Amy lounged in one of the chairs in the backyard, with Penny and Bernadette occupying two of the other three chairs. "I'm serious, we don't need a big baby shower. You know Sheldon hates that kind of stuff."

"But the twins are your first babies," protested Penny. "Bernadette and I both had baby showers. Let us spoil you and those babies. We can send Sheldon out with the guys and they can take the kids for the afternoon."

Chiming in, Bernadette suggested, "What if we make it a baby shower slash adoption party for Levi and Theo?"

"No. We don't know how long it's going to take, with all of the paperwork, social workers, and home visits. We don't want to do anything that might jinx it," Amy shot down the shorter woman's suggestion.

"Nothing's going to jinx it, but fine. Can we do something for the boys when you do adopt them?" inquired Penny.

Opening her mouth to reply, Amy was distracted by the Ring app on her phone alerting her to someone at the front door. Glancing at the screen to see who was there, she mumbled, "It's my mother."

"What?" Penny snatched the phone from her best friend's hand. "What's she doing here? I didn't think you'd seen her since you went off on her last year?"

"I haven't. We've spoken a few times, but it's usually about the weather and never anything important, except when I told her I was pregnant. I don't have a clue why she's here," Amy's hands suddenly flew to her mouth. "What if something happened to my dad and she's here to tell me in person?"

Sliding her chair back from the table, Bernadette offered, "Want me to see what she wants?"

Amy stopped her, "No, I'll go. Hopefully, this will be quick."

Amy approached the front door and saw her mother standing on the front porch, clutching what appeared to be two gift bags in her hands. She took a breath and opened the door. "Hello, mother. What are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you in over a year. I know you've seen your father and I hate what happened when you and Sheldon had us over for dinner. Larry filled me in on the latest that's happened with Levi and Theo," Mrs. Fowler stated, confirmed by a nod and smile from her daughter. "I want to be a part of their lives: Levi, Theo, and the twins, if you'll let me."

"Wow," was all Amy could manage to squeak out before stepping back, inviting her mother inside, "Come in. Why don't you make yourself comfortable and I'll be back in a minute? Penny and Bernadette are outside; let me tell them you're here and I won't be back for a little while." Amy quickly excused herself, explaining to her friends and agreeing one of them should come in after a little while to check on them. Upon her return to the living room, she found her mother examining the family pictures she and Sheldon had recently taken with Levi and Theo, which were on the shelf under the television. Clearing her throat, she made her presence known. "Do you want something to drink? Water or tea?"

Mrs. Fowler quickly shook her head, "No, I don't need anything. I'm sorry for coming over unannounced and interrupting your afternoon with your friends."

Brushing off her mother's apology, Amy let her know, "It's okay, but don't be surprised if one or both of them come inside in a little while. You said dad told you about Levi and Theo's father giving up his rights and you want to be a part of their lives?"

"Yes. If you and Sheldon are okay with it. I upset you at dinner last year, so I understand completely if you want me to have nothing to do with them."

Amy shook her head, "No. I think they should know who you are. But, if you're a part of their lives, not only Levi and Theo, but also the twins," she rested her hand on her stomach, "will you keep your opinions to yourself and let Sheldon and I raise them the way we see fit?"

Quickly agreeing, Mrs. Fowler offered an apology of sorts, "I'll do whatever you want. I've realized you don't agree with the way I raised you and looking back, I see a lot of things I could have done differently. Your father and I wanted a baby for so long and experienced several losses before we had you. I didn't want anything to happen to you. I was trying to protect you from everything bad in the world."

"You were doing what you thought was best for me. That's all Sheldon and I want to do for our kids. And it's probably going to look very different from what you think is best."

"I know they're not, but Levi and Theo are practically my grandchildren and I don't even know them. I've spent all of one meal with them. I'd like to get to know them. I made them something," she motioned to the gift bags near her feet.

The younger woman smiled at the gesture. "With Ricky giving up his rights, Sheldon and I are starting the adoption process for Levi and Theo, so they'll be your grandchildren. We're waiting on paperwork and lawyers and a judge to sign off on everything."

