10 years later

2036, Nick

I'm running in the hallway and as I'm not really watching, I almost bump into a random girl. The last time I ran through hallways in schools was when the other kids bullied me. That was eons ago. Now I'm of course not in my old elementary, but in a high school, and I'm not running from anything. I'm running towards something. And I'm running because I'm late. It's hard to maintain the schedule of a scientist and a teenager at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I'm a superhero with this double identity thing. Maya says I'm more like Hannah Montana. I don't want to know who she is.

Funny story. When I finally fit into school, my parents thought that I've learned my lesson and they let me skip grades. I graduated high school at the age 11. Then I went to Caltech and had a degree in maths. Then I finished my PhD a year ago. Ever since I work at Caltech. It's strange and I have to work really hard because I don't want to live on my parent's reputation. It also sounds so lame that I work with my parents. But actually it's not that bad. At work there's of course no one else my age, so I have to hang with my parents and their friends, if I want to hang with anybody, but usually I leave as soon as I can and meet some other people.

The reason I'm late because I just had to give a lecture in a conference. Thank God it was just here at Caltech so at least I have the chance to make it in time.

I texted her, I'm late, but I'm sure she's already pissed. I couldn't pick her up so she arrived on her own. Or maybe with Dory. My sister is now in her senior year, so she just skipped three grades. She said she liked school, it's a nice place for her to make observations. She wants to write a book about it. I don't know where did she get that, because she is good at maths and science like the rest of us, but actually she says, she is into social sciences. It took a time for Mom and Dad to accept that, but I'm only halfly convinced that my sister is serious and isn't only doing this to drive everyone at home crazy. She does that a lot when she dies her hair different colors or wears shorts the size of a panty or comes home from school hours later smelling like cigarettes.

Now I'm finally in the corridor of the gym's door and I can finally see Debbie. She looks kind of good. Long, flowy, blue dress. And of course she looks pissed.

" Where were you? " she asks in a demanding tone.

" Big lecture. Lot of questions. Sorry. " I try to apologize.

She shakes her head.

" Instead of being sorry you should try not being late. "

I want to change the subject so I look down own on her my sight stopping at her hands.

" I saw you got my flowers. "

She blows the air out loudly.

" Well, thanks. " she finally agrees to let the being late topic drop.

" Nothing to thank. It's a non-optional social convention." I say.

" Good to know. Anyway, ready for senior prom?" she sounds as excited as I feel.

" You can't even imagine. I worked so much, I want to party so bad. " I say.

" Easy, Nick. Remember the last time you threw up in the aquarium at Paul's house party? It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. " she teases me.

" I do. You know I have…"

" Eidetic memory. I know. " she finishes instead of me.

" I also remember last year and your junior prom. I hope I turn out to be a better date than Tyler. " I have to jump back to avoid her hand to avoid her finger to poke hardly into my arm.

" Nick! " she says but she's smiling so she's not that serious.

" I picked you up that night. You looked pretty broken. And that pretty much ruined my date with Rhiannon. " I say.

" I already said sorry like thousand times for ruining your date." she is pissed again.

" Sure you did. I'm not mad. It's just a funny story. " I smile.

" For you maybe. I don't know what would you do if your girlfriend would make you wait half an hour in the parking lot at your junior prom and then when you are looking for her, would find her kissing a slut in the locker room. "

I laugh " If my girlfriend was kissing another girl I'd probably want to join them. "

" You know what I meant. I was just thinking about that slut Jenna. "

" Well, in that case, to be a better date for you I promise I won't kiss Jenna at all. "

" I don't care who you kiss. We're definitely not dating. "

Debbie and I friends. That's how far we've come. Also we plan on going to college together next year. I mean I already have a PhD but my parents didn't let me move halfway across the country before I turned eighteen. Debbie got into Columbia so I also accepted a job there starting in September so everyone is happy because we'll take care of each other. Probably not like our first time in New York.

" Well, I don't really like Jenna anyway. At least not as much as Tyler did. " I say grinning.

" Do you know that you're still so annoying? " she asks.

" Do you know that you're still mean? " I answer.

" I do. But I also have a little something hidden in the car for the party after. "

" What did you get? " I aks. Now, I'm impressed. Usually I have to buy the booze, because when I show my PhD everyone thinks I'm over 21.

" Schnaps. Aunt Penny gave it to me. She did my hair. " she says.

I look at her. " Good job, Aunt Penny. "

" Are you talking about the booze or my hair? "

I look at her.

" Both. "

She looks away blushing a little. We go in to the room where the party is held.

" Want to find your sister? " she asks standing next to me at the edge of the dancefloor.

" Hell no. Sure I don't want to see her snogging with an idiot again. "

" Then want to dance? "

" Wow, you're really hard to get rid of, do you know? "

" Told you. Dance? "

" Fine" I agree and take her hand.

