CHAPTER 21

It had been four days since Amy learned that her first intimate encounter with Sheldon had unintended consequences, and her perspective didn't look promising at all. As much as she pondered her situation she couldn't clear her thoughts. She couldn't tell Sheldon or anyone else. She didn't even tell Penny, because she might reveal the news. Mattias was the only person who shared this secret with Amy, at least for now.

During these four days, a recurring idea had haunted Amy's mind. She was in no doubt that Sheldon didn't relish the idea of raising a child or even a pet for that matter.

When they first met, Amy and Sheldon considered the possibility of using in vitro fertilization and a surrogate mother to create a human being with the best genetic characteristics of both; but after thinking thoroughly, they'd completely abandoned this idea.

Now, the situation was quite different; the human being that they once intended to create artificially already existed. Conceived naturally, that minute homo novus, had made its incursion in Amy's life, altering it completely.

Apparently, with almost seven weeks, the little creature growing millimeter by millimeter inside her had strong preferences for food and schedules. Judging from the intense nausea Amy experienced every time she tasted any food which wasn't found within the schemes for breakfast and other meals of Sheldon, the little embryo not only shared half of its genetic material with his father but also, some of his quirks.

"I know, I know, today is French toast day and you won't accept something else; will you?", Amy asked her baby. She still didn't know whether it was right to call it that way (baby), it seemed to be so distant, despite the fact that it was inside her.

Of course Amy knew perfectly the developmental biology of an embryo at seven weeks of pregnancy and she understood that at this time it was impossible that it could listen to her, or really have opinions as to its preferences for breakfast. Among other things, she knew that its nervous system was beginning to develop and it already had a heart with its own heartbeat, but these were plain biological aspects.

That tiny embryo seemed to control Amy's sleep-wake cycles, which by now persisted mostly in sleeping mode. Amy wasn't sure if it was the pressure of the uterus over her bladder, but it seemed that her bladder's capacity was decreasing radically. Suddenly she began to experience mood swings, from one minute to another she went from laughter to tears.

After the initial shock with the news, Amy pondered several options. The first of course would've been to tell Sheldon immediately; well, that was impossible. Instead she could just ask him his opinion about Howard and Bernadette trying to conceive. Sheldon told her it was a rather preposterous and foolish idea.

Amy felt disappointed and upset. Since the argument they had because of Mattias and his dog, and the possibility of having their own puppy, Amy hadn't called or tried to contact Sheldon. She needed some time to decide her next step. "I hate these hormonal changes!" Amy thought.

Last night Sheldon had finally called her, only for a few minutes, just to say hello and find out how her day had been. After all, that little argument wasn't his fault. He'd only made clear his point of view. Amy was being unreasonable, Sheldon thought.

"When she sees me in Stockholm, right in front of her; she's going to forget this illogical discussion and everything's going to be as before" Sheldon affirmed as he packed his belongings for the trip to Sweden. He was anxious to see Amy and to be with her. He imagined what they would do when they see each other and his tachycardia manifested again.

Meanwhile, Amy was considering another option that inevitably crossed her thoughts; perhaps she could end this pregnancy without Sheldon or anyone else knowing about it. She knew the process would be relatively simple and safe, being so early in her pregnancy. It might be a necessary step to return things to normal, so she could continue with her career and her relationship with Sheldon, the way she had done before. At the time she wasn't ready to have a child, maybe in the future. Although it was hard to admit, it was true.

Amy dressed up with her usual style, and then she had breakfast and struggled with her nausea. The neurobiologist left her apartment meditating on the idea of ending her pregnancy. Mattias was waiting for her on the doorstep.

"How are you feeling today?" Mattias asked Amy.

"A little better; this morning I could tolerate a small serving of French toast, vomiting only 50% of what I ingested" Amy joked.

"Did you tell him?", Mattias questioned her, unable to hide his curiosity.

"I couldn't do it, I need to find the right time", Amy replied coldly. She walked on without uttering another word until they reached the Institute of Neurosciences.

Mattias had to assign Amy another activity within the project when he realized the evident discomfort that Amy felt every time she smelled the formaldehyde used to preserved anatomical specimens in the laboratory.

