Mary was making the rounds of family and friends at the luncheon following her daughter's funeral. Gasping when she saw who was seated at the next table, "Thank you so much for coming. You didn't have to, but I appreciate you making the trip. I know Sheldon and Amy do, as well."

"Sheldon and Amy would be there for us," Raj volunteered for the group.

Penny agreed, "Sheldon might not be thrilled about having to make the trip, but he'd be there. It felt wrong to not be here for them, for all of you."

Howard and Bernadette remained quiet when Leonard chimed in, "They need to head home tomorrow, but Penny and I are going to stay a few extra days. Just in case you need something. We don't know, we thought it might be helpful if we were close."

"That's so sweet of you. We'll be sure to let you know if we need anything," excusing herself from the group, she continued, "It's been wonderful to see all of you again, but I should keep moving. Lots of people here I haven't talked to yet."

The group bid farewell to Mary and talked amongst themselves until Amy appeared with Theo clutching her hand. "Hi. Everyone, this is Theo." Amy dropped into the empty chair at the table next to Bernadette. As she did so, Theo reached his arms up, wanting to sit in her lap.

"Hi, Theo," Bernadette greeted the one-year-old. "You wanna sit with me?" She reached toward the boy to lift him onto her lap.

"No!" He yelled, getting the attention of everyone in earshot.

Amy quickly pulled him onto her lap, "Mary says he's not usually like this, but he's been clinging to me for the past week." She rocked the boy against her, smoothing the hair on the back of his head. "I don't mind, though. I think I need the cuddles as much as he does."

"Who's that by Levi?" Howard points across the room. "Levi has completely ignored everyone since that man walked in."

"That's Ricky. He's the boys' dad. It's the first time Levi's seen him in months, so that doesn't surprise me he's sticking close to him. Once he started to understand that Missy isn't coming home, he started asking to see his dad," Amy watched her husband out of the corner of her eye.

Amy spent most of the afternoon with their friends and Theo, while Sheldon did his best to stay close to Levi and Ricky. People were starting to leave when Sheldon made his way to join his friends. "Can I speak to you?" he directed the question at his wife. Amy nodded and excused herself from the table, holding a now sleeping Theo against her. "Ricky spoke to me a little while ago. He asked if he can talk to everyone about the boys. He wanted to do it today, but I convinced him it would be best to wait until tomorrow. I don't know what he's going to say."

"I'm sure it will be okay. He is their father, so he gets to make the decision, but we've discussed both ways this could play out. Whatever happens tomorrow, it will clear up the uncertainty we've been living in for the past week and a half," Amy tried to reassure her husband, but she suspected he was as nervous as she was about what was going to happen the next day. "But tonight, we're going to take the boys home and watch a movie and make popcorn and try to give them a good memory of the day."

After Sheldon and Amy mentioned what they were doing to Leonard and Penny, the couple quickly volunteered to keep an eye on Levi and Theo so the conversation they needed to have could be had without little ears listening. "Can I get anyone anything? Coffee or tea, perhaps?" Mary offered, watching Ricky relax on the end of her couch and the rest of her family sitting uneasily around the living room.

"We're fine, mom," Georgie motioned for Mary to sit in the empty chair next to him.

Ricky broke the silence, "Missy never stopped talking about how smart you are, Sheldon. She always wished we were smart like that, especially for Levi and Theo. She never wanted them to think we were dumb. She told me about the agreement she and Sheldon made when she went to California for your wedding last year."

Interrupting his former brother-in-law, Georgie questioned, "What agreement?"

"The one I told you about at the hospital. Amy and I would take care of the boys if she and Ricky were unable to," Sheldon rolled his eyes at how oblivious his brother could be at times.

"Anyways," continued Ricky, ignoring the interaction between the brothers. "I'm between jobs right now and I'm less than a month sober. I've been crashing on my brother's couch most of the past year. I'm trying to find a job, but I'm not having much luck once they check my references from my old job, which I was fired from because of my drinking. I can't get my own place without a way to pay for it. I can't have the boys sleeping on my brother's living room floor. I think it would be best for all of us if Levi and Theo went home with Sheldon and Amy. At least until the summer."

Mary's jaw dropped, "Why didn't you tell us how much you were struggling sooner? I'm sure we could have figured something out to help you."

"I didn't want to bother you. If I'm not back up on my feet by this summer, we can figure out what would be best for them on a more permanent basis. I know this arrangement would mean Levi has to start a new school in the middle of the year, but he's only in kindergarten and he makes friends easily. He definitely gets that from Missy. She could make friends with everyone, everywhere she went."

"Are you sure about this?" inquired Amy, reaching for Sheldon's hand.

Ricky nodded, "It's what Missy wanted. She said the two of you should be responsible for them if we're unable to. It's obvious why she's not able to, but it wouldn't be good for them to stay with me."

Subtly squeezing his wife's hand between them, Sheldon spoke, "We're all in agreement then? Levi and Theo are coming home with Amy and me whenever we leave?"

The room was silent as each person silently nodded. "I'll call that social worker that called and find out if there's anything we need to do or if you're able to just take the boys with you when you're ready to go home," offered Mary.

"I would like to see them one more time before you leave. Is that okay? Once we know when you're leaving, can I see them?" Ricky asked, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Of course," Amy answered for herself and Sheldon. "You're their father. We'd never keep you from them. We'll let you know if we come to visit and you can see them whenever you want while we're here. You're also welcome to come to California to see them."