"Here you go," Mary said as she handed Sheldon her mother's engagement ring. She gave her younger son a knowing smile. She didn't expect her son to ever really even think about marriage, but he said something about a fake prom and that he told Amy that he loved her. Then he asked for the ring. His meemaw had told him a long time ago that it was his if he ever found a girl he wanted to marry. Sheldon scoffed at the time, but he understood all the same. Georgie's second wife had stolen most of the possessions in his trailer before she left. Of course the ring couldn't be trusted to him.

"I'm not asking her. I thought it would be a good idea to have it on hand. Maybe Georgie would steal it to give to that woman he is dating now," Sheldon lied. He was terrible at lying, so he picked at his shirt and looked down. He could tell by the smile on his mother's face that she didn't buy a bit of it.

"Stop it," he said.

"Never," Mary said back. Then she kissed her son his temple. Sometimes she couldn't help but see the little boy who caused her so much trouble. He was a man now though. He was going to get married.

Sheldon knew he wasn't going to actually ask Amy Farrah Fowler to be his wife. It was likely that he would never feel a need to really be tied to her. In fact, he was more than happy where they were. He got to spend time with her. They kissed sometimes. He didn't have to have coitus. She went home at the end of the night. It wasn't a bad deal at all. Still, sometimes he got that little feeling in his belly that said that he loved her and wanted to be with her forever.

Like when she came to pick him up for the train show that weekend. She arrived at his door in a little train conductor hat, and Sheldon felt completely smitten—and a little turned on if he was being honest. How could she get him so completely?

"What's wrong?" Amy asked when he just stared at her.

"Let me go back to my room. I need to get something," Sheldon told her. He wished he just had that ring in his pocket. Of course he wanted to marry Amy Farrah Fowler. He should just ask her right that moment.

"Is it important? We're running late, and I need to get gas too," Amy asked.

"No. We can deal with it when we come back," he answered. He could always ask her when they got home. Maybe she would even spend the night after that. It seemed like a good option.

They went to the train show, and they had a lot of fun. Even if it wasn't Amy's favorite thing, she had to admit that the displays were quite impressive. Then, just as they were about to leave, they saw a man propose to his girlfriend right there in front of the biggest display.

"That's what I always wanted," Amy said as she pointed to the couple. Then she wrapped her arm through Sheldon's to watch.

"A large train display? I'm very much agreeable to that," Sheldon agreed.

"No. A proposal that means something to both people. How cute is it that he asked her here with their hobby?"

Sheldon shrugged, and he thought he should plan something special for Amy. He couldn't just ask her at home after a train show now. It might mean something to him, but it didn't to her. Perhaps this required more effort than he previously assumed.

Sheldon never really understood the term "heartbreak" until he experienced it. He was in physical pain most of the time. He missed Amy. He missed good night Skype calls. He missed her smile. He missed someone calling him on his nonsense. He missed her.

Then he looked at that godawful ring again. That terrible, stupid engagement ring that his mother wouldn't take back. He wished that Georgie had given it to any of his wives instead of making Sheldon be saddled with it.

"What's the ring box?" Penny asked as she pointed into Sheldon's lockbox.

"Oh. That's an engagement ring I was going to give to my girlfriend, Amy." Sheldon was trying to sound upbeat about it since Adam Nemoy and Wil Wheaton were standing in his apartment. He picked up the box to show the two guests.

"What?" Penny asked in shock.

"You bought her a ring?" Leonard asked.

"No. No. This has been in my family for generations," Sheldon explained. Then to keep things light, he added an amusing family anecdote. He was going to get through this without crying even if the ache in his chest deepened. He was a man. He was strong.

Until Leonard and Penny wouldn't shut up about it. They got to be married and happy. They got what Sheldon wanted. What business was this of theirs? It was fine. He was fine.

"I said I'm fine!" he shouted at them. He. Was. Fine.

Sheldon turned to his guests again after an awkward moment, and tried to remember why they were there. He made a few jokes that fell flat while he tried to maintain some focus. His chest was killing him. If he wasn't used to it by now, he would have asked to go to the hospital.

He tried to get back on the subject, but he couldn't think of anything other than Amy. It didn't help that no one else would let it go. He didn't even notice he was shouting until Penny pointed it out. This was all enough. He needed a break, so he stormed off to his bedroom for a while.

In his room, Sheldon thought about Amy. He thought about how much he loved her. When they broke up, she said she loved him too. It was commitment that she wanted, right? An engagement ring meant commitment. Maybe that's all she needed. He wasn't asking her just to get her back. He really did want to marry her. He stood up, and went to the living room.

