CHAPTER 37

Sheldon was extremely nervous. He'd read everything about childbirth; he knew the physiology of labor and delivery, but he'd never imagined that the arrival of his son would take him by surprise, without any prior notice and five weeks earlier than they expected. Sheldon wished her mother were at the hospital at the time, to help them and support them. Overcoming his fear of hospitals and germs he sat next to Amy on the bed, holding her hand.

"Amy, what should I do? Please tell me!" Sheldon looked at her with his eyes full of doubts and fears.

"Just stay here, next to me… Oh… my… Ouch! I think the contractions are getting harder, this one lasted fifty seconds. They're coming every five minutes." Amy strongly grabbed Sheldon's hand as he bravely endured the pain she caused him. She couldn't measure her strength due to the intensity of the contractions.

"Yes, of course I'll be here with you. I'll never leave you!. But ... just out of curiosity, how long do you think this will take?" Sheldon was felling uncomfortable being at the hospital but at the same time he was eager to see Nicholas for the first time; he checked his watch. It was 2:30 pm.

"I don't know, Dr. Bowen said I'm about six centimeters dilated; so I think this would take five or six hours. At least! Five or six hours of intense ... Aahh! And excruciatingly painful labor! "Amy felt an indescribable pain on her belly and her hips, as if her pelvis was splitting slowly and trying to make room for the new member of her family.

"Amy, that's enough! I'll ask your doctor for an epidural; better yet I'll stipulate that you have a cesarean section. You don't need to go through this pain." Sheldon couldn't see Amy suffering, he had to do something about it.

"No Sheldon, I think a natural birth is the best for Nicky and for me. I've decided I won't use any medication. My love, we've talked about this before. I only need to relax, breathe and concentrate… and ... here it comes again! Aaaah!Oh my God! Aww!" Amy suddenly got up from the bed, feeling an intense pressure in her pelvis and lumbar spine, which eased a bit when standing up.

"Nicholas, your mother is such a hippie!", Sheldon lovingly caressed Amy's belly when it relaxed after a contraction; he grinned as he felt his baby kicking.


Leonard paced back and forth in the waiting room with long and fast strides, biting his nails because of the anxiety. "Uncle Leonard, I'm going to be Uncle Leonard!" he proudly realized that in a few hours, he would finally see his nephew, his best friend's first son. Sheldon and Amy's baby. It was almost unreal. "Penny ... I have to tell Penny!", he thought.

Penny was working the early shift at Cheesecake Factory. She was handing a pitcher of margaritas to some customers, when Leonard called her.

"Hey honey! How are you?" she said with her usual enthusiasm.

"Hey! Aunt Penny!" Leonard greeted her, smiling at the other side of the phone line.

"Aunt Penny? Why do you call me like that? Is it that … Amy? The baby! No way!" Penny understood the reason for Leonard's call. "But ... it's not time! It's… a month earlier" Penny was worried about Amy and her baby.

"Well, Nicky is coming a little earlier. Amy's doctor said they're fine. Amy's in labor, Sheldon is in the room with her right now. Penny, our nephew is coming today!. I'm so excited. Sheldon's very nervous, he can hardly say a word, which is a good thing if you consider how much he likes to talk and talk and talk" Leonard could not hide the joy he felt; though they weren't blood related, Nicholas was his nephew.

"Wait for me! I'm going to the hospital right now!" Penny took off her apron and asked his boss for permission to leave earlier. Although Nicky's birth was a joyful event, she couldn't help but worrying about Amy and the baby. "Everything will be fine" she told herself.


Sheldon gently massaged Amy's back trying to relieve some of the pain she was feeling. It was already four p.m. and now Amy had contractions every 3 or 4 minutes, and they were stronger and more painful each time. Sheldon tried to be patient and tough enough for Amy, he had never seen her suffer so much.

"Are you sure you don't want some analgesics? There must be something they can do for you" Sheldon tried to convince Amy to accept painkillers, he couldn't stand to see her so fragile and in pain.

