Before too long, Amy's phone went off with a message from Penny letting them know the pizza had arrived. The duo let themselves into the apartment across the hall to find several pizzas on the coffee table, with their friends surrounding it. Raj and Howard were on the floor with Michael in Howard's lap, Halley was next to Bernadette on the couch, while Leonard and Penny were in the kitchen getting plates and drinks for everyone. The group paused their conversation and turned to watch Sheldon and Amy, who were stepping over Howard and Michael to make their way to their usual spots.

"Scooch over, Halley. Aunt Amy and Uncle Sheldon need some room," Bernadette wrapped her arm around her daughter to pull her closer.

Glancing at the couch, Amy stopped Bernadette, "She's fine, Bernie. We've got plenty of room."

"I wanna sit by Aunt Amy," Halley declared.

Bernadette exchanged a glance with Amy. "Really, it's fine. Come here, Halley. Tell me about preschool," Amy motioned for the three-year-old to move next to her.

The group continued with their previous conversations as Halley told Amy about the drama of her preschool class. Sheldon couldn't help but watch his wife interact with their friends' children. "Sheldon, did you hear me?" Leonard asked, pulling him from the trance he was in.

"Sorry, what's going on?"

"There's a paintball game next weekend against the geology department. Are you in? The rest of us are free, but if you can't make it, we're going to have to ask Kripke to join us," Leonard explained.

Sheldon hesitated before Amy squeezed his hand. He wasn't sure how long they'd been holding hands between them; they were sitting close enough together that their friends hadn't noticed their joined hands, either. "Yeah, that sounds good. I refuse to let you replace me with Kripke of all people."

The rest of the evening was uneventful, except for when Michael brought a picture book over to Sheldon and insisted he read it to him. Amy lifted the toddler onto her lap and leaned against Sheldon as he reluctantly read the book. Sheldon was glad that Howard and Raj were debating something, while Penny and Bernadette cleaned up the kitchen after collecting the remnants of their dinner, which meant only Leonard was watching the couple reading with the kids.

"Bernie, it's getting late and the kids are looking pretty tired. We should probably head out," Howard announced to the room when he saw Halley and Michael on the couch with Sheldon and Amy. The group began their goodbyes for the evening and it didn't take long for Howard, Bernadette, and Raj to leave the apartment.

Amy moved to the kitchen to help Penny finish cleaning up before she and Sheldon headed across the hall for the night. "I'm almost done with this. You don't need to help me, Ames," Penny suggested.

"I can help you with a few dishes, Penny. Besides, I think Sheldon and Leonard wanted to talk," she looked over her shoulder and saw the two men leaning towards one another, already talking about something. "Thank you for inviting us over tonight. It was good for both of us to get out the apartment and see everyone."

Penny set down the towel that was in her hand and looked her friend in the eye, "Are you really doing okay? You looked on the verge of tears more than once tonight."

"I promise I am. There were a few moments that I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I know everyone would have understood if I did or if I felt the need to leave, but it was the first time we've all been together and I didn't want it to be a big deal," Amy explained.

Penny put her hand on Amy's, "It's okay to cry. The guys are doing their regular video game night tomorrow. Do you feel up for a girls' night with me and Bernie?" Amy nodded. "We were thinking we could go out for dinner instead of hanging out at your apartment. Unless you don't want to go out?"

"We could do both. Dinner sounds good, but wine at my apartment with my best friends also sounds good. Well, grape juice for you," Amy smiled.

"We can do that. I'll let Bernie know the plan at work tomorrow."

Amy and Sheldon eventually made their way across the hall to their apartment. "You and Leonard seemed pretty deep in conversation after everyone else left. What were you talking about?" Amy asked as she was starting to get ready for bed.

Sheldon plugged his phone into the charger next to the bed as he answered, "He was asking how you've been doing. Penny isn't giving him a lot of details, which he understands is because she doesn't know how much you're okay with him knowing, but he's still worried about you. He's worried about both of us. I don't think I told him anything Penny hasn't already told him, but he seemed less worried."

"We're so lucky to have friends who care so much about us. When we met at that coffee shop, I was only there to get my mother off my back. I never expected to get such wonderful friends out of the deal," Amy watched Sheldon as he opened the dresser to retrieve his pajamas and realized they were about to have a problem.

Flipping through the pile of plaid shirts and bottoms, he found his Thursday top, but the pants weren't with it. "Amy, were you still wearing my pajama bottoms when you did the laundry on Monday?"

Amy smirked and let out a small laugh, "Yeah, I was. I even said I would wash them so I wouldn't throw off your schedule."

"It's okay. I'll wear one of my backup pairs tonight. That was the first time I've heard you laugh since last Friday. I've missed that," Sheldon walked into the bathroom and closed the door after placing a small kiss on Amy's cheek.

"I've missed that, too," Amy said softly to herself.