Chapter Text
Amy
What was the happiest moment of her life?
It was not easy to pick. There were just so many.
But one day she would always love remembering, was her wedding day.
Maybe because, for a long time, she had given up on hoping for that to happen at all.
She felt like a princess in her long white dress. The veil on her head, topped by the tiara he had given her so many years ago.
But more than that, she felt like the luckiest person alive, finally being able to call herself Sheldon Cooper's wife.
They both could not take their eyes off each other as they danced their first dance as a married couple, surrounded by friends and family.
The had spent a year planning their small but beautiful wedding.
A year full of many other happy moments.
Moments where they saw their best friends falling in love again and growing closer as a couple with each day. Especially since Penny had moved in with Leonard a few months ago. She loved this. Having her best friend around every day.
Moments looking at houses until they finally found the one they would be moving into as soon as the contractor would have finished the few renovations they had ordered. Probably soon after returning from their honeymoon.
Moments spending time with all their friends. The whole gang reunited in their living room.
And of course many moments in the bedroom, finding heaven together. No matter how often that happened, she would never get used to this. Making love to Sheldon. It was more, so much more than she could have ever imagined.
As the song was coming to an end, everyone clapped for them and they finally got to sit down again.
No one ever had told her how exhausting this most beautiful day in her life could be.
After all the speeches and wedding games were finally over, they got a moment to themselves. Sheldon held her close and she rested her head on his shoulder while they watched their friends and family having fun on the dance floor.
She smiled at her husband who appeared to be deep in thought.
"Still thinking about super asymmetry?", she asked.
She would have understood. It was not every day, that Sheldon came up with such a groundbreaking theory. She loved that she was able to help him do it, especially since it was their wedding day.
"No.", he shook his head and kissed her cheek. "Although I am looking forward to working on that with you, I don't want to think about it tonight."
She leaned in to kiss his lips softly.
"You're right.", she replied. "I am looking forward to it too, but tonight, there is something else I am looking forward to much more."
She could see by the way he looked at her, that he was thinking the same thing.
A few hours later they were finally alone in the hotel room they had booked for this occasion, before they would leave on their honeymoon in the morning.
Again, she felt like a princess. But not because of the dress or the tiara, but because of the way, Sheldon kept looking at her.
"My wife.", he kept whispering in her ear, as he carefully removed her dress. "Mine."
"My husband.", she replied as she unbuttoned his shirt. "Mine."
And then, they were out of words for a long time.
Their lovemaking wasn't too different from the times they did it before. But at the same time it was a whole new experience.
Sometimes she wondered, if Sheldon would have preferred waiting until their wedding night. He was, in many ways, a very traditional person after all.
But in that moment, she knew they were both glad for having done this before.
Not just because they both knew what they were doing, how to touch each other, how to give each other pleasure and how to make this the most enjoyable wedding night possible.
But also because they knew, their lovemaking was so much more than just fulfilling their marital duties. It was something that would always be special and meaningful to them.
Regardless of the occasion or what date it was on the calendar.
It was theirs.
Yes, for a long time, Amy would have described this day as the happiest of their lives.
Until a day, not too long ago, that would have even more of an impact on her life.
Leonard
What was the happiest moment of his life?
It was not easy to pick. There were just so many.
But one day he would always love remembering, was the day he got engaged.
A few weeks after Sheldon and Amy had returned from their honeymoon, after they had moved into their own house, they had finally given him and Penny the keys to apartment 4A.
It was good timing too, because just then, Raj had needed a cheaper place to live and they had been able to offer him 4B.
Penny had been finishing her bachelor dissertation and working full time at the movie set where she had just been promoted to Director. No more 'assistant' before that title.
He could not have been more proud of her.
Well, maybe he could, as he saw her in her cap and gown, graduating from college just a while later. Getting the degree she had worked on so hard, without any help from him.
The whole gang had come together for this, celebrating her success. And not only hers but Cole's too, since he was graduating on the same day.
