Amy slowly looked around the room as she woke up and smiled when she spotted Sheldon sitting in the chair next to the bed, sleeping with their newborn son on his chest. A few minutes later, Leo stirred and began to cry, waking his father. "I think he might be hungry. It's been a few hours since you fed him," Sheldon stood and took the few steps to Amy's bed, passing her the infant.

"How long was I out for?" Amy asked after getting Leo settled to feed.

Rubbing his eyes, Sheldon looked at his watch, "Not quite an hour and a half, I think? I was only asleep for about twenty minutes. It's just after seven. I told Max I'd call him before school to let him know if Leo was born overnight."

Sheldon sat on the side of Amy's hospital bed to watch her feed their son for the second time since he'd joined the world. "Do you want to FaceTime him? Let him meet his little brother?" Shifting to sit next to Amy at the head of the bed, Sheldon already had his phone in front of him, waiting for the almost fourteen-year-old to answer. Sheldon angled the phone towards Amy as Max's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, we've got someone who wants to meet you."

"He's here? What time was he born? Why didn't you call me right away?" the boy excitedly asked while running across the house. "Katie! The baby's here. Do you want to see him?"

Sheldon and Amy waited until they saw their daughter's face next to Max before moving the phone to show the bundle in Amy's arms. "This is Leo. He was born just after midnight."

"Lee!" Katie excitedly yelled while pointing at the screen before disappearing.

"She's getting her baby doll," Max explained. "Did you tell anyone else that he's here or are we the first to know?"

Amy shook her head, "We told grandma and grandpa since they're staying with you while we're here. We also texted Grandma Mary to call us when she woke up. We know she wouldn't mind, but we would have been calling her at three in the morning and felt bad about that, so we decided to wait. She called us two hours ago. You are the first ones to see her. We were waiting to send a picture to everyone until after you saw him."

"Oof," Max laughed as Katie reappeared on the screen after running into him.

"My baby," she held up her doll and pointed at the screen again. "Brother."

"That's right, Katie Beth," smiled Sheldon. "This is your brother. He's just like your baby. We can't wait for you to meet him in person when he comes home."

Looking over his shoulder, Max nodded and said something Sheldon and Amy couldn't understand. "Grandma says it's time to leave for school. Can you send me a picture of him so I can show my friends?"

Agreeing to his request, Amy ended the call. "Sure. Have a good day at school. Tell Katie to be good for grandma and grandpa today."


Amy and Sheldon spent the day with Leo, taking turns cuddling the newborn and napping. Waking from a nap, Sheldon didn't make any move that might indicate he was awake. He was enjoying listening to Amy talk to their son. She glanced across the room and stated, "I know you're awake, Sheldon."

"What? How?" the physicist sat up from where he'd been sleeping on the couch on the side of the room.

"We've slept next to one another for years. Your breathing changes when you're awake. I could hear the difference the minute you woke up, even though you hadn't opened your eyes," Amy lifted their son in Sheldon's direction. "Here, come take your son. Or can you put him in the bassinet? I'd like to get some sleep without him in my arms. Did you know he's the biggest of my babies? He's over eight pounds. Katie was barely six pounds and Max was almost seven. I can't imagine how heavy he's going to feel when I'm actually carrying him around, not just holding him in bed."

Sheldon reached for the infant and sat on the sofa next to her bed. "Hello, little man. How about we let mommy sleep for a little while. Your brother and sister are very excited to meet you." Sheldon continued to talk to his son as Amy fell asleep. "The person I'm most excited for you to meet is Leonard. You're named after him. He's my best friend, almost like my brother. We're not really brothers, but I'm closer to him than I am to your Uncle Georgie. He'd be here if he could, but the hospital changed the rules and now they don't allow visitors. That's okay, though, he'll meet you when we take you home."

Amy got out of bed to use the restroom hours later and she could tell something was on Sheldon's mind when she reentered the room. He'd been quiet, distracted almost, not offering to help her to or from the bathroom like he had when Katie was born. Rather than return to the bed, Amy sat next to him on the sofa. "What are you thinking about?"

"What?" Sheldon snapped back to the present, looking at Leo in his arms. "Nothing. I just can't believe he's finally here. We have three kids, Amy. I never thought I'd have one child, let alone three."

Amy wrapped one arm around Sheldon's shoulders, using her other hand to wipe the few tears that had rolled down his cheeks. "I know that's only part of whatever's on your mind. You've barely said anything since Leo was born. You didn't stop talking when Katie was born."

Glancing at Amy before turning his attention back to his son. "It just feels so different this time. I've never been one to talk about my feelings, but I don't even know where to start to tell you what I'm thinking." Amy didn't reply, just holding Sheldon as he held Leo. Fifteen minutes later, Sheldon spoke again, "I get to be there from day one of my son's life. I won't miss anything this time. All the late nights and dirty diapers and bath times. I'll be there for all of it."

"You haven't missed any of those things with Katie," Amy was confused about what Sheldon meant by his revelation. "Last night was the only night, aside from Comic-Con last year, that you didn't give her an extra kiss goodnight. You say you're checking on her before coming to bed, but I know."

"It feels different than with Katie because now I get the chance to be there for everything for my son. I wasn't there for these things with Max," Sheldon stared at his sleeping son's face.

"Hey, no," Amy stopped Sheldon before he could continue. "We've talked about this. You did nothing wrong with Max. It's not like you were some deadbeat dad who disappeared the minute I got pregnant. You came into mine & Max's life exactly when you were supposed to. If either of us had done one thing differently, right down to the minute we went to the clinic or put a profile on that dating site, who knows how our lives could have ended up."

"I guess you're right," Sheldon sniffled quietly. "I'm sorry for being a mess this afternoon. I should be taking care of you, not making you hold me while I cry."

Squeezing her husband a little tighter, Amy commented. "I don't mind. I like being able to hold two of my favorite guys. The only thing that would make this better is if Max and Katie were here."