Chapter 60: A Principio Novi

Sheldon and Niki's child arrives to great fanfare and Sheldon gets some amazing news.

October 9th, 2027 - Altadena, California.

It was a typical Saturday morning in early October and Sheldon Cooper was watching Dr. Who on the television. His wife, Niki, was fast asleep next to him on the bed and he had a bowl of his favorite cereal in front of him on a dinner tray. During a commercial break, Sheldon paused to ponder how his life had changed in the last two years. He was married to a woman he was madly in love with and this woman was very pregnant with their first child. Pregnant or not, Sheldon was still incredibly attracted sexually to his wife and she to him. Her pregnancy had been without any serious health concerns so he and Niki had continued with their incredibly satisfying love life. They had a rock solid marriage based on mutual attraction and respect. He looked down at his sleeping wife in wonder. How life had changed since he had met her! If he wanted to be honest with himself, he scarcely resembled the man he had been back when he first met Niki. Then he had been a bitter, repressed, lonely, self-centered man whose thoughts were mostly centered on himself and his research. If something didn't concern his research or his person, he had been very dismissive of it. His friends had understood this, however, because he had been left devastated by the death of his first wife, Amy. So deep was his pain from this loss that he withdrew from everyone and everything except science.

Then he had been introduced to Niki Horner and his world had been turned upside down. She had consistently challenged him to think and experience things outside of his comfort zone. At first he had resisted, but she had eventually worn him down with her wit, her stubbornness, and her wonderful sense of fun. How he had grown to love and adore her and her crazy, off-the-cuff way of dealing with life! Niki was self assured, temperamental, stubborn, kind, and highly perceptive and intelligent. She was a perfect match for his oversized ego, self righteous demeanor, professional zeal, exceptional loyalty, and his annoying eccentricities. Their marriage had so far been a very happy one. They seemed to bring out the best in each other and their partnership had proven to be fruitful on both a personal and a professional level. They owned a scientific research center together that was proving itself quite profitable. They had been given multiple research grants by the government to further expound on their theories of future space travel through black holes. Their entire team had spent most of the last six months working on this and Sheldon was more than pleased with their progress.

The commercials came to an end and Sheldon refocused his attention back to the television and his time traveling hero. Suddenly Niki rolled over and yawned, "Good morning, Dr. Cooper. How's Dr. Who doing this fine Saturday morning?"

Sheldon looked down at her and smiled fondly as he replied, "As well as usual, Mrs. Cooper. And how are you and the mini Cooper doing?"

Niki sat up and stretched, "Just fine. I think I'll get up and…." Her eyes went wide.

Sheldon was immediately concerned, "What's the matter, Niki? Are you okay?"

She nodded and smiled wanly, "Sheldon, I think we should prepare to go to the hospital."

He rolled his eyes and patiently explained to her, "Niki, in case you've forgotten, we have already prepared for that. We have had a suitcase packed for you for weeks now and your doctor's phone number is right here next to the lamp on the nightstand."

Niki made a suggestion to her husband, "Well, Cooper, I think you'd better call that number right now."

"Why now? It would be rather rude to awaken him this early on a Saturday morning."

Niki's voice became insistent, "Cooper, call him. And our mothers and friends."

"Why on earth…OH!" Sheldon reached for his phone and pressed the number for Niki's doctor. Hello, Dr. Actus? This is Sheldon Cooper, I'm the husband of…okay, well I think Niki's ready to have this baby today. What? Of course I'll put her on.

Hello, Doctor Actus. Yes, I woke up and my water just broke. Contractions? I've only had one, nothing too bad...wait, I take that back. The one I'm having now hurts a little. Yes, we'll meet you there. Thanks. And I'm really sorry about it being on Saturday morning. Yes, I'm sure it happens this way quite often, but this is my first time. Okay, we'll see you there. Yes, I will be safe with Sheldon driving. Bye.

Niki gave Sheldon explicit instructions, "Call both of our mothers and I'll call Penny. She can call everyone else."

"Do we have time for that?"

Niki began to get dressed, "From what I've read, first babies are seldom in a big hurry. We've got plenty of time. So call the mothers and I'll call Penny. "

Niki grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called her best friend. Hello, Penny?

Nik? What's up? Why are you calling us so early? I know Sheldon is up watching his show, but why are you…OH MY GOD! Is the baby coming?

