*So...some things are about to happen. Let me know what you think! As always, thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, and thank you for believing in this story! You are all my heroes!

*Chapter 6*

Leonard was packing when he heard a knock on the door. He shuffled quickly into the living room and opened the door. "Amy!" he said with surprise "Hi. Uhhh...Sheldon's not here."

"Yes, I know. I was just over at Penny's. Is Raj or Howard still here?" She tried to look around him into the living room.

"Oh. No, actually they left a little bit ago." He replied uncomfortably.

"That's unfortunate. I was coming to enlist their help with finding a new paramour to replace Sheldon, since he is no longer a viable option for my dating needs."

Leonard gestured for her to come in. He closed the door behind her and automatically went to the kitchen. "Can I offer you a bottle of water or a soda? I'd offer you a hot beverage, but Sheldon took the tea kettle over to Penny's." He tried to keep the small bit of bitterness out of his voice.

Amy settled on the arm chair, she didn't want to sit on the couch near his spot. The wound was still too fresh. "Water would be fine, thank you."

Leonard grabbed two waters and gave one to Amy. He sat on the extra chair that was still out from when Raj and Howard were over. He twisted the top off his water and took a sip. "So, what exactly are you looking to have Raj and Howard do?"

"Well, I assumed they could help me find a second match online since they were the ones who introduced me to Sheldon in the first place."

"What about Stuart?"

"Stuart is very nice, but we agreed to just be friends. There were no sparks. It was rather disappointing to be honest." Amy replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but are you sure you want to hop back out there? Don't you want to just take some time to be single and figure things out?"

Amy looked at him incredulously. "No, I've waited my whole life to find someone to be with, and the first guy not only refuses to have a relationship with me, but instead falls for my best friend." she shook her head "No, I want to find someone to share my life with. I'm not getting any younger, and I would like to have children. I need to start somewhere, but I definitely don't want to sit around moping while having to see Sheldon all happy at work. I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready for that. I need to get myself back out there."

"I can understand that." he took another sip and then looked down into the bottle in his hands "I was packing before you got here." Leonard said dejectedly.

"Packing? Are you moving out?" Amy asked.

Leonard rushed to explain "No! Not moving out, just... going on a trip. I need some time, time to adjust, and time to process. So, I'm taking a short sabbatical." he shrugged "I have plenty of vacation time, and since I already promised to go to Texas for Sheldon's mom's birthday, I figured why not have some fun first."

"That's a great idea! Where are you going?" Amy replied curiously.

"I haven't booked the flights yet, but my plan is to leave first thing tomorrow and do a tour of my favorite Civil War battlefields. There is a group in Gettysburg that does reenactments, run by a friend of mine from Princeton. He already agreed to allow me to join them next weekend." He put his water down on the coffee table and smiled "I'm actually pretty excited for it. David knows a place that can hook me up with everything I need, so it's just a matter of getting there."

Amy leaned forward in her seat excitedly "I have some things you can borrow! I used to do reenactments all the time. My mother thought it was a good way for me to appreciate history. Granted, I can't help you with the clothing, but I have plenty of other historically accurate supplies. I have several mess kits, a few canvases for tents, bedding, and general linens and such. I don't mind loaning them to you if you're interested?"

Leonard considered her offer for a moment, then an idea bloomed. "Why don't you come with me? I'm sure David won't mind, and I haven't booked the plane tickets or hotels yet."

Amy's eyes lit up "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? I'm a bit of a history buff, and I'm told I can get a little overbearing when it comes to historical accuracy."

Leonard smiled "I minored in history, that's how David and I know each other. I promise you won't bother me at all, I'm all about historical accuracy." Leonard had no clue Amy was so into history. When he thought about it, there really was a lot that he didn't know about her. Having another person there would certainly help keep his mind off Sheldon and Penny. Who knows, maybe it was exactly what they both needed.

