A/N Thanks so much to my faithful reviewers. I am always amazed and thrilled with your input. I continue to borrow these characters.
Leonard was becoming more and more distressed. He knew, of course, that both he and Penny were in terrible danger, but he couldn't see how he could have acted differently. He just had to hope he might be able to help. He could not have risked that he could be responsible for Penny dying.
Adding to his distress was the fact they had left Pasadena behind. The further they traveled, the less chance they would be found.
When they turned off the main highway on to a road apparently heading for a town called Moorpark, Cheryl told him to slow down and look for a driveway off to his left.
He soon turned down a dirt road that led to what looked to be an abandoned farm.
During the trip, other than giving directions, Cheryl had been quiet. Any attempt to ask her about Penny resulted in her telling him to shut up. Seeing it seemed to be aggravating her, he stayed silent as well.
When they stopped in the yard, she gestured for him to get out. The sun was setting but there was still plenty of light to see.
After they were both out of the car, Cheryl smirked and taking the keys from him, walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. When she told him to join her, he was shocked to see Penny tied and gagged in the trunk.
Cheryl laughed at the look on his face, "I told she was all right. Now help me get her out."
As for Penny, her eyes widened when she saw Leonard. She felt herself fighting back tears, realizing he was now in danger too. She had despaired of ever seeing him again but was afraid now for both of them.
When she felt Leonard lift her out, she was torn between the joy of him holding her to the despair of where they found themselves. Cheryl told him to carry her into the house.
When they reached the door, Cheryl told him to go in first.
He carried her into what appeared to be a living room, but consisted only of a couple wooden chairs and an old sofa.
He also noticed all the windows were covered over with curtains.
Cheryl told him to lie her down on the couch and then went over and although there was still enough light to see, lit an old kerosene lamp which provided more light that Leonard would have thought.
Cheryl tossed him the keys to the handcuffs and he released her hands and took the gag out of her mouth. Penny was fighting tears and clung to Leonard who patted her on the back telling her it would be all right.
Cheryl smirked, "How sweet. The two lovebirds are reunited."
Then she told Penny to come over to where she was standing. When Penny still clung to Leonard, she started to get angry. Seeing that, Leonard gently pushed Penny away, "We need to do what she says."
He then whispered to her, "I need you to be strong."
Penny nodded and struggled to pull herself together.
Leonard then noticed that one chair was equipped with what appeared to be restraints. That was confirmed when Cheryl tied both Penny's hands and feet to the chair.
She then told Leonard they needed to put the car in the garage. When that was finished, they went back into the house.
Cheryl plopped in the other chair and gestured for Leonard to sit on the couch.
She then sat back and smiled, "There, now everyone is here and comfy."
Leonard spoke up, "Why are you doing this Cheryl? There is no need for this. You are just making it harder on yourself. Why don't you let us go and turn yourself in. I am sure you didn't mean to kill him. Something can be worked out."
Cheryl sneered, "Nice words, Lenny, but I know exactly what I am doing. All of my life people have used me, treated me like dirt. Calling me names like Big Boob Bitch, whore, slut."
She grew quiet, "Do you know what they called me in High School behind my back?"
She went on, "They called me 'Cummin Cummings.' Do you know how that made me feel?"
Leonard tried again, "People can be cruel. I know it was nothing like you faced, but I was bullied a lot myself."
To his surprise, Cheryl nodded, "I do think you understand."
But then she sneered and swung toward Penny, "But not our good old cheerleader Penny. No, she was on the other side. The beautiful ones, the jocks. Thinking they were better than the rest of us."
"How about it, Penny, I bet you have some stories to tell." She sneered, "But, the truth is, you probably spent as much time on your back as I did."
Penny sensed it was best she just stayed silent, being pretty sure whatever she said would just aggravate Cheryl.
Leonard tried to concentrate, calculating how far he was from Cheryl and if he had any chance of getting to her. He shook his head, if she was any kind of a shot at all, he would never get close to her. He did slowly, in small increments, make his way to the end of the couch closer to her.