I think so. Sheldon and I are leaving for the hospital in a few minutes.

Don't worry; first babies take a while to be born. Blake took his ever lovin' time, remember? Sixteen hours of labor! I hope yours isn't anywhere near that long. It was more than worth it, though.

I'm not worried about any of that girl; I'm just excited to meet my baby today. So is Sheldon.

Girl, he's probably more excited than you are. He's going to make a great father, you know that.

I know. Look, Sheldon's ready to go so I'd better get off the phone. Was Leonard nervous when you went into labor?

Are you kidding me? I thought he was having a fatal asthma attack! Look, we'll meet you at the hospital; we'll just take Blake with us.

I didn't wake him, did I?

Honey, this kid could sleep through a nuclear attack. We got lucky there. See you at the hospital. I can't wait to meet Baby Cooper!

When all of their friends and their families arrived at the hospital, they found Sheldon standing in the hall outside the labor room, a pained look on his face.

Leonard took in the scenario and Sheldon's face and asked him, "Shouldn't you be in there with Niki, Buddy?"

Sheldon went white and shook his head decisively, "I can't, Leonard. I saw my oldest nephew being born and I never want to see that sight again."

Raj tried and failed to understand Sheldon's reluctance to be with his wife, "Dude, this will be your kid."

Sheldon looked even more distressed, "I know, I know. But I need to be out here. I don't want to have that sort of memory associated with Niki."

Penny spoke up, "Sheldon, maybe Niki needs you in there."

"Our mothers are in there with her. Niki is being well supported." Niki's mother had moved back to Pasadena shortly after her daughter's wedding. Partly because of Niki's pregnancy, but also because that was where a certain, handsome, Reverend Mena lived. They had been what Audrey called 'keeping company' since the night of Sheldon and Niki's wedding.

Leonard took him by the arm and steered him down the hall, "Buddy, let's go take a seat in the waiting room and relax for a bit. Niki knows you, she understands."

Sheldon gave his friend a weak smile, "Thank you, Leonard. The best thing about Niki is that she does understand me. That is what makes our relationship possible. I still feel terribly guilty about it, though."

They took their seats in the waiting room amid an awkward silence. Howard and Bernadette texted their daughter and kept her updated on what was happening. Kelly loved both Niki and Sheldon and was looking forward to coming to the hospital and meeting the baby after it was born.

Raj and Amanda each picked up a copy of People magazine and began to read. Anything to keep from addressing the elephant in the room.

Everyone looked up as Stuart entered the room. "How's Niki doing? Will the baby be here soon?"

Howard answered him in an annoyed voice, "Hey, Stuart. We don't know. Sheldon doesn't want to be in the labor room at all."

Stuart thought for a moment and pulled out his phone, "Maybe Georgia knows what's going on. She's on duty right now. She works in the nursery, not the labor room, but maybe she's heard something."

Sheldon stopped him from calling his fiancé, "Don't interrupt her work, Stuart. I'm sure if anything exciting were happening I would have heard about it."

Stuart looked perplexed and asked him, "Why don't you want to go see for yourself?"

Leonard answered him with a warning, "Don't go there, Stuart. Sheldon has an aversion to childbirth."

Sheldon attempted to explain his dilemma to his friend and the rest of them, "Leonard, it's not just childbirth. I can't bear to witness Niki in pain and being unable to help her."

Leonard sought to encourage him, "Buddy, it's not that bad, really."

Penny shot her husband an exasperated look, "Excuse me? Were you the one in labor?" She then gave her friend a much softer response, "Look, Sheldon, it's painful, but it's nothing she won't be able to handle. This is Niki we're talking about. She's more than a little bit tough. I know one thing; she most likely would love to see you in there with her. Leonard was a little bit shaky, but he did it. And I really appreciated him being there."

"I appreciate your kind words, Penny, but there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, that would make me go into that room. The entire idea gives me great angst."

Raj surrendered the battle, "Hey, Dude, if you can't, you can't. I guess we can wait right here until we hear something."

"That's very understanding of you, Koothrappali. There is not a power on earth that compel me to enter that labor room."

