A/N As I said, here's chapter 74. I've finished Chapter 77 and started chapter 78, so I have over four chapters ready before publishing this. I'm confident I won't have to miss another week. I mention a paper Leonard is writing as being published in arXiv (it's pronounced ar-kive). This is a place where papers can be published online, for people to look at, while the actual paper is being ready to be peer-reviewed and published in an actual journal. The mentioned paper will also be sent to Physical Review, which publishes papers mostly about the physical sciences.

One of the names of the possible nannies is the name of my beta reader. I used her name as a tribute for all the work she's put in over the last three years (I know, I Mary Sued her). Her suggestions have been invaluable, and have made this, Broken Threads, and a couple of short pieces much better than they would have been. You'll find out the name of the nanny, and my beta reader next week. You see why you'll have to wait until next week in this chapter. muhahahaha.

Finally, see if you can find the musical theatre references in this chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 74

Friday 29 May, 11:00 AM

Leonard was talking to Tom about the run yesterday. While it was going to take another couple of days for the full analysis, the early numbers appeared to show that they again got slightly more than 18 entangled photons when selecting for 14. Leonard's change was still working, and the switch obviously worked, even when they switched it over during a run. While that was good news, he wanted to see the full analysis, which would be out next week. Tom had said that he could push it, and have some more data by this afternoon, but Leonard told him not to push it, just have it next week.

Tom looked puzzled, and Leonard said, "I'll be off this afternoon, let your crew do their work, next week will be soon enough."

"More baby stuff?" asked Tom.

"Yeah, we're interviewing nannies this afternoon," said Leonard.

"I'll tell you what," said Tom. "You take off and get ready for the nannies and let me get the data ready and send it to you tomorrow, that way you can look it over."

Leonard looked puzzled, "Why rush it?"

Tom said, "Leonard, I think you have something here. People have been trying to get more entangle photons out of their machines and failing. You had a different idea, made the changes, and now we're getting about a third more entanglements than anyone else. And, if the next step goes as expected, we should get, at a minimum almost double, and possibly more than double the entanglements than anyone else. Do you realize what an advance that is?"

"What does Keith think?" said Leonard.

"The same as me," said Tom. "Keith was telling me no one else seems to have thought of this. This is a huge advance."

"I didn't think of it that way," said Leonard. "We're just getting a few more and we don't know why we're getting so many."

"We don't need to know yet," said Tom. "Look over the data run, look at Keith's notes, look at our analysis, and then write this up and upload it to arXiv. refine it a bit, mention the change in the splitter, and send it to Physical Review A. Make sure your claim is first."

Leonard thought about it for a few seconds, "But you and Keith should be on it, you're part of the team, as are all the rest."

"Leonard, we didn't think of it, you did," said Tom "Oh, if you want to put our names on, as people who checked it for you, go ahead. But, it's your idea, you are leading the team."

Since he had talked to Eric, Leonard was truly interested so he switched the subject and asked, "Tom, you guys don't mind all the time I've been taking off, to get ready for the babies?"

"Not at all," said Tom. "You never have to worry about that, Leonard. You give everyone here time off when you can, you let them do the work, not micro-manage them. You let Keith and I run our teams as we think they should be. Yes, you do take some time off, but you're having twins for christ's sake, nobody will knock you for that, and you bust you ass when you're here."

"You also stick your nose into everything from time to time, but that's your job, to know what's going on. The people on the teams notice that, Leonard," said Tom. "You can't fake being a leader and you don't. The members see you busting your ass, getting involved when you need to, and they know that you will back them up. You do what you say you will and because of all that they will run through a brick wall for you."

"I'll be honest with you," said Tom. "I wasn't sure you were the right choice. Oh, technically and on the science side, you were very solid. Your superfluid idea with Sheldon was top-notch, and this idea has the whole department talking about it. But, I knew you as wishy-washy, not really someone who could come to a decision. But, on this team, with Mike and now by yourself, you've had no problem making difficult decisions. You've also been excellent as far as a leader, a supervisor, and a manager. So, please accept my apologies for not believing in you."

"No need to apologize, Tom," said Leonard. "I wasn't sure I was the right choice myself. It's only been a couple of years since I overcame my aversion to making decisions, because I worried I would make someone mad."

"Well, you're making good decisions, for the team, even if it makes an individual team member mad," said Tom. "I've got to get going, so I'll see you on Monday, but I'll have the analysis to you by tomorrow." Tom stood up and walked to the door before turning. "Have a good weekend, Leonard."

"You too, Tom, goodbye," said Leonard.

Tom turned and left the office, while Leonard watched him leave, his face etched in deep thought. Maybe there was something to write up.

