"Birthday!" Theo squealed running from the room he and Levi had been sharing to the master bedroom.
Amy intercepted him at the door, "There's the big boy! We're having your birthday party here today, but your actual birthday isn't for a few days. We're going to Texas to see gramma, Meemaw, and Uncle Georgie for your birthday."
"I tried telling him to be quiet, but he wouldn't listen," Levi sleepily shuffled into the hallway.
"That's okay," she offered her nephew a smile, combing her fingers through his disheveled hair. "I was already awake. Uncle Sheldon is downstairs. Why don't you ask him to make you breakfast?"
Levi turned in the direction of the stairs before turning back, "I think Theo pooped. He's really smelly."
"Thanks. I'll take care of him, then we'll join you for breakfast," Amy shooed the boy downstairs, chuckling to herself. "I come on, poopy boy, let's change your diaper. You're almost two, don't you want to use the big boy potty like Levi?"
Fighting the diaper change, Theo shook his head, "No, no potty."
"We'll talk to gramma and find out when your brother was potty trained. Because, contrary to what you might think, this is not my favorite part of my day," Amy quickly changed the toddler, setting him on the floor when she was done. "Go find your brother and Uncle Sheldon."
"Penny's water had better not break while she's here," Sheldon whispered loudly to Leonard not long after he and Penny arrived for Theo's birthday party.
Scowling at his former roommate, Leonard hissed back, "Don't worry about it. The doctor said she's still got a few weeks. Nugget seems comfortable staying right where she is."
"Okay, but if her doctor is wrong, you're cleaning it before leaving."
"Amy," Leonard noticed the neurobiologist had entered the living room. "I am so sorry for the way this one is going to act whenever you get pregnant."
Confused by Leonard's comment, Amy brushed it off, turning her attention to their friends. "Sheldon & I just want to thank all of you for your help since Christmas. We don't know what the future will bring or if we'll be planning more birthday celebrations for Levi & Theo, but we love having everyone together today for Theo."
Penny rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Can we get going with the cake already? Nugget is hungry."
"Still calling it nugget? When are you going to tell us the name you picked?" Whined Bernadette.
"No one except us," Penny motioned between herself & Leonard, "will know nugget's name until after she's born."
Sheldon, Amy, Levi, and Theo were back in Texas a week later. Mary planned a small get-together for Theo's birthday, including Meemaw, Georgie, Georgie's latest girlfriend, and to everyone's surprise, Ricky made an appearance late in the afternoon. Much like his appearance at Missy's funeral, Levi stuck close to his father starting the second he saw him. Sheldon wanted to remain within earshot of the pair, but his wife and mother were able to convince him to give them time to themselves.
"How was school this year?" Ricky awkwardly asked the six-year-old.
Levi shrugged his shoulders, answering, "It was good," while kicking his legs under him. "Uncle Sheldon and Aunt Amy said me and Theo are going to stay with them and not come live with you."
"That's right. At least for a little while longer, anyway. Is that okay?"
"Are we going to stay with them forever?" Levi ignored his father's question.
Ricky put his arm around Levi's shoulders and pulled him into his lap. "I don't know. I want to do better for you and Theo, but it's really hard. All your mom and I want is for you and Theo to be happy and safe. I know you're safe with them. If you knew you were going to be with them forever, would that make you happy?"
Quiet for a few minutes, Levi contemplated his response. "I don't think it will make me happier than my last birthday cuz mommy took me to Chuck E Cheese, but I am pretty happy at their house. I miss you when I'm there."
"I miss you, too. And I miss Theo."
Twisting to see Ricky's face, Levi shared, "Sometimes Theo calls Aunt Amy and Uncle Sheldon mommy and daddy. If we stay with them forever, could I call them mommy and daddy? They said I can decide, but I don't know if I want to."
