The fortnight passed, and Amy had kept herself busy preparing for her trip.
She had spent time with the girls, too, but hadn't been quite the same around them.
Penny and Bernadette had the decency to not mention Sheldon when she was around, and he had never disturbed them.
Amy had still been suffering, and knew that she had become more reserved since breaking up with Sheldon.
Sheldon had been exactly the same; he was quiet all the time, much to the surprise of everyone else.
On his first day of almost total silence, Howard had quipped that it was peaceful not having to listen to Sheldon's rants.
Leonard and Raj just frowned at him, and Sheldon had bitten his lip and excused himself from the room, deserting his food.
His schedule was off, and his work wasn't up to scratch.
Sheldon felt awful.
Today was the day that Amy was due to fly to Florida to begin her five-month job post.
Her flight was in the evening, and she was all packed and ready, and had quadruple-checked that she had everything she needed.
Now she was over at Penny's apartment with Penny and Bernadette, saying goodbye.
"My mother is going to be checking in on my apartment and the bills will still be getting paid, but if you would like to keep an eye on it too, I've given you both a spare key." Amy smiled, handing the cut keys over to her friends.
"Thank you Amy. We'll take care of it, we promise." Penny nodded.
Amy looked down at the other two keys she held in her hand. One of them, which was on a keyring full of various other keys, belonged to Amy.
The other was a spare key, too.
"This one belonged to Sheldon." Amy said, softly. "He used it to get into my apartment when I was sick with the flu."
Her friends smiled sadly at her.
"I…I was thinking of giving it to him." Amy confessed.
"What!? Why? He's your ex-boyfriend!" Bernadette exclaimed.
"Yeah, never a good idea to give an ex-boyfriend your key…" Penny grimaced.
"Look, I don't care. This is Sheldon Cooper we're talking about. He wouldn't cause any damage to my home! I trust him with my life." Amy replied.
"But…"
"No. I'm going over there!" Amy decided.
"Then I'm coming with you, just in case he pulls any crap!" Penny said, following Amy across the hall and heading to the front to knock on the door.
It was Sheldon who answered.
"Hello Penny…Amy!" His eyes widened, hopefully. "What are you doing here?"
Amy cut in front of Penny. "Penny, I appreciate the help, but I will be fine on my own with Sheldon."
Penny eyed him and pursed her lips. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay…See you in a minute Amy. See you later Sheldon." Penny smiled gently, as she turned around and made her way back to her apartment.
Sheldon rubbed the back of his head. "You know she'll be listening at her door." He smiled weakly.
Amy nodded.
"Would you like to come in?" Sheldon asked.
"Sure." Amy said bravely, as she stepped into the apartment.
"Leonard is with Howard and Raj getting you a goodbye present…Oops…Forget you heard that." Sheldon winced.
Amy laughed. "It's okay…Penny and Bernadette already gave me one from them; a framed photo collage of all of us."
"Am I in it?" Sheldon swallowed.
"Um…Well when I say 'all of us', I meant just me and the girls." Amy replied, bashfully.
"Oh."
"But…I kind of have a goodbye present for you." Amy admitted.
Sheldon frowned, as Amy handed him her spare key.
"In case you want to go into my apartment and tidy, or check on it while I'm away." Amy explained.
"But…We're broken up." Sheldon replied, sadly.
"Not according to the Relationship Agreement." Amy replied, quietly.
"Oh…Uh, well I'll go and get it then." Sheldon swallowed, turning around.
"Actually…I was hoping that we could leave it unsigned." Amy piped up, making Sheldon turn to face her with a hopeful expression. "I was also hoping that when I return…We could try again; carry on where we left off. I've missed you so much and was stupid to walk away."
Sheldon stared at her. "I would like that Amy." He replied, "But that's five months away."
"I know." Amy looked at the floor. "I've been trying to forget you for the last two weeks, but I haven't been able to." She confessed.
"You and me both." Sheldon replied, "My work has suffered, my schedule has suffered, and my appetite too. I've been quiet and unhappy, and my thoughts consist only of you."
Amy stared at him in surprise. "Really?"
Sheldon nodded silently in reply.
"Amy, I still don't want you to leave." He said, softly, gazing down at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Sheldon. It's too late; you know I fly today." Amy replied, remorsefully.