Cheryl swept back toward Leonard. Both Penny and Leonard were surprised when they saw Cheryl was tearing up. "As bad as it may have been for you, Lenny, I bet you didn't have someone screw you almost every night." Her voice started to break, "You didn't have a son of a bitch stepdad raping you. You didn't have a mother who knew what was happening but apparently decided you deserved it."
As she started to sob, Leonard said quietly, "I am sorry that happened to you."
Pulling herself together, "I don't want your pity."
She smiled a cruel smile, "The night I turned eighteen, when he came to my room, I waited until he was aroused and then I kicked him." She smiled broadly, "I never heard such a scream. Then I walked out and never looked back until I attended his funeral. I just wanted to be sure the bastard was dead."
She got up, "Where are my manners, I bet you guys are thirsty."
She moved over to a cooler behind her and pulled out a bottle of water. Walking over to Penny, she helped her take a drink. She then tossed the bottle to Leonard before getting another one for herself.
After everyone had taken a drink, she sat back down.
"I don't know if it was because of what he did to me, but somewhere along the line, I lost myself."
She looked over at Leonard, "I bet you would never imagine I had the second highest grade point in my class."
"Did anyone write, 'most likely to succeed' or 'good luck in your career' in my yearbook?"
"No. The ones that did write something consisted of things like 'Most likely to be a porn star'."
"After a time, I guess I came to believe it. That all everyone saw were these boobs. I started to feel that no one was really interested in me. After school I wanted to go to college but I couldn't afford it. I also realize now I was so ashamed of what he had done to me. I didn't think anyone would want me."
"So, I became what everyone knew I was."
Leonard and Penny exchanged looks. They both realized that no matter how horrible a thing she had done, that she was doing, they could not help but feel sorry for her.
Cheryl turned to Penny, "I hated you, Penny. Not for anything specific, although I really liked Kurt when you took him for yourself. I just wanted people to look at me like they looked at you. To respect me like they respected you. Why couldn't they see we weren't really that different? That I wanted the same things you did? To find someone to love?"
"Sometimes, I would think that I found someone who could love me for who I was. Who could love me, Cheryl Cummings. I had thought that Kurt could be that man, but he chose you."
She looked at Leonard, "I really thought you could be that guy."
Leonard was surprised, he had no idea she felt anything like that. He felt a little ashamed that he assumed she just thought of him as another man to go to bed with.
"I mean, you didn't jump into bed with me. You talked to me, you treated me with respect. I thought maybe I had finally found someone who might care about me."
Leonard spoke up, "I never knew you felt that way. I wish you would have told me."
Cheryl looked sad for a moment. For a moment she wished maybe…
But then she sighed, "But it was Kurt and all the others all over again. When you had the chance, you went off with dear, sweet, Penny. Why, Lenny? I am just as pretty as she is. I am smart and funny. Why couldn't you see that? Why?"
Once again the tears formed but she wiped her eyes and pulled herself together. She turned again toward Penny, "That wasn't enough for you though, you had to humiliate me in front of everyone. To rub my nose in it. I am sure everyone told you what a good laugh everyone had after you left when I got exposed. I was so ashamed and they just clapped and laughed. No one cared how I felt, no one cared how much I was hurting."
Penny found herself feeling ashamed. It was true, she never thought of what Cheryl might be thinking, of the woman herself. She had been like everyone else, dismissing Cheryl as a slut; someone to treat with contempt. If she should somehow live through this, maybe…
Her thoughts were interrupted when a fully recovered Cheryl continued, "I decided if you were going to have Lenny, I would take Steve. It was easy to talk him into taking me home. But then to my surprise he didn't want to come up. He said he needed to do some thinking. He told me how sorry he was with had happened to me and that he was ashamed he hadn't tried to help me."
He looked at Leonard, "He was so nice. No one had been that nice to me for a long time."
Penny was stunned, that didn't sound like the Steve she knew. But then she remembered back to when they had met. She had thought he was like that at first too. That Bastard. He was acting the same way with Cheryl. Suddenly, she realized he had no idea what he was getting into, who he was dealing with.
