Sheldon

Sheldon blinked at Amy in surprise. Not since those awful days of their engagement had he seen Amy spontaneously burst into tears. He wondered now what to do.

"Why are you crying?"

Amy looked up, sniffed, hiccupped, and messily wiped her nose on the sleeve of her pajamas. "I'm sorry." Then she laid her head back on the toilet seat and bit off another corner of the cracker.

Sheldon blinked, still not comprehending the situation.

"You didn't answer the question…Why are you crying?"

Amy didn't answer for several moments, taking a third bite of the cracker and then screwing her face up and saying, "I don't know!", followed by more tears.

Sheldon looked around himself, at a loss. If Amy was unable to tell him why she was crying, then how was he to attempt to make amends? He thought for a moment.

"Was this due to my insistence that you eat a cracker?"

Amy shook her head, wiping her eyes in an apparent attempt at slowing her tears. "No…I don't know…maybe."

Sheldon did a double take when Amy's shoulders started shaking again and a fresh wave of tears came pouring out of her eyes.

He really detested weeping women…especially when they did not provide a reason for their crying.

Think Cooper, he thought. You've spent many an hour reading up on pregnancy hormones.

Amy's nose had started running, causing her to sniff and once again use her sleeve as a handkerchief.

Let's handle this logically, Sheldon thought. First things first.

Sheldon reached around Amy and pulled off some toilet paper. He held it up to a surprised Amy's nose and said "blow."

He was completely disgusted once the toilet paper was filled with the contents of Amy's nose, but managed to choke down the urge to immediately wash his hands. He reminded himself that he was already sitting on the bathroom floor, and in the meantime rubbed some Purell on his hands while Amy took a sip of her soda.

Sheldon looked over at Amy, who was again leaning her head against the toilet seat, still hiccupping, with tears streaking down her face. He stood up briefly to grab a washcloth, wetting it in the sink. Then he returned to Amy, kneeling down next to her. He gingerly put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.

He held out the wet washcloth. "Would you like to wipe your face?"

Amy nodded and grabbed the cloth. Sheldon took the can of soda from her so that she could use both hands to run the washcloth over her face. When she was finished, he took the washcloth from her and placed it, and the can of soda, by the sink.

Then Sheldon turned back to Amy. "Do you feel better?"

Amy sniffed a few times before saying, "Yes. Thank you."

"Is your nausea still present?"

Amy nodded. "Yes, but the urge to vomit has calmed down…" The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "It appears the crackers and ginger ale helped to calm my stomach."

Sheldon nodded. "Naturally."

Amy looked down and started fidgeting with her fingers. "I apologize for my outburst."

Sheldon blinked at Amy in shock. "Your apology, while appreciated, is unnecessary. Your uncharacteristic emotional outburst is undoubtedly due to the combination of being awoken early from your REM cycle, the excessive vomiting, and, of course, the swirling vortex of pregnancy induced hormones raging through your blood stream. It is completely understandable." Sheldon took a deep breath and then added, "And…it is also possible that I spoke in a tone which some might consider harsh…but that does not mean that I am not still quite serious about your eating a hearty breakfast every morning."

Amy looked up, fresh tears in her eyes.

Sheldon stared in horror as Amy started crying yet again. "Is it that important for you to skip a meal? If you are so insistent I suppose I can re-examine your meal time flow chart to see where we can add in the extra calories and nutrients. Perhaps an extra snack or two would suffice."

Amy shook her head and then reached over and hugged Sheldon. He returned her hug, still baffled by what was happening.

When she pulled away, Amy kissed him and then sat back.

"What was that for?" Sheldon asked. He really hated his current inability to decipher the motives behind Amy's strange behavior.

Amy shrugged, sniffing. "For being…you."

Sheldon frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Amy hiccupped, and then said, "You approached the situation logically, excusing my ridiculous behavior with the scientific reasons behind it, which is especially noteworthy considering your general fear of weeping women. For that I'm appreciative…And you've also been very helpful and…nurturing." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

Sheldon blinked, surprised, and the nodded. "You're welcome." He stood up and held out a hand to help Amy up. "Shall we clean ourselves up and begin preparing for the day?"

Amy nodded, but then gasped and said, "Wait!"

