I am so so sorry for the lack of updates! Life is insane. I hope you and yours are safe and healthy!

His body knows. Somehow, as if on a timer, he begins feeling the stirrings in his loins as it approaches midnight. Unfortunately for him, his wife is at work. Not yet, Sheldon admonishes his erection, not that he expects it to comply.

At 11:58 pm, he picks up his cell phone and opens up the text message app, quickly loading the carefully selected picture of a monkey covering its eyes as it sits next to a birthday cake. He hopes Amy's love of monkeys will get him out of trouble for the pink text asking "You're how old?" Waiting until 11:59, he decides to add, "it knows" to his text before sending the picture.

They've had this discussion before, on their way to Wizarding World to celebrate Amy's birthday, to be exact. Both of them admitted that they were looking forward to making love on her birthday. He never intended for their lovemaking to take place only once per year. When he stated he looked forward to making love to her again on her birthday, he was letting Amy know that birthday coitus would become a tradition for them as long as they are physically capable of engaging in torrid lovemaking. Amy misunderstood the intent behind his statement, and too worried about how it would appear if he asked for more frequent "relations" while immediately post-coital, he didn't correct her. They both wish he would have.

Rolling over on the creaky air mattress, Sheldon smiles as his cell phone buzzes. Amy is the only person who would dare text him at this hour. Picking up his phone, he chuckles out loud as he reads her message, "Who are you calling old, Mister? I'm not the one meticulously checking for gray hairs now, am I?" She immediately follows that up with, "I love you. Get some rest. You're going to need it."

After a quick "I love you" response, Sheldon plugs his phone into the charger and sets his alarm for 6 am. Amy will arrive home around 6:30, and unbeknownst to her, Penny and Bernadette are taking her for a girl's day while he stays home to accept a surprise furniture delivery, including a new bed which they will properly break in tonight. Maybe, if he gets really lucky, Amy will help him pop this damn air mattress first.

He awakens to Amy wrapping herself around him as she crawls into bed after a long night at work. Attempting to roll over, she shushes him as she tightens her grasp around his waist.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep," she whispers.

"At least let me roll over so I can kiss you hello," he pleads with his wife.

Loosening her grasp, Sheldon rolls over, cringing the entire time as the plastic protests his movements. With a breathy whispered "happy birthday," he melts into a languid kiss as Amy snakes her hand under his white t-shirt to caress his back. He continues rolling, intending to hover over his wife as he deepens the kiss. Misjudging where the edge of the mattress is, he instead tumbles right off, making Amy gasp and then laugh.

"Are you alright?" she questions as Sheldon sits up.

"That was decidedly unsexy. What time is it?" he wonders, surprised he didn't hear his alarm.

"A little after 5. None of my subjects showed tonight so I spent the evening inputting data. We're going to ask the university permission to wrap up the clinical portion of this study which means I am now done with all scheduled studies until January 10th."

"What are you going to do with all that free time?" Sheldon wonders.

"Sleep, catch up on my DVR list, sew, and I promised my parents we'd have dinner with them tomorrow night," she quickly rattles off as Sheldon groans in protest at that last item on her list.

"I know, but you have to share me," she teases him.

"My presence is requested?" he confirms.

"Mandatory," Amy corrects.

"Pity. My plan was to keep you naked and orgasmic."

"I'm good with that after a couple of hours of sleep," Amy agrees as she pulls the blanket over herself.

"I've been informed that you are being kidnapped by Penny and Bernadette for a girl's day..."

"Ughh. Any other day, I'd love to, but I just worked a 12-hour shift. I'm exhausted. I haven't been sleeping well because this damn air bed hurts my back..."

"You've never mentioned that before," Sheldon interrupts, showing concern.

"Of all the things to say to you in the 10 minutes I see you each day, that seemed to be of the lowest priority."

"Still, I wish you had told me. Take off your shirt."

"Babe, I'm way too tired for sex right now."

"I'm giving you a massage," Sheldon explains, a slight pleading whine tinging his voice.

"Come cuddle with me instead?" she requests as she reaches for his hand in the dark room.

Crawling back onto the bed, Sheldon cocoons himself around Amy's petite frame. As she relaxes in his arms, Sheldon reaches over her to pull the blanket back over them before he sinks into his pillows. Sighing contentedly, Amy seeks his hand out and entwines their fingers.

"My body knows too, Sheldon," Amy softly confesses after a few moments of silence. "On the drive home, I was trying to convince myself that I'm not tired."

"You've been exhausted for weeks," he points out before kissing the crown of her head.

"We have to get a real bed soon. I can't take this much longer."

Should he tell her? Sheldon debates as Amy lifts his arm from around her waist before sitting up in bed.

"What are you doing?" he questions as Amy removes her shirt and bra, tossing both in the general direction of their hamper.

"I think I will take you up on that back rub if you're still offering."

"Of course," Sheldon agrees as he removes his t-shirt as well.

"Just a back rub," Amy stresses.

"I am capable of providing therapeutic massage without it becoming sexual," Sheldon whines in protest.

"Really? I've yet to see it," Amy teases.

"I didn't hear you complaining at the time."

"No complaints, just facts."

Shifting in the bed, he waits for Amy to settle on her stomach while he reaches over to the small basket of random items they keep at the edge of the bed and retrieves a bottle of lotion. Straddling Amy's hips, he leans down so his chest is flush against her back and brushes her hair away from her cheek.

"Maybe if you didn't moan like a porn star, I'd actually stand a chance of resisting you," he whispers in her ear.

Even in the darkness of the room, he can sense that he made her smile as he leans back onto his heels and uncaps the lotion. Rubbing his hands together to warm the lotion, he chuckles as Amy teasingly moans her pleasure before he's even touched her.

"Naughty Vixen," he chides as he begins rubbing her shoulders.

"You love it," Amy replies.

He never intended on falling back asleep after Amy's massage, but awakening a few hours later, Sheldon feels surprisingly refreshed. Amy is still sound asleep next to him, so as quietly as possible, he exits their bedroom and closes the door.

He made a promise to Amy that he wouldn't "go overboard" to celebrate her birthday. Sheldon knows he hasn't always been the most thoughtful or attentive of romantic partners, so, most unbeknown to Amy, he added an addendum to The Marriage Agreement stating that he will make a good faith effort to be more attentive, affectionate, considerate of her wants and needs, and give thoughtful, romantic... and most importantly appropriate gifts to his wife. He learned his lesson on that last point after the disaster that was the mushroom log.

Hearing movement in the bedroom, Sheldon retrieves Amy's birthday present from his messenger bag and sets it on the counter next to the coffee maker before retrieving the flowers from the fridge. A little traditional but he overheard Amy lament that he has only purchased flowers for her once in their entire relationship. Also, unbeknownst to his wife, she will receive a monthly bouquet of flowers from the florist just down the street.

