Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Sheldon and I had a battle of wills. He won of course. Here's a tip to all writers out there: Don't try to make Sheldon do something he doesn't want to do. He'll fight you the whole way and you'll end up exhausted. :)

Sheldon

Sheldon stared at the door after Amy left, rubbing his chest where she had poked him. What had just happened?

He sighed. There were times he forgot that Amy, while intelligent, still suffered from the constraints of the female hormonal system. It never failed to baffle him how the female mind worked. In what universe is a proposal a bad thing? Especially when it was Sheldon Cooper proposing to you…

He decided this was an appropriate situation to start drinking. After all, his life was in shambles; in a few short weeks he would be without a roommate and the last time he had seen his girlfriend this angry he had been forced to spend several hundred dollars on a tiara to win back her affections. He wondered if he could employ the same tactic this time...He absentmindedly rubbed his chest again. Then again, perhaps she was even angrier than she had been that time. He hoped he didn't get a bruise.

He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of root beer, opening it and taking a swig as he walked to his spot. As he sat down he pondered what Amy had said. He was puzzled by her reference to romance. As a rule, he detested the notion; it was far too emotion based for him. A niggling voice tried to point out the he had, on occasion, engaged in romantic activities, but he quickly silenced it, and returned to pondering Amy's meaning.

His limited data research (again thanks to Penny's apparent obsession with romantic comedies) had led him to believe that a proposal during an anniversary dinner would be considered the pinnacle of romance. Amy's assertion that the proposal lacked romance was therefore baffling.

He considered the next part of her statement. Did she consider his proposal lacking in romance because of how he proposed it? He thought back to his explanation. He had phrased his thoughts on the manner in such a way so as to make it clear that she was the best alternative for a replacement roommate. Hmm. Based on her reply, her opinion regarding the matter is that it is not flattering to be considered the best alternative. It defied logic. How is being called the best alternative an insult?

Just then, Leonard walked cautiously through the door. "Hey Sheldon…"

Sheldon kept looking straight ahead. He sighed. "Hello."

Leonard walked over and sat in the chair next to him. "So…Amy seemed pretty upset…you want to talk about it?"

Sheldon took another swig of his root beer and didn't respond. He had yet to figure out if he was indeed in the wrong and didn't like the thought of Leonard being the one to point it out to him if he was.

Leonard cleared his throat. "Did you really propose to Amy?"

Sheldon nodded, taking a third swig.

"And…how did that go?"

Sheldon turned to Leonard sharply, giving him an exasperated look.

"What'd she say?"

Sheldon snorted derisively, turning back to the front. "I believe her exact words were 'I have thought about it Sheldon Lee Cooper and my answer is a resounding no.'"

Leonard inhaled. "That's rough…Sorry buddy. So…any idea why she reacted that way?"

Sheldon sighed. "No." He frowned and again turned to Leonard. "I don't understand what upset her. I told her she was the best alternative to replace you and that I would prefer to marry her to avoid a scandal. Why would she be offended? I said 'best'."

Leonard raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "So…you didn't mention anything about feelings for her?"

"Leonard, be serious."

Leonard shook his head. "How you've managed to spend a year in a relationship and still have so much to learn is beyond me."

Sheldon frowned again. "What do you mean? What do I have to learn?" He didn't like where this was heading.

"Sheldon…I know you like to believe that Amy is just as logical as you are, and in most ways I'm sure she is…"

Sheldon's interest was piqued. "Go on."

"Well…when it comes to relationships women, all women, including Amy, want a little romance in their lives."

There was that word again. Romance. It was such an impractical word. It made him uncomfortable. He didn't like it.

But he still wasn't sure he followed. "Leonard, if you're trying to lead me somewhere I suggest you get there quickly. I'm losing my patience."

"Ok, fine. You can't tell a woman you want to marry her because it's practical and you don't want to find another roommate. You tell a woman you want to marry her because you love her and want to spend your life together."

Was Leonard insane? He couldn't say that to Amy. He snorted again. "That's just crazy talk."

Leonard shrugged. "It's up to you, but if I were you, I'd be thinking about calling Amy and apologizing…assuming you want her as your girlfriend."

Sheldon scoffed. "But what do I apologize for? I'm still not certain I did anything wrong."

Leonard closed his eyes and shook his head. "I tried…"

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Tried what? Telling me I had to start spouting declarations of love during a proposal? Do you even know me at all Leonard?"

"Look…I'm just trying to help."

"Yes, well, I think you've given all the help you need to Leonard. If you weren't leaving in a few weeks, I wouldn't be in this mess."

"Wait…you're blaming me for this?"

Sheldon nodded. "If you weren't moving out, I wouldn't have needed a new roommate, and if I hadn't needed a new roommate I wouldn't have even thought to ask Amy to marry me. This is all on you."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "I give up. Do what you want Sheldon. Take my advice, don't take it. I was just trying to do you a favor."

"Well don't do me any more favors." Sheldon got up and took his root beer with him into his room. Pfft. Romance. Declarations of love. What nonsense. The niggling voice tried to speak again, but Sheldon vigorously silenced it.

