Hi lovely readers.
Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter it means so much!
This prompt was requested by Boris Yeltsin. This doesn't really have a lot of Sheldon and Amy in it and focuses mainly on Emily and Arthur (especially Arthur as I haven't written about him much). It also includes Howard and Bernadette who I don't think I've ever written before so I hope it's all okay.
Enjoy reading!
"I don't want to go mumma" Arthur whined as he laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was fascinated by the glow in the dark stars that were dotted around his room. It amazed him that during the day they didn't do much but at night time he would tell his parents it was like he was actually in space. Sheldon had tried to explain to him how phosphorescent materials absorb energy but the concept went over the little four year olds head.
"Oh come on darling, it's just for a few nights" Arthur had told his mother numerous times that he didn't want to go and spend the night with Howard and Bernadette. Tomorrow was their wedding anniversary and now that the children were that little bit older they had decided to plan a night away that consisted of just the two of them.
It had been so long since they had spent time together for a long period of time just the two of them. They would occasionally go out for dinner but a whole weekend away from the kids, Amy wasn't sure that had ever happened. Even though, these occasions rarely occurred, it still made her feel incredibly guilty at leaving her children behind.
"We need to make sure we have everything. Have we packed teddy?" she asked trying to change the subject as she routed through his bag, pretending to forget her sons beloved toy that was propped up right beside them on his pillow.
"He's here" Arthur cheered, holding up the cuddly bear he'd had since the day he had been born. Handing the bear over to Amy, he watched as she put it in to his over night bag.
"Now if teddy is going to Howard and Bernadette's, you've got to go and keep him company, right?" she asked stroking his little chubby cheek.
He pouted, looking so much like his father when he couldn't get his own way. "But what if I miss you?" he was tugging at his mother's heartstrings like crazy and Amy had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Well when you miss us, you'll just have to squeeze teddy extra tight" she told him gently. "Daddy and I will miss you too you know" he sat and snuggled closer to her, curling in to her side. "But you're going to love it, you'll be able to play with Halley and Michael."
Although Halley and Michael were that little bit older than Emily and Arthur, they had all grown up together. Sure, now that they weren't babies anymore, they didn't see each other as much as they used to but they loved being around one another and it didn't take very long for them to always pick up where they left off.
Emily looked up to Halley so much. At three years older than her, in Emily's eyes she was just so grown up. Having recently started high school Halley was one of the coolest people Emily knew and she absolutely adored spending time with her. Even though, the age gap between Micheal and Arthur was bigger at six years apart, Michael was still very patient and tolerated Arthur in the way only a ten year old could cope with a four year old.
"And Howard can tell you all his stories about space" she tried to entice him even more. He had recently learnt about the planets at school and had quickly become obsessed with all things space related. The fact that his Uncle Howard was astronaut was the most amazing thing.
"Okay" he sighed. He knew this was a battle he wouldn't win.
"Amy" Sheldon appeared in the doorway looking rather flustered. "Can you please come and tell your daughter that she does not need to pack her whole wardrobe for two nights?" he asked.
Although she knew Sheldon was at his wits end, she couldn't help but laugh at the drama queen tendency their daughter seemed to display. She really was eight going on eighteen and Amy was dreading the teenage years to come.
—
"Do you kids want any more juice?" Bernadette asked as she popped her head round the doorway to Michaels bedroom. The kids had been upstairs playing since Sheldon and Amy dropped them off. They had started off playing outside, running riot in the low evening sun before it suddenly started to rain and they were forced indoors.
They had trudged up to Michaels bedroom, the older children with the intention of teaching little Arthur monopoly. Bernadette had hovered outside before entering, listening to their little conversations. Her heart bursting as her children and Emily tried to talk him through the rules.
"Do I get money yet?" she had heard Arthur ask.
"No, not yet. You have to get here" she heard Halley reply. She waited until it had fallen silent before she entered.
"No, thank you" both Emily and Arthur answered, looking up at her and smiling.
