A/N: Once again, I profusely apologize for the delay. I kept getting hit with writer's block. And since they say that writer's block is caused by something that's not working, I wrote and deleted at least 3 different half chapters before finally ending up with the version you're about to read. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Chapter 35

Sheldon lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. This entire trip home was a disaster. Though he had not expected a trip home to be any better than mediocre, he had at least thought he could count on both Meemaw's and Amy's support when dealing with the rest of his family members.

He sighed as he thought of Missy and Raj, now engaged. He simply could not fathom why he was the only one who saw why it was a bad idea. How could they possibly be compatible when Raj had to drink alcohol every time he was around her? When he had said as much to Amy, rather than agree with him, she had stated her intent to help Raj overcome his selective mutism. When Sheldon had pointed out that it would likely interfere with her already established study, Amy had said she would do the work in her spare time, pro bono, as her wedding gift to the couple.

Having decided that Amy was a hopeless case, Sheldon had then run immediately to Meemaw, profusely apologizing for Raj's interruption of her party, and explained that he planned to give his supposed friend a thorough talking to. But rather than thank him for his chivalry, Meemaw had told him she could think of no better birthday present than to have her granddaughter getting engaged.

Why am I the only logical person in this world? he thought, grumpily.

As he pondered the answer to this question, there was a knock on his door.

"Moonpie?" Meemaw asked. "May I come in?"

Sheldon curled his knees up against his chest and considered, for one brief moment, refusing Meemaw. But as he could never do that, he simply sighed loudly and said, "Yes, you may."

His door opened and Meemaw came in. She shut the door behind her, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out a hand and placing it on his shoulder. "Why don't you tell your Meemaw what's troubling you? You've been outta sorts since you got here."

Sheldon contemplated his answer for several moments. His knee-jerk response was to say that it wasn't him who was out of sorts, but everyone else, but as this was Meemaw, he actually paused to reflect on the past few days.

He looked up at her. "Why is it that no matter what I do, everyone is angry with me?"

"Oh, now," said Meemaw, smiling at him, "I don't think everyone is angry with you. I'm not angry."

Sheldon raised his head. "You're not?"

Meemaw gave him a shocked look. "Heaven's no!"

"But earlier today you disagreed with me," he said.

She patted his shoulder. "Disagreeing is not the same as being angry."

"But you've always defended me in the past," he said, now sticking his lip out in a pout.

"Moonpie," Meemaw began, speaking more seriously than Sheldon had ever heard her speak, "I will defend you until the day I die against people who are trying to turn you into something they want you to be rather than who you are. But when who you are is a man who's grown up and making a living all his own, studying the wonders of this great wide universe, and you can't even be counted on to help give your mamma a break, you can bet I'm gonna let you know you've done wrong."

Sheldon simply stared. Being reprimanded by Meemaw was, until today, unprecedented, and he had no idea how to react.

Meemaw chuckled. "I'm also not gonna let you go on pretending that you don't love that Amy of yours." Sheldon opened his mouth to respond but Meemaw shook her finger at him. "I know a boy in love when I see him. Your Pop Pop looked at me like that back in our courting days." She put a hand on Sheldon's cheek, which he resisted pushing away. "I know you like to play at pretending you're an evolved species," she winked at him, "but if you want that species to continue you're gonna have to get married and start giving me some great-grandbabies."

Sheldon sat up in shock, mouth open and brain buzzing. While Sheldon had considered the need to procreate – use the sanitary measures of his local in vitro lab – marriage was not something he had ever remotely considered for himself.

Then again, he had never expected to be involved in a relationship, with Amy or anyone.

Before he could stop himself, he wondered how Amy felt about the subject of marriage.

"Now," Meemaw patted his shoulder again and then stood up, "how about I'll go tell everyone you're doing fine and to leave you alone and you think on that a little while."

Meemaw walked to the door, and was just about to open it, when Sheldon found his voice again. "Meemaw?" he asked uncertainly

She turned around to look at him, and he considered just saying nevermind.

"Yes?"

He took a breath, feeling completely out of his element. "Do I really look at Amy the way that Pop Pop looked at you?"

Meemaw's expression softened. "You sure do." She looked off into some unknown distance and smiled before looking back at him, winking, and walking out the door.

