Thank you so so much for all of the lovely reviews on the last chapter. It totally gave me a boost and inspiration for this chapter (slightly quicker update than before) so thank you so much for that!

It was my intention for this chapter to be the last one but as always I got far too carried away and didn't want it to go on forever.

From reading some of the comments on the last chapter, I hope this is the start of what you were after!

Enjoy!

"I want five mumma" Emily exclaimed excitedly from where she sat at the breakfast bar, watching her mother from across the kitchen cook pancakes. She was always fascinated by cooking, whether it be Amy or Sheldon that was making dinner, Emily wouldn't be too far behind desperate to help out and asking them questions about what they were doing and why, it seemed to be a real interest of hers.

"Five! I think five might be a little too many. How about we just start off with two and see how we go from there" Amy tried to reason with her as she flipped the pancakes in the pan, the smell that was wafting through the house was delicious. "We'll have to save some for daddy too" she added as an after thought.

"Okay" Emily sighed, resting her little face in her hands. "Can I have five if I promise not to have syrup on all of them" Emily tried, she really was quite good at trying to strike up a bargain, her negotiation skills were second to none, they blamed her auntie Penny for that.

"We shall see" Amy recalled her mother saying this to her all the time as a child and nine times out of ten it meant no. She wasn't so sure Emily had clicked on to that yet. "Do you want to bring your plate over?" Amy asked, turning around from the pan of pancakes to talk to Emily.

Since moving into the new house ten weeks ago, Amy had been making even more of an effort to make Emily feel special and included in all of the changes that were going on in her life right now. After the initial uncertainty over moving house, Emily had coped with the move well, she quickly understood the benefits of the new house, relishing in more space, her new much bigger bedroom and the huge back yard that she now had to play in.

One of the changes Amy had put in place was making a real fuss over breakfast at the weekends. During the working week and the usual morning rush to get everyone to daycare and work breakfast often consisted of a quick bowl of cereal or a few bites of toast. Now, in the new house and with the new baby due any day now, Amy had really been enjoying the one on one time with her daughter in the mornings, the further along her pregnancy progressed the more precious the moments between them became. She had to admit that there had been a few times where tears had been shed to Sheldon when she realised their days with Emily as their baby were numbered.

"Can I have syrup on these two mumma?" Emily asked holding her plate out as Amy neatly stacked the two pancakes. "Pleaseee" she drawled out the word and flashed her mother a huge cheesy grin that both she and Sheldon, despite their best efforts often found very hard to resist.

"Okay, but choose two pieces of fruit too" Amy told her gesturing to the little bowls of fruit that had all been chopped and set out like some kind of pancake bar. Emily smiled and grabbed handfuls of bananas and blueberries, tossing them on to her pancakes before squeezing out a rather large helping of syrup. "Right, that's enough" Amy told her, "you'll be bouncing off the ceiling in minutes."

Emily didn't protest, instead she laughed at Amy's saying. In her head, her bouncing off of the ceiling seemed a rather funny image. Stretching up to put her plate on the counter, only being just able to reach, Emily hauled herself up on to one of the bar stools. The way she mastered this blew Amy's mind, it consisted of Emily pretty much lying on the stool flat on her stomach, eventually pushing herself up on to her knees and then sliding her legs under her so that she was now sat on her bottom.

Amy smiled, making her way round the breakfast bar and kissing her daughters head as she shoved a forkful of pancakes in her mouth. Helping Emily out with things was something over the last month or so that Amy found increasingly hard to do, with a large stomach in the way it made the most simplest of tasks near on impossible. Subsequently, it had made Emily become very independent, Amy had also had a little cry to herself when she realised that her baby really wasn't a baby anymore and that despite not being here yet, her baby brother had forced her to grow up maybe slightly quicker than Amy had anticipated.

"Are they good?" Amy asked, as she turned back to the stove to pour more pancake mix into the pan. These would be for Sheldon, Amy figured it wouldn't be long until he made his way downstairs from his morning shower.

"They're the best pancakes ever!" Emily exclaimed, digging into her pancakes once again.

All was quiet for a moment as Amy cooked and Emily ate. Amy loved this, looking out on to a beautiful backyard, the morning sun high in the sky, birds tweeting, flowers blooming. It made a huge change from the traffic she was used to hearing and the view of just another apartment from their tiny kitchen window. She loved the peace and quiet that came with this new house, the peace and quiet that was a rare occurrence in her usual family life. What Amy loved the most was how it made feel, how content and in love she was with this little life, this little growing family that she and Sheldon had made together.

