Disclaimer: All is Chuck's...
Part XVIII...
Leonard's hospital room...
Where a very content if somewhat anxious to terminate the evening's festivities Penny Hofstadter was playing hostess to the limited "old gang" wedding party while monitoring every blip on Leonard's monitor thingy...
Howard, to his pleased surprise, finding himself regarded as the "practical" one as far as confirming the state of the equipment; Sheldon, a bit perturbed to find Penny somewhat dismissive of his analysis of the readings...Was he an MD? I don't see that shingle, I go looking for one...She'd noted.
Leonard, a bit sheepish...Not exactly the sort of wedding night he'd pictured, really...
"I don't know, dude..." Raj grinned. "Considering what your stay in this luxury suite is likely to cost you, I'd say you were sparing no expense."
"It won't be like this often, I promise...This was just a busy night and I was a little overtired." Leonard sighed to Penny. "And we'll do something fun for our real honeymoon."
"If your insurance covers this, maybe...But we have to think of the future, Leonard." She shook her head. "As for this sort of thing...I'll gladly spend every night in the ER if it means I have you with me one more day." Warm smile...Glance to Raj beside the bed, he returning confident nod.
"What do you suppose Dr. Stein is saying to Amy?" Sheldon eyed Howard nervously... "And should that respiration be that high?"
"Well lets see..." Howard, calmly, pulling him over to the side, then whispering harshly... "First...Knock it off, Sheldon. Penny's scared to death already and this is no night for you to be indulging your fears. Leonard is doing fine, make that your mantra or I'm telling Amy you invited Susan over...And second, I'm sure Amy can handle Frankenstein, whatever he's up to. Have faith in your girl." Reassuring pat. "Come on, now...Lets give your best friend a proper send-off and get out of here and let the love birds be."
"Well, you deserve better..." Leonard frowned to Penny. "And we're going to do something nice...And memorable."
"Oh, I think I'll remember getting married by our friends in a hospital ER just fine..." Penny smiled.
"It did have that Wolowitz wedding touch, didn't it?" Raj noted happily.
"Ok, guys..." Howard came back to Leonard's bed on the opposite side from Penny. "I think it's high time we said good night and let the Hofstadters try to enjoy their wedding night under the romantic glow of Leonard's cardiac monitor."
"Just tell the girls I'm ok...A little over exertion, that's all this was." Leonard noted. "And thank them for letting you guys stay."
"Yeah...And now, what Howard said." Penny, with beaming smile, but increasingly anxious urging...
"Right..." Raj nodded. "Good night and all the gods smile upon you. No one deserves this happiness more than you two."
"Amen to that...And L'chaim." Howard beamed.
"He'll be all right, Penny. He's had this sort of minor attack before, it's statistically insignificant." Sheldon eyed her.
"Thank you, Sheldon..." she kissed him. "That was the sweetest gift and the kindest lie anyone's ever told me. Go kiss my bestie for me."
They went out the door...Penny staring after them...A tear running...
"He's never had anything like this before, has he?" Howard sighed to Sheldon at the elevator.
"No..." Sheldon shook his head. "Of course it doesn't have to mean anything...Statistically speaking..." nervous look to both as they all entered the elevator...
"We'll check all data...Talk to his mom...He has us on the case now, we'll get him though this." Howard patted him as the doors closed.
"I don't want Leonard to die..." Sheldon looked to both... "He's my best friend excepting Amy now."
"Sheldon..."
"I didn't say a word in front of Penny...But I can say it to you two, can't I? I don't want Leonard to die and he nearly did die tonight, because of me."
"None of us knew his asthma was getting like this, Sheldon..." Howard sighed. "You weren't expecting it. We don't blame you."
"But you'll have to start going easier on Leonard, dude..." Raj noted. "He could have died tonight."
"He did die tonight..." Sheldon eyed them... "I told you, the EMTs said his heart stopped for thirty seconds."
"And we appreciate that you didn't tell Penny." Raj nodded.
"It's not quite the same thing...As a short Jewish man with a long history of family members dying in their early and middle 50s, I expect my heart to stop numerous times before even love of Bernie can't get the old ticker to restart. Don't be panicky for him, Sheldon, Leonard's tougher than he looks, especially in an ER with a tube in his nose. Just try to help Penny deal with this. She's not used to dealing with this kind of thing as an all-American ad for genetic fitness. I'm sure the idea of a breakable guy is new and frightening to her." Howard eyed him.
"On the other hand, for once, your obsession with neatness, health, and detail could probably help here, if properly channeled." Raj pointed out.
"Yes..." Sheldon nodded. "There's certainly no one better suited than me to bestow advice on Leonard's daily regimen. Well, that settles that...I'll have to move in with the Hofstadters. Or rather, Penny will have to move into Leonard's bedroom."
