A/N: I dont' own BBT.

Chapter 22

Sunday had been quite an experience for Sheldon. He had been shown everything in Merritt's room including stars from "Mr. Raj," who surprisingly spoke aloud to her, and a robot she built with "Mr. Howard." Sheldon felt a bit indignant that his friends were aware of his progeny before he was. He understood that it was merely due to their prying. He found it interesting that the engineer discovered, and pursued the information, and even more so that Howard was actually supportive and helpful.

From a place on Cera's sectional that he deemed as his 'spot', Sheldon watched Cera interact with Merritt. She was warm, patient and encouraging. Cera made everything an adventure for Merritt and he was enamored by it. He had even found himself sucked into a few rounds of Just Dance 2, while the girls danced around him.

In the kitchen, Sheldon helped Cera clean-up after dinner. Assistance in cleaning seemed a fair exchange for a home cooked meal. He was surprised the preparation was uneventful, given Cera's habit for dangerous cooking, but glad it was hygienic.

"I wonder why Merritt didn't eat much, usually she loves Hawaiian chicken." Cera scrubbed a pan in the sink.

"Perhaps, it was the salt content of your teriyaki sauce." Sheldon turned back to drying a pot, but not before Cera could see the twitch in his eye.

"No, I don't think it's that. You ate it…Sheldon, what did you do?" Cera studied him up close.

"Me? Why would you assume I would have anything to do with it? Children are notoriously unpredictable in their eating habits." Sheldon tried to keep his face from twitching. He didn't mean to disrupt Merritt's food consumption, he just wanted to share something with his daughter.

"What did you give her?" Cera knew that look too well, he was guilty and trying to talk his way out of it.

"It was just a few Red Vines. She misled me. She told me two would not spoil her appetite."

"Hun, you really can't trust a child to know what's best for themselves when it comes to candy. And you really should know better than to offer unscheduled sweets, it could cause digestive distress." Cera was trying hard to suppress a grin. Knowing Sheldon was just being sweet to Merritt and she hadn't snuck her own snacks, she felt more amused than upset. "What did she think of them?"

"She agreed they were superior to your preferred abomination, Twizzlers."

Cera laughed and returned to washing a plate.

From his spot in the kitchen Sheldon could see Merritt playing Lego Star Wars III. When he had begun to consider progeny last year, his vision of the perfect child had fallen short. This assuredly had to be the ideal child. She was beautiful, smart, caring, confident and fun. The sharp wit and cunning mind she clearly inherited from him, the rest he would attribute to Cera, seeing as he had been absent from Merritt's life. Cera was a good and devoted mother.

"Olivia, do you think it would be beneficial for us to marry?" He had spent some time since the discovery of Merritt considering the proper action. Surely Cera needed support. An arrangement that allowed for him to fulfil his duties as a father seemed to be ideal.

"Beneficial?" Cera felt as though she could barely breathe. How this man always seemed to take tender occasions and twist them until they hurt was beyond her.

"Yes, it would allow for easier joint parenting, financial support, and would ensure Merritt's place in the Cooper family."

"No. I don't think…that would benefit anyone…Are you ready to go? Merritt has a lot to do to get ready for her week." Cera needed to get away from this conversation. She wasn't anybody's obligation and neither was Merritt.

"Oh, uh, I suppose." Sheldon wondered why Cera wouldn't want to take advantage of his magnanimous offer. It was more change than he really wanted to make, but he did have a responsibility to his daughter and her mother.

The time between Sunday and Thursday had never seemed so long until Sheldon found himself missing Merritt. It didn't help that he knew that she, along with her mother, was with Zack this evening. She was actually at Braden's home 'jamming', but Zack was there. Merritt said she found him funny and Cera enjoyed his easy company. Upon inquiring what that meant and what type of association they had, Cera shrugged and said "Does it really matter?" That the day after the deferred question as to the benefits of them marrying didn't set well with him.

Sheldon was glad his restlessness went unnoticed. He was unsure about informing others of his current situation. Normally, Leonard would have noticed Sheldon's oddness, but Priya kept Leonard occupied nicely without her actual presence, even if Leonard was keeping odd hours. He thought perhaps Penny would've been around more without that harpies influence, but sightings of her had grown infrequent. She said she had "a lot on her mind" and was "working through some stuff."

Sunday evening, Sheldon had noticed he had missed a few calls from Amy while with Merritt. Sheldon had pondered if it was proper to have a companion of opposite sex as a parent. Recalling his parent's interactions the answer was a definite no, but he wasn't married to Cera so he was uncertain of the protocol in this scenario. He considered his resources for information and decided Howard might be helpful; he was aware of their situation and had experience with unmarried parents.