As Amy opens the bedroom door and starts walking towards the kitchen, she stops in her tracks and watches as Sheldon rearranges the flowers. Waiting until he takes a step back to admire his work and gives a single nod of approval, she comments, "we had an agreement about not going overboard."

"I purchased flowers for my wife's birthday. If that's 'going overboard' I can place them back in the fridge until tomorrow when they will no longer be a birthday present, but rather a thoughtful token of love and appreciation."

She can't help but smile at that. Closing the distance between them, she pecks his lips before admiring the delicate white, red, and green petals.

"It's called an ice cream tulip. The white is supposed to represent whipped cream on top of the red ice cream," he explains while wrapping his arms around her waist. "You once told me that you and your mom had a small garden when you were a child. The tulips were your favorite flower."

"They are," Amy agrees. "They're beautiful. Thank you, Sheldon."

"Open the envelope," Sheldon encourages while reaching for it and handing it to Amy.

"You promised..." Amy points out as she reluctantly slides her finger under the tab of the white envelope.

"This particular present was purchased in January before we set a date for our wedding. Once we set the date, it just so happened to conflict so I was able to exchange it for next year. I thought about gifting this to you on Mother's Day, but as you are not yet the mother of my children, it felt inappropriate " Sheldon explains as Amy removes two perfectly folded pieces of paper.

"The Midwest Harp Festival? Where's this located?" Amy wonders.

She seems excited, Sheldon immediately notices from the intonation of her voice.

"We'll be spending five days in Chicago," he explains. "While there, you'll have the opportunity to take private instructions with either Rudiger Oppermann or Nancy Allen. I know you enjoy listening to both of them."

"Thank you, Sheldon. This is an incredible present."

"Are you hungry? The coffee shop where we had our first date isn't far from here."

"You've always insisted that it was not a date," Amy teases.

"Let me just remove my Ring of Truth..." he jokes as he pretends his wedding ring is stuck on his finger.

"Don't you dare," Amy replies while laughing as Sheldon holds up his hand to show her he's still wearing his wedding band. "Since you're now telling me the truth about how you really felt about me, can I ask you about something I've always been curious about?" she wonders.

"The D&D love spell was based on a fanfic I had read..." he confesses.

"Fascinating and we are definitely coming back to that. The afternoon before our first time, Bernadette kept making sheep jokes, such as calling you a "baaaad boy." When I asked Penny what that was about, she said that you were using a sheep and wool festival as a ruse to see if I was ready for coitus. My question is, if I had said no to coitus, was that my backup present, or was it really just a ruse?" Amy wonders.

"It was a ruse," he confesses with a sigh. "Given how intense our makeout sessions were after reconciling, there was no doubt in my mind that you'd say yes."

"For the sake of argument, if I had said no..."

"We'd have gone out to dinner, I would've kissed your cheek at the door, and bid you a good night. I'd have then presented you with several apology gifts over the next week... almost certainly including jewelry and tickets to the sheep and wool festival," he confesses.

"Hmm... maybe I should've held out to see how you'd top my tiara," Amy teases as Sheldon pouts in response.

"An impulsive, ill-thought-out marriage proposal most likely."

"A week after reconciling, yes, that would've been very impulsive," Amy agrees. "I loved falling asleep next to you this morning," she murmurs in his ear while turning around in his arms. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he murmurs as his wife's lips meet his.

Something doesn't feel right, Sheldon realizes as he allows Amy to take control of their kiss. It's as if there's something... some unrecognizable emotional response... that his wife is experiencing as she gently massages his lips with her own. It reminds Sheldon of the night they reconciled, he reminisces while moving his hands from Amy's hips to her back, pulling her closer.

As Amy kicks the door shut on Dave Gibbs, her date for the evening, Sheldon can't help but feel elated. He won. He got his girl back. Pulling Amy even closer, Sheldon decides that he's going to try the French kissing technique he read about in preparation for their fifth-anniversary date that went so horribly wrong. His plan is quickly thwarted as Amy snorts before dissolving into a fit of giggles, laying her head against his shoulder as her body shakes in laughter.

"Sorry... sorry," she quietly apologizes after calming.

"What's so funny?" Sheldon wonders as he uses his thumb to caress her shoulder.

"I'm amused by the absolute absurdity of kicking one guy out of my apartment in order to make out with another," she explains.

"He didn't seem too upset by it," Sheldon reasons.

"That's because he is the president of your fan club," Amy explains.

"Were you... I mean... had you... what were you..." Sheldon stammers, not able to fully ask his questions surrounding the nature of her relationship with the British giant.

"Sheldon? It's alright, you can ask me," Amy reassures before kissing his cheek. "We were about to kiss when you knocked. We never engaged in coitus."

There it is... the elephant in the room. Coitus. He's ready, he's decided. He's fairly certain Amy would put up little to no objection if he leads her by the hand to her bedroom. They need to talk, they have to talk, but not tonight. Tonight, he intends on focusing on the physical aspect of their relationship by kissing Amy senseless.

Turning his head to the left, he gently brushes his lips against Amy's, waiting for her to respond in kind. As she plays with the little hairs at the nape of his neck, he tries the French kissing technique again by quickly darting his tongue against her lower lip, hoping she'll open her mouth. Excitement rushes through him as Amy softly moans, but it is quickly dashed as she resumes their closed-mouth kisses. Trying again, he cups her cheek in his hand and brushes his tongue against her lip, being a little more forceful. As Amy gasps, she pulls an arm's length away and gasps for air.

"What... what... what was that?" she questions.

"I wanted to try French kissing," Sheldon explains as he drops his hands to his sides and looks at his shoes.

"Oh. Um... I'm not ready for that yet, Sheldon," Amy admits.

"Why are you hesitating? I'm of the understanding that you broke up with me because we weren't physically intimate."

"That weighed into my decision, but Sheldon, the last thing I want is for you to feel pressured into physical intimacy. I don't want you to do this simply to please me. I want you to want it too."

"What's wrong?" Sheldon wonders as he ends their kiss and pulls Amy's shirt back down.

"Hmm? Nothing," she quickly answers before going in for another kiss.

Turning his head, he misses Amy's frown as she kisses his cheek instead. Pulling out of Sheldon's arms, Amy opens the fridge door and fights to hold back the sudden rush of tears threatening to escape her eyes at Sheldon's rejection.

"A clenched jaw certainly does not convey that you are enjoying kissing me," Sheldon explains as he opens the nearest cupboard to retrieve two teabags.

"No, I guess it doesn't," Amy concedes while setting the carton of eggs on the counter. "I want you, Sheldon... but as I am being kidnapped, I am trying desperately not to think about that."

