A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! Here's chapter 50…
..
Amy and Sheldon stood stock still, staring at Leonard.
Sheldon started twitching and Amy noticed this.
"This isn't our place. We have to go." Sheldon spluttered in a panic as he shot back down the stairs.
Amy ran after him and finally caught up.
"Sheldon, what the hell was that! He's only going to ask next time you see him!" She hissed.
"I know. How did he find out? I thought we agreed not to tell anyone!" Sheldon replied. "I have an idea; let's go to my mother's house. She'll welcome us and the babies with open arms and we can live there happily ever after for the rest of our lives."
"Sheldon, snap out of it!" Amy said, "I am not flying all the way to Texas after being home from Florida for only three weeks!"
"Okay…Is next week good for you?"
"No Sheldon. I am not flying whilst I'm pregnant, do you hear me! Not after last time. Flying is too risky."
Sheldon sighed. "How does he know?"
"I have no idea. Let's just go back and speak to him." Amy shrugged. "If he knows somehow, we may as well ask him how he knows."
The two of them trooped back up the stairs and into the apartment, with Sheldon loudly announcing. "Oh, I was right the first time. I blame that lapse in my memory on Amy striking me round the head earlier."
Amy frowned at him, as did Leonard.
"Amy struck you? When?"
"Yes Sheldon… when exactly?" Amy raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, Amy didn't hit me. That was a ruse." Sheldon replied.
"A pretty stupid one!" Leonard crossed his arms. "What's going on with you two? I asked you how the babies were and you freaked out."
Sheldon closed and locked the door. "That's the thing…" He began, before towering over Leonard, folding his own arms. "How do you know?"
"Well let's see…Um, the morning Amy got sick for one thing; it wasn't just the sickness that got me, but also that bullcrap about the Thai food. You don't eat Thai food on Saturday nights, Sheldon! You eat them on Mondays. Also, no offence Amy, but you have gained a little weight after coming back from Florida looking like a supermodel! Uh…Also the three positive pregnancy tests very convincingly hidden in a trash can, and also your new midwife Julie called to confirm your appointment next week, and congratulated you on expecting twins."
Sheldon and Amy blinked, completely stunned into silence.
"Ah…That's pretty conclusive evidence." Sheldon said, pursing his lips.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Leonard asked.
"Us!? Who else have you told?!" Sheldon spluttered.
"Nobody, I was going to leave that up to you. But come on, I live with you. Amy's been acting weird, and don't think I didn't catch you cradling her stomach yesterday when I got home." Leonard raised his eyebrows.
"Oh…You saw that."
"Yes Sheldon, I saw that. No matter how quickly you moved your hand away! I'd already kind of figured it out by then anyway."
"Please, please don't tell anyone!" Sheldon pleaded. "We only just found out ourselves, and after what happened with our last pregnancy, we don't want anything to jinx this one."
Leonard sighed. "I promise I won't tell anyone. You have my word, and I understand that. I just wish you'd told me sooner, I mean we all live under the same roof; it would have been nice to have been told so I could offer to help you guys out if you needed it."
"Is it too late to ask for your help?" Sheldon asked shyly.
"Of course not buddy, you know I'm here for both of you. When have I ever let you down?"
"That's true." Amy finally spoke, "Thank you Leonard. We're sorry we didn't say anything to you…"
Leonard held up his hands. "It's fine. I totally understand; I'd be the same if I was in your position."
"Please promise you won't tell Penny or anyone else?" Amy asked. "We want to wait until it's been 3 months and then we should be in the clear."
"Hmm…I don't know…" Leonard teased.
"Pleeeease Leonard! I'll polish all of your action figures, I'll re-organize your comic books, I'll clean your room for a month!" Sheldon gabbled.
"So…What you're saying is that in return for my silence on the matter, you're willing to be my bitch?" Leonard raised his eyebrows.
"Your bi…Leonard! I would not call it that at all!"
"Say it or else I'll go pay Penny a little visit…"
Sheldon looked between Amy and Leonard, before rolling his eyes and sighing.
"I'm your bitch." He muttered, reluctantly.
"I was only kidding about that." Leonard smiled. "You don't have to do anything for me; I promise not to tell anyone."
Amy hugged him, relieved, as her husband glared at him.
"Thank you Leonard." Sheldon put in at last.
"So…Twins again? How did that happen?" Leonard asked.
Amy shrugged. "Twins run in both sides of our families; more notably in Sheldon's, but also in mine. Every third generation to be exact; I only just found that out, and guess who's the next third generation?"
"Well, it's hard to know for sure, but I'm gonna go with you!" Leonard smiled.
"Yes! That and because I'm just over the age of thirty, am irregular and prone to hyperovulation and also because we have conceived twins before, it's possible to conceive them again. All of those factors!" Amy finished.
"That's incredible!" Leonard shook his head. "I didn't even know that was possible."
"Neither did I." Amy confessed.
"So, Shelly... How are you dealing with this?" Leonard grinned.
