A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews and follows. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I know Sheldon is a bit OOC but not too much I hope.
As always I own none of it, I wish I did.
"Well, what do you want from me?"
"I want to know if you will come with me."
"You want me to come with you?" She was stunned. She had half expected him to break up with her when she arrived at the train station. She never thought he would want her to go with him.
"Yes. I think it is the best idea I have had in a while. With all the changes that have been going on in my life, you are the one thing that has not changed. You are always there for me. I need you to help me through this. But I can't do it here. I need to leave the place where everything around me is changing and think. I need help in deciding on a career, I need help dealing with a change in living arrangements, and I need help finding a new comic book store."
Amy laughed at that last statement. Of course that was high on his list of priorities. One thing he hadn't mentioned when saying living arrangements was her living with him. She wondered if he was avoiding the idea or ignoring it all together. She thought the former. It would be easier to avoid the topic rather than fight about it again. She decided it was for the best. If she went with him on this trip, they would see what it was like to live together. Maybe then he would see what a great idea it was.
"Where were you planning on going?" She asked him.
"Well the ticket I bought is for the Grand Canyon, but if you come with me, we can go anywhere you would like."
"How long will we be gone?" She was excited at the prospect of travelling with her boyfriend, but she was unsure of how much time she could take off from work.
"I was thinking a month." Before he could say anything else she jumped in.
"A month! I don't know, Sheldon, how am I going to get that kind of time off work?"
"I have already taken care of that. The moment you said you would come down here to talk to me I made the decision to ask you to join me. I took the liberty of calling President Seibert. You told me last week you had finished your fear study and it would be another month or so before a second study was to begin at Caltech. You also told me you quit UCLA back in March. He has granted us both a month of time off. I have actually been granted 2 months but I think I will only need the one. I hope to make a decision as to my future by then."
"Are you sure about this?" She asked him. He really had thought of everything in just a few short minutes.
"I have never been surer about anything. So what do you say? Will you join me on this trip?"
"I suppose I have no choice, do I?" She said to him.
"There is always a choice, Amy. But I will take that as a yes. Let's go buy you a ticket then." He headed over to change his reservation to a two person sleeper.
"I have a concern though." Amy said to him.
"What is that?" He asked her.
"What do we tell our friends? Penny and Leonard knew you were leaving but they only think I was coming here to try and talk some sense into you. What do you think they will say when they find out you talked me into leaving with you?"
"You know what, right now I don't care. They are the ones who allowed me to leave. They are probably celebrating as we speak. The last words Leonard said were 'He just made that easier.' And he said it because I knew he would miss me. I am going to miss him too. I don't say things like that easily so when he said I'm going to miss you I said, 'of course you are.' Why did that make it easier for him to leave me?"
"I don't know Sheldon. I am sure he really is going to miss you. But sometimes when you say things, people don't take them the way you mean it."
"I guess you are right."
"Now the next question I have, is what are we doing about luggage? I have nothing packed. I know, from what Penny said earlier, you have nothing either. Should we go back and pick up some things or just leave?"
"Let's just leave. My plan, although not very thought out, was to stop at malls and buy what I needed."
"That doesn't sound very practical or affordable."
"I make a decent amount of money. I have been granted full pay while on this sabbatical as they are calling it. I know that is not normal but I know Seibert is glad he doesn't have to look at my 'stupid face' for a month at least. And you won't have to worry about money as I am paying for everything."
"Sheldon I can't ask you to do that."
"Well whether you asked me to or not, I am paying. I asked you to join me. It is only fair if I pay."
"Okay so when do we leave?"
"The train leaves at 8:15pm. We will arrive in the Grand Canyon at approximately noon tomorrow. I hope that is okay with you."
"It sounds great. It is only 6 now, why don't we run to a store and grab some things before we leave."
"Okay."
The two walked out of the train station and headed for the local department store. While they were in the car, Amy's phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Penny.
"It's Penny, should I answer it now and let her know what we are planning?"
"No I think it is best if we call once we are on the train. They may end up coming back to the train station to try and talk us both out of leaving."
"You may be right. I think I will turn it off until we leave, that way she will get the hint I don't want to talk to her right now."
"Good idea, I will turn mine off as well."
