Maggie sat up in her bed next to Dallas. The whole gang had gotten tested and none of them had been a match. On top of that she had gotten put on the bottom of the kidney list because of her social status and the fact that she was a ward of the state. They obviously thought she wasn't worth the time of a kidney transplant, but she was determined to stay alive. At least till Dallas woke up.
"Maggie, dear," the nurse said as she came in, "the doctor wants me to take you down to the shower to get cleaned up a bit." Maggie nodded and dragged herself out of bed and followed the nurse down the hall. The nurse handed her a pair of underwear and a new gown before she walked into the shower room.
Back at the Room
Steve walked swiftly in the room to find Maggie gone. He sighed and moved over to the side of Dally's bed. He really hated seeing Maggie like that. All sad and sick and yellow. She wasn't pale in the skin, her whole body had turned yellow! The doctor's had said it was from the kidney failure. Steve sat down in a near by chair and rested his head in his hands.
"You really gotta wake up, Dal." he said softly before looking up at Dally's motionless body. "Maggie and Johnny need you more then you'll ever know. Maggie's completely broken down. She needs a kidney transplant, Dal. Can you believe it? All that time we thought she was going to be ok and now she's lying in a hospital bed right next to your suffering and going through some kind of treatment everyday. And on top of that she's a ward of the state now! Darry can't adopt her cause she's a girl and they don't think that she can live with 3 other guys in that small of house. God, Dal. We all need you so much. Just wake up, wake up for Maggie." he finally finished and got up from his chair, his temper rising a little. He walked out the door, not even wanting to wait to see Maggie.
A Year Later
Maggie sat propped up in the same hospital bed as skinny as ever and as sick as ever, too. 2 doctors were by her side including 2 nurses and Dally who was still in the bed next to her motionless.
"The treatment is starting to wear off. It can't keep up with your body. Your body needs to grow and your not growing. Your suffering from malnutrition also. Your body just can't handle it anymore." one of the doctors told her. He was some old guy with geeky glasses and a bald spot on his head. The other guy was the 25 year old that had first found her when she was suffering from kidney failure. He was next to her, holding her hand.
"We're going to up your name on the list but there aren't any guarantee's you'll get a kidney in time." the old doctor said before walking out. The younger doctor turned to her.
"You know Maggie," he said as he sat down, "you grieving for your friend there, isn't helping your body recover." Maggie snarled at him.
"What am I supposed to do?" her voice barely reaching a whisper, "Stop grieving for the guy who took care of me in the time I needed it most? That'll never happen. He's gonna wake up, when I need him the most he's going to wake up." Maggie was trying to convince herself more then she was trying to convince the doctor.
"Well then he better wake up soon." and with that he was gone. Maggie coughed a little and pulled the cover up further on her body, lately she had been so cold. She had spend her 15th birthday in the hospital and without Dally.
Nothing had really changed except the fact that Pony was now a sophomore and that Darry had got a promotion and was working as manager at the roofing company. Besides that everything was normal, except for her. She had known she was gradually getting worse and so had the gang and so had the doctor's, but they all just let it go, including her. She just didn't have the strength to fight back anymore. After every passing day her hopes of Dally waking up slipped further and further into darkness. She just wanted him back and here with her. The doctors had proposed taking one of Dally's kidneys since he had turned out to be a match. But Maggie had refused and told them that she would rather die then take his kidney. And it was true.
Maggie coughed a little and scrunched her eyes closed as a huge cramp shook her whole body. She rolled herself up in a ball and clamped her hand down hard on Dally's. The cramp was at its worst when Maggie felt a squeeze on her hand. She rolled over to face Dally but found him with his eyes still closed, she must have been dreaming. She rolled back over again and squeezed his hand harder as another one came. She had gotten used to these cramps but they still hurt like a son of a bitch. She felt another squeeze on her hand and rolled back over. Dally was awake and staring into her eyes, the cold look still on his face. She tried to speak but was shook by another violent cramp which then caused her whole body to go into shakes. She cried out loudly in pain, this was her second seizure this week. She gripped the side of the bed and tried to reach the nurse button but she couldn't, her body was shaking too much. She felt Dally let go of her hand and wondered if he had fallen asleep, but the next thing she knew a nurse came rushing in.
