Chapter 1

A/N: This story is an AU where Sheldon and Amy meet under different circumstances. Certain things may be OOC but it is an AU, so we are playing by my rules. :)

As always, I do not own the Big Bang Theory or any of its characters.

To say Amy was nervous was an understatement. Today was one of the most important days of her life, she was beginning her new job as Assistant Director of Neurobiology at Caltech. This position was coveted by nearly every Neurobiologist and Amy was head hunted for it. Although this was a dream job, she would be leaving her job at UCLA which had offered her stability for many years and this also meant that she would have to meet a new set of colleagues, which was the most nerve-wracking aspect. Amy wasn't skilled in any social situations, she didn't understand modern slang and never really had any friends growing up. She was hopeful this change would bring new opportunities for friends.

Amy had been given a tour of her new quarters and introduced to her new colleagues by the director of the department.

The first assignment she was given was working on her own, mapping and repairing circuits of the brain. Amy was disappointed that her first project would be on her own, however she would require an engineer's help to design the mechanism to monitor brain activity. The director agreed to assign her one of their best engineers.

"Dr. Fowler?" A small man with dark hair appeared in the doorway of her lab. His clothing and haircut indicated that he belonged in the 1970's.

"May I come in?"

"Yes, please. You must be the engineer to help design the mechanism for my assignment?" Amy assumed.

"Yep, my name is Howard Wolowitz. It's nice to meet you." He offered his hand in an effort to properly greet her.

"Oh, a hand-shaker. Hmm." Amy said analyzing him then politely reciprocated his gesture.

"Okay." Howard said as he thought about how eerily similar she was to someone else he knew.

"Shall we get started, then?" Amy countered and they began working.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" Howard asked in an effort to pierce the awkward silence permeating throughout the room.

"Fun? Hmmm...well, I enjoy reading and playing the harp."

"Oh. Interesting. Don't you have any friends that you hang out with?"

"No, I actually have never had any real friends." Amy replied curtly, sometimes she didn't realize how strange this sounded to other people.

"….Oh. Well, it's time for lunch, would you like to come sit with me and my friends?" Howard felt empathy for Amy, although it did not really seem to bother her.

"Sure, I guess that would be nice."

Amy and Howard carried their lunch trays and headed toward a table in the center of the cafeteria.

"Hey guys, this is Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, she is the new assistant director of the neurobiology department." Howard gestured an arm out to introduce the others.

"This is Dr. Leonard Hoftstader, he is an experimental physicist." Howard continued.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Fowler, please sit with us." Leonard responded. They both sat down as Howard went on to introduce Raj.

"And last but not least, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, he is a highly regarded theoretical physicist." Howard finished and Sheldon's eyes did not leave his plate.

"Sheldon!" Leonard elbowed him. "Are you going to greet Dr. Fowler?"

"Oh, yes. Hello." Sheldon looked up, smiled briefly, and looked straight back down.

"Hi." Amy smiled shyly and blushed. Her voice had cracked and raised an octave. She cleared throat, as she suddenly became very aware that she had reacted to Dr. Cooper very strangely.

Howard, Raj, and Leonard looked at each other noticing a very different reaction from Dr. Fowler than her robotic behavior they had observed for the few minutes they had been in her presence.

"I had a feeling that might happen." Howard whispered to Leonard. "She is practically a female version of Sheldon."

"Oh goody, so you invited her to lunch? Are you trying to torture us?" Leonard whispered back, jokingly.

After lunch, Howard had to head back to his engineering lab briefly to pick up a few things.

"Mr. Wolowitz, I am sorry, I am not sure how to get back to the lab so do you mind if I just wait here? Amy felt embarrassed but through all the different hallways, she had lost her way.

"Sheldon, would you show Dr. Fowler back to her lab?" Howard asked hopefully.

"Why can't she just wait here?" Sheldon replied.

"Sheldon, don't be rude, please just show her back to the lab."

"Okay, fine, I'll do it." Sheldon huffed exasperated. "Let's go." Sheldon gestured Amy to follow him.

"So, Dr. Cooper, what are you currently working on?" Amy felt a need to converse with him, something inside her felt very different from that first moment when he smiled at her, it was like nothing she had ever felt before.

"I am currently researching the charge conjugation-parity violation. Are you interested in physics?" Sheldon met her eyes curiously.

"Yes, I find it fascinating." Amy lied through her teeth, which she had never done before. She felt a compulsion to impress him.

"Oh, well then, maybe when you are finished today, you can come by my office so I can show you some of my work?"

"Sure, I would like that." Amy smiled and fidgeted nervously as they approached the entrance to her lab.

"Okay, here is a pamphlet with a map of the campus, so you won't get lost again. This is where my office is, come by when you are finished." Sheldon smiled.

"Okay, I shall see you later today." Amy smiled and walked back into her lab, her stomach filled with butterflies.

Sheldon walked back to his office, thinking about the spontaneous invitation he had just given Dr. Fowler. He could not understand what came over him. He could barely endure the presence of his closest friends and yet he had invited her to his office, but there was something intriguing about her and he felt compelled to get to know her.

Amy was greeted by Sheldon as she knocked on his office door.

"Dr. Fowler, please come in." Sheldon gestured toward the chair in front of his desk.

"Thank you. Wow, your whiteboard is amazing. These equations are remarkable." Amy marveled over what looked like Egyptian hieroglyphics to her.

"I know." Sheldon smiled proudly. "What it is that you are working on? Especially needing the help of a character like Wolowitz, who only has a master's degree, if I may add."

"I am mapping and repairing circuits in the brain. Mr. Wolowitz is helping me develop the mechanism to perform the experiment. He seems nice enough, but I agree that he is quite a character." Amy's lips turned up as she quickly met the blue eyes of Dr. Cooper, who was chuckling at her statement about Howard.

"Come on over here and I'll show you some of the work I've been doing." Sheldon slightly brushed arms with Amy as he walked over to his whiteboard, sending electricity through Amy's body, causing her confusion more than anything else. She didn't know what was coming over her.

After about an hour of Sheldon rambling on about his work, they both realized that it was getting dark out.

"Darn, Leonard left already, he was my ride home. I will have to take the bus, I suppose." Sheldon grimaced.

"I…I, um, could give you a ride home. I know how filthy the bus is and it will take forever for you to get home because they have to stop for other people. Ugh, I hate the bus." Amy said with a shiver of disgust.

It was like Sheldon was looking into a mirror. "Fascinating." Sheldon unintentionally blurted out loud.

"I'm sorry?" Amy asked confused.

"Oh…nothing. I would love a ride home. Thank you, Dr. Fowler."

"This is my building, here." Sheldon pointed ahead. "Would you like to come have a cup of tea?" Sheldon spontaneously suggested. Again. What was coming over him? He really needed to get a hold of himself.

"No, thank you though. I really do have to get home. Maybe, we can do it some other time?" Amy asked hopefully.

"Sure, how about Thursday evening?"

"Sounds perfect." Amy accepted without one bit of confidence.

"Okay, see you then." Sheldon shut the car door and disappeared into the building.

"What just happened?" Amy audibly spoke to herself, brain rattled, still in the parking spot where she had dropped Sheldon off. She had noticed they were eerily similar to one another, unlike anyone she had ever met. She noticed how his friends had obviously picked up on it as well. Amy just sat still in her car, her feelings were jumbled, and she was beyond confused by her actions throughout the day. Despite all the chaos currently running rampant in her brain, one thing was certain, she was excited for Thursday.