"Hello, Amy," Sheldon greeted Amy as she opened the door following his knocking. "I'm a little early for dinner, I hope you don't mind."

Amy welcomed him into her apartment. "That's alright. Max has been asking since I picked him up from school when you were going to get here. I'm making spaghetti with cut-up hot dogs in it. It was specifically requested because, and I quote, 'it's Sheldon's favorite.' I think we need to start thinking about you coming home with me after work on Thursdays so Max isn't asking for two hours when you're getting here."

"Is he in his room? I'll let him know I'm here," he set down his bag and made his way to the seven-year-old's bedroom. "Hello, Max. I heard you've been asking when I was coming over."

The boy looked up from the Legos on the floor in front of him and waved at the physicist. "Sheldon! Do you want to play Legos with me? Or we can read the book I got at the library today? Momma's making spaghetti with cut-up hot dogs in it because it's your favorite."

Sheldon sat on the floor, next to where Max had spread his Legos across the carpet. "How about we play Legos now and we can read your library book before bed?"

The pair built Legos for nearly half an hour before dinner was ready. Amy stood in the doorway, smiling and watching them for a moment before she interrupted. "Dinner's ready. Go wash your hands, Max." The boy ran down the hall to the bathroom as Sheldon stretched and stood from the floor. Amy stopped Sheldon as he walked past her. "I love the two of you together. We need to figure out how we're going to tell him. It's time for him to know."

"I agree. We'll talk after he's in bed, but I think he's waiting for dinner right now."

"He's finally asleep," Amy whispered, settling onto the couch next to Sheldon. "Before we decide how and when to tell Max, we need to figure out what this is going to change, if anything."

Pausing to think before replying, Sheldon finally spoke, "We've got a pretty good thing going. Does anything have to change?"

"I agree that I enjoy how things are between us right now and don't want anything to change, but it's going to, whether we like it or not. I meant things like, are you going to come to Parents' Day at his school now and will he still call you Sheldon or is he going to start calling you dad?

"I would like to join you for Parents' Day if that's alright. He's always so excited to tell me about school; I'd like to see his classroom and meet his teachers. I would also like to help pay for Max's school. I think we should let Max decide what he wants to call me. He's spent the past several years asking if we can get married so I can be his dad. Now, we're telling him that I am, without us getting married. He's going to have questions about how that's possible."

"Sheldon," sighed Amy. "You don't have to help pay for Max's school. Yes, it's expensive, but he's got a partial scholarship and I'm able to cover the rest no problem."

"Amy, Max is my son and I want to do this for him. For both of you. You aren't going to win this argument."

Amy relaxed into the back of the couch. "Okay. Can I ask you one thing about this?" Sheldon nodded before she continued. "If the test had been negative, you wouldn't be wanting to do this. I decided to have Max on my own, not expecting anything from you, or anyone else for that matter. You understand that I'm not expecting anything from you, right?"

"I do, but I like to think that sometime in the future you and I will be sharing a household and our expenses, including things for Max such as his schooling. What difference does it make if we start sharing some of Max's expenses now versus down the road?"

"Really, you've thought about our future?" Amy's jaw dropped at Sheldon's revelation.

"Of course, I have. We've been together for five years. That's a long time to not think about the future. Let's focus on Max now. I want to help you take care of him. I've spent a lot of time with him in the years I've known you, but I've never been completely responsible for him," Sheldon took a drink from his bottle of water before returning it to the coffee table.

Amy suggested as she nodded in agreement, "How about we start with you hanging out with him while I go out with the girls every week instead of me getting a sitter or having my parents watch him? You can spend time with him here or I can drop him off at your apartment."

"I'd like that. Speaking of your parents, have you told them yet?"

Amy shook her head. "No, I want Max to know first. To be honest, I'm a little afraid my mom will be convinced I lied about doing artificial insemination and that I waited years to tell her about you. I showed her everything from the clinic back when I told her I was pregnant, but she'll find some way to twist it all around."

"I hadn't even thought about telling my mother," panic crossed Sheldon's face. "Do you think I should tell her? Does she even need to know?"

"I think she would like to know, but it's up to you if you want to tell her. Technically, Max is her grandson. They've only ever interacted a few times since they first met, but I know she cares about him. I have a feeling your mother will take it a lot better than mine. Let's not worry about our parents right now, let's focus on telling Max."

"We should make the day special for him. Something he'll always remember. Maybe we could take him to Legoland or Disneyland? We never did get to go to Disneyland together," Sheldon suggested.

"Are you thinking of things you want to do or things for Max?" Smirked Amy. "What if we surprise him? I get him up and ready like I'm going to drop him off at school, but say we have to pick you up to give you a ride to work. When we pick you up, we tell him that he doesn't have to go to school and he can pick whatever he wants to do."

"Won't he think it's odd that you're picking me up before dropping him off at school? He knows you drive right past his school on the way to my apartment."

"You're right. We should just pick a day and tell him. How about next week after he's done with school for the summer? You can come over for dinner and we'll tell him you're his father. That will give him the entire summer for any questions he might have before going back to school. I don't expect there to be any problems or acting out, but if there are, he'll have had time to process the information before school starts again," Amy pointed out.

Sheldon looked at his girlfriend, "I doubt he'll be anything other than thrilled. Amy, you and I have discussed many things about Max and your decision to have him, but there's one thing you've never shared. How did you choose the name Max?"

"Have you ever read the children's book Where the Wild Things Are?"

"That was one of Max's favorite books a few years ago. Did you name him after the character from the book?" guessed Sheldon.

Amy confirmed his guess. "I did. I enjoyed the book when I was first learning to read. His full name is Maxwell Finn. I chose Finn as his middle name because I liked the alliteration with Fowler."

"Just like with your name!" Sheldon checked his watch before beginning to gather his jacket and bag. "I should probably head home; it's getting close to my bedtime. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

Nodding, Amy stood for their regular date night kiss, "I'll see you tomorrow. Let me know you get home safe."