Thanks to all reviewers!
rocky: Okay, here is the chapter you have been waiting for.
crazy4nc128: Yeah, I like how Steve can go either way too.
Karlei Shaynner: Thanks for reviewing!
Koujako: Let me know if you were right about what Pony has because you will find out in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.
BTW crazy4nc128 there is a lot of angst in this chapter.
Darry's POV
That afternoon, we went to the hospital, so Pony could have the tests Dr. White ordered done. Some of them sounded horrible when the procedures were explained to us. He had to have a bone marrow aspiration, and of course more bloodwork. When we were in Pony's hospital room, and he was sleeping again, I remembered that I had not called Soda to let him know what was going on. I went out to a payphone and called the DX, and Steve answered the phone.
"Hey, Steve, can I talk to Soda?" I said to him.
"Yeah, sure. Darry, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later, but right now I need to talk to Soda."
He put Soda on the phone, and as soon as he started talking, I could hear the worry and concern in his voice.
"Darry, is Pony okay? Do they know what's wrong? Is it serious?"
"Hold on, little buddy, slow down. He is okay at the moment. I don't know anything yet. We won't know the results of any testing until later this evening."
"Testing? What tests did they do on him?"
"Bloodwork and a bone marrow aspiration. I don't know what they are checking for though. I'll talk to you later. Drop by the hospital after work. I'm sure Pony wants to see you."
"Okay. See you later. Bye."
I hung up and went back to Pony's room. He was awake, and when I looked at him, he looked like he had lost weight. I hadn't noticed it before.
"Pony, I think you should eat something." I said.
"Come on, Darry, I don't want to eat hospital food." He complained.
"Well, at least go get something out of a vending machine." I answered handing him some change.
He took it and got up quickly, obviously too quickly. He swayed, but I caught him before he could fall.
"Pony, maybe you should stay here, and I'll go get you something." Just then, I noticed how red his cheeks were, and I felt his head to see if he had a fever.
"You're burning up. I'm going to go get a nurse." Pony didn't say a word. He just lied back down on the bed.
I got a nurse, and she came in to take Pony's temperature. When she read it, she looked alarmed.
"104! We need to get you something to bring that down."
She told me to get a cold washcloth and put in on Pony's head to cool him down, and she went to get some medicine.
"Maybe you shouldn't worry about eating right now. Just get as much rest as you can." I said rubbing the washcloth against his face.
"Okay, Darry. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what, baby?" I asked, but he was already asleep.
Sorry? I hoped he wasn't feeling guilty. Pony has blamed himself for a lot of things that have happened in the past couple years. None of that was his fault, and it certainly wasn't his fault he was sick.
Soda's POV
I couldn't believe what was happening or what this doctor was saying about Pony! I had just gotten to the hospital, and the test results were back. The doctor had called Darry and me into a conference room since Pony was still asleep.
"All of Ponyboy's tests confirm that he has leukemia, a cancer of the blood forming tissues. Specifically, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In this disease, immature white blood cells called blasts multiply and crowd out mature white cells, red cells, and platelets.
I felt hot tears well up in my eyes. Cancer. My baby brother had cancer. He wasn't even fifteen years old yet! How were we going to tell him this? I looked at Darry. I had not seen him cry in a long time, but I could tell he was holding back tears.
"So what do we do next?" Darry asked.
"Well, we get him started on a chemotherapy protocol." The doctor answered him.
"Will this cure the cancer?" I wanted to know.
"I will be honest with you. His chances of being cured are about ten percent, and treatment will begin tomorrow." He left us alone in the room.
I broke down sobbing, and Darry wrapped his arms around me. I saw tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Darry, we can't lose Pony. We can't live without him. I wish I could just take his place." I cried.
"Soda, please don't say that. We have to be hopeful. Pony's strong, and he's already made it through so much." He said holding me tighter.
He was trying to act brave, but I knew it was just a front.
Pony's POV
As soon as I woke up again, Darry and Soda walked into my room. I knew when I looked at them that bad news was coming, but I never thought it would be so horrible. I cried until my head hurt, and my brothers were right there with me. I was scared out of my mind.
"Why did this happen? What did I do to deserve this?" I cried.
"Pony, this isn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself." Soda said hugging me as I cried some more.
How was I supposed to feel? I was more than likely going to die from this. I was horrified. I wasn't even fifteen yet, and I had cancer. Then, I remembered my birthday was only a week away.
"I guess I'll have to spend my birthday here."