"I see."

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. If it were up to me, we'd spend the entire day together."

"Naked?" he knowingly asks as Amy reaches above them for the plastic orange mixing bowl.

"Mmmhmm. I can't quite reach the bowl. Omelets or French toast?" she questions.

"Both sound good... but, I think we could both use the extra protein today."

"Omelettes it is," Amy decides as Sheldon sets the bowl in front of her and then wraps his arms around her waist.

"Have you noticed that you become increasingly affectionate as my birthday approaches?" Amy wonders as she leans back into her husband's chest and closes her eyes.

"Hmm. I've noticed an overall increase in both physical and emotional intimacy since marriage, but if it's not meeting your needs, we can reevaluate."

"It is exceeding my expectations, Sheldon. That was simply an observation, not an accusation," she apologizes.

"Oh. Speaking of birthday coitus, I asked Penny to make an appointment for you to get waxed... as you did before our first time."

"You didn't," Amy groans in frustration before turning around to face Sheldon.

"I'm sensing that you're upset about this?" Sheldon questions. "It's a personal preference but if you don't want to..."

"No, it's not that. I know you like it neatly trimmed. I like it too, honestly. It's just that I'm not in the mood for Penny and Bernadette's superfluous comments about the annual birthday booty spectacular," Amy explains.

Grabbing one of the eggs out of the carton, Amy whacks the middle of the white shell on the edge of the bowl with a little more force than Sheldon deems necessary. Sensing this isn't about making breakfast at all, he goes to the fridge to retrieve the milk and omelet fixings.

"Certainly they're aware that we are having more frequent carnal relations?" Sheldon presumes.

"No," Amy corrects as she turns on the stovetop burner. " I mean, I presume Penny has reached that conclusion after walking in on us, but we don't discuss the more private matters; frequency, likes, dislikes... that information falls into the tiniest zone of privacy, Sheldon. It stays between the couples in question."

"Oh. Let me talk with Penny and Bernadette."

"It's fine. Don't talk to them about it."

"It's not fine. They've upset you. They should at least be aware that their misconceptions about our previous once-a-year agreement were due to a misunderstanding between us and that we have found a schedule..."

"No. Let it go, Sheldon. Please?"

"Alright... since you said please, but I want it noted that I am not happy that they've upset you."

"So noted," Amy agrees. "What are you doing while I'm out?"

He knew she'd ask him this. He also knows that he is a terrible liar and his wife can almost immediately see through his tall tails. Needing to make sure Amy never suspects his last surprise, Sheldon begged Leonard and the guys to help him pull off the surprise without having to lie to Amy.

"I have some data to analyze for the military project this morning and then I'm going to join the guys online to play Neverwinter."

"Is that a Game of Thrones game?" Amy wonders as she reaches for the bag of shredded cheese.

"No, although I can definitely see why you'd think that. It's essentially World of Warcraft meets D&D."

"Sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday."

"It'll suffice," Sheldon corrects as he grabs the container of sliced mushrooms and begins carefully removing the plastic wrap.

"We don't have any ham for our 3 am post-coital crock monsters," Amy points out as she scours the contents of their fridge.

"Shoot. I'll make a quick trip to the store. Anything else?"

"Chocolate... brownies or ice cream or syrup I can squirt all over your chest and lick off..." she suggests before turning to wink at Sheldon.

"I'm not sweet enough?" Sheldon fake pouts.

"Oh, I'll be taking several bites out of you, Handsome," Amy warns.

This "kidnapping" was definitely pre-planned and my husband is definitely up to something Amy decides as Penny takes the exit leading to UCLA. One of her favorite restaurants, Bibibop, is located near campus. Amy could never get Sheldon to go there with her because, "food is meant to be eaten, not played with."

"Alright, birthday girl, Bibibop or Hangry Moon's?" Bernie asks as she turns around from the front passenger seat to face Amy.

"Sheldon's fried chicken has absolutely ruined Hangry's for me," Amy explains.

"That man does make some damn good fried chicken," Penny agrees before declaring, "Bibibop it is."

"You look exhausted, Amy," Bernadette worries as they stop for a red light.

"I am," Amy concurs. "I worked a 12-hour shift last night and only got 2 hours of sleep because Sheldon, try as he might, is one of those people who is louder when they are attempting to be quiet."

"Leonard's the same way. At least it's Saturday so you can sleep in tomorrow," Penny reasons.

"Assuming the annual birthday booty spectacular ends at a reasonable time," Bernadette adds as she turns around and winks at Amy. "Are you nervous?"

"No. Why would I be nervous?" Amy wonders.

"Well... I just assumed it's the first time since your wedding night... you did consummate the marriage, right?" Bernadette questions.

"Yes, we've consummated the marriage," Amy replies. "We 'consummate our marriage' twice a week." Minimum, she thinks to herself, not that she's going to tell them that. She did promise Sheldon that most things stay private after all.

"Wow... I mean... that's great, Ames," Penny stutters as she pulls into a parking lot.

"I've always pictured sex with Sheldon being rather mundane. Same position, same routine... no room for any deviation," Bernadette comments.

"You think about us having sex?" Amy questions, somewhat shocked by that confession.

"No, not like that..." Bernadette quickly corrects. "Just as a hypothetical."

"Alright, make an assumption and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong," Amy challenges.

"You always have sex in the missionary position," Bernadette starts as Penny rolls down the windows before killing the engine, assuming this will take a while and is not an appropriate conversation to have in public.

"No," Amy replies, not offering anything else. They'll have to work for it.

"You always have to initiate sex," Bernadette tries again.

"No," Amy replies.

"Sheldon refuses to go downtown," Bernadette tries again.

"Go downtown?" Amy questions.

"Go down on you..." Bernie hints. Sensing Amy still isn't understanding, she sighs and lays it out in clinical terms, "perform cunnilingus."

"Oh!" Amy exclaims, "No," she replies as Penny and Bernadette squeal in glee at that revelation.

"He giggled... actually giggled, not that annoying breathy laugh he does, when we talked about it," Penny shares.

"He said you told him to pretend he was a cat and my... naughty bits... were a saucer of milk," Amy divulges.

"Alright... you've given Sheldon a blow job," Penny assumes.

"Yes," Amy answers.

"More than once," Bernie continues the line of questioning

"Yes," Amy confirms.

"Sheldon has used Gerard on you," Penny chimes in.

"Yes," Amy confirms.

"Sheldon refuses to have sex outside of the bedroom," Bernadette questions.

"No," Amy confesses.

"Really? Where?" Bernadette wonders.

"Nope, that's not part of the game. If you really want to know, you'll have to guess," Amy explains.

Really hoping to end the interrogation, Amy opens the car door, signaling she's done answering their questions.

