A/N: Okay wow I looked at when I last submitted a story and it has been a while. Actually just about a year. Things have been really crazy. I really have looked at my stories just nothing ever came to me to write. So finally after 2 months in lockdown I finally sat down and finished this chapter which I started almost immediately after finishing the last but never could get myself to finish it. Now for those of you that don't remember this story is about Lucy and Sheldon knowing each other before she ever meets Raj. They dated as teenagers and have recently reconnected when Lucy moved to California. Sheldon is dating Amy and they have been for about 6 months. At the airport, Sheldon dropped the L bomb. Yes out of character but not in this story. So what happens next is in this here chapter. Hope you enjoy and I hope it isn't another year before I post another chapter. I am going to work on it right now.

As always I don't own these characters.

"Because I know her. She will love you as much as I do." He said, not even thinking about the words that he had just spoken.

"What did you say?" Amy asked staring at him in shock.

"Umm…" Sheldon started. He knew how he felt but had not wanted to say it to her like that. He was going to try and explain himself when a voice announced their flight was boarding. Lucy had found coffee and walked over to them. She saw them staring at each other.

"Hey love birds." She said, not knowing what had been said between them. They looked over at her. "Are we going to board or just wait until everyone will be in the aisle trying to put their bags in the overhead compartments." She picked up her bag and headed to the gate.

"I guess we should board." Sheldon said to Amy, getting up out of his seat. He held out his hand for her.

She looked at him, still not knowing what was happening but knew that Sheldon had said he loved her. She took his hand and they walked to the gate and handed the flight attendant their boarding passes.

It was going to be a long flight.

Lucy was ahead of them as they walked down to board the plane. Sheldon was grateful as he needed to say something to Amy. He looked at her and she had a look that said she was afraid.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Nothing." She told him. She was not lying to him. The truth was she needed to process his words. He had said he loved her. She was sure she heard him correctly. If he tried to take it back it would be bad. Would that mean he didn't love her and it was just an expression? Or would he break up with her because she didn't immediately say it back?

"Are you sure? You seem distracted." He said.

"I may be but I don't want to talk about it right now." She hoped this would satisfy him. She was wrong.

"I think we need to talk." He told her.

"Can it at least wait until we are in the air. We have seats by ourselves and hopefully no distractions." She said.

"I guess that makes sense." He told her.

The two found their seats and settled in. Lucy was sitting directly across from them. She saw the two sitting down next to her.

"I am taking a nap." She told them. "It is too early and I am going to have to see my parents when we get to Houston."

"Your parents are fine." Sheldon told her. "It's my mother that we have to worry about. She will be doting all over Amy."

"Your mother will love Amy." Lucy said to him.

Amy blanched. There was that word again. Why was everyone going to love her? And how did they know?

"Did I say something wrong?" Lucy asked after seeing the expression on Amy's face.

"No of course not." Amy said to her. "It's just you said Sheldon's mother was going to love me, Sheldon told me his meemaw was going to love me. How do you guys know these things? What if they hate me?"

Sheldon had no idea what was wrong with Amy. He knew his mother was going to love her and he had no doubt his meemaw would as well. She was just the kind of girl that they had talked about for years. Meemaw had said he would find a girl that would look past all the quirks he had and find the good in him. His mother said he would find a woman that thought much like him. Both of these qualities, he realized, Amy had. So he just knew they would love her. He told her but he had said he loved her too. Maybe she was afraid of that word. This was her first relationship and they had only been dating for 6 months. Originally she hadn't even wanted any kind of contact. Maybe she was afraid he would want more than the kisses they were sharing. The truth was he wanted more and he knew that now. But he would never ever push her to do something she wasn't ready to do. He wasn't sure he was ready either. Plus, he had way too much respect for her to even try. When she was ready she would let him know. She had told him as much even with the kissing. They may be going slow by some standards but Sheldon was happy with any kind of progress.

"Why are you so worried all of a sudden about his mother?" Lucy asked. "Twenty minutes ago you said she sounded excited to meet you when you spoke to her."

"I know but being excited and liking me are two very different things. And then Sheldon claims his meemaw will love me as much as he loves me." Amy said nonchalantly.

"Wait what?" Lucy exclaimed. "He said he loved you?"

"Oh, um…." She stuttered. She hadn't meant to tell Lucy what Sheldon had said.

"Yes I did and we need to talk about that now." Sheldon said to her. "So if we can just take our seats so we can talk privately." He pointed out quite a few people standing behind them as Lucy looked at them in shock. They had been putting their bags in the overhead compartment while they were talking but now Lucy was standing awestruck at them.

"Right." Lucy said, taking her seat across from them. "Like I said, I am going to nap. You guys can talk privately."

"Thank you." Sheldon said. He waited for Amy to sit down before sitting himself.

He turned to look at her. "So about what I said." But the flight attendant comes over the speaker and Amy raises a hand.

"I said once we are in the air." She reminded him.

"I've heard these procedures many times." He protested.

"Sheldon give me some time okay?" She pleaded. "I have to think."

