Sheldon woke as the first rays of sunlight crept into the room and looked over at the sleeping woman alongside him, and smiled. She was so beautiful. He lay back, and reflected on the past 24 hours. They hadn't done everything, actually. That didn't mean, however, that they could resist further investigations, and had been exhausted when they eventually fell asleep that night.

It had been the strangest, most intense night of his life. They'd discovered one another in ways neither had truly believed possible, or, for so long, even acknowledged they could ever want. Strange too, how far they'd come, but maybe not as strange as he'd imagined. Yesterday had been the near culmination of a process they'd been caught up long before, as they'd shyly, hesitantly offered their love before they could ever have called it as such, but in spite of all the obstacles on the way, had never lost it. Not really. They'd just both on occasion, him more than Amy, he had to admit, hidden it somewhere, but it wasn't lost.

Neither told their friends what had happened, but one look at them when they got back was enough. Amy was the first to be caught, coming out of the apartment after dropping Sheldon back.

'Hi sweetie!' Penny called cheerfully, walking up to her, and stopped. Something was different about her…

'Oh my God…you did, didn't you?' she gasped in astonishment and awe.

'Did what, Bestie?' Amy hedged, trying to sound innocent.

'You know what!' Penny smiled, pleased and proud now as well as amazed. They were so meant to be together – she knew it!

'Well, then, if you know,' Amy tried to be restrained, but couldn't stop her blush or her own smile, 'I don't need to tell you!'

'Oh, no, totally!' Penny assured her. She really didn't want to know! Other peoples' relationships could get very weird, and now they had done it, she really could get more than she bargained for…'But…are you OK?'

'Of course. Now I would provide all the salacious details, but I was told once not to flaunt our happy relationship in deference to others, and I would ask that you do not start texting every member of our social group before you're even back upstairs!' She said it with a smile though – she'd let the girls know all was good soon enough, and Penny wrapped her into a hug. Finally…She'd only ever wanted to see that girl happy.

'You know,' Penny said then, 'I really did believe it, that time you made it up. I knew you would.'

She couldn't stop sending one text though.

'So, Halo tonight?' Leonard asked brightly, standing at what used to be his own doorway.

'Of course,' Sheldon looked at him, frowning slightly that he should need to ask. 'It's Halo night.'

'So…no other plans?' Leonard replied, grinning slightly. 'Not…tired?'

'No!' Sheldon said sharply, and twitched. Of course he was.

Leonard smiled. 'Yeah, sure…you dog! Seriously,' he continued, 'that's great, buddy.'

Sheldon met his eyes then, and although he still looked a little embarrassed, quickly recovered.

'Well, of course it was! Honestly, how you had such problems with it all these years I shall never know!' He couldn't quite hide his smile though.

'I never had problems!' Leonard defended himself. 'Oh no, you're not gonna be a genius at this too, are you?'

'Really? Well,' Sheldon smiled. 'I don't see why not – anyway, Halo, tonight as usual! The new paradigm of my relationship is no reason to alter our weekly programme!' With that, he gave Leonard a quick, self-satisfied nod and went to order Amy's pizza himself. Her order was too important to let it get mixed up…and no-one could deny he knew what she liked now…

True to their word, Leonard and Penny managed to keep their revelations quiet during the meal, and it was only when the girls went back to Penny's that she, and Amy, could contain themselves no longer.

'So how was your trip?' asked Bernadette, settling herself more comfortably on the couch. 'You didn't tell me who was speaking!'

'It was great!' Amy caught Penny's eye and blushed.

'So sweetie,' Penny continued, producing a bottle of champagne from the fridge, 'do you want to tell them, or shall I?'

'Tell us what?' said Bernadette, sitting up sharply and catching sight of the champagne, at the same time as Emily emerged from the bathroom and said, 'Is that champagne?'

'Yes it is,' Amy confirmed, her blush and grin now impossible to hide.

'Wait, what…what happened there?'

'Well, as my Bestie informed me, other peoples' relationships can get weird, and if I told you, you'd probably wish I hadn't!'

'What, so…are you saying you guys…?' Bernadette's eyes were wide behind her glasses.

Pausing to crack open the bottle, Amy turned to her with a smile. 'Oh yeah – that's exactly what I'm saying!'

The girls squealed, and rushed over to hug her too. 'Amy, that's great!' Bernadette's smile was almost as wide as her own. 'So was it…?'

