Author's note: Sorry if it took a while to update but I had to sort out some personal business and had to travel back home. With the pandemic still going around, it takes up a lot of time and effort to move around. Hopefully, the world could recover soon so we can go back to the way things were. Stay safe everyone.

Chapter 33

They arrived at the hospital with Sarah jumping out of the car, running immediately to the reception desk to ask about her father while Sylvia and Sheryl followed close. After getting the directions to where her father is, Sarah ran as fast as she could while Sheryl and her mom tried to keep up, trying to lift Sarah's spirit up for what awaits her when they see Penny.

They saw a nurse by the nurse's station and asked about Leonard. The nurse pointed towards the waiting area where Sarah saw her aunt Amy and uncle Sheldon trying to console her mother whose eyes were soaking with tears. Sarah ran while crying her eyes out, seeing Sammy and Kelly seated opposite her mother.

"Mom where's daddy?" she asked Penny.

Penny quickly stood up and slapped her daughter, surprising everyone in the waiting area, including a few other people obviously waiting for some news about their loved one. Sarah was shocked and slumped on the floor, crying her eyes out. "If something happens to your father, I swear to god I don't know what I'm gonna do to you!" Penny yelled as Amy and Sylvia went to console Sarah.

"Penny why did you do that!?" Amy asked as Sarah cried on her shoulder.

"Stay out of this Amy! That young lady has done enough!" Penny said, not backing down. "If my husband dies, I'm gonna disown you! You got that!" she added, as Kelly and Sheldon tried to calm her down.

"Penny, please calm down. Nobody wanted this to happen." said Kelly.

"She's right Penny. Do you think Leonard would want to see you two fighting right now?" Sheldon said.

"No Sheldon! Leonard would have wanted to be home, watching his stupid space movies!" Penny said before breaking down again, crying on Sheldon's shoulder. "Sheldon I'm so scared for him!"

"Me too Penny." Sheldon said, rubbing his hand on Penny's back. "Why don't you sit down. We'll just wait for the doctor to come out."

"Come on Sarah, let's get you over here." said Amy, leading the young lady to sit on one of the chairs, a distance away from her mother. "Don't cry, it's gonna be alright." she said as Sarah leaned her head on her shoulder while crying.

"I'm so stupid aunt Amy. I'm the worse daughter in the whole world!" said Sarah as they looked on, unable to console the young princess.

"Shhh...don't say that." said Amy. "Leonard wouldn't want you to cry your eyes out. It would ruin your makeup." she added, trying to cheer Penny's daughter up.

"I'm so scared aunt Amy!" Sarah said.

"Don't be scared...it's gonna be alright." said Amy, trying to console the young lady.

After a few minutes, Raj came in, going directly to console Penny, telling her it's gonna be alright.

"It's gonna be alright Penny. Leonard's been through this before." said Raj.

"That's what I'm afraid of Raj." said Penny. "What if something happens this time? I don't think I can make it alone." she said, pushing her face on Raj's shoulder while crying.

"Don't talk like that Penny. I'm sure Leonard's gonna make it." he said, hoping for the best. "Why is Sarah sitting over there anyway?" he asked.

"Don't go there Raj." said Amy, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "They're not in speaking terms right now."

Raj immediately knew what Amy meant. "Okay. I got it." he said

"Thanks for being here guys. I really appreciate it." said Penny.

"Are you kidding me? Of course we'll be here for you and Leonard." said Amy as they sat there, waiting for some news about Leonard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

After half an hour, Bernadette along with Howard and their children Halley and Michael came in, going directly to where Penny is sitting. Penny immediately stood up and hugged Bernadette, somehow forgetting their recent misunderstanding.

"Bernie!" Penny said while hugging her friend, crying her eyes out.

"It's gonna be alright Penny." Bernadette said, rubbing her hands on Penny's back. "I'm sorry if we fought last week."

"It's alright." Penny said as she released Bernadette to hug Howard. "I'm so scared."

"Don't be scared Penny, I'm sure Leonard's gonna be okay." said Howard.

"Halley, Michael, come here." Penny said, pulling the kids close and hugging them tight. Penny released the kids as Halley turned around, going to where Sarah is sitting.

"Sarah..." Halley said when Sarah suddenly stood up and hugged her 'sister', crying on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for last week."

