It was Raj who finally answered Sheldon as Howard and Leonard just sat shaking their heads.
"Yes Sheldon, I think we know why she looked sad. You had just apologised, beautifully I might add, then practically told her the only reason you missed her was for her brain!"
Sheldon frowned. "I don't understand. Why would that upset her? Her brain is fine. So far superior to any other in my acquaintance and I wanted her to know that."
"Because Sheldon," Howard interrupted, frustration getting the better of him "maybe Amy wanted you to miss her. Her as a person not a brain. Her for her looks and her presence next to you on your precious spot. I would say to any normal person in your life and bed, but as that does not apply in your case then maybe that in fact you even missed the weird frustratingly chaste kisses you share. Sheldon she thinks you just love her brain!"
Sheldon sighed. He did love her brain. He loved she was the one person who could match him verbally and mentally, the one person who called him on his 'slightly' egocentric ways. Or at least she had. Now it seemed she drove fast cars and couldn't care about his admiration.
Amy loved his brain, she had told him often enough, when they were making up new games or inventing new ideas for fun with flags. And each time she had complimented him on his brain power he had felt so good. No one had ever valued that part of him before. In fact, he acknowledged reluctantly, most people seemed to resent his brain and the advantage it gave him over everyone.
Yet Amy had been different. And her brain, so compatible to his own, was a very large part of the Amy he missed but now he was being told his mutual admiration for her was inappropriate or lacking somehow.
He poked at the food on his plate thinking about Howard's blunt analysis of what Amy was feeling. If Howard was right and Amy wanted to know he missed her as a person then he would formulate a plan to prove to her every single way he missed her. From the smell of her shampoo to the oh so sensible shoes so similar to his beloved Arthur. He would make sure she knew he loved her many layered outfits and the way her glasses made her eyes glimmer. Dropping his fork he stood suddenly and walked away from the table muttering under his breath.
Howard shook his head. "Should we warn Amy? He had that crazed look in his eye he had before she left. If he starts stalking her again…"
Leonard sighed. "I will go talk to him. Penny said they were together yesterday so things are obvious amicable now which is good. Although on reflection the white boards I saw when I collected him for work this morning were full of lists that had nothing to do with physics. He said he was working on a theory and to be honest I just wanted to get him out of there, but now I think on it I am wondering if the plan was not about Amy."
"Go talk to him Leonard!" Raj pleaded. Nodding and waving a sorrowful farewell to his friends Leonard made his way slowly out of the canteen in the direction of Sheldon's office.
73
"Amy you cant live here!" Penny grimaced. "Not only is it miles from work and you would spend all day travelling, but there is nothing here. I mean no shops, schools, parks…."
"Penny not all of us are looking for an ideal family home." Amy sniffed. "Some of us are just looking for somewhere to call their own. I don't need schools and parks! And I have my fancy new car to take me to any shops I want."
"OK well what about girls night? We could hardly hold it here; you can barely fit me and you in here let alone Bernie and Emily."
"Well you will have your lovely big, well located family home for us to have girls night in." Amy sniffed defensively. "And there is only me so it is plenty big enough. Don't forget Penny I don't have a shoe collection to re-home!"
"OK stop and look at it properly," Penny said grasping Amy by the shoulders and making her stand and look at the small room. "There is no room for a sofa let alone a desk. How will you work and live here Amy? I'm serious, we have looked at 5 apartments this morning and all of them are tiny. Tiny and expensive."
Amy's shoulders slumped. "I know."
"So take mine!" Penny moved to stand in front of her friend. "Forget about Sheldon for the minute. You would be nearer to work than here, you would have room for a sofa and your desk. You know the area..."
"Yes I do, and I know your neighbour so well it makes it impossible."
"Really? Amy tell me the truth, you have spoken to him now; you told me you thought you could be friends. Is it so bad that you could not live across the hall from each other? He is that bad?"
"No Penny he is not that bad. He was never that bad but you know as well as I do if I was to move in across the hall from him it would not be long before I was caught up in the emotions I had before. I would want him Penny. But the way I want him is not the way he wants me."
"Are you really so sure of that Amy? I mean from everything I saw before you left and everything his mother told us of his time in Texas I would say Sheldon wants you very much."
Amy closed her eyes. "Sheldon loves my brain. He loves the fact we are different. That like him I am different. Penny I love all of him. I had to leave because the feelings I had, well I know he will never crave me the way I do him. Only last night he said how he missed my brain. What about my body Penny? He will never want me like that, OK maybe he wont want anyone else like that either but I want more."
Penny sat on the edge of the small table which it appeared served as both a table work surface and from the amount of unopened post, desk. "So Amy if you move in here and don't see Sheldon everyday are you saying you are going to meet other people? Go on dates?"
"No Penny I don't want to go on dates, I don't want anyone else. Right now I want to have a home. I want somewhere I can come back too after work and feel comfortable. I have lived out of boxes for a year in a city I barely saw. It was my choice and to be honest maybe I needed it. It reminded me of what I had found."
"I don't understand." Penny frowned.
