A/N: Welcome to chapter 2! A quick continuity update. I realized belatedly, that there was some bubbly math going on with having the story be 5 years into their marriage and yet before the epilogue in TREv. So, in case you didn't go back to read, this story is 3 years into their marriage, and the age of Lenny's child is 18 months instead of 22. :) Ok, so now to the story. :)

Sheldon

Sheldon stared at the sink in front of him. He was having a difficult time processing the information in front of him, and the resultant blend of strong emotions wasn't helping him to clarify it, either.

Even after three years of marriage, in which he rather frequently found himself thinking of how much he loved his wife, Sheldon was not used to, (nor ever cared to) examining his feelings. In general it was not worth his time and, even when he did take the time, he rarely liked the results.

In the moment immediately following his looking down to see ten plus signs staring him in the face, the first emotion Sheldon identified was shock. While he had had great faith in the superiority of his sperm (being the Homo novus that he is), he was still finding it extraordinary that so soon upon deciding to be parents, Amy had become pregnant. All of the research he had done, prior to even bringing the subject up with Amy, had indicated that it was normal to fail several times before succeeding. Then again, the "accidental pregnancy" rate seemed to be fairly high…if movies and television were to be believed, that is.

Shortly following his shock was an emotion which he normally only felt in the moments after a breakthrough at work, or when he was about to start reading a new Flash comic book: Excitement. He had succeeded. He and Amy were going to be parents!

But at that thought, Sheldon felt a third, more familiar, emotion arise: fear. He and Amy were going to be parents! His entire life was about to change…had already changed. There was no going back. No changing their mind. They were going to have a crying, needy infant, leaking from both ends, taking up all of their time. He wasn't going to be able to participate in things like Halo Night, New Comic Book Night, or (gasp!) Sunday morning Paintballing!

Sheldon felt his respiratory level increase. What on earth had they gotten themselves in to? They had been watching Leonard and Penny attempt to deal with raising a child for an entire eighteen months. He and Amy had been witness to the times when Julia (a sensible name, even if Penny insisted she was named for her favorite actress, Julia Roberts) had thrown her food, and indeed herself, on the floor; had been witness to the ungodly amounts of feces which the child was able to produce; had been witness to the bickering which arose between Leonard and Penny when they disagreed about the disciplinary actions which should be taken (Penny, having been raised with such, was a believer in corporal punishment when needed, whereas Leonard preferred a more logic and reasoning based approach). Children were messy; they were riddled with germs. Dear lord!

Sheldon looked down at Amy. She looked up at him with an initially blank expression. But after a moment her face broke out in such an enormous smile that Sheldon felt his fear decreasing, and his excitement returning.

Quite suddenly, Amy launched herself forward at Sheldon, wrapping both arms around his neck, kissing him quickly on the mouth, and laying her head on his shoulder. The force with which she did these things nearly caused Sheldon to fall over backwards into the bathtub. Despite their many lessons, it would seem Amy still had much to learn about Kolinahr.

"We're going to be parents, Sheldon," Amy said, speaking into his neck. Sheldon wrapped his arms around Amy, smiling.

"So it would seem."

When Amy drew back, Sheldon looked down at her and said, "Right. Now that that's cleared up, we have many things to discuss. But first things first." He pulled out a pair of latex gloves, putting them on, and then reached for the pregnancy tests on the sink.

"Wait!" Amy exclaimed. Sheldon looked back at her, surprised. "I want to get a picture of them."

Sheldon frowned. "You what? To what end?"

"Sheldon. We're going to document every moment of this baby's life, starting with the moment we found out to expect him or her."

Sheldon straightened up. "Alright, then. Take the picture."

He made to step away, but Amy held up a hand. "Actually, I'd like for you to be in the picture." Sheldon blinked at her in response, watching as she whipped out her phone to take the picture.

Amy motioned for Sheldon to move closer to the sink. "Lean down and look excited…maybe you could point."

Sheldon gave Amy a skeptical look. She put down the phone, and gave him a look in return. "Sheldon, don't you want to be on record as present and excited about the impending birth of our child?"

Sheldon sighed. This was a bit much, but then, he supposed it wasn't every day you found out you were going to become a parent. He could give in to Amy's demands…and in fact, he might have to start doing that even more frequently…but he would think about that later. For now, he bent down, pointed with his gloved hand, and thought about his future, second generation Homo novus.

After Amy snapped no less than five pictures, he again made to pick up the sticks. And again Amy exclaimed, "Wait!"

Sheldon straightened up again. "Amy, I believe five pictures is more than sufficient."

Amy shook her head, pulling a small camcorder out of her pocket. "Now we need video."

Sheldon gave Amy a look of amusement when she turned the camcorder on herself and started with, "The birth of Baby Cooper, scene one. Hello cherished child, this is your mother, Amy Farrah Cooper, recording the moment, or close enough to it, in which your father and I found out to expect you."

Amy turned the camera towards, Sheldon. "Sheldon, say hello to your child."

Sheldon cleared his throat, gave a slight wave at the camera and said, "Hello future progeny."

Amy put down the camera. "That's how you're greeting our child?"

Sheldon frowned. "What was wrong with how I greeted him or her?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Sheldon, this is our child, not some generic future generation. You'll notice that I referred to him or her as a 'cherished child'. You should do something similar."

Sheldon sighed. "Very well." He gestured for Amy to begin recording again. She pointed the camera at him, said, "Take two," and then motioned for Sheldon to start. He put on his koala face and said, "Hello, future benign overlord…"

Amy put the camera down again. "Sheldon…"

Sheldon held up a hand. "Just let me finish, Amy."

Amy sighed and held the camera back up. "Take three." She pointed at him to begin.

