I TOTALLY forgot to do my shout-outs that I was planning to do when I started this story! I can't believe I forgot. I have to thank a couple of amazing people. First of all, Cubomi. I met her through this website and she's become a wonderful online friend and a great source of confidence for me with this story. And secondly, Pinnatus has been a great reviewer since I started writing on this site and she was the source of inspiration for this story's dual-perspective nature. So, if you all like the fact that I've incorporated a bit of Sheldon's POV into this continuation, she's the one to thank for giving me the idea. If you don't like it… she's the one to blame. ;o)

I wanted to do the shout-outs not only to thank them for their help, but also to let everyone know that I really do take your comments and messages into consideration in my writing. With my past couple of stories, my reviewers have helped me immensely through little suggestions here and there. Thank you all!

The Compatibility Equilibrium
Chapter Two: The Transmission Delay Implication

The morning following Penny's play, Amy was scheduled to meet up with her parents at their apartment on the second floor of 2311 Los Robles to help pack their belongings and begin the arduous task of moving them into her Aunt Edith's home in Glendale.

It wouldn't have topped her list of things to do with her spare time on the weekend, but she had promised them that she would help. She was also excited that the process of vacating them from the premises was moving along at such a rapid pace. The sooner they were out of the building, the sooner she and Sheldon could participate in more … private… activities. Privately. Alone. Just the two of them.

That was all the motivation she needed.

Amy held her breath as soon as she entered the lobby, pointlessly anticipating that she might run into her boyfriend.

She kept telling herself that she was acting silly. Sheldon had informed her that he would be at Caltech this morning. She suspected that his sudden need to go to work on a weekend had something to do with avoiding the obligation to help her parents pack – But even if he had been at home, he wouldn't have been downstairs at this time of day on a Sunday. It wasn't laundry day, and there was no mail to collect. No, if he were at home he would most likely have been sitting at his computer reading online physics journals or updating himself on the latest information about one of his superhero comics or something.

What am I expecting, anyway? Had she thought he would meet her on the stairs, take one look at her and not be able to control himself? Had she been expecting that he would just push her against the wall of the stairwell and take her right here in between the first and second floors? No. She was being foolish.

Get a grip, Fowler.

She reached her parents' door and rapped her knuckles against it gently.

Her dad answered a few moments later, opening the door with great effort as he balanced himself on a pair of aluminum crutches. "Hey, Button! Come on in. Thanks for helping us out."

"Of course," Amy smiled as she moseyed into the apartment and removed her bag from her shoulder. "That's what daughters are for. We're born, eat all your food, spend all your money, then… 30 years later – bam! – free labor."

Her dad laughed and closed the door behind her.

Amy took in her surroundings. The living room was flooded in a sea of bubble wrap and cardboard boxes. Some were filled with books or figurines wrapped in newspaper. Others were empty, but had stacks of small appliances or kitchenware next to them. There didn't appear to be any sort of procedure in place.

"Organized chaos," her dad said, noting the look on her face. He hobbled over to the couch and plopped down next to one of the empty boxes, then grabbed a stack of DVDs and began placing them neatly inside.

"Crutches, huh?" Amy nodded to the apparatus he'd just leaned against the couch. "Tired of the wheelchair?"

She sat down beside him and pulled a handful of newspaper pages into her lap to begin wrapping up nearby coffee mugs.

"Yes." Her dad sighed. "Besides, there are just too many boxes in here. I couldn't move around in that danged chair even if I wanted to."

Her dad's broken leg was healing nicely, but was still proving to be quite the obstacle for someone who lived in a building without a functional elevator. Amy was surprised he'd even bothered to leave the apartment to attend Penny's play.

Amy's mom, Carol, came in from their bedroom carrying a huge pile of bedding in her arms. She dropped it on the floor with a groan, then jumped back in surprise when she noticed her daughter.

"Oh! Amy, I didn't hear you come in!"

Amy smiled at her mom. "Do you need any help? I'm just putting away these mugs."

