Sorry for the curve ball, hopefully this makes up for it. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the reviews, favourites, and follows. I really do appreciate all of your support.
Enjoy! :)
As she aroused from her deep sleep, her eyes strained against the bright light. This was it. She was dead and now she was waiting at the pearly gates. Too bad she probably wouldn't get in, seeing as how she disobeyed the whole no sex before marriage thing. Penny rubbed at her eyes with her right hand. Her vision came into focus and she looked past the cheap venetian blinds of her hospital room window and stared out into the world for a moment. Her gaze quickly shifted around the room and was quickly met with the pleasant smile of her father, Wyatt.
"Hey Slugger." He softly said. He looked very tired and his eyes glossed over with tears. Penny was thankful. She hadn't died. The soreness of her left shoulder took over and she winced as she attempted to sit up in her uncomfortable bed.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Penny asked, her voice came out sounding groggy and strained. She swallowed at her dry mouth and cleared her throat. Her dad offered her his hand and she took it without hesitation. He smiled at her and gently rubbed the back of her hand.
"Sheldon told me what happened, I took the next flight out. I was so worried about you. You're my little girl and I love you very much Penny." He told her. Penny was so glad he was here. She was also so glad that she was here. She strained to look at her bandaged shoulder, ignoring the pain that radiated when she did so.
The door opened and Sheldon came in with two cups of coffee. He looked tired as well. It looked like he hadn't slept for days. His five o'clock shadow turned into a light hipster beard and his hair was ruffled and awry. Penny couldn't help it, she beamed at him and when his gaze met hers, his eyes lit up.
"Penny!" He exclaimed. Wyatt looked at the two of them and gave Penny a knowing smile. He stood up, took a cup of coffee out of Sheldon's hand and quietly walked toward the door.
"I'm just gunna.." He said with a pointed finger as he left the room. Sheldon sat in the chair that Wyatt had abandoned, he set his coffee down and grasped her hand.
"Hi." She softly said as he laced his fingers into hers and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
"Hi." He replied, his voice was deep and confident. Penny smiled at him. The two just sat together, thankful that they had made it out of the whole ordeal in one piece.
"I was so worried about you." Sheldon told her. Penny nodded, she felt overwhelmed and wanted to cry. She held back her tears and listened to him speak.
"When they said that you needed surgery, I lost it. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't leave you, so I stayed." He explained. Penny gripped his hand tighter.
"You hate hospitals though." She reminded him. He let out a small laugh brought on by nerves and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, I really do." He confirmed. Penny laughed then grimaced at the shooting pain in her arm. She swallowed and then met his cool blue eyes again.
"Thank you, Sheldon." She quietly said. He smiled at her and brushed her hair off her forehead. He placed his hand on her cheek and softly ran his thumb along her bottom lip.
"Penny, I would do anything for you. I wish it were me, I wish that I could have done something… I love you so much and I don't know what I would have done if I lost you." He sadly stated. Penny licked at her lips, she mustered up the courage to pour her heart out to him. Again.
"I love you too. I know that I said it before, but I don't want you to think that I was just saying it to say it or because I lost a lot of blood or whatever. I love you Sheldon. I mean it." Penny said. She wished she could sit up so that she could kiss him and before she could ask, he pressed his lips against hers. His light beard tickled as they kissed, Penny felt on top of the world despite the fact that she was lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Sheldon pulled away and she was suddenly full of questions.
"So what happened?" She asked. Sheldon looked like he didn't want to recall the events that took place, but she knew his eidetic memory wouldn't allow that to happen. He let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. He took a sip of his less-than-hot coffee and rubbed at his temple.
"When we arrived here, they told me that you needed to have surgery right away as a bullet fragment had nicked your brachial artery, which is the major artery in your upper arm and that if they didn't take action immediately, you would have bled out." He stated trying to devoid his voice of its Texas twang. Penny felt like she suddenly couldn't breathe. If she had bled out, she would have died. A cold chill ran down her spine.
