A/N Sorry this took awhile and I'll admit it's not one of my greatest updates so I will probably go back and fix everything. I just wanted to get something out to you guys, so ignore the mistakes cuz I also wrote this late last night when I should have been sleeping.

Chapter 9

Penny woke up in Sheldon's bed alone and with the covers tucked neatly around her, keeping her nice and warm. She was still disappointed though to see that Sheldon hadn't stuck around.

Checking her phone, though, she found that it was way past the time that he usually got up in the mornings.

She sat up and stretched her arms, blankets now bunching in her lap. She yawned loudly and actually thought about going back to sleep. Would Sheldon mind?

She jumped when someone softly knocked on the door. Panic seized her. Was it Leonard wanting to talk to Sheldon? Would he just open the door if no one answered? How would he react to find her in his roommate's bed?

Well, she didn't really care how he reacted she just didn't want to have to deal with it right now. She already had enough on her plate.

The doorknob, then, began to turn and she briefly thought about diving under the bed, but it was Sheldon's head that peaked through the doorway, not Leonard's.

She breathed a sigh of relief and gave Sheldon a smile.

"Good morning," she said, throwing the covers and walking to stand in front of him.

She didn't notice he held a tray in his one good arm until he stepped fully into the room. The smell of bacon hit her nose and instantly her stomach growled.

Sheldon half-smiled. "Seems like I came at the perfect moment, Penny."

"I guess you did." She smiled. "But you didn't have to bring it to me. I was about to head to the kitchen anyway."

Sheldon walked over and set the tray down on the night table and turned to her.

"I figured you would be up soon, so I thought now would be a good time to bring you some breakfast." He sat on his bed. "You see, I woke up and found that Leonard is passed out on the couch. Probably from a night of excess drinking and Penny, his feet are in my spot!" He waved a hand. "But I digress. I didn't think you would have liked risking him waking up to find you in our apartment so early in the morning."

"I didn't, thank you." She grabbed the plate full of eggs and bacon. "And thank you for breakfast." And she immediately dug in.

Sheldon watched her with a small smirk on his face.

They sat quietly as Penny eat her breakfast and Sheldon took the plate away from her gently, when she finished.

He looked like he was about to say something, when someone knocked sharply on his door.

"Sheldon?" It was Leonard and his voice sounded slightly slurred. "I'm not going to work, so you'll have to get a ride from someone else." there was a small thump, like he had put his head on the door. "I'm not feeling well."

Sheldon stood up, collected the tray and headed for the doorway where he opened the door only enough for him to slip out.

"That's your own fault, Leonard. If you had stayed home and played Halo like usual you would not have this problem." Penny heard him say as he walked down the short hallway with Leonard.

"But thank you for informing me."

Penny waited on Sheldon's bed for him to return. She didn't want to risk walking out and running into Leonard. Plus, she didn't mind staying in his room a little while longer. She smirked at all the nerd memorabilia and the stacks of comics he had. What if she took one and read it? Would he get mad at her?

She got up and reached for one, the door opened then before she could touch one and she quickly jumped back and plastered a hopefully innocent looking smile on her face.

Sheldon gave her an odd look and she had to control the giggles that wanted to come out.

"Well, Leonard is currently in his room. You can sneak out and head to your apartment now to change. I have to be at court in an hour."

Her smile instantly vanished. Oh, court. How could she have forgotten about that? Well, maybe she had felt so safe in his arms last night.

"Um…I'll be ready in a half hour." She quickly walked to their front door.

Sheldon just gave her a look, like he didn't believe her. She only gave him a weak smile in return and went out of the door.

Twenty minutes later she as at his door again dressed in new clothes and her hair pulled into a sleek ponytail. She hadn't had time to take a shower so she just splashed some water on her face and called it a day. It wasn't like anyone was going to see her, since Sheldon wasn't allowing her in the courtroom.

Thoughts if sneaking in the back of the courtroom had occurred to her, but she figured there wouldn't be anyone there to hide behind. It was probably best that she stayed in the car and hoped that it would be over quickly.

Sheldon opened the door when she knocked and looked slightly surprised to see her there in such a short time, nevertheless he was ready with messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" She asked, even though she had clearly seen that he was ready. She blamed it on the nerves. In a few, hopefully, short hours the bastards that had done this to Sheldon would be behind bars.

Maybe Sheldon would finally tell her who had done it.

Whoever it was they were so lucky that they were going to be behind bars because she would have kicked their asses if she had ever seen them on the street. Maybe she would leave them in a dark alley to see how they liked it.

"Well, this is it." She turned the car off and turned in her seat to look at him.

He looked calm as he looked right back at her and offered her a small smile.

"This is it, Penny." He took a deep breath. "These men are about to get what they deserve and hopefully after today they will no longer harm another person."

She nodded, unable to say anything to that for fear that her her voice would crack with the tears she was trying to hold at bay.

"Even though I believe that it is complete hokum, I suppose I should allow you the customary saying 'Wish me luck' that is often said in these situations."

The smile that broke out on her face couldn't be helped and she reached over, grabbing his good hand and squeezed.

"Good luck, Sheldon."

She watched him disappear inside the courthouse, glad she had the perfect parking spot to see the doors. She would see him the moment he came out.

That that wasn't going to be for awhile, though, and she didn't know what to do. There was no way in hell she was leaving, but she hadn't really thought about what she was going to do to occupy her time while she waited.

There was always people watching, she supposed. And right now one person in particular caught her eye. He was a big man, heavily muscled and tall and he had a cocky way to his walk. Oh God, she knew that walk anywhere.

Kurt!

` What was he doing here? Was he finally paying all his unpaid parking tickets? Or… she suddenly got a very sick feeling in her gut.

Oh, God…