Amy was now in charge of the clinical evaluation of the responses they obtained from the participants in the study, when certain brain areas were stimulated. It was fun, but Amy had always preferred to work directly with the anatomical specimens. For now, that would have to wait, just the thought of the smell of formaldehyde made her sick.

During their lunch, Mattias chatted with Amy; she wasn't paying much attention to the conversation or the food.

"Is there something wrong?", Mattias asked her. "You're awfully quiet today".

"Umm, actually… Yes, I wanted to ask you something. What is your position regarding the termination of an unplanned pregnancy?", Amy said abruptly.

"You mean... an abortion?", Mattias was surprised by the bizarre question.

"How could you interpret those words in some other way?", Amy continued matter-of-factly.

"Well, it's a sensitive subject. You know, an abortion is a legal option in this country; but I have my beliefs and values, and I think that isn't a suitable alternative in most cases. I believe that an embryo or a fetus is a human being, and I wouldn't agree to end its life in these circumstances. Anyway, I'm respectful and I consider that a woman has the right to choose. In addition, you're asking a vegetarian and Buddhist pediatrician, so that's what I think.", Mattias replied, still feeling very uncomfortable with that question.

"Of course, I respect your opinion as well" Amy muttered.

After lunch Mattias and Amy continued working on their respective areas. Amy couldn't stop thinking about Mattias's words. Normally, she considered herself quite liberal about such personal decisions, but she'd never been in this position.

Upon returning home, after a tedious day at the Institute of Neurosciences, Amy didn't have energy to do anything. Since having dinner wasn't an option, because of her nausea, she tried to sleep for a few hours; she laid on her bed, holding in her hands the picture that Sheldon gave her the day she parted to Stockholm. "I miss you so much", she sighed.

Amy tried to imagine what life would be in the future, if only she could know that would happen. He imagined Sheldon and his son or daughter buying their first model train or reading their first Physics text, together. She wondered if her baby would have those beautiful blue eyes of Sheldon. Would the baby like to be called Moon Pie? She smiled.

By accident or not, this little human being with its 14 millimeters or less, was conceived in love, and that was undeniable. Amy was certain of this, more than ever.

Suddenly, the situation in her head began to unravel itself. That tiny embryo was her baby, and she didn't care about her mother's or Sheldon's opinions. It was hers and that was all that mattered. She was confused and scared at first, but she knew she loved her baby with the same love she had for Sheldon. "I have to tell him. Amy started to cry. "Damn hormones messing with my brain!".

Amy grabbed her cell phone. She tried to gain courage to tell Sheldon the big news. She sat on her bed, took a deep breath, and wiped her tears. She stared at the phone for a minute or so, until she finally decided to make that call. It went straight to voicemail.


Sheldon hated airports, they're always crowded; so many people from hundreds of places, millions of germs; so much noise. He felt suffocated.

After spending, nearly 45 minutes in a thorough safety revision, thanks to the Mexican peso that Billie Sparks put up his nose when he was 5, and doctors could never remove; Sheldon could finally board his flight to Stockholm.

Sheldon always traveled with his X-rays which clearly showed that Mexican peso stuck in his sinuses; however, those incompetent employees from airport security, had to touch him with their dirty hands. He recalled how this incident made his skin crawl.

He had spent all week, training his assistant Alex Jensen so she can replace him in the research he was developing. Sheldon was surprised of how effective and intelligent that girl was. As a thank you gesture, Alex Jensen managed to find a flight to Sweden which departed at an earlier hour. Sheldon was excited to be finally reunited with Amy. He sat on his seat and turned off his cell phone.

"Only fifteen hours and I'll be with my girlfriend again. I can't wait" Sheldon told himself. "And... that Viking is going to know who Dr. Sheldon Cooper is; I'll show him how Texans take care of their women" Sheldon smirked.

Sheldon knew he shouldn't worry about Amy cheating on him with Mattias. No, she wasn't that kind of woman. Nevertheless, Sheldon had his suspicions about Mattias. He spent so much time with Amy, and he could definitely be attracted to her. After all Amy was, indeed, the best girlfriend a man could find, Sheldon pondered.


