Later that evening, Amy wandered over to where Sheldon was now sat, glancing at the list.
"Well, it took long enough, but I narrowed it down." He said.
Amy took the notebook and read the names that he had listed;
Ava, Cadence, Harmony, Lily, Melody, Olivia, Paige, Sienna, Zoe
"They're all adorable!" She said, "They're probably the names I would have chosen. So…No comic book names? No scientist names?"
Sheldon shook his head.
"I thought about it," He admitted, "But I liked these names in the book. Besides, I thought they should have modern names so that they fit in with modern times. That and with you for a mother, our girls will be pretty, so they need pretty names to match."
"Aww!" Amy grinned, kissing him on the lips.
"I also wanted to add 'Farrah' because that's your middle name and I like it…"
"You're sweet. We could use it as one of their middle names?"
Sheldon nodded. "We could."
Amy kissed him again, and then in a moment of arousal, pressed herself right up against him.
Sheldon grunted, and stepped back. "What are you doing, my little Vixen?"
"I'm coming on to you, my Texan Stud." She replied, huskily, leaning in to kiss him again.
"Amy…No. We can't. Not until the babies are born…They can feel us doing it!"
Amy pouted and sighed, before sitting down.
Sheldon looked down at her and noticed her expression had changed.
"We can do other things," he said, "Just not intercourse. Don't make that face at me, come on." He held his hand out but Amy ignored him, and leaned forward, clutching her stomach.
"Are you getting those Braxton things again?" Sheldon asked now, gently rubbing Amy's back.
"I don't know…Maybe." She replied, breathlessly.
"Would you like to lay on the bed with me and relax?"
Amy nodded in reply.
Sheldon helped her up, but she almost instantly yelped, doubling over.
"Amy?" He was scared now, and felt helpless.
Amy cried out in pain, grabbing on to Sheldon's arm.
That was when the cold, hard reality hit him.
These were contractions…
..
"Amy…Amy. Listen to me."
Amy looked up.
"R-remember what Julie said? Y-you need to breathe like you did in those exercises." Sheldon said, his voice trembling.
Nodding, Amy tried her hardest whilst Sheldon whipped out his phone and text Julie;
Julie, its Sheldon Cooper. Amy is having what I believe are contractions. I have told her to breathe like we practised, but I don't know what else to do.
He pocketed his phone, but seconds later, he received a reply;
Thank you for telling me, and well done. I'll be right over. – Julie.
Sheldon turned to face Amy, who was now beginning to calm down.
"Sheldon, I'm scared." She said, tearfully.
He hugged her close.
"I know." He spoke into her hair. "But I'm here."
Amy nodded, breathing deeply.
Moments later, she doubled over in pain again, crying.
"Oh God, make it stop!"
Unfortunately for Amy, Sheldon knew it was going to get much worse, but he didn't say anything.
He just held her, and kept her as calm as possible until Julie arrived.
Once she did arrive and gave Amy a quick check, she offered to drive both of them to the hospital.
Sheldon felt lucky that he and Amy had packed her hospital bag early, knowing full well that twins were almost always born early, and had wanted to be prepared.
Upon arriving, Amy's waters broke in the parking lot, and her fear intensified.
"I'm not ready. I can't give birth; not yet." She panicked.
"I'm sorry Amy; unfortunately the babies are saying otherwise. We'll do everything we can to keep you calm." Julie replied, softly.
..
The hospital admitted Amy into their only available private suite, and called for a doctor to come down to her room as soon as possible.
Sheldon had informed his and Amy's mothers, and all of their friends.
Mary had said that she would get the next flight to LA with Meemaw, Missy and George Jnr.
Mrs Fowler had promised to be right there, and so had the gang.
Unfortunately, they weren't allowed in the delivery suite with Amy and Sheldon, so they were all waiting in the waiting room.
Amy was still stressed, so Sheldon took her hand.
"Amy, I know you're scared but please try to calm down. It isn't good for you or the babies…Do you want me to help soothe you?"
Amy nodded in response.
Sheldon fluffed up Amy's pillows, and stood up.
He pulled up the back of her hospital gown and asked Julie if she had any baby oil.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She smiled. "Well done for remembering what to do."
Sheldon smiled weakly as he sprayed the oil on to his hands and then began to massage Amy's lower back and her sides.
She began to relax almost immediately.
That was until the doctor came in.
"Hello Amy. I'm Doctor Paula Stone; I'll be delivering your baby…Sorry, babies today!" She smiled.
The woman looked about 40 years old, and had sleek brown hair, tied up into a ponytail.
She pulled on her gloves and conversed with Julie, before performing a quick cervical exam.
"You're 6cm at the moment." Dr Stone said.
"Is that all?" Amy asked, breathlessly.
"Yes, but by the looks of things, it won't be much longer. These babies want out!" Dr Stone replied.
"I can't." Amy wept. "I'm too scared. I can't do it."
Sheldon continued to massage Amy and kissed her on the cheek multiple times, until she was calmer.
A couple of hours later, Dr Stone checked again for the third time.
"8cm. That's not bad…Not much longer now Amy, I promise." She said.
