Author's Note: This fic was indeed meant to only be a oneshot. However, after seeing that quite a few people wanted me to continue it, I decided to accept the challenge and see what I could come up with. So, here's your refill of angst. I hope you find this ending to be a much more satisfying one.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Her words play out over and over in his mind, a whisper through his ears, taunting him and driving him into a world of utter insanity and hopelessness. He needs to know what she means, just how far back that sorry goes. Is she sorry for breaking up with him? Sorry for leaving again earlier tonight? Sorry for refusing to take him back? He needs to know. He needs answers. He needs solutions.

He needs Amy.

He's emotionally drained and physically exhausted, lying on his back, still in his normal day attire, shoes and all, over the covers of his bed. He's so tired his bones ache, yet his body refuses to succumb to sleep.

There's a knock outside his bedroom door.

"Sheldon?" Leonard says.

"Come in," he says without hesitation.

Leonard opens the door, and as Sheldon sits up, his head spins and he blinks blearily. Drinking so much of that vile alcohol was not a good idea in the slightest, though of course he's aware that this realization has come far too late. He just wanted to numb the pain, to find a way to cope, to do anything he could to try to forget, but it didn't work. He puts a hand to his forehead, pressing his thumb to his temple and massaging it.

"Here," Leonard says.

Sheldon furrows his brows and removes the hand from his forehead to see Leonard holding a mug out to him. He takes it, curving his fingers around the warm mug and looking down to see that it's tea. He raises the mug to his lips and takes a long sip, the hot beverage sweet and soothing as it hits the back of his dry throat.

"Are you feeling any better?" Leonard asks.

Sheldon lowers the mug, his hands still firmly enclosed around it, enjoying the warmth. He stares up at Leonard and slowly shakes his head.

"No."

He keeps his gaze on Leonard for just a moment longer, before dropping his eyes to the tea.

"But thank you," he says, and another second of silence passes, before he lifts his eyes to Leonard again. "For the tea."

Leonard doesn't say anything, and Sheldon's unsure if it's because he can't think of a response, or simply because he knows there's nothing else he can say. They're both motionless, until Leonard brings up a hand and clasps it against his shoulder. He gives it a comforting squeeze, before letting go and turning to leave.

After the door gently closes, Sheldon lets out a sigh and simply raises the mug to his lips again.

Penny sits on the far end of the couch, her feet curled beneath her and her hand resting against her cheek as she stares mindlessly at the TV. Everyone else has long since gone home, and even though she and Leonard could have easily gone over to her apartment to spend some alone time together, neither of them wants to leave Sheldon here by himself.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Leonard emerge from the hallway. He quietly makes his way across the room, and when he reaches her, he collapses against the couch and releases a long, tired sigh, which Penny takes as a very bad sign.

"How is he?" she asks anyway.

Their eyes meet.

"I think it's really sinking in for him now," Leonard says.

Penny is silent, since there's really nothing she can say to that. She thinks about Sheldon and Amy a few hours earlier, how the sight of the two of them embracing each other by the door just plain broke her heart. They love each other, there's no doubt in her mind, but now that she knows Amy's secret, she's not sure if they'll ever be able to overcome it and get back together one day.

"I don't know," Leonard says, like he's thinking aloud. "I just hope that whatever he did to Amy, she can find a way to forgive him. It just kills me seeing him like this. I feel terrible."

Penny draws in a breath and slowly exhales it through her nose. Her lips are pierced shut, though she's not sure how much longer she'll be able to last without saying anything. She's torn between her loyalty to Amy and her loyalty to Sheldon. She cares about them both, but with Sheldon, it's different. It's always been different with him. She feels this indescribable need to protect him, because he's the most fragile, complex person she's ever met, and to see him in such pain like this makes her feel some pain, too.

"What?" Leonard says, gently, yet with the slightest sense of urgency. He's worried, probably even more so than she is, and that's when she decides that he needs to know, too, because they're in this together.

She looks right at Leonard, dropping her hand into her lap, like she's already defeated, and the words just tumble out of her.

"Amy hooked up with Raj last night."

"What?"

She doesn't say it again, because she knows she doesn't have to. She just stares at Leonard, whose expression dissolves from a look of shock to what she can plainly see is disappointment. He cups a hand over his mouth and drags it down past his lips until it slips off of his chin.

