Chapter 21
As the length of time between Sheldon's date request and Amy's lack of response lengthened, Sheldon began to regret his rash decision. He and Amy stood staring at each other for what felt like twenty minutes but which, after a quick glance at his watch, turned out to be more like twenty seconds. Why didn't she answer him?
Finally Amy opened her mouth to speak, but what she said wasn't what Sheldon was expecting to hear. "Sheldon, why are you asking me this?"
Sheldon blinked at Amy, surprised by her question. "Isn't it obvious? I'm requesting a date with you because I don't want you to go on a date with Stuart."
"And why don't you want me to go on a date with Stuart?"
Sheldon paused, contemplating his answer carefully. "…You never know what kind of a person it takes to run a comic book store. The man could be a scoundrel…I'm merely trying to spare you the potential emotional turmoil that comes with dating a scoundrel…"
Amy blinked at Sheldon, completely expressionless. "And that's your only reason?"
Sheldon looked around the room and cleared his throat. "Yes…"
"I see…So, just to make sure I'm clear, the only reason you want to take me on a date is because you don't want me to go with Stuart?"
Sheldon nodded once. "That is correct."
"Then my answer is no."
Sheldon blinked, stunned. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean that, while I find your concern for my welfare touching, I have already agreed to go on a date with Stuart and your belief that he may be a scoundrel, when Penny has already spoken fondly of him to me, is not enough for me to break my word."
Sheldon's mouth popped open in shock.
"I would like, however, to say belatedly that I accept your apology regarding your anger, and would like to once again offer my apology for lying to you for so long about having taken the doll."
Sheldon looked down at the Mr. Spock in his hand and said, absentmindedly, "It's an action figure."
He was completely stunned. Why had Amy refused his request?
Suddenly not wishing to be in Amy's apartment any longer, Sheldon walked over to set the action figure once again on Amy's desk, and then walked quickly out the door.
When Sheldon and Leonard returned home, Sheldon immediately went to sit in his spot and think. Why had Amy refused his request?
Amy's refusal seemed to be in direct opposition to Missy's assertion that Amy liked Sheldon "as more than a friend". Sheldon snorted. Proof that he was in the right all along. How could he have ever doubted himself?
The idea that Amy was going to go on a date with Stuart, however, was still very bothersome. Why would Amy wish to go on a date with Stuart? They had nothing in common, whereas he, Sheldon, and Amy had many things in common. Why would Amy refuse to break off her date with Stuart? He had even taken the time to apologize for his anger, even if he did have the right to be angry about Amy's lying. It defied logic…and that was exactly why he had spent his entire life avoiding such romantic endeavors.
Sheldon got up to get ready for bed. This day had been very exhausting, and Sheldon no longer wished to think about Amy and her confounded date with Stuart.
The next morning, while Sheldon was eating his breakfast and still pondering Amy's refusal, there was a knock at the door.
Sheldon walked over, answered the door, and was promptly slapped on the side of his head.
"Ow!" Sheldon rubbed the side of his head, and looked down to see Missy. "What on earth was that for?"
Missy poked him in the chest. "That's for be such an idiot."
Sheldon used his other hand to rub his chest. "Would you please stop physically accosting me?"
Missy crossed her arms. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"When you keep physically abusing me? I hardly think so."
Missy rolled her eyes, pushed Sheldon out of the way, and then walked through the door.
Sheldon heard Penny's door open, and looked across the hall.
"Hey Sheldon," Penny said. She was dressed in her Cheesecake factory outfit. "I thought I heard Missy's voice."
"You did."
"Why is she here so early?"
Before Sheldon could respond, Missy yelled, "To give him hell for being such an idiot!"
Penny raised her eyebrows, walking over, passing Sheldon, and heading into his apartment. "Hey Missy. What'd Sheldon do this time?"
Penny smirked at Sheldon, and then looked back at Missy, who snorted. "He asked Amy to forget her date with Stuart and go out with him instead."
Penny lightly hit Sheldon on the arm, smiling broadly at him. "That's great! Where are you two going?" Then Penny frowned and turned back to Missy. "Wait...you said he was an idiot…" Penny sighed. "What did he do?"
Missy rolled her eyes. "When she asked him why he was asking her out, he refused to admit that it was because he liked her. He told her it was because Stuart was a, and I quote, 'scoundrel'."
Penny turned around and slapped Sheldon hard on the arm.
