DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Big Bang Theory.
Dr Plimpton never did come to stay in apartment 4A. With everyone in shock due to Leonard's disappearance, President Siebert offered to step in to play host to the cosmological physicist from Princeton University. That night the four friends set about printing off hundreds of flyers depicting Leonard in his trade mark hoodie top and green recycle t-shirt, working relentlessly until dawn. The following day, with only a couple hours of broken sleep on the couch in their respective apartments, Sheldon and Penny set out to drive to Orange County leaving Raj and Howard behind going through a list of all Leonard's contacts. What followed was a long and frustrating day of putting up flyers in and around the area where Leonard's car had been found, which amongst other places included a gas station and diner. Much of the day was spent approaching passers-by on the train that ran alongside the river and showing them photos of Leonard in the hope that they might have sighted him.
"We will find him you know." Penny announced confidently, taking the unprecedented decision to try to engage Sheldon in conversation after driving the entire journey back to Pasadena in silence.
"I guess." Sheldon replied, accompanying his response with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders.
"He's probably just gone off somewhere to sulk for a few days...you know how moody Leonard gets."
"I suppose." Came Sheldon's second monosyllabic reply.
Choosing to ignore Sheldon's refusal to subscribe to her optimism Penny continued.
"Boy I'm gonna go so Nebraska on his ass when he gets home, he'll wind up wishing that he'd stayed away." she said, forcing a smile as she braked to stop at the exact same intersection from which Leonard had sped away from two days earlier.
"That's if the police don't find him first." Sheldon said, they had both witnessed the boats searching along the river that day, but so far had avoided speaking of it.
"Yeah, well we both know that they're wasting their time doing that." Penny responded, irritation evident in her voice. "Their time would be far better spent checking out comic book stores and movie theatres ...Leonard would never.." her voice trailed off as she realised that she couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud. To think that Leonard might have succumbed to the river was simply too painful to comprehend.
Taking a right turn onto Los Robles Avenue Penny noticed that the fill tank light on the dash was illuminated once again, prompting her to make a stop at the Chevron gas station opposite to their apartment building. Getting out of her car to operate the gas pump, she was about to check her purse for her MasterCard when she caught sight of a short in stature, dark-haired man making his way along the sidewalk on the other side of the street.
"Leonard." Penny gasped, her purse slipping from her grasp, its contents spilling out onto the ground.
Although unable to see the man's face as he headed away down the street, but convinced by the hoodie top and Converse sneakers that it was Leonard, Penny gave chase, sprinting out of the gas station and onto the road. From the car Sheldon watched in horror as she weaved her way across four lanes of busy traffic, while all around cars sounded their horns and came screeching to halt in an effort to avoid the reckless blond. By the time Penny reached the other of the side street, the person whom she believed to be Leonard had turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
"Leonard!" she yelled, bounding around the corner she seized the man's arm. "Leonard where have you..."
With Penny gripping his elbow the man spun round to reveal the face of a stranger, aside from his attire and dark hair, he didn't resemble Leonard in the slightest.
"I'm...I'm sorry." she stammered, hanging her head with embarrassment, but mostly with the soul crushing disappointment that had now beset her. For those brief moments she had truly believed that Leonard had come home. "I thought you were...that you were somebody else."
After the incident on the street that day Penny took her to apartment, locking herself away refusing to answer her phone or her door to anyone, adamant that she wanted was to be left alone. Somewhat reluctantly her friends obliged.
The following day Sheldon woke to discover the arrival of an unexpected visitor. Hearing of Leonard's disappearance from her son, Mary Cooper had decided to come directly to Pasadena, arriving early in the morning after taking an overnight flight from Texas.
"Mom what are you doing here?" Sheldon exclaimed as he opened the door still in his pyjamas and robe to find his mother in the hall with her suitcase.
"I came here because my little boy needs me." she said as she wheeled her suitcase into the apartment, seeing the stacks of flyers that his friends had produced piled up neatly on the coffee table. "Sweetheart I know how much Leonard means to you, he's your best friend. I realise that you have your friends around you, but at times like this I reckon you need your mother too."
Aside from Leonard, Mary Cooper knew her son better than anyone and there was no doubt that she was right, Sheldon had never before been so relieved to see his mother.
"Now, how about a hug for your Momma?" Mary Cooper asked, beckoning her son with outstretched arms. And for once Sheldon didn't protest.
Later that morning Howard and Raj arrived. The plan for that day was to design a website to raise awareness of Leonard's disappearance, while Sheldon and Penny were to return to Orange County again with more flyers.
"Penny still isn't answering her phone." Howard said, as his call went through to voicemail for the third time. "We know she's in her apartment, but she won't answer the door."
Putting down her coffee, Mary Cooper got up from the couch.
"Mom, where are you going?" Sheldon asked, watching as his mother made a beeline purposefully for the door of the apartment.
"Sometimes it takes one woman to understand another." she declared.
Entering the hall Mrs Cooper tapped lightly on the door of apartment 4B, waiting patiently before calling out to Penny.