Sheldon spent the next several hours puzzling out his conversation with Meemaw. He only left his room to eat dinner, and only because he didn't want to have to deal with the gastronomical repercussions of skipping a meal, but remained quiet the entire time, not even bothering to raise a fuss when Allison dropped her half eaten roll in his lap. After he had eaten a sufficient amount to ensure that he would be able to keep his bathroom schedule on track, he went back to his childhood bedroom and resumed thinking, despite Amy's request for another night of chess playing.

He had spent the past several hours going between lying on his bed, circling his room, staring at his white board – while not really paying attention to his equations – and was now sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the blue carpet. Though he knew he had more important things to think about, such as how he was going to convince both Raj and Missy that their engagement was a fool's errand or what his next steps were regarding his new discovery, but all he could focus on was Amy and this predicament Meemaw had made him aware of.

When his phone started buzzing, he jumped, frowning and looking at the clock, seeing that it was 12:34 in the morning. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it, wondering who would be texting him at such an hour.

It was Amy.

Though it was not unheard of for them to exchange emails, or even telephone calls, in the middle of the night, Sheldon was surprised nonetheless. He opened the text.

I apologize if I am waking you, but I am having trouble sleeping and wondered if you were also awake?

Sheldon paused for a moment. Given his current train of thoughts regarding Amy, he was hesitant to begin a conversation with her. He was still unsure of a great many things.

He thought for several minutes, and then decided that if there was anyone besides Meemaw he could talk to it was Amy. He texted back, As luck would have it, you find me awake as well.

After sending it, he frowned and texted again. Please disregard my previous use of the phrase "as luck would have it". As you well know, I don't believe in luck and don't know what I was thinking. All this thinking about love and marriage had most definitely affected his logical mental faculties.

I completely understand, Amy wrote. You are out of sorts.

Indeed I am, he returned. And because he was still upset that she had not backed him up about Raj and Missy he added, Though you did very little to help me.

I see you have resumed blame shifting all your problems. I won't take it personally.

Sheldon frowned at his screen. Blame shifting? What on earth have I blame shifted?

Sheldon waited for a reply, and after several minutes, his phone buzzed again.

I realize this is outside the realm of proper southern decorum, but I feel it is best.

Sheldon stared at his screen, wondering how that response was an answer to his question, when there was a knock on his door. He looked up, surprised, getting out of bed, and walking over to answer the door to find Amy standing in front of him, in her pajamas.

"I felt it was best," she whispered, "if we were to continue our conversation in person. I hope you don't mind my entering your bedroom in the middle of the night."

Sheldon paused for a moment to consider. Had this happened as little as twenty-four hours prior, he wouldn't have paused for very long before stepping aside and motioning her in. But given his recent train of thought, he was feeling more uncomfortable than usual about having Amy enter his bedroom. Reluctantly he motioned her inside, closing the door and walking back over to his bed to sit down. Amy looked around for a seat and then looked at Sheldon.

"May I sit on your bed?"

Sheldon opened his mouth to say no, but then realized he found himself in between a metaphorical rock and hard place. His mother, should she find out, was likely to figuratively, and perhaps even literally, tan his hide for allowing his girlfriend in his bedroom in the middle of the night. But at the same time Amy was likely to be insulted should he choose to ignore the manners they both knew he had by refusing to allow her a seat when one was available. After reflecting on this conundrum for several seconds he merely slumped his shoulders and sighed, saying "Fine."

Amy walked over and sat down, a good three feet away from him, placing her hands on her knees and then turning slightly to face him. "Sheldon, may I ask what has been bothering you?"

He opened his mouth to reply that her question in no way answered his previously texted question, but, given that he doubted he would enjoy the answer, he instead replied with, "You may ask, but I cannot guarantee an answer."

Amy gave him a disapproving look, and he started fidgeting.

"You'll have to be more specific," he said, hedging for time to think.

"I'm not sure how much more specific I can get when the question speaks for itself, but I'll give it my best shot," she replied. "Ever since we have arrived here you have been rather…" she tapped her chin for a moment, and then looked him squarely in the eye and said flatly, "bitchy."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Language, Amy."

"With that in mind," she continued, ignoring his reprimand, "what is the root cause of this behavior?"

Sheldon frowned as he thought through the question. While he disagreed that his behavior constituted the B word, there was no denying that he was in an exceptionally bad mood. Meemaw had even asked him the same question several hours before – although he was doing his best to forget about the second half of their conversation at the moment, so he simply replied, "I am not behaving any differently than I usually do, and yet everyone takes every opportunity they have to pick on me."

