A/N: My first Shamy story that is longer than 1 Ch. Mostly fluffly, cliches included. Sorry if the plot seems rushed, I was sick and created this in a day :)
Chapter 1
[Present Day]
"Congratulations Dr. Fowler!" Amy offered up a smile as to say thank you as she walked through the hall to her office. She had been in Sweden for two years under contract. The two-year research study had finally come to an end and their findings were considered one of the leading breakthroughs in the field neurobiology. As a result, their research had been published in one of the top neuroscience journals.
Amy opened the door to her office; the latest issue of Neuron with her picture on the cover was sitting on her desk. She took one look at the cover of the magazine and pushed it away. It's been two years since leaving everything behind and moving to Sweden. Two years since seeing her friends and family. Two years since she had last seen…. him. Amy felt her chest tighten as she thought back to the life she left behind. She couldn't help but wonder what her life could have been if she had decided to stay in California.
Interrupting her thoughts was a knock at the door. "Come in", Amy called out. "Dr. Fowler, just wanted to stop by and congratulate you on a job well done." Amy forced a smile on her face and recited back her generic response, "Thank you Dr. Adalstein. It was hard work, but we did it!" Nodding his head in agreement Dr. Adalstein said, "I know I told you I would give you a week to think about it, but have you come to any decision regarding our recent offer." Amy shook her head, "As much as I am flattered that you would like me as the lead scientist under a new research project, given that the contract is for 5 years, I would like to take some time to think about it." Dr. Adalstein smiled, "Understandable, I just wouldn't want a brilliant scientist like yourself to slip by."
After a long night of celebratory dinners and thank you speeches, Amy finally arrived home to her flat. Exhausted, Amy lay on her bed and stared at the post cards she had tacked up on her bedroom wall. Each post card had a different super hero displayed across the front. She had no idea what their super hero names were or what comic book they represented but nevertheless, staring at them always made her feel happy.
Sitting in the CalTech lunchroom were Leonard, Raj and Howard. "Guys, lets go easy on him today. He doesn't need us throwing salt in the wound. " Leonard said as he looked at Howard and then to Raj. "Here he comes." Howard mumbled discreetly as he shoved the magazine he was looking at under his tray. Sheldon made his way to the table and sat down without uttering a word. Leonard, Howard and Raj took turns looking at each other unsure what to say. Leonard being the first to break the silence, "Hey Sheldon, did you hear about Dr. Winslow, he has to attend a mandatory sexual harassment meeting because of what he did at the conference last week." Leonard forced a laugh trying to sound casual. Sheldon poked at his food without bothering to look up, "Leonard, I was given hundreds of thousands of dollars in research grants to solve the mysteries of the universe through my work in string theory. I don't have time to worry about Dr. Winslow, nor do I care." Struggling to find something else to say, Leonard let out an awkward laugh.
"What's that?" Sheldon asked as he pointed at the corner of a magazine that was peeking out from underneath Howard's tray. "Oh, pfft.. nothing, you know, boring engineering stuff." Howard replied while trying to tuck the magazine further out of sight. Refusing to accept Howard's explanation, Sheldon pulled the magazine out from underneath Howard's tray. Leonard, Howard and Raj stared at Sheldon with wide eyes each waiting for his reaction. A slight smile appeared across Sheldon's face. Leonard, finding the courage to speak up, "Are you ok?" Continuing to stare at the magazine cover Sheldon replied, "Why wouldn't I be? Amy's a highly intelligent being; I am not at all surprised she made the cover of Neuron again for the 2nd time in her career. I read the article this morning; I have a subscription, the magazine is delivered to my mail box each month." Leonard, breathing out a sigh of relief, "Good for you. I just wasn't sure how you would feel about seeing it, I know you and Amy were…" Sheldon cut off Leonard's sentence, "Amy and I ended things on good terms. She was offered a career opportunity in Sweden; I was offered a substantial amount of grant money to continue my research here. The only logical step was to terminate our relationship as our careers were taking us in two different directions." Leonard, not knowing what to say just nodded. Leonard knew how close Sheldon and Amy were, he knew that under Sheldon's calm exterior he deeply missed Amy and hasn't been the same since she left. "That reminds me Leonard, I need you to take me to the comic bookstore after work. I want to buy a postcard and send it to Amy, to congratulate her on her latest achievements." Sheldon added as he stared back down at his food lost in his thoughts.