"Penny sweetheart, its Mary Cooper here... Sheldon's Mom." she began, pausing again to wait for a response. "We're all real worried about you darlin, won't you let me in just for a minute?"
"It's open."
Mrs Cooper pushed open the door and entered into the apartment to be greeted by an overpowering smell of cleaning products. On the floor, with only her feet visible from behind the kitchen island was Penny, scrubbing the tiled floor as though her very life were dependent upon it.
"Sweetheart are you ok?" she asked, approaching cautiously so as not to slip on the wet floor, finding Penny dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and her grey Nebraska football shirt, her hair tied back beneath a black scarf.
"This place is such a mess." she responded, while continuing to scrub vigorously. "Leonard's too polite to make a big deal out of it, but I know that my lack of housekeeping skills really bothers him..."
Getting up from the floor Penny lifted the bucket of dirty water, emptying it into the kitchen sink before turning on the water faucet to refill.
"So I want the place to be extra clean for when he gets back." she explained, retrieving a bottle cleaning fluid from the cupboard below the sink, pouring a generous amount into the bucket.
"Darlin you look exhausted." Mrs Cooper commented, noting the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Do you really need to do this now?"
"There's no time like the present." Penny chorused with mock cheerfulness, briskly turning her attention to resume cleaning. "Anyway, I need to finish up now because I'm scheduled to work the dinner shift tonight at the restaurant. There's so much to do." With her attention focused entirely on scrubbing the floor until it shone like a new dime, Penny didn't see the worried expression forming upon Mrs Cooper's face.
"Honey I don't think anyone will be expecting you to go into work today." she said gently. "Not with Leonard being missing."
"Leonard isn't missing...I told Sheldon yesterday he's just gone off somewhere to sulk and listen to endless emo music." Penny responded dismissively, tossing the sponge into the bucket in exasperation, causing a giant splash. "Life goes on." Wandering over to the couch she flopped down exhausted, yanking the scarf from her head and tossing it onto the floor, her feet coming to rest on top of the assortment of magazines that were strewn over the coffee table. Taking up a seat beside her, Mrs Cooper reached for Penny's hand, squeezing it gently.
"Sweetheart, why don't you come over and join us for lunch? I'm cooking my fried chicken...you certainly look as though you could use a meal inside you..." she said, hoping to convince her to accept the offer. It had only been a couple of days, but already Penny was displaying signs of weight loss.
"Thank you Mrs Cooper, but I'm really not hungry." Penny answered, for the last forty eight hours she had existed entirely on copious amounts of coffee and a few slices of dry toast, right then the thought of eating an entire meal literally turned her stomach. There was a silence before Mrs Cooper continued.
"You know when I was on the airplane flying out here I prayed the whole time for Leonard to be found." she began. "Maybe it would help if we said a prayer together."
Feeling decidedly awkward Penny started to fidget uncomfortably, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. While she was not the slightest bit religious herself, she had always admired Mary Cooper for having such strength of faith.
"I don't want to offend you Mrs Cooper, I really do respect your beliefs." She began. "But I really don't think praying is going to help me right now. I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not particularly proud of, I really don't see why God would choose to help me now..."
"Oh darlin it does work that way. God loves you no matter what." Mrs Cooper stated with a knowing smile.
"You really believe that?"
"Yes I do. God hears all our prayers, no matter how great or small they are. It's just that sometimes the answer turns out to be no, but believe me he does hear us."
Blinking back tears Penny turned her head away to stare over at the door, right at that moment she would have given anything for Leonard walk through it, putting an end to her torment.
"Here." Mrs Cooper continued, unfastening the silver crucifix that hung on a chain around her neck. "My Daddy gave this to me for my birthday when I was six years old, I want you to keep it until Leonard comes home."
Smiling brightly Mrs Cooper lifted Penny's hair, fastening the chain securely around her neck.
"Thank you Mrs Cooper." Penny whispered, her voice trembling with emotion as she peered down at the tiny crucifix that now rested on her chest. Despite her lack of belief she was truly touched by her gesture.
"You're most welcome sweetheart. Now I think you could use a hug."
Penny was relishing the comfort and warmth of Mary Cooper's embrace when her cell phone began to ring.
"Sorry I need to get this." she apologised, pulling out her cell phone from her jeans pocket, seeing that it was a caller from an unknown number.
"Hello...yes this is Penny speaking...Are you sure it was him?...Ok do you know the coffee shop on Lake Street?... Are you able to meet me there in say half an hour?"
Mrs Cooper watched as Penny darted over to her dining table to grab hold of a pen and notepad.
"Ok, give me your name and your cell number please." she instructed, turning then to scribble down the information that was being conveyed by the person on the end of the line.
"Great. I'll meet you in the coffee shop in thirty minutes."Penny garbled, ripping the paper from the notepad, tucking it into her jeans pocket. "Thank you sooo much!"
Hanging up the call ended she let out a yelp of excitement, punching the air triumphantly with her fist.
