Amy was at home with her children for the day. It was a Thursday, so Sheldon was at work. She was working with Ally on her schoolwork while Lee took his nap. Amy smiled fondly at Ally while she read her storybook out loud. Amy had always loved Sarah, Plain and Tall as a little girl, so she was sharing it with her daughter. Amy and Sheldon had developed a curriculum for their children that they believed was pretty well rounded. It was obviously a little heavy in the sciences, but covered the humanities pretty well too.
Amy wanted to find a preschool for the kids, but they hadn't been able to find one that lived up to their standards yet. Sheldon was much less enthusiastic about finding the kids a school. He said their schedule worked fine and that the kids needed specialized attention. Amy couldn't exactly disagree with that, but it still frustrated her to spend so little time with her husband.
"Okay, Ally. That's enough reading today," Amy said as Ally finished the chapter. "How about we start making lunch?"
"Awww, but Mommy, I like this story," Ally complained.
"I know you do, but we can finish it later," Amy told her.
"Okay," Ally said sadly. Amy liked that her daughter liked learning so much. It was rarely a struggle to get her to sit down to do her lessons. "Can we have Spaghetti-Os with hot dogs in them?"
"Is that what Daddy gave you for lunch yesterday?"
"No. Yesterday was Wednesday. That means it's grilled cheese day. Why does Daddy have special foods for days, but you don't?" Ally asked.
"Daddy is special. It makes him feel better to have some foods some days and some food other days. Just like it makes him feel better when we clean up all of our toys at the end of the day. We do those things because we love him and want him to feel better," Amy explained. It was clear that Ally was starting to notice some of Sheldon's quirks. It was also clear that she was just as in love with her father as ever, but she noticed that some of the things that he did were a little strange. At least Ally knew a different version of Sheldon than Amy had first met. Amy shuddered to think of what it would be like for Ally if her daddy didn't like cuddling with her.
"Okay. We can have Spaghetti-Os if you also have some salad," Amy said.
"Okay," Ally said and then she grabbed her mother's hand so that they could walk to the kitchen. Amy found in amusing how much Ally liked touching other people. She would hug or take someone's hand easily and she loved being held. That was one way that she wasn't really like either of her parents.
"I need to go get your brother. I'll be right back," Amy said after she sat Ally down at the kitchen table. She ran upstairs to get Lee and found him in his crib quietly playing with his teddy bear.
"Ma," Lee said.
"Are you ready for lunch, kiddo?" Amy asked as she pulled him out of the crib. She quickly changed him before taking him downstairs. She put him in his chair and went to wash her hands and start making the kids lunch.
Lee started slamming his tiny fists on the tray in front of him. "Hey, kiddo, lunch will be up in just a minute," Amy told him.
"Mommy, can I have some apple juice?" Ally asked.
Amy was used to the hectic atmosphere. When she was at work she had monkeys screaming at her and when she was at home the kids were usually yelling at her. She wondered briefly if it was easier or harder for Sheldon. He spent every other day in relative quiet in his office at the University.
Amy gracefully put food in front of both of the kids and got them both some juice. Then she made herself a sandwich before joining the kids for lunch. Amy loved the hectic normal of her life with her children. Sometimes she looked back and wondered how she lived without it. It was especially thought provoking when she spent most of her life believing that she would never be married with two beautiful children.
They finished eating and Amy got them both started on new lessons. Lee was working on learning his letters and numbers while Ally was working on addition and subtraction. Amy put the dishes in the dishwasher and sat down to work with Lee.
She put the blocks in front of Lee and they practiced counting to ten as she pointed to the numbers. They had just gotten to ten when the front door opened. Ally got out of her chair and ran to the door.
"Daddy!" she screamed when she saw him. Sheldon picked Ally up and carried her back to the table where she had been working.
He kissed Amy on top of her head. "Water main break at the university. Half the campus is closed until next week," Sheldon explained.
"Wow," Amy said.
"What are you guys working on?" Sheldon asked. He sat down next to Ally and looked over her shoulder.
"Lee is making excellent strides in his counting and Ally working on some addition and subtraction," Amy said.
"Wonderful. Did you guys have lunch yet?" Sheldon asked.
"We had Spaghetti-Os," Ally said.
"I can make you a sandwich if you want to watch the kids while they do their schoolwork," Amy offered.
"Would you? Some chips if we have any," Sheldon said.
"Of course," Amy said as she went over to make Sheldon some food. Sheldon leaned over Ally's shoulder and checked her work. It looked good, so he moved over to sit next to Lee. "Do you want to count to ten with me?"
Lee started counting, and Sheldon smiled when Lee got all the way to ten without needing any help. "Good job, kiddo," Sheldon said. Then he started going over the letters on the worksheet in front of him. Sheldon talked about the letter A, and apples, and showed Lee the ASL sign for A. They started on B when Amy brought over Sheldon's lunch.
