Thank you all so much for the gorgeous reviews on the last chapter. I'm so glad you were all thrilled they're expecting a girl! All of the reviews, favourites and follows mean the world and I'm so so grateful!
Here is chapter 11! I really hope you all enjoy.
"I can't believe it's a little girl" Amy spoke as she delicately held the scan photo in her hands like it was some kind of precious gem she was scared of breaking. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea that she was going to be a mother, let alone a mother to a baby girl, it still hadn't quite sunk in but already Amy knew that her little daughter was already absolutely perfect. "You know I think she's going to be tall like you" Amy commented to Sheldon, whose eyes were focused upon on the road as he drove her home.
"Do you think so?" he asked, the smile on his face was obvious. Amy was the one growing this little baby, there was an instant connection and unbreakable bond between them. Sheldon loved the idea of there already being some connection between the two of them, no matter how small it was.
"Yeah, she has long legs" Amy titled her head to one side as she examined the image closely as Sheldon smiled even more. "I can't believe how clear this is, you can see every single feature now. She's not just a little blob anymore" Amy's heart skipped a beat at the use of the pronoun, it came so naturally to her, there was no getting used to it or having to remember, it was just there, almost as if secretly she had always known.
"We could get one of those 4D scans" Sheldon suggested. "They are incredibly detailed" Amy was familiar with these. She had viewed them before during a brief period studying fetal brain development, it was quite something to behold.
"We can do that" Amy nodded excitedly. "I can get one booked" in that moment of time when Amy had been studying babies, she never once thought she'd be viewing an image of her own baby in that way. Deep down she had always wanted to be a mother but as she got older and time went on, it was something she started to put to the back of her mind and start to accept that maybe it would never happen. Now however, she couldn't be more thrilled, she was truly on cloud nine.
"Do you want to stop for some lunch?" Sheldon asked. "I'm a little hungry" he commented as he signalled left and carefully swung the car round a corner. It had just left 2pm and although a little later than normal for lunch Amy had realised that apart from a tiny nibble of toast this morning, she was yet to eat anything. She decided to keep that thought from Sheldon, knowing that he would lecture her on how important it is to eat regularly.
"Sure" Amy nodded, her stomach rumbling at the thought. "We could just stop off at a coffee shop" she wasn't in the mood for anywhere fancy and the cold weather left her needing to be warmed up.
The car fell silent, this time a peaceful, comfortable silence, the awkward silences that would once fall upon them had become a distant memory. As Amy sat, her head resting on the window, a sudden thought crossed her mind. Aside from the few hospital appointments, they hadn't really been out in public before since the break up. They had had take out at her place, dinner over at Leonard and Penny's, but the two of them venturing out together, albeit for coffee was quite a big step for them in moving forward. Was this a date? Is that why he had suggested lunch?
Amy quickly shook her head, shaking those thoughts away. She was being silly, of course this wasn't a date, it was two friends, two friends who happen to be expecting a baby, simply grabbing some lunch.
—
Despite his insistence that he would be the one to stand in the queue and place their order, Sheldon currently found himself sitting at a small table for two by the window. He had learnt early on in their relationship that Amy won most arguments, no matter how big or small, she was rational and calm and could intelligently argue her point on almost anything. Over the last few months, he had definitely learnt not to argue with pregnant Amy.
Even though grabbing lunch hadn't been on his agenda for the day, he was glad and grateful to be spending a little bit more time with Amy. As he sat there in his seat, still a little deflated from losing the 'queue battle', he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She wasn't doing anything special, just stood in line patiently waiting and lost in her own little world. He loved it when she was like that, when she wasn't aware of her surroundings and consumed in her own thoughts, when she didn't know his eyes were on her, she looked exceptionally beautiful just minding her own business.
The feelings Sheldon was feeling right now weren't new feelings, he had always looked at Amy like this, always seen her as the prettiest thing in the world with the kindest of hearts and souls, his feelings hadn't changed even after the break up. He did wonder however, if the feelings that he was feeling now, that suddenly hit him with quite a force were down to knowing that she was carrying their baby girl. It wasn't just a baby anymore, it was a tiny little girl, it suddenly made everything seem so real and caused whatever it was he was feeling for Amy to intensify.
He continued to watch as she slowly moved forward in the queue, smiling to himself as her hair swished from side to side. Without much of a warning, the man behind Amy suddenly smiled widely and gently placed his hand upon her shoulders, she quickly spun round to face him, upon her eyes making contact with him she smiled just as wide as he did, a true, genuine smile. Sheldon quickly sat up in his seat, more alert than ever, suddenly incredibly intrigued by their interactions.
