THE COOPER FAMILY EXPANSION
Hello again! This is a short sequel to my previous story: "The Sum of the Possibilities" . This idea had some time around my head and I decided to give it a try. I would appreciate it, if you read it and tell me what you think. It is not essential, but it is highly recommended to read my other story first.
CHAPTER 1
Sheldon remained motionless for a few seconds, just sitting on his spot, with his beloved Amy snuggling in his arms and little Nicholas sitting on his lap. Sheldon's son was having fun exploring a paper sheet… a letter. Sheldon had waited a lifetime for that letter. Sheldon placed Nicky on the carpet and the boy resumed his playtime with the little trains.
"Amy, why are you still crying? You… aren't happy? What's wrong?" Sheldon wiped with his thumb the occasional tears that streamed down Amy's face.
"I'm happy! Of course I am! I'm extremely happy for you. A Nobel Prize! Sheldon, I'm so proud of you." Amy kissed him tenderly on his lips.
"Well, we still don't know if I'm going to win it… or not", he sighed. For all we know we have a better reason to celebrate." Sheldon's lips curved in a sweet smile. "Amy, please don't forget about him or… her".
"No, I don't forget about it. It's… a BIG surprise! I guess I need to get used to the little one" Amy patted her belly gently, sighing. Sheldon grabbed Amy's right hand firmly.
"I'm such a fool! With all that has happened today, I didn't even have time to make dinner for you guys." Amy looked at her watch with concern; it was already quarter past seven. "Aw, my two little monkeys! ... You must be starving."
"I don't know if I must be starving but… YES! I'm hungry!" Sheldon replied. "Amy, would you like going out to dinner? Just the two of us. Well, not just the two of us… our new homo novus will have to come with us, obviously." Sheldon blurted spontaneously.
"Leonard and Penny could babysit Nicholas" Sheldon knew this was a special night, and even though he wasn't a fan of celebrations, he wanted to have a nice gesture with Amy. Although he'd have to wear a dress shirt and a tie, and that would certainly make him feel like being strangled.
"Sheldon... that's definitely a great idea but now I'm not feeling very well. I wouldn't like to waste an expensive dinner from a fancy restaurant when I know there's a good chance I'll vomit everything." Amy looked at the ground, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'll order a pizza".
"Aw! My poor girl! Do you need to see a doctor about that?" Sheldon asked with genuine concern.
"No, I don´t feel so bad! You already know how this is." Amy replied smiling. "It's kind of funny, isn't it? We just realized that the nausea I've been feeling for a week wasn't caused by those suspicious sandwiches that Penny made when we went to the zoo."
Amy got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. She was hoping she still had some chamomile tea and ginger. She was in desperate need of Mary Cooper's miraculous tea. That tea works wonders for nausea.
"If we still have some of that tea… I'd like a cup, please." Sheldon got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. "I'm feeling a little nauseated too", he gulped.
"That's Interesting!" Amy whispered.
"I know we just found out but ... I've been feeling weird for the last few days." Sheldon blushed. Actually, he had thought he was sick. Several diseases crossed his mind; from food poisoning to brain tumors. And now, to his surprise he realized, he shared some of Amy's symptoms.
Amy was moved when she noticed, once again, how strong the bond she shared with Sheldon was. She didn't say another word. She didn't need to say anything. Amy just smiled.
"Now... order a pizza! Sausage, mushrooms and olives; a double portion of olives! Amy, do you know if we still have some ice cream? I'll check the fridge." Sheldon said. "Amy ... how far along are we?"
"Mmm… I don't know exactly, maybe five or six weeks. Sheldon I've been thinking a lot about this, and I'm almost positive this happened the same weekend we got engaged, just after Leonard and Penny's wedding." Amy stated. "Do you remember we had an outbreak of laryngitis at the lab and I started a prophylactic course of antibiotics?" Amy called the pizza place and ordered exactly what Sheldon asked for.
Sheldon nodded as he recalled he was the one who insisted that Amy takes antibiotics as prophylaxis. Amy could get a bacterial infection and they shouldn't put Nicholas at risk. That was the rational approach. "It is an entirely feasible explanation. Antibiotics certainly interact with oral contraceptives and in some cases they might neutralize their effect. It is quite logical". Sheldon giggled in an adorable way.
"Bingo!" Amy laughed. "And I thought to myself it would be difficult to conceive, if I ever tried it. My tilted uterus and unusually firm cervix weren't an obstacle".
"Well... to be honest, your beckoning pelvis is clearly designed for procreation and childbearing" Suddenly Sheldon's face flushed, he swallowed hard.
"Be careful! Comments like that were the ones that initially got us into this predicament". Amy reached down to take Nicholas in her arms. She placed the baby in his high chair and started to feed him with a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Nicky seemed to love his mom's food.
"Oh, I wouldn't call it a predicament. No!" Sheldon emphasized those words.
"And… how would you call it then?" Amy was intrigued.
"Umm ... I don't know ... my mother would call it: a blessing!" Sheldon sighed deeply and his eyes turned upward, as if seeking an answer written on the ceiling. "I guess... I would call it a gift. Yes, it's our little engagement present." Sheldon grinned.
Amy couldn't help but hug him tightly. Sheldon was quite right; their little engagement present had come unexpectedly, but it was undoubtedly a reason to be happy.
