Really long chapter for you guys :) thank you for being soo patient :D
I'm really flattered that you have been following and favourite-ing the story but please don't forget to review because it's a great incentive for me to get chapters up faster if I know people are enjoying them :) or I could spend more time with other stories rather than this one…
If you haven't already, check out my other story I Won't Let You Go and let me know how it made you feel or what you thought about it :)
There may be more days in between chapters as life just got busy :)
Disclaimer from previous chapters applies.
TBBT
"What?" Amy wasn't sure if she was happy or shocked, it had been years since she had seen Bernadette, of course she had spoken with her but they were coming back right when she had decided to leave to Massachusetts.
"Yeah, Bernadette's pregnant so they wanted to, you know, be surrounded by friends," Leonard explained, he looked at Sheldon, who was staring into space.
"Sheldon?" Leonard said.
"Yes?" he shook his head gently as he looked at Leonard.
"Did you hear? Are you okay?" Leonard said.
"Yes, I'm fine," he suddenly got up and left.
"Is he alright? Did you guys get into a fight?" Leonard said his brow furrowing.
"I just have to speak with him; can you stay with the twins?" Amy said.
"Yeah sure," Leonard walked over to the bed and sat next to Marie and Tyler.
"Hi Marie, how are you feeling?" Leonard asked.
"I'm fine Uncle Leonard, where's Ry-Ry?" Marie said, shuffling slightly to accommodate her brother.
"He's at home with Aunt Penny," Leonard said looking into the blue eyes identical to those of his best friend's.
TBBT
Amy looked around the waiting room but she couldn't find him.
She saw Sheldon walking through the double doors so she followed him.
"Sheldon!" she called after him.
Sheldon heard Amy's voice and spun around to see her walking through the double doors.
"I need to talk to you," Amy said standing in front of him.
"Alright,"
"When I said that I'm accepting the job, you need to understand that it benefits everyone," she watched him carefully.
Silence.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Amy said.
"There's nothing to say, it seems you've made up your mind," Sheldon replied coolly.
Amy was confused. She thought she should be relieved that he didn't cause a fuss, but her heart wrenched at the thought of giving him up again.
"Although my lawyer will be in contact with you to resolve any custodial issues," Sheldon's features unfaltering.
"Wha..." Amy's heart nearly stopped.
"I don't understand your shock, you are the one planning to move away, I merely are informing you of my own plans," Sheldon's face remained expressionless.
"But... I don't understand your reason for these motives,"
"I would assume that they are obvious. I am in fact their father, they are half mine, therefore I deserve to also see them and vice versa," again his features remained unfaltering.
Amy's heart broke, she half expected him to drop everything and go with her.
"Well if custody is granted I stipulate certain conditions are met before you are able to look after them,"
Sheldon's eyebrows furrowed, "To what end?"
"They need to be well looked after Sheldon, they are living beings, they have needs, both physical and emotional,"
"For example?" Sheldon prodded.
"For one, Tyler has developed night terrors, are you prepared to meet his need for comfort and affection, even during the early hours of the morning?" she wasn't sure what to expect, from past experience the answer would definitely be 'no' but recently there was something different about him when he addressed his children.
"I-I," Sheldon stammered, he wasn't sure he would be able to meet his needs.
"You have to be able to do that, Sheldon, custody isn't just a legal document; it's the lives of our two children,"
At the mention of a legal document both their minds drifted to the infamous Relationship Agreement. Amy half-smiled remembering just how easy-going they were then, even Sheldon.
"May I ask the reason for your smile?"
Amy quickly wiped the smile off her face, "It's irrelevant, now to the more pressing issues, proposal,"
"Yes?" Sheldon was unsure where she was going.
"I propose you take the twins for a weekend and see how you cope, I will only be a phone call away," she wasn't sure that this would work out but she was determined to involve him in the twins' lives.
Sheldon thought about the proposal carefully, "When would such endeavour take place?"
TBBT
"I want daddy to carry me!" Marie said, poking out her bottom lip.
Amy looked at Sheldon who was shuffling on his feet nervously, holding Marie's overnight bag.
"Marie, daddy is holding the bag, so I have to carry you," Amy reasoned.
"But why don't you carry the bag and daddy carries me? Please, mommy,"
Amy looked between Sheldon and Marie.
"Sheldon, do you have anything to say?" Sheldon was uncharacteristically quiet.
