Hi lovely readers!
Thank you all so much for all of the reviews on the last chapter. It means so much!
Here is another prompt. This one was requested by Hannah22. I loved writing this one, although I have written similar things to this before the different angle it took I really loved. Hope it was what you were after.
Enjoy everyone!
As soon as his flight landed, he scrambled for his phone. With shaking hands, his fingers hovered over Penny's names before hitting the green call button. Placing the phone to his ear, he knew that the chance of him making it back in time was pretty slim and he was now just desperate to hear some news of any kind.
It was all that consumed his mind throughout the flight. He had tried sleeping, he even tried using an eye mask, which he found uncomfortable and itchy, in the hope of blocking out everything around him however, the darkness just caused his mind to focus even more on what he was trying to avoid. He had tried the in flight movies however, nothing grasped his attention and they just became irritating background noise amongst his own thoughts.
Tapping his foot anxiously as the dialling tone rang in his ear, he wasn't sure he'd been this nervous for anything in his life. Finally, a click signalling that someone had answered and for the tiniest of seconds a moment of silence as he waited for her to speak.
"Hi" he wanted to be able to decipher what was going on from her tone but he couldn't quite figure it out. What he did conclude was the background sounded peaceful, there was no noise or commotion like he had been expecting.
"What's going on? What's happening? Have I missed anything?" the words came pouring out of his mouth at a rate he hadn't expected.
"I'll hand you over to Amy" he hadn't quite registered what Penny had said, he didn't have time to respond before he heard his wife saying hello. Despite it only being nearly four hours, he had missed her voice. She sounded happier than the phone call he had had with her before he got on the plane, where his heart had broken into a million piece when she sobbed down the line that she couldn't do this without him.
"She's here Sheldon" he didn't miss the tears in her voice, he also noticed how she sounded a little hoarse, her throat sore and aching. A mix of emotions hit him all at once, more than he ever thought it was possible to feel in one go. He had missed it. He knew it was inevitable but hearing it, having confirmation of that fact left him feeling awful and full of guilt. Almost instantly, those emotions were wiped away and replaced with more love than he never knew one could feel and a happiness like he'd never felt before. He was a father. Everything in his whole world had shifted with just one plane journey.
"Is she okay? Are you okay?" he asked quickly, trying to hold it together in the middle of a packed airport. He could feel the tears stinging his eyes and as he glanced round, mainly to ensure no one was staring at him, he wondered how many people had been given life changing news just like he had.
"We're good. We're both really good. Sheldon, she's so perfect," he could hear the tears in her voice again. This should have been a moment that they shared together, a blissful, beautiful memory to treasure.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there" he would spend his whole life apologising for that.
"It's okay. There's nothing we can do about that now," and that right there, her understanding and kindness, was why he loved her so much. "Just hurry up and get here so she can meet you" she was smiling, he could hear it.
"I'm on my way. I'm on my way" he repeated as he finally picked up pace and realised he needed to search for Leonard, who just like Penny had dropped everything to be there for their best friends "I love you both so much Amy," he really did, without even meeting his daughter, he felt it. An unconditional love.
—
Five hours. Thats all it had taken. Just five hours for her little girl to enter the world screaming and making her presence known instantly. As soon as she was placed upon Amy's chest her heart exploded, the overwhelming rush of love that she'd been so scared about not feeling hit her immediately. After the most intense pain she'd ever been through, she was finally a mother.
"They're twenty minutes away" Penny announced, checking her phone after receiving a text from Sheldon. Despite this being the best day of Amy's life, it was missing one very important person, the person she had needed and wanted more than anyone. Her husband. Sheldon.
When it came to details, Amy was organised and meticulous. A trait that had made Sheldon fall all the more in love with her. Throughout her third trimester, she had spent hours researching and planning what she deemed to be the perfect birth, she wanted it to be as drug free as possible, she wanted candles and a pool, she wanted a calm, serene atmosphere. She wasn't naive to the fact that labour had a mind of its own so despite having a rather detailed plan in place, she knew it could all be subject to change. What she hadn't considered changing in the slightest was the person that was going to be there with her throughout it all.
Although he was initially reluctant, Amy had dragged Sheldon along to numerous birthing classes and a few tours of various hospitals. If Sheldon Cooper was going to do a job, he was going to it properly. No more than ten minutes into their first class, he had whipped out a notepad and had started taking notes. Even though they could never really be one hundred percent prepared for labour, he wanted to be as prepared as possible and nothing filled Amy's heart with more love than watching him, without her nagging, making a real effort. She appreciated it more than he would ever know.
He knew what to do and she took great comfort in knowing that when she was losing control, he could be the one person to bring her back down and keep her calm. Yet, he wasn't here. He hadn't been there.
Just four days ago, Sheldon had received a phone call that had made his heart drop to the very pit of his stomach and filled him with dread and worry. His beloved Meemaw had taken a turn for the worst. With Amy being almost 37 weeks pregnant, he was completely torn on what to do. She had returned home from a day out with Penny to find her husband home early from work and completely at a loss.