Howard had suggested that due to not dating either woman Sheldon shouldn't worry about associating with both, but he may want to be cautious for Merritt's sake. Apparently Howard had a bad experience with his mother dating when he was young. But his best advice was to ask Cera.

"I'm not going to prevent you from seeing Amy. You can date anyone you want as long as your relationships don't negatively affect Merritt." Cera was bewildered that in a matter of three day Sheldon could go from suggesting marriage to asking if it was "permissible to interact with other females."

"Do you?" He had expected her to dispute his request and felt…dissatisfied that she did not. Sheldon couldn't say that his thoughts concerning her were the same. Though why everyone insisted he was dating Amy, he couldn't fathom.

"Sporadically. I haven't in some time, though."

"Then you associations with Zack are not romantic in nature?"

"I don't know why it interest you, but we are…companionable." Cera wasn't sure if Sheldon was jealous or just looking for validation for his own actions. Either way it was disconcerting.

While Merritt didn't have that much influence on his schedule, he felt an alteration in the flow of events. Two days with her and a few brief, evening phone calls had upended everything. He found himself frequently thinking about her throughout the day. He wondered if she liked school, did she have friends, did she keep up with her studies? What was she eating for dinner and was it properly prepared? He considered things they could do together and questions he could ask her just to learn more about her.

Though he wasn't prepared to share his acquisition of a scion with Amy, he found his kinship with her deepened as he contacted her more frequently throughout the week. Sheldon had made a concerted effort to have in-depth discussions as he attempted to distract his mind from missing Merritt…and thinking about Cera. He found he was relying on Amy's consistency because he was confused with everything else. Were his minor interactions with Merritt enough to really be considered a daddy? Where did he stand with Cera, were they even friends? He liked things he could classify and his interactions with Cera was something he couldn't. Normally friends and affiliations were not things that concerned him, but when sharing a child it seemed important.

Cera was glad for the distraction of family and music Thursday. She had felt overwhelmed since Sheldon spoke of marriage. While it was encouraging he would consider settling down with her, it felt hollow knowing there was no emotion involved. He didn't want to marry her, just thought he ought to be around for Merritt. Cera had wanted to cry, but it would serve little purpose. It wasn't fair to force her overwhelming emotions on him, any more than it would be for him to deny the existence of them. She knew they needed to discuss many things, she just didn't know what angle to start from. How the past is impacting them, how they can manage things now, what this means for their future? She didn't know, but it needed to happen soon.

Penny's presence with Zack was interesting, but not quite unexpected. She had learned dance steps easily a few weekends before and then Cera pushed Zack to her. Penny fit in easily with her family acting as if her presence was a natural occurrence. She even gave a warm welcome to Merritt before the girl took off with her cousins, chatting excitedly about her daddy.

"Merritt seems to be dealing with this pretty good." Braden looked at Cera, she merely nodded.

"He's gonna man up and handle this?" Elliott weighed in gruffly.

Having her interest piqued Penny weighed in "You've talked to Merritt's dad?" Zack placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head to restrain her. He may not be book smart, be he knew when not to get into other's business.

"Yeah, uh, later ok?" Cera diverted. Sheldon should be the one to tell the remainder of his friends. She thought he should actually inform his family first and had told him as much, but wasn't sure where he stood with telling anyone.

The rest of the evening passed quickly goofing around and playing music. Sheldon wasn't brought up again, though Cera knew the guys wanted a little more explanation. Penny gave her curious looks on occasion, but the feeling was mutual. Cera, too, was brimming with curiosity, but knew they would tell her when they were ready, whatever it was.

The phone rang before Cera had pulled into her garage Friday evening. Sheldon hadn't been able to speak to Merritt the night before, so he was eager to get in touch with her.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Olivia. I trust you are well."

"It's Friday, so yes, I am."

"I assume that your assertion about the day of the week is in relation its proximity to the weekend. And I concur. I was unable to speak with Merritt last evening so I was hoping to speak with her now. Also I would very much like to spend time with her tomorrow."

"I'm sure she would love to speak to you. I couldn't say whether I have anything planned tomorrow." Cera knew she didn't, but she wasn't going to let him dictate her schedule.

"Hello?" The young girl was eager to speak to her daddy. Now that she had one, she didn't like being apart from him.

"Hello, Merritt. How are you?" Few people were able to answer that question when Sheldon would genuinely listened. Meemaw was one, occasionally his mother, and now Merritt.

