A/N: I don't own any of the Big Bang Theory characters and I am not making any money from writing this.

Please forgive any minor spelling pr grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.

I know, this chapter isn't very eventful. Still it had to be written. There will be much more Lenny and Shamy moments and development in the next chapter. Now when the school is over I can update more frequently.

Raj closed his laptop shut. No excuse from a girl he got stood up by. No new requests on a dating site. His lack of sleep didn't help his frustration.

Again, his mind drifted of to Alex. Alex... Why was she crying? Because of Leonard? Was she really that in love with Leonard? Why did he kiss her? Was she the one who made the move or him? How did she feel about him? Did she love him too? Hate him? Find him weird?

Alex...

#

When Stuart got back to his place, it was past twelve pm.

It was actually a pretty nice party. He still hold a little bit of grudge against Penny but it was nice to see her and Leonard being so happy. And it didn't even make him feel miserable since he finally had a girlfriend.

As he took his shoes off, it crossed his mind that he could call Lucy. They would usually communicate via texts or e-mails and rarely called each other or Skyped, but he just thought that it would be nice to hear her voice before he goes to sleep.

He thought about that for a moment, then grabbed his IPod and dialed her number. She answered after two rings.

"Hallo? Stuart?" She sounded concerned, but her voice still felt as beautiful to Stuart as it always did.

"Hallo, Lucy?"

"Uhm... is everything OK?"

"Yes, I... just came home from a party and I... wanted to hear from you. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

She sighed, he could swear that she sighed. "Oh, that's... sweet."

His heart melted at what she said and realization that she sounded much more relaxed. "And no, you didn't wake me up."

"Yeah... thank you."

"So... how was it?"

"It was good. Pretty good. Fun."

"I'm glad that you had a good time." It wasn't a particularly long or profound sentence, but it was enough for him to feel that she really meant it. Despite her own problems she wanted him to be happy, just like he wanted her to be happy.

"Thank you. I really did."

Lucy chuckled. "Good night".

"Good night."

Stuart then took a quick shower and went to bed.

Lucy's apartment was bigger and much nicer. It even smelled better. Maybe one day he would... but, oh well... one step at the time.

#

Raj took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. His heart was thundering against his chest and cold sweat was rolling down his back.

It's been hours since he, after finishing his breakfast, made the decision to apologize to Alex for what happened last night and to ask-or at least try to ask-her out, and he was still as nervous. He knew that he didn't have much time left. He had to get back to work soon and it was rare to find Alex alone in her officially without Sheldon around or near by.

Finally, he made courage to do so. He took one more deep breath, then knocked on the door.

"Come in!", he heard Alex say from inside.

He took one more deep breath and opened the door. He walked in the office, closing the door behind. Alex raised her head and widened her eyes upon seeing him, feeling her mouth turn dry.

"Hi", he whispered.

"Hi", she whispered, still staring at him for a second before shooking her head and pulling herself together. "What can I do for you?"

"Look..." She shivered. Based on his tone of voice and his trouble to keep an eye contact with her, she knew what was he about to talk about.

"I am not exactly sure what happened last night or who started it... I think maybe I crossed a line but... anyway, I'm sorry."

Alex felt her muscles relaxing. " It's OK. I'm fine."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Good."

"But there's one more thing I want to talk to you about..."

Uh-oh.

Raj clapsed his hands together, trying not to sound desperate."I know that we weren't off to a great start, but... I really like you... so I wanted to know... if you are single... would you like to go out with me?", he finally said it, feeling a weight coming off of his chest.

"Look, Raj..."

Uh-oh. Not a very good start.

"I am single, but I'm really not ready for a serious relationship or dating of any sort. You're a great guy..."

Raj had the intention to simply walk away in case something like that would happen. But before he knew it, words started coming out of his mouth.

"I think I know why you cried. It was because of Leonard, wasn't it?"

Alex swallowed hard and stared eyes wide at Raj. "I don't know what you're..."

"Don't deny it. You can't have him and that makes you sad. I understand that. But I'm available. I would really like to go out with you. We are both astrophysicists, we obviously have at least some sort of chemistry..."

"I know, Raj!", Alex suddenly screamed, her eyes sparkling with mixture of sadness and anger I just. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I don't want you to be... a substitute for someone, Raj! You don't deserve that."

"I know that, Alex. If you come to a conclusion that you can never feel about me the way you feel about Leonard, you are free to break up with me. I won't be mad, I promise. But I think three is a chance for us, and I don't want to miss it. Even if I end up getting hurt in the end, it will hurt much less than having to live the rest of my life knowing that we had a chance and I missed it. Or that you refused to open your heart to anyone else but the guy you can never have and made us both suffer."

Alex took a deep breath before answering.

"For a start, just one date."

"Of course."

"In a cafeteria, tomorrow, during a lunch break, when your friends aren't around.."

"Sounds fine."

"And nobody can find out until we both agree that we are fine with that."

"I respect that."

She smiled at him. "A deal?"

He formed a smile. "A deal."