10 Days Later
"Well, Penny it seems like we're finally going to get rid of you today." Her doctor told her during their morning rounds.
The past ten days had been extremely crazy. Her room had at least two people in it at a time. Between all the doctors, nurses, her parents, and friends, it seemed like she never had a moments rest. Even her boss from 'The Cheesecake Factory' swung by to tell her that her jab would still be there when she was ready to go back to work.
The only person that seemed to be glued to her side was Sheldon. He hadn't left the hospital in the past week and a half and only left Penny when he couldn't accompany her to a test. Howard and Raj would bring him clean clothes daily, and would try to force him to eat.
But Penny was worried about him. He would barely sleep anymore and when he did he always woke up from a nightmare. Then would refuse to talk about it or go back to sleep. She could tell he wasn't eating much either. A lot of his clothes were starting to get baggy on him and his was starting to look gaunt in the face.
"Hear that, Sheldon. We finally get to go home." Penny said, glancing at him. He attempted to smile, but it was the thought that counted.
"Well, I'll be back in a few hours, so you can sign these discharge papers and go home then." Her doctor said before leaving the room.
"Penny, do you think you're ready to go? You can always stay if you're not." Sheldon said.
"I am so ready, Sheldon. Look, I can sit up with no pain. In ten days I get the cast off my leg and start PT on my wrist. Plus, I miss my bed." Penny said, laughing a little. But Sheldon didn't look amused one bit.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you're taking any of this seriously." Sheldon said, causing Penny to roll her eyes.
"And sometimes I think you're taking this too seriously. I wonder why you are taking care of me more than yourself. You barely sleep and from the look of it, you barely eat. Sheldon, if you want to help taking care of me, you're going have to take care of yourself first.
I know that you're still upset about Leonard, trust me so am I. But I don't need to be worried about you all the time wondering when something bad is going to happen. You told me that you wouldn't know what to do if both Leonard and I would've died. Well, Sheldon I won't know if something happened to you now, or any of my friends. Even Howard. I'm too fragile mentally and physically right now to handle something like that." Penny said, felling tears slip down her cheeks.
The two was silent for a minute before Sheldon spoke. "I'm sorry that I've been scaring you. That is something that I did not want to do that. I have never been able to handle this kind of stress, even when I was a child. But I've always been able to pull through it myself. It's just has never been for this long of time before."
"Well, there is no better time to start then the present." Penny said, handing him her unopened pudding cup and a spoon.
Sheldon pulled of the top of the stuck the spoon in before sticking it in his mouth. It wasn't much, but it was a start. By the time Amy had arrived, she was driving them home; Sheldon had inhaled over half of her breakfast. Only leaving Penny a small piece of bacon and a bit of egg. She was just happy he was eating to get mad or question him on why he was willing eating off her plate.
"So, bestie are you happy to be finally getting out of here?" Amy asked, while Penny signed the last of her discharge papers.
"Heck yeah! I'm just getting excited about sleeping in my own bed. I'm sure Sheldon will be happy too. That couch doesn't look very comfortable." Penny said, glancing at Sheldon who looked like he was deep in thought.
"I'm starting to wonder how we're going to get you to your apartment." Sheldon said.
"What do you mean?" asked Penny.
"Well, seeing that the elevator is busted and with your broken wrist you're unable to use crutches, how are you going to get up four flights of stairs?" Sheldon said. Penny hadn't even thought of that. She was just happy about going home. Not how she was going to get there.
"Good point, Sheldon. Perhaps Penny you would like to stay at my apartment until you can use your legs again." Amy suggested, causing Penny to frown. She doesn't know if she could wait another ten days before being able to go home.
"Thanks for the offer, Ames. But I would like to try to figure out a solution to get me to my apartment."
"I think I might have one. But I don't know how you'll going to like it. You're just going to have to trust me." Sheldon said.
"I always trust you, Sheldon." Penny said, watching Sheldon's cheeks turn bright pink.
A/N: Finally got chapter 4 done. Been so busy with my life lately and having my nose in the Pretty Little Liars series I almost forgot about writing. So glad I didn't. Had plans for this chapter since I posted chapter 3, just so glad that I didn't forget. Danielle