Bernadette couldn't quite believe that these two beautiful, polite children belonged to Sheldon Cooper. It made her laugh when she thought back on their life together. She remembered when she first met Sheldon all those years ago, she thought he was rude and very odd, little did she know then that he would become one of her dearest friends. She certainly didn't think that he was capable of producing and raising children, yet here they were right before her eyes.
"I was thinking of ordering pizza, does that sound okay?" she asked. "Once your dad gets home" she explained turning her attention to Halley and Michael.
"Arthur only eats cheese and tomato" Emily told her, with the absence of her parents Emily took on the role of taking care of her little brother. It was sweet, she was very protective.
"That's fine. We can get for your Arthur" she smiled, reassuring him. He was different from his sister, Emily was very confident, bubbly and outgoing, a little social butterfly. Arthur was much quieter, more reserved and seemed more than happy to let Emily take control.
"Thank you"
—
"Did you go on the moon?" Arthur asked Howard as they all sat round the table eating pizza. Howard had told Arthur various stories about his trip into space but due to his age Arthur always seemed to forget them by the time they saw each other again.
"No, I didn't walk on the moon" Howard told him. "I just went up into space."
"I learnt at school that Jupiter is the biggest planet, could you see it from your rocket?" Arthur asked excitedly, Howard didn't have the heart to disappoint him.
"Yeah, it's huge" he over exaggerated his words, watching as Arthur's face lit up. "Think of the biggest thing you can think of and then make it like one hundred times bigger, that's how big it was?"
"Wow" Arthur whispered, his eyes sparkling. He was in awe of his Uncle Howard and the discussion over missing his parents this morning now seemed like a distant memory.
—
Sheldon and Amy had FaceTimed Emily and Arthur in the middle of dinner. Even though, they had been looking forward to their time away, they totally underestimated how much they would miss them. It was that never ending circle of desperately needing a break when you were with them yet when you finally got the break, they were all you could think about.
After talking to Bernadette and seeing them so happy, especially Arthur, Amy could finally relax and enjoy her time away.
"You don't have to help clear the table darling" Bernadette told Emily who was helping tidy up as the others sat at the table, Arthur was listening to another space story as Halley and Michael rolled their eyes after hearing it for the hundredth time.
"I don't mind" Emily loved being helpful, she loved anything that made her feel like a grown up. She was starting to reach that age where she didn't want to be treated like a child even though she still very much was one and would always be her parents baby.
"I hope you're like this kids when you go over to Amy and Sheldon's. You could learn a lot from Emily" she turned to tell her own children who were glued to their iPads. "Howard, I told you not to let them have those at the table" she snapped. She really had no idea where they had come from, she hadn't even seen them leave the room.
"But there's nothing to do" Michael moaned.
"We're going to go through and watch a movie in a minute," she told him. She would often talk to Amy and Penny about how quickly time went by and how much their kids had grown but her children were very much there, especially Halley. They were both mini teenagers in the making.
"Can I have a biscuit then please?" he sighed, resting his hand on his chin.
"You've just had pizza. And get your elbows off the table" she scolded. Arthur quickly removed his too. They watched their mother pull the stool out that she stood on to reach the biscuits that were out of reach from the children, being out of reach from Halley and Michael also meant that they were out of reach from her.
"Why do you need that?" Emily asked innocently.
"To reach the biscuits" she explained. "I guess you'll be able to do that for me soon, won't you?" she smiled. Emily had suddenly shot up over the last year and her fathers height had finally caught up with her. At just eight years old she was almost as tall as Bernadette. It really wouldn't much long until she towered above her.
"You're really tiny" Arthur commented. Too much blackcurrant juice had made him a little more confident than usual, everyone around the table started to laugh which only encouraged him more. "You're small like a baby"
"Hey" Bernadette was pretending to not be annoyed but the truth was, she was just a little. She wasn't going to have a four year making fun of her height. "At least I'm not as small as you" she told him playfully.
"Right, let's go watch that movie" Howard announced.
Thank you so much for reading. As always reviews are always welcome and so appreciated.
Stay safe
Lots of love.