"…clear as dihydrogen monoxide." Sheldon explained the chemical reaction between Coke and milk. A reaction that fooled Leonard on numerous occasions. It was amazing the things he could convince his roommate to consume.

After a few beats of consideration Merritt shouted "Water? That would be water. Why say it like that?"

"Very good Merritt. It's just a very literal way of stating the chemicals in water. I'm impressed you can grasp that at your age." He too, was in the fifth grade at her age, before the year he spent in high school, and he clearly recalled them not discussing chemistry. He learned it through self-study as he felt sure Merritt did.

Sheldon sat the mashed potatoes on the table that he had thoroughly sanitized just moments before. Cera wasn't unclean, merely had a lot of work related clutter as she always had, but better safe than sorry. She was cleaning up a bowl of green beans she had dropped to the floor in the kitchen. He chuckled at her ability create a disaster when cooking. Time spent cooking with Meemaw years ago had actually improved her abilities, so that she wasn't starting every meal with an injury. As he settled at the round table, Sheldon found himself sharing another dinner with his new…family? He knew Merritt was his family, but was uncertain what that would make her mother. He would have to check into that.

Merritt could hardly sit still with the excitement of her dad eating with them. "Does this mean I can get a sister, now?"

Cera's fork clattered to her plate. "W-Why would you ask that?"

"Moms and dads make babies, right?" Merritt asked, wide eyed.

"Yes, but your father and I aren't really in, uh, a position to, uh." Cera looked at Sheldon, who didn't seem to detect the awkwardness.

"You can just put one in her stomach." Merritt gestured to Sheldon with her fork.

"No, no. This is not the-" Cera stumbled trying to diffuse the situation. Watching Sheldon she could see that Merritt's assertion had finally made it through.

"Your mom and I have no plans to engage in co-" Sheldon was brought up short by the taste of fingers on his mouth. He glared at Cera, indignant that she had stretched across the table to silence him. He hadn't expressed anything inaccurate, so he didn't think it warranted the contamination of his person, mid-meal.

Cera was going to have to discuss the knowledge base of a nine year old. Coitus wasn't part of it. It didn't seem as though it was part of his anymore either. This from the man who thought it would be 'beneficial' to get married last week.

Sheldon and Cera fell into a routine over the next week, quick meetings and bedtime phone calls. Sheldon would have liked to have been able to incorporate Merritt into his schedule, but Cera insisted her own schedule prohibited it. As it was, he had to settle for what he could get, which left him agitated. Apparently this agitation was noticed and relayed to his mother, leaving him to have a panicked phone call with her. He was glad his mommy couldn't see him because he had been reduced to twitch and flailing, but he was pretty certain she could hear his voice cracking and fluctuating.

When Cera answered the phone, she could tell Sheldon was flustered by the pitch of his voice. She managed to calm him with deep breaths and logic applied to make a tentative plan. He needed to tell his family about Merritt. Cera convinced Sheldon news of this magnitude was best done in person. Sheldon agreed and planned to invite his mom up as soon as possible. Maybe he could convince Meemaw to come, too.

Sheldon threw the door open, glad for the familiar faces, apprehensive about the news he was about to give them. Three weeks ago his life had an alteration of a monumental nature and now he was going to change theirs as well.

"We've been so worried about you, Shelly. Leonard called me on more than one occasion the last few weeks. You hadn't had a fallin' out with Amy again have you?" Mary squeezed him tightly as he gingerly patted her, before he led them to his couch.

"No, ma'am. Meemaw, you may sit in my spot." A slight giggle from a barstool alerted them to the presence of the petite blonde in the patchwork sundress.

"Oh, what pretty, blonde hair. This must be Penny." Meemaw smiled at Cera.

"No, momma, that's not Penny. Are you another one of Shelly's neighbors?" Mary responded to her mother while giving the young lady a once over.

"No, ma'am. I'm not." Cera had agreed to support him when he told his mother and Meemaw. While she had been alone to tell her parents, they had a much more relaxed world view and supported anything she wanted. She also figured the sight of a grandchild would help soften the blow. So Merritt was in Sheldon's room playing on her DS, until the discussion was over.

"Momma, Meemaw, perhaps you remember Dr. Tollman." Sheldon cut through the confusion.

"Oh, you mean to tell me that under all that hair is Liv?" Meemaw walked over to squeeze her tight before reclaiming Sheldon's spot.

"That's me, Olivia is actually my middle and I got tired of correcting people so I'm just going with my first now-Cera."

"That hair's really strikin', is it real?" Mary was still studying Cera, hard.