"Sheldon," Amy began, "I have been present from the moment we stepped off the plane until now, and I have yet to see anyone picking on you."

Sheldon's mouth dropped open and he looked at her, eyes wide. Amy's response reminded him of Meemaw's. "How can you say that? I have been treated unfairly the entire time we've been in Galveston."

Amy stared at Sheldon a moment. "May I state an observation?"

Sheldon nodded impatiently. "Of course."

Amy hopped a little on the bed so that she was more directly facing him. "I believe you may be expecting people to be picking on you, when in fact, they are merely trying to get you to act like an adult."

Sheldon stared. "What do you mean 'act like an adult'? I've been myself for the entirety of our trip."

Amy sighed. "Yes, and I believe that is the very problem. Sheldon, I'm afraid that you have to let go of the past." Sheldon opened his mouth to respond, but then snapped it shut, thinking. He eyed Amy, as she continued. "We are all adults now. I, better than anyone, understand that your childhood was rife with the rejection of your peers and, to an extent, your family members. However, that is now many years in the past, and while everyone else, including myself, has moved on, you seem determined to see nothing but ridicule in every comment your family makes."

"But they are constantly making fun of me!" he protested.

Amy shook her head. "I believe you are mistaking 'making fun of' with teasing. Take Missy for example. It has been my observation that she is merely engaging in the form of jesting which is meant to be taken as love. She has stated to me on more than one occasion that you are much too serious. I believe that her constant banter, or teasing, is her attempt to establish a friendly, sibling rapport with you, while also attempting to get you to loosen up your overall demeanor."

Sheldon looked away, thinking through what Amy was saying. He went through the events of the weekend, including his conversation with Missy at Meemaw's party, prior to her ill-advised engagement to Raj. Was Amy correct? Was he merely misinterpreting good natured jesting as something more devious?

He looked at Amy and said the only thing he could think to say. "Huh." He frowned as he replayed Amy's response in his head, one part in particular standing out. "Do you agree that I am too serious?"

Amy blinked several times before responding with a simple. "No." They looked at each other in silence, Sheldon still contemplating everything Amy had said. After several moments, Amy spoke again. "Despite what others may think of you, I have always believed, and likely will always believe, that you are one of the most fun people I know."

Sheldon cocked his head to the side. "Really?"

Amy nodded, smiling at him. "You are the person who came up with the initial idea for Counter Factuals after all."

Sheldon nodded. "That is true." He felt himself start to relax, despite himself. It was strange how Amy's presence had the ability to cause him to relax. Again Meemaw's assertion that he loved Amy entered his mind. He cleared his throat, his muscles tensing again at the thought, and looked away, starting to fidget.

Amy cocked her head to the side, like he had, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Sheldon pursed his lips to one side as he thought how to answer the question. This business of being in love or not being in love seemed like a lot of mental exertion that he frankly didn't like. Just earlier in the day – or yesterday, as it was now past midnight – they had declared their mutual fondness. Surely that counted as a love declaration. Once again he replayed all the strange moments that had occurred since Amy had arrived in Pasadena, and came to a single, unwanted conclusion: he had been the instigator of nearly every single one of them.

He gave Amy a sidelong glance and saw her patiently waiting for him to answer, her hands folded in her lap. What was wrong, indeed? What was wrong was that everyone assumed that he loved Amy - a notion he would never have thought himself capable of - and he wasn't entirely sure they were wrong. Meemaw knew him better than anyone, save Amy. She had always been the person he could count on to understand him when everyone else in his family insisted he was crazy. If she said he was in love, was it possible that he was? And if he was in love, was it a terrible thing?

Ah yes, that was the question. And his initial answer was, of course, yes it was a terrible thing. Throughout the course of history, in nearly every story, love had been the purveyor of destruction, from the likely mythological Trojan War, to the cuckolding of King Arthur, to the very Romeo and Juliet he had drunkenly quoted to Amy.

In contrast to that, those who chose a life without love were often those who made great advances in science, from the likes of Archimedes to Leonardo Da Vinci – though Sheldon disliked that such an inventor and scientist had wasted so much of his time on the arts.

Then again, both Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking had married and look at all they had accomplished – although Sheldon did wonder how much more they could have accomplished had they not been thus distracted.