"Sheldon...The Hofstadters as I guess we really do have to call them...God..." Raj grinned. "And I bet their babies will be smart and beautiful...Won't want a permanent house guest. Not to mention you're engaged too, you know. Amy isn't going to want to move into your bedroom. Well, at least..." shrug... "Not with Leonard and Penny in the next room, on a permanent basis."
"Certainly not on a permanent basis..." Sheldon frowned. "We'll have to buy a duplex somewhere..."
"Well, hold off on that brainstorm for a few days, Sheldon..." Howard sighed. "Poor Penny is so scared right now she'd probably jump at the idea and that's asking a lot of equally poor Amy."
....
"Well..." Penny stood up, rising off Leonard's bed. "I think we'd better get some sleep. Let me know if..."
"Penny...You are not going to spend our wedding night on the couch..." Leonard frowned.
"I don't wanna hurt you...Tomorrow night...I'll rock your world..." she began, nervously.
"I don't need it rocked. You've already done that. I just need you with me." He patted the bed. "Studies show married people who sleep together endure illness better. You don't wanna fly in the face of Science, Mrs. H.?" smile. "Be with me, sweetheart."
"You won't croak on me...?" she eyed him, tearing.
"I promise...But if I ever do, I'd much rather do it in your arms, Penelope."
"Me, too..." she gasped. "Oh, Leonard..."
"Quite a night..." he grinned. "Lets make it perfect...Especially given what we are paying for this honeymoon suite."
"Not too perfect..." nervous glance. "Sheldon would never let me hear the end of it if I killed you. Every day he'd be at our tombstone after I jumped out that window over there. 'Penny...Penny...Penny...I have some more data on the effects of sexual excitement and asthmatic-induced heart attack that I want to show you.'"
"Very good." He grinned. "But no jumping..." stern look.
"Then no croaking...And I do what I please as to leaving this world when you... Don't leave me, Leonard." Pleading look.
"Please...I have five of the world's leading scientists and engineers to bring me back...Your real problem will be getting rid of me."
"Promise me..." she eyed him...Tears running. "I really went out on a limb for me here, you know...Marrying you and all..." she rubbed cheek.
"Nothing is going to take me away from you, Penelope, without a fight. We are gonna have a long and happy life together. Starting right now."
"Sleeping...That's all...You need your rest." Stern look. "And Sheldon would be only too happy to come back and lecture you on that, you know."
"God, yes. Thank God he got engaged tonight. We'd never get rid him out otherwise now."
He eyed her look as she paused in undressing...
"What?"
"Oh...Nothing...Just..."
"Penny, I am not having Sheldon Cooper living in our home. That's not fair to me or Amy."
"Maybe not...In the house..." she noted, casually. "It's just...He is your best friend...He needs you."
"And someone who'd help you watch me forever like a hawk. Penny, you can't sic Sheldon on me for the rest of my life. Not now, when we both may be finally about to have lives...It isn't even fair to him." grin.
"Besides...Amy's already jealous of you and Sheldon...This would drive her crazy even if she nodded and said 'great, bestie'...And I don't think she would."
"Sheldon's always gonna need us around, even with Amy...Couldn't we sorta stay close by or something, we don't wanna abandon him?" attempt at casual...
"We'll see...But Penny, you don't have to be afraid...Especially not so afraid you invite Sheldon Cooper to live with us indefinitely." Grin. "You and I will be fine. You'll take good care of me...And I will you, when your liver fails." Mock serious stare... "Seriously. Don't be scared...God knows, I don't want this to scare you."
She came over to the bed...Scoot...She waved for him to make room...And climbed in, embracing him.
"It's just...I couldn't help thinkin'..." she whispered. "I finally took the chance and grabbed the ring and now God or Fate or some evil dude out there who hates me, wants to punish me for being...Bad...Is gonna take you away."
"Not a chance...No way." He hugged her. "Cause of all the people I know in this world, you are the least 'bad' and the most deserving of having everything good in life."
"I said just sleepin' Mr. H." she frowned, sensing...
"Right, right..."
"Be a good boy tonight and when they spring you tomorrow...We'll see." She patted him. "You know, I can't believe Amy lied about all that...About not knowing Susan Stein, about knowing Sheldon so long..." she noted, cautiously. "About being jealous of me...God, Leonard...She's stalked Sheldon since she was a little girl, can you believe that?"
"Actually yeah..." he nodded. "I couldn't believe someone could just fall for Sheldon the way she did after meeting him. There was always something strange there...It actually makes more sense to me now. And it makes me feel better trusting him to her."
"You've done your job well, Hofstadter...Raised a good boy. Now the baton is passed." Grin.
"God, tell me the purpose of my life was not to see Sheldon Cooper reach some version of adulthood."
"Of course not...That was just incidental heroics." Smile. "You were put here to save me, Leonard Skywalker." She eyed him. "Thank you."
