Chapter Ten

Wednesday, October 19th

Darry waited around the house impatiently. It had been one week since he had been released from the hospital. Today he was supposed to go back to the hospital for a follow up visit to see how he was healing. The problem was that he wasn't cleared to drive yet so he had to wait for a ride. Steve was working after school, but Two-Bit was going to drop by and get him. It was beyond frustrating having to wait around for a ride when his truck was parked right out in the driveway. He wasn't helpless. Not to mention the house was so quiet that it was driving him crazy. As promised Two-Bit had hung around the house with him over the weekend, but then he had been at school all week. Darry was ready to get back to work if for no other reason than to not be sitting around the house doing nothing all day. But in order for that to happen he needed to get cleared to drive and cleared to work.

Darry was hovering by the door so that when Two-Bit finally rolled up in his car he was already halfway down the walk by the time he put it in park.

"Someone's anxious," Two-Bit laughed as Darry climbed into the car.

"I'm so sick of bein' in that house," Darry mumbled. "It's too quiet and turning on the radio hurts my head."

"You have any more of those migraines?" Two-Bit asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He shifted into drive and started toward the hospital.

Darry carefully shook his head. "Just the two. The one last week and then the other one on Sunday." He had had his second migraine on Sunday morning when Two-Bit had been around. He had gotten his medication quicker this time but he still was in bed for hours afterwards, trying to ward off the pain. He hoped that this wouldn't become a usual occurrence. It had to get better. Right?

They made it back to the hospital and Darry almost outwardly cringed at the sight. He was certainly not happy to be back here but he knew that it was necessary. He needed to get this over with in order to get back to his normal life. His normal life that included his brothers. He had his meeting with the social worker the next morning and he knew that getting completely cleared today would greatly help his case. So maybe it was for the best that he couldn't get an appointment at social services right away.

Inside the hospital had the same too bright lights, the same plain white walls, and the same antiseptic smell. Darry felt antsy as they sat in the waiting room. Finally his name was called. Two-Bit stayed in the waiting room as Darry headed back to an exam room. One of the nurses took his general vitals before the doctor showed up.

"Hello Darrel," the doctor greeted with a smile. "How have you been feeling?"

"A lot better," Darry assured him.

"Any more pain?" the doctor asked as he began checking him over.

"No, not really," Darry hedged.

"What about migraines?" the doctor asked. "Have you had any of those this past week?"

Darry hesitated, contemplating lying or at least not telling the whole truth. But then he remembered Mr. Hubor's words when he had come to visit him. And don't try callin' before the doc says it's okay. Remember, if you hurt yourself worse, you won't be any use to Pony and Soda. They need you to be healthy. He needed to get this under control in order to get his brothers back.

"Yeah, I had one last Thursday and another one on Sunday," he finally admitted.

The doctor nodded. "How long did the symptoms last?"

Darry paused. "Couple hours."

"That's good, sometimes migraines can last up to seventy-two hours," the doctor informed him.

Darry wasn't terribly comforted by this. "How long is this gonna last?"

"The more time that passes the more sporadic they should become," he said. "Right now you will probably have the migraines a few times per week. But as time goes on they will become less and less common, perhaps going months between episodes."

"Well that's somethin'," Darry said.

"In time you will learn to manage your symptoms and you will be able to recognize the signs that a migraine is coming on so that you will be able to prepare yourself," he went on.

"What kind of signs?" Darry asked.

"Common signs will present themselves a day or two before the actual migraine," the doctor said. "Some of the signs may be depression, food cravings, hyperactivity, irritability, neck stiffness and uncontrollable yawning. These will become easier to identify especially when there's more time between the episodes."

This made a lot of sense. Darry could remember waking up with a stiff neck both the days of his migraines. He was glad that he would at least be able to know they are coming so he wouldn't feel so blindsided.

"So can I get back to work?" Darry asked.

The doctor hesitated and Darry could feel his stomach fall as he read the doctor's expression. "I'd like to wait a little longer to clear you for work. I think you need to get a better handle on the long term side effects of the concussion first."

Darry was shaking his head even before the doctor had finished speaking. "I need to get back to work," he insisted.

"Darrel, you need to be able to manage your symptoms before you can safely return to work," the doctor said patiently. "Imagine if you were hit with one of those migraines while standing on the roof of a house." Darry was quiet. He really didn't have an argument for that. "You need to be patient. All I'm asking is that you wait one more week. Then we can reassess." Darry rubbed his eyes tiredly and clearly the doctor took notice. "How have you been sleeping?"

"Not well," Darry mumbled. He hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since he had come home from the hospital. He had been too restless and couldn't seem to get more than two or three hours of sleep a night. The deprivation was really starting to wear on him.

"Insomnia can be another lasting side effect of the concussion," the doctor said. "I can prescribe you something to help you sleep."

Darry shook his head. "No, that's okay," he said. "I'll be fine." He didn't need to be buying any more medication for himself when he needed the money and he could get along for a while loosing a little sleep. In any case, he got the feeling that his lack of sleep was less of a medical problem and more because of his worry for his brothers.

"Alright," the doctor said, though he didn't look too convinced. "You can call if you change your mind."

"Sure," Darry said tiredly.

"Have you noticed any other symptoms coming up?" the doctor asked, checking over his chart.

"No," Darry answered immediately.

"No problems with concentration and memory? No irritability? Depression? Anxiety?"

Darry hesitated. "No." His voice was steady even though the words had jumped out at him. Depression. Anxiety. But that wasn't because of the concussion. That was because of his brothers not being here with him. He was worried about them. That was all. He just needed to get them back and then everything would be able to go back to normal.

"Okay," the doctor said. "Now we can schedule you another appointment at the same time next week. You can come back then and we can reassess you going back to work. And if any other symptoms come up you can always call."