He had not expected that, but Cole had kind of grown on him too. Especially after he saw that he really had nothing to worry about.
That was a few weeks after he had moved back to Pasadena. Cole had - unexpectedly - invited him to go out and have a few beers to 'clear the air'.
He had listened as Leonard voiced his concerns about the closeness between the two ex-lovers and then Leonard had listened as Cole told him his side of the story and how he saw his friendship to Penny.
It had been a serious conversation. But also a respectful one.
In the end, the two men had formed a truce.
Cole proceeded to be part of the group, since everyone of his friends liked him very much after all the time he had spent with them.
And after a few months, he started dating someone new. A nice woman, Sarah, who he started bringing over after the others encouraged him too.
Everyone could see, he had fallen for her deeply. And everyone was happy for him, especially knowing how badly his last serious relationship, back in England, had ended.
So, they all had gone out together after the graduation ceremony.
Penny was much quieter than he had expected. He had thought, after these hard years of studying and having only so little free-time, she would be elated to finally be done with college.
But she seemed distracted. She was hardly participating in any of the discussions.
He seriously started to worry. Was everything alright with her?
But then, after they came home to apartment 4A, he was made aware of what was occupying her thoughts that day.
"Leonard.", she had said in a serious voice, as they sat down on the couch together. "I am so happy that this day has finally come. I have my degree. I have my dream job. But do you know, what makes me the happiest of it all?"
He had raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.
"What is it, Penny?"
"It's you.", she had replied softly. "It's coming home to this apartment and sharing my happiness with you. And now, that we are finally here, I have a question I'd like to ask you."
And then he had heard the question he had longed to hear for such a long time. The one he had asked her in the past probably a few times to often.
Oh, he was not ashamed to admit that he had cried, as the moment was finally there. And she had cried too, especially after he had gotten out the ring he had been saving for this occasion.
After years of dating on and off. After being separated for two years and carefully finding their way back to each other and after balancing out their relationship until they both were able to be happy.
They had made it.
Finally.
Sheldon
What was the happiest moment of his life?
It was not easy to pick. There were just so many.
But one day he would always love remembering, was the day he and Amy decided to start a family.
It had been a long road leading to this moment.
First, they had to get used to living in a big house instead of their beloved apartment.
Not an easy transition at first.
It was almost overwhelming.
So many rooms to organize and regulate.
A big backyard to keep nice and tidy.
But after a while, they had started to enjoy this.
Having enough space so he could play video games with the guys at the same time as she could host girls' night.
Getting the cat, they had been talking about on the day when they almost got a turtle.
Watching her read outside on the porch swing, their cat rolled up in her lap, while he was on the phone with his meemaw, getting advice on how to make her famous brisket.
He knew the recipe by heart of course. But it was his way of telling her, he was honoring her tradition.
Because yes, now that it was summer again and he had a backyard, he wanted to host a true Texan barbecue like his Dad used to do.
It was on that first barbecue at their new place that Leonard and Penny announced their engagement and made him and Amy best man and maid of honor.
And then the wedding. That had been a huge celebration.
Much too big for his liking with all the TV stars and crew from Penny's show attending. There were crazy fans trying to get into the venue and newspeople writing about it.
But then, just a few weeks after that, they got news of an even bigger spectacle they would be a part of soon.
Winning the Nobel Prize had always been his dream. From the day he was a little boy.
But winning it with the love of his life… oh, that could have been the happiest moment of his life all by itself.
Only one thing could make it even happier and that was his lovely wife reaching for his body, the first night after they had returned home from Sweden and saying the words that would change their life again.
"Let's have a baby."
He knew it would take a while.
Amy would first have to stop taking her birth control pills.
And after that, who knew how long it would take until it actually happened.
But oh, he would give his all to this endeavor. And he would enjoy every step of it.
Penny
What was the happiest moment of her life?
It was not easy to pick. There were just so many.
But one day she would always love remembering, was this moment, right now.
" And the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series goes to… Penny Hofstadter."
When Penny was a young girl, all her friends used to dream about their wedding.
