Author's Note: Enormous apologies for the huge delay in updating this story. Between travelling overseas, a seemingly never ending sinus infection, and the general craziness of life, I didn't get around to finishing this chapter until recently.

Thank you to everyone who has patiently watied for this chapter and who has followed, favorited, and/or reviewed my prevoius chapters. Also, thanks once again to mphs95 for reviewing and providing her insight! I promise I'll have the next chapter up much sooner!

August 2023

The week following Amy and Meera's meeting was a quiet one. The Hofstadter's were away on their annual summer vacation in Nebraska visiting Penny's family, and for the first time since her return, Amy found herself without plans for the weekend.

With Ginny's birthday just two weeks away, Amy decided perhaps an early birthday trip was in order. Browsing online Friday night for options, she finally settled on a trip to the zoo. It seemed like the perfect idea; both children were at the stage where they were fascinated with learning about different animal species, and Amy had always wanted to take the kids to the small zoo in Boston, but with her and Andrew's busy schedules, they had never gotten around to going.

Saturday morning rolled around, and as expected, the children were ecstatic when Amy informed them of the last minute plans. As they ran whooping and hollering through the house, Amy'd had to use every ounce of patience in her body to not raise her voice as she pleaded with them to finish their breakfast lest they not go.

Arriving at the zoo, Ginny and Charlie quickly began heading towards an argument over which exhibits to see first. Amy was thankful that she'd studied the zoo map the night before in order to maneuver them through the typical public attraction chaos.

Stepping between them, Amy opened the map and showed them that the path around the zoo was designed as a big circle, guaranteeing that no exhibit would be missed. Promising them a ride on the carousel at the end of the day if they behaved, Amy guided them towards the first exhibit.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Amy was beaming as she watched her children continue to be mesmerized by each new exhibit. While she hadn't particularly enjoyed the reptile and amphibian lair, the children had been fascinated that so many colourful and interesting species existed. Charlie had attempted to ask for a pet snake for his next birthday which Amy had quickly denied, along with his second attempt requesting an iguana.

Next, they made their way to the Australian section just in time for the keeper talk on marsupials. All three were in awe of the tiny koala the keeper held as he relayed facts about the animal.

Breezing past the warthogs, wild dogs, and deer, as both children agreed that these animals were "boring and ugly", they finally arrived at the more recognizable African animals. After a short time ogling the zebras, Charlie sprinted off towards the next exhibit, rushing up to the tall fenced enclosure.

"Mommy, look! Monkeys!"

Running up alongside her brother, Ginny corrected him, smiling smugly at another opportunity to prove that she was smarter. "Charlie, those aren't monkeys. They're orangutans. They're part of the great ape family, not the monkey family. It's easy to tell because they don't have tails like monkeys and they're lots bigger."

Despite being two years younger, Charlie was quickly catching up to his sister intellectually. The local school board had offered to place him in first grade a year early, but Amy had declined, worried about how it would affect his emotional and social development.

Scowling at his sister, Charlie looked to Amy who nodded in confirmation.

As they went back to ogle over the mother orangutan with her baby, Amy heard a familiar voice.

"That's very good little lady. I see your mother has taught you well."

Turning, Amy and the children looked to see Sheldon standing a few feet behind them.

"Sheldon... hi. What brings you here?" Amy questioned curiously.

"It's the first Saturday of the month. I come to the zoo on the first Saturday of every month. I used to only come for the Koalas, but over the last few years I've developed a fondness for the primates as well." He explained softly.

Amy raised her eyebrows, slightly taken aback at this admission. In all the years she'd dated him, he never once showed an interest in primates; in fact, he'd typically made his disdain for them very clear. Choosing to ignore that comment for the time being, she proceeded to introduce him to the children.

"Sheldon, I'd like you to meet my children. Virginia is seven, and Charles is four and a half. Ginny, Charlie, this is one of mommy's old friends, Mr. Sheldon Cooper."

"I'm not seven for another 12 days" Ginny chimed, correcting her mother.

"Are you Isaac's Uncle Sheldon?" Charlie inquired.

"I am." Sheldon confirmed with a smile. "Not biologically of course, but as Leonard, Penny and I have been friends for over half our lifetimes, I am somewhat of an honorary uncle to their children."

Charlie nodded as he made the connection, having heard his friends mention their Uncle quite often. "Do you want to see the rest of the zoo with us?"

Sheldon hesitated as he looked down at the precocious child. He didn't want to interfere on their family day together, but the thought of spending time around Amy was very tempting. Ever since their brief encounter the previous week, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Seeing Amy give a brief smile and nod, he agreed to walk with them for at least a little while.

Over the next few hours, Amy trailed behind Sheldon and her children as he essentially gave them a guided tour of the zoo. Sheldon seemed to know each and every animal at the zoo, and her children were delighted and enthralled with the unique facts he continually relayed.