"That was a woman who is certain she saw Leonard in a diner on the day he went missing." She announced, flashing her first genuine smile since Leonard's disappearance. "She went back there this morning and saw one of our flyers and recognised his picture."
"Sweetheart that's wonderful, but don't you think you should let the police deal with this?" Mrs Cooper cautioned as Penny set about removing a recent photo of Leonard that was stuck to her refrigerator, hastily stuffing it into her purse.
"No, I have to do this myself." Penny insisted, shaking her head whilst slipping on her brown leather jacket and scanning her apartment in search of her car keys. "If it was Leonard I'll go to the police, but I want to speak to this woman myself first."
Seconds later after successfully locating her keys and fuelled by a sudden burst of adrenaline, Penny was hurrying down the stairs to the lobby. Leaping into her car, she paused to touch the crucifix around her neck, closing her eyes and picturing Leonard in her mind.
"Please let this be him...let him be ok." she whispered before turning the key in the ignition, and with only a cursory glance in the rear view mirror she drove off.
At the same time across town Stuart and his friend Wil Wheaton were making their way to Los Robles Avenue. Stunned by the news of Leonard's disappearance, they were heading over to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment to lend their support, leaving Stuart's cousin Dale minding the comic book store temporarily in his absence.
"You know what I said to Penny at the bowling alley about my ex-girlfriend?" Wil began, scrolling through the pictures on his cell phone that captured the humiliating moment when Leonard and his friends had been forced go into the comic book store dressed as female super heroes. "I never thought she would actually break up with Leonard, I honestly didn't intend for it to go that far Stu."
Behind the wheel, focussed on the road ahead Stuart nodded. He knew that Wil had told Penny about the girl who he had dated who had supposedly strung him along for two years before breaking up with him in a most brutal and uncaring fashion.
"You do believe me right?" Wil asked. "I admit I wanted to wipe that smug smile of Sheldon's face, but I never wanted to hurt Leonard or Penny."
"Nobody could have known that this was going to happen." Stuart said. "Right now we just need to focus on finding Leonard."
For the next mile the two men drove in silence, turning onto Lake Street Stuart decided to switch on the radio, taking his eyes off the road for a spilt second in order to find the local news.
"Stu watch out!" Wil yelled.
Slamming down his foot hard on the brake, the tires on Stuart's car shrieked as it came to a sudden stop. What followed was a blood curdling thud as a pedestrian flipped up onto the hood and slammed against the windshield before rolling back onto the road.
"Jesus..." Stuart breathed, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, his body frozen with sheer fright. It had all happened so fast, the pedestrian had come out of nowhere, stepping off the curb right in front of his car affording him absolutely no time to stop. With Stuart unable to move, Wil lept from the car. There lying in the road, with a tiny trickle of blood escaping from her nose, her blond hair spread out around her head like a fan was Penny.
"Oh my God Stuart its Penny!" Will screamed, pressing his fists to the sides of his head.
In uncomprehending shock, Stuart failed to respond to Wil's shouts for him to call 911, forcing him instead to call out for help to a couple who were stood aghast on the sidewalk. Just as he fell to his knees on the ground beside Penny, a man declaring himself to be an emergency room doctor came running to assist.
"Her name's Penny.." Wil said with a shaky voice. "She's a friend. Please tell us will she be alright?"
From the twisted angle of Penny's left leg, the doctor was certain that it had been broken as a result of the impact. From the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest she was at least still breathing which was a positive sign, although the full extent of her injuries was as yet to be determined. A few seconds later Penny's lips moved as she began to stir.
"Leonard.." she moaned, opening her eyes to see the face of a stranger looking down at her.
"It's ok Penny. You're gonna be alright. My name's Anthony I'm a doctor. I need you to just lay still, can you tell me where it hurts?"
Across the street in the coffee shop the woman that Penny had been on her way to meet was glancing periodically at the time on her cell phone in between taking sips from her glass of her water. After waiting for more than half an hour she was now aware of a commotion in the street outside, through the window she could see the large crowd of on-lookers which had gathered and the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.
"Looks serious." the server from behind the counter remarked as she cleared away empty coffee mugs, proceeding to squirt the table with a disinfectant spay before wiping it down. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked.
"No thank you. I think I'll be going now." the woman responded, gathering up her purse and fishing out a few coins from her purse to leave as a tip.
"Makes you think doesn't it." the server continued absentmindedly wiping the table. "How a life can change in a split second...it makes you wonder if we all have a destiny...you know like there is a plan for all of us."
Departing the coffee shop, the woman stepped onto the sidewalk outside just in time to witness the ambulance pull away from the scene, across the street a tall slender man with dark curly hair was being questioned by a police officer. Poised to turn to walk back to her car, there was a sudden gust of wind, bringing with it a piece of perforated notepaper, which as the wind subsided came to settle on her left shoe. Bending down she scooped up the note, startled to discover that it bore her name and cell number.
Amy Farrah-Fowler
Cell: 310-338-5978
