Author's Note: Written for the Shamy Fic Exchange. Since I seem incapable of telling a story in one chapter, this will probably be about 4-5 chapters. So as not to give away the plot, I'll hold off posting the prompt until the end.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and I doubt CBS, Chuck Lorre or Bill Prady would sell it to me for anything close to what I can afford. I own only my own obsession(s), which are not for sale. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.

Chapter 1 - Nobels Oblige

Amy inserted her key in the lock, turned it and pushed the door open. She walked into her apartment, Sheldon following close behind, but not too close. He'd gotten comfortable enough with holding hands in a dark theater, but still held the couple to very strict rules regarding any displays of affection or touching in public otherwise. At the movies, he often reached for her hand first, especially if a particularly gripping scene where the protagonist was in some sort of danger preceded whatever romantic scenes might occur in the movie. But outside of a theater, touching in Sheldon's book was still strictly reserved for private time when they were alone at one of their apartments.

That was ok with Amy. Sheldon had made great strides in the nearly five years that they had officially been girlfriend / boyfriend. Not the sort of strides their friends had made, of course. But for Sheldon, it was leaps and bounds beyond where he was when they first met at the coffee shop.

Nearly three years ago Penny surprised them all one evening when, on "Anything Can Happen Thursday", just before Sheldon was ready to start the agreed-upon movie, she got up from her chair, knelt in front of Leonard, opened a box containing a beautiful platinum tie-tack accented with a tiny, glittering diamond and asked him to marry her. Leonard had been predictably tongue-tied, but had finally smiled broadly and said, with great confidence, "YES, Penny, I will be proud to marry you."

The rest of the evening was spent in congratulating the happy couple and badgering Penny with questions about the unorthodox nature of the proposal, and then with questions about what finally convinced her to pop the question Leonard had asked so many times before. The movie was forgotten by all but Sheldon, who grumbled repeatedly that X-Men 7: Class Dismissed was the best in the series by far and they were all missing out.

Only Amy knew just how the evening really affected Sheldon. The impromptu party broke up early, since Leonard and Penny wanted to go across the hall to celebrate in private. After Howard, Bernadette, Raj and Marya left to go to their respective homes, Sheldon sat in his spot, idly toying with his Rubik's cube. Amy could sense something was bothering him, and it was more than just missing the movie. She sat silently watching him for a few moments, then gently asked, "Sheldon, what's wrong?"

Her boyfriend set the cube down on the table, reached his hand over and took hers, tugging slightly to get her to move closer. Amy was getting more and more concerned.

"Is it something at work, Sheldon? Do you need a hug?"

He looked up at her then. His eyes were glistening a bit. "Leonard will be moving out," he said, then drew her hand across his lap to hold it in both of his. "Now that Penny wants to get married, I don't think she'll have a problem living with him anymore and he'll move out and I'll lose my best friend."

Amy understood. Penny and Leonard's happy news meant a big change in Sheldon's life and Sheldon didn't deal well with change. Of course, Amy knew better now than to suggest herself as a substitute roommate. Nonetheless, she needed to say something to make him feel better.

"You really won't be losing a friend, you know. Chances are Leonard will just move in with Penny across the hall. He'll still be close by. He'll probably still give you a ride to work every day. And Penny's your friend, too, but you've never needed her to be your roommate for you to be friends. And who knows, maybe you'll find another great guy to be your new roommate and you'll have even more friends."

"I'm not getting another roommate," Sheldon whispered, "I don't really need a roommate anymore. With my standing at the university now, I can afford to live here alone. But it will never be the same, will it?"

He looked down again, staring at their intertwined fingers. He brought one hand up to quickly dash the unshed tears from his eyes.

"It's ok, Amy," he said, turning again to look at her and attempting a slight smile, "I'll be ok. It's just a little sudden. I think after Leonard and Penny made up the last time, I knew this day would come. I just thought it would take Penny a lot longer to finally agree to Leonard's bi-monthly proposals. I never dreamed she would ask him."

Amy smiled too, "Didn't you know?" She squeezed his hand and gently laid her free hand on top of his, sliding over to sit just a bit closer. "After the Great Valentine's Day Blow-Up of 2013, Leonard told Penny that he wouldn't ask her again – that she would have to ask him." She chuckled, "I guess they kept it quite a secret, huh?"