Suddenly, everyone in the room heard Sheldon's phone go off. He hastily answered it, thinking it might be his mother with an update on Niki's progress. Hello? Speaking. Excuse me? This is not some sort of joke, is it? My wife is in labor, so this would be a very poor time to pull a prank. Yes, my wife is Dr. Nikita Horner. Dr. Koothrappali? He's sitting here in the room with me. Thank you very much for your call. Yes, I'll make sure to tell them. Goodbye.

Sheldon rose, grabbed Raj's hand, and pulled him to his feet. "Koothrappali, come with me."

Raj was confused, "Where to, Sheldon?"

Sheldon made quick strides for the door, taking the hapless Raj with him, "The labor room! Where is your phone?"

Raj answered him in a panicked voice, "It's at home. We kind of left in a hurry."

"Never mind, then. Come with me."

Raj was now totally confused, "But I thought…"

Sheldon cut him off with a brusque, "Now!"

They headed back down the hall to the labor room, the tall, thin man pulling the smaller, shorter man along behind him. "I have to see Niki immediately!"

"Why, dude? You just said no power on earth could get you in there."

Sheldon answered his friend without breaking stride, "Well this is important. Far more important than my silly fears."

They entered the room and saw Niki laying in bed, each of the mothers encouraging her in their own, special way. "That's my girl. Don't you fret none. The blessed child is gonna be born pretty darn quick. Just hunker down and keep calm."

"Honey, you're almost there. Soon you will be greeting your darling child. You have waited so very long for this moment, so let's see this thing through. I'm here for you, darling. Just concentrate and don't panic."

They both looked up in surprise when a very agitated Sheldon and a confused Raj entered the room. Niki looked over at her husband and exclaimed in a relieved voice, "Sheldon! You came. Everything is going to be okay now, mom. I have Sheldon with me."

Sheldon immediately felt great shame for his absence up to this time. That was just like the old me, putting my own needs ahead of hers. No more. That stops today. Cooper, today you are becoming a father and all selfish behavior must stop! Look at her there. So brave and loving. My job as a man and a husband is to support my wife.

"Niki," he began to tell her, "I am here now and I will stay here until our child is born. However, there is something important I must share with you and Koothrappali."

Niki's face screwed up in pain, "Can it wait a minute? I'm kinda busy right now."

Sheldon grabbed her hand and held it tenderly, "Breathe, Niki. Concentrate on your breathing. I will help you." Mary looked on with great pride at her son, while Audrey nodded in relief. My girl married a good one. I can see why they are so happy together. These two love and need each other very deeply.

When the contraction had ended, Niki looked up at Sheldon and asked, "What is your important news you're dying to share?"

Sheldon proudly proclaimed, "Dr. Nikita Horner, today you are not only going to become a mother, but you are part of a group that just won the Nobel Prize for Physics!"

Niki's eyes went wide, "Sheldon, we won? Oh my god! This is another perfect day for us isn't it? When did you find out? Wait, here we go again…"

Sheldon once again took her hand and talked to his wife, "Breathe and relax, Niki. It won't be much longer until we meet our daughter."

Niki gave a smirk in the midst of her pain, "Still convinced it will be a girl, huh?"

"As I have told you before, Niki, I always get my way."

"I suppose we're going to put that to the test right now. Mom, this baby is coming, and I do mean right now!"

Mary rang for the doctor and he ran into the room. He lifted the sheet covering Niki's lower extremities, gave a shocked look, and called for the nurse. He asked Niki in a kind, patient, voice, "This child will be born before we can get you to the delivery room. Mrs. Cooper, do you think you are up to delivering the child here, in this room?"

"I don't think there is any way we could stop it." She suddenly screamed, "Oh god!"

Sheldon caressed his wife's forehead and encouraged her, "Push, darling. Push. She's almost here and your pain is almost over. I'm here to help you if you need it."

Niki gave a final push and cried out, "Oh dear God!"

They heard their child give a lusty cry as they were born. The doctor caught the baby and smiled at both of them. "Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, I'm very pleased to inform you that you were correct. You have a healthy baby girl." The doctor then took the little girl off to weigh her, clean her up, and run some quick tests.

Mary called out, "Praise the Lord!"

Niki's mother beamed at her daughter, "Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!"

Sheldon tenderly kissed his wife on the cheek, "Niki, you have made me the happiest man on the face of the earth…once again."

Niki's panting stopped and she gave her husband a wry grin, "You were right, Cooper. You do always get your way." The doctor soon returned and placed her daughter in Niki's arms. She sweetly placed a kiss on her nose, "She's beautiful!"

