I just want to say how much I truly appreciate all of the reviews! Thank you guys so much, and thank you as well to everyone who has favorited/followed this story. It means SO much! **I went back and fixed some issues...I beleive they were caused by using copy/paste, so I hope they're all fixed! **
Steve's Vigil
I'd spent a lot of time with the kid over the last few days, and he'd been asleep for most of it. When he'd gone to the hospital, Soda had wanted to spend as much time as he could by his unconscious brother's bedside, but they needed the money. Darry was able to get half shifts, but he, too, was very aware that they needed money, especially now that there would be hospital bills. So, after the first day when the kid had only been allowed to have visitors for a few hours after his surgery, Dally, surprisingly, had been the one to step up, knowing Soda and Darry couldn't take much time off.
"You two got bills to pay. We'll take turns staying with the kid." He'd told Darry while lighting a cigarette, which I'm almost certain he wasn't supposed to be smoking in the kid's hospital room. They'd let Dally leave a few hours after Ponyboy, but he'd hung around the station, loitering until they let Johnny go the next day. The first place they wanted to go when I picked them up that afternoon was to see the kid, especially Johnny who still seemed pretty tore up about it.
Of course, I didn't blame him. When Soda had gotten the call from Dal, I'd thought he was going to run my car into a tree. I'd hurried after him, telling him I'd drive, and the whole way there he'd been wound so tight I'd thought he was gonna snap. His head pressed against the window, hands clenched tight, he'd been silent the whole time while Two-Bit fumed in the back seat. I'd remembered seeing them take the kid…jerking him around and handcuffing him…how he'd been wheezing for breath. Broken ribs were
a bitch, and to have a couple of meathead cops manhandling you when you could barely breathe without it hurting was even worse.
I'd found myself comforting the kid, telling him we were going to take care of it, and for the first time I could remember, the kid had given me this look…like he was so grateful…like he was relying on me. So when Two-Bit had decided to go after those socs, I knew it was a good plan. Even when we had those girls cornered, all I could think about was that kid looking up at me, hands behind his back as a cop shoved him forward, eyes thanking me for offering to do something anyone of our gang would have done. In the car with Soda and Two-Bit, I'd realized I hadn't thought of the kid as a tag-along brat for a while, and I had to admit, it hadn't bothered me as much as it should have.
Soda had jumped out of the car the second we'd entered the parking lot, barely giving me time to slam on my breaks, and Two-Bit had been right behind him. It took me a little longer, since I'd had to find a parking space somewhere in that maze of a parking lot, but when I'd finally made it to the waiting room, I had been surprised to find Darry standing upright, arms so tight around Soda that I'd thought he might break his ribs too, but Soda had been gripping him just as tight, and they were both shaking, Darry fighting tears. Two-Bit had had his hands shoved in his pockets, staring stonily at the floor, but had glanced up when I'd approached.
"Kid's in surgery." He'd told me, his eyes betraying the tough look he was trying to project. Two-Bit was scared. The two brothers had stayed like that for a long time while Two-Bit and I had stood by, watching the nurses who scurried around, some giving us worried looks as though we were gonna cause some kind of scene. Then again, I supposed I hadn't really slept in a while, my hair was a wreck, as was Two-Bit's, and we were all carrying blades, so it was probably a pretty normal assumption. But we'd had no intention of causing any problems. Not then, when the kid was in surgery.
"They say anything?" I'd asked Two-Bit while Darry and Soda had tried to collect themselves. He'd turned to me.
"Nah. Not that I know of. These two started this as soon as we walked in." At that point, Darry had pulled back, trying real hard to keep himself from falling apart. I had seen it in his face. One more piece of bad news and he'd shatter. Soda, on the other hand, had already been a wreck. "The doctor say anything?" Two-Bit had asked.
Darry had shook his head. "Not really." His voice was low and rough. "They took him back and one of the paramedics said he needed surgery." He'd shrugged. Nodding, I'd tilted my head towards the chairs we had been standing by, and, taking the hint, Darry had pulled Soda into one of them, sitting beside him. I'd moved to his other side, while Two-Bit dropped onto the floor. Nudging my friend with my shoulder, I'd given him a quick smile.
