Nothing I Can Do
"Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper, we regret to inform you that there has been an accident."
Sheldon was shocked to hear an abnormal message on his answering machine today. The message had nothing to do with the activities (obviously previously planned) for this afternoon, it wasn't a message from work, neither was it his mother (who would call him whenever she 'felt like it'). Leonard seemed equally shocked, but probably more because of the message, than the fact that someone dared to leave a message on Sheldon's answering machine without using proper protocol of giving name, date, and time.
Only when Sheldon tuned into the words that had captivated his roommate did the full impact hit him. And it hit him with the quantum force of an detonating super nova. The news that had come through the small device on the corner table in the living room had struck Sheldon so hard, that suddenly his legs felt useless, his usually sharp brain felt numb, and his vision faded slowly and finally blinked out. Sheldon didn't even have a chance feel the impact that was caused by the floor reacting to his body collapsing onto it.
"He won't come out of his room, trust me, I've tried," Leonard tried to convince Raj, Howard, and Penny who had rushed over at Leonard's call, that there was literally nothing that they could do about the crazy scientist at this point. Normal people would seek others out at a time like this, but Sheldon hides in his room. Yeah, as said, NORMAL people. Penny was pacing the floor after hearing the recount of what had happened for the third time that night. "How hard did you try?" she inquired, exasperated. Leonard looked slightly ashamed. "I knocked on his door and when he didn't answer, I... Kinda... Sorta.. Went in.." He paused as everyone stared at him mouths agape. "WHAT?" asked three mouths simultaneously. "Well, I wanted to make sure he was okay," Leonard explained, "and that he wouldn't do something completely off-the-wall crazy." After hearing his explanation, there was a small gap in conversation that none dared to traverse. None, of course, except Howard Wolowits. "And he didn't go crazy-super villain- your in my room on you?" squeaked a shocked Howard. Although his question sounded stupid it held a lot of meaning. The answer to the question, however, held more. "No," Leonard answered simply, "he just asked that I leave his presence at the moment." The force of the answer hit everyone there. Sheldon Cooper doesn't ASK people to do things! Especially things he expects them to do. Raj was in shock. Howard was in shock. Leonard was in shock. Penny was devastated. Only she knew just how much Sheldon's MeeMaw meant to him, and she knew that Sheldon, self proclaimed homo novus or not, must be scared to death.
"Can you play the message again?" Asked Penny. Leonard nodded and pressed the button on the phone, and then the voice of a seemingly middle aged receptionist came through saying, "Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper, we regret to inform you that there has been an accident. Your grandmother was in a motor vehicle accident and has been put in the intensive care unit, and is currently on life support. Her status is unconscious, and I regret to inform you that there is a fear that a woman of her age may not pull through. Please call Houston Medical for more information." A click was heard as the seemingly endless monotone of the nurses voice drowned out.
Penny was in tears. "Poor Sheldon! He loves his MeeMaw more than his science," she cried aloud, fully understanding the weight of the statement she just made. The others were shocked to hear this, but if anyone knew, it would be Penny, since she DID read the letters Sheldon's MeeMaw had sent him. They slowly started feeling worse and worse for the tall physicist who had quarantined himself in his room. Slowly, however, Penny rose, with a look of determination of her face. As the others watched, she marched over to Sheldon's room, and began to knock on the partially open door, but stopped as she heard Sheldon's voice softly penetrating the silence. "What do I do? What do I do?" She could hear him whisper frantically, as she peeked through the crack in the door, she saw him pacing the length of the small room. She turned to motion the others over only to find that they were already there, and slightly hovering her. She rolled her eyes as they squished her against the door frame to hear and see better.
"What do I do?" He continued murmuring frantically, "MeeMawMeeMawMeeMaw... "His voice continued repeating his grandmothers pet-name until he ran out of breath. They watched him as he tried to regulate his breathing again, and when he did they could just barely hear him whispering to himself again. "She's in Texas, and she's unconscious. Even if I did go, she wouldn't be awake, and I wouldn't be any help. Im a physicist not a physician. I've called the hospital. Mama has called me, as well as Missy.. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? There's nothing I CAN do..." Penny felt as if she should have walked in there, if anything else, just to stop Sheldon from thinking such terrible things, but something stopped her, and it was the look on the lanky scientist's face, one of revery. He quietly whispered to himself, donning almost a blank face as he stared at the foot of his bed, "There's nothing I can do.."
Every person in the 4A apartment, even Sheldon, was shocked as Sheldon slowly, and quietly made his way to the foot of his bed, knelt down on his knees, and for the first time in his adult life, Sheldon Lee Cooper prayed.
Fin