"Daddy, those are mine" Amy whipped round upon hearing Emily scolding her father, to see Sheldon who had crept up on Emily and stolen a nibble from one of her pancakes.

"Sorry, they're just too tasty" he gently cupped her face and kissed her nose.

"Stop being so greedy. I'm making you some right now" Amy told him, feeling his presence saddle up to her as she flipped the pancakes.

"Good morning" he smiled, Amy turned her head to press a gentle kiss to his lips, his lips tasted sweet and were a little sticky from the syrup.

"Morning" she chirped, he moved around her pulling a glass from the cupboard and juice from the fridge.

"Do you want juice Em?" he asked, earning himself a sound of approval from her and a little nod.

"I...um...I need to talk to you" Amy whispered, keeping her voice quiet. She had to tell him now, it had been easy to hide from Emily so far, with her back turned whilst cooking it was no problem at all. Sheldon was bound to figure it out soon enough, that or ask her a million questions throughout the morning which would just infuriate her. He moved closer to her as she flipped his pancakes out of the pan, stacking them nowhere near as neatly as she did Emily's. "I'm pretty sure I'm in labour" she whispered.

"What? You're in.." he exclaimed almost spilling juice over the side of the glass. Amy reached out and put a hand on his arm, silencing him with a quick glare and a nod in Emily's direction. "Why on earth are you making pancakes if you're in labour?" he too kept his voice quiet this time. He was freaking out, why wasn't she? He was somewhat in awe of her ability to carry on with normality whilst in what she suspected to be labour.

"I'm okay" she dismissed his worry, waving her hand almost as if she could swat his worries away.

"You're really sure this is happening?"

"Pretty sure" she nodded, placing the pan in the sink as she started to wash it up. She decided to give the pancakes a miss. She didn't quite feel like eating. "I think I've been having contractions for the last few hours" having gone through this before with Emily, it put her in good stead for recognising the signs of labour this time round. Something that she thought she had forgotten about until it actually started happening and then the familiarity of it all came flooding back. She remembered going into labour with Emily, two weeks early over lunch with Penny, she was in a state of denial back then, happy to pass the pains off as braxton hicks, almost having to be told by her best friend that she was definitely about to have a baby.

"You're having contractions? Why didn't you wake me?" Sheldon's voice was rising in pitch and volume. When news broke of her being I. labour with Emily, he was with Leonard so she never really saw his initial freak out, now however, even though they had gone through this before she could see it all so clearly in his eyes.

"They're still quite far apart about twelve minutes" she told him. She had been trying to time them whilst tending to Emily, every so often glancing over at the clock, that being said she was sure she had missed a few minutes that had ticked by.

"Mumma, can I have another pancake please?" Emily asked ever so sweetly from where she was sitting. Amy had been so distracted that she had forgotten to cook more for her.

"Here. Have one of mine" Sheldon told her as he slid the plate across the breakfast bar to her.

"Thank you" she beamed.

"So what do we do?" he asked, voice quiet as he turned his attention back to Amy, his heart was thumping, pounding in his chest.

"We keep calm and just let things happen" this time round Amy had insisted on a home birth and miraculously she had managed to get Sheldon on board with the idea. She was desperate for things to remain calm and gentle, serene and peaceful and with this potentially being her last baby, she really wanted to experience having her baby at home. Sheldon stopped to watch her, she was cleaning, washing the dishes and taking care of their daughter all whilst in the early stages of labour. He couldn't quite believe what he was witnessing, she was pretty amazing.

"Okay" he nodded, trying to keep his nerves in check. If Amy was so calm then there was no reason for him to go flying off the handle. He could do this, he had done this before and despite her calmness right now, he knew Amy would really need him. "Em doesn't know does she?" he asked.

"No, that's why we're whispering" she laughed. "I've managed to hide it from her so far" she rushed her words as she felt another contraction building. She she couldn't be sure but everything this time round felt much stronger, she didn't remember her contractions starting out this intense with Emily. She inhaled a sharp breath, her eyes gently closing and her hands balled into fists, totally in the zone she managed to take deep, slow breaths through the pain whilst gently rubbing at her bump. Sheldon had nothing but adoration for her.