And then there was no denying that if Sheldon were ever to have chosen a mate with which to fall in love with, Amy would have been the only logical choice. He was comfortable with her, she knew his habits, and was one of the few people who truly understood him, even if it led to his constantly losing battles against her. And, as he had recently discovered, he found her appearance pleasing to the eye and seemed to frequently find himself wanting to kiss her. Though he put little stock in such physical things as appearance, he supposed it was worth mentioning in this sudden quest to discern how he felt and why.

He sighed. This was silly. All this thinking of feelings was clouding his judgment. He was a man who always knew how he felt. Such as simple question demanded a simple answer. Did he, or did he not, love Amy Farrah Fowler? And if he did, was it a terrible thing?

Despite his fear that the answers he knew to be true would change things, he could no longer deny that the answer to the questions were undeniably Yes and No.

He frowned. The second answer came as a surprise to him. Surely he must have it wrong…

He glanced over to his whiteboard, seeing the recent work he had done, and realized that it had been due to his finally giving in to his desire to kiss Amy, rather than fight it, that had led to his discovery. Perhaps if he were to stop resisting so much, he might free up his mind for other such advances in his research.

His mind halted at such a novel, and unwanted, thought.

If this was his logical train of thought, then did it stand to reason that this was also what he wanted? How strange. And yet, as he came to this conclusion, he felt his muscles start to relax. Perhaps admitting to love wasn't such a bad thing…at least if it was admitting he loved Amy.

Huh. Meemaw was right after all.

Sheldon turned himself to look fully at Amy. "Amy, I have a confession, one I hope that you will be able to forgive the sentimental nature of. I have just reached an interesting conclusion about myself which involves you."

Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise and then nodded her head. "Very well."

Sheldon sat up straighter, holding his chin high, and clearing his throat. "Amy Farrah Fowler, I love you."

Amy's mouth dropped open and she gave a slight gasp. Sheldon nodded. "Yes. It has come as quite the surprise to me as well." He then proceeded to recount certain aspects of his thought process which had led him to the conclusion. He didn't want Amy to get the wrong idea that he was merely being led by his emotions. He wasn't a hippie after all. He wanted to make it perfectly clear that it was the only logical course of action that he should have fallen in love with her, as she was obviously the perfect person for him to have fallen in love with. As he recounted his thoughts, Amy eventually closed her mouth, nodding along in places, agreeing with his conclusions. When he was finished, he folded his hands on his knees.

"What are your thoughts on my conclusion? Do you find any holes in my logic? Please tell me, because I'm as baffled as you seem to be at the conclusion, and don't wish to continue believing myself in love if that is not the case."

Amy started to talk but her voice came out high pitched and warbled. She cleared her throat and tried again. "No. I believe you make a very sound case for your love." Sheldon watched as a smile spread across her face. "As you have made your confession, I believe now is the time for me to do the same."

"Oh?" Sheldon raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Sheldon Cooper, I love you as well."

Sheldon blinked at her a moment, trying to absorb the information and make sense of it. Although, if it was logical that he love Amy, then it was equally as logical that Amy should love him. "When did you come to this conclusion?" he asked.

Amy tapped her chin. "I believe it was around the time we had our falling out at age thirteen."

Sheldon choked. "What?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Charles Caleb Colton said it best: Friendship often ends in love."

"Why did you never include me in this discovery?" Sheldon asked, feeling indignant. After all, he had informed Amy immediately when he had made his discovery of love.

Amy shrugged her shoulders again. "As you did not seem to share my feelings of love, it seemed silly to inform you. It would likely have led to the eventual dissolution of our friendship, as you had no desire to be friends with a girl who would have taken the slash out of our boy slash friend slash girl slash friend status. I simply did not wish for that to happen. Regardless of whether or not you shared my romantic feelings, you were still my best friend."

It was hard to argue with that logic. Sheldon nodded his head. "Very well. I accept that your logic is sound, but retain my right to be indignant." He crossed his arms.

Amy looked like she was hiding a smile. "Of course."

Now that all had been revealed, Sheldon was unsure of what to do next. It was still the middle of the night and he and Amy had a flight back to Pasadena in the morning.

As he was thinking through this, Amy suddenly leaned forward, throwing her arms around him in a hug. Taken aback, it took Sheldon a few minutes to return her hug by loosely wrapping his arms around her. In love or not, he was still unused to physical contact, though not quite as averse to it as he once was. Just as he was on the verge of asking Amy how long she planned to keep him in a vice grip, she pulled away. But rather than sit back as he expected her too, she instead leaned forward once again and pressed her lips to his. Sheldon blinked several times rapidly in shock before his eyes closed and he started to allow himself to enjoy the moment. Just as he was getting used to it, Amy pulled away, smiling brightly at him.

