Sheldon wandered the halls of a beautiful, ancient stone building with marble floors. The home had an aura of ages long since passed, but this was no relic. People of wealth and note would live here…
The air was cool and crisp; it was fall wherever he was. Sheldon knew he was searching, but he knew not what for…
Coming into a vast, open room, Sheldon saw a broad, wooden table encompassing the majority of the room's space, with a few chairs covered in leather or fur off to the sides. There were multitudes of shelves around the perimeter of the room, mostly holding figurines or pottery.
On a high shelf was the most beautiful of vessels Sheldon had ever seen. Made of clay and fired until a burnt umber color, it had intricate carvings and runes Sheldon could not decipher, even with his highly intellectual mind. One word came to his mind, likely from reading history books during his childhood.
This was a pithos – a Greek lidded jar that would be used to store wine, oil, grains, or other necessities.
This particular pithos was large enough to hold a small child.
Sheldon was admiring the jar, when he heard footsteps approach. Somehow knowing he didn't belong there, Sheldon turned to hide behind a tapestry against one of the stone walls. Sheldon observed a man dressed in ancient Greek robes and of shorter stature than himself, enter the room and look at the items on the shelves. He lifted the pithos Sheldon had been admiring, and set it carefully on the table. A second man of similar attire as the first, and near the same height as Sheldon, followed the shorter man into the room. The taller man was obviously upset by the scene in front of him.
The second man cried out. When he did, it was seemingly not from his own vocal cords, but from inside of Sheldon's head. He spoke in words from an ancient language that made no sense to Sheldon, but Sheldon's brain appeared to know how to translate them on its own.
"Prometheus, what are you doing?"
Prometheus turned to the taller man, and Sheldon was able to see Prometheus's face for the first time.
Prometheus had Leonard's face.
"Epimetheus," Prometheus answered, sighing heavily. "Brother… haven't you been listening? I couldn't stop you from marrying her, but to keep this gift of hers from Zeus in your own home… it is simply madness!"
Sheldon tried to thumb through decades of memories in his brain, and found the recollection neurons were not firing in normal sequence. There was too much fog… too many roads leading to nowhere… Sheldon was left to simply watch the events unfolding in front of him.
Epimetheus lifted the pithos from the table and placed it back on the shelf on the wall. His voice continued to emanate from Sheldon's own head.
"It is not ours to decide." Epimetheus put a comforting arm around his brother, over to the opposite shoulder. "Truly, the pithos is her dowry."
Prometheus cast a sorrowful glance upward toward his brother. "Then it shall be your downfall."
The brothers left the room, and all was quiet once more. Sheldon thought briefly about coming out from behind the tapestry, when a petite, raven-haired woman crept into the room. Sheldon was immediately entranced. Her dark hair was woven in braids over her head, her feminine curves gently draped in a white gown, her fair skin glowed in the dimming light as twilight was at hand. She took the daintiest of steps, gracefully avoiding all the surrounding furnishings in an obvious attempt to eliminate any noises being heard outside the room.
The woman lifted the pithos from its shelf, and placed it on the table. She gathered a key from around her neck, and put the key in the lock. The woman summoned her courage in a deep breath, and appeared ready to turn the key… but then thought the better of it. She removed the key, put the pithos back on the shelf, and left the room.
Sheldon was left to wonder who the beautiful woman was, whose face he never quite saw. Sheldon tried to leave the safety of his hiding place to follow her, but couldn't make his legs move. A few minutes later, still in a quandary, Sheldon heard the soft footsteps return. The same woman crept back into the room, moved the pithos back to the table, and once more put the key from around her neck into the lock. Sheldon was certain she would open the vase, but once again, the woman's nerve appeared to give out… and she replaced the pithos and left once more.
This time, Sheldon held his ground, and only a few moments passed before the dark haired beauty returned. Sheldon tried desperately for a different view… one that would allow him to see her face. The Fates appeared to be taunting Sheldon, as the woman's face remained hidden in the shadows. Once again, she pulled the key from around her neck, and placed the key in the lock of the vase. This time, however, she was successful in turning the key. The pithos opened.