Friday 29 May, 1:45 PM

They had decided to do the interviews in the kitchen, at the island. Basically, because it allowed them to sit together, across from the prospective nanny. They had spent the previous night, until 11 PM, winnowing out the questions they each had listed. It was now only five minutes before the first applicant would arrive, and Penny was nervous.

"Do you think we have enough questions?" asked Penny.

"I think we have too many," said Leonard. "I don't think we'll get through all of the questions in an hour. It's a good thing we prioritized them."

Penny looked unhappy, but she said, "I suppose so."

"Now, are we going to stick to the plan?" asked Leonard. "You ask your questions and follow-ups, while I write down their answers, and you write down their answers for my questions."

"Yes, I got that," said Penny. "Do you have the opening ready?"

"Yes, I do," said Leonard. "I go over what we require in a general way, like afternoons to early evenings at first, with staying here all day, when I go back to work. We can talk to them about some later nights and a sprinkling of weekends, those last two at overtime pay."

"They'll know what we are looking for, so they can accept or decline," said Penny.

"I think they already know," said Leonard. "Didn't you send our requirements to the agency? So, they would send those who are willing to go along with our requirements?"

Penny nodded, "Yes, I did. I'm sorry Leonard, I'm just nervous."

At that moment, their doorbell rang, Penny looked at the clock, and then back to Leonard, "We said to get her at 1:50, they are right on time."

"Well, that's a good sign," said Leonard. "Shall we get the door?"

Penny nodded as they started for the door.

Friday 29 May, 6:45 PM

Leonard had gone and gotten Thai food for dinner, as they ate they were speaking about their first impressions about the two people they interviewed.

The first person, Thalia Pearce was in her late twenties. Penny had a soft spot for her, as she had spent her early twenties trying, and failing she said, to become an actress. She had picked up an odd job, in between roles, watching a couple's two kids. She found she enjoyed it, took classes, and had now been certified for over four years now. Her credentials were impressive, but she was short on experience and had no experience with twins. They were both a little worried about that.

Andrew Eynsford-Hill, except for his looks, reminded Leonard of Alfred, Batman's butler, the proper English gentleman. He was in his early forties, had all the required credentials, and had over fifteen years of experience. But, Leonard wasn't sure, most of his experience was with pre-teen boys, turning them into young gentlemen. He had almost no experience with girls. Penny didn't see that as a problem, he did have some experience with girls, but she was now disturbed, thinking of Batman.

Leonard wrote these down, and they would go over them again after the other two interviews were done. They did not go over the answers to their questions, they would do that tomorrow, again after the other interviews were done. With that done, he saw Penny watching TV, so he went to his computer and started looking at Keith's notes, his own notes, and the preliminary data reduction. As he looked over everything, ideas started falling into place, and he started writing, working on a paper he would publish at arXiv, giving Tom and Keith equal credit.

Saturday 30 May, 6:45 PM

They were sitting at their favorite Indian Restaurant, waiting for their food, discussing the two people who they interviewed today. Each of them had come from a different agency.

The first, Emma Higgins, was a woman in her fifties, who was surprised that they would be having twins. The agency hadn't told her of that, and at her age, she wasn't sure she had the energy to get involved with twins. However, she did say she would stay and talk to both of them. They liked her experience and as with the two the day before, her credentials were all up to date.

The last one of the day was Louise Pickering, another one from Britain. Penny had figured her for her mid-twenties when she first came in and was shocked to find out that she was 35. She had twelve years of experience, with five years working with twins. She had taken extra medical classes, making her very qualified medically. Looking at her resume, Penny realized she was probably the best-qualified person they had seen.

After their food came, Leonard explained how excited he was about her. All the experience, working with twins before, her medical qualifications, all made her seem ideal to him.

While Penny agreed with him about her experience and credentials, she was uneasy about how flat-out good-looking she was. With Penny being almost eight months pregnant, along with thinking about how long it would take her to get her pre-pregnancy body back, an extremely good-looking nanny was not something she was comfortable with. Not sure how to broach the subject, she just plunged right in.

"Did you notice how beautiful she is?" asked Penny.

"Well, yeah, it would have been difficult to miss," said Leonard. "But what does that have to do with anything? With her all her experience and credentials, we should snap her up, before someone…oh, you're worried about how good-looking she is, aren't you?"

"I know it's stupid, but, yes," said Penny.

"Look, Penny, you don't have to worry," said Leonard.

"Are you sure?" said Penny. "My belly is sticking out, I waddle, I can't laugh or I'll pee, my breasts are leaking…and...and...and just look at her."

Leonard reached out and took Penny's hand, "Penny, you have something she will never have. You are carrying our two daughters, that is the most important thing. You don't have to worry about me, when it comes to our daughters, okay?"

Penny nodded.

"Besides, we have to go over the answers tomorrow," said Leonard. "She may not fit our parameters."