"How far did it go?"

Her response is practically a reflex. "Does it matter?"

The weight of her question is punctuated by the silence that falls between them. Leonard sinks deeper against the couch and stares straight forward, clearly losing himself in his thoughts. Penny can feel her throat tightening, and she swallows, waiting for him to say something.

"He's going to kill him."

It's like a sucker punch to the gut. Maybe it's the tone Leonard has just used, so straightforward and matter-of-fact, or maybe it's the prediction itself, the thought of such a violent image. Or, maybe, it's the knowledge that Leonard knows Sheldon better than anyone, so for him to reach a conclusion like that shows just how serious this situation really is.

Regardless of the reason, Penny feels her stomach clench, and she's downright terrified.

"What should we do?" she asks.

Leonard looks at her, and somehow in that moment she already knows the answer, even before he says it, again in that blunt tone.

"There's nothing we can do."

They hold each other's gazes for a while, letting it all fall into place. Finally, Penny reaches for Leonard's hand and slips her fingers on top of his. They sit like this for a long time, a serene silence, the calm before the storm.

Several days go by, and during that time, Amy manages to sink into an unfathomable loneliness that she hasn't felt since before she met Sheldon. She goes through the motions at work, finishing up her last few experiments before she has to leave Caltech. Before she knows it, Friday has arrived, her last day at the university, though her relief that she'll be returning to the safe haven of her own laboratory come Monday morning is strangely subdued. It'll be better for her to be farther away from everyone, particularly from Sheldon, she knows, yet there's still a part of her that is saddened by it, because she doesn't want to be that far away from him.

Of course, there's still the whole issue with Rajesh. The only contact she's had with him since Saturday is a single text she received from him later that night:

I'm sorry, too.

She tries to put it all out of her mind, but the moments keep rushing back to her in pieces—the heartbroken look in Sheldon's eyes, his desperate plea to give him another chance, the feeling of Rajesh's mouth pressing hotly against her body. She shivers violently, feeling sick to her stomach, and she stands up, prepared to leave the lab for a while and take an early lunch. It's not like she's getting anything done now, anyway, and some nourishment can only do her good.

She removes her lab coat, slinging it over the coat rack and exchanging it for her purse. As she turns to the door, she abruptly stops, locking eyes with none other than Sheldon.

He clears his throat and briefly looks down at the floor. "I, um, I was going to knock, but the door was already open, so…" He looks back up at her. "Hi."

"Hi," Amy says, only to immediately fall silent again. She takes him all in, noting that he looks much more like himself again, neat and clean, his hair properly combed, eyes crisp and blue, and she's comforted by it. At least his appearance is one thing that has returned to normal.

"Is there a…specific reason you've come here?" she asks when he doesn't say anything for a while.

"Yes," he says, taking a step forward. "It's to my understanding that today is your last day here at Caltech, and I was hoping I could bid you a proper farewell by extending you an invitation to lunch."

There's a part of her that melts at this new side to him, this sweetness and cordiality, and while she does want to accept the invitation more than anything, to have a conversation with him in which neither of them has to have a guard up, to take that first step towards returning to the way things used to be between them, before this whole mess, she just can't do it. She'd be betraying Sheldon's trust, in a way, and she's not sure if she'll ever figure out a way to earn it back after she so willingly gave herself to another man, just so she could attempt to mend her own broken heart.

"Thank you," she says, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline."

His disappointment is instant, but what surprises her most is that he doesn't even bother to hide it. "What? Why?"

She purses her lips. "I just don't think it would be a very good idea."

At first, he stares at her without a word. When he speaks again, his voice is soft, desperate, yet with the slightest trace of anger. "Why are you making me work so hard for this?"

"Sheldon—"

"No, do you realize how difficult it's been for me to stay away from you this entire week, Amy?"

There's an immediate effect on her when he says her name like that, filled with pent-up hurt and frustration. He has her full attention now, and she can feel her heart pumping fast, a rush of blood kicking in, swirling through her veins. He takes a few steps closer to her, and she tilts her head up, her eyes locked on him.

