Well, Im back. A week of pure boredom must help a person or something, because you guys get an update out of it. And this chapter is LONG. Hope you enjoy!
A few warnings...1.) everyone is a little mean with Skye, just know that she's very annoying when she's sick, and she might be in pain, but she's really just fine. They would have a lot more sympathy if everything else wasn't going on. Everyone's running on little to no sleep, and a lot of stress. Just keep it in mind. 2) I cant guarantee that all the medical information in here is correct, but go with me. Im not a nurse, or a doctor, and I've spent a lot of time researching what I can. Let me know if something's wrong, and you know that for a fact, but don't freak. I tried.
Reviews at End
Chapter 25
(Darry's POV)
I sure hadn't slept enough the night before, and here I was being woken again. I was pretty out of it, but soon I realized that Soda was waking me. I glanced at the clock to see that it was only four thirty in the morning. I hadn't slept for more than three hours or so. I had stayed at the hospital until late the night before and now I was being woken up at four. Wow, I really have to find a way to get some sleep I thought as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The light was still off, but even in the darkness I could see that Soda looked slightly worried.
"What?" I asked tiredly. I wondered why he was waking me up, if someone had been screaming or something I would have woken up and he wasn't the type to...
"Phone. Sorry, but I think you should take it." He whispered.
The phone? How had I missed that? I always woke up to everything, but I had had no idea the phone even rang. I guess I was more worn out than I had thought.
I nodded my head and slowly pulled myself out of bed. I was really only half awake at that point, and it was hard to keep my balance as I stood. I swayed on my feet for a second before stumbling out to the phone. It was sitting on the stool next to the wall under the hook.
"Hello?" I asked, trying to get the sleepiness out of my voice, It was obvious I hadn't gotten much sleep at that point.
"Darrel?" I recognized the voice, but it wasn't someone I could place. God, this had better be good, I thought as I reached out into the hallway to turn the heater up. It was a cold morning.
"Yeah." I heard Soda come out of the bathroom and wander into the kitchen. He looked at me shortly, but then turned and got two mugs out of the cupboard. He already had coffee on, and checked it to see how soon it would be done.
"I'm sorry, I know it's really early, but this is Dr. Ross. I'm calling about Reesa. Her fever spiked again about an hour ago and we haven't been able to get it back down. I need to have you come down here."
By the time he had finished his first sentence I was fully awake and dreading what would come next. I knew there was something wrong, it was just a matter of what. Now I understood why Soda had looked worried when he woke me up, and why he already had the coffee going at four in the morning. He must have asked the doctor what was going on.
"Yeah...of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thank you. Try to hurry." He added.
"Right. Thank you."
"Sure."
Then I hung up the phone. I was a little too freaked out to do much else at that point. I just wanted to get down there as soon as I could. Obviously I was needed or the doctor wouldn't have called.
After I hung up the phone, I looked over to Soda, "Her fever went back up." I said. He nodded. I didn't know if I was stating the already known to him, or if I was stating something new, but either way it was something to say.
I turned and walked out of the kitchen, back to my room where I rummaged around for some clothes. I hadn't done wash for a week, and it was time to do more, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. I just hoped that Soda had thought enough to wash his work clothes for when he went back. I or Reesa usually did it for him, considering every time he did it he screwed something up, but that was not happening this week. I barely had time to eat and sleep between everything else, let alone do laundry.
Finally I found a pair of good jeans and a tight fitting gray T-shirt. I threw them on and went into the bathroom to clean up a little and comb my hair back. I had to look half way decent and it didn't take that long.
Then I went back into the kitchen, flipping on the light on my way in and grabbing the cup of coffee Soda had left on the counter for me. He was sitting at the table, looking out into the darkness of the cool night.
"Darry?"
"Yeah?" I went over and took a seat next to him, bending over to pull on my shoes.
"Did he say anything else?"
"No, just that he wants me down there."
"Do you think it's bad?"
I paused, of course I did. But I couldn't say that, didn't want to even think about it, "Dunno, Soda."
I sat up and took another gulp of my coffee before going back to pulling on the second shoe. When I had looked up, he had been nodding his head, like he didn't know either. I knew he was scared, and I wanted to take him with me down there, but he needed to stay and make sure things went well at the house. In a few hours Pony would be up and getting ready for school, and I was sure Skye would be waking up soon too. Someone had to be home.
I finished up my coffee in a few big gulps and stood up, "Make sure Pon gets to school and...well, you know the drill. I'll call you when I know more and have a chance, okay?"
"Yeah."
Wow, he really was worried...or something. It wasn't like him to be like that, that quiet and...out of it. But I quickly dismissed it to being tired. After all it was five in the morning.
"Well, See ya." I said, while pulling on my coat and walking out the door.
"Bye."
He didn't move from his place at the table, and I could see him sitting there in the dark, the light from the kitchen illuminating his dark outline. He sat there, watching me leave, and sipping at his coffee.
I made it to the hospital fairly quickly. The traffic wasn't bad and I sped all the way, so it only made sense. I was pretty worried, the doctor calling you was never a good sign...okay in some circumstances it might be, but not that time. No, that was real bad.
I walked quickly up to the front desk, the same lady that had been there on Sunday night was back, she didn't look too happy, but then again, she never did.
"Hi, uh...Dr. Ross called me and asked me to come in. Where can I find him?"
She glanced up at me, "And you would be?"
"Darrel Curtis."
Her eyebrows went up slightly, "A lot of people are looking for you. Let me page Dr. Ross."
A lot of people were looking for me? What was that supposed to mean? But as much as that bothered me, to know who else might be wanting me, it didn't really matter at that point. I was just concerned about seeing Reesa and finding out exactly what was going on.
I went and sat down in a chair in the hallway, not far from the front desk. It was a pretty quiet morning in there, but then again, hospitals always seem pretty quiet, whether they are or not.
I probably sat there for about fifteen minutes before the doctor showed up.
"Thanks for coming, I know you were here late last night but..." his sentence drifted off, like he knew that wasn't important.
"How is she?"
Dr. Ross sat down in the chair next to me, cutting to the chase, "Not good."
