Chapter 3
Sheldon, Howard and Raj stood in front of the hospital when a police car pulled in front of them. Sheldon saw Officer Diaz got out of the car and walked towards them.
"So you say you have the location of your friend's phone?" the officer asked.
Howard opened the laptop and showed the police officer it's screen. "See here, Leonard's phone is in this place." He said pointing at the dot on the screen.
"That's pretty neat. I guess staying in school really pays off huh?" the cop said. "Do you think we'll know if the phone moves?" he asked.
"Yes sir. We'll just refresh the screen to see if it moves of not." said Howard with Raj giving a thumbs up.
"Okay. I guess you guys should come with us so we could get these perps." said the police officer. "You guys ride at the back and tell us if the location changes alright?" he said.
"Got it officer." Sheldon said as they got in the police car. Officer Diaz got on his radio and called the other police car to follow them. He called in dispatch, telling them of their possible pursuit of the criminals responsible for attacking Leonard.
Howard kept refreshing the screen of the laptop every few minutes as they neared the location of the phone. They were a little disappointed that Raj was right when they arrived at the location which was a pawnshop. Officer Diaz and another police officer went to the establishment and returned after two minutes calling the guys to join them.
"Okay Dr. Cooper, can you point which is your friend's phone?" asked Officer Diaz.
Sheldon looked at the case and pointed. "That one." He said.
"Okay, can you put on some gloves and put the phone in this plastic bag." He told the cashier behind the counter. The cashier nodded and carefully put the phone in the bag. Officer Diaz took the plastic bag, turning to Sheldon, Raj and Howard. "We'll try if we can find some prints and see if we come up with something. We also took their tape from the CCTV up there so we'll have something to work on." He said.
"Thank you officer." Sheldon said shaking his hand.
"No! Thank you. If it wasn't for you and your friends here, we wouldn't have any leads on your friend's case." said officer Diaz.
"Just doing what we can to avenge our friend." Howard said.
Officer Diaz smiled. "Well, you just leave the avenging part to us alright? We'll let you know if we catch them or something." He said. "My buddy here will take you back to the hospital while I go back to the station to process this." said officer Diaz.
"Thank you officer." Sheldon said as they parted ways, while the other officer drove them back to the hospital.
Back at the hospital, the three were sitting on the waiting area, staring blankly at the wall wondering when Leonard will finally wake up.
"Oh crap! we haven't told Penny what happened to Leonard!" Raj said.
"Shoot you're right!" Howard said. "She's gonna be pissed." he added.
"Why should we tell her?" asked Sheldon.
"What do you mean?" Howard asked.
"Well, I mean Penny has a new boyfriend now. Don't you think it would be inappropriate for her to be here and worry about Leonard now that she's with Zack?" said Sheldon.
Howard pulled out his phone and dialed Penny's number. "What's wrong with you Sheldon, Penny is our friend!" he said listening for Penny to pick up. After a few rings, Penny answered her phone.
P: "Howard what do you want? What time is it?"
H: "Hi Penny. I'm calling just to let you know that Leonard was mugged last night and stabbed twice. We're here in the hospital now."
Penny felt the world crumble around her upon hearing what happened to Leonard. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to curse, she wanted to break down and throw her phone away as she heard Howard's words.
H: "Penny are you still there?"
P: "Leonard!" she said crying uncontrollably.
H: "Okay Penny listen to me, you have to calm down and get down here right away and we'll wait for you."
Penny didn't answer Howard and just threw the phone on her bed. She quickly ran to her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. After the bathroom, she grabbed some clothes, hurriedly putting them on. She then grabbed her phone and purse and ran out of her apartment. Penny was amazed that no police car saw her driving like a lunatic on her way to the hospital. Penny can't help but feel scared for Leonard but in the back of her mind she was more afraid to find out the reason for Leonard's predicament.
She arrived at the hospital and asked for directions to the Intensive Care Unit. She ran as fast as she could and found Sheldon, Howard and Raj sitting at the waiting area.
"Sheldon where's Leonard?" she said hugging Sheldon tight, crying her eyes out.
Sheldon awkwardly tried to console her. "He's in the ICU right now. The nurse said he lost a lot of blood." He said.
"I want to see him now!" she said, becoming slightly hysterical.