'My boyfriend is a genius,' Amy replied proudly. 'In everything!'

In 4A, Raj was having a crisis of confidence. Exasperated by his lack of concentration on the game, one particularly heavy moan caused Sheldon to jump up and snap the console off.

'Rajesh, would you mind explaining why you have just let yourself be blown up again? And why you're sat around practically crying like a little girl?'

Raj looked up, sulky. 'You wouldn't understand, dude. It's Emily. She says it's good between us, you know,' he added, looking at everyone but Sheldon, 'but what if she's just saying that? What if I'm no good and she'll leave me just before my parents arrive from India to meet her?'

Howard put down his controller and looked at him. 'Didn't you remember what I said about the foreplay? However long you think it should be, double it. Works every time!'

'Yeah, I'm sure it's fine,' agreed Leonard. 'Just keep doing what you're doing.'

Raj nodded and prepared to get back to the game, when to their surprise, Sheldon made a comment.

'If you're that worried about it, you must be able to do it better. Honestly, Raj, it's not hard. Well,' he continued, giving his funny little laugh, 'I guess it is, or is that the problem?'

All the guys turned to stare at him, even Leonard, who knew what had happened.

'What…did I just walk into an alternate dimension there?' asked Howard, bemused. 'You do know what you said there, right?'

'Oh please, my mental faculties, as you know, are outstanding. How would I not know what I said?'

'So…are you going to tell them?' Leonard asked then, not quite believing it.

Sheldon smiled. He tried to sound as condescending as possible, but couldn't quite hide his blush. 'Well, let's just say, with all the self-indulgent whining I've had to put up with on the subject from all of you over the years, I'm happy to say I'm now in a position to tell you how to do things right!'

'What, really dude?' Raj was amazed.

'Hey, wait a minute,' Howard wasn't convinced. 'You two pulled this on us before!'

'Believe it,' confirmed Leonard, nodding over at Sheldon. 'And you just know we're going to get more advice than we can handle!'

'Wow,' said Howard softly. 'So now you get why it drives us crazy?'

'Oh, I always did,' Sheldon grinned. 'I just didn't feel the need to tell you!' They didn't need to know all the hippy dippy stuff that went with it, of course. The understanding that he was probably better than any of them already was good enough…

A couple of weeks went by, and life for the gang largely went back to normal. With Amy's help, Sheldon passed his driving test, and as a result the guys made him take them to the pre-release of the Serpents and Sorcery expansion pack for the Mystic Warlords of Ka'a. However, for Sheldon, things would never be quite the same, as was proved when he dropped in on Amy afterwards. Once, finding a limited edition foil Deathtouch Cobra would have been the highlight of the evening, and while still an exciting event was nothing compared with the vision in blue that met his eyes as Amy opened her door.

'Good, I see you got my message, Commander Cooper.' Amy's voice was brisk and efficient, but a hot pink tinged her neck and her eyes glittered up at him.

'Yes I did,' he answered, heat starting to burn his cheeks as it had when he received her text at the Comic Book Store earlier. 'I believe some kind of check-up is required?'

'Yes, and I think you're overdue,' Amy smiled, taking his hand and leading him into her room. Sheldon couldn't help but agree. She'd been far too busy at work the past couple of days, and he missed her.

'Now, I'll need you to take off your clothes, and lie down,' she ordered, reaching for the fake tricorder that was an integral part of the outfit. Eagerly, Sheldon did as she said. He'd always loved her Star Trek uniform, and now she was going to make this dream come true.

'So tell me, Commander,' Amy continued, standing over him, the hem of her skirt almost level with his shoulders, 'have you experienced any of the following – shortness of breath, palpitations, fever…lack of blood flow to the brain?'

'All of that,' he confirmed, nearly naked before her, the undeniable proof of one of those symptoms begging for relief more than any other.

'I thought so…' A wicked smile lit her face, before she resumed her role. Running the little plastic instrument over Sheldon's chest and down to where the 'problem' was, Amy fixed her gaze on his own, a look of mock concern in her eyes.

'It's as expected, Commander. You are in the grip of early onset Pon Farr, and as you know, such a condition must be dealt with immediately…'

Easing herself onto the bed, Amy settled herself between her boyfriend's thighs.

'I did say to take your clothes off,' she repeated, indicating his underwear, which was actually very constricting now.