"Your kid brother is tough, Soda. You know that. He'll be alright." I'd thought about making a smart remark about him being back to his bratty self but thought better of it. I hadn't really been in the mood anyway.
"We gotta deal with the police too." Darry had spoke up. "They've still got Johnny and Dal. Pony's still in police custody, technically." Apparently the police had made that abundantly clear, and I'd swore, too quietly for the passing nurses to overhear.
"Don't you worry, Darry. We already took care of that." Darry had given Two-Bit a started look, then had turned to me. Our jovial friend had been quiet, but I knew Darry had no idea what we'd been up to all morning.
"We had a chat with some socs. Two-Bit here convinced 'em to spill what really happened to the police. The broads too."
"Steve…" I'd shaken my head at Soda.
"We had some help. Tim and his gang were around, and you know he likes Johnny and the kid.
"We really appreciate it, Steve." Darry had told me quietly, and I'd shaken him off.
"It was Two-Bit's idea." I'd told him simply. I was fine with letting them think I was just along for the ride.
An hour or two later, a nurse had come into the waiting room, looking at us hesitantly. She was young…only a few years older than us probably, and she'd glanced back down at her clipboard before approaching. "The family of Ponyboy Curtis?"
On the first syllable of his name, both of his brothers had jumped up. Two-Bit and I had followed, watching her closely. She'd tried to smile a bit, but she still looked nervous. "Is he okay?" Soda had demanded, voice high pitched and desperate, and Darry had dropped a hand on his shoulder, looking scared himself.
"Um…he had to have emergency surgery. He was having difficulty breathing due to a nick in his lung…he has four broken ribs and two more are bruised. They are going in to repair the damage done to his lung…we'll let you know how he's doing as soon as we know more." The girl had seemed to gather herself, her professional look hiding whatever she really felt about us.
"How long will it take?" Darry had asked, keeping an arm around Sodapop.
"It could be several hours, depending on what kind of damage there is…we'll keep you updated. If you have any questions you can ask for me and I'll find out what I can. Just ask for nurse Hattie." Darry had thanked her and then we'd gone back to waiting.
When we'd finally been allowed back in the kid's room, it had been pretty rough. The kid had been too pale, a mask over his face helping him breathe, and an IV in had been stuck in both his hands right above his wrists. I'd thought Soda was gonna fall over, and I'd draped an arm around him, looking at him rather than the kid. It was easier to look at Soda…looking at the kid made my stomach lurch. He should have been jumping up and making some kind of smart remark at me for being in his hospital room, not just lying there. Soda had been the first to snap out of it, moving over to his little brother's bed, and he'd just sat there, holding his limp hand, eyes wet.
Dally and Johnny and I stayed with the kid the first full day. I'd been pretty surprised to see Dally in his room that morning, with Johnny trailing behind. I mean, I knew Dally liked the kid, but hospital rooms weren't really his thing. Still, he'd plopped down in a chair right by the kid's side across from me. I knew he'd been there the day before too, when Darry and Soda had both taken full days off to spend with him.
"We supposed to talk to him?" Johnny had asked after a few minutes of silence, and I'd shrugged.
"Man, I don't know." I'd glanced at Dally but he was staring at his hands, apparently not paying much attention. The day before I'd been working, trying to cover for Soda, clocking him in even though he didn't show. I knew if the boss caught us doing that one of us would get fired, and it would probably be me. Soda drew girls like flies to honey.
I knew Soda had talked to him for a while the day before when he and Darry had been there, but I didn't know what to say, so we were all silent until Two-Bit showed up, eyes bloodshot but acting sober enough. He looked kind of ashamed, and he wouldn't meet any of our eyes. No one had said anything about his drinking, though. Since we were all in the room, I'd thought about pulling out the cards and playing a few hands, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, we had all been real quiet until the kid had started talking.
"Two-Bit's in Texas." He'd said, mumbling, but the words had come across clear as anything under the oxygen mask over his mouth. We'd all jumped, even Dally, and then the kid said it again. "Two-Bit's in Texas." I'd snorted, realizing the kid was talking in his sleep.
"Hear that, Two-Bit? You're in Texas." Two-Bit had cracked a smile at my weak attempt at a joke.