"Hello," he said to Leonard and Penny. Then he explained his plan to ask Amy to marry him, and if she said no that he would let her go forever. At least then he would know without a doubt that it was over. He could move on and be happy.

Sheldon made his way to Amy's apartment. He was practicing what he was going to say in his head. Until he saw her. She was outside her apartment with a tall, thin guy with a beard. He bent down to kiss her. Sheldon had his answer. She was done with him. Sheldon turned and left without even speaking to her. He put the ring away when he got home. He was never going to marry Amy Farrah Fowler.

Sheldon was a nervous kind of excited about Amy's birthday. He didn't want to screw it up. He buttoned up his shirt and pulled on his suit jacket. Yep. He was a good looking man. Amy was a lucky, lucky girl. Of course he couldn't help but remind himself that he was a lucky guy too. He was back with the love of his life, and for better or worse, this was going to be a birthday to remember.

On his way out, Sheldon thought about grabbing the ring. After tonight, she would always be his first and he hers. Of course that was a big enough event on its own that he didn't need to add to it. It was best to leave the ring at home.

Later, Sheldon lie in Amy's bed. He was happy because even though he had done this all for Amy, it was actually fun. She put her head on his bare chest and doodled on his stomach with her index finger.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Amy asked him. He wasn't complaining about her lying on him, and that wasn't like him at all.

"I am well," Sheldon answered.

"And it's okay that I'm touching you right now?" Amy checked.

"We've been touching all night. Besides, Penny explained that you might want to cuddle with me after we finished. I knew that was likely going in."

Amy chuckled at his unintended double entendre. She didn't bother trying to explain it to him.

"I love you, Sheldon. You are the best boyfriend."

Sheldon couldn't help but agree. He knew his Amy very well. He knew that she would love this gift the moment he thought of it. The other options were only in case he was moving too fast. Sheldon sighed contentedly.

Amy moved so that she was just lying next to Sheldon. She pressed her face practically into Sheldon's armpit. He didn't think he could love someone enough to put his face in their armpit. Not even someone as clean as himself. Still, Amy seemed comfortable there.

"I love you, too," Sheldon admitted. He said it freely and often because he had no doubts about it. "Will you marry me?" he asked Amy without thinking about the words. He wanted this forever, but this was also a mistake. He didn't know how to take them back. Leonard had gotten himself in trouble with Penny with this exact scenario, and Sheldon was starting to panic a little. He had just gotten Amy back.

Amy let out a snore in response.

Sheldon let out a relieved breath. He would plan something special for when he asked her. In fact, he lie there planning until he fell asleep right next to Amy.

Sheldon packed the picnic basket full of food and supplies to eat said food. Of course they wouldn't be actually eating the food outside like the picnic basket implied. He wasn't some kind of animal. Instead, he and Amy Farrah Fowler were headed to the VR lab at Caltech. He had worked with Howard to develop a picnic simulator so that he could take Amy on a lovely picnic that had no chance of being ruined with a bee sting.

"What is the surprise?" Amy asked when Sheldon finally let her come out into the living room from their bedroom. He made her spend most of the last hour back there while he made sandwiches and potato salad. The suspense was killing her.

"Come on," he said as he held the basket in one hand and led her out of the apartment with the other. He pat his pocket once more to make sure the engagement ring was safe in his pocket.

"Are we going to the beach?" Amy asked hopefully. That would definitely be a surprise.

"No. Well, no-ish," he said. Then they made their way down the stairs.

Amy was curious what he was up to, but they didn't drive to the beach. He instructed her to drive to campus. Maybe they were just stopping there for something before they went on their way. However, Sheldon insisted that she come in with him. He also grabbed the basket. This definitely wasn't a day at the beach.

They walked into one of the computer buildings, and Sheldon led her to an empty room. This was getting less romantic by the moment. Especially when he handed her a VR headset and a pair of gloves that would help the machines know where her hands were.

"Don't put that on yet. Let's get comfortable first." Sheldon opened the basket and put down a blanket. Then he laid out all of the food he lovingly prepared.

Amy sat down on the blanket across from Sheldon. She put on the headset on, and she was in a little meadow in a forest full of huge trees. She looked up to where Sheldon was. He was standing there in the forest.

"Is that really you?" Amy asked. She looked down, and could see her own body, but her clothes were different from what she was wearing in real life. Not fancy, but what she had worn a day last week.