"Yeah, okay," Darry agreed.

"Keep getting plenty of rest and I'll see you next week."

Like I got anythin' else to keep me occupied, he thought bitterly to himself.

As Darry headed back to the waiting room he felt even more exhausted and overwhelmed than he had going in. He had hoped to feel relieved walking out of this. Guess he had his hopes too high.

"How'd it go?" Two-Bit asked as Darry reappeared in the waiting room.

Darry sighed. "Not well."

Two-Bit immediately looked concerned. "Are you okay? What'd the doctor say?"

Darry shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he assured him quickly; aware of how his answer had sounded. "Physically. But he wants to wait another week before he clears me to work."

"Why's that?" Two-Bit asked as they started out into the parking lot.

"He wants me to get a better handle on the migraines before I go back," he said.

"Well I guess that makes sense," Two-Bit admitted. "I mean those migraines are pretty cripplin' right now, aren't they? I mean if that happened while you were up on the roof…" He let the thought trail off as Darry rolled his eyes.

"What could possibly happen?" he said sarcastically. "I might fall? How bad could that be?" Darry rubbed his head tiredly as they approached Two-Bit's car. "I just want this all to be over."

"Yeah, we all do," Two-Bit agreed as he unlocked the door. "But you still got the meeting at social services tomorrow, right? Maybe that will go well."

"Are you kiddin' me?" Darry snapped as they climbed into the car. "Like they're even gonna consider givin' Soda and Pony back to me if I can't even work."

Two-Bit gave him a surprised look. Darry knew that he didn't snap much, but all this was really starting to wear on him.

"Hey, it's all gonna work out," Two-Bit assured him. "It may take a little longer than we'd like, but Soda and Pony will come home."

"You so sure of that?" Darry asked tiredly.

"I am," Two-Bit said firmly with a grin.

"At least one of us is," Darry mumbled.

"Just don't go in to the meeting tomorrow assuming it's gonna go bad," Two-Bit said, glancing over at him with a hint of seriousness in his voice. He paused, as if something had just dawned on him. "So if you haven't been cleared to work I guess you haven't been cleared to drive yet, huh?"

Darry sighed. "Not technically," he admitted. "I'll be fine though."

Two-Bit shook his head. "I'll drive you to the meetin' tomorrow."

"You got school," Darry pointed out.

"School will be fine without me for the morning," Two-Bit said.

"No, seriously, Two-Bit," Darry insisted. "I'll be fine. I don't need to be driven around like an invalid."

Darry was a little surprised when Two-Bit stopped the car and put it in park until he glanced around and found they had already made it back to the house. He was about to get out of the car when Two-Bit reached over and stopped him.

"Darry, I know your focus right now is on gettin' Soda and Pony back," he said steadily. "I get that. I want that too. But… you don't know what it was like sittin' at your bedside for almost two weeks not sure if you'd ever wake up. You gotta take care of yourself, Darry. What you went through was no joke. So we're gonna play this one by the book. Doc says you shouldn't drive yet, then you ain't gonna drive."

Darry just stared. Two-Bit's tone left no room for argument. Calmly Two-Bit climbed out of the car and after a moment Darry remembered himself as he climbed out as well. They walked up to the house in silence.

Inside Darry fell into his recliner in the living room before he finally had his thoughts organized enough to break the silence. "I keep forgettin'," he said quietly. Two-Bit slowly sat on the couch, watching him carefully. "To me the whole thing was like a long nap. I vaguely remember fallin', but then the next thing I knew I was wakin' up in the hospital. It's hard to remember that so much time passed and how hard it was on you guys."

Two-Bit nodded. "So as much as we want Soda and Pony back… we also want to make sure you're okay too."

"Even Steve?" Darry said with a light laugh.

Two-Bit chuckled. "Even Steve. Even if he won't admit it." He paused. "Just remember, it's not like Soda and Pony are in jail or in trouble or nothin'. I'm sure they're fine. That's what social services is for, right? Takin' care of kids?"

"That's the idea," Darry said with a sigh. "But they put Pony in some foster home somewhere. Without Soda. I think that's what makes me the most nervous. At least if they had kept them together Soda would be able to look after him. Who knows what kinda home he's in, you know? Who knows what kind of people they put him with. He's still kinda fragile after everythin' that happened last month."

"Hey, he's a tough kid," Two-Bit said.

"I know," Darry said. "But he's never been completely on his own like that before. There's always been one of the gang with him. Even when he ran away, at least Johnny was with him."

"Well I'm sure as soon as you get cleared to work and things get back to normal, they won't have a leg to stand on to keep them away from you," Two-Bit assured him.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I could at least see them or even just talk to them," Darry said. "Not havin' any contact with them at all… is killin' me. I don't care how many times the state say they're fine, I want to hear it from them."

"You think that tomorrow they'll let you talk to them?" Two-Bit asked.

"I dunno," Darry said dismally. "Maybe."

"I don't see why they wouldn't," Two-Bit said, trying to be positive. "It's not like they took them away because of somethin' you did to them."

"Yeah," Darry said, but even he could hear the doubt in his own voice. He could already see that this wasn't going to be as easy as he wanted it to be. He rubbed his forehead.

"Your head feelin' okay?" Two-Bit asked.

"No worse than usual."

"You want some aspirin?" Two-Bit offered.

"Sure," Darry agreed.

As Two-Bit left Darry felt himself sinking back into the recliner. He was exhausted. The past week of sleepless nights were finally starting to catch up with him. In the time it took Two-Bit to track down the bottle of aspirin and a glass of water Darry was already dozing off into another restless sleep. He wouldn't rest easy until his brothers came home.