Sheldon came home from Texas a few hours later. Leonard was there to pick him up from the airport. Sheldon had had as good a trip as could be expected, but he was happy to be home again. He didn't suspect anything about his birthday or a party. The group usually ignored Sheldon's birthday, and he didn't expect it to be any different this year. Well, ignored is a little strong. Leonard usually wished him a happy birthday and Raj always got him a gift even though he didn't want one. Also, Sheldon's mother sent a care package every year. Still, Sheldon didn't like the reminder that he was another year closer to death unless the singularity came first. He didn't like gifts either because it was much easier for him to just buy himself the things he wanted.

Amy called him while he was in Texas and offered to take him to the train store for his birthday. It sounded like a nice opportunity to spend some time with his girlfriend. It was honestly the only plan he looked forward to for the day. Sheldon was surprised by how much he missed Amy while he was gone. Plus, his grandmother asked when she was going to finally get to meet his girl. He promised to bring her down next time he came to visit.

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Leonard and Amy were secretly still planning Sheldon's party. That meant that they were texting each other several times a day to figure out who was going to do what. They also got to know each other a little better. They were even planning to hang out and play music together after the party planning was finished.

Amy liked talking to Leonard because while he wasn't as smart as Sheldon, he did understand her research and actually seemed to care. Or at least he pretended he did. Amy didn't think that Leonard was as funny or handsome as Sheldon, but he was a good friend. She could see why Penny loved him so much. He certainly wasn't as tedious as she believed upon first meeting him.

Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon were eating together in 4A when Leonard's phone started buzzing. He checked it and saw a text message from Amy.

"Hey. I heard from Rajesh. He wants to know if I think Sheldon would rather have an Enterprise pizza cutter or an Enterprise spatula. What do you think?"

"Pizza cutter. I can't remember the last time Sheldon used a spatula."

"Thanks, Leonard. You know his everyday stuff so much better than I do."

"Not a problem. I'm sure I'll find a use for knowing too much about him one day," Leonard wrote to Amy with a little chuckle.

"Who are you texting with during dinner?" Sheldon asked. Everyone that Leonard normally texted was in the room other than Howard and Raj, but they were both busy.

"Amy," Leonard said without thinking. As far as Sheldon knew, he and Amy didn't speak much unless they were forced together.

"Amy? My Amy? Why was she texting you?"

"Oh. I had a question about the neurobiological applications of one of my experiments. It doesn't look like it's going to work out, but she was the only neurobiologist that I know. Well, my mother is a neuroscientist, but she wouldn't have taken my calls anyway."

"But she texted you first," Sheldon said.

"She was responding to my text from earlier in the day. I'm sure that you are aware that your girlfriend is a very busy woman."

"Yes. Of course she is," Sheldon said. Leonard was relieved that Sheldon seemed to be buying his lie. Leonard didn't lie to Sheldon often, so he probably wouldn't have been suspicious, but Penny gave him a knowing look.

Even though the party was largely planned, Amy felt anxious about it. She hoped she was doing the right thing by bringing attention to Sheldon's birthday. She spent a lot of time trying not to think about it. That meant that she spent more time talking to Leonard and less time talking to Sheldon. Amy certainly didn't want to spill the beans about the party, but there wasn't much left to discuss about it with Leonard.

Eventually, they started talking about work more and more. Their fields didn't interact much, but they found each other's work interesting. Leonard even sent the paper he was working on to Amy to read for him. In turn, she sent Leonard the article she just had printed in one of her favorite journals.

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On Tuesday, everyone met at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Bernadette, Howard, and Raj weren't there yet. Sheldon, Amy and Leonard sat down anyway. Leonard ended up sitting across from Amy and they started talking about each other's work. Sheldon got up to use the restroom, so he wasn't there when Penny arrived at the table to take their orders. Instead, she found Amy and Leonard laughing at the hazards of using lab animals and discussing which was their favorite brain chemical. Penny didn't follow a lot of it.

Sheldon reappeared and Penny got everyone's order. She walked away from the table pondering the interaction she just witnessed. Maybe that was what Leonard should look like with a woman. Penny never felt smart enough for Leonard, and now she had just witnessed his interaction with a woman who could keep up with him. At least Penny felt reassured that her friend and her boyfriend wouldn't be attracted to each other. Or would they? Then Penny shook those thoughts from her head. There was no way.

The thoughts wouldn't leave Penny as easily as she hoped. When she got home from work, Penny thought about going into her apartment, but she stopped across the hall first. Leonard was surprised to see her, but he still gave her a kiss as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey, beautiful," Leonard said.

"Hey. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Leonard asked as he stepped out into the hall.

"No. Yes. No. Well, it's about you and Amy."

"Amy?"

"Are you attracted to Amy? You guys have so much more in common that we do. She's smart enough for you. I'm not."

Leonard tried to hold in a laugh because he knew that Penny often worried that she wasn't smart enough for him. "I've found out that Amy is interesting and a good friend, but I love you. I love you, Amy loves Sheldon, and I don't think I could ever see Amy that way."