Thank you all so much for all of the reviews on the last chapter and so glad you liked how I wrote both Penny and Sheldon.
This prompted was requested by Siloorjaswita. I totally got carried away with this and absolutely loved writing it. I know you only really requested the labour but I got so into the aftermath too so I really hope this is okay.
I really hope you enjoy! Can't wait to hear your thoughts.
"Do you mind if we cancel our plans today?" Amy asked as she appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, watching Mary potter around the kitchen. She had insisted on coming to stay just for a week or maybe two, wanting to see Amy and Sheldon one last time before their baby arrived. Having her here was the blessing Amy didn't know she needed, she constantly needed to be kept busy, whether that be cleaning, grocery shopping or cooking she would happily do it all and at 31 weeks pregnant, Amy could not have been more grateful.
"Oh good morning darlin'" Mary jumped, startled by Amy's presence as she spun round to greet her. "Of course that's okay. Sheldon mentioned this morning that you hadn't slept well" she walked over towards her and gently rested a hand upon her forehead. "You're a little hot too my dear, are you sure you're not coming down with something?" Mary asked. She had already clocked how exhausted the poor girl looked, anyone with eyes could see that but mother's intuition had kicked in.
"I'm not sure" Amy shrugged. "I just feel really sore and achy" she spoke placing her hand on her bump and rubbing affectionately. "This one barely slept last night."
"Oh darlin'" Mary laughed. "People say that they're preparing you for what's to come, you'll have plenty of sleepless nights once she arrives" Mary explained placing her hand on her should so she could take a better a look at her.
"Are you sure you're okay with cancelling?" Amy asked. They had had a whole daughter and mother in law day planned, they were going to go shopping for baby things and have a spot of lunch. "I could always sleep now and see how I feel later" she offered, feeling guilty. Although, she knew Mary hadn't come all of this way just for her, she still felt bad cancelling plans.
"It's fine" Mary assured her placing her hands on her shoulders. "You're growing my little grand baby in there" she placed her hand on Amy's stomach that was currently covered by her pyjamas and dressing gown. "If you need to rest, that's is the most important thing. We can always go another time."
"Are you sure? You came all this way and…"
"Darlin', it's fine" Mary assured her one last time. "Go and rest. Is there anything I get you?"
"No, I'm okay for now"
—
After busying herself with cleaning and making sure the laundry was folded, Mary was finally ready to make herself a cup of tea and put her feet up. Standing by the kettle, she turned around when she heard the door to Amy and Sheldon's bedroom creek open. It had been a good few hours since she had last interacted with Amy.
"Mary, I think there's something wrong?" Amy spoke her voice trembling. When Mary turned, she saw Amy leaning against the door frame, still clad in her dressing gown, her eyes filled with tears as she clutched her stomach. It was instantly clear that something wasn't quite right.
"Okay darling" Mary abandoned everything and rushed over to Amy's side, she knew it was important for her to stay as calm as possible for Amy's sake above all else. "What do you think is wrong?" she asked, gently placing her hands upon her shoulders, although, Mary was pretty sure she had already figured it out.
"I think…" she struggled to catch her breath, the tears caught in her throat. "I think I'm having contractions"
"Okay, okay" Mary reassured gently, keeping her voice soft and calm. "Take some deep breaths for me, darling" she watched as Amy complied breathing in and exhaling deeply, trying to calm herself down.
"It's too soon for her to come" Amy shook her head from side to side, desperate to prevent what she thought was happening from happening. At 31 weeks, she wasn't naive to the fact that her baby would be born very premature and that that came with various complications.
"What do the pains feel like?" Mary asked, she had been through this before and hoped she would be able to understand what Amy was going through.
"Like a strong, tightening pain. Everywhere aches too" she tried her best to calmly explain, she knew in moments like this it was important to stay calm but she simply couldn't stop her mind from jumping to the worst case scenario. Mary recalled Amy complaining of feeling achy earlier, she felt guilty for not picking up on the signs, not that she was expected to know but her motherly instinct saw it as her job.