"Well, I suppose the logical thing to do right now is for me to carry her," Marie's eyes lit up, "but then that would mean having to use physical strength that I'm not sure I possess and giving in to her demands may create unwanted attachments to defiance to getting her way," Sheldon looked at Marie, her blue eyes shining with tears and her lips poked out.
"But I suppose if I carry her, it would make up for me not singing Soft Kitty to her," Sheldon walked towards Marie and placed the overnight bag on the bed.
He stuck out his arms awkwardly as Marie stood up on the bed and wrapped her little arms around her father's neck. He wrapped both his arms around her tightly as he turned to look at a wide-eyed Amy; taking tentative steps he approached the door.
"Mmmph, it seems Europe has changed you, Sheldon Cooper," Amy whispered as she watched him walk out the door with his daughter in his arms.
As Amy buckled Marie into the car, Sheldon sat in the passenger seat and looked forward, his face expressionless.
Amy closed the back door and climbed into the car. It was quiet for a few seconds until Amy ignited the engine and the roaring of the metal beast filled their ears.
It was a few minutes into the car ride when Sheldon spoke; "Could you clarify how Europe has changed me?" he was genuinely befuddled by her statement.
Amy closed her eyes briefly...damn, his Vulcan hearing...
"I simply was referring to the fact that you seem more open to the concept of physical contact," Amy replied.
Sheldon thought about this, "I'm not sure I understand, I haven't been open to touching Penny nor Leonard and as far as I recall all the times I have engaged in physical contact with you were only for the purpose of comfort,"
Amy's eyebrows furrowed, "What about the twins?"
"What about the twins?" Sheldon asked confused.
"Well, you don't seem to mind touching them and I could go as far as to say that you enjoy their presence," Amy kept her eyes locked on the road.
Sheldon mulled over this carefully. This wasn't odd behaviour at all, at least not odd enough to label him a changed person.
"I believe that it is only logical for me to behave in such a way that my offspring are happy, after all they are my and your genetic futures," he paused, "also how would I be able to look after them to an extent that it is both safe and satisfying without touching them, especially since I will have to when they are in my custody,"
Amy stayed silent for a while, Sheldon was really going to go through with this.
They stopped at a red light and she turned to face him, he had been staring at her.
She gave him a warm smile before saying, "My apologies, it appears my logic was flawed,"
Sheldon's breath hitched and he could merely nod in reply as he stared at her smile and her green orbs.
Once they arrived at the apartment, Amy got out of the car and walked around the car to take Marie out. Sheldon stood on the curb and waited for Amy to finish.
As she came out of the car with holding onto her daughter, Marie caught Sheldon's eye and outstretched her arms towards him.
Amy frowned and walked towards Sheldon, "Do you want to carry her again?" she asked him.
Sheldon shrugged, "It's only logical," again he took Marie in his arms.
"It seems she has developed a strong attachment to you," Amy said as she walked back to the car to take the bags out.
Sheldon blinked.
As they stood inside the elevator they were silent. Surprisingly, the silence was not awkward, it was almost comforting and Amy let a tiny smile grace her lips, her daughter was better now and Sheldon wanted to be in the twins' lives!
Her life was almost perfect. Almost.
Amy unlocked the door and was greeted by her son running into her arms.
"Hi mommy!" he hugged her tightly as she kissed his cheek. She saw a huge banner on the wall reading, "Welcome home, Marie!"
"Hello baby," she said as she walked towards the couch where Leonard was seated with Ryan, smiling.
She always felt at home in this apartment, the layout was almost the same as her old apartment, but there was an extra room and a slightly larger living room and kitchen.
"Hello Amy," Leonard said standing up.
"Hello Leonard," Amy replied before remembering that Sheldon was still holding Marie.
She turned around and found him standing by the closed door, Marie had her head nestled into the crook of his neck.
"Ames! You're home!" Penny said as she entered the room, she saw Sheldon holding Marie.
"Hi Sheldon," she said, walking over to kiss Marie's forehead, "Hi sweetie,"
"Hello Aunt Penny," Marie said lifting her head up, "Hello Uncle Leonard,"
"Hello Penny, Leonard" Sheldon replied.
Leonard was swaying from side to side to avoid a tantrum from Ryan, "Hello Sheldon, how are you feeling Marie?"
"I'm okay," Marie replied she looked over at her brother in Amy's arms.