"I resisted every single urge I had to see or contact you, all because of the ridiculous advice I received from Leonard and Penny," he says. "They both told me that I should 'give you some breathing room' and 'wait for you to reach out to me' and all this other nonsense that I didn't want to hear. And yet, I wound up actually listening to the two of them because nothing else I've tried has worked, and now I'm just so desperate to get you back and you're being so incredibly stubborn and I can't take it anymore."

When he finishes, he releases a heavy breath, practically growling, as he sharply turns his head away. He's experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, she can see it, and she doesn't want to do this to him anymore. It's not fair to him. She loves him too much to see him in such torment like this. It all needs to end, right here and right now. No more hiding. No more secrets.

No more guilt.

"Sheldon," she says. "There's something I have to tell you."

His eyes snap back to her, staring at her straight on, and it's like she can see the silent fury building inside him, waiting to be unleashed. Her chest falls with a disheartening sigh, and then, she hears herself speak.

"Last week, I went to Rajesh's apartment after work, because I just needed to be with a friend, and…one thing led to another, and, well…we…"

She trails off, hoping that that's enough, but his gaze is more penetrating than ever. She lets her eyes flutter shut as she whispers the very thing that will end it all.

"We ended up in bed together."

There is silence, so deafening, so all-consuming, that she has no choice but to open her eyes again. Sheldon's face is a doughy white, and he takes a step backward, nearly staggering, like he's about to faint.

"You had sex with him?"

"No. No," she says quickly, almost pleadingly. "I didn't."

"So, you just…" He takes another step back and brings up his hands, touching one to his chest, the other raking through his hair, and he sounds like he's having trouble breathing. "You just kissed him, and…and…he kissed you…and…and then he…did he…what…what did he do to you, Amy?"

"What?"

"Did he…pleasure you?"

His breathing is coming out in loud, heavy pants now. Amy reaches out to him, afraid he's going to pass out, but he backs away from her.

"Sheldon, please, just let me—"

"Did he pleasure you?"

His eyes are ablaze, and it's no use now. He's snapped. She's finished.

"Yes," she says at last.

They both stand there, facing each other, the weight of her confession crashing down on them. Suddenly, Sheldon takes off. It happens so fast that Amy is unable to react quickly enough.

"Sheldon!"

She rushes out of the lab, catching him just as he pushes open a door and disappears from the hallway. She starts to chase after him, her footsteps quick and scurrying, while he walks in a steady, confident stride, one that's completely unbreakable, even as she continues calling out to him.

"Sheldon, where are you going?" she asks, though in the back of her mind, she already knows.

She follows him all the way into the cafeteria, where she sees Leonard, Howard and finally Rajesh, who's about to sit down when Sheldon approaches him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and jerking him forward.

"Sheldon," Raj says in shock.

"You defiled my ex-girlfriend."

"Okay, listen to me, I never meant to hurt—"

"SHUT UP."

He hurls a tightened fist at Raj, who ducks at the last moment, leaving Sheldon's fist to smash through the glass surface of the vending machine behind Raj. The sound of shattering glass is masked by the painful wail that shreds from the top of Sheldon's lungs. His entire body stiffens as he withdraws his hand and collapses to his knees, blood oozing from his knuckles at an alarming rate.

"Shit, shit," Leonard hisses under his breath, and suddenly he along with a few other people swarm around the both of them. Howard grabs Raj and Leonard grabs Sheldon, who's breathing hard and visibly shaking.

More people enter the cafeteria, whizzing past Amy, who hovers just outside, unable to breathe, and in the midst of all the chaos, she slowly sinks to the ground.

If there's one thing Raj wishes he could be, it's a stronger man, and not just in a physical sense.

He regrets not having the strength to resist Amy, to pull away from her kiss, to be the smarter one in the situation and have stopped it from going as far as it did. In a way, he almost feels like he took advantage of her, because after all, she was emotionally distraught at the time, not thinking clearly, and in the end, maybe he was just being selfish by letting himself get caught up in the heat of the moment.

Raj glances at Amy, who sits in the chair next to him, her legs crossed and her foot shaking at such a fast tempo it resembles the high-speed fluttering of a hummingbird's wings.

