Chapter 5 - Days of Nothing
The next day, almost 24 hours exactly to the minute after the gang had found Sheldon missing from his office, Penny filed a missing persons report. Penny also called in a few favors, having friends in patrol and detectives in missing persons, put a little extra work in looking for Sheldon. It was all she could do, and at the end of the day she just fell into her couch at home, drained and extremely tired, worry and the extra work she put in looking for Sheldon draining all the energy out of her. Thankfully, Leonard arrived only fifteen minutes later, from his efforts to find Sheldon, taking a seat next to her, so she could lean on him for comfort.
"I went to the train and comic stores, out of town, the ones he had made me or the guys take him to before. No one has seen him." Leonard told her. He had taken the day off and traveled around outside the Pasadena area on the off chance Sheldon went someplace farther away.
"I went to the train station at lunch time and went around showing his picture. No luck there either." Penny sighed.
Leonard nodded, "Penny, Amy is taking it hard. When I saw her today and we talked a little, she was really bad and I'm worried about her."
"Sweetie of course she would take it hard, they were close for so long." Penny looked at Leonard then saw the expression on his face, which made her ask quietly. "Leonard how bad is she?"
"Penny she is a mess, she is acting like she just lost the love of her life or how a wife would act if she lost her husband." Leonard explained.
"Oh my God. She is still in love with him, isn't she. She never got over him." Penny stared at Leonard wide eyed.
Leonard shook his head slowly. "I don't really know, you are better at reading people than I am, but she is not acting like someone who is engaged to another man. She seems lost and helpless, it reminds me of how she was when they were together and she worried about him."
Penny sighed, "Why Honey, why now? She is just what he needs right now, why can't they be together." Serious and tough Detective Penny Hofstadter then just let her pregnancy hormones take over and began to cry on Leonard's shoulder as he gently rubbed her back.
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Amy sat in her apartment, with no one to comfort her that night, as she also cried over Sheldon. Her fiancé would come by, in a heartbeat, if she asked him, but she couldn't help the feeling she was cheating on him and didn't deserve him. She also knew she was going to have to tell him how she still felt towards Sheldon, but she couldn't right now, with everything that was happening, it was too much for her, so she dragged herself up and went into the shower to get ready for bed. She didn't want to think anymore and the only way she knew how to do that was sleep, mind numbing sleep.
The shower didn't even help her, as her mind recounted her day, in her continuing search for Sheldon. Leonard and her had both taken off that day and met in the morning to come up with a plan for searching. Leonard made the long drives to places Sheldon liked outside of Pasadena, stores in and outside the county, Sheldon had gone to before because he liked them. Amy had gone to all the local colleges and asked if anyone had seen him, then to the museums to see if he somehow went to any of those. Neither of them had any luck that day and when they met later the depression she felt was almost overwhelming. She was so bad, Leonard had taken her into his arms to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, even though she could hear the doubt in his words.
She knew tomorrow was another day and they still a few places to check, parks and the zoo, but after tomorrow they were lost on what to do next, if they didn't find him. It was that thought that kept Amy tossing and turning in her bed, the thought that she didn't know what to do if they didn't find him tomorrow. Amy had never imagined Sheldon not being there and she knew if he had did something to himself, she would just die. That night Amy cried herself to sleep.
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Sheldon had been discovered missing on a Tuesday, so by Friday, everyone of their group had searched everywhere and the police had looked for him, but there was no sign of Sheldon, it was like he disappeared from the face of the earth. All his friends tried to be positive, but they all feared the worse and that Friday evening, as they found themselves sitting at a table at the CheeseCake Factory, they quietly stared at their menus, none of them knowing what to say. Amy was the worse and her friends would sneak looks at her, desperately trying to think of something to say to cheer her up, but coming up empty each time. What made things worse was they all knew Amy had talked to her fiancé and now her wedding was postpone indefinitely, which Penny, Bernadette and Alex knew was because Amy was still in love with Sheldon and wouldn't be able to move along with her life until she could get closure from all they were going through right now.