"Oh, honey!" she cried as she rushed over to Maggie and tried to hold her down, she radioed for a couple more nurses and the young doctor, Dr. Patterson, to come in. They all rushed in but the next thing Maggie knew everything went black.
Maggie moaned loudly as she came back to reality. Her whole body was aching again and everything was out of focus when she opened her eyes. She waited for all of it to go back into focus and was amazed by what she saw. She looked strait into his eyes and figured she was dreaming. She closed her eyes and opened them again, he was still there.
She saw him smile that genuine smile, he was in a hospital gown. She reached her hand out to him and he started walking towards her, but before she knew it he was gone again and she was lying in her hospital bed surrounded by nurses and doctors.
"She's hallucinating." one of the doctors commented as he looked at her strangely.
She was tempted to scream at him but she couldn't get the words out.
"Maggie?" the young doctor said as he sat on the edge of her bed.
"We've got a kidney for you!" he said happily as he smiled a little. Maggie nodded wearily. She couldn't get excited, she felt to bad for that. "We're moving you into surgery right now. We'll see you when you get out." he told her and got off her bed. Before Maggie knew it she was being pushed out of the room and down the hall to a huge white room. She was being crowded but a whole lot of nurses and then the next thing she knew she was falling asleep.
About Three Hours Later
Maggie coughed a little as she came too, she could hear doctor's around her but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to get her eyes open, her eye lids were just too heavy.
"Ly still." she heard a nurse tell her and she did just that. She realized soon after that, that the reason why she was supposed to sit still was the horrid pain that ran across her back where her new kidney was just put in. It felt like her whole back was on fire and she couldn't help but moan.
"It'll be alright." she heard a voice. She wasn't sure whose it was but then again she couldn't almost tell who it was. She tried to open her eyes but they were still to heavy.
"Its ok, Mags." she heard again and this time she knew exactly who it was. DALLAS!
"Dally!" she cried out and reached out her hand in no particular direction. Someone reached out and put her hand down next to her side.
"He's not here, Maggie." the nurse said again. Maggie's heart fell to her stomach. She wanted Dally so bad she was imagining him being there by her side. She slowly let herself drift to sleep again. She didn't want to be in reality and she was starting to wish that this kidney had gone to some other kid that needed it as bad as her. She didn't know if her life was worth living anymore. The only real pure thing she had was Dally. She knew Dally would always be there. He was tough and hard and cold but he would always be there for her. He would always find a way to be there for her. And this time was no exception except for he still wasn't awake. She wondered as she fell slowly in to sleep if he would ever wake up, if she would ever be able to see him.
Maggie walked long a white passage, she was looking for something but she didn't know what. She moved as quickly as possible sprinting towards the end of the hall where she could see a closed door with light coming out of the edges. She gasped for air as she ran faster and faster but the door only seemed to get further away. Finally she lunged at the door and opened it before it could jump away again. And there was Dallas, laying on the hospital bed, as white as ever and as cold as ever. She reached out slowly and was about to touch his cheek when he reached out and grabbed her hand roughly.
Maggie woke with a start and shot strait up but shot strait back down again when the searing unbearable pain shot through her from her head to her toes. She gasped for air as the pain slowly got better and was just a dull pain in her side compared to what it had been. She looked around and realized that it was dark outside and that she was back in her room next to Dallas. She wanted to break down and cried when she realized he was still asleep, still in that deep slumber.