"Do I need to call Penny and Leonard?" he asked. They had decided that when Amy eventually went into labour Emily would go and stay with Leonard and Penny until it was time to meet her baby brother. Upon discussion Emily had seemed fine with the suggestion, she adored her auntie and uncle and loved any time that she could spend with them but Amy had a feeling that when the time came she would want to stay and meet her baby brother.

"No, not right now" Amy told him, although she knew this was happening and she was cautious of Emily seeing her pain, this would be the last few moments spent just as a family of three, their last morning together. She really did want to drag it out for as long as possible. "Maybe text them" she spoke when she saw that he was desperate for something to do, desperate to feel useful in some way. "Tell them that things have started and we'll be needing them soon" she explained.

"Okay" he nodded. "I can do that" he retrieved his phone from his back pocket and tapped out a text to Leonard, just placing them on standby for a few hours time when Sheldon was sure they would definitely be needed.

"Can we go to the park today?" Emily asked. Amy's heart ached, she would have loved to have had just one last little visit to the park, maybe she could manage it, walking and staying active was supposed to be good for brining on labour.

"Sure, why don't you go and put your shoes on and we'll head out now. Only for a little bit" she told her. Sheldon was staring at her like she was some kind of mad woman.

"What are you doing?" Sheldon asked. "You can't.."

"Sheldon, they're twelve minutes apart, right now they're bearable, we'll go for half an hour and then we'll head straight home" Amy reassured him. Taking this walk was no different than when she walked the hallways of the hospital when in labour with Emily, she didn't voice that out loud though as she was sure that Sheldon would have some smart come back.

"Okay, we'll I'm coming too" he was insistent on this and definitely wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Of course you are" now it was Amy's turn to look at him like he was crazy, did he really think she was going to manage Emily and contractions by herself. "I can't do this without you" although it was a flippant comment, something snapped within Sheldon, she needed him and that he could do.

—

The park was just a short walking distance away from their home, Amy took comfort in that fact, knowing that if things suddenly began to progress, they should at least be able to make it back home. It felt good to get out of the house, to take a walk and take her mind off what undoubtedly was going to be a pretty life changing few hours. Due it still being fairly early in the morning, the place was rather quiet, the odd runner and dog walker were all that seemed to pass them by.

"Mumma, come and play" Emily called from where Sheldon was pushing her ever so carefully on the swing. They were currently the only occupants of the rather large play area, Emily loved having free reign of the place, running from one piece of equipment to the other with Sheldon trying his hardest to catch up with her.

Emily was quite the dare devil, she was never satisfied with how high she was pushed on a swing and would happily climb to the very top of the tallest climbing frame she could find. If wasn't for her father, hovering nervously nearby, constantly warning her to take it easy and be careful, Amy was sure Emily would try her luck at jumping off. She was absolutely fearless, a quality that Amy loved about her, if it wasn't for the fact that she grew inside of her and actually gave birth to her, Amy would be left wondering whether she was actually theirs at all.

From where she was perched on a nearby, Amy smiled to herself as she watched them together. She loved the little moments where she could just sit back and watch, where she could just relax and take in their budding and beautiful relationship. She loved Sheldon so much, she had always known that, but watching him become a father, watching how much he loved and doted on Emily, well that just made her fall for him even more than she thought possible.

"Okay, I'm coming" she hauled herself up from the rickety bench, that she was surprised could take her weight. She couldn't be sure on the frequency but she was definitely sure that these contractions were getting stronger. "You do know you can push her a little higher" Amy teased as she approached Sheldon who was still pushing the swing.

Standing up had caused things to shift, the baby suddenly felt much lower and now her back was also coming into the game. She had forgotten about the back pains that at times were just as bad as the contractions, she remembered suffering with that when in labour with Emily, it all came flooding back to her.

"Just because you know something doesn't mean you should do it" Sheldon told her. "Pushing her higher would be too dangerous" for the moment Emily seemed pretty content being pushed by her father, she seemed to be off in her own little world completely unaware of her parents conversation.

It was a good thing Emily was preoccupied because thats when Amy felt it, another contraction starting up. She felt everything tighten and her face crumple at the pain, she found herself turning to lean on the bar of the swing, bracing her hand against the metal and dropping her forehead to her forearm where she breathed heavily through the pain.