"Hello Tyler!" Marie smiled at her brother.
"Hi Marie! Aunty Penny and I have a surprise for you!" Tyler said.
Penny and Leonard were frozen on their spot, mesmerised by Sheldon and Marie's identical crystal blue eyes and Tyler and Amy's identical emerald green eyes.
"Penny?" Amy called.
Penny blinked hard and shook her head slightly, "Yeah, we made you a 'Get well soon!' pie!" she smiled at Marie who clapped her hands happily.
"What do you say, Marie?" Amy said.
"Thank you Aunt Penny, Uncle Leonard and Tyler," Marie said smiling.
"But before you can eat the pie you have to have your bath," Amy said putting Tyler down and walking towards Sheldon.
"Come on," Amy said putting her arms out towards her.
Marie pouted and looked at Sheldon who just looked between Amy and Marie. She let out a defeated sigh and climbed into her mother's arms.
"I'll come with you Ames," Penny said as Amy walked towards the rooms.
"Alright," Amy replied as Tyler followed them.
Sheldon moved tentatively to the single couch and sat in it as Leonard sat back down too.
He remained quiet for a while, "So Sheldon you never told me what you thought about Howard coming back," Leonard said, hoping to strike up some sort of conversation.
"Well, I believe that it's the best option especially in his circumstances, although it's better for Bernadette, much less Howard who is not going through gestation but is there for support," Sheldon replied.
Leonard was almost giddy at having his best friend back. It had been a year since Howard left and he was alone.
"Yeah, I mean," without even thinking about what he was saying, "I still can't believe Amy did it alone," he closed his eyes momentarily, scolding himself for bringing up such a sensitive subject.
"Leonard?"
"Yes, Sheldon?" Leonard said.
"Was Amy alright?" his voice barely above a whisper.
Leonard sighed, he felt Sheldon had a right to know and as his best friend, he felt it was his responsibility to tell him.
(3 years ago)
Amy walked to open the door of her apartment. She swung the door open to reveal Penny and Leonard.
"Hi Ames!" Penny said.
"Hello Amy," Leonard said sheepishly as he followed Penny into the apartment.
"Hello Bestie, hello Leonard," Amy replied shutting the door with a click.
"Please sit down, would you like any beverages?" Amy said.
Penny gave her a look as Leonard sat down, "Ames, why don't you sit down,"
Amy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Why?"
"Because you're the pregnant one,"
Amy looked down at herself. She was pretty big, she was 32 weeks pregnant but that didn't mean that she was not able to fill cups with liquids.
Penny was looking at her, "How have you been feeling Ames?"
Leonard saw her sigh, he had only known about this for a month and he was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that Amy was carrying his best friend's children. He and Penny had only returned from their honeymoon last week and Penny had been coming to see Amy every day since.
"Fine, I suppose," Amy followed Penny into the kitchen.
As Penny turned around she saw Amy standing behind her.
"Ames, sit down! The doctor said you shouldn't spend too long standing up," Penny gave Amy a look.
Amy's shoulders slumped as she walked back to the living room and sat down, wincing slightly.
"Are you alright, Amy?" Leonard asked.
"Yes, the babies just catch me off guard sometimes," Amy replied, placing one hand on her belly.
Leonard eyed her; she had bags under her eyes and seemed to be just tired.
"Here you go," Penny said, giving Amy a glass of water and some coloured pills.
Amy took them and swallowed them with the water.
"So Ames, what do you want to do today?" Penny asked sitting down next to her.
Amy thought for a while, there was only so much she could do.
Penny placed her hand on her swollen belly, just then the baby kicked.
"Oh my god! The baby just kicked!" Penny grinned at Amy and Leonard.
Leonard looked at Penny, she caught his gaze and said "Leonard sweetie, do you wanna feel?"
Amy turned to look at Leonard. He hesitated, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"It's alright Leonard," Amy said smiling slightly.
He slowly shuffled across and lightly placed his hand on her tummy, after a couple of awkward seconds, he felt a strong thump against his palm, then another.
He looked up at Penny who was grinning at him.
"Wow,"
Leonard stopped and looked at his friend; he seemed to be thinking something over.
"What did it feel like?" he said finally.
Leonard thought for a while, "Like a very strong heartbeat,"
Sheldon wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment, he didn't get this 'feeling' normally, so he wasn't sure what it was.