"Wait, wait, wait! I have one more question," Penny exclaims before Amy exits the car. "Is it as good as you had hoped?"

"Better," Amy truthfully answers with a huge smile lighting up her face as her blonde besties exclaim "Awww!"

With Amy out of the house for the day, Sheldon spends the first 45 minutes deflating the air mattress and putting their temporary furniture into the spare bedroom. Grabbing his new laptop, he takes a seat on the floor beneath the large window in the living room and brings up his email in order to check for delivery updates from the furniture company. Seeing that the 4-hour delivery window has now been updated to an estimated time of arrival, Sheldon checks the time and confirms he has about 45 minutes before they arrive.

Minimizing that tab, he brings up his excel spreadsheet where he has been recording data about his sexual encounters with Amy. There's just over a week left in her punishment phase and the only conclusion Sheldon has reached so far is that the female orgasm is far more complex than he anticipated.

"Orgasm 1, method, fingers... duration 7.6 seconds, my intensity rating 4 out of 10... Amy's intensity rating 6 out of 10... orgasm 2, method oral stimulation... duration 10.6 seconds... my intensity rating 9 out of 10... Amy's intensity rating 8 out of 10... orgasm 3... method oral and finger stimulation... duration 37 seconds... my intensity rating 10 out of 10... Amy's intensity rating 10 out of 10... orgasm 4... method fingers... my intensity rating 4 out of 10... Amy's intensity rating 1 out of 10... one?" he questions as he reads off the data."Why would she give that a one?" he wonders.

Trying to recall the orgasm in question, Sheldon closes his eyes as he reclines back with his arms behind his head.

"Oh... oh my God. Sheldon... you're... you're trying to kill me," Amy accuses as she heavily gasps for air after her 3rd and most intense orgasm of the night.

Chuckling as he kisses her stomach, he softly trails kisses up to her still heaving chest as he vows, "I swear to you I'm not. Do you need some water?"

"Please," Amy requests as she lays back into their pillows.

"Catch your breath. I'm not done with you yet," he warns as he softly kisses her cheek before rolling out of the temporary airbed they've set up.

He quickly grabs two bottles of water from the fridge as well as the bowl of popcorn he set aside when Amy began her efforts at seducing him while they were watching the newest season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. Going back into the bedroom, he stops at the door and catches Amy's eyes as she lays spread eagle, waiting for him to return.

"I really did wear you out," Sheldon decides as he opens one of the water bottles and hands it to his parched wife.

"Yeah," she agrees after downing most of the water. "That last one... I think I blacked out. It sure woke you up though," she notices as he settles in next to her. "We could pitch a tent with that thing."

"I should've made love to you the night we built our blanket fort," Sheldon confesses. " I wanted to kiss you. I was trying to build up the courage to kiss you and then Leonard joined us..."

"We weren't ready for coitus yet. I truly believe, Sheldon, that we weren't ready up until the night we reconciled. Up until that point, I certainly didn't understand unconditional love. It was painful, but we needed to go through that in order to be this in sync with each other... in order to be this vulnerable with each other."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the vulnerability," Sheldon confesses.

"Maybe vulnerability is the wrong word due to the negative connotations," Amy decides as she hands the bottle of water to Sheldon for him to finish. "What I mean is that the act of lovemaking requires us to trust each other in ways that are not present in any other relationship."

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that," Sheldon decides as he rolls onto his side and brushes her hair away from her mouth. "Did you not trust me prior to reconciling? Prom night for example."

"I trusted you, Sheldon but... I was losing hope that you would ever want what we have now," Amy admits. "I dreamed about it but I never thought you would enjoy giving and receiving oral sex or..." she admits as Sheldon chuckles.

"Neither did I," he admits. "Penny tried to convince me that I should try it during our first time, to, and I quote, 'make sure Amy has no doubts about how you feel about coitus.' When I asked her what to do, she told me to pretend I'm a cat and your lady bits are a saucer of milk."

"Is there a reason we didn't try it until our wedding night?"

"Please don't get mad?" he requests, waiting for Amy to nod her agreement. "I wasn't sure I could tolerate the taste... the smell... so when we made love on my birthday, and I used my fingers to stimulate you... as you were coming down from your orgasm, I quickly licked my finger in order to taste you for the first time. You taste incredible, Amy. I remember wanting to bury my head between your legs right then..."

"Why didn't you?" Amy wonders.

"I wanted our wedding night to be special so I decided that would be one of my presents to you. Of course, I didn't anticipate coming in your mouth as soon as you orally stimulated me..."

"How about some oral stimulation right now?" Amy offers as she reaches her hand down to his shaft and slowly strokes him from base to tip.

"Mmmm... I... want... inside you. Please," he begs as Amy increases the speed of her hand.

"Then come get me," Amy challenges as she rolls onto her back.

"Roll onto your side. I want to spoon so I can reach all of you," Sheldon requests.

As Amy settles onto her side, Sheldon rolls flush against her and rest his arm over her hips. Whispering, "I love you" into her ear, he brings her leg back to rest over his hips and slowly enters his wife. Giving her time to adjust, Sheldon trails his fingers down her sweat covered skin to the soft curls of her thighs and seeks out the little nub that brings his wife so much pleasure.

Amy slowly rocks her hips into his hand, building friction as he stimulates her. This isn't the best position for either of them to reach orgasm, but just maybe, if he stimulates her clit as well, she can get there again. His wrist is in an awkward position from this angle and he soon feels it cramping. Giving up, he rests his arm across Amy's hips.

"Are... are you close?" Amy questions as she reaches for his hand.

"No. Are you?" he admits as he slows to a stop but stays inside her.

"I lost it," she admits.

"What did she mean by that... she 'lost it?" Sheldon wonders as he opens his eyes and looks over the data once again. Amy reached the 4th orgasm, although she was on her back rather than her side.

"Hmm... that's definitely something I need to follow up on," he decides.

As if on cue, Amy texts him. Picking up his phone, he reads her question, "how do you want it trimmed?" along with a diagram of various styles of waxing.

"Surprise me," Sheldon immediately replies, hoping she'll choose the heart.

All of this thinking about making love to his wife has him wanting to play with her. Picking up his phone again he types out, "I want to play a game with you. I want us to pretend it's our first time. We've just recently reconciled and you have no idea that I'm gifting you coitus. I have to try to seduce you without ever referring to coitus as your birthday present."

"Alright, I'm game," Amy instantly replies.

Deciding to start the new game with his wife he texts her, "Happy birthday, Amy. I hope your day is going well. I'm looking forward to tonight. XO, Sheldon."

"What are you smirking about?" Penny wonders as she watches Amy type out a quick response before sticking her phone back into her purse.

