A month after Amy shared her exciting news with Sheldon, she was enjoying a warm afternoon with Penny, Bernadette, and their kids in the Wolowitz backyard. Amy had reverted to wearing her bulkier sweaters over the past two weeks to hide the tightness of her blouses and dresses due to her growing twins. Feeling the warmth of the sun, Amy slipped her cardigan from her shoulders as Theo climbed into her lap. He took longer than usual to get comfortable against her, "Are you tired, buddy?" she asked.

"Yeah," the toddler nodded, finally settling against her. "Your tummy is fat," he noted for the first time.

Bernadette and Penny's eyes immediately tracked to their friend's midsection. "Do you want some juice?" the brunette quickly changed the topic. "Let's go inside and find you some juice."

"You don't think she's pregnant, do you?" questioned Bernadette, watching Amy grab Theo's sippy cup and make her way inside to fill it.

"I don't know?" Penny shrugged. "I mean, I know she and Sheldon discussed it, but I would think she'd be so excited about it they wouldn't be able to keep it to themselves. It just about killed Leonard not telling everyone I was pregnant. Maybe Sheldon is freaking out about it. That's why I wanted to wait to say anything; I wasn't sure how I felt about becoming a mother. They've already got Levi and Theo, maybe that's complicating their feelings about having a baby."

Nodding in agreement, Bernadette opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when Amy opened the door to rejoin the group in the backyard. "Amy, we want to have a girls' night this week. We haven't had one since before Christmas and there's a new wine bar in Burbank we want to check out."

"Uh, let me check with Sheldon and get back to you for a good night. Levi is starting Cub Scouts and I don't remember what night it's on. I'll let you know at dinner tomorrow."

Amy picked up takeout on their way home, not feeling like cooking that night and certain Sheldon hadn't prepared anything while they were with their friends. Having joined his wife in unpacking the bag of food, Sheldon asked, "How was your afternoon? Thanks again for getting Levi and Theo out of the house, Leonard and I were able to get a lot done this afternoon."

"The boys love playing with Halley and Michael, so it was a good afternoon. Although, I think Penny and Bernadette might suspect I'm pregnant. We should probably tell everyone tomorrow at dinner." Sheldon tilted his head, silently asking why she had that thought while continuing to prepare plates for their nephews. "Theo was sitting in my lap at one point and I'd taken my sweater off because it was so nice out. He commented that my stomach is fat. I took him inside to get some juice and when I came back outside, Penny and Bernadette were whispering. They quickly asked about having a girls' night when they saw me."

Placing the plates he'd been preparing on the table, Sheldon commented, "It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. I've managed to keep this a secret for almost a month. Are we going to tell the boys first? Or do you want to surprise them with everyone tomorrow?"

"Levi and Theo need to know first. Let's tell them during dinner. We should probably also tell our parents."

"You've barely talked to your mother since we had her and your father over for dinner last year," Sheldon crossed the kitchen, stopped in front of his wife, and placed his hands on her lower abdomen. "Are you worried about her reaction?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders, "I'm hoping she'll be more receptive to this than she was to Levi and Theo. Maybe I call my dad first and tell him. I know he'll be excited for us and I don't want my mom's reaction to ruin his. We know your mom and Meemaw will be ecstatic."

Interrupting the moment between their aunt and uncle, Levi and Theo ran into the kitchen, "We're hungry. Is it time to eat?"

"Yep," Amy answered. "Have a seat."

Levi and Theo chattered throughout dinner about their afternoon, filling Sheldon in on everything they did while playing with Halley and Michael. Nearing the end of their meal, Sheldon drew their attention to himself and Amy. "Can Aunt Amy and I talk to you before we finish eating?" When they looked across the table at the adults, Sheldon reached for Amy's hand under the table.

"We want the two of you to be the first to know that I'm pregnant with twins."

"Okay?" Levi replied, not sounding very excited about the new family members.

Sheldon sensed his nephew's confusion and jumped in, explaining, "Aunt Amy is going to have two babies this summer, probably just a few weeks before you go back to school."

Theo slid from his chair, making his way to the opposite side of the table, while his older brother remained still. Reaching for Amy to lift him onto her lap, Theo asked, "Baby?"

"Yes. We're going to have two babies," she nodded before patting her stomach. "That's why my tummy is getting bigger, the babies are in there."

"Where are Theo and me going to go?" came Levi's question.

Shaking his head, Sheldon quickly answered, "You're not going anywhere. Why would you think us having babies means you have to go somewhere?"

"I don't know," the seven-year-old shrugged his shoulders while avoiding eye contact with the man. "I thought you might not want us after you have babies of your own."