They arrived at the store and split up to pick up their own supplies. They agreed to meet 20 minutes later and said they would just pick up the bear minimums for at least 3 nights. Amy made her way to the woman's department and quickly picked up a few pairs of undergarments and a couple of nightgowns. The store didn't have the long ones she normally wore so she just got a few with pants. Then she got a couple of shirts. She decided she would get pants for the trip since the only skirts they had were real short ones. She also decided to get a pair of jeans. She hadn't worn them since high school so she was unsure what would be the proper kind to get. She finally settled on a pair of boot cut in her size.
Sheldon found plenty of character shirts but couldn't find the long sleeve type for underneath. He was frustrated but still picked up 2 flash shirts and a batman shirt. He got two pair of khakis and a pair of jeans. He also got some underwear.
They both picked up some hygiene products and met back in the front of the store 20 minutes later. Amy was looking through a magazine while Sheldon took care of the payment.
"Do you want that magazine or are we finished?" He asked as the last of the items got checked.
"I think I will get it so I have something to read on the train."
Sheldon paid for the items and the two headed back to the train station. Sheldon had picked up a large duffle bag so they could put all their purchases in to carry. They loaded it up and by the time they were finished they were called to board their train. 30 minutes later the couple were headed out of Pasadena and on their way to the Grand Canyon.
Penny and Leonard decided to invite the gang over to tell them the news. Penny kept trying to get ahold of Amy but her phone went straight to voicemail.
"She isn't answering, it's almost as if she turned her phone off."
"Maybe she has." Leonard said to her. "You told her he was leaving, maybe she wasn't successful in talking him out of leaving or maybe she was too late. She may need some time alone now."
"I don't like it. She was really worried about him and when I told her he was leaving she didn't seem annoyed except at me. She wasn't angry at all at him. He was the one leaving and all she could do was yell at me."
"People react differently in all situations. She was obviously angry, and since she couldn't yell at Sheldon, she took it out on you."
Just as she was about to say something else, there was a knock on the door. Bernadette, Howard, Raj and Raj's new girlfriend, Emily arrived.
"What's up guys?" Howard asked. "Why the last minute invite over?"
"We need to tell you guys something." Leonard informed them.
"What about? Did you guys break off the engagement already?" Howard asked.
"Howie!" Bernadette yelled at him.
"No, it's about Sheldon." Penny said.
"What did he do this time?" Raj asked.
"He left town." Leonard answered.
"What do you mean he left town? And where is Amy?" Bernadette asked.
"Amy came over a while ago and said that she and Sheldon had a fight and he took off. She apparently was trying to make him understand that it might not be a big deal to live on his own. Then she mentioned that if he wasn't happy alone, they could always live together. He was already angry that I had suggested he could move to 4B. He didn't take it well. Then he went to the comic book store. Apparently he had a run in with Stuart. And we all know what happened at work this morning. He is not taking the change well. He bought a ticket out of Pasadena to think. Penny has been trying to get in touch with Amy since she talked to her an hour ago. She was going to go to the train station and see if she was too late. Now she isn't answering her phone." Leonard answered her.
"Wait, you suggested he move out of this apartment today? Are you nuts?" Howard asked him. "This is his apartment. I can understand why he may have been upset. Today was probably not the best day for that kind of announcement."
"Did Amy talk to him with you guys?" Bernadette asked them.
"No, I talked to her about an hour ago. I told her that we had found him and he was leaving."
"Wait, so you told her after you had seen him?" Bernadette asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well I think I know why she isn't answering her phone. Did it ever occur to you that she is angry with the two of you? You found her boyfriend after she came over here looking for him and you didn't inform her right away. Then you call her after you have seen him to tell her he was leaving? I don't think I would want to speak to you after that."
"Yeah guys that is pretty low." Raj agreed. Howard just shook his head in agreement as well.
"He left because of her!" Penny screamed.
"Are you serious?" Bernadette was angry. "It sounds to me that he left because he can't handle change. From the way you just explained it, it sounds more like you are to blame. You knew he was having a rough day, and you brought up him moving out? Are you crazy? You knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. Is that what you wanted, him to leave so the two of you could cozy up in this apartment? Well I hope Amy found him and talked some sense into him."
