Chapter 5

Thanks again to ShAmy4evr for being the most awesome Beta EVER!

Also a shout out to Nibbler747! Happy Birthday! Go show her some love folks!

The next morning, Amy pulled up to Los Robles to find Sheldon waiting for her at the curb. As Amy pulled up beside him, he was fiddling with his black skinny tie and his buttoned down blue shirt that had been in style 15 years ago. Once in the car Sheldon's dreamy eyes never left Amy.

"Good morning, Amy Farrah Fowler. You look radiant."

Amy grimaced, "Okay… Thanks…" She looked over at her dapper passenger, and asked, "Why are you so dressed up, do you have a meeting?"

"Just felt like looking nice." Sheldon smiled dreamily to Amy, "You look radiant."

"You already said that." Amy looked down her green cardigan and beige skirt with scrutiny.

"It begs repeating…"Sheldon was cheery to the point of annoyance, "Did you have a good weekend?"

"As good as can be expected when your landlord thinks it's acceptable to start a construction project at 5 AM! I mean the nerve of him. At these prices…" Amy continued to grouch, moan and complain about the antics of her apartment manager, but Sheldon was too happy to be in her company to take much notice of her dour mood. Unfortunately for him, his chirpy disposition was only serving to irritate Amy further.

Once they had arrived at the lab, she just wanted to get the test over and done with as soon as possible. Sheldon on the other hand, was doing everything he could to make their time together drag on. He asked about her hobbies, her harp music, the movies she watched, but Amy's sour mood would not abate. At one point she did wonder how he knew that she played the harp, but was too busy keeping Eddy's drooling mind off Sheldon and on his work to ask. Sheldon suggested having lunch together, which Eddy thought was a fabulous idea, but all Amy could do was grumble. Then Sheldon thought to ask about her study again but it just reminded her that her interns were useless.

Only when Sheldon was getting his head strapped to the machine, did he think to ask which electrode went to what part of the brain and that was end of Amy's bad mood. As soon as she was talking brain science, her face exploded into a smile. The couple's convivial discussion was enough that even love sick Eddy was getting ill.

Sheldon watched Amy speak as he slowly loosened his tie, unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt, and then the next button, until the top of his chest was open to Amy. The whole time, his eyes were dark and he licked his lips looking at her buttons. Amy's trembling hands placed the one electrode on his chest as she finished her sentence.

"So you see, people who have damage to the ventral tegmental area of the brain often try drugs or gambling to get pleasure in life." Unknowingly Amy was taking far too long in placing the last electrode as she let her hand glide over his exposed skin.

Sheldon was chewing on his lower lip watching Amy's hand, "I don't think I have to worry about that particular brain injury." He looked up to Amy and licked his upper lip, "Do you?"

"Um.. I don't think…"

Their intense gaze was sliced by Gladys' shrill voice booming from behind the mirrored wall, "You gonna flirt all day, or are we gonna scare the crap outta this guy?"

Amy jumped back in fright and shoved her hands into her lab coat pockets.

"Scare me? You already did that!" Sheldon joked.

"Well, fear and anger can be linked. They are on the opposite sides of the Plutchik Wheel of Emotions. You see I'm testing joy, fear, anger and sadness." Amy remembered the last session and said quietly, "I um… didn't want you to do the one on sadness."

Sheldon smiled, "Oh, doncha worry about me, little lady. I'm not sad anymore." Sheldon leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Unless… you won't have lunch with me?"

Amy backed away from his hot breath on her ear, "I think I'm too busy."

Sheldon leaned back in his chair and pouted, "Well, now I am sad."

Eddy jumped into the conversation, "Oh, you're not busy! Like at all… you have NOTHING going on, honey. Ever."

Amy snapped at her unpaid intern, "Eddy! Go help Gladys!"

Eddy crossed his arms defiantly, "Help her with what? Yell at you to stop flirting? No thank you! Keep going, girl, you're doing great!"

Amy slumped in acceptance of her insubordinate interns, "Ugh, I will never put an ad on Craiglist for interns again... Dr. Cooper, I think we need to start the session."

"Fine, but I'm still waiting on that yes." Sheldon's sweet smile created dimples on his cheeks.

Amy didn't answer, but instead blushed up like a ripe cherry and walked to the mirrored room. She watched Sheldon's test, relieved that he had a calm response to most fears. There were a few images that made Sheldon's cingulate gyrus ignite, indicating he was associating a fear with a painfully memory. Amy noticed the images were of car crashes. No wonder, she thought, he was so nervous when she drove him home that first night.

