other Sunday at 2:00 PM. Unless it's a power study day as opposed to regular study days. Oh, Study days: No loud talking, no girls over. No annoying sounds, like small power tools or throat music. Oh, if it's a test day, and I'm out of Yoohoo, there will be hell to pay!"

He watched his cereal being prepared by a master, noting how she poured the perfect amount of milk by sight. Being in awe at her artistry, Sheldon only heard a few things, Liquor, Little House, Girls and Yoohoo, his mind still trying to catch up with her rapid fire list. "Hold up… What about girls and power tools."

Amy narrowed her gaze at him and shook her head, "Oh… you're one of those huh? Shoulda known just looking at you! Listen up, pretty boy, no girls over on study day! Got it!?"

Sheldon was still trying to process her words. Had he really just heard her call him Pretty boy? He finally found his voice, "I've never had a girl over in my life!"

Amy suddenly popped her eyes open as she cocked her head to one side, "Oh, but the rule applies to male lovers as well."

Sheldon stood up and grabbed his perfect cereal to shield it from her saucy talk, "Lovers? NO! I am a man of science! I have never succumbed to my baser urges like some philistine." Sheldon walked over to the couch and roughly sat down. Last night he had found that the left most section had been the most comfortable, though it had taken 20 minutes to discover this. Now he was snuggled in. He had 10 minutes before Doctor Who started and was almost in heaven, except for the saucy brunette making vulgar comments toward him about liquored up lovers with power tools.

"So do you agree that no conjugal visits or wild parties are acceptable parameters for our communal relationship?"

"Of course! Why would you assume that I would do ANY of those things! I never gave you any such indication. I'm here to work, not flood my endocrine system with sexed up goofy juice like some Neanderthal!" Sheldon voice rose in indignation as he snorted and looked down at his cereal.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. You have no idea what kind of roommates I've had in past." Amy dropped down on the other end of the couch giving him plenty of room. Letting out a huge sigh she looked as if she would let her guard down for a moment but then she quickly changed back to her stoic self.

Sheldon watched the strange woman sit up, pull down her sweater, and straighten out her skirt. She seemed focused, driven. He only looked at her for a moment before looking away, "Preaching to the choir sister. I think your rules are acceptable. I will make a few of my own, and draw up an agreement. For clarification, when are these study days?"

"Every day except the third Sunday of the month. I go to the zoo. Oh and shopping day. Like today!"

"The Zoo?" He took a large bite of his cereal relaxing into the spot. The milk ratio was perfection.

"I know… I know.. I feel like a slacker. But what's life without a little whimsy. Speaking of shopping. I only bought the essentials. I think it would be best if we have certain things communally, like milk, bread, butter. Etc. However, for specialty items we can make a coordinate system in the fridge."

"Like a Cartesian Plane? Good idea." It was an excellent idea actually. He wished that he had thought of it for his old roommates who had constantly pilfered his secret red vine stash.

Amy smiled slightly at his compliment, "I have tried using a label maker with roommates in the past, but the condensation made the labels come off."

Sheldon smiled, "I've tried the same method, interesting." Sheldon noticed the time. He had 2 more minutes before his show started, " That's a prudent plan… I also would like to do some shopping. Is there a store within walking distance?"

"No car?"

"Um.. no…" Sheldon did not want to admit he couldn't drive. "I can drive… I chose not to…" He twitched as he looked away from her quizzical stare.

"Harvard can be such tightwads with their faculty budget. I'm not surprised they didn't provide you with a car. I have a car, but parking in Boston is as difficult as nailing jello to a tree."

Sheldon let out a chuckle and almost spit out his milk, "My Mama says that, how funny." He gave her a quick half smile and looked at his watch. She looked at hers at the same time.

"If you are amenable, I can take you with me to the store. I will be leaving at precisely 3 PM. After my trip to the zoo." Amy looked forward. She sat as stiff as mannequin on the couch. Though her robotic delivery might have been off-putting to some, Sheldon found it oddly comforting.

