Amy got off the bus to walk the rest of the way to Sheldon's apartment. Her car's 'check engine' light had turned on earlier in the day, and unlike a certain bestie of her's, she had taken it to get it looked at immediately. It was too bad that it had fallen on date night because now she was going to have to spend the whole night at Sheldon's or deal with his bus pants.

There was a toy shop on Amy's left as she walked down Los Robles, and she glanced in the window. Inside, there was something there that she couldn't help but smile at; a teddy bear in a blue Star Trek uniform with pointy little bear ears. The Spock-bear was so endearing that Amy had to stop in and buy it. She didn't like Star Trek herself, but Sheldon was so exceedingly fond of the character that Amy knew that she would never be able to see the bear without thinking of him.

After spending far too much for a bear, Amy made her way to the guys' apartment. When she knocked on the door, Sheldon promptly appeared. He smiled slightly upon seeing her in that way that never failed to take her breath away.

"Oh, I have one of those," Sheldon said upon seeing the bear in her hands. "Spock's great, isn't he?" He finished as he stepped aside to allow Amy access to the apartment. She was a little glad that he said that. She loved him (not that she would ever admit it to him), and she would have handed it over in a second if she thought he wanted it. Now, she could have her little piece of Sheldon to cuddle with, given the fact that getting him to do it was like pulling teeth. Amy was also a little relieved that Sheldon didn't think it was weird for her to show up clutching a teddy bear.

Leonard was sitting in his workspace. The other guys and Penny weren't there, but Amy assumed that they would show up eventually. Thursday was pizza night after all. This was likely to be the closest Amy and Sheldon were likely to get to alone time for the night. Sheldon offered her a drink, so she followed him over to the kitchen while he made her some tea.

They sat together in silence for longer than most people would be comfortable, but they liked it. She kept stealing glances at his impossibly blue eyes. Amy knew that they didn't have the kind of relationship that others had, and while she longed to reach out and touch his beautiful hands, she wouldn't be willing to trade what they had for the world.

All of this was so new for Amy that the urges sometimes struck her in an almost physical way. She had never wanted to touch anyone the way she wanted to touch Sheldon. It wasn't even sexual most of the time. It was just a sense that when they were together they were more whole. At least that's how it was for her. Amy knew Sheldon didn't go in for all of that, so she worked really hard to avoid touching him whenever possible.

"How is work going?" Amy eventually asked Sheldon.

"It is going well. I've been making some strides in my six-loop gravity calculations work. Also, I've been drawing a really cool train. How is your work going?"

"I've become a little too attached to one of the monkeys, and I have to cut open his brain tomorrow. Other than that everything has been going really well."

"Ah. I've always maintained that you are a little too sentimental, Amy."

"Yes. I believe you are correct," Amy agreed, thinking again of how much she would like to grab his hand.

Their conversation was cut short by the entrance of Howard, Bernadette, and Raj with the pizza. Leonard slipped out to let Penny know the pizza had arrived. Amy and Sheldon sat together on the couch. Her knee bumped into his, but he didn't pull back in a flinch the way he would have months ago. They did separate, but it was only after a few seconds of precious contact. Amy did her best to relish the short contact. Sheldon passed her a slice of pizza on a plate and she watched the conversation. Amy still wasn't used to the group dynamic even after the two and a half years of being around the guys. It was easier for her to just watch them interact. Although, she had to admit that she frequently laughed at the jokes about Howard's education or lack thereof.

After a couple of hours the party started to break up. First, Howard and Bernadette left to go see Howard's mother for a while. Then, Raj went to spend some time with Stuart at the comic book store. Even Leonard and Penny went over to her apartment, leaving Sheldon and Amy alone on the couch.

Amy knew that she should be heading back home. It was after dark and she already felt nervous about taking the bus home. It wouldn't be helped by leaving even later, but she didn't want to leave Sheldon's side just yet. It was the first time they had been alone all evening.

The lone couple left in 4A talked about work and about their friends and about Star Trek. Amy was enjoying it so much that she ignored the growing pain over her right eye. Migraines weren't a common part of her life, but she had had enough of them that she should have recognized the pattern. Unfortunately, Amy didn't pay enough attention to it until it was so bad that she had a hand clutched over her eye.

"Amy, is everything okay?" Sheldon asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"I just... headache... maybe I should get heading home," Amy replied. She felt stupid to let this headache to get so bad. She was a neurobiologist, dammit. Now she was going to have to try to navigate public transportation while barely being able to see.

