"There was water everywhere. It was such a mess," Amy shared as she, Max, Penny, and Leonard entered the lobby of the apartment building.
Excitedly, Max interrupted, "It was like the waterfall on The Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. It was so cool!"
Leonard smiled at the eight-year-old's excitement over the burst pipe. "That stinks. How long are you out of your apartment?"
"About five weeks. The pipe was over my closet, so all my clothes are gone. Luckily, Max's stuff is fine."
Continuing up the stairs, Penny suggested, "If you need a place to crash, you can stay here. Leonard and I can stay at my place. You guys can have Leonard's room."
Amy stopped outside her boyfriend's apartment to question what her best friend was suggesting, "I'm not sure how the logistics of that would work with me and Max sharing Leonard's room."
"You can sleep in dad's room with him like you sometimes do when I sleepover," Max chimed in before being quickly shushed by Amy.
"Amy!" Penny exclaimed. "You've never mentioned spending the night when Max stays over. Sounds like we need to talk."
The group opened the door to apartment 4A where Sheldon turned and saw them standing in the doorway. "Why are you all smiling like crazy people?" he questioned.
Max looked at Amy before answering his father's question. "Me and momma are moving in here. Our apartment flooded and we can't stay there anymore."
Sheldon looked between his son and the adults behind him and saw they were nodding in agreement with what Max had just said. "I think we need to talk about this, Amy. Privately," he not so subtly motioned with his head down the hallway as he stood from his desk chair. Amy followed Sheldon to his room, where he spoke again. "You just decided you and Max were going to move in with me without talking to me about it first?"
"I didn't decide anything. I was telling Penny and Leonard about the pipe bursting in my apartment and how I need to find somewhere else for Max and I to stay for five weeks while it's being repaired. Penny was the one who suggested we stay here with you. I commented I wasn't sure how that would work with Max and I both staying in Leonard's room. Max may have said I could stay in your room with you like I do sometimes when he sleeps over," shared Amy. "I hadn't told Penny I've stayed a few times, so she's probably going to be bugging me about it later."
"Let me get this straight. You can't stay at your apartment for five weeks while the pipe is being fixed and you want to live with me?"
Nodding, Amy replied, "I understand if you don't want us to stay with you. It would be a big change for you without much time for you to prepare. I can ask my parents if we can stay with them. Or I can look for a hotel or something."
Sheldon sat next to Amy on the edge of his bed. "No, you'll be miserable staying with your parents for that long and a hotel would be really expensive. You should stay here; I want you to stay here. However, I have some concerns over you and Max being here all the time. There are a few things I'd like to discuss before we go back out there."
"Alright," agreed Amy. "What do we need to discuss?"
"Whenever we've been together with Max, you always jump in whenever he needs something. I'd like you to let me help him. I do just fine with him when we're together without you."
Amy's face dropped, "I didn't realize I've been doing that. Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Sheldon lifted Amy's chin with his finger, "You are an amazing mother. I'd just like more of a chance to be a better father. I know we've only known for fifteen months that I was the donor you chose and you have always said that you know I didn't sign up for this when I went to that clinic, but I want to remind you that I'm in this for the long haul. This will be my opportunity to prove that to you, but you have to give me the chance. I do have one other concern that I'd like to discuss."
"I imagine your other big concern might have something to do with coital expectations."
"Wow, no foreplay or anything," Sheldon replied, unaware of the pun he had just made. "Just right to it."
Amy looked at her feet. "I know you're still not comfortable with us doing anything with Max in the next room. So how about this? We take being physical off the table, and maybe, later on, once we're more settled in, we can revisit."
Sheldon reached for one of Amy's hands. "I can live with that. This is a big and unexpected change, but I'm quite excited at the idea of you and Max living here. Let's go back out there and tell them you'll be staying with me, but they aren't to make a big deal over this. We need to make sure Max understands that this is supposed to be temporary and the two of you will be going back to your apartment once everything is fixed."
Amy returned to her apartment with Penny to collect her clothes that weren't damaged, plus some of Max's things to make the stay at Sheldon's apartment more comfortable. She and Penny were in Max's room, with a suitcase open on his bed. "Why didn't you tell me that you've spent the night with Sheldon before?"
"We didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't planned at first. I had stayed for dinner after dropping Max off a few months ago. Max asked if I would stay to watch a movie with them and I fell asleep on the couch. Sheldon got Max in bed, then woke me up and suggested I stay rather than driving home when I was tired enough to fall asleep at eight pm," explained the brunette as she placed a stack of books into the suitcase while watching Penny fold the clothes she had set on the bed.
