"The Chinese Prisoner..."

"The Chinese Prisoner..." Part XXI...

"The Chinese Prisoner..."

Summary: A surprisingly modest Howard has returned to a global hero's welcome after an incredible space feat...But he brought some baggage home...

Disclaimer: All that is Chuck's is Chuck's...

Part XXI...

Oh...God...Penny, opening bleary eyes, raising head from mattress on the bedroom floor...

Never again...Kahlua and s'mores at 1am just do not mix...Oh...Head...She sat up...

Hmmn...Bernadette's up...Amy's up...I can guess where...She looked over to where Lilly was sound asleep on mattress...

God, she even sleeps elegantly...She looked for the clock...

Hmmn...Eight?...

Am?...

Whoa...Thanks guys, whichever of you made sufficient noise to wake me at this ungodly...

Oh, right...Alarm...Big day...

OH...Geesh...

Big bad day...She eyed the sleeping Lilly...

Gotta get up before she does...Go see Leonard even if I promised not to...Something's gotta be...

Hmmn...She glanced over...Woulda thought an astronaut?...Is it net for a girl?...Woulda hopped right up on an alarm for a day like today...

Too much Kahlua...She rose, groaning audibly...

Sorry...She hissed...

Hmmn...Nothing...

I guess she's learned to sleep through...She blinked at the bottle by Lilly's mattress...

My, those look like...She moved closer, picking up and pulling on a robe dropped by her mattress the night before...

Oh, yeah...She read the label...

Sleeping pills...An empty bottle of...

"Lilly!?...Lilly!?...Oh, my God!..." she grabbed the slender girl, shaking...

Ooof!...She groaned at Lilly's sudden blow...Sharp cry in Chinese, vicious look...

"Penny?..." Lilly, now awake, staring... "What the hell were you doing?!...Penny, I'm sorry...Are you ok?..."

Maybe I misinterpreted things between her and Amy?...I thought the galoot's poor repressed honey was the one either hinting at bisexual openness or cleverly keeping a close eye on her nemesis or both...

"Penelope, really not into this sorta thing, sweetie..." she noted... "Sorry about the instinctive response, though..."

"What?...No...Lilly..." Penny in mid-groan held up the empty bottle... "I thought you'd taken these..."

"Yeah?...I did take two...I couldn't sleep...Oh..." Lilly nodded after a brief consideration... "Thought I'd decided to take the short exit, eh?..." smile... "No, not yet, honey...Though I'm not adverse to the easy way out..."

"But where's...?" Penny shook the bottle...

"Like I say...I'm not adverse to the easy way...They're safe, in case I should want them later on...But where's there's still life, I say hang on by your long exquisitely manicured fingernails..." grin...

"You have them...Just in case...?"

"Beating to death musses and really hurts, however good Raul Julia looked in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' after his workover..." Lilly noted... "As does burial alive ala 'Shanghai Triad'...And death by gang rape isn't much fun and likewise can muss one really bad..." wan smile... "Sorry if my lack of heroism disappoints you..."