"Where is the zoo in relation to the store?" He took one last bite of his perfect cereal and chewed while she explained the route.

"Well, the cheapest store is to the East of Harvard approximately 3 miles. Therefore, I could take main over the Longfellow, then right on Washington which turns into Corridor Park, however, I prefer to take the south route, along Riverway, then it turns to Jamaicaway and then…" Amy looked at her watch, abruptly cut off the conversation and turned on the television for Sheldon. She handed Sheldon the remote, took his empty bowl from the coffee table, cleaned it up, placed it back in the cabinet and without another word went to her room.

Exactly an hour later, she returned with her handbag strap over her shoulder and wearing a heavy coat. Sheldon's program was just finished and he turned off the television.

Amy took a breath and said, "then take it to Arborway. It is a much more pleasant drive, but Jamaicaway can be pretty harried. However, to answer your initial question, 7 miles, 18 minutes. 10.8 miles from the grocery." She gave him a quick smile, that just as quickly dropped off her face and she headed toward the door.

The fact that she had left the sentence uncompleted had driven Sheldon crazy the entire hour he had halfheartedly watched Doctor Who. He was now so relieved that she had finished the conversation. Surprisingly the woman before him fascinated him more than any re-run of the show he had seen a hundred times. She was mystery to him and one he was willing to investigate.

Sheldon looked confused, "Where are you going?"

Amy rolled her eyes, "As I stated earlier, the Zoo."

Sheldon didn't look at her as he stood up and announced, "I'll get my coat."

Amy pulled her head back in confusion, "Um… who said you were going?"

"You did. It is completely inefficient to go from Harvard to the zoo, then back to Harvard to get me, then back to the store. You will add approximately 14.8 more miles on your vehicle, not to mention gas."

"Gas is only 1.10 a gallon." Amy backed toward the counter getting out of the way of Sheldon's dash to get retrieve his coat.

"Yes, and you would be wasting it. Now, shall we?" Sheldon headed out of the room then stopped and thought for a moment. He turned back and held the door for her, holding his head down as she walked out.

They walked in a tense silence down to the car, neither one wanting to be the first to speak again. Sheldon had expected the worst from the East Coast weather, but it wasn't as biting cold as it had been the day before, in fact the temperature had risen significantly and Amy seemed hot in her overly large over coat. When they arrived at the car, she opened the driver's side door, pulled forward the driver's seat then peeled the coat off and folded it neatly placing it in the back seat. As she bent over to place the coat, Sheldon couldn't help but notice how well she folded it. His eyes followed her movements like a laser tracking beam.

Sheldon was always a nervous passenger especially in a car with an unknown driver. However, she seemed quite qualified to operate a vehicle. She checked the mirrors, adjusted her seat and placed the car in neutral. Sheldon noticed it was a standard car, even more pedals to deal with, he lamented. He was however fascinated with the idea of a clutch, but there was no way he would drive. His brother had tried to teach him one summer and they had ended up in a ditch. This woman drove like an Indy car driver, but with a healthy respect for the speed limit. He watched the pedals intensely as she shifted each gear hypnotized by the way she held the gear shift. Sheldon was sure that if he paid attention to her moves, he would have no problem picking it up. He just had to watch her legs, for educational purposes, to be sure.

They arrived at the zoo without incident, although she was right, Jamaicaway was harrowing experience with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Amy entered the zoo and made a bee line to the monkey exhibit. Sheldon looked at the map but deciding to leave the tour to the experts, he stayed about 20 feet behind Amy, shadowing her as she strolled through the park. Sheldon noticed that her long hair glistened in the sun, like melted amber caught in dark colored wood.

Amy looked back, every once in a while, and caught his gaze, but would then quickly turned back to the exhibits. Finally she stopped, outside of the gibbons' cage and placed her hands on her hips. She called out to him, "If you're going to be a stalker, please do a better job of it. Now come on!" Amy tilted her head to him to join her.