Amy stood up, but the room started to spin a little bit. She fumbled her first step and nearly fell, but was caught by a pair of large hands. The pain actually lifted slightly at the thought of Sheldon's hands on her arm and waist. He sat her down back on the couch.

"Nonsense. I'm not letting you drive home like this," Sheldon said to her.

"The bus actually," Amy corrected him.

He just sighed and went into the bathroom and returned with a bottle of over the counter migraine medication and a glass of water from the kitchen. He handed her the bottle and told her to take two of the pills.

"You can sleep here tonight."

"Thanks, Sheldon."

He walked toward the back of the apartment where the bedrooms are and then stopped and looked back at her.

"Well, come on."

Amy assumed that Sheldon was going to get her a pillow and a blanket so that she could sleep on the couch. She was shocked into silence as she followed him back to his bedroom. She had seen his room before, but she had never spent much time there. She wished that the pain wasn't nearly blinding her so that she could get a better look at his space.

He pulled out some of his own pajamas and handed them to her. "These are my emergency pajamas, but you may wear them if you'd prefer." Then he just walked out to let her change.

Amy carefully folded up her own clothes even though she still felt unsteady on her feet. Sheldon wouldn't appreciate a pile of clothes lying on the floor. When she was changed, Amy just sat down on Sheldon's bed. Even this felt like an invasion of his privacy. She couldn't bring herself to climb under his covers and go to sleep even if it was what she wanted more than just about everything.

Knock Knock Knock "Amy." Knock Knock Knock "Amy." Knock Knock Knock "Amy."

"Come in," Amy said weakly.

Sheldon came in holding the Spock-bear that Amy arrived with. "I thought you might want this." He handed it over, and she clutched it to her chest.

"Why aren't you lying down?" Sheldon asked. He was so much more tender with her when she was sick.

She stood up and pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed. It smelled like him.

Sheldon turned to leave, but she turned toward him. "Hey, Sheldon, where are you going to sleep?"

"Leonard's room, of course," he said before he turned off the light and left the room.

Amy tried to stay as close to the edge of the bed as she could. It felt like she could stop herself from invading his space by occupying as little of it as possible. The bear was soft in her arms. It had been years and years since she had slept with a stuffed animal, but it felt right. She was glad that she had bought it on a whim. The pain and the medication pulled her into a deep sleep.

Sheldon did work alone in the living room until his bed time. He didn't particularly want to sleep in Leonard's room, but Amy was in so much pain that he couldn't let her try to take the bus home. He could see it on the way her face contorted before she tried to leave. The clock struck nine, so he shut down his computer and went into Leonard's room. It was messier than the shared spaces, and Sheldon fought the urge to dust the whole place before he went to sleep. Somehow he managed to fall asleep despite the dust that was probably clogging up his lungs.

That was until someone came into the room and sat down on the bed. Sheldon sat up with a small scream and Leonard jumped up and also screamed.

"Sheldon, what the hell are you doing in my bed?" Leonard yelled at Sheldon.

"Shh. Keep your voice down. Amy is sleeping in my bed."

"Well, why aren't you sleeping in there with her? Isn't that the whole point of having your girlfriend sleep over?"

"Leonard, don't be ridiculous. She was ill, so I let her sleep there. I assumed that you would be sleeping over a Penny's, so I would sleep here."

"Well, I'm not. We got in a disagreement."

"You didn't ask her to marry you mid-coitus again did you?"

"No. You know what? It's too late for this. Just get out."

"Where am I going to sleep?"

"I don't know, Sheldon. The couch?"

Sheldon sighed and left Leonard's room. He thought about waking Amy up and moving her to the couch, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he decided to just sneak into his bedroom and grab his extra pillow and spend the night on the couch.

When he was in his room, he could see her there still fast asleep. Amy was curled into a small ball on the side of the bed. Normally, he thought that his bed could only fit one person, but she was so small. Especially curled up like that. He wondered if that was how she slept at home. Now that he was back in his room watching her sleep there was a part of him that didn't want to leave again. There was so much space on the bed that he could probably just lay down there. He might have to be closer to the edge than he was used to in order to not touch her, but he was confident that they would both fit. Sheldon also thought to the times when she invited him to sleep in her bed with her when he had his misadventure with the bongo drums and thought that she probably wouldn't mind if he just slept there with her.

On a whim that he probably would not have indulged if he had been well rested, Sheldon climbed into his own bed next to Amy Farrah Fowler. He was very careful not to disturb her. It was a little awkward being over so far, but Sheldon was tired enough to drift off to sleep soon enough.