Gifts from the Greek Gods often came with a high price. This gift… one from the high leader of the Gods himself… had a high cost, indeed.
The woman started to scream, as a seemingly unending swarm of buzzing, stinging, moth-like creatures poured forth from the opening of the pithos. Sheldon watched in horror as the woman fell to the floor, her screams fading to moans. His heart ached, as he watched the insects sting and bite at her.
Sheldon finally found his voice: "NO!" he screamed.
In unison, the insects and the beautiful woman they were attacking turned their gazes on Sheldon. And Sheldon beheld the beautiful woman's face for the first time.
She had Amy's face.
"Epimetheus!" This Amy cried out in horror, looking directly at Sheldon.
In an instant, the insects that had been attacking this Amy turned on him. Sheldon never felt a single bite or sting on his skin. Instead, Sheldon felt their wrath and venom in the worst of his memories that paraded themselves in front of Sheldon's psyche…
… in the schoolyard bullies that scared and belittled him as a child
… in the fights between himself and his father, who tried to "make a man of him" in the worst possible ways
… in grieving the loss of his Pop-Pop, and the lack of closure with the death of his own father
… in the briefest glimpse into loneliness after Sheldon's first fight with Amy, and the despair that he would never love again the summer they were apart.
In the span of a heartbeat, Sheldon knew all that was ill in the world. He knew pain, suffering, wrath, indignation, loneliness, isolation, and worst of all, despair. Sheldon was ready to give in and let the darkness take him… when he felt a warm, soft hand grasp his.
Sheldon opened one eye just a slit, and saw Amy, but not his Amy, smiling gently at him. She was holding his right hand in her left. This Amy raised her right hand so Sheldon could see what she kept protected there – a small, winged dragonfly of the most brilliant blue Sheldon had ever seen. The insect left her hand, and flew to within the slightest of distances from Sheldon's face. The dragonfly appeared to sigh, and her breath fell over Sheldon. His wounds miraculously were completely healed.
"What is her name?" Sheldon asked the woman. She raised her hand to touch the unblemished skin of Sheldon's cheek, and opened her mouth to answer his question…
Sheldon awoke to find Amy's hand stroking tears from his cheek. Amy was sitting upright in their bed; her eyes wide open. Even though the only source of light in the room was moonlight through an open window, concern was evident on her face.
"What's wrong? You cried out in your sleep," Amy asked softly.
Sheldon relaxed as the fear and panic of the dream slowly left him. He proceeded to tell her the entire story about the dream, the people who looked like them but weren't themselves, and the opening of the vase and the contents that appeared to desolate his very being.
Amy slid back down under the covers, wrapping herself with Sheldon's arm and laying against his side, holding him tightly. Sheldon completed the story, "I heard the two men's names: Prometheus and Epimetheus. They must have been something I've read before, because I remember them from somewhere… but I never heard her name." Sheldon's smile carried unaired laughter. "You woke me before I found out who your alter ego was."
Amy chuckled. "I can help you with that, as long as you promise not to leave me for her. Although that would take some doing."
Sheldon was more than a little curious. How would Amy know who this woman from his dream was?
Amy's smile was contagious. It wasn't often she held one over on Sheldon.
"That was Pandora you created in your dream. The "box" in all the stories? It was never a box. That was a mistranslation from the Greek. The container was actually a pithos… a lidded jar."
Amy's face changed; she looked at Sheldon and spoke with incredulity in her voice. "Pandora was a product of Hephaestus's fire and clay, and Athena's breath of life, and Aphrodite's beauty… wow. Seriously? Your subconscious gave her my face?" Amy was awed and touched.
It was Sheldon's turn to smile, this time, at Amy's disbelief.
"How could I do otherwise?" Sheldon asked, as he rolled onto his side. He stroked the back of his hand against the side of Amy's face. "I've told you for years… I really do think you're beautiful."
Sheldon leaned in toward Amy, and kissed her lovingly. He pulled her into both his arms, and Amy looked over his shoulder, squinting to see across the bed to his bedside table… and the alarm clock.
