Author's Note: Hello all! First, I want to start by saying that I'm super glad to be back writing fan fiction. This year has been a crazy ride and I'm glad to be back doing what I love.

This story is another collaboration between myself and my very best friend, Drummergirl66 which has been in the making for nearly a year! We hope you enjoy it!

Note, this is also an AU, and both Sheldon and Amy will be out of character to some degree, especially as the story unfolds.

Chapter One

Sheldon walked into the cafeteria carrying the tray containing his lunch in his hands. He hated the university's definition of lunch, but he never bothered to bring his food from home. Besides, he worked there so the food was free. He scanned the large room, students occupied many of the tables; some chatting away and laughing together without a care in the world, others with their noses buried between the pages of their textbooks. Other tables had colleagues seated around them. He had his sights on a particular table and he sauntered over as he found it.

Raj, Howard, and Leonard were already seated there, talking in a low whisper and Sheldon, with his Vulcan hearing, noted what seemed to be Raj's plan to pick up another poor woman. He gritted his teeth as he felt a twinge of annoyance bubble inside of him. His friends, for one reason or another, just couldn't hold an intellectual conversation.

Still, he enjoyed their company and while he didn't always like the subject matter of their babbling, he learned to tolerate it for the duration of his lunch hour. Any longer, Sheldon figured, he would lose a fair number of his valuable brain cells.

"Gentlemen," he greeted as he set his tray down and scooted the chair out to sit beside Leonard, "what are we discussing today?" Sheldon knew he'd regret asking, but he was raised to be polite. Texas upbringing and all. Perhaps that would persuade them to change the subject to something more preferable, like physics or himself.

"Oh, the usual," Howard began with a smirk as he bit into a baby carrot, he continued talking as he chewed, "A new female scientist started working here and Raj is plotting to woo her, unsuccessfully, I might add."

Raj shook his head and gave Howard a playful sneer, "Don't be jealous just because I have game, dude. This will be a slam dunk for me, you'll see."

"I have plenty of game," Howard flashed his wedding band on his left hand with pride, "and the trophy to prove it."

Leonard huffed in disdain as he asked, "And what makes you think that this attempt will be any different than the one before?"

"Well this one is a scientist—" Raj began, even though a number of his potential ventures had been scientists as well. It was no secret Raj enjoyed pursuing women at work, no matter how apparent they made their disinterest known.

"A neurobiologist, actually," Howard added with a wink, "I heard those brain-studying women are pretty freaky." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Sheldon grimaced and shivered. Sheldon had no idea why his friends talked about women so much, in which he was not interested. He had no use for a girlfriend, a wife, a life partner, what have you. He was perfectly happy remaining single, it gave him more free time to work on obtaining his Nobel Prize by the year 2020.

If he ever felt the desire to procreate, he could just as easily donate his sperm, or find a surrogate with a high enough IQ who was willing to use her uterus for the greater good.

"Are you three wasting your lunch hour discussing a biologist? Sounds like a dull conversation," Sheldon said as he looked at his friends, unsurprised by the subject they had chosen to talk about.

Leonard nodded in agreement, "It was until Raj thought he could seduce her. Now it's pretty entertaining . . ." Leonard's lips curled into an unkind smile as he said it and Raj glared and pouted his bottom lip in return.

"From what I've seen, this woman is tasteful. She even dresses like it. I bet she'll appreciate all the romantic moves I lay on her." Raj defended with a playful shimmy of his shoulders.

"If she's tasteful," Howard began, "then she definitely won't."

Sheldon gave up at that point. He frowned as he picked at his food, uninterested in the macaroni that the Caltech chefs had made. He took a small bite and grimaced. It wasn't the worst food he's had— Penny's food, indeed won that award— but it was still tasteless and too al dente for his liking.

"She's highly acclaimed." Leonard said, and while Sheldon tried to tune out what his friends were saying, it was hard to ignore them when they were only two feet away from him, "She's been featured in Neuron Magazine. Twice."