To his knowledge, he had never seen this man before and yet there was suddenly this pang in his stomach and his heart fell. The man towered over Amy in a way that Sheldon could only imagine he did, he had short, dark brown hair that was currently ruffled and a little messy. He definitely ticked the tall, dark and handsome boxes that he was sure was every girls dream.
He didn't like how happy this nameless man seemed to be making Amy, apart from when they were talking about the baby, he wasn't sure he had ever seen her happier, there was suddenly this glow, this beauty. Without knowing it was possible, Sheldon's heart sank again, he was making her happy, he began to wonder if he had ever really made her happy?
He uncomfortably shuffled in his seat as Amy laughed and the man reached out to touch her arm. Without moving from his chair, he tried to lean his body closer to them in order to hear a snippet of their conversation. The whirling of the coffee machines and chatter from all the customers meant that Sheldon couldn't hear a thing and he was yet to master the art of lip reading. All he knew was the he didn't like the smiles, the laughter and touching, it all seemed too much. Too close.
"Are you okay?" Sheldon had been so lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure out Amy's connection to this man, trying to decipher what it was he was actually feeling right now that he hadn't noticed Amy arrive at their table with a tray laden with food and coffee.
"Who was that man?" he found himself quickly asking, he wondered if he may be jealous. He had experienced jealousy before, when he was a child and Dr. Strugis expressed an interest in another child's research or throughout his career when Leonard got the opportunity to work with Stephen Hawking. What he had never experienced though was jealousy with regards to a partner. He had never had to be jealous where Amy was concerned because up until recently she had always been his.
"Oh that was Mark" Amy said the name so flippantly, to her what had just happened was really no big deal. Sheldon's eyes bore into her, silently demanding more information. "I went on a couple of dates with him before I found out about the baby" she explained. "It was nothing special but he's a nice guy." Sheldon briefly recalled hearing Penny talking about a guy named Mark that Amy seemed pretty in to, he didn't like the thought of her being with someone else at all, he now knew that what he was feeling was definitely jealousy.
"You went on dates with him? How many?" Sheldon asked.
"Three" it took Amy some time to calculate in her head. In one way the dates she went on with Mark seemed like yesterday and yet there were some days where she struggled to remember what it was like to not actually be pregnant.
"Would you have gone on more if it wasn't for the baby?" he was interrogating her, but he was desperate to know how far she would have allowed things to go if her circumstances were different.
"No" she reasoned. She had never seen Sheldon like this before, where she was concerned. There was a fire and passion in his eyes that if she was honest, she had only ever witnessed when he talked about physics. She wasn't sure he had ever got all fired up about her before. She liked it. "I actually ended things before the baby anyway" she sat back in her chair and brought the large coffee cup to her lips.
"You did?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. She would blame the hormones but seeing him slightly protective turned her on a little, she surprised herself, she didn't know she still felt like that towards him.
"Yes" she sighed "You really don't need to worry, I've already said before I'm definitely not looking to date right now" she admitted. She watched him carefully, his eyes on her as he slowly allowed the words to sink in. "Now please can we just enjoy lunch."
—
"You know you don't have to do that" Amy spoke from where she was sitting on the couch, her body half turned to face Sheldon who was stood in kitchen, clearing up the Thai food they had just eaten. "I can do it when you're gone" although,l she meant it, there was a tiny part of her glad that she didn't have to do the dishes.
It had been four days since the very brief meeting with Mark in the coffee shop, Amy really hadn't given the encounter any though at all however, it had hugely been playing on Sheldon's mind. He had not just had to hear about Amy's interactions with other men, something he found hard at the beginning of the break up, he had now witnessed it all play out in front of his very own eyes. It wasn't that he was possessive, Amy was more than allowed to have male friends, but knowing that there had once been something there between them, no matter how small, it made his heart lurch in his chest. It had subsequently resulted him not leaving Amy's side very much at all.
"It's okay, really" he told her as he walked back over to the coffee table to clear more dishes. Amy was glad she could use the excuse she was eating for two, she was sure they had eaten far too much for two people. "You need to be resting anyway" Sheldon commented as his eyes carefully studied Amy whose hand was resting upon the side her stomach, gently rubbing at a particularly spot.
"Well thank you" she smiled in response. It was nice having him around, there were times where she had felt lonely after the break up but she was slowly starting to enjoy Sheldon's company and presence much more.
"You're welcome. Amy, are you okay?" he asked as he stood in front of her with take out cartons stacked up in his hands. Sheldon noticed how every so often her nose would crinkle and her eye would crease at the edges. She looked incredibly cute.
