A/N: The third installment in this 4-day tale. I thank you all again for your wonderful reviews, and I hope you're all excited for part 4 tomorrow!

- YlvaB


It had been a rough couple of days for the petite neurobiologist. The morning after hers and Sheldon's last date night she woke up feeling physically ill, and had to call in sick to work. She had told Penny what had happened over the phone, asking her in between sobs not to interrogate Sheldon should she meet him. She couldn't know for sure but she hoped her blonde best friend had respected her request.

Eating was difficult. Sleeping was difficult. Over and over she played back the events of last Thursday in her head, wondering if maybe she had been a little too quick to cut Sheldon out of her life. The decision to terminate the relationship was something she had thought of all summer while he had been gone. His departure had scared her, and forced her to re-evaluate what she wanted out of the relationship. His return had caused her even more stress, as she was now terrified that he would run away again should she dare discuss any eventual progress in their relationship. She had come to the conclusion that he might just not want the same things she wanted. Possibly not ever.

But now, three days later, after having showered and changed into her pajamas and tucked herself in on the couch to watch TV and hopefully fall asleep… She had begun rethinking her decision.

Amy burrowed her face into the pillow, pulling the afghan up to the chin. Penny had asked her several times if she and Bernadette should come over with wine and chocolate but she had turned them down, afraid she would break down should she voice her fears out loud. Had she thrown away her one chance at happiness? Was Sheldon glad to finally be back on his own without a girlfriend who constantly put pressure on him to change? Was he sad? Had she made the wrong decision?

"Oooh" Amy whimpered, once again sobbing into the pillow, feeling hot salty tears running down her cheeks. That thick-headed, compulsive, pompous, childish dork. Him and his blue eyes and stupid habits. Like that ridiculous knocking thing he did…. One, two, three, "name", one, two three-

Knock, knock, knock "Amy!"

Knock, knock, knock "Amy!"

Knock, knock, knock "Amy!" a familiar voice called out, jerking her out of her internal bashing of the very person she knew was standing outside her door. She shot up from the couch, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand as she made her way to the front door. What on Earth…? What were the odds of that happening just as she was thinking about that particular compulsion of his?

Amy lingered for a while in the hallway, contemplating whether to tell him through the door to go home and sleep, it was way past his bedtime anyway and she didn't have anything to say to him. Plus she was a mess and she didn't want him to see her all puffy-eyed and pajama-clad, with her still damp hair tied back in a bun. She didn't want him to think that she was going crazy over this break-up. But it had been several days since she'd talked to him and she missed him.

Before she could stop herself Amy had opened the door, finding herself standing face to face with Sheldon Cooper. She gasped at the sight of him, realizing his worn appearance mimicked that of her own, and for a split second she felt a stab in her heart at the thought of her being the cause of his pain. But then she remembered he had been the one to drive her to make this decision in the first place, and just like that she found herself feeling just as angry as she had on date night when he had merely shrugged at her and left her to her tears.

"What are you doing here?" Amy growled, not about to ask him to come in.

Sheldon didn't reply. He looked down at his feet, asking himself the same question. He hadn't even grabbed his bag or his windbreaker: he had just showered, dressed, and got on the bus, not knowing what he was going to say once he arrived at her doorstep. But the sight of her looking at him like that, the sudden flash of memories from this Thursday, the anger he had felt over her interrupting him instead of letting him explain how he felt about this entire deal… It all came up to the surface now, bursting out of him before he had the chance to stop it.

"You" he hissed, pushing himself past her and into the hallway, "You are the most stubborn, irritating woman I have ever met!"

Amy stared at him, closing the door before turning to the lanky man who was pacing back and forth, working up steam. "I…" she began, but much as she had interrupted him this Thursday, he cut her off, determined to give her a piece of his mind.

"You just…just… decide what I want without asking me! You always do! You tell me to touch you and meet your relatives and go to dinner with your mother and force me to celebrate Christmas even though I hate it, and then you tell me it's not enough and you throw me out?" Sheldon spat out, still pacing back and forth as he began breathing heavily, not taking notice of Amy whose mouth was hanging open as he kept yelling at her. He had never raised his voice at her, not ever.

"Sheldon, the neighbors…" she pleaded with him, but he wouldn't have any of it.