"What is it?" he said in alarm. "Are you about to vomit again? Do you need more crackers?"

Amy shook her head. "Go get the video camera."

Sheldon blinked at her, uncomprehending. "Whatever for?"

"To record this moment of course."

Sheldon stared. "Amy…why on earth would you wish to record this? Forgive me, but you look terrible."

Amy blinked, clearly shocked. "I look terrible?" Her eyes started filling with more tears.

"Wait!" Sheldon said, panicking. "You look…lovely…I simply meant that perhaps you would prefer to shower and…brush your hair first."

Amy took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them, the tears had dissipated. "No. The moment must be captured raw."

Sheldon frowned. "Why?"

"Because otherwise it's not realistic! Please just go get the camera…" Amy gave him a look.

Sheldon shook his head and said, "Alright." As he walked down the hallway to retrieve the camera, he couldn't help but wonder how many of these baffling mornings he would have to endure over the next roughly eight months…

When he returned, Sheldon started to hand the camera to Amy. She pushed it away and said, "No, you record."

Sheldon looked down at Amy, who was still sitting on the floor. "Don't you want to stand up?"

Amy shook her head. "No. It's more realistic if I'm on the floor…and I'm a little worried that if I stand up, I may vomit again."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows, but decided he would prefer to figuratively bite his tongue rather than risk more crying from Amy. He held up the camera and then pointed at Amy to begin.

Amy put on a weak smile. "Hello dear child. It is your mother, and it is…" she looked at Sheldon. "What time is it?"

Sheldon looked quickly at his watch. "6:07."

"It is 6:07 in the morning. You are still an embryo, a mere eight weeks and three days old, and I have just had my first run in with morning sickness." Amy gestured towards Sheldon. "Turn the camera around and say hello."

Sheldon rolled his eyes, but complied, waving and saying "Hello," to the camera.

When Sheldon turned the camera back, Amy beamed and said, "Your father assisted me during the slightly harrowing experience. He provided saltines and ginger ale, insisting so severely that I eat them, that I cried." She ended with a smile and gestured for Sheldon to turn the camera off.

As he put the camera down, Sheldon said. "I'm not sure it was necessary for you to point out that you were crying because of something I said. You will bias our child towards you."

Amy waved a hand dismissively at Sheldon, finally standing up. "I'm sure the child will love each of us equally, and this video will have no bearing on which is the favored parent."

Sheldon doubted the validity of that statement, but again chose to hold his tongue.

"Are you ok Sheldon?"

Sheldon looked over at Leonard. They were on their way to work, and Sheldon had been staring out the window, contemplating the morning's happenings.

"My morning routine suffered greatly this morning. Perhaps it has affected my social interactions with you as well."

Leonard raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Sheldon. "Oh? What happened?"

Sheldon sighed. "Amy woke up vomiting."

"Ah. Morning sickness?"

"Yes."

Leonard sighed heavily. "Been there…"

Sheldon cocked his head to the side thinking. "What did you do for Penny when she was ill?"

Leonard shrugged. "Held her hair back, rubbed her back…promised to remain celibate for the rest of my life…"

Sheldon did a double take. "Why would you promise that?"

Leonard waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, usually when Penny was throwing up she swore we'd never have sex again because one pregnancy was enough…it went away though."

Sheldon frowned. "The morning sickness or the threat of celibacy?"

Leonard shrugged. "Both."

Sheldon turned back to face the front. "I see…I wonder if I should make similar promises to Amy…"

"Has she said something like that to you?"

"No."

"Then don't promise anything."

Sheldon turned back to look at Leonard. "Did Penny ever spontaneously burst into tears while she was pregnant?"

Leonard sighed again. "All the time…one time she started crying at that toilet paper commercial…you know, the one with the puppy?"

Sheldon frowned. "Why would she cry at that? Nothing sad happens…if I remember correctly, the puppy merely runs around with the toilet paper…oh. Was she perhaps upset at the puppy wasting perfectly good toilet paper?"

"No. She said the puppy was cute."

Sheldon waited for Leonard to continue. "…And?"

Leonard shrugged. "And that was it."

"You mean, she cried because she thought the puppy was cute?"

"Yep."