"Okay" Mary nodded her head, her hands still on Amy's shoulder, comforting her. "How often are they happening?"
"About every nine minutes. I've timed them for the last hour or so" Mary wished she had checked in on Amy sooner. "They really hurt" she whimpered, her hand rubbing at her stomach, desperate to keep her little one safe.
"Okay darling, I think we should get you to the hospital and have you and this little one checked out" she explained, the fact there was no urgency in her tone, despite her inner panic, seemed to keep Amy fairly level. "We'll give Sheldon a call on the way" both Amy and Mary knew that news of Amy going into premature labour would send Sheldon over the edge but right now he wasn't the one that mattered. He would somehow have to step up and be there for his wife.
"There's another one coming" Amy rushed her words quickly, leaning forwards and resting her hands upon the small dining table.
"Big breaths darling. Take some deep breaths" Mary coached her. As she rubbed Amy's back, she knew this was the real thing.
—
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost" Leonard exclaimed as Sheldon burst into his office, flinging the door open without so much as knock. His best friends stood before him, looking as white as a sheet and upon closer inspection Leonard was sure he was shaking. "Hey what's wrong?" he asked when he realised this was a little more serious than he initially thought.
"I just got a call from my mother" he explained. "She thinks Amy's going into labour" he suddenly resembled a little boy that needed to be looked after, it was clear he had already calculated that this was far too early. Leonard knew when Amy eventually went into labour Sheldon would be a mess but to throw in the fact this was all happening nine weeks early he was sure that sent his thought process to the extreme.
"Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Leonard asked reaching for his keys without a moments hesitation.
"But it's too early"
"I know" Leonard nodded. "But we don't know anything for sure yet, we need to get you to the hospital"
—
"Are you definitely sure he's on his way?" Amy asked through the pain, referring to Sheldon. It was clear she needed him more than she had ever imagined. With her water breaking in the car park, as soon as she arrived at the hospital, she had immediately been sent through to the labour and delivery ward where it was discovered she was already five centimetres dilated.
"I promise, he's coming darling. He's on his way" Mary reassured. "He'll be here." She could only hope this was true and that her son wasn't suffering some huge freak out.
"He's going to be really scared" Amy spoke her voice tight as she tried her hardest to breathe through the contraction. She was currently standing, her hands braced against the bed, she couldn't cope with simply lying on the bed but couldn't go far due to all the monitors she had to be hooked up to.
Mary knew how much Amy and Sheldon loved one another, she had observed it many times over the years but seeing Amy so fragile and vulnerable and yet still being concerned about her son and his feelings, well that in her eyes was the meaning of true love.
"Oh god, how did you go through this twice?" Amy asked as she exhaled and pulled herself up right, she couldn't help herself from constantly watching the heart monitor, that was her only comfort and only way of knowing that her daughter was doing okay.
"It will be so worth it" Mary smiled, although much earlier than planned, she was beyond excited to meet her grandchild and was honoured that she got to be here for just a small part of it.
"She'll be okay, won't she?" Amy asked her eyes pleading, there were moments where for a split second she forgot how early everything was and then moments where it suddenly became real and terrified her.
"They said they'd take a look at her when she's born, didn't they?" Mary reiterated the words of the midwives upon their arrival, watching as Amy paced the very small distance she was allowed to walk. "They'll probably take her straight away and assess what's going on."
This had already been explained when Amy had arrived at the hospital. It was clear to the staff that were taking care of her that she of course was panicking, they gently reassured her and talked her through the process and what would happen once their little girl arrived.
"I'm not even going to get to hold her" Amy was close to tears again, this was so different to the skin on skin contact she wanted immediately after birth. The perfect, most beautiful moment she desperately wanted to experience had suddenly been snatched from her grasp.