He ended it there, like he didn't want to go on, so I pushed him with a look like "And? What else?" I didn't want to voice it, I think I was almost afraid to know.
"So here's what has been going on. Around about two or three this morning, a nurse found that Reesa's fever was up to about 104. We put her on more antibiotics and fever reducers immediately and tried to get it down, but about an hour later it went up to 105. We continued doing all the things we were already doing, just with more intensity, but despite our efforts it again went up to 106, so I decided it was time to inform you. Now, this is not good, however it is not life threatening. I suspect, and feel fairly confident that it will go down in a couple to three hours and things will be fine. But I need to tell you that there is a chance that it wont, or that it will continue to climb, in which case this could become very serious. Right now what worries me is what message this sends to me about her overall condition. She is weakening and not responding, meaning that her body is not doing as well as it should be. I don't know why, it might very well remain a mystery, but basically this tells me that she is not where she should be in her recovery and that presents a slight worry. Please don't jump on this, we need to wait a few more hours and see how things are going then, and if they aren't better, then we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now you can go in and see her, or stay out here, it doesn't matter to me. Any questions?"
"So you think she'll pull through just fine in a little while?"
"Well, I don't see any reason why not. Hopefully that is what will happen, and I think that it will. Sometimes the body has adverse reactions, and due to lack of anything substantial, I think that maybe this is what that is. In these circumstances, it usually goes back down after a while, just like it does in a child. My only concern is how high it is. I wanted you here so in the case that things don't go well, we can take care of it quickly and with your permission. However, like I said before, right now this isnt particularly threatening, although it's still bad. I think that it will go down, there is nothing to make me think otherwise. Okay?"
"Yeah. Thank you."
He got up and walked away, leaving me to decide what to do next. I sat out in the hallway for a long time, wondering if I really even wanted to go in there and see what was happening. I figured being there wasn't going to help anyone or anything, so I lounged in the hallway. But after a while the doctor was walking past and he stopped, "You can go in there if you want." He said. I nodded and he went on his way, but I figured that he wanted me to go in there if he kept telling me that, so I made my way over and sat next to Reesa for the next few hours.
A few hours later things hadn't changed much. I thought he said that it would? Was this bad? Well, I mean, of course it was bad, but what did it mean? What would he do next?
My question was answered when he came and asked me to step out with him so that we could talk.
We stood just outside the door, and I looked at him, wondering what would come next.
"Well, obviously it's been around three hours and nothing has changed. I want to be a bit more aggressive now and try to get this thing down. If we don't soon, it could mean bad news. Basically, the longer the fever is up, the more chance for complications and the like. So Im here to ask what you want me to do. We have a few choices of treatment, although they are not much different from what we have been doing. One: we can just be more aggressive all around, meaning more medicine, more ice, more of everything, Two: we can put her on some stronger medications and keep doing the same thing other wise, Three: we can combine one and two, Four: no change, just keep doing what we are now. I can do any of them, but I want you to be informed and involved, and if you have any preference, I want to know what it is."
I hesitated, how was I supposed to know what would be best? Taking a deep breath, I thought and answered quickly, "Uh...I guess go with more and stronger stuff, unless that might cause more problems..."
"It might, but I doubt it. We have to be careful with a switch over of medications, but that's always, no matter what, something to consider. I don't see that being a problem at this point."
"Go ahead then." I said. I trusted him, he hadn't gone wrong yet, and he was a doctor, where as I wasn't. I had no one better to ask so...why not?
I went and sat next to Reesa again, just hoping that she would respond well and come out of this soon. I wasn't too concerned, the doctor seemed confident, but it made me nervous that all this was happening again. There wasn't much to do while I sat watching Rees. Okay, there wasn't a thing to do, but I was still going to stay in there. So I started picking up on what the doctors were saying to each other.
The doctor came over to the edge of the bed across from me, motioning to a student doctor nearby him, "Push five more cc's each," he said, while handing the younger man two glass bottles.
Then he turned to a nurse, "Where are we at?"
"41.5"
He paused, looking down at the chart and then up at the nurse who had answered him. He had a weird look, one I couldn't read. I didn't know if that was bad, obviously it was the temperature, but I didn't know if that was high in Celcius, it was in Celcius, right?
"Did we get the blood results back, Tracy?" He asked one of the other nurses.
"No, they are still in process."
"Well...let me know when they get back. Didn't I put a rush on that? Call in and let 'em have it. I need those."
"Sure." The nurse left the room quickly, turning what she was doing over to yet another person. I never knew it would take so many people at once to care for just one person. There were only about a million rushing around.
Things went on like that for forever, it seemed, but things only got more chaotic.
Eventually things seemed to slow down a bit, and everyone slowly filtered out of the room, although why, I didn't know. I guessed that it was probably good, things had to be a little better, or people wouldn't leave, right? I convinced myself of that at least, but not for very long.
I stayed sitting next to Rees, just being there, there wasn't much else to do at the point but I couldn't just leave. She was half awake at that point, and she didn't really talk to me or anything, but I could tell that she was a little better. That is beside the fact that it was obviously harder for her to breathe by the second. She was taking sharp shallow breaths and gulping frequently, each breath apparently causing extreme pain, anyone could tell. I just held her hand and tried to keep her calm by talking to her, she was freaking out a bit. Then again, I think anyone in their right mind would. It only seemed to get worse as time went on, and I was starting to wonder what the doctor was going to do about it.
Before I had much time to ponder the question, he came over, getting out his stethoscope and listened to her breathing and heart. He sighed a little and threw the instrument back over his head to hang around his neck.
"Reesa, I need you to sit up for a minute, okay? It should help you breathe a little easier." He turned to me, "Will you help her stay sitting up?"
By that time he was gently pulling Reesa up from her lying position into a sitting one, and getting her situated so she was as comfortable as possible. I could tell it hurt for her to move, to sit up, but she was toughing it out. I reached out and steadied her, and didn't let go, I knew if I did let go she would fall on her face or something.
"Can you handle this? I want to go and get some more medicine for her. Just try to help her take deeper breaths and hold her up as straight as you can to open her lungs a bit. Don't let her fall asleep, keep her talking to you if you possibly can. I'll be right back."