"Sheldon's birthday present to me is a trip to attend the Midwest Harp Festival in April. I asked him if that sheep and wool festival was really just a ruse. He admitted it was, but if I had said no, it likely would've been one of a myriad of the apology gifts I would have received. The reason I'm smirking is that he asked to recreate our first time tonight, except this time, I don't know what he has planned, giving me an opportunity to say no," Amy explains.

"Hmm... are you going to say no?" Bernie wonders before taking a sip of her bubble tea.

"I don't think so. Consent is a very important aspect of my relationship with Sheldon. He may not realize that I'm teasing him in our game and that could end very badly. Not to mention, he's still not over me lying to him," Amy explains.

"He's still butthurt over that?" Penny wonders, the disgust evident in her voice.

"I'm being 'punished," Amy confirms with air quotes around punished, "which essentially amounts to my husband now carefully monitoring my heart rate, perspiration and respiration any time we're intimate."

"Oh God, really?" Bernie questions."Does he realize how insecure that makes him seem?"

"There's also a satisfaction survey after each... encounter," Amy confesses.

"Why do you put up with that?" Bernie wonders.

"What I did deeply hurt him, Bernie. In his mind, he physically hurt me and he needs to make that right. He thinks he missed my non-verbal cues that indicated that it was hurting me. If I can regain his trust by letting him monitor the physical indications of... satisfaction..." she pauses, looking around to see if anyone is eavesdropping, "it's a small sacrifice for the greater good of saving my marriage."

"You two seem all lovey-dovey. I thought you worked through it?" Penny questions.

"We have for the most part. It's... it's complicated," Amy admits.

"All relationships are complicated," Penny sympathizes. "Well, let's get you waxed."

"How authentic is the recreation going to be? I mean, you've moved into a new place so obviously, that throws a monkey wrench into this," Bernie questions.

"Ooh, you're right. I also don't have the nightgown I wore. Sheldon only grabbed the most important items we needed to save; our safe, my tiara..."

"He saved the tiara?" Penny questions with a huge smile on her face.

"And his brain scan proving he loves me," Amy confirms, grinning the entire time.

"Did he save any comic books or action figures?" Bernie wonders.

"Just one. It was in the safe. The Leonard Nemoy napkin means a lot to him Penny... and not just because he could clone a mini Spock," Amy points out.

"Wow... I mean... wow. I thought he'd have a major freakout trying to save every last collectible," Bernie admits. "I know Howie would have."

"He's submitted a detailed list of every item left in the apartment as well as pictures and their approximant value as found on eBay to our insurance company. But... I'm very proud of him for taking my feelings into consideration. I... I kind of... okay, I had a major meltdown about losing everything. He held me and reassured me that everything can be replaced. He was terrified when I couldn't get out of the apartment."

"We know. Leonard told me Sheldon was freaking out. He kept twisting his ring on his finger and looking at the engraving..." Penny explains before Bernie cuts her off.

"I didn't know you had the ring engraved. What does it say?" Bernie wonders.

"They're both engraved with, 'The only conclusion was love.' He said it to me on Prom night after he said he loved me and went into an explanation of how he determined he's in love with me," Amy explains as she takes her ring off to show them the engraving.

"Aww. He's become a real boy," Penny gushes.

Her "boy" has just arrived home from the grocery store as he receives a text from Penny asking how much longer she needs to keep Amy out of the apartment. He quickly replies back to let her know Amy can come home now then starts setting up the counter with cutting boards and mixing bowls so he can prepare dinner.

Sheldon has just placed the German chocolate cake into the oven and is washing his hands when he gets the text alerting him that the girls are pulling into the parking lot. Sheldon takes one last look at the new grey suede couch and quickly fixes the white knit throw that he placed on the back so that the corners are symmetrical. Grabbing Amy's purple sleep mask, Sheldon checks his pocket to make sure he has his keys before rushing to the elevator to greet Amy.

"Oh! H..hi," Amy greets as the elevator doors open.

"Hello," Sheldon greets, purposely lowering his voice to intentionally make it sultry. "I have one more surprise for you, but you have to put this on," he requests as he holds out the blindfold.

"Sheldon, you promised me you wouldn't go overboard. I know you mean well, but right now, we're not able to spoil each other with extravagant gifts."

"If you don't like it, we can return it," Sheldon promises.

He knows she'll love it, of course. He only ordered the pieces that Amy had placed in her shopping carts on the various furniture websites she has been browsing while he's at work. He may get in trouble for monitoring her web browsing history, but it's a risk he's willing to take.

Taking Amy's hand after she dons the blindfold and he opens the door, Sheldon leads her to the middle of the living room, making sure they stop right before she steps onto the new area rug. Stepping behind Amy, he softly whispers, "happy birthday" into her ear as he removes the blindfold.

Amy gasps as she takes in their new living room furniture. Sheldon purchased every item she loved, including the black marble side tables and glass top coffee table, the column floor lamps, which he has decorated with pictures of the two of them, and the throw pillows featuring baby gorillas wearing glasses while reading books. He even purchased the tiny Millenium Falcon music box she was looking at and placed it in the center cubicle of their new light.

"Sheldon... this... this is... I don't know what to say," she breathlessly murmurs as she picks up the music box and twists the crank to play the first few notes of the Star Wars Main Theme.

"Do you like it?" he wonders as she sets the music box down before picking up the photo that had to be taken at their wedding. She laughs as she realizes it was taken seconds after they smeared cake all over each other's faces. They're both laughing hysterically in the photo as they grin from ear to ear.

"Sheldon, I love it. Thank you for doing this."

"Do you want to see the bedroom?" he questions.

Amy glances in that direction but notices the door is shut. She's definitely curious. Knowing if they go into the bedroom, they won't be coming out, Amy shakes her head in the negative.

"Let's leave that for tonight. I still want to play with you and if we go in there, we're not coming out."

"Fair enough," Sheldon agrees. "Since we're on that topic, we will need to decide how to handle two glaring errors in our first time, namely the change in locale..."

"I was thinking about that on the ride home. How about... you've rented an Air B&B for the weekend since Leonard is going to be home and my place in Glendale is being fumigated?" Amy suggests.

"Very good," Sheldon decides. "Secondly, we lost the clothing we were wearing that night in the earthquake. Now, I have a white undershirt and a similar pair of underwear but for historical accuracy..."

"I thought that might be a concern, which is why I purchased you a dress shirt and slacks. I couldn't find the exact pattern of the dress I wore but it's pretty close. I also purchased a similar nightgown," Amy explains as she hands the bags to Sheldon for inspection.

"You've thought of everything," he praises as he opens the bags.

"Do you want help making dinner?" Amy questions as she takes the bags from Sheldon and sets them on the couch before kicking off her shoes.

