Sheldon sat waiting for the train in the San Francisco station. A glance at his watch told him that he had approximately two minutes before the next train. It had been a week since he left Pasadena and he was still no closer to finding the answers he needed.

He had indeed opted to ride the rails like a hobo, however he refused to sleep like one. Each day he would decide on a stop and find a hotel to spend the night. Then he would get up bright and early and do it all again, just hoping inspiration would strike. But so far, no such luck.

The train came to a halt outside of the station, and Sheldon gathered his things. He hugged his bag tightly to him as he waited in the line to board the train. There was quite a long line in front of him and he worried about getting a seat to himself.

"Dang," he muttered to himself as he boarded the train. It was completely packed and most rows already had at least one patron. He began to walk up the first train car scanning the rows for a seat. A large man with a messy-looking hamburger sat in one with a seat beside him….nope. A frazzled looking woman trying to calm a restless infant was in another…absolutely not. Sheldon got to the back of the car and was about to continue onward when he noticed a young girl reading a book in the last row, sitting alone. Sheldon pondered for a moment. He really didn't want to make any useless chit-chat, especially not with a hormonal teenager—but considering his other options he felt he had no choice. The girl also had long brown hair and glasses, which was slightly comforting to him…but he tried to push that thought to the back of his mind.

Sheldon sat down on the seat next to the girl, and held his bag on his lap. She seemed too content with her reading to notice that he had sat down…so far, so good. The train slowly began to pull out of the station and a conductor started to holler for people's tickets. Sheldon began to rummage through his bag looking for his ear buds to keep in as a precaution, but just as he grabbed a hold of them, the girl looked up.

"Where you headed?" the girl asked.

Sheldon tried to hide his annoyance. He wondered if he had time to get up and move, but Amy's nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that would be rude. Oh that vixen, she even had an affect on him hundreds of miles away. Realizing pretending he was deaf would be too problematic to play out, Sheldon begrudgingly decided to respond.

"I'm not sure. Where are you headed?"

"I just have one more stop. Why aren't you sure?"

"That's a bit strange to ask a perfect stranger, don't you think?"

"Just making conversation. So-rry." The girl returned back to her book.

Sheldon, perplexed, studied the girl sitting beside him. For reasons he could not address, she reminded him of Amy. A twinge of homesickness took hold, and before Sheldon knew it, he was spilling the entire story to a complete stranger.

"I didn't mean to be rude, I just have a lot on my mind. The University where I work won't let me change my field of study from String Theory, my roommate just got engaged and wants to move out of my apartment, the comic book store burned down, and my girlfriend is in love with me and wants to move in with me. I have no idea what I am going to do or where I'm going and I feel as though my head will explode."

The girl's eyes widened and looked as if she was trying to hide a smile. "Wow."

"Wow? All you have to say is 'Wow'?"

"I just certainly wasn't expecting all of that when I asked." The girl looked at him quizzically. "I'm Ellie." She extended her hand.

It occurred to Sheldon that he left his hand sanitizer in the hotel the night before. He swallowed, and stiffly shook her hand. "Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

"Well, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, it sounds like you've had quite the week."

"The worst," Sheldon sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, take a deep breath. You seem like a smart guy, Dr. I'm sure you'll figure it out. I mean…yeah, if a comic book store burned down that totally sucks…but can your girlfriend being in love with you be such a bad thing, really?"

Sheldon stared at Ellie as if she was from a different planet. "You don't understand. Love means commitment, love means sharing my space, love means compromises-what if 'Doctor Who' is on and she wants to watch 'Little House on the Prairie'?"

"That show is still on? What year is this?" Ellie glanced at her watch.

"Right? I just don't see how it would work."

"Do you love her?" Ellie rested her head against her hand.

"I…I guess I've never thought about it." Sheldon shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Sure you have. At least subconsciously, right?"

Sheldon thought a moment. Exploring feelings like love was certainly not something he had ever planned on doing. Admitting to himself that he had these feelings would cause even more to change, and he just couldn't take any more change right now.

"Well, what do you know? You're what…fourteen?"

"Sixteen, thank you very much." Ellie scoffed. "And I've been in love."

"You have not."

"Sure I have. Well…I mean, I am...in love. But I don't think he feels the same way. If you have someone who loves you so much that she wants to live with you, and make compromises for you, and share things with you…you're lucky. Luckier than most people." Ellie sat back in her chair.

