Chapter 1.

New York City

It was a cold December afternoon of 1957, one of the toughest winters that he could remembered. The streets had been covered with a beautiful white snow, and tourists were hiding in the many coffee shops around the city.

The World Congress of Science had ended, and as every year, the event had been full of interesting lectures with the new advances in each of the fields of study. For Sheldon any of them were really great advances, since he wasn't there to achieve them. It had been two years since he left his work in theoretical Physics, and although he felt that his new job gave him more quietness, a part of him missed so badly the long nights in front of an empty blackboard.

He placed his new hat on his head and his long coat over his shoulders, opening the big door of the auditorium. A cold breeze hit on his face and his warm breath was reflected in the air. The white snow covered the steps and in the streets the lamp posts were filled with the lights which announced that Christmas was just around the corner.

Sheldon made his way down the stairs, seeing the posters of the lectures still hanging and the last orators leaving after him with their briefcases. Sheldon checked his pocket watch, and a felt an overwhelm fear ran through his body. In less than twenty minutes the last train to Pasadena will leave and he couldn't afford to spend another week in this city.

Stopping one of the taxis with a loud shout, he climbed in it and gave to the driver the indications to take him hastily to the train station. Sheldon looked out from the passenger window, seeing how the high buildings passed away. New York was not one of his favorite cities, in fact, the large amount of people, the noise and the garbage in the streets downing it to the bottom of his list, but there was something magical in it, something that made him always say goodbye to the city with a smile.

Just five minutes before from the train to depart, he walked briskly the hall of the Grand Central Terminal. A large fir tree decorated the room, and the corridors were full of garlands and lights. Sheldon detested Christmas, it seemed to him a frivolous and meaningless holiday, so traveling at this time of the year allowed him to get rid of buying presents and skip the preparations, although, no matter how much he insisted, his roommate, Leonard, and his fiancée, Penny, every year left a gift under the tree of their home. And that wasn't so bad.

Sheldon walked around the terminal, crossing the crowds to the boarding gate. He had already arranged a service to pick up his suitcases in the hotel, so losing the train would not only leave him in the city for another week until the next train, also with his belongings traveling across the country without him.

Almost out of breath, Sheldon arrived to the passenger control, standing in line and taking out his documentation of his coat. His fingers caressed the edge of the train ticket, the ink had left a groove in one of the corners, and the bottom had a small crease. The sound of the whistle of the train sent a relapse of sensation down his spine making his skin goosebump.

In a few minutes he was going to embark on a seven day travel across the country, from New York to Pasadena, going through cities, mountains, and great rivers. Sheldon loved trains, he found them fascinating since he was a little kid and he spends his boring afternoons looking through his window, seeing how the longest trains run in front of him, seeing the smoke slide in the air and the sound of it´s roles at their path.

Being the last passenger for entering, Sheldon was accompanied to the door of the carriage. The reviewer was a burly middle-aged man with a thick black mustache and an intense cigar smell, something that Sheldon detested more that anything. With a hard blow, the man closed the door behind him, and with a sound from his whistle, the train started to move slowly.

Sheldon moved still breathless along through the elegant wagon that would be his home for the next week. He had booked a shared car bed in second class, something that didn't make him entirely happy, but it was the most he could afford for now. The carriage was gorgeous, the wallpaper were in a burgundy color with patterned flowers, the beige carpet looked freshly laid, and the armchairs smelled of leather and coal. He passed through the hallway to his room, the number fourteen.

He slowly opened the door to the small but beautiful room. A large window in the center gave a beautiful natural light and two cream-colored curtains moved with the cold breeze from the window middle open. Sheldon walked to the window, closing it and looking around. A large dark green armchair occupied the entire right wall and just opposite to it a bunk bed with red sheets and enough cushions to make a fort. It wasn't as luxurious as one would expect for the price, but it was quite spacious, and as long as the roommate would be a tidy person there should be no problem.

Sheldon saw his suitcases perfectly placed on the floor next to the bed, they were well labeled and without any scratches, he maked sure of that. Next to them another couple of black suitcase with golden studs in it with an inscription "Dr. A. F. Fowler". He read it aloud. "What kind of doctor he will be?". He asked to himself, leaving his suitcases in the compartment next to the bathroom.

After a few minutes washing away the taxi viruses and organizing his belongings, Sheldon took the newspaper of today and walked to the dinner wagon, where dinner would be served soon.