I nodded my head silently. I mean, I was pretty freaked at that point, my sister could hardly breathe...and that was always bad.
I spent the next few minutes just trying to keep her calm and holding her up despite the pain I knew I was causing. At first it seemed to help that she was sitting up, like she could actually breathe better, but that only lasted a few minutes, then it got even worse. I think it had to do with the fact that she was weakening fast, I knew she could only hold out so long, and I hoped the doctor hurried.
I kept coaxing her to take deep breaths, and she would listen, she would fight it and gasp in a long sharp breath. Every time she did her whole body would tremble from the effort and pain. But as the seconds ticked on, she listened less and less, and her breaths became so shallow that there were times I thought she had stopped breathing altogether, luckily she hadn't. Within a few minutes, I was no longer telling her to take deeper breaths, but to just keep her eyes open. As I held her up by her ribs, I could feel her heart beating faster and faster. I knew that was bad, I mean, it was just going too fast, and it kept getting faster even when I thought that that wasn't possible. It wasn't long before Reesa couldn't even hold her head up, and it would take longer and longer to lift her eyelids after every time they fell.
I was starting to get a little frantic then, shaking her more and tapping her face to try and get her to come around and at least respond a little. But she didn't, not really. The more I tried the less she did anything, and soon she was limp in my arms.
I sat bewildered, what should I do? I had no idea, really, so I just sat there blankly. At least I could still feel her heart, although it was nearly vibrating it was going so fast. I couldn't fathom it, imagine it, even try to understand how that had to feel for her. It scared me so bad, but there was nothing to do.
A few moments after Reesa went completely limp, the doctor finally came back in. His face fell a bit, and he rushed over, lifting her chin to look at her face. "Reesa?" He tried to get a response by rubbing her cheek a little, but she didn't do anything. Then he lifted up her eyelids and you could see her eyes rolled up into the back of her head.
At that point he slid an arm behind her back to support her neck and body, then he nudged me away and I let go. Gently and slowly, he laid her down and repositioned her head. He pulled out his stethoscope again and listened intently but quickly. I could tell he was not pleased, although I expected as much. He glanced up at me quickly before screaming for some nurses and starting another round of pure chaos.
I stood up and backed out of the way towards the wall as nurses and doctors ran in to take action. I was so confused, things had happened so quickly. It was all too quick, I didn't understand how she could get so bad so fast. It was all really surreal, unreal and scary. I had no idea what was going on or how they would help her. I didn't know how bad it even was, but I did know that it couldn't be good. I kept seeing her eyes rolled into the back of her head and it sent chills down my spine as my stomach flipped inside me.
When things finally slowed down again, the doctor pulled me aside, so we were standing at the back of the hospital room. Everyone was still working hard, doing things quickly and talking to each other all the time. The doctor eyed Reesa and the bustling team in the room, "Look, things are..."
"Getting worse? I know...how bad is it?"
"I think that you should contact the rest of the family and have them come down here. It is completely your choice, however things aren't looking good right now. The fever isn't going down, but up, and she's stopped responding to pretty much all treatment. There isn't much else we can do for her - short of an ice bath occasionally if it's needed desperately. The fever is causing her heart to race, its called tachycardia, or its a form of it anyway, and when it gets bad enough, her body doesn't get enough oxygen and it gets hard for her to breathe. Not to mention that it weakens her severely. I'm not saying anything is going to happen, but anything could happen."
I nodded. I had no idea it could come to this. I mean it had crossed my mind that this whole thing would be worse than anyone thought, but did he think she was dying? I know its possible, if a fever gets high enough...but how was this all happening?
"How high is it then?" I asked suddenly. At the point I didn't realize I was even asking a question, but I caught on when I blurted it out.
"About 108. Too high..."
I swallowed hard. 108? Holy shit that was bad. Okay, so I had to go call Soda and have him get Pony out of school and Skye out of the house.
I swiftly walked out of the room and down the hallway, not really thinking about what I would do or tell Soda. I just had to do it, and that was as much as I could get through my head.
Soda had been incredibly pissed and impatient on the phone, which was really weird. The last thing I had expected to have to do was be so stern and clear with Soda, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him anything over the phone. I just wanted him to get there as fast as he could, and with everyone else. I had no idea how I would tell them...but somehow it would get done. The bad news was that his day and mood would not improve, no, everything just kept going down hill. I just hoped that he was just annoyed at the moment that he picked up the phone, I couldn't handle him being soo moody, not that day.
(Soda's POV)
I ran through the living room, pulling on my shoes as I headed towards the door. I was going to be really late for work if I didn't hurry. I had overslept and had only ten minutes to be at the DX by the time I woke up. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, knowing I could lose my job because no one had the courtesy to wake me up. I hadn't even felt a difference when Pony was gone to school.
And now I couldn't find my keys. It was going to be a fun time sprinting down there if they didn't show up soon. The problem was I couldn't remember the last place I had handled them or even if I had taken them out of my pocket since I got home. They were absolutely no where.
RING!
Oh hell no. I didn't have the time to answer the phone. "Skye! Answer that!" I called as I fished for my keys in the couch cushion. Where were they?
"Sodaaaaa," Oh gawd she dragged out my name, "I can't..."
"Yes, you can!" She can't do this to me. Say it was my boss. Wouldn't it be better for me to be on my way to work than answering the phone and saying I was on my way? I had already missed a few days of work, I don't think my being late would fly too well. Ah ha! Found the keys! Yes!
"Noooo. Soda, my stomach hurts."
I sighed. She really could be a pain in the ass if she wanted. It didn't take any effort on her part. I ran to the kitchen, shouting at her along the way. "You're a lazy ass, you know that, Skye? You owe me."
"Shut up." Was all she had to say to that. How nice to know she cared. Shoot, it wasn't my fault she went and ate food she was allergic to. I mean, duh, it doesn't take a genius to figure out you shouldn't do that. And since she was stupid that meant I had to risk my neck with my boss? This was all adding up perfectly.
"Hello?" I answered as I picked up the phone, dreading who it would be.
"Oh, good. You didn't leave yet." Hey, I could take that over the alternative. But, Darry better have a good reason for calling me now of all times. He should know better than to delay my work experience.