And that had been an incredible day for her too of course.
Marrying Leonard, after all the back and forth and the heartbreak until they had finally gotten to this moment. It was definitely one of the happiest moments in her life.
But this, right now?
This was, what she had been dreaming off all her life ever since she was a little girl.
Well, almost. In her dreams it had been the Academy Award for 'Best Lead Actress'.
But this was even better than her dreams.
Because she loved everything about her job. Much, much more than she had loved going to auditions all these years ago.
And she loved that she was so good at this.
She released the grip she had on Leonard's arm and kissed his cheek. He looked at her encouragingly as she got up.
Standing on the stage, she let her eyes wander over the rows of people.
Lots of celebrities. Actors. Directors.
Some of them she called her friends nowadays.
And then of course her real friends.
The people who had supported her and believed in her.
Most importantly the man she loved enough to wear his ring and carry his name.
"Thank you.", she started. "Thank you all so, so much for this big honor. I never thought I would stand on this stage one day and receive this price for the opportunity to work with the best people on the greatest show ever."
She talked a little more about her colleagues and of course about how grateful she was to have gotten to be the director after the original director had landed a different job.
But then, she allowed herself to thank the people who were not directly involved in this show but whose support meant just everything to her.
"At this point, I want to thank my bestie Amy, who always believed in me and had my back. She a Nobel Laureate and the smartest woman I know and I am beyond grateful for the circumstances that brought her into my life. Through her, I learned, that the most unlikely friends are often the best ones."
She smiled, when she saw Amy wiping away a tear from her face.
"Speaking of unlikely friends.", she continued, her eyes shifting to the tall man next to her best friend. "I also want to thank my friend Sheldon, who is really more like my brother at heart. He helped me through my science classes and he really was the best teacher I could have had. He also made me see the truth about some really important matters and never hesitated to tell me the things I needed to hear. Sheldon, you annoyed the living hell out of me when we met, but today I couldn't be more thankful for having you in my life. I know you will be the most wonderful father your child could wish for."
He saw Sheldon wrap one arm around Amy and place the other one on her belly. More tears were falling from Amy's face as she leaned into her husband's touch.
Just the day before, after apparently keeping the secret for almost four months, Sheldon and Amy had announced to be expecting a baby girl.
Penny couldn't be happier for those two. She was already looking forward to being an aunt and spoiling that precious child rotten.
Maybe she would also get the opportunity to practice handling a baby for a while.
Because now that she had achieved this big milestone, maybe it was time for another one. She had seen the longing look on Leonard's face after all, when Sheldon had shown everyone the ultrasound picture.
She then thanked Bernadette too, and Howard and Raj. All of them had an impact on her life one way or another. Just like the next person on her list.
"Next, I want to thank my good friend Cole, who cannot be here tonight, because he is currently in New York where a play he wrote will soon be opening on Broadway. Cole, I forgive you and Sarah for not being here and I will definitely fly in for your premiere. You know how much you helped me and I am so happy to have you as a friend. But now…"
Her eyes shifted again to the person who she had been saving for last.
"To my wonderful husband Leonard. I was thinking for a long time, what I want to say to you. But you know everything already. You know I love you more than I could have ever imagined. You know you are my best friend and my partner. You know how grateful I am for us finding our way back to each other. And you know how happy you make me every day. But what you might not know is that I could never be as happy with this success as I am for being able to share it with you. You are the love of my life and I cannot wait for the next big adventures we will get to experience together. Everything is better when you are in my life. I love you Leonard. Thank you for everything."
With that, she left the stage and sat back down next to Leonard to follow the rest of the ceremony.
Yes. Maybe this was her favorite moment so far.
Or maybe it was the moment that happened a few hours later.
When the whole gang gathered in her apartment on that same couch where they always used to sit together and share stories of their lives.
Seven people, as different as they might be, but still the best family one could have.
And while there were big changes around the corner, she knew, this love they all felt for each other, was the one thing that would never change.
THE END.