Chapter 4
The next day, it was almost lunch time as Sheldon, Howard and Raj sat at the waiting area in the hospital, talking about science and movies to try and distract themselves from worrying about Leonard when Beverly suddenly appeared, walking hurriedly and visibly worried. The three stood up and greeted her.
"Sheldon, I want to see Leonard now." she said.
"Are you the mother of Mr. Hofstadter?" asked a nurse walking by.
"Yes, I'm Leonard's mother." said Beverly.
"Your son is right over here." said the nurse, introducing herself as Wilma. Beverly followed nurse Wilma with the three guys walking closely behind. The reached Leonard's room as Beverly looked through the glass panel. Beverly couldn't help herself from crying after seeing the sorry state her son is in. She wiped her tears and tried to calm down.
"Tell me how did this happen." she asked.
"Well, your son was mugged and stabbed twice on the stomach. He's lost a lot of blood but he's still lucky to make it to the hospital on time. The doctor said that if he were ten minutes late, he wouldn't have survived this attack." said nurse Wilma.
"Is it possible to talk to his attending physician?" Beverly said to the nurse.
"No problem. I'll tell her that you're here. Excuse me." said the nurse, walking away.
Beverly turned to Sheldon, Howard and Raj. "Was Leonard alone when he was robbed?" she asked.
Sheldon nodded. "Yes Beverly. We were at the New Year's Eve party at the comic book store that night. When midnight came, Leonard suddenly left. We thought he was experiencing some sort of stomach problems because of the potato salad." Sheldon said, Howard nudged him gently to prevent him from saying the real reason.
"So, is it food poisoning?" she asked.
The guys kept quiet and didn't respond to her. Beverly quickly realized that the guys were not being truthful to her.
"Sheldon, what are you not telling me?" said Beverly. Howard nudged Sheldon again to prevent him from talking.
Sheldon turned to Howard. "What!? She's gonna find out eventually?" he said to Howard.
"Find out what Sheldon!?" said Beverly slightly raising her voice.
Sheldon sighed, facing her. "Okay, we were at the party with Penny and her new boyfriend Zack. When midnight struck, Leonard saw Penny and Zack kiss. He became jealous since Penny used to be Leonard's girlfriend so he left the party without telling any of us. That's when he was attacked, several blocks away from the comic book store." said Sheldon.
"You're telling me that the reason my son almost died is because of Penny?" Beverly asked.
Howard decided to chime in. "No Dr. Hofstadter. Nobody knew that this was going to happen to Leonard." he said.
"But it already happened Howard. I'm guessing he didn't tell you his reason for leaving because he doesn't want you to think that he was being petty and jealous at Penny's new boyfriend." Beverly said.
"She's really good." Sheldon said to Howard.
"Leonard wouldn't want us to blame anyone for what happened to him." Howard reasoned as Leonard's attending physician came and introduced herself.
"Hi! I'm Dr. Abigail Benson, I'm Leonard's attending physician. You must be his mother?" she said shaking Beverly's hand. Howard and Raj can't take their eyes from Dr. Abigail and realize how gorgeous and beautiful she was with her blue eyes and brown hair.
"Nice to meet you doctor. I'm Leonard's mother, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter." said Beverly.
"You're a doctor too?" Dr. Abigail asked.
"Psychiatrist." said Beverly.
Dr. Abigail nodded. "Got it. Cool!" she said.
"So, how is my son's condition?" asked Beverly.
"Well, Leonard's lost a lot of blood. If he were brought in here a little later, he certainly wouldn't have made it." The doctor said. "The knife hit his liver but it was a shallow wound. We just hope the medication does its job. The other stab wound didn't hit anything critical though." Dr. Abigail said.
"I see. Do you have any idea when he'll wake up?" Beverly asked.
"We're hoping within a few days. The good news is he's out of harms way now." said the doctor.
"Thank you doctor and please do whatever is necessary to make my son better again. The money won't be a problem." said Beverly.
"Of course. Leonard is quite lucky to have survived the attack on him. I've seen many wounds like this and most times the victim doesn't make it." said Dr. Abigail. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have another patient to check up on." said Dr. Abigail shaking Beverly's hand and smiling at the guys.
"Thank you doctor. We appreciate it." said Beverly as the doctor walked away. Beverly sighed with relief as she sat on the waiting area, knowing that her son is going to make it. She then turned to Sheldon, Howard and Raj, "I'd like to ask if you would be kind enough to stay with Leonard. I have to go to my hotel to freshen up and change my clothes." said Beverly.
Howard nodded. "No problem Dr. Hofstadter. We'll stay here and watch over Leonard." he said.