"Well, that's a bright way to look at things. What do you need? I really have to go." I glanced at the clock to my left only to see that I was already five minutes late to work. Great. Well, at least I can drive, right?
"No, no. Not today. Call your boss and tell him you can't come in. I need you to come down here." He made it sound so simple. I don't think he realized what he was asking of me. Taking off more than two days of work in the same week without prearranging it with my managers was like a going on a suicide mission, work wise.
"Darry, my boss ain't as understanding as yours. I need to go to work. If you're that tired, just catch the bus home and—"
"No, Soda. Listen to me. You need to call in sick. Then get Pony and Skye and come down here. I don't have time to argue with you. Just do it." He was beginning to sound slightly panicked. Darry doesn't usually lose his composure to the extent of panic very often.
"Are you going to tell me why?" I knew the conversation was almost over, but decided to get comfortable and sat down on the stool next to the wall. "Darry, I need to give my boss a reason."
"I don't have the time to explain it now. Just do it, okay? Reesa's really sick and you need to get down here. I'll tell you more when you get here. Just do it. Now."
Okay, the fact that he had brought up Reesa didn't surprise me much, but using that kind of sentence with that urgency made it all that much more important to listen to him. "Wait, wait. What do you mean she's sick?"
"Not now. Just do it. Please."
"Okay," I gave in. "Calm down. I'll come."
"And bring your brother and sister, 'kay?"
"Okay." I shook my head. This was all a bunch of crap. Not that it wasn't important, whatever it was, but just everything, the last week all piled up on top of the possibility of losing my job, was about as much as I could take. If I'm not mistaken, I think we're all depending on my job pulling through with plentiful paychecks in the next little while. I couldn't wait for things to get back to normal. Or at least back to the way they usually are. "Give me a few minutes," I told him. "Do I have to check Pony out or what?"
"Yeah, but don't worry about it. I'll talk with the school later. Just hurry."
"Right. Okay." I stood up. "See ya."
"Bye."
I heard the phone on the other end click and the line went dead. This was all so wonderful, I may just do a happy dance. I sighed, hung up the phone, and then picked it back up to call my work. After trying to explain to the manager who was there, how I could miss a day of work on Monday for family emergencies and now I was calling in sick and couldn't make it today either, I was just about all set.
"Skye." I walked out into the hallway over to her room. I pushed her door open. "Get up."
"What?" she asked and turned around to face me. "Are you kidding me?" She shielded her eyes from the light pouring into the room from the window.
"Nope. Hurry. You got five minutes."
"Why? What's going on?" She sat up slowly, propping herself on her hands behind her back, and glared at me. Oh, give it a rest.
"We're leaving. Hurry. Get dressed and brush your teeth." I left to give her privacy, but she wouldn't have it.
"Where are we going? I don't wanna go," she whined. I stopped and closed my eyes. She was really pushing her luck today. Usually I have a lot of patience with her, but she has really got to grow up. It was getting ridiculous.
"We're going to the hospital. I'm serious. Now you have four minutes. Get up!" I closed her door and went back to the kitchen.
I went through the cupboards to find something to eat quickly before we left. I would have to find something for Skye, too. If she decided she was hungry come a couple of hours from now, she could get really bitchy. Man, it was almost as if she had people eating out of the palm of her hand. Either that or she was really predictable and she was just too damn impatient with everyone around her to sit still and be good. Ehh... it was probably both.
"Hurry!" I called as I found a box of Cheezits and pulled them off the top shelf. "I don't hear you moving in there."
"Just because I'm not kicking and screaming at everything doesn't mean that I'm not getting ready!" she snapped. "Hold on a minute."
I silently mimicked her and went out into the living room to wait. If I may be sarcastic some more, this has been the best morning I've had a in along time. I don't when I've had one run so smoothly in a while. I wish things could stay like this forever. It would make life so much easier. Well, now that that's off my chest...
A few minutes later Skye joined me in the front room, fully dressed and looking half decent.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yyyyesss," she sneered. "Let's go."
I threw the box of crackers at her and got up to leave. She could carry those and I'll drive. "We have to pick up Pony first."
"Why?"
"Because Darry wants him to come, too." I opened the door and waited for her to leave before I did.
"Oh. Why are we going anyway? And where?"
"Hospital. Why do you think?" I asked.
"I don't know. You guys wouldn't let me before. How should I know?" She had a point there. Darry was pretty adamant about her not leaving the house, and I wasn't most keen on letting her fool around all day.
We climbed into the truck and I started the engine. "I guess Reesa's sick and Darry wants us to go down there." I tried to make it sound as casual as possible, but I don't think that can sound casual even if Two-Bit said it.
"Why? I'm sick, but no one's congregating around me," she sounded grumpy. I can't exactly blame her, but I was not in the mood to be pushed around. I was on edge with everything going on.
"Skye, I don't know. Just go with me here, 'kay?"
She didn't respond and I didn't say anything else for a while. The silence, believe it or not, was worse than the noise. It was a nice change at first, but the quieter it stayed the more time I had to think. And the more time I had to think, the less I wanted to. Because the only thing I could think about was why in God's name Darry was so worried. If he was counting on the possibility of a speeding ticket, he may just get one.
Skye slumped down next to me and crossed her arms over her chest. She scowled out the front window, but slowly changed her expression to one of worry. "Is she bad?"
I shook my head. "I ain't gotta clue."
"Hmmm."
We got to the high school and I pulled into the student parking lot.
"Stay here," I told her as I jumped out and closed the door. She didn't even acknowledge that I had said anything and kept staring forward. Whatever. I wasn't going to worry out her insensitivity when I could be having a semi-good day.
The real adventure started when I walked inside the doors of the school. I hadn't been there for a few years and it was kind of weird seeing a place that was so familiar it was like I had never left it in the first place. I thought I remembered Pony saying something once about having math first, and I knew he had Mr. Bardle, so I headed in that direction. I at least knew where his room was when I went here.
"Hey! Excuse me, young man," a voice shouted down the hall from behind me. I spun around to see who it was. It was some woman who I couldn't remember her name, who loved to make my life not worth living when I went here. "What do you think you're doing out of class? No respect at all! I don't know where you hoodlums get away thinking you own this school and can go rampaging about the halls whenever you please." She sped up her walking the closer she got to me. "Who's your teacher? I'm going to report you!" She pulled out her infamous purple monitor pad and silver fountain pen.
