Varinia: thanks :)
good luck to you as well
yeah, i will (and i have already one) and soon i will write another about the outsiders :)

myhubbyisob: yeah, i'm from germany ;)
well, i'm sorry, that this disappointed you. that's why i wrote 2 chapters more and i hope these won't disappoint you again ;)
but i can't write more chapters, 'cause i haven't any ideas any more...

11. The operation

The doctors still did few tests with Pony and set the date for the operation for the next morning.

"I'm scared, Soda." Pony said to his brother, who sat at Pony's bed with the others.

"So am I, little buddy!" Soda admitted.

In this moment a nurse came in and gave Pony an injection and said, "So, Ponyboy. I gave you an injection so that you'll fall asleep in a moment. You won't get anything of the operation."

"Yeah and when ya wake up again, we wanna be there, promised." Steve said and put a hand on Pony's shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be all right." Two-Bit meant now as well.

Pony nodded and fought against the arising tiredness.
But he didn't succeed. He blinked few times, but then he closed his eyes.

Then Pony was pushed into the operating room.
Soda, Darry, Steve and Two-Bit looked behind them with worried faces.

Hours went by!

The friends sat at the corridor and stared continuously to the operating room.

"Why does it take so long?" Soda asked and slid restless back and forth.

"Don't worry, Soda. Everything's gonna be all right." Darry tried to calm him down.

"Yeah! It must!" Steve murmured and stared to the ground for a change, because he couldn't stand the sight of the closed door any longer.

It didn't last very long, until the door was opened and a few doctors stepped out.

"Are you related with Ponyboy Curtis?" one of the doctors turned to the friends, which were jumped up right now when the door was opened.

"Yeah, we're his brothers." Darry answered.

"How's he doin'? How ran the operation? Is he gonna be ok?" Soda asked.

The doctor lifted a hand and meant, "Well, the operation ran without great complications. Ponyboy isn't conscious yet, but he will wake up in time. And I'm afraid that I can't tell you now if he will succeed. That depends also a bit on him, if he has the strength for it. But I think he will succeed. We could completely remove the cancer of his stomach, so that he doesn't have to await any chemotherapy any more. He was really lucky, that the cancer was discovered in such an early phase. That spared him quite a lot of sufferings."
Then the doctor said goodbye and disappeared.

Short time after that the bed with a pale Pony was pushed out of the operating room. The friends looked at him worried and followed the nurses, which pushed him into the 'wake up hall'.
Then they sat down at his bed and hoped that he would wake up soon.

Soda held Pony's hand the whole time.
Suddenly Ponyboy's eyes moved and then he opened them.
He had to blink few times, until he recognized his brothers and friends.

"Hey, Pony. There you are again." Two-Bit grinned relieved.

Pony made his mouth to a smile and said with a soft voice, "Ya don't wanna get rid of me so fast any more."

Steve wiped with his hand over his eyes and looked glad at Pony.

Then Ponyboy could come into his old sickroom again.
But Pony was too tired to talk with his brothers and friends. So he fell asleep exhausted.

The next day they visited him again.
He got his lunch in this moment.

"Hey, Pony. What's up?" Steve greeted him, when they put their heads into the door.

At first it gave Steve even very much trouble, not to be so heartless to Pony any longer. But gradually the ice between them melted and they treated like real friends now.
Steve didn't regard him as a tag-along any more.

"Hey, guys. Nice to see ya. Come in!" Pony smiled.

They didn't need a second time to tell them and so they stormed in.
Soda dropped himself with a plop on Pony's bed and hopped excited up and down.

"Hey, little buddy. Stop hoppin' here like crazy or else Pony's gonna spill his food." Darry admonished him with a shake of his head.

"What you've there such yummy stuff?" Two-Bit asked and pointed at the meal, which stood in front of Pony.

"Yummy? Are ya kiddin', Two-Bit? Ya can't call this stuff 'food'." Pony sulked.

"Aw, why? I think it's yummy. Anyhow, it looks better than my experiments of cookin'. Shall I feed ya?"

"Aw, stop it!" Pony meant acting angry.
But he was glad that his brothers and friends were there for him and didn't take his awful behaviour amiss.

"What said the doctor? When could ya come out of here?" Steve asked now.

"Well, he said that I ain't to do any chemotherapy, but I've to take medicine for that. That's gonna help me with that somehow, don't know. By the way, I've to stay here few days." Ponyboy answered.

"Ya wanna go through this." Darry said optimistic and embraced Pony.

Some tests were done to see, if the operation really was successful and how the healing with the corresponding medicine treatment worked.
And after a few days Pony really could go home, because the doctors regarded him as completely healthy.

The day Pony could go home, was his 15 birthday.

Darry and Steve drove into the hospital to pick Pony up. Then they drove home together. When they arrived there Two-Bit and Soda already waited for them.

"Hey Pony. Welcome home! And all the best for ya birthday!" Soda said to his kid brother and embraced him.

"Thanks, thanks for all!" Pony whispered and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Come on and unpack your gifts." Two-Bit said and pulled Ponyboy with him.
"Here, from me!" he said grinning and handed Pony a small packet.

"Thanks." Pony replied and unpacked it.

When he held it in his hands, he stared at it. It was a wig. But not such a wig as he thought. It was a wig with longer, greasy hair.

"Two-Bit!" Darry said strictly.

"Why ya gave him somethin' like that? How dare ya?" Steve asked reproachful. "That's really a completely unfit gift!"

"Sorry, guys, I thought..." Two-Bit began.

"Hey, that's ok. Thanks, Two-Bit. This wig shall always remind me that I had this bad disease and I would die. But it means too that I defeated it and I wanna live on! It's a very tuff gift!" Pony answered, turned around and embraced Two-Bit.

Then he unpacked the other gifts, but none of them was as tuff as Two-Bit's.
Because he really meant what he said about this gift.
This wig was a sign for him that he made it.

In this night he slept as well as he didn't for a long time.

So some time went by.
Pony took his medicine and must be examined still often, if everything is all right. Fortunately the medicine took effect and Pony endured them as well.

And one day he defeated the cancer completely!