Los Angeles.
St. Bonaventure Hospital of San Jose.
"Sheldon, I'm in the hospital. Damn it, my right leg is broken. I can't drive you to school. Take the bus yourself...
I don't care if the bus driver won't hold your hand, and I don't care if you have to wear bus pants. You can manage on your own. That's it!"
Leonard hung up amid his grumbling.
"Sheldon again?"
Adam came by to make his rounds just then. Seeing the scene, he immediately understood what had happened.
"Yeah."
Leonard said helplessly, "I'm hurt this badly, and he still wants me to drive him."
"He's got some nerve."
Adam teased, "You could barely drive with one foot, but would you dare? And would he dare to ride with you?"
"He definitely wouldn't have before."
Leonard complained, "But now he rides in Penny's car all the time. One moment he's complaining about Penny's engine light being on, the next he's complaining about Penny wearing flip-flops and drinking coffee while driving.
Now it feels like Sheldon's gotten infinitely bolder."
"Penny really has changed Sheldon a lot."
Adam sighed.
"Yeah. Penny has spent one year with him, and it feels like she's done more than I managed in all the years I've known him."
Leonard mocked himself. "At the very least, I haven't changed a single one of his habits."
"It's not because you're lacking..."
Adam had wanted to comfort him, but he truly could not finish that sentence. He changed tack. "It's because Penny is amazing. After all, Sheldon listens most to his mom and Grandma.
In that regard, Penny could be called a combination of Sheldon's Mom and Grandma."
"All right."
Only then did Leonard feel better.
For the next while, Leonard recuperated in the hospital. Without a driver, Sheldon failed to bother