Roughly a year later
Maggie ran down the flooded sidewalk and finally sat down under a tree. She was attempting to hide herself from all the rain that she was walking in, but it was no use. She pulled her knees to her chest and put her elbows on them and then her face in her elbows. She was trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. Dallas still wasn't awake and everything had gotten worse for her when she had gotten worse for her. She was in a girl's home now, on the Soc side of the town. It was full of greaser girls of course, some of them were worse than Maggie but not many. She was honestly getting tired of everyone asking her if she was that girl that Dallas Winston hung around with and if Dallas had died yet. It just made her break down even more. She had tried to run to the hospital to visit him before but she always got caught before she could leave. She was put on a tight leash but the state and she just wanted to be freed again. She was planning it. She was planning her big escape to New York and it was just 2 days away. She was actually deciding on whether or not to make it sooner or not, she just couldn't decided.
She looked up when she heard a lot of splashing. 5 socs ran by, splashing her already wet clothes as they went. Right after them 5 more greasers started to run past her but stopped when they saw her.
"They hurt you?" one asked as they pointed down the road. Maggie recognized him from Tim's outfit and quickly looked around the group to see if Tim was among them.
"No," Maggie said slowly as she thought, "but can you do me a favor?"
Maggie waltzed into the Curtis house, her bag on her shoulder and Tim Shepard right behind her. After she had met the guys from Tim's gang she had them take her to him and then she had Tim take her back to orphanage to get her clothes and then to the Curtis.
"Maggie?" Pony asked as he sat up from watching TV. Maggie nodded and smiled sadly.
"You look like shit." Steve commented as he entered the room and gave her a huge hug. Maggie nodded and sighed heavily, tears threatening to fall.
"I know." she said quietly.
"Listen you guys," she started as she looked around at the whole gang in the living room,
"I'm going to New York. My train leaves in 2 hours. I'm going to go to the hospital and visit Dally and then I'm going to the train station to get out of here."
Everyone sat around the living room in shock, no one saying a word. Maggie had expected this much from them and she felt horrible about what she was doing. They had done so much for her and now she was just going to up and leave them. She couldn't stand being there anymore. Being in the orphanage was killing her and not being able to see Dally was killing her even more. She just couldn't stand it anymore.
"You're sure Maggie?" Darry asked as he stood up and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sure." Maggie said, her eyes stinging even more. She felt Darry nod.
"We'll meet you at the train station in 2 hours then." Darry said as he nodded. Maggie nodded back and followed Tim back to his car.
"You so sure about this? New York's a dangerous place?" Tim asked as he drove to the hospital.
"I'm sure." she snapped. "I can take care of myself despite popular belief." Tim sighed coldly and drove even faster. Before long Maggie was walking down the hall way towards Dally's room and wondering what would happen if he woke up right now. Would she still go to New York? Would she go to New York anyway but take Dally with her? She took a deep shaky breathe as she walked in and looked at Dally's motionless body for what seemed like the millionth time. She walked over to his bed and sat down next to him. A nurse had just freshly shaven the best she could but his hair was wild and starting to curl.
"I'm sorry I haven't been here for a while Dally." she said softly as she moved his hair out of his eyes.
"The orphanage is hell, I can't do anything and it's on the Soc part of town. The food sucks the girls suck there. Today was the first time I had gotten to see the gang in a year. Everyone seemed ok though. We all miss you though." she paused for a while and took another shaky breath.
"I'm here because," she grabbed his hand before she told him; "I'm going to New York. My train leaves in like an hour. I just can't be here anymore. Knowing that your here in a coma and that I live in an orphanage now. I just can't take it. Me and You, Dally, we were always so free spirited. Now were locked up in our own forms of cages. Huh. How could this happen?" a single tear fell from her eye as she leaned down to kiss his check. She rubbed his forehead for a while before leaning back up.
"I'll see you when you wake up, Dallas." she said with her head held high and tears streaming down her cheeks. She walked out the door, knowing she wasn't going to be seeing Dallas for a long time. If not ever. It hurt her, it hurt her a lot, but it had to be done.
She hopped into Tim's car and he started driving the slow 45 minute drive to the train station, neither of them speaking a word.
45 Minutes Later
Maggie stepped out of the car slowly and grabbed her bag out of the back seat. As she stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder she saw all 6 of the gang walking towards her, poker faces on. She knew and the whole gang knew that they were hurting inside, but no one wanted to show it.