"It's alright Hal, I never should have yelled at you." Sarah said as Halley hugged her tight.

"What happened anyway?" asked Halley as Sarah kept quiet, not wanting to anger her mother again.

"Why is Sarah sitting over there?" asked Bernadette.

Amy stood up and whispered on Bernadette's ear, telling her to let it go. "Okay Amy, I got it." said Bernadette.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

A couple of hours has passed when a doctor came out of the door, with a look of disappointment in his face. The doctor looked at Penny and the others and slightly shook his head, telling them silently of the terrible news.

Penny stood up and gasped, unable to believe the bad news she was about to hear. "Doctor...?" she said, unable to finish her sentence while Sarah cried uncontrollably while being consoled by Halley and Amy.

The doctor tried to give her a weak smile and bowed his head as Penny covered her mouth before slumping on the floor crying and screaming, unable to take the news that her husband is gone. The gang immediately went to hug and calm Penny down, saddened by the news that their friend didn't make it.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Neilsen, but your husband didn't make it." said the doctor, greatly surprising Penny and the gang.

Penny looked up to the doctor, confused at what he said. "Uh...I'm Mrs. Hofstadter...my husband is Leonard Hofstadter." Penny said while wiping her tears. "What happened to my husband!?" she asked.

"Uh...aren't you Mrs. Neilsen?" asked the doctor as the other lady in the waiting area stood up and went to them.

"I'm Mrs. Neilsen." said the lady as she started crying. "Where is my husband!?" the lady asked.

"Oh my god I am sorry! I thought you were Mrs. Neilsen." the doctor told Penny before facing the other lady. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Neilsen, but your husband didn't make it. I feel so terrible." the doctor added as the real Mrs. Neilsen started crying, being consoled by her family.

Penny stood up, being helped by Bernadette and Raj. "So my husband is alright?" Penny asked as a nurse walked towards them.

"Uh...Mrs. Hofstadter, your husband is still in the operating room." said the nurse as Penny and the gang sighed with relief in knowing that they haven't lost Leonard yet.

"Oh my god!" said Penny, leaning her head on Bernadette's shoulder. "I thought he's already gone." she said, crying her eyes out.

"It's alright Penny, at least we know that Leonard's still alive." said Bernadette as they went back to their seats while the Neilsen family went with another nurse to see about the remains of their loved one.

Howard took a deep breath. "That was a close one."

"I know right?" said Raj. "When the doctor came out and shook his head, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack." Raj added.

Sheldon stood up. "This is too much. I'm gonna go out and get some air." he said as Amy followed her husband out of the waiting room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

After another couple of hours, another doctor walked out the door, looking visibly tired.

"Mrs. Hofstadter?" said the doctor. "I'm Dr. Gonzalez." he added.

Penny jumped off her seat, facing the doctor with Sarah doing the same. "Doctor, how is my husband? Is he going to be alright?" Penny asked, unable to hide her anxiety as they all wait for the doctor to speak.

Dr. Gonzalez smiled and tapped Penny's shoulder. "Your husband is gonna be alright Mrs. Hofstadter. We're just cleaning him up to bring into the ICU so we could monitor him, but he's out of danger now." he said, making Penny cry with relief as the gang cheered, happy that Leonard survived his heart attack.

"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Sheldon.

"Well, he had a couple of blocked arteries near his heart so we had to perform a coronary bypass surgery to restore his normal blood flow." said the doctor. "But you guys can relax now."

Penny reached out and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you so much Dr. Gonzalez. We owe you everything!"

"You're welcome." said the doctor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to rest for a while." he said.

"Can we see my dad?" Sarah asked the doctor.

Dr. Gonzalez smiled at the young lady. "You know what, sure. But make sure to make it quick because your dad needs to rest and recover his strength." he said.

"You got it doctor." said Sarah, happy with the thought of seeing her father.

A nurse decided to chime in. "Okay, you and your mom can follow me so we can give you some protective gear before you can go in the ICU." she said.

"I want to see Leonard too." said Sheldon.

"Fine, follow me." said the nurse as Penny, Sarah and Sheldon followed her into the sanitation area telling the three to thoroughly wash their hands before giving them their face masks, nylon gloves, shoe covers and blue coveralls.