Penny set down the shirt in her hand. "Let me get this straight, when you say you've spent the night with Sheldon, you mean that you only spent the night with him and nothing happened?"
"Nothing has happened between Sheldon and I with Max in the next room. That's not to say nothing has never happened between us," Amy blushed as she spoke.
"Amy!" Penny's eyes grew large. "When did it happen and why didn't you say anything? I thought I was your best friend?"
"You are my best friend," shrugged Amy. "It's only happened three times. The first time was for our fifth anniversary, about a week after we found out he's Max's father. Then on my birthday last December, before our anniversary again this past May."
Smirking, Penny thought aloud. "I never thought I'd see the day that our little Sheldon finally did it. He was barely willing to shake hands with another person until he met you. I think we've got enough stuff here. Let's get you back to your family."
"Max, it's time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed," Amy shouted down the hallway to her son not long after returning with the supplies she had collected with Penny.
Walking out of the bathroom, Max shot a toothy grin at his parents. "I already did. Can you tuck me in?"
"Good job. I'll be in in a minute," answered Sheldon.
"No. I want both of you. I've never had both of you tuck me in together."
"Sure," Sheldon nodded. "Just give us a minute." Waiting for the boy to make his way to his new room, Sheldon turned to Amy. "I think now is the best time to remind him that this is supposed to be temporary until your apartment is repaired." The couple paused outside the bedroom before slowly opening the door, where they found Max was already in bed, reading one of the comic books Amy brought back with her. "Hey, buddy. Can we talk for a minute before it's time for light's out?" Sheldon asked.
Max closed the comic book in his lap. "Am I in trouble?"
"Not at all. You've been great, especially with everything that happened today. We wanted to talk to you about this living arrangement," Amy started.
Sheldon continued Amy's thought, "We wanted to make sure you understand that this is supposed to be a temporary arrangement."
"I know. It's just for five weeks. Mom and I will be back at our apartment before Thanksgiving."
"That's right. We'll let you get back to your comic book. You've got five more minutes to read, then one of us will come back to turn off the light," Amy reminded the boy.
Max nodded as he picked up the comic book again. "Are you going to leave the door open a little bit and the light in the hallway on?"
"Yes," replied Sheldon as he pulled the door about halfway closed and stuck his head back in the room. "Good night. I love you."
The couple began to get ready for bed once they were sure Max was asleep. "I've been thinking, Amy," Sheldon started to say.
"Are you ever not thinking?" Amy shot back with a smirk.
"Well, no," Sheldon was caught off guard by Amy's question. "I was thinking about this living arrangement."
Amy watched her boyfriend as he prepared for the night after she had gotten in bed. "I've been thinking about it, too. I noticed that you kept saying 'supposed to be temporary' whenever you mention us staying here. If you don't want us to stay here, or aren't comfortable with it, I can find somewhere else for Max and I to stay. Maybe the two of us can stay across the hall and Leonard and Penny can stay here. I can sleep on the couch and let Max have Penny's bed."
Sitting next to Amy on the bed, Sheldon reached for Amy's hand. "I've been saying 'supposed to be temporary' because I was thinking that, maybe, if this goes well, it doesn't have to be temporary?"
Relaxing at her boyfriend's touch, Amy studied his face. "You want Max and I to move in with you?"
"What if we think of this as a five-week test to see what living together would be like? If we find it isn't working out, you and Max can go back to your apartment, and we go back to Max staying here a few times a month when you have to go into the lab on the weekend or are going out with the girls."
"You mean that? You're not just saying this because we're in bed together?"
Sheldon shook his head. "Waking up on the mornings you've spent the night and having you here is a great comfort to me. Knowing the two people I love the most are next to me and in the next room helps me sleep better. I worry less when you're here."
Amy rolled on her side and snuggled next to Sheldon. "Okay. I'm in. This is officially a five-week test to see what it's like to live together. But I don't want us to say anything to Max about the possibility of this not being temporary, just in case it doesn't work out."
"Of course, but we should talk to him before we make a final decision. You've always said we'd talk to him before we do anything major, I feel this should be no exception to that," Sheldon bent his head down to quickly kiss Amy goodnight before turning off the lamp next to the bed. "Good night. I love you."