"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it.
But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."
―Lauren Oliver,Before I Fall

5 P.M.

Steve said he'd wait for Michelle to get back from the stable before driving down to the hospital to wait for the results with us. We were all too shocked to argue. It was the last thing we really expected.

Mary wouldn't talk at all. She just stared blankly ahead, her eyes wide, her face a sickly shade of grey. Darry's expression masked how he was feeling, but we all knew he was terrified. Shit, we all were. Soda was quiet. Really, really quiet. I wasn't sure if it was because he was fully taking in the situation, or because he was still in shock.

"Mar, just give us something. We really, really need to know what the hell happened," I tried again. She didn't even look at me. Instead, her cupped her head in her hands, trembles rolling off her body.

"We were driving too fast. Way too fast," she whispered. "I think the breaks went out or something. Pony's a real good driver, you know? But…I dunno. We lost control of the car. Then that little girl ran out in front of us…Shoot, he had to swerve, ya know? To not hit the kid…" her voice broke as she relived the last hour of her life. "He told me…he told me to put my hands over my head and turn towards him. He said not to be scared…" she coughed, her shaking becoming overwhelming. "There was glass everywhere…the airbag didn't go off right. His head…god, Jo, he hit the steering wheel so damn hard…." Suddenly she bolted to her feet, barely reaching the trash bin in time. I followed her, holding her long curls out of her face, rubbing small circles in her back.

"He's gonna be okay, Mar, I promise," I said gently, my tone as soothing as I could possibly make it. She looked up at me, her eyes full of tears.

"He was dead, Jo-Anna. I know. I was the one who fumbled with the damn seatbelt to get him out of the damn car. He was dead," her words struck me like a rusted knife. I had to struggle to support both of us as her knees gave way. We slid to the ground, my younger sister tightly wrapped in my arms.

"They brought him back, Mary, they brought him back," I chanted over and over. "Pony's time's not up yet," I said.

"Jo, you aren't listening to me, he's dead!" suddenly, she lashed out, her eyes wild. I groaned internally as she tried to pull away from me. Much to my relief, that was when Steve ran into the waiting room, having just arrived with Michelle, who automatically ran to Darry. She looked scared. Steve sank to the floor beside Mary and me, pulling her away from me, securely locking her in his strong arms.

"Shhh, Mary, he's gonna be okay," he said, his tone far more sure than mine. "He's gonna be just fine, you'll see."

11 P.M.

"Family of Ponyboy Curtis?" a nurse called. We all stood up. She looked over his chart before motioning for us all to sit down. We all did so, except Sodapop, who's pale face and scared eyes showed what we were all feeling. Absolutely terrified.

"Ponyboy suffered some major injuries when the car crashed," she said carefully, wording it in a way that made it sound far less scary than it really was. "There was some internal bleeding, which Dr. Smith quickly managed to stop. It's the swelling on his brain that's concerning us right now. We'd like to go in and try to reduce the swelling, but his body is in shock and is not responding to medicine…"

Mary's face went completely blank. Steve's arms tightened around me as we listened to the nurse drone on. Words like life threatening, permanent brain damage, and unlikely recovery stood out. I felt my stomach drop with every word she said.

Another nurse joined her shortly after, her face grim.

"We have yet to stabilize him. Now, despite it going against hospital policy, Dr. Stone is familiar with your family, and is willing to allow you each to see him before he goes back into surgery, one at a time, and very, very briefly," she said carefully.

Darry and Soda went first. They moved as if they were hoping time would stand still. It broke my heart. I knew what the nurses were saying. They had said the same thing the night my mother died.

"Family of Nikole Cedar?" the nurse called. I nudged my father, who was half asleep in the chair. My shirt was still stained with blood, but my sisters were locked in my arms regardless.

"We're doing all we can to save your mother, but the outcome looks grim. The doctor recommends coming in before we go into surgery and say your goodbyes," she said bluntly. Mary was old enough to comprehend what was going on, but Michelle was just a baby. All she knew was that her mother was really, really sick.

Tyler stood beside me, his arm around my shoulder, his other hand on Thomas'. We followed along as the nurse led us through the whitewashed hallways, up to the ICU.

The scene before us would haunt us for the rest of our life. Our mother was hooked to all sorts of machines. The erratic beeping of the heart monitor, the steady puffing sound of the oxygen mask. Her face was deathly pale.

Our goodbyes didn't last for long. Within a few minutes, her heart failed and she was gone. Just like that, our mother was dead.

"Jo," Steve said softly, squeezing my arm. I blinked and looked up at him. "It's…our turn," he said gently. I nodded and stood up, my head spinning as we followed the nurse through the halls, her shoes making virtually no sounds across the cement floors.

When we reached his room, my heart sank. For what felt like the millionth time, I was greeted with the sound of a heart monitor. The puff puff of an oxygen mask. Wires crisscrossed across his chest and arms.

"Oh, Ponyboy," I moaned. My legs gave way, and if Steve hadn't been there, I probably would have fallen on my face. "Don't take him," I whispered over and over, the reality finally catching up with me.

"Jo," he whispered.

Seeing him like that reminded me of my time overseas. The countless men lost on a daily basis. I didn't spend much time in the makeshift hospitals, the medical tents or the care barracks, but after they finally brought me back, after all that time searching for Soda, I got a real taste of horrible, heart wrenching terror.

The cries. The screams. The agony written across the faces of men who would never walks again. Never touch their wives again. Never hold their sons or daughters. The sight of men who wouldn't be coming home alive.