"Ow! Could we please desist with the physical abuse? And I didn't say Stuart was a scoundrel; I said he might be one. I was merely trying to spare Amy the potential for heartbreak." He turned to Penny, rubbing his arm. "That hurt."
Penny rolled her eyes. "Sheldon, why didn't you just admit to Amy that you like her?"
"Because I don't!" Sheldon insisted. Why was it so difficult for everyone to see that he only wished to be Amy's friend? And besides, his attempt at getting Amy to agree to a romantic endeavor had failed, so obviously she felt the same way he did.
Missy walked over quickly, and pointed her finger at Sheldon. "You listen to me, Mister. You and Amy have been friends for years, and she likes you, and you like her. So you're going to go over there and just admit that you like her!"
"Why are you so upset, Missy? You never cared for Amy in the first place," Sheldon asked.
Missy put down her hand, and gave Sheldon a look. "I have gotten to know Amy…and as your sister, I can see that you care for her. I'm simply trying to get you to admit your feelings. You've never been good at that, and it hurts people Sheldon."
Sheldon blinked at Missy, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that sometimes it's nice to hear someone tell you they like you."
"But Amy knows that I like her."
"She doesn't know that you like her like that."
"But I don't like her like that."
Missy narrowed her eyes. Penny cleared her throat. "Sweetie? It's pretty obvious to everyone that you care for Amy. Why don't you just admit it?"
Sheldon looked between the two of them, absentmindedly rubbing his chest where Missy had poked him. Without answering the question, Sheldon walked quickly to his room. He had to get to work. He didn't have time for this.
Despite Sheldon's wish to not think about Amy during work, it seemed that her date with Stuart was all he could think about. It was extremely frustrating.
One thing which had been puzzling him all day was Penny's insistence that 'everyone knew' that he liked Amy. How could everyone know something which wasn't true?
Or was it?
Purely for the sake of argument, Sheldon decided to give thought to the possibility that he did like Amy and wish to enter into a romantic relationship with her.
Sheldon grabbed out a legal pad and wrote two words at the top: Arguments For and Arguments Against. Then he started writing.
Arguments For:
1. Capable of Intelligent, Intellectual conversation
2. Has PhD
3. Is a genius
4. Co-creator of Counter Factuals
5. Only person capable of playing Counter Factuals
6. Mutual enjoyment of Star Trek
7. Enjoy spending time with her
After thinking for another moment, Sheldon put down one last answer.
8. Pleasing appearance
Then Sheldon moved on to the next column.
Arguments Against:
1.
Sheldon tapped the pen against the pad, thinking. After several moments he sat back in his chair, still thinking. This was very curious. He could not think of a single reason why he shouldn't like Amy…
Suddenly Sheldon snapped his fingers and said, "Aha!" out loud, writing down "Prefers Neurobiology over Physics".
After several more minutes of contemplation, Sheldon looked down at his Arguments Against list. He had only been able to add, "Stole Mr. Spock", and "Lied about stealing Mr. Spock" to the list, but had alternately added, "Stole Mr. Spock for reminder of friendship" to the Arguments For list.
Looking between the two lists, Sheldon had to admit that the arguments for the possibility that Sheldon would do well in a romantic pair bonding with Amy were more overwhelming than the arguments against. Sheldon sat back in his chair once again as a thought occurred to him.
He liked Amy Farrah Fowler! As more than a friend!
He shook his head, and leaned forward to check the list again. Surely he had left something out. And the list was hardly scientific…
But the more he looked at the items in the Arguments Against column, the less he found they bothered him. And when looking at the Arguments For column, he ultimately ended up adding, "More like me than any person I've ever met".
"That's it," he said aloud. "The evidence is in front of me. I like Amy Farrah Fowler."
"Glad to hear it."
Sheldon whipped his head around to see Leonard standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's 4:30. Time to go home."
"Why didn't you knock?"
Leonard raised his eyebrows. "I did."
Sheldon blinked at Leonard in surprise. How had he not heard Leonard's knock, a mere 3 feet from his head?
Sheldon quickly grabbed the legal pad and threw it in a desk drawer. He grabbed his messenger bag and walked quickly out the door.
Noticing that he didn't hear Leonard walking behind him, Sheldon turned around. Leonard was still standing in the doorway, looking at Sheldon in surprise.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"There is something I must do."
Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Does that something have to do with Amy?"
"Yes. Now can we please get going?"
