Chapter 10: The Massive Meltdown
Howard explains to Bernadette out in the hallway why he and Rajesh were in there helping that couple give birth to their baby. Bernadette just shakes her head in slight disbelief that her husband and his best friend are crazy enough to do that.
Rajesh comes out of the deliver room stumbling and hugs them both.
Rajesh: "Look! Look what I got!"
He holds up Nurse Fletcher's phone number between his fingers and grins like a Cheshire Cat.
Bernadette frowns and puts her hands on her hips.
Bernadette: "You two are unbelievable!"
Howard: "Come on Bernie, please don't be mad. We just were just trying to help that couple out."
Bernadette: "Oh Yeah! Meanwhile, you left Sheldon and Penny downstairs alone worrying themselves sick about Leonard and Amy. Our friends might be dead for all we know! Now come on enough messing around!"
Howard hangs his head in shame as he follows her. Rajesh turns to see Nurse Fletcher coming out of the deliver room carrying the baby.
Rajesh: "I'll see you later." He makes a quick kissy face at her then skips down the hallway after his friends.
Back in the waiting room, Sheldon quietly retrieves his favorite blanket and neatly folds it up. Bernadette, Howard and Rajesh return eager to find out what has happened to their friends.
Penny tells them what the surgeons said about Leonard first. Rajesh pats Howard on the back in delight. Bernadette sweetly hugs Penny glad to hear that Leonard's injuries aren't very severe. Howard smiles for a moment too, but then he looks at Sheldon with concern. He knows his friend is still not acting like himself at all. Sheldon's eyes look tired and glassy.
Howard: "Well at least Leonard's going to be okay. We'll drive you back here later Penny when he wakes up so you can see him. Now what did the doctor say about Amy?"
Penny pulls Howard and Bernadette away from Sheldon and explains Amy's condition to them.
Rajesh walks over and sits next to Sheldon for a moment because he is too drunk to keep standing up.
Rajesh: "Cheer up, dude. It's going work out. I know it will. Howard and I just helped bring a baby into this world it was beautiful."
He smiles hoping Sheldon will too, but Sheldon just stands up and walks outside without a word.
Raj: "Hey man, where are you going? We should be celebrating!"
Howard puts his hand on Rajesh's shoulder to calm him down.
Howard: "Raj, leave him alone. Now is not the time."
Howard takes Raj aside and whispers to him what is going on with Amy.
Rajesh immediately starts to cry again when he hears the news then he runs to the bathroom to throw up.
Howard sadly sighs then goes after Raj to help him. Bernadette shakes her head in silence and sadness then pulls out Rajesh's keys. She hands them to Penny.
Bernadette: "Penny, here you take Sheldon home. You two need to get your rest. Howie and I we'll see to it that Raj gets home okay."
Penny nods then hugs Bernadette one more time. She is so glad she has a friend like Bernadette to help her through this whole mess.
Penny: "I'll text you later okay."
She runs outside to catch up with Sheldon and take him home. Penny drives Sheldon back to the apartment in Rajesh's car.
Penny glances at Sheldon and she can tell that he is still very upset. Normally, he would be incessantly chattering on about her bad driving skills or going on and on about some jibber jabber science-y stuff, but instead Sheldon just sits with his forehead leaning up against the window with a forlorn look on his face.
Penny: "Sheldon, sweetie I know things are really bad right now, but I'm just want you to know I am here. We just have to be patient and help each other through this."
Sheldon doesn't respond at all he just keeps staring out the window.
Penny is very worried about him and Leonard and Amy. She doesn't know what else to say to him so she just sighs in despair. They sit in silence for awhile longer until they reach Walgreens.
Sheldon immediately raises his head up when he realizes they are driving past the street where the accident occurred.
Sheldon: "PENNY, STOP THE CAR!
Penny: "Wha…What? Why?"
Sheldon: "JUST DO IT!
Penny: "Okay! Okay, calm down."
Penny frowns up her face very confused. She pulls over to side and stares at Sheldon. Sheldon gets out of the car and just starts walking away from it.
Feeling extremely frustrated Penny hits her steeling wheel with her hand then gets out of the car to go after him.
Penny: "Sheldon, where the hell are you going?"
Sheldon just keeps walking and then stops when he reaches the site of the accident. The car wreckage has mostly been towed away already, but skid marks on the sidewalk and street, orange caution cones and debris still outline the scene for him. The metal street pole they hit is slightly bent over with a very large dent in it from the car.
Penny stops right behind Sheldon and stares at his face. She can tell that he is trying to work something out in that big brain of his so she tries to be patient with him.
Sheldon: "This is it! This is where they were. Leonard was driving and he must have been accelerating after he made that turn from over there."