"Hey I tried to talk him out of leaving. Penny was the one who encouraged me to let him go. She didn't even want to go and find him after he hadn't checked in after a while."
"That figures." Bernadette said angrily.
"What do you mean that figures? Sheldon is a grown man. He can make his own decisions!" Penny looked at her friend.
"Yes, but in this case did it ever occur to you that maybe he could have used his friends or girlfriends help? I know he isn't one for change, but running away isn't always the answer. I just hope if Amy didn't find him she can forgive him and you."
"So are you taking Amy's side on this? She suggested they could move in together! How did that help?"
"I'm sure it didn't, but that doesn't make it right you not telling her as soon as you found out where he was. I am not taking Amy's side. I think if anything I am taking Sheldon's side. He's had a rough few weeks. We all knew that and we have all had our own lives to deal with and haven't really been thinking about him. I know he is a grown up but he is still very fragile. You saw how hurt he was when Amy lied to him a few weeks back. She's been making it up to him ever since. I've talked to her. They have grown very close since Professor Proton's death."
"Really I didn't know." Penny said.
"That's because you were so busy with the movie and now with getting engaged, you haven't really had a long conversation with any of us. She may have thought the prospect of them living together wouldn't hurt him now. Like I said, they had gotten close. I just hope he doesn't ruin it for her."
At that exact moment, Penny's phone rang.
"It's Amy." She said as she was answering it. "Hey Ames, I've been trying to get in touch with you. Everyone is over at the apartment, why don't you come over?" She stood listening for a while. "So you found him?" Again she listened. " Are you sure about this?" She paused again. "Ok, well thanks for letting us know." She listened again. "Yes I will tell everyone. Talk to you guys later." She hung up.
"What did she say?" Bernadette asked.
"It seems she got a call from Sheldon just after Leonard and I left him. He asked her to come and talk to him. She was on her way to the train station when I called her. She didn't want me to know, in case he didn't either. Well it turns out, he apologized for the hurtful things he said to her. It seems they have made up."
"Oh thank goodness for that." Bernadette breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, did she talk him in to staying?" Raj asked.
"No actually she called from the train. Apparently, Sheldon asked Amy to come along on his journey of discovery."
"What?" Everyone asked at once.
"Yeah it seems he thinks this is the best idea he has had in a while. She said he needed her help. They left 15 minutes ago."
"Where are they going?" Leonard asked.
"She wouldn't say. All she said was they would contact us when they could and they would be back in a month."
"A month?" Leonard asked.
"That's what she said." Penny answered him.
"Well I guess we know why she didn't answer her phone." Emily spoke for the first time. "She didn't want you all to go after her like you did with him."
"I guess she's right. If they have been getting as close as Bernadette says they are maybe the two of them need this time together without interference from the rest of us." Raj said.
"We don't interfere." Penny interjected.
"We are always interfering." Leonard said to her.
"When?"
"How about the Dungeons and Dragons game?" Bernadette suggested.
"That was a year ago."
"Okay, maybe so, but how about when we told him how much he has changed because of her and then he went to break up with her. If we hadn't pointed it out he wouldn't have gone over to her place. Luckily that worked out because we called her to warn her. But we are always in their business."
The gang agreed.
Amy got off the phone with Penny and looked at Sheldon.
"What did she say?" He asked her
"She asked me if I found you. You heard my end. I told her what happened. She asked if I was sure and I told her yes. She said the gang was over and she would tell them for us. Then she said thanks for letting them know."
"They were all over already? I told you they were celebrating."
"I don't think that is it. Her voice sounded genuinely concerned. I think they may have been invited over to discuss your departure. She wanted me to come over too. Well until I told her I left with you."
"So that's it, they all know now."
"Yep."
"Well good, that saves us a lot of phone calls and explanations."
"I agree. What shall we do now?" She asked him. "Would you like to play Counterfactuals?"
"I wouldn't be opposed to that."
The two of them sat on the train and played for about an hour. Then they sat and held hands while they talked. It was like when they first met. They were extremely comfortable around each other and felt no pressure from anyone. They turned in around 11 and slept as soundly as one could while on a moving train. The next few weeks would be a test of their relationship.
A/N: Feedback and reviews are always helpful. I hope to update quickly but I have so many ideas for this story I am trying to get them down in a normal order.