They're sitting outside of the human resources department, waiting to meet with Janine sans-Davis, while Sheldon is elsewhere, receiving medical attention. Raj watches as Amy brings up her arms, crossing them over her chest. She slides her hand up to her mouth and nervously bites her thumb. The poor woman is an emotional wreck, and Raj wishes he could think of something to say to make her feel better somehow, but he knows that even if he could, it wouldn't mean much coming from him.

As though sensing that he's looking at her, Amy turns her head to him, and her foot stops moving. She slowly lowers her hand, slipping it back around her body.

The door opens, and out walks Janine. "Dr. Koothrappali. Dr. Fowler," she says, gesturing towards her office.

Amy stands first, walking with her head bowed slightly. Raj follows soon after, and as he walks into the human resources office and settles into a seat, watching as Janine folds her hands on top of her desk, he finds himself wishing for the first time ever that he still needed the crutch of having to be drunk in order to talk to women. It would make him feel braver, at the very least. It would make this whole situation seem far less screwed up than it really is.

"I figured we might as well get started while we wait for Dr. Cooper," Janine says. "Now—"

"Ahem."

Janine glances up, and Amy and Raj turn their heads as the door opens and Sheldon walks in.

"My apologies," he says. "I would have knocked, but seeing as how I severely injured the hand with which I use to knock…" He holds up his hand, allowing them all to see that his fingers are tightly bound together with white gauze fabric. Raj hears Amy gasp. "…I had no choice but to enter upon my own discretion."

"That's fine, Dr. Cooper," Janine says with a touch of impatience. She holds up her hand to the remaining empty chair. "Please, have a seat."

Sheldon takes the seat on Raj's left, leaving him now sitting in the middle of them. He hears slight movement on his right, from Amy, as she leans forward in her chair.

"Is it broken?" she asks.

Sheldon looks at her, and the overwhelming tension Raj feels in that moment makes him want to slowly slide from his chair and disappear out of the room, to go completely unnoticed by anyone and pretend like none of this ever happened.

"No," Sheldon says, and with that, turns forward to face Janine, who looks momentarily caught off guard.

"Okay. Good," she says, and she clears her throat, returning to her professional tone. "Now then, I'll get right down to it. Clearly, there are some hostile feelings going on here, and obviously you don't need me to explain to you all that the university does not condone violence of any kind. And so, Dr. Fowler, seeing as how you're evidently the cause behind Dr. Cooper's recent erratic behavior, and since today is your last day at this university, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask that you leave a little early."

Amy is staring directly at her, but Raj can see that she's a million miles away. She silently nods, and with that, Janine turns her attention to Sheldon. Amy is still staring out at her, her eyes empty, and Raj is struck again with sympathy. All he can hope for her is that she'll find a way to heal.

"I can't believe they're making me talk to the university psychiatrist," Sheldon says.

The three of them wander down the hallway after the meeting that miraculously didn't lead to any job terminations. Raj purposely walks at a safe distance behind Sheldon and Amy, who walk side by side.

"The university is just taking the necessary precautions in order to prevent an altercation like this from happening again in the future," Amy says.

"Yes, but they're implying that I'm mentally unstable. I'm not mentally unstable. My mother had me tested."

For the first time since they broke up, Amy feels herself smile. It happens so effortlessly. She's smiling at the familiarity, the way Sheldon's so full of vigor again, so much more like his old, stubborn self, and it feels good. Without thinking about what she's doing, she reaches up and touches his shoulder, the way she's always wanted to do while they were dating, but had to restrain herself in fear of scaring him off. It's ironic how she feels so free to touch him now that they're not together.

Sheldon stops and turns to her, and she does the same, her hand still on his shoulder. So much has changed since a week ago, and she's not sure where they're going to go from here, but right now, all she knows is that this feels right.

Raj, meanwhile, silently observes the two of them, noting the looks in their eyes, the undying love they have for each other. They need time to work things out between the two of them, and he needs to focus on himself.

"Hey, listen, guys," he says before he can lose his nerve. "I just want to say again how sorry I am, and I really hope we can put this whole mess behind us."

They both look at Raj for a second, before Sheldon fully turns to him, and Amy lets go of his shoulder. Raj has never understood Sheldon in the slightest, not that anyone has, really, but right now, he truly has no idea what's going on in Sheldon's head. He's staring at Raj like he's sizing him up, or perhaps trying to discern how sincere that apology is. Either way, Raj doesn't know what to expect, if Sheldon's going to threaten him again, or if he'll do the very opposite and accept his apology.

