Chapter 12

"What do you mean he never came into work?" Amy sounded frantic. "I mean, he never came into work." Amy was nodding her head frantically, even though that he couldn't see her. "Yes, I get that. But what do you mean he never came into work?!" By this time, she was getting frustrated and got up to start pacing. "I think the situation speaks for itself, but I mean that there was a surprise inspection of his office today and when they went in, he wasn't in their. Dr. Hofstadter, Dr. Kootherpoli, and Mr. Wolowitz have informed me that they had checked the whole parameter and found him nowhere. Normally I wouldn't be so opposed to have Dr. Cooper not show for work, but it's not like him to not show up, especially without a reason. I've heard many a time when someone tried to convince him to take a day of but he refused, stating that he could not and would not take a day off of work; as it would ' hinder his efforts useless at getting his Nobel Prize'".

Amy sighed, that she could have expected. This though was not like the Sheldon she knew. She had stopped her pacing now and stood on the far left of her living room, almost in her kitchen. She pinched the bridge of her nose and thanked Sheldon's boss for the information and hung up. Within moments she had made her way across the room, gathered her keys and cardigan and walked out the door. As she was halfway down the second flight of stairs, she received an incoming call from her Bestie. "Hey Bestie, now's not-" but she was immediately cut off. "AMES?!"

"Yeah, Bestie?" "WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!" "Uhm, on a staircase?!" Amy replied, trying to juggle her phone between her ear and her shoulder. "WELL GET YOURSELF OVER HERE!" She shouted. "Uhm, any particular reason why?" Amy asked. "Hm. Let me think. Oh yeah. NOBODY CAN GET SHELDON OUT OF HIS ROOM! HE SKIPPED WORK AND WE NEED YOU!" "Why me?" came Amy's reply. "As if you don't know. If he can't talk to you he's one broken Shelbot." Amy heard Penny sigh on the other end. "Look, just get down here, okay?" It was Amy's turn to sigh now. "Fine Bestie. I was just on my way over anyway. See you soon."

After she hang up, Amy made little attempt to increase her speed going down the stairs. She knew Sheldon would talk to her; he was just too uncomfortable with the topic to share it with their group of friends. With good hopes, Amy got into her car and drove over to 2311 Los Robles.

*Knock knock knock* Sheldon. She paused, then figured he was probably about to jump out of his skin if she didn't continue. *Knock knock knock* Sheldon. Another pause, then *Knock knock knock* Sheldon. Amy heard some shuffling from inside his room and eventually he opened the door. He stood there for a moment and Amy used that time to take in his appearance. He looked… rough. His hair was askew and his eyes were bulging out of his head. OF course, his expression softened and he seemed to visibly calm when he saw her, but his face was awfully flushed and his arm was randomly twitching.

Sheldon painted a small smile on his face before greeting Amy. "Hi." He told her. "Hey Sheldon." Amy said quietly. "Can I come in?" Sheldon gave her a slight nod and she entered his room cautiously. He never allows anybody in his room, and she felt like an intruder. Amy heard some muffled noise coming from the other room and sighed inwardly. Sheldon would never talk to her if he knew that their friend's were likely listening to their conversation. She then turned towards Sheldon and gently grabbed his hand. Sheldon looked at his hand, then back up to Amy, and repeated this action before Amy withdrew her hand and took a step back. "I'm sorry Sheldon." She apologized. "I was only trying to get your attention so I could ask you if I could go back into the living room for a second and retrieve my bag. I'll be right back. Do you want anything?" Sheldon gave her a look of hurt and sadness and she felt guilty for some reason. "What's wrong Sheldon?" "Please, don't leave me." He said quietly, and he moved towards her, engulfing her in one of his special hugs.

Amy lost all breath that she had in her in that one moment. She had no idea what to say to him, but she knew they couldn't talk with their friends listening. After a moment, he pulled away and Amy decided to make very firm eye contact with him. After several seconds of that, he shyly looked away from her.

