Chapter 2
It was already one o'clock when the gang decided to go home as most of the people from the comic book store started to go their separate ways.
"Where's Leonard?" asked Raj.
"I saw him leave an hour ago. Maybe his stomach felt funny because of that potato salad." Said Howard.
"That was a fun party right!?" Zack said.
"It would have been more fun if I had the chance to say my victory speech." Sheldon pouted.
"Relax dude. At least you get to bring home the trophy." Said Raj.
They continued to make small talk as they walked home. Raj agreed to take Howard and Zack home as they reached the apartment building. Howard and Raj smiled at each other when they saw Penny brush off Zack as he tried to come up to Penny's apartment saying that she was tired and wanted to be left alone. Sheldon and Penny went inside the building as the other three went on their way.
It was six o'clock in the morning when Sheldon was startled out of bed, hearing a loud knock on the door. He put on his robe to get the door.
"Who is it?" he asked from behind the door.
"It's Officer Diaz from the police station. Is this Sheldon Cooper?" the officer asked. Sheldon looked through the peep hole and saw a policeman. He opened the door, slightly confused at why a police officer is at his apartment so early in the morning. "Are you the roommate of Leonard Hofstadter?" the officer asked.
"It's Dr. Leonard Hofstadter and yes, I'm his roommate. May I ask what is this about?" asked Sheldon.
"Your roommate was mugged last night and stabbed a couple of times in the stomach. He's in critical condition right now." Said Officer Diaz.
The blood from Sheldon's face immediately drained as he cannot process what the officer told him.
"Mr. Cooper, you should get dressed so I could take you to the hospital where your friend is." Said the officer.
"Leonard!" Sheldon said as he began to cry, covering his face with his hands.
Officer Diaz put his hand on Sheldon's shoulder to get his attention. "Mr. Cooper, you need to get dressed right now!" he said. Sheldon looked at him and quickly went to his bedroom to change his clothes. He was done in two minutes and quickly went out the apartment with the police officer.
Sheldon quickened his pace as he walked along the hospital corridor with Officer Diaz. They reached a nurse's station and told them who they were looking for. A nurse stood up and told them to follow her to the ICU unit. They arrived at the room as Sheldon saw Leonard through the glass panel on the door, lying unconscious on the bed with several tubes and wires connected to his body. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sheldon looked at the different instruments and monitors beside Leonard's bed, taking a mental note of his vitals.
"How did this happen to him officer?" he asked trying hard not to break down and cry after seeing his best friend fight for his life.
"A couple of guys saw him coming from an alley. They saw him fall to the ground so they decided to call 911. He has two stab wounds on his stomach and his wallet and phone are missing." The officer said.
"He's lost a lot of blood. Another ten minutes and your friend could have died." The nurse added.
"Mr. Cooper, does Dr. Hofstadter have any family here in Pasadena?" asked the officer.
"It's actually Dr. Cooper. No he doesn't have any family here but I will call his mother in New Jersey." He said pulling out his phone. "Did you find out who did this to Leonard?" Sheldon asked.
"We're still looking for any witnesses." Said the officer. "Do you know why Dr. Hofstadter was alone last night?" he asked.
"We were in the comic book store last night for the new years eve party. He left right after midnight and we assumed it was because the potato salad tasted funny. When I reached home, I assumed he was already sleeping in his room so I went straight to my room." Said Sheldon.
Officer Diaz tapped him on the shoulder. "I hope you friend makes it." He said shaking Sheldon's hand.
"Thank you officer." Said Sheldon as Officer Diaz walked away. Sheldon took out his phone and dialed Beverly's number. She picked up after a few rings.
B: "Well hello Sheldon, what a pleasant surprise!" said Beverly.
S: "Good morning Beverly. I'm sorry for calling you this early but something happened to Leonard." He said.
B: "What happened to Leonard?"
S: "He got stabbed twice last night. I'm in the hospital right now looking at him in the ICU."
B: "Who stabbed Leonard? Oh my god is my son alright?"
S: "He's unconscious now. The nurse said he lost a lot of blood. The police officer said he got mugged because his wallet and phone are missing." Sheldon said. He can hear Beverly starting to cry.
B: "I'm flying over there right now. Sheldon please don't leave Leonard."
S: "Okay I'll wait for you here. I won't leave him Beverly, don't worry."
Sheldon put his phone back in his pocket.
"How long do you think Leonard's gonna be in the ICU?" he asked the nurse.
"Well the doctor said we'll have to wait until he wakes up. Don't worry, your friend is in a stable condition for now. Hopefully he'll get better soon." Said the nurse. "I have to go back to my station. There's a cafeteria in the ground floor if you want breakfast." Said the nurse.
"Thank you." Said Sheldon as he looked at his best friend inside the room.
After a few minutes of looking at Leonard, he took out his phone to call Howard. After a few rings, Howard answered.
