*a/n sorry about the difficulty reading this before, hopefully it is fixed now. Enjoy (:

There was a lull in Sheldon's research around the time he figured he could start gaming more often. He just got a new system and practically locked himself in there day in, day out, while Leonard and everyone else went to work. After a while, though he wouldn't acknowledge it quite yet, he was a mess.

Seventy two hours this went on. Nobody saw of Sheldon, or heard from him. Leonard was working both days and nights and whenever he could, was over at Penny's. It soon dawned to Sheldon that nobody, not even his girlfriend, cared enough to check in on him. He kept gaming.

The truth of the matter, Amy had heard of Sheldon's struggling. Despite his belief, she cared about him more than he knew and could see all the negative things surrounding him about himself and life.

She let herself into the apartment slowly that day and looked around. It was empty, quiet. The lights were dim and everything was tidy, except Sheldon's desk.

His work was spewn out, everything he claimed to be not important these days. Amy knew how the brain worked, and it had seemed her boyfriend was in the early stages of developing something she did not want to mention.

Her eyes skimmed over the surface of the desk, the wall, the computer. His clock was wrong, chair missing a wheel. Her eyes caught sight of a lone pad of sticky notes, and they grew wide.

Tip toeing over, she grabbed them gently and just stood there. These could be the key to helping Sheldon, her boyfriend, the man she loved but hadn't told in a while. They didn't need such words being said constantly, or did they?

Amy didn't want to just come out and say it again over a sticky note and put it randomly on the fridge or something. By the time she got her delicate fingers on a pen her mind had been spinning and she scrawled something simple yet beautiful over the first note and ripped it off quietly. The second and third came easy, and before she knew it there were too many to hold

Not even half the pad had been used, but from estimate there had to be at least forty she had written on.

With a near silent sigh and a determined smile she shuffled her way around the room, placing the pieces of paper where he would maybe hopefully find them, if he ever came out of his room.

She would just have to wait and see.

#

The next morning, due to several mugs of his favorite tea the night prior, Sheldon really had to go to the bathroom. He paused his game quickly, stumbling out of his room and rejoicing in the fact that all the lights were off.

He peed in the dark.

Amy felt like a stalker, sitting there in the dark corner watching her boyfriend trudge into the bathroom early that day. She watched as he walked back too, and hadn't even seen the note stuck on the bathroom door.

Pulling out her phone, Amy silently sent Sheldon a text. It was simple, asking how he was and if he was okay. He replied back almost instantly, short and concise, and Amy sat there dumbfounded.

She walked out, then and there, but only into the hallway. Once outside she took a minute to recompose herself and knocked on the door, and on the other side she heard reluctant steps and then the door was open.

Sheldon stood in front of her, looking almost like a ghost. He didn't move, didn't talk, but the slight upward curve of his lips when he saw her face gave Amy hope. She smiled softly back at him, observing his stubbly face and tired eyes before saying anything

"Good morning, Sheldon." her voice was practically a whisper, and he nodded, inviting her in. Almost automatically she walked into the kitchen swiftly and pulled out two mugs and began making tea

"What brings you here?" he asked suddenly, almost too quiet for Amy to catch. His eyes seemed distracted and his posture showed negative signs, and with her back to him Amy took a breath. She had to think for a minute.

"I needed mouth wash." she suddenly blurted out. She turned quickly to him, and he looked confused. "Little lady what on earth do you need mouth wash for? What have you been doing?"

Amy gasped in her head and almost face palmed. She didn't want Sheldon getting the wrong impression but shook her head vehemently. "Just go get it."He sighed reluctantly and began his journey but Amy stopped him with a light touch to his arm. "And please," she began. "turn on the lights."

He complied wordlessly and Amy couldn't watch as he stopped in front of the bathroom door, where he had finally come across the first note.

I like your smile.

Sheldon threw his head back after thinking a moment, though what had gone through his head, she wasn't sure. "Amy," he called. "did you do this?" She was silent and Sheldon shook his head. "This is so cheesy."

Biting her lip, Amy suppressed a smile. "It was supposed to be cheesy," she admitted quietly. She refrained from telling him there were more notes.

Nodding without a word he disappeared into the bathroom. Next he came out he held not only the mouthwash in his hands but also the second and third note.

I like your laugh one read, the other, I like how well you listen. Amy wasn't surprised he hadn't commented on either of these.

Surprisingly, he hadn't questioned her motives, accused her of trying to get sex from him, and she actually got him to spend some time with her outside of his room and in his apartment, where he found notes scattered around throughout the day.

By lunch time he had them all.

I like your random trivia facts

I like your calm nature

I like how much I know about you

I like the t shirts you wear

Of course, there were others, stuff about random things about himself, but Sheldon feared if he read anymore he wouldn't be able to stop smiling. He sat on the couch now, Amy at his side, and they were reading together in a comfortable silence.

Sheldon couldn't concentrate, however. It was around lunch time, when he decided to call it quits, but he did not go back inside his room. He stood up and pulled out his phone.

"Pizza okay?" he asked, and Amy looked up at him in the most adorable way she possibly could of. She nodded, and Sheldon nodded, and she grinned, and Sheldon grinned. They starred into each others eyes for quite a while, and then Amy started giggling.

"The pizza?"

"Oh, right." He blushed.

While Sheldon was on the phone he felt Amy's eyes on his back. When he finished and turned around, he caught her gaze and shook his head with a smile toying at his lips.

"Amy Farrah Fowler." he whispered quietly. "What do I have to do to get a hug around here?"

He had been thinking that, not intending to say it, and she looked up at him in astonishment and awe. He felt hot, under her gaze, but hadn't backed down, backed away or even attempted to retract his words. She wrapped her arms around him wordlessly upon standing, and Sheldon held her close, kissing her head lightly.

Her warmth immediately made him feel safe and more comfortable, her smell made him melt and her touch made his knees go weak and heart speed up. After a moment, he said "thank you," very, very softly, and Amy squeezed him closer.

"I hate seeing you upset." she told him with a little sigh.

Maybe she was right, maybe now was the time to get his life back together. Lull's occur naturally, but it takes effort to keep going, and he knew that. Amy just helped him remember when his eidetic memory had failed.