Mary looked down at her new granddaughter, "She's got her daddy's chin and hair."

Audrey had tears rolling down her cheeks, "And her mother's eyes. Doctor, aren't babies' eyes usually blue?"

"Most of the time, yes. But sometimes they are born with the color they will keep. Your daughter does have your eyes, Mrs. Cooper. They are very unusual and very pretty."

"What are you going to name her?" Mary asked them. She was curious and couldn't wait to learn the name the parents would choose.

Niki cooed to her daughter, "Her name is going to be Laureate Marie. Laureate because today we found out we are the Nobel Laureates in Physics and Marie for her grandmothers. My mother's middle name is Marie and Mary is your mother's name, Sheldon. Is that okay? I know Marie isn't exactly Mary, but it's close."

Mary laughed and told her, "Honey, I don't care what her middle name is as long as I get to babysit a lot."

Audrey smiled and replied, "You can watch her whenever I cannot, Mary."

Sheldon interceded, "Ladies, I can guarantee you both that we will give you ample opportunities to watch our daughter. We will soon be flying to Sweden to accept our prize, so we need both of you to come with us, as well as all of our friends."

Audrey smiled and softly touched her granddaughter's face, "Laureate, that's such a pretty name."

Niki looked up at Sheldon, "I think we'll just call her Lori, for short. Is that okay with you?"

Sheldon's answer was succinct and sweet as he gazed down at his daughter, "It's perfect." He caressed her cheek, "I love you, Lori Marie Cooper."

Throughout the coming years, Sheldon and Niki's precocious daughter was always called Lori, but no one ever forgot her real name was Laureate and that she was the daughter of two highly esteemed Nobel Prize winners. Dr. Sheldon Cooper Ph.D., Sc.D., always made sure of that.

December 4th, 2027 - Stockholm, Sweden

Sheldon, Niki, Raj, and their entourage arrived in Stockholm on December 4th. They were treated to a week of lectures (all Nobel prize recipients, including Sheldon, Raj, and Nik,i were each required to give a lecture that pertained to the area of their research) which they all religiously attended. Whenever possible, their friends attended events with them while Mary and Audrey gladly watched their children. Niki was particularly interested in the prize winner for chemistry's speech. This person had discovered a new element that Howard had informed them, if developed properly as an external covering for spacecraft, could make nullifying gravity much easier for space exploration. This tied in nicely with their research, so it was arranged that their lectures would all be delivered on the same day. Niki loved to lecture, being a former professor, while Sheldon and Raj detested it.

By committee, they decided to let Niki give the longest, most in-depth presentation while they kept theirs mercifully short. When Niki stood at the lectern, her mind wandered back over the years to when she had given similar lectures to her students. It felt like going home again to be presenting to a group and this fact was not lost on Sheldon. He mentally gave himself a reminder to encourage Niki to return to teaching at least part time when they returned home. He had been highly impressed with her lecture and saw, for the first time, that teaching, not research, was his wife's true calling.

The day of the Nobel banquet, their entire group congregated in Sheldon and Niki's hotel suite. Niki aided her husband with his outfit for the night. The ceremony was very formal and the dress code followed suit. For the gentlemen who were attending the Nobel Banquet, this meant wearing a very classic black tailcoat with silk facings, a white waistcoat, black pants and dress socks, with a white bowtie. Niki told Sheldon that it looked like he belonged in a Fred Astaire movie, though secretly she found him very sexy and handsome dressed this way. She hardly recognized her husband, who normally wore t-shirts and casual slacks.

Niki wore a long opalescent evening gown that took its look from ancient Greece. Her shoulder length hair was piled on top of her head in loose curls. Sheldon loved the look and thought it suited her far better than would a less modest gown. He thought she looked the part of a sophisticated, world renowned, physicist. He barely recognized his wife, who most often dressed in faded jeans and t-shirts and tied her hair back in a simple ponytail. He found her profoundly beautiful in the evening's attire.

