"Amy, my mom is making her fried chicken and I can smell it from the hallway," Sheldon announced as he entered apartment 4B. Amy walked out of the bedroom. "How was today?"
"The laundry is done. I just finished putting it away, so you don't have to worry about it until Saturday night. I talked to your mom this afternoon," Amy shared, sitting at the end of the couch and tucking her feet under her. "Did you get much done at work?"
"I didn't get any work done. I stared at the same problem I've been stuck on since Thursday and made zero progress on it. The guys were all asking how you were doing. They know what happened, so I let them know you needed to take a few days off. Howard said Bernadette wanted to call you, but wasn't sure if you'd be okay with that. Please call her or send her a text when you're up to it. Kripke asked where you were. I told him you had the flu like you asked, so I'm sure everyone at the university thinks you have the flu by now. I'm glad you talked to my mom, but not surprised after our phone call this morning. How'd it go with her?"
"Can you come sit by me while I tell you?" Amy asked. Sheldon sat next to Amy and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you for encouraging me to talk with her. I was mentally and emotionally spent after talking with her, but I feel much better after taking a nap. I told her a little about our trip to Stockholm when she asked about our medals. I think I might be feeling up to joining you for some of that chicken. It does smell really good."
"I'm happy you had a better day today. I'm going to use the restroom, then we can head across the hall," Sheldon started to untangle himself from Amy.
Realizing she was still in pajamas, Amy moved to follow Sheldon into the bedroom. "I should probably put on real clothes and comb my hair."
"Stay in the pajamas. You're just going across the hall for dinner, then coming back to go to bed. It's not like we haven't all seen you in pajamas before. But combing your hair might not be a bad idea," Sheldon chuckled at his wife's messy hair before closing the bathroom door. While in the bathroom, Sheldon sent Penny a text that Amy would be joining them, and that no one was to make a fuss about it.
Everyone sat around the coffee table, enjoying Mary's freshly made fried chicken. No one was talking because no one wanted to say something that might upset Amy or Sheldon. Finally, Amy felt the need to break the awkward silence, "I always forget how good this chicken is until I have it again. Would it be possible to get the recipe sometime? I'd love to be able to make it for Sheldon."
Smiling, Mary answered, "Absolutely. I can't believe I haven't given you the recipe before. You know it's really Sheldon's Meemaw's recipe?"
"How's Meemaw doing? We all loved getting to meet her when she came to visit a few years ago," Penny asked.
"She'll be ninety this year. Mom's not getting around as good as she used to, but she's still the spitfire she's always been. She misses Shelly, but loved getting to see him when he and Amy came home for Christmas. I think that trip out here was the last big trip she'll be able to take. She's determined to stay in her house though, refusing to move into a home. I've been trying to convince Missy to move in with her with her sons. Missy's been struggling since her divorce and I think being around Meemaw would be good for her and the boys. Meemaw can't run after the kids very much, but I know she would love being able to see her great-grandkids every day," Mary explained.
After another forty-five minutes of small talk, Sheldon noticed Amy was starting to look uncomfortable. "Thanks again for dinner, mom, but I think I'm going to head to bed. I know it's early, but I'm really tired today."
"Thank you so much for noticing I was ready to leave. I could tell everyone was unsure what to talk about. Going to bed sounds like a good idea. Are you really going to bed right away or did you say that to get us out of there?" Amy asked, hugging Sheldon as soon as he closed the door of their apartment.
Sheldon stroked Amy's hair, "No, I think I'm ready for bed. I didn't sleep terribly well last night, so I really am tired."
Amy and Sheldon both got ready for bed before climbing into bed together. Sheldon wanted to hold Amy like he had the night before, but didn't want to push her to do more than she was comfortable with. He breathed a sigh of relief when Amy snuggled next to him and laid her head on his shoulder before intertwining her fingers with his. "Thank you for being so supportive of me with all of this. Everyone has been so focused on me the past few days. How are you really doing? You don't have to pretend to be okay if you're not. I remember how devastated you were when we thought our theory had been disproved."
Amy looked up at Sheldon as he spoke, "I never thought I'd be excited about becoming a dad, Amy, but when you told me you were pregnant, I knew we'd be great parents. When you woke me up Saturday morning and said we needed to go to the hospital, it felt like my world was crumbling. I'm supposed to take care of my family and there was nothing I could do to protect us from this."
Amy propped herself up on her elbow to look Sheldon in the eye. "You don't get to blame yourself for this, just like I don't get to blame myself for it. Penny reminded me that I did everything I was supposed to and that these things just happen sometimes." She wiped the tears from his cheek with her thumb. "I know something that will cheer you up."
"What's that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I finally got your mom's fried chicken recipe. I know it won't be the same, but I think I'll be able to get it pretty close."
Smiling, Sheldon replied, "That was a good thing to come from this. We've asked for it before and she's always refused. Did you ask her because she'd do pretty much anything to cheer us up right now?"
"Maybe? How about we go to sleep? It's been a long few days for both of us," Amy suggested as she snuggled down next to Sheldon again.
Sheldon wrapped his arm around her, "Sleep sounds great. I love you."