Suddenly Amy noticed the scan had changed, and she looked over to Gladys who had a sinister grin on her face. Flashing before Sheldon were images of beautiful women, models, in some cases fully nude. There were only a few slides shown before Amy snapped the remote away from Gladys. "What are you doing? That's not part of the fear test."

"Are you sure it's not part of the apathy test, because your Casanova showed hardly any emotional response to them, especially this buxom babe!" Gladys flashed a picture of Marilyn Monroe.

Eddy jumped with glee, "Oh! Flash naked men to him, see if he reacts. If he does, I got dibs, Doctor Fowler." Eddy snatched the remote from Amy's hands and then tossed it to Gladys.

"Enough! Quit messing around! This is science, not some peep show!"

"Well, before we officially started, I turned on the test while you were chatting up ol' beefy boy out there. Sorry Eddy, he's spoken for given that his ventral tegmental area lit up like Time Square for the whole 20 minutes Dr. Fowler was batting her eyes like a school girl." Gladys smirked and showed Amy the results. It was true; Sheldon's brain was like a laser light show during the time Amy was speaking with him. Every part of his brain was firing off neurons, especially areas usually associated with love, pleasure and reward.

Eddy slumped down, "Darn it! The good ones are always straight!"

Amy stormed out of the mirrored room to find Sheldon smiling at a new image: Amy's graduation photo.

"Hey there, your hair was long at Harvard! Why'd ya cut it?" Sheldon turned around and beamed at Amy who was mortified.

"Oh god! How did they get that! I was so skinny!" Amy snapped off the monitor.

"You looked great! Still do!" Sheldon popped off the chair and moved toward Amy. Forgetting to take off his cap, he was pulled back sharply into his chair. Amy couldn't help but snicker as she went over to him to remove the equipment.

"Thank you, Dr. Cooper for your participation in my study." Amy thought he looked adorable after the electrode cap had messed up his hair. She reached up to straighten it with her fingers, however she stiffened up and quickly pulling pulled back she shoved her hands in her pockets before she touched him.

Sheldon thought quickly to bargain for time with her, "Anytime. Hey, now that the study is done. Do you have time to help me get over this aversion to stupid people?"

"I thought it was crowds?"

"Yeah… well… you know, one in the same." Sheldon shifted closer to her, and dipped down his eyes to her hands, "I think I need multiple sessions and they should be mostly alone, given that I don't like people."

Amy had started to take off the electrode on his chest, but pulled back as she considered his request seriously, "Hmm… What you need is to associate with people you don't find stupid. Then slowly build up a tolerance. Small groups first."

"Or really small. Like only two people, ya know?" Sheldon scooted even closer to Amy, straddling her again with his long legs, feeling her body heat on his inner thighs, but Amy wasn't paying attention. Instead she was thinking of the best course of treatment.

"I wonder… Maybe…" She was looking away distracted by her own thoughts, but her hands were undoing his shirt to get at the stubborn electrode.

Sheldon smirked as he looked down at his half naked chest, "If you are going to touch me like that, you could at least buy me lunch first."

Amy snapped her hand back, "Oh my word, I'm sorry."

Sheldon pulled off the electrode, "Oh I was just teasing ya. Now… about that lunch?"

Amy smiled, "I think lunch will be great."

"It a date!"

Amy shook her head, "NO! It's therapy. I did a similar thing with Raj."

"A DATE?" Sheldon voice screeched.

"No, therapy. It worked wonders on him. He was able to talk to a woman in a week, but she was deaf, so it was kinda cheating. Anyway, for you… you need to get used to a small group. You already know the cafeteria, so it will be familiar, okay?"

"Okay, Dr." Sheldon stood up in front of Amy and redid his tie. She didn't move as she watched his hands nimbly work the silk. It was off center, and she was itching to straighten it. He finally asked, "Is it okay?" He arched his neck and Amy moved it a centimeter to the right.

"Perfect. See you at 11:30." She smiled and then quickly walked away to the mirror booth and closed the door. She heard the snicker, and finally looked over to Gladys who wore a coy grin.

"Wanna see those results, again, Doctor?"

"UGH!" Amy stormed over to the chair by Gladys, and dropped down into it. She then spun it around and ripped the paper out of Gladys' mocking hands, "Yes…"

Sheldon walked to his new office on feet light as air, and spent the remainder of the morning hoping to avoid an annoying man from his past who still haunted the campus. Sheldon had been fortunate the week before, since Barry was a conference but now unfortunately, Kripke was back. Sheldon was hoping for at least a few more days before he ran in Kripke again, but he was out of luck.