"Sheldon, it's too early. What do you want now?" said Howard yawning loudly.
"Howard I'm in the hospital right now. It's Leonard." He said.
H: "You're in the hospital? Why? What happened to Leonard?"
S: "He got mugged last night. He also got stabbed twice."
H: "What!?"
S: "I'm looking at him right now. The doctor said he's lost a lot of blood."
H: "Oh my god! Uh okay I'll get dressed and I'll come right away!"
S: "Okay, and bring Raj too!"
H: "Yeah I got it!"
Sheldon put his phone back in his pocket. He suddenly felt tired and drained as he leaned against the wall and sat on the floor crying. He buried his face on his arms and knees as he sobbed, fearing for his best friend's life. He was scared as he was reminded of the thought of losing another loved one, something he already went through when his father passed away when he was fourteen. Sheldon sat on the hospital floor, staring blankly on the opposite wall not paying attention to the people walking past him. He must have sat there for almost an hour when Howard and Raj came in walking hurriedly towards him. Sheldon saw them and he quickly stood up. He then hugged Howard and began to cry on his shoulder. Howard tried to console Sheldon.
"It's alright Sheldon we're here now." He said to his friend.
"Where is Leonard?" Raj asked. Sheldon pointed to the door as Howard and Raj looked through the small glass window of the door.
"Oh my god! What happened to him?" asked Howard, gasping at the sight of his friend, unconscious on the bed.
Sheldon wiped his tears. "The police officer who took me here said he was mugged. His phone and wallet were missing and he said he was stabbed twice in the stomach." He said.
"I guess this happened when he left the party last night." Raj said wiping the tears from his cheeks.
"Yes. The nurse said he lost a lot of blood and that ten minutes more and Leonard wouldn't have made it." He said to the surprise and shock of Howard and Raj.
"Does his mother know?" Raj asked.
"Yes. I already called her. She's on her way here now from New Jersey." Said Sheldon. "She was crying when I hung up." He added.
"I'm just curious why Leonard left without telling us." Howard said.
"Why dude?" Raj asked.
"I mean if it's the potato salad, he could have just said something to Stuart or something? He could have told us that he was going home instead of leaving without telling anyone of us." Said Howard.
"I've thought about that too. He usually let's me know where he's going when he leaves the apartment." Said Sheldon.
"Well we can ask him when he wakes up." Raj said.
"Yeah. When do you think he'll be conscious?" Howard asked Sheldon.
"The nurse said it's hard to tell but at least Leonard's stable for now." Said Sheldon.
"Okay. I guess we better inform the university about this." Howard said.
Sheldon nodded. "You're right Howard."
"Hey I've got an idea! Why don't we trace Leonard's phone? Maybe we could help the cops in finding the guys who did this to Leonard?" Raj said.
"You're right Raj but I don't have my laptop with me." Howard said.
"I have mine in my car." Said Raj.
"Okay get your laptop and let's nail these bastards!" said Howard. Raj walked away and returned after ten minutes. Howard took Raj's computer as they sat on the corner of the waiting area near Leonard's room. After about fifteen minutes of typing on the computer and hacking the hospital's wireless network, Howard was already online.
"Okay, I'm entering Leonard's number and we'll see the real time location of his phone. Let's just hope they haven't turned it off or put it inside a metal case or something." Howard said.
"Look dude!" Raj said pointing at the screen.
"Look at that. They haven't turned it off yet. Let's see where this place is." Howard said as he typed on the keyboard. "Okay it's a couple of old buildings about thirty minutes from here. Sheldon why don't you go to the nurse's station and try to get the police officer's number. Tell them that we found Leonard's phone." Howard said.
"Alright!" Sheldon said running towards the nurse station.
"Do you think the criminals are there? I mean, what if they sold it to a pawnshop or a computer repair shop?" Raj said.
"Well we won't know for sure." He said as they waited for Sheldon to return. Sheldon came back after about ten minutes, walking hurriedly towards them. "Well? What did the cops say?" asked Howard.
Sheldon sat down, trying to catch his breath. "They're sending two police cars to pick us up." He said.
"Why?" Raj said.
"They said that they need to see the location in real time in case the criminals move or something." Sheldon said.
"What about Leonard?" Raj said.
"We can't do anything about Leonard now but we can avenge him by nailing these criminals!" Sheldon said. "Who's with me!?" he said putting his hand in front of them.
Howard put his hand on top of Sheldon's as Raj joined in.
Sheldon nodded. "Alright. I guess this will the closest we get to an actual quest to get the bad guys." He said.
"You're right Sheldon. We're basically the Avengers now. Avenging Leonard." Raj added.
Howard smiled. "I like the sound of that. Imagine the street cred we'll get if we actually play a part in catching these bastards!" he said. "We'll be heroes!" he said as Sheldon and Raj nodded in agreement. They decided to walk out of the hospital to wait for the police cars to pick them up.