"Howard helped me put in renderings of us. It's using the headset I have to give you my approximate location in relation to yours. The microphone picks up my speech and makes my virtual mouth move in relation." Sheldon played with a gadget he could see but Amy couldn't. Suddenly they were at the beach.

"The beach?" The world changed around them again. "Griffith Park?" It changed again. "A snowy mountain?" The next time it changed, it went back to the forest they originally started with.

Amy decided to play along. The beach still sounded nice, so she chose that one. Sheldon flipped the scene back to the beach.

"How can I see the food?" Amy asked as reached to pick up a piece of fried chicken.

"The plates have visual cues that allow that information to pierce the VR bubble. That's why when you reach to pick up a piece of food, your hand is gloved when it's over the plate."

Amy thought that was actually kind of cool. To be fair, this whole thing must have taken a lot of work, and it was a really great rendering. She could almost feel the ocean spray on her face. She tried to just enjoy it.

That was until she started feeling a little off. The VR set was giving her a headache, which she tried her best to ignore. It was getting worse. And worse.

"I have something I wanted to ask you," Sheldon started. He reached into his real life pocket.

"Give me a sec," Amy started. Then she ripped off her headset and made a beeline for the trash can where she emptied the contents of her stomach. The pain had gotten too much for her to handle.

Sheldon pulled off his own headset and ran over to Amy to make sure she was okay. He hated that all of his hard work seemed to be a waste. He jammed the ring back into his pocket. This didn't seem like the time. Instead, he took her to the clinic on campus.

When Amy was advised that she probably just had some motion sickness and that she should lie down with a cool cloth on her head, Sheldon took Amy home to do just that. Sheldon lie next to Amy who was doing better, but still weak. He decided that he should wait. This was supposed to be perfect. And that wasn't today.

Sheldon couldn't help but think this was disgusting. Sheldon had been kissed against his will exactly three times. Once was Leonard's mother. That was unpleasant, but it was just a drunken mistake. He and Beverly never spoke of it since it happened. The second was another drunken mistake from Amy Farrah Fowler. That wasn't too bad. It was sweet and over quickly, and Amy was a good kisser. Even better now that they did it frequently.

Now he was being kissed by Ramona. It didn't feel at all like when Amy kissed him. It was uncomfortable. Ramona didn't smell the same. Her lips weren't as soft as Amy's. Sheldon didn't like this. He knew he could never like this. He needed Amy. Now. Forever.

"Excuse me a moment," Sheldon said before he made his hasty escape from his office. He left the building without thinking about it and found an Uber to take him home. There, he needed a moment to think. Not about Amy. Not really about Amy. Should he call her? No that wouldn't do. He needed to talk to someone smarter than he. That meant only one person: Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking reassured Sheldon that he should marry Amy. Of course he should. Sheldon already knew that. His brain had calmed down now. Sheldon booked a flight because this couldn't wait, but it also couldn't be done over the phone. Then he called Amy's parents. He didn't particularly care about getting their permission, but he knew that Amy would care.

"About time, son," Amy's father said when Sheldon asked for Amy's hand.

"Is that a yes?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course it is," Mr. Fowler told him.

"Thank you," Sheldon said earnestly. Then he ended the call.

All of Sheldon's nerves were gone. That one kiss from Ramona had showed him that he never wanted his lips to touch another woman for the rest of his life. He had known that all along, but it had taken that little push to remove all of the doubts. He also gave up on trying to make it perfect. He wasn't perfect. Amy wasn't perfect. He wanted to be with her now. This couldn't wait another day.

Sheldon wasn't nervous at all during his flight or as he made his way down the hall of Amy's temporary apartment building. Not even when he knocked on her door with his signature knock that would leave no doubt who was standing at the door. He only felt happiness when he dropped to his knee and waited for Amy to answer. It took just long enough that he worried a little that she wasn't home.

"Will you marry me?" Sheldon asked. And at that moment, the nerves hit. She wasn't answering. She still wasn't answering. Then his phone was ringing. He was confused, so he checked it. It was Leonard. He needed to answer it.

All while Sheldon was talking to Leonard and Penny, he noted that Amy still didn't answer. Until she yelled at him to hang up the phone.

"Yes, Sheldon. Yes. Of course I want to marry you," Amy told him as soon as he put his phone back in his pocket. Sheldon quickly kissed his fiancee. He put the ring on her finger. Then he called his friends back to tell them the good news.

She looked so bright and bubbly and happy that Sheldon thought it was silly to ever worry about making this perfect. With the right girl, it didn't need to be perfect. It just needed to be real.