When Sheldon had been forced to work at home, Barry Kripke had taken his place as the most renowned member of the physics department. His main talent centered on schmoozing donors, which was a welcome attribute as far as the department head was concerned. So though his work was meager at best, he did manage to keep the funds rolling in, and so the department loved him but Sheldon, not so much.

Barry Kripke had heard that Sheldon was returning to work on campus, and once he had found out where his office was he could not wait to meet up with his old 'friend' again. It was nearing lunch time when Sheldon recognized the voice from the man standing in his office doorway.

"Hey, Cwooper! I heard you were gracing us with your presence again. Try not to punch any chalk boards this time!" Barry held out his hand, but Sheldon just nodded and gave a quick, albeit unenthusiastic smile.

"Um… hello. Yes as you say, I am working here now to grace the halls of Caltech with my presence, but alas..." Sheldon looked at his watch and tried to head toward the door, "… consider my presence is a grace that I must withdraw. Good day."

"Hold on… Gablehauser said you had become some kinda wizard with loop quantum gravity? Dude… that's so 90's as is that tie!" He flipped Sheldon's tie up in face, but quickly backed away as he saw Sheldon face darken with anger. Barry's little slam at Sheldon's field did not go unnoted, but he had better things to do than have a tête-à-tête with this annoying man.

"So's the internet, Barry, but I don't see you bitchin' about that… Now, I'll say it nicely, piss the fuck off." Sheldon moved toward the door and towered over Barry.

Barry took a step back and gaffed, "Geez Cwooper, you're as pleasant as the last time I saw you and just as fouled mouthed."

"Yes… I'm sure. Now if you excuse me." Before Sheldon could inch past the man, Amy poked her head into the room.

"Hello Dr. Cooper, am I interrupting?" Amy had on lip gloss again and her mouth curled up with a sweet smile.

Stepping back from Barry's personal space, Sheldon smiled instantly, "No! Not at all. This… person was just leaving." Sheldon sucked his upper teeth and scowled at Barry.

Amy dropped her smile and glared as well at the unwelcome guest, "Barry Kripke… yes we have met. Hello again." Amy offered a lackluster grin and then inched away from Barry.

"Flowers! Nice smelling you again!"

Sheldon looked pale, "You know him?"

Kripke could see Sheldon's face redden and he curled up the side of his mouth with a sneer, "Oh yeah, me and Flowers go way back. Any chance you may be interested in that strip club I mentioned. I've got two for one coupons." Krikpe leered at Amy and Sheldon felt his pulse surge to his fingertips, unable to stop his hand making a fist.

Amy rolled her eyes, but Sheldon was enraged, "Amy would never go to a place like that! How dare you speak to her, you fu…." He looked over at Amy and caught his wicked tongue. "…. You…lascivious cad! You take that back right now or so help me, I will shove those coupons so far up your…" Amy placed her hand on Sheldon's arm and he stopped speaking but not fuming.

"Kripke was just joking, weren't you Kripke?" Amy opened her eyes wide at Barry's in an effort to pacify the situation.

"Oh, sure… Just a joke! No intention! Nothing!" Kripke leered at Sheldon, "Oh now that you are on campus, with real scientists, instead of being a freakish hermit… Do try and keep up!"

Sheldon clenched his fists to hold back his rage, but held steady.

Kripke shot back to Sheldon over his shoulder, "See you later, Cwooper!" Barry rushed off down the hall. Sheldon looked ready to chase after him, but Amy blocked the door with a blinking smile. Though she was thrilled he that he was so ready to defend her, she really did not want to clean up after Kripke's bloody nose.

Sheldon's pulse throbbed in his forehead like a drum beat, "Does he speak to you like that often? With no respect and so crass?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders, "Not often, just every day that ends in a Y." She tried to laugh, but Sheldon couldn't see the humor in her being disrespected on a daily basis.

"There is nothin' worse than a man who doesn't respect women, Amy. Nothin'."

She tried to quell his anger, "Barry Kripke has obvious mother issues and is not worth the time to educate on how to treat women. There is a cost benefit analysis with a person like that. The cost of having to speak to him while informing him of his inappropriate behavior far outweighs the benefit of the two day reprieve one would have for the effort. Better to avoid it and realize you can't fix em all."