"Kid's having some weird dreams." He'd told us, making Johnny grin at his friend. I'd had to agree. Why on earth would Ponyboy dream about Two-Bit going to Texas?
"Johnny? Are you okay?" Johnny had sighed at that, shaking his head.
"Man, why does he keep asking me that?" He'd asked no one in particular. It did seem weird…then again, I'd figured the kid was dreaming about those socs. He was scared they were gonna hurt Johnny, I guess. It was something he'd asked a lot over the coming days.
"Is Dally okay?" The kid had asked next, and Dally had given him a weird, tight look.
"I'm fine, kid." He spoke to Pony directly, reaching out and touching the kid's shoulder. "How about you worry about yourself?" The kid's face had changed then, eyebrows furrowing.
"Why?" No one answered that…we had all waited for a minute, thinking the kid was gonna wake up, but he didn't. Instead, he had continued to mumble every few minutes, sometimes staying silent for hours before talking again. After a while, Dally and Johnny had split, leaving me with just Two-Bit until his brothers had shown up again. The kid had still been mumbling in his sleep and Soda had asked if he was awake.
"He's talking in his sleep." I had told him as Darry arrived. Apparently, he'd stopped to talk to a nurse on his way in...the nice girl "He's been doing it all day. Didn't he do it yesterday?" I'd asked, moving out of the way so Darry could have my seat. My butt was numb from sitting in that stupid chair anyway.
"No…" Soda had mumbled, dropping into the chair Dally had been using earlier and touching his brother's face. But the kid hadn't stirred, and he'd been silent until the next day. I'd arrived right at 9 when hospital visiting hours started up. I don't know why. The kid hadn't known the difference. Still, I didn't have anything else to do. Besides, I'd figured the guys would show up at some point, and I probably owed it to Soda to look out for the kid when he was unconscious.
Nurses had been bustling around him when I'd arrived, and I had hung back against the wall when one of them had removed his oxygen mask. "Don't he need that?" I'd asked, and the nurse from the waiting room, Hattie, had turned to smile in surprise at me.
"Oh. No. We're giving him a nasal cannula to supply him with oxygen." Another nurse had moved out of the way, showing that instead of the mask he'd had before, he now had a thin piece of plastic running under his nose and behind his head. "We're hoping he'll wake up within the next day or so." Smiling one last time at me, she and the other nurse had headed out, and I was glad he at least had a nice nurse looking out for him. Usually, the hospital staff we dealt with looked at us like dirt and treated us the same.
Dropping into the chair I'd begun to think of as 'Darry and my chair,' I'd leaned back, staring at the still pale, still silent kid. "You gonna wake up anytime soon, kid?" I'd asked. Of course, there was no answer, and I'd gone back to staring at the walls, looking forward to when the guys got there…and when this kid finally woke up and we could all go home.
"What do you care?" I'd jerked upright, turning to the kid with wide eyes. Was he awake? He'd sounded just like he usually did when I said he couldn't come with us somewhere, or when I would rag on him about something.
"Kid?" I'd asked, leaning in and touching his arm, but there was nothing. I'd snorted to myself, rolling my eyes. That place was getting to me.
Two-Bit and Dally had showed up later, around noon with food for me. "Maybe the smell of food will wake him up." Two-Bit had suggested cheerfully, dropping bags of hamburgers on the table by his bed. Dal had rolled his eyes at that, pulling out a burger and dropping into 'his and Soda's chair' while he dug in. It seemed Two-Bit was once more in high spirits.
"Where's Johnny?" I'd asked, taking a burger and nodding my thanks to Two-Bit.
"Went home last night." Dal had told me simply. Before I could ask if he was okay, the kid has spoken up again.
"Is Johnny okay?" He had mumbled, tossing a bit in the bed, his head falling to one side. He'd looked scared this time. I had been kind of freaked out too…it was like the kid had read my mind.
"What does he keep asking that for?" Two-Bit had asked, swallowing his burger and leaning in. He'd been sitting by Dally, his back to the door, and he touched the kid's leg over the blanket.
"Dally." The kid had said instead of answering, and we'd all turned our full attention to him, putting our food down for the moment.
"What about Dally, Pony?" Two-Bit had asked, squeezing his knee and looking over at Dallas who had watched all this silently, his own eyes narrowed in confusion.