Without hesitation, Amy urged him to go to Texas. It was the right thing to do, he needed to be with his family and his family needed him. Although, Amy was desperate to go and support her husband, they both agreed that flying as far into her pregnancy as she was, was just a little too risky. He was of course reluctant to leave his wife and unborn baby but she assured him that he still had plenty of time until their daughter arrived and that she would be absolutely fine without him for a few days.
Thankfully, after a few days Meemaw seemed to be recovering well but just four days into Sheldon's trip, Amy started feeling what would become the start of her labour. A mild pain in her lower back and various aches and pains had been how it had started. They had become very much the norm for her throughout the latter stage of her pregnancy and at the time, it was nothing new or anything to be concerned about or so she thought.
It was a few hours later when the contractions hit her at full force. She had always assumed that they would start and build up gradually, that she would be in labour at home for quite a long time, timing the contractions before anything became of them. However, this hadn't been the case, they left her curling in on herself due to the pain, left her leaning against furniture in order to support herself because she simply couldn't stand through them. She knew labour would hurt but this really was something else.
Panicking because Sheldon was so far away, she called Penny. It seemed awfully lazy given the fact she was just across the hall but Amy really doubted her ability to put one foot in front of the other. The rest really had been a blur and everything had moved at pace Amy didn't know was possible for your first baby.
Penny instantly sprung into action, helping her into the elevator where Amy's water broke once she reached the lobby. The car journey was awful, pain and panic accompanied by Penny's less than smooth driving really wasn't the ideal combination. Everything was happening so fast, she barely had time to process. There was pain, so much pain. All she could remember was Penny being there throughout it all, holding her hand and telling her that everything would be okay. She briefly recalled a phone call with Sheldon where she was sure she'd spent the majority of the time crying.
Before she knew it, she was being told to push. She told them she could wait, that she could hold on until Sheldon got here, that he had to make it and that he couldn't miss it. Their daughter had other ideas and after forty five minutes of pushing, she was here in her mother's arms and almost instantly everything was forgotten.
Amy smiled at her best friend, she really had no idea how she was going to repay her for all that she had done for her. Without a shadow of a doubt she would have been completely lost without her. "You're going to meet your daddy soon" Amy cooed, turning her attention to the baby in her arms, in just twenty minutes her little family would be complete and finally together. "Do you think he's okay?" Amy turned to ask Penny.
"Knowing Sheldon, chances are he's panicking and driving Leonard mad."
—
"Can you please drive faster?" Sheldon asked. He was never one to suggest breaking the law but he was so desperate to reach the hospital, feeling as if he'd missed so much precious time already. Ever since he had set foot in the car he had been restless and fidgety, unable to keep still.
"Will you relax" Leonard told him. He was trying to be patient with him, he had spent most of his adult life being patient with him. He understood that today was a huge day for him, a life changing day. "I'm going as fast as I can. We'll be there real soon" he was gentler with him this time.
"Sorry, I know. I'm just… well I feel very overwhelmed" two very rare things took place in that one sentence. Although very brief, Sheldon Cooper had apologised and admitted how he was feeling.
"I know" Leonard sympathised. He understood however, he knew if he said such a thing Sheldon would point out that he couldn't possibly understand because he wasn't a father. "I guess it's all just a lot to take in right?"
"Right" Sheldon nodded. "What if I'm not good enough Leonard?" throughout Amy's pregnancy he had doubted his ability to be a father, the whole concept wasn't something that he thought came naturally to him at all and all he wanted was the very best for her.
"Of course you'll be good enough. You're Sheldon Cooper, you're good at everything" he wanted to lighten mood and give Sheldon a little confidence boost but when that didn't seem to work he continued. "All parents make mistakes, you just learn on the job don't you, no one really knows what they're doing" he spoke with so much wisdom, like he was a father already with six kids at home. "And you have Amy" Leonard was trying to reel off as many encouraging things as he could think of to settle his friends nerves. "You're both in this together."
That was just it. He had Amy. They had each other. She would be so calm and patient with him. When he was clueless on how to change her, dress her and feed her she would gently explain it all to him until he got the hang of it. He really couldn't imagine doing any of this with anyone else.
—
For the first time since she had been born, Amy was alone with her daughter, Penny had left to go and meet Sheldon and show him up to Amy's room. Everything suddenly fell still and silent, it was just the two of them, precious first moments between a mother and daughter. Amy could not put into words how much this tiny little girl meant to her, she couldn't keep her eyes off of her, there was nothing in this world she wanted to keep looking at more than the beautiful angelic face of her daughter.
"Your daddy's finally here" Amy whispered as she spoke to the tiny bundle. "You know you're very lucky to have him. We both are" she couldn't stop the smile from stretching across her face when she spoke about him. "He's the best man I know and he's going to love you so much" her heart could have burst right now, she couldn't recall a time where she had felt this happy, her wedding day came close but this topped it all.