Sheldon cocked his head as he processed Amy's philosophy on dealing with jerks. It had merit, and would have saved him numerous fights and brawls growing up. It was certainly wisdom he could have used before he had tackled to the ground his first roommate in college for whistling or when he had punched that chalkboard years ago.

"You may be right, Amy. Boy… You are pretty smart, the guys were right!" Sheldon was thinking of the other 5 Sheldons, but Amy thought he meant Raj, Howard and Leonard.

"Oh, those guys think anyone is a super genius who knows that the Orbitofrontal cortex uses a valuation process for decisions which are motivated by curiosity. I mean, come on…" Amy looked up and down with patronizing eyes.

Sheldon's eyes, however, lit up. "Are you referencing the study by Blanchard?" Sheldon felt that familiar jolt again. He was quickly becoming addicted to the endorphin rush he got anytime Amy was around.

Amy was feeling that same jolt from recognition and intellectual kinship, "Yep, the one where the monkey gave up water for gambling. Hey, did you read the article about the Rhesus monkey paying part of his food ration to look at female's bottoms? Gambling and porn! And people say science isn't fun! Anyway I just wanted to see if you were ready for lunch." Amy headed out the door down the hall, with Sheldon behind her.

He was staring at her ample posterior as the thought hit him. Sheldon laughed, "Well, large bottomed females have an appealing attribute which confirms their superior capacity for mating and procreation, so who can fault the little scamps. It's simply biology." Sheldon swallowed, as he watched her sashay down the hall in front of him in her tight beige skirt. "Oh lordy, yes those guys were definitely right."

Sheldon was dreading eating eat lunch with the crowds in the cafeteria. To Amy, the cafeteria looked less crowded than usual, but in Sheldon's view, it looked like Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving, and just like that family holiday, Sheldon had to be thankful, at least Kripke was nowhere in sight.

Sheldon needed to make sure Kripke was a non-issue while he wooed Amy Farrah Fowler. She was shrewd to be sure and Sheldon figured, but the last thing he needed was Kripke filling Amy's head with notions that men were the lesser sex. Although, Sheldon had to confess, with a guy like Kripke around, there was an argument that those with XY chromosomes was severely lacking in basic intelligence. Sheldon worked through various scenarios to rid him of the brute, including running over him with his bike and where to hide the body, but for now, just having him out of sight was welcome. The immediate problem was the hordes of diners shuffling through the cafeteria.

Sheldon would rather be spending some alone time with Amy than in a crowded dining hall, "Amy… Can't we eat somewhere else… Like your lab or my office. I have a door. Doors are great…"

"Sheldon, you asked me to help you get used to people so, think of this as the first step. I will get the food for us, and you stake your claim on a table. Tomorrow, we will switch duties. There's a good spot, I'll be right there." Amy turned to get in line as Sheldon scoped out a table in the corner. However, as he made his way towards it, Amy's trio of friends waved him over to their table in the middle of the room.

"Hey… Sheldon! Come sit with us!" Leonard gave Sheldon a smile and pulled a chair out for him. Sheldon didn't want to be rude and Leonard was not completely unpleasant.

Sheldon timidly walked over to the table, and nodded his head in greeting, "Hello." Sheldon eyed the grey plastic chair to see if there was any whoopee cushions or the like. He was in no mood for practical jokes, although he used to enjoy playing them on others. He took the seat and gave a forced smile to the group as he avoided eye contact. They all stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time, before Raj broke the silence.

"Hey. How has the first couple weeks been? Not too bad, huh?"

"Well, other than Amy's fascinating study, if you count meeting with the powers that be who couldn't begin to understand my genius, correcting Leonard's abysmal math and failing to avoid Barry Kripke today, then being at work was a smashing success."

Howard shook his head in sympathy, "Oooh… You know Kripke, good times."

Sheldon grumbled and crossed his arms, "I know him all too well."

Howard leaned in, "Tell me, how did you resolve the spatial problem of not putting his head through a wall?" Howard snickered. He longed to put Barry in his place.

"Well, funny you should say that. I was calculating how much force it would take to push his nose bridge through to his eye socket while determining his body mass ratio." The guys snickered, but Sheldon wasn't joking. He added a belated snicker to the group's laugh.

"Ah yes, the inverse square law of Kripke. His tolerance is negative proportional to one's ability to hold back your fist." Leonard thought his joke was genius.

Sheldon let out a genuine laugh, "Yes….the radius of his voice is the source strength divided by the area of where in the wall you'd like to shove his head."

The group burst out in laughter, "That's hysterical Sheldon. Boy… I'd pay to see that!"

