Chapter 12
They hurriedly made their way across the grand lobby towards the elevators, and Sheldon pressed the 'up' button. Unfortunately, they seemed to have been disabled, and he grunted in frustration. I won't be thwarted so easily!
"I should have known they would do this. It's so typical for the villain to render easy means of transport useless."
Penny squeezed his hand, which was protectively wrapped around hers.
"No kidding. Look like we'll have to tackle more stairs then." Behind her, Raj made a noise and she looked at him, puzzled. "What?"
"The stairs disappeared when we got down here." Howard explained. "Whatever's up there is one smart cookie."
"So, you're telling us that there is absolutely no way to get up there?" She looked livid, wrenching her way out of Sheldon's grasp to grab Howard by the overalls. "You should have mentioned it before! How do you-"
"Shel-dun." A familiar croak reverberated in the massive lobby, followed by a series of pat pat pat. Above them, a familiar bespectacled creature emerged, his wide head poking though the railing of the floor above.
"Oh! Well if it isn't Leonard the frog." Sheldon gave it an awkward wave. "Have you come to join us in our quest?"
"Shel-dun." He croaked in response. Leonard's amphibious lips parted in what Sheldon deduced was a smile.
He momentarily disappeared. When he returned, he was towing a coil of appeared to be multicolored rope in his mouth. He spat it over the edge, and it unraveled until it reached the group's feet.
Penny unceremoniously dropped Howard on his rump, feverishly blushing.
"No way." She pointed up at Leonard, who was still smiling. "Leonard, I thought you were cool, but we are NOT climbing up my underwear!"
"Are those clean Leonard?" Sheldon asked dubiously.
"SHELDON!"
"Penny," Sheldon challenged. "How do you propose we get to the office? I understand your indignation, and I, too, am not keen on clinging to your underwear, but as there are no other options…"
"Absolutely not, Sheldon. Those. Are. My. Panties!" She crossed her arms, huffing.
"And my oh my are those cute panties…" Howard licked his lips, ignoring the daggers coming from Penny's glare.
Sheldon gestured him to wait, and he placed a reluctant hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, his lips quirked into a smile.
"Penny, are you not my cognitive guide?" He dropped his voice slightly, leaning in. "Well I need your guidance now. Salvation of my mind and the rest of Sheldonopolis lies in you at this very moment, in the form of your colorful Hello Kitty undergarments."
Her look of annoyance faded as he pouted.
"Please, Penny."
"There is no talking you out of this, is there?" He fervently shook his head, and she sighed. "Fine…But I am so kicking his ass later."
Sheldon could have sworn he saw Leonard trembling.
One by one, they ascended the panty-rope. When they finally reached the top, they followed Leonard until they arrived at a set of heavy double doors.
"The moment of truth." Sheldon swallowed. And here I stand, without a means of protection. No weaponry, no armor…
He felt something tug his sleeve, and he glanced down. Raj was gesturing for him to kneel. He bent down, and Raj whispered in his ear.
"Dude, don't be scared. You have to believe in yourself. Believe in Penny."
Penny. He glanced at her. She stood by his side, fearless and ready, and that was enough. She said anything was possible, and I must believe in that too.
"I understand." He placed his hand on the knob, and as he made to turn it, the doors parted.
The office was as impressive as the building itself. The faded curtains, which had been parted, allowed a dim stream of light into the room, and Sheldon had been able to make out the photos of inkblots that lined the walls.
In the middle of the mayor's office was a desk. My desk, Sheldon noticed. From the university. Behind it sat a shadowy figure.
"Hello, Mr. Cooper. I've been expecting you."
It was an unmistakable voice, and there was a collective shudder.
"You…"
Leonard found the remote and turned the TV off.
He had walked in on Penny, Howard, and Raj fast asleep in Sheldon's room, the former awkwardly by Sheldon in his bed, and the latter two sprawled in the seats by the window.
It turned out that had spent the day decorating it with his figurines. A half built train model lay forgotten underneath the small tree he had brought in, and he couldn't help but laugh softly.
In their exhaustion, they had dozed off during a James Bond marathon.
He looked at the folder that he held in his hands. Earlier, Dr. Stephanie Barnett called him into her office.
"Ever since they transferred his files to me, I've been tracking his condition." She flicked on the light box and clipped two scans of Sheldon's brain. He looked at them, but he didn't understand.
"And? Is he improving?"
"Oh, more than improving, Leonard." She pointed at the first of the scans. "This was an fMRI done when he was first admitted into the hospital. It's not very colorful is it?"
He shook it head. The images on it were very plain; the brain was grey and, according to Stephanie, unresponsive.
"Here, take look at the second one." He shifted his attention, and what a difference it was from the first. There were bursts of color in various areas of his brain. "This was done yesterday. Now, the first column is his brain without any stimulation."
"That's impressive. No stimulation, huh?" She nodded.
"But the second column is his brain when we had Penny talk to him. I tell you, the boys up in radiology claimed it was like a forest fire." She laughed. "He's going to be fine, Leonard. Any time now."
"Any time now." He whispered, as he pulled the blanket of Penny's shoulders. I'll just save the good news for another day.