Leonard smiled and then started walking.
As soon as Sheldon got home, he sat down at his desk, starting his lap top. He immediately opened up a Word document and began typing. Over the next several days he spent a great deal of his free time typing. The contents of the document were of the utmost importance, and Sheldon wished to cover any and all eventualities.
On the day of Amy's date with Stuart, Sheldon put the finishing touches on his document, and then printed it out. He used a three hole punch and then put the document in a folder. Sheldon had asked Amy if it was alright for him to come over the morning prior to her date with Stuart. Amy had seemed reluctant to agree, but had eventually said yes.
As Sheldon was preparing to leave, he noticed one of Missy's hair bands on his desk. During the time that Sheldon had been typing up his document, Missy had found other ways to entertain herself, one of which being "spend as much time with Raj as possible." Sheldon couldn't help but narrow his eyes every time he thought about his friend dating his sister. Once this ordeal with Amy was over, he was going to have a strong talking to with Raj.
Sheldon arrived at Amy's, document in hand, and knocked on the door.
Knock Knock Knock "Amy."
Knock Knock Knock "Amy."
Knock Knock Knock "Amy."
Amy opened the door. "Hello, Sheldon. Please come in."
Amy moved out of the way so that Sheldon could step through. Once doing so, he felt a sensation in his stomach, similar to the one which he had felt just prior to Amy's arrival in Pasadena.
"Would you like a beverage?"
Sheldon shook his head. "No, thank you."
Amy shrugged her shoulders and walked over to sit on her couch. Sheldon followed, sitting on the very edge.
He cleared his throat. "Amy. I wish to revisit the issue of your date with Stuart."
Amy raised her eyebrows. "I thought we already established that I did not wish to go back on my word simply based on the fact that you suspect the possibility that Stuart may be a 'scoundrel'."
Sheldon looked away. "Yes. Well…about that…"
Sheldon took a deep breath. Once he said these words there was no going back. Was it really what he wanted? Perhaps his list had been wrong. Perhaps he should have corrected for personal bias. Then his conversation with Leonard about Stuart eventually kissing Amy, and/or engaging in intercourse with Amy, popped into Sheldon's head.
He narrowed his eyes and looked back at Amy, who was watching him with another blank expression.
"I don't want you to go on a date with Stuart because I…like…you."
Amy's eyes grew big. "I…what…do you mean?"
Sheldon cleared his throat. "I believe…I would like to alter the paradigm of our relationship."
Amy blinked at him, mouth open. "Ok…"
Sheldon paused, feeling exposed. He detested making statements (or in this case, posing questions) which revealed the nature of his feelings. When Missy had walked in a couple of evenings ago, and had discovered what Sheldon was working on, she had coached him on what to say, despite his repeated attempts to let her know he did not need coaching.
Now however…he was feeling almost…grateful for Missy's help.
Sheldon took another deep breath, and cleared his throat. "Amy…will you be my girlfriend?"
Amy blinked at Sheldon for several long, and highly uncomfortable, moments.
"Yes."
Sheldon blinked in shock. She had said yes. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and sat up straighter.
"Excellent. Now that that is out of the way, I have a document I would like you to sign, to indemnify our relationship."
He held out the folder which Amy opened. She looked up.
"The Relationship Agreement?"
Sheldon nodded. "I believe I covered everything, but feel free to retain a lawyer before signing."
Amy looked through several pages. "I believe I will actually."
Sheldon blinked in surprise. "You will?"
Amy nodded. "Yes. A quick perusal of the document reveals several areas which I would like to negotiate prior to signing…As it is a Saturday, I will be unable to get a hold of a lawyer until Monday. When would you like to meet?"
Sheldon stared, in shock. What on earth could she wish to negotiate?
"Would Monday evening work?"
Sheldon nodded, mind whirling.
Amy smiled. "Excellent. Then I look forward to Monday evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I had best call Stuart to cancel our date."
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading. I have some bad news (for you, not so bad for me. :)). I need to take a break from this fic, which, interestingly, happens to coincide with my Father calling me to say that he's coming to visit this Saturday for 10 days. (Yeah...that's right. He gave me a 5 day warning. lol) My initial thought was to take a break for a week...which is right when Dad'll be here. So needless to say, it COULD be a bit before my next update. :( But honestly, at this point, my taking some time off can only mean good things for this fic. :) Please don't forget to review. Thanks! :)