Chapter 8
"Thank you for lending me these Leonard, I really enjoyed reading them." said Dr. Abigail, putting the manila envelope on the table beside Leonard's bed.
"Don't mention it. I told you I have more of them in my room." he said, smiling at her.
"What I don't get is why Wolverine would keep doing what he's doing while at the same time, saying that he doesn't want to be a hero anymore since people usually get hurt or die if he does?" asked Dr. Abigail.
"Well, he's a complicated character but I guess deep down inside he just wants to help out and do the right thing." said Leonard.
Dr. Abigail nodded. "I gotta say, I thought these comic books would be lame or silly, but the stories are quite good!" said Dr. Abigail.
"I'm glad you enjoyed them." he said smiling at her.
"I did." she said smiling back at him, the same time as the door opened with Penny entering the room looking at them, breaking the 'moment'. Penny immediately felt awkward, somewhat realizing she was barging in.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company." she said as she started to turn away.
"Hey it's alright! Penny, right?" said Dr. Abigail. "I'm done here anyway." she said grabbing her stethoscope. "Bye Leonard." she waved at him, stepping out the door.
"Bye!" said Leonard. He faced Penny who was looking at him. "Hey, what's up? Where are the guys?" he asked.
"I came alone Leonard." she said.
"Oh? Okay." He said.
"Is your mom here?" she asked.
"Uh no, she went back to her hotel to pack up her stuff. I'm getting discharged tomorrow and she's going back to New Jersey after that." He said.
"Really? She's not gonna stay for a few more days?" asked Penny.
"No. it's alright I guess. I'm gonna be fine. And besides, my wound doesn't hurt as much now. I just have to avoid making sudden movements, or laughing too hard." he said.
"Great." she said giving him a weak smile.
"Why don't you take a seat?" he said pointing at the chair beside his bed. Penny didn't speak and just looked at him. Leonard sensed that Penny was trying to say something. "Penny, what is it?" he asked. Penny didn't respond. "Penny, do you wanna say something?" he asked again.
Later that night at Penny's apartment...
"You ran away!?" asked Bernadette. Penny was speechless and gave them a sad look.
"Why did you run away?" asked Amy.
"I don't know! i was planning to tell him but when I got to his room, he was talking and laughing with that Dr. Abigail. They were being somewhat, what's the word...chummy!" Penny said while pushing her face on a pillow. "Ugh, what am I gonna do Bernie!?" she asked.
"Do you really want to get back together with him?" asked Amy.
"Yes! No! I don't know!" she said somewhat surrendering to her indecision.
"Oh Penny." said Bernadette.
"What was his reaction when you ran out of the room?" Amy asked.
"I don't know. Surprised I guess." said Penny.
"Penny you have to make a decision and you have to make it quick." Bernadette said. "You don't want another girl coming along and scooping Leonard don't you?" Bernadette added.
"No, but how can I tell him?" Penny said. "What if he rejected me? I mean, he already told me he's done with me." she added.
"I don't know what to tell you Penny." Bernadette said.
Penny pushed her face again on the pillow. "Ugh! Why is this happening to me!?" she said.
"Okay, why don't you just relax for a couple of days and then you can go to Leonard and tell him how you feel. Let your head be clearer." said Amy.
Penny sighed and leaned on the couch. "I guess you're right Amy." said Penny.
The next day, Leonard was discharged from the hospital and was given a two-week medical leave by the university for his wounds to heal completely. Leonard found this two-week 'alone time' a welcome relief. He could literally walk naked inside the apartment after Sheldon leaves for work in the morning and no one would tell him to do otherwise.
After a few days, Penny had the night shift at the restaurant and decided to spend her day doing the laundry. She went out of her apartment, carrying her basket when she saw Dr. Abigail knocking on Leonard's door.
"Oh! Dr. Abigail!? Hi!" Penny said.
"Hello Penny!" said Dr. Abigail. "Please, just call me Abby. We're not in the hospital anymore." she added.
"Uh, what are doing here?" asked Penny.
"Oh? I found this in my apartment." she said showing her a comic book. "I guess I forgot to return this to Leonard when he was still in the hospital." she explained the same time as Leonard opened the door.
"Dr. Abigail? Hi!" he said. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Hi Penny." He added. Penny waved at him.
"I came to return this to you." she said handing him the comic book. "I guess this one got left behind in my apartment." she said smiling at him.
"How did you know where I lived?" he asked.
"Oh? I accessed your file in the hospital's file system." she said. "I just used my limited skill to hack around the system." she added.
Leonard laughed a little. "That's amazing. Thank you. But you shouldn't have bothered. I mean, you could have kept these if you want?" he said.
"Are you kidding me? I looked this up online and it costs almost a hundred dollars. I couldn't take advantage of that. It wouldn't be fair to you." she said smiling while handing him the comic book.
"Oh, okay. Thank you again." said Leonard. "Hey, uh, if you're not doing anything, can I invite you in for a cup of coffee? I mean, it's the least I could do." he said, hopeful she would say yes.
"Well, it's my day off, yeah sure!" she said then turning back to Penny. "Penny, you should join us." she added.
"Yeah, you should join us." said Leonard.
Penny didn't respond and struggled with indecision, should she join them or not? "Thanks, but I have a lot of laundry to do?" she said.
"Come on Penny, it'll be only for a few minutes." he said.
"No thanks Leonard, I don't want to impose or anything." Penny said.
"It's just coffee. You're not imposing anything." he said, laughing a bit.
Penny smiled at him. "Maybe next time Leonard." she said as she walked towards the stairs. Leonard didn't say anything and let Dr. Abigail into the apartment.
"Make yourself at home Dr. Abigail. How do you want your coffee?" he asked.
"Black, no sugar and please, call me Abby." she said. "I'm off duty today." she added while sitting on the couch. "You have a nice apartment Leonard. Really cozy." said Abby.
"Thanks. Sheldon has OCD so he likes everything in its place. Everything should be clean, organized and labeled." he said.
"Yeah, I could see that when he let it out on Penny back at the hospital." said Abby.
"Well, Sheldon may be strange and quirky but his heart is in the right place. His grandpa died when he was five and then his dad when he was fourteen so he's a little sensitive when it comes to people dying." He said.
"Looks like he's very protective of you huh?" she said.
"I guess. I'm the only one, besides his mother who really knows how to push his buttons. Like when him and Penny had a fight, I had to give Penny his mom's phone number so she could tell on him to his mother." he said.
"Really!?" Abby said, laughing a little.
"Yeah. It shortened the war by five years." he said making Abby laugh at his historical reference. He gave her the cup of coffee and sat on the chair, facing her. They talked for almost an hour until the time came when Abby had to leave, saying that she has to go somewhere with her friends. Leonard walked her to the door to see her out.
"Thanks for the coffee Leonard. I had a great time." she said, touching him on the arm.
"You're welcome Dr. Benson." he said, laughing a little.
"Thank you, Dr. Hofstadter." she said while looking at him. They looked at each other then suddenly burst out laughing at addressing each other formally. "Bye Leonard." she said waving at him while walking down the stairs.
"Bye Abby, and drive safe alright?" he said. As he was turning back into his apartment, he glanced at Penny's door, suddenly noticing the shadow from under the door panel. He stared at the door and noticed the shadow move away quickly, as if trying to avoid something. He smiled and shook his head as he entered his apartment, amused by Penny's sneakiness.
Inside Penny's apartment, she was sitting on the couch breathing hard from jumping away from the door. she then went to the kitchen sink and poured herself a glass of water, hoping that Leonard didn't notice her looking at him and Abby on the hall.