"If you can get the water going for the fettucini noodles, I'll start on the salad," he requests.

"That's right. I did order chicken fettucini alfredo on Grubhub," she recalls with a pleased smile. "Your baked ziti was too spicy so we traded. Why are you not having baked ziti?" she wonders.

"Acid reflux is neither healthy nor romantic," he reasons. "Besides, what you really wanted was chicken alfredo."

"What I really wanted was you."

"You have me, Baby," he murmurs near her ear, making her grin. "What?"

"You've never called me baby or babe before. I'm always your Vixen... although you did call me sweetheart once after a nightmare."

"You're all of the above."

"Good answer," she praises as she turns and wraps her arms around his neck.

Standing on her tiptoes, she gently pecks his lips, gasping in surprise and moaning when Sheldon immediately deepens the kiss by lifting her up onto the kitchen counter. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she holds his head to her as she opens her mouth and quickly darts her tongue to brush against Sheldon's lower bottom lip. Just as he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, the oven timer beeps five times, signaling that her cake is ready to be removed.

Resting his forehead against hers, he caresses her cheeks as he promises, "we're just getting started, Little Lady."

Hopping down off the counter, Amy goes to the sink to wash her hands as Sheldon locates the oven mitts and carefully removes the cake, setting it on the wire baking rack on the island in front of her.

"Devil's food?" Amy questions.

"German chocolate," Sheldon corrects.

"You don't like the traditional frosting for a German chocolate cake."

"My plan, if you'll agree, is to leave the cake unfrosted but frost eats individual piece upon serving."

"That works. My mom texted to ask what I want for dinner tomorrow. I don't really have any ideas so I'm open to suggestions."

"What was your favorite meal as a child?" Sheldon wonders.

"My mom would make Shepard's pie for every church potluck, along with ambrosia salad."

"Ah yes, the traditional 'Sunday potluck staples," Sheldon fondly recalls. "My mom would always make a batch of buns and Meemaw made baked potatoes."

"A baked potato bar was always quite the hit at our church as well. I want angel food cake but I am not sure what pairs well with that."

"She's always made pot roast when we have dinner there."

"Yeah, that's her go-to dinner guest meal. I'll just need to remember to reply tonight before we get too preoccupied with our evening," she hints with a smile and wink, making Sheldon chuckle.

"You mean you don't want to have her call while I'm making love to her daughter's vagina?" Sheldon questions.

"Why have we never implemented an 'no cell phones in the bedroom' policy?" Amy wonders.

"Because our lovemaking is whimsically inventive and it's a wonder neither of us has been hurt," Sheldon reasons. "Plus one of these days, I may actually kill you by orgasm."

"Here's hoping," Amy decides.

"You know, the last time we had dinner with your parents, your mother mentioned in passing that your cousin, Jason, just got that executive chef position at that restaurant in Santa Barbara. How about we make a day of it by picking your parents up after church and driving up there for a late lunch? Before you say anything about finances, I have all of my entertainment allowances from this month as well as 75% of last month's allotment available," Sheldon suggests as he salts the pasta water.

"That sounds great, Sheldon. I'll call my mom to arrange it."

After pecking his lips, Amy retrieves her phone from her purse and goes to sit on the couch. Hesitating, she turns towards the kitchen and smiles as she watches Sheldon drape the white kitchen dish towel over his shoulder. He grabs the bottle of olive oil and drizzles it into the skillet, making sure it's evenly coated before placing it on the heat.

"Have you picked a spot yet?" Amy wonders.

"No. I wanted to wait to see which side I prefer while we're snuggling."

"Hippy," Amy teases.

"Pussy whipped hippy," Sheldon corrects, making Amy snort as she bursts out laughing.

Sitting on the couch, Amy settles back into the cushion, surprised by how plush it is for being a brand new couch. She reaches over the side and pushes the button to raise the footrest. Content, she continues watching Sheldon as he effortlessly moves around the kitchen, getting the chicken frying before washing his hands and moving onto preparing a garden salad. He puts the garlic bread in the oven and joins her on the couch sitting on the opposite side and leaving the middle cushion open.

"Come here," he mouths to her as Amy listens to her mom's latest rant about the bag boy at the grocery store.

Placing the phone on mute, Amy scoots over onto the middle cushion and lays her arm across Sheldon's waist as she rests her head on his shoulder. Taking the phone from her, he assumes they have a few minutes to snuggle before Amy will be able to get a word in edgewise.

"Comfy?" he asks while brushing her hair out of her face.

"I think I'd prefer the right cushion to be your spot when we snuggle," Amy admits.

"Alright, let's try it."

Handing the phone to Amy, she quickly unmutes it and hums, "mmm-hmm," before quickly muting it again as Mrs. Fowler continues on, barely noticing Amy's disinterest.

As Sheldon settles on the right side of the couch, he sighs contentedly before deciding, "oh yeah, this is much better."

"Put the footrest up," Amy requests.

"Why?" Sheldon wonders.

"Because we wasted an opportunity to have coitus in your spot on the old leather sofa in 4A. I just want to test whether it's feasible on this couch or if we will need to exchange it for something that we can have frequent and passionate coitus upon."

"You are positive the phone is on mute?" Sheldon worries as he frantically grabs Amy's phone to confirm they are not being overheard.

"Yes. I have at least another 10 minutes of her rant. She hasn't reached the, 'well, of course, I demanded to speak with Rick Stevens. You know he and I were high school sweethearts ' part of the story yet," Amy explains.

As if on cue, Mrs. Fowler copies Amy verbatim, making Sheldon chuckle before begging, "please don't turn into your mother."

"Never. She'd be mortified by the thought of us breaking in the couch in the way I intend."

"Really? How's that?" Sheldon wonders.

"Play your cards right and I will show you tonight," Amy promises.

"God, I love you," Sheldon murmurs against her lips moments before capturing them with his own. Hearing Amy's mother in the background, her voice rising as she yells at Amy's poor berated father to, "put down that soda and drink some water, damn it!" Sheldon softly pecks Amy's lips one more time.

"I feel that I need to point out for the record that 2016's Sheldon and Amy are much different than 2019's Sheldon and Amy. For example, I definitely would not have let you perform fellatio. How historically accurate are we aiming for tonight ?" Sheldon wonders.

"I think... I love sucking you but recreating our first time, that sounds really sweet too. Let's just see how the night goes? We can decide once we're in the heat of the moment," Amy suggests.

"Alright. I'll finish dinner while you pretend to talk with your mother "

"Love you," she whispers before pecking his lips.

"Love you more," Sheldon replies as Amy moves aside so he can go finish dinner.