"Thank you Howard. I'll come back as soon as I can so I can look over him for the night while you three can rest." she said as she walked away to go back to her hotel room.
It was almost six in the evening when Beverly returned. She saw Leonard's friends the same way as she left them, sitting at the waiting area.
"You gentlemen can go home now. I'll take it from here and watch over Leonard." said Beverly. The three stood up and walked away feeling relieved to be able to rest after spending the whole day at the hospital, not to mention after going through the tense situation between Penny and Sheldon the day before.
Beverly went to Leonard's room and looked through the glass panel, seeing a nurse inside checking her son's vitals and intravenous drips. The nurse was done writing on her clipboard and went out the room, seeing Beverly by the door.
"Hi! You must be the patient's mother?" asked the nurse.
Beverly gave her a weak smile. "Yes, I'm Leonard's mother. How is my son?" she asked.
"Well all his vitals are almost normal. Let's just hope he wakes up soon." The nurse said.
"I see. Thank you very much." said Beverly
"No problem Mrs. Hofstadter." The nurse said smiling at her before walking back to her station.
Beverly then decided to go back to her seat at the waiting area when she saw Penny standing at a distance, looking nervously at her. Beverly looked at her and walked straight to the waiting area to sit. Penny took a deep breath and decided to walk up to Beverly.
"Hi Beverly. I'm probably the last person you want to see right now but I just want to check up on Leonard." said Penny.
"Hello Penny. Leonard is stable now, thanks for your concern." said Beverly.
"I assume Sheldon already told you huh?" asked Penny.
"He did." Beverly said.
"You must really hate me right now huh?" Penny said.
"As a mother, I do. Leonard and I may not have a functional and normal mother-son relationship but he's still my son." said Beverly.
"I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen to him." said Penny.
"But it already did. You're sorry now because you're actions indirectly caused my son's predicament and you're feeling guilty for causing that isn't it?" said Beverly, never giving Penny an inch of defense. Penny could not respond to Beverly. She tried hard not to break down when the nurse came running up to them.
"Uh excuse me Mrs. Hofstadter, but your son is awake now!" said the nurse.
Beverly quickly stood up. "If you'll excuse me, my son needs me." she said as she followed the nurse to Leonard's room. Penny didn't know what to do, she wanted to follow Beverly but was afraid that Beverly might call security to have her thrown out of the hospital. She didn't actually have any relationship with Leonard to begin with so she has no business being there in the first place.
The nurse and Beverly entered Leonard's room. Beverly took Leonard's glasses from the table and put them on her son's face. Leonard opened his eyes and tried to focus his vision.
"Hi mom! When did you arrived?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse. The nurse offered him a glass of water. "Thank you." he said giving the glass back to the nurse.
"You're welcome. I'll inform Dr. Benson that you're already awake. The police also told us to call them when you wake up." The nurse said as she left the room.
"How are you feeling dear?" asked Beverly.
"Much better now. Thanks for coming." said Leonard. "Where are Sheldon and the guys?" he asked.
"They were here the whole day. I told them I would watch over you tonight while they go home and rest." said Beverly.
"Okay. How long was I out?" he asked.
"Two days." said Leonard's mother. "Do you remember what happened that night?" she said.
"I remember these two guys pulling me into the alley. I couldn't escape because they were bigger and stronger than me. And then another guy in a joker mask joined in. He's the one who stabbed me." said Leonard trying hard not to become emotional.
"Sheldon told me about your phone. They were able to trace it to this pawnshop. The police said they'll try to see if it has any fingerprints." said Beverly.
Leonard smiled. "The guys did that? Wow! That is amazing!" he exclaimed then winced in pain, feeling a sting in his wounds. "Ugh, that hurts." he said.
"Are you alright?" asked Beverly.
"Yeah. I'll be fine mom. I guess I shouldn't laugh as much." he said taking a deep breath.
Beverly pulled a chair and sat beside his bed. "Leonard, Sheldon told me why you left the party that night." she said.
Leonard looked at his mother and sighed. "I don't want to talk about it, mom." he said.
"Leonard, I know we don't have a good relationship as mother and son and it is not my place to say about who you have relations with but don't you think its time for you to move on from Penny?" asked Beverly.
"Mom, I said I don't want to talk about it!" said Leonard feeling another sting from his abdomen. "Ugh." he grunted.
Beverly stood up and returned the chair to its place. "Do you want anything to eat, or drink?" she asked.
Leonard nodded. "I am kinda hungry." he said.
Beverly nodded. "Alright, I'll get you something to eat." she said walking towards the door. "By the way, Penny is waiting outside. Do you want me to let her in?" asked Beverly.
Leonard took a deep breath and hung his head. "Yeah sure." he said as Beverly left the room.