"Then, I guess you could call these a welcome-to-the-family gift," Mrs. Fowler set the bags on the coffee table. "I'd like to make something for the twins. Your father claims to not know what you're having but I think he's just keeping it to himself."

Amy sighed, shaking her head, "He's known for a while that it's two girls. He also knows we're naming them Sadie and Melissa."

Mrs. Fowler suddenly engulfed her daughter in a hug. "Sadie and Melissa. Those are lovely names."

She was relaxing again when Penny appeared in the doorway from the kitchen, "Sorry for interrupting. I was getting a bottle of water and wanted to say hi before heading back outside."

"Oh, Penny, hello," Mrs. Fowler welcomed her into the living room. "How are you? Did I hear that you had a baby recently?"

"I'm good. Leonard and I have a daughter. Maya is eight months old and into anything she can get into. Do you want to see a picture?" Penny was already pulling her phone from her pocket and opening the photos to show off her daughter. Allowing Mrs. Fowler to scroll through a few, Penny informed her best friend, "Oh yeah, Leonard texted that they're trying to wrangle the kids to leave, so they'll probably be back soon. I'm going back outside. It was good seeing you again, Mrs. Fowler."

With the update on the ETA of her husband and their boys, Amy asked, "Do you want to wait for the boys to get back from the park and give them your gifts yourself? Sheldon's pretty efficient at getting them to leave the park, so I'd guess they'll be here in less than ten minutes."

Mrs. Fowler studied Amy's face for a moment before agreeing, "Only if you're sure it's okay."

"It's fine, mom. I'm sure they'll be excited to see you again."

"Hello," Sheldon stepped into the living room.

Mrs. Fowler looked up from the pictures of Levi and Theo Amy had been showing her. Crossing the room, she opened her arms, "It's so good to see you, Sheldon."

"It's good to see you, too," he replied, questioning Amy with his eyes over the shoulder of his mother-in-law. As she released her embrace, he stated, "The boys are outside with everyone else. I, uh, wasn't sure if it was all right for them to come in when I heard you were here."

Amy slowly got up from the end of the couch, "It's okay. I'll have them come in." She opened the back door and felt the eyes of all of their friends on her. "Levi, Theo, can you come here?" When the boys met her on the back porch, she knelt to their level, "My mom is here and she'd like to meet you, if you're okay with that." The boys eagerly nodded their heads and led the way inside. From behind them as they entered the living room, Amy shared, "This is my mom. You might remember her, she came over for dinner not long after you came to live with me and Sheldon."

"What do we call her?" Levi looked over his shoulder at the woman who'd been taking care of him for over the past year.

"My name is Ruth. I know you call Amy's dad Mr. Larry; it's okay with me if you call me Ruth."

Levi was quiet, thinking before replying to Mrs. Fowler's suggestion. "Gramma is dad's mom. Since you're mom's mom, does that mean you're our gramma, too?"

Mrs. Fowler was stunned by this question and didn't know what to say until she saw Amy nodding her head behind the boys, "I am."

"Then I'm gonna call you gramma Ruth," the seven-year-old said matter of factly.

"Oh, okay," Mrs. Fowler's voice hitched. "I would be honored for you to call me gramma Ruth."

Suddenly, Theo ran across the room, reaching for the gift bags next to the couch. "Presents!"

"Theo," Sheldon reminded the toddler, "You don't know if that's for you. Why don't you ask before taking it?"

"It's okay, Theo. That's for you. And this one is for you, Levi," Mrs. Fowler held the other bag in the direction of the older boy.

The boys each lifted an afghan from the bag in front of them, bringing a smile to Amy's face. "They're just like mine. I had it over the couch in my apartment for years. It's on the couch in Sheldon's office upstairs now."

"Your grandmother made that for you when you were a baby, Amy. She made one for each of her grandchildren. I wanted to continue that tradition."

"Thank you, gramma Ruth," Levi dropped his new blanket and wrapped his arms around the woman, with Theo following suit.

Watching this interaction from across the room, Sheldon leaned over, whispering to his wife, "You're sure about this?"

"Yeah. We talked. I'll tell you everything later. It's going to take some time, but I think we'll be fine."