Authors Note: Thank you for all the reviews, things will be a little dark before they get better. Amy will re-join the group in further chapter as will Raj, at the moment it will be Sheldon with Howard and Bernadette. Penny has been really hurt and has gone within herself. This chapter takes place in the present. I will jump back and forth as the story unfolds
Disclaimer Big Bang its characters belong to someone else. The story belongs to me. If the writers and creators are upset then maybe they should read the stories as there are some very good writers here like Risknight, Devilbk too to name a few, they prove Shenny works and even though TBBT is a ratings winner, its quality has fallen especially when Penny is always drunk and staying with Leonard. The low point is this week when she proposes when drunk, the old penny would not have settled for anyone. As always just my view
Present time
Sheldon looked at the clock in his office, and prepared to leave. He was not wearing his bus pants, these days he walked while Bernadette or Howard had offered to give him a lift each day. He had declined.
He had something he needed to do each morning and evening. Something that he would do as long as it took.
Visit Penny
He also enjoyed the walks, they gave him time to think about his work, his goals and Penny.
Since that fateful night he had visited her before work and after at the hospital and the psych ward where she was now resided, he had paid her rent and keep her apartment clean, while he still did the things at night that he had always done none of it seemed complete, in fact he felt an emptiness that he had not felt before. It was a feeling he did not like and in spite of his IQ not understand.
Penny's parents have visited her when they could and Sheldon had made sure that they were look after. He made sure the fridge in Penny's apartment was stocked and the other things we done to ensure their stay was always hassle free, he emailed twice a week with updates on her progress, as little as it was.
He had been surprised to find that her parents did not just ask about her now but about how he was doing. He found himself answering in a fashion unburdening himself a little, he was still left with this hole in his life and no way to fill it. Wyatt had even said that Penny had no better friend, but Sheldon could not accept that, not at this time, not after failing her so.
His mother and Missy had visited as well mainly due to Howard and Bernadette contacting them and filling them in on what had happened. His mother had been as she always was loving and annoying but Sheldon knew she loved him and that she also loved Penny. Missy had stayed a little longer, making sure that Sheldon took care of himself, and she had visited Penny while he was at work.
Unfortunately for Leonard, she had run into him down at the mall, thank goodness Bernadette had stopped her from doing anything too bad though the photo of Leonard covered in Missy's strawberry smoothie had made the celebrity pages of the local papers. It had gotten her and Bernadette evicted from the mall but as soon as Howard had found the video on YouTube he had sent to Sheldon.
While it was not normally something that Sheldon would watch and Howard would have normally earned a strike for such a thing. Sheldon had smiled as his sister dumped the smoothie on the little troll's head.
He spoke to Missy every second day on Skype, if he missed then Howard would be banging on the door to find out why.
Howard had been a surprise to Sheldon, while he did have his moments as Howard would from time to time. He had been there for Sheldon and for Penny as well. He visited with Bernadette when they could. He had also been making videos for Penny so that she would not miss out of the important things, He had even declared that the spot next to Sheldon was Penny's on the couch and had gone into great detail to Stuart as to why no one but Penny was allowed to sit there.
Howard made sure he ate lunch each day and in return Sheldon had convinced and helped him progress to obtain his doctorate. Sheldon had even said that while he did not think much of engineering, he believed that Howard was a good heart and he was sorry for what he had said before even if he was right. It was as close to an apology Howard had ever got from Sheldon and he accepted it gladly.
Amy had even asked about Penny recently, ashamed that she had been blinded by the celebrity and misled by Leonard. Sheldon had forgiven her and they were communicating via Skype while he was at work once a week. Amy did not want to meet in person just yet, she needed to deal with her feelings first. Sheldon tried to tell her he bore no ill but Amy said she needed the time.
She had told him that she wanted to support him in any way to bring Penny back to them, she had offered to help him with paying for Penny's medical bills, and an offer which he had accepted not because he could not afford it but that as Bernadette had told him it would help Amy.
Raj had also asked about Penny, he had found out the truth from Amy. Leonard had told him that Penny had broken off their relationship and had said that she wanted no one to contact her. When he found out he had shown up one pizza night, drunk and miserable. Howard had taken him home before he could make a bigger fool of himself.
He too had pledged to assist with Penny's medical bills and even paid for the airfares for Penny's parents when they wanted to fly out. He also told Sheldon that he and Amy were spending time together, him helping her and her helping him.
Sheldon was not sure how he felt about that but then he did not really understand much about emotions and relationships, Penny had always helped him with that.
Over that last two months everyone had come back to their group in one form or another except Leonard, but at its core was Sheldon, Howard and Bernadette. Sheldon hoped and prayed which would have shocked his mother that one day Penny would join them again.
He looked around the office checking to make sure everything was in its place as he made his way to the door, the decorations of Saturnalia adorned the hallways and the doors of Caltech, not that Sheldon noticed, not that he cared. It was not going to be a good one because his best friend was not there to share it.
He exited the doors and started on his journey to the hospital, each day as was his misfortune we had to pass a huge billboard with Leonard grinning down on him. The Professor at 3.30 weekdays. Apparently someone had defaced the billboard overnight as Leonard now had fangs and horns. Sheldon chuckled silently to himself as he walked by, he walked for about 20 mins before coming to the lights across from the hospital that Penny was staying.
While Penny would eat and drink, she had not spoken or otherwise acknowledge anyone's presence since they had saved her in the ER. She was so deep within herself, that Sheldon wondered whether there was any of Penny still to be found.
"Stop that" he scolded himself, Penny was there, somewhere within her mind and he would do what it took to find her again. If it took him the next 20 years he would find her again, he would restore Penny, he cared for her unlike anyone else. Failure was not an option.
He crossed the parking lot and walked in the doors to the mental health wing of the hospital. He turned towards the lifts when he heard.
"Doctor Cooper"
"Doctor Wallace"
"Right on time as usual, no change with Penny from this morning, she will eat and drink but nothing more"
"Is there anything more I should be doing Doctor?"
"No" Doctor Wallace said as she gestured to Sheldon to sit in the chairs in the lobby.
"You have been remarkable, you are here each day, talking to her, telling her about your day and how much you missed her"
Sheldon just stared back not sure what to say
"It's up to Penny now, she has to decide she wants to come back, keep going Sheldon, and keep trying"
"I will"
"That young woman is so lucky that she has someone who loves her like you do"
"She is my best friend, Doctor Wallace"
"Are you sure she is not more"
"I am unable to answer that Doctor because I do not know what more is, but I know I cannot live with her in my life so I need her to come back"
"Go see her, she is in her room"
Sheldon got up and made his way to the elevators to go the floor where Penny was staying.
"You do love her Doctor Cooper" Louise Wallace said quietly to herself as the lift doors closed "and it is that love that will bring her back to you"