Cheryl came to the table to take orders, she had asked the waitress who normally worked that table to let her do it, as soon as she saw Penny, Leonard and of course Raj. However as she approached the table she could see all the sad expressions on everyone's faces and it made her wonder what had happened to make everyone so upset. "Hi, are you guys ready to order."
Penny looked up and gave Cheryl a sad smile, "Hi Cheryl, can you give us a few more minutes, I don't think everyone has decided yet." A couple people, of the group, nodded at Penny's statement.
Cheryl was about to turn and leave, but took a quick glance at Raj, stunned that he was looking directly at her too. "Hi Raj." she barely got out.
A small sincere smile formed on Raj's lips, "Hi Cheryl, how have you been."
Cheryl now smiled back at him and stepped closer to his seat, "I've been doing okay, I guess. You know, just working and all." Penny was right Raj was still cute and suddenly she felt nervous.
Raj couldn't help but look at Cheryl's eyes and it made him remember that night with her years ago, he had liked her then and looking at her now, he knew he still liked her. He wished he could talk to her, but not at the table, it wouldn't be right, especially the way Amy was. "I know what you mean, I have been working and all too."
Cheryl nodded, her smile a little bigger, "Okay, I'll come back in a few minutes to see if you are ready to order." She turned and walked away, only to quickly look back at Raj, slightly gasping when she saw he was still looking at her, the small smile still on his lips.
Raj saw the smile Cheryl gave him before she turned around and went back to another part of the restaurant, and he sighed as he turned back to the menu in front of him. Penny had also noticed what just happened and knew Cheryl had come to their table just to see them and Raj, because this table was not in her section and the girl that waited this section was at another close table taking orders. Cheryl must have asked to serve them, Penny knew, because she had done the same thing, years ago, whenever the guys came in.
Penny leaned over to Raj, who was sitting next to her, and noticed he almost jumped when began to whisper to him, "She likes you, you know." Raj just stared at Penny in disbelief, words failing him at that moment.
"Raj she likes you, and I think you like her. Why don't you talk to her, ask her out, she'll say yes." Penny said softly to him. Her sitting right next to him, made it so she could talk to him without anyone hearing.
Raj looked at Penny, then slowly nodded, he had been alone since his divorce and he did like Cheryl. "Okay." Raj whispered back, then stood up.
"Raj where are you going?" Howard asked, as he noticed Raj stand up with purpose.
Raj stared at him for a moment, "The bathroom." then quickly turned and walked away.
Cheryl was at the register, running a customers bill, when she felt someone behind her, who smelled really good. She turned and barely was able to keep standing, her knees suddenly feeling incredibly weak. "Raj?"
Raj just nodded, "Cheryl would you go out with me? Not tonight of course but in a couple days, when you have an evening free." Raj then relaxed, he had asked her, now he waited to see if Penny was telling him the truth.
Cheryl, stared at him trying to process what just happened and slowly it sunk in, he had asked her out. Cheryl nodded slowly, "Yes." She then gave Raj her number and told him she was off tomorrow night, and asked him if that was too soon. Raj just smiled and agreed tomorrow was great and he would call her tomorrow early to make arrangements. Cheryl watched Raj walk back to his friends, and knew if she wasn't in a restaurant full of people she would be doing a happy dance right now.
Raj sat back at the table and gave Penny a little nod, which made Penny smile a little. It a week of pure heartache and disappointment over Sheldon, a little happiness for her two friends helped some. Penny just wished there was something she could do for Amy and as she looked at her, she leaned over to whisper in Leonard's ear, "Honey switch seats with me."
Penny quickly got in Leonard's seat next to Amy, before she even knew what was happening, then leaned over to her and whispered, "How are you doing Bestie?"