Sheldon cleared his throat again, putting his koala face back on, and started again. "Hello, future benign overlord. It is I, Doctor Sheldon Lee Cooper, your proud and…loving father."

Amy gave him a thumbs up and then gestured for him to continue. Sheldon gestured towards the sink, "As you can see…" Amy quickly walked over and pointed the camera down at the sink, "there is the first proof of your existence."

Amy turned the camera up to Sheldon. "Sheldon Cooper, you just learned that you will be a father. What were your first thoughts?"

Sheldon blinked at the camera for a moment, recalling what had gone on in his head. "My first thought was blatant shock that we should have succeeded so quickly."

Amy turned the camera towards herself. "Let the record reflect, little one, that your mother, Amy Farrah Cooper, had the same thought. Proof positive that when you watch this, your parents will still be happily married, and will not be on their way towards a divorce."

"Amy!" Sheldon exclaimed. "I don't think it is a good idea to implant the idea in our child's mind that we could potentially become divorced."

Amy put the camera down. "I wasn't implanting it, I was refuting it. I clearly stated that we would be happily married."

"I don't think the term 'divorce' needs to be anywhere in your statement."

Amy rolled her eyes, and said, "Fine."

She pointed the camera back at herself. "Take two. Let the record reflect, dear child, that your mother, Amy Farrah Cooper, had the same thought. This is proof positive that your parents are a perfect match for each other."

Amy put down the camera, raising her eyebrows at Sheldon. "Was that more to your liking?"

Sheldon shrugged. "It was a little overly sentimental, but not the least bit scarring."

"Ok, then. Let's move on." She again pointed the camera at Sheldon. "So, Sheldon Cooper, after your initial shock, what were your next thoughts?"

"I immediately became excited, quickly followed by fear of the havoc which will be wreaked on our life."

Amy put the camera back down, giving Sheldon a look which he could only describe as incredulous. "I'm not allowed to talk about NOT getting divorced, but you believe it is ok to tell our child that you were worried about the havoc they'll wreak on our life?"

Sheldon thought a moment. "Hmm…fair point. What shall I say then? You know I can't and won't lie and that was my honest next thought…"

"How about you just stop at the excitement?"

Sheldon nodded and gestured again for Amy to continue. She held up the camera, yet again. "Take two. So, Sheldon Cooper, after your initial shock, what were your next thoughts?"

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Once the initial shock wore off, I found myself excited by the prospect of becoming a parent."

Amy again turned the camera towards herself. "As did I, you delightful child."

She turned the camera towards Sheldon. "Now that you are going to become a parent, what is the first thing you will be doing to celebrate?"

"The first thing I'm going to do, is draw up a list of items which need to be purchased, create a spreadsheet with which to mark Amy's bowel movements, as it is my understanding that constipation is a common pregnancy issue, and rush to the store to purchase a nine month supply of prenatal vitamins. Additionally, your mother and I will draw up an appropriate pregnancy diet to ensure maximum efficiency in your growth, and, of course, make your first doctor's appointment."

Amy turned the camera towards herself. "Do you remember this moment, adorable one? It might have felt like an earthquake to you as you were making your way down my fallopian tube. In case you recall your alarm, let me assure it that it was nothing more than my uterus quivering."

Amy turned the camera off, smiling broadly at Sheldon (something which still had the ability to cause his stomach to perform acrobatics), and said, "Well, get to it, Dr. Cooper. It's disgusting to keep those pee covered pregnancy test sticks on our sink."

At that friendly reminder, Sheldon quickly grabbed off all the sticks, throwing them in the waste basket, and then spraying the sink with antibacterial cleaner. Immediately after taking off his gloves and throwing them in the waste paper basket, Amy grabbed his hand and pulled him into their living room.

After Sheldon sat in his spot, Amy curled up next to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and putting her head on his chest. In turn he wrapped his arms around her, settling into the cuddle.

Amy turned her head up towards him. "I can't quite believe we are going to be parents."

Sheldon blinked at her. "Neither can I…of course, no one is more qualified than you and I to raise the next generation of scientists and/or leaders of the free world, but still…it is a little unbelievable." He frowned, feeling his earlier fear return. "But what if our lives become worse instead of better?"

Amy looked confused. "How could any child of ours make our lives worse?"

Sheldon shrugged. "Leonard and Penny argue quite frequently…and many previously happy couples end up divorced after they have children…it's only natural to presume that the reason is due to the added stress which children add to a romantic relationship."

Amy unwrapped herself from Sheldon, sitting up to look at him. "Sheldon, it's only natural to wonder and worry about the changes a child will bring, but I hardly think it likely that it would drive us to the point of divorce."

Sheldon looked at Amy in horror. "I don't think that we would ever get to the point of divorce. Why would you say such a thing?"

Amy frowned. "You said that many couples end up divorced after having children."

"Amy! I was making a generalized statement about couples. Surely you're not suggesting that we would ever fall victim to the same petty arguments as other couples!"

Amy put a hand on Sheldon's arm. "Sheldon, calm down. I was doing no such thing, and I apologize for alarming you. I merely misunderstood your point. To circle back around, I don't believe that our child will add a strain to our relationship. I believe our child will add value to our lives rather than detract from it."

"But what makes you think so?"

Amy leaned forward to kiss Sheldon. When she pulled back, she smiled and said, "Because the child will be ours, of course, and, as both you and I know, we're superior beings. How could our child be anything but a wonderful addition to our family, and society in general?"

Sheldon smiled back at Amy, saying "Of course. You make a very good case for our child, Mrs. Cooper." Then he wrapped both of his arms around Amy and began kissing her back.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review. :)