A/N: I never thanked those of you who reviewed in my last chapter, so double thank you :)
..
It was Friday night when Amy and Sheldon had arranged to go to dinner with David, Emily and Professor Roberts.
The Professor had brought his wife Sandy along, and the group were sat at a table in Ruby Tuesday, finishing off their meals and conversing over glasses of wine.
Even Sheldon had relented and agreed to drink one glass of wine.
"So, Amy, I have just spoken to our Los Angeles branch, and they've agreed that once your transfer is over, you can take up the same post at their facility! They look forward to having you." Professor Roberts grinned as he returned to the table after going outside to make a quick call.
Amy gasped. "Really? That's great news! Thank you so much Professor Roberts."
"Amy, I told you; outside of work, please call me Jack." He replied. "And you are very welcome.
"Thank you so much! Oh and David, thank you for all your help too. You've all been so wonderful to me!" She smiled.
David nodded shyly.
Sheldon stood up. "I'd like to propose a toast to my beautiful wife, and her new job…Not to mention to all of you who have made us both feel welcome here. To Amy and friendship."
"Amy and friendship!" Everyone repeated, clinking glasses.
"So Amy, I love the cardigan you're wearing." Sandy smiled, leaning across to talk to Amy and Emily whilst the men talked science. "Where did you get it?"
"Oh, it's just a Target cardigan." Amy replied.
"It looks so formal though! I'd have thought it was boutique." Emily piped up. "We all need to go shopping before you go back to LA. Maybe have a few Girls' Nights?"
"That sounds great!" Amy replied.
"I'd love that." Sandy nodded.
"You know, I used to have Girls' Nights with my friends back home…" Amy broke off suddenly, remembering Penny and Bernadette.
Penny had been in Florida not so long ago, but now it felt like a lifetime.
And Amy hadn't seen Bernadette in over two months!
Looking at her new friends, she tried to find traces of her best friends from back home in them.
Emily, with her dyed blonde hair and her bright, fitted clothes and bubbly, friendly manner, reminded her so much of Penny.
Sandy was more reserved, and wore sensible but still stylish clothing. Although quieter and older than Emily, she was still talkative and friendly. Just like Bernadette.
Amy self-consciously looked down at herself, and realized that even though so much had changed for her, she was still the same.
With the boring, plain clothes, and the way she spoke, she was still just Amy.
For some reason, she felt alone even though she had a wonderful group of friends, and she felt…Inadequate.
She blinked and swallowed. "Excuse me." She whispered, getting to her feet and heading outside.
Sheldon frowned and excused himself, following Amy outside.
He found her leaning against the wall, staring across the parking lot over at the parade of stores opposite the restaurant.
"Amy?"
Sheldon's gentle voice cut through the air, making Amy look up.
He noted that her eyes were shining and in the lamplight, they looked red.
She had been crying.
He slowly walked over and slipped an arm around her, wordlessly.
"Do…Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.
"You don't want to hear it." Amy shook her head.
"If I didn't want to hear it, I wouldn't have asked." Sheldon replied.
Sighing, Amy turned to look at him.
"I miss our friends." She said. "I miss Penny and Bernadette. I miss Leonard, I miss Raj…Hell, I even miss Howard!"
Sheldon nodded. "Well, don't tell them I told you this, but so do I."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Oh." Amy nodded slowly.
"You saw Penny and Bernadette in Emily and Sandy didn't you?" Sheldon asked.
"How do you know?"
"Because I can see it too." Sheldon shrugged. "Just like I see a bit of Leonard in David, and a bit of both Raj and Howard in Jack."
Amy frowned. "How are Howard or Raj like Professor Roberts?"
"Well, he is sensitive and caring, like Raj. Yet even though his job is something that is hardly noteworthy, he is still very good at it, and he exudes confidence." Sheldon replied.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Jack Roberts has a very important job!"
"He helps dolphins…"
"Yes; but he does it for science." Amy countered, "His work not only saves the lives of marine mammals, but it will also once and for all determine how close their brain chemistry is to ours, and if humans and dolphins could provide therapy for one another. Such as those with physical or mental disabilities."
Sheldon's eyes widened. "Hmm…Fair point. If successful, he could very well be on his way to winning a Nobel Prize!"
"Exactly." Amy replied. "As could some of his team; either here or in LA."
"Well…I hope you win one." Sheldon said softly.
"But it's your life dream, not mine." Amy replied.
"Yes, but imagine if we both won the prize!" Sheldon grinned. "Husband and wife both winning a Nobel Prize at the same time! How great would that be?"
"Very!" Amy agreed.
"And the celebratory sex that night would be phenomenal!" Sheldon finished, making Amy laugh.
"Anyway…" He continued. "We can Skype our friends back home tomorrow if you like? Or why don't you call Penny and Bernadette tonight?"
Amy nodded. "I will. Thanks Sheldon."
He smiled and kissed her on the lips, just as Emily and Sandy appeared outside.
"Hi Amy, are you okay?" Emily asked.
"We were worried about you." Sandy chipped in.
Sheldon kissed the top of Amy's head. "I'll go back inside and leave you ladies to talk." He said, smiling at the three of them as he wandered back towards the door and into the restaurant.
"I'm sorry," Amy said, "I just miss my friends back home."
"That's okay," Sandy smiled.
"Yeah; we'll keep you preoccupied until you go back home. I bet you can't wait to see them!" Emily finished.
"Thank you." Amy smiled.
Emily glanced across at the CVS pharmacy, which was still open. "What do you say we ditch the guys for a while and do a little late-night cosmetics shopping?" She grinned.
"Sounds good to me!" Sandy replied as she and Emily linked arms with Amy.
"I need your help to find a new look." Amy said, "I'm fed up with being the plain, boring one!"
