Sheldon rolled over in the early hours of the morning, reaching for his wife, but finding a toddler in the middle of the bed. "Again?" he mumbled, opening his eyes, knowing Amy was on the other side of Theo.

"He wouldn't go back to sleep in the crib and I didn't want him waking Levi. I can go lay with him on the couch if you don't want him in here," an exasperated Amy quietly replied.

"No," the physicist shook his head. "It's been four nights of this. Why is he not sleeping all of a sudden?"

Amy rubbed the now-sleeping toddler's back. "I don't know. Your mom gets here today. Maybe she has an idea? I could call Bernadette later, see if Halley and Michael suddenly stopped sleeping through the night."

"I guess this is just what he needs right now. But if this is going to become a regular thing, a bigger bed might not be the worst idea when we find a house."

Nodding, Amy stretched to kiss her husband's cheek. "Agreed. But he's asleep again; I'll try putting him in the crib."

"Nah. Let him sleep. He doesn't move much, so it's not like we're being kicked in the back all night when he's here."


Amy and Theo picked up Mary from the airport before heading to get Levi from school. The kindergartener climbed into the backseat, greeting the woman. "Hi gramma!"

"Hi sweet boy, how was school?" Mary looked over her shoulder as Amy steered the car back to their apartment.

Shrugging, he replied, "Okay."

"He'll talk more later," Amy glanced in the rearview mirror at the boys. "He wants to go home, have a snack, play on his tablet or watch tv, then he'll tell us all about his day when Sheldon gets home."

"Sounds like you've got a good routine down with him," she commended the younger woman. "Well, I can't wait to hear about your day whenever you're ready to share, Levi."


Despite Amy's insistence to not lift a finger, Mary prepared dinner for her family. Sheldon arrived home a few minutes before the meal was ready, the sound of him coming through the door was enough to pull Levi into the living room. "How was your day?"

"We had art class today. Can I put my picture on the fridge?" Levi was opening his backpack in response to his uncle's question.

Sheldon silently nodded, motioning towards the kitchen for him to add it to the collection that had begun to grow over the past few weeks. Mary watched him add it before announcing, "Dinner's ready. Go wash your hands, Levi. Help Theo, too." The group began enjoying Mary's meal when she took over the conversation, "How is it living in California?"

"It's nice, but I miss you, and Meemaw, and Uncle Georgie. I miss mommy, too," Levi quietly replied between bites. "My new school is nice and my teacher looks like mommy. We don't go to church. I don't think they have churches here."

"Of course, they do, sweetheart. Would you like to go to church with me on Sunday before I go back to Texas?"

"No," the boy replied.

Before Mary had a chance to say anything, Sheldon quickly jumped in, "I know he went with you every week back home. Amy and I asked him if he wanted to go. While I would not have enjoyed going, I am willing to if he wants to go. We're trying to make this as easy as possible for him and if he doesn't want to go to church, I am not going to force him."

"Can I go play?" Levi interrupted.

Amy took note of the food he'd consumed and excused him, "Go ahead. Do you want to go play, too?" She asked Theo, who had found his way to her lap during the meal. He shook his head and reached for food from the plate in front of him. "He'd been getting better about not being so clingy, but it has been a backward slide the past few days. He hasn't slept through the night for four nights now. I asked Bernadette. She said he might be teething. Apparently, Halley and Michael both went through a sleep regression when they were about a year and a half. I guess it's normal."

"Well, you're doing a wonderful job with him. With both of them. Why don't the two of you go out tomorrow? I'll watch Levi and Theo for the night and you can go out to dinner and see a movie."

The couple exchanged a silent glance, each nodding in agreement with what the other was silently asking. "We might wait a few days to take you up on that offer, mom. I'm going to the comic book store tonight and Amy is having a girls' night with Penny and Bernadette tomorrow. Perhaps another night before you go home?"

"Sounds like a plan."


"First girls' night since you and Sheldon got home," remarked Penny, watching her best friends pour themselves each a glass of wine in her kitchen. "We've got so much to catch up on."