"He'll lose it…if Johnny dies." The kid had tossed again, this time turning his head toward Dally and Two-Bit, jaw tight as he seemed to fight with something. I'd shaken my head, meeting Two-Bit's gaze. "And we'll lose both of them." The kid had sounded scared, but suddenly he was calm as he'd spoken again. "He won't mind so much if I die." We'd all froze, Dally clenching his jaw and going kind of white. Two-Bit had closed his eyes for a moment, keeping his hand on Pony's leg.
Suddenly, Dally had stood, hands clenched as he'd turned to leave the room. "He doesn't know what he's saying, Dal. He's asleep." I'd called, staring to stand, but he'd turned to me with his normal cold, icy blue stare.
"I don't give a shit what the kid said. I just got better things to do than stick around here all day." He'd snapped, shutting the door hard on his way out. I'd sighed, sitting back in the chair and turning to Two-Bit. I knew it had gotten to Dal, hearing the kid say he wouldn't care if Pony died…wouldn't mind so much. Of course he'd mind. We'd all mind. Stupid kid. Even as I thought it, I'd felt bad.
"I told him the gang couldn't exist without Johnny." Two-Bit had said miserably, and, having had enough of all this moping, I'd leaned over the kid's bed, whacking my friend in the head.
"Cut it out. Nobody's dying, and we ain't gonna have to exist without any of us."
"I hit him…he was ragging on Johnny and I hit him..."
"Two-Bit, the kid is gonna be fine! Golly, you act like this is his deathbed we're sitting at. We're just keeping an eye on him until he wakes up, so pull yourself together. We aint doing him any good by crying over you giving him a good smack he probably deserved." He'd given me a cold, almost hurt stare then, but I'd ignored him. Stupid kid needed to wake up. Soon.
And he had. On the morning of the fourth day, early in the morning, he'd stirred, opening his eyes suddenly and staring at the ceiling for a long time. "Kid?" I'd asked, leaning in, sure he would just close his eyes and go back to being unconscious. I'd kind of gotten used to the silence, although I wasn't about to tell anyone else that. Nor did I want anyone telling the kid I'd spent the majority of the last two days at his bedside. He'd go getting the wrong idea.
He'd mumbled something, turning to look at me with bleary, exhausted eyes.
"Glory kid." I'd exhaled, almost smiling. "I thought you'd never wake up."
"You told me to." He'd told me, eyes narrow and confused, and it had taken me a minute to remember the previous day's one-sided conversation. "Yeah, kid, yesterday." I'd snorted, apparently only confusing him more, because the idiot kid had started to sit up before I'd jumped up, holding out a hand and telling him to stay. Surprisingly, he'd listened, and once I'd given him an overview of what had happened, he'd been out of it once more, leaving me to get the doctor and call everyone.
All of that to say, I'd spent quite a lot of time with the kid, enough to know that, when I turned the corner to find the kind just staring into space, something was wrong. He hadn't even made a smart remark when I'd asked what he was doing. Grumpy and tired, I decided to ignore him. I knew he wasn't taking those pain pills anymore, since, according to Darry, they were making him sick. Maybe that explained all the sleeping he'd been doing. I knew pain pills could mess with you pretty bad, so I didn't blame him. I just wondered how well aspirin would do with broken ribs.
The kid was still moving slow, and for a moment, he just stayed where he was, leaning aginst the wall. "Soda still asleep?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I'd never really needed to with the kid before, but I kind of felt like I should now. He seemed upset about something, and even though I didn't know if I wanted him spilling his guts to me about it, I knew he might need to talk to someone. He'd killed someone. He was bound to be upset about that. He sure seemed to think about it a lot, if the far off, frightened look in his eyes was anything to go by. But his nightmares, according to what I'd heard the night before, were about a fire...him and Johnny and Dally in a fire.
"Yeah." The kid answered, grabbing a skillet while I took a drink of milk straight from the carton. I knew he didn't care, while Darry would chew me out for it. Pony was good at keeping his trap shut...sometimes. I guess I appreciated that about him. If he could just stop following his big brother around like a shadow and making smart remarks...well, who was I kidding? He'd always be a little pain, but that didn't mean I didn't care. What he'd said before...Dally wouldn't mind so much if he died...it made me feel sick. Did he really think that? If he thought Dally wouldn't care, what did he think about me? Before I could even figure out how to begin to breach that topic, however, there was a knock at the door.