"Momma!" Sheldon may not be aware of many social niceties, but he had learned you didn't ask a lady's age or if any of her was 'real.'

"She looks so different. I just wanted to know. So, what kind of name is 'Kay-ra'? Sounds like one of Shelly's super comics." Mary pushed for answers.

"Yes, my hair is real. Color, length all of it. Cera is short for Ceridwen. I was named for the Welsh enchantress that gave the gift of wisdom."

"Let's go with Olivia. I prefer that to that heathen name. Who came up with that?" Mary was still studying Cera hard.

"My mother. She's quiet unique." Cera didn't want to explain any further. Mary was the perfect age to be aware of who and what her parents are.

"Ah, so how'd you dig her back up, baby?" Mary turned to Sheldon.

"Actually, Olivia found me." Sheldon adjusted himself in the armchair uncomfortably.

"Did she now? And you finally let yourself be found." Mary grinned at him.

"What do you mean, momma?"

"Well, she called you bunches when y'all first split up. I don't know why you wouldn't answer 'cause you were just as moody as could be. You were impossible to live with. So I figure she only got you because you wanted her to." Mary studied Sheldon trying to determine where his head was in all this.

"That's all well and good Mary, but I need to know what's going on with Moonpie. You've had your momma an' me worried for months." Meemaw turned her attention to Sheldon

"Uh, well, you see...Olivia and I had, uh, was Cera a, uh, carnal relationship." Sheldon had a death grip on the arms of the chair and avoided looking at anyone.

"Oh dear Jesus. Sheldon you were sinning! I knew all that time you were spending with Junior was too good to be true. Did she talk you into this?" Mary was on her feet and pointed to Cera.

"No! It was a decision we both made, for ourselves and…it's hardly the issue." Sheldon mumbled. He knew his mother wouldn't be happy, but hadn't expected her to assume he was incapable of such a decision or turn on Cera.

"That's not the-what else...Sheldon?" Mary's exasperated voice had gone up in pitch.

Finally speaking, albeit softly, Cera explained, "Her name is Merritt Lise, she's nine and a half."

"You had a baby!?" Mary sat heavily, she felt weak. "Sheldon's baby?" she whispered, needing clarification.

Two quiet 'Yes' responded.

"Are you sure? I mean, sure, you need proof, Sheldon." This had to be wrong. Her son couldn't have done such a thing. Not her Shelly.

"I did have a test performed, but it merely proved what was apparent." Sheldon was watching Meemaw, who was observing the drama unfold. He didn't dare look towards his mother, yet.

Mary turned her attention toward Cera. "I asked your intentions towards my son. You said you just wanted to be his friend."

Remembering Sheldon's interaction with this girl, Mary wasn't sure she could have seen this coming. Liv didn't really touch him, she wasn't flirty, just thoroughly engaged him mentally and socially. She was just happy to exist right alongside him. He didn't shy away from her physically like he did others. She saw them hug twice, he was awkward, but not scared, not mad. None of that ever equaled to sex, though.

Mary assumed Sheldon had to have been seduced by Cera because Sheldon wasn't ever interested in such things and seemed sickened by the thought. She never even considered she needed to worry about Sheldon. He had textbooks on evolution hidden where Junior had skin magazines.

"We hadn't yet discussed anything beyond that at that occasion. Once we had, it seemed logical...at the time." Cera had trouble defending her twenty-one year old self, and the logic and words sounded foreign to her own ears. She shrank into herself on the barstool as Mary approached her.

"There is nothing logical about sex outside of marriage. And I don't mean 'cause it's wrong. I mean because it got three people hurt. The Lord don't like to see His children hurt. I'm not sure what kinda logic you used, but it musta been big because Shelly just isn't into…that."

Cera thought once again someone was selling Sheldon short and reducing him to a two dimensional character that suited themselves. Even she had done that in her expectations of reaction to Merritt and knew she needed to stop. She wondered how often that had happened in his life; that he was reduced to being a genius kid and he wasn't pushed or allowed to be anymore.

"I know." Cera chocked out softly. "The holes in my rationale became apparent very quickly. It did hurt a great bit, but the only hurt I'm really worried about is Merritt."

With hard eyes, Mary prodded Cera. "I don't know why you couldn't come and tell me. We could've taken care of you. You and Shelly could've had a pretty little wedding. He would have taken good care of you and…Merritt." That really was an odd name for a child and going to take some getting used to.

"I don't think you understand what I was to Sheldon, or rather what I wasn't."