"I...no... I need to go get my brother." I pointed down the hall. "I gotta take him with me and –"
"You certainly will not!" she barked. "A parent or guardian must check him out, or he must have a pre-written note. We don't tolerate missing out on classes here." She shook a finger in my face and I pulled my head back slightly. "Now, who is your teacher?"
I sighed and tried to come up with something quick. What was I supposed to say to that? I couldn't tell her that I didn't go to school anymore, she'd just kick me out. But I couldn't lie and give some teacher that she'd make me go to their class and I'd get figured out anyway. My best guess was to go with... "Mr. Bardle. I was just a little late and..." I trailed off.
"I thought you said you were picking up your brother?" she asked with a smirk. Well...
"Oh, I was going to, but I guess I'm not now. I'll just go to class..." I said with the perfect teenage attitude that I had left behind so long ago. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked off down the hall with her staring at the back of my head.
"That's right you will!" she said. "I'll just watch you to make sure."
Right. Great. I sighed. This was going to be a real trick.
When I reached the classroom I turned a little to see her still standing at the end of the hall, arms wrapped around a clipboard, fastened close to her chest. She was a classic witch.
I grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open with as much force as I could muster and strolled in.
Thirty, or so, blank faces stared at me with confusion and Mr. Bardle stopped scribbling on the chalkboard for a minute to look me over. Pony slowly stood up, assuming I had come for him, but not quite sure why. He quickly sat back down when Mr. Bardle rounded on him.
"Mr. Curtis, kindly take your seat," he snapped and waddled over to me. "Yes?"
"Um, I've got to take Ponyboy. I'm checking him out of school..."
"Do you have a note from the attendance office?" He wiggled his glasses back up the bridge his nose, using only his nose.
"No, they just told me to come and get him. They said they'll excuse it since the period is almost over." I had no idea if the period had just started or what, but I was taking a chance.
"Hhmm..." He thought it over in his head. "I'll let him go if you bring me a note, but not before."
He was making this much more difficult than it had to be. I turned to Pony and sent him a look that he knew meant to come with me anyway. He shoved his books and stuff into his backpack and Mr. Bardle rounded on him again.
"Mr. Curtis, please stay sitting!"
Pony started to sit back down again, but I shook my head and he decided to listen to me and defy the teacher. He knew better than to disregard anything that I told him to do. I assume that he figured if it was unimportant, I wouldn't have been there in the first place. He followed me to the door.
"Now, see here, Mr. Curtis, that you bring me an note immediately..." he trailed off, fully aware that he had lost the battle and that there wasn't much he could do about it.
"I will."
"This period."
"Okay," Pony reassured him and we left.
Luckily for us, that crabby old woman was gone and the coast was clear. I would have Darry take care of excusing him from school later. There was no way they'd let me take him and what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. I'd rather take him illegally out of school than risk having someone turn down the request to take him.
We raced to the hospital and got there in record time. We sure got the good end of the deal and no cops pulled us over when we were in our desperate hurry. Of course I had no idea why this was so urgent, but I knew, as well as everyone else, that Darry didn't wig out over nothing. That was the only reason I was as speedy as I was that day.
Pony and Skye were as shaken with worry as I was, not knowing an inkling more than I did, but when we reached the hospital entrance, neither of them were up to speed walking. I tried to push them along, but Skye just snapped at me and Pony told me to simmer down. Simmer down? Geez, they didn't hear the tone of Darry's voice. They didn't detect the pitch of fearful emptiness. They didn't get the phone call. They were either going to listen to me, or they were on their own. I couldn't wait any longer.
"Quit it, Soda," Skye whined when I ignored her protests and pushed her from behind to keep her moving at a good pace. "Stop!" Pain or no pain, she shouldn't care.
"Fine." I stopped. "You two meet me there. I'm just going now. You know where to go."
I jogged off to the elevator, which was being conveniently held open for me by the time I reached it. The others were still meandering at a less than satisfying pace at the other end of the lobby.
"Are we waiting for them?" The orderly asked.
"Nah," I panted. "They're taking their time. Just go."
"All right."
Darry's POV
I went back to Reesa's room, finding two or three more people in there. They had moved a few things around in the room for better mobility and reach, but it wasn't much different. I pulled a chair in and sat down, staring once again at her. I had no idea what to do with myself. I couldn't help out, I couldn't think about anything or I would loose it, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, just be there, sitting in uselessness.
My mind wondered back and forth, thinking of all the years past. How I had gotten to this point, how it was that I was taking care of my siblings. It was the thousandth time that week that I had thought over it, it was just such a recurring thing with all the things that were happening. This time I even thought back to childhood memories, ones of Reesa mostly, considering the situation.
The day she was born, sitting in the hospital and holding her for the first time with Dad watching closely nearby. Her eyes barely open to the new world around her, they were bright blue that day, intense even then. I remembered thinking that she was beautiful, I had a sister. I was excited, but I didn't know what to expect, yeah I never figured that one out.
The days following Ponys and Skyes birth when she would want dad to hold her but he would say no, he was busy holding Pony. Well, Reesa would get jealous and get this pouty face before hopping on my lap for attention.
Then there was the true beginning of Reesa and Skye as sisters. Skye and Reesa would be running around the house, playing and screaming as usual and Skye would do something that you thought was completely impossible. Things like flattening herself into walls, like she couldn't see them, or running smack into the coffee table that was as big as her, or some such thing and Reesa would stop and look at her seriously, "You're soo stupid!" she would say in a bratty tone. Yeah, Reesa was calling Skye stupid when she was hardly a year old.
I smiled a little at that, it was just classic Reesa, we should have know since the day Skye was born that they would never stop fighting, even though they really did care about each other.
I stood up and walked out of the room to check if Soda was there yet, but he wasn't. I didn't think he would be, but I still had to check. I was too anxious not to check. Then I went back in the room, sitting down, my mind wondering once again.