Sheldon nodded. "It's certainly the first I ever heard of it. And Leonard is usually quite tedious about telling me every minute detail of their relationship. It's like living with Carrie Bradshaw."

"SHELDON!" Amy squealed, "I cannot believe you even know who that character is!"

This time, Sheldon's grin was genuine, "Raj can be nearly as tedious about those ridiculous television series he watches as Leonard is about his love life. And with an eidetic memory, I'm forced to remember all of it, even when I don't want to."

Amy was pleased to have averted a full-blown Sheldon emotional meltdown. Of course, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't happen eventually. But for now, at least, her boyfriend seemed to be dealing with the evening's announcement. As the date of the impending nuptials grew closer, she would have to watch him carefully. Despite his outward displays of emotional detachment, she knew that Sheldon was in fact very tender hearted. He didn't make friends or allow people to get close to him easily, but when he did his feelings ran very deep. This sort of upheaval in his life was bound to have an effect, sooner or later. She needed to be sure she would be there to help him through it.

"Amy?" Sheldon said, his voice quavering just a bit.

"Oh, dear," Amy thought, "maybe I'm being too optimistic about this evening."

"What is it, Sheldon?" she said aloud.

"Some time ago, Amy, when you were very distressed over a misunderstanding regarding Bernadette's wedding plans, you indicated a craving for human intimacy and physical contact."

Sheldon's grip on her fingers tightened and he turned his head to look towards the far side of the room, in the direction of the bedrooms. He raised his head and stared at the ceiling and his thumb began to stroke the skin on top of Amy's hand.

Amy was curious why Sheldon would be remembering that incident now. "Yes, I remember," she said.

Sheldon turned his head again to stare at the window. He was avoiding looking at Amy. "After some period of negotiation, we agreed that we would… cuddle… do you remember that?"

Amy smiled. As if she could forget! "Yes, of course I remember, Sheldon."

"Despite your eventual descent into a 'bottle of hooch' later that evening, did the cuddling help, Amy?" Sheldon turned back and looked straight at her, his gaze intense and his blue eyes flashing something Amy couldn't quite identify, "Do you think it would help me, now?"

Amy was drowning in his look. She realized he'd asked her a question. She gulped, "Yes, it did, Sheldon. It helped more than you can know." She paused, wondering as she so often did what was going through that magnificent brain of his. She knew so much about brains in general but seemingly so little about the one brain that mattered most to her. "I think…" she said cautiously, "it might help. We can certainly try it, if you'd like."

Sheldon immediately released Amy's hand and opened his arms, his right hand reaching around her back to grasp her shoulder and pull her down to rest against his chest as he leaned back in the couch and wrapped his other arm around to hold her tightly to him. Amy felt a light weight on her head and realized Sheldon was resting his cheek on her hair.

Amy was torn between being sad that Sheldon was hurting so much over the impending change in his life and being overjoyed at the fact that she was being tightly held by her boyfriend at his suggestion. Part of her was doing a little dance and wondering what Penny would do if a giddy neurobiologist interrupted her private time with Leonard to text her about this later that evening. Another part of her was concerned that she might be underestimating Sheldon's level of pain, if his actions were any measure of it.

"Amy?"

Amy brought one hand up to gently stroke Sheldon's bicep. She took a deep breath, committing his scent to memory. There was no telling when she would be this close to him again.

"Yes?"

"Amy… I'd like to kiss you."

Amy's heart stopped. Surely she would wake up any minute now and find this was just another dream. Well, if it was a dream, she should enjoy it while it lasted.

"Oh…Okay." Her voiced cracked and she swallowed the lump that had been growing in her throat.

"Amy?"

Was that a tiny note of amusement in Sheldon's voice?

"Mm..hmm?"

Amy squeezed her eyes closed. "Don't let me wake up now! Don't let me wake up now!" she repeated over and over in her head.

"Amy, I need you to look up if I'm going to kiss you."

