It's been way too long. I apologize. But here it is! It's not the greatest chapter, but I wanted to put it up. Enjoy!

(Oh, and I used some direct quotations from the book. No plagiarism intended.)

9

Ashton Keagan

I hated hospitals. The antiseptic smell of the building made me gag and the white surroundings were garishly bright, giving me a headache. However, it didn't seem to bother Ponyboy and Two-Bit that much as I followed them down the hallway to see Johnny.

As we approached Johnny's door, we were stopped by a nurse. "You can't go in there."

Two-Bit looked at her, unruffled. "Oh? Why not?"

"He's in critical condition. I can't allow any of you to go in that room right now," the nurse replied. She did not look particularly sympathetic towards us, nor did she look like she cared about Johnny's well-being. I didn't like her at all.

"Look here, that's our friend in there," Two-Bit said. "We have to go see him."

"That would not be a good idea," she replied with a sniff.

"Please?" Ponyboy begged, his eyes wide. "Please, we just want to see how he's doing…"

"We won't be in there long," I put in, trying to smile and be polite.

It was at this time that a doctor walked by and heard our pleading. "Let them in," he told the nurse. "He's been asking for them, and it can't hurt now."

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard him say the last part. It can't hurt now…what was that supposed to mean? Was Johnny…I could see from Ponyboy's expression that he was thinking the same thing.

The three of us tiptoed into the room, trying not to disturb Johnny's rest. "Hey, Johnnykid," Two-Bit said quietly.

Johnny opened his eyes. "Hey, y'all," he said, trying to smile.

"These guys treatin' you okay?" Two-Bit asked, pulling up a chair. I headed over to the window and pulled the shades open, letting in the sun. Then I sat down next to Two-Bit and Ponyboy.

"Don't…let me put enough grease in my hair," Johnny gasped, his breathing labored.

"Quit talkin'," Two-Bit instructed, "Just listen to us. We're havin' the rumble tonight." His eyes brightened as he said it, and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. Fighting never solved anything. I watched as Johnny's black eyes widened at Two-Bit's statement. He looked worried at the idea of the rumble and I couldn't blame him. I was too.

"Too bad you and Dally can't come. It's our first big rumble, except when we whipped Shepard that one time."

"He came by," Johnny said, speaking despite Two-Bit's instructions.

"Tim Shepard?"

Johnny nodded. "Saw Dally."

I had to smile at that. Tim and Dally had always been buddies, even though they fought all the time.

"You got your name in the paper for bein' a hero, did you know that?" Two-Bit smiled.

"Tuff enough," Johnny managed to say with a grin. His eyes were glowing with pride. The rest of him was pale and tired looking though, and I figured we should leave soon.

"Anything else you want besides hair grease?" Two-Bit asked.

"The book, can you get another?" Johnny asked, looking at Ponyboy.

Two-Bit and I glanced at Ponyboy, identical expressions of confusion on our faces.

"He wants Gone with the Wind so I can read it to him," Ponyboy explained quickly. "You want to go the drugstore and get a copy?"

"Sure," Two-Bit replied. "I'll be back. Don't run off." He left the room. Ponyboy sat down in Two-Bit's empty chair.

"Dally's gonna be okay, Johnny," he said. "And me and Darry are okay too."

Johnny understood what Ponyboy meant and tried to smile. Then his face went white.

"Johnny!" Ponyboy and I screamed in unison. "Johnny, are you okay?"

He nodded, his eyes squeezed shut. "It just hurts sometimes…usually it don't, but…" He paused. "I'm pretty bad off, ain't I?"

I didn't know what to say to that. Should I reassure him? It turned out I didn't have to say anything because Ponyboy said, "You'll be okay." His voice took on a fake cheerfulness, and I knew he didn't believe what he was saying. "We couldn't get along without you, Johnny."

It was true. How would the gang get along without Johnny? He was the gang's pet, and we all loved him like a brother. How could we continue if Johnny died?

"I won't ever be able to walk again," Johnny said, almost in a whisper. "Never. Busted my back."

Ponyboy looked at him. "You'll be okay," he said again, trying not to cry, and I had to refrain from sobbing as well.