She was three years old or so, I wanted to play with my friends, but she had to tag along. Mom tells me to watch her, just keep an eye out, so we are out front, and she starts playing by the cellar stairs. They were steep, cement stairs that went on forever, and I thought that she might fall. I told her a few times to move away from them, but she didn't listen. Finally I got annoyed enough to go over there, and just as I get there she looses her balance and almost stumbles down the stairs, but I somehow caught her before she did. She, of course, starts crying because it shook her up, so I gave her a hug and drug her back into the house. She wasn't too happy with me that day, but that was because Mom wouldn't let her go back out with me. It wasn't much of an event or anything, but it was something that I always remembered, don't know why. Maybe it was because even as annoyed as I was, she had scared me at the same time that she had embarrassed me in front of my friends.
Then there was the time that she somehow got me to play dolls with her. Other people could have and would have played with her more willingly that me, but she whined until I did. I don't know if it was a form of torture, but she wasn't that clever, so I think, to this day, that she just wanted to play with me, her big brother.
One time I went to camp for a few days, and when I walked in the door after getting home, she ran up and jumped on me, "Darry! Darry! You're back! You're back! Yay!!! You just left...and then you never came back...but now you did!" she screamed excitedly in my ear, not letting go. I hugged her and set her down, wanting it to be over, but she wouldn't have it, she jumped back up at me, "Piggy Back!" I wanted to slap her, but I just did it, she was obviously happy to see me, so I couldn't be mean. I remember clearly seeing Dad laughing at that site, later he told me that I did good not to push her away.
Once I woke up in the middle of the night to Reesa curled up next to me asleep. Needless to say, I wondered how in the world she had gotten there if she went to sleep in her bed, but I just decided to take her back to her room. I fell back asleep real fast after I got her out of there, but woke up not twenty minutes later to her next to me asleep again. I was getting a little irritated by then, but I took her back again and hoped that was the end of it. It was a stormy night, and I supposed the thunder was scaring her, but why me? I had school the next day, did she have to wake me up? The next time I went back to bed I laid there awake, waiting for her to come back, if she didn't in fifteen minutes, then I would go back to sleep. The fifteen minutes was almost up, but I heard the door to my room creak open for the third time that night. I shut my eyes enough to look like I was asleep, but I could see through my eyelashes. She was apprehensively tip-toeing towards my bed, but when she was about two feet away from the corner of it, another boom of thunder rolled real close, and she jumped out of her wits, scrambling onto my bed. I shot up and grabbed her, laughing at her startled eyes filled with fear of her older brothers wrath and pulled her close, "You scared of that thunder, Girlie?" I asked gently. Her shaking form got out a little yes, and I decided to let her stay in there until the storm was over. Don't ask what made me do that, but I couldn't make her go back when she was really that scared, that she would risk making me mad. We spent the next hour laughing and playing until the storm was over, and then I made her go to sleep next to me, just in case. Besides, I was tired, I didn't want to take her to her bed. Mom and Dad teased me in the morning, but I never had so much fun with Reesa.
I again smiled a bit, I guess she always liked me, didn't she? I got up again and looked outside the door to find that Soda and everyone else were not yet waiting, so I went back to loosing myself in the memories I loved so much when I go the chance to think about.
Reesa was always real witty and mouthy, even when she was only really little, like three or so. She loved to take the words out your mouth or Mom and Dads. So one time, she was jumping on the sofa, and I told her not to because Mom would get mad, but she just stuck her tongue out at me. I decided it was time she learned a lesson, so I went over there and tickled her brutally, finishing by holding her still and telling her she had to listen to me when Mom and Dad weren't around. Then I let her go, but she stood up, faced me with her hands on her hips, saying "That was uncalled for, Darry!" The thing was that she was serious. She always did things like that, but for some odd reason, that time was the one I remembered best.
One day I came home from school to a particularly special greeting from her. I don't remember why now, but for some stupid reason, she was really mad at me that day and instead of just yelling at me, the usual, she decided to try something different. She walked into the front room when I opened the door and she got this evil smile on her face, then with out a word she came up and tried to knee me in the groin without any warning at all. I expected her to throw a punch, but I guess she knew that that wouldn't do any good, so she went for the ultimate surprise. She wasn't even five, I had no idea where she had even learned that, but I acted swiftly to protect myself and swiped her off her feet, holding her upside down and screaming to my mom to tell her what Reesa had just tried. Looking back, its funny, just classic Reesa, but then I was just pissed.
Then I hit the biggie...Mom and Dads death. When they told us, I sat down, trying hard to keep it together. Pretty soon I found Reesa curling up on my lap sobbing. I was surprised, that she would come to me, I thought everyone would go to Soda, he was the comforter, but she wanted me. That was hard, but I guess she always did like me, huh?
A tear slipped from my eye, and I swiped it away, sure it was an emotional memory and time, but I didn't want to start that up again, not right then. But the fact that I got stopped before I left the room didn't help. It was happening again, things heated up real fast and I knew there was something really wrong... again. I couldn't go out and tell Soda anything until it was over, what if she didn't pull through this time? I couldn't say she was fine and take it back two minutes later. So I sat watching in fear once again. It took longer to get her stabilized, but they did after a few minutes. The problem was that by that time tears were running freely down my cheeks although I wasn't really crying, just letting tears fall, there was no other sign of me being upset. I was just soo scared at that point that I couldn't do much else, and it was a way of preventing myself from flying off the handle.
I tried to stop the tears, and did pretty fast, but then I had to go tell Soda, before anything else happened. So, I quickly got up and went out of the room to wait for Soda, but he was already there. I didn't see him at first, but he yelled out to me and I spun around to see him running down the hall.
I didn't see Pony and Skye, and I was going to kill if they weren't there at that point. I had seen too much to think Reesa was going to be okay, and I could only hope, but I wanted everyone to get the chance to say goodbye if it came to that. I couldn't say that it wouldn't anymore.
"Where are Pony and Skye?"
"They're coming. Skye's dawdling and I told Pony to stay with her...What's going on?"
I told him then, forcing it out as best I could. I was almost glad that Pony and Skye weren't right there, it was making it easier for me, hopefully I could get Soda to tell them.