"Are you okay?" Sheldon asked whipping his head round upon hearing her breathing change.

"Mhmm" she quickly nodded her head. "Just keep pushing the swing" she told him, gesturing with her hand as she exhaled. She really didn't want Emily to click on and see her in pain. Even after the contraction was over, Amy remained in the same position until she had managed to even out her breathing.

"Should we head back?" Sheldon asked, keeping his voice quiet as Emily swung her legs back and forth in a bid to get herself higher. Amy pulled herself away from the bar, her hands instantly going to the bottom of her back, massaging where the pain was. He suddenly remembered it all, how much his hands and fingers ached from constantly massaging Amy's back the first time round. Of course, he knew better than to complain.

"Yeah, I think we should" she nodded, things were happening now and seeming very real.

—

The walk home had been pretty tough, even though it wasn't far, trying to disguise how much pain she was in when a contraction struck was becoming increasingly harder with each one. Emily left the park without a mutter of disappointment, Amy was pretty sure she knew something was going, Emily was incredibly intuitive and had insisted on holding her mothers hand on the way home.

"Sweetie, come here. Mummy needs to talk to you" Amy told her once they had returned home, she had insistently found comfort on the couch, the soft furnishings easing her back a little. She patted the space next to her and Emily soon snuggled into the gap, cuddling close to her mother. "You know we had to leave the park a little early" she felt Emily nod against her. "Well that's because your little brothers coming" Amy explained as Emily looked up at her, excitement and uncertainty in her eyes.

"He is?" she asked, looking down at Amy's stomach.

"Yeah" Amy nodded, she couldn't help but smile when she saw Emily's little face light up. "Daddy is ringing Penny, remember we talked about you going to stay with her and uncle Leonard" she explained. They had discussed this with her just a few weeks ago.

"Oh" she moaned, her lips pouty. "Can't I stay?" she asked hopefully, when initially discussed she had been thrilled at the thought of spending time with Penny.

"You can't stay sweetie, remember we talked about this. Mummy's going to be in a bit of pain and that won't be nice to see" she told her as she stroked her hair, right now she didn't want to let her go, she wanted to stay cuddling her forever.

"Does it really hurt when you have a baby?" she seemed genuinely intrigued by the process.

"A little" Amy admitted, refraining from telling her daughter about it being the worst pain she'd ever gone through in her life.

"Worse than when you fall and cut your knee" Amy nodded. "Whoah" Emily's eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open, it comforted Amy to know that the worse pain Emily had felt was simply falling and cutting her knee. "Did it hurt when you had me?"

"Yeah, a little" Amy reached out and hooked Emily's hair behind her ear. She couldn't believe how big she was, it really did only seem like two minutes ago since she was a tiny little thing that would contently lie on her chest. "But you were worth every single second" she smiled, kissing her nose.

"When my brother gets here, can I see him?"

"Of course you can" she smiled, "as soon as he's here daddy can come and get you" she really couldn't wait to see the two of them together, Emily was so excited to meet him, she really would be like a second little mummy.

"The bracelets" Emily gasped as if a lightbulb had just gone off in her mind, before Amy had time to question what on earth she was on about, she was off. She dashed off into the hallway and started running up the stairs, it was good timing really as another contraction picked up as soon as Emily left the room. Gripping on to the arm of the sofa, Amy was able to breathe through the pain which seemed to ease upon Emily's arrival.

"What are these?" Amy asked as Emily stood before her, holding two tiny bracelets in her hand, Amy shuffled to get comfortable, her back was really starting to hurt now.

"I made these with daddy a while ago" she told Amy as she pulled herself up on to the sofa and reclaimed her current position. They could hear Sheldon talking on the phone with Penny in the next room. "We said this one was lucky" Emily explained as she held up one that just had green and purple sparkly beads threaded on it. "You could wear this one when you have my baby brother" Amy's heart melted, the tears were stinging her eyes already. How had they managed to raise such a sweet, caring and kind little person.

"Oh sweetheart" Amy put her hand on her chest. "I love it, it's perfect. I'll wear it the whole time, I promise" she spoke as Emily slid it onto her wrist, it was a little tight but Amy really didn't care.

"What about this one?" Amy asked, pointing to the other bracelet that Emily was holding.

