Sheldon
Sheldon couldn't get to sleep. It was maddening. Tomorrow was Howard and Bernadette's wedding and he didn't want to be standing up there yawning. The wedding was going to have over 300 guests and Sheldon didn't want to risk more mocking over his oddly shaped uvula.
He had hardly been surprised when Howard had asked him to be in the wedding. He claimed it was because he needed a 3rd groomsman since Bernadette's cousin was going to be in the wedding, but Sheldon knew the real reason. Howard just wanted to show off that he was friends with the brilliant Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon had agreed to help his tertiary friend.
And now here he was, unable to sleep. He tried thinking about his work; if he was going to be awake he might as well be useful. But it was no good, his mind kept wandering. He kept thinking about how the group was changing around him. He didn't like it. Today it was Howard and Bernadette getting married, tomorrow it could be Leonard moving to Nebraska with Penny to be a Physics teacher…no he didn't like this one bit. He had said as much to Amy one day, but she hadn't been very sympathetic. She said that change was the only thing a person could count on…well that, death and taxes.
He didn't like it when Amy disagreed with him. He stared at his ceiling and wondered whether Amy was asleep. Glancing at his bedside clock he saw that it was now 12:03 a.m. He knew that she preferred to stay awake well into the night, so the likelihood of her being awake was good. Perhaps he could Skype with her…but no. He really should get to sleep. If he Skyped with Amy then he would be up all night; they had a tendency to enter into lengthy discussions.
He thought back to the rehearsal dinner earlier that evening. Despite his reservations at eating at a foreign restaurant, the meal had been almost enjoyable. He had sat next to Amy of course. They had held hands under the table after they had eaten their respective meals. It had been Amy's request, naturally.
Without realizing it he found himself thinking about her appearance. She looked different tonight than she had on previous evenings. She had told him on a prior evening that she had purchased a new dress for the occasion. She had looked…softer than normal. And she had done her hair differently. Instead of one barrette she had pulled both sides back so that Sheldon could better see her ears. He didn't know that he liked the change. For one thing, every time he had looked at her he had felt a dropping sensation in his stomach. And just now he felt it again. He hoped he wasn't getting sick.
Just then Sheldon realized what he was thinking about. Good Lord Dr. Cooper! Are you really staying awake thinking about clothes and barrettes? What has happened to you?
He was determined to think about something else. Maybe if he mentally catalogued his train collection that would put him to sleep. If other people could count sheep then he could count trains.
It kept his mind busy for a little while, but eventually it drifted back to thinking about Amy. He thought about her appearance tonight and once again felt a drop in his stomach. Perhaps he had better check his temperature. He reached over to get his thermometer and stuck it in his mouth. When it beeped he looked at it. It said 98.6. Drat. Well then what was wrong with him?
He laid his head back on his pillow and looked at the clock. It was now 12:34 a.m. and he was no closer to getting to sleep. His insomnia and unusual stomach sensations were baffling him. Perhaps he should have Leonard drive him to Urgent Care.
He got out of bed and went to Leonard's bedroom.
Knock Knock Knock "Leonard"
Knock Knock Knock "Leonard"
Knock Knock Knock "Leonard"
"What do you want Sheldon," came Leonard's muffled response.
Sheldon opened the door. "I need you to take me to Urgent Care."
Leonard gave him a look of disbelief, grabbing his glasses and mashing them on his face. "What? Sheldon, you don't need to go to Urgent Care."
"Excuse me, but I beg to differ. I'm having some unusual symptoms and I think something could be really wrong."
Leonard gave an exasperated sigh. "What symptoms?"
"Well for one thing I can't sleep. And you know I can always sleep."
"Sheldon, insomnia is not a reason to go to Urgent care."
"Well what about the funny sensation I keep getting in my stomach?"
"Why do you keep getting a funny sensation in your stomach?"
"Leonard, if I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be asking you to drive me to Urgent Care now would I? Honestly, it's enough to make a person wonder if you really are the progeny of the brilliant Dr. Beverly Hofstadter."
Leonard laid his head back on his pillow and put an arm over his face. "Go back to bed Sheldon."
"No. You have to take me to Urgent Care Leonard. I could be dying. Do you really want that on your conscience?"
"You're not dying." Leonard lifted his arm off his face to look at Sheldon. "When did the symptoms start?"
"Well, the insomnia started this evening of course. And the dropping sensation in my stomach started at the rehearsal tonight."
Leonard gave Sheldon a look. "And when exactly did you first experience this sensation?"
"It was shortly after Amy arrived and said hello to me."
Leonard looked at the ceiling and sighed. "And can you give me any other examples?"
Sheldon thought for a moment. "Well, when the girls were practicing their walk down the aisle and Amy looked over at me…and then when she came over to ask if I would ride with her and Penny to the restaurant…I tell you Leonard, I'm at a loss to explain it. It makes no sense."
Leonard rolled his eyes. "It makes perfect sense Sheldon. Tell me, were you thinking about Amy tonight when you felt the sensation again?"
Sheldon thought. "Yes, now that you mention it, I was."
"Sheldon, you're not sick. You are attracted to Amy. Go to bed."
Sheldon did a double take. "Leonard that is ridiculous. What does attraction have to do with an upset stomach?"
"It has everything to do with it. It's what happens to us normal people when we see a person we are attracted to both physically and emotionally."
Sheldon thought for a second. He would have to do more research on this subject. Leonard's answer simply didn't make sense.
"Leonard, I don't think you're right."
"I don't care at the moment. I'm not driving you to Urgent Care. Go to bed." Leonard took his glasses back off and turned his back to Sheldon.
Sheldon went back to his bed thoroughly perplexed. Leonard thought the reason for Sheldon's insomnia and strange stomach sensations had to do with Amy? Sheldon felt his stomach drop again. Hmm…interesting.
He decided to try an experiment. He tried thinking about Penny. She was an attractive person and she was Sheldon's friend. He waited but nothing happened. He tried thinking about Bernadette. True she was about half his size, but she was also his friend, and she was a scientist, even better. Again nothing happened. Then Sheldon thought about Amy, her new dress, and her new hairstyle. His stomach dropped. Very curious indeed.
Maybe Leonard was right after all. There had to be a first time for everything. But how to process this information? Sheldon had for so long thought himself above his baser urges. And yet here he was reacting to a new dress and a couple of barrettes. Oh how the mighty fall…this did not sit well with him at all. Maybe the data was incorrect. He thought about Amy holding his hand under the table at dinner and not only did his stomach drop, but his heart skipped a beat.
He wondered if he should schedule an appointment with a cardiologist. A stomach issue was one thing, but arrhythmia was nothing to be cavalier about. Then again, he did recall reading a fictional story once where the heroine of the story described a flutter of her heart as she gazed at her true love. Perhaps that was what he was experiencing. Could his arrhythmia be a direct result of finding Amy attractive?
This was all very baffling. And now he was finally getting tired. He decided he would think more about this at a later time. He looked at the clock and saw that it was now 1:14 a.m. Tomorrow was sure to be an exhausting enough day without keeping himself awake longer than necessary the night before. Yes, he would think about this so called attraction later. Now he would go to sleep.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the nighttime musings of Dr. Cooper. Please remember to review :)