January 2027

"Iris's school called. I need to go pick her up," Amy said, entering Sheldon's office. "Do you think one of the guys can give you a ride home later?"

Sheldon turned around from the white board he was standing in front of. "Yeah. Raj owes me a favor. Did her cold get worse?"

"I think so. The nurse said she didn't eat anything at lunch and was asking to come home, saying she didn't feel good," Amy explained.

"I won't stay too late. Tell her I love her and hope she feels better after a nap," Sheldon said as he gave Amy a quick kiss.

Forty-five minutes later, Amy and Iris had arrived home and Amy got Iris settled on the couch to hopefully take a nap. Amy brought her laptop into the living room to work on what she could, while also staying near her daughter in case she needed anything. Iris eventually dozed off as Amy's phone rang.

"Hi, Sheldon. Yeah, it's just her cold got really bad after we dropped her off this morning. I let her lay down on the couch and turned on a movie; she's asleep now. It will probably be best for her to stay home tomorrow, but we can talk about that when you get home. Let me know when you're leaving work," with that Amy ended the call, set her laptop on the coffee table, and turned her attention to the animated movie that was still playing.

Raj dropped Sheldon off at the house later that afternoon. Sheldon found Amy still watching cartoons while Iris slept. "Hello. How long has she been asleep?"

Amy snapped her head around. She had been so engrossed in the television, she hadn't heard him come in. "About 2 hours? I know we should wake her up so she'll sleep tonight, but I don't think it matters. She was so out of it, I'm sure she'll sleep through the night. But I'd really like her to eat something before bed. She hasn't eaten since breakfast."

"How does grilled cheese and tomato soup sound for dinner? I'll cook if you want to work on waking her up," Sheldon suggested, knowing how Iris can be when she first wakes up.

"Chicken. You have no problem putting her to bed, but are terrified of a recently awoken five-year-old. That sounds good for dinner, though. Thank you for offering to cook."

"Do I have to go to school tomorrow? I feel a little better after my nap, but I don't think I can go to school tomorrow," Iris asked between spoonfuls of soup.

Sheldon shook his head, "Why don't we see how you're feeling in the morning, kiddo?"

Later that evening, Sheldon had tucked Iris into bed and joined Amy downstairs again. "I'll stay home with her tomorrow. I'll get her settled in the living room for the day before starting work. Or she can hang out in the den and play on her tablet."

"Are you sure? I know you don't like being around people who are sick, especially sick kids. Besides, I really don't have it in me right now to take care of you if you catch her cold. I don't mind staying home with her. I enjoyed having the afternoon off today," Amy shared.

"I can handle my daughter while she has a cold. I've taken care of her when she's been sick before. I just need a white board to work from home, which we have several of. You need brains, which we don't tend to keep extras of around the house. I'll be fine with her for the day. You can stay home with her the next day if she isn't able to go back to school by then," Sheldon compromised.

Nearly an hour after Amy left for work, Sheldon heard quiet footsteps coming down the stairs and poked his head out of the den so Iris would know where he was. "Good morning, kiddo. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Where's Momma?" Iris had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she looked around for Amy.

"She had to go into work today, but I'm staying home with you. Do you want something to eat? You can hang out in the den with me while I do some work if you want," Sheldon was already moving to the kitchen to find something to get Iris for breakfast.

Iris settled onto one of the stools at the counter as Sheldon set a plate of toast and glass of orange juice in front of her. "Am I going to miss a lot at school today?"

"I don't think you'll miss anything you don't already know. You can help me with work if you want," Sheldon knew his daughter wouldn't understand his physics work yet, but he'd been working on multiplication with her and could help her with that in between his equations.

Sheldon and Iris spent the day in the den. Sheldon worked on his equations while Iris looked at books and worked on her math on a spare white board. Sometime after lunch, Iris asked Sheldon to read to her while she laid on the couch. He wasn't sure how, but he ended up lying on the couch with the lanky kindergartener sprawled across him, which is how Amy found them when she returned from work.

"Hey, I'm home," Amy nudged his shoulder. "How's she doing today?"

"I think she's doing better. We worked on math a little and she read before I let her have her tablet."

"That's good. I picked up dinner. I don't feel like cooking tonight and thought she might like some Thai food," Amy lifted the bag in her hand "Do you need me to wake her up or can you handle it?"

"I've got it."

"I've missed seeing Iris sleeping on your chest like she was this afternoon. She spent a lot time there when she was a baby. Remember when she wouldn't fall asleep unless she was on your chest?" Amy reminisced later that evening.

Sheldon smiled as he changed into his pajamas. "Of course, I remember. As much as I was dreading her laying on me like that for fear of catching her cold, as soon as we got settled, all I could think about was how long it's been since we cuddled like that. Our little girl is growing up, Amy. I don't like it."

"Neither do I, but she's still going to need us for a long time. I'm glad she doesn't seem to be in too big of a rush to grow up."

"Do you ever wish we'd had more kids?"

Sheldon's question caught Amy by surprise. "I used to, but I love our family just the way it is. Sometimes, I'll remember how lonely it was growing up an only child and think how I don't want Iris to grow up like that, then I think about our friends and their kids. Iris is anything but lonely. She's got a great extended family. I'm just glad you gave up your idea that we have fifteen kids. Do you wish we'd had more kids?"

"I don't know. The one we've got is pretty great. I don't think we could ask for a better one."