Cheryl smiled, "The next few days were wonderful. I spent every night at his apartment. He was so gentle with me. He listened to me. I knew I had finally found the man I had been looking for. I knew it was too quick but I was thinking of asking him to move in with me. I even thought we could think about getting married."
Penny realized now how she had fallen for him in the same way. He had fooled her too. But she also realized she, unlike Cheryl, had enough self-worth to finally see through him and not be crushed by it.
Cheryl's voice turned cold, "That morning, I stopped at Betty's and found the perfect gloves to match my scarf. I took it as a sign that I should ask him to move in." She shook her head, "That turned out to be a mistake. When Betty called me and told me Kurt had been there and knew about the gloves, I knew it was over."
Penny and Leonard were stunned. So that was how she had found out. The very piece of evidence that convinced everyone of her guilt had been the catalyst for what was happening now. Leonard might have enjoyed the irony if not for his current situation.
Cheryl went on, "But when I got to Steve's he told me that Penny had called and he had decided he was going back to her. I couldn't believe it. I was crushed. He told me Penny wanted him back."
Penny decided she needed to interrupt, "He lied to you, Cheryl. I did call him but to tell him to pick up his stuff, that I wanted nothing more to do with him. When he came over, we had a big fight and I left."
To her surprise, Cheryl smiled sadly, "I know that now. Some of the stories about your arrest mentioned the fight that your neighbor overheard. She apparently liked to talk to the press."
"But none of that really matters now. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Well as I said, I was crushed. I went home and had a good cry and a couple drinks. Then I decided it wasn't going to end like that. I knew he really didn't feel that way. He had just been surprised when you called. I figured you begged him to come back and he got flattered or felt sorry for you."
"I decided I was going to get him back. I went over to your apartment figuring that's where you both were. I was going to confront you and get him to admit the truth. It would be doubly satisfying to take him back right in front of you."
"When I got to the apartment, I found out he was alone. He didn't seem happy to see me, but I figured I had surprised him." Her face started to contort, "I told him I understood, that he felt sorry for Penny, that he didn't want to hurt her, that it was me he wanted to be with. I told him I wanted him to move in with me."
"He just stared at me. Then he said, 'What are you yapping about? We had some good times. I mean, you know all about that.' He looked at my chest and said, 'I am going to miss them.'"
Cheryl voice raised as she teared up, "I was stunned, I couldn't believe what he was saying. Why was he treating me like this? I managed to get out, 'Why are you saying these things, Steve? I know you don't mean them.' I managed to smile, 'You are so good to me, Steve. You're not like all those other guys. You treat me with respect, you listen to me.' I reached out toward him, 'I love you, Steve'."
Cheryl pulled herself together. She shifted in her chair, "Do you know what he did? Do you know what that bastard did? He laughed. He laughed at me. He took my love and mocked it. Then I realized, he wasn't like every other man, he was worse. He had taken my love, my feelings and stomped on them. He had never felt anything for me. He used me worse that even my stepdad had."
She looked at Leonard, "It was then I noticed the gun. I don't know why it was there. I don't even remember picking it up, but then I was firing it, pulling the trigger over and over."
She smirked, "Apparently, there was only one bullet in the gun."
"By this time, I was in shock. I don't know how long I stood there. I should have just left the gun there, but I stuffed it in my purse. Finally, I pulled myself together and checking to be sure he was dead, headed for the door."
"As I was about to open it, I heard a noise outside. I looked through the peephole and was stunned to see Penny in the hall."
While she had been talking, it had turned dark outside and although it was moonlit, the only light in the room came from the kerosene lamp, casting shadows on the walls.
Cheryl stretched, "I need to move around. She got up and walked up and down, but keeping her gun on Leonard. Leonard had now made his way to her end of the couch. He figured he was about ten feet away. He looked around for something to throw, something to detract her but the room was bare.
He looked over at Penny. He could tell she was very uncomfortable from being tied up so long. He decided whatever it took, he needed to save her. He allowed himself to hope maybe Cheryl would let them live.
Cheryl returned to her seat.
"I was scared to death. But then I decided this was fate. We would have it out. I looked around for something to hit her with. I was surprised to see a baseball bat sitting by the door. I picked it up and stood where she wouldn't see me when she opened the door."