Sheldon points his finger back towards the intersection and Penny follows his finger, but she does not totally follow his crazy train of thought. He quickly calculates the number of miles per hour he estimates Leonard was driving by number of yards it took him to reach the street pole.
Sheldon: "There must have been something or someone in the road. But, those skid marks indicate that Leonard was breaking and there were no other cars or people involved in the accident so he must have been trying to avoid hitting something else. An animal perhaps, but this is a city street and there are no deer in Pasadena not since I sent all those letters to city council to have them removed. It must have been a domesticated animal."
Penny shrugs and throws her hands up in the air.
Penny: "Yeah, okay so what if it was Sheldon? That doesn't change the fact that Leonard and Amy are in the hospital."
Sheldon: "I know that! Don't you think I know that?"
Penny: "All I know Sheldon, is it's late and I am dead tired! I just want to go home, crawl into my bed so can we please go!"
Sheldon: "Penny, hush this is serious! Leonard is going to have to file an insurance claim about how the accident occurred. If he is unable to then we are going to have to do it for him so we have to determine the cause of the accident. I will write a letter to city council demanding they put up signs indicating that this is a hazardous area or perhaps they should just prevent people from driving on this street altogether. Its too dangerous."
Penny: "Come on! Sheldon, you're being ridiculous."
Sheldon: "Ridiculous? I'm not being ridiculous Penny, this whole situation is ridiculous! Leonard has a broken leg...Amy may very well be brain dead. I might never get to speak to her again and you are telling me that I'm being ridiculous. Well let me tell you something Penny, this never would have happened to them in the first place if you'd done what I told you and purchased your tampons in bulk from Sam's Club. The car wouldn't have exploded if you had done what I told you and gotten your stupid engine light checked. Jeepers Penny, this whole ridiculous turn of events is your fault!"
Penny's eyes water, her mouth gaps open in shock and anger. She raises her hand high above her shoulder and slaps Sheldon so hard in the face that he stumbles backwards towards the ground.
Penny then bursts into tears and starts screaming at him.
Penny: "SHUT UP SHELDON! JUST SHUT UP! Don't you think I know this is my fault! Beverly already told me it's my fault, now you're telling me it's my fault and I damn well know it's my fault. They were driving my car! They were going to get my tampons when it happened. I never thought the engine light was a big deal. Now I get it okay! So I don't need you rubbing it in my face ever because I already want to crawl into a hole and die. Amy is my best friend! Leonard treats me better than any guy I've ever known! I love them too dammit! I haven't forgiven myself for this so don't you keep saying I told you so…DON'T ….YOU…DARE!"
Penny slowly slides her trembling body down the bent street pole and brings her knees up to her chest. She buries her face in her knees and sobs uncontrollably like a baby.
Sheldon lies frozen in fear on the grass. He holds his left hand pressed up against the side of his stinging face. He stares at her too terrified to say another word. He feels his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he wonders if it will explode. Sheldon almost hopes it will so he can finally be out of this misery forever.
Despite, his lack of social skills and his inability to connect most facial expressions to the right emotions he knows that Penny is hurting too. But, he can not connect with her right now. It's all just too much; too many emotions, too much pain. He decides there is only one thing to do Sheldon pretends to be a robot and powers down maybe this time for good.
Author's Note: Okay, I know this is a pretty sad chapter. :( I'm sorry and seeing as though things are going to be pretty difficult and sad for the characters for a few more chapters still I just want to let everyone know that I've decided not to kill Amy. :) But, instead I've decided she will remain in a coma for awhile so the other characters can deal with their emotions over losing her more fully before she wakes up.
SoI hope that helps a little with getting through all the sad stuff I'll be writing knowing that she won't die and Sheldon will get to be with her again I promise you that. Until then most of the interaction between SHAMY will take place in Sheldon's head. Also, Penny and Leonard angst coming up too, but you have to keep reading if you want to know how it will all play out etc. Again, thanks so much for reading my story and for all the feedback on it.
Also, I want to let you all know that I've just started working on two other Big Bang Theory fan-fics one is entitled The Cooper-Fowler Proposal and the other The Hogwarts Express so if anyone is interested please check them out too because my plan is to post one up here by the end of this week and the other by the end of next week.
I'm telling you this now because it means the chapters for Schrödinger's Catastrophe will not be coming as fast as they have been. But, I will keep the story moving along as well I can. I won't leave ya'll hanging, but I have to spend some time working on my new stories too so this is just a heads up in case anybody wonders what is taking me so long to get up my chapters for this story. My goal is to get Chapter 11 finished and ready to post by the weekend, but if I don't at least you know why. Take care everybody. :)