She was torn between feeling uncomfortable, yet impressed by how at ease he was with her children. While she had no doubt he loved the Hofstadter children, she knew from Penny that he became easily frustrated with them. She felt a slight twinge of sadness for him that he'd never found someone to have children of his own with.

By the time they reached the tigers, Amy realized it was nearly two in the afternoon, and none of them had eaten since that morning. As they passed the Café Pico, she suggested they stop for a late lunch. Spying an open picnic table, she instructed the children to sit down while she ordered the food.

Passing the children their burritos, she settled down with her own taco salad when Sheldon returned to the table carrying two trays.

"I thought everyone might want churros for dessert. They're they second best in the city after Disneyland!" he explained setting one tray in the middle of the table.

"And these," he continued with a small smile as he passed Ginny and Charlie each a frozen orange and black striped drink, "Are tiger tail slushies. I always buy them as a treat for Isaac, Carrie and Caitlin when they come to the zoo with me, so I thought you two would like them as well. They're mango and blackberry slushes mixed together."

Both children's eyes widened with delight at the unexpected frozen treat. Thanking Sheldon, they happily dug into their lunch.

An hour later, they had finished both lunch and the remaining zoo sections. Approaching the entrance again, both children reminded their mother about her carousel promise.

Handing them each three dollars, Amy smiled as they raced towards the ride. Watching their anxiety over choosing which animal they wanted brought back fond childhood memories of her own trips to the zoo. Eventually they decided, with Ginny settling on a unicorn, and Charlie choosing the nearby tiger.

Leaning on the fence as she watched the children go round, Amy couldn't help but think about how much Sheldon had changed over the years. His personality was quieter and more introverted. He still rambled when he was nervous but he didn't seem get so worked up over it. And most surprisingly, he had genuinely seemed to enjoy her children. As she stared off at the carousel, she found herself wondering what paths their lives would have taken if he'd been more like this years ago.

Returning from the men's room, Sheldon couldn't help but notice Amy's figure as she leaned against the railing surrounding the carousel. In all the years he'd dated her, she'd never once worn jeans, which, judging by the way they hugged her curves, he thought was unfortunate. He wondered if he hadn't been so guarded of his emotions, and had paid more attention to her physically if things would have turned out differently.

Drawing nearer, he leaned up on the rail beside her.

"So, a fascination with the Primates huh?" Amy questioned with a small smile as she looked over at him.

Sheldon felt his cheeks reddening as he blushed. Biting his lower lip he looked at Amy.

"I knew someone once who worked closely with primates and often talked about them. I never cared much for them, until suddenly that person was no longer around and I realized I missed the daily primate drivel. The zoo helped fill that void."

Amy stared at him in shock not knowing what to say. She had made the comment in jest, and hadn't expected him to answer so openly. Before she could come up with a response, Sheldon added:

"They let me be a zookeeper for a day once! Normally they only do that for children, but Vanessa's sister had a friend who worked here and she let me help her. I got to hold a baby orangutan!"

Amy let out a small laugh. She could picture Sheldon in the keeper uniform giddier than a small child. She also noted that he'd casually mentioned this Vanessa woman that Meera had brought up last week. Just as she was about to ask him about her, the kids came running up, their carousel ride having finished.

"Mommy that was so much fun! I wish unicorns were real!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yeah! Can we do it again?" asked Charlie.

"Maybe next time" Amy responded, anticipating that her children would be disappointed. "We need to get home soon; it's been a very long day. Why don't you run into the gift shop and I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Both children grinned and eagerly sprinted towards the gift shop to pick out a treasure. As soon as they'd entered, Amy turned back to Sheldon.

"I had fun today Sheldon; thanks for giving us the tour of the zoo. The kids absolutely loved you."

Pausing to ponder her next thought for a moment, Amy continued:

"I'm having a birthday party for Ginny next Saturday at 2pm… our friends and their children will be there, as well as most of Ginny's friends from camp. It's not going to be anything fancy, as I'm not really up to planning a huge bash this year. I know you hate parties, and generally aren't fond of children, so I don't want you to attend just because social convention dictates you have to… but I wanted you to know you're welcome to come if you like."

To her surprise, Sheldon answered without hesitation.

"I'd love to Amy. Your children are brilliant. I always knew you'd be a wonderful mother someday. I'll see you on Saturday."

With that, Sheldon smiled and started off towards the exit. Watching him leave, Amy felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. She was suddenly both looking forward to Ginny's party and wondering whether she'd done the right thing in inviting him. She didn't need any more stress in her life, and worried that their complicated history would get in the way of becoming friends again.

Reminding herself to live in the moment and not dwell on the past or focus on the future, she headed into the gift shop to collect Ginny and Charlie. Perhaps she would put a little more effort into next weekend's party after all.