"Sheldon," Amy said, with regret underlying her words, "it's nearly 1:30. The alarm is going to go off in a little over 4 hours. We should get some sleep."
Regretfully, Sheldon allowed his arms to loosen and Amy slid from her side onto her back.
Sheldon was drifting off, when he heard Amy's whisper…
"You should get some sleep, too, little one. It's going to be a big day."
Sheldon smiled, and added, softly, "We can't wait to meet you."
######
As Amy predicted, the alarm sounded far too early for both hers and Sheldon's liking. Everything about this day was planned, and both Sheldon and Amy set about their individual tasks for the early morning. Sheldon grabbed a granola bar he would eat later for breakfast, once Amy was settled in at the hospital. She wouldn't be allowed to eat or drink anything until after they knew if a C-section was going to be necessary.
Amy started to pick up her overnight bag, stopping only after a stern look and negative shake of the head from Sheldon. Amy rolled her eyes as she silently walked away toward the door to the garage. You'd think you'd learn, Amy Farrah… she thought.
Sheldon drove as they left for the hospital, each lost in their own thoughts. Amy's right hand never left the top of her stomach, pushing from different angles to see if she could find out for herself which way her baby was positioned inside. This time, however, their child would give no clues. They would have to wait for the hospital for Dr. Brown to give them the news: whether Amy was headed for an induction, or a C-section.
As Sheldon and Amy were ahead of schedule when they arrived, Sheldon parked in the parking garage and they walked into the hospital together. Despite pre-admission being completed the week before, there was still information the hospital needed prior to admitting Amy. Soon enough, however, Amy and Sheldon were headed to the elevator, pushing the fifth level button: the Maternity floor.
Coming off the elevator, Sheldon and Amy met a staff person at the entrance desk to the floor. Amy was shown to a private room, where she would either deliver the baby, or be brought back to after surgery. In spite of being in a clinical setting, the room was appointed to be as comfortable as possible. There was a couch along a side wall for visitors to sit, and a fold-out chair to convert into a bed for an overnight stay. The room was painted a soft hue of green, and was decorated warmly. Amy was glad she had chosen this place to deliver their child; she felt comfortable here.
Amy picked up her cell phone to text her parents and let them know which room she had been assigned. Rob and Carole had agreed days before not to come to the hospital until after a delivery decision had been reached. Sheldon would call his Mom and MeeMaw and the rest of their friends after the baby was born to let them all know as well.
Soon after Amy had changed into the hospital gown and was settled, a nurse came to their room to start the IV. Amy winced, and Sheldon looked away as the needle was inserted into Amy's arm, but the discomfort was short-lived for them both.
Next, a sonogram technician entered with a cart to address the all-important question of the morning. He squeezed the tube of jelly onto Amy's stomach, and ran the scanner across Amy's abdomen. This time, Sheldon and Amy knew what to look for on the computer monitor. Both of them breathed in deep and synchronous: holding the breath, hoping against hope…
Sometimes, prayers are answered in the way the questioner asks. And other times they are answered, but not as we hope.
Amy was the first to breathe out, disappointment obvious in the sound leaving her larynx and the expression on her face. She didn't need to look down to see where the scanner was viewing, when the familiar skull outline came into view on the monitor. Sheldon first heard Amy's sigh, then saw the scanner.
It was at the top of Amy's stomach, near to the sternum.
Dr. Brown arrived near the end of the scan, attired in scrubs. He smiled toward Amy and Sheldon, but took note of the downturned faces presented back to him. Matt turned to the monitor, and saw immediately the reason for their shared discontent.
"OK, so now we know what the plan is. We scheduled the OR for 9:00, so in about 30 minutes the nurses will bring you down the hall, and anesthesia will meet you first in the OR for the epidural. Amy, you can only have one other person in the operating room with you…"
Amy immediately took Sheldon's hand in her own, nearly afraid for him to let her go. She trusted Dr. Brown implicitly, was willing to leave her life in his more than capable hands if needs' be. But Sheldon she trusted with her soul. There would never have been a question for Amy as to who would be in that room with her when she delivered their baby.