Sheldon, Niki, and Raj sat patiently through the entire evening until it was their turn to be presented their awards by the King of Sweden. Niki had thought she had prepared herself adequately for his moment, but she had failed to realize the emotional impact it would have on her. In her mind, she was just Niki Cooper, a wife, mother, and friend. No more special than any other working mother. When her name was announced along with Sheldon and Raj's as the 2027 Noble Winner in Physics, it hit her that she wasn't just Niki Cooper; she was also Dr. Nikita Horner, a world famous researcher and physicist who, along with her husband and their partner, had contributed to a most important scientific discovery. It was very eye-opening. But as their pictures were being taken, her priorities were set straight once more when she saw Sheldon smiling down at their baby daughter. Doing this with their child present was what really made this important. Niki's eyes teared up and she was hard put to keep from blowing Lori a kiss. Nobel prizes were wonderful and professionally important, but that child lying in her Nana's arms, looking up at her mommy and daddy on the stage was what really mattered in life.

After the Nobel Banquet had ended, everyone in their party retired to Sheldon and Niki's suite for a far more informal get together. Here, Lori was passed from person to person, as was Leonard and Penny's son, Blake. They all marveled at the love and friendship that was gathered in one room. Niki took in all the people she loved that had traveled to Sweden with them. You can keep your Noble Prizes, they're nice and all, but if I had to choose, I'd rather have my friends and my family. They are what truly make my life complete.

After the usual congratulations, everyone began to talk about more mundane matters. Bernadette, Amanda and Georgia talked about their jobs while Niki and Penny discussed the challenges of breastfeeding. The grandmothers expounded on the beauty of all their grandchildren and life in general. Howard, Raj, Leonard, and Stuart reverted to their default and began to discuss comic books, video games, and Star Wars. Suddenly, all the conversations ceased and a soft voice was heard singing. They all turned to stare at Sheldon, who was gently crooning this song to his child who he tenderly held in his arms. Was the song for his daughter, his wife, his family, his friends, or all of them? The latter seemed to be the most likely and he continued singing Till There Was You, which sweetly filled all the silences in the room.

There were bells on a hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you

There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you

Then there was music and wonderful roses
They tell me in sweet fragrant meadows
Of dawn and dew

There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you
Till there was you

Author's Notes: This story is dedicated to the young woman who inspired the character of Niki. A little background: On the show, I was very disappointed when Sheldon did not immediately start treating Amy in a more intimate, caring, manner after their first time making love. After all the self discovery Sheldon went through, to have him go back to the hands-off approach with her infuriated me. I thought of an old colleague of mine, who I had taught with a few years ago. She was brilliant, the smartest person I ever knew. The girl could do calculus in her head, no lie. We were both tenured teachers at the institution we taught at, both of us teaching languages, science and math, but she was far more gifted than I ever will be. I patterned Niki after her. This lady would have given Sheldon what for if he had ever pulled that self centered crap on her and I ran with that idea. Lady X was funny, impatient, caustic in her comments, inventive, and beyond intelligent. Everyone loved her as she always made people laugh, smile, and feel good about themselves, unless they pissed her off. Then, her tongue was lethal. I couldn't give Niki all of her qualities, just some of them, because I would have been accused of creating the biggest Mary Sue in the history of fanficiton. Lady X was a brilliant mathematician and scientist, but she could sing and dance on a professional level. She also spoke Latin and German fluently. If that wasn't enough, she was a gifted artist who excelled at animation. She was very, very, good at that. She was also an alcoholic, a bad one. This was caused by several childhood traumas that she was working hard to overcome. She was so intelligent that her drinking never impacted her career…at first. She graduated at the top of her class from a prestigious university; no one even came close to her, male or female. I used her alcoholism, her love of dance, her amazing grey eyes, her freckles, and her wit and intelligence to create Niki Horner. The only differences between her and Niki were that this lady was short and I made Niki tall. Lady X also had red hair and I made Niki blonde. In spite of those differences, this story is for her. I even gave one of the minor characters in this story her name. She eventually transferred to teach at a school in another state where she finally forced to address her drinking problem. She conquered her alcoholism and went back to school to become a doctor. The last I heard, she was a very successful one. I expected no less. So, Lady X, this story is for you, my friend. I will never forget you. You were amazing and you would have kicked Sheldon Cooper's butt.

I would also like to thank those of you whose reviews, pms, and kind words and criticisms kept this story alive, long after I would have liked to have ended it. Special thanks go to bamadude, SRAM, alanjay, and B Ghoul. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you to everyone who read this. I know it was long, but many labors of love are. I'll be writing more soon, so I hope you guys will take the time to check out any new stories I write.