2036 Sheldon and Amy

" Can you believe that? Both of our kids at prom before even being close to thirty. " Amy said as she poured the hot water into two mugs in the kitchen. Sheldon was sitting by the table reading something on his phone.

" I have to admit that they are the firsts to do so in our family " he said accepting a mug and slowly opening a filter of tea. Amy did the same.

" I hope they get away with their prom without any panick attacks. " Amy added sitting to the chair next to him.

" I think they will. No one can look as stunning as you did in that dress. " Sheldon said with a soft smile looking up at her. Sheldon certainly had his own elegant way of complimenting. Amy felt flattered but still couldn't help but add:

" And from no one can come a love confession as unexpected and surprising as it came from you. "

" Was it really that surprising? " He asked.

" It was. " She nodded.

" It shouldn't have been. I mean I loved you so long before. "

Sheldon seemed honest. She giggled. " You're turning into a sentimental old man. "

" Maybe I am. Oh my…" he said spitting out the tea coughinf.

" Sheldon are you all right? " she asked.

" I am. " he said after finally breathing again. " Thanks." Amy was giving him a paper towel. " I just remembered why I had that panick attack about prom in the first place. Is it still true that the event named prom is somehow connected with having intercourse for the first time?

Amy was thinking, but she didn't want to lie.

" I think it is. "

" Oh my God, and do you think our children will….?" Sheldon asked with wide eyes.

" Sheldon, calm down. " she said putting her hand on his shoulder.

" So you think they will? " He still sounded frightened. There was a long conversation ahead of them, Amy could tell.

" Well, I really hope Dory won't. She's just fifteen. It's really weird how oddly popular she is among the guys… Maybe after all, smart is the new sexy. But that's why I told her that she can't go to any afterparty and she has to be home by ten thirty and I won't accept her call that she'll sleep at some friends. "

" Smart move. But uh, Amy, people can have coitus before ten thirty. "

" I know. I tried to talk to her as well, but she was basically laughing at me when I told her I've only been with you. "

" What? You've only been with me? "

" You know, sexually. " she explained with a little blush.

" And why was she laughing at that? I find that adorable. " It was a good day, Sheldon told her he loved her, called her stunning-looking and adorable. She smiled.

" It seems like even our own kids think we are weird. Or every teenager thinks that their parents are weird. "

" So you did really talk with Dory about intercourse? " He asked. She sipped into her tea before answering.

" Yes, I have. I mean she has a boyfriend and she was going to prom. I gave her condoms too for the possibility if my pep talk fails. "

" What did you do? " His spoon fell on the floor.

" Sheldon, calm down, okay? It was the right thing to do. My mother always told me that staying a virgin is the only option and I've been lonely and unhappy as a teenager and as a young adult. I want her to wait as well, but I couldn't tell her the same. "

" Still this is very disturbing. And that boy? What's his name? Jeremiah? I hate him. I don't want him to be the one who…" He seemed to disgusted to finish this sentence.

" I suppose, we don't really have a saying in that. But Penny told me she thinks Dory won't do anything she just wants to seem a big girl to us to annoy us. "

" Amy, do you think I should have had the same conversation with Nick? I've never thought all this comes up this soon." Sheldon seemed sad.

" Sheldon, it's all right. "

" But Nick has to know about this… stuff. You kow that how things work…"

" Well I think you'd be a little late with that. " Amy answered.

" Are you implying that he already knows? " he asked.

" Sheldon, he is almost nineteen. I also think that his knowledge on the subject is not only theoretical."

" But…But how? When? Why didn't you tell me? You are supposed to tell me things like that! " His tone was now serious. Amy really didn't want to start a fight.

" I thought it was obvious. When she was with that Rhiannon girl. "

" No, you must be wrong. I'm sure Nick wasn't into that girl. She was so stupid. "

" Sheldon, how do I deliver this to you? Let's say their relationship was not the relationship of the mind. "

" Oh my. Are you sure? " Sheldon still looked frightened.

" Sheldon, he was seventeen and there were sleepovers. " she said.

" And weren't they PG rated? "

" No. "

" PG-13? " Amy shook her head. " R? " She still shook her head. Sheldon gulped. " NC-17? "

Amy nodded.

" But how did he even know how to….?"

" Well, he is not a little kid anymore. And besides he has Liam. I think Liam told him everything about meeting girls and about what comes afterwards."

" So you're saying my nephew is having coitus as well. " He shook his head in disbelief.

" Well based on the facts that he is twenty-two years old and at college and has a girlfriend and they've been together for three years, yes. "

" Amy, I'm about to have a panic attack. " Amy patted his back while he covered his face with his arms.

" It looks like you don't even have to be the one who's attending prom to have one. But it's all right."