Sheldon straightens his shoulders, his hands slipping behind his back. "I'll admit that it's going to take quite some time for me to trust you again. However, given the fact that you've been a member of my social circle for such a long time, and that I do not care to have to go through the hassle of cutting you out of my life and potentially replacing you with a new friend, I would much rather prefer to let bygones be bygones."

"I'm glad to hear it," Raj says.

"Good."

Sheldon extends his uninjured hand out to him, and Raj looks down at it for a second, before lifting his own hand and grasping it, shaking his hand. They hold eye contact even after they let go of each other's hands. Raj looks from Sheldon to Amy, who gives him a small grin, like she's thanking him.

Finally, the two of them turn away again, continuing their walk down the hallway. Raj stands there for a while, watching their retreating forms, and as he does, he's filled with the first real sense of hope, and he just knows that things will turn out okay for them. He slips his hands into his pockets and turns the other way, heading in the opposite direction, a weight lifting off of his shoulders.

"Thank you for walking me back to my lab," Amy says as they approach the door, only to stop and catch herself on what she's just said. "On second thought, it's technically no longer my lab."

"Yes, well, be that as it may, it's on the way to the psychiatrist's office, so it was more of a pleasant coincidence."

Amy nods, before turning from him and entering the lab. She takes one last look around to make sure she hasn't forgotten anything. After seeing that everything is in place, she turns around, only to find Sheldon standing right there. She jolts back and just narrowly avoids bumping into him. A soft breath escapes her as she looks up at him.

He stares, eyes downcast, his bandaged hand hanging at his side. A moment later, though, he looks up at her, too, and she can see it, even feel it, the lingering pain in his eyes. There's a heaviness to it, and she's not sure when it will begin to alleviate.

"Sheldon," she says, her voice soft and raw. "I'm really sorry for hurting you."

She sees the movement of his throat as he swallows, and she notices the gleam in his eyes as he takes a second to clear his throat, holding back tears, trying to compose himself.

"Okay," he says, a slight rasp in his voice. "And I'm sorry for not being the boyfriend you needed."

She frowns, feeling a twinge in her heart, watching as he looks down again.

"Do you think," he starts, hesitating. "That is, do you see you and I ever…one day…getting back together?"

His gaze is fixated on the ground, as though he's scared, or embarrassed, or maybe a little of both, but still, he's not shying away from her, not backing down from his feelings. He's vulnerable, laying his heart out on the line, waiting for her to take it. It's all on her now, she knows that, and if she could do so without any consequences, without hurting him anymore, she would take him back in a heartbeat, but it's not the right time yet, and she has to make him understand that.

"I just think we both have to take some time to figure out what we want."

"I want you," Sheldon says, and Amy's heart stops.

His eyes flit up to hers, and now, there's absolutely no shame, no fear, no doubt. There's only sincerity and confidence, and for the first time ever, it becomes astonishingly clear to her that Sheldon Lee Cooper truly has changed, having grown emotionally more so than she ever thought he was capable of doing. Because of this, it's all the more reason for her to have to protect him, to look out for his feelings. For once, she won't allow herself to be selfish.

"You need time to heal," she says.

"Hmm. I take it you don't just mean that in the literal sense," Sheldon says, holding up his injured hand.

Amy smiles again, a ray of warmth seeping into her heart. She reaches up and lightly touches his hand. They look at each other, and slowly, she finds herself sliding her hand up to his face, cupping his cheek, lightly stroking her fingers over his ear, through his hair, to the back of his head.

They both lean in towards each other, and her eyes drift shut of their own accord as their lips touch, grazing together for only a second, before pulling back. Amy keeps her eyes closed, and she can hear Sheldon breathing softly, when their lips meet again, sinking in deeper this time.

She feels his uninjured hand grasp her waist, sliding protectively around her lower back, the injured one skimming across her cheek. She brings up her other hand, wrapping it around his back as their lips mesh together, gingerly, tenderly. It's better than she ever could have dreamt, their first mutual kiss.

And while there's still a long road ahead of them, issues to discuss, wounds to heal, she realizes that this kiss is a promise. They'll eventually find their way back to each other, and they'll be stronger than ever.