Sheldon again turned to face the front, baffled at the logic behind crying over a cute puppy. "So how did you handle those situations?"

Leonard shrugged. "I just tried to be supportive…did Amy start crying?"

Sheldon sighed. "Yes."

"Did she say why?"

"She said she didn't know…it may have been due to a harsh tone I used when attempting to coerce her into eating a cracker."

Leonard inhaled through is teeth. "You used a harsh tone and tried to force her to eat? Rookie mistake."

Sheldon looked over. "What do you mean? I was being supportive. If Amy does not eat crackers to help settle her stomach, then she will continually skip meals. And I don't think I have to tell you that the first trimester of pregnancy is the most important in regards to adequate nutrient intake."

"Yeah, I know, but you have to be…careful, with pregnant women."

"Careful? Like how?"

"You know…don't use harsh tones, don't try to force them to do anything…Think of Amy as an easily spooked cat…which could rip your face to shreds if it feels threatened."

Sheldon did a double take. "You want me to act as if Amy is a feral cat?...That doesn't seem like very good advice Leonard."

Leonard shrugged. "Take it or leave it, but I'd be preparing yourself for a lot of mornings like this one."

Sheldon didn't like that prospect at all.

After spending the morning being continually interrupted by thoughts regarding Amy's morning sickness and its impact on his life, Sheldon spent most of the afternoon doing further research on the subject. He simply couldn't afford to be awoken a half hour early every morning for the foreseeable future. Amy was due in approximately eight months, and Sheldon needed to make serious headway in his research before he spent, at his best estimate, at least six months rendered exhausted by constant waking in the middle of the night due to a screaming infant…and of course, he didn't relish the thought of Amy being forced to vomit every morning, either.

When he arrived home that evening, Sheldon found Amy lying on the couch, eyes closed, with a washcloth over her eyes.

"Amy?" he asked, concerned.

Without removing the cloth from her eyes, Amy responded with, "Sheldon?"

"Are you alright?" Sheldon walked over to stand next to Amy. He couldn't sit down because her head was currently lying in his spot.

"It would seem that my morning sickness is not restricted to the morning. Lying perfectly still and blocking out light with a cool, damp washcloth seems to do the trick though."

Sheldon frowned. "When did it return?"

"It never left. I spent a good portion of my day hunched over either the trashcan or toilet at work."

"How did you get home?" Sheldon asked, alarmed to find that Amy had been so sick all day.

"I drove."

"And you were able to make it home without incident? I wish you would have called me. I could have asked Leonard to stop by and pick you up…"

"No. It was fine. I just had to pull over a couple times to vomit in the street."

Sheldon was not happy at this news at all…it was a good thing he had come home prepared.

He bent down to awkwardly pat Amy on the head. "I brought you a present."

Amy lifted a corner of the washcloth to look at him in surprise. "You did?"

Sheldon nodded, holding up the bag.

"What is it?" Amy said, first smiling, and then pressing her lips together and putting the washcloth back over her eyes.

"Vitamin B6."

Amy was silent for a few moments. "Not that I'm not happy you bought me a…present, but why did you purchase Vitamin B6?"

"I did some research online this afternoon. According to several studies, as well as several pregnancy related forums, Vitamin B6 can greatly reduce and/or cure the nausea associated with the first trimester of pregnancy…although it is not one hundred percent effective, so until we try it, we will not know if it will work on you."

"I see…" Amy bit her bottom lip. "Sheldon…I hate to put a damper on your…thoughtful gift, but how can I take a vitamin when I can barely hold down water?"

Sheldon frowned. "Did you follow the hydration and energy consumption flow chart we designed?"

Amy didn't answer for several moments. "Um…I may have skipped a few…meals and snacks…"

"Amy!" Sheldon said in alarm. "You know we designed the flow chart for the sole purpose of making sure that you, A, avoid aggravating your nausea, and B, get adequate nutrients throughout the day! We planned for this. Why did you ignore it?"

"I'm sorry Sheldon, but when you're leaning over a trashcan at 11:30 a.m. trying not to vomit, lunch is the last thing on your agenda."

"But you had had your 8:30 and 10:30 snacks right?"

