"When you play, never mind who listens to you." – Robert Schumann

A week after her interview at Caltech, Amy received a call from the university stating she had gotten the position she applied for. She was to begin work on Monday, preparing her new lab in the process.

Now, on Monday morning, Amy was getting ready for work. After putting on her navy blue pencil skirt, matching blazer, and white blouse, Amy made her way to her small desk opposite to the piano in her apartment's second bedroom; she had converted it into an office/music room. Once there, she gathered her belongings and accomodated them inside her work bag. She then walked back to the entrance of her apartment, and, slipping on her shoes, she walked out the door.

After his encounter with the green-eyed pianist, whose name Sheldon now knew was Amelia, Sheldon had made several advancements in both his work in physics and music. Leonard was suspicious of Sheldon's behavior at first, but he quickly attributed it to Sheldon "being in the zone" and shrugged it off.

Today, though, it seemed Amelia's effects on him were beginning to wear off. Perhaps it was because he had not seen her for two weeks. Silently hoping the woman would return to the University to do whatever she had been doing there in the first place so that he could see her once more, Sheldon unlocked his office and went inside. He knew seeing her again was just wishful thinking, so he decided to focus on physics for the morning. He would go to the basement to play his instrument during his break, but, for now, a morning of physics awaited him; and he was happy to oblige.

Amy was setting up the last few pieces of equipment in her lab with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had always hated having her hair in her face while she worked. Looking for her dissection materials, Amy realized they were missing. After consulting with her superior, Amy was told to go down to the basement to look for the equipment.

As she walked down the hallways, she believed she found the door she was looking for. She was a bit surprised when, upon opening the door, she saw a baby grand piano and violin, among other instruments in the room. Checking the door number again, she realized she was actually a number off. Wondering who could have put the instruments there, she walked inside the room. When she opened the piano, she noticed it looked cared for and was maintained relatively clean. She looked at her watch. Her break had just begun. Perfect. She tentatively sat down and touched the keys. Wow, she thought, it's even tuned. She started playing the new piece she had recently begun composing. It was not completed, of course, as composing a piece could take even years, but she had quite a lot already done. Losing herself in the piece, as she usually did, she did not notice the other person who had walked into the room, until she heard a violin. She nearly stopped playing but realized whoever was playing was playing along with her, and it sounded amazing. As the piece culminated, she looked behind her and saw the very man who had inspired the piece.

"That's a lovely piece," said Sheldon, by way of greeting. As it turned out, his earlier hopes were not merely wishful thinking. When his break commenced, Sheldon made his way towards the room in the basement he utilized for playing his instrument. As he came closer to the room, however, he heard faint music. Searching back into his memory, he remembered he did not lock the door on his way out on Friday. He quickly rushed to the room, but as he was about to burst in, he suddenly softened. The music was lovely. He had never heard it before, but it was lovely. He opened the door as quietly as possible and nearly gasped when he saw that the mystery piano player was Amelia Fowler. She was dressed in formal work attire and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. He pondered what he should do and an idea came to him. He picked up his violin and began to play along. He could play by ear, so he was able to accompany the music quite nicely. He saw the woman stiffen and thought she might stop, but she simply continued playing. Now, after the end of the piece, she had turned around and was staring at him with shock.

"Um- Yes, well, thank you. You play quite well yourself," Amy answered.

"I've seen you here twice already. Are you not a pianist?"

"If you are referring to two weeks ago, I was simply visiting my friend. Today, however, I began to work here."

Sheldon was truly stunned by the turn of events. "You are a scientist? How? I was under the impression you were a classical musician."

"Well, the two are not mutually exclusive. You work here, and, by the looks of it, are also a quite adept violinist," she pointed out.

"I suppose you have a point, but I have neither publicly performed nor made a living out of my music. For me, it is simply a hobby."

"How is it that you know I perform? As a matter of fact, I noticed two weeks ago when we saw each other in the cafeteria that you look fairly familiar. Where have I seen you before?" Amy was truly curious now. This man seemed to know quite a bit about her.

"I was near the front row at your performance two weeks ago. My friends and I all went together. Perhaps you saw me then," Sheldon reasoned.

Suddenly, he remembered he had yet to introduce himself. "I am Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, Caltech's best theoretical physicist," he said a bit arrogantly as he extended his hand. Wait, what am I doing?, Sheldon wondered, I hate germs! Somehow, however, he could sense that this woman might be the exception to many of his rules...

Amy chuckled, remembering Drew's comment about his alleged arrogance. Yes, he was arrogant, no doubt about it. "It's very nice to meet you. It occurs to me that you might know me as Amelia Fowler. In the world of neurobiology, however, most know me as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler." She shook his hand.

"What?!" Sheldon nearly screeched. "You're Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, one of the leading experts in neurobiology? I normally steer away from biology, since it's the study of squisky, icky stuff, but even I have heard of you! How could you have time to be both a reputable scientist and classical musician? Although, it has been around two years since you've published anything new."

"Bingo," said Amy. "I went on a hiatus to take care of my mother, who had gotten sick. I ended up dedicating myself primarily to music, but I've recently returned to the world of science."

"Well, all this information still does not explain what you are doing here."

"I could ask you the same. What are you doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I come here to practice my violin during my breaks."

"Oh, well, I apologize. I came down to the basement to get new dissection materials since mine were missing. I accidentally opened the wrong door and came across this room. Since I was on break, I decided to check out the piano."

"It's no matter. I rather enjoyed playing that piece with you. You know, I don't believe I have heard that particular piece before."

"Yes, you wouldn't have; I composed it," explained Amy, "It's not yet completed, but I have a lot of it done, as you know."

"I rarely offer compliments as I cannot bring myself to lie, but I must say your music is breathtakingly passionate. I have not heard such fervent playing in a long time, nor have I played with comparable avidity in a long while. I cannot believe I am admitting this, but my music has gained a certain fervor to it since hearing you perform two weeks ago."

At this, Amy blushed and avoided his gaze. Sheldon thought she looked adorable.

"Thank you. I cherish your kind words."

Sheldon's phone rang now with an alarm he had set to signal the end of his break.

"It seems my break is coming to an end," said Sheldon.

"Yes, mine is ending as well."

"It was very nice to meet you."

"Indeed, it was," Amy shyly smiled.

"Do you-" Sheldon hesitated and Amy looked up into his eyes with a questioning look.

"Would you like to go out for dinner later tonight? We could get to know each other a little better."

A smile spread across Amy's face. "I would love to. Here is my contact information," she said giving him her business card.

Sheldon gave her his business card as well and said, "Thank you. Shall I pick you at your lab after work?"

"Sure. I guess I'll see you later, Dr. Cooper," she said beginning to walk away.

"Goodbye, Amelia," the words left his mouth before he even realized he had addressed her by her given name.

"I prefer Amy," she turned her head back at him and winked.

Sheldon was left standing there wondering what just happened. He had shaken her hand. Hell, he had asked her on a date! What was this vixen doing to him?! Surely, it wasn't Amy who was having such an effect on him. Perhaps he had acquired an alien parasite.