There were few times in her life when Amy Farrah Fowler had been nervous.
Those first days of school since pre-school, that first try of approaching a stranger in the hopes he/she becomes her friend, those thesis presentations, even that special day years ago when she was about to meet this mysterious yet positively intriguing man she met in a dating site made it to the list; but as she watched how her fingertips softly closed the pill box in her hand, she figured, she never had been this nervous all her life.
Soft ruffles from the bed made her looked up to her husband who was still peacefully sleeping. He was belly flopped, his bare back rising and falling with every breathing he did. He must have been exhausted, she thought with a smile and a slight shiver went down her spine as she remembered how Sheldon worshipped her body the night before.
Their lovemaking, while wasn't rough, brought along emotions that surprised both of them. It must be because it was a celebration of sort – after all, earlier that afternoon the King of Sweden himself handed them their Nobel medals; or maybe it was because her heart thud with joy with the way Sheldon publicly expressed his love and thanks to her and their friends as they received the greatest honor a scientist could ever have.
Whatever the reason, it paved way for the sacred connection they shared on that very bed her husband was lying on. For Amy, it felt like doing 'it' again for the very first time with Sheldon years ago. His eyes never leaving hers as he claimed her over and over again. The way he held her right after and the soft kiss he landed on her forehead told her he really deserve the news she held – she was his and only his alone.
Another slight movement from Sheldon pulled her from her thoughts and she slowly let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Her plan was to tell him before the ceremony yesterday but somehow it turned out to be a bad timing.
Today, however, felt like a new slate, for them, for her.
What she was about to share with Sheldon was something other women would have done months after their wedding. Bernadette did it, even Penny did it, so what's stopping you, Fowler? She mentally asked.
Gulping up some courage, she slowly made her way to the bed. Her soft patters didn't wake her husband, not even when the bed dipped when she gracefully sat down. She reached out and tamed the stray hairs on his forehead before leaning in to kiss his head. That did the trick – Sheldon inhaled, grunted and his blue eyes suddenly peeked from his lids and a small sleepy smile was drawn on his lips.
"Hi," Amy whispered.
"Hello," Sheldon groaned as he flung an arm around her torso. She was his. "How long have you been up?" he added as his eyes took in more of his surroundings.
"Bout an hour, I guess," she replied, feeling his thumb drawing symbols on her arm.
"An hour? Amy…" the physicist began as he slowly sat up, "you should have woken me up. You know I hate sleeping in."
"Figured that's the least I can do after the performance you did last night," she snide before letting out a small chuckle as she watched her husband blushed.
"Well, regardless. I would have appreciated it if you woke me up. I could have called room service, ordered breakfast, or maybe we could…" Sheldon suggestively began before closing in towards Amy before a hand on his shoulder stopped him mid-air.
"Hold that thought," the neurobiologist said with a smile before inhaling a huge amount of air as she watched Sheldon eyed her curiously.
She rarely declined kisses but she never did something like what she was about to do anyway.
Go on, Fowler, you can do this, she mentally urged herself.
"I got something for you," Amy shared as she fumbled on the bedside table before pulling out a beige legal envelope she kept so well from Pasadena. "I planned to give it to you yesterday," she started as her hand held it to Sheldon to take, "but, well, you know…"
He took the envelope, flipped it and looked at her.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Open it", she replied plainly but her smile urged him on.
So he did and there in bold blue and black letters he read, "California Technology University Employee Information?"
He looked up only to see his wife holding back a grin. She was biting her bottom lip like a funny kid who was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do.
"Read the bottom," Amy instructed before watching Sheldon's eyebrows closed in together. She was still holding that grin. He must have his own Dejavu. They had this moment years ago too – when he gave her his Valentines' Day gift of her being in his emergency contact list. Her name greeting her back then, her workplace address and her phone number – the works.
But that wasn't it, they had each other as an emergency contact since she got the research job at CalTech years ago. I
And then he saw it. The letters turned into words as his eyes landed on it. In one of the rare times in his life, Sheldon Cooper was too surprise to speak as his mind wrap itself around those words.
"I, Amy Farrah Fowler do hereby affix my signature, in accordance to all state laws, to be known as Amy Farrah Fowler-Cooper from today and on forth," he read softly. He gulped before eyeing his wife who was smiling at him.
"You… you're going to change your name?" Sheldon asked.
"Well, not really change my name per say," Amy explained, "I just decided it's about time to hyphen up your name and well, be known as your wife," she nervously added.
"And there's your signature on here," the physicist stated, eyeing the paper once again.
"Yes, yes, I did that," she said before landing a hand on his arm before swallowing a lump she didn't know she had. His sudden silence bringing back her worries. What if she's right? What if this is too much for him? What if he doesn't like it if she uses his surname? What if he…
"What about you?" Sheldon asked, looking up at her with the same worried expression.
"Me?" she asked, surprised. What does he mean what about her? "I don't understand," she stated.
"Amy," her husband began, wetting his bottom lip before adding, "when I learned that Penny changed her surname for Leonard's, I really didn't see the need for her to do it. When Bernadette hyphened hers for Howard's, I figured, yeah sure whatever; but when you didn't want to after we got married, there's something inside me that wanted to ask why but then… you went about and told me about not wanting to change… or get lost in this relationship," he added.
"Sheldon, I never said I didn't want to change my name," she sadly corrected.
"Still. You wanted to have your own, still be your own," he countered.
"Wait, don't you want me to change my name?" she directly yet nervously asked.
"No, no. Of course I want you to… I mean if you want to. I've actually been meaning to ask you a week after our wedding. I even got the papers for you to fill up… Or fill them up myself but," he said stopping mid-sentence to look at the paper before eyeing up her again, "I just don't want to be the reason why you lost yourself. I don't want our marriage to be the reason why you can't be you."