Amy remained silent. "…I was nauseated…"

Sheldon sighed. What good was all their planning if Amy ignored it? He looked down at Amy, remembering the events of the morning, and his conversation with Leonard, and decided not to yell at her. But it was difficult.

Sheldon walked over to the kitchen, again grabbing a ginger ale and crackers. He walked back over to the couch.

"Do you think you could sit up?"

Amy attempted to sit up and then quickly lay back down. "Nope."

Sheldon sighed. "Very well."

He set down the crackers and ginger ale on the side table and then lifted Amy by her shoulders so that he could sit down in his spot with her head in his lap.

Amy smiled and blindly grabbed for his right hand with both of hers.

But when Sheldon put a cracker in her hand and said, "Eat," her smile disappeared.

Amy pressed her lips together and said, "If I eat, I'll vomit."

"If you don't eat, you'll never be able to take the vitamin B6 and alleviate your nausea."

"It appears we are in a catch-22. If I eat I'll vomit, but if I don't eat, I'll never stop vomiting."

"Don't be ridiculous. You'll stop vomiting eventually…but it may be a few months…try eating a corner of the cracker and then taking a sip of the ginger ale."

Amy sighed heavily, and slowly brought the cracker to her mouth, biting off such a small bite that Sheldon rolled his eyes. He reached back to the side table and opened the can of ginger ale. Then he extracted his hand from Amy's and used it to lift her up by her shoulders, holding the can to her lips.

"Drink."

Amy took a small sip and then laid her head back in Sheldon's lap. Sheldon continued to command Amy to "eat," and "drink" over the course of the next forty-five minutes, until she had drank the entire can of ginger ale and had eaten fifteen crackers.

After the fifteenth cracker, Amy sat up slowly, removing the washcloth from her eyes. Sheldon looked at her.

"Has your nausea dissipated?"

"No…but it has been greatly reduced."

Sheldon held up the bottle of vitamins. "Perhaps now you should attempt to swallow the vitamin."

Amy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "…I'll try."

Sheldon smiled. "Excellent." He walked back to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. When he returned, he sat back down, handing Amy the water, and then reaching to grab the vitamins.

Amy looked at the pill in her hand for several moments. It was really a very small pill, so Sheldon didn't quite understand her hesitancy. Eventually Amy took a deep breath, put her hand to her mouth, and then took a drink. She kept her eyes closed for a minute afterwards, leaning her head against Sheldon's shoulder. Sheldon looked down at Amy, praying to the deity that he didn't believe in that the vitamin would stay in her stomach.

Thinking that, perhaps, he should give some sort of encouragement, Sheldon put his arm around Amy's shoulder. She immediately brought her feet up in the couch and wrapped both arms around his midsection.

Amy opened her eyes and looked up at Sheldon, smiling. "Thank you."

Sheldon looked down at her. "Has the vitamin already worked?"

Amy shook her head. "No…thank you for your help."

Sheldon blinked. "Oh…you're welcome…do you think you will be able to eat dinner soon?"

Amy shook her head again. "I'm still quite nauseated…could we just sit here like this for a bit?"

Sheldon, who was starting to get hungry, sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Very well…but you will have to eat eventually."

Amy closed her eyes. "I know..."

Sheldon slowly brought his other arm around to hug Amy. He cleared his throat. "Thank you, Amy."

Amy looked up at him. "For what? Eating?"

Sheldon, who still generally detested verbalizing his feelings, said, "For agreeing to put yourself through this…it…means a lot to me."

Amy smiled and leaned up to kiss Sheldon. "Despite the fact that I can no longer remember what it feels like not to be nauseated, I am happy to 'put myself through this' if the end result is an infant who is an amalgamation of the two of us."

They smiled at each other, and then Amy leaned her head back against Sheldon's chest, while Sheldon thought fondly of his future progeny. As they sat there in silence, Sheldon found himself pondering the statistical probabilities for the various features of their child, hoping that said child looked like his, or her, mother.

A/N: Thanks for reading! And thanks for your patience. My dad is still in town, but he has spent the morning golfing, so I've spent the morning writing. Win/Win. :) Oh and that Vitamin B6 thing is true, so everyone log that away for future reference. I'm a dietitian. I know these things. ;) Please do me the great honor of leaving a review. Many thanks! :)