The boys bantered back and forth for a while, and slowly Sheldon relaxed enough to join the conversation. He had become so engrossed in the group that he didn't notice Amy standing next to him with their lunch.

"Hello boys. Having fun?" Amy was elated Sheldon had found the table with the guys. It was just what she had hoped for.

"Oh, yes. Your new boyfriend is a laugh riot." Howard smiled at Sheldon who looked up at Amy innocently. Amy was mortified by the description.

"What? New boyfriend?… No.. Howard… Not… No.. We just met, I mean…" Amy set down the food, and looked away while brushing back her hair nervously. Sheldon was confused over the fuss.

Leonard smoothed over Howard's faux pas quickly before Amy had to stutter anymore, "Amy has already said we can keep him!"

Howard snickered, "Anyway, we were going to ask him if he would like to go with us to the comic book store Wednesday, is that alright Amy!?"

Amy rolled her eyes at Howard's juvenile suggestion, "I don't think…"

For a few brief moments Sheldon's usual reserve with strangers evaporated and he was a child again as he almost jumped out of his chair and his voice raised two octaves, "COMIC BOOK STORE!? I've haven't been to one of those in years. Not since… well… years! Does it have collectibles? And graphic novels and the latest issues?" Sheldon was tapping his leg with giddy anticipation.

"Yes, yes, we go every Wednesday! They even have shirts!" Leonard had never seen anyone so excited over a comic book store. Amy was less than thrilled over the subject since she had been bored more than once on a trip to the same store, but she couldn't help smiling seeing Sheldon's reaction. It was like he had found a fountain of youth.

"Oh boy! SHIRTS! I want a shirt!"

Sheldon's enthusiasm was contagious. Raj had to ask, "How long have you been collecting?"

"Well, since I was 4, but I stopped collecting around 12. Dad said it was waste of money. I still have my old ones locked in a safety deposit box. I wager…my Flash 123, the classic Flash of two worlds issue… is lonely."

Raj popped up like bread from a toaster, "YOU HAVE THAT ISSUE? Damn dude, I thought Howard's Fantastic Four number 48 was awesome!"

And that was when Amy started to tune out. The boys droned on for the rest of lunch about comic books, super heroes and everything that Amy knew nothing about or cared. She felt like Leonard had done the previous Monday night, lost and confused in the malaise of conversation. However, she was pleased to see that Sheldon's armor was starting to crack. He was relaxing into the conversation, and had even started to crack some jokes that the guys thought were hysterical. Even his pontificating knowledge about the DC Multiverse was fascinating the group. Amy finished her lunch and got up to leave the boys to their impassioned debate over Batman, when she felt Sheldon's hand on her arm.

Amy glanced down to see Sheldon's eyes suddenly the size of dinner plates. With a pleading drawl and far too many blinks than necessary, Sheldon asked, "Amy, I have quite a few things to carry home with me. Could you possibly help me with them this evening?"

"Of course Sheldon! As long as it isn't rocket fuel." Amy sneered and looked over at Leonard. The guys had told her the story of when Leonard had attempted to bring home rocket fuel to impress a woman. He had almost done it too, but because there was some elusive staff member on campus, he wasn't able to sneak past Gablehauser's office. Leonard's love interest at the time, Joyce Kim had been arrested the next day for espionage. If he had brought the fuel home, he would have been arrested as well. Leonard cocked his head and looked over at Sheldon wondering if Sheldon could have been the staff member who was on campus that day?

"Amy, that rocket fuel thing that was over 12 years ago. Hey Sheldon, when was the last time you were on campus?"

Sheldon looked annoyed at the stupid question. "Friday." He turned back to Amy, "Anyway Amy, I will meet you at your car."

"Sure…" Amy thought, how much could a physicist possibly take home?

After work, Amy walked to her car to find Sheldon standing next to it with three large boxes of books.

"Sheldon! What is all this?"

"I have a sudden interest in alternate dimensions and M theory. I thought I would do some research, and this was just lying around." Sheldon kicked one of the boxes and smirked.

"Caltech has THAT many books on M theory lying around?"

"Um… Sure…" Sheldon swallowed.

Amy looked at the heavy boxes and then asked, "How did you get them all out here?"

Sheldon didn't want to tell her he had carried all of them himself in one trip because then he couldn't ask her for help later. He wanted an excuse to have her come home with him, and help with books seemed as good an excuse as any. He had scrambled around Caltech finding as many old books as he could to complete the ruse.