"I didn't have any say in it! Not a written notification, not even a chance to argue for my case, nothing! You have agreed to this! You signed a contract! I thought you felt the same" Sheldon continued, clutching his hand over his heart as he began hyperventilating. "Paper bag" he gasped and Amy, who had been frozen in her spot watching his uncharacteristic outburst much as she would a traffic accident, somehow got her feet working and moving towards the kitchen. "I got it, I got it" she assured him, hearing his wheezy breaths behind her as she rummaged through the drawers trying to find a paper bag.

"Here, long steady breaths" she instructed him as she handed it over, unconsciously stroking his arms as she helped him through the panic attack.

"I'm sorry" Sheldon let out, his voice muffled as he breathed through the bag.

"I'm sorry too" Amy husked, wrapping her arms around his hips and leaning into his chest as he slowly let down the paper bag, looking down at her dark hair and small frame. He dropped it on the floor as he too let his arms find their way around her body, pulling her close to him.

"I'm still angry with you" he mumbled into her hair, pulling in the scent of her shampoo.

"I'm still angry with you" Amy retorted, pulling away slightly to look up at him. They were still embracing one another, both their eyes shooting daggers as tension rose in the air once more. The room was dark, sans the TV that was on in the background.

"You left me all alone, all summer" Amy continued, feeling the hurt build up in her chest again, "and you've acted as if nothing happened."

"You keep pushing me even though I always do what you want" Sheldon shot back, digging his fingers into her hips.

"What are you talking about, you don't even want to discuss what I want!" Amy protested, raising her voice this time.

"You have never bothered to ask what I want" Sheldon countered desperately, feeling his breathing grow ragged once more, his heart pounding and his blood pressure rising.

"Well what do you want then!?" Amy rumbled, a pang of excitement hitting her in the midst of what was turning out to be their third fight in as many days.

"I want… I want…" Sheldon panted, finding himself on the verge of another panic attack as he realized they were still embracing, and his pelvis pressed into hers, and dear lord that blood pressure of his. No. No, no, no, no, no, not now, not in this moment, why did this happen now? He had to break away from her before she felt it, he wouldn't survive the humiliation…

Amy let out a soft gasp and he closed his eyes, not believing his body had failed him right in this moment.

"It happens sometimes if…if I'm nervous or angry…or scared" Sheldon mumbled apologetically, licking his bottom lip as he hoped she wouldn't laugh at him or scold him.

"Don't be scared" she mumbled back, her chest heaving as she reveled in the feeling of him pressing into her belly, "it happens to me too. You just have to get closer to feel it."

Once again it seemed as if time had come to a halt. The blue light from the TV in the background was eerily alien, frightening and comforting at the same time, Amy's eyes were dark and glazed over, and Sheldon was still holding on to her hips as if he were afraid he'd be swept away should he let go. Then suddenly they were kissing and he wasn't afraid anymore, but he was still angry, and she was still hurt, but maybe there was a way for them to numb that pain. There was no need to talk, no need to apologize, no need to discuss what lay beneath.

Her tongue was probing, tasting, and he responded, trying not to recoil at the unfamiliar sensation. They stumbled into what had to be her bedroom, desperately holding on to one another, silently agreeing not to say a word or the spell would be broken, and Sheldon's arms found strength from somewhere deep within and just like that he had lifted her up and thrown his companion down on the bed, climbing on top of her to seek out her lips once more, ignoring that voice at the back of his head that cried out to him that this fight had gotten out of hand.

They could still hear the muffled mumbling from the TV in the background but that was in the real world and this was a fantasy, this was a place where one mended ones wounds, where one didn't speak, and there was nothing but pleasure and desperation.

She clung to him, fumbled with her pajama bottoms as he clumsily tried to un-zip his khaki pants, their heavy breathing strangely awkward and real, but it had to be ignored, pushed down, forgotten, or else there was only chaos.

"I want you inside me" Amy moaned as he positioned himself between her legs, and Sheldon gasped as time suddenly began running again. "Oh God" he whimpered as his bubble burst, rolling off of her and covering his face with his hands, the sound of Amy's heavy breathing piercing his ears like white-hot knives.

Amy was still lying on her back panting next to him, his tortured groans sending her straight back to reality. She gingerly got up on her elbows, looking down to see her pajama bottoms pulled halfway down her thighs, and she shuddered with embarrassment as she pulled them back up. Sheldon was still hiding his face in the palms of his hands, refusing to look at her.