" But Nick… A boy should be able to talk about these things with his father. " he said finally looking up.

" Sheldon, Nick is doing fine. He was already almost eighteen when this happened. Nowadays most people lose their virginity at fifteen or sixteen or even before that. And he had Liam who I'm sure, told him everything, so it's okay."

" So you knew about this. Oh my, did you gave him condoms as well? "

" No. I have hinted that if he needs any personal type of purchase from the drug store, I can help. At first he didn't understand then his face went red, then he politely refused. He said that he has already everything he needs for a special night. "

" But I… I may never realized and maybe it is too late, but I wanted to be that person in his life whom he can talk with about this too. What kind of a fathe…"

" Sheldon, you stop this right now. You're an amazing father. You have a good relationship with him. You two can talk about a lot of stuff. Maybe this isn't one of them or not yet. It's maybe late to give him functional anatomy lectures about the human reproductive system, but you can have a conversation him about girls and about sexuality anytime. And even if you won't, you are still a good Dad to him. "

" Thanks, Amy, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Still it is so strange. They are going to partys and having friends and boyfriends and girfriends… Penny was clearly a bad influence. And apparently Liam too. "

Amy shrugged her shoulder.

" Sometimes I do worry about them too, especially about Dory, but mostly I don't mind. I think it's great that they are having experiences and making memories. "

" I'm glad they are happy. I would be even more glad if they would find a way of happy that doesn't frighten me, but I guess that's to much to ask for. Anyway, that's what you always wanted." It wasn't a question.

" Well, for them maybe. I certainly wanted them to feel that they can fit in. "

" And for yourself? " he asked.

" As for myself I am satisfied with what I have. Mostly satisfied. "

" Don't you feel bad anymore because we've completely missed out on all this teenage-nonsense when we were their age? "

" No. " she was determined.

" I hate alcohol and loud music, but seeing them growing up like this, I do think that maybe if we had their experiences, we wouldn't have screwed our relationship up multiple times. Maybe we wouldn't just lose five years waiting for our relationship to really happen…" he said.

" Maybe. Or we would have screwed up even more. Sheldon, everyone grows up with a lot of scars. There are the ones we get from our parents and the ones we earn for ourselves while trying to find our place. Our kids will have failed relationships and break-ups behind them. We had rejection and loneliness. I'm happy they are having fun but every choice has it's own disantvantages. And it was exhausting and it drove me crazy sometimes, but I liked taking things slow with you. I found that romantic actually. You know, the literature I love…. Mr Darcy didn't climb on Elizabeth on the third page either. Dory must be right. I'm old and I have no idea about modern relationships. "

" Luckily, your husband is fond of your antique views on relationships. "

" Thanks. Now it's time to decide how we'll spend the rest of night since it's a special one. " She stood up walking towards the living room. Sheldon followed her.

" It's not. There are no anniversarys or birthdays, not even in the Star Trek Universe or…" he said sitting down on the couch.

" I meant this is our first free night when both of our kids are out of the house and it's just the two of us. Or at least until ten thirty." she answered.

" I guess it really is. How about planning an other episode of fun with flags? "

" Good. But I'm starting to think we've covered all the flags in the world in the past years. "

" I don't think vexillology is that limited. "

" We've made three episodes about different tipes of canvas. When we posted the second one, our kids unsubscribed from our channel. Actually I can't blame them. "

" Fine, we may had better episodes, but now you're ruining the fun part of Fun with flags. " he said with a grin.

" I'd never do that. I guess we could plan an episode about all the flags that are newer than our show about flags. "

" Now, that's what I call a wonderful idea. " he nodded than put his tab on his lap opening a new document. Amy slid closer to him putting her hand on his chest.

" What are you doing? " he asked looking down at her.

" I just want to see what you're writing. " she said innocently.

" That's one of you sneaky approaches to use me as your cuddle-bunny, isn't it? " he asked but didn't pull away, rather just smiled.

" You always say evolution created you a genious to solve the problems of the universe. Well I say evolution also created you soft and warm for a reason. "

" We have work to do, Little Lady and you are distracting me. " he answered.

" I'm ready to face the anger of our nearly one-hundred subscribers whom we gathered in the past twenty-four years, if the quality of the show drops because of me. "

" Well, we may have to share the blame. " he said than bent his head down to smell her hair and give a quick kiss on her head. He stroked her hand gently before he began typing.

Well, goodbye guys. I'm really thankful for every review, you gave so much self-confidence and joy in the past year. I don't know if I'll write anything Shamy soon, I can't make promises. But all this really helped me in quite different areas of my life in my career as well as my personal life and I'm so in lack of tencity that I could never finish without you. So it was kind of a journey. P.S. I really love Sheldon and Amy in this chapter struggling with having popular teenage kids I almost couldn't finish writing. But it was time. So thanks.