Sheldon walked quickly over to her and looked down with a scowl, "I wasn't being a stalker. I was just walking in the same direction as you were albeit a slower pace."

"Well, keep up, maybe you'll learn something."

Sheldon snorted, "Excuse me, little lady, but just because you have a background in biology, doesn't mean you have ANYTHING to teach me!"

Amy narrowed her eyes, accepting the challenge, "Really, Dr. Levels and Pulleys. Did you know the Gibbon is classified as Hylobatidae, the only one of the genus?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes in haughty derision, "Yes! I can read the sign."

Amy mocked him with a snort of her own, "Well, did you also know the Gibbon displays sexual dimorphism."

"Yes, they also mate for life. At least they only have to deal with one unruly female in their short lives." Sheldon did not notice Amy's burning green eyes boring into the back of his head.

"Probably as they are the same size, the male doesn't think he can dominate over the female because of size." Amy looked up at Sheldon and changed to a challenging tone, "Too bad all apes don't do that, huh Dr. Cooper. You could learn a few things about respecting women."

"Oh, don't feel special because you are a woman. I believe in gender equality when it comes to condescension for lesser minds."

"Lesser minds?" Amy held onto her fist, "Listen up pal, I have 185 IQ, 189 on some tests. I have a near perfect mnemonic memory ability, and graduated at 16!"

Sheldon snorted and raised his nose even higher than it already was, "Well, I have 187 IQ, and eidetic memory and graduated High School at 11, so there!"

Amy stopped at cocked her head, "Eidetic?"

Sheldon crossed his arms and raised his head, waiting for her to challenge him, "Yes."

"That's kinda hot." Amy smirked for a moment and then uncrossed her arms.

"Really?" Sheldon dropped his arms immediately as his eyes popped wide.

Amy cleared her throat, "Yeah, well… I can drive."

"I told you, I chose not to."

"Okay, well, now you can use your eidetic memory and get us home, here are the keys." Amy handed Sheldon the keys to her car, which he looked at as if was holding a dead rat wearing a dirty sock.

Sheldon twitched and chewed his lip, then said, quietly, "Really, 189?"

Amy took her keys back, "You know those numbers are unreliable at high levels."

Sheldon tried desperately to hold back his grin, but it seeped out, "Yes I do."

Amy smiled, "College at 11… That's pretty impressive. You must have been scared to go to university at such a young age. Wow. I don't think I could have done that."

Sheldon let out a sigh as he recalled that time. It had been difficult and a very hard transition in his life. His mother had even taken a little time off from her job and stayed in the same town to keep an eye on him, but that could not last forever, and after a while, he was on his own. He had been on his own ever since.

"You went at 16, that's young as well..." He smiled at Amy, who brushed her hair behind her ears and continued to observe the Gibbons. Earlier the Gibbons had been fighting for dominance over a tree ring and over which one would get to ride inside. By the time Sheldon looked back at the pair, they had both hung to the side of the tire swing and were playing happily.

Sheldon let out a chuckle, "All the non-human apes are classified as great apes except one, this poor sap here. That means taxonomists created the entire category of lesser ape just to single out the poor gibbon as the weird kid on the playground."

Amy let out a giggle, "That's hysterical. You're pretty funny Dr. Cooper."

"Thank you, Ms. Fowler." Sheldon blushed at the rare compliment.

After they left the Gibbons, the two didn't stop talking for the rest of the day. It was as if they were trying to impress each other with their knowledge, and dueling intellects. Amy was amazed at how such a young person with no biology background could be so knowledgeable on the subject, though she had to admit, the lanky boy standing before her was well versed in almost all subjects that she threw at him. Amy had never met a person who could keep up with her toe to toe in a conversation.