The three quietly did what the nurse told them before putting on their protective gear, anxious to see Leonard even if they knew that he'd be unconscious and wouldn't be able to talk to them. The nurse opened Leonard's room as Penny and Sarah immediately cried, seeing the helpless condition that Leonard is in right now with all the tubes and wires connected to him while he lay motionless on the bed, with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. Penny went beside her husband and held his hand, kissing them before placing it on her face.

"Honey, I know you can hear me and I want you to know how much I love you. Please come back to me." said Penny, unable to keep herself from crying as Sarah and Sheldon looked on.

Sarah went to the other side and held her father's hand. "Daddy I'm sorry. I hope you could forgive me." she said, trying to straighten herself. "I promise I'll do good from now on just please come back to us. We need you daddy." she said, feeling the enormous guilt of putting her father's life in danger. She then stood up and pulled out her phone, taking a picture of her father, surprising Penny and Sheldon.

"What are you doing?" Penny asked. "If you're gonna put that on the internet then I'm gonna punch you right now!" she told her daughter.

"No mom, I'm sending this to my brother. I'm gonna tell him everything." said Sarah.

Penny took a deep breath, seeing her daughter's point. "Fine." she said before facing her husband back, gently touching his face and brushing some of his hair away from his eyes. "Don't worry about us honey. You just stay here and get strong okay?" said Penny as she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, whispering on his ear how much she loves him.

"Guys I hate to do this but we have to go and let him rest." said the nurse as she came back into the room.

"Can we have five more minutes?" said Sarah. "Please?"

The nurse smiled at them. "Sure honey." said the nurse while touching Sarah's arm. "Keep talking because I'm sure your dad can feel your presence in here." she added before going out of the ICU room.

"Thank you." said Sarah before facing her father again. "I know you can hear me daddy, just stay put alright? And when you get better, I'm gonna make your coffee and breakfast." she said while leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you dad."

"I think we better get out of here." said Sheldon.

"Come on Sheldon. I'm sure the guys want to know how my husband is doing." Penny said, holding on to his arm as Sarah followed them, taking off their masks and protective gear before joining the gang in the waiting room.

"So, how is Leonard?" asked Bernadette.

"He's still unconscious." said Penny.

"But his vitals are steady. Hopefully he'll wake up soon." Sheldon said.

"How are you doing Sarah?" asked Halley as she sat beside her 'sister'.

"A little better now." said Sarah.

"At least uncle Leonard is out of trouble now." said Michael.

Sarah smiled and touched Michael's cheek. "You're right I guess."

"Hey, why don't we go to the cafeteria and get something to eat? I think they have a sundae machine there." said Halley.

Sarah nodded. "Okay." she said. "Mom, do you want some coffee?"

Penny didn't respond and just glared at her daughter.

Amy sensed that Penny is still mad at her daughter. "Penny come on, aren't you being too hard on your daughter?" said Amy.

"Let it go Amy. I have more things on my mind right now." Penny said.

Amy didn't respond and leaned back on her chair, feeling a little tired after the tense situation. Sammy and Kelly then stood up and walked towards Penny.

"Ah Penny, if you won't mind, me and my brother are gonna go home now." said Kelly.

Penny stood up and hugged Kelly. "No problem Kelly. Thanks for being here."

"Hey don't mention it. We're always here for you guys." said Kelly as Penny faced Sammy.

"Thank you Sammy, you saved my husband's life." Penny said while hugging him.

"You're welcome Penny. Leonard's my friend, of course I'll do anything to help him." said Sammy. "At least he's out of harm's way now." he added.

"Bye you guys. Thanks again." Penny said, waving goodbye to her neighbors.

Sylvia then stood up. "Actually Penny, is it okay if we go too, my son is kinda alone in our house." said Sylvia.

"Sure Sylvia, thanks for being here." said Penny while hugging her.

"But mom, I wanna stay here with Sarah." said Sheryl.

"We can drop her off at your house later if you want?" said Howard.

Sylvia smiled at Howard and nodded. "Thank you." she said before going over to say goodbye to Sarah. "Don't worry dear, at least your dad's gonna be okay now." she told the young lady.

Sarah hugged Sylvia. "Thanks aunt Sylvia."

"Aww, it's alright honey." Sylvia said before turning around to leave the hospital.

The gang then sat back down, happy and relieved that Leonard was able to overcome a second heart attack.