Amy downed half of her glass of wine, nodding in agreement. "How's the baby?" She inquired before either of the blondes could ask about the children currently across the hall with her husband and mother-in-law.

"We find out the gender at my next appointment in two weeks. I already told Leonard I don't want to have a gender reveal party," she glanced at the shortest woman. "You didn't have a party & we all knew what Halley and Michael were before they were born. But we're definitely finding out if it's a boy or a girl."

"No gender reveal party, got it. Can we at least throw you a baby shower?" Amy excitedly asked.

Penny nodded, but was cut off by Bernadette before she could say anything, "How's it really going with you and Sheldon having Levi and Theo? No one's here except for us. You don't have to sugarcoat it & say it's great like you have been whenever we have dinner together."

"I'm so tired," admitted Amy. "Theo hasn't been sleeping well for the past week. He falls asleep at bedtime, but wakes up around midnight. He screams if I don't hold him until he's asleep again. I've ended up bringing him into mine and Sheldon's bed the past few nights so he doesn't wake Levi."

Bernadette's face dropped. "It's rough having two kids share a room. Maybe it will get better if you can find a house where they can have separate rooms. But Levi's doing well in school, isn't he?"

"Everyone said he made friends so easily back in Texas, but he hasn't made a single friend since he's been here. I know he's only been in school for about three weeks and making friends can take time, but I don't know what to do to help him," Amy blinked back tears.

"Oh, sweetie," Penny leaned over to hug the woman. "You've had a rough two months. I know you can't help but worry about him, but I promise Levi will find friends. You've been an amazing aunt to those boys and so supportive of Sheldon. I don't know that I could do it if Leonard and I were in the same situation."

Joining the hug, Bernadette agreed, "You opened your home to a toddler and kindergartener no questions asked. You're doing a great job with them. They're always laughing and smiling whenever I see them. You're exactly what they needed."

"I guess you're right. It just feels like I should be doing more for them."

"You'll always feel that way. I do with Halley and Michael. I know this is temporary, but I'm pretty sure everyone who's a parent figure to someone feels that way."


Unbeknownst to Amy, Sheldon and Mary were having a similar conversation across the hall after putting Levi and Theo to bed. Sheldon passed his mother a cup of tea, holding his own between his hands. "It's just us here, so be honest with me, Shelly. How are you and Amy doing with all of this? I know this hasn't been easy for either of you."

"Going back to work has been a good distraction for me, but Amy doesn't have that. She was going to go back to work when I did. We had daycare and everything set up for Theo and Levi, but she decided last minute she wanted to stay home with them longer. She wanted them to have a chance to feel more settled. Her doing that makes me love her even more, but I worry about her. She spends so much of her time taking care of all of us. Tonight is the first time she's had a girls' night with Penny and Bernadette since before we went to Stockholm. I want to do something for her, but I don't know what," Sheldon sighed.

Mary smiled at her son. "She wasn't expecting to come home from Christmas with two rambunctious little boys. Find a way for her to have some time to herself. Maybe you cut back at work for a little while, and take an extra day off every week to be home with Amy and the boys. Talk to Penny and Bernadette for them to have more girls' nights. I can watch Levi and Theo while I'm here, but see if one of your friends to watch them for the two of you to go on a date. I know this hasn't been the easiest thing for the two of you, but you have to make time for each other."

"How did you and dad do it when we were little?"

"Your Meemaw watched you and your brother and sister a lot. George and I didn't go out very often, but we tried to at least once a month or so. It was harder as you kids got older, but we'd still make an effort for at least Valentine's Day and our anniversary. Sometimes, the best we could manage was going to bed early after everyone was asleep."

Sheldon ran his finger around the rim of his now empty mug. "Could you watch Levi and Theo for us Saturday afternoon? We've wanted to do something that would be easier without them tagging along."

Nodding, Mary offered her son a polite smile. "Sure. Anything you need."