They stopped for lunch, and it was Sheldon's turn to be impressed, not just with her mind, but her planning. Out of her bag, Amy pulled lunch, napkins, plates, wet naps, a towel to sit upon, bug spray, sun screen and just in case the baboons got frisky, pepper spray. Sheldon was beaming as he thought that this woman's bag would make Mary Poppins's carpet bag proud. Sheldon always admired preparedness, and Amy Farrah Fowler was certainly ready for anything.

After a stimulating afternoon, they left the zoo, and went to the grocer together. Other than a propensity for sweets which was unparalleled, Sheldon had similar tastes to Amy. He loaded up the cart with Oreos, strawberry Quik powder, and red vines along with other snacks. Amy laughed to herself, he may be a professor, but he ate like a teenager.

The couple then made their way back to the apartment house with their conversation still in full swing. They put away the groceries together in small space in the kitchen, their actions almost like a dance, with each of them matching the partner's moves. One point Sheldon was reaching up to put away the apple pancake mix on the top shelf, when Amy turned around. They were, within an inch of each other's bodies. Amy noted the talc scent off Sheldon's shirts, but not as much he noted the wafting smell of something citrus. Not quite lemon, not oranges, though it was similar. Sheldon instinctively leaned down slightly to smell her hair again, but Amy backed up.

"Are you okay, Dr. Cooper?" Amy was leaning against the counter bracing herself with her hands. She could feel her heart rate rise and a flush move down her neck. She had never been this close with a man in her life

Sheldon shook from this stupor, "Oh… yes… Ms. Fowler, um… Where should we put the spices?" He tried to change the conversation, but not knowing that scent was like an itch he couldn't scratch. He needed her to come nearer, he had to know, that was the only reason he wanted to stand so close to her, he told himself. Amy moved in a little closer and started to put the spices away, explaining her storage method. Sheldon stood behind her and leaned in again trying tried to catch a hint of the scent, but it was gone.

Once the groceries were put away, and they both had had a quick bite to eat, Amy retired to her room to work, while Sheldon went to his laptop and started to codify the rules of the household. After few hours it was done, and the email was sent to Ms. Fowler. He felt better about the productive day he had, and having such an agreeable and quiet roommate. All was well until her heard a guttural yell from Amy's room and an expletive that he had rarely heard except from his brother.

Amy stormed out of the room, "Are you out of your god damn mind? Roommate agreement? Furniture committee's? You want me to sign that if zombies come, you will let them eat me first to save yourself? Are you nuts?"

Sheldon jumped back to avoid her ire, but was standing over him like a cougar ready to pounce, "You said there were rules for the house, I just added a few! What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? Listen to this, 'The roommates agree that all menstruation cycles will be posted on the community board so as to warn the other members of the household of imminent hormonal based fits.' That is the most sexist thing I've have ever heard."

"Hey! If I shed my uterine lining, I'd tell you!"

Amy cracked her knuckles, "You need to shed something, buddy," Amy crossed her arms, "Are you insane?"

"No! My mother had me tested!"

"She took you to a quack if they said you were normal! There is no way you will find out my period cycle, pal!" Amy growled at him, but Sheldon found some strength to growl back.

"Given your reaction, you don't have to tell me, I think I can guess!" Sheldon opened his eyes wide at her, happy to have made his point, but quickly backed up when he heard her knuckles crack as she made a fist.

"Oh… that is it, pal! You want to play these kinds of games with me, you are so gone! I am going to get you outta here!" Amy stormed off to her room and slammed the door. She was going to the University tomorrow and get this rude know it all out of her life by the end of the day. There was no way she'd spend her summer with Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

Couple notes: The help with Boston, again.. All Mamallama. I was going to put more of the Boston accent, but I thought this was enough.

I researched Boston for the time of the story and come to find out the exact day I had Sheldon arrive, it was 45 degrees.

I will be keeping to my publishing schedule of Sunday and Wednesday. I hope that works for you guys!

Hope you liked the start of the story. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think of this plot bunny that hasn't left my mind for 4 months. Thanks!