When Steve woke up two hours later, he stretched, rolled… and landed on the floor. Wincing in pain as he hit his sore ribs, he found himself next to Two-Bit who had opened one eye and was glaring at him as much as possible from his prone position on the floor.
"Sorry," Steve muttered as he somehow managed to get to his feet. Two-Bit sighed but stood too, and they found Soda and Darry still sitting in the kitchen. The Curtises had showered and changed, and their friends glanced down at their own clothes in dismay. Then they looked at each other and shrugged.
"The hospital won't care if we smell," Steve said to Darry, "right?"
Darry looked up at him.
"You… you're coming to the hospital?" He unsuccessfully tried to keep the surprise out of his voice, but Steve heard it and bristled.
"Of course," he snapped. He glanced quickly at where Soda was staring at the surface of the table, seemingly off in his own world, but Darry understood, and he was glad. Soda was trying to put on a brave face again, but Darry knew how hard it would be for him once they got back in the hospital, and he was glad that Steve was going to be there too. If there were anyone in the world Soda trusted on nearly the same level as his brothers, it was Steve. And of course there was no question that Two-Bit was going too. One look at him showed Darry all he needed to know. Two-Bit, although he seemed to be over the worst of it, still felt guilty.
Darry sighed. This was going to be a long day for a lot of reasons, and it hadn't even started yet.
The four of them left for the hospital then, driving in silence, trying not to think of what had happened there last night, trying not to remember why the world was so different this morning.
When they arrived, Darry went up to the receptionist's desk and asked for Pony's update. She glanced down at his chart and said, "I'll call his doctor," dismissing Darry without even looking at him.
He sighed in frustration but stalked back to the seats where the others had planted themselves. Slumping in his chair, he had just about resigned himself to a lifetime in this hospital when the doctor from the previous night came out from the swinging doors looking more serious than he had when Soda and Darry had last seen him. They both sat up nervously, and Steve and Two-Bit glanced at each other, suddenly afraid.
Dr. Burns approached Darry, and he stood up quickly, Soda rising next to him.
"Is he ok? Can we see him?" Darry heard the pleading tone in his voice and hated himself for it. He knew it made him sound completely vulnerable, but if it got him in to see Pony, he didn't care.
Dr. Burns nodded but held up his hand to stop all four of them from rushing in.
"I need to talk to you first. Come with me where we can have this conversation in private. Just immediate family," he added glancing at Steve and Two-Bit, but when he turned to go, Darry motioned for their friends to follow. There was no question in his mind that the events of the previous night made them even more of a family than they'd already been.
It wasn't until they were walking into his office that Dr. Burns realized that all four boys were with him. He looked at Darry in confusion, and Darry said quietly, "we're all the family we have," and the doctor didn't say another word, just motioned for them all to find seats. He sat behind his desk as Darry and Soda sat in the chairs across from him. Steve and Two-Bit perched on the radiator on the side of the room. No one spoke until Dr. Burns took a deep breath and said, "Well, let me start by saying that if Ponyboy wakes up today and carries on a rational conversation, I know he'll make a complete recovery. But the longer he's unconscious, the more reason we have to worry. Last night, he seemed to have some terrible nightmares…" he trailed off when he saw the fear cross the faces of every boy in front of him.
He looked at Darry. "What is it?" he asked simply, and Darry responded quickly.
"Well… Pony's had a history of those nightmares since… since our parents were killed." The doctor's expression changed then, and he nodded slowly.
"What is it?" Darry asked worriedly.
"Well, that makes more sense. When he isn't sleeping soundly, he's been calling out different things. He's asked for both of you, but he's also mentioned your parents a few times. I could tell from the way he said their names, though, that there was more to the story. I'm glad you told me this, so I could … warn you. It might be harder than you expect."
Darry straightened his shoulders. "We don't care. We just want to be with our brother. Can we go there now?"
Dr. Burns nodded. "That's the other thing I was going to tell you. I discussed this with my supervisor last night. We decided to bend visiting hours for Pony's immediate family. We thought it might help him more if he had some of you in there with him since he's been calling for you. So you can stay as long as you'd like."
With this, he looked straight at Two-Bit and Steve. "This goes for all of you."
Darry found himself smiling in spite of the seriousness of the situation.
"Thank you, Dr. Burns," he said sincerely, standing and extending his hand. "We… well, we really appreciate this."
Dr. Burns nodded, standing as well. "I'm glad Pony has a family that cares so much about him," he said simply, ushering them out of his office and down the hall. He wished he were leading them to a happier place.
They stopped outside the door to Pony's room, and Soda was the first to grip the door handle, reluctant to see his little brother in such bad shape but determined to help him as much as he could. The sight that greeted him, though, was even worse than the day before.
During the course of the night, Pony had been thrashing so wildly that the nurses had had to put him in restraints, and now he pulled against them, his hair plastered to his head and his mouth twisted in a grimace of pain.
Soda rushed to him, pushing his hair back and murmuring in his ear. Slowly, Pony started to quiet down. Darry quickly went to his other side, taking his hand and holding onto it tightly. He looked at the restraints and felt nausea rising in him.
He looked pleadingly at where Dr. Burns was watching him and asked softly, "can we take these off now? Please? We'll be here with him. We won't leave him for a minute."
It didn't take Dr. Burns any time to see the truth of that statement, and he walked over himself to help Darry release Pony. On the other side of the bed, Soda was trying to open the ones there, but his hands were shaking. Steve noticed his problem and without saying a word, he went over and helped him finish the job quickly. Dr. Burns did a quick examination and then looked at Darry soberly and said, "I'll come back later," and he walked out, leaving the four of them alone with Pony.
Soda and Darry took seats on either side of the bed; Steve pulled a chair up to sit by Soda, but Two-Bit stayed where he was, leaning against the wall and staring off into space. None of them moved until Pony did. And it was the last thing any of them expected.