"We will do whatever it takes to make sure it's still a happy one." Darry said.
I was thinking how this could be my last birthday. How I might never finish school or go to college. Become something besides a Greaser. I mentally told myself to stop thinking like that. I had to be positive. I knew that, but it sure was difficult to see any light at the end of this tunnel.
Twobit's POV
Darry had called Steve and me and said to come to the hospital where Pony was because he had to tell us something important. I knew it was bad news, but it was much worse than I thought it could ever be. When Darry told us Pony's diagnosis and the rest of the horrible news that went with it, I kept telling myself that Greasers don't cry, especially in public. Right then, I sure wanted to cry. How could Pony be so sick? Why couldn't it have just been the flu? I knew I couldn't keep thinking this. What was happening was reality. I had to be there for Pony, and Soda and Darry too. I looked at Steve, and he looked exactly how I felt. I knew most of his concern was for Soda though. Glory, I couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling. Pony was his kid brother, and they were so close. Darry was trying to hide it, but I knew he was just as scared as Pony and Soda. We often called Darry Superman, but I didn't know if even he could keep himself together for much longer. I was starting to cry, and I knew I had to get out of there, away from everyone. Away from everyone I knew who wouldn't believe Twobit Mattews, the person who always had a joke to crack couldn't handle this without breaking.
Steve's POV
I couldn't believe this! Just when things were going good again, something else had to happen. Soda had already been through enough. All the Curtises had been through too much. I was annoyed at myself because I was starting to get too emotional. I saw that Twobit had tears in his eyes. I thought he had forgotten how to cry; had let go of his emotions. I guess not. I thought as he started to leave the room. I was going to let him go, but something told me to stop him.
"Twobit, where are you going?" I asked.
"I don't know. I need to get away from here."
"Don't you think it would be a good idea to go see Pony and Soda?"
"Yeah, we should do that." He said still holding back tears.
We walked to Pony's room and went inside. We found all three Curtises together on the bed.
"Stay gold, you guys. No matter what happens to me, stay gold." Pony said as his voice cracked.
Darry and Soda lost all the composure they had left when Pony spoke those words. I went over and sat on the edge of the bed. I put my arm around Soda to let him know I was there for him. Twobit left the room, and at the time I had no idea where he was going.
rocky: Okay, here is the chapter you have been waiting for.
crazy4nc128: Yeah, I like how Steve can go either way too.
Karlei Shaynner: Thanks for reviewing!
Koujako: Let me know if you were right about what Pony has because you will find out in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.
BTW crazy4nc128 there is a lot of angst in this chapter.
Darry's POV
That afternoon, we went to the hospital, so Pony could have the tests Dr. White ordered done. Some of them sounded horrible when the procedures were explained to us. He had to have a bone marrow aspiration, and of course more bloodwork. When we were in Pony's hospital room, and he was sleeping again, I remembered that I had not called Soda to let him know what was going on. I went out to a payphone and called the DX, and Steve answered the phone.
"Hey, Steve, can I talk to Soda?" I said to him.
"Yeah, sure. Darry, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later, but right now I need to talk to Soda."
He put Soda on the phone, and as soon as he started talking, I could hear the worry and concern in his voice.
"Darry, is Pony okay? Do they know what's wrong? Is it serious?"
"Hold on, little buddy, slow down. He is okay at the moment. I don't know anything yet. We won't know the results of any testing until later this evening."
"Testing? What tests did they do on him?"
"Bloodwork and a bone marrow aspiration. I don't know what they are checking for though. I'll talk to you later. Drop by the hospital after work. I'm sure Pony wants to see you."
"Okay. See you later. Bye."
I hung up and went back to Pony's room. He was awake, and when I looked at him, he looked like he had lost weight. I hadn't noticed it before.
"Pony, I think you should eat something." I said.
"Come on, Darry, I don't want to eat hospital food." He complained.
"Well, at least go get something out of a vending machine." I answered handing him some change.
He took it and got up quickly, obviously too quickly. He swayed, but I caught him before he could fall.
"Pony, maybe you should stay here, and I'll go get you something." Just then, I noticed how red his cheeks were, and I felt his head to see if he had a fever.
"You're burning up. I'm going to go get a nurse." Pony didn't say a word. He just lied back down on the bed.
I got a nurse, and she came in to take Pony's temperature. When she read it, she looked alarmed.
"104! We need to get you something to bring that down."
She told me to get a cold washcloth and put in on Pony's head to cool him down, and she went to get some medicine.