"Penny I grew up alone. My mother was my only company and she restricted me so she could control me. I let her. But then I found Sheldon and by extension all of you. You became more of a family than I had ever know. I had friends and a reason to come home at night. But as much as I loved Sheldon I realised I wanted more. I wanted someone who wanted what I did. I wanted a job I was eager to get too and a home life with someone to share it with. I wanted what you have Penny. You and Leonard, and Howard and Bernadette. You get to go home at the end of the day and tell Leonard about your day. You get to listen to his day and eat together and just, well be together. I was jealous Penny. Jealous of my best friends, the people who had saved me."
Penny pulled Amy into a hug. Holding her friend as she began to cry Penny realised her emotions had been bound tight for as long as she had known her. Other than her brief attack on Leonard with a pillow Penny had never seen Amy loose her tight rein on her control. Stroking her back as her body shook with tears Penny wondered if Amy was right. Sheldon would not be able to handle this emotional side of Amy and why should Amy settle for anything less than what she wanted.
Pushing her friend to arms length Penny wiped her tears and said. "That's enough tears. We are going to go find you the best apartment in the best neighbourhood." Pushing a still sniffing Amy ahead of her out of the door penny racked her brains trying to think of a way to make Amy smile. Pulling into the next parking spot she saw penny turned to her friend with a grin. "OK come on lets go."
"I don't understand." Amy looked out at the shops but seeing no residential properties she looked at penny. "Why have you stopped here? There are no apartments here."
"No but you said you wanted shoes. So first we shop then we can start looking for apartments again. Trust me Ames, a new pair of heels and you will be ready for anything."
Amy smiled. She was not sure Pennys theory was right but it was as good as anything she had come up with and buying her car had done wonders yesterday!
73
"Penny!" Leonard whined as he looked up to see Penny and Amy stagger through the door laden down with shopping bags.
"Don't panic Leonard," Penny grinned "these are not all mine. In fact," she looked at the bags she was carrying, "none of these are mine. They are all Amy's!"
Not 100% convinced Leonard watched the two women stagger to the kitchen counter and drop their bags before slumping onto the stools. "So did you find an apartment?" He looked curiously at Amy who seemed happy enough now rummaging through her purchases.
"Oh no," she shrugged. "And as Penny pointed out I deserve to make myself happy and if it means compromise then so be it."
Leonard frowned and looked at his wife for clarification but all he got was a grin and a wink.
"As my bestie reminded me, her home is my home as long as I need it."
"Well I'm pleased." Leonard smiled. "Err have you and Sheldon made peace then?"
"Oh Leonard I know you have spoken to Sheldon." Amy scoffed. "Yes we have agreed to be friends. And while living here is not ideal while the situation between Sheldon and myself is still so fragile I am sure in the short term we can get along just fine."
"OK…" Leonard watched Penny hand Amy a glass of red wine as they began trawling through Amy's bags exclaiming over shoes, boots, tops skirts and what appeared to be more purses than Leonard could conceive Amy ever possibly needing. "You bought all those today?"
"Yes!" Amy grinned. "They are lovely aren't they. I had started on my wardrobe yesterday when I got the car but now I have total outfits!" Her enthusiasm and Pennys proud smile made Leonard hesitate before he continued.
"OK. Yes Sheldon mentioned you had a new car, said it was fast! He also seemed to be making lists." Leonard added this last piece of information almost as an afterthought.
"Lists?" Penny looked closer at her husband seeing he was leading up to something and not sure it was going to be good by the way he was shifting from foot to foot nervously.
"Well when we spoke to him today he mentioned Amy had suggested he help us find replacement tenants. It seems his list are ways to convince Amy she is the perfect tenant."
Amy rolled her eyes. "Yes well he will think he has won and will be happy wont he."
"That's just it Amy. He will think he has won and we know he hasn't. You are not moving here to please Sheldon you are moving here for you."
Amy deliberately placed her glass carefully on the counter and turned to look directly at Leonard. "Look Leonard if I could find somewhere else to live yes I would not be moving in here, but this was your idea remember! Now Sheldon will be my neighbour and we agreed last night we would try to resume our friendship. You needn't worry about me telling him I know about his lists, I will even give him a ride to work if we are going at the same time OK. It will be fine."
Leonard could see Amy was sincere but he was unsure as to what had occurred today to have made her change her mind when she had been so adamant about not living here. Deciding he would speak to Penny first Leonard went into the bedroom to finish packing the boxes he had started earlier, at least with the new house move it meant he would be way across town and out of earshot if things went wrong.
73
"So she still has feelings for him?" Leonard whispered.
"Yes! She said she 'craves him!'" Penny grinned, excited to hear Sheldon had told Leonard he intended to prove to Amy he loved all of her not just her brain. "So tell me again what he intends to do?"
"I have no idea," Leonard grinned. "All I know is it is not physics being written on those white boards and from the determined look in his eye this lunchtime I would say Amy had better brace herself!"
"Its not funny Leonard. They split up because of his wacky behaviour, he needs to do this right."
"No Penny they split up because she walked away. Sheldon has always loved Amy, maybe not in the conventional sense of the word but he has. Now he wants to try to prove that to her. What we need to do is decide whether we should warn her so she can be prepared for whatever lunatic scheme he comes up with, or help him so he doesn't blow it completely."
73