"We don't know that for sure yet" Mary was desperate to keep Amy's spirits up. "You have to stay positive"
—
Amy was in the mist of another contraction when Sheldon arrived, pretty much bursting through the door completely inexperienced on what to expect. The scene before him caused his heart to ache, Amy was trying her hardest to take deep breaths but moaning lowly at the same time, Mary was at her side, hand on her back, whilst the other was being squeezed.
"Oh I'm so glad you're here" Amy spoke breathlessly, for the first time since all of this began, Mary was sure she saw her smile, even it was just for the tiniest of seconds. Their eyes locked and Sheldon instantly knew she had to come first, despite everything he was feeling, despite wanting to just run away and pretend this wasn't happening, he had to be there for her. She needed him. Really needed him.
"Hello" he didn't really know what to say, what did you say in this situation? It was obvious things were more advanced than he first thought, was it stupid to comment on that? Mary moved out of the way and he quickly yet anxiously took her place, he did exactly what he had just seen his mother do. One hand on her back and the other hand in Amy's, he had no idea the strength she possessed as she squeezed him hard.
"Sheldon, she's coming too early" upon seeing her husband Amy completely let all her barriers down, the emotions were just far too much for her to keep bottled away. She had been trying to be brave in front of Mary but now, now that had all gone out of the window.
"Isn't there anything they can do? Can they not slow things down?" he asked, although deep down he knew the answer.
"She's too far along darling" Mary explained on Amy's behalf.
"We're not ready. We're really not ready" Amy pulled herself away from the bed, with her hand still in Sheldon's her other also found his. "We don't have anything. Sheldon, I don't know what I'm doing. We haven't even attended any classes" a few tears leaked from her eyes and Sheldon felt his heart break.
This was so far removed from her plan, from her birth plan. The plan that she hadn't even got round to writing. She wanted everything to be perfect, she was ready and willing to have the perfect birth experience, she wanted a really calm, peaceful water birth, wanting to hold her daughter instantly and bond straight away. She had thought about this moment many times over but never once had she pictured this.
"It's okay" they were the only words he could find as she pushed her head into his chest. Right now, she just needed to be close to him. "She's going to be okay"
—
"Okay Amy, we need a big push sweetie" the midwife encouraged. Everything had seemed to progress rather quickly and Amy was now ready to deliver. She was lying on her side on the bed, her hand in Sheldon's, her own hand was shaking so much she hadn't even noticed that Sheldon was shaking too.
"I don't want to" she cried shaking her head from side to side. "I don't want to do it" despite the urge to push being strong, reality was hitting her hard and the need to keep her baby safe overpowered everything. Of course, she knew this wasn't possible but she wasn't in the right state of mind to be reasonable, she wanted to keep her in for as long as possible.
"Darling, we need you to push" the midwife kept her voice soft. "I know this is scary but she's right there. She's ready to be born."
"Come on you can do this" Sheldon bent down to encourage her, he kept his voice quiet, wanting this to be just a moment between them. He knew that was part of Amy's original plan and right now it was the only thing he felt like he could control.
"She's going to be too little" she sobbed, tears now flowing down her face. All of sudden the pressure became to much and without permission Amy felt her body begin to push.
"That's great Amy, just like that. Good girl" the midwife coached. Amy squeezed Sheldon's hand as she took in another deep breath and pushed again.
"You're doing so well" Sheldon reached forward and brushed the hair away from her face. "Deep breaths, you're doing so well" he wasn't sure whether his words were helpful, they were just the go to words that he'd heard his mother use to support Amy. With her now waiting in the waiting room, wanting to give the two of them space, Sheldon realised the support was now all down to him. He wanted to be much more prepared than this, totally know what to do in order to keep Amy calm.
"I'm so scared" her bottom lip trembled.
"I am too" Sheldon admitted, he was quite possibly the most scared he'd ever been in his life. "But you've got to focus on getting here, okay" he told her gently.
"Okay" she nodded her head, trying to gain some composure.
Sheldon was constantly reassuring her as she continued to push, a constant stream of gentle encouragement (something that he didn't even know he could do until the time came) as Amy clung on to his arm. It had taken some time but Amy was now pushing and solely focusing on that, she knew now it was important to get their little girl here.