"Maybe you shouldn't worry about eating right now. Just get as much rest as you can." I said rubbing the washcloth against his face.
"Okay, Darry. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what, baby?" I asked, but he was already asleep.
Sorry? I hoped he wasn't feeling guilty. Pony has blamed himself for a lot of things that have happened in the past couple years. None of that was his fault, and it certainly wasn't his fault he was sick.
Soda's POV
I couldn't believe what was happening or what this doctor was saying about Pony! I had just gotten to the hospital, and the test results were back. The doctor had called Darry and me into a conference room since Pony was still asleep.
"All of Ponyboy's tests confirm that he has leukemia, a cancer of the blood forming tissues. Specifically, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In this disease, immature white blood cells called blasts multiply and crowd out mature white cells, red cells, and platelets.
I felt hot tears well up in my eyes. Cancer. My baby brother had cancer. He wasn't even fifteen years old yet! How were we going to tell him this? I looked at Darry. I had not seen him cry in a long time, but I could tell he was holding back tears.
"So what do we do next?" Darry asked.
"Well, we get him started on a chemotherapy protocol." The doctor answered him.
"Will this cure the cancer?" I wanted to know.
"I will be honest with you. His chances of being cured are about ten percent, and treatment will begin tomorrow." He left us alone in the room.
I broke down sobbing, and Darry wrapped his arms around me. I saw tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Darry, we can't lose Pony. We can't live without him. I wish I could just take his place." I cried.
"Soda, please don't say that. We have to be hopeful. Pony's strong, and he's already made it through so much." He said holding me tighter.
He was trying to act brave, but I knew it was just a front.
Pony's POV
As soon as I woke up again, Darry and Soda walked into my room. I knew when I looked at them that bad news was coming, but I never thought it would be so horrible. I cried until my head hurt, and my brothers were right there with me. I was scared out of my mind.
"Why did this happen? What did I do to deserve this?" I cried.
"Pony, this isn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself." Soda said hugging me as I cried some more.
How was I supposed to feel? I was more than likely going to die from this. I was horrified. I wasn't even fifteen yet, and I had cancer. Then, I remembered my birthday was only a week away.
"I guess I'll have to spend my birthday here."
"We will do whatever it takes to make sure it's still a happy one." Darry said.
I was thinking how this could be my last birthday. How I might never finish school or go to college. Become something besides a Greaser. I mentally told myself to stop thinking like that. I had to be positive. I knew that, but it sure was difficult to see any light at the end of this tunnel.
Twobit's POV
Darry had called Steve and me and said to come to the hospital where Pony was because he had to tell us something important. I knew it was bad news, but it was much worse than I thought it could ever be. When Darry told us Pony's diagnosis and the rest of the horrible news that went with it, I kept telling myself that Greasers don't cry, especially in public. Right then, I sure wanted to cry. How could Pony be so sick? Why couldn't it have just been the flu? I knew I couldn't keep thinking this. What was happening was reality. I had to be there for Pony, and Soda and Darry too. I looked at Steve, and he looked exactly how I felt. I knew most of his concern was for Soda though. Glory, I couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling. Pony was his kid brother, and they were so close. Darry was trying to hide it, but I knew he was just as scared as Pony and Soda. We often called Darry Superman, but I didn't know if even he could keep himself together for much longer. I was starting to cry, and I knew I had to get out of there, away from everyone. Away from everyone I knew who wouldn't believe Twobit Mattews, the person who always had a joke to crack couldn't handle this without breaking.
Steve's POV
I couldn't believe this! Just when things were going good again, something else had to happen. Soda had already been through enough. All the Curtises had been through too much. I was annoyed at myself because I was starting to get too emotional. I saw that Twobit had tears in his eyes. I thought he had forgotten how to cry; had let go of his emotions. I guess not. I thought as he started to leave the room. I was going to let him go, but something told me to stop him.
"Twobit, where are you going?" I asked.
"I don't know. I need to get away from here."
"Don't you think it would be a good idea to go see Pony and Soda?"
"Yeah, we should do that." He said still holding back tears.
We walked to Pony's room and went inside. We found all three Curtises together on the bed.
"Stay gold, you guys. No matter what happens to me, stay gold." Pony said as his voice cracked.
Darry and Soda lost all the composure they had left when Pony spoke those words. I went over and sat on the edge of the bed. I put my arm around Soda to let him know I was there for him. Twobit left the room, and at the time I had no idea where he was going.