Sheldon stood from his seat, made his way around the table, and knelt next to his nephew. "Aunt Amy and I will never not want you and Theo just because we're having twins. We want to be a family forever, right?" Levi slowly nodded his head in agreement. "Besides, you're going to have a really important job after the babies are born. You're going to have to teach Theo how to be as good of a big brother to the babies as you are to him. Do you think you'll be good at that?"

Suddenly reaching out, Levi hugged Sheldon while answering, "I can do that."

Amy joined Sheldon in the living room after tucking Levi and Theo into bed for the night. Sheldon sensed her anxiety as she stared at her phone before dropping it on the coffee table in front of her. "Hey," he called her attention to him. "It will be okay. As you said earlier, your dad will be happy for us, as will my mom and Meemaw. I know you're worried about your mother's reaction, but maybe she'll surprise us. Would you be feeling this way about telling her if this were a year ago?"

"I guess not," the neurobiologist quietly replied, shrugging her shoulders and reaching for her phone. She quickly scrolled her contacts, selecting Larry Fowler from the list. Placing it on speaker, she waited for him to answer. "Hi, dad."

"Pumpkin! This is a nice surprise," Larry excitedly said into the phone.

Hearing her father smile through the phone brought one to her face, "You're on speaker phone. Sheldon is here, too."

"This sounds important. Should I get your mother?"

"That's not needed, Larry," Sheldon chimed in. "We'll talk to her in a few minutes."

Sheldon nodded, prompting Amy to share their news. "Um, our family is growing. Sheldon and I are having twins."

Larry clasped his hands over his mouth to not alert his wife to his excitement, "That's wonderful! Tell me everything. When can we expect them? Are Levi and Theo excited? Do you know if it's boys or girls yet?"

"My due date is August seventeenth. We told the boys during dinner. I don't know if Theo really understood what we were saying, but I think he'll be more excited once we start getting all the baby stuff we're going to need. Levi is a bit more apprehensive. His biggest concern seemed to be that we wouldn't want him and Theo anymore. Sheldon talked to him and he's doing a little better; I'm sure he'll come around more as it gets closer and he sees this doesn't change anything for them."

Chiming in, Sheldon shared, "We won't know if it's boys or girls for a little over a month, but we know that we do want to find out what they are."

"Well, I can't wait to be a grandpa. Let me know if you need anything. I know your friends watch Levi and Theo for you a lot, but I'm more than willing to help whenever you need," Larry offered. "I won't keep you so you can tell your mother."

"Thanks, dad," Amy sighed, resting her head against Sheldon's shoulder as she ended the call with her father. "Do I have to call my mother?"

Twisting his torso to hug Amy, he whispered, "Yes. We need to do this so your dad doesn't accidentally tell her. That will only make things between the two of you worse. I'll make you some tea and we can go to bed early as soon as we hang up." Sheldon slipped Amy's phone from her hand, searching for her mother in the contacts list. "Here," he handed it back to her after selecting his mother-in-law's number and placing the phone on speaker.

Mrs. Fowler sounded surprised upon answering the phone, "Amy. What can I do for you? Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"No, mom, nothing's wrong. Sheldon and the boys are all fine; Sheldon's right here, actually. I just talked to daddy. You're going to be a grandma this summer." Amy paused for her mother to respond. When she was only met with silence, the woman continued, "We're having twins."

"You told your father before me?" A hint of sadness came through the phone.

Sensing this could quickly go south, Sheldon jumped in, "We're sorry for not telling the two of you together, but honestly, we weren't sure what reaction we might get from you and we knew Larry would be excited for us."

"Oh, no, I understand," Mrs. Fowler. "What's going to happen with Levi and Theo when you have the babies?"

Without realizing she was doing it, Amy silently grasped Sheldon's hand in her own, squeezing his fingers to the point of pain for him, "Nothing's going to happen with them, mother. Until their dad decides differently, they're staying here and will continue to be a part of our family. We don't plan on having two babies be the reason anything has to change for them."

Mrs. Fowler was silent again, "I just thought, you know what, it doesn't matter what I thought. Um, I'm getting another call. I need to go."

Amy stared at the phone in her hand after her mother ended the call, "I think we hurt her feelings by telling her we told my dad first. Maybe we should've told them together."

"We can't change it now. We've got until August to smooth things over with her; I'm sure everything will work out by then. Do you want to call my mom tonight or wait until tomorrow?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "Let's call now."

I finished the last chapter earlier this week, but I have decided on adding an epilogue, so I'll be working on that this weekend. I'll probably bump up to posting three times a week instead of my usual twice a week, but that will depend on my work schedule. I'm starting a new show this week and every production has a different performance schedule. By the time I get used to the new schedule, the show is closing, so it's hard to gauge what my schedule will be.