"Who knows, maybe our new baby has an interest in Physics. I mean, Nicholas is my son and I love him infinitely, but let's be honest ... our little boy's inherited your interest in Biology" Sheldon wrinkled his nose and then he kissed Amy on the lips.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Penny and Leonard entered the living room together. Amy's face lit up when she saw Penny; she was eager to share the big news with her best friend.
"I think we're interrupting something" Leonard smiled mischievously when he saw Amy and Sheldon holding each other in a warm embrace. Despite the time that Amy and Sheldon had been together, Leonard was still surprised to see their displays of affection.
"Yes, we clearly came at a bad time. But I wanted to see Nicky!" Penny approached Amy and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. She held Nicky tightly. "Aw, I haven't seen you all day and I've missed you so much" Penny squeezed Nicholas affectionately. The baby giggled, he had missed his Aunt Penny too.
"Guys, did you have dinner?" asked Leonard.
"Not yet, but we just order pizza" Sheldon said, with little interest in the conversation.
When Penny looked closely at Amy, she immediately could see that her best friend had cried. Although her lips showed a smile, her eyes were swollen and red.
"Amy ... what's wrong? Sheldon, what did you do now?" Penny inquired quickly. Amy didn't deserve to cry. It wasn't fair!
When Leonard heard his wife's voice, he immediately noticed the tears in Amy's green eyes."Have you been crying?" He asked.
Sheldon and Amy exchanged glances. They had so much to tell their friends and they didn't know where to start. The theoretical physicist cleared his throat. When he could not utter a word in his first attempt, he ran to the coffee table and with his hands still trembling, he grabbed that letter he had just received. Sneakily, he slipped the envelope in his purple pants' pocket.
Amy looked at him quizzically; she couldn't understand Sheldon's reaction. She thought Sheldon would immediately tell them everything. After all, he was so close to achieve the long-awaited Nobel Prize in Physics. She didn't utter a word; surely Sheldon had a good reason to act that way. She would not judge him.
"Amy and I ..." Sheldon grabbed Amy's right hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. He sighed heavily. "Amy and I ... we… we're having another baby".
"Wha... what? Are you sure? You're having a baby?" Penny was tremendously excited to hear Sheldon's words. She loved little Nicholas; her nephew was a light in her life. She was extremely happy to know that there would be a new baby in the family.
"Is that true? Great news! Congratulations guys!" Leonard sincerely hugged Sheldon, and he received the hug with gratitude. This wasn't an awkward hug, this hug came from the heart. "Oh my God! A new addition to the Cooper-Fowler family… I'm so happy". Leonard smiled joyfully.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, the pizza finally arrived. Amy, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny shared dinner. Despite her effort to try a slice of pizza, Amy couldn't eat it. Though it seemed hard to believe Amy's nausea was even worse with this second pregnancy.
Fortunately, Penny had some vanilla ice cream and pickles in her fridge. That was all Amy could eat during the day.
"Odd combination ... I mean vanilla ice cream with pickles. I would never eat something like that." Penny stared at Amy in disbelief. Penny was surprised on how much Amy enjoyed this unusual mix of foods.
"Oh bestie, this is delicious. You should try a little!" Amy said as she poured herself a second bowl of ice cream with pickles.
"I have the theory that Amy experiences brief periods of hypoglycemia and thus she needs the glucose that ice cream provides. Nausea and vomiting are causing her an electrolyte imbalance and the sodium of the pickles helps Amy's body to correct that imbalance." Sheldon started a dissertation to explain why Amy had those cravings. It was a relief for Sheldon, seeing that Amy could eat at least a little ice cream.
"I think it's time to go home. Nicholas is falling asleep on the couch, and you still have so much to talk about." Leonard said goodbye.
"Bye bye! If you need something, we'll be right across the hall." Penny said goodbye to Amy and Sheldon. "Goodbye Nicky! Goodbye little brother or little sister of Nicky!".
Sheldon picked Nicholas up; the baby was falling asleep on the couch, exactly on his father's spot. Sheldon and Amy headed to the boy's room. Carefully, so he wouldn't wake him up, Sheldon placed the baby in his crib.
"Goodnight Nicholas!" Sheldon kissed him on his forehead. He gently stroked his head, as if he was combing his light brown hair.
"Goodnight, sweet little monkey!" Amy gave him another kiss goodnight and covered him with his blue blanket. Amy put a stuffed koala bear next to the baby. Nicky always sleeps with his koala.
"Sheldon ... may I ask you something?" Amy stared at him.
"Yes!" Sheldon nodded.
"Why didn't you tell Leonard and Penny that you received a letter from Stockholm? Sheldon, you could be the next winner of the Nobel Prize of Physics" Amy asked him, very confused. "I don't understand. Why don't you tell them?"
"Amy ..." Sheldon breathed deeply. When he filled his lungs with enough air, he continued with his words. "I certainly wanted to tell them. But… there's no need to rush this. They will find out tomorrow. I admit this is an acknowledgment that I've been waiting for all my life, but what you and I share is my most important reason to be glad."
"Sheldon!" Amy whispered.
"Tomorrow, everyone at Caltech, Pasadena, or the entire country ... will found out about this pre – nomination. They'll congratulate me and act as if they've always supported me. They'll say they've always believed in me but that will be brief. That will end, eventually!" Sheldon stroked Amy's cheek gently, with the back of his hand. "Tonight, I just want to celebrate that you've made me the happiest man in the world, for the second time."