No one ever knocked on the Curtis' door. Ever. We all just walked right in. The only people that ever knocked were door to door salesmen who never quite had the nerve to try and push things on Darry, people asking for donations (who also never had the nerve to push Darry…Darry was big) and social workers. I knew they were probably due for a visit within the next few weeks, but this was different. Leaning in the doorway to the living room, I watched as Pony stared up at the strange guy. Social worker. The normal lady was okay…nice enough, and she knew all of their names. This guy kept staring at his clipboard like this was one of his many families to visit today. It set my teeth on edge. And the kid still wasn't saying a word to this guy, even after he introduced himself and all but asked if he could come in. So I decided to rescue him, throwing my arm around him and assuring the social worker that we'd get Pony's guardian for this little unexplained chat.
It was never good when new social workers came sniffing around; I knew it and the kid knew it, and I winced inwardly when I felt how he was shaking. The kid was barely holding it together. I knew he was still having those nightmares…he'd woken me up the night before. Still, I didn't much hold it against him. Kid couldn't help it. Not sleeping put him on edge though. "Darry's getting ready," I told the social worker, squeezing the kid's shoulder. "Come on in."
"And you are?" I smiled, trying to sound as polite as possible while explaining who I was and what I was doing there before dragging the kid away.
Ponyboy was falling apart, which was obvious when he opened his mouth. "I killed him." The kid's eyes were dull and unfocused, and I swore inwardly, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. It probably hurt but he had to snap out of it!
"Shut up." I whispered, squeezing his shoulders in what I hoped was a comforting way. His face went from dull and unfocused to a slow, crazed smile, and I grabbed his chin, warning him not to get crazy on me. I could see why Dally had slapped him. He nodded, but I wasn't convinced he was really taking all of this in.
"If everything alright?" The guy in the living room had called.
"Yeah, everything's fine!" I called back, shaking the kid again. He flinched and I quit abruptly, not wanting him hurt for real. I knew that we needed Darry, and I knew Soda was better with him than I was, so I sent him off to get his brothers, reassuring him that we weren't going to let anyone take him. I meant it too. No one was taking that kid away from his home.
As he disappeared into Darry's room, I stood in the kitchen for a minute, staring at the skillet. I didn't know if there was anything I could do. If they decided to take the kid...what could I really do? I had a chance, though. I could at least talk to this guy...try and explain things. Making up my mind, I headed back into the living room with the social worker, hoping I wasn't about to make things worse. Still, I had to try, what with how the kid had been acting.
"Mr…" I trailed off, hoping he'd get the point.
"Summers. Adam Summers." He introduced himself, holding out a hand I shook.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Summers." It wasn't but I'd lie if I had to. I told myself I was doing this for Soda, but for some reason, I couldn't quit thinking of the kid's face when I'd first walked into their house a few nights ago…after finding out that Darry had hit him and he'd run off. I didn't want this family to go through anything else. "I just wanted to say…um…the kid…Ponyboy's been pretty upset since the hospital. He's hurting pretty bad, and he's still recovering from that night." All that was true, although I had no business saying it to a social worker. Ever since killing that guy, the kid seemed to zone out half the time, face going pale and hand shaking.
The social worker didn't say anything, just watched me, so I hurried on, hating that I felt like I was trying to explain myself to a teacher or the principal or something. "They're going through a hard time. Pony's having nightmares, and his brothers are real worried about him. Just…can you take it easy on them? The place is kind of a mess because they were working or with him in the hospital the last few days." I shrugged, stopping abruptly and shoving my hands into my pockets just as Darry stepped into the room, giving me a questioning look then turning to the social worker with a grim smile as they shook hands. I'd done the best I could. Figuring the rest was up to Darry and Soda and the kid, I headed into the kitchen to make breakfast, hoping I hadn't made anything worse.
Thank you for reading. It's midnight, so there might be some mistakes...I tried to edit as best I could but I'm very tired :) I hope you enjoyed it regardless.