Hi lovely readers!

It occurred to me after I posted the last prompt that I have now done over 20 of these (this one being 21) and I can't thank you all enough. All of these are because of you and I'm so grateful that you send your requests in, give me inspiration and trust me with your ideas. It means a lot so a really, really big thank you!

This prompt was requested by thatAwkwardPotato. I played around with the details but I really hope this is what you were after. I really loved writing this one, there's something about Sheldon and Amy muddling their way through parenting that I love. Thank you so much for requesting.

Enjoy!

Not that long ago, if Sheldon had been woken up by the gentle creak of his bedroom door opening during the early hours of the morning, he would have well and truly freaked out. Although, he hated to admit this, as a grown man, with shaking hands he would have pulled the duvet up above his head and would have cried out to Amy to do something about it.

It was impossible to be that scared now, when the person entering your room at precisely 2.47am was the most beautiful little girl you had ever seen. Tiny, for age, her fathers height hadn't been on her side, clutching her yellow, slightly matted blanket in on hand and her favourite teddy in the other. Her hair sticking up in all sorts of place and her eyes as tired as Sheldon felt.

"Daddy" she whispered, gently padding across the dark bedroom to his side of the bed. Sheldon was always awake, like he was in tune with her coming in, like he was just waiting for his daughter to come and climb into bed with them.

Sheldon pressed his finger to his lip. "Shhh, mumma's still asleep" he kept his voice in the quietest whisper he could manage. The last thing he wanted was to wake Amy.

"I can't sleep" Emily reached up to rub at her eyes, her tiny hands balled into fists. God, he loved her so much. "Can I sleep with you and mumma?" she asked.

"Sure" Sheldon nodded, shuffling closer to Amy and creating a little space for her on his side of the bed. Scrambling at the bedsheets and with a little help from her father, Emily soon found herself curled up in bed next to him with her blanket and teddy still firmly clutched in her hands, they were impossible to prize off of her.

Never in his life did Sheldon believe that sharing a bed with a nearly three year old would bring him so much comfort but it did just that. Sure, she wiggled around like crazy, had no awareness of personal space and he never really had the best nights sleep. Yet, knowing she was there beside him, safe in his arms where he could just simply watch her and see with his own eyes that she was okay made his heart feel so full.

"Love you" he whispered kissing the back of her head although, he was sure from the sound of her heavy breathing she had instantly fallen back to sleep. Not long after Sheldon did too and despite knowing he had his favourite girls beside him, he knew in the morning he would have some explaining to do.

—

"You've got to stop letting her do it" Amy spoke keeping her voice quiet as she and Sheldon moved around each other in the kitchen, trying to grab some breakfast before work. Sheldon's need to work at a schedule meant that they were always on time for everything, they were never late for work and Emily was always on time for daycare yet it seemed that there weren't enough in hours in the morning. With showers, getting dressed, breakfast and doing all of that again with Emily, it always seemed such a rush.

"I know" he sighed, looking over his shoulder at Emily who was sat at the table, digging her spoon into her bowl of cereal. "She just looks so little and cute. You know I struggle to say no."

Amy smiled. She thought back on her pregnancy with Emily and how nervous Sheldon was about becoming a father. How he worried and had sleepless nights over the upcoming responsibility. Would he be able to look after her properly? Would he be able to stop her crying? Would he really love her the way parents talk of loving their child? Yet, here he was, nearly three years later with their little daughter who had completely stolen his heart, every single, little piece of it.

"She's got you wrapped round her little finger, hasn't she?" she smiled as she buttered her toast. "I mean it though, we need to be in agreement with how we handle this otherwise we're just sending her mixed messages" Amy explained as she took a bite from the corner of her toast.

Emily had been in her own bedroom for quite some time now and although Amy was initially nervous about the transition, everything had gone great. Now that Emily was old enough, they wanted it to be a really special place for her, your bedroom was after all your safe space and even though she was still only young they wanted her to have that security. They had spent their weekends together choosing colours, picking out furniture and other cute decorations as well as allowing Emily to choose a few more books and teddies. It was the most perfect room.

Emily's sudden need to sleep with her parents had started three weeks ago. Being the critical thinker that she was, Amy had wracked her brains trying to figure out what had trigger this. Had she been read a story that had planted the idea in her head or that had scared her into wanting her parents by her side? Had she seen something on the tv or overhead a conversation? Nothing seemed to be giving Amy the answers she needed and yet Emily had continued to come into their room every single night.

There were of course exceptions when Amy didn't mind at all, if Emily was upset or had had a bad dream then without hesitation she would allow her in their bed. She loved being a mum more than anything in the world and there was no better feeling than your child needing you, snuggling close to you and squeezing you so tight but this couldn't become the norm. Especially since there had been talk recently about trying for another baby, something that Amy really wanted but couldn't quite see working with their current situation.

"Okay, okay" Sheldon nodded. He knew Amy was right. She always was.

"So we're agreed we just take her straight back to her room?" Amy asked.

"Agreed" in typical Sheldon fashion, he held out his hand for Amy to shake in order to seal their deal.

"It's a good job I love you" Amy laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the handshake but then again she wouldn't have him any other way.

—

The bedroom door creaked open a little after 3am and soon little footsteps could be heard tiptoeing across the room to their bed. This time it was Amy who was awake first and spoke before Emily even muttered a word.

