A/N: I had a lot of fun exploring these relationships in a way that I hadn't before. I especially enjoyed having Leonard and Amy be friends and seeing how others would react to that. I really hope that they mix up the friendships on the show a little bit this season (I'm already hearing interesting things). This is the last chapter of this short fic. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you guys for another story soon.

Sheldon's birthday arrived and Leonard made him pancakes. He also wished him a happy birthday, but other than that the day was ignored. They were planning on going into work like normal. Leonard's phone started chiming to let him know that he had received a text message. Since he was still working on making breakfast, Leonard asked Sheldon to bring him his phone.

Sheldon looked at it and saw that the message was from Amy. "You're still texting with Amy?"

"Sheldon, don't look at my phone. Those messages are for me," Leonard said defensively.

Sheldon looked down at the phone, but it was locked so he couldn't see what the messages said. He handed the phone over. "Why are you texting Amy still? You told me that she couldn't help you with your work."

"Well, we have been... talking... about other stuff. Like, work and stuff," Leonard said. His lies weren't as smooth as before because he hadn't been practicing this lie. They had gotten all the way to Sheldon's birthday without him asking any more questions.

Sheldon glared at Leonard. Leonard opened the text message from Amy and it said, "Don't forget to wish Sheldon a happy birthday." Leonard laughed because it would have been impossible for him to forget at this point. He showed his phone to Sheldon. "Does this look like someone who is cheating on her boyfriend?"

"I didn't say she was cheating on me," Sheldon said, but he looked extremely relieved. Leonard was surprised to be having almost the same conversation with Sheldon as he had had with Penny.

"She doesn't like me that way. I don't like her that way. We are friends, and that is all," Leonard added as he put the last pancake on his plate.

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Neither of them mentioned Amy again until they parted ways at work. Leonard reminded Sheldon that she was coming to pick him up, so he needed to make sure he got out of work on time.

Sheldon did as he was told and left work promptly at five. Amy was waiting for him in the parking lot. He got in her car and they drove to the train store. Amy normally would have encouraged Sheldon to hurry up because she found the train store tedious, but this time she asked several interested questions about the little facts that Sheldon threw out. Still, Sheldon was ready to go home by six. He didn't want to be late for his dinner.

Amy panicked because she told Leonard and Penny that they would have until seven to get the apartment ready. She texted them while she tried to come up with something else for them to do.

"Sheldon, do you want to get some ice cream? It is your birthday after all," Amy suggested.

"My birthday is not an opportunity for anarchy. Ice cream before dinner is out of order," Sheldon reminded Amy.

"We could go buy some, take it back to your apartment, and eat it after dinner," Amy suggested. She knew that Leonard had ice cream at the apartment, but she didn't expect Sheldon to be ready to go home so early. Amy was running through every idea she could come up with to stall, but none of them seemed adequate.

"I don't like ice cream on Fridays, Amy," Sheldon said. He was wondering why she was acting so strange. She usually knew his schedule almost as well as he did.

"Okay. I just need to stop by my apartment on the way back to yours, so I can pick up your birthday present," Amy said. Sheldon's gift was in her trunk, but she had to find a way to keep him from going home.

"I'd really rather you didn't get me anything. Now, I'll have a harder time finding the right gift to get you for your birthday. I could have just gotten you a card and some candy or some such nonsense. Now, I'll have to find you something special. You know how hard that is for me," Sheldon said.

"You'll like it, and a card from you sounds lovely. It will just take a moment," Amy said as she pulled up outside of her building. She left Sheldon sitting in her car while she ran upstairs. She walked around her apartment trying to figure out how to kill the next forty-five minutes. She hadn't forgotten Sheldon's gift, but she realized that she had forgotten the necklace that she had purchased for this occasion. It was the Starfleet logo. It wasn't expensive, but she thought that Sheldon might like it on her. Amy grabbed up the necklace and put it on.

