I changed the dialogue format (thanks for the warning, Naraku's Phoenix). I'll have to change the rest of the chapters later, but I wanted to add another chapter because I haven't updated in a while. Sorry for the delay--I've been really busy lately. And thanks for all the reviews!! I'm hoping I can update faster now because I have a whole week off, so I'll work on this as much as I can. I hope I don't disappoint anyone, because I'd really love it if you keep reading! Thanks in advance :)

A group of nurses rushed into the room and surrounded Leonard's bed as another nurse asked Penny to leave the room. She pressed herself up against the door of the room as tears rolled down her face.

"N-no! …Leonard…" She felt her voice escaping her and could only manage a few gasps of tears. "What's happening?! Leonard, don't do this to me…you can't do this to me!"

Penny fell to her knees and placed her head on the glass door. The tears rolling down her face dripped onto the floor as she continued sobbing. For Penny, it felt like hours before the commotion in the room settled. She sat there, legs beneath her, her hands on the door, still crying. Even though she could see Leonard, she refused to pick up her head and look at him, worried that she would see something that would break her heart even further. The doctor walked out of the room and approached her. He patiently waited until Penny stood up to tell her what happened.

Penny didn't want to stand. She wanted to sit there because she felt that if she moved, something else would happen. But she had to stay strong, for Leonard and Sheldon. Penny moved her hands to the floor and pushed herself up, attempting to use her weak and shaking legs for support. She stared at the ground before looking up at the doctor.

The doctor stood there, staring at Penny with a solemn look on his face, before he spoke. "Leonard went into respiratory arrest. We had to intubate him…"

The doctor glanced at Leonard, prompting Penny look over at him too. She turned her head and saw Leonard lying there, a tube protruding from his mouth and connecting to a large machine.

"Oh my god…"

"His lungs aren't working properly right now, so we put him on a respirator to help. He can breathe now, but…"

Penny's heart dropped again. She started to cry again, fearing the worst.

Penny looked down. "No…not 'but.' I don't want to hear that."

"He was deprived of oxygen for so long that he…he's in a coma right now."

Penny just about collapsed. She would have fallen to the ground if she hadn't been leaning against the glass door for support. The doctor brought her over to the nearest chair and gave her a tissue. She was quiet for what seemed like days. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and looked back up at the doctor.

"H-he was going to be okay. Why? Why did this— You said he was going to be okay…"

"I'm sorry…we had no idea this was going to happen."

"Please, please, tell me he's going to be okay."

The doctor put his hand on her back, as if to protect her from the devastating news. "Right now…we think he has only a day or two left."

Penny could do nothing but cry, she was too heartbroken for any words to leave her mouth. The doctor gently hugged her before slowly standing up. He motioned to Penny to go into the room.

"Even if he can't talk, he shouldn't be alone right now."

Penny nodded and walked into the room as the doctor left.

She picked up the chair, and for the first time since she arrived at the hospital, she sat next to Leonard's bed. She sat and stared at him, and suddenly started sobbing again when she realized that she ignored him when Leonard told her he loved her.

"What have I done? I ignored him. He told me he loved me and I ignored him. Oh my god, he loves me. He said it. All this time I've been worried about Sheldon because Leonard was getting better? What the hell is wrong with me?! I…I'm sorry, Leonard."

All she could hear was the raspy, wheezing sound of Leonard's breathing. Penny stared at Leonard. He didn't look like the Leonard she would always hug, the Leonard she would kiss on the cheek, the Leonard that was her best friend. She didn't like what she saw. She saw the Leonard with a tube in his mouth that was held in place by something that wrapped around his head. She saw someone in pain, someone who was dying.

Penny was afraid to touch Leonard. She was afraid because of what she had done to him. It was her fault she chose Kurt. It was her fault she yelled at him. It was her fault she ignored him and now he may never be able to see her again. She slowly picked up her hand and placed it on Leonard's bed. Her hands slowly moved closer to his arm. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and moved closer to him. Feeling the warmth of Leonard's hand, she placed her head on Leonard's stomach and closed her eyes.

Penny had slept all night with her head on Leonard's stomach and when she woke up, found herself refusing to move from her current position. She felt comfortable next to Leonard and thought that if she moved, she would lose him forever.

Finally, she slowly picked up her head and gripped Leonard's hand. Penny's heart had been broken a hundred times over since the day Howard called her. She couldn't take it if her best friends died. Penny had no idea what she was going to, or how she was going to handle the death of Leonard and Sheldon. Knowing that she caused Leonard and Sheldon's accident was enough to kill her soul forever. But being the cause of Leonard and Sheldon's death? Penny couldn't imagine what she would do. She closed her eyes.

"Penny."

That voice sounded familiar. But Penny's thoughts and feelings were so jumbled that she couldn't put it together.

"Penny."

Who was that?

"Penny."

She opened her eyes and looked at Leonard. His eyes were still closed and she still heard his rough, raspy breathing. She let go of Leonard's hand and slowly turned around.

Sheldon was staring at Penny, with a small smile on his face.

"Sheldon?"