The train was full and almost no table had a free space. The dining room was a long car with dozens of tables on each side, the carpet was dark red and had stains from years ago. Long chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the sound of glasses and children filled the scene. Sheldon walked without hesitation to the bottom of the car, where, for his experience, certainly would be calmer and he could eat without listening to ridiculous conversations or the cries of infants.

Just at the end of the room, next to one of the right windows was a table with only one person on it. It was a young brunette, reading with genuine interest, a big novel. Her dark hair was tucked in a small bun just behind her right ear. Her lips were deep red and she wore an elegant gray cotton suit. A pair of black gloves lay on the table next to a suede small hat. He approached to her slowly, contemplating how her lips silently pronounced the words as if it were not the first time she read it.

- "Good evening". Sheldon said as the young woman set the book on the table and looked up to gaze him. Her eyes were green and bright color, as two strong emeralds, with a beautiful pair of dark and sharp eyebrows that deepened her intense gaze under a pair of tiny glasses. "Sorry to interrupt you m'am, but there is no other seat available in here". He started to explain turning his body so with a quick glance she could see the rest of the train full.

The woman looked around and with a large and bright smile offered the seat with her hand. "Of course, accompany me, please". Without further ado, she returned to her book in silence.

Sheldon stared at her for a few seconds and settled back into his seat, opening the newspaper and starting to read. The New York Times was one of the reasons to visiting the city every year. For his taste, the newspapers on the other coast were much more vulgar and didn't have that special humor that Sheldon found fascinating.

After some lines without paying much attention, Sheldon looked over the papers, trying to read the title of the novel that the woman was reading with so much interest.

- "Hemingway?". He said aloud, without his intention, the young woman raised her gaze from the pages and smiled at him. Sheldon noticed how her face contoured with the gesture, her cheeks were covered with a red hue and her gaze seemed more beautiful.

- "Aham". She nodded, closing the book to show him the cover "Across the River and into the Trees". She said as a melody. "It´s a very good one, is the third time in a row that I read it".

- "This year's best seller, I read a very good review in the newspaper". Sheldon said, pointing to the New York Times on the table. "But I didn't have time yet to read".

- "New Yorker?". She asked with a smile, leaving the book on the table, as she knew that she wouldn't need it anymore.

- "Oh, of course not!". Sheldon said, letting out air from his mouth, as if he just had heard the greatest of follies. "Actually I'm from Texas, from a small town in the east of the state, but I live in California now".

- "How interesting, and how a young Texan has ended up living in a big city in the other side of the country, mister ... sorry, I don't know your name".

- "You can call me, Sheldon". He said with a smile, giving his hand to shake it above the dark wooden table.

- "Very well, Sheldon, my name is Amy, nice to meet you". She said returning the smile and holding tightly his firm hand.

The soft touch of her skin sent a chill down his spine that made him tremble all over. Sheldon was out of all that, women had always been an impediment for him to achieve the most goals in science and simply they weren't an interested subject to him. His only experiences with the opposite sex had been his mewmaw, mother and sister, and some sporadic hugs to Penny, his best friend´s fiancée, and although they were less annoying every time, they were not an activity he liked to repeat, but now he felt a warm feeling spreading through his body, a feeling that make him quiver in a good way, a strange and fascinating way.

- "I'm a physics professor at Pasadena University for about two years". Sheldon left a sigh with his words.

It was true, he had been teaching classes for two years already, it seemed incredible that was so much time. And even if it wasn't every day a happy time, It wasn't that terrible either as at first it seemed. But it was the only solution if he didn't want that everything he did comes to the public domain. And that was the worst thing that could happen to his career.

- "Sounds interesting, and Pasadena is a very nice place for live, I'm from California, a Orange Country girl, but I lived in Boston for a long time, I had friends to visit before the holidays". She explained.

It was not a lie, not in the most part, in fact, she had lived there for a long time, during her doctorate at Harvard, but the main reason of this travel was a possible change of work to her alma mater, something that filled her of pride and hope.

Her life in California wasn´t what could be considered a happy life. Her work was the only thing that filled her, it was not that she had any friends beyond the formalities with her coworkers in the university, and her family was more a stigma than a blessing, a change of city and life could put a smile on her face since a long wait.

Suddenly the conversation was interrupted by one of the waiters, the dinner was about to be served, and both nodded in relief that the subject was left behind, each one with their own motives, not prepared to speak it aloud, at least, not yet.

After a generous and fresh salad came the second dish, a roast beef with delicious roasted sweet potatoes and carrots. Sheldon was grateful to have paid the extra money for the meals, everything was delicious, as well as the company.