"Sheldon, I'm pretty sure the others are listening." She whispered. "I didn't want you to talk to me until I knew they were gone." Sheldon slightly nodded and Amy gave him a small smile before grabbing his hand briefly and giving it a slight squeeze. Then, almost as quickly as it happened, she was gone. Sheldon then found himself standing alone in his room.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Amy whispered to her group of friends that she found huddling together by the bathroom. "Uhm, keeping warm. What does it look like we're doing?" Leonard told her. Amy rolled her eyes in response. "Oh please. This behavior I could expect from you Leonard. Even you Howard and Raj." At the mention of his name, Raj suddenly looked frightened and dropped his gaze to the floor. Leonard gave her a quizzical look and she continued. "But from you Bestie?" She finished. Penny's cheeks turned slightly pink and she stood up straighter. "I just want to know what's got Sheldon's underpants in such a twist!"

Amy could just imagine saying 'My underpants are more certainly not in a twist!' and she chuckled lightly to herself, smiling subconsciously. "Amy, WHY ARE YOU SMILING? WHAT ABOUT SHELDON?" "Calm down Penny." Leonard told her. "It's okay." I reassured them both. "Penny, I am trying to talk to him but I could hear you guys out here, I just fear that he won't talk to me when you guys are around." When they all gave Amy a blank look she sighed inwardly and decided to spell it out for them. "I think you guys should leave." "Oh, right." said Leonard. "Alright guys, lets go." Penny left reluctantly, looking grumpy. She only agreed to go under the promise that she would get details from Amy after. Amy wasn't sure how much she would be willing to share, but if it wasn't a lot she would just have to settle for what she was comfortable giving.

Amy made her way over to Sheldon's room once again and knocked gently on it. Almost immediately Sheldon answered and ushered her inside. Once she was inside, she really didn't know where she should be standing, so she made her way over to the foot of the bed and stood awkwardly, waiting for Sheldon to start the conversation. She was surprised when Sheldon then gestured for her to sit on the end of the bed with him. Without question, Amy took her seat at the foot of the bed.

Sheldon shyly looked up at Amy and gave her a small smile again. "Thank you Amy." He told her sincerely. "You're welcome Sheldon. Now, everybody has been telling me that you skipped work today. When I dropped you off this morning I was under the impression that you would be working. How come you didn't go into work?" For the longest time, Sheldon didn't answer, but only stared strait ahead at his wall. He was quiet for so long that Amy feared that maybe Sheldon wouldn't talk to her.

Finally after several moments of hesitation, he then turned to her and looked her right in the eyes. Quietly, he told her "I don't know if I can do this." When she looked back with a blank expression, he shifted his gaze back onto the floor and thought for a moment. "It's just, too many emotions that I don't have time to process. I'm a man of science, feelings are hippie- dippy. I don't have time for this…" Suddenly, reality hit Amy and she felt as if she might be having a panic attack.

"Are you… are you breaking up… with me?" She asked cautiously. Sheldon didn't look up at her, but kept his gaze on the floor and remained quiet. Amy took a few moments to process all of this. This was the man she truly loved, and now he was leaving her. She couldn't understand the situation. "Is this because we're moving to fast for you? Sheldon, you have to remember that I'm just as inexperienced as you at this. If it's going to fast, we can go at a pace that better suits you." She was desperately trying to save their relationship, but all Sheldon did was slowly shake his head.

Amy couldn't believe what she was seeing. She felt tears well up in her eyes and they started to burn. She kept trying to form words to tell him how she really felt, how much he meant to her. She was desperately trying to gather breath to make all her pleads while holding back the tears. As time went on slowly, her chest began to rise and fall at a quicker speed and one lone tear trailed gently down her cheek. She dropped her gaze to the floor and started to shake her head as Sheldon had done moments before. She was focused on not letting emotions over come her that she didn't hear Sheldon shift in his bed slightly.

Amy was contemplating if they were too broken to continue their relationship when another tear escaped her eye. Maybe she had pushed him too hard; maybe she had made him uncomfortable. Maybe it just wasn't repairable. She considered getting up and leaving, but eventually settled on returning her gaze on Sheldon, who had his gaze still on the floor. He must have felt Amy's eyes on his because he raised his head and his eyes grazed over her face and her tear stained cheeks.

Another tear escaped Amy's eyes and she move slightly to break their eye contact but Sheldon stopped her and gently held her face in his hands. Slowly, he shook his head again and leaned into Amy and gently brushed his lips on hers for a second before embracing her in a loose hug. He turned his head so his lips were mere inches from her ear and whispered "Amy, please don't cry."