"Alright." said Sheldon as Penny followed him to look at the door window. Penny broke down upon seeing Leonard on the hospital bed with different tubes and wires connected to him while several monitors and instruments were displaying their readings.
"Is he alright?" she asked trying to calm herself down.
"Well he's unconscious now. We don't know when he will wake up." Howard added.
"Sheldon, what exactly happened to him?" she asked looking at him.
"Well, the police officer who picked me up said he was mugged and stabbed twice. His wallet and phone were taken but we managed to help the cops locate his phone." said Sheldon.
"What?" Penny asked.
"Oh? We helped the cops in locating his phone and we managed to find it in a pawnshop. The police are now looking to see if they could find any fingerprints on it to find the criminals who attacked Leonard." said Sheldon with Howard and Raj nodding in agreement.
"Wait, so you mean to say you guys chose to help out the cops first instead of telling me what happened to Leonard?" Penny glared at them.
Sheldon hesitated. "Well, uh" he said.
"Never mind Sheldon." Penny said looking at Leonard thru the glass panel. The guys walked back to the waiting area and sat down as Penny followed them and took a seat herself.
"What really bugs me is I still can't figure out why Leonard left the party last night?" Howard said. "I mean if it was the potato salad, how come no one else felt sick?" he added.
It now dawned on Penny the true reason why Leonard left the party. She then struggled with the decision to whether tell the guys or not. She took a deep breath and decided to come clean.
"I think I know the reason why he left the party last night." She said in a low voice.
The guys looked at her. "What do you mean Penny?" Sheldon asked.
Penny cried, covering her face with her hands. "Now I feel guilty. It's all my fault!" she said bawling.
"What are you trying to say Penny?" Howard said.
Penny tried to straighten herself. "Last night, the whole store was counting down from ten and when midnight struck, Zack pulled me in for a kiss. Leonard saw me and Zack kissing. I saw him turn around and I didn't see him after that so I assumed he left the comic book store. I guess he got jealous when he saw me and Zack kissing, that's why he left." She confessed, hanging her head low.
Sheldon stood up, never taking his eyes off Penny. "You did this!? You're the reason my best friend is in there fighting for his life!" he said.
Howard and Raj stood up and tried to calm Sheldon down. "Okay Sheldon, calm down. Nobody wanted this to happen to Leonard." said Howard as Raj nodded.
"No Howard! I never had an interest in their relationship before but this crosses the line!" said Sheldon turning to Penny. "When does it stop Penny!? When are you gonna stop torturing Leonard!?" Sheldon yelled.
Penny looked at them crying uncontrollably. "Sheldon." She said choking on her words.
"No Penny! You're right, this is all your fault!" Sheldon yelled with some of the nurses looking at them.
"Sheldon, don't blame Penny. I'm sure Leonard wouldn't want you to do that." said Howard as they held Sheldon to keep her away from Penny.
Sheldon turned to Howard and Raj. "How can you take her side!? Leonard almost died because of her!" he said. "You stay away from Leonard!" Sheldon yelled, pointing his finger at Penny.
Penny stood up and ran away, crying uncontrollably.
"Sheldon you shouldn't have blamed her for this." Raj said.
"No Raj. She knew perfectly well how Leonard felt for her but she always made him beg for her attention even when they were seeing each other. Then she dumped him because he said he loves her!? Who does that!?" he said. "What kind of person drives away people who love them!?" Sheldon said.
"Sheldon, why don't you sit down and relax. We don't want the nurses to call security and throw us out of the hospital don't you?" said Howard.
Sheldon took a deep breath. "I guess you're right Howard." He said as he sat back down. Howard and Raj also took their seats and stayed quiet, not knowing what to do next.
Back at her apartment, Penny slammed her door shut as she couldn't stop crying. She felt the enormous guilt weighing down on her shoulders and realized that Sheldon was right. She did this to Leonard. All of her constant presence in his life has resulted to this. She can't believe how her actions ultimately led to Leonard fighting for his life and her friendship with the guys down the drain. She grabbed a flower vase on the side table and threw it against the wall, screaming with anger at herself. She then ran to her bedroom and slumped on the side of the bed, crying and yelling Leonard's name and punching her mattress. Penny curled herself on the floor, crying and feeling sorry for herself. She knew that no amount of apology could lift the burden of guilt from her conscience. She stayed on the floor, bawling her eyes out until she didn't notice that she has fallen asleep.