"Thank you, Leonard." she stood, she had a lot of packing to do "I think I will join you. I'm confident that this will be a great distraction from our current situation."

Leonard smiled. It was like she read his mind. "I agree."

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

"Meemaw, you didn't!" Missy exclaimed.

"I most certainly did! And why not? It's the perfect opportunity to see just how serious those two are." Connie scoffed.

"Does mama know how much this is costing you?" Missy finished addressing the last invitation to the 'surprise party' they were throwing for their mother.

Connie stopped what she was doing and leveled her granddaughter with a pointed finger and a pointed stare "You mind your business young lady. I have saved plenty of my bingo winnings over the last couple of years, and I can spend it however I want. If I want to use that money to help push Shelly along to the alter, then that's my business. Mary doesn't need to know or worry about it. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Missy knew better than to argue when her Meemaw took that tone of voice.

Connie sat back in her chair "Once we set the plan in motion, you'll see, it'll all be worth it."

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Sheldon left Penny's apartment fairly happy. They never got around to finishing their conversation about changing their relationship status, but they did get to discuss their schedules for the week, and he managed to schedule another date for Monday. He opened the door of his apartment and saw Leonard at his computer with two suitcases next to him. "Leonard, what is all this?"

"Hey Sheldon, give me a second." Leonard finished typing and clicked a few buttons before giving his full attention to his roommate. "Okay, what?"

"I said, 'Leonard, what is all this?'" Sheldon huffed.

"Leonard looked around momentarily confused. "Oh! You mean my baggage? I'm leaving on a vacation in the morning." He smiled.

"You can't leave in the morning! Tomorrow is paintball day. If we're one man short, it will throw everything off!"

Leonard sighed loudly "Sheldon, I told you. I need some time. This is how I'm taking my time. I'll be back in three weeks."

Sheldon carefully set the tea tray on the island and turned to Leonard with a long-suffering look. He tried very hard not to stomp his foot in frustration. "Leonard, you can't be gone for three weeks, you promised to attend my mother's birthday party."

Leonard stood quickly and held his hands in front of him in a calming manner "I know, and I'll be there. That's why I won't be back to the apartment for three weeks. The first twelve days I'll be spending in Gettysburg with Dave, then I'll fly down for the party. After that, I'm making a stop in Vegas for a couple of days to see a show and have some fun. I'll return home after that."

Sheldon considered this for a moment. On one hand, they would be short a player for paint ball. On the other, he wouldn't have to be as circumspect with his relationship with Penny, because Leonard wouldn't be around. "Will you be home for Thanksgiving? We all told Howard we would be there." He reminded him.

Leonard took a cautious breath of relief. He expected more push back, especially since he was violating Section 23, subsection 4, article number 5, stating that the roommate in question must provide the other roommate with a 72 hour notice on all vacations, unless the roommate has been invited to see the Cern Large Hadron Collider, in which the notification clause may be waived by both parties. "Yes, I'll be back for Thanksgiving." He saw Sheldon relax his shoulders. Leonard figured now was as good a time as any to have the next part of the conversation. "Hey, buddy? Listen, I'm really sorry about getting so mad at you." he pushed up his glasses nervously "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not still mad, because I am, but I don't necessarily want to be. It's just going to take me some time, and I think this trip will help me sort everything out."

Sheldon stood up straight and nodded. "I understand. I'm not sorry for asking Penny out, and I won't apologize for it, so I hope you're not waiting for me to."

Leonard shook his head "No, no. I didn't think you would. I can't even blame you for that." he took a deep breath "There's something else you should know. I didn't want you to hear about it from someone else, but Amy is going with me on this trip." He closed his eyes, scrunched up his shoulders and face, and waited for the outburst that never came. He carefully opened one eye.

"Leonard, why do you look like that?" Sheldon asked in genuine confusion.