His lie rolled off his tongue, "I… um… made two trips."

"Good thing no one stole them. Let's get you home. It seems that you have a lot of homework."

On the ride home, Sheldon was all a twitter over his trip to the comic book store. All Amy could think of when she heard comic book store was Stuart and her date which she wanted as much as a root canal.

When they had arrived at Los Robles, Sheldon was overjoyed that Amy offered to help carry the boxes. He hadn't quite known how to ask her to come to his apartment, but this ruse seemed to work. Although what he was going to do with three boxes of books from a retiring entomologist was a mystery.

"Great! Oh good. Okay… well… um… Okay… We should go then…" Sheldon finally tried to get out the car, but forgot the seat beat. He unfastened it but then forgot to close the door. He walked back and shut the door and walked quickly back to Amy to help with the boxes she was getting out of her trunk. He was as nervous as a cat in a room of rocking chairs, and didn't notice that Amy was in the same state.

The boxes were quite heavy, but she was able to carry one while Sheldon carried the other two to the elevator. They said nothing as Amy and he rode to the 4th floor. He put down the boxes and fumbled with his keys as he opened the door to his home.

Amy timidly stepped into the room. It was the first man's apartment she had ever been to alone. She took a deep breath and drank in the clean scent. The space was spotless, with a hint of disinfectant, talc and lemon furniture polish, though there was hardly any furniture to use the product upon; the large space was nearly empty. There was an open kitchen on the right of the room and built in bookcases on the left. The large picture window had a wonderful view of Pasadena City hall, but it seemed almost cold with the lack of drapes. It was nice, but lacked something it sorely needed and Amy knew exactly what: a couch.

They placed the boxes on the side of the room and exchanged awkward smiles. Sheldon put his keys in the bowl next to the door and then stopped in the middle of the room with a horrific thought. He didn't have any snacks fit for a lady; just a half a box of red vines and a few Oreos. He quickly offered Amy a seat in one of the arm chairs, but she just gave a small grin and said she needed to head home.

She left quickly, with a hasty wave and smile. Sheldon dropped his shoulders with disappointment, and then had a thought. He raced out of the apartment, and noticed that the elevator was still on its way down. Like a jack rabbit, he tore off down the stairs, skipping as many as he could without falling. By the time he reached the bottom, the doors of the elevator were opening. Amy looked up to find Sheldon panting in front of her.

"Sheldon! Oh my, you are fast! Did you need something else?"

"Amy… I just.. phew… hold on.." Sheldon tried to catch his breath. He finally stood up, and asked winded, "Um… would you be willing to drive me this week. It seems that a head gasket for Kawasaki Vulcan is as hard to find as you said."

"Oh… okay…" Amy gulped and looked at her watch, "I can pick you up for work, sure."

"And take me home?" Sheldon asked eagerly."

Amy swallowed, "Oh sure… that too…" She looked at her watch again, "Um… For a few days only… Okay?"

Sheldon was still wheezing, "GREAT! Good! I will be here!"

Amy looked confused, "I hope so. I wouldn't want to waste my time coming here if you weren't. See you tomorrow."

"Sure… right tomorrow!" Sheldon waved her off and headed into the elevator. He rode up with a smile, but soon that little gnawing voice was back:

How could she be interested in you, you can't even invite her up to your apartment like a man, but have to make up an excuse to trick her here, like a fucking wimp. And those wimpy little guys won't ever be friends with you!

He slammed his fist against the door, and kicked aside the boxes of books he had used to trick her into spending some time with him. The voice inside his head was right; these books were witness to his failure. He couldn't even get her to spend time with him without lying to her.

He sat in his desk chair and looked over the near empty room. He closed his eyes and remembered the congress of Sheldons seated around the leather couch, laughing, joking, and telling stories about their wonderful Amys.

He remembered number Three's tale of being with Amy that first night and how he felt he found a lost piece of him. He smiled as he thought of number Two's story of sleeping with her and how her body felt like a warm blanket keeping him safe. He remembered Five's story of Amy holding their baby for the first time, and her eyes were shining like the star Sirius.

Each story told by a man who had the same face as he had. When he had first heard their history, he had nothing but envy. Sheldon knew that he might not be the best at winning a woman's heart, but if he could craft the art of the possible, he could have his Amy too.

Sheldon rose off the chair and glared at the boxes with a new purpose. He jutted out his jaw, and proclaimed with determination, "Whatever it takes."

A:N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next up, Let's see if Sheldon can get his Vixen to stay a little longer, shall we?