When she arrived they stuck her in the waiting room telling her that the Doctor would come and find her soon.

Their definition of soon and her definition of soon were two very different things. Two hours later the door opened and Dr. Evers walked into the room.

"Penny?" He couldn't keep the surprise from his voice.

"Dr. Evers." Penny's voice was soft. She wasn't surprised to see him. The fact that her father had been brought to his hospital with chest pains meant that there was a high likelihood that he would be the doctor to care for him.

"You're here for Edward Campbell?" He looked tired. He was wearing his scrubs with the classic white Doctor's coat and he had a name badge and a stethoscope around his neck. He looked very official.

"Yes, he's my father," she said, following his lead and sitting down.

Dr. Evers leaned forward towards her, told her the details about her father's condition, and the emergency surgery he had performed. Penny listened to him emotionless, letting his deep soothing voice wash over her. She should be more concerned with her father's health than she was but they had burnt their bridges long ago.

"Why am I here?" She interrupted him.

"I assume you were listed as the emergency contact." His eyes widened slightly at her abrupt question.

"But do I need to be here? Do I need to sign something?" She knew after she spoke that Dr. Evers would probably see her as a heartless shrew, but she didn't care for her father, she never had, and he didn't care for her.

"No, your father was fully conscious before the procedure and he is probably conscious now."

"So I can go, I can leave the hospital?" Penny rose grabbing her bag ready to leave.

"You don't want to see him?" Dr. Evers rose watching her, his thoughts well-guarded.

"Dr. Evers my father and I don't get along-" she stopped him when he looked as if he was about to say something. "If you've just operated on his heart the last thing he should do is see me. I tend to send his blood pressure through the roof. Did he ask you to call me?"

"He didn't ask me and I'm not sure if he asked a nurse, but its standard procedure to call an emergency contact in cases like this."

"Then he probably doesn't know that I'm here and I can-"

Just then the door opened and a cute little brunette stuck her head in the door. "Ms. Campbell, your father is asking to see you."

Penny closed her eyes. There was no way she was getting out of this.

"Thank you Robin, we'll be there shortly." Dr. Evers didn't even turn to look at her; all of his attention was focused on Penny.

"You may not want to see your father but he wants to see you." His voice was still gentle.

"Sure," Penny said, opening her eyes and giving a forced smile. This was not the time or place to have this argument. She would follow the nurse, who she saw waiting outside the door, and go see her father.

As she followed the nurse she lost most of her color, and her heart was beating in her ears. She had left because she had gotten tired of living with the constant fear of what would be said next. The nurse and Dr. Evers were following her down the hall and she wanted to tell them to leave her and let her alone with her father. Penny didn't want witnesses to the humiliation that she was about to go through.

She stopped outside the door and turned with a forced smile on her face hoping they would leave her to it, the nurse patted her shoulder and told her that it would be alright then she went into a long speech about how Dr. Evers was the best, and had made sure that her father was going to be alright. The fact that this was said with such urgency must have meant that Penny looked pretty sickly.

Penny almost laughed hysterically. She wanted to say I know more about this man than you do. I know he's the best at what he does, I've lived with him for two years, but the reality was that she didn't know anything about the man standing in front of her. Sure, she knew his likes and dislikes where food and drink were concerned, she knew how he liked his desk organized, but what he thought, how he felt about things, she had no clue. All she really knew was that she was madly in love with him and he was about to be a witness to her total degradation.

She looked up meeting his eyes which were serious as they stared back at her. How long they stood there staring at each other she couldn't say but eventually the nurse cleared her throat and gave her a little nudge.

As she walked through the door she saw her father looking pale and shrunken in his bed. His eyes were closed as the machines beeped next to him. She had a quick moment of hope that he was still so drugged that he would sleep thorough her visit, but when his eyes opened and his steely gaze landed on her, her hopes vanished.

The anger that he blasted at her from his eyes made her take a step back, but she bumped against a solid wall behind her that she realized was Dr. Evers. That was twice in one day she had made direct physical contact she thought vaguely as she did her best to ignore her father's anger.

She did not move away from Dr. Evers. She felt herself pressing against him hoping he would take a step back and allow her to escape, or maybe she was just absorbing strength from him, either way he stood firm and didn't move, allowing her to press into him.

Penny didn't say a word as she watched the sudden color that flooded her father's face.

"This is all your fault you ungrateful brat," he wheezed.

"Is that why you wanted to see me father? To tell me that?" Penny asked calmly.

"That and to order you back home; it's time that you come and take care of me like you should have been for the past two years."

"I have a-" he cut her off with a coughing snort.

"Not a husband that's for sure, who would want you. You're an ugly sinful creature Penelope." He coughed.

"No father, not a husband, a job."

