Howard cringed slightly as the nurse wrapped the bandage around his hand snugly. She gave him a slight smile as she taped the bandage and gathered the trash. He rolled his sweater sleeve back down and slid from the exam table. "Can I go now?" he asked.
The nurse nodded. "Of course. Your friend is in the waiting room. It's to the right as you step into the hall."
"Thanks," Howard said, exiting the room. He walked toward the waiting room doors, his mind replaying the events of the last two hours.
He had been desperate to talk to Penny. She had already told him 'no' several times, but he needed her to help smooth things over with Bernadette. He had screwed up, no doubt about it, but he loves Bernie. She just had to forgive him!
So, he had went to the cheesecake factory to once again try and convince Penny to help him. He hadn't wanted to cause a scene (okay, so he hadn't wanted Penny to laugh at him in front of all the other employees and customers) so he waited at the small wall near her car. He glanced at his watch and hoped it wouldn't be too long before her shift ended.
"Look, I'm not interested, so go away, creep!"
Howard looked up and saw Penny storming across the parking lot. Two rather large men were following her, nudging each other and smirking. Penny rolled her eyes and searched her purse for her keys as she walked. He swallowed nervously as the three of them drew closer.
The taller of the two behemoths grabbed Penny's elbow and spun her to face him. He wrapped his arms around her, trapping her arms at her side. "Come on, babe. Gimme a little kiss."
Penny growled and stomped on the guy's foot. He released her and hopped about, cussing loudly. Penny tried to walk away but the other guy grabbed her arm tightly.
If he had stopped to think about it, he probably would have run and tried to call 911 once he was a good 8 or 9 blocks away. For once in his life, though, Howard was confronted with something new. A female friend was being harassed. He was accustomed to being harassed himself. He was used to his buddies being harassed. But he had never had a female friend before, much less one who was being accosted in a parking lot.
The uniqueness of the situation found him acting completely out of character. He stood and moved around the parked cars. "Hey! Let her go!"
Both men stared at him angrily and he faltered for a moment. Howard rubbed his hands down his thighs nervously. "Umm, please?" he asked hesitantly.
The taller one took a step toward him. "Back off, geek-boy. Don't make me split your head like a melon!"
Howard forced himself to stay there, even though every fiber of his being urged him to run like hell. ""I said to leave her alone. She's my friend and you can't harass her like that."
The guy took two steps forward and grabbed a fistful of Howard's shirt. He jerked Howard closer, almost lifting him off his feet. "I'm going to enjoy pounding you into the ground."
Penny's eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. She spun and punched the guy holding her arm with all her strength. Three big steps and she was driving her knee into the other guy's groin. He dropped Howard as he crumbled to the ground. Howard took the opportunity to punch the guy as hard as his spindly arm could, then he grabbed Penny's hand and ran.
They were two blocks away when Penny finally pulled them to a stop. They bent over, gasping for breath, and looking back the way they had come from.
"I think we lost them," Howard wheezed.
Penny gripped her right side and looked at Howard strangely. "You stood up for me," she said softly.
Howard blushed and shrugged self-consciously. "Um, yeah."
Penny watched him carefully. "Why? You know I can defend myself."
Howard looked down self-consciously. "I don't know why. Usually I run first and think about it later. Of course the 'thinking' part usually revolves around me congratulating myself on being fast enough to avoid a beating."
Penny studied Howard for several seconds in silence.
Howard glanced up at her wondering what she was thinking.
Penny took two steps forward and wrapped her arms around Howard's neck. "Thank you," she said warmly.
Howard blushed and went to hug her back, but pain shot up his arm. Penny pulled back and grabbed his hand, examining it carefully.
"Sweetie, I think you broke a couple of knuckles. We better get you to a doctor."
Howard whimpered and tried not to faint. "Yeah. That would be good."
Penny patted his cheek gently and they headed back to her car.
Howard stepped into the waiting room and Penny hurried over to join him. "Okay?" she asked.
He nodded and showed her the bandage. "One broken knuckle and some bruising. Not my worst injury."
Penny smiled and patted his arm. "Come on. Let's go get your Vespa."
Penny pulled into the Cheesecake Parking lot near the entrance. Howard was surprised to see Bernadette standing by the door. He looked at Penny who smiled at him.
"I called her while you were being treated. I figure the least I could do was try and help out the guy who would stand up to two bullies for me."
Howard slowly smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on Penny's cheek. "Thank you, Penny."
She grinned and nodded to the waiting Bernadette. "Just don't screw up this time, okay?"
Howard nodded and scrambled from the car. He walked over to Bernadette nervously and gave her a hopeful smile. "Hi."
Bernadette smiled back shyly. "Penny told me what you did." She threw her arms around his neck tightly. "Oh, Howie! I'm so proud of you!"
He hugged her close, relaxing into the embrace. "She's my friend," he explained simply. "Bernie, I'm so sorry. I love you and I swear I'll never do anything to hurt you ever again!"
Bernadette smiled and pulled back to kiss him softly. "Let's go eat, snuggle bunny."
Penny watched the couple move into the restaurant with a grin. She would never have believed Howard had it in him. There was a pretty nice guy under that creepy candy coating. She pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. She really hoped they made it work. They looked so cute together.
This one came to me while I was at work. Once again I was forced to write out a story on a scrap of cardboard during my break. I just knew that if I didn't I'd forget it by the time I got home, and honestly, I couldn't bear the thought of losing Howard The Hero.