Amy smiled sweetly, breathing very deeply she replied: "No Sheldon, labor has an important biological function; the pain of contractions produces endorphins in the hypothalamus which in turn induce oxytocin release and that's essential for development of the mother-newborn bonding. You know that, right? The pain isn't so bad, and soon I'll have a beautiful reward. "Amy tried to encourage herself.

Sheldon couldn't fight Amy's logical arguments; after all, she was the only person similar to him on an intellectual level. And that was just one of the thousands of reasons why he loved her so much. "You're such a hippie!" he replied.

Penny drove to the hospital as fast as she could. She met Howard, Raj and Bernadette at the hospital lobby. Leonard who was sitting in the waiting room was glad to see them.

"How are they? Is the baby born yet?" Penny asked Leonard.

"No, not yet. Sheldon has been with her for nearly two hours, but I still don't know anything" Leonard said, and then he nervously took a sip of his coffee.

"Do you think I can see her? I'd like to be with her, at least for a few minutes." Penny admitted.

"I want to see her too. Poor girl, everything has been so… rushed" Bernadette said as he took Howard by his arm, trying to feel somewhat comforted.


Amy leaned back on the hospital bed when the pressure she felt on her hips was too strong to keep walking.

It was already five o' clock and Amy's doctor examined her again and he'd informed them that now she was seven centimeters dilated. Though apparently, Amy's labor was progressing, she started to feel that her strength diminished with every passing minute.

Penny and Leonard knocked at the door and entered the room. Amy tried to catch her breath after a powerful contraction. Sheldon took her hand. The theoretical physicist looked frightened and pale. Penny waved her hand, always smiling. "What's up bestie? Hey Moon Pie!".

"Penny, don't call me Moon Pie! Only my Meemaw calls me like that! Besides, in a few hours I'm going to be a father. Please, treat me with respect" Sheldon replied very seriously.

"Daddy Sheldon! Can you believe it Leonard?" Penny smiled.

"Mhmm, not really!" Leonard grinned. "How are you feeling Amy?"asked Leonard.

"Oh... well, this is undoubtedly more painful than I thought, but I'm ... trying to overcome the pain… Awww! For God's sake!" Amy felt a new contraction, perhaps it was the most intense she'd felt so far, it lasted nearly an entire minute.

When she finally regained her normal breathing, she managed to say "Sheldon, my love, no offense, but I think there's a small chance that after this experience, I'm NEVER going to engage in coitus with you AGAIN." Sheldon bit his lower lip and looked away, his face was completely flushed.

Amy rose again from the bed, trying to walk for a while; she looked at the clock. It was six o'clock. She began to feel an increased pressure in her lower belly and an intense feeling of nausea. Seeking for some stability, she held Sheldon's arm as he was standing beside her.

The situation was quite uncomfortable for Leonard and Penny. They wanted to stay with their friends, but the moment was so intimate, that they thought it was time to leave them alone. Penny grabbed Leonard's hand and got up from her seat.

"Amy, we'll be in the waiting room" said Penny.

"No bestie, please stay with me for a moment! I need to talk to you… in private" Amy looked at Penny with pleading eyes.

"What?" Sheldon asked befuddled.

"Just a minute, please!" Amy kissed Sheldon on his cheek.

"Let's go buddy. You need to get some fresh air. What about a cup of tea?" Leonard stated. Sheldon nodded and left the room with him.

"What's wrong Amy? Do you need something? Whatever it is, please tell me!" Penny asked with concern.

"Penny… I'm so scared, I didn't want to cry in front of Sheldon, but this is really painful and I'm afraid that something is wrong with my baby, he is premature. I don't think I can do this, I tried to be strong but ... I can't. I feel so stupid. I'm a coward!" Amy burst into tears because of the pain and anguish she was feeling. "It's almost seven p.m. I've been in labor for more than eleven hours, but nothing happens, and this is getting harder. Ouch… Nicky please don't hurt me!"