"You know something?" Johnny opened his eyes. "I used to talk about killing myself, but now I'm scared. It ain't long enough. Sixteen years ain't long enough, guys. I don't want to die, not right now. There's still so much stuff I ain't done, so much I ain't seen yet. It's not fair. You know? That time in Windrixville was the first time I've been away from our neighborhood."

"You ain't going to die," Ponyboy said, his voice determined. "Calm down, else the doctor won't let us see you again."

"You'll be okay, Johnny," I told the boy lying on the bed. He looked like a lost little puppy, with his wide black eyes and dark hair. I wanted to give him a hug, but knew it wouldn't be a good idea.

The same nurse from before walked into the room. "Your mother's here to see you," she informed us, looking at Johnny.

"I don't want to see her," Johnny said, his voice firm.

"She's your mother. Why not?"

"I said I don't want to. She's probably gonna tell me how much trouble I've been and how glad she'll be when I'm dead. Well, tell her to leave me be. For once," his voice cracked, "Just leave me alone!" His voice had been rising steadily and now he tried to sit up. Suddenly he gasped, his face going white, and passed out.

The nurse hurried me and Ponyboy out the door. "I thought something like that would happen."

Two-Bit was coming down the hallway, Gone with the Wind in his hand. "We can't see him now," I told him. Two-Bit looked sad, so I took the book and handed it to the nurse. "Give this to Johnny when he wakes up, please." She took it, walked back into Johnny's room and closed the door.

"I wish it was any of us except Johnny," Two-Bit said seriously. "We'd be okay without anyone but Johnny." He turned abruptly and walked down the hall. "Let's go see Dally."

As we walked towards Dally's room, we saw Johnny's mother She was a little woman with black hair and black eyes like Johnny's, only hers were cold and hard.

"But I have a right to see him. He's my son. After all the trouble his father and I've gone to raise him, this is our reward! He'd rather see those no-count hoodlums than his own folks…"

She turned and gave us a death glare.

"It was your fault. Always running around in the idle of the night getting jailed and heaven knows what else…"

I shivered at her words and let out a sigh of relief as we passed her. "Oh lordy," Two-Bit suddenly said. "Johnny has to live with that." He looked like he wanted to cry. And so did I.

Dally was arguing with a nurse when we walked in, and I had to grin. He was fine. "Man, I'm glad to see you guys! These damn hospital people won't let me smoke in here, and I want out!" He grinned as he saw me. "Hey there, Ash."

"Hey, Dally, "I greeted him, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Shepard came by a while ago," he said, sliding an arm around my waist.

"Yeah, Johnny said so too. What'd he want?" Two-Bit asked.

"Said he saw my picture in the paper and couldn't believe it when it didn't say 'Wanted Dead or Alive'. Rubbed it in about the rumble too. Can't believe I'm missin' that." He sighed, then looked up at Ponyboy. "Kid, you scared me the other day."

"Me? Why?" Ponyboy asked, looking puzzled.

"I thought I'd killed you! I meant to hit you hard enough to knock you down and put out the fire, but you dropped like a bag of bricks. I thought I'd broke your neck. Sure glad I didn't." He grinned.

"I bet," Ponyboy said with a grin of his own.

"Yeah…" Dally hesitated, starting to play with my hair. I could tell he was anxious. "How's the kid doin'?"

"We just left him," Two-Bit said. "He…uh…passed out before we left."

Dally swore as his jaw line went white. "You still got that fancy switch?"

"Yeah."

"Give it to me."

I pulled away from Dally and looked him in his icy blue eyes. "What are you planning, Dallas?"

Dally didn't reply; he just took the blade from Two-Bit. "We gotta win that fight. We gotta get even with the Socs for Johnny." His face was hard as he said it. I knew nothing was going to change his mind now. Dally put the switchblade under his pillow, then lay down and stared at the ceiling. I looked at him.

"Dally…"

"Come on, Ash," Ponyboy murmured from behind me. "It's no use when he's like that."

I sighed and allowed myself to be led away by Ponyboy. Dally, you better not be planning anything stupid…