When Amy tried to contact Sheldon for the fifth time, without success, she decided to call Leonard and find out what happened to her boyfriend.

"Hi Amy! What a surprise! Wha… what's up?", Leonard was puzzled to hear Amy's voice.

"Hi Leonard", Amy greeted him. "I've been trying to communicate with Sheldon but I can't reach him. Is Sheldon with you?", Amy inquired.

Leonard had promised Sheldon, not to tell Amy about his trip to Stockholm because he wanted to surprise her. "Sheldon, ah?, He... he went to Galveston, to visit his mother and his grandmother", Leonard lied.

"That's strange, he didn't tell me he was going to Texas?. Did something happen to his mother or his MeeMaw", Amy was concerned about Sheldon.

"Oh, no, no, they're fine, it's some kind of... family reunion", Leonard was nervous and trying to hide the truth from Amy. "Call him later or… tomorrow morning. I'm sure he'll call you as soon as he can".

"Alright!" Amy added with a tone of acceptance. "Good bye Leonard!. Say hello to Penny".

Amy immediately had a hunch that Sheldon was mad at her. She knew something wasn't right. Sheldon always tells her his plans and he never mentioned anything about this family reunion. "Well… at least I have some extra time to figure out how to tell your father about you", Amy giggled.

Amy was so exhausted that she decided to go to bed early. She would try to call Sheldon in the morning. When she was about to fall asleep, she felt a slight pain in her lower back and her belly. Taking a deep breath she rested on her bed without moving, for about ten minutes. The pain eventually subsided and Amy felt better. It took her a while to fall asleep thinking about all the emotions of that day. She dreamed of Sheldon as every night.


When Amy woke up at 7 a.m. on Saturday, she felt a sharp pelvic pain radiated to her lower back and her tighs. Amy gently rubbed her belly with her hands as if trying to lessen the pain. With some difficulty she sat on the bed and tried to calm down. "It's probably nothing", she thought. "We'll be fine".

She got out of bed and felt dizzy and nauseated like every morning, that wasn't new. She sensed her bladder was about to explode and walked to the bathroom. Although they were only a few steps from her room to the bathroom it was an excruciating distance for Amy because of the severe pain in her lower abdomen. It was like a menstrual cramp but multiplied by 10. Now, she was extremely worried.

When she got to the bathroom, Amy realized there was blood on her clothes. "What's this? No, calm down Amy. It's probably nothing", she told herself again.

Amy changed her clothes and drank a glass of water. The pain increased with every passing minute. She didn't want to cry, but it was inevitable. She was terrified as she phoned Mattias, who upon hearing her voice full of anguish came to her apartment in just seconds.

"What happened?" Mattias shouted very nervous.

"I don't know, I'm having so much pain and I'm bleeding. I think I'm having a miscarriage", Amy was sobbing; her eyes were full of tears. "Mattias, I don't want to lose my baby".

"No, Amy calm down!, Everything's going to be fine" Mattias said reassuringly. "We must go to the hospital immediately", Mattias held her closely.


When Sheldon was finally in Stockholm, he decided it was a good idea to leave his luggage at the airport storage. First, he needed to meet Amy and then find accommodation. Even though he wanted to stay with her, he wasn't sure if it was socially acceptable.

He was thrilled and eager to see Amy in less than an hour. He took the light rail from the airport to Downtown Stockholm. The morning was a little cold and it had rained the night before. Arriving at the rail station, Sheldon took a cab and showed the driver the address he had written in a piece of paper.

"Here it is, #56-54 Kungsgatan. Apartment 3-A", Sheldon said aloud when he found Amy's address. It was right across the street.

He looked once more at that piece of paper with her address written on it, and then he stared at the terracotta colored building in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Amy holding onto Mattias's arm as she got in his car. The car took off and Mattias was driving as fast as he could.

Sheldon breathed heavily and his pupils dilated. His nervous tics soon appeared. "Oh, Dear Lord!. What is going on here?" he shouted. When he could move and think again, he took a cab and yelled at the driver: "Follow that car!".