"Sweetie, you need to go back to bed" Amy whispered as she sat up and turned on her bedside light. Her little daughter stood before her, it was obvious she had been awake for a few minutes if that, she still looked half asleep.

"I want to stay with you and daddy" she mumbled through a huge yawn, her little features crinkled up in the most cutest fashion and Amy almost cracked there and then.

"You can't sweetie. You need to go and sleep in your own bed like a big girl" through her tiredness, Amy smiled hoping that it would rub off on Emily and give her excitement about sleeping in her own bed. For a moment everything was still and quiet as Amy anticipated Emily's reaction, she was either far too tired to protest or she was that kind of tired where the smallest thing in the world would cause her to break down and be the reason for her protest.

When Emily didn't say anything, Amy pulled back the duvet and rose to her feet. She scooped Emily up in her arms, holding her close to her chest as her head instantly flopped onto her shoulder. Amy could feel herself melting, she could have stayed like this with her forever.

"See, you're so tired" Amy whispered, a gentle hand placed on Emily's back as they walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

"Mm not" Emily mumbled against her mother shoulder as they stepped inside her bedroom. Scanning the room quickly, Amy tried to see if there was anything in here that could have triggered Emily's need to want come and stay with them. She couldn't find a thing.

"There you go" Amy gently placed her down in her bed, perching herself on the edge as she carefully tucked her in, making sure she was all snuggly and warm. "You know, I think Ted much prefers being this bed" Amy told her, her voice calm and soft as she stroked her forehead. "You both have much more space in here, don't you?" she watched as Emily nodded her head, "and I'm pretty sure most nights, Ted gets a little trapped under daddy's arm."

"He does," Emily giggled as she cuddled the bear close to her. "Can I say goodnight to daddy too?" she asked. Amy was just about to tell her that she thought Sheldon was asleep but then he suddenly appeared in the doorway. He had been awake before Emily had even entered the room, almost like he knew she was about to walk in, over the last few weeks his body had become quite in tune with her. Listening carefully in bed, he had heard the quiet conversation between his wife and daughter and it really didn't take him long to reach them.

Upon hearing movement and simply feeling a presence behind her, Amy turned and smiled at Sheldon who was stood quietly observing them. He could watch the two of them together for hours, there really was nothing he loved more than watching them bond, watching how much they loved one another. It really was a special thing.

"Sure. Look, daddy's right here" Amy smiled. "I'll leave you two to it" she told them both. "Good night darling, I love you" she kissed Emily's forehead before turning her attention to Sheldon. "Don't give in" she told him, if she had struggled to be tough, he was going to find it even harder.

"Hey" he smiled, sitting down on the bed, taking up his position in Amy's now vacant spot.

"I have to sleep here" she yawned again, her eyes heavy and so tired. "I like sleeping with you and mumma."

"I know you do" he reached forward and stroked her hair, his finger gently brushing it away from her face. "But this is your bedroom and where you need to sleep" he remembered Amy's words 'don't give in'. He was really trying.

"But what about the monsters?" she asked.

"Sweetheart, they're no monsters" he told, still stroking her face, the gesture was sending her to sleep, her eyes slowly closing and then pinging open again. He had no idea where she had got the idea that there were monsters in room, this was the first time she had mentioned such a thing. He wondered if she was doing it on purpose, doing it to make him stay.

"You have to scare them away" his heart melted. She had no idea that if there were monsters in her room that he would run for the hills. That actually it was probably her mother or her auntie Penny that would be much better at scaring the monsters away. None of that mattered to Emily though, he realised that in that moment, that she didn't care or simply didn't know that he was scared of everything. In her eyes, he was her protector, someone strong and brave that could keep something as scary as monsters away, that's just what dads did.

"I promise you. There are no monsters. Remember we live on the forth floor, that's far too high for monsters to climb," he continued stroking her head.

"Really?"

"Mhmm, really" Sheldon nodded. "Now, you are so tried you need to go to sleep" he told her watching her fighting the urge, she was stubborn just like him. "I love you" just like Amy, he kissed her forehead and rose to his feet.

"I need you to stay" a little hand suddenly reached out for him, pulling him back onto the bed. He laughed at how grown up she sounded, they were clearly words she'd heard from someone else, yet the words really struck a chord with him. She needed him. Whether it was all a little ploy to make him stay, he would never know but she needed him.

As a child even as an adult, there had been times in his life where he needed his father. He never needed him to chase away monsters but there were moments in his life where he was sure some fatherly advice would have been appreciated. Like when Amy broke up with him all those years ago, he had never known heartbreak like it or when Emily was born and he was clueless on how to be a father, he'd never known a fear and yet a love like it. He needed his father and he simply wasn't here. He never, ever wanted Emily to feel like that. Ever.

Maybe that was the reason why he was so willing to give in to her. There were moments that he never got to have with his father. Looking back on his childhood and knowing how short their time together was, of course he had regrets and he never wanted Emily to look back on her childhood and regret a thing. Regret that she hadn't hugged her father a little longer or told him that she loved him just a few more times. Without realising it until now, he had almost been facilitating that for her and as he stared down at the tiny little face gazing up at him, that tiny little being he loved so much, he found himself agreeing to stay.

"Okay, but just until you're asleep"

She reached out and held on to his hand and for the next few moments that's where he stayed. Right by her side until, her eyes gently closed and she fell back to sleep.

Thank you so much for reading! As always reviews are always welcome and so appreciated! Prompt requests are still open so if you have any suggestions please send them my way.

Stay safe

Lots of love