"I know!" Raj flashed a one-thousand-watt smile, "Gosh, imagine having a partner as intelligent as me . . . What a dream."

"From what I've heard, her work seems pretty interesting, too. A lot to do with addiction studies." Howard mentioned, "Bernie read her article a few months ago."

Sheldon's hand stopped, the fork in his hand stabbing into a piece of macaroni as he heard that. There was only one scientist he knew of— a female biologist— who studied addiction. No… it couldn't be her… However, he couldn't stop himself from lifting his head and asking, "What'd you say her name was?"

He pleaded inwardly, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. His anxiety began to twist his stomach and cause a feeling similar to indigestion. She couldn't have come back… could she?

Raj glared at him, "Why? You going to try and steal her from me?! Not cool, dude!"

The table was silent for several seconds before Leonard and Howard busted out laughing. Sheldon looked at them with a confused frown and he and Raj both waited for their laughing to calm down.

Howard was the first to calm down. He wiped a stray tear from his eye and patted Raj on the shoulder sympathetically, "Raj, Raj . . . I love you, bud, but remember who you're talking to! Sheldon wouldn't try to steal a girl from you, it's Sheldon! Even if she was yours— which she isn't— he wouldn't even notice that she was a woman, to begin with."

Sheldon licked his lips. His palms began to perspire, "Where did she work before?"

"I thought I heard something about Harvard. I could be wrong though…" Sheldon's heart rate spiked and he felt his fight or flight kick in. Leonard then bit into his sandwich, "Why she'd come all the way to California from Massachusetts, I don't know." He spoke between chewing his sandwich and Sheldon wanted to scold him for his poor table manners, but his mind was occupied with other things.

"What's her na—"

Raj cut him off, "Oh, who cares why she came here? The point is I didn't see a wedding ring on her finger. She's single!"

"Koothrappali, what's her—"

Again, he was ignored as Howard spoke over him, "No ring doesn't mean she's not dating someone. I know that mistake personally."

Sheldon began losing his patience. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"Why would she move all the way over here if she was dating . . . Wait, maybe someone broke up with her. That would be even more perfect! She'd be desperate and on the rebound!" Raj realized with a devilish, almost primal grin.

"Would one of you sex-crazed morons shut up and tell me what her name i—"

"Oh, oh, oh! There she is!" Raj's voice lowered to an excited whisper, "Don't look all at once! Her name is—"

Sheldon turned around and upon seeing her, his heart dropped onto the floor. His pulse raced. His forehead began to dampen from sweat.

"Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler . . ." Sheldon muttered, loud enough only for his table of friends to hear.

"Wait, you know her?" Leonard asked with a quizzical look and a tilt of his head.

Howard then whispered "Yeah, how? When were you in Massachusetts?"

"It doesn't matter how he knows her. I called dibs!" Raj growled under his breath, his deep chocolate eyes glaring at Sheldon in a protective alpha wolf kind of way.

"You do realize that a woman isn't property, right?" Leonard started before Sheldon only focused on Amy. The voices of his friends were merely background noise as she looked around the cafeteria.

It appeared as though Amy hadn't aged a day since he had last seen her. Her hair had gotten longer since then as it now followed the subtle curve of her breasts, but was still the deep shade of brunette that reminded him of the soothing comfort of hot chocolate in December. Her eyes, green and gold-flecked, were still hidden behind glasses. Though instead of the red frames he knew, she now wore black with pink and orange tortoiseshell. She was still dressed in layers — far too many for Pasadena— though he could still make out her feminine curves beneath them. It was, without a doubt, Amy. Brilliant, feisty, mysterious Amy.

They locked eyes and Sheldon gulped as she took notice and flinched at the sight of him. They stared at each other for several moments across the room before Amy began to walk over, her fear diaphanous as his own, he was sure. As she walked closer, he noticed that her eyes carried the same softness he remembered, and just as inquisitive. Her steps were timid as they had been. Like a deer walking out into an open field, she was graceful yet on alert.