Amy's eyes flew open. Pulling away slightly, she tilted her head up until she was once again drowning in sea-blue eyes. Sheldon lowered his lips to hers. When she felt the soft touch, Amy quickly debated if she should keep her eyes open, or close them again. She didn't expect the kiss to last long. She was frankly surprised that Sheldon was actually kissing her on the lips. She had fully expected him to turn at the last minute and kiss her cheek. But that hadn't happened.

In fact, the kiss was going on… and on… and on!

Sheldon was lowering one arm to grasp her around her waist. He pulled her up gently to bring them closer and more in line as he increased the pressure of his mouth slightly and began to move his lips over hers.

When she felt Sheldon's tongue licking lightly at her lips, her eyes flew open again. (She wasn't even aware she'd closed them!) She tentatively parted her own lips, feeling a shiver as he gently slid his tongue past her lips and began to stroke lightly in and out. Amy wondered if Sheldon understood what that movement mimicked, or that open mouth kisses allowed a man to pass testosterone to a woman in his saliva, thus increasing the woman's sex drive and improving the man's chances of having sex with her. As the kiss continued, she could practically feel the cortisol levels in her system plummeting as stress left her body and oxytocin was released. She knew Sheldon was aware of all the muscles involved in kissing, but she wondered what else he knew about philematology. Did he realize, for instance, that the hormones coursing through her body were the same ones that led to female orgasm, or that kissing activated the three areas of the brain responsible for sex drive, passion and attachment?

To heck with the science! Sheldon Cooper was kissing the socks off of her!

Amy's brain shut down and she allowed herself to simply get caught up in the moment. Where in the world Sheldon Cooper had learned how to do this, she might never know, but if she ever finds out, she'll sign up for the graduate course! It was amazing and powerful and intoxicating and just when she thought she might die happy right there in her boyfriend's arms, it was over. Sheldon pulled back gently, then leaned in and placed a tender kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Thank you, Amy," he whispered as he brought his hand up to lightly stroke her hair and pull her head down to lay against his chest once more.

"Amy!"

Amy started as she realized she'd been standing just inside the door, daydreaming.

"Sorry, Sheldon," she said as she continued into the apartment and dropped her bag on the table next to the door. She removed her jacket and hung it on a peg by the door, taking Sheldon's jacket and hanging it beside hers. "May I offer you some hot tea or cocoa? It was a little chilly out tonight."

Sheldon smiled, "Yes, it was chilly. And as this is October, a month with an 'r', I'd love some hot cocoa."

Amy waved a hand, indicating that Sheldon should make himself comfortable while she went into the kitchen and began heating water for their beverages. Her thoughts returned to that first kiss, and to how her relationship with Sheldon had advanced since then.

There had been no more kissing that evening, and after a few more minutes of cuddling, Sheldon announced that it was nearing his bedtime and that Amy needed to get home to ensure sufficient REM sleep to be able to function at her best levels in the lab the next day. Amy had reluctantly disentangled herself, collected her things and walked to the door, where Sheldon had surprised her again by hugging her tightly before gently stroking her cheek once, then opening the door and ushering her out.

Around noon the next day, Amy received an e-mail from Sheldon asking if he could come to her apartment Saturday morning to discuss something important. Amy had been crestfallen, sure that Sheldon was horrified about the kiss, and that he planned to give notice to terminate their relationship. She knew him! She knew he couldn't be pushed too far too fast. She should have put a stop to things before they went too far. She could have pulled back after the first few seconds.

Like hell she could have!

Amy was unable to concentrate the rest of the day; sure she'd traded her entire relationship for one toe-curling kiss. She thought of calling Penny, but her best friend texted her earlier to say she was working the dinner shift that night and wouldn't get home until after midnight, but wanted to know if Amy would be up for lunch on Sunday with Bernadette to get started on wedding plans. Penny went on to say that she had plans to go with Leonard to look at venues for the wedding and reception. Now that they finally decided to do it, they wanted to tie the knot as quickly as possible.

Amy endured nearly twelve hours of misery, after which Sheldon arrived with a new Relationship Agreement. One which, to his girlfriend's delight, not only had two full pages describing the allowable locations for and frequency of kissing, but also allowed for additional physical intimacies, when and if agreed upon by both parties, ranging up to and including "second base" (the agreement literally said second base – in quotes), with additional physical intimacies to be discussed and agreed upon at a later date.

