The Persuasion Parallel, Chapter Seven
Title: The Persuasion Parallel
Author: mrssnape13 (immortalbeloved13)
Spoilers: None
Rating/Warnings: G/ AU
Word Count: 2,194
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Summary: Sheldon comes to the conclusion that he must give Penny up.
Chapter Seven: Separation
My thoughts go out to you, my Immortal
Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly,
waiting to learn whether or not fate
will hear us-I can live only
wholly with you or not at all.
--Ludwig van Beethoven
Penny did her best to keep the others calm until the surgeon could be found. Captain Cooper was standing against the wall, ashen-faced and shaking.
“Oh God! Her father and her mother…”
Leonard was bent over his sister, having taken over keeping firm pressure on her wound from Captain Cooper. He was crying and in obvious distress.
“Penny, what can be done now?” he asked, looking up at her like he was a lost child.
Captain Cooper was also watching her expectantly.
“Perhaps we had better carry her to the inn before she catches a chill.”
Captain Cooper looked relieved to have a task to perform.
“Yes. We’ll take her to the inn.”
He told Leonard to maintain a steady pressure against the wound before scooping Bernadette up into his arms. He held her steady as they headed back in the direction of the inn.
Captains Harville and Wolowitz ran into them before they had gotten very far.
“Sheldon! You’d best take her back to our house!” Captain Harville said, hurrying along as best he could beside his friend.
“He’s right Sheldon. She will be far more comfortable there than at the inn!”
Captain Cooper clenched his jaw and turned in the direction of Harville’s house.
Bernadette was placed in a bedroom upstairs and the surgeon was with them shortly.
He was able to determine that Bernadette’s injuries were not life threatening.
“They are, however, rather serious. She is not to be moved.”
He then went over instructions for her care with Harville and Elinor before taking his leave of them. If she did not regain some form of consciousness within the next couple of hours they were to fetch him immediately.
Penny had been entirely too conscious of Captain Cooper’s immense relief when the surgeon had declared the injury to be non-lethal.
“Thank Newton!” he breathed, slumping back against the wall, his nerves having been exhausted by his panic.
Though her heart was breaking, Penny took great pity on him. This could not be easy for him to witness.
He had taken a seat at a table in the corner and was now scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment and muttering to himself.
The others began to discuss what to do next. Bernadette was going to be with the Harvilles for some time, as her recovery would be a lengthy one.
While they were hashing things out, Bernadette opened her eyes.
“Shel…” she croaked before her eyelids fluttered once more.
He was immediately at her side.
“Yes, Miss Musgrove?”
“Mama. Need mama.”
She lapsed into unconsciousness, but the others immediately sprang into action.
Captain Wolowitz went to inform the surgeon that Bernadette had been awake and coherent, no matter how brief the moment was. It was an excellent sign.
Captain Cooper volunteered to go to Jersey to inform Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove of the incident.
At first, Stephanie had offered to remain and care for Bernadette, but her earlier hysterics were not in favor of this being a good idea. It was decided that she would also return to Jersey, in order to comfort her parents.
“That is all very good, but really, one or two others would be needed to remain and assist Elinor with her charge,” Captain Cooper said.
He turned to Leonard.
“I assume you shall stay with your sister?”
“Yes. I cannot leave her just now.”
“Very well. We need one more.”
He looked around the room at the others.
“I am sure Mrs. Musgrove is anxious to return home to her son,” he said, nodding at Leslie, “but if Penny were to stay!”
Penny looked up at him in alarm.
“Why, no one would be so capable as Penny!” he said, his eyes seeking confirmation as he looked at her.
“Of course! I’d be happy to stay and be of some service.”
He seized her hand in his.
“Thank you Penny,” he said, with something of the gentleness with which he used to speak to her.
She colored deeply.
He appeared to recollect their surroundings and withdrew his hand. He stood and left, presumably to begin getting things ready for their imminent departure.
Leslie chimed in then, having taken great offense over being dismissed so easily.
“And what is Penny to Bernadette? Hmm?” she demanded angrily. “Bernadette is my husband’s sister! I shall remain!”
Apparently, Leonard had had enough.
“You know very well that Penny is a friend to her and loves her very deeply, Leslie! Now, of all times, is not the time to quarrel. Decide what you want to do and for God’s sake stick to your decision! I will not have anything upsetting my sister.”
Leonard as well as Penny knew Leslie to be incapable of being of any proper use in the situation, but it was decided that she would do less harm if she were to remain, rather than going all the way home to Jersey and causing a fuss from there.
Leslie would stay then. Penny would go.
Penny supposed Captain Cooper would just have to be surprised when she appeared in the coach instead of her sister.
She ran back to the inn to collect her things.
. . .
Sheldon was sitting with Stuart in his room at the inn, waiting for everything to be ready for their departure. He had already packed his things. He ran a tired hand over his face.
“I tell you, Stuart, it feels as if I have experienced an entire lifetime in these last few hours,” he sighed.
Stuart attempted to give him a reassuring smile, but it did not have its desired effect.
“I’m sure the day’s events have weighed on you very heavily.”
Sheldon nodded.
“Yes. I cannot help but feel entirely at fault. I should have been able to anticipate what Miss Musgrove was about to do, based on her past behavior. If I had only turned a little more quickly…”
Stuart cleared his throat.
