~I don't own the characters of the Big Bang theory~

This is just an idea I had one night.

Please R&R

Thanks :)

I don't like hospitals, nothing good ever came from a visit to one. And yet I sat in the hospital waiting room trying desperately to hold myself together. I'd counted all the ceiling tiles, paced for 20 minutes until I found a seat at last.

We'd had no news since the nurse had shown us in. Amy had picked me up outside my building; I assumed Leonard had arranged that before he called me. In my mind I replayed Lenard's phone call. "It's Penny, there's been an accident." He paused to gather his breath. "Sheldon, it's bad, really bad."

Beside me sat Amy and to our left, 3 seats away Raj spoke softly on the phone; he was trying to get a hold of Howard and Bernadette.

When Leonard entered the waiting room and everyone looked to him. His face was white as a sheet save for his blood shot eyes. I felt my chest squeeze, no this couldn't be happening, I told myself for the 100th time in the last hour.

"She's asking for you." Leonard told me.

My knee jerk reaction was to deny this terrible prospect; I wasn't good at this kind of thing. Wouldn't someone else be better? She needed comfort; I was hardly suited to such a task.

"You have to, Sheldon." Leonard said simply, covering his eye's with one hand as sobs gripped him. Amy stood and hugged Leonard. Part of me wanted to run from the hospital and never look back. Pretend that this was all just a dream, but I couldn't do that. This was realty and it was worse than any nightmare I had ever dreamed.

Leonard led the way along with a nurse in drab green scrubs. My feet carried me faster than I wanted to go. I sensed the urgency yet my fear would not let me fully grasp the situation. This couldn't be real; Penny couldn't be in the hospital, hurt, broken and possibly dying.

My mind shot back to our last conversation. She was smiling, waving goodbye to me as she went out the door with Lenard. I told her to be careful behind the wheel as she had a tendency to speed. I worried about this to no end every time she went out with anyone besides myself. If I were with her at least I could inform her of her error and perhaps she would adjust her speed.

The sound of a curtain being pulled away brought me back to reality. They hadn't even bothered moving her to a room; it was just a small curtained off area in a dimly lit corner. I blinked back tears I didn't want to shed in front of her, as a nurse showed me to her bedside.

She smiled when she seen me and I forgot that I didn't want to cry.

She looked so small lying there amongst the machines and tubes. She held out her hand and I grasped it without a thought. "I told you to be careful." I accused without really knowing what I was saying. I was so confused that I'm not sure what I said right then.

"Sorry Sweetie." She said. Her voice was so faint and every breath she took was labored. I wanted to do something, shout at the doctors to help her, rage at the nurse, throw things. I did none of this. I only stood at her side clutching her hand. "Love you." She said and squeezed mine.

"No, don't do that. Don't say goodbye." I gasped out. I felt my knees give way. I lay my head on her arm and breast; with one hand holding hers I lay the other hand on her head.

"I'm not scared." She told me as I sobbed like a child.

" Please, don't leave me. I never said all that I mean to say." I choked out.

"I know, but its ok Sweetie." She spoke so quietly I could hardly hear her over my own frantic breathing.

And then, she sighed softly. I wasn't prepared when she left. It was like all the air went out of the room. I gasped; I grabbed her very roughly and clutched her body to my chest. I screamed then cried as the agony tore me in two.

And I will never be the same.

Fin