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DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Big Bang Theory.

It had been a couple of nights since Sheldon arrived home. Sheldon was in his room. Leonard was sitting at his desk playing a game on his computer. The phone rang.

Leonard got up from his desk and walked over to the ringing phone. He picked it up and answered it. "Hello." He paused, waiting for the person on the other end to speak.

"Hello, Leonard." Mary Cooper greeted.

Leonard noticed that her voice sounded shaky, like she'd been crying or was getting ready to cry. Or both. "Hi, Mrs. Cooper. Is everything okay." Leonard was concerned.

Mary didn't answer the question. "Can you put Sheldon on?"

"Yeah, hod on." Leonard didn't want to push it. If she didn't want to talk, then she didn't want to talk. He took the phone from his ear and covered the mic with his hand. "Sheldon, phone!"

Sheldon came out of his room. "Who is it?"

"It's your mom." Leonard held the phone out to his roommate. Leonard didn't bother telling Sheldon that Mary sounded upset; he'd find out soon enough.

Sheldon smiled. "Oh good." He took the phone from Leonard.

Leonard walked to the kitchen to give Sheldon a little privacy. But he still wanted to hear what was going on. He stood at the counter and waited.

Sheldon didn't notice Leonard as he held the phone up to his ear. "Hello, Mother. What a pleasant surprise."

Mary didn't greet her son. "Shelly, are you sitting down?"

Sheldon was oblivious to her tone or the reason for her asking. "That's not what one typically says upon starting a phone conversation. One typically starts the conversation by saying 'hello'. Did you know that the use of 'hello' as a telephone greeting has been credited to Thomas Edison?"

"Are you sitting down?" Mary repeated. She loved Sheldon, but couldn't understand why he had to be so difficult sometimes.

"Well, that's an odd question. Why would it matter if I'm sitting or standing. Or even laying, for that matter."

Mary sighed. "Shelly, just sit down. Please."

"Alright." Sheldon sat down in his spot on the couch. "Though I still don't see why it matters."

Mary ignored his comment. "Shelly, Baby. I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Sheldon sat up straight, now concerned. "What is it?"

Mary took a deep breath. "Shelly, Meemaw passed away today."

Sheldon quickly stood up, shocked. "What? No!"

"She had a heart attack."

"But I just saw Meemaw a couple of days ago. She was fine!"

"I am so sorry, Baby." Mary couldn't hold it in any longer. She began to cry.

Leonard watched from the kitchen. He couldn't hear Mrs. Cooper, but he could tell something had happen. Sheldon became even paler than usual. And Leonard had never seen that particular look on Sheldon's face.

"But...but..." For once, Sheldon was at a loss for words.

Mary blew her nose into the phone.

"The visitation's the day after tomorrow and the funeral's the next day."

"This can't be true. Is this a prank, Mom?"

"Shelly, why would I joke about this?"

Sheldon sat back down.

"Just be here in time for the viewing and funeral. If you can come tomorrow, come tomorrow."

"Alright."

"Bye. I love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." Sheldon hung up the phone and laid it on the side table. Sheldon was just staring straight ahead, at nothing in particular. He didn't even notice his hand trembling.

Leonard walked over and sat down on the armchair. He looked at Sheldon, waiting for an explanation.

Sheldon didn't notice him. It was like he was in some sort of trance.

"Hey, Buddy." Leonard said it a gentle voice.

Sheldon jumped, clearly surprised that Leonard was sitting beside him. He looked at Leonard.

"So, what's going on."

"Meemaw died." Sheldon replied, no emotion in his voice.

Leonard sighed. "Oh, Sheldon. I am so sorry."

Sheldon seemed to take offense to this "Why are you sorry? Did you somehow cause Meemaw's heart attack? Did you go to Texas when I wasn't looking and murder her?"

"Sheldon, that's not what I meant..."

"Why do people even say 'I'm sorry' when someone dies? It would be more appropriate to say 'it's a part of life', which it is. From the day we escape our mother's womb, we begin slowly dying until all of our biological functions permanently stops."

Leonard din't know what to say. He just watched his roommate, clearly concerned.

Sheldon stood up. "I'm going to my room." He went to his room and shut the door, locking it behind him.

By the next evening, Leonard was really starting to worry about Sheldon. He hadn't been out of his room since the previous evening. He hadn't eaten, drank, or showered since yesterday. God only knew how he was using the bathroom. Leonard had tried to talk to Sheldon multiple times, with no success; Sheldon would either yell at Leonard through his door to tell him to go away or simply ignore him. When he yelled, he sounded like he was crying.

Leonard was sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what to do.

Raj burst through the front door, carrying a plastic bag and startling Leonard. "Okay, I brought food."

Leonard stood up. "Hi, Raj.

Raj sat the bag down on the coffee/dining table and looked around. "So where's Sheldon?"

"In his room. I don't know if he's going to join us."

Raj looked at Leonard. "Why not?"

