"Thank you for coming over, Sheldon, but Max and I are both too sick to go today," Amy informed Sheldon, standing in the doorway to her apartment, drawing her robe tighter around herself.
Sheldon glanced over Amy and noticed the blankets on the couch, as well as the tissues scattered across the coffee table. "You're sick? You poor kid. Well, see ya."
"Sheldon, aren't you going to take care of me? Our relationship agreement clearly states that when one of us is sick, the other must take care of them."
"Amy," Sheldon returned to Amy's door after getting a few feet down the hallway. "I made a commitment in writing to comfort you in times like this. Additionally, you are my girlfriend and I care about your well-being. Now, let's get this over with."
Sheldon got Amy settled on the couch again, checked her temperature, and made her a cup of tea. "You said Max is sick, too? That can't be easy to take care of a sick four-year-old while being sick yourself."
Pulling the blanket up higher, Amy shrugged. "This isn't the first time we've been sick at the same time and I'm sure it won't be the last. He spent most of the day on the couch with me before you came over. I just got him to lay down without me. He'd only go to bed alone if I let him sleep in my bed. I just wanted an hour without him clinging to me, so I agreed."
Scrolling his phone, Sheldon would occasionally glance up to watch his girlfriend sleeping across the living room. It was during one of these glances that he noticed Max standing next to the couch, also looking at Amy. Max looked at Sheldon before looking at his mother and back at Sheldon. "I need more juice," he stated.
"Um, okay. I can get you more juice. It's probably best to let your mom keep sleeping so we should be quiet," Sheldon stood and reached for the sippy cup in the boy's hand. Max followed him into the kitchen and watched him fill the cup before securing the lid again. "How was your nap? Are you feeling any better?"
Nodding his head while guzzling the juice, Max took a minute to verbally answer. "I always feel better when mommy lets me sleep in her bed. Can you read me a book? I got a new one at the library last week. It's in my room."
Sheldon followed Max to his room, where he was handed a picture book. "Why don't you climb into bed before I start? You'll be more comfortable." After reading the book he had been handed, as well as two others, Sheldon noticed Max appeared to have fallen asleep again. He pulled the blanket up around him and brushed the hair off his forehead to check if he still felt warm, while also making a mental note to remind Amy that Max needed a haircut.
"Amy, you should probably go to bed. You'll have a horrible crick in your neck if you spend the night on the couch," Sheldon nudged Amy's shoulder to wake her up when he returned to the living room.
"Max is in my bed. I guess it will be fine if he sleeps in the bed with me tonight. He'd probably end up there anyway. He does most nights when he's sick," Amy groggily replied.
Helping Amy to stand from the couch, Sheldon informed her of what happened in the time she had been asleep. "He woke up while you were asleep. I was able to get him to go back to bed in his room, so you'll have your bed to yourself tonight." Sheldon got Amy to her bed and tucked her in. As he was arranging the blankets, he noticed the monkey he purchased during their trip to the zoo. "Here," he said as he tucked it close to Amy.
"Max said it was for me, but this thing has barely left his side since you handed it to him at the zoo. He calls it Spock because you tried teaching him about Star Trek that day, but Spock was the only thing he remembered. Can you take it to him before you leave?" Amy sleepily asked, her eyelids growing heavy.
Amy was awoken the next morning to movement on her bed. Opening her eyes, she saw Max climbing into bed with her, clutching his stuffed monkey. "I don't feel sick anymore," he stated. "Are you still sick?"
"Maybe a little, but I feel a lot better than yesterday. I think it's best if we still stay home today," she decided before he could ask if he was going to preschool.
"Can Sheldon come back over? He took care of me when you were asleep."
Wrapping the boy in a hug, Amy pulled her son close to her and helped him under the blankets. "I don't know if he's going to come back over. You like when he comes over, don't you?"
"Yeah. Is Sheldon my daddy? Everyone at school has a daddy except for me, but when they talk about their daddies, they do the same things with them that I do with Sheldon. We play and read books, we go to the zoo, and he takes care of us."
Amy blinked back tears. She knew it was only a matter of time before Max asked about his father and was still feeling too under the weather to have a long conversation with her son about this. "No, sweetie, Sheldon isn't your daddy."
"If Sheldon isn't my daddy, why don't I have a daddy?"
"You don't have a daddy because mommy decided she wanted to have a baby and didn't want to wait until she got married. I went to the doctor and told her that I wanted a baby and she helped me have you."
Max snuggled closer to Amy, "Are you going to marry Sheldon so he can be my daddy?"
"That's something Sheldon and I would have to talk about. We haven't talked about it before, so I don't think it would be for a very long time if we do get married," Amy knew she wanted to marry Sheldon someday, but was hesitant to bring it up. She loved having Sheldon in her life but had to think of Max when it came to things like that. "What do you say we try going back to sleep for a little while?"