"I'm so happy for you and Sheldon. Not gonna lie, I was surprised when Sheldon came home and said he asked you to be his girlfriend," Penny told Amy as she stood next to the swing set in the park where they were alternating pushing Max on the swings.

Amy laughed at her son who was enjoying the afternoon. "I was surprised, too. I never thought that a cup of coffee would result in me being someone's girlfriend a year and a half later. To be honest, I'm surprised Sheldon didn't disappear the minute he learned about Max. He kind of did for a few weeks after our first date, but a lot of that was my fault for how I reacted when I found out he thought I'd been talking about a dog for four months."

"How is Sheldon with Max? He doesn't mention him much, so we don't even know how much they actually interact." Penny stepped in and took over pushing the swing.

"He's okay with him, I guess. They don't interact a lot, but Sheldon comes over to my apartment a few times a month. My parents still watch Max once a week, so we get one night together without him. Max likes when Sheldon comes over because he's always willing to play trains with him. I'm just glad when he comes over because it gives me a little break. Max is perfectly capable of playing by himself for a little while, but he prefers having someone to play with."

"I want to go on the slide. Stop pushing me," demanded the three-year-old.

Penny slowed the swing for Max to jump off. As he ran across the playground, Amy and Penny found a bench to watch the little boy play. "Can I ask you something?" Penny asked. Seeing Amy nod her head, she continued, "Do you ever think about Max's father?"

"Not really. Every so often, he'll make a face or do something that I would never do and I think he must get that from his donor," replied Amy before she was cut off by Penny.

"Is that like that nature versus nurture thing? Leonard had the science channel on this morning and they were talking about that. They were talking about twins who had been separated and the similarities they still had, but it made me think about Max and you not knowing his father."

Amy nodded, "Yeah, sort of. I'm trying to use the term donor, rather than calling him Max's father. I think that would be the easiest now that he's getting older and is picking up on things he overhears. It's a conversation he and I will have when he's older, but if he hears people referring to his father, that could make things more confusing to him."

"Sorry, I didn't know," apologized the blonde. "You said Sheldon is okay with Max. How are things between you and Sheldon now that you're officially boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I think it's going pretty well with us. Now that I've been spending more time with Sheldon, I can see him being in my life for a long time," smiled Amy.

Penny noticed the look on Amy's face. "You really like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Amy answered as she looked at her watch. "It's starting to get late. I should probably get Max home for dinner. Thanks for coming with me today. It's always nice to have someone to talk to while he runs around."

Taking a deep breath, Sheldon sat on the edge of his bed while holding his phone up to his ear. He knew he needed to have this conversation, but was also hoping his mother wouldn't answer the phone so he could delay it a little longer. His hopes of delaying it were growing with each ring before Mary Cooper answered with the fourth ring. "Hi, mom. Do you have some time to talk?"

"Of course, I've always got time for you, Shelly," Mary replied into the receiver in Texas.

"You've always been very respectful of my friendship with Amy and haven't pestered me about how things are going with us, which I appreciate."

Mary smiled, fairly certain where Sheldon was going with this conversation. "I learned a long time ago that you just need a little more time with certain things. Your father always reminded me of that. Is it safe to assume that something has happened in your relationship with Amy?"

"Yes, mother. Amy tried to date another man because we weren't officially together. The thought of her being out with Stuart made my skin crawl, so I interrupted their date and asked her to be my girlfriend. She agreed. I think she only went out with him because she knew I wouldn't like it. We signed a relationship agreement and everything," Mary could hear her son's happiness as he told her his news.

"I'm so happy for you, baby."

Sheldon knew his mother would be happy for him. She hadn't met Amy, but would ask how she was doing whenever he called. "There's something else you should know now that Amy is my girlfriend. She has a three-year-old son."

"I know. Well, I knew she has a son, but I wasn't sure how old he was."

"How did you know she has a son?" Sheldon demanded to know.

Pausing, Mary wasn't sure why Sheldon thought she didn't know this about his girlfriend. "Leonard told me when you got all those cats. I never asked about it because I wasn't sure how you felt about it. I knew you would tell me when you were comfortable with the idea of being with a woman who is a mother."

"I didn't think it was important to tell you because she was just a friend. Now that she's my girlfriend, I felt you should know in case you meet her on one of your visits. I didn't want you to not know, like I did when I first met Amy," explained Sheldon.

"Thank you for telling me, Sheldon. I can tell you care a great deal for this girl, don't you?"

"I do, mom," Sheldon smiled, thinking about his girlfriend. "I didn't want you not knowing to somehow affect my relationship with her. I should probably let you go; tonight isn't one of our regularly scheduled calls. I'm sure you have other things you should be doing."

"I just have one question before I go," Mary stopped her son from hanging up. "You and Amy aren't sinning, are you?"

Scoffing, Sheldon quickly replied, "No, mother. Nothing will be changing in my and Amy's relationship, except for what we call one another and our contractually obligated date nights every month."

Thanks again for the reviews! I love reading them. I just finished writing chapter 24, so I should be able to keep updating every few days.