The bickering among Leonard, Howard, and Raj quieted as she drew nearer and Sheldon could hear Raj whisper, "Isn't she beautiful? She reminds me of Blossom…"

"That show from the 90s?" Howard whispered.

"Yeah… an angel…" Raj swooned, followed by sighing dreamily.

She stopped when she approached the table. Her eyes remained fixated on Sheldon and it took all Sheldon had to maintain his composure. His eyes, however, were powerless and stayed locked onto hers, he wasn't strong enough to resist her soul-capturing gaze. He believed her to be the closest thing comparable to a black hole. Once you entered the event horizon— her eyes— you were a goner and at the mercy of their gravitational pull.

"Sheldon . . ." Her voice pierced Sheldon's heart. His name was her weapon and just like that, he was free from his frozen state. Sheldon prided himself on avoiding confrontation, and this was no different. Before he had the nerve to say anything back to her in reply, he stood up and bolted past her and out of the cafeteria. She still smelled of vanilla and lavender he discovered, and he felt the overwhelming and unwelcome sensation of nostalgia wash over him. This wasn't just any nostalgia. This wasn't the sweet scent of honeysuckle and the memory of their subtle-tasting nectar, this memory burned and scarred him.

Once out of the cafeteria, Sheldon slowed his pace but still rushed his way down the several corridors of the building until he found the sanctuary that was his office. He quickly unlocked the door and slammed it shut once more. He pressed his back to the wooden door and looked upwards at the ceiling.

He took a few calming breaths until his fingers stopped shaking. He swallowed, his tongue dry as he tried his darnedest to organize his scattered thoughts. Sheldon thought back to Star Trek, in the episode The Naked Time. He was Spock, shaken, illogical, and on the edge of a total emotional breakdown.

"It's not her . . . It's not her. You're losing it, Cooper," his breathing had slowed, but his brain didn't seem to benefit from his deep inhalations, "there's no way she could be… Be here…"

But she was, bright as day. Looking as good as she did years ago. Amy was back. Here. In Pasadena.

Sheldon sighed and stepped away from the door to pace around his office. He whispered to himself; he found talking to himself to be the most effective way for him to solve a problem, "Why is she here? Why? Was she looking for me? What could she—"

A knock on the door stopped his train of thought dead in its tracks. He stopped his pacing and stared at the door. He felt like a child who had come face to face with the monster under the bed, big-eyed and unsure of what to do. There were only two possible answers on who was at the door. Amy or not Amy. Schrodinger's Amy. He hesitated. For once, he hoped Kripke or Bert was at the door instead. As much as he hated those options, he figured debating with Kripke would be far more enjoyable than talking to Amy. Hell, he'd sooner be getting a vasectomy without any anesthetic than talk to her.

He could ignore the person on the other side of the door, but he saw no logic in that. It was only delaying the inevitable. Like that same child facing the grotesque monster, Sheldon straightened his back and walked to the door. He pictured himself with a phaser in his hand, a brave Starfleet officer from the Starship Enterprise. Aware of the danger, but unwavering. Hopefully, for his inner-self, he wasn't wearing a red shirt.

He cursed inwardly as he opened the door and saw Amy's emerald stare. He should have known. The Starfleet officer in his head lifted his phaser and placed his finger on the trigger when the enemy came into view.

"Sheldon, I-I know you may not want to see me but . . . can we talk?" Amy asked, her soft voice pleading. Sheldon's inner officer lowered his gun, but still kept his finger on the faithful trigger.

Sheldon said nothing and Amy continued, looking up at him with eyes that were beginning to water, her cheeks starting to redden, "I know you're possibly surprised to see me. Believe me, I understand. But I just . . . Let me explain. I—"

"Doctor Fowler," Sheldon interrupted her by raising his hand, "I have nothing to say to you."

With that, he shut the door in her face. His inner Starfleet officer lay dead, the wound in Sheldon's heart cracked open. His shirt was red.

Thank you in advance for your reviews!