"Oh" she cried, startling Sheldon when the pain all became too much. "I can't. I can't do it"
"You can, she's nearly here" Sheldon encouraged, feeling her body shaking as she clung on to him. She had already told Sheldon how much this all hurt and even though he wasn't one for physical pain, if he could he would have taken all of the pain for her. He hated seeing her so vulnerable.
"You're nearly there Amy. We just need one more really big push"
"One more" Sheldon whispered, squeezing her hand just as tight as she was his. "That's it, keeping going" he heard Amy take in a deep breath and push one last time and that's when he saw her. It all happened so quickly, he barely had time to process what was going on. "You did it. You did it" Sheldon whispered, pulling her closer to him as he placed a kiss to the side of her head. He was bursting with pride.
The midwife speedily cut the cord and handed the baby over to the healthcare team that had entered the room whilst Amy had been pushing however, both she and Sheldon were too wrapped up in the moment to notice that even more people had entered.
"Is she okay?" Amy asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position, probably a little too quickly for a woman who had given birth a handful of seconds ago. She glanced over to where she saw a swarm of people surrounding her daughter, it all felt like too much, for someone so small there were too many people. "Is she okay?" Amy asked again.
"They're just checking over her. We knew this was going to happen" Sheldon placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, he was trying to reassure her and himself. When he was nervous or scared, he had learnt to voice his thoughts, sometimes it helped him think more clearly. Although, this time, he wasn't so sure it was helping.
"This is all normal for a baby born at this stage. I promise, it's nothing out of the ordinary" the second attending midwife started to explain, hoping to put Amy's nerves at ease. It did help just a little to know that for any baby born at this stage the same procedure would be followed.
Amy couldn't tear her eyes away from where the people stood around her daughter, neither could Sheldon. She couldn't stand the fact that people were getting to hold and touch her daughter before she had even had the chance to meet her. She should have been the first person her daughter saw, the first voice she heard, not the bright hospital lights and several unfamiliar faces and voices.
For a few moments time seemed to stand still as they waited to hear anything, anything at all. Not knowing what was going on, what they were doing to her was killing Amy. She was a mother now, she had been since the moment she found out she was expecting but now her little girl was here, the need to protect her was overwhelming.
"Where are they taking her?" Amy asked quickly, as she saw them wheeling her away. "Where is she going?" the midwife who had delivered their daughter and had overseen the healthcare team made her way over to Amy, perching herself on the bed. "Please tell me she's okay" Amy begged, her hand was still wrapped around Sheldon's, right now that was the only security she felt.
"She doing okay" she explained, placing her hand on Amy's arm. "We're taking her down to the NICU. She's having a little bit of trouble with her breathing, she can breathe on her own but due to her lung development not quite being advanced enough, she needs a little support in that area" a few silent tears trickled down Amy's cheeks as she nodded in understanding. She had researched fetal development at various stages throughout their career and although her studies often required looking at the brain she was aware of other complications that a premature birth could cause.
"So you're putting her on a ventilator?" Sheldon asked, once he had had time to process everything.
"For now, yes. She's also having a little trouble regulating her body temperature so the incubator will help with that too" she watched the couple digest the news. Now that she was here and safe, Amy knew they just had to get on with things and deal with the cards that they had been dealt, it definitely helped to be a little more rational when you weren't in the worst physical pain of your life. Sheldon stood by her side the whole time, gently tracing circles on her hands, she wasn't even all that sure he was aware he was doing it.
"How long will she be on the ventilator for?" Sheldon asked, Amy's mind not quite focused enough to ask question.
"It can vary. For some babies it's just a few days others can be a number of weeks. Every baby is different"
"When can we see her?" Amy asked, that was all she wanted to do, she just needed to see her for herself.