The smell was sickening. The too clean, too chemically clean and stomach turning smell, that could only be smelt when in a medical place. The bright lights and low tones. The beeping, the buzzing, the whizzing and puffing. It was all too familiar. All too real.

"Jo," I whispered as she collapsed in my arms, the sight of Ponyboy laying on those white, scratchy sheets with wires and tubes sticking out of him, all too much for her to handle. I didn't know what she was feeling. I could only acknowledge what I, myself, was feeling.

"Ponyboy, you keep on fighting, ya hear?" I said, trying to sound strong for Jo's sake. But god, it wasn't easy. This was going to crush our families. Our family. We couldn't take any more heartbreak. Not Soda or Darry or Mary. Not Jo or Michelle. None of us could handle any more heartbreak.

The nurse escorted us back to the waiting room. Jo barely moved her feet as I half dragged, half carried her back to our seats.

In the waiting room, I took in the faces of our family.

Darry looked sick to his stomach with concern. Soda was leaning against him, bitter tears rolling down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking as sobs racked his body. Michelle was sitting in Two-Bit's lap, her face buried in his chest, sobbing loudly. Mary…well Mary looked like she was going to go into shock at any moment. She was breathing hard, tears streaked down her face. Her hair was a mess, her shirt drenched in blood. I sat Jo down, draping my coat around her shoulders before kneeling in front of Mary, my eyes locking on hers.

"He's going to pull through," I promised her. Deep in my heart, I knew he just had to. I never really cared much for the kid growing up. He was the pest-like kid brother of my best friend. But after everything our gang…our family has been through, he was as important to me as anyone else. Deep down, I knew losing Ponyboy would be the final straw. Losing him would put an end to any hope of a bright future…

Two Days Later…

"He's waking up," Mary said from where she sat, her hands tightly interlocked with Pony's. In the last 48 hours, we saw a lot of improvement all around, not just with Ponyboy.

Steve and I were almost certain that this turn of events would lead to Soda doing heroin again, but much to our surprise and great relief, he didn't. Instead, he spent every single moment at his baby brother's bedside.

We all looked at Ponyboy from our respected spots when Mary said those three, simple words. Sure enough, he was beginning to stir. I held my breath. This was the moment we had all been waiting for. Two-Bit hurried out of the room to get the doctor, who returned with him only a moment later.

"Son, can you tell me your name?" he said after a few minutes. Ponyboy looked confused for a moment, but when he opened his mouth, a smile spread across all of our faces.

"Ponyboy Curtis. I'm 19 years old. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brother of Darrel and Sodapop Curtis. Son of Martha and Darrel," he rattled off with ease.

"Glory, Ponyboy, you sure did have us scared something fierce!" Two-Bit exclaimed. We all laughed, because this was the moment we had been hoping for, the moment we had all prayed to whoever was listening, that we would be able to hear. The best news we could have hoped for.

"I'm starving!" Pony cried, a smirk crossing his face.

Mary had tears of joy streaming down her face. She leaned down and kissed him so passionately, we could all actually hear the way it made Pony's heart jump.

"Careful Mar," I chuckled. Steve wrapped me in his arms, smiling widely.

We couldn't have hoped for better news. In the same breath, the entire experience…the last 48 hours had changed our lives in a way we'd never be able to fully explain. Those two days had been the longest, most emotionally draining days of our lives.

I think looking back, we all took something home with us after that. The three weeks Pony spent in the hospital proved to be three weeks that all of our lives changed. We all finally realized just how precious life really was. Even Two-Bit, who spent the entire time making jokes. Even Michelle, who was still so young, so innocent. Shoot, I think even our damn dog took something away from the experience.

Soda seemed happy for the first time since returning from war. Steve and I…well that's something we'll talk about another time. Darry, he's more appreciative of every single moment he has with his family and friends. Two-Bit actually got a real job. I know, shocking right? Mary said yes when Ponyboy proposed to her. We all knew she would. Michelle, she, at eight years old, actually read the first chapter or two of Gone With The Wind to Ponyboy while he was recovering in the hospital, repeating the words he had to sound out for her, until she perfected them. I think of all of us, she was the one who really realized that even though our parents are dead, she still had a whole gang full of big brothers looking out for her.

Soda even opened up to us about his time overseas. He talked it out, one moment at a time, explaining what triggered him, what still made him jump or flinch or panic, and even told us what made him feel real safe. It really was a moving month. A month we all could look back on years later and remember that in the blink of an eye, a very special, very important life was almost taken, but wasn't. A life that changed all of us for the better, due to an accident that was out of his control.

A/n - This chapter was actually originally supposed to be a one-shot, from almost five years ago, that I never bothered to post. While going through an old file on one of my flashdrives, I came across it, and decided after changing a few minor details (like originally it was Darry who was in the accident, not Ponyboy), I thought it would fit perfectly with the final few chapters of this story. With that said, I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with me, through both this story and the original "Ain't So Easy". I've decided that once this story ends, that'll be it, there won't be any continuation. So I'm working on getting the last few chapters completely typed out and wrapped up, so the conclusion is as sweet as I'd like it to be.

I'm open to minor suggestions, if anyone has any - but I'd like to point out, that this was the last bit of "drama", the last few chapters will be sweet and ultimately, after debating it for some time, the ending too, will be a happy one. Or bitter-sweet, I should say, but you'll see why when the time comes.

Again, to all of you who have favorited, followed, and reviewed - I love you. I do. It makes me so happy to know that you're out there, reading what I write. Actually, I think it's the reason that this has become my longest fan-fiction ever. So thank you, for having faith in me and sticking with me while I told this twisted tale!