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You and Amy are friends. Friends can go on vacation together. You both indicated you needed time to process the concept of Penny and I dating. I see nothing wrong in this. It does pose some issues for our game tomorrow, which is inconvenient, but I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Leonard looked at Sheldon skeptically. "So, you're totally fine if I go on a three week vacation with Amy? The girl you almost dated?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he glared "Really, Leonard. Even if you were going on a romantic getaway with Amy, I wouldn't be concerned. You are both intelligent individuals, capable of making your own decisions." Sometimes Leonard could be very stupid for someone with an IQ of 173. It amazed Sheldon how little Leonard seemed to think of him.

Leonard stared at Sheldon, not sure what to make of this conversation, but he got the feeling that it would be in his best interest to accept it as it was, and to get out of here as quickly as possible. "Okay, well...I have an early flight, and I'm picking up Amy on the way, so I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Good night, Leonard. Have a safe trip, and give my regards to Amy."

Leonard walked down the hall to his room shaking his head.

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Sheldon was in a pickle. It was paintball day. Luckily, they were able to recruit Alice and Dirk to join their team to make sure they had enough players. His problem was that Penny was on the opposite team, and while that wasn't unusual, he was unsure of the protocol since they were in the dating stage of their relationship. If they were only friends, or classified as boyfriend/girlfriend, he would know what to do, but because they were in a sort of dating limbo, he was completely confounded. If he shot her, would she become upset? If she shot him, should he congratulate her? This is why he liked contracts. It helped him to know exactly how he should behave. Society and its endless amount of senseless unwritten rules constantly changing with no notice or explanation. It made it extremely difficult to keep up.

Dirk could tell that Sheldon was over thinking something. He often wore that exact expression himself, so he knew what he was looking at. "Hey, what's going on in that brain of yours?"

Sheldon looked around to make sure they were still unnoticed behind the barricade. The two of them were placed in charge of guarding the flag. Penny and Bernadette were the other team's 'muscle', so it fell to Dirk and Sheldon to play counterpart for their team. "This thing with Penny. We are more than friends, but not boyfriend/girlfriend, and so I don't know what the protocol is if we come face to face in battle. It's maddening."

Dirk laughed "I totally get it, but Penny seems like a pretty tough woman. I'm sure she can handle herself. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure if you gave her quarter, she'd shoot your ass, take our flag, and dance on the grave of our lost glory."

Sheldon sighed "I suppose you're right."

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

On the other side of the battlefield Penny was delegating. "Raj, you're in charge of guarding the flag. Stuart, I want you to hide in the bushes over there" she pointed to a spot up on a hill "Anyone manages to get past Raj, take them out and reclaim our flag. Alice and I will take point and steal the blue flag before they even know it's missing."

"No worries, Penny, I will guard this flag with my life." Raj clutched the flag to his heart.

"Everyone move out!" Penny lead everyone but Raj out of the small shack used as their base. She didn't see Raj smile happily, pull out his small flask, take a sip, then sit on the flag. Penny stood guard while Stuart got into position, then she headed out, followed closely by Alice. "Thanks again for coming out today, Sheldon was freaking out about our numbers."

"Hey, no problem! Thanks for inviting us. Dirk and Sheldon have been texting non-stop, so this gives them an opportunity to catch up in person." She laughed.

"I'm glad! I'm sure we'll be hanging out a lot over the next few weeks. Sheldon is determined to learn everything he can about Melvador before our campaign." She scanned the area, and they quickly moved to the next cover.

"I'm fine with that. I need a girlfriend that understands my struggles." She giggled.

"I get it. Sheldon was driving me crazy last night. Every time I said 'me and Leonard', he had to chime in with 'Leonard and I'. It was so frustrating. It makes me feel like an idiot."

"I can actually help you with that one!" Alice exclaimed "Your use of 'me and Leonard' is actually grammatically correct, 'Leonard and I' is just a personal preference. Sheldon is being unnecessarily pedantic. The best part is, he knows it. His IQ is too high not to know it. So when you call him out on it, he won't have a thing to say." She grinned widely.