....
"All my life, up to then..." Stein eyed Amy. "At least, since I'd been saved from what would have been a nightmare existence...Had been my friends helping me. Then, at last...I had the chance to help one of my friends. At great price..." he sighed.
"Margaret was dying, Amy...Dying too young and Xav...My poor, poor friend was going insane, truly insane...If he could sacrificed the world, every human life to save her...He would have. He worked to master the entire fields of oncology and cancer genetics, chemotherapy. Even as he dived as deeply as he could into any fringe field...Cell regeneration, cloning...He'd've happily stolen a body and done a brain transplant, if that would've saved her. I did what I could to help. He even had me day and night at time travel, quite seriously though in a state bordering on dementia."
"Oh..." Amy stared...
"But in all his efforts, all seeming fruitless, he forgot the most important thing...That Margaret needed him more than a cure...She needed to be treated as a living, breathing woman, not some goal of Science, and above all not as a dying woman who must be carefully preserved and never treated simply as a woman who needed love and affection, though I don't say he didn't lavish that on her in many ways. But she needed to feel alive...Not just treasured or loved...Desired...And she desperately wanted to leave something behind of herself, a gift in part for Xan, but also for her..."
Hard stare...Amy blinking...
"I think I get where you're going with this...But you were friends with Dr. Francis when Leonard knew him...?"
"In vitro fertilization was fairly new but well established by 1984...As was the removal and implantation of fertilized embryos..." Stein noted calmly. "Thanks to Science and discreet friends at a famous hospital that shall remain nameless, Xan never needed to know. I had a girl at that time..." smile... "An actress, actually...And she agreed to be the surrogate for our child..."
"So it is true. Susan..." Amy stared. "Susan Stein is Margaret Francis' daughter..."
"Fortunately my girl looked close enough for our deception to pass...I loved them both, Amy..." Stein sighed. "Xan couldn't understand what it meant to her, he was clutching at every straw to save her and to give a child in the usual way meant stopping all drugs and putting her at serious risk. He was afraid to hold her for fear she'd slip away...He couldn't manage it."
"But you..."
"There was no way to save her then...And how could I refuse Margaret's last request? I loved her as much as I loved Xan...And this was meant to be for Xan...One day, when he'd be able to accept it. And if that day would never come...And Margaret realized that might be so...She had a right to leave something behind, even at risk of hurting Xan."
"Your friend bore Susan..." Amy looked at Stein... "But..."
"My poor Susan...Susan's birth mother..." Stein sighed. "I was no great judge of human behavior, never have been...I didn't realize how her eccentricities shaded into real mental problems...Lord knows had enough of my own. She'd seemed to happily accept the whole idea, started the pregnancy, and then, gradually, her mind darkened on the subject. She was a manic-depressive, Amy...Borderline schizophrenic by some diagnoses, though I hesitate to put such labels...You know better than I how little we really understand the human brain...She became paranoid and jealous, delusionally so. We...My medical friends and I...Were barely able to keep her from killing Susan in the womb and bringing her to term. Margaret died..." pause... "A couple of months after we'd implanted Susan...Thank God, she never knew what a terrible choice I'd made for our daughter. Susan improved slightly after birth and I married her, hoping it was just the pregnancy, the understandable strain of the circumstances. It wasn't and she regressed to the point that I had to keep her from Susan, to protect my daughter."
"I'm sorry..." Amy...
"I never stopped loving her, but I knew I couldn't take the risk of letting her harm Susan...Either physically or emotionally. And she threatened to tell Xav everything...Which at that time would have destroyed him. His own recovery from losing Margaret took years... Odd, isn't it?" he smiled at her. "I, the worst possible person for such a job, forced to become the emotional rock of everyone I cared about...All the people I had desperately clung to for my own salvation. I did divorce Susan, for little Susan's sake, though I kept in close contact and tried to do all I could for her. Xav had no idea and the one consolation I had was that he adored Susan too, and helped me bring her up, like a second father..."
"But Susan...Your ex-wife...She finally did tell him, didn't she?" Amy eyed him.
"Not for many years...She was in and out of institutions, clinics, care facilities...About the time Leonard came to Xav as a grad student...A fine one and a boy Xav saw a lot of himself in..." smile. "Susan had achieved a certain stability...She was living on her own, working in low-budget films, though I didn't know a lot was pornographic. My daughter was anxious to see her mother, naturally...She'd only met her on rare, carefully controlled occasions before...And being a teenager...A teenager who'd had a sort of love affair with a fellow who'd both thrilled her and devastated her with his resemblance to her father and her mother's slightly bitter tales of me..."
"Sheldon..." Amy gasped...
