CHAPTER 40
"A nice girl with a squeaky voice, like a squirrel" Amy slowly repeated her mother's words. Meeting her mother when leaving the hospital would never have crossed her mind.
"Bernadette!" Sheldon and Amy nodded at unison. They knew that Bernadette had acted with the best of intentions, but their current situation was undeniably difficult.
"Yes! Bernadette… that was her name. But, it doesn't matter. The point is ... I needed to see you. I just wanted to be with you." The harsh expression on Mrs. Fowler face suddenly became a plea.
"Amy, could you forgive me? I recognize I was wrong… I wasted so much time; I lost the opportunity to be with you when you needed me most. I almost denied myself the joy of meeting my grandson, because of my pride and the fear of losing you. I'm so selfish!" Mrs. Fowler looked genuinely sorry.
Amy tried to look away, remembering how she'd missed her mother during this time. Amy thought she'd lost her mother's love forever. Amy didn't cry but she was struggling to hold her tears at that moment. She remained silent for almost a minute.
Sheldon evidently felt uncomfortable in the middle of that scene. He continued cradling Nicholas in his arms so he wouldn't start crying. Nicky looked hungry, he needed Amy to feed him. Sheldon didn't know if it was better to let Amy and her mother have a moment alone, or to stay there to support her. He decided to stay there with his girlfriend. He knew Amy had cried many times because she was feeling lonely, without her mother. Although Amy had tried to be strong, he knew how she felt.
"Mom ... I love you and I want you in my life… but what happened before hurt me deeply". Amy paused and looked at Sheldon and Nicholas with profound love. "I need you and I love you Mom" Amy finally said, she hugged her mother affectionately.
Sheldon sighed with relief. "I assume we can go home now; Leonard just sent me a text message. He's at the hospital lobby" Sheldon said as he placed Nicky in Amy's arms and picked up the luggage.
"I think the baby's hungry." He whispered on Amy's ear.
Mrs. Amy Fowler approached Amy and asked her: "Can I hold him for a moment?, please" Amy nodded and put the baby in his grandmother's arms. "Hello! I'm your grandmother. Amy… he's so cute! I have a picture of you… you had the same sweet little face when you were born". Mrs. Fowler was sobbing.
Amy's mother still felt like an outsider in her daughter's little family; so she decided to take things slowly, one step at a time. Although Amy asked her to come home with them, Mrs. Fowler said goodbye to her daughter, Sheldon and Nicholas, promising that she would go visit them as soon as possible.
Sheldon, Amy and the baby were now on his way home, accompanied by Leonard and Penny.
When Amy and Sheldon arrived at the apartment, they were surprised to find all their friends reunited to welcome them and their little son. Howard, Raj and Bernadette were already there, as well as Alex and Stuart.
Amy was holding Nicholas in her arms, wrapped in a warm and soft blanket with white and blue stripes. The group of friends gathered around them, to look at the baby closely.
The girls took turns to hold Nicky for a few minutes while Raj, who drank only a sip of beer in order to be able talk to women, proudly showed the décor of the baby's room to Sheldon and Amy.
Nicky's room was the one that belonged to Leonard before, but now the walls had a color between blue and teal that Raj defined as acqua. The ceiling was white and the trim was light gray. The baby's crib was also white, and it was covered with the most beautiful blankets and comforters that Amy had ever seen. Dozens of stuffed animals in pastel colors completed the decoration: giraffes, elephants, bears, lions, monkeys, etc. The baby's nursery looked like a zoo. "Look Sheldon; look at all those stuffed animals! I love it! Thanks Raj!". Amy hugged the astrophysicist and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you!" She said again.
"Thanks Raj! Nicholas likes animals… well I think he does. Certainly he likes sleeping with his koala. I'll go and bring him with me, so he can see his room" Sheldon smiled excitedly as he headed to the living room, looking for Nicholas.
"Seriously Raj, this must have cost you a fortune." Amy was a little worried about the expenses that Raj had, decorating her baby's room.
"Don't worry Amy, this is my gift to Nicky", Raj smiled sincerely. "But… perhaps you want the baby to sleep in your room at first, right? Next to your bed there's a small bassinet where you can place him during the night." Amy smiled knowingly; that was exactly what she intended to do.