Sheldon thought about this for a moment. He did often question why these things would be so disconcerting for him.

"How does she make you feel?" Ellie tried again.

Sheldon began to retort, but then stopped himself. Something about that question hit something deep within. A warmth started to spread through his chest that he didn't notice before, yet it felt familiar. He recognized it from the time that his mother had taken him to see his first train…he recognized it from the smile his Grandfather would give him when he talked about science….and from the first time Amy kissed him on her sofa.

"Happy," Sheldon finally answered. "And comfortable…at ease. I can be myself around her and she doesn't judge me."

"She sounds awesome," Ellie smiled. "If you can be yourself around her…nothing much really needs to change then, right?"

"No…I guess it really doesn't." Sheldon pondered this for a moment. "But what if she wants to get more physical?"

Ellie's face twisted up. "Eww. TMI, Dr."

"Sorry…" Sheldon's face grew red. "It's just…I'm not ready for that. "

"If she's as awesome as you say, something tells me she'll understand."

"I've never been very good with…feelings…and things of that sort."

"I never could have guessed," Ellie giggled. Sheldon gave her a snarky look and she stopped.

"Well what about you? Have you talked to this boy?" Sheldon decided it was best to shift the conversation.

"Oh, yeah, we've talked," Ellie sighed. "He's my best friend. Has been since before we could walk. "

"Then what's your excuse?" Sheldon persisted.

"We're best friends…that's a big step, you know?" Ellie's look grew a little more somber as she continued. "And also he's one of the popular guys…and well…look at me."

"What's wrong with you?" Sheldon was genuinely confused. From what he could see, there was nothing glaringly unappealing about this girl-strange as though she seemed, chatting up strangers on the train.

"I'm kind of a nerd." Ellie blushed again.

"So? What's wrong with being a nerd? The world needs more smart people. " Sheldon continued. "In fact, Amy and I—Amy's my girlfriend-we once thought about making a test tube baby seeing as our prodigy would most likely have super human cognitive function. "

This made Ellie laugh. Sheldon was a bit taken aback, but then he laughed, too. "Preposterous, isn't it? The idea of having a baby. The idea of even living with Amy scares me enough."

"Why does it scare you so much?" Ellie asked.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions," Sheldon stated, a bit irritated.

"I'm a curious person. And this is a long ride." Ellie sat back and pretended to get comfortable.

Sheldon hesitated. He still had no idea why he found it so easy to talk to Ellie. "Well…I suppose because if she gets too close she could leave. Or she might get tired of me. I'm a tiring person. "

"I wouldn't say tiring…eccentric, maybe." Ellie grinned. "If she loves you she won't get tired of you. I think everything is going to be fine." Ellie picked her book up. "I'll keep reading and give you some space—I promise, no more questions for a bit."

He didn't know why, but somehow Ellie's certainty made everything feel better. He laid his head back, and smiled.

Sheldon woke a few hours later as the train came to a halt. He looked over at Ellie who was gathering her things.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. Any idea where your next stop will be?"

Sheldon thought about it. "Actually, I'm thinking I may head back to Pasadena."

"I hope you do. You can always make a quick stop at Disneyland first if you need more time to clear your head. That's what I would do anyway."

Ellie made her way down the aisle, and Sheldon followed with his bag. After they both got off the train and headed into the crowded station, Ellie turned to him and smiled. "You know you love her, right?"

Sheldon, before he could stop himself, replied, "Yes, I suppose I do."

"Dr. Cooper, everything is going to be fine. Have a good trip back home, ok?"

What a strange girl, Sheldon thought to himself. "Well, it was nice chatting with you. Good day."

"Until next time," Ellie said before turning again.

"Next time? What do you mean? I highly doubt that is a possibility, seeing how, probability-wise, running into a stranger again…"

"By my calculations, we will see each other again in approximately 4 years, thirty-eight days…plus or minus 8 hours."

Sheldon stopped dead in his tracks. What on Earth was she babbling about?

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean-"

Ellie gave him a wink. "Spoilers."

"But….what-" Sheldon began. Ellie had already disappeared into the crowd. Sheldon tried to follow her but was unsuccessful. She was gone.

Sheldon waited a moment and shook his head. How odd, he thought. While intrigued, he had bigger things to worry about. His thoughts quickly returned to Amy, and he made his way to the front of the station to buy a ticket home.