Nod..."...Susan was determined to learn more about her mother and one day, simply left, after an argument with me. I knew where she'd gone and followed but on finding she seemed to be happy with Susan and that Susan seemed not only able to provide care but was eager to know her birth daughter, even seemed to have overcome her bitterness at me..." sigh... "I did still hope, Amy...I still loved her, in a way...And if she could love Susan, perhaps in time..."
Amy staring, patted him...
"Don't get too sympathetic, Fowler..." he eyed her. "I meant what I said about you being a nemesis to me...And I warn you that I've never been above using whatever it takes to either win a girl or whatever else I want. Xav and Margaret and Susan never fully cured me of selfishness."
"It's not selfish to want the best for your daughter...And Sheldon is the best..." Amy, quietly. "But I'm not a fool, doctor and it might surprise you how carefully I am on my guard with you." Hard stare.
"Touche..." he nodded, sagely. "You are Maggie's granddaughter."
"Yes. And I've had my own delving into ruthlessness...For Sheldon's sake. Which I suppose was a mistake to tell you more about..." careful glance.
"It was...But nothing too useful." Smile.
"So?" she eyed him. "You hoped but it didn't happen, did it? She got worse again?"
"She did...After a couple of years, Susan came back...Told me nothing but I'd kept an eye on her. Her mother had become increasingly irrational, partly due to drug abuse, partly her old troubles reviving...She was finally, permanently institutionalized. And that is when she wrote to my oldest, best friend the story of how his wife and I had betrayed him, though she kept from him the truth about Susan...Simply told him we'd had an affair in Margaret's last year, with enough details to convince him. He confronted me...I foolishly tried to explain...And that was that...No proof that it was merely a scientific process, no word from my friends who assisted could convince him. We...Margaret and I, but especially I, had betrayed him. And he was determined to have his revenge. Which he did, in the way guaranteed to hurt me. And Susan..."
"He did that..." Amy stared... "He had an affair with Susan? Just to hurt you?"
"Xavier always had that air of sincerity in his charm...Susan had lost her bearings, she trusted him as my old friend... He wasn't truly terrible to her, he didn't let it go so far to..." pause. "I would have killed him for that..." grim stare... "No, he was just careful to explain to her exactly why he'd treated her as he did."
"I'm sorry..." Amy said, simply.
"Thank you." He eyed her. "You know it was my old teacher, my beloved Maggie, I turned to for advice and comfort in those years. She never failed me. If she'd been free...And not madly in love with her own little Leonard..." he smiled.
"I would've liked having you for my grandfather..." Amy nodded. "But I loved Grandpa Leonard..." pause. "Tell me...What is it between Sheldon and Susan?"
"The same as between you and the eleven-year old vision you saw back then." He calmly noted. "It's a little unbelievable the effect that odd, brilliant boy has had on women. He won my daughter's heart and never lost it...The one man who never let her down, never soiled his pure soul, her ideal and parfait knight. For no matter how many sordid films my poor Susan made, somehow believing by treating them casually and even as art, she'd vindicate her poor, sad mother as an artist, Susan believes in parfait knights...One anyway."
"I see." Amy nodded. "And you mean to give him to her. Even though she's told you to leave him to me."
"If she wants him and I can...Yes. And I know she does want him, however unselfishly she loves him." Stein, coolly. "Even if by hurting you I hurt the dearest friend I still have in this world...My old love, whom I'd die for if it could add a few years to her life."
"I see." Amy, calmly. "Well, I appreciate the honesty. But it won't happen, doctor. Ever. Frankly, I've betrayed my own sister to get Sheldon Cooper and I will never give him up. It's not just selfishness...I'm the best thing to ever happen to him and he needs me." Amy, proudly.
"I believe you. And you might well be all that. But then there's Sheldon and his pure, innocent heart." Calm stare. "A boy in spite of his odd manners really is a hero who goes where he feels he's needed...Always."
"Your daughter doesn't need him anymore...And certainly not more than I do." Amy insisted calmly. "I will not let him go."
"Then we'll just have to see, won't we, my dear." Stein nodded. "I see your friends are getting nervous." He noted Bernadette and Lucy, watching them. "And there is young Cooper and the others." Amy glancing at his nod to where a worried Sheldon was hurrying from the ER door. "Please give Dr. Hofstadter my best wishes."
"Why?" Amy, suddenly. "If you really mean to try and get Sheldon from me, for her...Why warn me?"
"I believe in a fair fight...And I wanted to see if you were as strong a woman as I suspected you'd be." He shrugged. "You have two powerful allies, Dr. Fowler. Susan, and her love for Sheldon, to some extent, being one of them. You may win. But I warn you again...I will give it my all."
"Dr. Stein?" Sheldon came to them...
"Cooper." Kindly nod. "Glad to know young Leonard is better. I'll say good night now. Dr. Fowler?" firm stare, nod. She eyeing him coolly.