Chapter 29
Sheldon was starting to hyperventilate as all the noises and voices from the pool hall started to filter in around him.
"P.P..Penny. I don't understand why I am here. Why am I here? is going on?" The surprise and fear in Sheldon's eyes had Penny darting to his side.
"Sheldon? Sheldon! Look at me!" Penny pulled Sheldon's head in close to her's, "Deep breath Sheldon. That's it. It's going to be alright."
How it was going to be alright, Penny was not sure. Her mind was whirring with different explanations for why he was here. Here in a pool hall. A filthy pool hall. 'Ugh crap on a cracker.' Penny stroked Sheldon's face as he continued to hyperventilate and his eyes darted around the smoke filled room.
Penny was whispering nothings into his ear when he started to choke. Sheldon bent over double as he fell to the floor choking and coughing. Penny was on the floor next to him in a heartbeat.
"Sheldon! What's wrong? What can I…" Sheldon's finger came up to press against her lips.
"Don't worry Pen. I took care of it." Lee's distinct drawl rolled over Penny like a comforting blanket. "I decided to take over cause he was about to have a panic attack."
"What about Sheldon? Won't he be the slightest bit concerned that he was awake in a bar, passed out, and then woke up in his bed?" Penny almost screeched.
"Worry not Fair Penny. I am going to make sure that believes it was a dream. A horrific dream for him." Lee pulled himself and Penny up from the floor. Clapping Leonard on the back, Lee started to re-rack the pool table.
"What are you doing?" Penny asked as she dusted off the grime from the bar floor off her pants.
"Well, as we are already here, and I know that Leonard will be a challenge after that spectacular display against Patrick, so I decided that I wanted to play a round. You don't mind, do you Leonard?" Leonard perked up at being brought into the conversation. The smile that was brought to his face was smug but his eyes were all hero worship.
"No problem! You should prepare to lose. I'm a bit of a shark when it comes to angle games."
"Damn straight, little buddy. Now let's have us a good time!" Lee lightly punched Leonard in the arm before going to pick out the perfect cue stick. Penny walked over to him and tried to think of the best way to approach her concerns. 'Screw it. I'm gonna just say it' she thought before jumping right in.
"Are you sure that this is such a good idea? Sheldon is a really smart guy. I mean, really really smart. Don't you think that he'll know something happened? I mean won't Sheldon think it's strange that…."
"Penny!" Penny was startled out of her triage by Lee's sharp voice, "Don't worry about it. I got this. You should go home if you are not going to be comfortable with this. I promise that no harm will come to Sheldon's body." Patting Penny on the shoulder, Lee turned back to the table.
"Don't worry Penny. I'll make sure Sheldon's body will be alright. I mean we can trust Lee. He's the one who started this all to begin with remember. He's one of us." Leonard said as he lined up the breaking shot. The ringing sound of his shot brought Penny out of her mini stupor. Grabbing her purse, she stormed out of the dingy bar and back to her car.
Fuming, she revved up her engine and started the trek back home.
'Ungrateful..unappreciative…jerk!' Penny ranted to herself as she sped home. Pasadena blurred around her as she continued to breeze through the streets of downtown. Penny's only focus was getting back home so she could scream in peace. Brakes squealing, Penny threw her car in park, slammed her door, and stormed up the stairs.
'Stupid Lee…Stupid Leonard….Stupid broken elevator. Ugh! Why can't anything work out right?' Penny wasn't mad about Lee wanting to have a good time…alright maybe just a little. However, she was more mad about the fact of how nonchalant Lee and Leonard were acting. They just got rid of another alter! That means not only will Patrick be gone but that his memories could be assimilated back into Sheldon. Sheldon is going to wake up with memories that are not his. Is Lee going to take care of that too? Or is Lee going let it just slide by?
Flopping onto her bed, Penny grabbed her thickest pillow and held it to her face. Taking a deep breath, she let out a powerful scream. Muffled by the pillow, the scream held little worth to the world that continued to spin around. To Penny, it was liberating and therapeutic.