"Your job is to take care of me as your mother did. When I think of all-" he fell into a coughing fit and Dr. Evers stepped away from her and towards him. The nurse stepped in as well so something serious must be happening.

Silently, she turned and moved into the corridor leaning against the wall. If she wasn't so numb she would probably cry, but she had cried away all of her tears years ago. There, she had seen him, she had done her daughterly duty and she could leave.

She stood up only to see her aunt and cousin heading straight towards her. "Penny, how is he?" her aunt asked full of motherly concern. Her Aunt Barbara lived for drama. Penny couldn't help but be glad that they hadn't arrived earlier. Then they would have witnessed Penny's humiliation. Something they had done many times and which they always seemed to enjoy.

"He's recovering," Penny said, her voice on automatic pilot.

"You look terribly Penny, you really should do something with yourself." Her aunt reached up and touched her hair. "We'll have to stay with you, your father's place is a mess. It really was unfair of you to take off like you did and leave him all on his own. It's no wonder he had a heart attack."

"You can't stay with me Aunt Barbara I live in where I work so I don't have a place of my own." Penny looked down the hallway wondering how far it was to the exit.

At that moment Dr. Evers exited her father's room while placing his stethoscope back around his neck.

"Aunt Barbara, Jane, this is Dr. Samuel Evers. He's Father's heart surgeon. Dr. Evers this is my Aunt, Barbara Campbell and her daughter Jane."

"Hello Doctor." Her Aunt held out her hand and Dr. Evers shook it as he glanced at a sullen Jane. Jane was a plain girl who would look better with minimal make-up and a simple hairstyle, but her mother refused to acknowledge that she had a plain daughter and dressed her as she would a doll. Jane, who had no personality, went along with it. Not for the first time Penny looked at Jane and wondered if she felt trapped like Penny had when she had lived with her father.

"Hello Ms. Campbell." His voice was polite and friendly as he greeted her.

Penny watched him closely as her aunt assured him that now that she was there Penny was no longer needed and she would take over the care for her brother since Penny was hopeless at such things.

She couldn't help but wonder what he thought of her now that he had witnessed her father's tirade. He probably thought that she was truly as useless as he had implied. When Aunt Barbara followed Dr. Evers into her father's room Penny made her break for it.

With her head down and at a fast clip she found the exit, it probably took her twice as long as it should have since she got lost, but when she hit the sidewalk and felt the sun on her shoulders she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was halfway to the parking garage when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Penny."

The hand on her shoulder was strong forcing her to stop and she turned around and looked up at Dr. Evers. He really was a very large man.

"Are you all right?" He forced her chin up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Penny couldn't help but close her eyes at the gentle touch.

"I'm fine Dr. Evers." She tried to smile but failed.

"Sam, I really do think it's time you called me Sam."

"Sam," she said the name and it felt foreign on her lips.

"Do you want your aunt and cousin to stay at the house with you?"

"No!" She shuddered.

The silence grew between them as he stood looking down at her. "Will you tell me what that was all about?" he asked it gently, nodding his head in the direction of the hospital.

"It doesn't really matter." Penny cleared her throat hoping he would leave it be.

"I think it does matter, and I would like to know what it was all about."

His voice sounded so gentle and kind that Penny could only nod, knowing that she really didn't have to tell him but she would. "Later?" She cleared her throat.

"We'll go out to dinner this evening," he suggested looking back over his shoulder.

She must not have hidden her shocked expression very well because when he looked back at her he gave an amused smile. "Somewhere simple."

Penny nodded knowing he was busy and had to get back. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For not stepping away from me in there." She nodded back at the hospital. It had been nice to have a solid presence to lean on while her father was heaping abuse at her.

"What are friends for?" He started towards the door and Penny started back towards the garage. "Oh Penny," he called out softly but loud enough for her to turn around.

"What your father said,"

Penny nodded recalling every horrible word.

"None of it's true." His eyes meet hers and this time she did cry. The tears started and wouldn't stop. She had wanted someone to say that to her for so long.

He walked towards her and pulled her into his arms holding her close. "None of its true Penny, you're lovely and not the least bit sinful, even if you do splurge on ice cream and peppermint tea, and your father's heart attack was definitely not your fault. Trust me, I'm an expert."

She sniffed as she buried her head in his wide chest, but she couldn't help the smile that snuck through. It was amazing the difference a hug could make. "Are you sure there was a heart in there?"

"Yes, but it wasn't a very healthy one." He gave her another squeeze and Penny realized that she had to step back. She did so wiping her eyes.

"Thanks for the hug I needed one." She did manage a smile this time and stood back watching as he nodded and then turned towards the hospital; not until he was through the doors did she turn and head towards her car.