CHAPTER 20

Mattias stared at Amy without knowing what to do at that moment; he tried to be supportive to her, and calm down. If he showed his real concern for Amy, she might think he was meddling in her personal issues. This whole situation was worrying Mattias, he didn't know how to handle it. Amy was completely quiet, sitting in the waiting room. Mattias tried to break that uncomfortable silence:

"Amy, what do you want to do now? Do you want to visit an OB/GYN? I think a friend of mine's on call today. I can order an ultrasound to know… how far along are you".

Amy considered the suggestion for a second, but finally she shook her head no; she hadn't recovered yet from the shock. She didn't want an OB/GYN visit let alone an ultrasound. She breathed heavily; she bit her lips trying to hold her need to cry. Her face looked extremely pale, almost with the same color as that with paper sheet she still had in her hands.

"Just… take me home, please" Amy asked Mattias.

"Yes, of course." Mattias nodded as he saw the heartbreaking sadness in Amy's green eyes.

When Mattias drove her home, Amy stayed quiet, looking through the window and trying to think clearly. She'd estimated that she was six, almost seven weeks pregnant. Amy remembered every scene of her first time with Sheldon, she'd been so happy; but now everything was ruined. "This can't be true", she kept repeating herself. "Oh my, I knew my body would grab onto him and never let go… but this is too much." She thought.

"Are you alright? Amy, you know you can count on me as a doctor and as a friend." Mattias interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm still a little shocked by the news. This wasn't on my plans. I never thought I'd find myself in a situation like this." Amy promised herself not to cry anymore, at least, not in front of Mattias.

"But… Amy, you're not alone. I mean… you have your boyfriend and I'm sure he will be happy with the news". Mattias added enthusiastically.

"Yes… Sheldon", Amy sighed. "He's going to be so mad at me" she thought.

Mattias continued driving for about 20 minutes, until he realized that Amy barely ate anything at lunch and it was 9 p.m. already.

"Amy, I know you're not feeling quite well but I think you should eat something. You hardly ate anything and that's not right for you or… the baby. "What do you want to have for dinner?" Mattias asked. This was the first time that someone mentioned Amy's baby as a real person.

Amy thought of those words: "the baby" and it was as if suddenly its presence was tangible, although she had never seen it and she didn't know of its existence a few hours ago.

Amy smiled shyly and thought what would Sheldon had for dinner that night; the answer was Chinese food: Chicken and Broccoli, diced, not shredded, with brown rice, not white rice, low-sodium soy sauce and the good hot mustard from the Korean grocery.

"I think we could try Chinese food", said Amy.

"Are you sure?, Chinese?. It seems a bit of a spicy choice for someone in your condition but if that's what you want to eat… then it's my treat!". Mattias agreed.

"Thanks", Amy was smiling again.


Mattias knew he was just looking for disappointment, with every minute that passed he was increasingly fond of Amy. "Why am I doing this? She has a boyfriend and, in a few months, she'll be back with him. She's having his baby, for God's sake" Mattias thought.

He felt as if he had wasted most of his life devoting himself to his work, and not caring enough for his personal life. Probably that was one of the reasons he was so alone.

"Mattias you're pathetic" he told himself, while driving home with Amy asleep in the passenger seat. The Chinese food was still hot.

When they arrived home, Amy got off the elevator on the third floor, and Mattias continued to the fifth floor. He had to feed his dog. "Poor Max, he must be starving", Mattias told Amy.

Amy set the table, but waited for Mattias, to start their dinner. Amy's phone rang, breaking the silence of her apartment. She rushed to the living room to answer the phone, hoping it was Sheldon calling.

"Hi Amy! How are you?, Have you forgotten about your mother? How come you never call me?" That definitely wasn't Sheldon.

"Hello Mother, of course I haven't forgotten about you. I've been very busy at work, that's all" Amy replied.

"You always have an excuse not to talk to me. There's never time. But, tell me Amy, is everything going fine in Stockholm?", Mrs. Fowler asked Amy.

"Well, everything's fine. Excellent indeed!" Amy replied wryly.

"I'm glad to hear that. I have some news for you. Your cousin Alice is getting married in two months. Isn't that great?. She's the only one of your cousins who was still single".

"Yeah, that's great!" Amy added with a tone of aversion. She hated when her mother called, just to tell her how happy her cousins were in their marriages, or how cute and lovely their children are!.

"And your cousin Helen's expecting her second baby. She's having a girl!" Amy's mother was talking incessantly.

"That's… so nice!" It was the only thing that Amy could say.

Although it wasn't a hostile situation; Amy's relationship with her mother wasn't the best. Amy felt her mother would rather have a different daughter, a more beautiful and outgoing daughter just like her cousins.

"Amy, I don't want to be so nosey but… What can you tell me about your relationship with your boyfriend, Sheldon? I mean you've been together for more than two years and, I don't think this relationship is going anywhere. Please understand Amy, I want to see you happy and satisfied with other aspects of your personal life, beyond your work. Time goes by so fast Amy, you're my only daughter and I would like to have grandchildren someday".