The gentle creek of the door caught Amy's attention causing her to look up. She had never been more relieved to see him, more relieved to see anyone in her life, she couldn't control the tears that had started to fill her eyes. He was finally here.
"Hi" he whispered as he slipped into the room. For some reason, Amy thought he looked smaller, maybe it was because he was a little scared. He had a tendency to turn right back into a little boy when that happened.
"Hi" she smiled. Sheldon thought she looked beautiful, quite possibly the most beautiful he'd ever seen her look. She had no make up on, her hair was still a little messy but to him she looked perfect. She had a glow, a glow of pure contentment and happiness, he already loved seeing her like this. His Amy, now a mother. "Come and say hello" Amy's eyes gestured down to the little girl in her arms.
Sheldon took a few steps forward and that's when he saw her, really saw her for the very first time. A first for Sheldon, he was rendered speechless. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might explode right there in his chest, his stomach was all a flutter like the first time he had met Amy.
"Amy, she's wonderful" he felt his breath hitch in his throat and he could hear the wobble as he tried to stop himself from crying. He gently sat down on the bed to get a clearer view. She really was the most perfect little person he had ever seen. She had a tiny dusting of dark hair, the cutest button nose and pouty, rosy pink lips. At the moment her eyes were closed, her eyelashes were dark and long, every little feature and detail about her blew his mind. She was really real and she was all theirs.
"She is, isn't she" she could feel herself crying again, she knew having a baby would be emotional but this was getting silly. Watching Sheldon watch her was a whole emotion that she had completely underestimated, the sheer look of love and pure adoration in his eyes was something she'd never seen before.
He reached out, carefully taking hold of her little hand with his index finger. He couldn't quite get over how tiny she was, his finger was pretty much her whole hand, everything about her was so small and fragile. He knew it sounded ridiculous, but she was so tiny he was worried she might break.
"She has ten little fingers and toes" Amy commented when she clocked on to why Sheldon was playing with her hands, he was counting her fingers, checking over every little detail. "The doctor checked and then I double checked" she laughed.
"I can't believe she's here. I can't believe she's real" he was already besotted by her, unable to remove his gaze from her perfect sleeping face. "She's okay isn't she? You know with her being early, they said she was okay, right?" Amy knew he was panicking, she found it so endearing and sweet.
"She's doing great. They didn't have any concerns at all," Amy explained. "Do you want to hold her?"
"Um.." Sheldon cleared his throat. He was so nervous to hold her, she was so tiny and precious and he was so tall and a little clumsy. What if she woke up or fidgeted too much and he just dropped her. He shook the thoughts from his head knowing that he was being silly, at some point he had to hold his daughter, why not start right now. "Yeah" he smiled, "yeah, okay."
Sheldon followed Amy's instructions and held his arms out for her to be slotted into. He was hesitant and Amy told him to relax as she placed their baby in his arms. Again, she took his breath away. He was amazed by how much comfort holding her brought him, how she was the perfect fit for his arms and how much he enjoyed the weight of her in his arms. In a flash, all his nerves disappeared.
"I'm so sorry I missed this" he apologised as he carefully rose to his feet. He had been sat throughout the flight and car journey and was desperate to stretch his legs, even if there was a baby in his arms.
"I'm just really glad you're here" Amy smiled, meaning every single word. It was only now that Sheldon noticed just how tired she was, her eyes were heavy and glazed. He needed to reminded her to sleep, to look after and take care of herself.
"Was it really painful?"
Amy nodded. "So intense. The hardest thing I've ever done in my life" she admitted. Although, they had discussed children and had always wanted more than one, Amy really was in no hurry to do it all again any time soon.
"Well, I'm really proud of you" Sheldon smiled. Wiggling in his arms, he looked down at his daughter who was slowly starting to open her eyes, her features crinkling as she did so. "Oh Amy, she's opening her eyes"
"She has your eyes" Amy commented.
He glanced down again to see two beautiful dark blue eyes gazing up at him. If he thought he had been besotted with her before, now was completely different, a huge surge of love ran through his veins. She was staring at him, her eyes studying him just as much as he was her.
"Hello" he smiled, watching as she wiggled and stretched, he tightened his grip just a little. "I'm sorry it took me a while to get here" maybe he was imagining it but he was sure there was recognition in her eyes, a knowing, a sense of who he was and that made his heart swell more than anything in the world. "You're so perfect" he rocked her gently as he spoke. "I love you very much."
Sheldon never admitted how he felt, especially when it came to talking about love. It had taken him years to tell Amy he loved her and yet here he was within minutes pouring his heart out to his daughter. The father/daughter bond was immediate from the moment he laid eyes on her and Amy felt privileged to witness it first hand.
He was here. Finally. They were a little family and she couldn't wait to watch them all grow together.
Thank you so much for reading. Reviews are always welcome and so appreciated so please let me know your thoughts. Prompts are still open so if you have any ideas please let me know.
Stay safe.
Lots of love