"No, that's fine. But when you're done with that, if you could fold these sheets and blankets for me, that would be great. Your father's of little use to me in his current physical state," She patted James on the head. "No offense, dear."

"Oh, believe me, I know the only thing I'm good for is comedic relief."

Carol gave him a confused look and quickly shuffled back into her bedroom, muttering unintelligibly to herself.

"She's been a bit scatterbrained," James told Amy with a chuckle.

"Understandable. This will be your second move in a very short amount of time."

She and her father continued their tasks in companionable silence for several minutes.

"So… have you talked to Sheldon today?" He finally asked, as he placed the last of the DVDs into his box.

Amy couldn't help but blush at the mention of her boyfriend's name. The subject was an awkward one, considering what had happened the night before in full view of everyone. She felt her cheeks heat up and turned away from her father, pretending to look for another mug to wrap.

"Umm… nope. Sure haven't." She was certain that her attempt to mask her unease with the topic was unsuccessful, as her voice cracked a little as she spoke.

James simply smiled.

"Why?" she asked. "Have you talked to him?" She continued to avoid eye contact; keeping up the ruse that she was searching for a nearby mug, which she knew didn't exist. She'd already packed them all.

"Nope. Sure haven't," her dad echoed with a mischievous grin.

The fact that her parents had been witness to one of the most intimate moments in the entire history of her relationship – or, in fact, her life – was something that she wished she could wipe from her memory. She held firmly to the belief that the science and technology to do so already existed… it's those damn ethical restrictions that are the problem.

Although, she probably couldn't erase that particular memory from her brain without also wiping the memory of the entire incident with Sheldon in her car… and she sure as Hades wasn't going to get rid of that one. That one was going to be on repeat in her head for a while.

With no more mugs in sight, and no other good reason to keep her attention diverted, Amy finally turned to face her dad. She was sure there was still a pink hue on her cheeks.

"He certainly seems to love you very much," James said.

Amy nodded and couldn't hold back her smile. "I love him, too."

"Ah, to be young and in love," he grinned, pulling the packing tape across his box.

"JAMES!" Carol's voice pierced the air from the bedroom and Amy's father winced. "JAMES! I need your help! I can't reach this picture frame! Your height is about the only thing you're good for right now!"

He snickered a bit. "Old and in love just doesn't have the same zeal."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Amy laughed as her father grabbed his crutches and pushed himself off the couch to go help his wife.

Amy took the opportunity while she was alone to check her phone. Sheldon still hadn't responded to her. She'd sent him a 'Good Morning' text, and had expected some sort of acknowledgement by now. He was typically very adamant about promptly returning of any sort electronic communication.

Maybe he's just busy at work, she shrugged.

A text from Penny popped across her screen confirming girls' night that evening, and Amy smiled. She couldn't wait to gossip about her tryst in the backseat of her car.

Me! She thought. Turning up the heat in the backseat with my boyfriend. Just like any of the popular girls in high school!

It seemed that she truly was a part of the real – or, at least, the more 'conventional' – dating world now.

The bar was predictably quiet for a Sunday evening. Its few patrons were older and obviously not looking to chat with anyone. People were scattered sporadically across the room, mostly keeping to themselves… either in deep thought about their own problems or just trying to relax from the events of the day.

The only exception to the somber atmosphere was a table of four women, three of whom were blondes, completely entranced by a steamy tale from their brunette neurobiologist friend.

"And then… we signed the termination. And that was that." Amy tossed what was left of her drink back into her throat. She'd had more than one cocktail that evening, using the excuse that it was a special occasion – which, the more she thought about it, wasn't the too far from the truth.

"Wow," Penny, Bernadette, and Claire chimed in unison.

Amy nodded in agreement.

"Of course… you saw what happened next," she wiggled her eyebrows at her friends, and they all giggled.

"Sorry about Howie," Bernadette apologized. "He really has no tact sometimes."

"Yeah - If it wasn't for your nosy husband who knows how far Sheldon and I would have gone! He was getting pretty handsy in that car. He might have even made it to second base if it wasn't for your hubs."