"But then nothing happened. I risked a look through the peephole and saw she was getting into the elevator."
She looked at Leonard, "I don't really know why I decided to follow her. I don't know if I planned to kill her or what. I hurried down the stairs. Just as I reached the bottom, I saw her run into some guy. I waited until he got on the elevator and then rushed after her."
"She left the parking lot ahead of me but traffic was light and I kept her in sight."
"It was when she stopped for gas and went inside and left her purse behind that the idea hit me. I could frame her for the crime. After all, I knew she had been seen at the apartment. It would be the perfect punishment for what she had done to me."
As Leonard started to say something, she cut him off, "I know what you are going to say, that it was Steve who hurt me not her. But she was the one who had started it all. She was the one who took Kurt, she was the one who took you from me. She had humiliated me in front of everyone."
"Who knows? If she hadn't called Steve, maybe he would have come to love me."
"And now I had nothing while she had you. Why should she be happy and be loved and not me?"
Leonard knew it was no use. She obviously was beyond being reasoned with. Anything good about Cheryl had been torn from her. All she had left was hate and hurt.
"There were too many people around at the station but when she met with that old guy at the restaurant I had my chance. I followed him when he got up to be sure he would be gone for a few minutes."
"It was scary when I put the gloves and gun in her purse, but then I had got away with it."
"I was amazed when I realized it had worked, that she was arrested."
She settled back in the chair, "But then Betty called me and I knew she had beaten me again. She would be back with you while I rotted in jail. That's when I knew she had to die."
She looked up, "One thing bothers me, what made you suspect me at all?"
Leonard and Penny's blood had run cold when she made it clear she was going to kill them. Leonard knew he had to take a gamble. But first he would take one last chance to talk to her.
"The old man was her father. He remembered seeing you by the Gift Shop."
"Why would he have noticed me?" Then she smirked, "It was these damn boobs, wasn't it?" She laughed mirthlessly, "A curse right to the end."
Leonard spoke up, "Cheryl, you don't have to kill us both. Think about it. If you kill Penny, it's over for her. She won't have to suffer. But if you just kill me, she will have to live with that. She will have to suffer."
Penny was stunned but then shouted out, "No, Leonard!" She turned to Cheryl, "Don't listen to him. I am the one you hate; I am the one that has hurt you. You have no reason to kill him."
When Leonard started to speak again, Cheryl screamed, "Stop it."
She looked at them and for a brief moment her eyes softened and she was that Cheryl before the hate engulfed her, "You guys really do love each other. I would give anything to be loved like that."
But then it was gone, "Anyway, if you must know, I never planned to kill Lenny. I am going to kill Penny and then go on my way. I just wanted you here, Lenny, so you could tell everyone why I had to do what I did. So people would understand. I also wanted to make you watch Penny die, to hurt you like all men have hurt me, to suffer like I have suffered."
She stood up, "And now is the time to end this."
As she turned toward Penny, Leonard leaped from the couch and ran straight at her. It took a moment for Cheryl to realize what was happening and it seemed like he might make it. But then she recovered and turned the gun toward him.
Leonard felt something whiz past his ear and then he felt a terrible pain in his shoulder. The force of the bullet stood him up, but his momentum carried him into her. The gun slipped from her hand as they both crashed to the ground.
With Penny screaming "Leonard," he tried to go get the gun, but something was horribly wrong. His body was no longer responding to his wishes. As he felt himself fading away, he saw with despair that Cheryl was all right. She was getting up and reaching down for the gun.
His last conscious thoughts were that he had failed. He had let Penny down.
Penny had stared horrified as Leonard had rushed toward Cheryl. She felt her heart stop as she saw he was hit and screamed his name as she saw the blood and he crumpled on the ground. She saw him try to move but then collapse back unconscious.
She barely registered that Cheryl was back up and was moving toward with the gun. When she did see it, the fear was gone, replaced by pure anger.
"You killed him, you goddamn bitch. You killed Leonard!"
Cheryl stared at her, "He made me do it. I didn't want to." But then she sighed, "But now it's your turn."