"Thanks. You can go take a bath or a nap or something if you want. I've got this," Sheldon said.
Amy wasn't sure what to do. It had been forever since she had had a quiet afternoon to herself, but it wasn't Sheldon's day to teach the kids.
"Are you sure?" Amy asked.
"Of course. I mean this in the best possible way, but you look tired. I've got your write up about what you were going to cover with them. Go relax," Sheldon insisted.
"You're the best," Amy said.
"I know," Sheldon said back with a smile.
Amy went upstairs to her and Sheldon's bedroom. She ran a bath and changed into her robe. She slid into the warm bath and it felt amazing. Sheldon had a point. She was pretty tired. Between work and the kids it seemed like she didn't get enough time off. She wouldn't trade either her career or her kids for the world, but it was nice that she could have a few minutes to herself. Thanks, water main break.
After she was in the bath for a few minutes, Amy heard Sheldon walk into the bedroom. "Hey, beautiful," he told her.
"Hey. I thought you were helping the kids with their schoolwork," Amy said.
"I put on a video so I could come see you for a second," Sheldon said as he sat on the edge of the bathtub. He grabbed the washcloth from Amy and started running it over the back of her neck and then down her back as she leaned forward.
"Thanks," Amy said when he was done.
"That video was only fifteen minutes long, so I should probably go back down there," Sheldon said.
"Thanks, Sheldon. I love you," Amy said. He was headed toward the door, but turned back at her words. Sheldon leaned down and kissed his wife before going back to the door.
"I love you, too. Take a nap. We'll wake you for dinner," Sheldon said.
Amy got out of the tub and put on a pair of pajama pants, one of Sheldon's t-shirts and got into bed. She fell asleep pretty quickly. It seemed like only a moment later, that Amy was being jumped on by her daughter.
"Mommy, Daddy said to come wake you up. He ordered pizza because it's Thursday. Does he always have pizza on Thursday? Can we have pizza on Thursdays?" Ally asked.
Amy just grabbed her daughter and pulled in for a hug and cuddled her close. "Mommy, Daddy said for me to wake you up, not take a nap with you."
"You don't want to take a nap with me? You always want to sleep in here," Amy complained.
"I'll take a nap with you, Mommy," Ally offered, but then the doorbell rang.
"I guess we should go have dinner," Amy said. She kept Ally in her arms and carried her little girl down the stairs.
"There are my girls," Sheldon said when they arrived in the kitchen. Sheldon was sitting next to Lee and cutting up a piece of pizza so his son could eat it.
Amy took Ally over to the pizzas and they inspected them. One was a supreme and the other was just cheese. Amy grabbed them each a slice of the cheese and they sat down at the table with Sheldon and Lee.
"Did you have a good nap?" Sheldon asked.
"I did. Thank you," Amy said. She was still in the pajamas that she had worn and her hair was probably tangled, but she smiled at her husband and he smiled back at her.
"You look better. Though, I think I'm going to need to go find you some superhero themed pajamas if you are going to insist on stealing my shirts like this all the time," Sheldon said.
"I don't steal them because they are superhero themed. I steal them because they are comfortable, and if you notice, this is the shirt you wore yesterday. That means is smells like you. I need reminders when I hardly ever get to see you," Amy said.
"I don't want to talk about this right now," Sheldon said seriously. It had been a bone of contention between them that Amy felt like they didn't see each other enough. Sheldon didn't exactly disagree, but he didn't see any other way. He didn't want the kids in daycare, and neither of them were willing to give up their careers.
"Well, maybe since you won't really be able to go to work this weekend anyway, maybe the kids could go stay with Penny and Leonard and we could spend some time alone this weekend?" Amy suggested.
"That's an idea. We can talk about it later. Plus, we'll need to find out if Leonard and Penny would be willing to take the kids," Sheldon said.
"Fine," Amy said before digging into her food.
Later after the kids were in bed, Sheldon walked into the kitchen where Amy cleaning up. He put his arms around her. "I'm sorry about earlier. I just don't like fighting in front of the kids. My parents fought in front of me all the time. It was terrible," Sheldon said.
"We weren't fighting, Sheldon," Amy said.
"Not yet, but we've had this discussion many times. You know how I feel and I know how you feel, but I just can't see a way around it," Sheldon said.
"I just miss you so much," Amy said. She twisted in Sheldon's arms so that she was facing him. "We sleep in the same bed every night, but I feel like I only actually see you on Sundays."
Sheldon kissed her. "I know. I'm going to call Leonard right now about the kids this weekend. I know it's just a quick fix, but we'll try to come up with a better solution."