Taking a few deep breaths to compose herself, Penny started to think. Think uninhibited about what was to come. She had two alters (one, really, cause Lee wasn't going to be a problem) and she was already on a roll. If she could find a way to get rid of Fabio once and for all then all of this alter mess would be a thing of the past.
Penny crossed the room to her closet and pulled out the 'Alters Board.' Getting a big sharpie out, she put a huge X over the picture of Patrick. Leaning back, Penny took it all in. The four huge Xs over different pictures of Sheldon that weren't Sheldon was really disconcerting if you did not understand the context. Penny turned her attention towards the photo of Fabio. Underneath it was all the information that Penny had learned from her misadventures thus far:
Fabio was homosexual
Fabio's real name was Michael
Fabio hated everyone that stood in his way
He was not opposed to using sneaky methods to get his way
Wants to use Sheldon's body inappropriately
Was created due to the 'relationship' between Sheldon and a professor.
He was….
Penny's brain screeched to a halt. 'That's it!' her mind exclaimed as she scrambled to grab her computer. Pulling it open and punching in specific search words to Google, Penny started digging. And digging and digging and digging.
Penny had been doing research well into the early hours of the morning when she heard a tentative knock at her door. Extracting herself from the warmth of her teal couch, Penny stiffly made her way to the door. Looking thru the peep-hole, she rolled her eyes to see Leonard and what she assumed to be Lee on the other side. Opening the door, Penny put on her best 'What?' face.
"Well?"
"Penny..we ferhat…we forgat...hahaha"Leonard just broke down laughing before his third attempt at speaking. Lee tried to punch him in the shoulder but missed and fell onto Leonard.
"What Leo is trying to say, oh Fair Penny, is that we have somehow misplaced our keys. Well, Leonard did. I don't think Patrick was smart enough to bring keys. Good thing he's dead!" This set off a chorus of cheers and guffaws from both men.
Pressing her fingers to her temples, Penny turned back into her apartment to get her 'Milk Stealing' key. Grabbing it quickly, she tossed it across the room towards Leonard. Half to be mean and half to get him out of her apartment faster. She was ready for the two of them to just leave.
What she wasn't ready for was Lee's hand to snap out and grab the keys out of the air. Penny's surprise was almost palpable. Lee's eyes darted at Penny, winking at her and sent a smirk her way.
"Well Leonard, I think that it is time for us to hit the hay. I have to get everything back in place so Sheldon won't suspect. Will you give Penny and I just a minute?" Lee opened the door for Leonard to stumble through.
"G'Night Penny! See you later!" Leonard yelled through the door once it was closed.
Lee turned to Penny, his once condescending smirk gone from his face, and motioned Penny to sit down on her couch.
"Penny, we are at a crucial juncture. You only have one more alter to get rid of. He is going to be your most difficult to deal with. I'm just letting you know that research is key."
Penny blinked at Lee's mind-reading. 'Does he know that I have already started researching? No. He's smart but not Sheldon smart.' Deciding to play along, Penny utilized her acting skills on the fly.
"What do you mean? That makes no sense. Why would…" Lee's finger pressed against her lips to quiet her.
"I can't tell you more then that, Penny. As I am not the host of this body, Fabio can control what I can and cannot do if he really wants to. And stopping me from telling you how to get rid of him is something that he really wants to stop. All I can say is research." Lee got up from the couch with a slight groan. "These long night rendezvous used to be easier when Sheldon was younger." Chuckling, Lee made his way to the door. "Good night Fair Penny. And good luck."
Once the door was completely shut, Penny darted back to her computer. Sitting down in front, Penny started clicking away on the keys. "Silly man. He doesn't know who he's dealing with."
***I doubt anyone wants to hear excuses for why I haven't updated so I won't give them. All I will say is for anyone who cares, I am sorry for being one of those authors I hate and leaving a story hanging. I'm going to be working on this as much as I can. The sudden resurgence of reviews really pushed this chapter out of my skull. More to come. Much Love!****