The major stipulations were that any and all kissing, fondling or touching of any kind beyond handholding would take place only when the parties were completely alone, with privacy guaranteed during the duration of the activity, preferably at either the girlfriend's or the boyfriend's personal residence.

Amy happily signed the new agreement with a flourish and celebrated by wrapping her arms around her startled boyfriend and kissing him soundly. It was nothing like his amazing kiss of two nights earlier, but unlike the other times she kissed him, she lingered until he brought his arms up to hold her close and responded. She felt him smile slightly as he returned the kiss. When he pulled away, he kept his arms around her, smiled and asked her if she was happy. Nearly in tears, Amy simply nodded and laid her head on his chest, stunned that so much had happened so fast.

In the months since then, Sheldon had proven that his abilities on that first kiss were no fluke. He also shared with Amy that he had, in fact, been thinking about it for some time and had researched the subject extensively online. Only this time, he was looking for information on technique, not the scientific or biological aspects of kissing.

They also expanded their activities to include quite a bit of fondling and even a bit of groping. Sheldon would not only kiss her passionately on the mouth, but he extended his kisses to her chin, ears and neck and even occasionally ventured to travel as far down her chest as her clothing allowed. His hands, meanwhile, would steal up under her clothing to stroke, cup and fondle her breasts, although he hadn't yet attempted to remove or disturb her brassiere. Meanwhile, Amy had become quite adept at pulling Sheldon's shirts out and allowing her own hands to wander over his lightly furred chest, or to creep up his back. On one occasion, when his kissing was particularly stimulating, she found herself digging her nails into his back. Sheldon had moaned deep in his throat, but he hadn't said a word about it.

Although they were often quite disheveled at the end of an evening, they had not yet actually removed any clothing during their make-out sessions. For several months now, things had been stalled at this point, and Amy was getting more and more frustrated. She was aware that Sheldon was similarly affected. When they spent an evening at her apartment, he frequently excused himself to the bathroom where he would readjust his clothing, sometimes taking several minutes. He would then sit for a half hour or more on the far end of the couch, keeping his distance and discussing his work or engaging in a game of counterfactuals. Amy was aware that he was reluctant to leave the apartment until the evidence of their activities had subsided.

She wondered what it would take to move them past this point. She also wondered if this was simply as far as Sheldon was willing to go.

In the meantime, Amy had walked down the aisle as Penny's maid of honor, wearing her tiara and feeling as pretty as she'd ever felt in her entire life. Sheldon had a minor meltdown when Leonard did move out, about a month before the wedding, but he'd quickly come to enjoy having his apartment to himself, as long as Leonard was just across the hall and still willing to drive him to work, the comic store and the other places he needed to go. Amy, of course, also drove him around quite frequently.

Sheldon's reaction to the latest announcement from members of their social group had been surprising. He was sincerely looking forward to the birth of Howard and Bernadette's first child. Despite the best precautions, Bernadette was now pregnant, and expecting a little boy in the early part of the coming year. Howard, of course was ecstatic and Bernadette was getting used to the idea, and even seemed to be looking forward to motherhood since exercise and healthy eating were helping her to limit the less desirable effects of pregnancy on her body and well-being.

Amy expected Sheldon to go into a complete tailspin at the thought of a baby in their midst, considering the inherent mess and inconvenience that would entail. She discussed the situation at length with him, and he was fully aware that babies meant dirty diapers, and spitting up and crying and all manner of disruptions. But he told her that he had been waiting in vain for his sister to give him a niece or nephew that he could dote on and spoil and indoctrinate into the wonders of science so he'd decided that, with his friend's permission, of course, he would unofficially adopt little Howard, Jr. as a quasi-nephew.

Amy had her doubts as to how well that would work out once Sheldon's ideas of child-rearing, whatever those might be, butted up against Bernadette's budding maternal instincts, but she decided she would cross that bridge when she got to it. She forbore to mention any possibility of Sheldon having progeny of his own.

For nearly two years now, Raj had been dating Marya, an Indian girl that his parents arranged for him to meet. Marya was very shy and she and Raj spent the first year of their relationship barely speaking to each other except through texts and e-mails. Despite Raj's breakthrough with Amy, Bernadette and Penny, he remained unable to speak to other women.