Dr. Brown also knew there was never any question… but he needed to offer anyway. He smiled and nodded.
"… Sheldon, if you follow Andy," Dr. Brown motioned to Andy, and the sonogram technician nodded to Sheldon, "he'll show you where to change. You can wait with Amy until they're ready to take her back to the OR. The only time they won't let you in the room is when anesthesia is administering the epidural."
Dr. Brown turned back to Amy. He smiled gently… Amy was reminded once again how much Matt seemed like a father to her.
"It won't be long now, Amy. Do you have any questions?"
Amy swallowed hard. This wasn't the way she wanted the day to go, to be sure… but if she and the baby were both healthy at the end of the day, wasn't that really all that mattered?
Amy tried her best to smile genuinely at Dr. Brown. "No. I think I'm just ready to be done with this part."
Matt took Amy's hand and squeezed it gently. He didn't think there was anything else he could say that would reassure her – Amy would find the strength she needed from within herself, and her relationship with Sheldon.
Matt turned, squeezed the antiseptic foam onto his hands, and turned to shake Sheldon's hand. Sheldon appreciated how Dr. Brown seemed to know how to make him as comfortable as possible.
"I'll see you in there," Dr. Brown said to Sheldon. "She'll do fine."
Sheldon nodded to Dr. Brown, and turned and kissed Amy gently.
"I'll be back as soon as I've changed clothes," Sheldon told her. Amy nodded.
Sheldon followed Dr. Brown and Andy out of Amy's room, and Andy led him to the men's changing room down the hall. Andy gave Sheldon a set of scrub shirt and pants, a disposable hair cover and shoe covers. Sheldon nearly balked at having to put on someone else's scrubs, but then he remembered Matt telling him the scrubs are professionally laundered and treated for use in an operating room.
When Sheldon walked back into Amy's room, Amy's breath was nearly taken from her. Seeing him attired so…
"Wow," Amy breathed. "This is actually happening, isn't it?"
Sheldon chuckled. "The last time you said that…"
"Just before we walked over that bridge together at the bed and breakfast?" Amy took Sheldon's offered hand, and smiled up at him the same way she had that day. "Yes, I remember."
Sheldon sat on the edge of the bed next to Amy. They both silently watched each other's hand entwined in the other – seemingly unable to tell where one ended and the other began. Their lives had been entwined for years – ever since that fateful day in a coffee shop in Pasadena – and today becoming parents for the first time meant an altogether different bond between them that would never be separated.
Sheldon and Amy sat so, together, until they were startled out of their reverie by one of the operating room nurses. She had a kind smile, and invited Sheldon to stay in the room until they came to bring him back as well. Sheldon acknowledged the nurse's instructions, but before Amy left him, he leaned over to kiss her goodbye.
"I love you. I'll see you in a few minutes," Sheldon whispered in Amy's ear, holding her close one more time.
For her part, Amy didn't want to be let go of, either. "I know. I love you, too."
Amy reluctantly let go of Sheldon, and took a step backward. Amy smiled at him, hoping to express faith and strength she wasn't certain she felt. But, for the moment, everything was out of her hands.
Amy left with the OR nurse, and Sheldon was left in the room by himself. There were constant sounds throughout the facility, but Sheldon neither heard nor saw anything. He felt only Amy's absence. While he knew in his head they were only a short walk down the hallway from him, in his heart, it felt as though his wife and unborn child were miles away. And it would be forever until he saw them again.
Just before Sheldon's fear got the better of him, when he would have gone down the hallway on his own to find Amy... Rob and Carole walked into the room. In spite of the emotional turmoil wreaking havoc on Sheldon, he managed to smile at Amy's parents.
"They've taken her to the OR, for the epidural. I have to wait until they come to get me."
Carole's hands flew to her face, "Oh, God! We're too late, Rob! I didn't even get to see her before…"
Sheldon understood Carole's feelings, as they were much the same as his own. Sheldon reached over to take Carole's hands in his own, while Rob reached around her shoulders.
