Hi lovely readers,

Thank you so much for all of the reviews on the last chapter! As always, it means so much!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and even though it's a little late, I wish you all a gorgeous 2022!

This was requested by a guest and I actually can't believe I haven't written this before (or if I have, I literally have no memory of it ?) so thank you so much for requesting.

Enjoy!

As much as Amy loved her job, nothing filled her with more joy than returning home to her gorgeous baby girl. From the age of six Amy had loved science and had fallen in love with neuroscience in her early teens and since that very day it had completely dominated her life, she really had dedicated her whole life to her field. She was still fascinated by the nervous system, by the behaviour and cognitive functions that each human being experienced and why and she still got a thrill when a research opportunity came along but almost eleven months ago that all changed.

Eleven months ago, her whole life changed. The whole world changed within seconds and suddenly science wasn't the most important thing in her life anymore. What had taken its place was a baby girl, with bright blue eyes and a beautiful button nose, a light dusting of dark hair and the most perfect rosebud lips. She was everything and she was all Amy's. Still, even eleven months down the road she was still amazed by the love she had for her daughter, it was the strongest, most overpowering emotion she had ever felt. Without hesitation, she would do anything for her.

When Emily reached eight months old, Amy made the difficult decision to return to work. It wasn't an easy choice and for the time since becoming a mother, she understood the guilt she'd heard every mother speak of. At the moment whenever she was at work, all she could think about was Emily and when she was with Emily, even though she knew these moments were so precious, her mind wandered to the work she had left unfinished. It was a never ending circle of guilt.

—

Upon hearing Amy enter her apartment, Penny looked up and smiled brightly from where she was sitting on the floor, her legs tucked underneath her as she played with Emily and her two year old son Lucas. Although Penny loved her son and spending time with Emily, she was now so glad to have some adult company.

"Hi" Amy smiled, "has she been okay?" her voice had attracted the attention of her daughter who began kicking her legs excitedly and instantly held her arms out to her mother. "Oh hi my darling, I've missed you," Amy scooped her up into her arms as she happily babbled away, Amy liked to think she was letting her know that she'd miss her too.

When Amy returned to work, the childcare options were discussed and although the nursery at Caltech was convenient, the thought of leaving their eight month old daughter with strangers just didn't sit well with Amy or Sheldon. She didn't doubt for a second that the people there were lovely and professional but right now it just wasn't for them. They considered themselves extremely lucky to have family and friends to scoop them up and Penny now took care of Emily one day a week.

"Yeah, she's an angel like always. Do you want some coffee?" Penny asked quickly rising to her feet and making her way over to the pot of coffee that was on the surface.

"Sure" Amy nodded. Emily quickly began to whine in her in her mother's arms, reaching out and pointing down at the floor where Lucas was sat. She had been cuddled for long enough and was now ready to return to playing. "Oh okay. Is that all I'm going to get" Amy laughed as she placed Emily back on the floor.

She was amazing to watch, Amy was fascinated by her, by her interaction and communication with no speech at all. Lucas was incredibly patient and tolerate with her, both mothers loved watching their relationship blossom. Although, not blood related, they were family.

"I thought she was going to start walking today" Penny explained as she handed Amy her coffee. Amy felt her heart sink at the very thought of missing her daughters first steps, there was only going to be one first time and the thought of not being there to witness it broke her heart.

"We have been practising at home" Amy told her, both she and Sheldon had spent the last few nights taking hold of her little hands and helping her walk round the apartment. The very first time it happened the look of pure shock and excitement on Emily's face was the best thing Amy had ever seen. However, she was yet to do this without support despite the encouragement from her parents.

"I think she was getting quite frustrated at not being able to move as quick as Lucas. She pulled herself up using the couch, she kept letting go but then just going all wobbly and losing her balance" Penny laughed. "She reminds me so much of Sheldon."

"Oh god, I know" Amy sighed rolling her eyes. There were moments when Emily was the absolute double of Sheldon, physically she already was, but at times her stubbornness, impatience and frustration at not getting her own way was just like watching her father. "If I hadn't given birth to her, I'd doubt she was even mine," Amy laughed as she took a sip of her coffee.

—

"Look" Sheldon whispered as he tapped Amy's arms. "She's going to do it" they were currently stood in the kitchen watching their daughter who was stood by her little table in the living area. It had been a few days since the 'nearly walking' incident at Penny's and despite lots of practise, no first steps had taken place.

"I think this is the longest she's ever stood" Amy was sure of it, often as soon as she let go of whatever she was holding on to she would wobble within seconds, losing her balance as her little arms flapped before landing on the floor.

"She's going to do it" Sheldon said again keeping his voice quiet in an attempt to not startle her. Amy loved how much Sheldon loved Emily, it was evident from the very start, watching him fall completely in love with their baby girl made her fall all the more in love with him. She loved how his eyes sparkled at the sheer excitement of what was about to happen, she loved his enthusiasm and how much he wanted her to achieve this.

They kept watching her, not once letting their gaze drop, they didn't even want to blink out of fear of missing anything, they were both just waiting with baited breath, knowing the moment was coming. With her back to them, they were unsure whether Emily knew they were even in the room.

Suddenly it happened, her body started to shift and before they knew it, she had lifted one foot and placed it in front of the other, keeping her balance as she repeated the same process with the other foot. A small gasp left Amy's lips, she could feel herself on the verge of tears already.

"Oh my gosh! Did she just walk?" she turned to ask Sheldon, knowing full well that's exactly what had just happened.

"Yeah" he nodded, the smile on his face was huge, it made Amy's heart swell more than she ever thought was possible. "Yeah, yeah she did." Amy resisted the urge to make a fuss of her, wanting to see if she would do it again however, as Emily went to take another step, she lost her balance and fell onto her bottom but that didn't matter because her a first step had happened and Amy couldn't be happier.

"You did it! You did it Emily" resisting the urge didn't last very long and soon Amy was scooping up her daughter and peppering her gorgeous little face with tons of kisses. "You did it. Mumma is so proud of you"

"I guess now we need eyes everywhere."

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

I'm currently looking for a new Shamy fic to read so if you have any suggestions please send them my way. If you are looking for something new, have a look at my favourites as they are all amazing!

Stay safe.

Lots of love.