'You better get 'em off then,' he drawled back at her. Sheldon shivered as he felt her fingers stroke over him and hook themselves under his waistband. In one swift motion he was naked below her, staring up at the embodiment of his fantasy in excitement and wonder. He wasn't expecting what came next though, as one dream merged into another, and Amy moved lower, licking her lips. She'd never done this before, wanting to get to grips with things first, so to speak. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind her trying something new…

'Amy?' he asked then, realising what she had planned. 'Really? Are you sure?'

'I'm sure,' she confirmed, and smiled. 'It's something I've been thinking about for a long time…'

Rationally, Sheldon knew he should be concerned for Amy just now, knew he shouldn't let a lady do this…but one flash of her eyes and the merest brush of her lips changed his mind, and he moaned in relief as her tongue lapped over him. Soon she was sucking harder, he was in deeper, and the cries that escaped him burned Amy to her core. Feeling him stiffen and twitch between her lips was an unforgettable sensation, and she was only stopped when Sheldon could bear it no longer. Leaning back on her knees, she finished what she started; amazed by the power she had over this man as he cried out one last time and hot stickiness shot over his skin. Exhausted, his breathing ragged and pulse racing, Sheldon caught Amy's eye as she gently smoothed him down with a clean fresh towel, and he knew. He had to marry this woman.

Another couple of weeks went by, and Sheldon was at work when he got the call he'd been waiting for. The only problem was how to get there. As luck would have it, all of their friends happened to be otherwise engaged that week. Leonard and Penny had gone to Nebraska, Howard and Bernadette had disappeared off to San Francisco after one of Bernadette's sisters produced another baby, and Raj and Emily were entertaining his parents visiting from India. Presumably they'd wanted to see for themselves that the two of them were (a) still together and (b) that Emily was 100% female, Sheldon thought to himself, considering what to do. That left Amy's car, which he could now drive. However, he couldn't tell her what he needed it for…

Amy had been asked back to Caltech temporarily, as Dr Gundersson was back for a few weeks too and wanted her input on some study or other, so it was easy enough for Sheldon to make his way to her lab later that afternoon. He smiled as he caught sight of her, scalpel in hand and brain on her bench.

'Good afternoon, Dr Fowler!' he said brightly.

'Dr Cooper!' she smiled back, loving the way he called her by her formal title. 'What brings you here?'

'Well, I…' Looking around quickly, Sheldon quickly pressed his lips to hers in a brief kiss that made him giddy, grinned a little shyly and continued. 'I, uh, have to return that Fantastic Four I bought the other day…there's a crease right down the back. Can I borrow your car this afternoon?'

'We're gonna have to get you looking up cars sometime,' Amy told him firmly, 'if you gonna be borrowing mine all the time!'

'Oh, uh, yeah, so can I have it?'

'I guess,' Amy agreed, handing him the keys. 'When are you going?'

'Umm…' This was the tricky bit. 'I thought I'd go straight after work, then I'll come back and pick you up and we can have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory?'

'Uh, OK…can't I come too?'

'No, because otherwise…we'll be late eating, and it's really not worth throwing our digestive systems into turmoil over one comic.' There. That sounded plausible.

Amy smiled at that. Some things would never really change.

'OK Sheldon,' she agreed. 'I'll see you then.'

On his way to the Glendale Galleria, Sheldon reflected on the search and subsequent email that was bringing him here. He'd done a considerable amount of searching beginning the day after the pre-release, but couldn't find anything quite right. He thought back then, to Howard proudly displaying Bernadette's ring one day in the cafeteria, made by his cousin. Another quick search and email later, and he'd placed his order.

'Hi, are you Dr Cooper?' David Wolowitz asked Sheldon as he came in.

'Yes, I got your message earlier. I believe you have something for me?'

'Yeah, sure. Looking at the design spec you sent me, I knew what you were looking for, but just had to wait a couple weeks on the emeralds.' He went over the counter and unlocked a drawer, pulling out a small box. 'Why don't you take a look and see what you think?'

Sitting down, as he suddenly needed to, Sheldon looked at the beautiful, glittering ring David showed him. The golden band was reminiscent of the One Ring, but with an array of deep set emeralds set around a single diamond. It struck Sheldon, looking at the most exquisite item of jewellery he'd ever seen, that unlike his cousin, David was a true craftsman. Almost as soon as he thought it though, he checked himself, remembering that without Howard, he wouldn't even be sitting here now. He remembered too, that choosing his family to make this special gift had seemed appropriate thanks for setting him up four years ago. For a moment, Sheldon couldn't speak.