Sheldon entered the room with his baby in his arms, and the rest of the group followed him. "Look Nicholas, this is your new room. Say thanks to uncle Raj. Okay, Nicholas would say thanks if he were awake and if he could speak. Ha, ha! ". Sheldon laughed happily as he placed Nicholas on his crib, with his stuffed koala bear next to him, obviously.
Alex Jensen remained very quiet among the group of friends; she was admiring the details of the baby's room. She was a very shy girl, but she was actually fond of her eccentric boss and his unconventional friends, so she decided to accept Leonard's invitation to meet Sheldon's baby; she brought a gift for Nicky.
Alex headed to Raj and trying to start a conversation she said: "You've done a great job! I didn't know you were so good at this. You certainly have good taste Dr. Koothrappali. Those are very attractive qualities." Raj swallowed hard and blushed deeply: "I've always had very good taste" he replied while looking at Alex from head to toe; this time he didn't take a sip of beer.
After lunch, Amy could finally talk to Bernadette, with all the emotions of that day she didn't have the time to talk to her before.
"Bernadette, I wanted to thank you. I know you called my mother and... Thanks to you, we could finally fix things between us. She came to the hospital this morning… she wanted to meet Nicky. I've missed her so much!" Amy confessed to Bernadette.
"You don't need to thank me. I really didn't know how you would take my intrusion in your private life but... I imagined what I would feel if I were in your situation, with a newborn, without the support of my mother" Bernadette instinctively placed her two hands on her belly and looked at the floor.
"Bernadette, you… and Howard are... "Amy couldn't finish her question. Penny interrupted them; she walked towards them with some glasses of wine in their hands.
"Ladies, we need to celebrate. This is a very special day! I propose a toast to Amy and Sheldon, here's to Shamy! And... Nicky of course; that baby's such a little angel!" Penny's joy was contagious to everyone in the room. Amy was tempted to take only a sip of wine, but seeing the look of reproach on Sheldon's eyes, she decided not to do it.
"Bestie, I shouldn't drink wine, I'm breastfeeding." Amy replied. "I know a drink won't hurt me or Nicky, but I... don't want to drink."
"Okay! I understand Amy. Bernadette and I will celebrate for you" Penny said as she handed a glass of white wine to Bernadette.
"Penny, to be honest.. I can't drink alcohol either. I can't do it for a long time... for eight or nine months… maybe." Bernadette's face was glowing with a tender smile.
"Oh my God… Bernadette! Are you pregnant? Congratulations! Why didn't you tell me before?" Penny was almost shouting, so everyone could listen to her.
Bernadette blushed when she saw that everyone in the room looked at her intently. "Howard and I found it out a week ago. We decided to wait for the right time to tell you guys. And now… everyone knows!" Bernadette hugged Howard and kissed him affectionately.
"Yeah! Bernie and I are having a baby! I did it!" Howard felt extremely happy. He couldn't keep the secret anymore. Having a child was one of the biggest dreams in his life.
"Congratulations Howard! Now Nicky's going to have a friend. They could play together and if your baby is a girl, who knows… one day they could date" Leonard joked.
"Leonard! Be careful what you say! Nicholas doesn't have permission to go on a date until he has at least a PhD" Sheldon was serious.
"A PhD? I would say… at least two doctorates" Amy agreed with Sheldon, she wouldn't share Nicholas with anyone.
Bernadette and Howard exchanged worried glances, as if they're saying to each other: "What a mess we've got ourselves into!"
When Sheldon and Amy were finally alone, well… they had Nicholas next to them; they thought it would be a calm night at home. They gave Nicky a bath; then Amy fed him and rocked him gently in her arms. It was their first night with the baby at home, and they thought they might have to get up once or twice in the middle of the night to feed him or change his diapers like they did at the hospital; but judging by what was happening, Nicky had some other plans.
Every time Amy tried to place Nicholas in his bassinet, he started crying inconsolably, making their inexperienced parents hold him in their arms again. This happened on several occasions, even though they sang, they fed him and rocked him, he cried again and again. When nothing seemed to work… Sheldon and Amy felt exhausted and on the verge of despair.
"Amy, currently I can't think of a solution to this problem. I don't know what are we doing wrong. The few nights we slept together at the hospital, Nicholas could sleep effortlessly. Do you think something's wrong with him? Is he sick?". Sheldon was feeling frustrated, not knowing how to handle the situation.
