Sheldon has already finished his pancake when Leonard came out of his room, still yawning and stretching from his sleep.

"Hey," Leonard says, "I had a dream last night. An alien entered my room and put something over my eyes, something bright, and then it disappeared. Odd, right?"

"How would I know what's odd for an alien to do?" he replies.

Leonard rolls his eyes, "Never mind. Anyway, you were quiet last night, you slept well?"

"Hmmm, better," Sheldon replies.

"Good for you."

"It's killing you to know what I did, right?" Sheldon says.

"No, I'm good," his roommate answers, wishing desperately that he be spared from some very early morning narrations of whatever craziness Sheldon did to sleep.

"Excellent 'cause I have no plans of telling you."

Leonard sighs, he needs to end the conversation now or he'll be trapped. "Great. Whatever floats your boat, Sheldon."

"Float my boat? I assure you, Leonard, a boat has nothing to do with it. Also, I don't have a boat."

"It's just an expression," he sighs. "Kind of like whatever helps you sleep at night."

Sheldon grins, amused by the aptness of his last statement, "oh, it does help me sleep."

"Oh-kay," Leonard says, eager to end the conversation. "I got to go prepare for work," he says finally and runs off to the bathroom.

The day goes by quickly and, as Sheldon expected, more difficult than the ones before. He thinks of a lot of things at any given time but, in their time apart, all his thoughts lead inevitably and uncontrollably to Amy. He knows he can no longer stand this separation so he makes a promise to himself that if she doesn't come around after two days, whether she's ready or not, he is taking action.

Amy , meanwhile, is not doing any better. That day, in fact, she surrenders, too—just a little bit by peeping in his office while he is in deep thought. What I wouldn't do to have my fixed space in that brain of yours, she imagines herself telling him. She observes the tired look in his eyes, the slouch in his posture, and the sluggishness in his movements. The break is affecting him, too but she just has no idea how much.

She resolves to talk to him after two days, what she's going to tell him she's still not sure. They love each other, that much she's sure of, but she also knows that one of them loves the other more and it will not be fair to force the other to feel the same. She wants to feel loved the way she loves him and right now she's uncertain if he's capable.

Nevertheless, Amy is willing to give Sheldon a chance. She wants to know if he can love her maybe just a little more and if he can express it just a little better. She smiles, realizing that she is willing to settle for "just a little" but what can she do? She loves him so and not giving him a chance means also giving up her chance at happiness.

What Sheldon needs to do, he needs to figure out on his own though. She won't tell him what to do; she doesn't want to force it on him. How she's going to do make him come to that realization on his own is yet another thing she has to figure out.

She gets pulled out of her reverie by a text from Penny. "You up for girl's night?" the message says. Yes, that might help and her bestie could use some company, too, she muses as she sends an affirmative reply to Penny's request.

The hallway in Amy's apartment is silent that night, making Sheldon anxious. He is lying outside her door in his sleeping bag, thinking what could've gone wrong. Why is she not playing her harp? Perhaps she is no longer sad, which is a good thing, but it could also mean that she has moved on from him, the thought filling Sheldon's heart with more grief.

Or maybe it's because it's still early. Yes, that could be it, he convinces himself, she'll play later. Pushing all the worries at the back of his head, he closes his eyes and calms himself with the thought that Amy is only a few feet away from him. Soon, exhaustion catches up with him and he falls asleep.

But, Amy is nowhere near him at that moment. She is out discussing relationship troubles with Penny and Bernadette while trying to have fun. By the time Amy realizes how late it is, her vision is already blurry, her head spinning, and her movements unstable. She knows that consuming that much alcohol is not a good idea but she is trying to keep up with Penny and frankly she needs it, too.

They decide to leave the bar over an hour later and, since Penny is way more intoxicated than she is, she turned down Bernadette's offer to walk her to her door. In hindsight, she realizes as she reaches her floor, that she should have accepted the offer because she is swaying left and right as she walks.

Walking proves to be too difficult after a while. Upon reaching the corridor leading to her unit, she gives up walking entirely. She drops on all fours and starts crawling her way to the door.

Left, right, left, right, she chants in her head. She continues crawling with her eyes half-open until her hand bumps against something. She opens her eyes fully and with difficulty. It isn't something, she realizes; she bumped against man's foot inside a sleeping bag. She lets her eyes slowly scan the man's sleeping form although she actually already knows who it is. She will recognize that form, that scent anywhere, even if she's under the influence.

It's Sheldon, lying on his side in a characteristically stiff position. He appears to be in deep sleep.

A naughty smile registers on her face. "Hey, handsome," she says as she drags herself to be face-to-face with him. She lies down beside him, her face only inches away from his. She raises her hand and gingerly traces the outline of his face, reveling at the opportunity to be close to him again.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, her alcohol-addled brain refusing to make sense of the situation. He doesn't respond, his mind still peacefully in dreamland.

"Guarding my apartment, I see?" she giggles. "You make a very lousy guard. Why are you sleeping on-the-job?" she continues, tapping the tip of his nose with her index finger.

Still no response. He is really in deep sleep.

"Does prince charming need a kiss to wake up?" she muses, the alcohol making her bolder and more flirty than usual. She slides closer and closer until their noses are touching. She tilts her head slightly, and proceeds to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Hmmmm," she hums contentedly. She pulls back slightly and, with their lips still touching, whispers:

"I love you, Sheldon."