"If you want to, I'd be okay with that. And I think your mom would be too. I don't want you to feel like anyone is forcing you to, though. You've got plenty of time to think about it. Sheldon and Amy and I agreed you're probably going to stay with them until Christmastime, then we'll decide what happens next," Ricky opened his mouth to continue his thought, but was cut off by Levi wrapping his arms around him.
"I love you, daddy."
Ricky smiled over the boy's shoulder, returning the embrace, "I love you, too."
Releasing his grip around his father, Levi questioned, "Can you come see my room at Uncle Sheldon's house? I was going to have my own room, but Theo got scared when he was alone so I decided to share with him."
"We can ask Sheldon and Amy if I can visit and see your room."
The next morning, Amy left her phone in Mary's living room while getting Levi and Theo dressed for the day. "Amy," Sheldon called to her from across the house. "Why is Leonard FaceTiming you?"
"I don't know. Answer it for me. I'll be there in a minute," she shouted back.
Sheldon quickly accepted the video call from his former roommate and found it was Penny. "Hello, Penny. Why are you calling Amy from Leonard's phone?" Before she could respond, he noticed she wasn't in apartment 4A or at work. "Where are you?"
"Just get Amy," she sighed, glancing down. Sheldon made his way to the guest room where Amy was with the boys. Handing the phone off, Penny grinned when she saw her best friend. "Hey, Ames."
"Hi. What's up?"
Penny moved the phone down for Amy to see what she was holding. "Oh, nothing. Just wanted you to meet someone."
"What?" Squealed the brunette. "When? Why didn't you call?"
"We didn't tell anyone. It was the middle of the night and I forgot my phone. She was born less than four hours after we got to the hospital. We were going to call everyone in the morning to let you know she was on her way, but she got here before we could do that."
Leaning over his wife's shoulder, Sheldon chimed in, "Congratulations. What's her name so you can stop calling her nugget?"
"Her name is Maya," Leonard moved into the frame. "She was born at 5:23 this morning. Twenty inches long, seven pounds, eleven ounces."
"Baby?" Theo asked, climbing into Amy's lap.
"Yep," Amy shifted the phone for Theo to see the newborn whom Penny was angling the camera towards again. "Levi, do you want to see Penny and Leonard's baby?"
The older boy glanced at the phone before running out of the room, leaving his brother still in his aunt's arms.
Penny turned Leonard's phone back to herself. "I know you were hoping to be here to meet her right away. The doctor said I can probably go home either tomorrow evening or first thing the next morning, so we'll be home by the time you guys get back. You can stop by the apartment on your way home from the airport if you want. Bernadette is stopping after work. I think Raj and Howard are coming too."
Smiling through the phone, Amy reassured her best friend. "It's okay. Let us know when they let you go home. And send some pictures so we can show Mary."
With that, the friends ended their FaceTime. Theo momentarily snuggled into Amy before pushing away from her and running off to find Levi, leaving Amy and Sheldon alone. Amy pushed the door closed behind the toddler, "How do you feel about having a baby? I know I wanted to wait until we knew what was going to happen for Levi and Theo, but after being here and talking with Ricky, I know everything's going to work out and the boys are going to be fine, no matter where they end up."
"Of course, they were going to be fine. They're Missy's kids, she was one of the most resilient people I know. She could bounce back from anything," Sheldon paused, taking a step towards Amy and wrapping his arms around her. "And yes, I'd love to have a baby."
Amy returned her husband's hug. "We're gonna have a baby."
"I'll update the coitus schedule to coincide with when you're most fertile."
"Don't. Let's keep what we've been doing, maybe we're just a little less careful. I like the way you look at me and act when it's on your schedule for that evening. I don't want it to be predictable. It feels spontaneous to me the way it is now. But," she hesitated before continuing her thought, "if you want to adjust it to be more frequent, I wouldn't complain."
Squinting his eyes and slightly shaking his head, Sheldon mumbled to himself, "You're a vixen, Amy Farrah Fowler."