Sheldon recalled the conversations that he and Leonard had had in the past two weeks.
Tell her how you feel, otherwise she will move on and you'll be left feeling like this for a very long time.
Sheldon swallowed. "Amy, I…"
"We're back! Sheldon, do you want us to address the present from you as well? Oh…Amy!" Leonard looked shocked.
He, Howard and Raj had returned to the apartment, with Leonard holding a plastic bag.
"Are you two back together?" Leonard grinned.
"Well technically…We are giving it another shot when I get back." Amy replied.
"That's great! Uh…We got you a goodbye present, and we were going to come over and give it to you. We've missed you over the last two weeks." Leonard said, handing Amy the bag.
"I've missed you all too." Amy confessed. "I can still call and Facebook you."
"Even me?" Sheldon asked.
"Of course! You're my boyfriend; I'll Skype you so that it's at least a little more personal." Amy promised.
Sheldon nodded.
It would have to do until he could see her again…Five months from now.
"Open the bag Amy. Hope you like it." Howard urged, and Raj just smiled.
Amy opened the bag and peered inside.
She pulled out a cuddly toy monkey that looked almost exactly like Ricky, the monkey that she had looked after a couple of years previous. It was holding a little photo frame, containing a photo of the entire group at Halloween; Raj as 'Indian Jones', Howard and Bernadette as two Smurfs, Penny as a sexy cop, Leonard as Einstein, Amy as Raggety Ann, next to Sheldon as 'Raggety C3P0'.
Amy's eyes filled with tears.
"This is beautiful. Thank you." Amy smiled, hugging Leonard, Raj and Howard in turn.
She turned to Sheldon. "And thank you too, Sheldon."
Sheldon bit his lip, feeling his eyes sting.
Feeling an overwhelming surge of the emotion that he was now only too familiar with, he impulsively embraced Amy into a tight hug.
Amy hugged him back, just as tightly.
She breathed in the scent of talcum powder and a hint of men's deodorant, as he inhaled her apple-scented shampoo and fruity perfume.
They broke apart, both feeling torn.
Amy blinked back her tears.
"I'm going to go get my stuff from Penny's and then I have to leave for my flight." She said. "Thank you again for the beautiful present; I'll chat to you all soon."
She took Sheldon's hands and pressed something into one of them, whilst kissing him on the cheek.
"I'll Skype you when I get there." She promised, turning for the door. "See you in five months! Wow…I'll miss you."
She looked directly at Sheldon as she said this.
"I'll miss you too, Amy Farrah Fowler." He replied, as she closed the door for the final time.
..
Sheldon had been unable to move from the spot he was standing in when Amy had left.
He had heard her leave Penny's apartment tearfully as the girls said their goodbyes.
Minutes later, Penny and Bernadette had joined the guys in their apartment and were sitting sombrely around the coffee table.
"How long has he been standing there?" Penny whispered to Leonard.
"About an hour." Leonard replied.
"Seriously!?" Penny whispered back. She got to her feet and wandered over to Sheldon.
"Hey Sheldon." She said gently.
When he didn't reply, Penny carried on speaking. "Amy told me that you guys are technically back together now. That's great!"
"I won't see her for almost half a year. How is that great?" Sheldon asked, miserably.
"I know; I'm sorry, sweetie." Penny rubbed his arm, and instead of flinching, Sheldon just sighed.
"She will Skype you every day though." Penny added.
Sheldon nodded, and then suddenly felt the urge to open his hand.
He looked down at the piece of paper Amy had placed into his hand over an hour earlier, and read it.
His eyes widened.
Sheldon, in case of emergency; contact Amy Farrah Fowler.
I love you xxx
And below that was the address of the hotel that she was staying at, including the name of the suite that the university had reserved for her during her stay.
He glanced up at his front door, deep in thought. This was what his mother would call a 'blessing'; a second chance.
He whirled around suddenly.
"Penny, will you drive me to the airport please? There's something I need to do."
..
A/N: Not going to deny that I welled up a little writing this, and yes, I used a reference from The Tangible Affection Proof if anyone caught it! ;) Thank you to those who have reviewed. Further reviews would be appreciated ;) x