Author's Note:

Hello, friends! I'm back again with another small fic that no one asked for!

Don't mind me, just explaining away some discrepancies between episodes in ways that amuse me. Maybe it will amuse you too.

Thank you once again to my beta reader Stark for your feedback and additional inspiration.

Enjoy!

Everything Comes Back

"How are you doing, sweetie?"

Penny carefully entered her former apartment, not sure what to expect. Amy had just left for Princeton earlier that day and she knew Sheldon was probably feeling a little delicate, though how those feelings would manifest in him, she wasn't sure. Thankfully, Sheldon was standing in one of his usual spots in front of one of his whiteboards. Everything appeared to be under control.

"Why does everyone insist on asking me that? I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" he answered, snapping the cap on his marker and setting it down on the board's ledge with more force than necessary. "Just because I watched the love of my life board a taxi this morning and get whisked away from me for three months, doesn't mean I'm not fine."

Okay, maybe control was slipping a little. If his reply hadn't been enough, upon closer inspection Penny saw that instead of the usual math filling up his board, he seemed to be doodling a picture of a train.

"What are you working on?" she asked, prompting him to sigh in exasperation.

"If you must know, I was attempting to make progress on the quantum cognition project Amy and I had started, but the equations weren't balancing, so instead I drew this Alcoa FA-4 diesel—"

"You're right, I don't need to know," she interrupted him, but then immediately regretted it when he glared at her.

"Is there a reason you barged into my apartment?"

Oh, it's going to be a long three months, she thought to herself.

Still, she was proud of her friend. Sheldon had come such a long way since the day she met him. Or, hell, even since last year. Looking back, it was hard to believe that he not only had a long term girlfriend, not only was happily living with her, but now was also genuinely distraught to not have her by his side at this very moment. And yet, he still encouraged her to go despite his feelings.

"It's okay to miss her, you know," Penny said, "I miss her too."

It was true, and not just because she wouldn't be there to rein in Sheldon. Penny had grown used to having her friend so close by, always there when she needed to talk, and it was going to be weird not having that now. Girls' Nights wouldn't be the same this summer. She was glad Amy chose to go, though, instead of continuing to put her life on hold for her boyfriend.

Sheldon gave up at the whiteboard and sat down on the teal loveseat.

"I'm proud of Amy for taking the research fellowship and I want to show her I can be supportive, but I will admit it is going to be hard not having her here."

Penny couldn't help but wonder where this level of maturity had been when Leonard was accepted to that North Sea expedition a few years ago, but she figured it was better late than never. Instead of voicing any of that, she moved closer and sat down beside him, tentatively rubbing his shoulder.

"I know," she said.

And then suddenly it came to her.

The perfect solution, not just for Sheldon but it would help out her as well, so clear and so elegant she almost started to weep.

This must be how the guys feel when they solve science problems at work.

"I think I know how we can make it seem like Amy is still here with you," Penny said.

Sheldon turned his head to give her a skeptical look.

"How?"

"Congratulations, Penny, you were right. It really does feel almost like Amy is back here with us."

Penny stepped back from the wall where she rehung the huge, ugly painting Amy had gifted her years ago. It was a struggle to get it down from the wall in 4A and drag it across the hall, but it was all worth it knowing it would no longer be haunting her own living space. Maybe if enough time passed, it would stop haunting her dreams too. The fact that Sheldon could take comfort in having this large, visual reminder of his girlfriend was really just a bonus.

"Glad you like it," she told Sheldon.

"Hey, look at that, Painting Amy's eyes follow me around just like real Amy's," he said as he moved to one side and then the other, observing the painting from multiple angles.

"Yeah, that was always a neat and not at all unsettling feature."

"It's a shame the artist killed himself," Sheldon continued. "Otherwise I could have commissioned a new painting."

"A damn shame."

"It would have been the perfect welcome home gift for Amy when she comes back."

Penny almost argued on that point, but then realized he was actually probably right.

"Anyway, thank you for letting me borrow it, Penny. I know how much it means to you," he said.

"No problem, sweetie."

"I'll bring it back as soon as Amy comes home again," he promised.

"Sure, sure, no rush."

Penny stared at the painting in dismay, mirroring the expression on her likeness. She had three months to come up with an excuse to not take it back.

End Note:

In The Property Division Collision, Amy and Sheldon give the painting back to Penny and the episode ends with it hung up in 4A. Later in The Long Distance Dissonance, we see it's back up in 4B. No explanation as to when or why that happened. Apparently this was enough to bother me, so here you go.

I promise someday I will return to updating my other Shamy fics, thank you for being patient with me!