"I let Max know we're all over here if he wants to come over on his way home," Sheldon shared with Howard and Leonard as they watched their kids run around the Wolowitz backyard while their wives were shopping for the afternoon.

Leonard tilted his head to the side, "I thought you said he didn't have to work today?"

Nodding his head, Sheldon explained, "He didn't. He was at a friend's house, working on a project for school. I know it's for science class, but he won't tell me anything else because," Sheldon held his fingers up in air quotes, "You'll tell us what we should be doing. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the class to have a Nobel-winning physicist helping us."

"I get it," commented Howard, "But you would think they'd want every advantage they could get."

The scientists' conversation was interrupted by eight-year-old Halley, "Katie has to go potty, but she doesn't want to go inside alone. Can I go with her?" Seeing her father nod his head in agreement, Halley yelled to the five-year-old, "Katie, my dad said it's okay."

A few minutes after the two girls ran inside, the guys heard the backdoor open again. Thinking it was them returning, no one turned around until Max spoke, "Uh, are Halley and Katie supposed to be digging through the cabinets? I asked where everyone was and they said you knew they were inside, but you guys usually don't let them get their own snacks without supervision."

Howard groaned as he stood from his chair, "They said they were going to the bathroom. I'll get them back out here."

"How's your project for school? What is it that you're refusing to let Sheldon help? Maybe I could help you?" Leonard broke the silence a few minutes after Max joined the men at the table on the deck.

"Nope," Max shook his head. "I'm not going into any detail because I know you'll tell dad and then all I'll hear about is what we should be doing and him asking if he can help. We're meeting again tomorrow morning to finish it before turning it in on Monday. I'll tell you all about it after it's been turned in. We're too close to being done and I don't want you guys giving suggestions and making me doubt if we should change what we're doing."

Max's response caused silence to fall over the group again as the adults pulled out their phones and Max watched the kids play.


Driving home later that afternoon, Max looked at Sheldon, "How closely do you watch what the little kids are doing when they're all playing like they were today?"

"Depends on what they're up to and how loud they're being. They were pretty quiet today, content to play on the swing set and in the playhouse, so we let them do their own thing most of the day. Why?"

"I've never really watched all of them together like this afternoon and I noticed something. Halley and Katie stuck close to one another all day, as did Michael and Rory. Leo spent most of the afternoon by himself or hanging out by us on the deck."

Sheldon shrugged his shoulders as he turned down the street to their house. "I wouldn't worry about it. He's younger than everyone else, he probably just didn't feel like trying to run after them all day."


Max quickly retreated to his room following dinner, while Katie and Leo ran to the living room to continue the game they had started before being called to the kitchen. Sheldon took his time leaving the table, which Amy noticed as she loaded the dishwasher. "What are you thinking about? You've been quiet ever since I got home from shopping with the girls. I can tell you've got something on your mind."

"Max mentioned something after we left Wolowitz's house and I keep thinking about it."

"What did he say?" Amy closed the dishwasher and filled the kettle, sensing this conversation might require a hot beverage.

Sheldon hesitated for a moment before replying. "He asked if I've noticed how Leo doesn't play with the other kids when they're all together. He's doesn't see them all playing like they were today very often, it's usually during dinner he sees all of them, so they're sitting in one spot. I made the mistake of looking up reasons why toddlers might prefer to play alone."

Placing a mug of tea in front of her husband, Amy sat in the chair next to him. "What did Google tell you?"

"There are a lot of reasons why a toddler might prefer to play by themselves when in a big group of kids. I found a list that suggested talking to the pediatrician if they exhibit many of the tendencies listed. Once I started thinking about it, I realized Leo has shown several tendencies from that list," Sheldon played with the string of the teabag.

"Can I see the list are you talking about, Sheldon?"

Not making eye contact, he removed his phone from his pocket, opened it, and passed it to Amy. "I want to talk to Leo's pediatrician about this. He prefers to play alone when he's with more than Katie and Rory. He'll make eye contact with us, but not many other people. He rarely uses full sentences, or even respond to a question with more than a two-word answer. He seems scared to speak up most of the time, barely talking above a whisper. If we make an extra stop on the way home from work, he has a meltdown that we aren't coming home right away."

Amy read through the list on Sheldon's phone. "I've noticed a lot of these things, too. What did you tell Max?"

"I told him to not worry about it and tried to brush it off as though Leo was playing by himself this afternoon because he didn't feel like running after the bigger kids all day. Do you want us to make an appointment to talk about this list with Leo's pediatrician?"

Sheldon nodded, "Could we? I just want to ask if this is something we should be worried about or if there's anything we need to be keeping an eye on?"

"Okay," Amy smiled at Sheldon. "I'll call in the morning."