"We need to check you over first" she told Amy. "But Sheldon" she turned her attention to him. "I can take you down there in a few minutes and see if she's ready to meet her dad" she smiled, even though this wasn't the ideal situation, it still warmed her heart when she witnessed parents meeting their baby for the first time.
Hearing himself being referred to as someone dad was a very strange feeling. Of course, he knew he was eventually going to be a father but hearing someone else say it somehow made it all the more real.
"You should go" Amy told him, looking up at him and smiling.
"Are you sure?" Sheldon asked. This wasn't right, none of this was right. They were supposed to meet together, while she was all cosy and content, settled against Amy's chest and the pair of them were in this total baby bliss.
"Go and be with her. I want you to be with her" it made perfect sense, if she couldn't be with her, then he was absolutely the next best thing.
—
Sheldon didn't quite know what to expect when he stepped into the NICU, he hadn't ever imagined this would be a place where he would need to go. After washing his hand throughly before entering, he was surprised by how calm and peaceful the environment seemed. Considering some of these babies were very ill, there was no mad rush or panic, it was all just extremely gentle, almost relaxing.
The room was filled with tiny babies all wrapped up snuggly in incubators or open cribs. The medical equipment that filled the room felt very overwhelming, these babies were so small and in comparison the equipment just felt far too much. Scanning the room, he tried to find his daughter, he had this feeling that he would just known when he saw her.
"It can all be a little overwhelming, can't it" the midwife gently placed her hand on his shoulder, he suddenly realised he hadn't once moved since entering. "She's just over here" she set off to the far right of the room, Sheldon close behind her. "Here she is. Baby girl Cooper" she smiled.
Nothing in the world could have prepared him for how he felt when his eyes landed upon her, how his heart leapt in his chest and was close to bursting with more love than he ever thought it was possible to feel someone. In that moment, as soon as they met, he knew he would do absolutely anything for her, that was his role now, his sole responsibly was to protect her and make sure she was safe.
"This is really her" he couldn't quite believe that after all this time, after the nights he and Amy had spent talking about who their daughter would look like and who she would grow up to be, that she was really here. "She's so tiny" she looked so small and fragile, she was the tiniest thing he'd ever seen, he didn't know it was possible for a human being to be so small.
"She's 3lbs 6, still lots of growing left to do" she explained. "I'm afraid you can't hold her just yet" although, Sheldon couldn't wait to hold her, right now, with looking at how small she was the thought of holding her was terrifying. What if he did something wrong? She was so tiny, what if he hurt her? "But, you can put your hand through the holes to stroke and touch her" she explained as she showed Sheldon where to put his hands.
"It won't hurt her" he asked, she looked like one little touch and she could break.
"She's stronger than she looks. Talk to her too, she'll know your voice" she explained with a smile. "I'll leave you two to it, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need"
When Sheldon was left alone, after plucking up the courage he carefully placed his hand through one of the holes in the side of the incubator; his heart was leaping in his chest and his stomach was doing flips.
"Hello" he whispered, placing his finger in her hand. Everything was so small, his index finger was bigger than her whole hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you. You gave us all a fright earlier" he gently stroked her hand, his finger moving back and forth as he spoke. "I know this is all a little scary, but the doctors say you're doing really well" he wondered if she knew what was going on, whether she was suddenly aware her surrounding were different, whether she knew that she still had a lot of growing left to do. He doubted she did, but even if there was the tiniest chance, he hoped knowing that he was there comforted her.
He continued to stroke her skin, he hoped she found some comfort in his voice but he really had no way of knowing. Slowly, and more carefully than he'd ever been in his life he moved his finger up to her cheek, her skin was so soft.
"You've just got to keep fighting so you can become big and strong because mummy and I can't wait to take you home" he smiled at the thought, he actually couldn't wait until they were home as a family when their next little chapter could begin. She stirred until his touch, her little arms out stretching. "It's okay, it's okay" he told her gently. "I'll stay right here. I love you very much"
Thank you all so much for reading. As always reviews are always welcome and so appreciated!
Lots of love
xx