"While you were in surgery, they also repaired your clavicle, which shattered. They inserted titanium pins into your collarbone to repair the damage. They took out the remaining bullet fragments and completed the surgery. It took six and a half hours to finish. You've been coming in and out of consciousness for the past two days." Sheldon finished, avoiding her eyes as he spoke. Penny swallowed and nodded her head. She looked at her left arm again. It was comfortably resting in a sling, she was sure that it was swollen beyond recognition. She didn't even want to think about the scar. She let out a sigh.
"What happened to the guy that… shot me? Did they catch him?" Penny hesitantly asked. This seemed to brighten up Sheldon's mood.
"Surprisingly enough, yes. You see, as he tried to make his escape down the alleyway, he tripped and broke his ankle. It wasn't long before the police caught up with him and took him into their custody." Sheldon said, sounding very pleased. Penny smiled, it actually was pretty good news.
The doctor came in to check on her. After asking how she was feeling and assessing her sutures, he determined that Penny would have to stay the night so they could observe her. If all was well, she was free to go home to recuperate. Penny's dad came back and visited with her and Sheldon. As the day passed and night fell, he decided that Sheldon was more than capable of taking care of his daughter and he left for his hotel room.
The bedside lamp dimly lit her room. The two of them sat together. Sheldon was snuggled up on the chair beside her bed with a fleece blanket covering his lap. It was kind of cute to see a grown man sitting on a small chair like that. They stared at each other and it kind of felt like they were seeing each other for the first time. They were both out in the open and vulnerable. Penny spoke first.
"You prayed for me." She stated. Sheldon smiled.
"I did." He replied. Penny felt emotions overwhelm her.
"Why?" She asked. She didn't know him to be a deeply religious man, but she did see his Christian upbringing come to the surface a few times over the years. He contemplated her question for a moment.
"I wanted to make sure that I exhausted every possible thing I could have done to help you." He explained. Penny nodded.
"Sheldon, you don't have to stay here tonight. I'll be ok." Penny assured him. Sheldon shook his head and stifled a yawn. He tried to get comfortable in the uncomfortable hospital chair.
"While we waited for the ambulance to arrive, you specifically told me that I couldn't leave you. I will honor your request." He said as he closed his eyes. Penny closed her eyes and thought about how lucky she was to have him in her life. He truly was her knight in shining armor.
o.o.o.o.o.o
Morning soon came and the two were packed and ready to go. Penny didn't have many things, it was mostly Sheldon's. He had Amy deliver him an emergency pack on his second night in the hospital, along with a couple of clothing items for Penny. Penny hugged her father goodbye and instead of shaking Sheldon's hand, he hugged him causing him to stand there awkwardly. They walked out to his vehicle and Sheldon assisted her in and buckled her up.
He got into the driver's seat and pulled the car out. As they drove away, Penny rolled the window down and let the breeze wash over her. She closed her eyes and listened to the noise on the street as they drove past. They came to a stop light and Penny heard a familiar noise. She looked over and watched as Sheldon Lee Cooper lit up a cigarette.
Her mouth gaped as she watched him calmly inhale the smoke into his lungs. He exhaled and Penny watched as the smoke disappeared out his open window. Though she was never really into smokers, she couldn't deny that it was insanely sexy. Where did her overgrown six year old go? He was replaced with a man. A man with a brilliant mind, who's brilliant mind thought it would be a good idea to take up smoking.
"Are you smoking?" She quickly asked. Way to state the obvious. She wished she could take her question back.
"Penny, do you really want me to answer that question?" He asked as he continued to smoke. Penny narrowed her eyes at him.
"Ok, why are you smoking, Sheldon?" Penny clarified her question, not bothering to mask the annoyed tone in her voice. Sheldon took one last drag and flicked his cigarette out the window. So now he smoked and littered?
"Penny." He started as he popped a mint into his mouth.
"Like you, I have been through a traumatic experience. When I was a child, my mother used to smoke and though it has adverse side effects, it contains nicotine which acts to stimulate the reward center of the brain by releasing dopamine. I was merely reverting back to a childhood comfort mechanism. Also, your father offered them to me." He explained. Penny pressed her lips together.
"Well stop it." She simply said. He looked over at her and she noticed a small twitch that tugged at his lip. He looked back to the road and Penny looked out her window.
