Not much is going to happen for Sheldon and Alison, this chapter. Sorry for the wait, I promise there will be faster ones next week.

{Penny}

Amy had driven to Penny's at such a time that she would arrive at exactly 11 am. After knocking on the door, Penny opened it and asked "So, how was your date with Stewart?"

"Great! We ended up going on a picnic on the boardwalk; I almost got hit by a bicycle, but Stewart rushed in and pushed me out of the way. We watched the sunset together, his arm around me, and my head on his shoulder, just like in the movies! Sheldon never did anything like that." Amy summarized excitedly as she walked into Penny's apartment.

Penny was thrilled to hear that she was totally over Sheldon. She had moved on and found someone who understood her better. Stewart wasn't afraid to try to be romantic, even if it would fail, though from the excited way Amy was talking he had hit it on the nose. "That's wonderful!" Penny exclaimed giving Amy a hug. "Do you wonder at all how Sheldon is taking it?" Penny inquired, curious to see if her friend wanted to know.

"I don't want to know if he's heartbroken. Is he taking it better than I did?" Amy asked, trying to give Penny an option to answer without making her feel guilty. If she felt bad about leaving Sheldon it would ruin her new relationship with Stewart.

"Well, he took it really hard at first, but there was no alcohol involved. Alison talked to him. I guess she said something that helped. They've been hanging out lately, she filled in for Raj on game night, he helped her unpack on Thursday, and she's driving him to and from work in place of Leonard while he works on something sciencey for the weird convention thingy. I don't think they have any relational intentions, just a crazy scientist and a slightly less crazy scientist helping each other out a little." Penny told Amy the whole truth. She couldn't deny that Alison was pretty. Her light brown hair and dark blue eyes, her hair naturally straight, she was pretty.

Sheldon didn't see that though, he didn't care that she had the physical attributes of an ex-cheerleader, she wasn't short, but not at all tall. Just a little shorter than average, but she was thin, a high metabolism from 5 years of athleticism. Not overly curvy, but with her natural light weight and thin bone structure, she looked balanced. It was almost a shame that she had given it all up to become a scientist. Sheldon wouldn't ever see those things about her; as far as nerds go she was gorgeous, and pretty by any standards, Sheldon would only care if she was smart. Penny knew Sheldon, and she knew Alison, she had no way of knowing them together yet, but they were both scientists, she wasn't in physics; Sheldon would have less to compare her to.

Penny couldn't help but think that they would make an adorable couple. They both had their own piles of crazy, though Sheldon was entirely fearless about it, and she was soft and well-mannered in company, but when you got to know her she had her own set of quirks. Penny didn't dare to tell Alison that though.

{Amy}

"That's great news. He has a new friend, I have a prospective boyfriend!" Amy sighed, relieved to hear that she had nothing to worry about, "All Sheldon really saw in me was a friend who he could get to take up the roles that kept his world in order when his friends got sick of it. If Alison will do that for him without requiring a fancy title, then I have no reason to feel guilty about breaking up with him."

It almost hurt to say that. It was true; Sheldon just wanted her to fill a set of contractual obligations. He had only agreed to call her his girlfriend so she would do that. Maybe he had felt something deeper, but all Amy knew was that he didn't act like it at all. She was just a role to him, nothing more, but without her he didn't have a backup friend to lean on.

Stewart, he had made a bold attempt at romance, and he had made her feel special. That was all she wanted, to feel like she was valued as a person. She wanted to be more than a robotic substitute for Sheldon's companions, responsible for splinters and emergency driving. Stewart made her feel loved, he hadn't been opposed to physical contact, but he didn't overwhelm her either. It felt perfect, the moment under the sunset the chilly ocean breeze still blowing towards the land, though it threatened to switch directions within the hour and stick her hair to the lip-gloss that Penny had expertly applied to her just for the date.

He had put his arm around her at the perfect moment, the sun slipping towards the horizon and starting to turn the sky a peachy orange color. All of the facts regarding the color of the sky and the direction at which seaside breezes blow released. She melted into the moment and rested her head on his shoulder. They watched the sun set, it was beautiful. As the last part of the sun dropped below the horizon he kissed her on the forehead again. As if he didn't dare to drift any closer to her lips, he always kissed her forehead. She had looked into his eyes and the moment had felt perfect. She kissed his lips, and he didn't seem alarmed at all, reaching up to hold the back of her head. It was a short kiss, but still the sweet ending that the perfect moment deserved.

Sheldon had his structural needs filled by a new girl, Alison would figure out the rules to Sheldon's world, and she would enjoy her new relationship with Stewart. Everything was falling into place. She decided that her relationship with Sheldon was just a painful mistake. It seems like everyone makes them. Penny had Kurt, and she had Sheldon. As long as Alison didn't let herself fall in love with Sheldon there wouldn't be any problems. As soon as she let herself slip there was no way out, but as long as they kept a plutonic relationship they could enjoy each other's company without getting too caught up on something that wasn't there.

{Howard}

If Raj hadn't bumped into Lucy there wouldn't have been any reason for him to miss vintage game night, things would have gone like any other Friday night. Sheldon wouldn't have needed a substitute player 4. Or if Penny hadn't creamed Sheldon the last time she played video games with the group he might have picked her. If he and Amy were still together Amy would have been called in to play. Why didn't Sheldon just call and invite Bernadette, sure she wasn't the best, but it would have been less irritating than hearing Alison and Sheldon fight over whether or not Alison had to eat the chicken.

If only the food order wasn't so deeply preset. Then they could have made a slight modification to the order and avoided the whole thing. Howard now had a reason to be mad at the comic book store. Sure it was great that Raj now had a girlfriend, of sorts… But was it really worth all of this trouble! The way he felt watching them argue it wasn't like when he and his mother argued. It wasn't like when Penny and Leonard argued. It was crazy real, they fought in such an intense manner that he had to remind himself several times that they were arguing over who would eat chicken, from the way he could tell they were thinking it seemed as if they were debating theories of everything, and she had said that she didn't think string theory was correct. No even that would warrant a less intense argument. They were deeply invested in their opinions; she had dared to state hers, something no one ever did. Although her final statement was impressive, over exaggerated yet reasonable, it shined the spotlight on her point and made Sheldon think. She appeared to be a seasoned veteran in arguments.

If someone can get their way against Sheldon in an argument, no matter how small it really is has to be good. She could be dangerous, she might change Sheldon, and sure that seems like it would be good, but Sheldon should be left unharmed by relationships. Sheldon was Sheldon. No matter how annoying he is, he is brilliant, crazy but brilliant. Then again, she might take some of the pressure off of the group while leaving him fundamentally unchanged. Maybe she was exactly what Sheldon needs.

Sorry about the short chapter, I really haven't had the time to write for the past few days, plus this was hard for me to write, as it was purely insight into other characters thoughts about Alison and Sheldon. I promise there will be some cute moments soon!