Marya and Raj found they were both more comfortable with each other if they had a beer or a glass of wine, but Marya decided she didn't like the idea that she and her boyfriend could only talk to each other under the influence. She convinced Raj to join a therapy group with her and now, the two chatted amiably with each other, often in multiple languages, without having a drink first. Raj still couldn't speak to any other women, but it was progress.

The sound of the kettle boiling brought Amy back to the present day. She poured water into mugs with the instant cocoa mix, and carried the tray into the living room where Sheldon was flipping through the music on her iPod. Amy smiled. When Sheldon played music, it usually meant he had one thing on his mind. Maybe not the one thing most men had on their minds in similar situations but it was still one thing Amy liked very much, even if it meant she was wearing out her toothbrushes at an alarming rate.

Setting the tray down, she passed one to Sheldon who accepted it with a smile and continued to read through the list of songs.

"You've got an unusual range of music here, Amy Farrah Fowler, everything from the 1940's Big Band era up through the 1980s. But I've noticed you rarely listen to more recent popular music, with the exception of a few things by a woman named Katy Perry and a man named Taylor Swift."

Amy laughed. "Taylor Swift is a woman, too, Sheldon. She's a crossover country singer. As to the types of music I like, I listen to more recent artists when I'm driving to work. But here at home, I prefer the soothing or nostalgic emotions evoked by the oldies but goodies."

Sheldon nodded and sipped his cocoa. "Which of these is most likely to put you in a romantic mood and heighten your libido?" he said, grinning. He put his mug down on the table and gestured for her to move into his arms. Sheldon was rarely coy about his desires.

Amy giggled, "Sheldon, trust me, you could play the 1812 overture and I'd still be in the mood!"

Sheldon drew her in and kissed her lightly, his fingers combing through her hair. "Well," he said, stopping to look into her eyes, "the cannon fire could be considered symbolic of the moment of orgasm."

"Sheldon?" Amy queried.

"Yes?" Sheldon responded.

"Shut up and kiss me!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he answered, allowing his Texas accent to flourish.

There was no music playing and little noise in the apartment for the next ten minutes except for the occasional moan.

When the phone suddenly rang, Amy nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked at her watch and frowned. She couldn't imagine who would be calling her. It wasn't terribly late, but they had just left the rest of the gang after having dinner at Howard and Bernadette's home, so it wasn't likely that it would be Penny or Bernie on the phone. Sheldon was here and her mother generally didn't call after dinner. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the phone off the table.

"Hello?"

She listened to the person on the other end of the phone. Sheldon was obviously wondering who would be calling as well, but was trying his best not to appear nosy about the phone call, while being available should it turn out to be bad news.

"Yes, this is Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler."

Sheldon sat up straighter and put down the mug from which he'd been sipping his cold cocoa. Calls where the person asked you to confirm your name were rarely good.

Amy's eyes went wide and she brought a shaking hand up to her face. "Oh… oh my… oh my God!" She breathed heavily, her mouth open.

Sheldon turned his full attention to his girlfriend, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "Amy, what is it?" he whispered, his voice full of concern. With a sense of dread he added, "Is it your mother?"

Amy shook her head violently, her already disheveled hair whipping around her head.

"Yes, yes. I understand. The public announcement will be tomorrow." Amy was listening intently and nodding her head. "Yes, thank you, thank you. I don't know what to say. I… I'm sorry, I'm just so stunned." Amy listened a bit longer, then nodded again. "Yes, yes I'll be there. And thank you again. Goodbye."

Amy put the phone down, missing the table so that it dropped to the floor and nearly hit her foot. Sheldon's concern was mounting. If not her mother, then what had happened to render Amy speechless?

"Amy? What is it, what's happened?"

Amy turned to face her boyfriend. She closed her mouth and as she looked at him, her face split into a huge smile.

"Oh, Sheldon!" she gushed, "You won't believe it. I've… I've been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology!"

Amy launched herself at Sheldon and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. She didn't even notice that he didn't hug her back.

FF_1807614_ 6/30/2013