'So what do you think? It won't be a problem to change the size if you need to.'

Taking a deep breath, Sheldon replied. 'It's outstanding, Mr Wolowitz. Perfect.'

Carrying his precious cargo back to Amy, and sitting through a meal at The Cheesecake Factory with her was quite nerve-wracking, and he was snappier to one of their new waitresses than he really should have been as a result.

'Sheldon, did you not remember what Penny said about not antagonising people who serve your food?' Amy asked as their meal arrived.

'Yes,' he admitted, not really listening. 'But she got the fries order wrong!'

'And now it's right,' stated Amy smartly. 'So, did you get your comic exchanged?'

'Uh, yeah!' In an attempt to be believed, and because he couldn't go past the store and not go in, even today, Sheldon actually did have a new comic, which he presented to Amy. 'See, limited edition Spiderman!'

'Cool!' Amy smiled warmly. She'd never understand her boyfriend's love of an artistic medium she'd always considered for children, but he looked particularly sweet just then. Strange how he seems a bit jumpy though…

'Hey, you wanna watch Star Trek 'First Contact' when we get back?' Sheldon asked, not really envisaging watching anything that evening, but needing some reason to get her back to the apartment.

'Oh, is that the one with Benedict Cumberbatch?'

'Yeah,' Sheldon admitted, looking slightly sulky for a moment. She would not be needing some Brit whose interpretation of Khan was deeply inferior to the original tonight!

'OK, yeah, sure!' She couldn't help but smile at his little flash of jealously. But he's not Sheldon Cooper…

When they arrived back at 4A, Amy was surprised when she wasn't let in immediately.

'Amy, wait there a minute,' Sheldon said, taking her shoulders and positioning her slightly back from the door.

'What? You said we were watching the movie?'

'We will, but, just…wait a minute.' With that, Sheldon let himself in, found all the glow sticks he had left, and arranged them in a vase on the table. He left the main light off, but kept the one outside his room on. Apparently while subdued lighting was appropriate in such a situation, a twisted ankle coming down that little step was not. He wished Leonard hadn't put his foot down about removing the luminous paint.

'OK, you can come in now!' he said then, nerves showing slightly in his voice.

Amy blinked, getting her eyes used to the change in light. 'Sheldon, what happened? Has a fuse gone?'

'No, but, it's like we had on the roof, look!' He made his way over to the couch. 'Sit here,' he said gently, indicating his spot.

'Right here?' Amy was surprised. She never sat there, although she was probably the only one who'd get away with it.

'Yes, and please take this beverage,' Sheldon continued, passing her a glass of water. It wasn't chilled, but…tepid…

'Thank you,' Amy said, taking a sip. Her gaze followed him curiously as he sat opposite her. He didn't look too comfortable, but that was probably just because she was sitting there. Maybe he'd decided to break out of his comfort zone?

'You know,' Sheldon began, not really knowing where he was going with this, 'that date we had up on the roof got me thinking, and you had a glass of water that day in the coffee shop, right?'

'I'm sure I don't need to remind you of that!' Amy smiled, thinking of his amazing memory.

'No, well, uh, that day was the day my carefully constructed world got blown to pieces, like Godzilla ravaging Tokyo, and for the longest time, it was hard to accept that.'

'Why, what happened?' She knew the answer.

He paused, and looked her straight in the eyes. 'That day I met you. I thought about that day, and I was happy, whenever I heard from you, until I saw you again…'

'Me too.'

'And, I was really happy when I saw you that evening with Penny, and really jealous when you were going on about Zach, and I even hit Leonard when I thought…well, never mind what I thought…when you went to the wedding. And as time went on, I liked being with you more and more, and I'd never really had that with anyone, but then I got scared, and thought if you knew, if I showed it, it'd all go wrong, and I'd lose you.'

Amy nodded. She'd always known that. She had to make that journey too.

'And I know I nearly did. I'm sorry, but please believe that I can't ever leave you now, not ever.'

'I know. I couldn't leave you.'

'So, uh,' He was sweating now, his heart hammering in his chest. 'I came to realise, maybe, another alteration to the paradigm of our relationship would be…desirable…and…' The last few words came out in a nervous rush, 'Amy Farrah Fowler, I love you and please will you marry me?'