Soda didn't take the news great, I knew he was confused and worried. It didn't make any sense to him, nor to me. I couldn't blame him in the least for his reaction, but I sure hoped he got it more together before Skye and Pony walked out of the elevator.
Soda's POV
By the time I reached the floor where Reesa was, I had my breath back, so it wasn't too difficult to call to Darry at the other end of the hallway.
"Darry!"
He spun around to see me. Sighing heavily he started to walk towards me, meeting me half way.
"Where are Pony and Skye?"
"They're coming. Skye's dawdling and I told Pony to stay with her." I brushed them out of mind, not caring that I was throwing in my own details. "What's going on?"
Darry was wearing a grim grin. He nodded his head slightly, mocking what he wanted to truly say. "Well, Reesa's fever shot up way above a hundred – last I heard it was at 108, Its high enough that they're doing everything they can to keep her out of shock and seizures, keep her breathing and conscious."
"What? How did that happen?" I almost wasn't sure that I understood exactly why this meant that I had to be missing work. I knew it wasn't good, that's obvious, but why did this concern so much? Why was it so scary to Darry? They could take care of that easily, right? Fever reducers, ice, cold water. They would do the trick, wouldn't they? Or whatever special medications they whip up to cure it all?
He just shook his head. "They don't know. She's just not responding well to medications anymore. I'm not sure, really. Earlier she really scared them. Doctor Ross just said that he thought it was wise to get everyone down here... What does that tell you?"
The elevator bell dinged and Skye and Pony stepped out. I wasn't paying them any attention though. Calling family to the hospital was a serious thing. If the doctor said that then I could only imagine what that really meant. I mean, it sounded like they were certain that this would kill Reesa. But they didn't know my sister. This couldn't kill her. She was too determined to let something like this take her. She wouldn't go down without a major fight. Not if she could help it.
Darry's POV
I had told Soda, and I felt bad, I had had to put him in a tough position. See, I told him everything straight out, I couldn't do it any other way. I couldnt beat around the bush, it had been to draining of a morning to try and do that gently in any way. I pulled Soda aside and told him and asked him to tell Pony and Skye, because if I told them it would be bad, they couldn't handle to hear what I had told Soda. Luckily, Soda was put together enough to deal with it, and he understood why it was that I wanted him to tell them and agreed to it.
After I was finished telling him what was going on, and answering his questions, I left him to standing there on his own, sorting out his thoughts so he could tell Pony and Skye, and I went back into the room to be with Reesa. The doctor decided that he wanted one of us (Soda or me) in there all the time, even considering the circumstances. I didn't understand exactly why, but he said that it was a moral support thing. Something about even if she was that bad off, he thought that it made a difference if family was in there talking to them and stuff, he said that he thought that they knew, and responded well to it or something. I wouldn't object though, not then, if he thought it might help, I would be in there for as long as it took.
I wasn't in there for very long before the commotion broke out again as a result of yet another episode, meaning that her heart rate jumped up again and sent the doctors into a frenzie until they could slow it before anything else came of it. Yeah, that's how I referred to it by then, it was an episode, because so far she had pulled through, hopefully it stayed that way. The thing that scared me was that that was the third in an hour, what if it kept happening like this, how long could she fight it and come back? How long would it go on before it stopped or before she gave in?
No! Don't even think that! I slapped myself mentally, she wasn't going to give in, she never did, ever. I couldn't allow myself to think that and keep it together, so I couldn't think it. I pushed all thoughts aside then, ignoring what my mind might tell me, and making it blank. I couldn't think then, it wouldn't do any good.
This one was over pretty fast, and I was really grateful for that one. I was numb by then, and tears didn't even threaten, no I shut off my emotions and told myself over and over that things were fine.
Well, the next two and a half hours, maybe three, went pretty much like that. Another episode, fine, report to family, episode, fine, episode, report, fine, fine, episode. I don't even know how many times I went through that, not too much, but enough to take its toll. There were a few times that I just lost it, times when it would go on for forever and the doctors would start to get these looks on their faces and give her more medications, and try all kinds of things and then once they stopped, miraculously she would come out of it. But before she came out of it, it would be too much, it seemed to be the end, and that wasn't anything I could just push away. I hated the fact that the doctors basically saw me break down like a baby in front of them, that was really embarrassing, but at the time it didn't matter in the least.
Finally around twelve-thirty or so, they got her fever back down. I didn't know what was going on, but people just started to filter out, the room thinning in front of me, and then the doctor motioned to me.
"Pull up a chair." He said, while standing at the top of the bed. I did, taking the chair I had been sitting in up next to the bed and the doctor. I held Reesa's hand, For some reason, it was semi-comforting that I could touch her hand, and she was still alive. She seemed to be doing better, I assumed, considering I had had to stay far out of the way before. The again, it could just be that things were somehow worse and there was no way she would live if it happened again. That thought made my stomach flip and I pushed it out of my head quickly.
The doctor finished up what he was doing and looked at me earnestly, "Well, we finally got this thing down. Its still at 103, it hasn't broken yet, but this is much better than before. Nothing that has me too worried." A small smiled played at his lips.
I felt comfort at that, but could it go back up again?
I bit my lip, did I really want to know?
"Doctor...could it go back up? I mean, could this whole thing happen again?"
He looked at me seriously, the smile gone from his face, "There is a chance that this could happen again, however, I dont suspect it will. And if it does, I wouldn't think it would be as high. We aren't out of the woods yet, not by a long shot, but the light can be seen through the thick of the trees. Don't worry, we will have someone here every second to make sure it doesn't go back up and if it does, she will get the care she needs quickly."
"Thank you, doc." I said. I think that that was the first time I called him just doc to his face, and I didn't mean too..."I meant doctor." I hurredly tried to correct myself as he walked out.
He chuckled a bit, "Don't worry about it, you can call me plain doc whenever you want. I know that no disrespect is meant." Then he left with out another word from either of us.
I felt a relief flood over me, but at the same time a fear still remained, one that ran deep.
I sat for a few minutes, just relaxing for a bit before I went to tell the others. I had to be together to tell them, so it was real. After a few minutes I stood up and went out of the room, leaving Reesa to rest and the people in there to do their jobs.
