Hi lovely readers,
Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter and for all of your well wishes, it really means a lot! I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and I hope your new year is off to a fabulous start.
This prompt was requested by ThatAwkwardPotato and again, I want to apologise for the wait. I hate keeping people waiting long periods of time for their prompts but thank you so much for being patient. This was a really cute one to write so thank you for requesting.
Enjoy reading.
Sheldon had always admired his wife even if at times he didn't express it as much as he should, he had always been a little bit in awe of his Amy. From her kindness and patience, not just towards him but the kindness that she showed to others, how she would go out of her way to help someone and do anything for them. Then there was her mind, intellect and thought process, he probably would never admit this to her but there were times where he would watch her at work and she really would blow his mind.
Yet nothing came close to what he had witnessed over the last few months. Having a front row seat in watching Amy grow their baby was something he would admire about her forever. At first, he didn't quite notice, then suddenly there was a bump, a bump that continued to grow over time, signifying what an amazing job Amy was doing of taking care of their little one. He loved watching how attentive she was, how she would place her hands carefully on her stomach when the baby started to more or kick and look down at it with more care and love than he had ever seen another human being emit. He had no doubt that she would be the most amazing mother to their child and he considered himself very lucky every single day.
He smiled to himself when he returned home from work to see Amy asleep on the couch. This was often how he found her most evenings, her head turned slightly to the side, her glasses slipped down her nose with the book she had been reading splayed open across her chest. One of Meemaws blankets had slipped from her and was tangled between her legs. For a moment, all he could do was watch and then slowly he made his way over to her. The first thing he did was remove the book, making sure to add her bookmark which was lying on the coffee table before closing it, he'd made that mistake once before. He then carefully worked on untangling the blanket and properly draping it over her, sometimes she would stir when he did this but today, she was completely comatose.
Many people had been quick to tell him how tired Amy would become now that her due date was just around the corner. Reflecting back on her pregnancy, he could equally remember just how exhausted she was at the start of all of this. It felt as if the whole pregnancy, excluding a section in the middle, Amy had spent her time utterly exhausted, he was under no illusion that growing a baby was tough. Which is why he made the decision to kickstart Amy's maternity leave a little earlier than she had intended. It wasn't lost on him how tried she was every time she came home from work and with her pregnancy progressing it made sense for her to take a break. Whenever the conversation was broached, Amy was reluctant so Sheldon took it upon himself to talk to the people at the university who could get the ball rolling. At first Amy was angry and was adamant that Sheldon had no right to do such a thing but after a few days of laying in and simply spending her days relaxing, she was pretty grateful for her husband stepping in.
Their baby was due in just four weeks time and although, despite desperately trying he felt overwhelming under prepared however, right now there was one thing playing on his mind. One little thing that was making him itch. The nursery. Every time he walked past what they had called their spare room for years, he felt this rush of excitement and a tinge of nerves, very soon this room would belong to someone, have a very little person that would soon inhabit it and yet it wasn't even ready for her.
They had spent the last few weekends painting the nursery with the help of Leonard, Penny and their nearly two year old son Lucas who seemed more interested in sticking his hands in the paint than doing anything else. Sheldon found this rather amusing however, knew that in just a few years time Penny and Leonard would be the ones laughing at him. Although sceptical at first, Sheldon had loved watching two of his best friends become parents, he didn't cope well with change and two of his best friends having a baby meant things were going to change a lot however, it surprised him how little things did change. They still had take out together and had their guys and girls nights, only just sometimes with one other member.
Even though he had months to prepare, it still took him by surprise that their little group was about to get a whole other member and this little one was his. He still couldn't wrap his head around the idea he was about to become a father, he wasn't sure it would sink in until he was holding her and even then he wasn't sure the penny would drop. All he did know was that he needed to be prepared and right now that involved sorting out the nursery.
Over the past few months, both he and Amy had been shopping for furniture and Amy had recently had many deliveries that had arrived. However, with their busy lives and Sheldon being insistent on Amy not lifting a finger, the furniture still very much remained in their cardboard boxes in lots of little pieces. As he entered the room and surveyed the scene before him, he was suddenly hit with the idea that he could do this, he was an intelligent man, the least he could do was build a crib. How hard could it be?
Ten minutes later, the cardboard box was tossed aside and numerous panels ranging in different sizes were strewn across the floor. Already he was regretting this, he wasn't a building kind of guy, maybe he should have waited until his brother came to visit or asked Howard or Leonard for advice, they had both done this before.
"Okay" he sighed to himself as he scratched the back of his neck and wondered where the best place to start was. He hated to admit such a thing but he was truly clueless, sure he could understand the mechanics of a train engine but a crib was a different ball game. "I can do this" he muttered.
Tipping the cardboard box upside down, he retrieved the paper instructions that fell out. Opening them up and reading them would be a good place to start. "Okay, panel A" he identified the panel on the floor, this was the biggest one that would essentially form the headboard of the crib, "needs to join panel B, okay" he nodded to himself as he found the panels and lined them up, clattering around a little in the process.
From what he could observe, although very early days, he was making a good start. Once A and B were lined up, he could see the crib already coming together. Now came the time to screw them in, he started to panic, what if he didn't do this bit correctly and once they put their daughter in her crib the whole thing collapsed. Like with everything he did, he needed to be methodical and meticulous, this was his daughters safety.
Carefully he retrieved the little plastic packet of nuts and bolts and began to assemble. It was more fiddly than he thought and much harder to do by himself, he had to keep stopping to make sure everything was lined up correctly and nothing had slipped out of place. The last thing he wanted was to finish the job and then discover that it was wonky.