From books they started to talk about music and from there, to politics and religion, it was incredible how they had equal thoughts on the key points of each topic and even when not, they enjoyed discussing it as well. It was a delicious evening and little by little the wagon was getting empty, until in the few remaining tables the conversation were smooth which made the moment much more relaxed.

- "You are kidding, right?". Amy said in laughs as Sheldon explain to her one of his many stories when he was a child with his siblings in their natal Texas.

Her laugh was like a beautiful melody, her eyes shone like two bright stars and her cheeks blushed with each minute that passed, and each sip of the delicious wine they were sharing. Sheldon didn't drink frequently, a glass of wine on rare occasions but this moment deserved to be enjoyed completely. Not every day Sheldon found an interesting company with which to talk, and less, no one as beautiful as her.

- "Not at all, her eyebrows just disappear instantly, in that moment I understood that the potency was too much, but poor Missy, she had to be almost a year looking like a doll, with the eyebrows painted by our mother".

- "That´s hilarious, I grew up without siblings or cousins, so I spent most of my time reading in silence".

- "It sounds delicious to me, I would have given anything to have some peace when I was a child, not all were experiments and laughs, my siblings never understood me and it was difficult to live together". Sheldon explained, recalling in his head the tortures he had suffered as a child, just for being different, for being himself.

After desserts and a glass of wine of more for both of them, Sheldon offered to accompany Amy to her room, both were in the same wagon, number seven, so it would be easier for Sheldon to get into bed without problems as he was already feeling dizzy and without the total control of his body.

Both walked between laughs through the corridors of the train, making more noise than one would expect at that late hour of the night. Sheldon was right behind her, contemplating how her grey suit fit into her sinuous curves that he hadn´t appreciate before on the table.

She had a beautiful body, natural and curved, not like the artists which appeared in the magazines lately, with less curves and more bones. Her legs were long and athletic, and above those black heels moved like waves at each step. Her posterior was round and firm, Sheldon found himself admiring it as they walked, something that had never happened to him before.

Leaving the long corridor behind, they both reached to the large communal area of car seven. The walls have dark wooden panels, and the carpet was in a deep red color. A long bar with all kinds of drinks and hundreds of crystal glasses covered the right area, there were a dozen small tables with large leather armchairs under bright chandeliers. And in the background, a beautiful black grand piano, so bright and new that it seemed to sound by itself.

Sheldon walked straight toward it, sliding his fingers down the soft touch of the wood. The keys glowed new and the smell of Canadian maple covered his senses. Without thinking, Sheldon sat on the bench, touching the keys with his fingers, without creating pressure, as if he was playing a silent melody.

- "It's gorgeous". Amy said, sitting next to him on the small bench.

- "Do you play the piano?". He asked, without turned up his face that was fixed in his hands dancing between the keys.

- "No, sadly, but I play the harp and I sing, I'm not very good at it, but I only do it for myself, it's not something I share with anyone".

- "That's a shame". He raised his face to her, fixing his gaze on her bright green eyes. "I'm sure you have a beautiful voice". And as his words came out of his lips his fingers began to gently press the keys, creating the beginning of a song to her ears.

Amy knew that melody as if she had composed herself. It made her travel to a happier time in her memories, when life wasn't invaded by the darkness of loneliness and a smile always was drawn on her face when she thought about. With each note, the image became clearer, and when Sheldon started to sing, two tears fell down her cheeks.

"Someday, when I'm awfully low,

When the world is cold,

I will feel a glow just thinking of you

And the way you look tonight".

Amy could see herself so clearly, in her grandparent's living room, her little feet in the air, still not reaching to the floor of the big dark leather sofa. The smell of her poppa´s pipe invaded the room and the noise of the fire of the chimney sparkling in front of her. In her fingers she felt the touch of the paper of the books that she read aloud as the sound of the music sound around them.

"You're lovely, with your smile so warm

And your cheeks so soft,

There is nothing for me but to love you,

And the way you look tonight."

And like every day, when this song started to sound, he walked for her woman´s hand in the kitchen, leading her in front of the fire, to the central area, both dancing softly with their bodies close, holding their hands, next to each other, as if they were created together, to do that, always. Amy still can heard the sound of her Nana's laughs, and the footsteps that were turning towards to her, bringing her out to dance, with the firm hands of her poppa in hers, moving her long hair and her dress as he turned her around over and over, making her feel special, happy and loved.

- "I didn't want to make you cry". His voice returned her to the reality of the moment. The song was over, and the room reigned in silent while Sheldon's sweet blue eyes looked at her with tenderness.

