May 2031

Sheldon crossed the den and closed the door, enjoying the barrier between himself and the noise in the kitchen. Iris had asked to have a sleepover with Emma and Halley for her tenth birthday and he reluctantly agreed when Amy asked his opinion. It wasn't the first time either girl had spent the night, but it was the first time Iris had more than one friend spend the night at the same time, so they were extra rambunctious. He noticed the noise in the rest of the house was subsiding and turned back to the white board in front of him.

"Hey, I brought you some tea," Amy said as she closed the door behind her.

Sheldon jumped at his wife's voice. "Oh, thank you. It quieted down out there, what did you do?"

"I told them it was getting late and they needed to go upstairs. They can watch a movie, but it was time to settle down. I'm sure they'll be asleep within an hour. How's it going in here?" Amy sat on the edge of the desk and stared at the white boards filled with Sheldon's calculations.

"It could be going better," he shrugged. "I've been working on this problem for four days. I hate being stuck like this."

Amy tilted her head, looking at the white boards and had an idea. "Could you explain it to me? It's been a long time since you've explained your work to me when you're stuck on something. That always seems to help you."

Sheldon went over his calculations, explaining them as he went, glancing back at Amy every few minutes. He noticed she was only half paying attention to him as he followed her gaze to the spot on the wall she was staring at. "What are you thinking about?"

"The Nobel ceremony," Amy had been looking at the Nobel medals hanging behind the desk. "What our life could have ended up as if your bowtie hadn't been asymmetrical at our wedding. Sheldon, we've been married for twelve years. You've been a part of my life for twenty years."

Setting down the marker in his hand, Sheldon gave his full attention to his wife. "Do you ever think about it? Or if we would have Iris if it hadn't happened?"

"Not nearly as much as I used to, but I'll think about those things from time to time. You know I'm a mess the middle to end of February, even eleven years later. However, I do think Iris is exactly the kid we were supposed to end up with. I can't imagine our life without her," Amy smiled.

Smiling back, Sheldon took her hand. "Do you want to go celebrate our anniversary? The girls are probably asleep by now."

"It's not our anniversary until Tuesday, are you sure?"

"Wolowitz. How much sugar did you give Halley before dropping her off on Saturday?" Sheldon asked, setting his lunch tray on the table of the Cal Tech cafeteria. "It was nearly eleven before the girls calmed down."

Howard took a drink before answering. "She was at softball most of the day, so she probably had a lot, but I wasn't the one to actually give it to her. You'd think they wouldn't load up on so much junk when they have to run after a ball all day."

"What did I miss so far?" Amy joined the group.

"Just your husband complaining about my daughter spending the night. I'd like to remind you that it was your suggestion that she sleepover. Iris is also spending the night at our house this weekend so you two can have some alone time for your anniversary. I'll have Halley, Michael, and Iris by myself since Bernie is going to a conference for the weekend," Howard shared with the table.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Are you saying you can't handle a fourteen, thirteen, and ten-year-old by yourself for twenty-four hours? I'm sure the girls will hide out in Halley's room most of the time while you and Michael play video games all weekend."

"Sheldon and I didn't have anything planned besides dinner. Iris doesn't have to spend the night if it's going to be too much for you to handle," offered Amy.

"No. Iris will spend the night. Amy might not have any plans besides dinner, but I certainly do and they don't involve having our ten-year-old daughter being home." Sheldon hadn't told Amy his plans aside from dinner.

"Sounds like Sheldon plans to get some," Raj's remark was met with snickers from Leonard and Howard while Amy covered her face in embarrassment.

Looking around the table, Sheldon wasn't sure what was so funny. "Plans to get some what?"

"He's talking about sex," Leonard was still having to explain things to his friend.

Flustered, Sheldon quickly jabbed back, "For your information, I got some Saturday night." He made air quotes around 'got some.'

Amy's face was bright red by now. "Sheldon!"

"I don't want to know that you had sex while my daughter was down the hall!" Howard picked up his tray and moved to another table.

"There are some things that you really shouldn't say, Sheldon. Iris can stay with Penny and I this weekend if Howard is still upset," Leonard offered.

"Sheldon," Amy hissed as they were preparing dinner that evening while Iris watched television in the living room. "You need to apologize to Howard for what happened during lunch today."

"Why should I apologize? I did nothing wrong. I just told them that their assumptions about my anniversary plans were incorrect," Sheldon wasn't seeing why Howard was upset with him.

"There are some things that we don't discuss with anyone aside from one another. Do you not remember the zones of privacy chart you made? What happened during lunch falls in the inner most circle. Your comment about getting some took him by surprise. What we did Saturday was fine, it just made him uncomfortable knowing what happened while his daughter was here. Besides, I know for a fact that things have happened while Iris was at their house."

"Fine. I'll call him after dinner," Sheldon sounded defeated.

"Please don't make this worse. Iris has been looking forward to spending the night there for two weeks. I don't want to tell her that she's staying with Penny and Leonard because her father made an inappropriate comment."