"Fine." He agreed. "But once we are in the air you have to listen to me." He was frustrated because he knew he had to explain what he meant. He knew of course she may not reciprocate but he was damn sure not going to take back what he said.

"I will. I promise." She sighed. She knew she couldn't keep putting him off. He was going to get his way. He always did. The problem was she was scared about what he was going to say. Was he going to blow it off as just a saying or was he going to tell her he loved her? She was hoping it was the latter. It may have been completely out of the blue for him but she knew she would tell him that she felt the same way if he asked. She had been fighting what she felt for a while. Part of the problem was her mother. She had wanted her to date but was always telling her that men only wanted sex. Sheldon had been nothing but a gentleman when it came to intimacy. He never went further than she wanted him to go. He also had confided in her that he was also a virgin so there was no rush for him either. He was perfectly happy taking things as slow as she wanted. She wanted someone to talk to about how she had been feeling but she really didn't have any close friends that weren't also close with Sheldon. She had seen firsthand how fast things went through the group when Penny admitted that she still had feelings for Leonard even if he was now dating Raj's sister, Priya. Bernadette had told Howard whom then told Raj and somehow it got to Priya. She then told Leonard he could not hang out with Penny anymore. So telling Penny how she felt about Sheldon was out of the question if she didn't want him to know before she told him. She thought about talking to Lucy but Lucy was Sheldon's friend first too no matter how close they had become. Plus she knew they had dated and as much as Lucy had said it didn't matter because they would always just be friends, Amy felt weird talking to her about it. So she never really talked about Sheldon with her. She was so preoccupied thinking about the conversation that was about to take place that she hadn't realized they were already in the air until she heard Sheldon trying to get her attention.

"Amy are you paying any attention to what I am saying?" He asked her.

"What?" She said looking startled.

"I said did you hear anything I just said to you but by your reaction I am guessing you didn't." He said looking sad.

"I'm sorry. I guess I got lost in thoughts." She smiled at him. "Now what did you ask?"

"I asked if you were ready to talk to me or not." He said.

"Well if I said no would you be upset?" She asked, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this no matter how hard she tried.

"You promised." He said, looking mad.

"I know and I am ready." She said. "Can't blame a girl for trying." She laughed anxiously.

"I get it. What I said was totally out of the blue. I understand if you are feeling confused."

"I am not confused. I understood exactly what you said. What I want to know is did you mean it?" She asked.

"Oh." He said. "Do you mean did I mean what I said about meemaw, because.."

But Amy cut him off.

"That is not what I meant and you know it. Did you mean to tell me that you love me?" She asked, probably a little louder than she meant because Lucy looked over at them as well as several other passengers. She lowered her voice. "Sorry."

"Here's the thing." Sheldon started. "What I said was well, impulsive." He explained. "I mean I said it because I wanted you to understand that I knew meemaw would love you."

"So you are saying you don't love me?" She asked.

"Well no that is not what I am saying." Sheldon was fumbling over his words, something he never did. He always knew exactly what he wanted to say. But when it came to Amy he never knew if he was doing the right thing.

"What are you saying?" She asked impatiently.

"Okay here it is. I knew that meemaw would love you because he always has been supportive of me and well she knows that you mean a lot to me so."

"I mean a lot to you?" She asked. She was deflated. She assumed that he meant it when he said he loved her but now he was taking it back. He could see it in her eyes that she was disappointed.

"No Amy that isn't what I meant." He tried.

"It's what you said." She told him. "And you always say what you mean."

"Yeah well today my mouth seems to be saying things I don't want to say."

"Like that you love me!" Amy got louder.

"Yeah, I mean no." He said. "Amy can we keep the noise down, people are staring."

"No Sheldon, you said you loved me and now you seem to be taking it back." She was upset. "I wanted to know if you meant it and now I can see it was just an expression."

"No Amy that isn't what I said." He pleaded. People were looking around to see who was causing the disruption.

"Hey guys." Lucy interjected. "I am trying to sleep here. Can you keep it down? And dammit Sheldon just tell her the truth!" The passengers applauded.

"Sorry." He said looking around. He turned to Amy and sighed. "Look I didn't mean for you to find out the way I said it." He admitted. "I wanted to take you out to a nice dinner while we were in Texas and tell you then. I didn't want to just blurt it out in the LA airport. But the truth is yes I do love you. And I don't care if you don't…."

Amy cut him off before he could finish the sentence because she knew he would tell her that it didn't matter if she was ready to say it yet. "I love you too." She said quietly.

His eyes went wide. "You do?" He asked.

"Well I've been trying to figure out what was going on in my stomach and head. I have had this weird feeling every time I was around you. I couldn't place my finger on it and went through every single possibility that it could be. I ruled out a thyroid condition, menopause and an alien parasite. I could only conclude one thing, it had to be love. So yeah, I love you." She said.

"It's about time." Lucy laughed, knowing how the two of them felt about each other. "Now kiss and get it over with."

Sheldon looked at Amy and leaned in and kissed her. The entire area seated around them applauded. They looked at each other and laughed. The next few hours were spent just holding each other until they landed in Houston.

Please please review and I will try and write faster this time. Thanks in advance!