Leonard felt the silence becoming filled with tension so he decided to change the subject.
"So, uh, it's great that Howard is coming back, then we just need Raj to have our little group back together,"
Sheldon furrowed his eyebrows, this was not relevant to their previous topic but decided to go along with it, he was too distracted by the odd feelings he was experiencing.
"Where is Rajesh?" Sheldon said.
"Umm," Leonard hesitated, "Penny says he got tired of waiting for love,"
"That doesn't explain his whereabouts, if anything it only serves to amplify the possibilities,"
"He went back to India," Leonard said.
"Why? Did the university find out that there is a simple piece of technology with the ability to replace him?" Sheldon said.
"No. He just couldn't find 'the one'," Leonard continued.
"'The one'? What could that possibly mean?" Sheldon asked.
Leonard sighed, Ryan moved around slightly, "He went back to India to see if his parents could find him a wife, he was lonely," Leonard shrugged.
"See, Leonard, why didn't you just say that, you always had a tendency of making things more difficult than they needed to be," Sheldon huffed.
Leonard ignore his friends, "I haven't heard from him since he left though, he was pretty broken up about leaving, he saw it as having to choose between love and his best friends, so I understand why he wouldn't wanna bring back old memories," Leonard sighed, "Bur I've heard from Howard that he found a wife and that he's pretty happy,"
"When did he leave?" Sheldon asked.
"Around the time the twins were four months old," Leonard replied as Ryan started to cry.
TBBT
"So then I told him that it would be better for everyone if I took the job and then he said that he wanted to pursue custodial arrangements," Amy said, putting Marie's pyjamas on.
Penny's mouth gaped, "What does that mean?"
"It means that he want to be able to see the twins, by law, periodically," Amy brushed Marie's wet hair.
"Wow, that's so great," Penny continued looking at Marie then Tyler, who was busy taking out his action figures and setting them down on the floor.
"I suppose so," Amy said but before Penny could reply she heard Ryan cry.
"I'll be right back, Ames," Penny said as she walked out of the room, quickly followed by Tyler.
TBBT
Leonard was trying to calm Ryan as Penny came out and scooped him up in her arms, after a few seconds he calmed down and she sat next to Leonard.
Tyler looked over Penny's arm at Ryan and lightly caressed his hand, she smiled and Leonard, "You see how it's done, sweetie?" she smirked.
Tyler walked over to his dad and grabbed his hand.
"Daddy, come see my action figures," he pulled lightly on Sheldon's hand.
Sheldon turned to look at Leonard who nodded encouragingly then at Penny who smiled at him.
Slowly he stood up and followed Tyler into the room.
As he pushed open the door he was surprised by what he saw. The Walls were painted light blue and planets and stars surrounded the two beds in the two far corners of the room. The light on the ceiling had a lamp shade on that made it look like the sun and a bookcase stood at the foot of who he presumed to be Tyler's bed. On his right, there was a small walk in closet and tiny chairs and a tiny table stood in the middle of the space in-between the closet and then beds.
Amy was brushing Marie's hair on the other bed. She was staring at him.
"Forgive me Amy, I should have knocked,"
"No, it's fine, Sheldon, please come in," she said looking towards Tyler who was looking at him expectantly.
Sheldon walked forward and stood by Tyler who led him to a tiny chair.
"Sit here, daddy," Tyler patted the chair.
Sheldon bent down and sat on the chairs, his longs legs at an angle.
Amy had to suppress the giggle forming in her throat; never did she imagine that Sheldon Lee Cooper would sit down in a tiny toddler chair to play with his son's action figures.
"Mommy, I want to play with daddy too," Marie said; ready to jump off the bed and start playing.
"Not yet Marie, I have to finish brushing your hair properly so that it can dry before bedtime," Amy said.
Marie pouted, "But then what if daddy doesn't want to play anymore,"
Sheldon had been looking at Marie and Amy as he moved the action figure in his hand absentmindedly.
"Actually, Marie, Tyler," Amy said as she placed the brush on the bedside table, "would you two like to spend a weekend with daddy?"
Tyler and Marie's eyes lit up and she squealed in delight.
"Yes!"
Tyler jumped onto Sheldon, hugging him tightly. Marie jumped off the bed, running across and hugging Sheldon tightly too.
Sheldon froze for a moment, before allowing himself to hold both his children for the first time in his life.
Thanks for reading :)