She groaned internally, not quite believing this had just happened. Why on Earth had she said that? Why did she have to speak? She should have let him have his way with her, they should have just done it and have it be over with, but she just had to talk. And such a stupid, cliché thing to say too.

She swallowed deeply, trying to gather her composure. Who was she trying to fool? This was not how it was supposed to happen, nothing about this was right. Deep inside she knew that had they gone through with the act, the damage would have been irreparable.

"Sheldon" she tried, forcing herself to deal with this, "Sheldon, please talk to me. Please don't hide from me."

"I can't" the lanky man let out from underneath his hands, shaking his head and making strange whimpering noises.

"Why?" Amy asked softly, turning to lie on her side, propping herself up on one elbow. She wanted to reach out and touch him but she feared she would scare him off.

"Because I'm crying and I don't want you to see me like this" Sheldon sobbed, his voice thin and fragile like a child's, and for what seemed like the millionth time that weekend Amy's heart broke in half.

"I've seen you cry lots of times Sheldon" she gently reminded him. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm embarrassed."

She sighed heavily, unable to deny that she too felt like she'd rather have the ground swallow her up than discuss what had just taken place, but she couldn't have Sheldon lying on her bed whimpering like a wounded animal for the rest of eternity.

"Hey" she whispered, closing her hand over his, softly pulling them down to reveal his tear-stained features. His blue eyes were red and swollen, tiny droplets dangling from his long black eyelashes. "There you are" she mumbled, smiling ever so slightly as she ran her index finger over his cheekbone to wipe away his tears.

"Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?" Sheldon sniffled, arching his eyebrows in confusion.

"Not here with me" Amy replied so quietly he could barely make out the words. She turned to lie on her back, suddenly remembering how they had ended up here in the first place. The problem wouldn't just go away on its own. She sighed once again, feeling washed out and worn, but he was here now and fact remained that she had broken up with him.

"Look, Sheldon…" she began, trying to figure out the best way to explain this to him so he would understand, "I know I didn't really… listen to what you had to say or discuss this with you, and I'm really sorry. I am. I was wrong to interrupt you earlier and you have every right to be angry. But I meant what I said this Thursday and I'm not going to take it back" she continued, turning to look at the dark-haired man beside her. He didn't return her gaze and she wondered if he had chosen to ignore her or just zoned out. Just as she was about to ask him if he'd heard her he turned to her, his eyes still shiny from crying.

"You're afraid I'm never going to give you what you want" he said, more like a statement than a question.

"I'm afraid that if you do give it to me it's not going to be what you want" Amy whispered, finally voicing that fear she'd kept inside her for so long.

He kept staring at her, darting out his tongue to lick his bottom lip, as he always did when he was nervous or struggling to express his feelings.

"I do love you Amy but I would never agree to anything I don't want. I admit I have deviated from my principles for your sake before in terms of where to consume dinner or the amount of time I can tolerate listening to your weekly recounts of what Angelina the Office Skank is wearing to work, but I assure you: should I ever 'give it' to you, it would be of my own volition" Sheldon answered truthfully, his voice low but steady.

"You've never told me you love me before" Amy exhaled, feeling her heart swell.

"I kiss you even when you haven't brushed your teeth. I thought it was obvious?" Sheldon replied, looking down at the petite brunette who had crawled up against him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Nothing is ever obvious with you Sheldon Cooper" Amy yawned, her eye-lids beginning to feel heavy.

"I suppose you're right Amy Farrah Fowler. I am quite exceptional" Sheldon nodded, feeling himself drift off.

There were still many things left to say but it had been a long day and it was getting late. Amy mumbled something unintelligible, and Sheldon had already begun making tiny sniffing noises, his head lolling to the side as he gave in to exhaustion.

Worn out from this emotional roller-coaster ride they fell asleep, too tired to notice the TV was still on and that Sheldon's cell phone had slid out of his pocket, vibrating as it received message after message.


A/N2: Ducklings, do you like this story or is it just 'meh'? I rarely fish for reviews, y'all know that, but I need encouragement now, come on! Should I post chapter 4? Do you like this? What do you think of it? Come on, let mother Goose know!