Sheldon shrugged. "I'm okay. I mean our offspring will be geniuses like us! How cool is that?"
Leonard frowned. "No I mean in general…How are you coping with the thought of becoming a dad?" He leaned back in his seat, sipping his coffee.
Sheldon didn't say a word.
I'm going to be a dad…
Suddenly it felt too real.
"I um…I need to lie down. It's been a long day." Sheldon said, getting to his feet and walking to the bedroom.
"It's four-thirty and he left work early!" Leonard frowned.
Amy's heart plummeted. "That's not it Leonard." She replied sadly, "I think he's just realized that this isn't fantasy any more, or just a case of making babies now. This is it…its happening." Her eyes brimmed with tears, and Leonard scooted over to the couch to comfort her.
"We all know what he's thinking now, don't we?" Amy sobbed. "He's regretting this."
"But he was fine with it earlier." Leonard frowned.
"You asked him how he's coping with the thought of being a dad." Amy replied.
"Yeah…?"
"Exactly. Calling him the father is one thing; he is the father of my children, but calling him a dad is…Its too real, and now he's going to freak out, demand I terminate them and probably avoid me forever."
"Oh God, I see…" Leonard bit his lip. "I'll go talk to him. Be right back."
..
Leonard walked into Sheldon's room, and found his best friend sat on the edge of his bed, sorting through his shirts.
"You didn't knock, Leonard." Sheldon remarked without turning his head.
"How did you know it was me?"
"I know how you sound when you walk. If it was Amy, she'd be light footed. You just kind of shuffle along."
"Oh…" Leonard frowned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So…Sorting through your shirts, huh?"
Sheldon turned to raise an eyebrow at his friend. "Yes. Why?"
"Amy's upset; she's crying." Leonard said, softly.
Sheldon shot to his feet, his eyes wide. "Why is she upset? Today is a good day! Did something happen? Is she okay? Are the babies okay? Is she.."
"One question at a time." Leonard interrupted. "The babies are fine, but Amy thinks you're freaking out."
"I am not freaking out. I'm sorting my clothes."
"You're rearranging what order you're going to wear them in." Leonard replied, "You did this before when we told you that we'd bought new stools for the kitchen island last year."
"They were a whole two milometers taller than the last ones!" Sheldon replied defensively, "And I only came in here to sort my shirts out then because I felt I needed a change."
Leonard cocked an eyebrow. "So what's your excuse this time?"
Sheldon said nothing.
"Is it because I asked how you're coping with becoming a dad?" Leonard asked softly.
He saw Sheldon flinch.
"Would it be easier if I asked you how you're coping with becoming a father?" Leonard tried.
Sheldon sighed. "Actually, yes…The whole 'dad' thing is too…It reminds me of my dad. He failed us, and I don't want to do the same thing. I mean, I'm still a little emotionally impaired aren't I?"
"You're a lot of things impaired." Leonard sighed, sitting next to Sheldon, who had sat back down again. "But you've come on leaps and bounds these past few months. You wanted children with Amy!"
"I know, but…What if I mess up like my dad did? Amy will be alone with two children, and I don't want that."
"Why would she be alone Sheldon? Would you leave her?"
"No…She would leave me."
"Sheldon, what's really the difference between being called 'father' or 'dad'? It doesn't make you a bad person. Being called 'dad' by your kids doesn't mean you'll screw up, and Amy won't leave you."
Sheldon sighed.
"We were the only kids in the neighborhood who called our father 'dad'. In fact he insisted upon it, otherwise he'd yell at us to 'stop being so damn soft'. All the other kids called their fathers 'pop', or 'pa'. Those kids had normal, happy families. We had a drunk who cheated on our mother and was abusive after he'd had a few." He said quietly. "He influenced my brother George to be exactly like him. Missy shows some of his characteristics, like the gallivanting with various sexual partners. Surely that must mean I'm flawed too?"
"Maybe you are," Leonard shrugged, "Bu the fact that you're worrying about it, and worrying whether the fact your kids calling you 'dad' will make you a bad person like your dad, shows that you really aren't like him at all."
Sheldon gave a small smile.
"Besides I really don't see you being drunk at the wheel or shacking up with other women!" Leonard snorted. "And I definitely don't see you being violent towards Amy; hell you apologised to her for an accidental sexual injury! What does that tell you?"
"That tells me that these walls are thinner than I thought." Sheldon replied with a frown, "And I suppose that a term of endearment won't necessarily result in me being an aggressive, alcohol addict with an overactive sex drive, and need for the attention of slutty women."
"There you go." Leonard said softly, "Now I think you need to explain all this to Amy. She thinks you don't want the babies now because this is all too real."
"It is real." Sheldon replied, "But I'm not worried about that. Of course I want them! They're my babies too."
He stood up and opened the door, before pausing.
"Thank you Leonard." He said quietly.
"You're welcome." Leonard smiled, watching his friend walk over to Amy and plant a kiss on her lips.