"Leah, sweetie, what convention? What are you talking about?" Amy asked.

"I did the math. Nine months before July is October..."

Amy furrowed her brow. "That's right, but what about a convention? Where are you going with this?"

Leah sighed in exasperation. "The flag convention is always in October, and my birthday is in July..."

Sheldon ran his hand over his face. "Oh, dear Lord!"

"Was I conceived at the flag convention?" Leah asked in a trembling voice.

Amy slid her double helix charm along its chain. "Yes."

Leah scrunched up her nose. "In front of all those people?"

"No!" Her parents shouted in unison.

Amy continued sliding the charm, increasing the pace, then quickly dropped it when she realized she was doing it. "We were alone in our hotel room. It was our one-year wedding anniversary..."

"Amy! We don't need to share the details."

"Sorry." She squeezed his knee then turned back to their daughter. "Leah, sex is a very private matter. If you have questions about the mechanics or fetal development, we will happily answer them, but please no more questions about the details of what Daddy and I do in the privacy of our bedroom."

"Do you have sex every night?"

Sheldon closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Leah, that's enough."

"Fine," the little girl pouted.

"Do you have any questions specific to the booklet?" Amy inquired.

Leah crossed her arms. "No."

"Very well then." Sheldon consulted his watch. "It's almost bedtime, young lady."

"Aww! But I haven't even done anything fun tonight."

"You have 12 minutes. It's not a lot of time, but we can find something to fit the parameters."

"Can we listen to Neil Diamond and the Super Mario theme?"

"That's an odd combination, but sure. Any particular reason why?" Amy asked.

"Because I made you and Daddy uncomfortable. Maybe listening to your favorite music will help calm you."

Amy pulled the little girl to her and held her tight. "That's very sweet of you to take our feelings into consideration."

She gave her a final squeeze as Sheldon pulled up YouTube on his phone. Within moments the first few notes of 'Sweet Caroline' filled the room. When the song reached the chorus, all three Coopers sang along. Leah crawled over her mom to sit on her dad's lap when his favorite tune played and snuggled against him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers. As the last notes faded, Sheldon stood with his daughter in his arms, just as he had when she was five years old.

"Daddy, I can walk."

"I know, but one day I won't be able to carry you."

"I'm too big now."

He shook his head. "No, you're still my little girl."

Amy blinked back tears as she followed behind. Leah was growing up so fast, and tonight even more so with the new information they had given her. She watched her husband reluctantly set her down in front of her bedroom.

Leah chose a pink pajama top and purple pants, a combination of two sets Penny bought her when she admired Cadence's nightwear, much to Sheldon's dismay. He preferred his daughter in superhero and science-themed apparel, but as Amy pointed out, they needed to be supportive of her choices.

While Leah brushed her teeth, her parents sat side by side on her bed. Sheldon reached for the stuffed monkey his daughter had slept with since she was an infant. "I'm not ready for this," he sighed.

"Ready for what?"

"For Leah to grow up."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Me neither, but it's part of life."

He twirled the toy absently. "I know I've always wanted her to skip ahead in school, but now a part of me is relieved you're opposed to the idea."

"Funny you should mention that. Bernadette got me thinking today. She pointed out that Leah is searching for topics she doesn't know much about because she's not learning anything in school. I'm starting to see why you've tried pushing me..." Amy cocked her ear towards the hallway. "We'll talk more once Leah's asleep."

They stood, and Sheldon lifted a corner of the jungle-themed comforter when Leah padded into the room. "Let's get you all tucked in."

Leah climbed into bed and picked up a well-worn copy of 'The Chrysalids', a science fiction tale of a post-apocalyptic world, and one that both her parents had willingly read. "I want to read this one again."

"We have time for five pages tonight," Sheldon informed her.

They took their seats next to her as she read aloud from the novel. Leah obediently stopped when she found a good place to leave off on the fifth page, setting the book on her night stand.

"I love you, Mommy," she murmured, as she slipped her arms around her. She let go and leaned over to repeat her actions with her dad. "I love you, Daddy."

"We love you too. Goodnight, Monkey," Amy whispered, as they turned out the light and closed the door partway on their way out.

Leah waited until she was sure her parents were gone then reached under her mattress for the red diary and fumbled for her book light.

February 13, 1991

Today was not a good day, though it started off well. I got a perfect score on the multiplication test, but I never doubted anything less. Most of my classmates are struggling. Come on, people. How difficult is it to multiply 5x8? I made the mistake of saying this out loud. My classmates didn't like me before, but now they've taken their hatred to the next level. For the rest of the day, I had to deal with spitballs, wedgies, and taunts...

Leah shoved the diary back under her mattress. Her mom's childhood was so depressing. Kids could be so cruel. She was glad she didn't have the same issues. She had been called 'nerd' a few times but could never tell her parents. They would probably go to the school and make things worse.

Leah sighed. What she really wanted was to read about her parents' private details. Now that she knew when she was conceived, she could find a diary from that time period and hope her mom wrote about it. The only problem was getting into the library while they were too busy to notice. If the school allowed them to continue with the flag episodes, she would have plenty of time over the weekend, but it was only Monday, and she didn't want to wait that long.

She picked up the stuffed monkey and set it on her lap. When she was younger, she had held conversations with it, sometimes asking it for advice. She knew now that it was silly, but maybe voicing her concerns out loud would help her devise a plan.

"Coco, what do you think I should do?"

The toy stared at her, unmoving, with its lifeless marble eyes. She propped it against her pillow and stared back. This was a terrible idea. She closed her eyes and thought hard. One of the trickiest parts of obtaining a diary from the book wall was the extra time needed to pull out the book in front and replacing it, so what if that step was eliminated? She opened her eyes and smiled as a plan fell in place.

She reached for a random book on her night stand and padded down the hall to the library.

Her parents' conversation came to an abrupt halt as they heard footsteps approaching.

"Leah, is something wrong?" Amy asked, concerned.

"I can't sleep. Can I read in here with you?"

Sheldon noted the book in her hands. "That's not 'The Chrysalids'."

"Oh, um... I thought this one would make me more sleepy."

"You can read again tomorrow. Tonight you really should get your rest," he declared.

"But I can't sleep."

"Why not, Monkey?" Amy asked.

"I was thinking about what you said earlier."

"What part?"

"I want to know more about fetal development, but first I think I should reread the genetics texts to start at the beginning." She looked up at the book wall, their gazes following hers.

Amy stood and looked up towards the choices, chin in hand. "Let's start you off with 'Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters'."

Leah's eyes located the book in question. It was too far from her target area. "No, not that one. I want the one that's five spaces to the right."

"Monkey, that one is a little more advanced. Let's start you off with something simpler."

Sheldon reached for the book his wife suggested and handed it to his daughter.

"No, not this one," she pouted.

"Someone's crabby," he observed. "Let's get you to bed again. You have school in the morning. You may read in your room for 15 minutes, then it's lights out."

Leah sighed heavily as she trailed behind her dad with the unwanted book towards her bedroom. That didn't go as planned.

A/N: Thank you all again for your continued support. I appreciate all the follows, favorites, and reviews.