Her mother always had the right words to make her confidence and self-esteem go into a tailspin. Amy gulped, unable to utter a word. She wished she had the courage to tell her mother: "You know mom, I'm pregnant, I'm carrying Sheldon's baby. What do you think?". But… she couldn't do it; she just kept listening to her mother's rant.

"Mother, I have to go. It's too late and I need to get up early" Amy stated when she heard Mattias knocking on her door. "I'll call you some other time. Bye!"

Amy tried to forget that bad time she just had, she rose from the couch and opened the door. Max the dog ran and greeted Amy. The Labrador wagged his tail, happy to see her.

"Excuse me Amy, I have to bring him with me; he didn't want to stay alone in my apartment", Mattias apologized when the puppy licked Amy's face with such emotion that she couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry!, He's cheering me up! He's the cutest dog!" Amy was hugging Max.

Finally Amy had a substantial meal that day, after all those unexpected events. It was too much for her; she still had a lump in her throat, so many emotions were overwhelming.

Mattias avoided the baby's topic, because he knew that Amy wasn't ready to talk about it. Nevertheless it was a relief for him to see that Amy was feeling better. They talked for about an hour until Mattias saw that Amy was yawning, she obviously was getting sleepy. Mattias got up from the chair. "Well, I think it's a little late, it's time to say goodbye. Come here Max!".

Amy started to collect the dirty dishes, since she was about to wash them.

"No, please let me do that!", Mattias affirmed, rolling up his shirt's sleeves and putting the dishes in the sink. "You go and play with Max".

"I can do the dishes. No problem!" Amy added.

"I'm an expert at dishwashing. Just wait and see!"Mattias laughed.

Amy headed to the living room and sat on the couch, rubbing the dog's belly as he licked her hand, happily.

Amy's laptop was on her desk. An incoming Skype video call, made her jump from the couch to answer it. It was Sheldon.

"Hi Amy, I know it's eleven p.m. in Stockholm, but I was a bit worried because you haven't called me all day. Are you alright?" Sheldon inquired.

"Hi Sheldon, I've had a busy day", Amy replied, not daring to share the news with Sheldon.

"I see something different in you. I don't know exactly what it is. Have you been crying?", Sheldon recognized immediately that something was wrong with Amy.

"No, I'm fine!. Maybe, I'm coming down with a cold" Amy answered, she wasn't ready to tell him the truth.

Sheldon saw that Amy had an unusual companion, Max the Labrador retriever was right beside her.

"Amy, is that a dog, next to you?, Sheldon was perplexed.

"He is Max, Mattias's dog. He's adorable; don't you think?". Amy smiled.

Sheldon couldn't hide the look of disgust on his face every time he heard that name: Mattias. "What does he want? He's with Amy, all the time" Sheldon thought.

"You know I don't like dogs", Sheldon shouted rudely.

Mattias heard Sheldon's voice coming from Amy's laptop and headed to the living room to say hello. "Hey! What's up?", he waved his hand. Sheldon just nodded as response.

Mattias said goodbye to Amy and left the apartment with Max following him. "He doesn't look as smart as Amy says he is. She could do better", Mattias considered.

"And what were Mattias and his dog doing at your apartment at eleven p.m.?", Sheldon questioned her, very upset by the scene he had just saw.

"Well, I invited them for dinner. Max is so cute, he makes me want to have a puppy", Amy casually mentioned. "Wouldn't you like to have a ... puppy?. When I get back to Pasadena, we could adopt a dog".

"What? We don't have time to take care of a dog, we are always busy. Is the dog staying at your apartment or mine?" Sheldon grunted. "Seriously, what's wrong with Amy" he thought.

"We might have joint custody, the… puppy could stay some days with me and some days with you" Amy muttered.

"I told you I don't like dogs. Puppies require a lot of care, especially when they're little. They break things, they're unhygienic. It takes a lot of patience to raise them. I don't think it's a good idea" Sheldon continued with his arguments.

"But you had 25 cats and you didn't have a problem with them", Amy remarked.

"That's different! Cats practically take care of themselves. I don't know where you're trying to go with this conversation but I already said no. I don't want to care of a puppy or any animal at this time. It's illogical" He insisted.

"It was an idea that just hit me. You don't have to be so irritated", Amy replied. "Did I mention that Bernadette and Howard are trying to conceive", Amy swallowed hard.

"Yes, Howard informed us today at lunch", Sheldon added sternly. He was still mad at Mattias and his dog.

"What do you think?", Amy whispered. Her heart was beating at a faster pace. She needed to know Sheldon's opinion about it. "Please Amy don't be nervous, don't cry!" She told herself. She couldn't tell him the news. Not yet. It wasn't time.

"Actually, I think there are too many people in the world and it's inappropriate to increase Earth's population. Besides, I don't see the point of spreading their irrelevant genetic features. But that's my opinion", Sheldon said condescendingly.

"You're probably right", Amy said with her voice full of disappointment to hear... Sheldon being Sheldon.

A.N: A little angst doesn't hurt anyone! Reviews are appreciated.