"I apologize for the lack of warning, but per our most recent addendum, I was overcome with emotion." She looked at Sheldon's alarm clock. "And as it is now very late, and as we have resolved all issues – assuming you are going to stop acting like a grouch for the remaining seven hours we will be here – I should return to my bed and get some sleep."

Before Sheldon could for an answer, Amy quickly walked to his door. Before she walked out, she turned around. "I love you," she said, smiling.

Sheldon sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yes. Fine. I love you too."

Amy's grin widened and then she turned around and walked out the door.

It didn't occur to him until later that he would most definitely have to have a Relationship Agreement addendum added or else he would be saying "I love you" for more often than necessary.

He should have known, all those years ago, that this would be the sort of thing that would happen when making friends with a girl…

A few years down the road

"Uncle Shelly!"

A tiny jam-covered hand tugged on Sheldon's pants. He sighed, grabbing a napkin and scolding the little two year old. "Mala, please remember to clean your hands after eating."

"Uncle Shelly!" Mala continued undeterred by the reprimand. She jumped up and down, holding up two objects in her hand. "Misser Sock an Bahbee in wuv!"

Sheldon looked down at his niece, the product of Missy and Raj's union, and frowned. "Mala, Mr. Spock does not fall in love. He's far too logical for that. And if he did, he most certainly wouldn't fall for the likes of a blonde bimbo like Barbie."

As she often did when Sheldon tried to engage her in civilized conversation, Mala started giggling. "Yeah, huh! See?" She smashed the action figure and doll, grossly disproportionate in size, together so that their faces were touching. "They kiss!"

Sheldon began ruing his decision to let Mala play with his Mr. Spock action figure. It was technically an antique, and having Mala besmirch Mr. Spock's reputation with the likes of Barbie was abhorrent. He was in the middle of a long explanation of why Mr. Spock and Barbie could not possibly be mates when Amy and Missy walked through the door, having returned from Amy's dress fitting.

Despite both his and Amy's desire to have a simple courthouse wedding, they had been threatened by both his and Amy's mothers and Missy that should they do that, there would be H, E, double hockey sticks to pay. And thus, Amy had found a – so she said, as he was not allowed to see it – simple, elegant, and – most importantly – cheap wedding dress to satisfy the desire of their female family members to have a full wedding and reception.

"Shelly," Missy said, "What on earth are you telling my poor darling girl?"

Amy walked over and sat down next to Sheldon, looping her arm through his. "I was merely explaining why Mr. Spock and Barbie could not possibly be in love."

Missy rolled her eyes and walked over, smiling at Mala. "Darlin', is Uncle Shelly being uppity?"

Mala didn't answer, but instead ran over, yelling "Mama!" and threw her arms around Missy's legs. When she let go, she held up the two dolls. "Misser Sock an Bahbee in wuv, mama!" She smashed the action figure and doll together again with such force that Sheldon winced, hoping his action figure was not being mangled by the pointy-nosed Barbie.

"They sure are, Darlin'," Missy said.

"Missy," Sheldon began, "Please don't perpetuate the lie-"

"Sheldon," Amy said. "Given that Mala is only two years old, I think it would be best if we let her engage in make believe as she sees fit." Sheldon opened his mouth. "I won't hurt the reputation of the fictional Mr. Spock to be considered in love." She sat up straighter. "Besides, in some universes, Mr. Spock did fall in love."

Sheldon sighed, defeated again by Amy's logic. Indeed, if one took the work of J.J. Abrams as valid canon, Mr. Spock had fallen in love, in an altered timeline and universe.

The End

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading this work of fanfiction. Today is about 3 weeks shy of a year since I started writing this, but I've finally finished it. I cannot thank you all enough for the love this fic has gotten, and for your eternal patience as I battled through multiple cases of writer's block. This particular story was difficult to write, mainly because the point was to see how the characters of Sheldon and Amy would be changed (and how they would be the same) by having, not just a childhood friend, but each other. I hope, after the long wait for this final chapter that I did it justice and that the story met any expectations that you had. I have no further plot bunnies at the moment, but you can bet that as soon as I get them, I'll be seeing you again. In the meantime, I'm going to say yet again, Thank you for reading. This fandom is just a joy to write for. You rock! :)