As Sheldon gets off the couch and goes into the kitchen Amy cautiously takes the phone off of mute and continues talking with her mother. She can't help but become distracted by her husband though, watching his muscles ripple through his slightly too-tight blue Tardis t-shirt as he moves around the kitchen, each movement perfectly choreographed to maximize efficiency.

"It's like watching ballroom dancing," Amy mutters to herself.

"Hardly," her mother scoffs, "it's more like herding cats."

"Sorry, I was watching Sheldon cook. You were saying?" Amy apologizes, cringing at her ill-timed comment.

"Ah, that explains why you've been so quiet. You've always been fascinated by ballroom dancing, ever since you were a child. If Peter Eggleton came on, it was all we could do to drag you away from the television, and if Fred Astaire was on, forget about it. You weren't going anywhere," her mother recalls while laughing. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken fettucini alfredo and a salad," Amy relays.

"Sounds good. I'll let you get back to your evening. Happy birthday, Amy."

"Thanks, Mom. We'll see you tomorrow," Amy promises before hanging up.

"Ballroom dancing, huh?" Sheldon teases while stirring the alfredo sauce before turning off the heat.

"Yeah, it was stupid. Mock if you must."

"Never," Sheldon promises. "Dinner's ready. Do you want to change now or after we eat?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, let's wait to dress up until tomorrow. There's not really any point in changing when we're staying in and we both know the evening is going to end with our clothing crumpled up on the floor."

"An excellent point, my love. Shall we remove our rings?" he wonders.

"Yes, for historical accuracy. Penny and Bernadette had no idea our rings are engraved until I showed them today," she relays as she retrieves a ceramic blue cup from the dishwasher to place her rings inside.

"I never told the guys. It's been our secret."

"Why?" Amy wonders

"Some things are sacred," Sheldon reasons with a shrug.

Reaching for Sheldon's hand, Amy gently removes his ring and delicately places it in the cup. Still holding his hand, she brings it to her lips and kisses his left ring finger.

"You have a tan line on your ring finger," she points out before kissing it again.

"Really? I hadn't noticed. Well, I guess I won't be able to get away with cheating on you."

"Don't even joke about that Sheldon. Please. It would absolutely shatter me," Amy whispers in confession.

"I'm sorry. I could never do that to you, Amy. Ramona kissing me is as close as we will ever get," Sheldon vows. "What a depressing topic on your birthday. Do you want to see our bedroom now?"

"Yeah," Amy agrees.

Grasping Amy's left hand, Sheldon whispers in her ear, "our wedding day was the best day of my life. I could never... I will never throw away what we have. You've spoiled me for anyone else, Amy. Plus I'm certain no one else could put up with me. They'd be begging you to take me back."

"Very true. You are a gigantic pain in the ass, but you're my pain in the ass."

"Forever."

"Forever," Amy agrees, returning his smile.

Leading his wife to the bedroom, Sheldon's surprised she hasn't yet asked him how he knew these were the pieces she had her eye on. Letting go of Amy's hand as they reach the door, he allows her to walk in first.

It's exactly how she imagined it would look, Amy realizes as she walks through the bedroom door and spots the dark oak bed frame in the middle of the room. Sheldon even purchased the beach themed bedding set she put in the cart, certain Sheldon would hate it. There's a street sign above the bed, but without her glasses on, she can't make out what it says. There's also a framed letter or poem of some type on what Sheldon has decided is "her" side of the bed, judging from the framed brain scan photo and small plastic white basket of her lotions and various other items resting atop the new side table.

"What does the street sign say?" Amy wonders as she turns to find Sheldon watching her from the door, a soft smile playing at his lips.

"Love Shack Boulevard," Sheldon replies.

"You didn't," Amy replies, trying to hold back laughter.

"I did," he confirms, "I have the new copy of the Marriage Agreement awaiting your signature."

"What is this?" Amy wonders as she walks over and picks up the framed document.

"That is the differential diagnosis proving that I am in love with you," he explains.

"Read it to me?" she requests, although she's seen it before.

Sitting on the bed next to Amy, Sheldon gently takes the framed photo from her, although he doesn't need to read it. He remembers every word as vividly as the day he realized he had fallen in love. Setting the frame back on her end table, he wraps his arms around Amy, holding her close as he softly murmurs to her.

"Being with Amy causes my belly to do flip flops. Differential diagnosis: nausea, generalized anxiety disorder, I love her.

I'm always happy to see Amy and sad when she leaves. Differential diagnosis; depression, generalized anxiety disorder, I love her.

I dream about Amy. Differential diagnosis: I love her.

I want to make her happy. Differential diagnosis: I love her

I want Amy to be the mother of my children. Differential diagnosis: I love her.

I want to spend the rest of my life with Amy. Differential diagnosis: I love her."

"I love you," Amy whispers, overcome with emotion as she turns toward Sheldon.

"I know," he teases her, grinning at her look of indignation. "Star Wars," he quickly explains, hoping that makes it better. "I hope you realize this is as close as I will ever come to setting foot on the beach with you."

"Why do you hate the beach so much?" Amy wonders.

"When I was 3, we went to the beach and I stepped on a jellyfish. The next weekend, my parents insisted on going back to the beach in an attempt to get me over my aversion. While there, Georgie insisted on playing the 'sand monster' and buried me up to my neck. I didn't yet have an understanding of tidal fluctuations so I didn't realize we were too close to the water during high tide. I couldn't get myself free and spent several minutes underwater."

"Oh my God. No wonder you hate the beach," Amy sympathizes."If you hate the bedding, we can return it."

"No. I actually kind of like it," he admits.

"Thank you for wanting to make me happy."

"Thank you for putting up with me."

"It's not 'putting up with you' if I'm here voluntarily, Sheldon. Shall we go to eat?" she suggests.

"Alright. Come with me. We need to go outside and walk back in together."

"Why?" Amy wonders.

"We didn't just teleport into the apartment, Amy. We need some level of believability to this evening."

"Sheldon, I really do not want to put my shoes back on. Can we just pretend we arrived here together and go eat?" Amy begs.

"Fine," Sheldon relents.

He needs to find a way to get Amy relaxed and make her smile, Sheldon realizes. Ballroom dancing. She dropped you a hint. As Amy reaches the island, Sheldon stops her by reaching out and grasping her hand.

"Dance with me?" he requests, holding up his phone in his other hand to show her he's already brought up "their song"- Darlin' by The Beach Boys.

Nodding her consent, Amy smiles as she comments, "some things haven't changed."

"What do you mean?" Sheldon wonders.

"After we reconciled, this is one of the songs that would always come up on our makeout music playlists," she explains.

"Huh, I never noticed that. Maybe I was thinking about my penis."

"You were definitely thinking with your penis, babe."

Setting his phone on the counter, Sheldon hits the play button. Holding out his hand, Amy delicately places her hand into his and squeals as Sheldon twirls her, bringing her so her back is to his chest as they gently sway to the music.