Amy knew that was a lie. She and Sheldon wouldn't have gone too much further that night. In fact, if Howard hadn't interrupted them when he had, Amy probably would have stopped the encounter herself. It was getting a little too intense for such a public place, and – as much as she had been yearning for Sheldon to touch her in that way – she wanted it to happen in a more private location. With a bed. And romantic music. And maybe candles. The way she had written about in her dream book with her fluorescent gel pens when she was fourteen.

Of course, she wouldn't admit that to the girls - Oh, no. This was gossip time, and she wanted her gossip to stay as juicy as possible. She never had the good gossip; And a little exaggeration never hurt anyone.

"Sheldon was like an animal," Amy continued with just a sprinkle of hyperbole. "He couldn't get enough of me."

"You'll have to have him teach my guy a thing or two," Claire sighed with awe. "For a chemist, Ben sure doesn't know how to get a reaction going, if you know what I mean."

"Sheldon giving romance advice?" Bernadette squeaked with laughter. "Even with everything that's happened, I still can't picture that!"

To Amy's delight, Penny and Bernadette had taken to Claire quite easily. They'd welcomed her with open arms, and within a half hour of her joining their table, it felt as though she had been a member of their close-knit group for years.

"Well, I don't know if Ben would be very receptive to hearing anything Sheldon has to say," Amy argued. "The two of them didn't get along very well."

"True," Claire nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait," Penny waved her hands in the air to halt the conversation. "You're telling me Sheldon doesn't get along with someone?" Her jaw dropped in mock surprise. "Well! Knock me over with a feather."

"It wasn't just Sheldon," Claire insisted, when she noticed Amy's frown. "Ben was just as much to blame."

Amy smiled softly at her new friend. Claire was one of the sweetest people she had ever met. In some ways, she understood Amy even better than Penny and Bernadette – whom she had known for years now.

Still, Amy was ready to change the subject. Any further talk about her little rendezvous with Sheldon, and she was going to have to delve into the realm of white lies in order to keep it sounding spicy for her more experienced friends… something she had neither the desire nor the ability to pull off very well, as witnessed by her attempts at developing a fake relationship with Arman the miniature horse breeder.

"So, Penny," Amy suavely transitioned, "Have you and Leonard talked wedding dates yet?"

Penny held out her left hand and admired her engagement ring with her big, sparkling blue eyes. Amy still couldn't believe that her bestie had finally plucked up the courage to take such a big step with Leonard.

"No. I'm sure Leonard's probably dreaming of some fairytale wedding, but I don't really want anything too fancy. I'd be content just going to the Justice of the Peace. We haven't really had the opportunity to talk about it much, though," she heaved a happy sigh. "He darted out of there right after you left last night, you know."

"He did?" Amy furrowed her brow. That wasn't like Leonard at all. Why would he have left Penny on such an important night?

"Yeah," Penny shrugged. "Something about Sheldon needing help. I didn't ask questions. And, honestly, I didn't mind. I had a lot of other irons in the fire last night anyway. And its not like we won't have our whole lives to be with each other… right?"

"Hmm… interesting," Bernadette mumbled.

"What?" Penny asked with confusion. "Should I have been upset? Should I have been clingy?" She groaned and ran her hands through her hair. "Man! I'm no good at this fiancé stuff."

"No… no…" Bernadette continued. "I'm sure you and Leonard are fine. It's just… " The bespectacled microbiologist nudged her head nervously toward Amy. "I wonder what kind of problem Sheldon was having?"

"Oh!" Penny glanced quickly at their brunette friend and then bit her lip.

Amy's eyes darted between the two of them. "Are you insinuating that Sheldon might be having second thoughts about what happened between us?"

The girls didn't say anything. They both played awkwardly with the rims of their empty cocktail glasses.

"Surely Sheldon wouldn't do that!" Claire offered. "He's a man of his word… isn't he?"

"Of course he is!"

"So, you have nothing to worry about then… right?"

Penny waved her hand in the air, as though she were swatting away the implication. "No, no, no … I'm sure Dr. Love hasn't changed his mind one bit. In fact, I'm betting he won't be able to keep his hands off of you from now on. You might want to invest in some pepper spray, woman. AmIRight?"