"Honey please, try to calm down, the baby will be in your arms at any minute. We are all here for you! No matter what!." Amy hugged Penny warmly.

"Bestie, please don't go! Sheldon can't stand the sight of blood. I know he's doing his best, but he faints when he has a paper cut. I'm scared! Sheldon's mom isn't here and… apparently my mother doesn't really care about anything that happens to me." Amy confessed to Penny. She couldn't stop sobbing.

"Aw, don't worry! I'll be here with you. Nicholas is my nephew and you're my bestie" Penny was moved, hearing Amy's words.

Amy felt a chill that ran down her spine when, after intense and prolonged contraction, she sensed a warm liquid running down her inner thigh. "Penny, could you please look for my gynecologist, Dr. Bowen" Amy said as she sat on the bed, stroking her belly with both hands.

"Of course Amy! Are you all right?" Penny inquired.

"I think my water just broke." The fluid soaked the bed sheets and her hospital gown. "Yes, that's it!" Amy added.

Dr. Bowen entered the room immediately, Sheldon followed him. The contractions were more intense and they came at intervals of about two minutes.

"Very well Amy! The baby is coming now. I need you to concentrate on pushing as hard as you can, every time you have a contraction. You've done a very good job. This will be your last effort. Come on! You can do this!" The doctor said as he got ready to receive the baby.

Sheldon smiled, he was very excited. His heart was beating so fast that he felt that at any moment, it'll leave his chest. Sheldon's legs were shaking, but he'd promised himself not to faint, let alone run. He was going to be there, for his son and for Amy. Looking into her eyes, he kissed her hand , holding it tightly against his chest.

With each contraction Amy felt an uncontrollable urge to push, with each passing minute it was harder to breathe. Cold sweat ran down her face. The increasing pressure in her pelvis felt as if something broke inside her. She was feeling exhausted.

"Oh, I'm seeing a little head! Amy we're almost there!" the doctor encouraged her to continue pushing.

"Amy, that's true! He has very little hair. He's almost bald! So cute!" Penny smiled. "Sheldon sweetie, come here! You'll miss it!".

Sheldon was afraid of fainting, so he had decided to stand beside Amy, holding her hand. But at the time he wanted to see their son for the first time, he looked at Amy as if asking permission and walked over, standing next to Penny.

"Push harder, one more time! Great job Amy!" The doctor stated. "Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?" Dr. Bowen asked Sheldon.

"Yes, I do!" Sheldon nodded and nervously put on a pair of latex gloves that the nurse handed him.

Amy breathed very deeply, filling her lungs with air; she pushed again with all her strength. Sheldon and Penny observed in astonishment the birth of Nicholas. They saw his head, covered with fine, almost nonexistent hair, then they saw his shoulders and finally his whole body. Dr. Bowen put Nicholas on Amy's chest and rubbed him with a thin cloth, keeping him warm.

After five seconds that seemed eternal, Nicholas cried loudly. Amy couldn't hold back the tears that streamed down her cheeks. Trembling with emotion Sheldon cut the umbilical cord.

The pediatrician placed the baby in Amy's arms and she kissed his forehead. She held him tightly against her chest. Sheldon approached them and kissed Nicholas on his nearly bald head. He gave Amy a soft kiss on the lips.

"Even though the baby seems fine and he cried immediately, I'm going to perform a careful physical examination on him. Also, we need to keep your baby under observation because he's premature. We'll keep you informed." The pediatrician covered Nicholas with a blanket and headed to the examination room.

"May I come along? Please!" Sheldon begged the doctor.

"Of course you can come!" she replied.

Sheldon followed Nicholas and the pediatrician to the next room. He had to be with his baby. He was afraid that something was wrong with him. "He'll be fine. He's my son. Nicholas Cooper!".

A. N: It took me a while to publish this chapter. Sometimes life gets on the way! I'm waiting for your reviews. *-*