Summary: Single, Dating, Engaged, Married. The four stages of a relationship. Re-write of the story 'Everything Happens for a Reason'.
Word Count:1553
Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters. I also don't own the theory, it's just a title I found interesting to put here. Only own my OC, Amanda.

He was the only one from his group without someone. Two of his oldest friends, Leonard and Howard, were married and they were either thinking of having kids or already had them.

Sheldon was engaged, and it would probably not take long until he wanted to have kids himself.

And where was he? Right! He was single, living on someone else's house and going nowhere with his career. Everyone knew he was feeling like that and they tried to help. He stills remembers the awkward night he had when Penny, Bernadette, and Amy decided to put him on a dating app and starting choosing a girl for him like they had done with Amy when she and Sheldon were broken up,

He knew that it had been hard for Howard and Leonard to find a Bernadette and Penny, respectively. But at least they had found them. And he still remembers the cats that Sheldon bought when he and Amy broke up the first time, how hard it was for him to accept he wouldn't have her again.

He decided to pretend that he didn't want to find a girl, decided to pretend like he didn't care that he was going to be alone for the rest of his life and when he retired he would spend his days alone in his tiny apartment – because why would you need a big house if you're there by yourself – while his friends would be with his wives travelling or just chilling in their house around their children and grandchildren.

But he didn't want that. He wanted what they had, someone to get home to, someone holding him as they slept, someone to ask him how his day had been when he clearly didn't have a good one. He just wanted what everyone else had. Love.

They were all having dinner at apartment 4A, with Halley sleeping at Leonard and Penny's bedroom. They were all talking about small things, like what happened at work or someone they saw at the mall. Small talk, basically.

Someone mentions Raj's dating life, making him remember he hadn't got out with no one since Emily. He shrugs it off, saying he just isn't in the mood to date. They all pretend to believe, and Penny looks at Leonard. They had talked the night before, Penny asking, but pretty much pleading for Leonard to force Raj into finding a girl. She was tired of girl's night being about Raj's lack of love life.

Once they were done with dinner, everyone starts cleaning up and Leonard takes the opportunity to take Raj out to have a conversation.

"Can we talk, Raj?" Leonard asks.

"Sure" Raj answers, getting up. Raj expects Leonard to stop at the hall to talk. But they don't stop in the hall. They climb the stairs and go to the roof. He doesn't like going there. It reminds him of the prom. Reminds him of Emily. Reminds him that he's alone. Alone in a world full of people. Ironic isn't it?

"What do you need? And why are we here?"

"We need to talk"

"About what? And do we really need to be here?"

"Yes. I come here every time something bad happens. Or after a long day. Whenever I just want to hide from the world. Well, now whenever I come here it's usually when Penny's not around."

"Why?"

"Because she's the person I go to whenever I need to come up here." Leonard admitted.

"Really?"

"Yes. Look I know you're scared of being alone forever. But you're not going to."

"Oh, yeah? How do you know what is like to be like this?"

"I know how it is Raj because I went through the same thing. Before Penny came to my life I just thought I was going to live with Sheldon forever. I would be this short, nerdy and single guy. And right now? I live with the most amazing person I ever met and yes I'm still short and a nerd but I'm not single. I'm not alone."

"How is this supposed to help me?"

"You need to go out there to the real world and try. If you just sit around waiting for the right person to show up, then yes, you'll probably die alone. But you need and try. Try to find someone or something to make you happy. It doesn't need to be someone. Just try okay?"

"I'll try. But I won't promise anything"

That promise wasn't broken. It took him a lot of coffees and text messages, but he finally met a girl. Amanda. With curly, light hair, that contrasted with her mestiza skin, and bright, brown eyes, Amanda wasn't just any girl. It was a girl everyone instantly liked, she was loveable. Even Sheldon liked her, making Amy a little jealous, it made the three girls jealous, but after one girl's night, they realized, there was nothing to worry about.

She was the kind of girl that everyone could talk to, made no one feel weird about their problems, accepted everyone's differences and even tagged along to comic book nights. It was kind of Raj's dream girl.

She understood him.

That was why, after only three months into their relationship, that Raj decides to propose. It was a warm autumn evening, and they went on a date. Walking around town, with their hands interlaced, they did look in love. They had said it, at the same time, how they felt about each other. That immediately caused their lips to act like magnets with different poles. And that was what Raj expected to happen that night.

They sat down on a park bench, under the stars. They were quiet, just hearing the nature around them and the people living their lives. They could hear the giggles of children, the laughter of the adults around them, they could see the couples looking at each other lovingly. It was instantaneous that happiness in the air. Once Raj was happy, it seemed the rest of the world was too. Maybe there was a way to make it even happier?

"Mindy?" He calls for her, by her nickname.

She looks up to him, those brown eyes staring at her, making her smile. "Yes?" She asks, putting her hand on his caramel-like skin, soft under her hand.

"I love you." He says, getting up.

She instantly becomes a little worried he was going to break up with her, but then notices he's a little worried. She gasps.

"Raj..." She says, her smile growing bigger by the second.

"I have loved you since I met you and I will love you for the rest of my life if you let me. I know this is sudden but I don't want to waste another second of my life. Amanda Vieyra, would you marry me?" He asked, looking expectantly at her.

She smiled at him, losing all the words that her brain had retained since the beginning of her life. She could just nod, and hug him still in time to feel him letting out a breath that tickled her neck.

After months of preparation, the big day arrived. Amanda had done basically nothing, only tasted the cake samples, chose her dress with the help of the girls, and stayed out of Raj's way.

The only thing she didn't want, was a big, gigantic wedding. The one she knew Raj would want. Just remember. Less is more. She had told him, repeatedly.

And he actually followed her word. The interior wasn't heavily decorated, was simple just like she wanted to. Even though they were both from India and supposedly Hindu, they didn't want a traditional wedding. Her dress was just like the ones the others girls wore on their wedding day, and the only thing Hindu was the priest. They got married in a Hindu temple, as per the request of their parents, but other than that, nada was traditional. Even the vows were theirs.

Amanda, just like Raj, didn't remember walking to the aisle or saying 'I do'. They remember the vows and the kiss. Their first kiss as a married couple.

The vows were very Raj-like. Amanda's vows were different from what everyone expected but somehow like everyone expected.

Now, before everyone gets drunk. Dr. Rajesh and Amanda Koothrapali will have their first dance. Howard announced, returning then to his seat next to his wife and kids. One-year-old Halley was the flower girl and a-few-months-old Michael – that was conceived in-between the engagement and the entire year of preparation for the wedding – had the job of being quiet during the ceremony.

As Raj and Amanda dance their first song as married people, Penny is lying on her husband's shoulder, looking at the couple. The little bump goes unnoticed since the dress was a bulky dress that didn't show her growing abdomen. Looking at the lovely couple holding each other during their first dance, Penny feels like she was the reason – along with her hubby, of course – for those two to be together.

That is why when Raj gets near the expecting-couple and says thank you, they just smile. They just pushed a little bit, but it was a big push!

The End

I know I've been publishing a few one-shots and not updating my other stories, but I'm having writer's block. :/ Anyway, this is, hopefully, better than it's original. I thought that the story needed improvement, and this is it. Hope you all liked it.