Amy looked at Penny, blinking a couple of times as she stared at her friend. "Penny what are we going to do?"
Penny sighed, "Well we are not going to give up on him, not till we find him. He is someplace Amy, he can't just leave the planet can he?"
Amy nodded, "You're right he has to be around here someplace, he can't completely disappear."
"That's right Sweetie, we will find him." Penny then gave Amy a little smile which Amy returned. "So how about it, hungry?"
Amy nodded, "I guess I can eat. Thank you Penny."
"Hey, that's what Besties are for." Penny and Amy were now able to start looking at their menus in earnest.
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Any hope Sheldon's friends had that Friday night was gone by the next weekend, when the whole next week nothing was found of him. The police officers that were helping Penny couldn't devote anymore additional time to the case and Sheldon's disappearance was put on the older case files, as they worked more recent disappearances. Penny was more than concerned, because she was enough of an experienced cop to know that people don't really disappear suddenly and not leave some clues, and she started to think maybe Sheldon had run into some foul play. However she was not going to tell that to her friends, especially Amy, they were all worried already too much to hear about Penny's fears.
They all sat in Leonard and Penny's living room quietly drinking their respective drinks while lost in their own thoughts, that Sunday afternoon. Today there was one more of them, as Cheryl sat next to Raj, their first date ending in two more before the week was over and them now sitting next to each other, on Penny's couch. It seemed their liking of each other, picked up where it had left off years ago and their attraction to each other now turned out to be stronger than either one of them imagined. Also there that day, Bernadette and Howard sat on chairs next to each other, while Alex and Amy sat in the love seat, Amy extremely quiet, she seemed to shrinking into herself more and more as each day passed. Penny was in Leonard's chair, the one from his old apartment, while Leonard handed her a cup of organic decaf coffee, then sat on the chair arm.
"Thank you Sweetie." Penny told him with as much enthusiasm as she could muster in the solemn group sitting in the room.
"Penny have the police discovered anything about his disappearance?" Bernadette asked to open the conversation.
Penny slowly shook her head, "Nothing, they found nothing. I don't know what to tell you." Penny looked directly at Amy who was now staring back at her.
The conversation went slowly and sporadically for the next half hour as Cheryl watched the close friends share their grief that came from that they really hadn't found out a thing. She had been thinking while quietly watching them and leaned over to whisper something in Raj's ear, which made Raj nod excitedly, "Guys Cheryl has an idea."
Every eye turned to her and Cheryl suddenly felt self conscious, plus a little bit foolish, until Raj put his arm around her for comfort, giving her the courage to speak up. "I was just thinking, I keep a diary, and I know Penny does, do you think he had a journal."
"You know I think he did keep one." Leonard blurted out, which made everyone start talking with more excitement. As the conversation got more animated, Leonard turned to Penny, while everyone talked, "You have a diary?"
Penny stared at him for a moment taken back, before she slowly nodded, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't want to see it, but knowing how curious he was and she would probably have to show him. Letting him read it scared her, not because of what she wrote about him, he might like that she was writing nice things about him from the first day she saw him. What bothered her was the stuff before that, her time with Kurt and back home in Omaha that she was ashamed about.
Leonard could see the look in her eyes and knew some things were better left a mystery. "Honey, I don't need to see it. Everybody has their secrets they keep to themselves." then he gave her a little smile.
"Honey, I promise there is nothing bad in there about you." Penny thought she had to tell him, and was relieved when he just nodded then turned back to the group's conversation.
Thankfully both of them became distracted when someone brought up how they might find Sheldon's journal as they now all concentrated on finding the one new possible clue. It was later that night, after they talked about the journal and what they could do, and a quick dinner of pizza, that the group broke up. "Okay here is the plan, Penny will get the police tape and lock off the apartment door and we will meet at the apartment after work to search it." All the group nodded, to Leonard's summary of the plan and for once in the last week of disappointments there was a little hope in their eyes.