- "Oh, it's alright". She said, drying the tears from her eyes. "Are tears of a happy memory, thanks for bring it up". She said, drawing a smile on her face.

- "Let me do it". He simply said, pulling a soft white handkerchief from his pocket and sliding it softly across her face. It smelled fresh and clean, with a soft mint tone that Amy found captivating.

Amy felt his eyes looking at her as if they were trying to reach to deeply part of her soul, reading her as an open book. A warm and sweet sensation flooded in her body. She didn't know if it was for the wine or for the magic moment, but the words sliced out of her lips as a breeze in the air.

- "You should play another more".

Sheldon nodded at her request with a soft smile, turning his body to the piano again, and moved with his fingers over the keys, softly like a slow dance. Feeling how her eyes were fixed on him, on every move of his hands. The lyrics started to slices out of his lips in his sweet and delicate voice.

"Chances are, 'cause I wear that silly grin

the moment you come into view;

chances are you think that I'm in love with you".

Amy licked her lips tasting the melody deeply. Johnny Mathis was one of her favourites singers and this song was beyond beautiful, and listening with the beautiful voice of Sheldon made her whole body tremble. She moved her body closer to him, until their shoulders touch it.

"In the magic of moonlight,

when I sigh "hold me close, dear"

chances are you believe

the stars that fill the sky are in my eyes".

Sheldon felt as the warm feeling had possessed his body, nothing he did or said that night was normal, even remotely, her soft touch of her body in his skin make him turned his head, still with his hands on the keys, moving along.

Amy closed her eyes, feeling the warm breath of Sheldon in her face. The long night had been like a long preamble, like the stories of love and passion she read in her long nights alone. Her mind and sanity were nullified, she could only feel the pulse of her heart in her ears, beating hard in her chest.

- "Excuse me". A deep voice behind them startled them. "I have to close the room until the morning, you should return to your rooms". A waiter told them, as he picked up the bottles and glasses that were scattered among the tables.

Sheldon and Amy got up abruptly, returning to their normal states, as if a waterfall of cold water had fallen on their heads. Silently, they entered the hallway of the bedrooms, Amy in the lead, still with the melody playing in her head, looking for her room, the fourteen. Almost at the end of the corridor, Amy stood by the door, leaning her back on the wall, waiting in vain for the moment before to recover again.

- "Thanks, but I'm fine, and it should be me the one who accompany you, what's your room?". Sheldon said, passing his fingers for his combed hair.

- "This is my room". She said, turning her body to check that she had read the numbers correctly. "See, fourteen, this is it". She confirmed with her head.

- "But that can't be, this is my room". Sheldon said, raising his voice, opening the door to check that his belongings were still in the right place. "See?, here are my things, my clothes, my books …".

- "And there are my suitcases, it's my room". She walked closer to the pair of black bags and pointed to the inscription in them.

- "Are you Dr. A. F. Fowler?". Sheldon asked confused. He had simply assumed that his roommate was a man. He had checked the specifics of the shared rooms and clearly they weren't unisex, if not, he would never have accepted this crazy idea.

- "Yes, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler". Amy clarified, placing her hands on her hips.

- "Wait a minute, we've been talking for more than six hours and you didn't think to mention that you're Dr. Fowler, the biologist who collaborated in the discovery of Na + / K + -ATPase, the first antiporter enzyme identified?". Sheldon shouted, incredulous.

- "I don't usually use my last name, because some men feel intimidated by a successful woman. Do you know my work?". Amy asked, feeling flattered despite Sheldon's reaction to her identity.

- "Of course, I read your work as soon as it came out, I even gave a class about it to my students, everyone was excited, even being biology. But that's not the issue, I can't believe you're a woman!".

Amy stormed in front of him. How he dare to criticize her field and the fact that she was a woman. The rage rummaged her body, burning through her veins, Amy was already used to this type of reaction, but being a scientist, he should have a much more open mind. But before she could begin to pull out her rage in words, Sheldon turned back down the hall to the communal area, repeating "She is a woman" over and over again.

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you are interested in this new story, I have the storyline prepared, and I assure you that it will not disappoint (M-rated for something, Shamy fellows), but as always you will have to wait a bit for the good stuff.

Leave in your reviews, your thoughts of this first chapter, and what do you think is going to happen, you know I love each of the words you give me! Thanks to my beta Linda, for her always support!

Songs:

Fred Astaire - The Way You Look Tonight. (1936 movie "Swing Time")

Johnny Mathis - Chances Are (1956).