"Howie wants us to go to the New Years party at the comic book store," Bernadette said both glumly and indulgently.

"Yeah. So does Leonard," Penny said.

Amy had not heard about a New Years Eve party at the comic book store, but neither did she have any reason to go. The only reason she ever went to the comic book store was under duress, or to avoid incessant badgering. There was no longer a reason to go. Though she did want to spend the evening with her friends, neither did she want to go to the comic books store. Someone else would certainly be going as well and after everything, it did not seem like a good idea for her to go.

"You should come with us, Amy," Penny pleaded, as if by making Amy miserable as well she could feel happier.

"Can't. I already have plans," Amy said. Dave's colleagues invited him to a New Years Eve party and she was considering going with him. It sounded better than the comic book store though she would miss celebrating the holiday with her two closest friends.

"We'll miss you, Amy," Penny said.

Amy rolled her eyes. Of course Penny would miss her. That much was a given.

"Don't be needy bestie."

What Amy did not say was that she would miss seeing them on New Years Eve as well. While it was her choice not to go to a party she wouldn't enjoy, it still left a sour taste in her mouth to be left out.

She could cheer herself up by remembering she would not be alone on New Years. And she would get a kiss at midnight. She had no doubt of that. The kiss would be in public, in front of people. She was looking forward to it.

Dave brought her back to his house after the party for them to ring in the New Year, a tradition she embraced wholeheartedly. It seemed to her more nights than not they spent together, either at his place or hers. When they did not spend the night together, they texted almost relentlessly, a fact that caused Penny to smirk and make suggestive comments, but for whatever reason whenever Amy attempted to read the texts aloud to her, particularly the steamier ones, Penny abruptly cut her off and changed the topic. Fungus seemed to be a popular conversation topic with her blonde best friend as of late. It was an interesting correlation.

Despite the fact that she and Dave had not known each other for long and only started dating rather recently, she felt comfortable with him. Their routines meshed easily, though not without any conflict. However, any arguments that inevitably arose were quickly settled.

By the time Valentines day came around, Amy felt giddy that Dave went to the effort of planning a date for them. She did not have to hint, nag, or force him into it. In fact, when she first brought up the topic he admitted he already had their date planned. It was going to be a surprise for her and she let the subject drop.

Rather than going to a romantic restaurant, he took her to the beach. He had a picnic prepared and in the middle of February, it was freezing outside. Dave brought blankets for them to bundle up in, and neither of them felt the need to swim in the freezing cold water. The reflection of the moon on the water and the scent of the ocean air was calming. A ways down the beach, there were people with a bonfire going, though they were far enough away only a hint of their talking was carried on the wind.

The sand easily held their glasses of wine upright, Cabernet Sauvignon for him and Moscato for her, and Amy was able to relax. Occasionally, sprays of mist would reach them but wrapped up in the blankets they remained dry.

"This is wonderful, Dave. Thank you," Amy said.

Dave kissed her. "My pleasure," he said. She cuddled up into him, listening to his heart beat, a sound not at all in tune with the crashing waves against the shore.

They could talk for hours and not get bored or they could sit in silence. Both were equally comfortable and enjoyable.

By the time they left, she felt groggy as she stumbled her way through the sand, heels in tow. Perhaps the sand ruined the dress she bought for the occasion but she could not bring herself to care. It was a good night. A good date. Romantic in the typical sense, the way that when she told Penny and Bernadette about her Valentines day later they would be able to swoon over it with her.

Although they'd made plans back in January, it wasn't until the middle of March when Amy finally had the opportunity to take Jenna to her lab. She intended to show her around before school was back in session but Jenna ended up sick and had to cancel. Now it was spring break, she offered to take on her niece for the entire week, as long as she was interested and would behave herself.

When Amy went to pick Jenna up, Mark became exceedingly jealous that his older sister got to do something with his aunt Amy that he didn't. When Amy tried to explain to him that they were going to her lab and she would be working—the children could observe but they would have to entertain themselves—Mark still did not loose interest. That was, he remained adamant that he wanted to go until Cecile intervened and offered to take him the the lego store. After Amy's Christmas present to him, his desire to design his own lego creations was insatiable, and Cecile finally gave in. As long as Mark did not leave the tiny lego pieces scattered around her house, he could play with legos. With a vastly more fun alternative, Mark easily gave up his insistence on accompanying them.

"Thank you, Auntie Amy," Jenna said once they were in the car on her way to work. While the school aged children might be on break, she wasn't. Research never stopped. It was a good thing she loved her research.

"It's my pleasure," Amy said, "I think it's great that you're interested in science."

"Mom doesn't understand," Cecile complained, and while Amy would not disparage Cecile to her daughter, she did agree. Cecile reluctantly supported Jenna's science experiments, though Amy knew Cecile would prefer if Jenna engaged in more typical childhood hobbies such as sports or voice lessons.

"I know what you're feeling. My mother didn't really get my interest in science. But that's alright. I'm a neurobiologist now."

Amy briefly toured Jenna around Caltech. She gave brief stories behind some of the buildings and then escorted her to her lab. Jenna looked around in awe, and while Amy intended to get to work straight away, she found herself instead explaining what some of the various pieces of equipment and chemicals were used for.

In order to have time to work, Amy eventually put Jenna to work washing the glassware, but only after first showing her how to properly clean and dry them. Amy half expected to need to rewash the glassware—Jenna was only six after all—but the young girl followed her instructions surprisingly well and there were only a handful of pieces Amy asked her to rewash. The second time, all of them were perfect.

Jenna plugged her nose at the stench of formaldehyde. Amy laughed. She well remembered her initial reaction to the pungent smell, but over time she grew accustomed to it. To Jenna's credit, she soon joined Amy putting on gloves and standing over the dissection tray. While Amy worked, she pointed out the different sections of the brain. Jenna listened with rapt attention, often asking questions that slowed down Amy's work but she did not really mind.

"Can I try?" Jenna eventually asked. A lot of time and grant money went into collecting each and every one of the brains. She did not want to risk a single one of them being put to waste. However, neither did she want to discourage the young girl's eagerness. She took the sections of interest for her study and once they were separate, she handed the scalpel over and told Jenna which of the remaining sections to dissect.

The cuts were a bit clumsy, but that was to be expected given her not yet fully developed motor skills. It was decent work, though not of a good enough quality for her to use. However, it did give the younger girl a lot of joy to be able to participate. Amy supervised her as she used the sharp sample while she began the process of setting up the slides and staining them for observation under the two photon microscope.

She took Jenna to eat lunch while she left the dye to sit on the samples.

Just as they were about to leave, Amy spotted Leonard arriving. He was unusually late, but knowing where Leonard went his friends closely followed, she hurried Jenna away.

Jenna had such a good time that first day she Amy took her back every day for the rest of the week. Cecile was grateful to her for taking one kid off her hands and keeping her occupied during break, but Amy was happy to do it. The time she lost explaining what she was working on she made up with assigning Jenna the simple tasks, such as washing the glassware, that she could do on her own.

When it was time for Jenna to go back to school, Amy was going to miss her young assistant. However, she was looking forward to going out on another date.

"And how has your week been?" Dave asked.

"Good," she said, "my six-year-old cousin was on break so I toured her around my lab. She loved it," Amy said.

"That's great," Dave replied and that began a conversation of how to interest children in science, but Amy only picked up on a preexisting interest. Nothing more. What happened would be entirely up to Jenna.