When she aimed the gun at Penny, she screamed, "Do it, you fat bitch. I don't give a crap anymore."
Kurt beat the others in the race to the door. Pulling his gun from under his jacket, he was surprised to find the door unlocked. When he burst into the living room, he froze for a moment stunned by what he was seeing.
Leonard was lying in a pool of blood, not moving. He saw Penny tied to a chair screaming something. Then he saw Cheryl aiming a gun at Penny. Suddenly everything seemed to go silent and seemed to slow down. He saw them both turn their head toward him and then Cheryl turning back to Penny. Without thought he brought up his gun as he had a thousand times at the range, his training taking over. He aimed, took in a breath and squeezed the trigger.
He saw the blood spurt from her side as it sent her crashing toward the wall, he saw her turn her head toward him, he saw the astonishment in her face before she crumpled to the ground.
Then suddenly everything returned and sped back up, he heard the shot, her scream and her body hitting the floor.
Harding came up beside him. He gently took the gun from his hand, "It's okay, Kurt, it's over."
Then it hit him, he had killed someone. He just stood there stunned.
Rachel rushed past them, putting her gun away. She rushed over to Leonard, kneeling beside him. "He's still alive, call for an ambulance."
One of the State Police rushed back toward his car. Rachel tore off part of her shirt and shoved it into the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
One of the other officers rushed over to Penny who was straining at her restraints, trying to get to Leonard. "Are you all right ma'am? Are you hurt?"
She looked up at him wild eyed, "I have to get to Leonard."
He quickly undid the restraints. Penny started to stand up, but her muscles were numb from the ropes. She half stumbled and half crawled over to where Leonard was. Rachel looked up to see her.
Penny started sobbing, "is he dead?"
"No, the bullet hit him in the shoulder, he's still alive but he's lost a lot of blood."
Penny reached out and touched him, "He'll make it, he has to, I need him."
Just then the officer returned with a first aid kit. Opening it, Rachel was gratified to see it had a military type pad to stop the bleeding. She shoved it into place.
Meanwhile, Harding was kneeling by Cheryl. Rising up he said, "This one's dead."
Suddenly, Kurt started to cry. Penny turned toward him shocked. Seeing that Leonard was being helped she rushed over to him, hugging him to her. As he wrapped his arms around her clinging to her, she murmured, "It's okay, Kurt, Leonard's alive, he's going to be okay."
Kurt nodded, but then said, "I killed her Penny, I killed Cheryl."
Realizing what had happened, Penny looked into his eyes, "You saved my life, Kurt. It was her or me."
Slowly, the sobs ceased as they continued to hug each other.
Sheldon Cooper stood by the door, fighting to not throw up, stunned by the sight before him. His eyes were trained on Leonard's body lying on the floor. He looked so small.
It was his fault. Doctor Leonard Hofstadter should be working in a lab in a prestigious university, solving the mysteries of the universe, not lying in his own blood on a dirty floor. Whatever had made him think he could be a detective. His hubris had cost his best friend, his only ever true friend, his life.
He stumbled back out the door and fell to his knees in the yard.
Penny looked over Kurt's shoulder and saw Sheldon stumble out the door. She could see something was terribly wrong with him.
She pulled back from Kurt. Seeing him look at her, she said, "It's Sheldon, something is wrong with him." She hurried out the door with Kurt behind her.
Seeing him on the ground, she rushed over to him, "What is it Sheldon, what's wrong?"
She was stunned when he looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, "I killed him. I killed my best friend."
"What are you talking about?"
"I never should have talked him into coming with me, it's all my fault."
Not exactly understanding, Penny said, "Sheldon, if you are talking about Leonard, he's not dead, he's alive."
Sheldon stared at her feeling hope, "He's alive?" After a moment, he asked, "Is he going to be all right?"
Feeling herself tearing up, Penny moved over and hugged him, "He has to be, I love him."
Both she and Kurt were shocked when Sheldon hugged her back saying, "I love him, too."
As they clung to each other, Kurt knelt beside them and rubbed Penny's back.
They could hear sirens coming closer.