"What are you up to in here?" he heard a voice ask, startling him and making him jump, he almost dropped the piece of furniture he was holding. Turning quickly, he saw Amy stood in the door way, her eyes still looked tired telling Sheldon she hadn't long woken up.
"I thought I'd get started on some furniture whilst you were sleeping" he explained. "I didn't wake you, did I?" he suddenly became aware of how loud he may have been, how his clattering and banging around could have been what caused Amy to wake up.
"No" she smiled shaking her head. All of the banging had woken her up but she didn't have the heart to tell him. As she observed the scene before her, she could tell he had only just started the job. Leaning against the doorway, she watched him with a smile as he tightened the screws on the panels. She loved watching him work, watching as his eyes carefully narrowed as he concentrated hard, she loved how how his tongue poked out of his mouth as he contemplated his next move. She loved that after all these years, she still found him incredibly cute. "Sheldon" she started hesitantly, not quite knowing what reaction her next few words would get, "I'm not entirely sure that's straight"
She felt guilty when she saw all of the hopefulness drain from his face. He sighed to himself and took a step back, observing what he had put together. "Don't say that" he sighed in frustration. "Is it really?" he asked, turning his head to one side. His heart sank when he saw exactly what Amy could see, the very beginnings of a slightly tilted crib.
"It's okay. We can fix it" Amy assured him when she could sense his panic, she wished she had just kept her mouth shut.
"You shouldn't have to help me fix this. I should be able to do this" she knew he would get like this when it came to putting the furniture together, it was why she had held off for so long. He was obsessed with being the best at everything and when something cropped up that didn't come easily to him, he couldn't cope. "You're heavily pregnant. I don't want you hurting yourself" he softened a little then.
"I don't mind" maybe he had a point, she was already feeling tired even after just waking up from her nap. For the first time in this pregnancy, she actually listened to Sheldon and took his advice. "How about I just instruct?" she suggested as alternative. "You're going to have to pass me the instruction though, I can't bend down."
—
Amy was sure that in the time that had passed, someone could have assembled five cribs but she didn't complain. She had actually been really enjoying her evening, it was nice just to spend time with Sheldon, just the two of them, laughing, joking and occasionally Sheldon getting a little frustrated when Amy told him something wasn't quite right. It wasn't going to be the two of them for very long and moments like this would soon become rare so she had learnt to appreciate them.
"You need to lift it up a little higher" Amy explained, as she instructed Sheldon on where to place the final panel. "Just like with the other side, those two holes need to line up" she had told him this numerous times.
"I think it's too high" he muttered from where he was crouched down on the ground, the wooden panel in his hand as he desperately tried to hold it whilst listening to Amy's instructions. He really did love his wife more than anything but he wasn't sure right now just how much she was helping.
"No, no, that's perfect. Sheldon it looks really good, just screw it in" with her foot she scooted the little plastic bag of screws closer to him. As he momentarily took one of his hand away, the panel slipped from his grip. In quite a haphazard attempt to catch it, the corner of the panel ended up crushing his finger against the flooring.
"Ow" he groaned as he quickly freed his hand. Although she knew it was nothing more than just an injured finger, Amy was instantly by his side. She really did want to help him but it was quite likely that if she got down on his level she wouldn't come back up.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, she knew he had a tendency to overreact.
"No" he shook his head, his lips full and pouty. "Do I have splinter?" he asked from where he sat on his knees, she was surprised he was so comfortable with practically sitting on the floor. He held up his finger for Amy to inspect.
She smiled at his typical Sheldon behaviour and tentatively inspected his finger. All she could see was redness, no splinter in sight. "No splinter" she informed, "but maybe we should get some ice on it, let's leave this for now" she helped him to his feet and lead him to the kitchen where for the next twenty minutes she reassured him that he did not need to have his finger amputated.
—
"Amy" Sheldon started slowly as they lay in bed that night. She had known something wasn't quite right, after leaving the crib for another day, he had been quiet ever since. He had been quiet over dinner too and Amy knew him well enough to know that look in his eye when something was bothering him.
Even though, it was dark, she was cosy in bed and on the verge of falling asleep she got the impression he needed her and she would always be there for him when he needed her.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she pushed herself up in bed with effort, everything was an effort nowadays. She turned on her bedside lamp to see that he was already sat, she wondered if he had fallen asleep quickly and had some kind of bad dream.
"Do you think I'm going to be a good father?" he asked. Amy was surprised by his question, he was always so sure of himself, so confident and never once had he expressed any doubts in his ability to be a father.
"Of course you are" Amy reassured him quickly. As best as she could, she turned her body to face him and placed her hand gently on his arm. "What's brought all this on?" she asked.
"Building the crib" he shrugged his shoulders. "If I can barely put a crib together how the hell am I supposed to raise a child, look after one. What kind of father will I be if I can't do a simple task like that?" he was so deflated and it broke Amy's heart to see him like that.
"Sheldon, I know right now it seems like a big thing but being able to build a crib or build anything for that matter is no reflection on what kind of father you'll be" she continued when he didn't respond. "What is a reflection of what kind of father you'll be is how much you care, how much you want to do a good job and how much you love her" she smiled when she thought about just how much he did all of those things.
He turned to face her, his eyes holding a little bit of hope that he had been lacking during the evening. "Do you really think so?" he asked. Tonight, he needed that reassurance, he needed to know, even if he didn't quite feel it himself, that someone believe in him.
"Absolutely, I think you're going to be wonderful"
Thank you so so much for reading! As always your reviews are always so appreciated and so welcome. I always love reading your thoughts.
As I said in my notes at the top, huge apologises for the wait on some of these prompts. I know there are a couple of you still waiting, I promise I haven't forgotten and hopefully I can get in to a regular pace again.
Stay safe
Lots of love