“Sheldon, it’s not your fault that she fell. At any rate, I was referring to the distress you must be feeling over seeing your intended in such a precarious state.”
Sheldon could only stare at his friend.
“My…my intended?”
Stuart’s ears turned red.
“Forgive me for being so bold, but your attentions to the lady have been very marked, so I just assumed…”
“Stuart, there is nothing to assume.”
They were quiet for a long moment.
“It is Penny that I love.”
Stuart’s cane slipped from his hand and clattered noisily to the floor.
“Miss Elliot?”
“Yes.”
Stuart bent to pick up his cane and set it carefully against the arm of his chair before folding his hands in his lap.
“I’m not sure how to put this, so I will be entirely straightforward with you.”
“Alright.”
“Sheldon, you may believe your friendship with Miss Musgrove has been an innocent one, but I can tell you based on the events of the last few days alone that the young lady has a very different perception of it. Your behavior can only be construed as that of a lover.”
For once, Sheldon did not know what to say.
“If you need any proof, well, I believe it was your name that she kept calling out in her delirium. She did not ask for anyone else, did she?”
“No.”
He had never thought it would be possible, but Sheldon felt all of the heartache he had suffered for the last eight years double in intensity in that moment.
Penny was lost to him again.
Forever.
Sheldon sighed heavily.
“It is my fault if Miss Musgrove believes my intentions to be of a romantic nature. I…I shall fulfill my responsibility and propose to her as soon as she is well.”
Stuart clapped him on the back and gave him a sad look.
“I am sorry Sheldon.”
By then, the coach had pulled up in front of the inn. Sheldon heard the clatter of the wheels upon the cobblestones and stood, grabbing his trunk and dragging it to the door.
Stuart followed him down the stairs and outside before giving him a last mournful look and taking his leave.
The footman took Sheldon’s trunk and he got into the coach to await the arrival of the ladies, who were not far behind.
He saw Stephanie’s red hair from a distance and stepped down to help her and Leslie up.
He stopped short when he saw Penny there instead of Leslie.
“What are you doing here?”
She was the last person that he wanted to see at that moment. It was too much.
. . .
Penny felt hurt.
Perhaps her presence was only welcome and useful when she could be of service to Bernadette?
Captain Cooper apparently sensed his rudeness, because he was quick to make amends.
“My apologies, Penny. I am merely surprised to see you.”
She nodded and allowed him to assist her into the coach.
It was going to be a long trip.
. . .
This was it. These were to be his last moments with Penny before she was entirely lost to him. They would only have this coach ride.
Stephanie fell asleep before long; no doubt she was exhausted by the events of the day. She relaxed into a heavy doze and stretched out across the seat opposite of Penny and Sheldon.
The silence was thick for several long moments.
“Captain Cooper, please accept my sympathies for your unfortunate situation. I am sure that this has been a major setback in your plans.”
“Yes,” he whispered.
She had no idea how right she was.
He did something very uncharacteristic then.
He burst into heavy, miserable tears.
Penny stared at him in shock for a beat before giving him a pitying look and taking his hand.
She ran a thumb softly over his knuckles.
“It will be alright Sheldon, you’ll see.”
He just cried harder.
. . .
Eventually, he fell into an exhausted sleep.
She had been singing him a lullaby that her mother had used to sing to her in an attempt to calm his nerves. It was just a series of nonsense words about a cat set to a simple melody, but it appeared to have done the trick.
He relaxed against her shoulder, his breathing having become deep and even.
She looked down at his face; there were still tears clinging to his long eyelashes.
Before she could think to stop herself, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to each of his eyelids.
“Rest easy, Sheldon.”
. . .
Both Stephanie and Sheldon woke several minutes before their carriage pulled into the grounds of Jersey.
Sheldon helped both ladies down from the carriage and then went inside to break the news to Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove. They came back out with him and Stephanie ran into their open arms.
“Will you be staying here, Miss Elliot?” he asked as a man in livery unloaded her trunk.
So, she was Miss Elliot again.
Penny supposed it was all for the best.
“No, I would just be in the way. I’ll be staying at Omaha for the remainder of the week and then moving on to Bath to join my father and sister. Actually, Missy and Raj should be expecting me. I sent word ahead before we left Lyme.”
“I see.”
“Will you write to me? With news of Bernadette’s recovery, I mean?”
“Of course.”
He bowed.
“Goodbye, Miss Elliot.”
She did not want him to leave, but knew he belonged back in Lyme.
“Goodbye Captain Cooper.”
She turned and headed down the lane, intending to walk to Omaha so that she would not have to see him go.
There was the crunch of boots on gravel and then she was being turned around and pulled into his arms. He held her tightly against his chest for a moment before releasing her just as suddenly and running back to catch the coach.
Penny did not allow herself to react until she got to Omaha.
Raj was waiting for her in the foyer with a welcoming smile.
Penny felt her brave façade crumble and she collapsed into his arms, her body wracked with sobs.
Missy had just been coming to say hello, but she turned and scampered off, shouting back to them that she was going to get Penny a hot cup of tea.
Though she normally felt its curative powers to be absolute, Penny doubted very much that a simple cup of tea was going to be of any comfort in her current situation.