"I'm only eight months pregnant," Amy shook her head. "Why couldn't they have waited?"
"You have to remember that you're carrying twins, sweetie." Julie replied, "It's pretty cramped in there!"
Amy felt another contraction and cried out in pain.
Sheldon handed her the gas and air tube, still rubbing her back.
He glanced at the clock, realizing that they had been here for almost three whole hours now.
This must be the quickest labor ever! He thought.
As he thought that, Amy grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight as another contraction hit her hard.
"Oh God, I think they're coming now, Sheldon!" She panicked.
"Uh, okay…R-remember to breathe." He said, "And every time you feel pain, squeeze my hand really hard."
"Sheldon, could you get me some ice chips?" Amy asked, breathlessly.
"I don't want to leave you." He replied.
"The machine is literally outside this door." Julie said, as she called for the doctor again and made some notes.
Sheldon looked down at Amy, feeling torn.
"Please Sheldon." Amy begged.
"Okay. I'll be right back, I promise." He replied, reluctantly letting go of her hand.
He hurried out of the room to the ice machine, and filled a cup, before returning to Amy.
He helped her to drink some of the melted ice, until another contraction hit her and she felt an urge to push.
"Oh no…They're definitely coming now! Sheldon, I can't do this!" She cried.
"Yes you can. Just hold on to me." He replied, suddenly feeling scared himself, but also excited.
Dr Stone returned to the room and performed another cervical check.
"Okay Amy. That's 10cm; these impatient little babies are coming now!" She said.
"Oh God, no!" Amy cried, throwing her head back to the pillows.
"Amy, look at me." Sheldon said. "We're in this together. Just think what we'll have at the end of all of this. And I am not going anywhere…Trust me."
Amy nodded; she really did trust him.
"I trust you." She replied, gripping his hand tightly and starting to push as hard as she could.
"Good, you're doing really well. Couple more." Dr Stone said, encouragingly.
Amy pushed again, passing the head through.
"That's the head, Amy! One more."
Amy shook her head, tiredly.
"Come on Vixen." Sheldon said softly beside her.
Gathering up all the energy she could, Amy pushed again and the first of their twins entered the world with a tiny cry.
"Congratulations Amy; one girl. We'll cut the cord, weigh her and clean her up for you." Dr Stone said, as Julie cleaned up the baby, weighed her and wrapped her up, before placing her gently into the little hospital crib. "She's nice and healthy; 5lbs 7oz. That's not bad for an early twin!"
Amy nodded, feeling weak.
Dr Stone did another cervical exam.
"10cm; baby number two is on its way!" She said, but as she looked up at a very tired and weak Amy, she could see that she would have trouble delivering this baby.
Dr Stone made a quick decision.
"I'll call down to the O.R and prep you for surgery; I'm afraid this baby will need to be delivered by C-section."
"No." Amy spoke up. "I'll deliver naturally."
Dr Stone bit her lip. "Amy, you're looking weaker than you were earlier. I don't think…"
Before she could finish, Amy had mustered up all her strength and pushed again.
Dr Stone had no choice but to get back into position and help Amy deliver.
Already, Amy had pushed out the top of the baby's head, and was still going.
She grabbed Sheldon's hand and squeezed tight.
"One more Amy. You can do it." He whispered.
Amy gave one last push and it was all over.
The cord was cut and another cry filled the air.
Amy slumped back on her pillows, exhausted, sweating and emotional.
Once the second baby was cleaned, weighed and wrapped up, both babies were handed to their mother.
"Congratulations guys; two little girls. Your second was only an ounce lighter than the first. Well done." Dr Stone smiled.
"Congratulations you two." Julie grinned.
Amy just held the two tiny bundles close to her, crying with relief. "They're so beautiful!" She said, wiping a tear away.
"They are; I'm so proud of you." Sheldon said softly, kissing Amy on the lips, before looking really closely at their two newborn babies.
"They're perfect, but not identical at all." He smiled.
Amy shook her head. "The bigger baby looks more like you." She said, as the newborn in question opened her eyes and revealed a bright blue, which matched her father's, along with a tiny tuft of dark hair.
The smaller twin had green-blue eyes and slightly lighter hair, like Amy.
Amy moved over, letting Sheldon sit on the edge of the bed.
"Here you are." She said, handing both of the babies over, once he was safely seated. "This is your daddy."
He brought his knees up towards his body, and held the babies safely against them, marvelling at them, silently and adoringly.
Amy rested her head on his shoulder, and heard him swallow.
She looked up, and saw Sheldon's eyes reddening as he sniffed.
"Sheldon Lee Cooper, are you crying?" She teased.
Normally, he would have said no, so as not to dent his pride.
But right now, his pride wasn't something he cared about.
"Yes." He nodded, letting a tear fall as he held the twins closer.
"Aw, you big softie." Amy smiled. "We have to name them next."
She reached across to the bedside table and picked up the list that Sheldon had written earlier, and held it up in front of them both.
"What do you think?" She asked.
Sheldon quickly looked at the list and back down at their babies.
"I don't know…" He pondered. "What should we call you?".
..