The doctor and a nurse, along with officers Brennan and Lopez, walked briskly into the hospital room where Leonard lay. Penny was standing at his side with a contented smile on her face.
"Welcome back, Leonard!" the doctor said brightly. "You gave us all quite a scare. I know you're in pain, and I promised your lovely fiancée that I'd give you something for that. She's been very worried about you." Leonard smiled broadly, then winced at the pain.
"But first I need to give you a little quiz. I know it's not very comfortable to talk; you can whisper or just mouth the words – we can try to read your lips. So, first tough question: what day is it?"
"Saturday," Leonard whispered an answer.
"And do you know the date?" Leonard again answered correctly. They went on like this for about ten minutes, after which the doctor examined Leonard's eyes for a few more minutes.
"Well, you seem to be responding nicely to your fiancée's TLC," the doctor smiled. "But you're going to have to stay with us in beautiful downtown Barstow for a couple of days. I'm going to give you something for the pain now. It will make you very sleepy, so if you have any questions, now is the time to ask them."
Leonard looked over at Penny. "Is she really all right?" he whispered.
"Oh, yes, she's fine. She has some bruises but she hasn't been willing to leave your side long enough to get X-rays taken. She promised me she'd do that now, isn't that right?" the doctor said, looking sidelong at Penny. "But she's fine. Just worried about you. So get some rest and you'll both feel a lot better tomorrow."
Leonard looked at Penny again and nodded. Penny looked at the doctor and asked, "Do you have to leave him sitting up like that?" motioning toward the bed, which was still in a semi-reclined position. "He won't be able to sleep."
"It's easier for him to breathe in this position," the doctor explained. Penny felt pleased that she had guessed this back in the parking lot. "And with what I've given him, he could sleep hanging upside down." Penny smiled, nodded, and turned back to Leonard.
The doctor and the others left the room. Penny and the two officers stayed behind. Penny sat down again by Leonard.
Officer Lopez cleared her throat. "Penny, I really do need to talk to you. Can you come with me?"
But Penny raised a finger to her lips to quiet the police officer, pointing at Leonard. His eyes were closing as he gradually fell asleep. Lopez waited a few more minutes, then whispered, "OK, he's asleep. You can come with me now."
Penny shook her head. Lopez insisted: "Officer Brennan will stay here with Leonard. If anything happens he'll let us know right away. But I have to talk to you about some things. Let's go to the motel and get your stuff, and we can talk on the way."
Resigned to leaving Leonard alone, Penny followed Lopez out of the room, looking back to make sure Leonard was asleep. Officer Brennan positioned himself by the door, inside the room, and folded his arms.
As they got into the patrol car and headed back to the motel, Officer Lopez said to the young woman, "You need to take care of yourself now. You've gone through a major trauma, and it can take a while for the impact to sink in. I'd like you to talk to the social worker back at the hospital when you feel up to it."
Penny nodded, and Lopez continued. "Let me tell you a few things I imagine you might want to know. Donald Thompson – that's the name of the man who assaulted you – will survive. Unfortunately. They had to operate on him to remove the tire iron Leonard inserted into his innards so delicately." Penny smiled.
"He is, of course, under arrest and under armed guard. He'll be charged with attempted rape and attempted murder, just as a start. He'll be going away for a long time." Lopez took a deep breath. "He might plead out, if he's smart. But since he's not smart, there might be a trial. And if there is, you and Leonard will have to testify. Do you think you can do that?"
Penny nodded. "If I have to. Anything to make sure he's put away."
"Good. We'll get formal statements from you and Leonard tomorrow. One other thing. We don't think you and Leonard are in any danger, but the fact is that Thompson has friends in this area. It's just a precaution, but we're giving you police protection while you're here in the hospital. And when you go back to Los Angeles, we'll contact your local police department and give them all the relevant information. You should check in with them every day, at least for a few weeks. Just to be safe."
Penny took a deep breath. She had thought the ordeal was over. "OK."
Back at the motel they gathered the couple's things into their overnight bag. Penny got in Leonard's car and followed the patrol car back to the hospital. As they walked from the hospital parking lot to the emergency room, Penny was very quiet. Lopez left her alone with her thoughts until they were nearly back to the room.
She broke the silence: "Later this evening, they're going to transfer Leonard to an upstairs room."
"Can I stay in the room with Leonard?" Penny asked plaintively.
"Of course," Lopez said. Before they went into Leonard's room, Penny turned to Lopez. "Officer Lopez, can I ask you some questions? It's all still a little confusing to me."
"Sure. But call me Teri. And let's go in here," Lopez said, ushering Penny into a vacant room next to Leonard's.