"Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same." -Franz Schubert

After her encounter with Sheldon, Amy had walked back to her lab with a large smile spread across her features. Being the responsible and diligent worker that she was, Amy promptly got back to work upon arriving at her lab. Her smile, however, remained.

Now that her lab was set up, and she had acquired her dissection materials, Amy chose to begin dissecting some brain specimens. That is how Andrew found her a couple of hours later during lunchtime.

"Woah. What's with the giddiness? Wait, let me guess. You found a tumor in one of your brain specimens." Andrew teased, as he walked in with lunch.

Amy was so lost in her work, she jumped a little in shock at Andrew's appearance. With her hand on her chest she answered, "Oh, hey, Drew. You scared me. And, as a matter of fact, I did find a tumor in this brain." She proudly pointed at the grey mass on her table.

"Yes, that's very exciting stuff," he said sarcastically while playfully rolling his eyes.

Amy frowned. "What are you doing here, anyway? Didn't you have a meeting right around now?"

"Oh, yeah. It was canceled, so I decided to pay a visit to my newest colleague. I brought food," he waved the bag of food around to emphasize his point.

"Well, let me clean up first, and we can go eat in my office," she offered, pointing towards the small room behind the lab.

"So, tell me. Did anything else happen today to permanently plaster that goofy grin on your face?"

"Well, you know Dr. Cooper?" Andrew nodded. "I kind of ran into him earlier. We talked for a bit, and he asked me out to dinner later tonight." Amy omitted the fact that Sheldon also played an instrument. He had seemed pretty private about it, so perhaps he didn't want anyone to know.

Andrew squealed, "AMY, YOU LITTLE FLIRT! First day on the job and you've already caught the attention of Dr. Sheldon Cooper. He's like impossible to catch. Again and again grad students have come after him only to end up being flatly rejected."

"Yes, well, he said he saw my performance two weeks ago. That's probably where I recognized him from."

"This is so great. Where is he taking you?" Andrew questioned eagerly.

"I don't know, and stop dramatizing the situation. We are just going to dinner after work to chat for a bit longer."

"You really are clueless," Andrew mused. "It's okay, I'll still keep you around," he said cheekily.

Rolling her eyes Amy deadpanned, "I am forever in your debt, Dr. Sperry."

"I will pick you up at your office later, Sheldon," said Leonard as the lunch hour was ending.

"Oh, that is no longer necessary. Also, I will be absent at Thai night tonight. Additionally, may I please borrow your car?"

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. What do you mean Thai night is off? And why do you need my car? You can't even drive."

"Correction: I can drive, I choose not to drive. I need your car because I will be driving somewhere your presence is not required. In regards to your first question, I would argue my previous statement is quite self-explanatory. 'Thai night is off,' essentially means that Thai night is off," Sheldon responded.

"Okay. Here's a new question: WHY is Thai night off?" Howard interjected.

"Well, as I previously stated, my presence is required somewhere else," Sheldon said, as if that explained everything.

"Where do you need to go?" Raj asked.

Sheldon hesitated. Should he tell his friends about his date? Well, they are his friends. "It seems, gentlemen, that I have asked someone out on a date."

"WHAT?! You? On a date? Quick, Raj, check for flying pigs!" Howard exclaimed.

"Sheldon, you do know what a date entails, correct? Does this woman - erm, man? - human know they agreed to a date?" Leonard asked. The group still didn't quite know what Sheldon's "deal" was. They had set him up with many woman, but nothing had resulted out of these meetings.

"It is a woman," Sheldon clarified, "and I am almost certain she knows it's a date. I am aware that going on a date would imply that I am looking to start a relationship with this woman, and I have no objections to this fact."

Howard was about to say something else, probably an inappropriate joke, but Leonard spoke first. "Alright, buddy. I'm just making sure you're aware of everything. I will see you in the morning, since I am sleeping at Penny's tonight," he said, referring to his fiancé.

"Good preevening, Amy," Sheldon said when she opened the door. She was still wearing her hair in a ponytail, but she now had a lab coat on.

"Preevening?"

"It's a word I invented to describe the ambiguous period between the afternoon and evening," Sheldon elucidated.

Amy chuckled, "Well, in that case, good preevening, Sheldon." She took off her lab coat. "I just finished cleaning up; we can go now."

Sheldon smiled and led her out the door.

"So, where are we going?"

"My friends and I usually eat at the Cheesecake Factory whenever we go out to dinner right after work. Penny, my friend, works there and knows how to get my order just right."

Amy was starting to see the "quirks" this man was famed for having. Unlike most people, however, she found them to be cute and endearing. "That sounds great."

The two continued chatting as they made their journey to the restaurant.

Penny was bored to death. Her shift at the Cheesecake Factory wasn't over for another three hours. Thank God Bernadette had gotten her that interview at the pharmaceutical company. Another month and she would be able to stop working as a waitress.

She frowned as she saw Sheldon walk in. Didn't he cancel Thai night earlier? Wait, she thought, is that a woman with him? Why does she look so familar?

Slipping her phone out of her pocket, she texted the rest of the group.

Penny: GUYS! I decided to pick up a shift at the Cheesecake Factory since Sheldon canceled Thai night, and Sheldon just walked in WITH A GIRL!

Bernadette: WHAT? NO WAY!

Leonard: Yeah, he told us earlier. Apparently he's on a date.

Penny: OMG! How did they meet? Who even is she? She looks very familiar.

Raj: We don't know. He wouldn't say much. All we know about his date is that she's a woman.

Howard: Yeah, I'm surprised we got that much out of him. OH, and get this: He drove there - with Leonard's CAR!

Penny: He can drive?! Damn, Moonpie. He's been keeping some secrets from us. What's he making us drive him around for? Well, I'm working at the bar tonight. If I was waitressing, I could have gotten more information. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Gotta go. Bye.