She got out of town on the railway, new york bound
Took all except my name
Another alien on broadway
Well, some things in this world you just can't change
Some things you can't see until it gets too late
Maggie walked up to the gang and they all followed her over to her train that was getting ready to leave. She turned around and looked at all of them. Her eyes starting to burn again.
"I love you guys." Maggie whispered as she jumped into Steve's arms and everyone else piled around. Maggie was squished between 6 big guys and that's exactly where she wanted to be at that moment.
Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone
Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world
And maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come on home
They only thing that was missing was Dally. But she didn't want to dwell on it. She just wanted to get on that train. They all separated and Darry looked down on her and pulled 2 pictures out of his pocket.
One was of her and Dallas and the other was one of her and the rest of the gang. She let a couple tears fall and hugged Darry tightly.
"I'm gonna miss you, Darry."
"I'm gonna miss you too, baby girl." he said, a hint of moisture in his usual cold green-blue eyes.
I got a hole in me now
I got a scar I can talk about
She keeps a picture of me in her apartment in the city
But some things in this world
Man, they don't make sense
Some things you don't leave until they leave you
And then the things that you miss, you say
Maggie walked up to Soda next and through her arms around him. All the memories of the times they used to talk together rushing through her mind.
"You take care of yourself Sodapop. Don't let no girls go to your head." Maggie told him as she squeezed him tightly. He squeezed her back and chuckled a little.
"You take care of yourself in big time New York. Don't let no gang replace you!" Soda told her as he kissed her on the forehead. Maggie smiled weakly.
"No gang could replace you guys." she said before she moved on to Pony.
Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone
Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world
And maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come on home
Let that city take you in (come on home)
Let that city spit you out (come on home)
Let that city take you down, yeah
For god sakes turn around
"Pony, do me a favor and quite smoking? Your gonna ruin your track." Maggie said before pulling him into a tight hug. Pony chuckled a little.
"Do me a favor and send me some smoke from New York." Pony laughed harder and Maggie did, too. "I'm gonna miss you, Maggie. I really really." Pony told her, tears welling in his eyes. Maggie nodded and looked away. She hates seeing Pony cry, it was so emotional. She sighed heavily and moved on to Johnny.
Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone
Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world
Yeah well, maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights dont receive you
Well, turn yourself around and come on home
Maggie smiled at Johnny and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't you let no Socs beat up on you Johnny Cade. You just remember that! You just think of me and whip their asses." Johnny nodded, tears in his eyes, too.
"I'll look after Dally for you. Write us, too, will ya? I'll read em' to Dally, too. Just...don't forget us, Mags." Johnny pleaded. Maggie wrapped her arms around his middle.
"I'll never forget you Johnny Cade. Or anyone else. You write me, too." she added before letting go and moving to Steve.
"Oh god, this is hard." Maggie said as she whipped more tears away. Steve looked down on her and smiled sadly.
"It's what has to happen, Mags." he said as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. "You ever need a good quick job just remember all that car stuff I taught you, ok? It comes in handy a lot." Maggie nodded and held on to Steve tighter, not really wanting to let go. He squeezed her back and finally let go.
"Write me, Steve. You better write me." Maggie threatened as she whipped her eyes again. Steve chuckled sadly and nodded.
Maggie started walking to the train but looked back, hoping to see Tim. But he was gone and so was his car. She would have at least gotten to say good bye to him, but she could live without it. She really could. She walked to the train and stopped at the bottom of the stairs and closed her eyes.
Thoughts of Dallas ran through her head. All the times they spent together. The times they played around at the Dingo. A single tear ran down her cheek as a picture of Dally in his hospital bed ran through her head, and then she opened her eyes. She hesitated a second longer before climbing on the bus, not looking back, thinking it would be too hard for her to go on if she did.
Yeah, come on home
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Come on home
Yeah, come on home
Yeah, come on home
Yeah, come on home
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Come on home