"Oh, give it a rest Leonard," said Penny. "You know as well as I do, her answers were perfect."

"Yes, but we need to go over them," said Leonard. "You set this up and did a fine job. We'll go over everything tomorrow, and if she is the best, she's the best, and you don't worry about me running off with her, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now let's not talk about this again until tomorrow," said Leonard. "We'll go over everything and make our decision then, okay?"

Penny nodded and said, "Do you want dessert?"

"Yes, I do," said Leonard, as he waved at the waiter.

They got home an hour later and Penny went up to go to bed, while Leonard said he had something to work on. He went to his computer and continued writing the paper.

True to his word, Tom had gotten the analysis to Leonard today. Leonard checked and found he had to make a few corrections, based on the new data, on his work from the previous night. He continued working on it for another two hours when his phone buzzed. He looked at it, he saw a message from Penny asking if he would be coming to bed anytime soon.

Leonard chuckled at this, finished his paragraph, the shut down the computer, turned off the lights and climbed the stair, looking forward to joining Penny in bed.

Sunday 31 May, 5:45 PM

Leonard asked Penny what she wanted for dinner and she said they could have a pizza delivered. Leonard said no, he would go get it, grabbed his keys and wallet, and left. Penny thought that he would just call their order in, but she knew he was frustrated with her and this was his way of cooling down.

At 9:00 AM they had started reviewing each of the applicants qualifications, experience, and answers to their questions, assigning points to each. Emma was dropped right away, as though she had stayed for an interview, she had indicated she wasn't sure she could handle dealing with twins. They decided against Andrew Higgins after reviewing the qualifications and experience. Leonard couldn't get the idea of Alfred out of his mind, and he didn't want an Alfred watching his girls. That left Louise and Thalia. They went over the answers to their questions, added in their experience and qualifications, then put all of it into the point system they had developed. At that point they surprisingly found that the two women weren't that far apart, Louise was only ahead by ten points.

So, for the entire afternoon, they discussed each of the two women, trying to find a way to get more separation or make things closer. After several hours, Leonard had decided Louise was the best choice, but except for her better medical training, he couldn't explain to Penny exactly what made her the choice they should make. Penny was leaning toward Thalia, but she wasn't sure if that was only because of the way Louise looked. She didn't want that to be the reasons, because she felt that Leonard really did want Louise, because of her qualifications.

Leonard returned with the food and they began eating, in silence. After Leonard put the leftovers away, and did the dishes Penny suggested they go over everything one more time, maybe make some small changes in the points awarded, to make the decision easier. Leonard agreed, and after talking about the changes, they went over everything again, adding up the new points. After totaling everything up, they were even closer, now with five points separating them.

"Now what do we do," said Penny.

"I don't know," said Leonard. "Louise is still ahead, so I would choose her and I know who you would choose. I get the feeling that you think I'm choosing Louise because of her looks."

"And, so?" said Penny. "After all, you think I'm choosing Thalia because I don't want Louise around, right?"

"What?" said Leonard, sharply. "That's not true at all."

Penny turned away. "Well, I…I can't say you're entirely wrong about my reasoning."

Leonard sighed, "Penny, you have to get along with whoever we choose. Yes, I think Louise is a better choice for us, but not because of her looks. But, I don't have a problem with Thalia, they are close enough together to not really matter. If it's going to make it easier for you, we can go with Thalia."

Penny was surprised, but she felt ashamed for feeling that way. She looked at Leonard and said, "Sweety, I'll go over it in my mind. I have until noon tomorrow to call the agencies. They are both qualified, but I know Louise has more experience with twins. You've done your part, getting me to see that. When I figure it out, I'll let you know."

Leonard rubbed her arm, "You know my choice and I know you'll make the best choice for our girls."

"Let me pee, and we can look at the movies on Netflix," said Penny.

"I've got that paper I need to work on, so you can find a romance movie," said Leonard.

Penny pouted, "You don't want to watch a movie with me?"

"Yes, I do," said Leonard. "But, I have this idea in my head right now, and I have to write it or I'll forget. I'll watch one with you tomorrow night, I promise."

Penny was still pouting, but said, "Okay, I'll watch, you go work on the paper."

Monday 1 June, 9:45 AM

Keith and Dan were in Leonard office, talking about his paper. Last night, he had sent a copy to both of them, asking them to read it, and then they could talk about it this morning. While they both agreed with the premise, they both objected to being included as contributors on the paper. In this though, Leonard was adamant. They had helped put the thing together, they had led the analysis, they were going on the paper.

They finally agreed, only as a means of getting Leonard to publish the paper. They both watched as Leonard sat down at his computer, and sent the paper off to arXiv. The three of them discussed possible changes before sending it to Physical Review and then Tom and Keith left to go work with their teams, while Leonard waited for Tony, who would go over his plans for his final year with Leonard.