Her phone also buzzed. It was a text from Leonard letting her know that the apartment was ready and that everyone was there early. They could come over as soon as she was ready. Amy breathed a sigh of relief and went back downstairs.

When she got back in her car, Sheldon asked, "Is my gift that necklace you are wearing?"

Amy's hand shot up to the necklace she was wearing. Of course he would notice that she had put it on. "No. Of course not. I realized that your gift was in the trunk of my car all along. I just found this upstairs and I wanted to show it to you. I bought it last week."

She froze as Sheldon reached for the necklace. He gingerly took the pendent between his forefinger and his thumb. He examined it briefly before letting it go. Amy didn't think she breathed at all until he let go.

She started up the car and drove Sheldon home. After she retrieved the package from the car, they walked up the stairs together while Amy texted Leonard to let him know they were there. Amy was suddenly nervous about the idea. She knew that Sheldon didn't like surprises, but she was planning one for him anyway. She thought about running away, but it was too late. Sheldon opened the door to his apartment and was startled by a group of his friends shouting, "Surprise!"

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Sheldon looked annoyed as he turned back to Amy. "You knew about this?" Sheldon asked. Her peculiar behavior suddenly made sense.

"I planned it. It was my idea," Amy said quietly.

Leonard wasn't sure if Sheldon was going to freak out on Amy, but he suddenly couldn't let her face Sheldon's anger alone. "I planned it too. That's the real reason that we've been texting so much lately."

Sheldon looked around the apartment as his gathered friends. He wasn't happy about the surprise or the party, but somehow knowing that his friends cared enough to plan a party for him made it a little easier to bear.

"Come in, Sheldon. We are going to play Super Mario Bros. after we eat our Chinese food," Penny said. Sheldon looked back at Amy one more time before heading to his spot.

Amy wasn't sure if Sheldon was mad at her, so she just went over to the kitchen. Penny gave Sheldon his food and Penny teased him about how much better she was at video games than he was. Leonard thought that the situation would be well handled by Penny, so he went to check on Amy.

"Is everything okay? He seems to be handling it much better than I thought he would," Leonard asked Amy.

"It was a stupid idea. He's handling it okay, but he isn't going to have fun. His birth should be a celebration, but that doesn't mean he wants one," Amy said.

Leonard and Amy looked over at Sheldon and he was waving Amy over. "You are a lot harder on yourself than you should be. It looks like nothing would improve this party for him than to have your company. You should go over there to him," Leonard told her.

"Thanks, Leonard. You are a good friend," Amy told him.

"No problem. You aren't such a bad friend yourself," Leonard said with a wink. They walked over together and sat next to their partners.

Sheldon actually had a good time. He opened presents from his friends and didn't complain once about someone's choice. Well, he complained mildly about Howard's choice of Star Trek cookie cutters because he never baked. Then he suggested that he could take it up and thanked Howard anyway.

When he opened Amy's gift of Mr. Spock pajamas with a matching robe, Sheldon gave her a genuine smile. She wasn't sure he would like it because it wasn't exactly his normal style, but she was glad that he seemed pleased. "Thank you, Amy," Sheldon said looking her straight into her eyes. He was trying say all of the things that he couldn't in those three words. He wanted to thank her for being so thoughtful and for being there for him.

Sheldon blew out all the candles on his cake and enjoyed a night of spending time with his friends. It was a good night, for a birthday.

It was nearly midnight when Amy finally got up to leave. She wished Sheldon a happy birthday and hugged Penny and Leonard. Sheldon watched as his girlfriend hugged his friend. He could see it was just a friendly hug, but it still stirred something inside of him. He gently hugged Amy. Then he whispered, "I had a good time. Don't ever throw me a surprise party ever again, but I had a good time."

Amy laughed and thanked Leonard and Penny again before going down to her car. Sheldon had a good birthday, she found out that Leonard was a good friend, and she even got a hug from Sheldon. It had been worth the risk of throwing him that party.