"Because his grandmother passed away yesterday and he's really upset. He's been locked in his room since he found out."

Just then Penny, Amy, and Bernadette burst through the door. Leonard told them what he had just told Raj.

"Maybe I should go talk to him. After all, I am his girlfriend," Amy said.

"You can try, but I doubt he'll talk."

"We'll see about that." Amy walked back to Sheldon's room. She knocked on the door. "Sheldon. It's me, Amy Farrah Fowler."

No reply.

Amy tried opening the door. It was locked. She knocked on the door again. "Sheldon, open up."

No reply.

"You know, when I'm feeling sad it helps if I have human intimacy."

"Go away!"

"Just let me in so we can talk. If you want, you can cry on my shoulder."

Sheldon sniffled in response.

Seeing that she was getting nowhere, Amy went back to the living room. "You were right, Leonard." She sat down and the friends began eating.

"Yeah well, he has to come out tomorrow to leave for Texas."

The next morning, Leonard approached Sheldon's room. He knocked on the door. "Sheldon? It's time for you to start getting ready."

No response.

Leonard sighed. He knew what he had to do. He picked the lock until the door unlocked. He opened the door. "Sheldon?"

Sheldon was sitting on the floor, facing away from the door. He was leaning against the side of his bed. He didn't seem to notice Leonard entering his room.

Leonard slowly approached Sheldon. He looked down at his roommate. "Hey, Shelly."

Sheldon didn't even acknowledge him.

Leonard sat down on the floor beside Sheldon. "Whatcha doin'?"

Sheldon didn't look at Leonard. "Just playing with this train set that Meemaw got me last week." His voice was emotionless as he spoke.

"Sounds like fun." The two roommates sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Leonard finally broke the silence. "So, listen. You have to go to Texas today."

For the first time in days, Sheldon looked at Leonard. His eyes were red and puffy. His hair was tangled and looked dirty. His nose was red and covered in dried snot. His complexion was paler than usual. And he stunk.

"I just thought that you might want to take a shower and change into some clothes. Maybe eat something."

"What's the point? I'm just going to die someday, just like every other living being on this earth."

Leonard sighed. "Come on, Sheldon. You're not going to die, at least not anytime soon."

"How do you know? Meemaw wasn't supposed to die, either." With that, Sheldon began to cry.

Leonard had never seen Sheldon this depressed before, and he wasn't quite sure what to do.

"She wasn't supposed to die, Leonard. She...she was healthy."

"Sometimes these things just happen."

Sheldon was crying so hard, he was shaking.

Leonard did the only thing he knew to do: he reached out to his best friend.

Usually Sheldon hated to be touched. But now it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

Leonard wrapped his arms around Sheldon and hugged Sheldon to him.

Sheldon buried his face into Leonard chest. "I...I can't go." He sobbed, his voice now muffled.

"You have to, Shelly."

"I don't want to see her in a coffin with embalming chemicals pumped into her."

"Sheldon..."

"Okay." Sheldon said resigningly. Sheldon slowly got up off the floor and head toward the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Sheldon stripped off his pajamas, the same ones he had been wearing for the past couple of nights. Sheldon turned on the shower and stepped inside. For the longest time, he just stood there, letting the water wash over his body. Sheldon went through the motions of getting ready and packing. He was completely numb; he had no more tears left to cry.

Sheldon was sitting in his spot, ready to go, when he heard a knock at the door. Sheldon didn't want to see anyone. "Leonard!"

"What!?" Leonard yelled from the bathroom.

"There's someone at the door!"

"Well, I'm in the bathroom! Answer it!"

Sheldon let out a sigh. He got up and made his way toward the door. He opened the door.

"Hello, Sheldon." Amy Farrah Fowler greeted.

"Hi, Amy Farrah Fowler." Sheldon greeted back unenthusiastically.

"May I come in?"

"I suppose." Sheldon stepped aside to let Amy enter the apartment. He closed the door behind her

Amy looked at Sheldon. "You look terrible, like you've been shedding tears from the lacrimal apparatus."

Sheldon ignored Amy and sat back down in his spot.

Amy sat down beside him. They sat silently on the couch. Amy noticed Sheldon's hand resting against his thigh. She took it in her own.

Sheldon pulled his hand away. He didn't even look at Amy. "I've already been touched enough today, and I'm sure I'll be touched an excessive number of times tonight and tomorrow."

Amy put her hands in her lap. "Fair enough." An awkward silence hung in the air. Finally, Amy broke it. "Did Leonard tell you that I'm coming with you to Texas?"

Sheldon looked at Amy with a surprised look on his face. "No. Why?"

"I'm your girlfriend and I want to be there for you during this troubling time."

"But that's not's not in the Relationship Agreement. Besides, you didn't give me a 72 hour notice."

"Sheldon, some things are more important than following the terms of the Relationship Agreement. Okay, we ready to go?"

Sheldon didn't respond. He just stood up, grabbed his suitcase, and followed Amy.