"Now, I know things weren't easy. Things never are with Shelly, but I'm sure y'all could've worked through your little differences." Mary wasn't getting a satisfactory reason for the girl to have kept her from her grandchild. To keep Sheldon from his child.

"Mary, I wouldn't...marry a man out of...obligation. Nor have I ever needed someone to take care of me. Especially financially. However, the last time I saw Sheldon, things were much more…dire than petty differences, so none of that was ever a possibility."

"Oh, well…" Mary drew up short. There was something she was missing, but she had a pretty good idea the answer lay with her son. She moved over to Sheldon, who still wouldn't meet her eye.

"This is not something I expected from you. Explain this to me."

"I, uh, the thing…"

"Sheldon Lee Cooper!"

"It was an experiment. I wanted…I needed to know. Once….once I knew, it was done…so we stopped. I stopped."

"Why did that girl feel like she couldn't share your child with us?"

"Uh, recently it has come to my attention that I may have been, uh inconsiderate in the phrasing of my conclusion of the…" Sheldon didn't want to admit to his newly discovered feelings on the matter. Especially to his mother.

"English, Shelly."

"I was…mean to her. She went outside the terms of the agreement and I was…intimidated." Able to read her son better than most, she could see something he rarely displayed-regret. She wasn't certain if it was for Liv or the child, but it was a start.

Knowing Sheldon, Mary imagined he was putting it lightly. He never gave much credit to the effect of his words on people's feelings. In light of this, she owed the girl an apology. She imagined Sheldon left little to reconcile with the large words he entangled with his confusion and anger. In not expecting for Sheldon to ever be in this situation, Mary hadn't really given him any instructions on romance and on proper treatment of a lady.

Meemaw had drawn Cera to her, while Mary spoke with Sheldon. She observed the young lady watch Sheldon interact with his momma. Liv hadn't been this expressive when she was younger, but she could easily see the concern on her face now.

"You're fond of him." Meemaw stated.

"I…always have been." Cera didn't take her eyes of Sheldon through the exchange. She could see him tensing and was fretful. While she was glad to finally have this out, Cera was worried that his family would make an already awkward situation worse.

"He's a strong boy, Liv, he'll be fine. Sometime he just need's the not so gentle prodding of others to see sense." Meemaw patted Cera.

Cera nodded and sighed in relief.

"Tell me about my great-grandbaby."

"Oh, she's great. Smart, funny, beautiful. She just moved up a grade about two months ago. You can meet her. She's in Sheldon's room until we're…done." Cera nodded her head down the hall, making Meemaw grin. Her smiles always reminded Cera of Sheldon's genuine smile. Cera wondered if Meemaw ever forced a smile like Sheldon. Would she resemble Sheldon when he did what Howard and Raj referred to as his 'Kill Batman Smile?' Cera burst out laughing at this thought drawing the attention of the other two.

Making eye contact with Cera, Sheldon felt that her smile meant she was comfortable enough to bring Merritt out for introductions. When he stepped away from his mother and towards Cera, she stood, he assumed for the same reason. She always seemed to have an intuition with him, which he was glad for in this moment. Her presence helped him feel stronger. Helped to ease the hurt and awkwardness of this situation.

Every bit of Mary's anger and disappointment dissolved when Sheldon came out with her granddaughter. The familiar feel of the little girl, Merritt, brought her up short. She could see her own children in that small face, even though the features were edged with the likeness of her mother. Mary had never thought to have such a thing from Sheldon. She had to restrain herself from grabbing the girl into a bear hug, but she feared Merritt may be skittish, like her son.

"Hello Merritt." Mary said warmly, moving slowly to kneel in front of her. "Let me get a look at you. You are lovely. You favor your daddy."

"Thank you, ma'am." Merritt replied politely.

"None of that ma'am business. You call me Nanna or Nan. That's what your cousins call me."

"Nanna?" Merritt sounded confused.

"Yeah, it's what some people call their grandmothers. You know like you call my momma, Honey." Cera put her hand on Merrit shoulder in reassurance.

"Honey? I hadn't heard that one." Meemaw chipped in.

"Yeah, well, momma is far too cool to be just grandma. Dad didn't fare much better either. He goes by Bumpa." Merritt explained.

"Do I have another Bumpa?" Merritt's voice sounded hopeful.

"Sorry baby, George, your daddy's daddy, passed when your daddy was a teenager."

"Oh, I'm sorry daddy." Merritt reached out and squeezed Sheldon's hand. Mary was stunned at the compassion the girl possessed. Even more astounding was that not only did her son not flinch away, but squeezed back. This little girl wasn't a bad a thing.