"And don't litter." She scolded as she quickly turned toward him. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit. Penny hid her smile by looking out the window again.
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful, they made it back to their apartment building she couldn't wait to just go home. She was relieved when Sheldon told her that Amy was taking care of her cat. They took the elevator, Penny didn't even want to think about taking stairs. The ride up was quiet. Penny held Sheldon's hand as they climbed floor after floor. The elevator doors opened and Penny walked toward her apartment.
"Penny, might I ask where you are going?" Sheldon asked as he unlocked his apartment door. Penny turned around, she felt so tired. She just wanted to sleep for a thousand years.
"I'm tired, Sweetie. Can I just have my keys so I can go home?" Penny asked. She didn't have the will to even come up with something witty or sarcastic. Sheldon calmly walked toward her.
"I would like to make a proposal. You can stay in my apartment on a pro-tem basis while you recover from your injury. Besides.." He said as he took her right hand and led her toward his apartment.
"You will be on heavy painkillers and I have already taken the liberty of having a few items from your apartment moved over to mine to make your stay more comfortable. I would hate for that to have been in vain" He finished as he opened the door and coxaed her inside. Penny was surprised to see her laptop on the coffee table, a throw blanket from her living room was draped over the back of the sofa and her cat, George, was curled up in Sheldon's spot.
This. This was the reason she knew that she had made the right decision in confessing her feelings for him. She knew that he was different. He was the one. She slowly walked toward the couch and sat down beside her cat. She stroked his soft fur and he stretched out his little legs. Penny was glad to see that he was alright.
Sheldon walked into the kitchen after setting their things by the end of the couch. He retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and brought it over to Penny. He set it on the coffee table, moved her cat to the white armchair beside the sofa and motioned for her to take his spot. Penny sat there unsure what to do. Maybe she was already as high as a kite and had hallucinated his gesture.
"Penny, please move over. I don't want to ask you again." He said. Penny was surprised at his take charge attitude. He wasn't mean, he was just firm. She followed his orders and slid over to his spot. Sheldon, pleased with himself, sat down in her spot on the middle cushion, took her medication from his pocket, dispensed two painkillers in his hand and uncapped her water.
"Here." He said as he offered her the pills and bottle of water. Penny smiled at him as she graciously took them from his grasp. She took the pills and washed them down with a few big gulps of water. They sat together on the couch and watched a show of Penny's choosing. After about a half hour, she was beginning to feel groggy and was talking a little bit nonsensical. Sheldon decided that it was time to put her to bed.
He helped her up, making sure to not bump her arm. He helped her walk to his bedroom, his arm was steady as he held her around the waist. She leaned against him as he opened the door to his bedroom and flicked on the light. His sanctuary had been transformed into a candy colored haven for Penny. He had replaced his bed spread with hers. Penny grinned as he moved her toward his bed. He gently sat her down on the bed and turned down the covers for her.
"Sheldon!" Penny cried as she took in his offering. Her voice was high and pitchy, she didn't care. He totally took her by surprise. He helped her back up and got her settled in his bed.
"I love it so much!" She exclaimed as she pressed her head into the brightly colored pillows. Sheldon sat down beside her and pushed her bangs out of her face. Penny laced her fingers into his and looked up into his face. This reminded her of the time she fell in her shower, but sweeter.
"I'm glad that you love it." Sheldon said. He kissed her on the forehead and stood up. He tucked her in and walked toward the door.
"Babe?" Penny called out. She covered her mouth. That totally slipped out. She blushed. He turned around and he searched her face with his eyes. Shit. That was totally a strike.
"Yeah?" He asked. Penny grinned.
"I love you." She warmly said. He smiled at her. It might have been the drugs, but Penny felt warm all over.
"I love you too. Sweet dreams." He said, letting his accent slip. He turned out the lights and left her alone in his bed. Penny snuggled into the mattress, her cat hopped up on the bed and cuddled beside her. Penny fell asleep quickly, it wasn't hard since she was hopped up on painkillers. It was also easy because Sheldon was so good at making her feel safe. Despite having a rough couple of days, her dreams were pleasant.