"You're not plain and boring!" Sandy frowned.
"Yeah, you're the smart and sassy one!" Emily chuckled. "But if you want a makeover, then that's entirely up to you."
Amy nodded. "It's about time I had a change of appearance. Maybe tomorrow we could go proper shopping?"
"You're on!" Emily and Sandy replied, making their way through the pharmacy doors.
..
The following morning, Sheldon was awake and waiting for Amy to join him at the laptop ready to Skype their friends.
Amy had called Penny and Bernadette late last night, whilst they were hanging out together, and they were so happy to speak to her that they had ended up talking for an hour!
Amy emerged from the bedroom, back in her pajamas, but freshly showered and made up.
"Are you still tired?" Sheldon asked, noticing her pajamas.
"A little." Amy nodded. "My stomach hurts a little bit."
Sheldon frowned. "Oh…Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Amy nodded. "Probably something I ate last night."
"But I had the same as you, and I feel fine."
"Oh well, maybe it's just menstrual cramps. Come on, I want to see our friends." Amy pouted her lip and fluttered her eyelashes.
"Alright," Sheldon laughed, pulling the chair out next to him for Amy to sit on.
He pressed the 'call' button for Leonard's name and waited.
Leonard had agreed to gather everyone at the apartment so that they could all talk to Sheldon and Amy.
Eventually, Leonard picked up, and everyone's faces appeared on the screen.
"Hey lovebirds!" They chorused.
"Hello," Sheldon replied.
"Hi guys!" Amy grinned, waving into the camera. "We miss you so much!"
"We miss you too." Penny pouted. "Just over two months left now. We've been counting! You're halfway through!"
"I know! Hey, I didn't tell Penny and Bernadette last night because I wanted to tell all of you; I quit my job at UCLA, and I'll be working at the LA branch of the Fitzpatrick Marine Biology Facility!" Amy beamed.
"Oh wow, that's fantastic!" Leonard grinned.
"Congratulations." Raj added.
"We are so happy for you!" Penny and Bernadette chorused.
"That's great news Amy," Howard said, "You must be excited!"
"I am…Very excited!" Amy nodded. "It's so much more humane. I couldn't stand working with those poor animal testing subjects at the university anymore."
"Amy stood up to them!" Sheldon chimed in, proudly. "She told them she wouldn't work somewhere that performed inhumane tests that she didn't believe in, so she quit!"
"Wow! Good for you Amy!" Penny grinned.
"That's impressive; I'm glad you took a stand." Leonard added.
"Thank you." Amy blushed. "We have a new dolphin here called Zeus. He's over aggressive, so we're going to node him up and monitor his brain activity, and then find a suitable natural therapy for him once we figure out what's wrong with him."
"That sounds a lot more humane than drug testing." Bernadette agreed. "Our lab tests on monkeys, and I don't agree with it. Luckily, they stopped using animal subjects when some of us went on strike."
"Oh, I remember that!" Penny gasped.
"Yep. Bernie put up a good fight, and she won!" Howard grinned.
"Well…we won; it wasn't just me who protested." Bernadette blushed.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you; we made some new friends out here, and the girls are taking me shopping later for a whole new wardrobe! I can't wait to show you my new look when we get home!" Amy grinned to Penny and Bernadette.
"We look forward to it." Penny grinned, enthusiastically.
"To change the subject…I'd like to announce something." Sheldon spoke up.
Everyone stared at the screen expectantly, anticipating what he was going to say next.
"Although we've been met with some…Uh…Difficulties; Amy and I are trying to conceive a child." He said.
Everyone gasped.
"Oh my God…Really?!"
"That's amazing; good luck!"
"What do you mean by 'troubles'?"
Sheldon licked his lips. "Well, Amy has been told that conception may be difficult for her." He said, sadly. "But it is not totally impossible. So we are going to try for a while, and then if that doesn't work…Then…"
He didn't finish, but everyone nodded.
"You're going to go down the IVF route?" Leonard asked.
Sheldon and Amy nodded. "We want the baby to be our own." Sheldon explained.
"Well, I'm sure it will happen for you guys. Good luck!" Bernadette smiled.
"Yeah, you'll pull through." Penny nodded. "We're rooting for you, you dirty beasts!"
Sheldon laughed. "Thank you…I think."
He turned to look at Amy, who was clutching her stomach.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Mm…It hurts. I'm going to go lie down for a while. Hopefully it'll pass before I meet Emily and Sandy." Amy grimaced.
She kissed Sheldon.
"I'll talk to you all later. Sorry…I miss you guys. Bye." She said, before wandering into the bedroom and closing the door.
Sheldon stared after her. "Hmm…I hope she's okay." He muttered.
"Sheldon…Have you thought that maybe she might already be pregnant and not know it yet?" Penny asked.
"Oh, I doubt that." He shook his head. "It was something she ate, I think."
"If it was something she ate, she'd know about it!" Howard replied.
"Amy is not pregnant." Sheldon said firmly.
"Okay…" Leonard shrugged. "So how's work with you?"
"It's going great thank you." Sheldon replied. "I think I'm nearing a breakthrough. I can feel it!"
"That's great buddy." Leonard smiled. "Anyway, we have to go. Talk tonight?"
"Okay." Sheldon nodded. "See you soon, goodbye."
He ended the call, and stood up.
He turned to look at the bedroom door, and heard Amy sigh.
"Ow, ow, ow." She groaned from inside the room.
Scooby joined Sheldon outside the bedroom door and whined, his ears and tail drooping.
"I know, boy." Sheldon said, stroking the dog's head. "Mommy's not too good is she?"
As Sheldon stood up, he had a feeling of dread that wouldn't leave him.
Deep down, he knew something was wrong; very wrong…