"This one is for my brother, I don't know what his favourite colour will be so I used all the colours I have" if the bracelet for her hadn't been enough, then the gesture to make one for brother had well and truly melted Amy's heart.

"Do you know, you're going to be the best big sister" she quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"I'm so excited!"

—

"Penny!" Emily squealed excitedly as she went racing down the hallway towards the front door.

"Hey scamp" Penny beamed, picking up the little four year old and spinning her round before settling her on her hip. "You doing okay?" she asked bouncing her up and down.

"Yeah" she nodded. "Mummy is having my baby brother today."

"I know. Daddy's told me all about it" Penny told her looking over at Sheldon, she had known him long enough to know that right now he was nervous. "I was thinking we could go for ice cream and then we could have a pamper day" she smiled as she watched Emily's little face light up. Penny was definitely more like her older sister who spoilt her with mini face masks and manicures, Emily loved all that.

"Not too much ice cream" Sheldon warned. "She had pancakes this morning that were swimming with syrup, if she has a sugar rush, she'll crash hard"

"We'll be fine, won't we" Penny looked towards Emily who was nodding her head in agreement.

"Do you want to go and get your bag?" Sheldon asked as Penny placed Emily down on the ground and she dashed off upstairs, leaving Penny and Sheldon alone.

"Is Amy doing okay?" Penny asked, she wasn't sure whether to bring this up in front of Emily, she wasn't entirely sure how much they were exposing her too.

"Yeah, I think so. She's currently pacing the living room" he knew that her pacing, although it made him nervous was simply her way of coping with the pain.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder. Their friendship was pretty special, she had known him long before Amy came into his life and had simply sat back and watched him grow as a person. Grow into someone that was now a husband and a father but right now as he stood before her he was just a bag of nerves.

"Yeah" he nodded, although it didn't quite convince Penny. "Just have to be there for Amy" up until now, he had always thought that going through this before would put them both in good stead but now it was happening he wasn't sure that was the case. Before, they were naive to the process and were just swept away with the moment, only really realising how intense it all had been until it was over. Now they knew what to expect, Sheldon knew what the next few hours would entail and that really scared him.

"It's okay" Penny assured. She wanted to say more, wanted to tell him that Amy was strong and could get through, that she was sure it was okay and completely normal to be just as scared the second time round but Amy appearing in the door way, just as Emily was making her way down the stairs with her purple sparkly rucksack on her back stopped her in her tracks.

"Hi" Amy smiled, leaning against the door frame. Penny thought she seemed so together for someone in labour.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Back pain and contractions, it's going great" she was able to laugh even though, just like Sheldon, she was starting to freak out a little. "Are you ready to go?" Amy turned her attention to Emily who had now joined them and was now scooped up in her fathers arms. She was already feeling the lump rise in her throat and the tears stinging her eyes as she contemplated saying goodbye to her little girl. Of course, she knew it wasn't goodbye forever but the next time she saw her, there would be a whole other little person in their lives.

"Hmm" she nodded her head.

"You've got teddy" Amy asked, they had no idea how long this would take, she was in labour with Emily for over 24 hours. If Emily needed to stay overnight with Penny and Leonard she would be absolutely lost without her teddy.

"Yep"

"Okay, can I have big cuddle" still resting on Sheldon's hip, Emily reached across to Amy and wrapped her arms around her neck, they squeezed each other so tightly. "I love you so much" Amy cupped Emily's face, feeling her squishy cheeks against her skin.

"Love you too mumma"

After a quick goodbye with her father, Emily and Penny left hand in hand. As soon as the door closed behind them Amy let the tears fall down her cheeks.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sheldon asked, placing his hand on her arm. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm just being silly" she wiped her eyes quickly. "I feel like everything just got very real and I don't know, I'm starting to get a little anxious" she admitted. "Can you just make sure I stay calm?" she asked, it was a big deal for her to remain calm and in control throughout all of this. "Throughout it all just keep me calm, okay"

"Of course" he nodded. "Of course, I can do that" he reached out and pulled her in for a cuddle, kissing the top of her head. They were ready to go through all of this all over again.

Thank you so much for reading! As always reviews are always appreciated and so so welcome.

The next chapter will be the last and feature baby boy Cooper's arrival and Emily meeting him for the first time.

Stay safe! Lots of love! xxx