"Ready to go back in time?" he questions.

"Please don't get upset if I make a mistake regarding the timeline? I recall the big details but for the life of me, I could not tell you what study I was working on when we reconciled."

"Strangely, neither can I," Sheldon admits. "But I do want to hear about your sleep apnea study," he quickly adds.

"Alright. Going back in time in 3...2...1... this is wonderful, Sheldon. Thank you for doing this. I am curious though, why did you get an air B&B for the weekend?" Amy questions, finding it easier than she expected to slip 'into character.'

"I want to spend time with you but Leonard refused to vacate the apartment for the weekend. One would think, as a newlywed, he would jump at the opportunity to have alone time with Penny."

"I know I shouldn't tell you this, but they're still in a rough patch over Mandy Chow."

"I assumed as much, but thank you for confirming it. You're wearing makeup."

"Yes. I um... I wanted to dress up for you," she shyly admits.

"The perfume is new..." It's not, they both know. Amy's been wearing this scent, watermelon lemonade, for about a year now. "I like it."

"Good," she replies, not knowing what else to say.

Looking down into his wife's hazel eyes, Sheldon notices for the first time today just how tired she looks. Happy, relaxed, but exhausted. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should call for them to scrap the whole date night, eat dinner, and suggest they take a hot bubble bath before having an early night. Maybe...

"Are you going to kiss me or just stare into my eyes all night?" Amy teases him, breaking the tension.

Maybe he should kiss her. Nodding mutely, he leans down and softly brushes his lips against Amy's, delicately at first, then more passionately as she takes control and hungrily kisses him in return. Her hands are all over his back as if she can't decide where to rest them (or she wants to get him naked now, which is far more likely his married brain supplies.) Her fingers brush against the bare skin of his hip, where his shirt has ridden up, causing him to growl from the back of his throat. It always makes Amy laugh for some reason, and tonight is no exception as she dissolves into a fit of giggles.

"We're getting carried away," she apologizes as she pulls his shirt down. "Dinner smells good. Let's eat."

"I have a bottle of that wine you like, the one with the footprints, in the fridge. Would you like some?" Sheldon wonders.

"Yeah, I think I will if you don't mind," Amy decides. "Do you want a glass?"

Although not much for alcohol, Sheldon will occasionally share wine with her now on date nights, taking a few sips from a shared glass. The bottle of wine chilling in the fridge is one of the few types he does like, which is why Amy offered him a glass he realizes.

"I may take a sip from your glass but I'll stick with water, thanks," he decides.

"Do you want to turn on a movie while we eat?" Amy wonders.

"Sure. The remote is on the island. You remember my Netflix password?"

"Unless you've changed it from Sheldor42?" Amy questions. They know he hasn't.

"I haven't."

"Time out for a moment. We're watching the newest season of The Great British Baking Show, which was shot in 2019. Do you want to watch that or shall I pick an episode from an earlier season?"

"I'm fine with whatever you want to watch, Amy. Since there's never really any references to what year it is shot in, we can continue watching your show," Sheldon agrees as he finishes placing the garlic bread upon the plates. "I found that Thai peanut dressing you tried at Costco last week at the market today."

"Wonderful but it doesn't really go well with pasta. Do we have any honey mustard or Catalina?"

"We have both."

"Would you be disgusted and appalled if I mixed them,?" Amy questions.

"I would," Sheldon confirms.

"Catalina with some sunflower seeds please."

"Time in?" Sheldon questions as Amy nods in agreement.

Coming over to Sheldon, Amy gently rests her arm on his back, leaning up to kiss his cheek in appreciation. Turning his head at the last second, Sheldon surprises Amy as she pecks his lips instead. He sets down the plate he had prepared for her, wrapping his arms around his wife as they continue making out in the kitchen. As her tongue enters his mouth, he wraps his arms around Amy and tightly holds her, much like he did on the night they reconciled so many moons ago now.

Their kiss is interrupted by her cell phone ringing. Resting his forehead against Amy's as they gasp for air, he softly teases, "someone better be dead."

"It's Penny," Amy replies as she grabs the phone off the counter, "so it's possible she killed Leonard. Hey bestie," she greets as she walks into the bedroom and shuts the door.

Damn it, Penny, Sheldon curses her as he gets the bottle of apple fruitscato from the fridge and pours a glass for Amy. Taking it to the bedroom, he softly raps on the door before opening it to find Amy stretched out in bed as she talks.

"It's beautiful, Penny, although I have no idea how Sheldon picked out the exact pieces I had my eye on. He even got the glider rocker that I had picked out for the baby's room."

Oops.

"No, I'm not pregnant! We're in the early stages... very early stages of talking about possibly trying to conceive... yeah, of course, he wants a baby. Well I know that because he's told me but also the evidence is there... he wanted a test tube baby 2 months after we met, he tried seducing me in order to make a baby, and when we purchased two acres of land on Mars, Sheldon tried to convince me that Marvin would be the perfect name for our son... Marvin the Martian? Yes, really. Yes, I shot it down."

Thank you, she mouths to him as Sheldon takes a sip of wine and sets the glass on her bedside table. Taking a seat next to Amy, he reaches into the basket and retrieves her spearmint and eucalyptus lotion before bringing her feet into his lap and giving her a foot massage as she continues talking with her bestie.

"Yes, he's listening," Amy confirms as she smiles at Sheldon. Penny says something else, making Amy laugh, before disconnecting the call. "You're going to put me to sleep if you keep massaging my feet," Amy warns as she wiggles her toes

"I noticed your plantar fascitis is starting to flare up again," Sheldon replies as he runs his thumb against the tight band, proving his point as Amy winces.

"Too much?" Sheldon asks.

"Yeah. It always feels better after a hot bath to relax the muscles first."

"Amy, I think I want to suspend the roleplaying. I think we could both use a very quiet date night. Let me take care of you. It's obvious you are exhausted. Let's eat dinner, take a bath together, and have an early night?"

"That sounds perfect, Sheldon," Amy agrees as she moves to follow him to the living room.

"Do you want cake now or later?" Sheldon wonders.

"Later," Amy decides as she tries to hide her yawn behind her hand.

Handing Amy's plate to her, Sheldon settles into his newly proclaimed spot and they eat in silence as they watch Amy's favorite cooking competition. As they finish eating, Sheldon neatly stacks the dishes on the coffee table then puts the footrest up, inviting Amy to snuggle into his side. Gently playing with her hair, it's only as the second episode finishes that he looks over and realizes Amy has fallen asleep.

This definitely isn't how they planned for her birthday to end, but in some ways, it's even better, Sheldon decides as he grabs the white throw and lays it over his wife.