"She's fine, Carole. I think Amy's just feeling that she's ready to have the surgery over with. You'll see her as soon as they release her from recovery; they'll bring her back here. You and Rob can wait here for us to return."
The same nurse that had taken Amy out of the room earlier, returned for Sheldon at that moment. She confirmed what Sheldon had told his in-laws; they were welcome to wait in Amy's room for Amy, Sheldon, and the baby to return.
Carole was only slightly mollified, but Rob knew nothing short of seeing Amy would completely settle her.
Rob nodded in his appreciation of Sheldon's efforts. "You'd better go. But Sheldon…"
Sheldon turned back toward Rob, on his way out the door. Rob's eyes were watering.
"Tell her… tell her we love her. Please."
Sheldon stepped back into the room, and hugged Rob. Then he stepped back, and clasped Rob's shoulder with his right hand.
"Always."
######
The anesthesiologist had completed his work, and Amy had a flexible tube leading into her back, delivering medication that would soon make her numb to enable the surgery. The nurses assisted Amy leaning back onto the operating table, and began setting up the drapes. Amy began to allow her fears to take over, and in her last vestige of maintaining control, Amy turned to one of the nurses.
"Would it be OK if someone went and got Sheldon now? I'd really like him to be here."
The anesthesia nurse's eyes smiled over the top of her respiratory mask. "He should already be on the way…"
From behind the nurse, the OR door opened. Sheldon walked in, his eyes looking half scared. He spotted Amy, and relief flooded his being.
Amy did her best to keep the tears from flowing, but some things will not be stopped. Sheldon sat where the nurse directed him, next to Amy's head, and he reached over to wipe the tears off her cheek. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head through the respiratory mask.
Amy felt her own fears subside. With the two of them together, was there really anything she couldn't face?
"Your Mom and Dad are here. They'll wait for us in your room. And they told me to tell you they love you," Sheldon reported. Amy couldn't see the smile underneath the mask, but the ones around his eyes were genuine.
Amy looked up at her husband, relief in her eyes. She marveled once again at how far they had all come, to be together on this day.
When Dr. Brown walked in the OR, Amy felt prepared and peaceful. A surgical nurse assisted Dr. Brown in putting on the sterile gown, and Matt turned toward Amy and Sheldon.
"OK, guys. We're ready to get started. Any last minute questions?"
Sheldon and Amy shook both their heads in unison.
Matt smiled through his mask. "I'll tell you what I'm doing as we're going so you know what to expect. There will be times you'll feel pressure, but there shouldn't be pain at any point. Speak up if you feel pain at all, OK?"
Amy nodded, but Sheldon looked directly at Dr. Brown.
"Just keep them both safe, OK?" Sheldon implored.
Matt understood. He'd seen multiple fathers in this moment, and fear of the unknown appeared to be the unifying factor.
"Absolutely Sheldon. I told my wife's obstetrician the same thing when she was delivered. Amy and the baby are first priority."
Dr. Brown disappeared behind the drapes, and Sheldon and Amy could hear multiple noises: clicks of surgical instruments in use, gas pressure of oxygen being passed through a nasal cannulus to Amy, conversation between the surgical staff during the procedure. True to his word, Dr. Brown provided a turn-by-turn account of all the steps and structures involved, to Amy's professional interest and Sheldon's gastrointestinal dismay.
Soon enough, however, came Dr. Brown's fateful words: "Uterine incision."
Sheldon looked Amy directly in the eyes, and squeezed her open hand. They were moments away, and both knew it.
Suddenly, a sharp cry called throughout the room, followed by a chorus of cheers from the surgical staff.
"Oh, how beautiful!" exclaimed one of the nurses.
Matt came to the surgical screen, and lifted something wrapped in a surgical towel. The small human being contained inside… pink, slightly bloody, and screaming at the top of its lungs… kicked the towel free from around its waist and hips.
Sheldon was awestruck. He looked at Amy, and saw the same amazement in her own face.
This was what he and Amy had created. What they had wanted so desperately, waited so long for. It was finally here.
Dr. Brown exclaimed, "It's a…."
A/N: Sorry... I couldn't resist. See you next week! :)