Tears brimmed Amy's softened eyes and she can't help but to cupped her husband's cheek.
"Oh Sheldon, I am already me and part of being me is being your wife," she said on which he nodded, "and while a t-shirt could say hands-off he's mine, I realized, having your name next to mine does a better job."
He let out a small chuckle, remembering her reference.
"So you really mean this?" he asked, holding up the paper, wanting to be sure.
"Yes, I do. Its' got my name and signature on it," she said, "from here on forth, I am legally, more importantly, documently your wife" she added as she watched her husband let out a small laugh.
"I love you, I love you so much," Sheldon said before pulling her in and diving for a kiss.
For a brief moment, Amy let herself got lost in their kisses. Suddenly, she felt his weight on top of hers while feeling Sheldon deepening his kisses. Their hands conquering whatever plains and curved they could reach on each other's body.
But just as soon as Sheldon lips reached the skin just below her ear, something clicked inside her brain. There still another news left to say.
He was busy cupping her breast when she pushed him back a little, effectively stopping him on his ministrations. His blue eyes landing on her green orbs, somehow asking what. She never declined a good grope, not when it's about to lead to them being intimate.
"What now?" Sheldon asked, obviously annoyed.
"There's still something else I've been meaning to tell you," she began.
"And you really have to do it right NOW?" he asked on which she nodded, biting back a grin.
"A month ago, I went to see my doctor for an annual routine exam. Nothing scary, just basic rounds of tests and consultations," Amy shared.
"Okay…," Sheldon replied, still clueless as to where this conversation was heading.
"Anyway, all things are good, but I kind'a… sort'a asked her when I could stop using my…" she began, stopping when she felt Sheldon's eyes were looking at her intently, "… birth control pills."
"Stop them?" Sheldon asked.
"Yes, Sheldon," She nodded and smiled. "She gave me the all clear talk outs; And today I just took the last pill in my box," she added.
She watched him digest the news. She realized how he might be confused. Talks of procreating have always been a topic they discussed like skating on thin ice.
While they talked about their 'The Progeny Dream' months after they met, the idea was shut down short after.
When they finally got together, the idea of having a baby too early in their relationship seemed like a preposterous idea.
When they finally had their first night together, Amy secretly took a "Morning After Pill" the next day - that even after seeing Sheldon put on a condom before sliding into her.
A year after, when the results of their combined skin samples were off the chart, she bravely blocked every seduction Sheldon made. When he got home from the Hofstader's, she remembered sitting him up for a talk why a baby was something she didn't want to have at the moment.
And on their first Annual State of the Marriage Summit, she was the one who insisted they wait for things to settle down. I want to be your wife first, she told him that night and she could swore she could see the dismay in his eyes.
Through all these, Amy was the one who got the main say. While Sheldon was eager to start their family sooner, there's no way he would push his wishes, not when she's the one who will carry and give birth to their love child. After all, the word 'children' was always included in their talks, a part of their plan.
So he patiently waited for the day that Amy gives him the 'Let's do this' words that didn't come until today.
"Does that mean we could try?" he asked, still unsure.
"Yes," Amy confirmed softly. "I'm ready to start our family now, Sheldon. I've actually been thinking about saying it to you way before Penny got pregnant. In fact, I tried to tell you that night after we played with Halley and Michael."
"Then well, why didn't you tell me?" the physicist asked.
"Guess I got scared or something, I don't know," Amy confessed, "and you kind of stopped my motor running when you said about wanting fifteen kids," she joked, obviously trying to lightened the mood.
Silence came over both of them as she watched her husband slowly took everything in. She can practically see the wheels in his heads turning as he licked his bottom lip. He too, just like her, was processing things as well.
In one day, she managed to drop, not just one, but two news some couples tend to do in a few months. Maybe she should have done this one topic at a time, the neurobiologist thought.
"These are huge changes, Amy," he stated after a gulp.
"It is," she agreed as she ran her hand on his forearm.
"And not just about the baby. You're going to change your name too," the physicists recalled.
"I know. But they aren't all that bad, are they?" she asked.
He shook his head 'No'.
"Are you really sure you're ready for all of those?" Sheldon asked a beat after, his eyes boring into hers. While he looked worried, unsure and maybe excited at the same time, Amy felt a wave of affection towards her husband. Until today, her well-being and wishes still comes first before his.
"Yes," she said firmly with a smile, landing a palm on one side of his cheek.
"Pregnancy is going to make you fat," her husband jokingly reminded.
"I don't care," she responded with a slight chuckle in her voice.
"You're gonna get cranky. And moody," Sheldon began on which she hummed her reply before she felt that familiar lips landing on hers. "And we have to start baby-proofing the apartment". A kiss. "You also need to try working on a new signature," A kiss. "Or we have to tag ourselves Cooper A, Cooper B in case people try to call us in a hallway and…"
"Sheldon," Amy pushed him back a little, just enough for her to look into his eyes while stealing glances at his beckoning lips now glistening from their kisses. "It'll be okay. Let's just take one step at a time, shall we?" she added before pulling off her robe off her shoulder.
In the whole course of their relationship, they already made love 14 times but she still can't get over how he looks at her whenever she reveals herself to him. That look of pure wonder, amazement, love and even that elusive lust he only reserves for her made her insides burn.
"I guess you're right," Sheldon states a beat after.
He lifted a hand before landing it gently on her now bare forearm, sliding it towards the crook of her neck as he says, "But you know what's the best first step, Mrs. Cooper?" he asked, closing in on her.
He hears his wife hummed a reply of 'what?'.
"Putting a 'Cooper' inside you," Sheldon said before pressing his lips on hers.
