Amy handed her completed agreement to Sheldon and waited, arms folded. He looked at her grumpily, and then handed his over.

"So, you say that we are to meet again, in one week's time. At which point we will return the agreements, with our requested amendments, to each other?"

"Yes. Do you want that in writing? Shall we have an agreement about writing agreements?" Amy was stifling a smile.

"Hmm," Sheldon was actually thinking about it. "It does seem logical. Let me think further about that."

"First things first. We do this, and then we can worry about an agreement agreement." Amy bit back a laugh. It was hilarious, she thought, that he would actually think about a written agreement about the writing of agreements.

The week passed quickly. Amy had gone over his draft of the agreement and crossed out most of it, she suspected that he had done the same. She had, however, written in 'each item of dispute shall be negotiated face to face and agreement reached on a case by case basis. If agreement cannot be reached, a neutral third party, agreed on by both parties, shall arbitrate and make the final decision. If agreement still cannot be reached, it shall be considered sufficient to end the relationship'. Sheldon, she thought, would never put something like that in an agreement, nor would he want to accept it as the sole parameter of their agreement. But she would hold fast. She typed a clean copy, with spaces for signatures, dates, and a notary, if desired, and printed it out.

She showed it to Penny.

"Well?"

"It says in three sentences what your original said in 20 pages."

"I know." Amy grinned.

"Sheldon will have kittens."

"That would be fun to see. By the way," she tucked the paper in her briefcase, "did you ever talk to Leonard about your concerns?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"Well, I told him that we needed to talk. He panicked. To him, I guess, 'we need to talk', means 'we're breaking up'. I managed to calm him down, but I couldn't get him back on topic. I think I'm going to suggest couples' counseling."

Amy looked at her thoughtfully; you really do want it to work, don't you."

"I do. I'm tired of dating losers. I'm tired of trying to find the perfect man, especially when I know damn good and well that he doesn't exist. This doesn't mean I want to settle for just anybody. Leonard's the best I've found. Like I said, he's smart, well-educated, hardworking, and kind of cute in a nerdy, geeky way. I just want him to get it through his head that he can stand up to people without the world coming to an end."

"You know, if this thing with Sheldon works out, I may suggest couple's counseling, too. Since he's so obsessed with written agreements, maybe I can work it into one. Once it's on paper and he's agreed to it, he can't say no."

Penny nodded, "Once we get our problems sorted out, maybe we can start working on Howard and Bernadette."

"And Raj."

"Raj and who?"

"At this point? Just Raj."

"Amy, can I ask a question?"

"May I. But, yes. Answers aren't guaranteed."

"You sound like my mother. Anyway, you barely know Sheldon, so why are you so intent on dating him?"

"I don't know. Maybe because he's a challenge. Maybe because, to me at least, he's attractive. Maybe because I've been looking for the right man for a lot longer than you and I'm getting tired of it. Maybe because it's nice to find a man who is, arguably, at least as intelligent as I am. Maybe because it gets my mother off my back. Maybe all of those things. Anyway, it's time to confront the Sheldon in his den."

Sheldon greeted her at the door, papers in hand, and escorted her to his desk with great gravity, as if what they were to discuss was of world-shaking importance. He seated her to the left, facing him, then took his seat, leaning back, his legs crossed with his ankle on his knee. Amy recognized what he was doing as a display of dominance, an attempt to take control of the proceedings. She smiled, rose, and moved between him and his desk, leaning on its edge. Doing this, she got into his personal space and forced him to look up at her. She loved the politics of body language.

"Perhaps" he said, "we would be more comfortable discussing this in the living room."

She nodded assent. They moved to the living room. He sat in his 'spot' and indicated that she should sit in the easy chair. She sat next to him, on the couch, smiling. He fidgeted for a moment, pretending to sort the papers, then began.

"I confess, I didn't quite know what to make of what you wrote in this." He waved the papers in his left hand. "What did you think of mine?"

"I had my attorney look at it." She hadn't. "Everything in it was to your advantage. I found that quite unacceptable. I took the liberty of making revisions." She pulled her briefcase onto her lap and opened it, then removed both his original agreement and her single sheet of paper and handed them to him. She closed the briefcase, put it next to her on the couch, and leaned back in an open position, legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles with every appearance of comfort and waited.

He looked at his original, with everything crossed out except their names and the date, with alarm. Then he looked at the single sheet.

"This is unacceptable!"

"Take it or leave it."

He stared at her, unbelieving, for a good minute, then put his original down on the coffee table. He looked from her page to her and back again. Then said, "Do I have no choice?"

"You do. You can accept it or reject it. If you accept it, we go forward. If you reject it, we're over."

He accepted it.

Stay tuned.