Penny winked at her friend, but her expression wasn't too convincing.

Do I have something to worry about? Amy wondered. If not… then why would Sheldon need to talk to Leonard so urgently? Urgently enough that Leonard would leave Penny…

Amy heard her phone ding in her purse, alerting her to the fact that she had a text message. She dug her hand into the bag and felt around blindly, until she found the device and pulled it out.

Her face paled when she saw the words on her screen.

"Who is that?" Penny asked. "Oh my gosh… it's started hasn't it? Is that a booty call?"

Bernadette snickered and choked on her drink a bit, and Amy pursed her lips at her friends before rereading Sheldon's text to herself.

– We should talk. –

"Sheldon, what the heck are you doing?"

"Hm?" Sheldon looked up from his phone to meet the frustrated eyes of his roommate.

"What are you doing over there?" Leonard repeated. "It's your turn."

Sheldon studied his friends, who were hovering over the pile of Mystic Warlords of Ka'a cards on the coffee table. He had abandoned his hand to grab a beverage from the kitchen, but had become distracted by the fact that Amy hadn't responded to his text message. Besides, the game had grown dull. He'd long ago figured out who was going to win… and it wasn't him.

"You no longer need me in the game," he said. "I'll play my Water Nymph card. Leonard, you'll play the Lesser Demon Turtle that you have in your hand. Raj will put down his Fairy Godmonster and Howard will play his Hellhound card. Then I'll have no choice but to play my Lava Serpent. Leonard, you've only got an Enchanted Bunny left after that… Howard will be out of playable cards and Raj, by default, will win."

"We've asked you not to do that," Howard groaned, throwing down his cards in irritation.

"I'm sorry, " Sheldon said with an annoyed huff. "It's just no fun for me to keep playing when I know I won't be victorious. Believe me, I wish I could participate in a game with those limited by lesser mental acuity. It certainly would make it a better experience for me."

"Counting cards should be illegal," Leonard glared at him.

"You can't criminalize skill, Leonard."

"Hey, you don't hear me complaining," Raj grinned smugly and shrugged his shoulders as he began stacking up the cards to put away. "I won."

Sheldon's phone vibrated in his hand and he glanced down to see that his girlfriend had finally returned his text.

– Ok. I'll stop by your apartment after work tomorrow. –

He quickly relayed his approval and made a mental note to reprimand her about her response time. Five minutes was way too long. What if it had been urgent?

"Who are you texting over there?" Howard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nobody," Sheldon said, shoving the phone back into his pocket. As if he would tell Howard, of all people, that he was conversing with his girlfriend. The pint-sized engineer would just find some way to make fun of him; especially considering what the entire group had witnessed outside of the theater the night before.

"It's Amy, isn't it?" Howard teased, a sly smirk forming on his face.

"Not another word, Howard." Sheldon pointed an intimidating boney finger at him.

Leonard made a half-hearted attempt to hide his grin. "Come on, Howard. Give the man a break."

"Just remember…" Raj said, with a soft, understanding tone. "The way to keep a woman happy is through reciprocation of affection. Don't be afraid to express your feelings."

"Oh, shut up, Raj," Sheldon scoffed. "Like you know what you're talking about." He made a beeline down the hallway to his room and closed his door. His phone buzzed again, and he pulled it back out.

– I love you –

He rolled his eyes, then deftly tapped his thumbs across his keypad to send his reply.

– I know –

He was about to tuck his phone back into his pocket, but – remembering Raj's suggestion – decided to type a follow-up message.

– I love you, too –

His thumb hovered over the 'send' button for a moment. He finally sighed and delivered the message, before tucking the phone away for good.

When I did I become such a hippy?

Chapter Three Coming (sort of) Soon!

A/N: I knew that with my new job, my chapter postings were not going to be as timely as my previous stories... but this chapter took me longer to post than I had intended. Sorry about that! Thank you so much for the responses to my first chapter, though! Please keep 'em comin'!