Amy's eyes widened in shock as she caught sight of the ring, shining in the light of the glow sticks. She licked her lips nervously as her whole body seemed to shake, and, feeling almost like she was out of her body, broke into an ecstatic smile.

'Yes! Yes, of course, oh Sheldon, I love you!' Their fingers shaking, Sheldon slipped the ring on, and they crushed each other together, finding their lips in the deepest, most intense kiss they'd ever known. When they did pull apart, looking at one another with darkened eyes, their breathing heavy, and cheeks flushed, Sheldon took Amy's hand.

Standing up, he spoke. 'Amy, my room. Now. Please.'

Neither spoke as they took somewhat shaky steps over to Sheldon's door, or when he lead her through it and they sat down, but they never took their eyes off each other. Without saying a word, both knew what was going to happen next. As soon as he sat down, Sheldon eased Amy backwards onto his bed, smoothing her hair out over his pillows and kissing her again, a hand up her thigh.

She shivered as he pushed himself hard against her and gratefully succumbed to his fingers working at her cardigan, then blouse, pulling them free. Sheldon smiled briefly at the jade green bra on her pale skin, and then released her - he'd learnt fast. Amy's moans and gasps were incoherent as she felt him stroke and lick at her breasts, and pushed herself into him in return. Unable to resist then, she pushed him back to kneel over her, the burning glow in her eyes letting him know what she wanted.

His pulse racing, Sheldon pulled off his shirts and then, not taking his eyes off her, hastily unbuckled his trousers, upon which she pulled everything from him, desperate to feel her man naked above her. No sooner had she stripped him, she was pulled up to her feet, hair hanging in wild tresses over her bare breasts.

'Stand up, and take your skirt off,' Sheldon commanded. He wanted to see this.

Her eyes bright, Amy reached around, popped her button and slowly slid her zip down, then let the skirt fall to the floor. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the matching lacy jade knickers, no doubt warm and damp between her thighs, and the sheer stockings held up by a tightly pulled suspender belt. Sometimes it was fun to dress naughty for work…

'Anything else?' she purred seductively.

'Get 'em all off – now!' Patience was not a virtue of Sheldon's, and especially not now. Looking at her, knowing he was going to marry her, made him so hard it almost hurt.

She made him wait though, unclipping the stockings and rolling them down deliberately slowly, sitting before him on the floor. Only when she'd drawn them both from her smooth, soft legs did she stand again, and shimmy herself from the last scrap of cloth covering her nakedness.

His breathing harsh now, Sheldon crossed over to her, clasping her hand in his. 'Now, Vixen, back on the bed. I can't wait no longer.'

Amy couldn't speak as she obeyed, every command exciting her further, but let out her strange little cry as Sheldon pinned her down on her back. As he did so, there was the briefest flash of a question in his eyes. Amy's smile and little nod told him all he needed to know. Yes. Please. Now.

Giving sudden thanks for her Bestie's advice regarding the regulation of her cycle, Amy had been taking appropriate measures for some time, and both of them knew there was no impediment to them now. Even though she felt wet, so wet, to his touch, and moaned in delight as she felt it, it was still unexpected to feel him push slowly inside her for the first time, and she couldn't hold back a little cry.

Her voice broke through the fog currently clouding the brilliant mind of Dr Sheldon Cooper, and he looked down at her with concern.

'Amy? Are you OK? Tell me if it hurts.'

'It's OK,' she managed, allowing her body to settle around him. 'It doesn't hurt…just…go slow.'

Sheldon nodded, and kissed her, amazed at the warm tightness that surrounded him. It was like nothing else in the world, and he had to admit the guys were right. There was no feeling like this. As Amy relaxed, she felt herself buck up harder, letting him know he could, and it was with relief that he started driving more deeply into her, further, faster. Her breathy cries were unstoppable as Amy hurtled towards release, and a sudden urgent pounding into her signalled that Sheldon wasn't far behind. She heard him cry out as a powerful, warm wetness flooded her inside, meeting her own, and then they were still. He was hers now, and she was his, in the most primal, elemental way.

'Amy,' Sheldon said, sounding rather sleepy as he collapsed next to her, 'I love you…'

'I love you too,' Amy murmured, curling into the crook of his arm. In that moment, no more needed to be said. Tomorrow would be busy, telling their families and friends, but right now, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were together, and they always would be.

The End

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed my story. I'm so glad you enjoyed Anaheim, and I really enjoyed writing it! Let's see what inspiration S8 brings!