A little before noon the next day, Penny knocked at Amy's door. Balancing a dish in her right hand and holding up a bottle with her left, she announced, "I brought pie and wine," as the brunette opened the door. "How're you feeling today?"

"Okay," Amy quietly answers, smiling sheepishly. "Bernadette got here just before you."

The trio gathered on the couch, each with a glass of wine when Bernadette asked, "I wasn't there last night. What happened between you and Sheldon? Penny texted me that Sheldon said he wants just to be your friend. Did you ask him to get back together?"

Quickly downing her wine, Amy started, "As you know, Sheldon and I spent the morning together at the aquarium. It was nice, spending time together, just the two of us. There was no pressure, we could just be us. It made me realize how much I'd missed that. I had dinner with my parents and on the drive home, I called Sheldon. I didn't plan to, but I found myself telling him I was ready to be his girlfriend again. That's when he shot me down and said he wanted to stay as friends."

"It's been months since you broke up and haven't really spent much time together since. Yesterday was a one-off," Bernadette chimed in. "You already know he'll drive you crazy before too long and you'll want to break up with him again. This is a good thing; you're saving yourself from that pain again."

"She's got a point. Sheldon has changed a little since you broke up with him, but he so easily reverts to his past behaviors. Maybe the two of you would be better as friends," agreed Penny.

Amy looked at her friends, sensing they were right. "I thought that too, after hanging up with Sheldon last night. I was just feeling sentimental after spending the morning with him." The group grew silent for a few minutes as they refilled their wine and dug into the leftover pie that sat on the coffee table. "I did something when I got home last night. I initially regretted it, but quickly realized it's what I need to do for me."

"Online dating?" "Did you order new clothes?" the blondes talked over one another, trying to guess what Amy had done.

Dropping her fork in the pie tin, Amy pulled her legs under her as she sat on the couch. "I'm moving."

Penny grinned, "A new apartment might be nice. Someplace you don't see memories with Sheldon all over."

"I'm not talking about a new apartment. I've been offered a research fellowship for the spring semester at Rice University. I emailed them last night to accept it."

"What?" "When do you leave?" "Where is Rice University?" came the next round of questions.

"It's in Houston. I applied for a position for the fall semester, but never heard anything back. They called me a few weeks ago to discuss my interest in the spring semester. The semester starts the second week of January. I'm guessing that's when I'll have to be there. I'll probably get more info next week."

Bernadette bumped her shoulder against Amy's, "Be honest, are you doing this because of Sheldon? Are you leaving because of him? You don't have to, you know."

Getting up from her seat and crossing to the kitchen, Amy retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator before answering. "I need a change of pace. This is only for a few months. This is what I need to do. It won't be forever, I promise. Do you guys want to go to a movie or something? I need a distraction to get my mind off of this until I hear back."


The girls were piling back into Bernadette's car after their movie when Amy glanced at her phone, noticing she had a missed call and voicemail from a Houston number. She quickly listened to the message, "It was Rice University. I need to call them back."

Silence fell over the car as Amy waited for her call to be answered. "Hello Dr. Rosman, this is Dr. Fowler. I'm sorry I missed your call. Is now a good time for you?"

"Dr. Fowler," came the voice through the phone. "Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I was thrilled to see your email this morning. I wanted to let you know that we have a full-time neurobiology researcher position open and gauge your interest in it."

"Fu-full time? As in permanent?" Amy stammered, causing her friends to turn around from the front seat to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"Yes. It will be on a one-year trial basis and after that time, you will be eligible for tenure with Rice University. There would be opportunities for teaching if you're interested, as well as mentoring both undergrad and grad students in a lab setting."

Leaning forward to rest her head against the seat in front of her, Amy inquired, "When would that start?"

"While we would love for you to start immediately after the new year, we can be flexible with the start date as we understand you would need to permanently relocate to the Houston area and that can take some time. Is this something you might be interested in, Dr. Fowler?"

"I think I would be. Is it possible to get more information regarding salary, benefits, and any relocation assistance before making a decision?"

"Of course. We can get that to you this afternoon. We do request a response by Monday so we may continue our search if you decide you'd prefer to stick with the semester fellowship."

Amy grinned to herself, "That won't be a problem. I'll review everything and get back to you before the end of the weekend. Thank you, Dr. Rosman."

Sitting back against the seat after ending the call, Amy let out a breath as Penny asked, "Were they offering you a permanent position? So, you'd be gone forever, not just four months?"

"Yes."

"You're thinking about taking it, aren't you?" Bernadette could read the woman's mind.

Nodding, her hunch was confirmed. "I asked for more information, but this is a great opportunity. There's a possibility for tenure after the first year. I have years before I become tenure-eligible at Cal Tech. I'd be set for the rest of my career if I did this. I don't want to leave you guys, but I think this is what I need to do."

"We'll still be your friends even if you move halfway across the country," offered Penny. "We can do girls' weekends and come visit you, you can come here, and there's always FaceTime for girls' nights. We can make it a road trip to help you move. It could be fun."

"Thanks. I have to decide by Monday. I'll let you know as soon as I decide. Please don't mention this to the guys until I decide what I'm doing. I don't want it to get out at work before I tell President Seibert."