"I was thinking," started Amy, in the midst of folding clothes for Levi and Theo and placing them in the open suitcase before her. "Ricky might want to see the boys while we're at your mom's house. I know he never got back to us about seeing the boys when we were in Texas in February, but we were only there for a few days. We'll be there all week, so I'm sure we can find some time that works for him to see them."

Sheldon dropped the shirt that was in his hand. "Remember when I left for a little while the night of my birthday?"

"Yeah. You said you needed to get some air and went for a walk."

"I went to the bar a few blocks down. I had an inclination Ricky would be there that night. Since he wasn't replying to us, I wanted to check in and see how he was doing."

Now Amy was the one who dropped the items she was holding. "Why didn't you say something sooner? What did he say?"

"I wanted to talk to him in person, man to man. I didn't say anything because it didn't go very well. In fact, it went about as well as I'd expected it to, given his lack of response to the updates we'd sent about Levi and Theo," Sheldon sat next to the open luggage on their bed.

"What did he say?" clearing the spot next to him, Amy joined Sheldon, abandoning their packing project.

Shaking his head to himself, Sheldon hesitated before sharing the conversation from a month and a half prior. "He appreciates the updates, but he said he's a bad dad and has been since before Levi was born. He said he can't take care of himself, let alone two kids."

"Oh, Sheldon," she sighed, taking her husband's hand in her own and resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm sure your mom, Meemaw, and Georgie would help him whenever he needed if he had the boys."

"That's what I told him. I said Georgie wanted to hire him to work in one of his stores and that mom and Meemaw would help him if he ever needed anything. I told him we want him to be a part of the boys' lives. He walked out after I said that."

Amy momentarily turned her attention to the laughter coming from down the hallway, "Oh my god."

Slipping his hand from Amy's and absentmindedly folding a shirt that was already in the suitcase, Sheldon shared a bit of family history. "I'm not surprised by it. Missy and Ricky only got married because she was pregnant. I knew Missy didn't want to marry Ricky, but she hated seeing how stressed my mom was when Georgie got his girlfriend pregnant. She didn't want to put my mom through that, so they got married."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"We go home for Easter. We text Ricky to let him know when we're there, letting him know the kids want to see him, and hope he replies and is willing to see them."

"Can you come outside with us, Uncle Sheldon?" Levi excitedly asked one afternoon after Theo woke from his nap. Sheldon silently nodded, each boy pulling on one hand.

Mary smiled, watching her son play with her grandsons out the kitchen window. "He seems to be doing well with them. How's he really doing?"

Nodding her head, Amy shared, "He loves those boys so much. I think Sheldon's needed them as much as they've needed him. There are times when I can tell he's having a hard day, but there's a lightness about him when he's with Levi and Theo."

"That's good to hear. Have you heard anything from Ricky? Does he want to see the boys while you're here?"

Amy paused before answering, debating whether or not to share what her husband told her about his conversation with Ricky. "Please don't tell Sheldon I told you this because he waited until a few days ago to tell me. When we were here in February, Sheldon saw Ricky. It didn't go very well. Ricky said he's a bad dad and can't take care of himself, let alone two kids. I guess Sheldon told him you and Meemaw could help him out and Georgie was going to get him a job at his store, but he didn't want to hear it and left Sheldon sitting at the bar."

"Oh, my." Mary brought her hands to her mouth. "Why didn't Sheldon say anything?"

"It was Missy's birthday. Ricky had been drinking. His statements to Sheldon that night pretty much line up with the lack of response we've gotten from him when one of us sends him something about the boys. We've both told him we're in town this week, it's been radio silence."

"What are you doing here?" Ricky groaned, noticing the man who'd taken up residence on the barstool next to him.

Georgie rolled his eyes in response to his ex-brother-in-law. "I heard about your conversation with my brother on Missy's birthday."

"What?" he took another swig from the bottle in front of him.

"Listen, I know the past four months have been anything but easy for all of us, but that's no excuse. In a matter of weeks, Sheldon and Amy went from winning the biggest science prize in the world to being responsible for two kids that they'd only met a handful of times. But they stepped up and love those boys. You have no excuse."

Ricky tried to interject multiple times, never able to get out more than the word, "But," before being cut off again.

"Even if you aren't able to get your life together, you need to get off your ass and make an effort so it at least looks like you're trying," snapped Georgie. "Isn't that social worker supposed to follow up with you in a few months about what's going to happen for the boys? You don't want to look like a deadbeat dad, do you? Cuz that's pretty much what you've been for almost a year. We all want you to be able to take care of your kids. Make an effort or make a decision so Sheldon and Amy know what's happening next and they can stop dangling that carrot in front of Levi that he's going to come back to live with you. Theo doesn't even know who you are."

"What is it with you and Sheldon tracking me down and attacking me about Levi and Theo? Can't a guy have a beer in peace anymore?" Much like he had when Sheldon tried talking to him six weeks earlier, Ricky left Georgie sitting at the bar, avoiding the harsh truths that were just presented to him.

Jim Parsons was phenomenal in A Man of No Importance. I had a front row seat and he was within a few feet of me several times. (I kept staring at his eyes the entire show because they were even more beautiful in person.) I tried to get a picture with him after the show, but he slipped out pretty quickly and didn't stop for anyone. If you ever have the opportunity to see Jim on stage, do it! You won't regret it.