"Yeah, yeah" she quickly reassured him. "She's just moving around a lot tonight" Amy smiled, there was no better feeling than feeling her little one moving around inside of her, it was reassuring and comforting, despite the discomfort that the little wriggles were starting to bring.
"Maybe she just likes Thai food" Sheldon joked.
"I know you're only joking but her tastebuds will be quite developed now. She could be tasting food" Amy explained, as her hand remained on her stomach, Sheldon still clattering around in the kitchen. It was adorable to think that their daughter already had her own likes and dislikes.
The baby's movements started settle and Amy relaxed back against the couch. Without her permission her eyes started to slowly close, she didn't want to sleep, especially with Sheldon still here, although she knew he wouldn't mind, he was still a guest in her home, it was rude to just doze off. She closed her eyes, feeling so content. It was then that she felt it, a tiny knock against her palm, she gasped her eyes pinging open as she sat up straight, suddenly more awake than ever.
"Amy?" Sheldon questioned upon hearing her intake of breath, he knew something hadn't been quite right with her.
"Sheldon" Amy called him excitedly. "Sheldon, come here quickly" she rushed her words, she didn't want him to miss this. The plates hit the kitchen surface with a clatter, he felt worried and yet Amy's tone was full of excitement. "Sheldon, quickly" Amy urged.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he came skidding to a halt in front of her, watching as she smiled widely and he was pretty sure there were tears in her eyes.
"I think I just felt a kick" she announced, her smile grew when she saw his eyes light up. "She's kicking. Give me your hand. Sit down" she instructed quickly. As soon as Sheldon was sat on the sofa, he barely had time to offer his hand up to Amy before she reached forward and grabbed his wrist, placing his hand upon her bump, securing it in place with her hand over the top.
"Are you sure you..." Sheldon asked carefully after a few moments had past with no kick being felt.
"Just wait. She definitely kicked. I definitely felt something" Amy interrupted him, absolutely sure now that the tiny knock she had felt against her hand had been a kick. "There. Did you feel that?" Amy asked seconds later looking over at Sheldon, the look on his face told her that he had most definitely felt a kick. She wondered if their daughter was responding to his voice.
"Yeah" he nodded excitedly. "Yeah I did" they felt it again another little nudge against their palms. "Oh wow" Sheldon placed his other hand on Amy's stomach, both hands flush against her bump, feeling his daughter kicking inside of her, it sounded silly but in that moment he was sure his heart grew twice the size with love for Amy and their baby. "This is fascinating, is this first time it's happened?"
"Yeah" Amy nodded her head. "This is the first time I'm feeling them" she explained, looking up to lock eyes with him, she couldn't recall a time where she had seen him this happy, the times at comic con and the train store didn't even come close to what Amy was witnessing right now. "It suddenly just got very real, didn't it?"
In that moment, Sheldon wasn't quite sure what came over him, maybe it was simply the love he felt for Amy becoming too strong he simply had to act, maybe it was feeling his daughter kick for the first time or maybe it was all the jealousy he had been harbouring towards Mark that suddenly bubbled to the surface. Without a moments hesitation, he edged forward and brushed his lips against Amy's, his had moved up to gently cup the side of face.
Although, gentle and soft, the kiss was urgent, intense and full of passion. He wasn't sure he had kissed anyone like this before, even when he was in a relationship with Amy. Amy couldn't quite comprehend what was happening, he had completely taken her breath away, her heart was racing, she was lost for a moment, feeling frozen to the spot, unable to respond. The kiss only lasted a few moments before Sheldon realised what he was doing and pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that" his voice was quiet, his head bowed avoiding her gaze.
As soon as his lips were away from hers, Amy missed them, she missed the closeness and the warm fuzzy feeling he gave her. This had been what she so desperately wanted, what she had been after for the past five years. It was completely out of character for Sheldon but he had acted on impulse, he had been spontaneous, taking her by surprise and sweeping her off her feet.
"You don't have to apologise" Amy muttered, she too kept her voice low, feeling the blush creeping on to her cheeks. "It was nice"
Amy was now the one to act on impulse, she reached out grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer to her so that there was very little space between their bodies. His lips instantly found hers, their mouths moved in perfect sync with one another, as if they were always meant to be, as if they were made for each other.
Ahhhhh! Who knows what all of that means?
Thank you all so much for reading and as always reviews are incredibly appreciated and always welcome.
We're still quite away off but I am starting to piece together some idea for the birth chapter/s. I have done two before and I'm conscious of repeating them and making them sound samey.
I've toyed with all sorts of ideas, hospital birth, home birth, something chill and peaceful or something a little dramatic. I don't know. Please let me know you thoughts and I really will try to take them on board.
Stay safe. Lots of love. xx