I sat down next to Pony when I got out to the hallway, putting my arm around his shoulders, and squeezing him to me. I don't think I he liked it much, but he didn't push away, "How ya holding up, Pon?" I asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I got good news."
Everyone perked up real fast when I said that, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Is she okay then?" Pony asked a little puzzled, but excited at the same time.
"It seems so. The doc said that they got her fever back down to 103, and he doesn't think it'll go back, but they have it down for now at least. Which is a good sign. They are still watching her real close, but this is really good."
Everyone started to relax then, it was a relief. Things fell silent, at least as far as us four were concerned, for a little while after that, everyone taking the chance to get over the ordeal of the last few hours. But I didn't want the silence to go on for long, so I spoke up after a few minutes suggesting we go eat something in the Cafeteria.
As we walked up, everyone still stayed quiet, but the closer we got to the food, the more roudy Soda became. He was pushing into Pony, trying to get him to relax and cracking jokes at Skye. I had to smile, only Soda would be able to cheer someone up in this kind of a situation. But even then, I knew it was mostly fake. He wasn't doing it because he felt like it, he was doing it because he saw how tense everything was and he knew that it would be better if we loosened up a bit.
We walked into the cafeteria and a few ladies, nurses, and doctors looked at us strangely at first and then returned to their conversations. I stopped and turned to everyone, "You can get whatever you want, I don't care how much it is, just don't make yourselves sick, got it? I sure as hell don't need that too." But I said it all smiling, these guys had to have something that they wanted, maybe it would help at least Pony cheer up, food would do it.
We ordered and found a table to sit at together. It was weird to do something as a family...only without Reesa. We hadn't done anything, really, for a while, I'd have to change that.
As we waited for the food to come, I thought of how I would start a conversation. I wanted to ask Pony what he thought he was missing that day, but he was stressed out enough without adding another day of school missed to the mix of never ending...events.
"A....Soda?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you check Pony out, or do I need to go down there sometime and clear things up?"
"Nah, I didn't check him out, they wouldn't have let me. Besides, I was in a slight panic and was running real late considering the fact that people kept stopping me. Some lady stopped me in the hall and about took me to Perkins (A/N: the principle) because she thought I was a student and she wanted to suspend me for cutting class...but I brushed past her and went to get Pony, then I had to argue with his teacher...the imfamous Bardle."
"Oh...alright." I said.
It went silent again, that is until Soda chuckled, "Can you just see Perkins's face? He knows who I am, even to this day, I think he would be horrified that I was back and try to call you, Dar. He'd want me out. I think he was happy when I left..." he broke out laughing a little harder that time. He was really trying to avoid the situation, by at that point it was okay...maybe even good.
Soda was highly amused at the thought, and it was a little funny, considering Soda's history with Principle Perkins, his office was practically a second residence for Soda while he was in school, it was one of the gangs favorite hangouts when they all went there, minus me.
"Nah, I think Bardle's face was better..." Pony said, smiling for the first time that day, "I thought he was gonna have a heart attack, and then his face turned all red because the class was getting out of hand, and then when you completely ignored him, he looked like he might just try and beat you up himself. I have to say, that was good, I've never seen him like that. I think he was jealous that all you had to do to get everyone's attention was to walk into the room."
We all got a good laugh out of that one. We all knew Bardle from one time or another, and he was just one of those teachers, the ones that try so hard, but just cant get it. The ones that are so much fun to screw around with that its impossible not to...especially for Soda. I knew Bardle hated Soda, he hated most his students, but I hadnt really thought of it before. I guess it was a good thing that Soda was in a hurry after all, or he would have had too much fun.
From there we went on to other things, but we avoided the subject at hand, and tried to be a normal family, to relax. I think it was good for us all, to just sit there and joke around for a bit, well about an hour and a half. We hadnt done that in such a long time, everyone was always coming and going and what not...it just didn't happen.
The subject matter veered quickly from annoying teachers to childhood memories, the ones that made you laugh to tears, and to fun jokes and chiding each other about how we were, all different but a good mix...mostly. It really was a good time, one I didn't want to leave, I hadnt had that much fun with my family in such a long time, somehow I had let go of all the stress and worry, temporarily.
But we had to go back to reality, and as we walked back down to see how Reesa was, the good feeling dissipated, the laughter subsided, and the mood was once again serious, facing what was in front of our noses.
We sat in the waiting room, wondering if everything was okay, but we hadnt heard anything...at least not for another few minutes. Then the doctor came out of Rees's room and faced us, not really coming over to me as I was at the opposite far end from the door, but he didn't see it necessary, "Darrel, I need you in there...now."
My heart fell...what now? NO! I couldn't do that again...no...I couldn't handle it this time. Everything was supposed to be good now! Had we not gone through enough? Oh, God...please no...
"So-Soda...take this for me?" my voice broke, and I felt my façade falling once again...yet another thing that I didn't want, that couldn't happen then.
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Sorry for that cliff. It was the best place to end this part. HEHE, and im evil, no doubt about that one. See ya later!
Reviews:
Julie: Glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter. Sorry, this isn't what I would call soon, but it is something. Yeah, Darry needs someone to talk to, in my opinion. Hope you enjoyed this one!
Tens: Im too lazy to write out your entire name...lol. I love you. You just crack me up. Im sure glad that you like this. It is great how well Skye can get under Darry's skin huh? Its my favorite. LOL. I love him being that strong male too, its cool. Well, hope you liked this one too...I know you did. LOL, See ya. Hopefully I can talk tomorrow. Damn people.
Stephanie: Well, it's a good thing you like long chapters, because this was another one. The next one is too, I think...In any case. Hope you enjoyed the return to heavy drama. I somehow cant help but have a ton of it in all my stories. LOL. Heres to hoping you didn't forget me, but that would be my bad. Thanks again.
Oblivious Misconception: Well, hate to tell you, but we are still a long shot to the end of this one, not really, but a few hefty chapters at least. A few very hard ones to write... In any case, Im sorry that you don't see things the same way we did. Its just that I think that everyone has to have that sometime, and Dean has to know some anyway considering he's Darry's boss. In any case, that's just how it came out for us. Glad that you liked the rest. And here's to hoping you enjoyed this chapter more than the last.