Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory or any of its characters

Amy shifted herself up into a sitting position on the couch and swung her boot on to the coffee table to keep it elevated. Once her foot was situated again she allowed herself to sink back into the back-support cushions of the couch. It had been two weeks since she had been released from the hospital and she was beginning to grow agitated with being stuck in a house she wasn't completely familiar with. It wasn't like she didn't know her way around Bernadette and Howard's home, because she was, it just didn't feel like home to her and she was beginning to get homesick. She missed how cozy Penny's apartment was to her and Sheldon. It was smaller than what Sheldon was used to, but he had adapted easily, and the space felt like their own, which Amy loved a lot.

Today Penny was keeping her company from her spot on the other end of the couch. They had started the morning off with a classic chick-flick and were now lazily flipping through the channels to see what was on TV. They had spent about an hour on the Food Network and were now transitioning to a movie on the Hallmark Channel. Amy was itching to get up and go somewhere though, but Penny was hesitant. Now that it was getting closer to Christmas it was much busier around town and she wasn't sure about Amy being out in the crowds. Amy however, was determined to get out of the house today.

"I think we should go get lunch, I need to do some Christmas shopping." Amy suggested, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible. She flipped a page in the magazine she was thumbing through to make it look like she was only slightly interested in the idea. She hoped this tactic would work on Penny. Penny glanced up from her latest Nicholas Sparks novel, A Walk to Remember.

"You're dying to get out, aren't you?" She asked, and placed a bookmark on her current page before letting the book fall closed on her lap. Amy nodded.

"I'm about to go insane. Come on, I know you can't be totally entertained with being stuck here all day with me." Amy pressed. Penny sighed, but smiled anyway.

"Alright fine, we can go out." She conceded. Amy felt her spirits lift a little.

"Praise God!" She exclaimed and tossed her magazine onto the coffee table. Penny chuckled and stuffed her book into her purse.

"Here, let me grab your crutches and then I'll help you with your shower." Penny said and pulled herself out of the depths of the couch cushions. She disappeared around the back of the couch and then appeared on Amy's side lugging a pair of crutches. Penny handed them to Amy and then helped her slide her foot off the coffee table and pull herself onto them.

An hour and a half later Amy was showered, dressed, and ready to go. Penny was retouching her makeup and then they were navigating their way out the door. They decided on one of the smaller malls in the area, hoping that it would be just a little less crowded than some of the other ones. This time of year, it was a bit of a long shot though. The mall was unfortunately swarming with people. Penny found the closest parking spot possible, but it was still halfway across the lot.

"Are you sure you want to try and navigate in this mess?" Penny asked before Amy could open the Passenger side door. Amy turned to look at Penny. She flashed her a reassuring smile and nodded.

"Trust me, I got this. I need this." Amy told Penny. Penny sighed but nodded.

"Alright, but if someone so much as bumps your foot, I'll kick their ass. And we will be waiting in line for the elevator. No way are you even attempting an escalator or something." Penny informed her sternly. Penny rolled her eyes but nodded and opened the car door. Penny did the same and hurried around the Amy's side to grab her crutches from the back seat. Amy took them from her and expertly pulled herself onto them.

"Let's do this. First stop, food court. I am absolutely starving." Amy remarked and started across the parking lot. Penny smiled to herself and locked the car before following Amy. Once inside Amy headed to find them a table in the food court while Penny got in line to grab the food. Penny found Amy about ten minutes later with a steaming plate of Chinese food that the two had decided to split.

"I hope you wanted rice, they were out of the noodles." Penny said as she flopped down in the empty seat at the table. Amy smiled.

"Rice is better anyways." She remarked and started to dig in. Penny grinned and picked up her own fork to start digging in.

"So, where all are we going in here?" Penny asked, with a mouthful of fried rice. Amy shrugged.

"I figured we'd go into Yankee Candle for a little, I usually get mom one of their large candles. Then wander into the video game store for the guys. Except Sheldon, who at some point I'll have to make a trip out to his favorite train store to get his present. I'm not really sure what to get you or Bernadette however, so I may have you just pick something out while you're here." Amy said, as she ran through the mental checklist in her head.

"What about your father?" Penny asked. Amy shrugged as she took a large bite of orange chicken.

"We don't really talk." She answered after she finished chewing. Penny frowned but Amy did her best to ignore it. Instead she took another bite of chicken. "What about you, do you need to do any shopping?" Amy asked after she had finished her current bite of food. Penny nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just going to get something for my mom, dad, and brother right now. I'm not really sure what to get everyone else just yet." She answered with a shrug and took a long drink of her water. Amy nodded. She wasn't sure what to get everyone either, she was just going to wing it. Everyone except for Sheldon would be happy with almost anything.

Across town Sheldon and the rest of the guys were eating lunch at the University. Howard was going on about NASA's latest work with the Russians on a new communications satellite, but Sheldon wasn't really paying attention to anything he was saying. He was instead thinking about Amy and what she might be doing. He wasn't sure why she was on his mind at that moment, usually while at work he was able to remain completely focused on his research. Today however, he often found himself thinking of Amy. He wanted to do something special for her this year for Christmas. She'd been having a hard time since the accident and resulting injury to her foot and he was determined to make the holiday season better than the last.

"Sheldon are you even listening?" Howard asked pointedly from his spot across the table from Sheldon. Sheldon blinked and forced himself out of the thoughts swirling around in his head.

"Sorry, I wasn't. Are you still talking about the NASA satellite?" He asked Howard. Howard rolled his eyes.

"What were you thinking about? A good jab at how pointless Engineering is?" Howard asked. Sheldon shook his head.

"No, not at all actually." He said. He was a little offended that Howard would think that.

"What's on your mind buddy?" Leonard asked Sheldon.

"I was just thinking about what I could do for Amy to make Christmas this year a little extra special." Sheldon said. Leonard smiled.

"Any ideas?" He asked. Sheldon frowned and shook his head.

"It is most irritating, but I can't seem to think of anything grand enough. Amy has been through a lot since the car wreck and I really wanted to go above the call of duty this year." Sheldon answered, frustration laced his words.

"Why don't you just throw in some extra sex?" Raj asked with a shrug. Howard and Leonard groaned, and Sheldon looked almost appalled.

"Heaven's no. Amy knows that's a birthday thing. That wouldn't work." Sheldon said, shaking his head. Raj put his hands up defensively.

"My bad. Just a thought." He said irritably.

"I'll help you think of something." Leonard promised. Sheldon nodded curtly.

"Thank you, Leonard. That means a lot." He replied. Leonard smiled.

"Anytime buddy." He promised.