The next few days were some of the worst in Sheldon's life. He had tried many means of contacting Amy, but she had not responded to any of them. His friends were worse than useless. Raj and Howard seemed to find endless amusement in his predicament, and Leonard simply refused to discuss the matter, saying he had endured enough blame shifting already. Pfft. Blame shifting. Who was Leonard kidding? There was no need to shift the blame, when the blame was already on him.

He had gone to Penny, but her only advice was to give Amy "space" and "time to cool down." Even his work was suffering, as he was having a difficult time concentrating. It was simply maddening. This is what you get for choosing to pair bond instead of focus on your quest for a Nobel Prize, he told himself. And to top it all off, he hadn't been sleeping well. Every time he laid down to go to sleep Amy's angry face would pop up. And when he did fall asleep he would be woken up by dreams in which Amy stated she never wanted to see him again. It was ridiculous!

He started spending less time with his friends and more time in his room, alternating between attempting to get more work done or reading comic books. He could frequently hear his friends in the other room discussing him and Amy. It was exasperating. Didn't they realize he could hear them? With all the times they had commented on his "Vulcan" hearing you'd think they'd at least attempt to speak in a whisper.

But the worst, the very worst, was the niggling voice that refused to be quiet. No matter how many times he tried to suppress it, it always cropped up, telling him things he didn't want to hear.

Why don't you just admit you have strong feelings for Amy? it would say, sounding uncomfortably like his mother. Well of course he has strong feelings for Amy! He respected Amy as not only his companion, but his close friend.

But you don't just have friendly feelings do you?

He absolutely refused to think about it. He had no problem admitting he was fond of Amy, but he did not wish to spend his precious time dissecting his feelings. He was a man of science, not a hippie. It was enough to know that he had a fondness for Amy.

He sighed. He was in his room trying to read a Batman comic, but, as had now become the norm, he couldn't concentrate. He was simply tired of thinking about his problems. Under normal circumstances he would have asked Amy for advice regarding an issue, but as she was the issue he had no one else to turn to. His mother had called him and tried to discuss it with him, but he had flat refused to say anything. She had told him she would pray that he stopped ignoring his feelings and admit he was in love. He had scoffed at the idea, naturally, but he had given up trying to convince her he didn't want or need her prayers.

Love. Romance. Why did people keep bringing those words up? He detested them. He detested Amy and her hormonally driven emotional response. He detested Leonard for moving out and forcing him in this position. He detested his supposed friends for their constant teasing. He detested his mother for daring to believe he was actually in love. He detested the world and everyone in it. Why did he have to live amongst such emotional beings? Oh if only he could move to planet Vulcan.

He gave up on his comic book and decided to once again attempt to work. He had brought his whiteboard into his room, as he still did not wish to engage in social interactions with Leonard or the rest of their group. He stared at the equations on the board, trying to concentrate. After 10 minutes he again gave up. The numbers not only didn't make sense anymore, but had actually begun to move around in front of his eyes. It was useless. He was too tired. His cognitive function was impaired.

He laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Why couldn't he stop thinking about Amy? Leonard was moving out in 14 days, he had yet to even begin finding another roommate, and yet all he could think about was Amy. It was irritating. And exhausting. It had been 5 days since Amy's refusal and he had not had a decent REM cycle since.

He blinked at the ceiling and sighed. He missed Amy.

He sat upright. Where had that come from? He was angry at Amy for being unreasonable, not missing her.

Who are you kidding, the niggling voice said. He frowned. He hated that voice. The longer he went without proper sleep the more difficult it was to suppress.

You're wrong, he said to the voice. He laid back down and resumed staring at the ceiling. Brilliant. Now he was having conversations with voices in his head.

If only he could fall asleep. He was certain that if he got a decent night's sleep he would be able retain control of his emotions and his life. He would then be able to convince Amy that he was in the right, and get her to agree to be his roommate.

He started thinking about what Leonard had said; that he needed to admit feelings for Amy during a proposal. He still disagreed, but he was beginning to think there was a possibility that he had been a little hasty in asking Amy to marry him. If what Leonard said was true, and he was not yet willing to admit it was, then perhaps the most logical course of action would be to apologize for his hasty proposal. He was still uncomfortable with the idea of living with his girlfriend, but he was even more uncomfortable with the idea of living with a complete stranger.

He heard the front door open and Leonard say "He's in his room." Sheldon sighed. Oh which of his supposed friends was it this time? Howard come to tease him? Raj to point out that he was woefully under qualified to be pair bonded with a woman? Penny to tell him to get over himself and apologize? Well, he wasn't going to stand for it. He would refuse to talk to them.

Knock knock

"Go away."

"Sheldon, it's Amy."

A/N: A big thank you to all you readers out there. And a big thanks to the lovely people at fanforum for inadvertantly helping me with this chapter. There has been some remarkable character analysis going on over there. And lastly, Please review! I went through every argument with Sheldon for YOU. :)