"Sheldon, Nicky's just a newborn; he didn't come with a handbook. Let's try again. I think he's falling asleep." Amy placed Nicky in the bassinet once again; hoping this time he sleeps for at least an hour.
Sheldon and Amy went to bed and after a few minutes, they're fast asleep, hugging each other. As if Nicholas had noticed that his parents were no longer paying attention to him, he woke up and cried one more time.
"No, Nicholas, no!" Sheldon muttered, half asleep and half awake. He checked his watch, it was already one o'clock. It would be a long night, and this was the first night they spent alone with the baby.
Amy quickly got out of bed and tried to calm her baby down. "What's wrong Nicky? Here's your momma. Don't cry honey!" Nicholas felt comforted immediately in Amy's arms.
"Amy, maybe we shouldn't hold him every time he cries. I think he needs to get used to sleeping in his crib. I mean, I'm sure he'll cry at first but then he's going adapt to this new environment. The latest studies on Children's psychology confirm this theory. You should read the books of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, Leonard's mother." Sheldon tried to be logical.
"Sheldon, you're suggesting I should let him cry while I don't do anything about it? I can't do that, look at his lovely little face!" Amy was about to cry; she was still hypersensitive, due to all those hormones flowing freely through her bloodstream.
"I'm not suggesting that you should abandon him in his crib, but I think Nicholas needs some boundaries. So… feed him, cradle him for a while and put him in his crib but, this time, in his own room". Sheldon sounded pretty upset. Amy didn't remember the last time he was so irritated.
"Sheldon, you know that I love you immensely, but don't make me choose, because there is only one person I love as much as I love you, and that's Nicholas." Amy left the room closing the door behind her, carrying the baby in her arms.
Sheldon was dumbfounded, not knowing why Amy acted in that way. The incessant noise coming from the living room told him that Nicholas was still crying, despite Amy's efforts to calm him down. He left the bedroom; he had to talk to Amy. They couldn't give up with the first problem they faced.
"Amy, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you or make you cry. Please, come back to our room, if you want, I can sleep on the couch." Sheldon felt terribly guilty when he saw Amy sobbing.
"Sheldon, try to understand, I can't think of anyone but Nicholas; it's as if I'm obsessed with him, I'm crazy in love with him." Amy admitted, while wiping the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She was feeling like a lioness trying to protect her cub. She acted in a primitive way, guided by instinct. The old Amy would take the opportunity to perform an electroencephalogram.
Sheldon smiled, this fight was absurd. Nicky wasn't his competitor, in any way. In fact he was as obsessed with the baby as Amy.
"Amy, let me try one more time" Sheldon said as he held Nicholas in his arms.
Sheldon lulled Nicky for a few minutes, and then he sat in his spot on the couch while Amy stared at him with curiosity.
"What is Physics? Son, this is the beginning of a journey of 2,600 years that we will take together from the ancient Greeks to Isaac Newton, from Niels Bohr to Irwin Schrödinger." Sheldon smiled, looking at his baby. "It was a warm summer evening in ancient Greece..." Nicholas was sound asleep in his father's arms; the History of Physics sounded like a tale, in Sheldon's soft and comforting voice.
"You did it! Oh my! I hope he sleeps at least until six in the morning. Thank you my love. How did you know this'll work?" Amy asked as she rose from the couch and headed to the bedroom.
"Well, this is the part of my lectures in which most students fall asleep" Sheldon admitted. A few minutes later, Amy was already in bed. When Sheldon looked around, he was alone in the living room; holding his child.
"Nicholas, you're in my spot!" He said as he gave him a kiss on his forehead. Nicky wrinkled his nose and continued sleeping. Sheldon put him in his bassinet next to the bed he shared with Amy. Nicholas slept until seven a.m. Just like his parents.
Ten or fifteen minutes after breakfast, somebody knocked on the door. Sheldon ran quickly to open the door, while Amy was feeding her baby boy.
"Hi baby! Where is my Nicholas?" Mary Cooper greeted her son.
"Moonpie! My Shelly, long time no see! I couldn't wait to meet my great-grandson." A sweet white-haired woman with the same blue eyes of Sheldon accompanied Mary Cooper.
"Meemaw!" Sheldon hugged his grandmother and kissed her on the cheek.
A. N: Aww! Poor newbies! Your reviews are always welcome!