Penny's eyes lit up "Thank you! I am totally going to mess with him. This will be great."

Alice smirked "He really does have it coming."

Both girls laughed.

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

"She saw me. I know she saw me." Sheldon panicked.

"So? Just keep an eye on her, and if she comes out from behind that wall, shoot her."

"There she is again! She just keeps popping up and looking at me before ducking back down!"

"Sheldon, relax! If she pops up again, take a shot!"

"Okay, I can do this." Sheldon mumbled to himself. He set up aim and waited for her to come out of hiding. He saw her look up over the top of the four foot wall and took a shot. He hit the wall directly below where she was standing just a moment ago.

"Well, I guess that's one way to avoid the issue." Dirk rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to shoot her?"

Sheldon eyed Dirk. He knew he couldn't take him, but he had to say his peace. "If you do, I'll have to ask you to meet me out in the parking lot."

Dirk whistled under his breath "Man, you got it bad. Does she know?"

Sheldon sighed. "I'm leery of expressing my feelings too precipitously. Once I set my mind on something, I rarely ever change it. My heart was set on her the day I met her. My brain took a bit longer to come around to the same conclusion. Now that they're functioning in sync, I'm just doing the best I can until I can convince her that we are a solid match." he paused. "Obviously the reference to my heart is purely metaphorical since the heart has no bearing on my emotional state at all."

"Sheldon? I swear to God, if you're going to throw this game just because we went out on a couple of dates, I'll hop over this wall right now and come shoot your ass!" They heard Penny yell.

Dirk glanced at Sheldon. "Told ya."

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

They all sat around the large table at the Cheesecake Factory. Everyone was laughing and telling stories. Dirk and Alice told everyone about Melvador and some of their exploits, and the rest of the gang regaled the newcomers with stories of their rag-tag group of misfits.

"So, Leonard and Amy huh?" Howard questioned Penny in a lull in the conversation.

"It's not like that, Amy called me this morning about it. They both said they need some time, and this was the perfect get away. They are going to some Civil War thingy. They'll meet us in Texas." She shrugged. Amy was polite, if a bit distant, on the phone. She didn't want Penny to be lonely without her, but she also didn't want to do the whole girl talk thing either. Penny didn't push, she knew Amy would come around.

"Yeah, Leonard didn't make it sound like it was anything more exciting than two friends going on vacation." Howard deflated.

"If you heard from Leonard, why did you ask me about it?"

Howard shrugged "I don't know, I thought if there was something going on, you would have all the good gossip."

"I have some gossip!" Raj exclaimed after he took a healthy sip of his Strawberry Blossom margarita "I saw Howard and Bernie making out behind the base during paint ball!" he smiled and wobbled just a little.

"That's hardly gossip, they do that every week." Sheldon deadpanned.

"I have a story!" Penny interrupted "I was telling Alice this story about me and Leonard..."

"Leonard and I, Penny. Leonard and I." He said agonizingly.

Penny winked at Alice "Actually, Sheldon, the correction of 'me and Leonard' to 'Leonard and I' is unnecessarily pedantic on your part. 'Me and Leonard' is just as grammatically correct as 'Leonard and I', as both are widely accepted by literary standards." She smiled up at him and blinked her eyes at him innocently.

Everyone waited for Sheldon's reaction. Raj, Bernie, and Howard all had their mouths gaping open, Alice and Dirk were trying to hold in their laughter, and Stuart was just glancing around nervously. Penny bit her lip as Sheldon's eye began to twitch. She wasn't sure if he was going to faint or explode. When she saw his mouth begin to twitch as well, she leaned over and quickly kissed him on the cheek, and gave him a hopeful smile. When she pulled back she saw his tics were gone, replaced by a goofy half smile on his face.

"Dude!" Raj said a little too loud. It broke the spell, and everyone started laughing.