Penny stretched from the comfort of her couch. A long hot bath and her favourite comfy robe was what she'd needed after a long exhausting day.
"Knock knock*
"Ugh!" Penny groaned, realising the peace was bound to be shattered. She got up and patted barefoot across the room and opened the door.
"Hey sweetie." She smiled seeing Leonard the other side of the door.
"Penny, thank god your home, my car won't start!" Leonard cried.
"Alright, don't panic, you can use mine." Penny said, sensing another overreaction.
"Did you hear from the hospital?" Leonard asked.
"Hear what? I've been in the bath." Penny replied, pointing to her wet hair in a towel as proof.
"Sheldon's in the hospital, he got hit by a truck on his way home from work." Leonard replied. Pennys breath got lodged so hard in her throat she thought she might never breathe again.
"WHAT?!" she cried out when she finally got a breath out.
"I don't know all the details, all I heard was, he was trying to walk home from work and a truck mounted the sidewalk." Leonard replied.
"But the bus! I told him to get the bus!" Penny cried.
"He didn't have his bus pants. Wait, you knew he was walking?" Leonard asked confused.
"He rang and asked for a lift home, I'd had a long day, I wanted some peace and quiet on the ride home, oh god Leonard, this is all my fault!" Penny cried, tears forcing their way into her eyes.
"Penny, come on, you can't say that, we all know how exhausting Sheldon can be, you can't blame yourself." Leonard soothed.
"Leonard, you don't understand, if I'd just stopped being selfish and picked him up from work he wouldn't have been on the pavement, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Penny cried getting more emotional.
"Look, I really need to get to the hospital, why don't you get dressed and come with me, you'll get more news from there." Leonard replied. Penny raced into her bedroom without an answer. After a short time, which to Leonard felt a lot longer, Penny appeared and raced with him out of the door. It was a little over half an hour later when they burst through the main entrance of the hospital, where the other members of the group were already waiting.
"What's the news?" Leonard asked anxiously.
"We're waiting to hear from the doctor, he's in there with him now." Howard explained while comforting a sobbing Bernadette in his arms. Raj was clutching Amy tightly to him, who was also sobbing.
"Guys, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." Penny whispered.
"What do you mean?" asked Howard looking at Penny in confusion.
"Sheldon asked her to give him a lift home, she thinks because she told him to take the bus that means she's responsible." Leonard explained.
"Leonard, you can't deny it, if I'd done what he'd asked and given him a lift this wouldn't be happening! I wanted a peaceful evening, and while I was laying in the bath playing with the bubbles and sipping a glass of white wine Sheldon was laying out on a pavement…" Penny replied. The doctor appeared, interrupting the conversation.
"Which one is Amy Farrah Fowler?" the doctor asked.
"I am." Amy whispered pulling himself into a standing position from Rajs hug.
"You're down as his emergency contact. Are you happy for these people to be a part of this?" the doctor asked.
"Of course. We're like a family." Amy whispered. Everyone gathered closer.
"Sheldon has a lot of internal injuries and right now he's in a monitored coma. It's actually giving his body the best possible chance to recover. I can't say he's out of the woods…but we're not considering his injuries to be life threatening." The doctor explained. Everyone let out a huge collective sigh of relief.
"Can we see him?" Amy asked.
"One at a time. And for a very short period of time. He's in a coma but research shows that people talking to patients in such a condition can help them. Although he won't be able to respond, he may be able to hear you." The doctor explained. Penny took a step back from everyone else. One by one she watched them go into the room down the corridor and come back looking relieved and concerned at the same time. Leonard stirred her from her thoughts by placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Your turn." He whispered. Penny shook her head.
"I can't. Sheldon wouldn't want to see me. I did this to him." Penny whispered.
"Penny, come on. You know Sheldon would want you in there. It wasn't your fault. And if Sheldon was awake right now he wouldn't be blaming you. Hell, he'd be demanding to know where his soft kitty recital was." Leonard replied trying to cheer her up a little.
"I can't Leonard. All because I wanted a stupid bath. How could I do this to him? If things go downhill…" Penny whispered.
"You heard what the doctor said. His injuries aren't thought to be life threatening. Penny come on…go in and see him." Leonard urged.
"He's gonna hate me." Penny whispered shaking her head.
"He's not. As much as Sheldon will kill me for saying this…he loves you. In his own Sheldony way. And he'd want you to get in there and sing soft kitty!" Leonard reasoned.
"How can I sing anything to him Leonard? I was so selfish." Penny whispered.
"Penny?"
Penny glanced up at Amy, who had overheard the conversation.
"Penny, I don't blame you for what happened. Sheldon won't blame you for what happened. Please go and see him. He needs everyones strength." Amy pleaded. Pennys heart broke when she saw the desperation and pleading in her besties eyes. She got slowly to her feet.
"I'm sorry Amy. I'm so sorry." Penny whispered breaking into sobs. Amy was to her in an instant wrapping her into a hug. Penny settled her sobs down.
"Do you really think Sheldon would want to see me?" Penny asked.